The research concerns communication between deaf people and hearing advisers in career or job seeking interviews. Issues of disability, emancipatory research and methods used in deaf research are explored together with the medical and social models of disability and the complexity of discrimination. It is set to a background of the history of deaf people and the inherent disadvantages of communication and language, education and knowledge, identity and perceptions of deafness. It summarises the experiences of deaf people in and seeking employment and the skills required in job seeking. Communication between lay people and professionals and between deaf people and professionals is reviewed and the various systems of influence on deaf people are appraised together with the potential impact on employment guidance. An evolutionary approach to the research is recounted and the data engendered information on three areas; the opinions and experience each participant brought to the career or job seeking interview, the perceptions each party had of the interview interaction and the macro influence of Government. Giddensian Structuration Theory is considered within other theoretical frameworks and a critical reflection offered before concluding that the theory is a useful tool to illuminate aspects of deafness. The key concepts are described and related to deaf issues. The findings highlight the professionalism of advisory staff and their willingness to embrace a deaf perspective in practice. However the data also emphasises a stark contrast between the protected environments of school and college and the mainstream environment of job-centres. Mainstream deaf participants reported barriers to communication and much dissatisfaction with the education they had received, particularly the oral and mainstream approach. The data is discussed using structuration concepts and the thesis concludes by proposing an extension to the general notion of distanciation, which I have called `experiential distanciation', to reflect the special linguistic circumstances of deaf individuals.

The relationship between attitudes, feelings of identity and the psychological health and well-being of Deaf people in the community is examined. The incidence of psychological distress in this sample (n = 102, mean age = 41, range = 17-65) is examined using the General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg, 1972) and the Attitude and Identity Questionnaire (ATIQ) designed for this study. Both were presented in British Sign Language. An interview questionnaire was also used to gather information about the participant. The participants' experience of sexual and physical abuse is also investigated and related to health and well-being. Information was collected using British Sign Language in face-to-face interviews. The processes of translation into English and the back translation procedure is described. Thirty-eight percent of the sample was found to suffer psychological ill health. A high incidence of sexual abuse was found and this was significantly related to psychological ill health (p = 0.047). The relationship between psychological ill health and the Attitude and Identity Questionnaire was found to be highly significant (p = 0.002). The Attitude and Identity Questionnaire was designed to measure attitudes towards deaf people; the self-perception of deafness; and provide a measure of self- esteem. The questionnaire also measures the degree individuals identify with the Deaf community. The implications for developing strategies for the mental health and well-being of deaf children and adults are discussed. The implications of the findings for education are also discussed.

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UK society and the mainstream social sciences typically share the assumption that people need to hear and speak in order to function effectively in the social world. Hence, d/Deaf people are perceived as vulnerable individuals with sensory impairment, social disability, and biological invalidity; d/Deaf people are accordingly eligible for individualised welfare intervention. By contrast Deaf Studies, which this thesis draws upon, critically explores the relativity of linguistic conceptualisations and cultural norms and asserts that Deaf people are members of a purposive, political culture, with an independent British language and identity, comprising a British as well as an international collective, and are without impairment, disability or invalidity. The key research question that my research asks is what is the social position of the Deaf collective in the UK policy-making and political arena? That is, on whose terms is the societal inclusion of Deaf people and the broader Deaf collective to be based and understood? The scope of my inquiry comprises the personal views and professional ambitions of senior executives of Deaf-led third sector organisations, and also the perspectives of senior officers of relevant hearing institutions, and their understandings of their institutions' policies in regard to Deaf people and Deaf organisations. Data from these organisational elites was subjected to detailed narrative and thematic analysis which drew upon key concepts within interactionist and post-modernist thought. The thesis will uncover how third sector Deaf-led organisations face fundamental dilemmas in asserting their collective presence in order to promote their political aims. The analysis will suggest that the Deaf Collective both intellectually and operationally exists in a relatively non-intersecting system, without the wider institutional world noticing its presence. The thesis considers the consequences of this for policy and practice and offers suggestions for a more progressive understanding and involvement of Deaf people and their collective.

South Africa's equity legislation demands the incorporation of persons with disabilities in the workforce. Owing to the unique challenges that these people face, they need well-developed salutogenic characteristics such as sense of coherence, self-efficacy and locus of control in order to integrate effectively into mainstream environments. The objective of the research was to explore these salutogenic constructs in the hearing-impaired adult population and to note differences between the different sub-groups within the sample (N = 63). A biographical form and combination of salutogenic questionnaires were employed to measure these constructs. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were utilised to analyse the data. The results showed statistically significant inter-group differences in all three salutogenic constructs. These differences were found for age groups, onset of deafness, deafness category, primary school attended, hearing status of spouse and parents, and level of qualification. / Industrial and Organizational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

South Africa's equity legislation demands the incorporation of persons with disabilities in the workforce. Owing to the unique challenges that these people face, they need well-developed salutogenic characteristics such as sense of coherence, self-efficacy and locus of control in order to integrate effectively into mainstream environments. The objective of the research was to explore these salutogenic constructs in the hearing-impaired adult population and to note differences between the different sub-groups within the sample (N = 63). A biographical form and combination of salutogenic questionnaires were employed to measure these constructs. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were utilised to analyse the data. The results showed statistically significant inter-group differences in all three salutogenic constructs. These differences were found for age groups, onset of deafness, deafness category, primary school attended, hearing status of spouse and parents, and level of qualification. / Industrial and Organizational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)