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Since the year 2000 there has been a statistically high proportion of head teachers’ leaving the profession. There have been studies conducted to predict when this exodus would conclude, but not the actual reasons for why senior people are leaving. Schools have found replacing head teachers’ increasingly difficult and the inevitable leadership crisis has been well documented by authors, such as Dorman and D’ Arbon (2003) and Harris (2007) alongside many articles in the media. The leadership crisis has been most noticeable within the Catholic Primary School sector. This thesis identifies the leadership crisis from the negativity of the education system with possible supporting solutions, such as the value of acting headship, succession planning and talent spotting. This research journey started with a questionnaire with eighty senior leadership teams within Catholic Primary schools (English West Midlands) and progressed to interviewing fifteen senior leaders, pooled from five head teachers; four deputy heads, three assistant heads and three middle leaders. The research was conducted from September 2011 to June 2014. This study captures the importance of succession planning and expectations on faith school head teachers having many aspects adding to the working week. Accountability and workload issues are adding increasing pressure on a heads’ shoulders which is putting many senior leaders off. The research concluded that any future succession planning should include opportunities for acting headship. The other emerging theme was the impact of OFSTED, especially in relation to the workload levels and the accountability of senior leader.

This study was conducted to identify factors that contribute to psychological distress in recently diagnosed gynaecological cancer. Using Leventhal et al.'s (1984, 1997) SelfRegulation Model, psychological adjustment to gynaecological cancer was examined in 61 patients recruited within the first twelve months of diagnosis from an outpatient specialist gynaeoncology clinic. Patients completed a survey measuring their cognitive and emotional illness representations, coping strategies and psychological distress at two time points separated by three months. Consistent with previous research into other illnesses, the study found cross-sectional associations between illness representations and distress. Support for a possible cross-sectional path whereby denial and avoidant coping may mediate between illness representations and psychological outcomes was also found. However the direction of these relationships could not be established with prospective analyses. One possible reason for this is that only 35 patients completed the three-month follow-up, thus compromising the statistical power of the analysis. Clinical and future research implications of the findings are discussed.

The capacity of adolescents to develop global competencies was examined by collecting and analyzing data from 62 student-travelers before, during, and after a short-term study-travel experience to China. The Global Perspectives Inventory was used to compare the student-travelers' perspectives before and after travel with a comparison group of 60 non-travelers. Experiences, guided reflections, and development were identified through journals, oral reflections, focus group interviews, and surveys provided by the adolescents, teacher-leaders, and parents or guardians. They provide insight into structuring a short-term study-travel experience for adolescents and might inform institutions about the learning experiences reported to be critical in the development of global competencies. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

As soon as the first English texts began to appear, Arabian Nights' Entertainments, as translated by Antoine Galland, captivated the imaginations of most of eighteenth century England, bringing the work instantly into demand. Although the Arabian Nights' Entertainments is generally recognized among scholars for its influence on other fictional tales and travel narratives and its shaping of the West's perception of the East, further study is needed in ascertaining the effect of the rhetorical device of repetition, which is so prevalent within the tales and which gives the collection both its unique character and its ability to engage readers from the time of its original publication onward. Bearing in mind that translation practices of the eighteenth century allowed creative additions by the translator, this study hopes to approach the Arabian Nights' Entertainments as a collection of fables. Within this framework, I will begin with a close reading of "The Story of the Two Sisters who envied their Younger Sister," which Galland acquired from the storyteller Hanna Diab, to demonstrate that repetition is the defining feature of the tales. Pulling on Judith Butler's concept of performativity, I will then explore what skill Khosrouschah, like Schahriar and the eighteenth century audience, is supposed to be learning through the fables. Examining the purpose of repetition and its effect on both the characters and the audience, I will argue that the repetition within the tales provides the best strategy for unlocking the fables.