Our research activities include investigations of specific phenomena, the construction of theoretical models, and the design and implementation of methods and instruments to support our investigations.
Investigations
Our research includes investigations into:
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The structure and content of the ‘Telic Attractors’ (Aspirations and Attainments) and ‘Telic Repellers’ (Problems and Threats) that individuals characteristically declare as being the underlying motivations for their day-to-day activities and long-term ‘life projects’;
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The stability or volatility of these Telic Attractors and Repellers across various time frames;
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The extent to which Telic Attractors and Repellers are dependent upon, or independent of, the individual’s current social, cultural and institutional context, and the ways in which the Telic framework is modified when the individual moves between different environments;
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The extent to which Telic Attractors and Repellers provide a coherent and consistent account of the motivations behind an individual’s day-to-day activities;
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The extent to which day-to-day activities are governed by influences other than the Telic Attractors and Repellers that can be elicited from the individual; these other influences would include, for example, ingrained habits, ‘hidden agendas’, or constraints and injunctions imposed by third parties;
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The ways in which an individual’s progress along his or her Telic trajectory (in terms of, for example, the attainment of Aspirations and the avoidance of Threats) is facilitated, obstructed or subverted by the activities of other individuals within his or her immediate social network.
Theoretical Developments
We are constructing and elaborating a Conceptual Framework that is intended to:
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Map the structure and dynamics of Telic phenomena;
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Provide an account of the underlying ‘Meta Telic’ processes that generate, govern and constrain the more visible structures and dynamics of Telic phenomena.
Methods, Procedures and Instruments
Our research methods, procedures and instruments include:
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Both quantitative and qualitative elements
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Bespoke instruments for the elicitation and analysis of Telic data
