This thesis examines how urban spheres in influence in Leicestershire have impacted upon the development of infrastructure related to transport and commerce and the relationships between urban and rural areas in the county more generally. The thesis looks at the historical development of urban spheres of influence from the medieval period through to the mid-twentieth century. The relationship between town and country is shown to have undergone a significant evolutionary change, one hastened by the changes brought about by the industrial revolution. The thesis concludes by considering the implications which the changes enacted between the town and country may have on local government administrative boundaries which are often historically based.

It is argued that the three keys to an understanding of urban residential patterns are the functional differences between zones (in terms of the social groups served), their spatial pattern, and the processes of change which they experience. A review of the literature shows that a theory and a related technique which integrate all three elements are slowly emerging. As a stimulus to this development, a stage model is presented which summarizes the evolution of urban residential patterns. This suggests that the process of industrialization/modernization involved an evolution in the dimensions of residential differentiation. This hypothesis is examined using Census Returns for nineteenth century Wolverhampton. Comparison of factorial ecologies for 1851, 1861 and 1871 provides strong evidence for this type of temporal change. As a step towards the incorporation of spatial patterns within this conceptual framework, an attempt is made to map the quality of the residential environment in nineteenth century Wolverhampton. Changes in the dimensions of residential differentiation are linked with the movement of the high status groups to more attractive suburban homes for, in leaving the town centre, they often forsook the complex household patterns associated with domestically organized trading activities.

Third sector organisations (TSOs) are facing multiple complex and challenging pressures from the shifting economic and political environment, undoubtedly creating an uncertain operating landscape. Although the sector encompasses a range of forms, shapes and sizes, policy and practice tend to portray the sector as homogenously experiencing and responding to the environment. This thesis undertakes in-depth case studies using a qualitative research strategy to investigate organisational change in three asylum seeker and refugee TSOs based in England. An ethnographic rationale is used to collect the data, using a range of methods, spending time immersed within the organisations, and a process of reflexivity. The research explores how organisations are affected by, and navigate, these challenging pressures, and what is happening within the organisational setting that influences the processes of organisational change. Drawing on a multi-level framework, including isomorphism, institutional logics, institutional work and emotional work, provides an insightful account of the different layers of organisational change. The case studies demonstrate significant pressures from negative immigration rhetoric and xenophobic attitudes, austerity measures, and changes in the funding environment that all fuel organisational responses. By moving on from being refugee community organisations to becoming established and formalised TSOs, each organisation further expanded into varying forms of hybrid organisation - family/professional, religious and entrepreneurial - depending on differing contextual factors and resources. Nuanced accounts grounded in empirical data are portrayed, of the challenges, tensions and dilemmas faced by the organisations whilst also illustrating the agency of actors’ responses. This not only distinguishes the heterogeneity of the sector but also demonstrates the actors’ ability to manage uncertainty through resilience and adaptability.

This thesis examines a variety of theoretical issues relating to ethnicity, multiculturalism and racism in New Zealand. It is argued that whilst the country’s history has been replete with anti-Asiatic racisms, it is necessary to transcend the timeless notion of racism as colour discrimination and to instead, situate past and present anti-Asiatic racisms within the nation’s temporally specific positions in modernity. Through an orientation to time and diachrony, the research considers if a liberal policy of multiculturalism is conducive for contemporary New Zealand society. In view of academic debates suggesting that a ‘practical’ version of multiculturalism exists alongside the country’s constitutional biculturalism, it is argued that the de facto version of multiculturalism exhibits the characteristics of commercial and conservative multiculturalisms which fail to address the problem of racism. A liberal form of multiculturalism, it is maintained, will not produce the best outcome for New Zealand because it is insensitive to indigenous rights and will remain mutually exclusive from biculturalism. This research then concludes with a discussion on the likely future of cosmopolitanism in New Zealand, both as a theory and how it might possibly work in practice without immolating the hegemony of biculturalism.

This study’s central thesis is based upon a qualitative research project which captured and analysed the focus group conversations of fifty-two Black British Pentecostal women of African - Caribbean heritage as they discuss their lived experience in terms of Christian spirituality. Practical Theology as a theologically normative discipline provides the lens through which to study this experience. This thesis states that the lived experience of Black British Pentecostal women develops and informs Pentecostal spirituality as part of a conscious and integrated lifestyle facilitates growth in a woman’s relationship with God. Pentecostal spirituality as lived experience is deduced as an aspect of African-Caribbean Christian Consciousness and the 'language of resistance'. Both constructs enabled the participants in a British context to redefine their social experience on their own terms. Further, Black British Pentecostal women’s experience fills a gap in womanist and feminist literature on the subject of women’s spirituality. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge by its exploration of the spirituality of Black Caribbean Pentecostal women in Britain through empirical theological research methods. Its focus on Pentecostal spirituality as lived experience moves the discussion beyond the analysis of crisis events and the study of Pentecostal congregational worship.

This is a study of class and gender in everyday life on a housing estate in the Midlands. Based on extensive ethnographic research in a pub on the estate, it looks at how identities are constructed in the negotiation of work, relationships, children, and local ‘officials’. It considers how social and cultural capital is formed against the odds and against a widespread pathologising of those struggling to get by. It presents a detailed and contextual understanding of (white) working class identities in the context of neo-liberalism. In doing so, it questions standard sociological accounts of class as well as the official discourse of public policy which represents disadvantage in terms of ‘responsibility’ and ‘aspirations’, while ignoring structural disadvantage.

South Asians, specifically Pakistanis, living in areas of socio-economic deprivation across the UK, have an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The purpose of this research was to explore how social networks function as a source of support and information (social capital) in creating lifestyles associated with CVD prevention in a migrant, minority-ethnic Pakistani population. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were carried out using an interview guide and the convoy model diagram to elicit participant’s responses on social networks, community interactions and lifestyle choices (diet and exercise). A total of 42 participants across three migrant generations, diverse educational and occupational backgrounds, men and women aged 18 years and above participated. Framework analysis was used to analyse transcripts and organise codes, themes and categories. Findings distinguished a diverse narrative amongst men and women with regards to making lifestyle choices and gaining access to social support within or outside of the Pakistani community. Conclusively, engagement beyond familiar community contexts could provide greater or novel sources of support and information for pursuing (at times) non-traditional, healthier lifestyles. Understanding shifting perceptions of health in relation to religion, culture and ethnic-identity could provide primary care practitioners with a better understanding of how to treat high-risk patients.

Research suggests that discourses around Muslim girls position them as having ‘wasted potential’ (Archer, 2002) and being oppressed by parental expectations around marriage (Basit, 1995/1996). In contrast, when talking about their aspirations Muslim girls themselves draw on discourses around personal choice within the bounds of parental expectations (Archer, 2002; Ahmad, 2001). This study explores the discourses used by teachers and Muslim girls, how Muslim girls are positioned within these discourses, and the implications for Muslim girls’ experiences in school. Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (as described by Willig, 2008) is used to analyse semi-structured interview data from five teachers and focus group data from five Muslim girls in year 9. Discussions around race in relation to the practice of Educational Psychologists are rare, and so the usefulness of a discursive approach to the practice of Educational Psychologists in relation to race is also discussed.

The purpose of the present thesis was driven by the limited existing evidence examining nutritional and physical activity (PA) profiles of older migrant women, and the importance of such studies for the planning and development of appropriate strategies to promote healthy ageing. This thesis adopted a mixed-methods approach to explore current dietary intake, nutrient status, and key factors influencing dietary factors (Chapter 3) of first generation migrant older women from diverse ethnic, socio-economic, and migration backgrounds (n=76). Chapter 4 sought to explore if the reported low energy and low nutrient intakes found in Chapter 3 were associated with frailty. Chapter 5 examined the association between objectively measured PA/ST and frailty, and identified key factors influencing PA amongst a sub-sample of the study sample (n=60). Given that diet and PA are potential mediators to promote healthy ageing in this population, Chapter 6 explored experiences of ageing and how these, in turn, shaped participants’ perceptions of ‘good’ old age as well as nutrition and physical activity behaviours. The present thesis provided an opportunity to better understand the dietary and PA profiles of first generation migrant older women and how they relate to frailty and ageing within the contemporary super-diverse UK context.

This thesis seeks to contribute to the literature on Walter Benjamin and Jean Baudrillard, but not to merely retread old debates. It is concerned instead with a re-evaluation of the work of both thinkers in a particular context: the experience of the new cultural spaces, of twenty-first century post-industrial cities, and in relation to each other. I argue, following Benjamin, that these spaces function as contemporary ‘dreamhouses’. Deploying a constellation of Benjamin and Baudrillard’s ideas to read such spaces illuminates the experience of the contemporary cityscape around the themes of spectacle, distraction, interactivity, simulation and consumption. The thesis examines how these iconic architectural projects, the technological body of the cityscape, mediate our experiences of art, nature, personal and collective memory, and notions of public culture. I argue that we must read Benjamin again after Baudrillard in order to assess the value of both thinkers’ contribution to the understanding of contemporary cities organisation of space and culture. The contingent proximity that is uncovered when reading the theorists both together and against each other, is one which ultimately argues for the persistence of certain ‘messianic’ moments; traces or interruptions which can be uncovered against the notion of Baudrillardian ‘simulation’. This is to take seriously, rather than dispense with, Baudrillardian ideas. Both Benjamin and Baudrillard, together, are necessary to understand the experience of contemporary urban culture. Taking the form of four empirical encounters between the theoretical concepts and the cultural spaces themselves, I set out to locate these messianic possibilities. Each of the analytical chapters focuses on a different cultural space: The Lowry, Salford; The Deep, Hull, The Sage, Gateshead; and The Public, West Bromwich.