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Pentecostalism is often heralded as a movement which thwarts the platonic body-soul/spirit dualism, through its emphasis on embodied spirituality. Recent recognition of the 'progressive' pentecostal stream has been used to further prove that pentecostals have evolved from their perceived initial stance of 'otherworldliness'. However, by looking at the history of classical pentecostalism and its contemporary 'progressive' expression in England, I argue in this thesis that pentecostalism has been characterised by a tension between a pneumatic dualism and a pneumatic integralism in relation to human embodiment. By pneumatic dualism, I propose that the Spirit is encountered by many pentecostals historically and in the present, as one who engages the human body in its physiological sense for the sake of healing and to deepen personal piety and religiosity. However, though the Spirit engages the body in this limited sense, she is not commonly identified with the problems of body politics in the church or the world whether in the matter of class, gender or racial injustice. In this thesis, I show that there has been a consistent minority within classical pentecostalism in the USA and the UK whose theological ethics have been informed by pneumatic integralism, within which the Holy Spirit's presence is expected to liberate aspects of human embodiment beyond the narrowly 'religious', including in political terms. For this minority within pentecostalism, the Holy Spirit is recognised as one who attends to the oppressions which stems from the racialising, gendering and classing of human bodies, and who calls the church to respond. I argue that an integrated pneumatology in relation to the human person can be seen in Jesus' resurrection by the Spirit. The retention of Jesus' scars post-resurrection offers a basis for pentecostal ethics in which attentiveness to oppression and the practice of solidarity with the marginalised become markers of the Spirit-baptised.

Children and young people with intellectual disability (ID) are at increased risk of mental health difficulties and emotional and behavioural problems. Using large-scale survey data and statistical modelling techniques, this thesis has been able to build on the knowledge base of emotional and behavioural difficulties in children and young people with ID. In Chapter 1, key definitions and context are discussed, along with an overview of conceptual and theoretical perspectives of child and family wellbeing and key existing literature in the field. This is followed by four empirical chapters (Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5). Chapter 2 used structural equation modelling to explore whether parental mental health mediated the relationship between poverty and child anxiety (N = 648) using data from the first wave of the 1000 Families study and comparing anxiety in children with ID only (n = 323) to children with ID and autism (n = 325). Following this, Chapter 3 looks at the measurement of emotional and behavioural difficulties in children with ID (N = 626), examining the clinical utility of the parent-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in a large community sample from the first wave of the Families study. Chapter 4 uses two waves of data from the 1000 Families study to examine the bidirectional relationship between child internalising and externalising difficulties and parental mental distress, life satisfaction, and carer burden (N = 650). Building a longitudinal framework, Chapter 5 uses group-based trajectory modelling to examine the developmental trajectories of anxiety in individuals with ID from childhood to adulthood (N = 474). After these empirical chapters, the final chapter (Chapter 6) summarises and discusses the findings of the individual studies, and provides implications for theory, educational and clinical practice, and future research. In summary, the thesis showed that children and young people with ID had high levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties, but contextual factors such as socio-economic position and parental mental distress were key to understanding these findings. The SDQ had clinical utility as a brief screen of emotional and behavioural difficulties in children and young people with ID, with clear implications for research as well as educational and clinical practice. Child internalising and externalising difficulties were relatively stable over time, and longitudinal research suggested that individuals with ID followed several distinct trajectories of anxiety across development.

This thesis explores the racist and sexist redefinition, regulation, and dehumanisation of refugee and asylum seeking women (RASW) in the UK. A feminist approach is taken to investigate how RASW are constructed as 'crimmigrants' and subjected to crime control measures through a 'crimmigration regime' that restricts their access to their human rights. The project aims to centre the lived experiences of RASW at the intersections of race, gender, and nationality, and also consider the ways in which they respond to their experiences. Qualitative methods were utilised to collect data through one-to-one conversations with 25 RASW over a 12-month period, with consideration for epistemic oppression and developing reciprocity in feminist research. These participants, as well as eight community allies, became involved with the project through the Meena Centre in Birmingham, and particularly the Baobab Women's Project. The study finds that RASW are criminalised beyond that which convicted criminals experience, dehumanised to extremes, and punished severely for supposed immigration crimes. This redefinition is enacted within the modern hostile environment RASW through 'immcarcerality,' which forces them to exist in carceral spaces and restricts their ability to access their human rights. These range from large scale spaces like immigration detention centres, to everyday 'immcarceral' spaces like asylum accommodation and Home Office reporting centres. The thesis concludes with a discussion about the agency enacted by RASW in responding to and challenging this dehumanising criminalisation.

Honour based violence (HBV) is a form of gender-based violence perpetrated against a victim, most often a female relative, with a view to restore honour. Though HBV is receiving more media and academic attention, there is little consensus on the definition or characteristics of HBV, or how it fits into the wider spectrum of violence against women and girls (VAWG). The current thesis aims to explore the topic of HBV. Chapter One provides an introduction to the topic of VAWG. The need for an intersectional perspective and ecological framework in understanding the various factors that contribute to different forms of VAWG is discussed, as well as interpretations of honour and how it relates to VAWG. In Chapter Two, a systematic literature review examines research related to attitudes towards HBV in Middle Eastern and South Asian populations. The findings highlighted several factors (e.g. gender, education, socioeconomic status) that influence attitudes towards HBV. Chapter Three presents a critique of the PATRIARCH risk assessment, emphasising some of the problems in assessing risk of HBV without a consistent definition or understanding of its characteristics in relation to other forms of VAWG. Chapter Four presents a qualitative research study using thematic analysis (TA) to explore the portrayal of femicide in the UK media by comparing news reports on two forms of femicide, honour killing (HK) and intimate femicide (IF). The results outlined similar and differential themes in reporting, highlighting a focus on culture in reporting of HK and a focus on individual traits and circumstances in reporting on IF. Finally, Chapter Five presents a discussion of the main findings and conclusions drawn across the thesis, along with recommendations for future research and practice that could help to further our understanding of VAWG across societies.

Family homelessness in Dublin is complex and increased dramatically from 2014 to 2020. This phenomenon appears to reflect a dysfunctional housing market, lack of security of tenure for tenants in the private rental sector and fair rents. Socioeconomic policies and the promotion of housing as a commodity, rather than a right that secures safety, security, and family development, leave many families facing homelessness. The overall aim of this study is to critically analyse the causes and consider family homelessness in Dublin, Ireland, in the period July 2014 to January 2020, taking account of the prevailing political, socioeconomic, and housing context of the period. To achieve this aim. a critical realist theoretical framework is employed that attempts to analyse and explain the causes of homelessness for this study. The methods employed are semi structured interviews, with homeless parents and /or guardians, and with practitioners working in family homelessness services. Children's voices are included in the research using creative methods to empower them to discuss what is important to them about their homelessness, and to capture their views. Template thematic analysis using a critical realist framework is used to analyse the data. In the context of the Waldron, Hynes, and Redmond (2019), this case study gains a critical realist perspective of a small number of families who experience episodic and chronic homelessness. Many homeless parents, / guardians have experienced a range of adverse childhood events including bereavement with subsequent family fracture being common in their own childhood, this combined with economic hardship, poverty, and lack of suitable housing options meant homelessness for them. The results demonstrate that many families cannot compete for housing in a market economy where housing is a commodity. The move from the building of houses to housing incentives has not worked in reducing family homelessness in the study period. Children voiced their dissatisfaction with play facilities, overcrowding, lack of privacy and the difficulties in engaging with and attending school. This study attempts to view the family as a holistic unit and looks not only at housing, but also at the policy and legislative framework in which it operates including socioeconomics, education and politics, the difficult childhoods, and the difficult life experiences of the current homeless individuals that make up family units. In conclusion, it is essential that a right to housing be inserted into the constitution as recommended by the Constitutional Convention in 2014, or at least enshrine a statutory right to housing in legislation. Provision must be made for families who cannot compete in a housing market where housing is a commodity, political decisions about increasing the supply of houses for these families is more important than the demand side housing subsidies that do not appear to address the problem. Homeless families and particularly children n are experiencing adverse events now because of their homelessness, that have-to-have serious consequences for their future in terms of health, wellbeing, education and prospects for themselves and the state.

Aims: Previous research has documented the medical point of view of stillbirth, with some studies looking at the emotional impact of mothers holding their babies. Others explore the effect of stillbirth on mental health in such outcomes as PTSD, PND, anxiety and depression. Yet, despite recognising the impacts on mothers, there is little detail in this previous research regarding the nature of supportive or unsupportive interactions following stillbirth. This study aimed to explore women's experiences of support following stillbirth. Method: Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 14 women who had experienced a stillbirth. The interviews were analysed using Braun and Clark's (2006) method of thematic analysis. Results: The analysis yielded 17 themes organised into four domains: (1) The need for connection with my ...; (2) A system of support - is it there?; (3) I guess I need to find support myself; and (4) The joy and fear of pregnancy after stillbirth. Limitations to receiving support included not wanting to burden others, lack of guidance, fear, and being pregnant again, so talking about the loss was too much. Opportunities to speak openly were rare, but when women could find support, they felt understood and validated. Having the ability to talk in a private and preferably 1:1 space created a very positive reaction in and was a strong desire of the mothers. Conclusions: The findings are consistent with previous research, suggesting a great need for further infrastructure and research on the specific support required by women and broader members of their networks following stillbirth. They also confirm that social support following stillbirth is immensely valued. There is a potential role for healthcare professionals to work together to offer support and guidance to women and their families in navigating the initial period of grief and aiding them in managing any subsequent pregnancy.

Situated in a feminist perspective, this qualitative study explored the embodied ageing experiences of seven women between the ages of 30 and 34, as they encountered the first wave of physical change and identity shifts. Their accounts were analysed using Critical Narrative Analysis which resulted in three overarching themes: fertility: urgency and ambivalence; cusp of awareness: noticing and forgetting; and surviving ageing: crisis and agency. The themes were then destabilised by way of the feminist lens of interrogation and further synthesised. The discussion centred on how powerful social discourses intersect to construct imperatives that shape the female identity: the 'appropriate' female life course; the 'good' woman' is "forever young"; the 'good' woman is 'ageless' and in control; and the dilemma of 'feminism versus femininity'. The female ageing experience was found to be characterised by deep contradiction, incongruence, and senses of 'should' and shame. Identities are narratively negotiated, perpetually formed and performed anew. Implications for Counselling Psychology theory and practice were subsequently explored and suggestions were made for the direction of future research.

In this thesis I am chiefly seeking to discover, via an examination of the Incel worldview, the justificatory logics of contemporary antifeminism. I am not attempting to explain that worldview, but rather to understand what animates it. Incel is facilitated by a combination of neoliberal ideas and institutional changes occurring under neoliberal regimes, which are then filtered through an antifeminist framing and culture which explicitly links male and masculinised sexual anxiety to an imagined feminist threat. My account therefore refuses the common portrayal of Incel as an outlying or aberrant phenomenon, and the major findings of this thesis reflect my argument that what animates the Incel worldview is precisely its reproduction of, and opposition to, specific dimensions of neoliberalism. The fostering of violence towards women, 'feminised' society and ultimately the [Incel] self; the painful embrace of competition as a characteristic of all social behaviour; the Incel community's self-identification as transgressive and emancipatory; and the claim that feminist thinking constitutes the dominant ideological power in contemporary society, are all a product in different ways of this entanglement.

This work interrogates the extent to which cultural values, namely norms of femininity, are implicit in the DSM-5's diagnosis Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). In order to do so, narratives of seven women diagnosed and/or self-diagnosed with SAD are obtained by means of individual, in-depth, semi-structured interviews. By privileging these accounts, this thesis shifts the power to define this 'disorder' from the medical professional to women with SAD themselves, and serves to illuminate the socially anxious woman's experience. Participants' testimonies are placed into dialogue with DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for SAD and associated 'co-morbidities' and the resulting interchange is viewed from a perspective informed by anti-psychiatry, feminism, and feminist science studies. In this way, the diagnosis and treatment of women with SAD is problematised, and, more broadly, psychiatry's position as an authority discourse on (women's) 'madness' is called into question. Given participants' discussions of the effects upon them of external structural sexism and norms of femininity in their containing culture, this thesis theorises women's SAD as a 'culture-bound syndrome'. Moreover, in the spirit of the anti-psychiatrists, I ask whether these women's social anxiety is not a rational response to the circumstances in which they find themselves. By focussing on the significance of social, especially gendered, external conditions, this research departs from existing work on women's overrepresentation among those with SAD. In turn, it provides a corrective to biologically reductionist and gender biased accounts which have sought to explain this imbalance.

Globally, young people's mental health difficulties are on the rise. The gap in well-being (i.e., mental well-being [MWB] and school experiences) between children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families and peers from socioeconomically advantaged families has increased. Within policy circles, parenting has been seen as a key mechanism to narrow this gap. Over the last two decades politicians in the UK, from New Labour to Conservative governments, have increasingly attributed children's well-being to what parents do for their children, rather than acknowledging the role of parents' socioeconomic status in shaping adolescents' well-being and school experiences. This research study investigated how socioeconomic factors, gender, and parenting contribute to the mental health and school experiences of adolescents, with and without SEN. By examining adolescents with and without SEN, this study revealed differences between SES, gender, parenting and adolescents' well-being and school experiences, beyond those usually seen for children without SEN. A mixed research methodology is used. Associations between family socioeconomic status and gender and parenting, and the well-being of children with and without SEN were examined using data from the Millennium Cohort Study, focusing on 11 and 14 year olds. In addition, semi-structured interviews with eight parents, four of whom have children with SEN, offered rich data to examine in depth aspects of the quantitative findings. The findings revealed associations between non-optimal parenting, socioeconomic disadvantages, mental health difficulties and negative school experiences among adolescents with and without SEN. While parents in poverty were aware of optimal parenting behaviours, due to economic hardship and lack of quality time to spend with their children, they had difficulties enacting them. The findings opposed the stigmatization of non-optimal parenting with poverty culture explanations. Namely, non-optimal parenting was not a cultural reflection of parents in poverty but a consequence of the socioeconomic constraints and limited affordances of parents in poverty. The findings showed the cumulative and unique contributions of socioeconomic factors, parenting, and gender to adolescents' wellbeing. Namely, adolescents with and without SEN in poverty were more likely to have mental problems and negative school experiences, and in all socioeconomic levels, girls were more likely to have internalizing problems while boys were more likely to have externalizing problems. The findings also showed that because, for adolescents with SEN, parenting and fulfilling the pre- and mid-adolescents' needs require extra time and economic resources, poverty affects the well-being of pre- and mid-adolescents with SEN more than that of prexi and mid-adolescents without SEN. The findings stress how vital economic well-being is to parenting to assure adolescents' well-being, and suggest that policies aimed at improving parenting and the policies related to adolescents' mental health and SEN should be comprehensive to include improvements to the socio-economic well-being of families and also to take on board gender inequality.

The impact of parenting on child development, and the association between parenting and mental health are widely acknowledged. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a particularly complex mental health disorder which affects emotion, relationship, and identity stability. The dysregulation and impulsivity experienced by individuals with BPD has far-reaching implications in parenthood; if one struggles to manage their own emotions, how difficult might it be to help an infant to regulate their behaviours? This thesis aimed to explore the parenting perceptions, parenting knowledge, and observed behaviours of mothers with BPD and their children. Study one systematically reviewed all published studies pertaining to maternal BPD, following PRISMA reporting guidelines. Mothers with BPD were more likely to have insensitive, overprotective, and hostile parenting behaviours with their offspring compared to those without BPD. Their children had a number of adverse outcomes including BPD symptoms and insecure attachment patterns. Findings suggest maladaptive parenting is one potential pathway by which vulnerability may be transmitted from mother to child. For the empirical research, maternal parenting knowledge, parenting self-efficacy, and emotional availability (EA) were explored using questionnaires, Q-sort task, and observational methods (STROBE guidelines followed). Twenty-six mothers with BPD were compared to 25 clinical comparison (depression), and 25 healthy comparison (no mental health difficulty) mothers, with analysis at both a categorical (diagnostic) and dimensional (severity) level. Study two found mothers with BPD had the same level of ideal sensitive parenting knowledge as mothers with depression and mothers with no mental health difficulties. Parenting self-efficacy was lower for mothers with BPD and depression compared with healthy comparison mothers and was strongly associated with severity of symptoms. Mothers with BPD know how to parent but thought they were not parenting well. In study three, observations of mothers interacting with their child confirmed this; mothers with BPD were less sensitive, less structuring, more intrusive, and more hostile than healthy comparison mothers, and were more likely to be categorised as complicated EA (inconsistent and 'apparent' sensitivity). Except for losing composure under stress, further analyses of the EA subscales revealed their maladaptive behaviours appeared to be largely well-intentioned but misguided. Children of mothers with BPD also had EA difficulties with responsiveness and involvement, and were more often categorised as complicated, detached, or problematic EA. Symptom severity was associated with maternal EA difficulties; parenting knowledge was also associated with intrusiveness and hostility. Child EA difficulties, however, were most strongly associated with maternal sensitivity over and above that of mother's mental health difficulties. Multi-method coding highlighted the benefit of using a global assessment for clinical groups. There are several implications for clinical intervention including improving maternal symptoms, perceived parenting efficacy, and maternal sensitivity. Parenting psychoeducation may help with reducing intrusive and hostile behaviours but may not be sufficient for sensitivity and structuring. Maternal sensitivity should be a key focus for intervention as findings suggest regardless of diagnosis, sensitivity may be important for improving child EA. Research to further understand why knowledge does not directly transfer to parenting behaviours is warranted.

According to the Centre for Education Statistics in Saudi Arabia, women are under-represented in academia, particularly among the higher academic ranks such as associate professors, and full professors. Likewise, Saudi women academics have shown there to be a lack of representation in senior leadership positions. The majority of women academics can reach the highest possible position as a college vice dean. This study examines the status of Saudi women working as college vice-deans (VDs) in the field of higher education to provide an in-depth understanding of their career progression and the features that shape this route. Looking specifically at a university in Saudi Arabia, this work explores the experiences of female VDs and elicits their own perceptions of their career paths within the academic world, along with what advances and hinders their career progression. A mixed methods approach was used which included analysing the content of institutional documents by examining the institutional legislations and policies, as well as interviewing 14 female (VDs). There were 54 closed-ended Likert-Scale questionnaires provided from the female Heads of Department (HoDs) who have direct dealings with the female VDs, and who are familiar with aspects of their managerial life in the college. The data obtained indicates that a lack of preparation for management posts and the lack of authority of the women VDs were perceived as the main challenges in the career lives of the women in reference to their college vice-deanship position. Many of the female VD participants experienced delays in promotion and in being considered eligible for advancing their rank. The interviews clarified the reasons stated for this delay in their rank upgrade, including a lack of research productivity. This study recommends tackling the lack of authority by expanding their authority. In addition, introducing a specific deadline by the university for academics for the purpose of research production and easing their managerial loads would help to increase their research productivity and in turn help to advance the women's academic rank. Combined, these may help to advance the careers of women VDs in Saudi Arabia and enable them to overcome the institutional difficulties while providing the required support to enable them to advance along their career paths.

This thesis investigates indigenous adivasi experiences of livelihood transitions and policies of affirmative action in the Southeast Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork conducted with people from across the Koya adivasi group, this research shows how the benefits of affirmative action policies filter unevenly through communities and households. Koyas are categorised by the Indian government as a Scheduled Tribe (ST), and on this basis are eligible for affirmative action measures such as land protections, subsidised grain, and reserved seats in schools and state employment. Unequal access to such policies, which are broadly intended to integrate adivasis into the regional economy and society, exacerbates class distinctions within the Koya community. Through the process of transition away from small-scale shifting cultivation towards greater dependency on the state, Koyas' sense of having a "distinctive culture" is reified, as their inclusion is premised on the reiteration of their "backwardness". The thesis charts an objectification of community identity as the logic of state recognition becomes intertwined with emic understandings of cultural differences and affinities. To investigate these processes the thesis moves through ethnography at various scales of social life: the household, the village, and the wider region. By exploring how interlocutors differentiate themselves from others within these spaces, I show how particular notions of ethnic, gendered and generational difference are produced, experienced and reiterated, through social reproduction, social interactions, and engagement with state discourses. This argument is grounded in fine-grained ethnography of social relations and informed by a historical perspective on entrenched forms of ethnic, and caste/tribe difference in South Asia. The empirical material stretches from the differences in aspirations between siblings and closely related families within a village of shifting cultivators, to the differences felt to be deeply ingrained between caste and tribe communities across the wider region.

Soundscapes of Feminist Protests in London: Collective Identity Construction through Sonic Resonance Aiming to fill the gaps in sound studies of protests, and contribute to understand the relationship between rationality, meaning, affect, and emotion in social movement studies, in this thesis, I explore the role of, sound, rationality, meaning, affect, and emotion in creating a collective identity, within Feminist Protests in London. Based on, in-depth interviews, participant observation, sonic ethnography, and the analysis of sonic diaries, this research question was investigated from, organizational, sonically descriptive, and participative perspectives. From an organizational perspective, and with the intent to build collective identity, sound is strategically used to produce Sonic Performances including Collective Singing, Music Broadcasting, Speech, and Drumming, which taken together constitute the Feminist protest soundscapes. The meanings of songs and speeches are articulated in such a way as to connect and embed participating individuals to the overall protest frame of gender inequality. Meanwhile, emotionality and affectability of musical styles, voices of speakers, and drum sounds are strategically considered, to unite individuals in collective experiences. From a sonically descriptive angle, and via protest soundscape analysis, it was concluded that the meanings of the general protest frame and the expression of collective emotions and affects correspond, which dominate the protest soundscapes at once. It generates a collective, rational voice, responding to sonic surroundings including the leader's calls, other participant's sonic contributions, and the sounds of opponents. From a participative point of view, by partaking in Sonic Performances, participants relate protest claim such as, unequal pay, and women migrant's injustice, to the general protest claim of gender inequality. Furthermore, being affected by positive emotions and sonic affect, participants felt that they were sharing similar experiences, thereby creating a sense of belonging. In this process, however, rational reflection takes place, as some participants chose not to attune (align themselves) with the sonic collective, if and when the meanings articulated in Sonic Performances misrepresented their identity. As rationality, meaning, affect, and emotion resonate in Sonic Performances, Sonic Resonance was conceptualized to explain, the sonic strategies of activists, the fabric of the protest soundscapes, and the process of collective identity formation through the resonating experience of rationality, meaning, affect, and emotion, as enabled by the protest soundscapes. These entities are mutually reflecting and dialectically reinforcing in sound, constructing collective identity. In sum, this thesis contributes to explore 1) the relationship between the rational and the affective dimensions of contentious action; and 2) the interaction between affect, meaning, rationality, and emotion in exploring collective identity formation, especially from an experiential account.

Even though camp society in Nazi concentration camps is a well-researched topic, and gender has become an established line of historical inquiry, homophobia in the prisoner society remains a lacuna in Holocaust research. This is a significant omission, as homophobia was constructed in the camps and permeated the prisoner society. Studies by Ulrike Janz, Insa Eschebach, Claudia Schoppmann, Cathy Gelbin, and Anna Hájková have called for further examination of queer conduct in the camps, as well as an analysis of 'homosexuality' and homophobia. My research builds on their work and it substantiates the hypothesis that there were gendered differences in homophobic expressions. Examination of gendered differences in homophobic expressions has hitherto been absent from the historical literature; my dissertation addresses this gap in studies of the Holocaust. The broad objective of my research is to examine the intersection of the history of the Holocaust, the history of Nazi Germany and the history of sexuality. I have sought to deepen our understanding of everyday life in the camps and the prisoner society, using sexuality and homophobia as a lens. My thesis reconstructs survivor stories, outlines homophobic accusations, and analyses survivors' understandings of 'homosexuality' and their expression of homophobic views. The thesis places homophobia in the camps in the context of attitudes to 'homosexuality' in war time and pre-war Germany. It also analyses the functioning of homophobia among different groups of prisoners with reference to sociology and gender theory. It further examines differences between men's and women's responses to 'homosexual' conduct by analysing their narratives and testimonies in detail. I show that women's attitudes towards queer conduct were more condemnatory than those of men, and I suggest possible reasons for this gendered difference. My sources include self-testimonies, both from the immediate post-war period and from later decades; oral histories; published and unpublished testimonies; and court proceedings. There is a notable lack of queer personal testimonies in the source material: homophobia is evident not only in the contents of the existing survivor source material, but also in the paucity of survivor literature which expresses queer perspectives or recounts the experiences of those accused of same-sex conduct.

Why did Muslim polygamy come up as a social problem in need of reform amongst various groups in late colonial India and how did it come to be so strongly associated with Indian Muslims? The 'problem of Muslim polygamy' was raised by different groups in India between 1861 and 1947. The British, Muslim reformers and feminists, Hindu nationalists, and Indian legislators all engaged in debates on Muslim sexuality and conjugality which produced polygamy as a distinct Muslim practice. However, discussions around the Muslim practice of polygamy were not straightforward and took different turns as they navigated the circumstances created by colonialism, religious reform, feminism, and communalism. Muslim polygamy was thus a different kind of problem for different people, from one of civilisation to modernity, patriarchy to demography. Muslim polygamy generated such exciting debates that by the end of this period the social 'common sense' of the 'problem of Muslim polygamy' was consolidated. This common sense was consolidated through legislation that preserved the legal status of Muslim polygamy, which in turn reinforced notions of Muslim 'backwardness', demographic increase, and patriarchy in the Indian imagination. My work denaturalises this 'common sense' of naturally polygamous Muslims. I argue that the 'problem of Muslim polygamy' was deployed by different groups in late colonial India as a surrogate through which both the colonised and the coloniser sought to reconfigure the sexual regime. Muslim polygamy was an ideological problem that was sustained through a trope of deviant Muslim sexuality by which different groups discursively deconstructed and reconstructed their own sexual identities and conjugal configurations. Muslim polygamy thus became a site of contestation on which various identities were formed and power structures reconfigured, as different groups sought to govern the bodily practices of their respective communities. Discussions on polygamy thus acquired different characteristics, shed old ones, and evolved as they moved through different cultural, gendered, political, and social locations.

Despite its claim to have never been officially colonized, Victorian England had a tremendous influence on Thailand - economically and culturally - especially after the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. When the first generation of Thai royal scholars started to return home from England in the 1890s, they played an important role in conveying Victorian literature into the country. In the following decades the works of Marie Corelli, H. Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, and William Le Queux, among others, enjoyed popularity in Thailand. As the book publishing industry rapidly expanded in the 1920s, the Thai literary sphere was flooded by translations, adaptations, and imitations of the Victorian novel. This flood ushered in a 'chaos in Thai letters', and it was not until 1929 that the Thai novel proper began to consolidate. This thesis focuses on recovering the direct links between Victorian Britain and Thailand in the production, consumption, and appropriation of Victorian fiction. Grappling with transgender studies, book history, translation studies, and the world-literary system, I dive into the chaos to scrutinize what I shall call the trans-Victorian: the makeover of modern Thai literature via textual manipulations and Victorian literary elements. Trans-Victorian, hyphenated, embodies the non-binary, ambiguity, and deception, and will open a new space for discussion on literary hybridity and serve to connect the different literary spheres. The thesis will tackle this complex category, providing a nuanced understanding of both Thai and Victorian literature in the evolving field of world literature.

This thesis examines how far the heteronormative family in Chile is being challenged and the possibilities for building more egalitarian families. It uses a combination of qualitative methodologies: in-depth interviews and observation in participants' homes and analysis of family photography. Taking a feminist approach to investigating gender relations in families, the thesis is the first in Latin America to adopt Morgan's (1996) framework of 'family practices' and Finch's (2007) concept of 'displaying family'. The 25 middle-class and 20 working-class participants live in six types of families: married, cohabiting, stepfamilies, same-sex partnerships, lone parents and people living alone. The empirical investigation covers three kinds of family practices. First, practices that are important in constituting participants' understanding of family: taking responsibility, offering support and coming together to celebrate the people and animals who participants count as family. Second, gendered divisions of labour and the allocation of resources: men's better employment opportunities give them greater access to money and leisure time than women while the home is women's domain, although some men said they valued their role as a padre presente. Third, family photography is a practice that preserves other family practices and represents what participants value in their family life. Heterosexual middle-class and working-class families hold similar understandings of family and gender divisions of labour, although middle-class women benefit from employing empleadas and middle-class men contribute more to childcare. Middleclass families 'display family', along with their class status, with expensive holidays and restaurant meals. Working-class families value opportunities to 'do family', but have fewer opportunities to display family in public and are concerned to maintain respectability. Overall, the thesis finds that 'doing family' usually depends on doing gender, so there is little opportunity to challenge heteronormative expectations. However, gay and lesbian families and a few heterosexual families are creating new family practices which challenge heteronormative gender divisions, with lesbian participants in particular exploring new ways of making family.

Increase in ethnic and racial diversity in UK requires National Health Service to deliver care to non-English speaking patients. The literature suggests that effective pain treatment and psychological treatments for chronic pain must be tailored to meet cultural experiences of pain and belief about pain treatment. Yet there appears to be lack of research into UK- based psychological therapy experience of ethnic minorities and non-English speaking patients. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study that explored the psychological therapy experience of Turkish-Speaking women with chronic pain. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with six women who had received psychological treatment in National Health Service for their chronic pain. An interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was applied in the research process, identifying five superordinate themes: living with chronic pain, when paths crosses psychology, my pain is real, out of control and control within the system and outcome of therapy. Each superordinate theme consisted of several subthemes which described participants' experience. Passive position taken up by participants during their psychological therapy experience emerged as significant in Turkish-speaking women with chronic pain. Cultural and systemic factors that maintain this passive position within psychological therapy are explored. Input directly from Turkish-Speaking women can be combined with findings from other studies to improve understanding of psychological therapy experience of individuals with chronic pain from different cultures. A better understanding of cultural differences and systemic challenges in the experience of psychological pain treatment can provide support for tailoring services to meet the needs of individuals from ethnic backgrounds.

This thesis studies three topics in development economics and economics of gender as summarized below. Chapter 1 provides results from a randomized controlled trial undertaken in collaboration with colleges in New Delhi to study the effect of sexual harassment awareness training for men on women's self-reported sexual harassment and on relationships between men and women. I find that approximately three to four months after the training, both sexual harassment and opposite sex relationships go down. I show that this is consistent with an increase in men's perceived peer disapproval against sexual harassment in their class. Chapter 2 studies gender gap in endogenous information seeking about one's own performance. We design a laboratory experiment in which subjects perform a male stereotypical task and then choose to receive feedback from two differentially informative feedback structures. We then introduce variations in the costs and benefits of choosing more informative feedback structure. We find that women seek less information than men but that introducing strategic concerns removes this gender gap. Chapter 3 tests for attribution bias by gender which means attribution of unexpectedly good outcomes to ability for men and luck for women and vice versa, in case of unexpectedly bad outcomes. We set up a principal-agent framework using a laboratory experiment. Principal's outcomes are affected by both the effort of the agent and a random component. In particular, higher the number of questions answered correctly by the agent, the higher is the expected payoff from a lottery that is assigned to the principal. We then test whether the principal differentially pays according to the gender of the agent. We do not find evidence of attribution bias by gender but find instead that the principals pay lesser to agents of the same gender.

The damage caused to children and families when a parent is sentenced to imprisonment has been the subject of research for several decades, with increased outputs in the last ten years. This commentary will draw together the eight publications that I have submitted for my PhD by publication and confirm the contribution to knowledge they have made. All publications relate to different aspects of the impact of imprisonment on children and families. My publications are set out in Table 1 below. The commentary will begin by setting out the issues facing children and families impacted by parental imprisonment drawing on recent and seminal literature. The emphasis of the literature reviewed will be on the impact of sentencing mothers to imprisonment since five out of my eight publications focus specifically on imprisoned mothers. It will then apply Ashworth's Lifeworld fractions framework (Ashworth, 2016) to use as a lens through which to understand and enrich the qualitative data contained in my publications. This framework contends that any lived experience can be explored by dividing it into eight different fractions: Embodiment; Selfhood; Sociality; Temporality; Spatiality; Discourse; Project and Moodedness. This commentary will demonstrate my contribution to knowledge in relation to each of these fractions and explore how they inter-relate. It will also show how the findings link to existing literature. It will conclude that any intervention for children and families impacted by parental imprisonment that is going to be truly beneficial and holistic needs to address all these eight fractions. This commentary will therefore not only set out my contribution to knowledge but will also constitute a contribution to knowledge in its own right.

Separation and divorce can be a difficult and disruptive transition for all members of the nuclear family requiring family members to adapt to new forms of interacting with one another. Parents with shared custody arrangements undoubtedly spend a significant amount of time away from their adolescent children, more so than in two-parent households. Thus, this research investigates how shared custody parents communicate with their adolescent children, both face-to-face and apart. In the 21stcentury, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be defined as thetechnological devices used by individuals as well as their corresponding applications and softwares (Rudi et al., 2014). ICTs are now a fundamental component of family communication therefore, communications technology is included in the research's definition of communication and the research aims to understand how parents feel about using different communication platforms to communicate with their adolescent children. Twelve parents took part inin-depth, semi structured interviews to discuss their experience of communicating with their adolescent children in their shared custody homes. Parents were required to have shared custody, at least one adolescent child and a smartphone in order to take part in the research. Thematic Analysis was used throughout the research process, with Braun and Clarke's (2013) step-by-step method being used to analyse the interviews. Four master themes emerged, each with several sub-themes. The master themes generated include:Communications technology sustains the parent-adolescent relationship; Live communication is irreplaceable; Communicating with a developing adolescent child; and Parents' revaluation of their communication in light of their separation. These themes are examined and discussed within the study alongside links between the literature and the participants' experiences. The research outlines the strengths and limitations of the study as well as proposing ideas for further research in addition to discussing the implications of the study on the field of Counselling Psychology.

Psychosis has been characterised as the experience of a loss of contact with reality and severe changes in self-experience. Research has illustrated that a first episode of psychosis (FEP) is a distressing experience, not only for the individual but also their loved ones. Siblings play a crucial role in supporting their loved one during an onset of psychosis; however, they are emotionally impacted by this experience and have their own needs. A critical literature review on sibling experiences of having a brother or sister with a FEP revealed an apparent gap in the existing knowledge base, as this phenomenon appears to be under-researched within the United Kingdom. In particular, the experiential realities of siblings have not been explored at all within the British South Asian community. This is surprising, considering that the prevalence of psychosis appears to be higher within this population when compared to the indigenous community. It is therefore crucial to deepen our understanding of how siblings who identify as British South Asian make sense of their experiences and what impact this has on them. By adopting a phenomenological approach, the current study has attempted to expand on the literature base by answering the following research question: How do second-generation British South Asians experience having a sibling with a first episode of psychosis? Six participants were recruited through volunteer sampling and participated in semi-structured interviews. These interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The analysis rendered novel findings which are depicted through three superordinate themes: 'An Emotional Storm: conflicting feelings leading to a sense of overwhelm'; 'Avoidance vs. Approach'; and '"It's shown me who I am": awareness of growth and transformation'. This research hopes to provide further insight and increase knowledge in a relatively under-researched field and give voice to a marginalised group.

This thesis shows that the history of cryptanalysis in Britain in the first half of the twentieth century has focussed on the contribution of men to the virtual exclusion of that of women, and produces evidence to prove that, from the First World War onwards, women, although in a minority, were working at the same level as their male counterparts, despite their lack of mention in the published literature which generally holds that only men worked as cryptanalysts during this period. The present research identifies that this was not the case, and that though the number of confirmed female cryptanalysts remains small and elusive, these women were nonetheless important for the role that they played. This thesis examines published work on British cryptanalysis between 1914 and 1946, demonstrating that these accounts are almost exclusively by men and about men. The research presented uses original documentation and interviews to advance and place on record knowledge about female cryptanalysts who worked in high-level codebreaking during time both of war and peace in a gendered approach. The analysis sets out the case studies of six women - four cryptanalysts, one linguist and a decoder - who typify the roles that women held in cryptanalysis between 1914 and 1946, providing an in-depth study of their backgrounds and roles they carried out for the British Admiralty's Room 40, the War Office's MI1(b) and HushWAACs, and the Foreign Office's Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). The thesis provides a detailed historiographical chronology in a gendered approach of the women's role in cryptanalysis from the beginnings of modern codebreaking in the First World War, through the interwar creation of GC&CS, to the vast cryptanalytical organisation at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, setting out the context of relevant literature and archival materials. Definitions are derived for key terms whose meanings have changed over the period, causing confusion and erroneous conclusions to be drawn, and key themes are identified which can be used in the identification of future female cryptanalysts. This thesis clearly identifies that women were working as high-grade cryptanalysts during the period 1914 to 1946, and offers pointers and analytical tools to potential further identifications in future research.

Aim: The present systematic review encompassed qualitative research regarding the lived experiences of imprisoned mothers in Western countries separated from their children. Methods: Three databases (PsychINFO, Web of Science and Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts [ASSIA]) were systematically searched between January 2021 and March 2021 using terms informed by the aim of the review. Grey literature and reference lists were also screened for relevant articles. The search resulted in 16 studies which were relevant to the review aims based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Study findings were analysed using Atkins et al.'s (2008) four-step meta-ethnographic process. Results: Analysis revealed three themes: Motherhood, Guilt and Regret; and Children as Incentives. Maternal identity was characterised by conflicting self-perception as a "good" mother and image of self as a negative role model as a mother. Such experiences resulted in feelings of guilt and regret amongst mothers who accepted that their life choices had compromised their motherly roles. However, opportunities to maintain contact with children and reunify upon release served as an incentive for mothers to rehabilitate. Conclusions: Imprisoned mothers would benefit from enhanced opportunities to maintain attachment bonds between them and their families, with improved recognition of the dyadic impact of mother-child separation due to imprisonment. Policy recommendations include the implementation of psychologically-informed and compassion-focused approaches to support rehabilitation.

AIM: To explore how women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) experience conventional forms of feminine identity. RESEARCH METHODS: A systematic literature review of published literature and grey literature produced between 2000- 2020 was performed, following recommendations from PRISMA and eMERGE guidelines. The studies were retrieved from 10 electronic databases (APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, International Political Science Abstract, Embase, CINAHL, ASSIA, ProQuest Central, Dissertations & Thesis, Open Grey and EThOS). Search terms related to the concepts of PCOS, feminine identity, selfidentity and experiences were incorporated into search algorithms. Inclusion criteria consisted of: participants aged over 13 years; qualitative research designs; focus on the experiences of women with PCOS and identification of themes related to feminine or self-identity. A total of 874 records were identified and 15 articles satisfied the inclusion criteria. Quality assessments were conducted by two reviewers using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist tool. Meta-ethnography was used to synthesise the included studies. RESULTS: Three main themes and six subthemes were identified: identifying differences (Outside in and inside out), meaning (Threats to womanhood and threats to motherhood) and responses (Controlling and avoiding). CONCLUSION: This review provides support for raising awareness of PCOS in both healthcare settings and in public, a need for suitable psychoeducational materials, policies to encourage exercise participation and the potential for third wave CBT interventions.

Exploration of female sex workers' experiences and perceptions with accessing healthcare in Malawi: a qualitative study Female sex workers (FSWs) in Malawi, like other similar settings, face major challenges accessing healthcare services including those provided by public and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Understanding FSWs' experiences and perceptions of accessing healthcare could improve service delivery to this vulnerable group of women by enhancing service utilisation and reducing their potential of being infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and sexual transmitted infections (STIs) thus reducing transmission. Study 1 explored FSWs' positive experiences with access to healthcare and Study 2 explored a wider range of FSWs' experiences and perceptions of accessing healthcare services provided by public and non-governmental organisations in Malawi. Qualitative methods were employed to explore FSWs' experiences and perceptions of accessing healthcare services in Malawi. Study 1 collected data, using face-to-face semi-structured interviews from 45 FSWs, 10 healthcare professionals (HCPs) and six service providers from Theatre for a Change and Family Planning Association of Malawi. Three main themes emerged from data of Study 1: (1) Approaches to improving access to healthcare, (2) Effects of the NGOs on provision of healthcare services to FSWs, and (3) Professionals' awareness of FSWs' needs. Three main themes also emerged from the data of Study 2: (1) Enduring structural violence; (2) Enduring direct violence; (3) Combating structural violence. The empirical evidence derived from these studies about positive experiences with access to healthcare and structural determinants of negative experiences and perceptions of accessing healthcare, particularly in public health facilities and the preference for provision of services in 'Hotspots' could be used, along with other evidence to review current policy and inform future plans. Development should be aimed at improving HCPs' awareness of the needs of FSWs while making services more acceptable and approachable in Malawi for this high risk population.

Grandparents are an important source of family support for parents of children with Developmental Disability (DD). The appropriate amount of grandparent support may improve parental adjustment and can therefore lead to better quality of care for their grandchildren. Given the increasing life expectancy and its impact on grandparental capacity to support their families, a review of new knowledge in this area is needed. This meta-synthesis encompassed qualitative research of grandparental experience of a child with DD. A systematic literature search identified 11 studies which were synthesised thematically. Three analytical themes emerged: Adjustment, Blessing and a Curse, and Components to Involvement. Adjustment detailed grandparental journey of adaptation following the birth of a child with DD into the family and comprised three themes: Reactions to Disability, Loss and Double Burden. Blessing and a Curse analytical theme described grandparenting a child with DD as both rewarding and challenging, and comprised of Rewards of Grandparenting a Child with DD and Challenges of DD. Components to Involvement analytical theme identified a number of facilitators to grandparental involvement in supporting their family and encompassed two themes: Grandparent-Parent Relationship and Social Factors. Implications: Grandparents have their own support needs. They require access to information regarding their grandchild's care. To improve family functioning it may be beneficial for clinicians and educators to promote grandparental involvement in supporting their families.

Feminist and post/decolonial scholarship has shown that gender and race, as systems of power, produce and are produced by militarism and coloniality. This study offers an empirical contribution to this body of work, examining the relationships among gender, race, militarism and coloniality in UK national security policymaking. Based on semi-structured interviews with 60 national security officials and 182 hours of participant observation, this thesis examines how organisational cultures in UK government departments involved in national security policymaking are gendered and racialised, and how this shapes policy discussions. It asks what racially-coded constructions of masculinity and femininity are invoked by and produced through policy discussions, examining how these appear in the systems of meaning, norms and epistemologies that constitute organisational cultures. Through a discourse analysis of counterterrorism policy discussions, I show how the discursive linking of different security practices to constructions of masculinity and whiteness legitimises liberal militarism. Noting the increasing presence of women and people of colour in national security policymaking, I explore how these officials are experiencing and (partially) remaking organisational cultures. While some women have succeeded in valorising notions of white femininity that challenge certain masculinist norms, I argue that this does not challenge the liberal militarist worldview that is part of the organisational script to which securocrats are expected to adhere. Further, I argue that norms entrenching ignorance concerning the role of national security policies in perpetuating systemic racism make it difficult to challenge militarist and colonial policies. I conclude that while the national security community is increasingly diverse, shifts in organisational cultures have favoured constructions of gender and race that sustain liberal militarism. Antimilitarist and anticolonial feminist efforts to reimagine security governance must go beyond diversity initiatives to dismantle the gendered and racialised norms, systems of meaning and epistemologies that underpin militarism and coloniality.

This dissertation is motivated by the question that asks how the ideal Millennial constituent is produced, and reproduced, in American society as a response to crisis. The interrelated social, economic and political crises of the 21st century have had profound implications for the Millennial generation, and this study aims to show that traditional markers of adulthood have not become delayed for the Millennials who conform to the ideals espoused by the neoliberal social contract. I posit that the contemporary social contract is gendered, and as such, neoliberal feminism is the central framework through which I theorize the feminine ideal. I draw on the key tenets of neoliberal feminism (independence, self-actualization and self-reinvention) to guide the coding frame of my textual analysis. Using multimodal analysis, I examine the ideal Millennial's discursive construction across three intensely mediated and highly popular feminine subjects - Taylor Swift, Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Kim Kardashian - because I seek to examine the values and expectations that have been most widely conveyed by the celebrities whose public platform offers a model of how to prosper in a society where success is predicated on the logic of neoliberalism. My three empirical cases shed light on American feminism's ideal constituent, as she is gendered, raced and classed, and offer a way to interrogate how popular discourses participate in larger cultural and societal conversations about the world that the Millennial woman is not only inheriting, but also responding to. Despite political and economic upheaval, my findings indicate that neoliberal feminism is being reproduced through the responses that incorporate the very same logics that reactivate and extend the ideology; as such, the results of my empirical analysis further validate scholarship delineating neoliberalism's symbiotic relationship with feminism. My findings also suggest that in a social climate of economic fragility and political instability, patterns of entrepreneurship, adaptability and resilience are foregrounded. Discourses of the American Millennial ideal type, as constituted by my celebrity cases, suggest making a name for oneself in spite of difficulty, becoming not only the product of, but also a targeted response to the gendered crises of education, work and reproduction. For a generation that is not only struggling to find its identity, but is also facing a profound lack of security in linear progress and mobility, the narrative of success constructed by my three cases offers the blueprint of a solution.

What happens when organisations get what they want? How do external shifts which advance organisational goals affect survival? Existing literature on goal advancement tends to conceptualise it as a normatively 'good' thing and focuses on how to attain it. What remains undertheorised is how organisations can paradoxically create problems for themselves when they get what they want. This puzzle is particularly important to understand vis-à-vis the third sector and policy change, as states increasingly rely on nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) for social policy provision. Insofar as 'getting what you want' via policy change can have unintended consequences for organisational sustainability, it has direct implications for social policy, governance, and the communities these NGOs serve. Despite its growing policy relevance, however, this puzzle remains understudied. This doctoral thesis fills this gap by examining the case of LGBT NGOs in Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto in the context of long-term same-sex marriage legalisation, a policy change widely seen as socially and politically progressive for LGBT equality and one advancing LGBT NGO goals. Drawing upon organisational management, development management, resource dependence, and organisational ecology literatures, this policy-relevant thesis advances scholarly understandings of organisational continuity. Across city cases, I find that structural forces, organisational factors, and policy shift shape resource availability, resource mobilisation, and resource dependencies. But LGBT NGOs are not simply acted upon, instead exercising agency through adaptive behaviour-illustrating this, I introduce a new concept of organisational hibernation, an adaptation to resource scarcity or an evolving policy domain to maintain continuity. But not all adaptations are beneficial: in the post-marriage political economic context, adaptations made for immediate persistence may negatively impact the sustainability of the LGBT NGO sector. Goal advancement via policy change can be costly with broader impacts for continuity of policy provision and LGBT interest representation in policy processes. This thesis contributes to debates in social policy, NGO studies, LGBT politics, and Canadian politics.

Since the late-1990s high income countries have taken an increasing interest in work-family policies, expanding provision of childcare and early education and reconfiguring maternity, paternity and parental leave policies to better facilitate reconciliation between employment and care responsibilities. These changes have occurred in contexts in which they represent a dramatic shift away from long-established 'paths' of policies towards families, underpinned by assumptions about the existence and desirability of male-breadwinner/female-caregiver family roles. This thesis investigates this expansion of work-family policies in two countries in which they represent such a shift: England and Germany. Unlike much of the comparative literature, which seeks to explain the cross-national trend of expansion, this thesis examines variation in reform and particularly why Germany underwent dramatic 'path switching' change compared to more moderate 'path departure' in England. Arguing that to understand the content of change, it is necessary to examine the ideas underpinning reform, the thesis compares the processes of reform in the two countries and the role of ideas therein. Through documentary analysis and interviews with participants in the policymaking process, it investigates how new ideas about work-family policy came onto the political agenda and how they influenced policy development. Drawing on a novel framework of ideational change, it concludes that in Germany deep ideational change took place, in which 'background ideas' that underpinned work-family policymaking were altered, while in England change remained at the level of problems and solutions and background ideas served to constrain change. The thesis explains this through differences in the form in which new ideas arrived on the political agenda, the political context which helped shape their reception and the way in which key political actors framed the new ideas.

International migration and modern means of transportation and communication make it easier for people to meet and form relationships across borders and national origins. The growth of academic interest in marriage migration and family migration has led to greater attention being paid to (im)migrant families and couples and the formation of mixed unions between migrants and natives. While migrant women were long overlooked in migration studies, they are now established subjects of research. However, the (re)production of gender inequalities through migration remains neglected, especially in quantitative research. This PhD research seeks to address this gap through a comparative study of migrants' couple formation and gendered dynamics in France and the United Kingdom. Starting with a critical, historical and political examination of survey data on mixedness and migration in both countries, it investigates the difficulty and the necessity of considering migration as a gendered experience of mobility. That is, not simply who migrates or how many migrate, but how they migrate, with whom and at what point in their life. Using Understanding Society and Trajectoires et Origines data, this PhD models and weighs the complex interlocking of migration in the life course through sequences of migration and family formation, which it ultimately connects to patterns of paid and unpaid labour division between partnered women and men. Through sequence analysis, it constructs a typology of union-migration trajectories which reveals the gendered paths of migration and mixedness. These trajectories, in turn, help make sense of why, for migrant women, both migration and mixing can be associated with heightened gender-specialisation of housework and care work on the one hand, and paid work on the other. By presenting an analysis which emphasizes trajectories and intermarriage (rather than profiles and endogamous unions), this PhD offers a complex analysis of how gender relations frame migration and how migration re-defines but often entrenches gender inequalities.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the embodied and mental forms of distress - expressed as tension - experienced by women of the Gaddi tribal community of Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India. Tension is a polysemic term used across South Asia to describe the strains and scrapes of life, similar to 'worry' or 'stress' in Euro-American discourse. Amongst the Gaddi, the term provides a unique window into the intimate, embodied experience of politico-economic and social transformation. This community has experienced a rapid shift in livelihood over the past century, from agro-pastoralism to military service or waged labour. This has been paralleled by a transformation in structures of kinship, marriage and respectability, where the breakdown of the pastoral economy has precipitated the nuclearisation of the Gaddi household, increased control over women's work and sexuality, and rising wealth inequality between households. Drawing on fifteen months of ethnographic fieldwork (October 2017-December 2018), this thesis investigates tension as an expression of the hopes, aspirations, speculations and fears that women have for upward social mobility. It works towards an emic bio-moral theory of tension as an imbalance of bodily humours that index strained domestic or community relations, and hence new inequalities of gender, class, caste and tribe. By paying attention to tension as it runs along the fissures of kinship, care and exchange networks, it is also the first application of a novel analytical approach that can be used to interrogate the relationship between intersectional inequality, social change and mental distress.

This qualitative study was undertaken in a small ethnically diverse town in the South East of England. The participants were female victims who had suffered from domestic abuse and had received targeted family support from services in one local authority as part of the Troubled Families programme launched in 2011.The scheme focussed primarily on integrating services concerned with youth crime, unemployment within families, substance misuse and teenage pregnancy. The scope of the scheme was further expanded to reach out and work with families with multiple and complex problems. As part of this expansion victims of domestic abuse received multi-agency integrated targeted family support delivered through a family support worker who coordinated a wide range of interventions. There has been research published associated with female domestic abuse survivors and their experiences of abuse and trauma but very little research in the public domain regarding the voices of the female domestic abuse victims in relation to the targeted support interventions that they have received. The study elicits the views of the women in relation to the benefits of targeted family support interventions and their experiences and whether changes need to be made in the delivery of services in the future. The study also explores the victim's perspectives and understanding of the targeted family support worker role and the policy context within which practitioners are expected to evidence impact. The study was undertaken with eighteen domestic abuse victims who had all received targeted family support from multi-agency practitioners. The victims were interviewed to elicit their views regarding their experiences of the support that they had received. Thematic analysis was utilised to analyse the data gathered from the participants. Within this study there is evidence to suggest that targeted family support that the female domestic abuse victims received was fragmented and victims still felt that their problems associated with their health, financial support and criminal activity encounters with law enforcement agencies were still prevalent in their lives. The findings suggest there is significant discrepancy between policy development and the implementation of the Troubled Families programme through targeted family service interventions across the local authority.

This thesis presents three studies within the fields of behavioural and experimental economics. Chapter 1 introduces the thesis and provides an overview of the research themes and methods and reports the main research findings. Chapter 2 reports a lab-in-the-field experiment that investigates the systematic heterogeneity in cooperative decision-making across spouses in arranged and love matched marriages in Pakistan. We find that spouses in love matched marriages are significantly more likely to be unconditionally cooperative. Chapter 3 reports the second round of the field experiments and examines (1) whether the finding from Chapter 2 replicates, (2) whether it generalizes to couples living in more remote villages and, (3) whether the observed difference in unconditional cooperativeness between spouses in love versus arranged marriages can be explained by the selection of unconditionally cooperative people into love marriages. We find that in villages close to the city love matched spouses are significantly more likely to be unconditionally cooperative. However, as distance from the city increases, the love matched effect declines. We conjecture that this is owing to less tolerance for love marriages in more remote areas. Chapter 4 investigates the content and strength of the social norms and personal normative beliefs relating to marriage arrangements. It also examines the second-order social norms and personal normative beliefs on marriage. We investigate the social norms by implementing incentivised coordination games and the personal normative beliefs using unincentivized surveys. We find that there is indeed a social norm against love matched marriages and that this norm is stronger in more remote villages. However, the subjects' personal normative beliefs often diverged from the social norm. Our results also confirm that men are extended greater autonomy to deviate from the arranged marriage norm compared to women. We find no substantive evidence supporting the existence of a second-order norm. Chapter 6 summarises the findings and concludes.

This dissertation is about leadership and gender in community learning in Japan focusing on a case of women professionals working in kominkan in Okayama City. Kominkan is a public and local educational institution providing community learning and community development services across Japan. Characteristics of leadership practiced by women in promoting transformative community learning for themselves as well as community members were analysed. Based on a constructivist paradigm and critical feminist perspectives, my research used qualitative methods covering analysis of national and local policy documents and information-communication materials by kominkan and narrative text and voice data from individual interviews with ten female staff members of kominkan in Okayama City. Validation of early analysis was conducted through informal group discussion and follow-up interview with two participants. During the collection and analysis of primary data, I applied voice-centred relational method (Mauthner and Doucet, 1998; Jankowska, 2014) in conducting and reflecting on in-depth feminist interviews (Reinharz and Chase, 2001; Doucet and Mauthner, 2008) in Okayama City in 2016 and 2017. Drawing on leadership characteristics of women by Grogan and Shakeshaft (2010), I analysed the research participants' experiences with leadership and gender and their aspirations. One of my findings is that they are exercising transformative leadership with feminist critical perspectives. Their leadership is less visible than stereotypical (male) leaders; they define leadership as kuroko (backstage supporter in traditional Japanese play supporting main actor or puppets) or what Cranton and Write (2008) called learning companions. Women are the majority in the community learning and lifelong learning profession in Japan and other countries. Understanding and appreciating women's leadership styles is important in improving the professional development programmes as well as the quality of community learning programmes lead by them. Recommendations I propose for Okayama City may be significant for other local governments that want to take serious measures to promote women working in this profession in Japan and other countries.

This thesis explores gender violence in contemporary Northern Uganda. It examines different perceptions of the causes of gender violence and contextualises gender violence in an analysis of Northern Uganda's social and gender relations. Starting with the forced marriages that occurred within the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the thesis investigates how we can interpret this violence in the context of gender relations in the region. The extreme violence that occurred within LRA marriages is often seen as an isolated phenomenon, but is this accurate? To what extent was it influenced by pre-existing attitudes towards gender violence in society? Moreover, did the high levels of gender violence present in the LRA impact violence in post-conflict society? This thesis shows that high levels of violence against women exist in society, and women's experiences of violence differ. Formerly abducted women face stigmatisation which limits their choice of partners, potentially resulting in further marginalisation and vulnerability. It contributes to debates on the gendered consequences of the LRA conflict, Sex and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in Africa, and the tension between international law and local approaches to justice.

This thesis consists of three essays. They examine how different demographic attributes of bank executives and directors affect financial reporting. The first essay investigates whether the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)'s gender affects the timeliness of Loan Loss Provision (LLP). The second and third essays focus on the demographic diversity of the board and its effect on LLP reporting in banks. In the first essay, I find that banks with women as CFOs report timelier LLP than banks with men as CFOs. The results are robust to a number of robustness tests. Specifically, I document an improvement in the timeliness of LLP following the replacement of a man with a woman as CFO. The second essay investigates the effect of the ethnic diversity of the board on LLP reporting. The findings suggest that boards with ethnic minorities are more likely to report timelier LLP. The effect becomes more prominent for banks with high risks. I control for endogeneity by using bank fixed effects and propensity score matching. Finally, the third essay examines the effect of age diversity among the board of directors on earnings management. I find that age diversity results in a stronger monitoring of executives and reduces earnings management in banks. The results are robust to the use of bank fixed effects and propensity score matching. In a further analysis, the findings reveal that age diversity reduces bank risk by improving loan quality. Overall, the thesis contributes to the scarce literature on the effect of bank governance on financial reporting quality in banks. It shows that the demographic attributes of executives and directors significantly affect their decision-making process. The results suggest that diversity improves financial reporting quality in banks and support the recent calls for increasing board diversity.

In Ghana, sex and sexuality matters are not subjects for discussion among young people or even between young people and adults (Mack 2011; Nyarko et al., 2014; Van der Geest, 2001). However, initiation rites which have become almost extinct existed to prepare initiates for their roles in marriage (Awusabo-Asare et al., 2004). Faced with the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS first reported in the late 1980s, Ghana introduced many education programs including the Window of Hope (WoH) module for teacher trainees. Teacher educators were offered training which did not include exploring their attitudes, beliefs and values about sexuality which, claim Tijuana et al., (2004), will affect their teaching. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of WoH tutors and propose a model for CPD which incorporates these experiences and their implications for the delivery of the module. Using a qualitative design, 18 tutors were purposively selected and interviewed. It was found that dominant norms such as abstinence before marriage, sex as harmful to young persons, sex as a heterosexual affair and gender as a dualism, influenced the practice of participants. A CPD model and intra-college and inter-college training were proposed among others to address the findings.

Research Aim: To conduct a study evaluating the feasibility of undertaking an RCT on the effects of Yoga on the wellbeing of pregnant women post infertility treatments. Methods: A mixed methods study starting with a systematic review to identify RCTs of Yoga in pregnancy, examine the successful trial designs, and evaluate existing evidence. A waitlist-control feasibility RCT of Yoga in pregnancy post treatment for infertility was conducted in Fernandez Hospital, India, followed by interviews of all involved in the study. Finally, a focus group with NHS obstetricians. Results: a) Systematic Review: 15 trials were reviewed, identifying no evidence of harm from Yoga and potential benefits on a range of mental and physical health outcomes. b) Feasibility Study: 61 patients contacted, nine gave consent, three attended Yoga sessions. Attendees showed improved wellbeing levels. Reasons for dropout were mental health stigma and relocation. c) Interviews: eight doctors, two Yoga instructors, three participants and one family member consented. There was little knowledge on the effects of stress on maternal and infant health outcomes. Participants and family believed that exercise should be avoided in pregnancy, and reported problems discussing mental health due to stigma. Patients were afraid of participating in research. d) Focus Group: UK doctors are aware of the effects of stress on maternal and infant health. There were mixed opinions on Yoga. There is interest in further research on the physiological effects of Yoga on patients. RCTs are the preferred research design. Conclusion: There is no evidence that Yoga is harmful in pregnancy and some evidence suggesting positive effects on mental and physical health. A full RCT with the post infertility population in India is unlikely to be successful unless the problems identified could be addressed. A three step process ending with a pilot preference trial has been suggested.

Despite substantial progress, gender gaps in labour market outcomes persist. Several key factors help explain remaining gaps. First, men and women continue to work in different jobs. Second, parenthood appears to be a crucial point in the life course at which gender gaps widen. Third, traditional beliefs and norms about the appropriate roles of men and women, particularly in the context of parenthood, are obstacles to closing remaining gender gaps. At the same time, advancements in automation technologies are transforming the world of work and may have genderspecific impacts. Motivated by these observations, this thesis advances understanding of several factors related to gender inequality in the labour market. These factors are gendered university major choices, attitudes towards gender roles in the context of parenthood, and effects of recent transformations in labour markets on the gender gap in pay. The thesis consists of four empirical papers. The first paper studies the role of intergenerational transmission for gendered university major choices of young adults. Using regression analysis and exploiting survey data from a recent cohort of university students in Germany, the paper investigates to what extent and why gender-typicality of mother's and father's occupation affect the gender-typicality of their child's university major. Results show signifficant intergenerational associations and indicate that parental resources and a transmission of gender roles are both relevant transmission channels, particularly for sons' major choices. The second and third paper examine how gender role attitudes are shaped in the context of parenthood. The second paper analyses effects of the 2007 paid parental leave reform (Elterngeld) in Germany on parents' gender role attitudes; specifically, attitudes towards the gender division of work, towards the roles of fathers, and towards the labour force participation of mothers. Exploiting the reform as a natural experiment, results indicate that men affected by the reform hold more traditional attitudes towards the role of fathers, whereas there is no effect on the other two iv outcomes. Focusing on the UK, the third paper explores whether parenting daughters affects attitudes towards a traditional male breadwinner model in which it is the husband's role to work and the wife's to stay at home. Using panel data and individual fixed effects models, the results indicate that fathers are less likely to hold traditional views on the gender division of work if they raise a girl. No robust effects on mothers' attitudes are found. Results from the second and third paper inform the broader literature on attitudinal change, suggesting that gender role attitudes are not stable throughout the life course and can be significantly shaped by adulthood experiences. The final paper studies whether technological change increases gender inequality. Using individual-level data from around 28 million individuals in 20 European countries and an instrumental variable strategy, the study provides the first large-scale evidence concerning the impact of industrial robots on the gender gap in earnings. Findings indicate that robot adoption increases both male and female earnings but also increases the gender pay gap. These results are driven by countries with high initial levels of gender inequality and can be explained by the fact that men in medium- and high-skilled occupations disproportionately benefit from robotization, through a productivity effect.

This thesis explores the ways in which Saudi women entrepreneurs are socially constructed in Saudi Arabian media by deploying a social constructionist epistemology. Drawing upon Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis examines the discursive apparatuses through which the phenomenon of female entrepreneurship in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is forged. It also explores the contextual factors, such as the political, socio-economic and socio-cultural milieu, in addition to endogenous ones, affecting the representation and entrepreneurial practices of Saudi women entrepreneurs through qualitative in-depth interviews. Building on the extant literature, I challenge the ubiquitous entrepreneurship conceptualisations and discourses, and especially the Western, white, male entrepreneur, by shedding light onto Saudi women's entrepreneurial experiences in Saudi Arabia. The findings unveil the ideological paradoxes and shifting power relations that are embedded within, and underpin, the representation and experiences of Saudi female entrepreneurs. These paradoxes, arguably, are a manifestation of the current socioeconomic reforms in KSA amalgamating conventional, religious and nationalist values with a neo-liberalist and (state) capitalist structure. Such juxtapositions produce conformist narratives and counternarratives to the Western entrepreneur, as seen through this study's analysis. The findings reveal that there are Saudi discourses that chime with Western constructions of the entrepreneur such that of the individualistic, heroic and successful entrepreneur. However, there are other Saudi discourses on entrepreneurship that counter the Western entrepreneur as a rags-to-riches iconoclast and rather, offer elitist ascriptions instead. Another presumption that underpins the Saudi discourses is that although the Saudi women entrepreneurs are celebrated for their achievements, they are, in some instances, immanently essentialised to their new roles. Such complexities encapsulating the discourses of entrepreneurship are not merely a manifestation of the changing milieu and gender relations in Saudi Arabia, but also the malleable and fluid conceptualisation of entrepreneurship theories and practices. From a pragmatic stance, the thesis is concerned with advancing the knowledge on the entrepreneurial practices of Saudi females by understanding the contextual and institutional factors at play that affect their business endeavours. From a conceptual stance, it is concerned with widening the participants of the field to expand our understanding of entrepreneurship theory and practice.

This thesis examines the concurrent arrival of a burgeoning queer televisual culture during the post-2000 boom in Chinese TV format adaptation and innovation. It focuses on contemporary Chinese provincial station-produced variety shows that are originally based on global TV formats. Drawing on global TV studies, global queering theory, Chinese feminist theories and media and cultural globalisation research, I develop a 'queer-glocalisation' framework to doubly debunk the static polarity prevalent in global queer and TV studies. My theoretical approach works to explore the complex ways in which multiple forces and factors associated with the ideologies and power struggles of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality and class, at both global and local levels, are intertwined and co-constitutive in this process. I present a critical analysis of the Chinese glocalisation of TV formats in three often queerly connotated variety genres: talk shows, reality TV and impersonation shows. Using specific case studies from each genre, I ask why and how certain formatted programmes have become a queer female 'runway', so to speak, yet sometimes also a worrying and ambivalent one. In addition, the paradoxes and promises of contemporary Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) culture in its conversations and contestations with local normative ideologies and global flows of TV and queer knowledge are also interrogated. By so doing, I construct a comprehensive thesis for understanding the ways in which queer meanings emerge, reside in, contribute to and flow through predominantly heteronormative, patriarchal public culture and mainstream spaces. Ultimately, my research in this thesis reveals a dual process of contemporary Chinese queer-glocalist TV culture that has been enacted by and is continually negotiating with both the dominant industrial, technological and social-political forces of mainstream Chinese society and the nonnormatively gendered and sexualised desires and tactics of TV producers, performers, celebrities and audiences.

Social media - and particularly social media as accessed through smartphones - transform certain aspects of spatio-temporality. Features such as continually editable 'stories', content which is initially ephemeral but may be screenshotted and saved, and dynamic, shifting, global networks of users all contribute to an arena in which multiple possibilities for what may happen are always present. This thesis conceptualises this spatio-temporality as 'virtual potentialities', and uses that as a conceptual framework to explore how forty-seven UK teenagers navigate gender in social media, focusing specifically on Snapchat and Instagram. It draws on data collected from interviews and observations across four UK youth clubs, mapping the stories teenagers told about their social media practices, and how these are gendered, and gendering. These stories are analysed thematically across chapters focusing on: bodies and self-representation; intimacy and relationships; and risk management practices. In doing so, this thesis argues that social media must be understood as environments of ambivalence and contradiction, where teen users' agency and vulnerability exist in tension with each other. Whilst factors such as the power and motivations of social media companies, or the nefarious intentions of social media strangers, may act as minor disciplining forces on teen social media users, by far the most powerful such forces are other social media users.

Siblings of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have been the focus of research attention for several decades. This PhD thesis sought to build on that knowledge base, and included data about over 1,000 siblings of adults and children with IDD. This thesis has been able to draw upon large scale survey data to further understand siblings' psychological outcomes as well as exploring areas less frequently considered in the sibling literature, including siblings' school experiences and sibling relationships. Chapter one consisted of three main sections: a discussion about conceptual and theoretical perspectives about families, an overview of relevant, methodologically robust empirical literature, and a self-reflexive section that explored my experiences as a sibling. These three sections each highlighted methodological issues related to existing sibling research. Chapter two used representative, population-level data from the Millennium Cohort Study to examine the behavioural and emotional outcomes of older siblings of children with ID (n = 257) in comparison to older siblings of children without ID (n = 7246). Chapter three reported on an initial evaluation of a school-based intervention (Sibs Talk) for siblings (N = 55). Chapter four provided findings from the Adult Sibling Survey, these data constitute the largest UK sample of adult siblings of people with IDD (N = 911). This chapter examined adult siblings' mental distress, wellbeing, quality of life, and health outcomes, using moderated multiple regression analyses. Chapter five presented sibling data from the 1,000 Families study. This study drew upon structural equation modelling to examine reciprocal effects about sibling relationship outcomes by considering the behavioural and emotional outcomes of both siblings (N = 500 sibling dyads). Chapter six synthesised the main contributions of these four empirical chapters, including a discussion about methodological limitations, as well as research, practice, and theoretical implications. Cumulatively, the research reported in this thesis showed that child and adult siblings had poorer psychological outcomes in comparison to other samples, but these poorer outcomes were likely related to contextual factors, such as socio-economic status and caring roles. Sibling dyad level analyses supported conceptualisations of reciprocity in the family system, with both children's behaviour associated with sibling relationship quality. Sibs Talk was associated with promising positive outcomes. Notably, a simple negative narrative about the effect that people with IDD have on their non-disabled siblings was not supported by the evidence in this thesis.

This study focuses on courts, constitutionalism, and gender in the Global South. The study examines the role of the judiciary in constitution making. The judicial implementation of the constitutionalised gender quota (two-thirds gender principle) in Kenya's 2010 Constitution is used as a case study. There are two interlocking themes that run throughout the study. The first is the story of the two-thirds gender principle as a tool to transform gender relations both in the public and private sphere - how did it end up in Kenya's constitution framework? What purpose was it meant to achieve? What has been its implementation journey? The second is Rule of Law and constitutionalism in postcolonial states - there have been a proliferation of studies on decolonised perspectives of constitutionalism in the Global South. The argument made in the study is two-fold: that firstly, postcolonial studies on decolonised perspectives on constitutionalism have lacked a gender lens. Secondly, studies on gender equality in postcolonial states focus on the limitations of law in societies with legal pluralism - very few of these studies have examined the role that constitutions have played perpetuating gender inequalities, and the use of constitution reforms by women's rights activists as a tool to transform gender relations. This study attempts to address both gaps by exploring parameters of a gendered constitutionalism in the Global South. This is achieved through an empirical study involving interviews and focus group discussions with judges, public interest litigators, constitution review experts and civil society stakeholders, and analysis of government reports and court judgments on the two-thirds gender principle. The main finding of the study is that constitutionalism is hampered by a general 'rule by politics', which has an impact on a gendered constitutionalism. The two-thirds gender principle has not fundamentally transformed gender relations in the public sphere.

This thesis is comprised of three chapters. Chapter I is a meta-synthesis of thirteen longitudinal studies which consider the long term psychological and social impact of conflict experiences in former child soldiers in Uganda and Sierra Leone. Three themes emerged from the findings, Impact on the Individual, Interaction with the post-conflict world and The world I returned to. Former child soldiers' experiences during times of conflict predicted individual mental health difficulties, impacted on the way in which they socially connected to others, and largely influenced the way which society and family treated them when they returned to their communities after the conflict ended. Recommendations are made for more qualitative, culturally sensitive research to take place to give context to the experiences of conflict in Africa, as well as community led support networks to reduce stigma and increase acceptance within the post-conflict environment. Chapter II is an empirical, qualitative study which explores the experiences of young carers of ex-armed forces parents. Six participants, who formerly cared for a veteran parent took part, sharing experiences of the early years and providing a unique perspective on how these experiences have impacted on them into adulthood. Four superordinate themes, and nine subordinate themes emerged from the findings. The War Within: anger was normal, moulded by the military, Understanding You: Understanding Me: misunderstanding, shift in understanding, shining a light on trauma, Coping Through Escapism: temporary escapism, permanent escapism, Looking Back and Forward: fighting for survival, the strong survive. Young carers spoke of a lack of understanding as to why their role existed in the early years, which shifted as the families began to consider the parents' difficulties being due to their traumatic experiences. Young carers showed resilience, finding that their difficult experiences made them more able to cope with hardships as they transitioned into adulthood. Recommendations are for the impact of trauma to be recognised in those leaving the armed forces. There also needs to be more awareness of young people who may be affected by this through holding a caring role for a parent who has experienced trauma during their time in the military. Chapter III is a reflective account of the experience of conducting this research and the other aspects of clinical training that have occurred alongside it. It considers the principle investigators experiences of being accepted into the military community through research and clinical work, conflict that has arisen in consideration of power and diagnostic labels, as well as the experience of conducting such a key project for the purpose of research and academia.

This thesis focuses on the psychological experiences of two forensic groups, namely young, male repeat offenders, and children experiencing maternal imprisonment. The first chapter presents a systematic review of mixed methods research conducted to investigate the psychological impact of maternal imprisonment on children. 21 studies were included in this review and their results were synthesised using a narrative thematic approach. Two main themes were identified in the studies, Chaotic Families and Relational Dynamics. These themes explore the contextual and relational environments in which this group of children are raised. This review raises questions about the role of maternal imprisonment in the lives of children already situated within fragile families. Chapter two presents an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis study exploring the interpersonal psychological experiences of young, male, repeat offenders. By focussing on 'petty' offences, this presents a unique study of an often-underrepresented group of men. It departs from criminogenic approaches that seek to investigate the causal nature of offending behaviour, by instead exploring a psychological perspective. Three superordinate themes were identified within participant narratives, Being Lost, Being Dis(connected), and Being Hopeful. These themes highlight the challenges that this group of young men face, managing their emotions and navigating complex relationships, whilst also holding on to a sense of hopefulness for their futures. The final chapter presents a reflective account of conducting this empirical research, situated within the context of being a trainee clinical psychologist. Issues raised within this account explore points of learning and personal development prompted through the research process.

This thesis examines women's experiences of parliamentary spaces in long-nineteenth century Britain. It investigates how, throughout the century, women inhabited a variety of spaces with increasing confidence and ingenuity. It argues that, as a direct influence of women's interaction with these spaces, a distinct female political identity emerged within Parliament that shaped how some women interacted with the political sphere. Parliament was both a powerful political symbol and a significant political site; women's experiences, interventions, and resistance there form an essential part of the narrative of women and politics in Britain that has, until now, gone largely untold. There is a significant body of scholarship on the women's suffrage movement and female campaigning, but little has been done to explore women's interactions with the physical space of Parliament itself. Inherently patriarchal, it was not a building that was ready to countenance the idea of a politicised and enfranchised woman. Furthermore, beyond the building itself, its language, manners, and practices were also largely inaccessible to potential female inhabitants. This thesis provides an insight into how women were able to transition from female voters outside of Parliament to enfranchised citizens within it. Examining the rich resources of the Parliamentary Archives and the Parliamentary Works of Art Collection uncovered a clear narrative of female political engagement and activity throughout the long-nineteenth century. This involvement developed and became more overtly politicised as the century progressed. In order to interpret the influence of parliamentary space in a new and more appropriate way, the thesis employs lenses from feminist geography in order to reveal female narratives of spaces that have traditionally been historicised as masculine. This approach posits a new understanding of women's relationship with Parliament and offers an insight into how it influenced their political position in long-nineteenth century Britain.