The expansion of trading hours especially within hospitality and retail has allowed a previously restricted segment of the nation's workforce an enhanced opportunity to participate in employment outside traditional working hours. Focusing upon mothers who adopt employment outside of the conventional working day, this study examines the consequences of accepting such employment and considers what influence this type of employment has upon the individual, their partner and their family. Despite the growing numbers, this vulnerable sector of the workforce often fails to attract a high priority of public or academic attention with the majority of policy initiatives (both company and government) being directed toward full-time employees. To document the effect of working part-time unsocial hours this research undertook interviews with eighty six individuals from a national supermarket chain and a restaurant group with a further twenty three follow-up interviews one year later. The data gathered documents the reality of paritime unsocial hours working (often involving emotional labour ) and examines the effect this form of employment has upon work performance. The analysis continues with an assessment of the effect such working has upon the lives of the individuals concerned and discusses the importance of partner support for coping with the problems associated with part-time unsocial hours work. The study concludes with practical suggestions that employers can adopt to improve welfare at work. It recommends government initiatives together with legislative changes designed to protect this vulnerable sector of the workforce from exploitation.

This thesis is made up of three papers and aims to explore the higher education routes taken by British Asian women covering analyses of degree subject and institution choices. The first paper explores the subject choices of UK home applicants to undergraduate degree courses with the use of multinomial logistic regression and Universities and Colleges Admissions Services applicant data. The study finds that there are clear differences both across and within ethnic groups in terms of preferred subject choice. Overall, ethnic minority groups other than the Black Caribbean group are more likely to apply to study subjects leading to careers in the professions when compared to the White ethnic group. Differences were found within ethnic groups and these were related to socio-economic background. The second paper uses binary logistic regression analysis and HESA enrolment data for academic years 1998 and 2005 to explore (i) the decision to move out of the parental/guardian home whilst attending university and (ii) the decision to move out of one's home region conditional on the fact a student is not living in the parental home. Findings suggest that Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi female students are all more likely to live in the parental/guardian home than White students. Students from all three Asian groups that do move out are less likely to attend a university outside their home region. These patterns are persistent in both 1998 and 2005. The third paper examines with the use of qualitative semi-structured interviews Indian mothers' perceptions of their roles in their daughters' university subject choices. The sample included nine women from varying educational backgrounds with different migration stories. It was important to all the interviewees that their daughters attend university, and this was something they had always envisaged. This aspiration was prevalent across the sample. The women rarely offered specific subjects and careers that they preferred for their daughters. Instead they had an inclination for a wide number of careers that shared specific favourable features such as high pay rewards.

In referring to psychoanalyst and theorist Julia Kristeva‟s claim that the maternal body has no subject, this research aimed at finding answers to the following question: in what ways might a maternal subjectivity be understood through art practice? The research focused on three themes: fragmentation, invisibility and boundaries. Initially, these themes were researched in the context of the maternal body and the abject. The engagement with the maternal body has led to expanding the inquiry to include kibbutz childhood memory, in general, and bodily memories, in particular. This has led to revealing a childhood trauma. It was established that fragmentation, invisibility and questions of boundaries are rooted in trauma. Trauma has been further explored, to be revealed as a sequence of traumas, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and intergenerational trauma, which span private and public spheres. The methodology research in action has been developed through the use of the „observer-participant‟ position, as well as the methods of persona and performative acts. Installation has been developed as a shared space, where traumatic memory has been re-visited and audience became witness. The research contributes to new knowledge in the field of trauma, in the contexts of maternal subjectivity, kibbutz childhood and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The text provides a critical reflection for the practice, both construct this research.

The main objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between national identity and fashion among Kuwaiti women. The research findings propose that Kuwaiti women are able to use fashion to contribute to the construct of their national identity in the twenty-­first century. A multi-­method approach to the investigation was adopted. Firstly, critical analysis was used to grasp the concepts of national identity and fashion, and conclusions were drawn. Secondly, a case study method was used to collect data from a prominent, iconic Kuwaiti woman, Fatima Husain. Data was collected by undertaking critical analysis of her book and of publications about her by others, as well as an interview with her. Finally, primary data was obtained through interviews with prominent designers from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, and from a structured questionnaire survey of women from these two countries. Thematic analysis was used to identify the key themes that were then analysed to establish the nature of the relationship between fashion and national identity among Kuwaiti woman. Five major themes and several other sub-­ themes were identified, analysed and discussed. These five major themes are discourses on individualism, symbolism, morality, ethnicity and parochialism. The main conclusions were: (i) national identity is a complex, multi-­ perspective concept not amenable to a universal definition. The position taken in this study was the modernist perspective, that is, national identity is a socially constructed process which continues to evolve according to context. Put in simple terms, it is a process in transition; (ii) there is no universal theory to explain fashion, which can be considered multi-­‐ disciplinary. This study concluded that the theory of fashion is rooted in social theory, behavioural science theory and economics theory, and it also involves aspects such as social class, behaviour (e.g. imitation, innovation) and disposable income. An analysis of fashion trends in Kuwait showed a significant shift in women’s fashion over the last 80 years; (iii) the Kuwaiti woman is ethnic, educated, independent, moral, wealthy, modest, decent, dignified, elegant and conspicuous. She has fine taste, is able to make clothing choices, is at times parochial but is ultimately able to use fashion to communicate her image and hence construct her national identity. However, therelationship between fashion and identity appears to manifest itself in two major ways – traditional dress and day dress. The study concludes with the design of a logo as part of the practical design element of the study. The primary elements of the logo were based on the findings of this research which were taken into account in the design. The logo therefore extended the theoretical findings using visual analysis. The objective is to have the logo manufactured for commercialisation.

The declining numbers of women in computing is a cause for concern for those in education and the IT industry alike. The need for a diverse workforce is necessary in order to have a creative balance in the IT Industry. The reasons for this decline are varied and can be attributed to factors such as the media, schooling or parental influences. This thesis specifically investigates how young people experience computers both in school and out of school, and how this influences the way in which they perceive the IT industry as well as its impact on career decisions. Questionnaires were used to provide statistical outcomes, and interviews were conducted to probe deeper into the thoughts and feelings of GCSE level, A-level and degree-level male and female participants. It was clear from the results of the study that both male and female students have very different experiences of computing, which inform their perceptions of the IT industry, whilst role models, such as parents, influence career decisions. It was clear that where female students had a positive and exploratory experience of computers and positive role models, they were more likely to consider computing as a career. It was also significant that out of school experiences, which differed between the genders, proved to be the most influential.

No description available.

HIV prevalence in China is currently less than one percent, but due to the large population this translates into a large number of people. The number of people living with HIV is growing and moving beyond high-risk groups to the general population. Ensuring adequate HIV awareness and knowledge is important for the successful prevention of HIV. This thesis investigates the evolution of HIV awareness and knowledge in China between 1997 and 2005. It also compares two methodological approaches to measuring HIV knowledge: a simple score approach and a latent variable approach. Three papers are presented and each addresses the main substantive issue using different methodologies. Various data sources and techniques used in the thesis provide each paper with its own perspective on the main substantive research question and unique insights into the main substantive and methodological issues. The first paper examines the evolution of HIV awareness among women in China between 1997 and 2005. The aim of this paper is to compare the levels of HIV awareness at various points in time. A regression decomposition analysis technique is used in this paper in order to disentangle the two main components driving a change in HIV awareness: the change in a population structure and the change in effect sizes due to external factors such as political environment, interventions and programmes. The results show that HIV awareness increased over time in China. With time, lower awareness groups are catching up and gaps between groups with initially different awareness levels are narrowing. The results suggest that the main driver of the observed change in HIV awareness over time in China is the change in the environment such as in political commitment, interventions and campaigns. The second and third paper both focus on the evolution of HIV knowledge among women in China between 1997 and 2005. The main aim of these papers is to assess whether China has succeeded in improving women’s HIV knowledge over time, and if China is a relative success story in improving women’s HIV knowledge when compared with other countries in the world with generalised (Kenya and Malawi) as well as with non-generalised (India and the Ukraine) HIV epidemics. The second paper uses a simple score approach to measuring HIV knowledge, whereas the third paper uses a latent variable approach. Partial proportional odds and multinomial logistic regression modelling techniques are employed for the analysis of patterns of HIV knowledge in China over time and in other countries included in the analyses. The main findings indicate that China has succeeded in improving women’s HIV knowledge. HIV knowledge in China is comparable to HIV knowledge in other countries with non-generalised epidemics. The HIV knowledge in China has become more homogeneous over time across different groups. However, the gap between the groups still exists and, therefore, more efforts should be directed towards improvement of HIV knowledge among women in China as well as in other cultural and epidemiological contexts. The main methodological findings show that both simple score and latent variable approaches to measuring HIV knowledge are useful and provide unique insights into the topic of the evolution of HIV knowledge in China

Approximately one million children in the UK are living in families where at least one parent has problem drinking tendencies. Evidence explores risks to children growing up in this environment. However, there is limited evidence exploring what influences an adult who grew up in a home where a parent drank alcohol to excess to drink within recommended limits, and whether behaviour/decision making with respect to drinking alcohol within recommended limits is deliberate. This study used a constructivist grounded theory design. Eleven participants were selected via purposeful sampling for their experience of growing up in a family where problem drinking had been observed. Data were collected from one to one individual semi-structured interviews over a period of 23 months. There were three main stages in the analysis of the data, initial coding, focused coding and theoretical coding, and theoretical saturation. The constructivist grounded theory gave consideration to human nature and social control, applying this to the creation and control of one’s own immediate personal social world where its influence stems from the impact of a parent/s problem drinking behaviour which were for the most part unpredictable and an environment that was largely unstable. Participants appeared to take control of, and responsibility for, the direction their lives have taken. Two key related aspects worthy of consideration in the context of clinical practice arising from this study are firstly, in relation to the attributes of resilience; harnessing it, and developing it, whilst acknowledging that not everyone has the same opportunities, or resources or ability to access these resources. Secondly, recognising the intensity of strategy development for maintaining drinking within recommended limits as a conscious decision where individuals develop personal strategies for achieving personal control. It is essential that services acknowledge the impact these experiences can have and the variability of resources available to individuals. The Alcohol Liaison role needs to develop to include identifying those in a family where there is problem drinking behaviour and those with a family history of problem drinking behaviour. An individual approach is required for developing strategies for promoting resilience and prevention strategies need to be determined and agreed on an individual basis enabling the individual to take control of drinking alcohol within recommended limits.

This thesis investigates differentials in the levels of fertility, nuptiality and contraceptive use in Liberia and Ghana, using data from the recent Demographic and Health Surveys in these countries. Of particular interest is the effect of the community in which a woman lives on her current and past fertility, her marital status and her use of contraception. This interest stems from the fact that, although the community in which a woman lives is integral to anthropological explanations of fertility, statistical models of fertility have rarely included an assessment of community effects. The method of analysis used is multilevel modelling. This involves fitting variables measured at the woman level, variables measured at the community level and also includes the use of random effects to assess the extent to which community effects have not been captured by the fixed explanatory variables. Multilevel log-linear models are used in the analyses of fertility and multilevel logistic models are used in the analyses of nuptiality and contraceptive use. This thesis demonstrates not only that there is significant variation between communities in both Liberia and Ghana for number of births 0-4 years before survey, children ever born, marital status and use of contraception but also that in each case significant community effects are found even after controlling for woman's age, education, religion and ethnicity.

No description available.