This thesis aims to examine the long-run determinants of the real exchange rate, and to identify the sources of real exchange rate and relative stock price short-run fluctuations. In chapter 1, I incorporate the relative stock prices into the Dornbusch's Mundell-Fleming Real Exchange Rate Model in order to investigate the long-run relationship between the money, goods and stock markets. In chapter 2, I build on the work of Dornbusch (1976), Clarida and Gali (1994), Malliaropulos (1998) and Hoffmann and MacDonald (2000) in order to form the sticky-price equilibrium solution for identifying the source of real exchange rate fluctuation. In chapter 3, I empirically investigate whether the financial crises, the US monetary policy and the exchange rate regime switching of a country affect the real exchange rate co-moment. In addition to the cross-country real exchange rates correlation, the evolution of the equilibrium real exchange rates equicorrelation and temporary real exchange rates equicorrelation are also examined. In chapter 4, I present a model which builds on the stochastic rational expectations open macro model presented by Obstfeld (1985) and Clarida and Gali (1994) and incorporates Malliaropulos's (1998) theoretical relationship between the real exchange rate and the relative stock differential. The model provides both the short- and long-run flexible price solution for identifying the source of relative stock prices. In chapter 5, I attempt to investigate whether the exchange rate can predict future changes in the stock market return and in the economic performance of a country. I present a model that can be used for analysing whether the real exchange rate or the real exchange rate misalignment would contain an economically significant predictable component on forecasting the future stock price movement and the real output.

The present qualitative research investigates a wide range of psychosocial responses to nakbah across 3 generations of internally displaced Palestinian families living in Israel through intergenerational narratives. Situated in a context of political violence and internal colonialism, the research was conducted with a mixed method design bringing together Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis and Grounded Theory, and informed by a constructionist-systemic perspective that better accounts for the complexity of refugees’ experience (Papadopoulos, 2002), and for the social and cultural differences imbedded in resilience and trauma constructs as performed by individuals, families, and communities. The theory expands the “trauma grid” model (Papadopoulos, 2002, 2006, 2007) and shows its intergenerational validity and applicability to internally colonized native populations exposed to a historical trauma and subjected to attacks on their survivance (Vizenor, 1999) and cultural diversity (Samson, 2003, 2008, 2013). The analysis of retrospective and present time narratives of 3 generations of nakbah-related internally displaced Palestinian families within Israel led to the emergence of a theory of complex intergenerational resilience composed of 3 dimensions of AAD (Adversity-activated Development), 2 main dimensions of resilience and 2 additional trauma-spectrum negative responses which were identified as subordinate and unpervasive. The outcome of this research may inform a more culturally sensitive and resilience-oriented understanding, intervention and prevention in the field of mental health among Palestinians in Israel. On the collective level, such a comprehensive approach may produce new insights on Palestinian national identity and its connections with experiences of victimhood and resilience due to past and present conditions of political conflict and social adversity. Limitations and implications for future research, professional practice and policy initiatives are discussed.

Chapter 1 develops a specification test for a single index binary outcome model in semi-parametric estimation. The semiparametric estimator examined does not rely on any distributional assumption, but it still relies on the single-index assumption. The violation of this assumption creates a source of heteroscedasticity. I extend a set of attractive LM statistics, constructed using auxiliary regressions for the case of logit and probit models, to the semiparametric environment. I derive its asymptotic distribution and show that is has well-behaved finite properties in a Monte Carlo experiment. An empirical example is also provided. Chapter 2 proposes a novel estimation strategy that accounts for asynchronous fieldwork, often found in multi-country surveys. The resulting biases are substantial and this is likely to provide misleading cross-country comparisons. I highlight the importance of accounting for the heterogeneity induced by seasonality in the context of regression modelling in order to obtain unbiased comparisons. This is illustrated with a comparison between a synchronous national survey and an asynchronous cross-national one. Chapter 3, joint work with Thomas Crossley and Peter Levell, proposes a novel estimator useful for data combination. Researchers are often interested in the relationship between two variables, with no available data set containing both. For example, surveys on income and wealth are often missing consumption data. A common strategy is to use proxies for the dependent variable that are common to both surveys to impute the dependent variable into the data set containing the independent variable. We consider the consequences of estimating a regression with an imputed dependent variable, and how those consequences depend on the imputation procedure adopted. We show that an often used procedure is biased, and offer both a correction and refinements that improve precision. We illustrate these with a Monte Carlo study and an empirical application.

This dissertation examines the determinants and the impact of military conversion on conflict recurrence in post-conflict countries. The dissertation also aims to identify some of the main elements needed to design a public policy addressing conversion processes. Military conversion is the process of transferring military resources to civilian activities. This process could appear after the end of an internal war. Based on existing theoretical and empirical studies, I develop a new empirical framework that allows me to identify that democratic regimes could lead to the onset of a military conversion process, while the US military aid variable could reduce the likelihood of starting a conversion process. Likewise, I test the effect of military conversion on the risk of conflict recurrence. The empirical evidence shows that the reduction of the military expenditure could prompt the probability of conflict recurrence. Additionally, the Colombian case study complements the findings on conversion determinants in a post-conflict society, specifically how the persistence of defence and security threats and economic growth affect the onset of military conversion process. Besides those findings, the Colombian case study provides evidence about the reallocation of less-used military resources to new or existing military roles. The use of less-used military resources for fulfilling any military role could reverse conversion processes in the short term. Additionally, I identify the future and feasible conversion alternatives in Colombia according to the dual use of some military resources (e.g., military bases).

This thesis focuses on three vulnerable groups in Europe that have recently been highlighted both in media and in the economics literature; and that are policy priorities. Chapter 1 is a joint work with Giovanni Mastrobuoni which focuses on prisoners and peer effects in prison. Studies that estimate criminal peer effects need to define the reference group. Researchers usually use the amount of time inmates overlap in prison, sometimes in combination with nationality to define such groups. Yet, there is often little discussion about such assumptions, which could potentially have important effects on the estimates of peer effects. We show that the date of rearrest of inmates who spend time together in prison signals with some error co-offending, and can thus be used to measure reference groups. Exploiting recidivism data on inmates released after a mass pardon with a simple econometric model which adjusts the estimates for the misclassification errors, we document homophily in peer group formation with regards to age, nationality, and degrees of deterrence. There is no evidence of homophily with respect to education and employment status. Chapter 2 evaluates a policy in the English county of Essex that aims to reduce domestic abuse through informing high-risk suspects that they will be put under higher surveillance, hence increasing their probability of being caught in case of recidivism, and encouraging their victims to report. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD), it underlines that suspects that are targeted by the policy are more 9% more likely to be reported again for domestic abuse. Although increasing reporting is widely seen as essential to identify and protect victims, this paper shows that policies to increase reporting will deter crime only if they give rise to a legal response. Moreover, results highlight that increasing the reporting of events of that do not lead to criminal charges may create escalation and be more detrimental to the victim in the long run. Chapter 3 investigates how migrants in the United Kingdom respond to natural disasters in their home countries. Combining a household panel survey of migrants in the United Kingdom and natural disasters data, this paper first shows, in the UK context, that male migrants are more likely to remit in the wake of natural disasters. Then, it underlines that to fund remittances male migrants also increase labour supply, decrease monthly savings and leisure. By showing how migrants in the UK adjust their economic behaviours in response to an unexpected shocks i.e. natural disasters, this paper demonstrates both how UK migrants may fund remittances and that they have the capacity to adjust their economic behaviours to increase remittances.

This exploratory, psychosocial study looks at what it means to be ‘school ready’ to the parents of children eligible for Pupil Premium funding, in a mainstream inner London primary school. Existing research exploring the topic of school readiness and transition to primary school remains predominantly in international territories. Furthermore, there is paucity of rich, qualitative accounts of parental views and experiences, despite the vital role parents play in supporting their child's education. A psychoanalytically informed approach, Free Association Narrative Interviewing (FANI), was used to interview three participants twice. The interview data was analysed using Thematic Analysis. The five themes identified are discussed in relation to existing research and psychological theory. The implications for the Educational Psychology profession, as well as for schools and other professionals, have been explored. Limitations of the current study, and thoughts about future research are considered.

The thesis consists of three self-contained articles that empirically investigate socio-economic differences in, and interrelationships amongst, science knowledge, biomedical self-efficacy, and participation in medical decision-making. Chapter 2 investigates age-related bias in the science knowledge questions in the Wellcome Trust Monitor Survey Waves I and II. It also examines what evidence there is for three dimensions of knowledge. Chapter 3 studies the influence of Internet use and paying attention to medical stories online in reducing science knowledge and biomedical self-efficacy gaps between low and high educational groups. Wave II of the Wellcome Trust Monitor Surveys is employed in this chapter. Chapter 4 scrutinises the influence of various socio-economic factors, biomedical self-efficacy, and trust in physicians and other medical practitioners on public willingness and confidence to take part in the medical decision-making process. Chapter 4 uses Wave III of the Wellcome Trust Monitor Survey. Chapter 2 finds evidence for age-related bias in the science knowledge battery of questions; no evidence of a misinformed group of respondents was found; a group who consistently said they didn’t know instead of providing an answer that was wrong was found; a sensitivity analysis showed that using the summed score approach leads to the same substantive conclusions as a model taking into account age-related non-invariance. Chapter 3 finds evidence of education-based knowledge and efficacy gaps. It also finds some evidence that the Internet can help reduce that democratic deficit in information. Chapter 4 finds evidence that people are generally confident to participate. Those who are more self-efficacious are also more confident to participate in medical decisions. The opposite held true for those who place high trust in doctors. Women were found to be more confident than men.

This thesis presents a critical investigation of ‘intercultural digital media’ in Italy from 2000 to 2016. In this, it focuses on the diverse digital media platforms (largely web-portals and collective blogs) that have offered alternatives to mainstream media discourses of immigration and cultural diversity in Italy, and which have involved people of immigrant background as media producers. Through a focused, in-depth study of website content mainly published in 2014, including mission statements, thematic structures and discursive strategies, as well as the contextual and organisational structures, processes and roles of content producers and editors, the thesis offers a critical insight into the discourse of intercultural digital media in practice. Combining Critical Discourse and Multimodal Analysis approaches with Cultural Studies and digital citizenship theories of identity, representation and belonging, the research aims to explore the possibilities for constructing alternative, ‘intercultural’ discourse through these platforms. In investigating how intercultural discourse can be variously articulated within different modes such as journalism, self-representation and citizenship advocacy, the analysis engages closely with the strategic, organising idea of the ‘new Italians’, and raises broader questions about the cultural politics of under-represented groups seeking inclusion and recognition as ‘citizens’ in increasingly diverse societies.

Building good relationships at work is crucial for individual wellbeing and workplace satisfaction. Yet, managing these relationships is far from easy and concerns over relationship management and getting along well are integral to people’s daily lives (Knobloch, 2010). Research indicates that good relationships are particularly scarce in intercultural teams (e.g. Mannix & Neale, 2005; Stahl, Maznevski, Voigt, & Jonsen, 2010), yet little research has been undertaken to investigate just how it is that team members and colleagues get along and how they relate around working together. To address this gap, this thesis draws on 25 hours of interactional data from the meetings of an intercultural team of MBA students recorded over 8 months. Analysis of the transcripts is supplemented by observations and interviews conducted with team members at the start and end of their teamwork. The study investigates one talk activity in depth, troubles talk, that is demonstrated to have played a central role in relating in the team. It explores how rapport management (Spencer-Oatey, 2008) is done in troubles talk across different domains and provides a thick description of troubles talk itself. It also explores the functions troubles talk seems to fulfil for relating in the team including building common ground, a shared perspective, shared norms, empathy, solidarity and trust, team member identity and group mood, in addition to supporting team member coping. The findings reveal that these functions are realised through a number of different strategies that can be used in troubles talk, including: (reciprocal) self-disclosures, troubles humour, swearing, commiserating and developing shared narratives. Troubles talk as such appears as a kind of super-strategy (cf. Brown & Levinson, 1987) in which many other strategies for relating can be embedded, and which seem less permissible in other types of talk. The thesis thus advances our understanding of relational strategies and practices around relating especially in workplace contexts and of troubles talk, a seemingly ubiquitous everyday talk phenomenon. It concludes by proposing some theoretical developments around relating and rapport management and offering recommendations for future research.

This doctoral research contributes to three main fields: the Sociology of Health and Illness (SHI), specifically in the way it speaks to Coeliac Disease; and the field of Big Social Data and Health in general. Research in SHI, has typically focussed on the effects of diagnosis on self-identity, and illness narratives used in adapting to life with chronic disease. While there have been recent studies looking at how general food cultures, obesity and diabetes are visualised on social media, there have been no studies about the visualisation of self-care and identity in relation to Coeliac Disease specifically. Current social research in Coeliac Disease is mainly focused on the psychological impact of being diagnosed with Coeliac Disease and the challenge the gluten free diet can put on individuals. There is little in the literature about how individuals self-manage Coeliac Disease or share identity across social media platforms, or how they use social media to navigate risk. Current literature in the field of Big Social Data and Health, mainly looks at how social media offers opportunities to socially share or disseminate public health information between organisations and the public, as well as how the use of wearable technology and apps are used to quantify health. It does not look at how the chronically ill share symptoms, identity and self-care across social media platforms. This thesis adds to the literature by bringing together the fields of SHI, Big Social Data and Health, and Social Science research into Coeliac Disease to understand and visualise the way Coeliac patients actively use social media platforms in the process of self-care and self-identity. It explores how social media can be used to tell a chronic illness narrative, and thus illustrate the process of diagnosis, and how individuals adapt to life as a Coeliac on the gluten free diet (GFD). In doing so, this research provides an illustrative example of how social media data can be used to both inform and complement research on Coeliac Disease specifically, and the fields of SHI and digital social science more generally.