Despite much enthusiasm for the practice of peer mentoring by ex-offenders it has received very little empirical scrutiny. This thesis examines the micro dynamics and intimate interactions within these relationships. In doing so it highlights how mentors are often much more than functional additions to existing criminal justice systems. They are also presented as teachers, co-operators and critical agents. The narratives in this study highlight how dominant forms of knowledge often minimise or miss the lived experiences of crime and change. In contrast, peer mentors place lived experiences at the centre of their approach and in doing so they critically question exclusionary practices and re-humanise themselves and their peers. The work of peer mentors also highlights and at times challenges the hidden power dynamics that are subsumed when ‘regular’ interventions take place. But, mentoring cannot avoid or operate outside of these power relationships. It can and does generate other power dynamics. Whilst many of these complex relations remain hidden in current evaluations of the practice they are rendered visible here. Data were obtained from qualitative interviews with eighteen peer mentors, twenty peer mentees, four service coordinators and two Probation officers, who were drawn from a range of voluntary sector providers in the North of England. Observations of practice were also carried out, including: volunteer recruitment processes; training courses; and formal supervision sessions. Where possible mentors were also observed facilitating group work with their peers. The analysis of the data drew upon techniques of thematic analysis and critical discourse analysis focusing upon how mentoring was described, performed and justified by participants. As a result of this analysis five overarching themes emerged. These are: identity, agency, values, change and power.

The thesis of this research is that anticommunism in the Cold War was centrally a hegemonic project which, through defining a largely conservative and exclusionary form of Americanism, secured, for most of the period covered, the unity of a broad ‘historical bloc’ including fractions of capital with diverse modalities of surplus extraction, trade unions and state apparatuses. In so doing, it cemented the role of the Jim Crow South within American nationhood, provided its dominant classes with techniques of violence and consent through which to suppresses challenges to segregation, and supplied an invaluable element of a complex ideological nexus in which Southern white supremacy could be understood and valued. The breakdown of the anticommunist consensus exposed great strategic and ideological fractures over the necessity and merits of Jim Crow, both within the dominant and dominated classes, and facilitated its overthrow.

Baile funk is a music scene historically associated with blackness and impoverished areas of Rio de Janeiro. This music has been gaining in visibility over the last three decades. Nevertheless, stigmatization and official repression co-exist with its popularity. Funk’s pervasiveness, even among the upper classes, does not seem to eradicate prejudice against producers and fans. This thesis investigates struggles for equal rights and full citizenship using funk by looking at the mediation and appropriation of funk music by the government, journalists, activist groups and funk creators themselves. This investigation refers to interviews, documents, videos and photographs. Hence, the methodology employed relies on a combination of ethnographic methods, including visual ethnography, and the analysis of semi-structured interviews. Sociologists have associated popular culture with a lack of legitimacy and autonomy, opposing it to pure art and its disinterested approach to worldly life. Indeed, the creation of baile funk music is not a disinterested activity. While funk producers may have commercial interests, they do, nevertheless, also get involved in political matters and local community issues, dealing with structural constraints through their bodies, political activism and affective labour. Lastly, those creating funk demand the freedom to create, the possibility of occupying different spaces of the city and recognition as aesthetic agents.

Information and communication technologies are increasingly being infused into city systems and services as part of a growing trend to make cities ‘smart’. Through the design and implementation of these efforts, large information technology (IT) providers are interacting with local government policy and planning processes via: (a) strategy—project objectives, priorities and approaches; (b) engagement—which actors are involved, the roles they play and the interactions between and among them; and (c) representation—how the local government portrays the project through narrative and brand. In the discussion below, I argue that as smart projects multiply, interactions around this proliferation will pave the way for IT providers to more broadly inform urban governance processes. For in effect, IT providers are not just selling smart technologies. Rather, they are propagating a set of assertions about the role, structure, function and relationships of local government. These assertions are informed by neoliberal and entrepreneurial principles, bound up with the concept of smart, and attractively wrapped within the smart city imaginary. This imaginary is largely created by IT providers, and cannot be pursued without them. Within my approach, I view smart initiatives not simply as technical but social and political strategies, for while these projects are about technological innovation, they are also about ‘innovations’ in the relationships, interactions and discourse that surround them. To capture both the discursive and material realities of these projects, my methods of examination included key informant interviews and case study analysis of two cities in the United States, Dubuque, Iowa and Portland, Oregon. I focus specifically on smart projects led by IBM, an influential actor in the smart city market, and use Dubuque as a primary case study with Portland for comparison. My work provides an in-depth view of the IT provider IBM alongside the rise of the corporate entrepreneurial smart city, and sheds light on what these initiatives might mean for municipal administrations and city residents in similar urban environments.

In this thesis I first consider some ways in which the developing economy in the Nineteenth Century affected both local and national government, including policing, the Civil Service, incorporation and education. Charity, class and the ways in which economic developments led to changes in forms of leisure are discussed. This is the main concern of the second chapter which includes Ihe emergence of large commercial outlets like music halls. I investigate whether there was acoherent mode of thought underlying these changes and whether this extended into other areas, and if so, which. Different views of progress first encountered in various histories of Nineteenth Century England are then considered. These were related to ideas about progress and civilisation'. In Chapter Three these last two themes are explored and related to Elias' ideas on the Civilising Process, class and other divisions in society. In Chapter Four, these ideas are used to illustrate the history of the Great Exhibition, its organisation and the lives of some of those directly, and in the case of Pitt Rivers, indirectly, involved in it. This chapter is included because it provides an opportunity for ideas about civilisation and progress to become a formal reality. In the last chapter, the creation of some public museums is traced, especially in London, for example, the British Museum and the National Gallery. Their consequent organisation and the arrangement of exhibits are related to attempts to legislate for the creation of public museums throughout the country. It is hoped that the idea of the expert and other issues included such as the arts and manufactures debate, show how notions of civilisation and progress are entrenched in ideas linked to the economy.

In 2001 the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP) was introduced by the Youth Justice Board. It was politically drafted to attend to New Labour’s desire to be ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’. ISSP provided the ubiquitous ‘persistent young offender’ with a range of community-based resources and espoused a plethora of often contradictory theoretical and practice aims. Employing a cross-methodological framework this study has sought to understand the long-term impact of intensive supervision on the lives of (formerly) serious and persistent young offenders as they grow up. Using a large cohort of 1789 ISSP cases and 704 comparison cases it has built up a longitudinal picture of which young people persisted with or desisted from crime, together with measures of the nature of their subsequent offending and exposure to criminal sanctions. While the inevitable result of ‘no difference’ emerges, the role of more sophisticated statistical analyses and longitudinal models is advised to answer a broader set of substantive questions. In-depth life-history interviews also gave voice to the young people themselves. How did they relate to the melange of penal discourses? Did they want to be rehabilitated? What did offending represent to them in their everyday lives? The results suggest that a childhood of persistent offending was often experienced as wild flight of hedonism and capital advantage. However, frequently and swiftly, it translated into a complex and demoralising poverty trap in early adulthood. Despite the epistemological, theoretical and logistical gaps between quantitative and qualitative methods, their combination has the potential to address the sort of ‘what works’ questions but also to the wider intellectual terrain of the impact of punishment on offender’s subjectivities and the broader position of young offenders in society.

This thesis investigates the everyday experiences of subcultural participants. It takes as its focus the Dutch punk scene, tracing its emergences and development and mapping it historically and spatially. It explores the meanings attached to punk by its participants past and present. If further situates punk as part of participants’ wider lives, in particular in their mobility, connectivity, political engagements and life choices. This thesis speaks to several areas of enquiry. It most prominently contributes to subcultural debates, as well as the emerging field of ‘punk studies’. However the research presented here also has implications for discussions of globalisation, particularly in terms of cultural flow and the effect on local scene ‘boundaries’. It further contributes to conceptual developments of political activity in a world with ever more emphasis on individualised choice. This is an ethnographic project. The arguments presented in this thesis are the result of fieldwork undertaken between July 2010 and April 2011. Data include semi-structured interviews with thirty-three participants of the Dutch punk scene, both past and present. Interview data is further contextualised with a fieldwork diary based on participant observation. As a result of this research, this thesis argues for an approach to social research that recognises the ‘messiness’ and the ‘connectedness’ of the social world. In order to unpick how punk operates and what meanings it has for members, we must understand the wider social, cultural and economic context in which subcultures – and their participants – are embedded. The thesis concludes that in order to productively conceptualise punk we must recognised the artificiality of a number of boundaries. By widening the lens of what punk is, by realising its global context, and by broadening our definition of politics, we will better understand the everyday meaning of punk to its participants around the world.

The recent staging of Glasgow 2014 drew universal praise as the ‘Best Games Ever’. Yet the substantial undertaking of hosting the Commonwealth Games (CWG) was sold to the nation as more than just eleven days of sporting spectacle and cultural entertainment. Indeed, the primary strategic justification offered by policymakers and city leaders was the delivery of a bundle of positive and enduring benefits, so-called ‘legacy’. This ubiquitous and amorphous concept has evolved over time to become the central focus of contemporary hosting bids, reflecting a general public policy shift towards using major sporting mega events as a catalyst to generate benefits across economic, environmental and social dimensions, on a scale intended to be truly transformative. At the same time, the academy has drawn attention to the absence of evidence in support of the prevailing legacy rhetoric and raised a number of sociological concerns, not least the socially unequitable distribution of purported benefits. This study investigated how young people living in the core hosting zone related to, and were impacted upon, by the CWG and its associated developments and activities with reference to their socio-spatial horizons, the primary outcome of interest. An ‘ideal world’ Logic Model hypothesised that four mechanisms, identified from official legacy documents and social theories, would alter young people’s subjective readings of the world by virtue of broadening their social networks, extending their spatial boundaries and altering their mind sets. A qualitative methodology facilitated the gathering of situated and contextualised accounts of young people’s attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and behaviours relating to Glasgow 2014. In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted before and after the Games with 26 young people, aged 14-16 years, at two schools in the East End. This approach was instrumental in privileging the interests of people ‘on the ground’ over those of city-wide and national stakeholders. The findings showed that young people perceived the dominant legacy benefit to be an improved reputation and image for Glasgow and the East End. Primary beneficiaries were identified by them as those with vested business interests e.g. retailers, restaurateurs, and hoteliers, as well as national and local government, with low expectations of personal dividends or ‘trickle down’ benefits. Support for Glasgow 2014 did not necessarily translate into individual engagement with the various cultural and sporting activities leading up to the CWG, including the event itself. The study found that young people who engaged most were those who had the ability to ‘read’ the opportunities available to them and who had the social, cultural and economic capital necessary to grasp them, with the corollary that those who might have gained most were the least likely to have engaged with the CWG. Doubts articulated by research participants about the social sustainability of Glasgow 2014 underscored inherent tensions between the short-lived thrill of the spectacle and the anticipated longevity of its impacts. The headline message is that hosting sporting mega events might not be an effective means of delivering social change. Aspirant host cities should consider more socially equitable alternatives to sporting mega events prior to bidding; and future host cities should endeavour to engage more purposefully with more young people over longer time frames.

Background: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a common disorder that causes a significant health, social and economic burden for the individuals who suffer from it and consequently, for society as a whole. However, little is known about the consequences of PTSD, and in particular there is a lack of empirical data in relation to its economic impact on individuals and health systems, or on the treatments that might be provided. Aims: The aim of this research is to assess the health, social, and economic impacts of PTSD by focusing on the individuals exposed to the London bombings by: a) reviewing the current evidence and measures of the health, social and economic impact of PTSD; b) assessing the impact of the London bombings in terms of service use and the impact on health, social, and economic activity of those affected; c) conducting an economic evaluation of the ‘screen and treat’ programme implemented as a mental health response after the London bombings; and d) assessing the broader implications and feasibility of screening for PTSD in primary care. Method: Semi-structured interviews with 230 participants, screen and treat programme users and potential users conducted as a part of the evaluation of the NHS mental health response to the London bombings, analysis of the dataset on the outcomes collected as a part of the programme, and semistructured interviews on the benefits of and barriers to implementing screening for PTSD in the primary care sector. Analysis: A range of quantitative and qualitative methods are conducted including: estimation of the costs associated with exposure to the London bombings, analysis of cost and outcome variation between individuals exposed to the bombings, economic evaluation of the screen and treat programme distinguishing three comparator groups, and directed qualitative content analysis of fourteen interviews on the benefits of and barriers to screening for PTSD in primary care. Results: The higher prevalence of London bombing-related problems for individuals who were not treated, even as long as two and a half years after the 9 bombings, confirms the benefits of long-term screening after exposure to traumatic events. Participants who used the screen and treat programme reported significantly higher average direct and total costs. The treated group reported up to three times higher total costs in comparison to individuals who were screened and assessed only, with work-related costs making the highest contribution to the total cost, followed by the programme itself, and then other health care costs. Similar service use patterns were found between the treated, and the screened and assessed only groups. The main cost drivers identified in the analysis for the full sample of individuals exposed to the London bombings were being of female gender, being in a non-white British ethnicity group, experiencing injury, old age, and feeling one might be killed and/or injured. The treated group consisted of individuals who were more severely affected by the London bombings when compared to the group who were screened and assessed only. Conclusions: The effects of trauma exposure and PTSD have a wideranging and long-term health-related and economic impact on exposed individuals. The findings suggest that the screen and treat programme was successful in identifying participants with greater mental health needs and providing them with treatment. Providing the best evidence-based treatment early in the form of the ‘screen and treat’ approach does not seem to be costeffective. However, without having a proper waiting list comparison group the questions on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the ST programme are difficult to answer with certainty. This study has pointed out vulnerable groups such as minority ethnic groups and women who are likely to experience worse outcomes and generate higher direct and indirect costs. There is a need for timely, rigorously-implemented economic evaluations of mental health interventions for PTSD. There is a role for non-RCT study designs in economic evaluations of PTSD interventions. There is also a need for economic evaluation of screening for PTSD intervention in primary care.

This thesis examines how resistance is thought about and discussed within the discursive framework of the New World Order (NWO) conspiracy theory. The literature on conspiracy theories has tended to ignore or even reject the notion that conspiracy theory can be associated with political resistance; it is typically characterised as an individual, intellectual and more or less irrational puzzle-solving endeavour. Furthermore, conspiracy theory has been proposed by its very nature to be disabling (Fenster 1999: xv) and that in the face of a totalising, malevolent global conspiracy, “there is nothing you can do” (Basham 2003: 100). Such admittedly plausible conjectures are largely unsupported by empirical research, and so this thesis seeks to assess the credibility of these claims via a richly detailed discourse analysis of online conspiracy theory discussion forums. I define ‘resistance discourse’ in terms of perceived agency, specifically via discursive constructions of power and morality, across three social groups: heroes, villains and potential supporters. I further propose that these anti-NWO resistance discourses can be analysed in the same way as those of a social movement, and I employ Melucci’s (1989; 1996) concepts of ‘action system’, ‘ideology’ and ‘communicative construction’ to analyse the ways in which perceptions of agency are played out and interact with each other within online conversations. Firstly in cognitive terms, relating to perceptions of the efficacy of any proposed resistance strategy, and secondly in affective terms in relation to whether or not the resistance discourse can be interpreted as empowering or disabling. The primary contribution of the thesis is not the trivially simple demonstration that conspiracy theory can be associated with imagining political resistance. Rather its objective is to demonstrate that the discursive form the conspiracy theory takes, particularly in relation to constructions of the adversary’s power and morality, can result in dramatic discursive shaping and constraining influence on what kinds of strategies of resistance can be conceived, along with the extent to which they are presented as either disabling or empowering.