Introduction: There has been a growing interest around the use of the Internet, and more recently the role of social media use, within all aspects of day-to-day living. Previous research has found contrasting relationship s between social media use and meaningful social connectivity. Some suggesting Facebook can provide a 'social compensation'; offering an opportunity of developing positive social relationships and self-exploration (Indian & Grieves, 2014; Selfout et al., 2009; Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2008). Other research argued that those who most benefitted from social media already have good social links, thus a 'rich get richer' effect (Kraut et al., 2002). Aim: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social anxiety symptoms, passive and active Facebook use and online and offline relationships (bridging and bonding) to life satisfaction. Method: A total of 124 completed online questionnaires were collected. The participants completed five quantitative measures. The link to the study was posted on related Facebook pages and online social anxiety forums. Results: The results demonstrated a positive correlation between social anxiety and passive and active Facebook use, but only a significant negative correlation between active Facebook use and life satisfaction. There was also a negative correlation between social anxiety and life satisfaction. A mediation analysis suggested that social anxiety acted as a significant mediating variable between active Facebook use and life satisfaction. Furthermore, a hierarchical regression suggested that it was, when controlling for social anxiety, face-to-face bonding relationship that was the most significant predictor variable for life satisfaction. Clinical implications: The study does not argue a causal relationship between Facebook use, social anxiety, relationship types and a negative impact on life satisfaction. However it does highlighted interesting significant correlation between Facebook use, social anxiety and life satisfaction. This would suggest that within clinical practice an individual’s digital life should be thought about, alongside the more traditional ideas of social networks. Furthermore, the clinical focus of developing of an individual’s face-to-face relationships remains an important factor associated with life satisfaction.

Failure to address poor mental health during childhood and adolescence results in higher risk of suicide, substance misuse, self-harm, and lower achievement in education and employment (Richards et al., 2009). Of the psychological factors underlying mental health, it has been argued that self-regulation is central (Posner & Rothbart, 2000). The Barkley (1997) model of self-regulation is reviewed, and evidence considered that suggests it has cross-diagnostic validity. The typical developmental courses of emotion regulation and effortful control, and how these are associated with mental health, are considered in order to inform applied psychology practice with children and young people. A refinement of the Barkley model is proposed to enable the synthesis of findings from different bodies of research, and to offer a framework by which psychopathological diagnoses might be etiologically, rather than behaviourally, defined. The research study used neuropsychological and self-report measures to test whether emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between behavioural inhibition and psychopathological symptoms in adolescents. 39 pupils, aged 10 to 16 years, completed sustained attention subtests from the Test of Everyday Attention, the Attentional Control Scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Aggression Scale and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Adult-report versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were also completed by parents and teachers. Significant, positive correlations between difficulties in emotion regulation and psychopathological symptoms were observed. Significant negative correlations were observed between behavioural inhibition and psychopathological symptoms. The mediation model was supported: emotion dysregulation fully mediated the relationship between behavioural inhibition and psychopathological symptoms. The relationship of the study results to the Barkley (1997) model of self-regulation is discussed. The study findings suggest that intervention to treat or prevent the development of psychopathological symptoms in adolescents is better targeted at reducing habits of emotion dysregulation than at improving the capacity for behavioural inhibition.

Background: The efficacy and effectiveness of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) in improving cognition and quality of life (QoL) in individuals with dementia has been well demonstrated (e.g. Spector Thorgrimsen, Woods et al., 2003). However, less is known about the mechanisms of change for these positive outcomes. Objective: This study aimed to explore potential mechanisms of change for CST, including loneliness, social-connectedness and self-efficacy. Design: A within group repeated measure study was adopted. Participants included older adults with mild-moderate dementia participating in CST groups within Older People Community Mental Health Teams across Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Methods: Participants were asked to complete assessment measures on loneliness, social connectedness and self-efficacy prior to, during, and following CST intervention. Wilcoxon signed rank tests explored whether there were significant differences in outcome scores post CST. Spearman correlations examined the relationship between changes in cognition and QoL scores with changes in loneliness, social connectedness and self-efficacy scores post CST. Results: Recruitment was lower than anticipated, with 22 participants recruited and 15 completing pre and post assessments. A significant improvement for self-efficacy was found post CST. Improved QoL scores were associated with decreased loneliness and improved self-efficacy post CST. Conclusions: There are suggestions within these preliminary findings that self-efficacy improves following CST, which is a novel finding. Results also revealed that improvements in QoL were associated with improvements in loneliness and self-efficacy following CST. However, the small sample size in this study means that conclusions that can be drawn are limited. Future research needs to clarify the role of loneliness and self-efficacy in the context of outcomes for CST intervention.

The research upon which this thesis is based aims to build on a rich and growing body of work about how imprisonment affects, is practiced by, and structures families with a loved one in prison. It aims to do this by contributing to knowledge on the lived experiences of prison visiting for the families of prisoners, who were until recently largely overlooked in prisons scholarship. In turn, this thesis aims to shed light on families’ overall experience of the imprisonment of a loved one(s). The research underpinning this thesis involved eliciting the experiences of families, through carrying out ethnographic observation and qualitative interviews in a unique field-site, the Visitors’ Centre at HMP Edinburgh, over a nine-month period (during 2014-2015). This thesis builds on the literature that documents the many negative effects of imprisonment for the families of those confined, particularly through its exploration of how imprisonment alters the space and time of families. This thesis notes that these myriad negative impacts require considered attention and action. Yet, this thesis also makes a key and critical argument that the experience of imprisonment for many families should be considered within the broader context of their lives. These families’ lives are often characterised by not only imprisonment(s), but by structural disadvantage, and by the presence and experience of varied and intrusive state interventions. This thesis argues that each of these too are often experienced as imprisoning, and in turn questions whether a focus exclusively on the pains specific to familial imprisonment- in scholarship, policy, and practice- risks encouraging a continuing focus on the prison as both the only cause of, and main site for finding solutions, to family difficulties.

This thesis explores and analyses the applicability and limitations of human rights law as it applies to transgender persons. As such limitations are most evident in a strictly sex segregated spaces, the thesis proposes a case study on detention to illustrate potential conflict between the binary models of the sexes, gender fluidity and application of international human rights law to those with transgender or non-binary gender identity. For this, the thesis reviews international human rights law sources, queer theory literature and transgender and non-binary gender studies. This research examines the issues of transgender and non-binary identities and their recognition in law, including developments in international human rights law and the recognition of transgender identities in human rights instruments. The thesis considers issues such as underlying principles of human rights, and substantive rights applicable to transgender persons while surveying the national jurisprudences to assemble and fully examine the available models of transgender recognition in law. The case study on detention analyzes the lived experiences of transgender prisoners and their life stories. It examines the international standards on the treatment of transgender prisoners and their human rights. The scope and applicable framework of protection is also discussed, considering the tension between binary nature of prisons and transgender persons’ non-binary gender. Overall, this thesis initiates a discussion about the binary/non-binary dichotomy in the prison context and asks a series of questions as to how transgender and non-binary gender identities can be accommodated in the prison context. It concludes with a number of recommendations for a deeper understanding of sex/gender and prison dichotomy both in theory and practice. The thesis also offers practical recommendations to international human rights mechanisms to provide specific guidelines on the application of human rights law to transgender and other non-binary gender prisoners.

Recognising the accounting implications of Islamic business principles, initiatives have been taken to develop a framework that primarily aims to serve the financial reporting needs of Islamic financial industry. Those initiatives started with the objective of developing separate Islamic accounting standards. However, they have ended up with significantly heterogeneous objectives. Employing Institutional Logics Perspective (ILP) as a theoretical framework and case-study approach as a research design, this study provides comparative accounts into the role of selected institutional logics (religion, profession, market, community and state) in shaping two Islamic financial reporting standardisation projects initiated by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the Malaysian Accounting Standard Board (MASB). Moreover, utilising ILP supplemented by remarks from the institutional entrepreneurship concept, this study examines the role of actors in initiating and then differently shaping the standardisation policies of these projects. Research findings informed by semi-structured interviews and document analysis indicate that Islamic financial reporting standardisation projects have been historically mapped by certain institutional logics. The dominance of those logics has experienced significant changes over time, resulting in subsequent changes in the standardisation strategies of those projects. Influential actors have also played an important role in shaping those projects through promoting certain organisational strategies in line with the institutional logics in which they are embedded This study concludes that the heterogeneity which AAOFI and MASB have shown in their standardisation strategies is attributed to: the relative dominance of certain logics in each institutional context; the centrality of those logics to organisational mission and goals; the extent to which prevailing institutional logics are represented within the organisation and the balance of power between different logics' representatives; and the extent to which actors have been able to promote their entrepreneurial vision and mobilise allies behind it.

Recent shifts in the media landscape, brought about by political, economic and technological innovations, pose vital questions for media policy. This study sets out to locate these questions within the context of an examination of media developments in South Korea during a decade of intense change (1998-2008) when a neo-liberal government took office. The central concern is to document and shed light on the workings of the media system during a period that saw the introduction of several pay TV platforms by a government that questioned core elements of established media practices. Media development and its politics context have drawn much academic interest in recent years. However, little attention has been given to media development within the neoliberal government of Korea. Drawing on historical context, the thesis examines the politics of stakeholders in the media market and challenges of media policy within the shifting media ecology. To this end, the thesis employed political economy and media policy study disciplines. These disciplines incorporate an extensive study of literature, observational experience and semi-structured interviews. The thesis perceives the media market in a social context, composing of the government, market and civil organisations, while rejecting technology determinism. Three key findings are identified throughout this thesis. Firstly, with respect to media structure, the thesis has identified that the introduction of the pay TV platform has driven market competition, but social values such as pluralism are not guaranteed. Secondly, referring to media policy, this work has demonstrated that the government still maintains strong authority over the evolution of the media system. Despite proponents of the decline in government due to socio-political shifts as well as the globalisation trend, this work has proven that the government is a decisive agent not only in determining the media structure but also in the expansion of platforms. Meanwhile, the thesis also identified that the incumbent regulatory regime is under attack because of a widening gap between existing regulatory regimes and new services initiated by new technology. Finally, in terms of relationships between stakeholders in the media market, the work has demonstrated that public broadcasters have remained an influential player in the commercialised media market. It has been argued that the public broadcaster is in decline or demise because of shrinking funding sources, downsizing pressures and criticism of declining quality programming. However, the thesis has shown that the public broadcaster still retains its power in the commercial ecology. The thesis concludes that a healthy media market in a democratic society is constructed and sustained by a consistent media policy that balances public intervention and market principles.

This thesis is concerned with the psychosocial impact of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) - an inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis. Although an extensive literature exists on the nature and impact of psoriasis, little is known about the effect that psoriatic arthritis can have on an individual, and the bearing it may have on their quality of life. In order to address this gap in the literature, this study utilised a mixed methods research design, employing a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews, followed by a quantitative, cross-sectional postal survey. In the qualitative study, interviews were conducted with ten people living with psoriatic arthritis. Analysis of the data, using Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (JPA; Smith, 2003) resulted in five emerging themes; pain, functionality (including fatigue), emotions (including depression), coping and treatment experience/management. The quantitative study used a postal survey to measure the variables of interest and explore the associations between them. Survey respondents consisted of a sample (n = 313) drawn from The Psoriasis Association membership and also 44 from a hospital rheumatology clinic. AA participants completed a piloted questionnaire containing questions about their demographic characteristics and validated measures of quality of life. Analysis confirmed that the group with PsA fared less well on all measures of quality of life, than those with just psoriasis. Correlations identified highly significant relationships between most study variables, however of note were the relationships between fatigue and current pain (r = .547) and depression (r = .670). Within the Psoriasis Group correlations of interest included those between anxiety and social functioning (r = -.606) and DLQI and social functioning (r = -.546). Comparison of the correlations identified 18 that were significantly different between the groups. Of these, relationships between physical functioning, pain, fatigue and self efficacy were of particular interest, whilst in the psoriasis group the associations between self efficacy, social functioning and psychological health were noteworthy. This research provides some evidence that different psychosocial variables appear to be involved in the reductions in quality of life experienced by the two clinical populations in this study. The results suggest that in rheumatology and dermatology clinics, the routine measurement of fatigue, self efficacy and psychological health could be used to inform the prescribing of therapies, psychosocial interventions and drugs to improve emotional functioning, so impacting on health-related quality of life. Furthermore, these fmdings have highlighted the need to elucidate the symptom of fatigue in PsA and position it as an appropriate target not only for clinical management, but also psychological management. By advocating fatigue as a legitimate concern, this may offer patients the chance to discuss fatigue explicitly and obtain appropriate health advice.

In this research I employ a social constructionist and a discourse analytic approach in order to theorise the phenomenon of metaphor and its use in therapy. I draw upon critical social psychology debates on notions such as 'self, subjectivity and materiality. Sixteen participants took part in this study. Eight of those were practising therapists, five were clients and three were both therapists in training as well as clients. The participants were interviewed about their views on metaphor and its use in therapy, using semi-structured interview schedules. The three therapists/clients took part in a focus group to explore experiences and views from both positionings and to observe the co-creation of meaning in action. Two versions of discourse analysis were employed in the analysis of the resulting transcripts: Discursive Psychology (DP) (Potter and Wetherell, 1987) and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) (Parker, 1992). I argue that while a number of competing and contradictory discursive resources regulate the meaning of 'metaphor', metaphor eschews reductionist conceptualisations. Instead, it is a complex discursive phenomenon with 'real' implications for subjectivity and action. As metaphor makes available certain world-views and subject positions, therapists are called to evaluate their awareness of the implications of the use of metaphor. I also observe that there are currently limited discourses that allow us to talk of metaphor as a process, rather than as a reified entity. I argue that, far from being a medium of mere representation of experience (the 'merely explanatory' account), metaphor actively creates experience. It is within a relational, contextual and collaborative (Le. co-constructive) way, rather than a mere strategic and instrumentalist one, that metaphor can best be understood and utilised in therapy for the benefit of clients.

This thesis investigates subjective states of awareness in memory for emotional information following Tulving's (1985) dual-memory model in which feelings of 'remembering' (including specific recollection of the encounter with the item) index episodic memory and feelings of 'knowing' (memory but without any specific recollection) index semantic memory. Rajaram's (1996) proposal that distinctiveness of processing increases feelings of 'remembering' while fluency of processing increases feelings of 'knowing' was examined. Seven studies utilising news stories with varying emotional content were conducted following the assumption that emotional content would increase both distinctiveness and fluency of processing (cf. Oschner 2000). If emotional information invokes greater distinctiveness of encoding, this would be expected to result in enhanced episodic encoding and increased 'remembering'; greater fluency of processing would be expected to result in enhanced semantic encoding and increased feelings of 'knowing'. The studies broadly support the hypothesis that emotional news stories increased feelings of 'remembering'; however, emotion did not systematically affect feelings of 'knowing'. Earlier research using different materials found increased 'remembering' with enhanced distinctive/elaborative processing. Three studies manipulating depth of processing, level of attention at encoding and repeated study trials replicated these effects with both emotional and neutral news stories. Using news stories as a study material facilitates investigation of the hypothesis that conditions promoting learning (transfer to semantic memory) would lead to increased feelings of 'knowing' (Conway, Gardiner, Perfect, Anderson & Cohen, 1997). This hypothesis was supported for both emotional and neutral stories. The viability of exploring memory awareness for stories varying in emotional content was demonstrated and the results support the view that emotional distinctiveness increases feelings of remembering. It is argued that feelings of remembering depend on both distinctive and fluent encoding processes. It is suggested that emotional fluency at the encoding stage makes emotional information more readily available for episodic encoding and thereby fosters feelings of remembering.