PhD Final Thesis April 2013.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

Thesis Keith Gale 2013CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT1.1 Context of thesisThe Professional Doctorate (DProf) is described as an “an award at a doctorate levelwhere the field of study is a professional discipline and which is distinguished fromthe PhD, by a title that refers to that profession” (Powell & Long, 2005). Whereas aPhilosophiae Doctor (PhD) features a contribution to knowledge, a ProfessionalDoctorate seeks to advance knowledge and professional practice. The Council forGraduate Education reinforces the vocational nature of a DProf by describing theprofessional doctorate as “a programme of advanced study and research which,while satisfying the University criteria for the award for doctorate, is designed tomeet the specific needs of a professional group external to the University, and whichdevelops the capacity of individuals to work within a professional context” (UKCGE2002:62). The relevance of research directed towards solving problems encounteredin the built environment is significant to this thesis which undertakes an examinationof contemporary procurement custom and integrates this with published theory tounderstand practices and procedures. An addition to tacit experience within aprofession by discovering practical solutions to real life problems is an approach towhich this research seeks to provide a contribution to knowledge. Results from thisresearch anticipates a significant increase in existing knowledge of the interaction,operation and motivational aspects of construction frameworks, thereby ‘making adifference’ as described by Middlewood et al (1999).1.2 Definitions and contextual positioning of terms used within this researchThe research examines a selected construction framework being used by a publicsector local government authority in order to discover which motivational driversbetween participants are being displayed and the encouragement and incentivesbeing deployed in order to increase outcome performance of infrastructureconstruction projects. Within this thesis and context the following definitions areused:1