Background: There are concerns over the low proportion of young people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA] who regularly participate in physical activity [PA] (Al-Hazzaa, 2004; Al-Hazzaa, et al., 2011). Schools have a unique opportunity to promote PA and provide adequate PA opportunities for young people via the formal/informal curriculum, school sports programmes, and out-of-hours PA (Dobbins et al., 2009). However, implementing effective PA promotion programmes in schools is a challenge and requires consideration of a range of factors. In Saudi Arabia context, the secondary boys school PE programme comprises two main elements: 1) the PE curriculum which is compulsory for all students and includes one 45 minute PE lesson per week; 2) the extra-curricular programme which is optional and comprises the Internal Physical Activity Programme (IPAP) and the External Physical Activity Programme (EPAP). The IPAP activities occur during breaks between lessons whilst the EPAP takes place after school. Both are delivered by PE teachers. Research Aims The aims of this study were: 1) To investigate the nature and extent of the promotion of PA in boys secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. 2) To explore physical education teachers perspectives on the promotion of PA in boys secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. 3) To identify the factors that influence the promotion of PA in boys secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework for the study was based on Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997) which presumes that PA behaviour is influenced by: personal characteristics; behavioural factors; and environmental factors. In addition, the Active School model (Cale, 1997; Cale & Harrris, 2005) was utilised as a conceptual framework, guiding the investigation of PA promotion within schools and the analysis of data. Methodology In order to investigate the research questions, a two phased mixed method (Creswell, 2009) research project was carried out. Phase one involved a detailed survey questionnaire, informed by the Active School model, which was designed to gather information about PE teachers policies, practices and views with respect to the promotion of PA. The questionnaire s validity was enhanced via a number of Saudi experts who confirmed its appropriateness for use in the Saudi context. Moreover, a pilot study was undertaken to obtain valuable feedback relating to the format, content and clarity of both the survey questionnaire and interview schedule before the main study. The questionnaire was distributed to all secondary boys schools in Riyadh in KSA (N=181 schools). The response rate was 52%. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 was employed in the analysis of the data. Phase two involved semi-structured interviews. Prior to conducting these, the interview schedule was piloted at one secondary school. Six PE teachers drawn from the survey sample were interviewed and the interview data were then transcribed and analysed using MAXQD10 software. Research Findings The survey revealed that two thirds of the secondary boys schools had a plan or policy for the promotion of PA, and almost 70% of PE teachers thought that their school significantly contributed to the promotion of PA. Games activities (e.g. football) dominated the PE curriculum, and the majority of schools also organised inter-school games competitions (e.g. league). In contrast, exercise and fitness-related activities (e.g. circuit training) were less common within the schools PE curricula. The PE curriculum was viewed by the teachers as the most important avenue to promote PA, followed by the IPAP and EPAP (95%, 91% and 73% respectively). Sports/activity facilities varied between schools, particularly in terms of indoor facilities, and over half of the PE teachers considered their indoor and outdoor facilities to be inadequate for promoting PA (54% and 57% respectively). The vast majority (90.3%) of the schools did not offer PA opportunities to parents/families. Furthermore, three quarters of the teachers expressed a need for professional development specifically in the area of PA promotion. On a positive note, headteachers and local PE supervisors were reported to be supportive of efforts to promote PA in the schools and provided support for both the IPAP and EPAP. All PE teachers, who were interviewed, considered the time allocated to PE programme to be insufficient for promoting PA amongst pupils. Further, some teachers viewed PE lessons as time off from serious school subjects and entertaining time . Most teachers reported that parents considered PE as unimportant and/or playtime . Discussion/Conclusion PE teachers views on role of schools in the promotion of PA were generally positive. The ways in which the teachers practiced the promotion of PA varied and maybe have been due to their narrow understanding of the whole school approach to PA promotion. The teachers focused on the PE curriculum and the PE extra-curricular programmes as the main avenues through which to promote PA within their schools, and gave less attention to other avenues such as the whole school environment. Almost all of the teachers had a sporting philosophy for PE leading them to privilege competitive sports. Although the teachers reported to have support from head teachers and local PE supervisors, many schools were not as conducive to PA promotion as they could be due to the narrow range of physical opportunities on offer, and the teachers lack of relevant professional development, the limited sports facilities and the insufficient maintenance of these. In addition, the status of, and time allocated to PE were found to be an issue influencing the promotion of PA in schools. It was concluded that actions could be taken to broaden PA promotion within Saudi schools. For example, policy update and development for PA promotion could be improved to address clothing and changing, traffic/transport, and playground bullying; establish links with outside sports agencies and professionals; and increase PA opportunities before or after school, or at weekends. The findings suggest that if the descriptor comprehensive which is widely used to distinguish whole school approaches from curriculum-only models of PA promotion is to be fully realised, schools need to make a clear and explicit effort to promote PA within the social/cultural environment. Further that research is needed on the social and cultural values, norms and perspectives affecting PA promotion in schools.

The experiences of dyslexic adults in education as well as the ‘caring professions’ of nursing, teaching and social work continue to be fertile ground for academic study. This study extends the range of current academic knowledge of dyslexia in the workplace by exploring the experiences of dyslexic police officers across England and Wales. The context is the extension of disability-related equality legislation to the police service in 2004. The overarching aim of the study is to examine the experiences and perceptions of dyslexic police officers who are ‘on-the-streets’ and not in the classroom environment. This research is underpinned by the principles of the social model of disability (Oliver 1990) and in it, dyslexia is understood not as a stand-alone difference but rather as an aspect of neurodiversity (Cooper 2009) A qualitative and exploratory research strategy was adopted. Data was collected by way of self-completed questionnaires and from face-to-face semi-structured interviews with twenty-five serving or recently resigned dyslexic police officers from ten police services from across England and Wales. The data was analysed using Layder’s theory of domains and his adaptive theory (Layder 2005 & 2013). This study identified that the overwhelming majority of dyslexic police officers experienced a broad range of attitudinal, procedural and police ‘barriers’ to their full integration into the police organisation. All of the participants in this study had disclosed to their employing police service that they were dyslexic. Participant understanding of dyslexia and disability was deeply rooted within the medical model rather than the social model. The study identified substantial evidence of bullying, and discrimination was identified across the broad range of police services as well as significant failings in the provision of workplace assessments by Job Centre staff. Despite this treatment very few participants complained or sought redress. The dominance of the medical model of disability in wider society, together with negative aspects of police ‘occupational’ culture, were identified as key factors in the participants’ decision making processes. This research concludes that institutional disablism in terms of dyslexia is widespread across some police services in England and Wales despite the extension of the disability discrimination legislation to the police service. The research concludes with some recommendations for policy and practice.

Bullying in schools is a widespread problem, attracting a great deal of interest and publicity in recent years. The negative impacts of bullying can have consequences for not just the victims, but also for the school, perpetrators and wider community members. Such consequences can be experienced instantaneously and/or at a subsequent time, often in later life. In recent years bullying has unquestionably moved into the spotlight as researchers and governments have investigated the phenomenon in greater depth. However, according to the NSPCC, it remains the top problem for children aged 11 and under contacting them and was the single biggest reason for boys calling CHILDLINE in 2015/16 (NSPCC, 2016). Bullying in primary school is, thus, of critical concern to educational policy makers and school leaders alike. Research would suggest that some schools experience more bullying incidents than others and that schools vary widely in both their approaches to and successes in dealing with the issue. Initiatives and approaches to bullying enter schools that serve particular communities, with particular experiences, individuals and histories, making them site specific. They are mediated by the practices of school leaders and are executed by staff with diverse levels of confidence, commitment and capacity. There is, thus, always variation in the ways in which practices are taken up. Even where schools profess to enact the same
approaches they often meet with widely ranging outcomes for anti-bullying, as was evidenced through this investigation. This research, therefore, set out to understand what it is that more successful schools do in initiating and managing anti-bullying practices. It investigates the less frequently examined area of the effects of head teacher practices on the success of anti-bullying cultures. Set in the contexts of five diverse primary school settings, this thesis scrutinizes the approaches of head teachers as they facilitate and cultivate practices that enable or constrain anti-bullying cultures. It utilizes a mixed methods approach, where questionnaires, observations and semi-structured interviews and focus groups enable the voices and experiences of school community members to be heard. To facilitate this the methodological approach began as one that combined the lenses of Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model (1979) and Lave and Wenger’s Communities of Practice (1991). However, it evolved to look beyond the latter and to incorporate the work of Kemmis and Grootenboer’s Practice
Architectures which champions a dual purpose of education: to help people live well in a world worth living in (Kemmis and Gootenboer, 2008), suggesting a social justice approach to this research. This is an aspect that, until recently, was generally omitted in the discourses surrounding the nature, efficiency and sustainability of developing anti-bullying cultures’ in primary schools. I show that, in successful anti-bullying schools, although policy and targeted intervention are vital for providing focus and understanding, there is a culture of
respect, care and collaboration that pervades the sayings, doings and relatings at every level. I argue that head teachers, in shaping the cultures of their schools, are fundamental to these aspects as they maneuver the inter-subjective spaces of practice architectures (Kemmis and Gootenboer, 2008). This research reinforces the need for head teachers to build upon existing practices, taking account of the histories and social and political actualities of their schools. It suggests that, taking account of these, the perceptions of players within the field
may be as important as the actuality of situated practices as they unfold.

Background: According to extensive international research, medical graduates continue to face significant challenges as they transition from student to doctor. Contributory factors include issues with preparedness, support, workplace interactions and challenges to their health and wellbeing. While research to date, in the form of attitudinal information, and common qualitative themes, has afforded us some insight into this formative period, a contemporaneous exploration of the lived experience of transition to practice is lacking. To improve work readiness and ease the transition, focused interventions have been designed and implemented; however, an overview of the research activity into these interventions is also lacking. My thesis aims to address these gaps by achieving a deeper understanding and appreciation of the experience of the first year of practice, by exploring the lived experience of anticipation of practice, the experience over the first year and the experience of intra-professional mistreatment. I will also describe the evidence for interventions to support these doctors.

Methodology: For my longitudinal exploration of the lived experience of the transition, I used the contemporary phenomenological approach of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), which aligns with my interpretivist/constructivist worldview. The methodological frameworks and guidelines of Arksey and O’Malley, Levac and the Joanna Briggs Institute informed my scoping review of the literature into transitional interventions.

Methods: I purposively recruited 14 recent medical graduates. I interviewed them prior to commencing work, regarding their experience of anticipation of practice, and again at the end of their first year with respect to their experience of transition over the year. Each participant recorded audio diaries during the year relating to their experiences. Interviews were recorded, and all data was transcribed verbatim and anonymised. Analysis was carried out using IPA to identify common themes in respect of my research questions. To explore the experience of intra-professional mistreatment during the transition I focused on the data of a subset of three participants. For my scoping review, I assembled a research team of experts. Using relevant terms, we searched Medline Ovid, Embase, PsycInfo, SocIndex, ERIC and CINAHL databases, handsearched key journals, and tracked citations to identify empirical papers describing the implementation and/or evaluation of interventions designed to address preparedness for practice. Papers were screened by abstract and title and then by full text using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data was extracted to address the focus of the review.

Results: The experience of anticipation of transition was characterised by the expectation of an abrupt transition, mixed feelings regarding commencing practice and strategic planning in anticipation of the challenges ahead. The hidden curriculum shaped participants’ understanding of what was expected of them and inspired dysfunctional strategies to meet these expectations. I identified overlapping stages in the experience over the first year. An initial emotional response, similar to the ‘transition shock’ described in newly graduated nurses was followed by an increase in confidence, challenges with workload, support and workplace interactions, and a final stage of rationalisation of the challenges encountered during the year. Distressing experiences of victimisation, disrespect and issues securing support from more senior doctors were described, which inspired some maladaptive behaviours. My scoping review revealed a lack of emphasis on real-patient care experiences, on the wellbeing of the graduate, or involvement of allied healthcare professionals, and a lack of standardisation regarding categorisation and terminology used to describe transitional interventions, with low level study design and evaluation.

Discussion: While the abrupt nature of the transition characterised the early experience of commencing work, beyond this, cultural, relational and contextual factors predominated. One way to alleviate the abrupt nature of the transition is to strengthen experience based learning as an undergraduate so that the role of senior medical student approximates that of newly qualified doctor. There is also a need for greater accommodation of the early transition period at organisational level. Deep cultural change is required to address the hidden curriculum and mitigate its negative effects. Interventions to address bullying and harassment, suboptimal supervision, issues with inter-professional collaboration and increased work intensity are also vital to improve the experience of transition to clinical practice. My findings have added to the extant knowledge relating to the transition to clinical practice and will inform undergraduate and postgraduate curricula and interventions to support this important period in the lives of medical graduates.

Psychological models of psychotic experiences suggest that social adversity (e.g., difficult family relationships, bullying) and anomalous percepts play an important role in the development of paranoid thinking, while intrusive cognitions and problems in reality discrimination play an important role in the development of auditory hallucinations (AH). The studies reported in this thesis examined a number of research questions relevant to these models, by investigating psychotic experiences in non-clinical populations (typically referred to as psychotic-like experiences, or PLEs). In Study 1 it was shown that the association between poor parental bonding and PLEs is mediated by individual differences in exposure to bullying and levels of negative affect. In Study 2 it was shown that associations between insecure attachment styles and paranoid thinking are mediated by individual differences in loneliness. In Study 3 it was shown that the association between experiencing anomalous percepts and paranoid thinking is moderated by individual differences in attachment anxiety. In Study 4 it was shown that the association between experiencing intrusive thoughts and AH-proneness is moderated by individual differences in reality discrimination skills. Finally, in Study 5 it was shown that a person’s reality discrimination abilities can be weakened through the induction of a negative mood. The studies included in this thesis, therefore, show how a variety of social, emotional, and cognitive factors interact with each other to foster or preclude the development of PLEs in ways that extend current psychological models of AH and paranoid thinking.

This thesis addressed the bystander intervention gap in the workplace bullying literature. Bystanders are employees, other than the bully or target, who are present when bullying occurs. They are well placed to intervene but often they do not. Previous research suggested that increased bystander intervention may lead to a reduction in workplace bullying. Although suggestions for bystander intervention in workplace bullying were found in the literature none had been implemented or measured. As field research this thesis addressed a real-world problem. The participating employees were from a large, mainland UK organisation where workplace verbal bullying had been identified as a problem. Therefore a strategy for bystander intervention in workplace verbal bullying was designed, implemented and measured. The new Responsible Intervention Decision Strategy (RIDS)model combined existing theories on the bystanders’ decision process and responsibility to support bystander intervention. This quantitative study developed and validated a new 15 item Responsible Bystander Intervention in Verbal Bullying (RBI-VB) metric. The concise metric was incorporated into a practical, single-page survey to test the RIDS model in the field. Shop-floor employees participated in pre and post-intervention surveys (N = 1501) and one of four conditions. The RBI-VB metric demonstrated that responsible bystander intervention was positively correlated to bystander willingness to intervene in workplace verbal bullying. This could be increased with RIDS-based training or the in-house campaign; and was positively correlated to self-reported bystander intervention. The study is limited as it took place within a single UK organisation. However, the findings demonstrated the efficacy of the RIDS model and the practical application of the RBI-VB metric for baseline measurements, monitoring and to assess bystander intervention programmes. Willingness to intervene can be increased and this relates to actual intervention but most bystander intervention was carried out by previous targets of workplace verbal bullying. The implications are discussed.