Through a phenomenological approach and the adoption of an ethnographic methodology, this thesis is a study of a poor community in a residential slum quarter of Cairo. Both objective and subjective aspects of the poor’s everyday life were studied with a view to giving a rounded picture of their life-world, life-style, problems, coping responses and the social construction of their reality. In the process, slum daily life, occupation structure, housing, diet, clothing, education, health and recreation were described and the economic problems and budgets related to them were examined and described. Models were drawn wherever Possible. Institutions used by the poor to cope with their economic problems were revealed and distinguished into formal and informal institutions. The former were largely established through government policy, while the latter were either devised by the poor, or devised by others to service them. In the process of this study, non-economic mechanisms were revealed, mainly cultural ones, among which religion was by far the most important. It was supported and reinforced by the Egyptian cultural heritage in the form of various aspects of folklore, and cultural beliefs and typifications. Part of the aims of this study was to obtain a definition by the poor of their own situation. Thus, the study reveals the poor’s own definition of their poverty in their own terms. This allowed typifications of themselves as poor and of their life-style to emerge. These typifications formed the conceptual tools with which their reality was socially constructed. In the process of their definition, important aspects of their world-view were revealed, which acted as psychological coping mechanisms in preserving a dignified self-image, in conditions which contributed to impose on them serious limitations and humiliations. Research in six other areas of Cairo confirmed these findings. Both Moslems and Christians were found to share this view of the poor's life-world, which led to the conclusion that their view was deeply anchored not only in notions embedded in the Heavenly religions, but also in the Ancient Egyptian cultural heritage. Two long accounts of these views by a poor woman and man illustrated the use of these conceptions and typifications through their elaboration of a philosophy of life that was used as a rationale and a coping mechanism to accept their harsh reality. Major factors that affect this social construction of poverty were examined and their relative influence evaluated. The conclusions drawn define a tentative model of the "levels of poverty" and "characteristics of the poor". The findings of this research are related to the body of literature on poverty both in Western countries and in Egypt. They also help show the relationship between policy and economies at the macro level to the micro level of individuals and group. Finally, recommendations for policy and reform are drawn and suggestions for future research on poverty are advanced.

This thesis focusses on the interaction between rural-to-urban migration on the one hand, and 'modernisation' on the other, in the fields of economic, political and social relations in Lao society. The introduction presents the concepts and research methods used and the design of the thesis. It emphasises the aim of the work, to describe, through history, aspects of the development of various economic political and social relations in rural and urban Laos. In this context particular emphasis is given to the relationship between ideologies, expectations and practice. Myth and ritual are seen as areas of communication which legitimise an institutionalised order of inequality. Following a general historical and geographical background (Chapte 2), a critical review of the existing literature on Lao society (Chapter 3) and an introduction to the two research villages, one rural and one urban (Chapter 4), the next three chapters form the core of the thesis, offering a detailed analysis of, successively, economic, political and social relations within the rural and urban villages under the influence of modernisation. The section on the rural economy describes its historical development and analyses the influence of traditional ideologies on modern economic practice. The section on the urban economy shows how the economies of modern Lao towns developed as a result of factors external to Laos itself, while individual participants still maintain contact with the rural economic sector. In the study of political relations (Chapter 6) the importance of competing ideologies and the complexity of the relationship between ideals and practice become most clearly evident. The close link between town, state and monarchy on the one hand, is contrasted with the political ideology of the village which grows out of the villagers' primary concern to define and control their relationships with natural forces. The study of rural and urban social relations (Chapter 7) shows, through examples of a few key social activities, how the influence of modem practice has affected the development of social ideals, as well as behaviour. The concluding chapter brings together the analysis regarding the interrelationship between migration and modernisation, and shows how the traditional economic and social constraints governing 'appropriate' and prestige-giving redistribution of 'wealth', which had emphasised the principle of cooperation, have given way under the influence of 'modernisation , to economic motivations which emphasise competition. In modern Laos the ways in which people talk or think about their society derive to an important degree from a corpus of traditional ideology based on ritual communications. The ways in which they act within their society however, change in response to imported influences.

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This thesis investigates the lives of Euro-Americans expatriates, who are posted by multinational companies for a period between 1 to 5 years to the city of Jakarta, Indonesia. The main argument of this thesis is that expatriates' transnational lives are marked by boundaries. The prevalence of boundaries contrasts with current discussions on migration and transnationalism, which emphasise notions of fluidity. I suggest that expatriates' construction, maintenance, and transgression of boundaries characterises their relations with Indonesia. This is played out in especially in the domains of race and gender, interconnected with the body, the use of space, and socialising. Gender and race are among the most persistent of categories, which reconfigure especially expatriate women's experience of Indonesia, although they can never quite be transcended. The centrality of these categories, of race and gender, is not reflected in research on transnationalism. I argue that although expatriates lead `transnational' lives, their practices are marked by boundaries more than by flows. The notions of flows and boundaries are not conceptualised as opposites, but as necessarily presupposing each other. I suggest, though, that the role of boundaries in transnational lives has so far been disregarded. The study of expatriates thus adds a crucial dimension to theories of transnationalism. It also carries political relevance, asexpatriates represent `transnationalism from above', counterbalancing the existing research on unskilled labour migration movements. As expatriates have hardly been investigated at all, this study then fills a significant gap in terms of ethnography.

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This thesis considers the extent to which factors involved in women's reproductive identity construction constrain their capacity to protect themselves from HIV infection. It proposes that currently available prevention methods are impracticable for women in this setting, because it is only through unprotected sexual intercourse that they achieve "Proper Womanhood". The thesis is divided into three parts. Part I addresses the historical and epistemiological roots of the problem, and the methodological approach taken. Four bodies of literature are reviewed for this purpose. Part II consists of six case studies, which provide the empirical foundations for the analysis presented in Part III. It is argued that since the colonial era, Kampala women have struggled to establish their rightful place in the city. Doing so, however, has often meant choosing between social respectability and economic independence. This history has influenced the development of the Proper Woman construct, and contributes to its power. New dilemmas brought by the AIDS pandemic both underscore the relevance of Proper Woman values and present new obstacles to attaining them. Although AIDS is recognised as a clear and present danger, remaining HIV negative is not yet seen as a priority overriding all others. For women in this corner of Kampala, despite AIDS and the exigencies of city life, striving for decency and demonstrating respect and respectability, give shape to daily life, and meaning to the future. The thesis concludes with a discussion of how interventions should take account of the existing normative structure, and particularly of existing values and norms that influence sexual and reproductive behaviour in relevant ways.

<p> This thesis is based upon my artistic interaction and response to the 5,000-year-old myth of the Sumerian deity, Inanna. The main element of this thesis consists of a body of artwork that evolved out of the interweaving of textual, psychological, and artistic research. The artwork is an artist's response to a particular juncture in the descent portion of Inanna's myth . . . the moment of her transformation. This amalgamation of artistic and textual artifacts documents the power of an ancient story, from a long-dead culture, to reach through time and touch an individual life. The written documentation draws from diverse areas of study such as alchemy, mythology, depth psychology, women's spirituality, and women's studies. Through readings, conferences, workshops, one-on-one conversations, active imagination, and art-making I have woven together a glimpse, perhaps a momentary perspective, of an encounter with a divine feminine archetype. I am a visual artist and my lens is that of a 21^st century woman and a maker-of-things. I gather, experience, and express my knowingness from this point of view and my thesis reflects my perspective.</p>

This doctoral thesis is a feminist ethnographic study of psychiatric patients in the State of Sarawak, East Malaysia. The study took place at a psychiatric hospital located in the capital city of Kuching, commencing in 1997. Although Hospital Sentosa is a small institution it is the only psychiatric institution in the State and therefore constitutes an important mental health resource in this region. This ethnographic study primarily concentrates on the lives of women patients in keeping with my chosen methodological approach and seeks to explore the 'culture' of the hospital setting through facets such as daily interactions, activities and relationships. The feminist approach has not however precluded the accounts of male patients whose experiences are utilised in a comparative exercise with those of women counterparts. In addition the views of staff of both sexes and all ranks are considered in relation to their attitudes towards the care of psychiatric patients and the broader area of work-related concerns including collegial support and occupational hazards. In keeping with an ethnographic approach themes developed in the thesis are drawn through an analysis of findings as noted by observation methods as well as through interviews with participants. Furthermore a self-reflexive approach has been an important aspect of analysis commensurate with feminist methodology, in which my role as a researcher is considered in relation to issues of culture, gender and class as well as some of the difficulties of research in a post-colonial and unfamiliar cultural context. Although some avenues of inquiry in the study have not easily lent themselves to an analysis of gender, this thesis primarily argues that the hospital reproduces oppressive policies and practices that impact with greater severity on women patients. Oppressive practices in relation to gender and ethnicity at the hospital are viewed against a backdrop of contemporary psychiatric care as enacted on wards. It is argued that these practices can be viewed in turn as being, for the most part, historically premised upon imported British models of care replicated through colonialism in Malaya and by extension at a later period in the multicultural State of Sarawak.