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Summary: This thesis explores the processes of identity formation and place-making among UVF/RHC prisoners in the Maze/Long Kesh compounds from the period of 1972-1988. These processes are analysed through an examination of the prisoners' engagement with artefact production. The distinct structure and operation of the compound prison system contributed to an unorthodox prison experience, which is illustrated through incorporating narratives about the development of artefact production within the de facto prisoner-of-war camp physical environment Prison handicrafts were produced collectively and individually, and these dialectic processes contributed to the formation and maintenance of both group/political and individual identities As the spatial and temporal contexts of production are essential to understanding the meaning of the objects within the prison, so too are these contexts in relation to contemporary uses for prison made objects. After presenting the breadth of prison production, the dissertation shifts to examine how the objects’ meanings and values have changed over time. Additionally, it examines how the objects contribute to ongoing processes of identity construction, or re-construction, for the former prisoners who made them. The thesis uncovers these meanings by comparing four prison artefact collections - those of the Ulster Museum, Linen Hall Library, Northern Ireland Prison Service, and Action for Community Transformation. Examining these four collections provides further insight into how objects change in meaning and value over time and through different physical locations. The dissertation represents a heretofore under-researched and overlooked aspect of loyalist conflict related scholarship It afso contributes to understandings of how people and objects gain new meanings and impact through on-going and contextually specific processes of place-making.

The main topic of this thesis is the assessment of Intellectual Disabilities (ID) within the UK prison service. ID is characterised by deficits in intellectual ability, such as reasoning, problem solving and understanding new or complex information (impaired intelligence), deficits in adaptive functioning (AF), which reduce the individual’s ability to function independently within their social environment, and these deficits begin before adulthood (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-5, APA, 2013). It is important to note that the assessments at the centre of this thesis are based on the English prison system definition of ID; IQ below 80. This is in contrast to the internationally recognised and accepted definition of ID defined as an IQ less than 70 (although this criteria has been removed from the most recent DSM, the DSM-5 (APA, 2013)). The prison service definition of ID using an IQ of below 80 includes those with IQ in the borderline range for determining ID, for which the Becoming New Me (BNM) treatment programme is suitable for, in addition to those with an IQ less than 70. This thesis comprises three empirical studies that focussed on improving the current assessment of ID (as defined by the prison service as having an IQ less than 80) within the UK prison service. All of the studies employed quantitative methodologies and participants were recruited from a UK prison for sex offenders. The first study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of a new IQ screening measure, the OASys Screening Tool (OASys ST), which was developed by NOMS to replace the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) as an IQ screening measure used to identify individuals with an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) indicative of ID as defined by the UK prison service (below 80). The sample comprised 80 adult male prisoners, whose OASys data was accessed and used to complete the OASys ST. The analysis includes a probabilistic model of the data which was developed to assess the effectiveness of the OASys ST, using IQ data (WASI and WAIS scores) and Treatment Programme (TP) data. A logistic regression was also conducted and, in order to inform item redundancy, pairwise correlations were calculated. The OASys ST was found to be an accurate predictor of whether an individual’s IQ is above or below the threshold of 80; using this cut-off it was possible to classify all the individuals who scored two or less on the OASys ST as above the IQ of 80 threshold and the probability of making a mistake with these classifications was at most 3%, this rose to 7% if the cut-off was three and 15% if the cut-off was four. These individuals could be placed straight onto the CORE sex offending treatment programme without any further IQ testing. As described within this thesis, historically IQ has been the sole criterion relied on for determining treatment suitability within the prison service (Sparrow et al., 2005). However, as shown in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), an ID diagnosis requires an assessment of both IQ and AF. There is evidence of poor identification of offenders with ID, including sex offenders, by the Criminal Justice System (CJS) (Banes, 2002; HMIP, 2015) because there is no commonly used process for this identification (Beebee, 2009; HMIP, 2015), since current measures employed to measure AF in the community are inappropriate for use on incarcerated populations (Young, Boccaccini, Conroy, & Lawson, 2007). Previously, Sex Offenders with ID (SOIDs) have been at a disadvantage regarding treatment programmes and supports available, but they have recently been the focus of research and policies, resulting in the creation of the Becoming New Me (BNM) treatment programme which was designed specifically to meet the needs of SOIDs (defined by the prison service as having an IQ less than 80). The existing literature indicates that having a reliably sound AF measure suitable for use within prisons is important in ensuring prisoners are placed onto the most appropriate treatment programme and that adequate supports are implemented in line with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) (2005). As such, the aim of study two was to develop an adaptive functioning screening measure which will be used alongside measures of IQ to assess ID. The stages employed to develop the new measure are summarised briefly as follows: A conceptual framework of AF was developed via consulting the diagnostic criteria set out in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013) and by reviewing the current community measures of AF and the ID literature. A sample of 11 prisoner and 11 staff participants took part in interviews about daily life inside prison, the results of which were used to produce the items. Originally 115 items were developed and pre-tested by a sample of experts. Item response theory was utilised to reduce the item pool. Forty-six items were retained in the scale which produced 95% of the maximum certainty of the original 115 item scale. The scale produced was named the Adaptive Functioning Assessment Tool (AFAT). The AFAT is the first AF assessment tool that is appropriate to use within a prison environment that has been created following a systematic process of scale development, the stages of which are explained in more detail within this thesis. The final study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the new AF measure, the AFAT, to see whether it is a valid and reliable measure of AF that could potentially be rolled out throughout the prison service. The results indicated that the AFAT is a reliable measure of AF; the Cronbach’s alphas for each of the subscales were all above the .7 level recommended by Nunnally (1978) and all four sub-scales correlated positively with one another, as well as with the full scale AFAT score. Although the reliability levels vary from item to item, an average inter-item correlation of .91 was obtained, with all the individual correlations exceeding the recommended limit of .3 (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955). The AFAT was also found to have a good level of validity; by using scores on the AFAT, an accurate prediction could be made on which treatment programme participants’ had been referred for (Chi Squared test residual deviance = 32.45, p < 0.001). As expected, there was a significant negative correlation between the AFAT and LD diagnosis (r = -.67, p < .01), and there were significant positive correlations between the AFAT and WASI scores (r = .62, p < .01) and ratings of overall AF (r = .65, p < .01). There was also a significant negative correlation between scores on the AFAT and OASys ST full scale scores (r = -.68, p < .01). Also, as predicted, there was no correlation between participants’ age and their score on the AFAT (r = .11, p > .05). The AFAT showed a high level of content validity; 40 out of the 46 items were rated as content valid by all experts resulting in an S-CVI of .87 and the S-CVI-Average was .96. In an attempt to interpret the test scores on the AFAT, two Latent Class Analyses (LCA) were conducted; one treating the responses as categorical and the other treating the responses as continuous variables. Both analyses revealed three distinct classes of individuals, as expected, reflecting high, medium and low AF groups. The second LCA analysis also revealed two minor classes. The interpretation of each class is described, including how these varying AF levels present themselves among the different classes, including how the different levels of AF are manifested across the four sub-scales constituting the AFAT. The thesis offers an insight into the effectiveness of the OASys ST and also highlights the value in having an AF measure which is important in assessing support needs (HMIP, 2015), determining the most effective treatment programme and informing treatment delivery in line with the Risk Need Responsivity principles (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). The studies offer an original contribution to the knowledge regarding the assessment of prisoners defined by the prison service as having ID (IQ below 80), since the OASys ST is a new tool, that before this research had yet to receive an evaluation of the psychometric properties other than during the development of the tool itself. The AFAT is the first AF measure that is suitable to be used within a prison setting, which has been developed systematically and been subjected to reliability and validity testing. Both tools have direct implications for the prison service, if adopted by the prison service they are quicker than the current available tools and can be used by non-psychology and non-psychometric trained staff and have both been shown to produce results that can be relied upon. However, because the sample consisted of sex offenders only, and was conducted in a single UK prison, further research and testing is recommended.

This thesis presents the findings of a study undertaken with Polish male prisoners in Maghaberry and Magilligan prisons in Northern Ireland. In a jurisdiction emerging from years of armed conflict, the prison system is currently undergoing changes which attempt to deal with the structural problems stemming from that conflict's legacy. Alongside that reform, another transition is evident: that of a rapidly increasing national and linguistic diversity of the prison population. It was therefore important to study how this change impacts on the prisons in Northern Ireland where as recently as 2011 their practice in relation to the treatment of national and ethnic minorities was assessed as being "culturally blind” (PRT, 2011b: 39]. Using data obtained in a series of semi-structured interviews with eighteen prisoners, a number of semi-structured interviews with staff and representatives of independent prison monitoring bodies, this thesis examines how Polish prisoners negotiate daily life in prison custody in Northern Ireland. Analysing the ways in which they experience deprivations of prison life, the thesis is also concerned with the prisoners’ methods of adaptation to prison regimes in an environment which they often struggle to understand. Looking at the ways in which they forge relationships with other prisoners and staff, the thesis concludes that many of the male Polish prisoners in Northern Ireland live in a prison within a prison, with a high wall of communication barriers around them, suspended between their entry into custody and the ever-looming moment of deportation. The prison system, largely unprepared to deal with more nationally and linguistically diverse populations, facilitates their existence in 'mono- cultural boxes’ in the meantime.

The thesis investigates self-harm in a youth offending population, with particular focus on the coping strategies and levels of rumination utilised by these individuals. Chapter one provides an overview of the topic of self-harm, coping strategies and rumination in a youth offending population. Chapter two reviews the literature of coping strategies and levels of rumination in adolescents who self-harm following a systematic approach. The review highlighted there were inconsistencies in the definition used to describe self-harm, some studies included suicide attempts and included overdoses whereas other studies did not. A number of studies included behaviours irrespective of the intent to die, whereas others specified there should be no intent to die. These differences hinder the ability to make links between studies as well as ensuring that research is comparable throughout. Chapter two highlighted the limited research focusing on coping strategies and self-harm in youth offenders, with the majority of included studies using school based samples. Risk factors for self-harm were identified as psychological distress, rumination, poor problem solving, low self-esteem and limited social support. Chapter three investigated coping strategies and levels of rumination in a smaller subset of youth offenders. This highlighted that youth offenders who self-harmed utilised more emotion-focused coping styles such as: substance use, behavioural disengagement, denial and self-blame than youth offenders who did not self-harm. Difficulties identifying youth offenders who self-harmed was evident in the small sample size for the study. Chapter four involved a larger sample based on file information to aide identification of youth offenders who self-harmed. This research looked at identifying any differences between youth offenders who did and did not self-harm based on the ASSET (a risk and need assessment completed with all young people who come into contact with the youth offending team). These differences were utilised to inform a checklist of risk factors for males engaging in self-harm in a youth offending population which youth offending practitioners can use to identify those males at risk. The incidents of self-harm amongst male youth offenders was 4 cases in every 10 referrals (39.6%) and 69.5% of this group were correctly predicted (hits). The small number of female youth offenders who did not self-harm was evident in both chapter three and chapter four, highlighting that being a female youth offender in itself is a risk factor for self- harm. Chapter five described a single case study with a male youth offender who self-harmed and the difficulties in engaging this population in interventions. Chapter six is a critique of the ASSET used in chapter three, four and five. Chapter six describes the implications of the ASSET for practice and gives recommendations for future research in this area. Chapter seven gives a conclusion to the thesis, drawing together important implications for future research and practice.

This thesis examines former Palestinian women prisoners’ experiences of imprisonment in Israeli colonial prisons. It traces their life experiences before, during and after prison, examining the boundaries imposed around them by Palestinian culture, which treats women’s bodies and sexuality as the representation of family honour and reputation. Another important layer of restriction is imposed by the Israeli occupation, which targets Palestinian women in their everyday lives, using various tactics to expose Palestinian private space to the public as a means of exercising power. As part of these practices, the occupation uses women’s bodies as an object of threat to control the Palestinian community, which in turn becomes more conservative in issues relating to women. I argue through the thesis that different boundaries are multilayered and far from fixed. Furthermore, the politics of social relations and interaction that take place within them are varied and affect women in different ways. It is in this context that I suggest that women create a space of negotiation according to their awareness of the nature of a space, and their boundaries within it, to exercise their political subjecthood and agency. I discuss how former Palestinian women prisoners’ political subjecthood and their political performance shift between visibility – as community workers, mothers of political prisoners, participants in funerals, marches, or protests, and even as housewives – to invisibility when they take roles in the military resistance groups and employ different tactics to hide their activities from their families and communities. Hence, women are in a continuous process of spatial negotiation, demanding constant understanding and awareness of their boundaries and limitations. Sumud (steadfastness) is an important element for Palestinian women in their encounter with the Israeli occupation, and also in constructing their space of negotiation. Their practices of sumud are shaped and reshaped according to the politics of the space of negotiation these women create. Before their imprisonment, Palestinian women perform their sumud by bearing the Israeli occupation’s efforts to control Palestinian homes. After imprisonment, this sumud is reconstructed as resistance against collaboration with the Israeli prison authority, and determination to challenge the limitations of prison by centering their daily lives on politics and preparation for life after their release. In this thesis, drawing on feminist standpoint theories, I facilitate voicing the former Palestinian women prisoners’ silenced experiences and shed light on their often-unrecognized roles in resisting the Israeli occupation.

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