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106 YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT A study of the literature reveals a growing polarity between: 1 design theories derived from geometric exercises applied to architectural drawings, which have been criticized for an inadequate foundation in history, and 2 conclusions based solely on documentary research, which either ignore the evidence of the architecture or insist upon an exclusively practical interpretation of the use of geometry for which evidence does exist. Given this divergence, it was considered necessary to re-examine primary sources in translation, allowing the authors to speak for themselves, rather than attempt to weigh subsequent interpretations of their writings by others. Regarding the architectural evidence, in order to test the geometric hypothesis, a set of criteria has to be developed for evaluating each case. This is designed to reflect known or likely working practices of architects and the existence of known architectural groupings among the examples selected. The likely outcomes are the discovery of a high degree of correlation between the geometry and the plans in examples dated from a particular period early in the middle ages. A historical explanation for the use of such geometry is anticipated, together with a further explanation for its apparent presence from the particular period in question. A review of the documentary sources concerned with medieval architectural practice is expected to reveal possible internal evidence for the use of geometry as hypothesized, which has previously been overlooked.
Sample proposal 4 Middle management and the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO): a postmodernist study of management in practice (Suanne Gibson, School of Education, Oxford Brookes University) The aims of the investigation in the MPhil phase are: 1 to define the managerial roles of the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) 2 to assess the present nature of management of SEN policy in schools; the focus will be upon assessing the traditional modernist approach of management models 3 to design a framework for practice for the management of school-based SEN policy taken from a postmodern perspective. The aim in the PhD phase will be: 1 to contribute to the knowledge base of middle management in schools in England within the context of the postmodernist debate. The present emphasis on inclusive education has emerged following developments in informed government policy, local education authority (LEA) provision, school provision and resource allocation for special educational needs (SEN). This series of developments began with the Warnock Report (1978) noting that 20% of all pupils have some form of SEN. A decade later the Education Reform Act (1988) presented the principle that was to drive SEN practice; this focused on all pupils participating as fully as possible in