The aim of this study is to explore the ‘empirical particulars’ (Garland 2001, p. vii) of policymaking in crime and disorder control, and the ways in which sub national policy actors are able to adapt and exert influence more generally over national level policy decisions as well as resist such wider forces. This research contends that some rethinking is needed away from much existing criminological literature on shifts in crime control policy that has been dominated by the ‘grand narrative’ accounts of writers such as Garland (2001). These narratives have been concerned largely with the provision of general accounts of overall shifts in policymaking at the national and at times global levels. As a result the local dimension to this process has been with a few notable exceptions neglected or downplayed. Instead the primary focus of much existing criminological literature has been upon the role of national policy elites, presenting policymaking as a top down experience that follows a relatively smooth trajectory. In contrast this study suggests that policymaking is instead a more unpredictable and messier process that can be affected by problems of implementation and resistance. In order to examine the role of the ‘local’ within policymaking, this research employed the use of a single ‘exemplifying case study’ of one English city and in turn it examined in depth one particular area of policymaking and implementation, namely the local management of Anti Social Behaviour (henceforth ASB). This sought to bring together documentary analysis and elite interviews in an effort to provide an empirically detailed account of anti social behaviour policy development. This study focused primarily on a series of semi-structured interviews, involving a range of key local policy actors. These were conducted over an extended period of time, which coincided with the rise of the national level ASB agenda. This extended period enabled observations to also be made about the ebb and flow of policy often as it emerged and caused local practitioners to have to develop and adapt policy responses. The resulting empirical findings provide an informed example of the messiness and contingency of public policymaking, whilst also providing a site in which other academic theories can be tested and applied. The intention of this study is to not only make a significant contribution to the field in which it is nested (ASB policy and practice), but also to enhance our understanding of the effects that broader policy change and the impact that key national policy drivers can have upon the formulation of local level policy responses. In brief the thesis suggests that through the interaction of key policy actors at both the national and local levels, policy formulation and implementation is realised.

Globalization is changing the traditional models of family and family interaction. Considerable social, economic and demographic changes have taken place in advanced societies, leading to wide-ranging changes in the family. In Hong Kong, young people’s perception on family seems changing rapidly as well. This study attempts to explore and examine the possible effects of global culture and values on local Chinese cultural heritage with specific regard to young adults’ perceptions on marriage, parenthood and family obligation in the global world of late modernity where conditions of risks and uncertainties require careful illumination. The emphasis is upon the ways in which local Chinese culture responds to globalization from the perspective of family developmental theory and eco-systemic approach. The research is a cross-sectional multi-methods exploration of attitudes held by young people about family building in Hong Kong, utilizing focus groups, survey and individual interviews as the key research techniques. It adopts non-probability sampling in the three stages of the research that includes a mix of purposive and snowball sampling in six focus groups; quota sampling in a survey with 1132 young people being interviewed and purposive sampling in semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that in Hong Kong society, traditional Chinese moral values are still emphasized and endorsed, but it is observed that some western global values have begun to take root and these values might, according to the findings, be increasingly represented within the Hong Kong young people’s values systems. Today young people experience challenges and changes in family-related roles and personal lifestyles. Complete transition to adulthood has been delayed with increased dependence on parents. The consequences of this for Hong Kong family life remains however an unfolding story. In addition, this study examines various constraints to family building and implications for new policy and programme responses are discussed as well.

The thesis looks at the communication between the management shore and crew on board vessels, and examines the role of such communication in influencing OHSM in two Chinese chemical shipping companies. The study was conducted in the shore offices of two companies, as well as on four of their chemical tankers. The data was mainly collected by semi-structured interviews, supplemented by field observations, informal discussions and document analyses. By examining major areas of communication closely related to OHSM, i.e., shore to ship communication for work support, shore to ship communication for management control, ship to shore communication for safety reporting, ship to shore communication for safety suggestions, the study presents the range of purposes behind communication between the two. The study shows that communication between shore management and ship’s crew is significantly influenced by divergent interests between the two. It reveals a set of socio-economic and cultural factors that underlie their communication. As a consequence, such communication has noticeable influence on crew’s shipboard working practices as well as indirect effects on crew’s health, safety and well-being. The findings of this study show that shore-ship communication is mainly in an asymmetrical form. It was generally disengaged with the concerns of OHSM. The communication contributed to an unfavourable working environment. The study suggested that communication achieved very limited outcomes for OHSM. The study concludes by calling policy makers as well as industrial practitioners to rethink the role of communication in effective OHSM and reshape maritime regulatory strategy in promoting OHSM in the global shipping industry.

This thesis presents the findings of an ethnographic study of the social worlds of racist hate crime victims and their caseworkers. The fieldwork involved participant observation and 25 interviews with victims and caseworkers at a charity that supports victims of racist hate crime, based in an ethnically diverse UK city. The aim of the research was to explore victims’ perceptions and experiences of racist hate crime in light of the victim-centred definition of ‘hate crime’ adopted by the criminal justice system in England and Wales. This research contributes to a gap in our understanding of who is victimized and how, with what impact, and why they believe they have been victims of racist hate crime. The literature review sets the foundations for the thesis, arguing that empirical research is required to understand victims’ perceptions of racist hate crimes at the micro-level and the process of victimization as it extends to claiming and negotiating hate crime victim status with, for example, police officers. The analysis and findings build on the idea of racist hate crime as a process and shows how people become victims and how hate crimes are interactional accomplishments. Whilst making the case for the use of embodied ethnography for research into hate crime, the thesis addresses a range of complex ethical and epistemological issues – from cross-cultural research to researcher safety. The research also addresses gaps in knowledge, including the significance and operation of the Stephen Lawrence definition of hate crime. It adds granularity to our understanding of who is victimized and how, including less blatant forms of victimisation – racism by stealth. The thesis thereby contributes to our understanding of the ways in which racism is encoded in victims’ lives and how they perceive risk and suffer harm.

Despite the popularity of consumers‘ environmental behaviour choices, little research has been forthcoming which analyzes green behaviour across different situations in a systematic way. A particularly relevant stream of research to explain the situational effect on consumer environmental behaviour is the Behavioural Perspective Model (BPM). A key insight of the BPM is of the anticipated benefit consumers acquire and the impact of the environment that surrounds consumer choice. The aim of the research is to interpret consumer environmental behaviour across different situations in a systematic way by using the BPM. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, a mixed method approach was used among Cardiff consumers. The first study involved standardized open-ended interviews (N=30). Panel experts were also invited to take part in the BPM Contingency Definition Test. The second studies were conducted via survey (N=200), which provided data on 1,600 consumer situations. The findings from the consumers‘ verbal responses to descriptions of eight consumer environmental situations confirm the predictions raised by the BPM interpretation of consumer choice. Mehrabian and Russell‘s affective (Pleasure, Arousal, Dominance) and behavioural variables (Approach and Avoidance) showed significant main effects. The one-way ANOVA and Tukey‘s HSD analysis provide support for the patterns of the affective and behavioural variables for the BPM contingencies categories. Furthermore, the actual differences in the variables means scores of the groups were large (eta squared = between 0.1 and 0.4). The discriminant analysis justified the predicted capability of the BPM. Two-way interaction effects between affective variables were also identified. In summary, this study shows that the application of the model is not only empirically limited to familiar themes of consumer research but also applicable to different consumer environmental behaviours.

As part of the economic activity of the state, the concept of the ‘Public Plate’ is synonymous with sustainable public food procurement, where sustainable development outcomes of democracy and social justice are brought about through the provision of healthy nutritious food and localised supply chains, within a moral economy guided by an ethic of care. The economic activities of the state are also concerned with how public services are designed, delivered and accounted for, as governance. This research explores these issues through a study of the governance of nutritional care in hospital settings, the national context of Wales providing the focus for sustainable development outcomes. By examining the historical development of sustainability and healthcare governance in Wales and adopting a critical realist perspective, the research departs from the focus of existing studies on ‘what’ needs to be done, and aims to understand ‘how’ change has been brought about. The research finds that emerging structures for nutritional care in hospitals have been planned, designed and adapted over time, through leadership, learning and collaboration. Equity provides a guide for action, linking individual patients’ needs and outcomes, whilst values of dignity and respect guide activities of caring. Quality, patient experience and safety provide evidence of outcomes from those care processes as effectiveness. Effectiveness therefore becomes the driver of efficiency and efficiency drives lowest cost, resulting in best value outcomes. Variations in outcomes in practice lead to the proposition that the mechanism enabling and constraining change is that of capabilities, as an integrative concept linking structural empowerment with both cognitive and behavioural conditions. The challenges to governance are identified within best value as the need to reduce, rather than constrain costs, of particular concern in publicly funded healthcare systems where the demand for care, already in excess of supply, is expected to increase.

This study contributes to the growing cross-cultural body of literature of globalised consumer behaviour with pecific to CCT within the discipline of consumer research addressing the consumer identity of consumption. It explores the role of social influences in explaining consumer behaviour of a specific ethnic minority group in Malaysia (i.e. the Chinese Malaysians) during the celebration of the Lunar New Year. Specifically, this study aims to investigate the consumption celebration of the Reunion Dinner through its cultural significance within the multicultural Malaysian context especially of the Chinese Malaysian. Its objectives are to explore the ritual of the consumption, beyond the frame of economics or psychology but from the view of cultural meanings within the contextual, symbolic and experiential of consumption from acquisition to consumption and disposition. The theoretical guidance for this study which is parallel with CCT incorporates the lenses of social anthropology and consumer behaviour, which is based on interpretive and ethnographic approaches. Data was collected from forty in-depth interviews, participant observation, photographs over three years to provide a schema of analyses. The findings reveal variations of the celebration consumption from the participants, place, time and activities with negotiations made across age, gender and social status. Four central themes came to light as integral components of the celebrationconsumption experience in addressing the consumers’ identity and its identification through namely solidarity, symbolism, self-concept and play among ethnic subculture members. Firstly identity is negotiated through solidarity likened to the western identity with thanksgiving; bonding in preparation; time for all and reconnection; inclusion of ancestors, deities, friends and relatives; appropriation of food; and pragmatism of time and venue for the gathering. Secondly, identity is associated with symbolism derived from the meanings of: time; food and actions of gifting; and prayers to taboos. Thirdly, the concept of self-identity is reflected in the projection of future self; the role of mother, wife, daughter-in-law, and children; social identity and interdependent of self. Lastly, the phenomenology of play due to the liminal essence of standing between the threshold of old and new, is manifested through food, gifts and gambling as the ritual is being re-experienced through an imagined construction of reality and new identity. The findings of this study generate implications for theorists and practitioners within the context of the identity of the consumers in the construction, maintenance and negotiation of identity is often used to maintain the sense of identity through time as it defines oneself in relationship to other people. This study validates the knowledge of culture that is continuously produced, reproduced and negotiated within the CCT constructs from the ethnic subculture consumption perspective. Keywords: culture, consumption, ritual, identity, ethnic, subculture, solidarity,symbolism, self-concept, play Chinese, Consumer Culture Theory (CCT).

This thesis investigates deeper influences that contribute to the way organisational leadership is practiced, taking a social, cultural and collective point of view. Three different theoretical perspectives are drawn on: the work of Kurt Lewin and field theory shows that underlying forces exist, describing organising principles that are not under the control of human intention; the work of Carl Jung and the collective unconscious explains leadership at a deep archetypal level; the ideas of Pierre Bourdieu help to explain how leadership is established and maintained through social interaction and social fields—symbolic power, habitus and doxa. A narrative methodology provided the framework for interviewing participants on their leadership experiences. Two research groups consisted of (A) 17 corporate leaders, comprising 3 men and 14 women, (B) 6 organisational consultants, comprising 5 men and 1 woman. A set of questions based on the three theoretical perspectives, was used to analyse the data. A difference between leadership thinking and leadership in practice was found. Descriptions of leadership were individualistic and direction-giving, compared to narratives of leadership experiences which revealed relational, inclusive and collaborative leadership practices. A predominance of role model learning was also found. The concept of eclipsing is used to describe how relational, inclusive and collaborative practices are overshadowed by conventional leadership thinking. Field theory shows how dynamic fields influence eclipsing behaviour beneath the surface of intentional action. A Jungian perspective explains eclipsing as a hidden compensatory process within the dyadic relationship of the masculine and the feminine. Bourdieuian ideas explain how conventional leadership thinking is in the habitus of social interaction, and how symbolic power of leaders is a dynamic force in organisational systems. This thesis adds to the debate on ‘where leadership is situated’, offering new insight to conventional leadership theory, and advances thinking in relational and distributed leadership.

The thesis is a qualitative ethnographic study which examines the interaction between the operation of informal social control and de-industrialisation, in the context of austerity measures and public sector retrenchment. Drawing theoretical and methodological insights from the Chicago School, which argued that population churn and competing value systems in the ‘zone of transition’ inhibited the transmission of pro-social values (Shaw and McKay, 1947), this research develops these insights in a setting where these phenomena are absent in order to understand the implications of this changed context for informal social control. This study develops a definition of informal social control past its traditional focus on crime and anti-social behaviour and towards the control of actors and behaviours which are deemed socially problematic due to their transgression of local cultures of decency and respectability. This localised culture of respectability is itself the product of a shared identity and collective memory of hardship in a stable community where these values have been transmitted. This research builds out of an inductive examination of what residents viewed as the key issues facing them, namely combating a spoiled identity which was drawn from stigmatising media depictions of poverty and which painted all residents as being ‘workshy’. The implications for future research build on the construction of ‘decent’ identities in the post-industrial context and the ways in which identity is managed and renegotiated in an environment where even respectable individuals experience spoiled identities. It uncovers hidden orders within a seemingly disorganised community and demonstrates the extent to which state-based theories of crime control cannot account for levels of conformity to pro-social normative orders. In the ‘age of austerity’ this study highlights the importance of further research into the conditions under which this conformity may break down across a variety of different contexts.

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