Within a period of three months in 1994, up to one million people were killed as a result of war and genocide in Rwanda. Large numbers were physically and psychologically afflicted for life through maiming, rape and other trauma; over two million fled to neighbouring countries and half as many became internally displaced within Rwanda's borders. Post-genocide Rwanda is dramatically different from pre-genocide Rwanda; the genocide transformed the social, political and cultural landscape of Rwanda and undermined the trust that normally binds its people together. It was against this backdrop that I went to Rwanda in 1995 to engage in a process of action research with local stakeholders, in order to formulate, implement and evaluate a sustainable and effective police training programme. I was also able to reflect upon and research the issues of cultural transferability in a training context. This thesis therefore engages with both of those issues through a framework of the integrated theories of Weaver's `Colliding Icebergs' (1993) and Schein's Process Consultation (1987 and 1998). Weaver believes that entering another culture is similar to two colliding icebergs. The real clash occurs beneath the water where values and thought patterns conflict - the area that Schein describes as `Process' or, when deep-rooted and recurrent, `Structure', that is how things are done. The part of the iceberg that is above the surface would be described by Schein as the `Content' part of culture, that is what is done or the task that is to be achieved. This research describes how our team and other international community transfer agents initially concentrated on the Content aspects of their research and assistance programmes and ignored the Process and Structure elements. In some cases this limited focus had catastrophic effects as many aid workers failed to incorporate the implications of genocide into the design and implementation of their assistance programmes. This apparent lack of understanding of the psychological impact of genocide (Process and Structure) contributed to the distrust, and even outright hostility, of the Rwandan government and its people towards many of the international field operations in Rwanda. Whilst working with and developing this theoretical framework for over four and a half years, in a particularly complex and sensitive cross-cultural situation, I identified many strengths that supported this action research. The integrated theories enabled both researchers and practitioners to analyse the cross-cultural situation in which they found themselves in order to fully understand the context of their research and interventions. Additionally, transfer teams and their stakeholder colleagues were able to artificially accelerate the maturity of their crosscultural team, by making their own development part of their formal agenda (Content), rather than leaving it to chance. This research therefore confirms the importance of personal and organisational intercultural training prior to and during any cross-cultural training event and emphasises the need to analyse, and intervene appropriately, in Content, Process and Structure issues. This includes the importance of understanding the external environment that the culture under research finds itself in and the need to acknowledge the shifting and kaleidoscopic nature of ethnic differentiations and identities. It also stresses the importance of communication and, mutual reflection and learning by the `insider' and `outsider' of the culture in which the action research and training is to be carried out.

This thesis contains a survey of the mobility problems of blind people, experimental analysis and evaluation of these problems and suggestions for ways in which the evaluation of mobility performance and the design of mobility aids may be improved. The survey revealed a low level of mobility among blind people, with no significant improvement since a comparable survey in 1967. A group of self taught cane users were identified and their mobility was shown to be poor or potentially dangerous. Existing measures of mobility were unable to detect improvements in performance above that achieved by competent long cane users. By using newly devised measures of environmental awareness and of gait, the advantages of the Sonic Pathfinder were demonstrated. Existing measures of psychological stress were unsatisfactory. Heart rate is affected by physical effort and has been shown to be a poor indicator of moment-to-moment stress in blind mobility. Analysis of secondary task errors showed that they occurred while obstacles were being negotiated. They did not measure stress due to anticipation of obstacles or of danger. In contrast, step length, stride time and particularly speed all show significant anticipatory effects. The energy expended in walking a given distance is least at the walker's preferred speed. When guided, blind people walk at this most efficient pace. It is therefore suggested that the ratio of actual to preferred speed is the best measure of efficiency in mobility. Both guide dogs and aids which enhance preview allow pedestrians to walk at, or close to, their preferred speed. Further experiments are needed to establish the extent to which psychological stress is present during blind mobility, since none of the conventional measures, such as heart rate and mood checklists show consistent effects. Walking speed may well prove to be the most useful measure of such stress.

This research examines the genesis of district nursing in England, and in particular explores the way in which district nursing became a paid occupation over the course of the nineteenth century. District nursing is defined as the care of the sick poor within their own homes, which is consistent with a nineteenth, rather than a twentieth, century meaning. At the beginning of the century an occupation of district nursing did not exist, yet by the end a formal occupation had emerged, and some associations of district nursing were attempting to create a profession which would attract educated women. In order to explore the processes involved, empirical data were obtained from the records of nineteenth century district nursing associations and organisations for their affiliation. These were interpreted and analysed within the theoretical framework of the sociology of work, occupation and professions, the concept of occupation being regarded as crucial in explaining the emergence of district nursing. Since district nursing was an exclusively female occupation, particular emphasis is given to the gender division of labour. It was found that social changes associated with urbanisation and the rise of capitalism in an age of enlightenment thinking, facilitated a move from an informal to a paid occupation. This was not, however, a linear progression, since philanthropic pursuit, particularly that of women, played an important role in the formation of most associations and in constructing power relationships. The first associations were Protestant Sisterhoods where subjective labour (Freidson 1978) dominated and controlled the work of paid nurses. By the end of the century most nurses were part of the official economy (Freidson 1978), yet the involvement of philanthropic effort continued. Diversity among emerging associations hindered the development of a unified occupation with a discrete area of work and occupational identity, which in turn circumscribed the attempts of some organisations to create in district nursing a profession of educated women.

This comparative study of Somali and Kurdish refugees in London aims to develop understanding of refugee adaptation and identity formation as these are experienced differentially by two recently arrived refugee groups with distinctive histories, identities and orientation to political activity in both the country of origin and the society of reception. The thesis is based upon ethnographic fieldwork with individuals from both groups and in this respect marks a distinctive contribution to the study of refugees in Britain. In addition to original fieldwork material the thesis is based upon a detailed historical reconstruction of the groups in their country of origin and within the settlement context in London. A range of secondary data is also drawn upon at different stages of the argument. The thesis is in four parts. Part one is a critical review of the literature on refugee adaptation and identity and argues for the importance of theories of ethnicity and cultural identity to the study of refugees in countries of settlement. The concept of diaspora is introduced as an heuristic device to elucidate the processes of flight, settlement and identity formation which are addressed in parts two to four of the thesis. Part two examines Somalia and Kurdistan as refugee generating areas. The international response to refugee crises in these two cases is set within a changed conception of security in the post-Cold war order. Part three documents the changing policy context and British government reception of the two groups in the late 1980s. The migration histories and settlement patterns of the groups in addition to differences in patterns of formal organisation are also examined. Part four is the kernel of the thesis and illustrates the role of imagined communities - the selfrepresentation of communal identities - in the adaptation of the groups and of individual refugees in London. Throughout this research the role and importance of group-specific factors to the adaptation process is emphasised. The distinctive histories, identities and aspirations of individual refugee groups and individuals is at the heart of the analysis. The quest for recognition, for economic and social parity in the country of settlement in addition to claims for cultural and national distinctiveness, raise important methodological and ethical issues which are addressed throughout the thesis.

The research focusses on the study of four separate groups of workers involved in the provision of some form of social work service. Each group is based in a well-known setting, which has a distinctive historical and organisational background. Two are specifically religious, namely Roman Catholic Sisters working with families in their own homes, and those staffing a Salvation Army Hostel for the Single Homeless; and two are of a secular and statutory nature, namely non-qualified staff within a Social Services Department, and those running a Government Reception Centre for the Single Homeless. The thesis is divided into four distinct sections. Section A, consisting of two chapters, aims to introduce the reader to the research, to the structure of the thesis, and more specifically to the overall methodology which was adopted. This necessarily includes a discussion of the actual methods utilised, including the process of writing up, and the approach employed towards existing literature. It is a moving methodology whose approach demands a more fluid, multi-disciplinary approach to other literature, and a presentation or form which relates to both method and content. Having set the scene in Section A, Section B turns to the empirical material and provides the first of the two main empirical sections. Again consisting of two chapters, the first is concerned with the historical development of the four institutions involved. These descriptive sub-sections are then followed by an historical analysis of the relationship of church and state, and finally the our groups are set in relationship to the Welfare State, Chapter Four focusses on the other structural way of making sense of institutions, that of ideology. Having introduced the concept of ideology, particularly in relation to practice, the contemporary role of the church in the 'welfare state' is considered. The chapter also examines five ideological issues which were seen to influence carers. Section C presents the empirical data as related to three central themes: Chapter Five-Perceptions of Work, Chapter Six-Social Service Work and Client Groups, and, Chapter Seven-Community and Bureaucracy as Organisational Forms. Chapter Five is concerned with perceptions of work and focusses attention on those studied as "workers". The importance of work as a category of analysis only emerged during the research, but the chapter becomes central to the whole thesis, dealing with a considerable range of empirical material. Chapter Six concentrates on the clients' experiences of the four institutions from which they sought help. This information was not gained by direct interview but from observation and inference from what worcers said. The final Chapter turns to the organisational form within which the service is provided, for this too had emerged as a fundamental issue. Community, as measured in terms of the members' sense of solidarity and significance, is contrasted with bureaucracy. Two concrete examples of the effects of organisation are examined, as are the implications of community for those who 'care'. Section D necessarily aims to draw together those findings already reported (both implicitly and explicitly) and to comment upon them. The first part of Chapter Eight concentrates on exploring various 'Ways of Concluding' findings derived from such a methodology. The idea of community as an important organisational form for the carers emerges from a wide range of conclusions as the most significant. The second part is devoted to the implications for future research and practice, not least in terms of the methodology and the actual process of writing up such research. The thesis concludes with pointers for areas of future research.

This study is concerned with the nature and function of institutional confinement in late Victorian society. It consists of an analysis of incarceration at the local level, focusing on the county asylum and prison of Warwickshire, based on case-history and administrative records. The first chapter sets prison and asylum detention within the broader pattern of confinement in Warwickshire, discussing whether a cohesive systemI of incarceration existed. Next is examined the key role played by county magistrates in the provision of public and private institutions and their reluctance to follow national policy to the letter. A study of inmate labour demonstrates that the principle of self-sufficiency allowed local authorities to economise, with a mitigating influence on the ideologies of 'moral treatment' and penitentiary punishment. The remaining chapters concern the inmates. Workhouse, prison and asylum entrants are compared with the source population of the County. Social isolation was a factor common to entrants to all three institutions, but asylum inmates included many who were far from destitute. The last two chapters extend the theme that asylums were not functioning as places for Victorian society to offload its deviant and 'marginal' members. Study of the mentally disordered offender and the mentally handicapped indicates that opposition to the extension of segregative control persisted both locally and nationally. In conclusion it is argued that late Victorian institutions were less efficient at quarantining the deviant from the rest of society than previous studies have suggested. The conclusion also points out, however, that the fear of incarceration remained an important theme in the poor's relationship with the State, to which the experiences of institution inmates contributed. Further research into the role played by incarceration in this world-view, might avoid the pitfalls of an over-emphasis on 'social control', while acknowledging the inmate perspective.

This thesis, through a comparative study of Kosovar Albanian refugees in the UK and Italy, develops an understanding of refugees' attitudes towards return and identifies the factors that influence their decision-making process through the analysis of their interaction with the country of origin and the society of reception. It formulates a theoretical approach to the study of refugee repatriation based on Archer's form of sociological realism and her morphogenetic model, while also drawing on previous studies of refugee flight, settlement and return, which argue for the advantage of studying refugee specific issues as part of the whole chain of events that characterise the experience of exile. As such, it represents a contribution towards the theoretical understanding of refugees in general and refugee repatriation in particular. The case study is grounded on this theoretical approach and analyses refugees' perspectives on return within the proposed frame. It is based upon a qualitative study through fieldwork with refugees in both countries of exile and in this respect marks a distinctive contribution to the study of refugees in the UK and in Italy in general, and to the study of refugees' approach to return in particular. The thesis dismisses the predominant assumption of governments that' all refugees want to return' and concludes that refugees' attitudes towards return depend on a range of factors: their relationship with the country of origin, their interaction with the country of exile and their personal background. More significantly, it demonstrates the linkages between these factors and the time and modality of their flight, their interaction with the reception, integration and repatriation policies of the country of exile and their relationship with the conflict and society in the country of origin. In this respect, it represents a contribution to existing studies of refugee repatriation through the development of a more sophisticated account of what influences the decision-making process of refugees vis-a-vis return.

This thesis is a critical examination of social work discretion within adult Social Services. The topic is explored through a critical analysis of Lipsky's examination of discretion within street-level bureaucracies. The thesis first outlines Lipsky's analysis of discretion and subsequent research within the street-level bureaucracy perspective, identify the limited analysis of the role of managers and the influence of professionalism on discretion as areas for further consideration. The thesis explores debates about management control and professionalism with regards to social workers' discretion, and how these relate to the continuing relevance of Lipsky's work on discretion. Two key alternative accounts of discretion in contemporary social work are identified: domination managerialism, arguing that managers have achieved control over social work and have extinguished discretion; and the discursive managerialism perspective, which sees managerial control and professional discretion intersecting in different ways in different settings. The thesis examines these arguments in terms of their descriptions of different regimes of discretion, that is: how discretion is characterised; claims about the nature of management control; and the role of professional status. These issues are examined through a study of an older persons team and a mental health team within the same local authority. The study suggests that 'management' is not monolithic, but is an internally differentiated group, and that local managers exercise significant discretion themselves and contribute to practitioner discretion. Furthermore, professionalism as a formal principle, in structuring discretion continues to be significant, but to different degrees in the two different teams. The thesis concludes that the street-level perspective is useful in identifying limitations on managers' ability to control discretion. However) this perspective is also criticised as offering a limited account and neglecting the role of managers and professionalism in explaining the nature of social work discretion in Social Services.

This thesis examines the issue of participation of affected populations in disaster relief, which is receiving increasing attention from researchers, planners and practitioners. This concern comes out of the widely documented experience in development studies that beneficiary participation is essential for programmes to succeed. Similar arguments are being applied to disaster relief. However, despite much rhetoric, examples of genuine grassroots participation both in relief and development continue to be rare. I review the concept of participation in Chapter One and, in Chapter Two, the many possible reasons as to why participation of beneficiaries continues to be a problematic issue. In Chapter Three, I review the concept of humanitarianism and the implications of changes in humanitarian assistance on participation. In Chapters Four, Five and Six, I present three case studies, different by geographical, socio-political context and type of disaster. All the three studies contain material collected through fieldwork involving a qualitative methodology. I have indicated, in each study, the range of data collection tools used. In Chapter Seven, I compare and evaluate the findings of the three case studies. I present overall conclusions of the thesis in Chapter Eight. The main conclusions of the thesis are that beneficiary participation continues to be a problematic issue because groups that have power derived from ownership of economic resources or politics seem unwilling to share that power with the people they seek to assist. Their unwillingness to do so has, in turn, many causes including, lack of trust by aid organisations of local power structures and organisations, poor bureaucratic orientation, a self-given superiority of moral virtue and technical expertise, and sometimes limitations imposed by operational, structural and accounting procedures. I argue that some of these limitations could be addressed through financially supporting and enhancing the capabilities of member-based grassroots structures. I also argue that more effort needs to be devoted to research on how willingness to adhere to the ideals of humanitarian assistance can be generated on the part of aid agencies and donors.

This research examines the way police officers learn to make sense of, and report, 'official reality'. 100 in-depth, tape recorded interviews were carried out with police officers at various stages of service including probationers, Tutor Constables, Trainers and a group of experienced officers. Full transcripts of the interviews were prepared and then subjected to a close-grained, qualitative analysis in which various themes were identified. The results were then subjected to a statistical technique known as logistic regression. The findings reveal, inter alia, that an officer's interpretation of incidents will change with experience. Probationers at first treat incidents as self-contained legal 'texts' with semiosis limited to consideration of 'points to prove'. Later they begin to take into consideration contextual factors. More experienced officers introduce experiential or 'intertextual' factors into their semiosic activity so that their interpretation includes not just synchronic but diachronic elements. Various 'interpretive communities' are identified linked to structural groupings within the policing institution and impacting on the way incidents are interpreted and reported. Police culture[s] is shown to largely determine what elements of an incident are seen as salient and what are ignored. Officers develop socio-spatial cognitive frameworks during their Tutor Constable attachments made up of detailed local knowledge and historical practices which shape the way they approach incidents, and interact with the public. The substantive criminal law was found to offer little guidance to patrol officers who utilise normative and evaluative conceptual frameworks grounded in personal and family value systems. Law is used by police officers to legitimise decisions arrived at through a parallel process of decision-making that is grounded in police operational culture. Anglo-Americanl egal discoursea ssumesa n unproblematicr elationshipb etween language and 'reality'. The present findings support a social constructionist theory of the semiotic encounter in which the patrol officer is not a passive observer of events, but constructs a version of 'reality' from various potential interpretations.