This thesis is an exercise in the phenomenology of human order, as a necessary prelude to a new understanding of postcolonial global change. Its starting point is to question the Western tradition of knowledge as the highest point of human “development”. This is a critique of the traditionally Western notion of reason in which I argue that an understanding of human order must be grounded in a phenomenology of religion. In this way I seek to reinterpret the Weberian categories which have shaped modern/ Western social understanding. In the first part of the thesis, “Institutions and Legitimation”, I describe three <i>ideal types </i>of views of reality: the <i>pagan/primitive</i>, the <i>Western/Christian</i>, and the <i>Eastern/mystic</i> types. Nevertheless, these <i>pure types</i> are also theoretically posed as three aspects of experienced reality, and so, they are considered as both mixed and complementary in human interaction. I am aware that this leads to a theoretical paradox; but this is justified by the intuition that <i>at the same time </i>as paradox rules the immediacy of experienced reality, coherence rules the order and exposition of our disciplined observations, explanations and cosmologies. The appreciation of this “simultaneity” (social reality as both “created” and “creative”) leads me to propose a perspective of observation: the <i>present moment of meaningful experience</i>. This perspective highlights this aspect of “simultaneity” (synchrony) as opposed to, and in contrast with, the aspect of coherent “sequentially” (diachrony) in human order. In the second part of the thesis, “Organisation and Structure”, I propose two ideal types of organisation structured around the experience of immediate simultaneity. These two types are considered as complementary aspects of human order: the <i>organic </i>and the <i>artificial</i> ideal types of organisation. This perspective of observation is congenial both with phenomenological observation and with the emerging paradigm of “complexity”. My approach counters the traditional view in the social sciences that “complex” or “higher” forms of order progressively emerge in interaction through specialisation and differentiation from homogeneity to heterogeneity in time. While belief in progress may be an important feature of discipline (and a particularly important one for the modern notion of self), I argue that it should not be imposed as a deterministic characteristic of the observed processes themselves (social or otherwise).

There is a dearth of models for multivariate spatially correlated data recorded on a lattice. Existing models incorporate some combination of three correlation terms: (i) the correlation between the multiple variables within each site, (ii) the spatial autocorrelation for each variable across the lattice, and (iii) the correlation between each variable at one site and a different variable at a neighbouring site. These may be thought of as correlation, spatial autocorrelation and spatial cross-correlation parameters respectively. This thesis develops a exible multivariate conditional autoregression model where the spatial cross-correlation is asymmetric. A comparison of the performance of the FMCAR with existing MCARs is performed through a simulation exercise. The FMCAR compares well with the other models, in terms of model fit and shrinkage, when applied to a range of simulated data. However, the FMCAR out performs all of the existing MCAR models when applied to data with asymmetric spatial crosscorrelations. To demonstrate the model, the FMCAR model is applied to road safety performance indicators. Namely, casualty counts by mode and severity for vulnerable road users in London, taken from the STATS19 dataset for 2006. However, by exploiting correlation between multiple performance indicators within local authorities and spatial auto and cross-correlation for the variables across local authorities, the FMCAR results in considerable shrinkage of the estimates of local authority performance. Whilst this does not enable local authorities to be differentiated based upon their road safety performance it produces a considerable reduction in the uncertainty surrounding their rankings. This is consistent with previous attempts to improve performance rankings. Further, although the findings of this thesis indicate that there is only mild evidence of asymmetry in the spatial cross-correlations for road casualty counts, the thesis provides a demonstration of the applicability of this model to real world social and economic problems.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the most appropriate means of measuring individual wellbeing for public policy. The thesis will begin by asking exactly what is meant by well-being and giving a brief overview of the main philosophical accounts of well-being, summarising the variations within each account and considering how well-being can be measured from that perspective. Chapter Three uses analysis of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to explore the differences between the well-being measures available within that dataset. This shows that, although in many cases the choice between different subjective well-being (SWB) measures appears to make minimal difference, there is wide variation between household income and subjective well-being measures and also some important cases where subjective measures differ. This implies that the choice of well-being measure will have important implications for policy making. To aid judgement between different well-being measures a list of criteria for an ideal measure of well-being to be used for public policy are set out in Chapter Four. Chapter Five asks how the various measures of well-being fare according to these criteria, finding that subjective measures perform at least as well, if not better, than existing measures of well-being drawn from neoclassical economic theory. The next three chapters use evidence from the SWB literature and additional analysis of the BHPS to asks whether our current understanding of the determinants of SWB is sufficient to support policy recommendations. Chapter six focuses on the relationship between income and SWB, specifically on evidence for inefficiencies arising from adaptation to income and reference income effects. Chapter seven looks at the relationship between SWB and social capital and considers the extent to which the relationship between talking to neighbours and SWB can be thought of as causal through the use of Instrumental Variable techniques. Lastly, chapter eight considers the role of SWB measures within microeconomic evaluation. The final chapter summarises the advantages and potential hurdles for the use of SWB indicators of wellbeing within public policy, concluding with recommendations for extending this work, both in relation to public policy and academic research.

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The thesis suggests that there are two discourses of the individual within the culture of modernity and in social philosophy and political theory: <i>individualism</i> and <i>individuality</i>. These are entirely <i>different</i>, but throughout modernity individuality has been submerged by, or conflated with, the dominant discourse of individualism. An aim of the thesis is to attempt to clarify the submerged discourse of <i>individuality</i> by identifying, and constructing or reconstructing, some of its key features. In doing this it uses liberal-individualism as a contrast concept, and thereby implicitly identifies corresponding differences, limits, or omissions in the latter. The core features of individuality (and, in brackets, of individualism) identified and discussed in successive Chapters are: Comprehensive inviolability (Limited Inviolability); Self-Deteermination (Agency); The Possibility of Autonomy Self-Realization and Authenticity (Personal Autonomy); Internal Goods and Being (External Goods and Having); The Ethical and Moral Self (Moral Minimalism); Communalism (Gesellschaft). In the case of each feature, an attempt is made to clarify ways in which it diverges from liberal-individualism.

This thesis examines the meaning of social inclusion and theorises what would be required to maximize the diversity that can be included into mainstream society while preserving social cohesion. The primary aim is to develop a coherent theoretical framework, identifying where scope to expand the mainstream may be found, as well as logical limitations and probable constraints. The implications for social policy design and delivery are then explored. The focus is on welfare goods and services as they play a pivotal role, either supporting social inclusion, or reinforcing social exclusion by confirming incapacity, unnecessary segregation and failure to promote wider social connections. Inclusion into mainstream society can thus be promoted by inclusion into appropriately designed and delivered mainstream welfare provision. The starting point is to examine theoretical literatures concerned with disadvantage. Key themes from social justice, poverty, discrimination and social exclusion theory are extracted; commonalities and differences identified. Social justice themes of fair distribution and cultural recognition fit well with themes to be found in poverty and discrimination literatures respectively. The framework is built by theorising firstly the macro-level structural and cultural environment, how it is and could be shaped to maximise inclusion. The meso-level processes through which this environment is expressed and through which attachment to it occurs are then considered. The final component of the framework concerns the nature of micro-level social relationships through which those processes are enacted, the transactional needs and identities of micro-level agents. Using the theoretical framework to identify implications for social policy indicates the existence of a new ‘inclusive’ model, distinct from liberal market, traditional public sector and radical models. The key features of the inclusive model are summarised and their implications for the direction of policy strategy illustrated.

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