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English evangelicals in the period 1960-2010 have been marked by their negativity and violence towards gays. However, they have also consistently condemned homophobia during this period (and often seemed unaware of their own complicity in it). This thesis draws on the work of René Girard to analyse popular English evangelical writings and the ways in which they have implicitly encouraged violence against gays even whilst explicitly condemning it. This analysis of evangelical writings on homosexuality is placed in its historical context by drawing on the work of relevant historians and social scientists. It is further contextualised by reference to an analysis of evangelical writings on holiness during the same period. The thesis argues that English evangelical violence towards gays is a byproduct of internal conflicts within English evangelicalism. Gays are seen as prototypical liberals and treated as scapegoats for an evangelical identity crisis. Homophobia and fundamentalism are discussed and rejected as alternative explanations. It is argued that the crisis in English evangelicalism in the period 1960-2010 has had a distorting effect not only on approaches to homosexuality, but also to other areas of English evangelical spirituality. Finally, evangelical atonement theology is examined, and found to contain both elements that legitimise sacred violence and resources to help evangelicals resist it.

In this thesis we investigate quantum resonant effects in the atom-optical ὁ-kicked accelerator. Using Floquet analysis, we theoretically study the time evolution of quantum systems which have a classical counterpart that exhibits chaotic dynamics. We introduce quantum resonance and quantum antiresonance features of the quantum ὁ -kicked rotor by setting the pulse period to an integer multiple of the half-Talbot time. The model is generalised to the atom-optical ὁ -kicked accelerator by considering thermal alkali atoms subject to a periodically pulsed standing wave potential formed from counter-propagating laser beams. The dynamics of the momentum distribution is analysed by evaluating the momentum moments and momentum cumulants. We derive analytic solutions for these observables for the ultracold and thermal limiting cases, and observe fractional quantum resonant phenomena. Simulations have been developed to examine the time evolution for individual momentum eigenstates, which we use to construct a non-interacting finite temperature gas, based upon a Monte Carlo method. We investigate the temperature dependence of the ὁ-kicked rotor, neglecting gravitational effects, and show that the atomic dynamics is highly sensitive to the initial momentum width of the gas. A generalisation of the model to quantify the transition between the ultracold and thermal temperature regimes of the atom-optical ὁ -kicked accelerator is examined using linear regression analysis. High order quantum resonance features are found to be sensitive to the relative acceleration between the atomic gas and the pulsed optical standing wave. We assess the dependence of the ὁ -kicked accelerator upon gravitational acceleration, quantifying the width of the high order quantum resonance features, which we use to assess the prospect for precision measurement using a finite temperature gas.

This thesis has applied the time-resolved FTIR emission technique to the study of a number of gas phase cheinical processes, including photodissociation, chemical reaction and energy transfer. Two particular types of species are considered: vibrationally excited NO, formed from photolysis, reaction and energy transfer pathways, and organic radical compounds formed from photolysis and involved in secondary reaction processes. Vibrationally excited NO has been observed as one of the reaction products following the photolysis of N02 over a range of wavelengths in the region 193 - 327 nm. Emission from the fundamental and first overtone bands was analysed to obtain the nascent vibrational distribution at each wavelength considered. The nascent vibrational distribution was found to be strongly inverted and wavelength dependent. Photolysis at A > 244 nm proceeds via one reaction pathway; 1 A>244nm )NO+Oep) (1) and the NO(v) distribution is of atmospheric importance in determining the global concentrations of NO measured from satellite emission studies. There is a smooth trend in the inverted distributions with increasing photon energy. Nascent populations were used to produce a new model to predict the wavelength dependence of the nascent populations of NO(v) formed following photolysis of N02 in the range 265 - 370 nm. Such work has been shown to provide useful new information for atmospheric models of global concentrations of NO. Atmospheric models of NO concentrations also require input parameters for the rates of relaxation of NO(v) in collision with quenching molecules, in particular 02. The rate constants for vibrational quenching of NO(v = 1 - 16) in collisions with a number of species have been measured. Vibrationally excited NO was produced by both the 193 nm photolysis of N02 and the reaction of OeD) with N20, initiated by the 193 nm photolysis of N20. Quenching rates were measured for collisions with O2, He, NO and CO2. The vibrational distribution of NO(v) formed following photolysis of N02 at 193 nm was confirmed to be bimodal with a secondary maximum at v = 14 allowing new rates of relaxation of highly vibrationally excited NO to be determined due to the relatively large nascent populations of these levels. At A< 244 nm at second reaction channel for N02 photolysis opens up and in order to assess the contribution of this channel to the overall distribution at such wavelengths a new nascent distribution was determined following photolysis at 226 nm. The distribution was found to be bimodal and could qualitatively be described by the sum of the Oep) and OeD) channels. Vibrationally excited NO was also formed following energy transfer from NO A z:E+(v = 0), which was achieved by 226 nm pumping of ground state NO. Nascent vibrational distributions were determined for a variety of collision partners and NO was shown to be populated up to at least v = 20. The distributions obtained varied with the collision partners: NO, CO, COz and Ar. Distributions of ground state NO(v) were also acquired under conditions such that the internal energy in the products was governed by the emission coefficients. Comparison of distributions obtained by collision and fluorescence and those predicted from the emission coefficients allowed a purely collisional NO(v) distribution to be estimated when NO and CO were the quenching molecules. Emission was also observed from high vibrational modes of CO and COz indicating a direct energy transfer from NO A z:E\v = 0). Argon was found to not significantly affect the distribution at the pressures employed but afforded a dramatic increase in intensity from NO(v) that was shown to be due to hole burning and subsequent collisional hole filling. The second part of this thesis describes the generation and reactions of organic radical species. The photolysis of vinyl bromide and vinyl chloride at 193 urn was considered and nascent vibrational populations of the HBr and HCI products have been measured and found to be indicative of a three-centre formation mechanism. Secondary reaction products of the vinyl radical (CZH3) produced from this photolysis process have also been considered and mechanisms for their formation proposed. The presence of buffer gas has been shown to generate new features which have been assigned to vibronic emission from the secondary reaction product CzH. Products of the reaction of Oz with the vinyl radical, formed from the 193 nm photolysis of vinyl bromide and vinyl chloride, have been identified. In particular the existence two primary reaction channels have been confirmed by the assignment of emission from CO2, HCO and HzCO, and the mechanism of one secondary reaction channel has been proposed by analysing the kinetics of emission from CO(v). In addition a new reaction channel has been proposed by considering emission from CzHz. A qualitative branching ratio between these three reaction channels has been proposed. The reaction of CZH3 with O2 is of significance to combustion processes and a rate constant for the process has been determined to be 9.5 x 1O,tZ cm3 molecule,l S'I by assessing the kinetics of emission from HzCO. As a comparison to the generation of simple unsaturated free radicals, such as the vinyl radical, the photolysis of acetone at 266 nm to generate the simple saturated methyl radical was investigated. Primary reaction products were identified as the CH3 and CH3CO radicals and emission was observed in the C-H stretching region that was assigned on the basis of its kinetics to the methyl radical recombination product CZH6• CO(v = 1 - 6) was also observed as a secondary product of the process and attributed to photolysis of CH3CO on account of its significantly hotter nascent vibrational distribution than that obtained in previous studies at 193nm.

A growing body of literature examines entrepreneurial intentions of people aged fifty and over who can be referred to as 'later life' entrepreneurs (e.g. Curran and Blackburn, 2001; Singh and DeNoble, 2003; Weber and Schaper, 2003). However, there is a significant gap in our knowledge about entrepreneurial (social) intentions for people in the same age group. This study uses qualitative research incorporating twenty-eight in-depth interviews with social entrepreneurs aged fifty and over as well as seven expert interviews with members of the Age Action Alliance. These were used to explore the factors these social entrepreneurs consider important in their decision to set up their social enterprises, their 'everyday' lives, and the challenges they face and how they might be supported. An interpretive social constructionist approach was adopted to examine and make sense of the participants' daily lived experiences, from their perspectives. Data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and the findings revealed the participants were driven by 'making a difference' to people's lives, with each having a different interpretation of the factors they considered important in influencing their entrepreneurial (social) intentions, affecting their social orientations and their entrepreneurial (social) identity. The participants displayed a strong sense of commitment to the social need they identified. Nevertheless, despite some perceiving income generation to be significant for facilitating their ability to achieve their social objectives, others viewed income generation to be incompatible with their social mission. This study examines the subjective views of social entrepreneurs aged fifty and over and the ways in which they construct their 'everyday lives' as social entrepreneurs. It provides insights about the interplay between the participants' motives for setting up their social enterprises and their age and entrepreneurial (social) identity. In addition, this study provides an in-depth understanding of the benefits the participants gained during the social entrepreneurial process, whilst bringing significant insights into the challenges and barriers they experienced and how they might be supported. As such, this study extends theoretical and empirical research on social entrepreneurship and social enterprise by developing our understanding of the 'everyday' lived experiences of social entrepreneurs in 'later life' from their own perspectives. It is recommended this study be used as a guide for policy makers and organisations that are supporting social entrepreneurs in this age group. Future research should, therefore, be carried out to examine entrepreneurial (social) intentions of different age groups, as more investigation is needed to explain whether the support required by social entrepreneurs is age specific. Furthermore, it is suggested this study could be useful for academic researchers who would like to further their knowledge on the underlying factors that drive those aged fifty and over to become social entrepreneurs and how they view their 'everyday' lives from their perspectives.

Location independent working (LIW) is a term used by the case study organisation, Mercia University, to describe the practice of working in locations other than a traditional office setting. Staff wishing to become LIW sign up to a new working arrangement whereby they are provided with a laptop, printer and smartphone, and forgo the right to an office on-campus. A longitudinal ethnographic research strategy incorporating interviews, diaries and the author’s own reflective journal were used to explore issues associated with academic employees following the formal introduction of an LIW scheme into the Business School. An interpretivist reading of labour process theory was adopted to examine and make sense of academics’ daily, lived experiences. Data were analysed using the Framework method (Ritchie and Spencer 1994) and findings revealed an entrenched managerialist culture driven by private sector business models. Work intensification and long-work hours were common and this was exacerbated by constant connectivity to mobile technologies. Academics displayed a strong sense of academic identity and a desire to be treated as professionals. Nevertheless, a fundamental shift in the nature of the relationship between academics, managers and students was observed and socially constructed divisions arose between LIW and office-based academics. A new conceptual model of control-resistance-compliance is proposed to explain the complex interplay that exists at and between structural and organisational contexts, managerial strategies of control and individual experiences of academics. As such this study extends and refines existing theoretical understandings of the academic labour process. It is recommended this study be extended beyond the Business School and Mercia University to other establishments. Further research should also be carried out to consider gendered and cross-cultural perspectives on the issues raised and more investigation is needed into the impact of LIW on student and personal relationships. Finally, it is suggested formal adoption of LIW practices in other institutions could facilitate opportunities for academics to exercise greater levels of freedom, autonomy and control.

Services have a dominant role in the world economy, with an increasing number of organisations adopting business models that incorporate product and service provision, in an effort to offer holistic customer experiences. Service innovation, as an avenue for growth, is becoming a major strategic focus in organisations worldwide. Service innovation research however, does not reflect the high level of interest in innovation shown by practitioners. There is a long tradition of product-related research that describes the conditions underlying service development in relation to products. However, evidence in the literature suggests that services are different from products and their features uniquely shape the innovation process. A significant research gap exists in the ways innovation projects are implemented in services. Existing studies fail to provide complete models of implementation that go beyond prescriptive step-by-step process manuals and to cover a variety of service industries that are as heterogeneous as products and services. This study attempts to fill these gaps by focussing on the implementation process in the under-studied service context of hotels, an industry that provides unique insights into the way interpersonal interactions shape implementation. Findings in this study derive from qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews with managers and employees involved in two service innovation projects rolled out to European countries in 2011. Guided by a critical realist philosophy that perceives the world as mind-independent but accessible only through our subjective interpretations, the role of the researcher in this study was to approach innovation implementation by searching for valid explanations behind the participants’ experience. The study has found that the implementation process is an iterative process of planning, training, launch, review and routinisation, and follow-up periods. These are repeated as the implementation cascades through large organisations from the regional level to local organisational units. Secondary adoption and adaptation processes permeate implementation, whereby choices made at higher levels are evaluated at lower ones in a continuous cycle of decision-making. A variety of factors relating to the individuals involved, the firm where the innovation is implemented, the innovation concept, and the execution of the process have been linked to the realisation of the projects. Among these factors, knowledge, organisation of informal activities and the innovation-market fit have been shown to have the most significant positive influence on implementation. The events in the process have been explained by a combination of four mechanisms as diverse as sensemaking, organisational learning, organisational politics and emotional reactions to the implementation process. Thus, this research sheds new light on the theory and practice of service innovation implementation and paves the way for further research into the field.