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1رسالة جامعية
المؤلفون: Drari, Djihad
الملخص: The purpose of this study was to understand the factors influencing the university decision-making process of British Bangladeshi students. Whilst a considerable amount of research exists on factors influencing the university decision-making process of different ethnic groups, there are very few studies that provide details on the university decision-making process of Bangladeshi students, and the studies that have attempted to do this were limited in scope. The major research question guiding this study was: How and why do British Bangladeshi students decide to pursue higher education (HE)? A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was used in this study, where quantitative data (university questionnaire) informed the qualitative phase (semi-structured interviews). 140 Year 13 Bangladeshi students from schools in London (in Tower Hamlets and Ilford) completed the questionnaire, and 19 students took part in the interviews. The study finds that access to social capital resources enables the social network to influence British Bangladeshi's HE decision-making process. Students' HE aspirations were mostly influenced through the norms and expectations that their parents had conveyed; however, they were unable to foster the mechanisms to achieve this goal. Thus, other sources of social capital were needed to support students' pursuit of HE. Students had to rely on significant individuals to support them through the university application process by being their main sources of information. The study also finds that students are rational decision-makers and that their educational choices are made to maximise economic and social returns, although it was clear that economic returns are more important. Bangladeshi students, based on the availability of information in their social networks and subject to constraints posed by their social background, chose HE to maximise total expected returns.
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2رسالة جامعية
المؤلفون: Porton, Jennie Joy
الملخص: This thesis discusses contemporary British music conservatoires and their practices, as experienced from alumni perspectives. Using the key themes of notions of 'talent', curriculum, and health and wellbeing to provide a contextual focus, qualitative data gathering is undertaken via interviews and informal discussions, making full use of my 'insider' status as I simultaneously work alongside fellow alumni as a professional musician in the field. An additional key theme of this thesis is that of social background, as I look at social dimensions of pedagogy and learning, social concerns in terms of social status and class, and how social position in wider society determines alumni experience of educational practices. I apply Stuart Hall's theories of identity (1990) and his concepts of hegemony and articulation to discuss power dynamics in conservatoires using the method of discourse analysis. I also apply the theoretical ideas of Pierre Bourdieu, particularly his concepts of habitus, capital and field, and hierarchies within educational settings (1979, 1989), putting these in conversation with Hall and thus generating both a cultural and class-based analysis of the ethnographic data. In doing so, this thesis adds to a longitudinal study of conservatoire-based research through building on existing findings to show that these institutions are shaped by social concerns, and that there are social hierarchies which impact on students' embodied experiences of learning and, critically, their notions of identity. Within an analytical autoethnographic framework as presented by Leon Anderson (2006), I also critically reflect on my own experiences as a conservatoire alumna and subsequent music professional, positioning my account in relation to those shared by my interview subjects. The overall aim of this thesis is to discuss alumni experiences of UK conservatoire practices spanning almost three decades, from 1990 to 2018. This is to ascertain how these institutions are responding to alumni concerns regarding changing pedagogic practices for the future, given their rich knowledge of the field as working professional musicians. Ultimately, this thesis critically reflects on these issues to address the gap between intent (in institutional delivery) and reality (in student experience) in conservatoire training and how institutional practices affect students' notions of identity, both within and beyond conservatoire walls.
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3رسالة جامعية
المؤلفون: Chumbler, Neale R.
Advisors: Kercher, Kyle
الملخص: Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (or podiatrists) play a decisive role in the disease prevention and health maintenance of older Americans. As health care professionals who examine, diagnose, and treat the human foot, podiatrists aid in alleviating pain and maintaining the mobility of geriatric patients. No sociological studies have examined podiatrists’ or podiatry students’ orientations toward the elderly in general and as patients in particular. Accordingly, this dissertation examines precursors of two dependent variables – podiatry students’ stereotypes of older people and attitudes toward treating elderly patients. Among the set of predictor variables, this dissertation examines podiatry students’ social background traits, intergenerational solidarity with grandparents, motivations for entering podiatry, and professional socialization. Moreover, four theoretical perspectives – socialization theory, cognitive dissonance theory, Allport’s theory of prejudice, and social exchange theory – provide frameworks for interpreting the effects of the predictor variables. The data included a random and nationally representative sample of podiatry students. One-third of the total population of podiatry students were used as the sampling frame. Of the questionnaires distributed to the students, 533 were returned, yielding a total response rate of 77.5 percent. Multiple regression analysis indicated that entering podiatry for extrinsic rewards was a strong predictor of negative stereotypes of the elderly. That is, extrinsic rewards has a statistically significant direct effect on two of the four outcome variables representing negative stereotypes of the elderly – specifically, older people’s personality and health behavior. Similarly, there are two strong predictors of negative attitudes toward treating elderly patients: entering podiatry for intrinsic rewards and close bonds with grandparents. That is, podiatry students who reported close relationships with their grandparents and who entered podiatry for intrinsic rewards were less likely to have both negative stereotypes toward older people and negative attitudes toward treating elderly patients. Implications of the findings are discussed in regards to podiatric medical education, such as recruitment and criteria in admitting prospective students
