This study explores the processes of economic change and their impact on women's working lives in the East Midlands region during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Drawing on a wide range of sources, for example, estate, probate, criminal and poor law records, it offers alternative perspectives on the position of women in the economy. The first part of the thesis looks at the wealth creating and income generating activities of 'middling' women living in urban areas. Inheritance strategies delineated in men's and women's wills do not indicate that women from the beginning of the eighteenth century became less able to hold property or engage in enterprise. Industrial development in this region encouraged women's economic participation and created additional opportunities for those situated in industrial towns to extend their interests. The value of estate records for the investigation of women's businesses is also discussed, and it is concluded that while they have their limitations, these records can provide valuable insights into women's commercial dealings. Part two is concerned with the effects of regional specialisation on the work of labouring women. There is very little evidence to suggest a shift in the sexual division of labour in agriculture from the mid-eighteenth century. The types of tasks in which women were engaged were generally no different in the early nineteenth century than they had been at the beginning of the eighteenth. The continued move to pastoral farming reduced the amount of agricultural work for women, especially for those in Leicestershire. The initial expansion of dairying while giving rise to more dairymaids can be seen as promoting growth in the domestic service sector rather than agriculture, since these occupations are so very closely linked. The majority of women appear to have been engaged in domestic service work prior to the eighteenth century, and limited work opportunities for women helps explain the emergence of redundant female labour prior to 1700. It is also argued that the expansion of domestic industry and a reduction in age at first marriage for women in the early eighteenth century noted by historians was largely a phenomenon generated by these conditions. This study also includes the trends in wage rates for women over the period, it shows that female real wages declined in comparison with those of males. The evidence presented also supports the belief that women were paid a customary wage. However, under certain circumstances some women could command wages comparable with those of men. Finally, it is argued that the intensification of the trends described, in addition to the inability of women to move between sectors of employment, led many women to employ survival mechanisms that included the greater exploitation of 'criminal' activities within the informal economy and their sexual relationships with men.

This thesis focuses on the experiences of women and couples who have undergone in vitro fertilisation (IVF) unsuccessfully and who have subsequently stopped treatment. The thesis is feminist in that it aims to make visible the gendered power relations within which IVF failure is experienced and accounted for. IVF is viewed here not as a neutral artefact, or the violent imposition of male power, but as a form of disciplinary technology, the experience of which is always contradictory and ambivalent. The thesis takes a discourse analytic approach to the interview data. This approach necessarily conceptualises the participants as active, but constrained, agents in the production of meaning in relation to IVF, and the analysis seeks to identify the discursive strategies which they employ in accounting for their experiences. It is argued that those who have stopped treatment occupy an ambiguous liminal space among the dominant discourses of gender, technology and body, and that this constitutes an unusually productive location from which to think about IVF, both in terms of challenging the apparent inevitability of those discourses and creating openings for the production of new knowledges. The analysis is organised around four key themes which emerged from the interview data: the negotiation of discourses of nature and technology; the location of IVF within consumer culture; the distribution of responsibility when treatment fails; and the seeking of resolution around the end of treatment. This thematic structure forms a platform from which to consider not only the specificities of the experience of IVF failure, but which also generates broader insights at the theoretical and conceptual level, focusing particularly on the limitations of oppositional paradigms of transgression / conformity, material / discursive, agency / constraint and theory / practice in the feminist theorising of IVF.

The aim of this study is to understand how one of the strongest Islamist movements in Turkey, the G&uuml / len Movement, approaches to the question of woman and disseminates it to the society through religious broadcasting. To realize this aim, the content of the movement&rsquo / s television channel, STV&rsquo / s program, Bosanmak Istemiyorum (I do not want to divorce) in which family, marriage and gender relations are the main discussion points is analyzed. Besides the assessment of the way in which gender relations are handled and family and gender norms are represented in the program, it also tries to provide discussions on the gender discourse of the movement and the related practices of the movement.

The aim of this present study was to investigate the predictive power of value similarity of wives and husbands and conflict resolution of spouses on marital adjustment of wives, husbands, and couples. Data is collected by means of questionnaires (&ldquo / Schwartz&rsquo / s Value Survey&rdquo / , &ldquo / Dyadic Adjustment Scale&rdquo / , and &ldquo / Conflict Resolution Styles Scale&rdquo / ), from a sample of one hundred and forty (140 women, 140 men) Turkish married couples. The results of the study indicated that after eliminating the effects of demographic variables, tradition, hedonism, stimulation value type similarities of spouses, and power value type dissimilarities of spouses have positively predicted marital adjustment of wives and couples. However, value similarities of spouses did not have significant effect on marital adjustment of husbands. Although, conflict resolution styles of husbands had a significant effect on marital adjustment of wives, conflict resolution styles of wives did not have significant contribution in predicting marital adjustment of husbands after eliminating the effects of demographic variables and value similarity of spouses. The usage of negative conflict resolution styles by husbands had negative effects on marital adjustment of wives. When the marital adjustment of couples was considered, it was found that conflict resolution styles of wives and husbands have significant contribution in predicting marital adjustment of couples. The results further indicated that negative conflict resolution styles of wives and husbands negatively predicted marital adjustment of couples. Furthermore, it was found that spouses high in positive conflict resolution style and low in negative conflict resolution style have higher scores on marital adjustment than spouses low in positive conflict resolution style and high in negative conflict resolution style. The findings of the present study were discussed in the light of the related literature. Additionally, limitations of the study and suggestions for future researches were investigated.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Abilene Christian University, 1990. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-103).

The portfolio explores the concepts of ‘sameness’ and ‘difference’ and their implications for the field of counselling psychology and professional practice. Consisting of an empirical research piece, a case study and a critical review of literature, each section of the portfolio examines the main theme against existing models, participant accounts and the perspective of experts in the various fields. The portfolio begins with a qualitative research study of ten Black British Lesbians and their experiences of negotiating their multiple identities. The second section consists of a case study which explores the role of similarity and dissimilarity in the therapeutic relationship. The portfolio ends with a critical literature review which comprises a consideration of studies of intra-racial discrimination in the Black community.

From early 1950s to the early 1970s Britain is said to have experienced an ‘age of affluence’. Whilst material conditions for many households improved in these decades, this detailed examination of budget management processes shows that for many working-class households, these gains were the product of hard work and careful money management. Using oral history methodology, this thesis explores lived experiences of the household economy to illuminate these qualifications to ‘affluence’. In so doing, this thesis advances analysis which considers the relationship between the macro-level economic conditions of affluence and the everyday economic realities of households in the post-war period. The thesis examines the operation of the household economy and shows how working-class households utilised domestic labour, budgeting, paid work, credit and thrift to make ends meet, as well as to achieve ‘affluence’. Further, by exploring these areas of the household economy, this thesis shows that gendered ideology continued to preserve power and material inequalities between men and women. Although considerable change did occur, particularly involvement in the paid labour market, domestic responsibilities continued to be an important focus of women’s identities and the effective performance of these duties by women remained central to the success of the household. This thesis represents a fresh focus on how the exploration of everyday life, including the salience of ideological continuities in shaping experience, can qualify and refine our understanding of twentieth century economic and social change, and contributes to socio-historical understandings of ‘affluence’ and its intersections with the household, gender, and class.

The research presented in this thesis investigates how the ‘Baby Boomer generation’ has become constructed as a social problem in Britain. I begin by outlining the theoretical orientation of the research, which is grounded in Mannheim’s understanding that the problem of generations is to do with the interaction between generational location and wider social forces. The subsequent chapters present the results of a qualitative media analysis of the Baby Boomer problem, using a sample of British national newspaper articles published between 1986 and 2011 to examine the development of a cultural script. These chapters outline, first, the main features of the Baby Boomer problem as it is currently presented, before moving on to analyse how the cultural script has, over time, constructed the Boomer generation in two main ways: as an economic problem, and as a cultural problem. My findings indicate that both the attributes of the Baby Boomer generation, and the importance attached to generation as a political or social category, have changed over time, and are affected by wider political, social, and cultural shifts. This has a number of implications for how we think about the construction of the problem of generations in the present day.

Background: Research on men’s constructions of fatherhood has proliferated over the last three decades, but most studies have focused on middle-class men. There is a need for more research exploring how disadvantaged men conceptualise good fatherhood and relate to changing societal ideals of fatherhood. In addition, parenting interventions are particularly targeted at disadvantaged parents but little is known about how disadvantaged fathers feel about being targeted, and how best to engage them. This study set out to explore disadvantaged UK men’s constructions of fatherhood and attitudes towards parenting interventions. The THRIVE trial taking place in Glasgow, evaluating two antenatal parenting interventions for vulnerable parents, offered an opportunity to investigate these issues. Methods: Thirty-six fathers or fathers-to-be (aged 15-51) were recruited through their partner’s participation in the THRIVE trial or through community organisations working with families in economically-deprived areas. Men participated in in-depth interviews, incorporating elements of repertory grids method. Interviews focused on the men’s upbringings, current circumstances, understandings of good fatherhood, and attitudes towards parenting interventions. Findings: Socially-disadvantaged men’s constructions of good fatherhood were complex and multi-faceted. Men drew on multiple discourses in constructing fathering identities which combined ideas about ‘involved’ fathering with more ‘traditional’ ideas around provision, protection and responsibility. In doing so, these men worked hard to align themselves with socially-acceptable discourses of good fatherhood, demonstrating their awareness of, and engagement with, societally-dominant discourses of modern-day fatherhood. Barriers to the men enacting their visions of good fatherhood centred around: the legacy of their upbringings; difficult relationships with partners and ex-partners; desire to demonstrate an acceptable masculinity; and their disadvantaged circumstances, including the instability of their lives and lack of work. The majority of these men displayed positive attitudes towards attending a parenting intervention. Factors affecting their intentions to attend included: desire to support their partner and feel involved in her pregnancy, perceiving benefits for themselves and their partners, and the belief that the interventions were relevant and appropriate to their needs. Potential barriers were: fear of public scrutiny, perceived lack of information, perceived lack of ‘need’, and notions of acceptable masculinity. Conclusions: Findings suggest that disadvantaged men held normative ideas about good fatherhood but that there were significant challenges facing them in living up to these ideals. Parenting interventions targeting disadvantaged fathers should therefore: capitalise on men’s excitement and commitment to partner and baby in the antenatal period; emphasize the relevance of content to the needs of disadvantaged men; and bear in mind potential barriers such as perceived lack of ‘need’, overcoming social anxieties, and notions of acceptable masculinity.

This thesis explores the ways in which transnational same-sex couples construe and experience transnational migration, intimacy, and home. The study was initially born out of the need to contribute to the young, but growing body of scholarly work in relation to queer migration studies. For long, the figure of ‘the migrant’ was founded on heterosexual terms only, thus impeding any possibility of exploring the lives of those with non-normative gender and sexual identities. During the last two decades or so, new scholarship has tried to alter this picture, arguing for a more inclusive assessment of global migration. This project aims to further the scholarly conversations in this regard, but it also wishes to go beyond the traditional economic and political spheres in which the migrant is usually placed in; hence, it promotes a study of migration that is also preoccupied with the intimate and emotional life of LGBT+/queer migrants. In this sense, this research is interested in how 12 transnational same-sex couples (that are also binational) understand and practice intimate life and home. Indeed, examining the life of these couples in migration offers a unique opportunity to delve into the intimate and domestic dimensions of transnational migration, and therefore, to show how the research participants actively negotiated and sustained family life and a sense of belonging in today’s rapidly changing and globalising world. The ‘transnational’ component will be key across this thesis, as it enables the possibility of understanding the couples’ different movements, attachments, networking and (emotional and material) practices that explicate and buttress their migratory journeys. The study was carried through the use of ethnographic techniques, namely, narrative interviewing, observation, and the construction of material culture narratives at the participants’ home(s). This methodological combination allowed for an in-depth and careful exploration of the individual and coupled biographies of the research participants. Particularly, this thesis illustrates how working with material culture brings richness and additional depth to empirical data, as well as it provides new opportunities for creativity and interaction with research participants. In the end, this research project chiefly aims to provide gay men, lesbians, and other non-heterosexuals in transnational relationships additional tools to reflect on their lives, sense of belonging, citizenship status, and the value that is politically and socially bestowed on to their relationships, families and overall personal commitments. Indeed, I wish to bring attention to the intimate side of migration; to the fact that migrants, like the ones in this research, have meaningful and on-going personal and interpersonal attachments and commitments. This is why I argue that studying this can be key to a deeper and better understanding of the phenomenon of migration in the 21st Century.