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ERA is a digital repository of original research produced at The University of Edinburgh. The archive contains documents written by, or affiliated with, academic authors, or units, based at Edinburgh that have sufficient quality to be collected and preserved by the Library, but which are not controlled by commercial publishers. Holdings include full-text digital doctoral theses, masters dissertations, project reports, briefing papers and out-of-print materials.

Information on current research activity including staff, projects and publications is available via the Edinburgh Research Explorer.

Now showing 1 - 40 of 41

Recent Submissions

Children and Young People Bereaved by Parental Domestic Homicide – a focus on the United Kingdom and Ireland
(University of Edinburgh, 2026) Devaney, John
This brief report conveys key findings from the study “Children and young people bereaved by domestic homicide: Understanding home, relationships and identity”, with a focus on the United Kingdom and Ireland. It complements the report focusing on the findings from the Australian phase of the study. The report of the Australian phase of the study can be found at: https://doi.org/10.26188/24630690
Civic Network Research: A New Methodology for Conducting Ethical and Policy-relevant Peace and Conflict Research
(2026) Adikhari, Monalisa; Beaujouan-Marliere, Juline; Benson-Strohmayer, Matthew; Cooper, Luke; Darkovich, Andrii; Epple, Tim; Ghariba, Mazen; Gueudet, Sophie; Kaldor, Mary; Majid, Nisar; Myanmar Policy Institute; Theros, Marika; Turkmani, Reem; Weigand, Florian
This policy brief outlines the concept of ‘Civic Network Research’ as it has been developed by the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep) research programme. Civic Network Research is one of PeaceRep’s main methodological approaches next to its peace analytics and data-driven work. The brief is aimed at leadership of academic institutions and policymakers as well as funders of policy-relevant peace and conflict research.
Mapping Ukraine’s Democratic Space (2023 – 2026)
(PeaceRep: The Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform, 2026) Nesterenko, Roksolana; Darkovich, Andrii
Between 2023 and 2026, local democracy in Ukraine transitioned from mass emergency mobilisation to a state of institutional survival. This shift is marked by acute democratic fatigue and a critical personnel crisis as civic leaders mobilise into the Armed Forces. Activists now bear a dual burden of managing community recovery while struggling for their own economic survival, a dynamic that has narrowed the active civic core and made local resilience dangerously person-dependent rather than institutionalised.
Education access policy in Malaysia's education blueprint: a phenomenological study of equitable quality in public preschools
(The University of Edinburgh. College of Humamities and Social Sciences, 2026-04-30) Ismail, Hazhari; McNair, Lynn; Smith, William; Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia
This study explored the policy engagement of Malaysia’s National Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Blueprint), focusing on the lived experiences of teachers in public preschools. The study aimed to uncover how teachers interpret and implement the Blueprint, particularly in promoting equitable quality education within Malaysia’s preschool education context. Adopting a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology, the study utilised semi-structured interviews and reflective journaling with twelve preschool teachers in Kuala Lumpur. This methodology enabled a thorough exploration of the interplay between policy texts, institutional power and teachers’ backgrounds. Data were analysed through Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis (IPA), revealing systemic tensions between policy intent and classroom realities. Through IPA, six superordinate themes emerged: systemic barriers, negotiated agency, and moral-emotional dimensions were evident in policy interpretation; and operational challenges, praxis in adaptation, and identity-ethics were presented in policy implementation. The study critiques bureaucratic performativity and resource disparities that undermine equitable access, advocating for policy clarity, participatory teacher involvement, equitable resource allocation, and collaborative governance. By theorising teacher agency through Bourdieu’s framework and hermeneutic phenomenology, the research repositions teachers as co-constructors of policy knowledge, urging responsive reforms that reconcile systemic constraints with localised innovation. Furthermore, the study emphasises the critical role of government agencies in supporting teachers through clear guidelines and resources. It also underscores the importance of enhancing policy clarity and communication to ensure that teachers can effectively implement the Blueprint. By centering teachers' voices and experiences, the study provides valuable insights into the complexities of educational policy implementation and offers practical recommendations for improvement. Finally, the study contributes to the understanding of how educational policy was interpreted and enacted in diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts. It highlights the need for the Blueprint (and any policy) that is adaptable to local realities and responsive for all children. The findings have implications for policymakers, teachers, and researchers, offering recommendations for enhancing equitable quality education in Malaysia.
Innofusion or Diffusation? The Nature of Technological Development in Robotics
(Research Centre for Social Science / University of Edinburgh, 1988) Fleck, James
In this paper, it is argued that the process of "innofusion" - that is, the collapsing together of innovation and diffusion - is of fundamental importance in the development of process innovations such as industrial robotics. With innofusion, important, even radical, innovations can evolve in the context of use, during the implementation process. Innofusion is characteristic of a certain type of technology - configurational technologies - which are distinct from system technologies, in that they lack an overall system level dynamic. Configurational technologies are particularly subject to influence by contingencies, and particularly dependent for their development upon the role played by users. The structure of knowledge associated with technological innovation is examined to identify the role of different agents in the technological innovation process. In these terms, innofusion can be characterised as an experimental learning process which crucially involves a range of agents across an industrial sector, and across several organisations. Consequently, policies aimed at encouraging industry sector learning effects may be the most appropriate for facilitating innofusion.