Electronic theses of Faculty of Social Sciences students. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/56 2026-10-03T23:29:07Z 2026-10-03T23:29:07Z Gardiner, Amanda http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38352 2026-09-29T16:13:05Z 2026-02-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Transitional care for people living with dementia: perspectives of long-term care providers Author(s): Gardiner, Amanda Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine transitional care of older adults living with dementia when transitioning from hospital or community settings into long-term care facilities. This study contributes to the current body of literature on transitional care by focusing on the experiences of long-term care providers and investigating how transitions occur, are negotiated, and stabilised through the service delivery system. This research not only provides a description of how transitional care occurs but also draws on interview data from long-term care providers and other professionals alongside documentary material, including policy documents, to understand the nature of transitional care. Using Situational Analysis (SA), supported by Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a complementary theoretical lens, allows a dynamic view of transitional care as an interaction between humans and nonhumans. The participants in the study explained that transitional care is not a straightforward or logical process; instead, it is a complex and ongoing negotiation influenced by factors like time, paperwork, workplace culture, and scattered information. Formal systems were found to devalue the relational and experiential knowledge of long-term care providers while emphasising their accountability for high-quality care. Shortcomings were noted within the formal systems related to planning, assessment, and communication processes. Furthermore, the study found that meaningful improvements to transitional care for individuals living with dementia would require structural and cultural transformations that recognise relational labour and foster a more collaborative and cohesive approach to transitional care. Finally, the study demonstrated that emotional and relational labour played a significant role in stabilising transitions in the absence of systemic coherence.

2026-02-01T00:00:00Z Guion Akdag, Emma http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38283 2026-09-15T16:02:27Z 2026-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Power and internationalisation in Scottish higher education: A critical analysis drawing on Foucauldian and decolonial thought Author(s): Guion Akdag, Emma Abstract: Internationalisation in higher education is often presented as a neutral or technical process, but this study treats it as a contested field. It examines internationalisation across three Scottish higher education institutions, focusing on how it is formed, stabilised and negotiated across policy texts and staff interviews. Drawing on Foucauldian discourse analysis, alongside postcolonial and decolonial perspectives, it reads these materials together as a shared discursive field. The study examines how internationalisation is produced through relations between power, knowledge and discourse, with attention to regimes of truth and governmentality. This enables analysis of how internationalisation shapes what can be said, what counts as legitimate knowledge, and how subjects are positioned within the university. The findings show that internationalisation is organised through uneven processes of authority and positioning. Policy discourse constructs a coherent institutional voice, often through a collective ‘we’ that projects alignment and consensus, while interviews reveal a more fragmented field in which actors occupy differential positions in relation to authority, visibility and constraint. Internationalisation emerges as unstable and contested, articulated across economic, strategic and educational registers, yet consistently structured by measurement, growth and competition. These logics are reinforced through agricultural and building metaphors, which frame internationalisation as something to be constructed, cultivated, grown and expanded. At the same time, internationalisation remains entangled with epistemic hierarchy and coloniality, shaping how global citizenship, epistemic difference and transnational literacy are made thinkable within institutional discourse. Western knowledge systems continue to function as dominant reference points, while international students and Global South partners are unevenly recognised, at times through deficit or patronage, producing objectification and racism. These dynamics are not fully coherent, with moments of critique and discomfort revealing their instability. The study contributes a critical account of internationalisation as a productive field through which subjects are formed, conduct regulated, and institutional priorities normalised.

2026-05-01T00:00:00Z Ali, Saifullah http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38182 2026-07-14T10:14:54Z 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Students’ Experience with English Language Programmes in Islamic Boarding School in Indonesia (An Ethnographic study) Author(s): Ali, Saifullah Abstract: This study explores English as Foreign Language (EFL) learning within the moral, social, and disciplinary culture of an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Indonesia. Centred on As-Tsani Islamic Boarding School in Aceh, the research examines how English education is organised, experienced, and understood by teachers and students, and how pedagogical practices are shaped by institutional discipline, communal life, and Islamic moral values. Drawing on an interpretive, ethnographic design, data were collected through both classroom and out-of-classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The study was guided by two complementary theoretical perspectives: behaviourism, which highlights habit formation and reinforcement in language learning and Foucault’s concept of disciplinary power, which illuminates how structures of authority and surveillance produce self-regulating learners within an enclosed learning environment. Findings indicate that EFL learning in the pesantren is deeply intertwined with moral and spiritual discipline. Teachers employ memorisation, repetition, and reinforcement not only to develop linguistic competence but also to cultivate virtues such as patience, obedience, and perseverance. Institutional systems such as the Mahkamah Lughah (Language Court), peer monitoring, and English-only policies reinforce language use while nurturing collective responsibility. The nature of the environment of the institution allows students to build meaningful interaction among peers and maintain relationships through providing mutual supports that lead to creating supportive learning atmosphere. The study contributes to qualitative research on faith-based education by revealing the intersection between behaviourist pedagogy, disciplinary power, and Islamic educational values within pesantren life. It shows that discipline, when internalised as moral practice, can be both regulatory and transformative. The findings offer valuable implications for EFL teachers, curriculum designers, and institutional administrators seeking culturally and ethically grounded approaches to English education in Islamic contexts.

2025-12-01T00:00:00Z Gunn, Frances http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38067 2026-05-27T11:43:38Z 2025-09-01T00:00:00Z

Title: An exploration of factors influencing professionals and families understanding and experiences of child neglect Author(s): Gunn, Frances Abstract: This study explores commonalities and differences between families and professionals’ understandings of neglect, professional confidence in identifying and working with neglect, utilising contextual data exploring relationships between community factors and the scale and spread of neglect to strengthen the depth of the findings. Organisational data confirms that child neglect remains a prevalent and pressing issue across Scotland. The scoping review of the literature highlights that both identification and working with neglect continue to be challenging for professionals. However, recent changes to the definition of child neglect within the Scottish national guidance emphasise the relationship between neglect and systemic stresses including poverty, offering an opportunity to deepen holistic understanding of neglect. Mapping of secondary data confirms local relationships between poverty and neglect, highlighting the importance of context and ‘causes of the causes’ underlying neglect. To challenge these issues, an ecological systems approach to reducing inequalities at community and structural level is important. Therefore, consistent investment in public health approaches to reduce inequalities and child poverty offering a more equitable foundation for individual intervention to address neglect is advocated. Questionnaire findings demonstrated that while professionals reported confidence in recognising neglect, they expressed significantly less confidence in decision making and intervention following identification. Thematic analysis of the questionnaire findings revealed three overarching influences on professional responses environmental, professional, and caregiver factors with poverty emerging as a dominant theme. IPA interviews with professionals, families, and young people generated a series of experiential themes, including the “revolving door effect,” professional anxiety (“Should I open the can of worms?”), feelings of powerlessness, and a shared desire for collaborative sense making. Families described feeling misunderstood, judged, and disconnected from decision making processes, particularly when the term neglect was used. The study argues for a reconceptualisation of neglect as a continuum rather than a binary classification, distinguishing between neglect arising from social stresses and neglect involving deliberate parental omission or commission. This continuum approach aligns with the updated Scottish definition of neglect and supports proportionate, context sensitive assessment. The findings also demonstrate that the term neglect is understood by families as a stigmatising label that undermines therapeutic relationships and inhibits partnership working. The study findings highlight how language shapes perceptions of risk, responsibility, and parental identity, and calls for the adoption of alternative, non judgemental terminology, particularly in cases where structural factors underpin unmet needs. Overall, the study findings offer new insights into how professionals and families navigate the complexities of neglect and identifies opportunities for policy and practice reform. Recommendations include adopting a continuum based model to support assessment of neglect, embedding shared sense-making, strengthening reflective and peer based support structures, and reframing language to reduce stigma and enhance engagement. These recommendations offer evidence-based opportunities to embed a rights-based, compassionate, equitable, and effective response to child neglect.

2025-09-01T00:00:00Z