Symptoms usually associated with the menstrual cycle were studied weekly for four weeks in men and women by taking simultaneously measures of mood and personality.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the consumer decision process for hospitality services, with particular reference to the interactions occuring between the consumer and the producer during service delivery. As the hospitality industry is very diverse, the hotel short break product was selected as the locus for the study. At the outset, a hypothetical model of the consumer decision process was constructed, drawing on the characteristics of hospitality services and the differing perspectives of the consumer and the producer. In order to generate a grounded theory which would help to explain the consumer decision process, data was collected by personal interview prior to, during and after the hotel short break. The interview data was then transcribed and analysed using the constant comparative method developed by Glaser and Strauss. Following this, a secondary method of analysis derived from Kelly's personal construct theory was used to elaborate the theoretical framework. To identify decision-making similarities and differences more clearly, each interview was re-constructed in the form of an interactive computerbased cognitive model using- a software program called Cognitive Policy Evaluation (COPE). The output from the models, in the . form of cognitive maps depicting themed relationships, was used to illustrate decision process relationships and distinguish between consumers with extensive and limited prior product experience. The hypothetical model was supported by the study findings which showed that prior experience of the product category and the perceived importance of the purchase occasion influence the level of consumer involvement in the decision process, and thereby the range and type of decision-making activities which are undertaken. The findings also illustrate the value of prior product experience and involvement as segmentation variables by revealing sub-group characteristics relating to the selection, assessment and evaluation of hospitality services. They include notable differences in the operation of personal category systems during pre-purchase and the personal rating systems used by consumers during the consumption and postconsumption evaluation stages of the decision process.

The objectives of this research were ambitious: the definition and development of a structured methodology that: 1. captures the total environment of complex architectural design problems; 2. enables the many parts and interests in an architectural development to communicate and understand each other; 3. provides a framework that can embrace the many sub-problems and conflicts that are bound to arise during the definition and appraisal of a design; 4. provides a sequence of procedures that enables a design to be elaborated that both solves the technical problems and induces consensus between the interests.

The thesis is designed to improve our understanding of user participation in Web-based development practices in the commercial setting of the 3D software industry. It aims to investigate whether the creative capacities of users and their contributions to the online firm-hosted 3D platform are indicative of a novel configuration of production that influences the processes of product development across firm boundaries. The thesis mobilizes the user participation literature developing in media research as its main theoretical framework. It builds on insights derived from work on user participation in media sites as seen through a cultural lens, in particular, as developed in Henry Jenkins' notions of 'participatory' and 'convergence culture'. The user participation literature is supported by a combination of insights drawn from work on communities of practice and user-centred innovation so as to offer a more robust approach to examine and appreciate the firm-hosted 3D platform as a site of user participation. More specifically, the conceptual framework for the study provides a basis for an examination of the ways a software developer finn encourages user participation in a market and of how this enables and facilitâtes particular modes of user creativity. These are shown to shape and maintain a firm-hosted platform that aids product development efforts that are expected to benefit the developer fimi. An empirical study of the platform, Second Life, provides the basis for the analysis of finn-user interactions which are shown to underpin a distinctive finn leaming process in the context of product development that occurs across permeable fimi boundaries. The thesis yields insight into the way a developer firm invites its user base to partner with it in product development, indicating how aspects of user participation associated with non-market dynamics are embedded in commercial activity and professionalism. The pivotal role of users is revealed in the design, development and sustainability of a firm-hosted 3D product. The findings point to interesting relationships between the distinctive creative capacities of users and the range of capabilities afforded by the firm-provided design space. Variations in user participation and contributions to product development suggest that particular patterns of learning opportunities occur. The analysis yields several new concepts including a 'modification effect market' which are used to extend existing conceptualizations of user participation in digitai development practices in the commercial setting of the 3D software industry.

This thesis is a study of the ways in which the concept of sexuality changes in meaning over time and as it travels through different Peruvian feminist discursive fields and sites of action. Although academic research on Latin American feminists' politics of sexuality has been very limited to date, their own documents reveal a notable absence of debates on same-sex sexuality within the field of sexual and reproductive rights. Moreover, when same-sex sexuality is incorporated into discourse, conceptualized as lesbian rights, it does not refer to low-income women. This paradox is mirrored in feminist connections with British international development agencies. Combining multisited ethnography with a variety of qualitative research methods, I examine the effects of the shifting meanings and normative assumptions in the deployment of 'sexuality' by key Peruvian feminist individuals and organizations in their work at local, national, regional and global levels. In this thesis I show that feminist discourse on sexual rights is implicitly heteronormative with reference to women in Lima's low-income settlements and related national policy advocacy. This limitation is influenced by and reinforces the discursive and funding pressures emanating from international development agencies. Meanwhile, the same feminist actors' national and regional public policy advocacy on lesbian rights and non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation does not connect sexuality with, class, ethnic or national differences and inequalities. The consequence is the construction of a normative middle class, modern, global, urban lesbian subject in Peru that is considered of little relevance by UK-based international development agencies. At regional and global levels, feminist discourse on sexual and reproductive rights has very recently incorporated ythe notions of 'sexual and gender diversity', thus incorporating questions of same-sex sexuality. However, differences of social class, race, ethnicity and geo-political location remain unexamined. I argue that in future feminist cultural politics, the pre-theoretical commitments and normative assumptions of sexuality and related rights-based concepts, deployed in different discursive fields and sites of action, need be theorized on the basis of women's knowledge from different economic, ethnic, racial and national contexts.

Discussions of blogging as a form of political communication have mainly centred on the context of election campaigns, national domestic issues, citizen political blogging and mainstream media blogs. The rise of government blogging as an alternative news source in the aftermath of the 2003 war in Iraq, however, is much less addressed by scholars. This thesis examines the case of the US State Department blog Dipnote in order to study the dynamics of blogging as foreign policy communication and public diplomacy. The focus of the analysis is on posts relating to the Middle East, towards which US foreign policy attention was primarily geared after 9/11. The broader research question of this thesis attempts to determine the relative importance of professionalization, personalization and ideology in influencing the content on the official foreign policy blog of the U.S. government, in order to advance the theoretical understanding of blogging in the context of foreign policy communication and public diplomacy. A content analysis of blog posts was conducted between the period of September 2007, when the blog was launched, and March 2010. In addition to this, several interviews were conducted with the management of the blog at the State Department. Furthermore, by comparing the blog content under the Bush and Obama administrations, this study was able to trace patterns of continuities and discontinuities over time. The analytical framework is adapted from Farrell and Webb’s (2002) professionalization framework, and as such it breaks down the blog’s elements into technical, resource, and thematic developments. First, it is argued that the utilization of the blog as a cultural space is a new interpretation for foreign policy communication not previously considered in studies of government blogging in political communication or public diplomacy research. Second, blogging enables a new form of official yet casual communication which serves to legitimize American activities and presence in the Middle East through personalization and de-ideologization of content that make the blog a source of soft power. Third, the blog is a “protected space” (adapted from Gumbrecht, 2004) where the government maintains editorial control, low immediacy, low interactivity and low engagement. Overall, the findings point to the classic contradictions that the government faces both offline and online in the digital era; between openness and control, as well as secrecy and transparency, especially in the foreign policy context. In conclusion, the analysis suggests that blogging is part of an evolution and does not amount to a revolution in political communication and public diplomacy. I thus argue that in their adoption of new technology, the government moves from a new technology experimental phase to a new technology consolidation phase.

The research question of this thesis is what are the determinants of access to medicines and health care in developing countries? First, this thesis hypothesises that income is an important determinant of access to medicines and health care and that access is low for low income individuals. Second, this thesis hypothesises that an expectation of a high level of expenditure on medicines reduces the propensity to consume which implies a negative price elasticity. This thesis sets out to understand demand structures to answer this research question. The first chapter conducts an exploratory exercise to study government demand for medicines using price procurement data across a sample of developing countries. A different approach is used to impute price elasticities for medicines and range from -1.0 and -2.0. This means that a 1% increase in medicine prices, government demand for medicines will drop from 1% to 2%. The thesis begins the econometric analysis at the patient level using household survey data across a cross-section of 35 developing countries. Demand for health care is inelastic ranging from -0.19 to 0.6. The next two stages of empirical work use national household level data from India as a country case study. Price elasticities for outpatient care range from -0.17 to 0.43 and for inpatient care range from -0.13 to 0.03. Overall, the statistically significant price elasticity results are intuitive with a negative sign but are inelastic and at the lower end of the range found in the literature. The main determinants of health seeking behaviour are similar across different health settings studied in this thesis. These include having insurance and high household expenditure which implies that the poor will experience access problems. Other drivers include health status, gender, marital status, geographical location, education, employment and regulation. This thesis contributes to the evidence base because current research is limited and has typically drawn from smaller datasets. With a particular focus on medicines, the empirical findings offer policy implications in settings where pharmaceutical policies are not well developed. A broader approach to pharmaceutical policy making is necessary that considers reform measures on the demand and supply side from a health systems perspective.

China has attracted considerable attention in recent years with its rise as an international economic power. The year 2008, in particular, brought China into the spotlight through a series of dramatic events, amongst which the Tibet riots in March 2008 (in conjunction with the Olympic torch relay) were arguably the most controversial. This resulted in clashes between competing perspectives both on television screens and on the streets in the form of student protests. This study investigates 1) how the sampled British news media (both mainstream television news and elite press) covered and interpreted the Tibet riots, as well as 2) why British and Chinese students (both having been in the UK when the riots occurred) perceive the riots and issues related to the Tibet Question in different ways. This study finds that the availability of news sources (especially those providing specific details) affected the sampled British news media to a large degree in presenting the ethnically-targeted feature (i.e. the violence mainly targeting Han Chinese-owned businesses and Han Chinese passers-by). The ethnically-targeted feature was also interpreted in various ways by inferring the sources of rioters’ grievances from, for instance, characteristics of the targets and policies that might affect people living in Tibet. This study also finds that while British participants tended to focus on the clashes between protesters and authorities, Chinese participants knew a lot about the scale of the damage and casualties. They also draw on different structures of knowledge and experience to infer the motivations of the rioters, as well as to trace the sources of their discontent. On this basis, this study identifies the factors that have caused differences between British and Chinese participants in their perceptions and understanding of these events.

This research is an illustration of a participatory action research (PAR) with street children with the key research question being, ‘In what ways might I work towards improving my work with street children in Mumbai through participatory action research?’ The empirical work for this thesis has been conducted in the challenging environment of the streets and a drop-in centre in Mumbai, India. At the heart of this participatory action research process has been the ideological belief of ensuring that street children’s own perspectives on their lives are taken into account while carrying out any work with them. Specifically, this research demonstrates how a group of street children were encouraged to reflect on their day-to-day street experiences and talk about them through the use of a multimethod mosaic approach to different kinds of dialogue. As a result I have discovered how the street children became more confident to discuss their lived realities and the efforts they were capable of making in order to address their street-related concerns. I have been committed, as is evident throughout this thesis, to understanding, both, the principles and practices of participation, in difficult contexts. As a result, the driving force behind this research process is the idea of ‘participation’ and its translation into my practical work with street-living children. Closely aligned to this philosophy of participation, have been my personal and professional values, which have influenced this research. The research is organised into a series of seven action-reflection cycles which have enabled me to cumulatively build insight and appreciation. This thesis, therefore, also tells the story of my developing insights on ways of engaging meaningfully with the street children and consequently, positions my ‘living I’ at the centre of this research process. My work in this thesis can be viewed in two parts based on the nature of actions within it. The research begins with my intentional action of learning about the culture and ethics of working sensitively with street children. Building on this, I have then implemented the idea of participation in my empirical work through the committed actions of using visual methods of drawings and photographs as prompts to develop meaningful dialogues with the street children. This thesis also documents the participatory process of using verbal methods of circle time group discussions and problem-posing “why-why?” and problem-solving “how-how?” methods with the street children. This study contributes to widening our understanding and knowledge about developing appropriate participatory approaches of working with street children. Analysis of this thesis puts forward fourteen evidence-based appreciations grounded in the lived realities of my practical research experience that focus upon the key processes of working systematically with street children.

This thesis considers how local authority social workers go about assessing the suitability of lesbians and gay men to foster or adopt children. It also asks how far a stated lesbian or gay sexuality is problematic within this process. A constructionist approach to social enquiry is used, data being generated by interviews with social workers, as well as a case study of a lesbian couple’s adoption application. Dorothy Smith’s ‘institutional ethnography’ is also employed to examine the ‘relations of ruling’ that structure such assessments (Smith, 1987). A continuum of assessment models is proposed in order to show the dominance of ‘on merit’ approaches which prioritise child care skills over sexuality issues. The thesis demonstrates the presence of arguments about the supposed ‘risks’ to children posed by lesbians or gay men. The notion of ‘discrimination’ in assessments is analysed, as are attempts by some social workers to challenge discrimination, and it is argued that small-scale anti-discriminatory measures are inadequate. Constructions of the categories ‘lesbian’ and ‘gay’ are discussed in relation to the ‘good carer of children’, and the thesis proposes the dominance of two versions: the ‘good lesbian’ and the ‘maternal gay man’. The thesis argues that the ‘on merit: prioritisation of child care skills’ model relies upon iii heteronormative ideas, and the case study looks at contested meanings given to the category ‘lesbian’ which are also gendered and raced. The thesis sees ‘lesbian’ and ‘gay’ as categories of knowledge, and social work assessment as a ‘making sense’ activity in which versions of these are produced. Such everyday practices are problematised in the thesis, and discourse, (black) feminist and queer theories are used to analyse how the assessment is a site for the production of knowledges about sexuality.