Towards capabilities and desistance? Scottish prisoners’ experiences of education

Previous research has considered the role of education in the development of capabilities separately from the desistance process and there is a limited evidential base that has combined these theoretical areas. This thesis focuses on the biographical accounts of a group of Scottish prisoners in order to consider the factors that create a fluctuating state of capabilities throughout a life-time. The study utilised qualitative interpretivist research design in the form of semi-structured interviews to gain rich and detailed accounts of lives spent both within and outside of the modern criminal justice system. Participants were recruited from two adult prisons in central Scotland. They discussed their life experiences of disadvantage, marginalisation and socio-economic restrictions and so provided insights into the ways in which capability constraints can contribute to offending behaviours. The ebb and flow of education within their lives was also examined to ascertain the role this plays in upholding or improving these states of being. Experiences of imprisonment were discussed so the realities of what is lost and gained through incarceration could be determined. The position that learning can have within prison in supporting capability development and desistance was a particular focus. An interpretive paradigm was applied so that participants and I could extract significance from their life experiences, social worlds and beliefs that were discussed during interview. By using capabilities and desistance theory from the outset, this research paradigm allowed for other theoretical links to emerge from the data. This thesis found that disadvantage and restricted capabilities are complex, intergenerational and often compounded over a life-course. This makes engaging with support that could improve these conditions extremely challenging, thus potentially extending the ill-effects on wellbeing. The impoverished nature of choice and agency stunts flourishing, forcing individuals to select from ever-limiting options. For most participants, this became a direct catalyst to their offending behaviour and time in custody. While descriptions highlight the damage caused by imprisonment, this thesis also presents positive accounts of support and personal development within this environment. It demonstrates how learning and skills development can be utilised to affect capability improvement and take early steps towards desistance. This thesis establishes a link between the imagining of a crime-free future during custody with the formation of the hope and agency that is indicative of improved capabilities and central to robust and sustained desistance

Impact of AIDS Education on Adolescent Risky Sexual Behaviors

Modern sex education recognizes that adolescents need formal guidance and information regarding sexuality and sexual behaviors. From an economic policy perspective, sex education is seen as an important tool in preventing costly social outcomes such as teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Previous literature has shown that sex education was associated with earlier initiation into sexual activity but not necessarily with increased pregnancy rates (Marsiglio and Mott 1984). The evidence has also shown that the relationship may not be causal (Sabia 2006). In order to better understand these conclusions, this thesis uses data from the Center for Disease Control’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Study (YRBSS) to investigate how effective AIDS education policies are in influencing the more risky sexual behaviors in high school students. The results show that for some risky sexual behaviors, AIDS education significantly decreased the probability of their occurrence. AIDS education appears to have had more of an impact than the general or typical sex education programs evaluated in previous literature. However, future research is needed to determine if AIDS education is being provided in a way that is cost effective by making sure that the students who receive it are the ones who will benefit the most

Troubling Women Troubling Genre: Shakespeare's Unruly Characters

This thesis brings the performativity of William Shakespeare’s plays into focus; in presenting an alternative approach to his works, I show how literary criticism can be reinvigorated. Dramatic works demonstrate that, in their theatrical world, everything is mutable, and capable of evolving and changing, negating stability or reliability. Why, then, should what I term monogeneric approaches (forms of analysis that allocate one genre to plays, adopting a priori ideas as opposed to recognising processes of dramatic construction) to criticism remain prevalent in Shakespearean scholarship? Performativity, as defined by Judith Butler, is a concept that focuses on the dynamic constitution of a subject, rather than on the end result alone (whether ‘female’ for gender, or, for example, ‘comedy’ for plays). In establishing an analogical relationship between the performativity of gender and the performance of dramatic works, I offer new, interpretive possibilities for dramatic works, moving away from monogeneric methods. Constructing a method of analysis based on performativity allows an approach that recognises and privileges dramatic dynamism and characterisation. The role of female characters is vital in Shakespeare’s works: we see defiant, submissive, calculating, principled and overwhelmingly multifaceted performances from these characters who, I argue, influence the courses that plays take. This thesis joins a conversation that began in 335BCE with Aristotle’s Poetics. In acknowledging and interrogating previous scholarship on genre in Shakespeare’s works, I trace monogeneric themes in analysis from Aristotle, through A.C. Bradley, through to later twentieth- and twenty-first-century critics. I challenge the practice of allocating genre based on plot features, including weddings and deaths; such actions are not conclusively representative of one genre alone. To enable this interrogation, I establish relationships between theories such as Nicolas Bourriaud’s work on artistic exchange; Jacques Derrida’s hypothesis on participation and belonging; and feminist research by scholars including Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva. Performance analysis is a vital component of this thesis, alongside textual analysis. In a number of cases, multiple performances of a dramatic work are considered to illustrate the fascinating variety with which the text is translated from page to stage and the impact of different directorial decisions. I use the term ‘textual analysis’ to include the varying editions of Shakespeare’s plays, and to consider that every Complete Works publication is not, in fact, complete. The existence of quarto texts makes clear an important process of dramatic evolution, particularly when dramatic works and their allocated genres shift between quarto and Folio versions. Such textual instability highlights the difficulties inherent in applying singular identities to dynamic works. In locating performativity at the core of dramatic works and emphasising the key role of female characters, this thesis brings performance to the fore and presents an alternative ‘lens of interpretation’ for readers, watchers, teachers and scholars of Shakespeare

"Identity politics": dramatic genres, Shakespeare's plays, and the Butlerian framework

Performativity, as defined by Judith Butler, is a means of analysis that focuses on the dynamic constitution of a subject, rather than focusing on the end result alone. The postperformative rut, into which criticism of drama has fallen, is best illustrated through critics reliance upon the unwieldy concept of genre which results in the unnecessary anaesthetising of dramatic works. This article sets out to demonstrate how, through engaging with Butlers framework of performativity, Shakespeares plays can be liberated from the theoretical stranglehold of genre. Through specific analysis of The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, and King Lear, this article interrogates the dominant critical uses of marriage as a generic feature, illustrating how simplistic notions of generic categorisation actually inhibit and restrict the plays development and inherent performativity. The relevance of applying the principles of performativity to the study of dramatic works results in a process of analysis centring more on characterisation and dramatic dynamism rather than on archaic notions of dramatic genres. Keywords: William Shakespeare; gender; dramatic genres; performativity; Judith Butler; The Merchant of Venice; The Taming of the Shrew; King Lear; taxonomies

Deliberately casual? Workers' agency, health, and nonstandard employment relations in Australia

This item is under embargo for a period of 12 months from the date of publication, in accordance with the publisher's policy.Objective: We explored Australian workers’ experiences of nonstandard employment, how it related to health and wellbeing, and the role that Bourdieu’s forms of capital (cultural, economic and social resources) played in underpinning workers’ agency. Methods: Qualitative data from semistructured interviews with 32 causal workers were analysed based on framework analysis. Results: Most participants were ‘deliberate casuals’ who had chosen casual over permanent employment, with half of that group naming improved health and wellbeing as motivation. Those with greater access to capital felt more able to exercise choice, whereas those with fewer capital resources felt constrained to be casual. Gendered structures and labour market dynamics were also significant in shaping agency. Conclusions: Access to capital and a buoyant labour market underpinned workers’ agency in Australia, enabling some to gain health and wellbeing benefits from nonstandard employment

The Influence of Hip Strength and Core Endurance on Recurrent Patella Dislocations: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patellar instability can be a source of pain and functional disability. Aspects of patellar dislocations explored in the literature include demographics, radiographic findings, physical features, and quadriceps and hamstring strength. A lack of information exists on muscular strength as a predisposing factor for recurrent patellar dislocations. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of hip strength and core endurance on recurrent patellar dislocations. It was hypothesized that decreased hip strength and core endurance would be associated with this injury. METHODS: In this case control study, cases with recurrent patellar dislocation at a rehabilitation clinic were all offered the chance to participate. Healthy controls without any current knee injuries or previous surgeries were matched by sex and age. Participants provided anthropometric and demographic data and filled out the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, KOOS Knee Survey, Kujala Knee Pain Scale, and a patellofemoral instability form. Cases underwent a patellofemoral exam and joint testing protocol. Both groups completed the forward step down test, strength of hip external rotation and abduction using a dynamometer, and bilateral side plank endurance. Recordings of the forward step down test were reviewed by six researchers to determine inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: Side plank endurance and hip external rotation strength were significantly decreased in the cases compared to the controls. There was no statistical difference for hip abduction strength between the two groups. Moderate to good inter-rater reliability was found for the forward step down test. CONCLUSIONS: Weak hip external rotators and core endurance could lead to an increased risk for patellar dislocations. While hip abduction strength was not statistically significant between cases and controls, it was 4% less in the case group. The gluteus medius is active during side plank exercise and may contribute to significant results observed in core endurance testing. The forward step down test could be used to assess dynamic weakness in hip abductors and external rotators across providers based on reliability findings. This pilot study was the first to investigate hip strength and core endurance as a risk factor for recurrent patellar dislocations and further research is needed to confirm findings