http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/62 2026-02-03T19:14:02Z 2026-02-03T19:14:02Z Karaim, Nedal Omran Abdulsalam http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/6672 2026-01-29T16:09:29Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: An investigation into the effects of applying the activities of communicative language teaching approach on English learners’ speaking skills in Libya Authors: Karaim, Nedal Omran Abdulsalam Abstract: The central research question guiding this study is as follows: ‘To what extent do specific Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) activities enhance the speaking skills of university students compared to Grammar Translation Method?’. In the Libyan context, studies such as Alhmali (2007) and Orafi and Borg (2009) have investigated English language teaching, yet there has been limited emphasis on enhancing the speaking skills of Libyan English language learners. The significant gap in research on enhancing the speaking skills of Libyan English language learners is underscored by the considerable challenges they face in developing speaking proficiency, primarily due to an education system traditionally focused on grammar and a lack of exposure to spoken English in daily life. The combination of a GTM-focused educational approach and limited exposure to English creates a significant barrier for Libyan learners aspiring to achieve speaking proficiency. To address the gap identified by Richards and Rodgers (2014) suggest that CLT activities can enhance learners' speaking skills. Therefore, this study explores the impact of CLT activities specifically problem-solving and role-play on Libyan learners' speaking skills. The study hypothesizes that learners exposed to CLT activities will improve their speaking abilities more than those taught using the Grammar Translation Method (GTM). Using an experimental design, data from 45 participants were analysed over six weeks. Participants were divided into three groups: a control group using GTM, and two experimental groups engaged in CLT activities one focusing on role-play and the other on problem-solving. The study employs pre- and post-tests to assess speaking proficiency, measuring fluency, accuracy, and vocabulary use. The control group followed GTM instruction, while the experimental groups practiced CLT activities, with the role-play group simulating real-life situations and the problem-solving group tackling communicative challenges through collaboration and verbal interaction. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that all groups improved between pre- and post-tests. The CLT role-play and CLT problem-solving groups showed greater improvements than the GTM control group, with the overall largest improvement observed in the CLT role-play group, across all measures of speaking skills studied in this research. Description: PhD Thesis

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Jiang, Yiheng http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/6664 2026-01-23T12:08:46Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Shares Valuation Throughout the IPO Procedure: A Perspective from Game Theory Authors: Jiang, Yiheng Abstract: Ever since the appearance of economic activities, the idea of game theory has been closely connected to the development of economic framework and applications. For years, the game theory, as an economic topic, has been rarely applied in the research regarding the financial market. As one of the most intriguing topics in the financial market, asset valuation has consistently developed with theoretical knowledge. The initial public offering (IPO) which has been regarded as the most lucrative equity investment, the share valuation is the pivotal issue of the financial service industry. As observed in my industrial interviews, pricing the shares for the IPO is not the skill of the valuation, but the art of the valuation. The first essay is mainly focus on the IPO contract designing issue of the company which initiates the IPO. Different from the conventional one-by-one contract design, the first essay proposes the cross application of the auction theory and bargaining theory to facilitate the channel coordination. Compared with the conventional bargaining theory which commonly uses the ‘price’ as the strategic variable, here uses the ‘quantity’ as the strategic variable. This strategic variable setting will make the bargaining more suitable to the practical situation in the IPO. In the model, there will be two different types of contracts, the first is the customised type and the standardised type. The customised contract enables the seller and the underwriter to reach their own contract while the standardised contract refers to identical contract for every underwriter. The research finds that the different strategic variable setting would shape the initial demand function in great degree, while the seller and the underwriters will have different preferences toward the types of the contract based on their relative bargaining power. As for the auction setting, if all the underwriters are risk-neutral, then the equilibrium result would be the same regardless of the auction types. But for the future planning of the seller, the seller tends to adapt the second price auction which could better help the seller to get the insight regarding the true valuations. The second essay is concentrating on the area of the facilitation of channels. For different negotiation mechanisms, the bargaining parties usually consider themselves. Under the assumption that each participant is rational, the bargaining results tend to be beneficial for individual participant. This would result in the low efficiency throughout the whole channel. In articles that discuss the possible solution of improve the channel efficiency, some possible methods have been proposed including side payment, buyback contract etc. However, the fundamental idea of the channel efficiency improvement remains untouched. In the essay, it has been found that once the model has been set, the total profit that can be earned by all participants is set. What side payment act throughout the channel coordination is first create a bigger pie and split the pie based on the relative negotiation power of participants. In another word, the side payment helps both participants to be better off compared to the initial independent bargaining situation, but the individual participant cannot fully enjoy the incremental profit, and the partial profit sacrificed under the side payment condition is dependent upon relative bargaining power. The third essay is concerning the bargaining situation regarding the seller and the underwriter when the market demand is a stochastic information and remains private to the underwriter. The bargaining mechanisms concern price matching and simultaneous negotiation. The model comprises belief construction procedure regarding the underwriter and offer proposition process under an alternating negotiation mechanism. The model illustrates the appropriate disclosure behaviour of the underwriter and preferences of the seller regarding the negotiation mechanism has certain deviations compared with the circumstance of the certain market demand base. The existence of the outside option could help the seller to avoid the exploitation from the underwriter who possess the private information. This essay provides managerial insights to both the seller and underwriters regarding the appropriate behaviours throughout the bargaining procedure that comprises stochastic elements. Description: PhD Thesis

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Hopkins, Claire Louise http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/6662 2026-01-23T11:42:08Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: How can Educational Psychologists support the implementation of training on Trauma Informed Approaches in classroom practice? Authors: Hopkins, Claire Louise Abstract: This thesis explores the barriers and facilitators for teachers implementing learning from professional development (PD) on Trauma Informed Practice (TIP) into their classroom practice. It consists of four chapters: a systematic literature review (SLR), an ethical and methodological critique, an empirical project, and a reflexive synthesis on the process of engaging in this research. Chapter 1 is a seven-stage meta ethnography. Initial scoping searches highlighted a gap in research in England drawing on teacher experiences of implementing TIP. The SLR therefore broadly considers: ‘What is known about teacher perceptions of training and implementation?’. Six papers were reviewed and synthesised. Findings highlighted several socio-political influences on the experience of teaching generally, with implications for the transfer of knowledge acquired through training into classroom practice. Specifically, there were differences between the content of training, and the context in which teachers practice. The level of teaching experience as well as school community factors may influence whether this is experienced positively or negatively. Opportunities to reflect and collaborate with peers were considered helpful for the implementation of training. Chapter 2 is a critical and reflective exploration of how the project progressed from the findings of the SLR to the empirical research. It also documents personal and professional experiences, and philosophical positioning that have shaped the decision-making process. Choices relating to methodology, research methods, and ethical considerations to the empirical project are outlined. Chapter 3 describes the empirical project, an exploration of four teacher's accounts of the barriers and facilitators to implementing learning from training on TIP in their school settings. The research utilised semi-structured interviews, and transcripts were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). An overarching model was generated to reflect how participants were making sense of their experiences through professional development, intrapersonal factors, community factors, and contextual factors. Implications are discussed and guiding principles for EPs developing and delivering training on TIP were offered, based on the principles of trauma informed approaches offered by SAMHSA (2019). Future research should consider broadening the scope of participants to privilege other staff voices (e.g., support staff), and children and young people attending a school implementing TIP. Chapter 4 includes a reflexive summary of my personal and professional learning through engaging in this research. It considers what I have learned about myself through engaging in IPA and research linked to relational approaches, a renewed appreciation for uncertainty, implications for my next steps as a qualified Educational Psychologist, and a critical reflection on TIP through a social justice lens. Description: DAppEdPsy Thesis

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Hardacre, Jill http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/6660 2026-01-23T11:20:50Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Teaching Excellence Framework’s Role in Constituting Gendered Inequalities in the Neoliberal University Authors: Hardacre, Jill Abstract: This thesis builds on feminist literature critiquing gendered practices in the university. Drawing on the feminist new materialist onto-epistemology of Karen Barad, which brings our attention to the productive nature of measurement apparatuses, it explores how neoliberal measurement tools in higher education help (re)constitute gendered inequalities amongst academic staff. Specifically, the research aims to ascertain how the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), a recently introduced measurement tool in the university, intra-acts with neoliberal values, research-intensive university cultures, and gendered norms, to produce gendered inequalities. The research analyses government policy papers surrounding TEF and qualitative provider submissions from the twenty-one Russell Group universities that applied for a TEF accreditation between 2017 to 2019. It analyses these documents using Bacchi’s framework, What is the Problem Represented to Be?, to interrogate and make visible the values and assumptions underpinning TEF and its emergence in its particular shape and form. It further examines how TEF in turn embeds and enacts these values and assumptions across three key aspects of higher education. First, the very nature of the university and its institutional goals and objectives. Second, the conception of teaching excellence within institutions. Third, the academic subject, and the production of ‘valued’ and ‘marginalised’ academic identities. The thesis analyses how these processes intra-act to constitute gendered subjects, practices, and inequalities. It shows three key dimensions of the gendering process. First, that the TEF process represents a continued privileging of ‘objective’ measurement practices, which feminist scholars have argued to be deeply flawed. Second, that TEF (re)produces the devaluation of practices that have historically been feminised. Finally, that the material effects of these practices reinforce patriarchal norms, by homogenising spaces where knowledge is made at the expense of a more inclusive set of values and identities. Description: PhD Thesis

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z