The use of Forest Schools (FS) to promote outdoor learning has become increasingly popular over the last decade or so. The FS approach embraces a woodland environment and espouses a child-centred pedagogy. Six principles outlining the key features of FS underpin the ways that FS leaders (FSLs) have been trained to uphold the central tenets and generate a constructivist ethos within the outdoor environment. Policy regarding principled FS practice in England, however, can be interpreted and enacted by FSLs and supporting adults in various ways. Much research has focussed on the benefits and outcomes for participants of FS, however there has been no investigation into the multiple ways that child-centred learning is exemplified within a FS context, and the range of adult practices that promote this. Characterising child-centredness as child agency, this research sought to explore how, where and when children’s agency was evidenced within FS settings. This research project was designed to adopt an ethnographic ap…
Motivated by religious belief, a small Muslim community known as the Dawoodi Bohras restored the 11th century Fatimid masjid of al-Jāmiʿ al-Anwar in Historic Cairo in 1980 to substantial criticism from the international conservation community. In a process which they termed iḥyāʾ, or to bring to life, the Bohras claimed to have returned the ruined masjid to its ‘original’ state by restoring its function as a site of living tradition. The ‘Euro-American preservation community’, however, insisted that the Bohras had instead created a ‘new’ building and in doing so, had killed the monument’s spirit and sense of ‘antiquity and authenticity’. The genesis of this research study lies in the tension between the Bohra restoration and the criticism levelled against it by proponents of modern conservation. Through an analysis of the Dawoodi Bohra community’s restoration of al-Jāmiʿ al-Anwar, this study has situated a Muslim community’s values towards the architectural conservation of a sacred place of worship within the…
This process led research examines ways in which text, particularly the written form, can become the focus of a performative practice. The works, which I have named ‘Textacts’, investigate ways in which text can be activated, explore which objects can carry text and trial a range of actions through which text materialises. Text is constructed through building letter by letter, displaying pre-written text and alternative text forms and writing with various parts of the body. My chosen texts consist of composed pieces and borrowed individual words, phrases, quotes, a definition and a song. The random text content is designed to place the focus upon the process of the work rather than the subject content of the words, which are then open to interpretation by the viewer. Many of the actions necessitate some form of struggle which introduces an element of precariousness into the work and this, combined with the text content, tends to generate a humorous response. Twenty-three Textacts; nineteen short performances …
Foreign design ideas and the impact of globalization have long played a strong role in creating and reshaping local urban forms in the past few decades in China. This is especially evident in public open spaces in many Chinese cities due to rapid economic development. Recent urban projects in Beijing specifically have shown limited responsiveness to local context and needs of users. This is due to a political focus on financial returns, and has resulted in the proliferation of homogeneous ‘anywhere places’. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop a conceptual framework and methodology for defining principles for locally responsive public open spaces in Beijing. The conceptual framework developed for this study is based on a review of key literature from both global and local sources, to define locally responsive public open spaces in the context of Beijing. Furthermore, the methodology establishes the relationship between traditional philosophies and contemporary thinking, and integrates urban morph…
This study investigates the extent to which post-conflict livelihoods change may contribute to conflict recurrence and a threat to human security. Post-conflict livelihoods studies (e.g. Jacobson 2002, 2005; Karf 2003; Werker 2007; Porter et al. 2008; Amirthalingam and Lakshman 2009, 2010) have for too long focused on refugee and internally displaced person camp settings. Justino (2009; 2011a; 2012) however, argues that these are inadequate in providing sustainable post-conflict peace not only because of the restricted focus on refugees but failure to address the fundamental livelihoods changes and the specific implications. This study examines the nature of livelihoods changes in a post-conflict transition non-camp context. It draws on Justino to adapt then use the sustainable livelihoods framework for the analysis of post-conflict livelihoods changes as a possible precursor for conflict recurrence in a non-camp setting. The study utilises a case study design, Buni Yadi, North-east Nigeria for an empirical i…
This study investigates the implementation of a team coaching model in undergraduate education to facilitate critical dialogue and develop criticality in student-team work. It explored three unconnected areas: criticality, critical dialogue and team coaching. The paucity of studies in critical dialogue in undergraduate business education, the overarching definition of coaching in education, which focuses on personal development, and the limitations of critical thinking in problem-solving, support the significance of this study. The research proposes to bridge critical management studies and critical management education to facilitate critical dialogue in student-team work so as to develop criticality, that is re-conceptualised to support the need for business graduates to be able to address crisis and change. Two action research cycles were implemented at Deree – The American College of Greece, (NECHE accredited, and OU validated), during a period of 10 months and took various forms. These include eight semi-…
In this thesis, I aim to explore the development of Hume’s theory of the self through time. I begin with his scepticism concerning the self in book 1 of the Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), expressing his idea that we are simply a bundle of experiences and there is no such thing as the self that we can introspect and identify. I then plot his route to the discovery of the self in book 2 via the passions. I explore his mechanism of sympathy and the role this plays in the mutual construction of pride and the self as well as the double relation of ideas and impressions. Additionally, I suggest that Hume was a narrative theorist, as he placed importance on our whole lives – on our past, present and future, rather than on single, unified acts. I highlight the social nature of the Humean self and show its ability to evolve with the changing times. I find the introduction of social media and the new ways in which we communicate are compatible with Hume’s account. We are still able to apply his mechanisms of human…
Refugee hosting at the household-level is characterised by the sharing of accommodation and social interaction and interdependence between parties. Its prevalence is gaining recognition as humanitarian and scholarly focus shifts to urban displacement. Despite this, there has been little research into refugee hosting. In this thesis, I explore what constitutes the act of refugee hosting at the household-level in protracted urban displacement. Refugee hosting relationships are typically portrayed as static kinship-based practices, between non-displaced hosts and displaced guests. Presumed to be short-term measures, the prolongation of hosting in protracted displacement is seen as a burden to hosts. Through an exploration of refugee hosting in Amman, Jordan, I challenge this depiction to argue that refugee hosting is a far-reaching and dynamic response to displacement and an overlooked component of humanitarian response. I contribute to understandings of how refugees respond to displacement, and their experience…
Against the background of the evolving confrontation between the Catholic Church and the new state, religion in opera in Liberal Italy took on a new significance, both in new works and the revival of operas from earlier in the nineteenth century. Focusing on repertoire reflecting Catholic settings and theology, this thesis offers a fresh argument about the consistency of religious tropes and their significance in the political, cultural and social trends of Liberal Italy. It sets the treatment and reception of religious themes in opera in three contrasting urban contexts – the fascination with the supernatural in the positivist, intellectual centre of Turin, the culture war between competing visions of society and the purpose of art in Venice, and the confrontation between Papal Rome and the growing new capital city. Two thematic chapters consider how the adaptation of source texts in this period tended to augment religious themes, often emphasising conventional and orthodox religious views, and examine a ser…
In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the work of Carlo Crivelli (c.1430/5- 94/5) among historians of early modern art. With his combination of traditional techniques, such as the gold ground, and witty effects of pictorial illusion, Crivelli’s work makes an effective case study for revisionist methods in art history, demonstrating the fluid boundary between ‘medieval’ and ‘renaissance’ art. However, the findings have been fragmentary, mostly conveyed in articles, essays and multi-author exhibition catalogues. Moreover, the relationship between Crivelli’s technical practice and the functions of his paintings in their original setting has not been the subject of sustained analysis. This thesis applies a new methodology to the study of Crivelli’s work. It examines his paintings as material objects, drawing upon recent technical analysis carried out at the National Gallery, London, in light of the devotional practices of his original viewers, and contemporary theological and art-theoretical debat…