She established nursing services in Abu Dhabi. Tierney: Alison Tierney was one of the first nurses to earn a PhD in the United Kingdom. Director of Nursing Research at the University of Edinburgh for 10 years later promoted as a personal chair in nursing research (McEwen & Wills, 2011). She joined Roper and Logan as they began to develop, refine, and publish the Activities of Living (ALs) model.