Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a medical diagnosis, applied mainly but not exclusively to children. Diagnosis of ADHD is a controversial issue as the validity of the condition is questioned, and the main form of intervention offered to children in the UK is Methylphenidate, better known as Ritalin, which is a psycho-stimulant. It is also controversial because it rests on the assumption of a particularly westernised cultural conception of what 'normal' childhood behaviour should be, yet dominant discourses of child development and socialisation have influenced this view of children as less competent, immature and in need of moulding to fit societal demands. The orthodox position on ADHD also appears to compound this assumption, as research which includes the experiential accounts of children who have the diagnosis is extremely rare. Children's own views and perceptions of the diagnosis have not been valued. This thesis is based on in-depth qualitative interviews with seven children aged between 6 and 15 and their parents, plus a small-scale parental survey. In addition, observations of health care professionals' practice, carried out at a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, will help to demonstrate that only by giving full consideration to the complexity of medical and lay perspectives can an understanding of ADHD as a concept, a condition, a label, and an experience be achieved. In this study 'medicalisation' debates have been used as a means of reflecting on the concept of AD}ID. It is suggested that within the health professional/parent/child triangle dominant discourses position children as passive and dependenwith their health being mediated through their parents. By drawing attention to the embodied nature of the experience and meaning of ADHD it will be shown that the valuable and insightful contributions which children and young people make to the health care division of labour have largely been neglected to date.

Much research investigating deception and its detection has focused upon face-to-face communication, but over recent years the variety and extent of new communication media has changed the contexts in which deception might take place. Although work has attempted to characterise communication media, a much smaller body of research exists which has investigated the frequency with which people lie with different media and the detection of deceit under different communication media conditions. Through questionnaires and experimental studies, this work investigated the perceptions that both deceivers (senders) and those attempting to identify lies (receivers) have about communication media and how this relates to their observed behaviour. Results from questionnaire studies suggested that both the characteristics of deception and media influence people's perceived discomfort and believability when lying and the media choices they might make if they are planning to deceive. Some important factors appeared to be the seriousness of the deception, who senders are lying to, and the general frequency with which they use particular means to communicate. Communication media were judged to be similar and dissimilar to each other on a range of characteristics which may impact their appropriateness for deception and lie detection. There was evidence that media used at low frequency in daily life may be more likely to be chosen for deception. In laboratory studies, senders were found to lie more frequently using audio-only media compared to audio-video. There was evidence from experimental studies that detection of deceit was more successful when communication was audio only compared to audio-video. There was little consistent evidence that judgement biases varied between media conditions, but a truth bias was identified in experimental studies. No evidence was identified that interactivity between senders and receivers significantly influenced response biases or lie detection accuracy. A small corpus of messages recorded under audio-video and audio-only conditions were selected for their detectability or believability from two senders, and presented in modified formats to receivers. Stimuli had video removed or introduced, and were presented as audio-only, audio-video, text-only and video-only. The results suggested that detectability of audio-video and audio-only stimuli was dependent upon the condition stimuli were recorded under rather than presented. When messages were only seen and not heard or read, accuracy of lie detection was compromised. There was evidence that judging transcriptions could allow successful detection, but the accuracy of lie detection was typically lower than demonstrated in richer media conditions. These findings may imply that a combination of information channels and/or paraverbal information is important for accurate classification of honesty and lies. Limitations of the studies and directions for further research were discussed.

Agency attribution is the ability to distinguish between events that occur as a result of our own actions and events that occur as a result of the actions of other people. Previous accounts of agency attribution have been mainly divided into two camps, either explaining agency in terms of high-level conscious processes (Stephens and Graham, 2000) or low-level Comparator Model (CM) processes (Frith et al. 2000). Recently, however, theorists have begun to incorporate these two approaches, but as the bulk of previous experiments fail to specify which aspects of agency are investigated, little empirical evidence exists to inform us about how these different mechanisms interact. The aim of the current thesis was to tease apart these processes by examining high-level self/other judgments and low-level motor responses to actual and perturbed visual feedback of self-generated actions. Results from Chapters 3, 4 and 5 suggest that low-level (CM) agency mechanisms are situated in right hemisphere regions, disruption of which can reduce high-level self-judgments (Chapter 5). Proprioception was also found to negatively inform high-level judgments, as reducing proprioceptive signals increased self-judgments and visual-proprioceptive incongruence increased other judgments (Chapters 6 and 7). In terms of low-level agency mechanisms, however, visual-proprioceptive congruence was found to enhance low-level correction of visual perturbations (Chapter 8). Results from Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 provide evidence for a lack of high-level conscious awareness of low-level motor responses, as participants failed to notice their own low-level corrections (Chapter 8) and as a result failed to recognise their own actions (Chapter 9). Therefore, the current body of research provides evidence for a visual-proprioceptive comparison as an integral component of low-level (CM) agency mechanisms, and that these CM processes do not produce feelings of agency per se, but identify mismatches that inform and are then interpreted by conscious awareness.

This thesis explores the subjective experience of ageing with a particular focus on midlife. I argue that midlife signifies an important phase of transition in the life course which is often characterised by essential changes in personal circumstances. Although many of these changes are anticipated their impact can still come as a surprise, reawakening old psychological threats and anxieties as well as creating new ones. The death of parents, children leaving home, changes at work and an awareness of an ageing body: these changes are usually anticipated at a practical level but can create a sense of emotional instability and insecurity. The three central themes of this thesis include the way the ageing process is experienced physically and how this in turn, effects the individual psychologically, the way personal and family relationships change during this period and the impact this has and finally how people evaluate their lives and compare this evaluation to their imagined sense of what they thought their lives would be like. I highlight how the social experiences and cultural expectations which influence attitudes and pragmatic reactions to ageing are necessarily intertwined with unconscious psychic processes, conflicts and ambivalence. My method involves interviewing twenty-two men and women aged between thirty-nine and fifty-eight years old using a psycho-social approach. This method focuses on how individuals emotionally and psychically deal with age-related changes. I conclude that midlife is a time of complex emotional and psychical conflict which is triggered and challenged through a culmination of natural and anticipated losses. In order for people to negotiate midlife and move forward in a positive and productive way they must first acknowledge and then accept the natural losses and disappointments that life inevitably brings.

This study provides a contribution to the sociology of religion by examining the relationship between Hinduism and the Internet - an area largely neglected by scholars of religion and the Internet. A theoretical discussion as to the suitability of cyberspace for Hinduism - which concludes that there is a high level of compatibility - is followed by a discussion of embodiment (a relatively neglected topic in sociology) in Hinduism in order to assess whether online religious activity which does not require full embodiment could be problematic. Although there is no natural fit between Hinduism and online religious activity, such activity is extensive; and this gives rise to a number of empirical research questions about online practices and their implications for Hinduism 'offline'. Empirical research was carried out both online and 'offline'. Online, data was obtained through the utilisation of innovative research methods which were able to map Hinduism on the WWW and uncover the processes that are occurring. An important finding was that a relatively small number of Hindu organisations are effectively monopolising Hinduism online. Significant websites were also analysed. 'Offline', research was carried out at mandirs (Hindu Temples) in India. The prime research method used was the semi-structured interview. The informants were high-ranking mandir officials. Owners of web sites offering a puja (ritual honouring a deity) service were also interviewed. The online and 'offline' research did not constitute discrete lines of enquiry, and findings were analysed together in the light of sociological theories of embodiment and globalisation, and rational choice theory. These theories contribute to the understanding of processes that are occurring in Hinduism and, in turn, the findings suggested revisions of the theoretical ideas. The main conclusion is that despite globalisation and the pre-eminent role that the Internet plays in it - contrary to the assertions of some globalisation theorists -local sites of Hindu practice do not necessarily decline in importance. Instead, there is an interpenetration of the local and the global as a result of online Hinduism.

This thesis examines images and dialogues of the male body in contemporary men’s lifestyle magazines. Taking the examples of two top-selling British men’s lifestyle magazines FHM and Men’s Health, and their respective websites, I unpack mediated constructions of white, heterosexual masculinities using the combined methods of semiology, discourse analysis and non-participant observation. The male body is central to this project, and the ways that it is represented as idealized and grotesque are analysed for the ways that they each impact upon perceptions of white heterosexual masculinities and conceptions of the ‘Other’. Reading the male body as idealised and grotesque also introduces wider feminist debates on the male gaze, representation, and whether the grotesque can be theorised from the perspective of masculinities. The construction of online communities and reader dialogues is also examined in relation to discourses of the body, identity and masculinity. The work in this thesis explores the basis for contemporary representations of white heterosexual masculinities and male bodies in men’s lifestyle magazines and their respective websites.

This study is concerned with the process by which community among working class people is defined and redefined in the course of collective political activity. Specifically it analyses the potential role of trade unions in the development of community in residential settlements where the labour market is shaped by a major workplace. The empirical research was carried out in two Yorkshire mining villages in the three years following the 1984/85 Miners' Strike. A range of research techniques were employed to investigate the nature of `community' in the villages before, during and after the Strike. The first part of the thesis provides the necessary historical and political context, investigating the development of the miners' union and the issues involved in the 1984/85 Strike. The second part consists of an ethnographic study of Armthorpe, a village with an open pit. I describe the process by which the union branch, as the vehicle through which the coalmining population collectively encountered their employers and the state, provided a core around which a democratic and dynamic village community could be developed. I outline the population's mobilisation in 1984/85 and analyse the effects of their strike involvement on the village community. A central platform of the NUM in 1984/85 was the defence of `jobs, pits and communities'. In order to investigate the impact of pit closures on community, the final part of my thesis consists of a subsidiary study of Moorends, a nearby village where the pit was closed in 1957. I describe the very different experience of its population in 1984/85 and analyse the nature of social relationships in the Strike's aftermath. I conclude by suggesting that the 1984/85 Miners' strike illustrates the potential of collective struggle for creating `community' among working class people on a variety of levels.

This study addresses how ‘Spiritual Healing’ is administered in two Christian churches with similar doctrine but a different approach to how that doctrine is understood and practised. The divergence in eschatologies of the two different denominational congregations influences the way they integrate healing into their worship. There are also cultural differences in worship between them; the Black majority congregation engages in an animated charismatic style while the White majority practises in a more sedate and what may appear to an outsider to be a more passive style of worship. The study also examines the activities of prayer, laying on of hands and the use of music in the delivery of healing and as health promotion. The methodology used is an ethnographic approach. Qualitative data was collected using participant and non-participant observation, and semi-structured interviews. This data is a result of the systematic ‘immersion’ of the researcher in the culture in a different way to simply attending church as she experienced prior to the beginning of the research. Observations were conducted in services on different sites including a convention at the parent church for the Black majority Pentecostal church. The participants in the interviews were selected from the main research congregations with the support of their ministers as ‘gatekeepers’. The study compares and contrasts the theology and practice of the two congregations and their understanding of spiritual healing. It is also shown that spiritual healing can be part of and complementary to the approach that medical and nursing professionals utilise in their practice. Recipients of spiritual healing whose health seeking behaviour straddles the medical and the spiritual approach may or may not use medicine as prescribed by health professionals. In the UK, people usually have access to both, unlike people in Developing countries who have limited access to modern medicine and have no choice but to make the best use of folk medicine, and faith healers in their health seeking behaviour practices. The study recommends that more mutual understanding may facilitate the support of faith groups for the work of the NHS recommended by recent government policy.

International aid non-governmental organisations (IANGOs) are expected by the public and government institutions funding them to focus upon maximising effectiveness for the delivery of aid and in the process adopt ethical procurement (EP) practices. Concerns have been voiced by governments and media regarding the perceived lack of coordination between IANGOs. The motivation for this thesis stems from a societal and personal evaluation of the need for ethical behaviour in the procurement of goods and services for international aid and is supported by a willingness by IANGOs to explore the potential for conducting procurement practices in their supply networks in an ethical manner. To address these issues this research aims to explore ethical procurement strategies for IANGOs in humanitarian supply chains. To achieve these aims our methodological approach is qualitative, which means that it studies the subjects in their natural environments, and seeks to understand phenomena by understanding the meanings given to them by actors. We undertook a multiple case study approach and conducted in-depth interviews with senior logistics and purchasing managers in IANGO organisations, together with a survey of IANGO suppliers. Our contribution to EP strategies for IANGOs at the strategic level is to develop a conceptual framework for collaborative ethical procurement due diligence (CEPDD) between IANGOs in HSCs. At the tactical level we identify inhibitors and enables to CEPDD between IANGOs, their suppliers’ networks and donors. At the operational level we develop a risk-rating framework which provides IANGOs with a tool to establish a collaborative procurement code of conduct (COC) ethics system which can be used to assess ethical risks in HSCs. Our findings demonstrate SC co-opetition strategies are being enacted by IANGOs to explore the formulation of CEPDD. We establish there are concerns surrounding ethical risk in HSCs that differ from CSCs in relation to IANGO relationships with donors, and supplier networks. We apply our risk rating framework to highlight inhibitors to CEPDD throughout IANGO supplier networks and donor relations, and in doing so we determine that apart from the actions of a lead IANGO, ethical procurement due diligence is not instigated in a formalised manner. Tactically our risk-rating framework is of practical importance as it allows IANGOs to access the relevant information concerning inhibitors and enablers in order to evaluate CEPDD ideas and schemes, and to make informed decisions towards participation. These factors facilitate initiatives by directing efforts towards issues of concern and shifting focus towards the critical problem areas which need to be addressed. Operationally it provides a guide in horizontal cooperation considerations in CEPDD by acting as a basis of decision choices for the construction of a framework of COCs between IANGOs.

Cosmopolitanism has become highly influential in political theory, philosophy, sociology and other disciplines over the past several decades. In political theory, cosmopolitans have given strong emphasis to universal moral principles and relatively strong duties which cross national boundaries. Thus, many cosmopolitan prescriptions would require some significant changes in attitude and actions from the status quo. Because of this, one of the persistent challenges to the practical application of cosmopolitan principles has been in identifying ways to motivate support for them. This thesis develops a possible answer to the problem of cosmopolitan motivation, in the form of a rooted cosmopolitanism which gives emphasis to the roles that ‘cosmopolitan ambassadors’ could play. The Ambassadorial Cosmopolitan approach presented here emphasizes ways in which support for domestic policy consistent with cosmopolitanism could be generated through (a) highlighting and reinforcing the cosmopolitan strains within existing national traditions and (b) by demonstrating how the ideas of revered national figures connect in significant ways with cosmopolitan principles. The theory is applied in the context of policy action to combat harmful climate change. The exemplar state is India, and the exemplar ambassador is Mahatma Gandhi. The thesis establishes important connections between cosmopolitan theory and Gandhi’s highly influential thought on social change and ethical life practices. It shows how such connections could be used in the Indian context. The final chapter indicates some other contexts where Ambassadorial Cosmopolitanism could also be applied.