This thesis examines the relationship between physical capabilities and the mental simulation of actions. Behavioural research suggests that the ability to understand of an action is directly related to the ability to perform it, an idea consistent with the Embodied theory of Cognition. The present work aims to further explore the relationship between the body and cognition and investigate whether the restriction of an action or movement disrupts the simulation of movements during motor imagery tasks, which have been shown to elicit motor activations upon performance. This theory was investigated in a series of seven motor simulation experiments during which participants’ movements were restrained. Studies 1-3 investigated simulations that occur unconsciously through the observation of manipulatable objects. Studies 4-6 investigated simulations that occur during performance of mental transformations of manipulatable objects and body part stimuli. The results of these studies found no significant difference in performance when movement was restricted compared to when free to move. Study 7 investigated simulations that occur consciously through the observation of actions performed by another individual and found a significant effect of restriction on performance. The findings of these studies indicate that the ability to perform a movement is required for the accurate simulation of actions when an action is being observed but not when a simulated action is required on a stationary object, which suggests a variable relationship between the body and cognitive processes. This thesis offers an interesting contribution to the Embodied Cognition debate and provides a further insight into the relationship between the motor and visual systems.

I consider two versions of an argument against (so-called) negative action, both of which take it that causation is a defining feature of actions. The first asserts that when an agent refrains, her mental states do not cause the absence of an event; as such, the refraining does not qualify as an action. The second asserts that when an agent refrains, she does not cause the apparent results of her refraining, and so again, the refraining does not qualify as an action. The idea motivating the second argument appears to improve on the first, insofar as it allows for the agent to play a role in her actions. I argue that both accounts rely on a narrow conception of causation, framed in terms of a physical connection between cause and effect. This narrow conception does not appear to be justified, and the focus on physical connection causation leads both accounts to misconceive agency. Fortunately, there is available a broader conception of causation, which is both intuitively plausible and better able to capture the phenomenon. / text

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This dissertation examines mobilization and collective action by the homeless in eight U.S. cities. Much of the focus of social movement research emphasizes either broad macro-level social processes or micro-level individual characteristics to understand movement dynamics. This research focuses on the organizational context and dynamics of homeless mobilization. I argue that the organizational level not only mediates dynamics at the macro and micro level, but that organizational processes themselves shape the possibility and course of mobilization and collective action. I identify the environmental factors that constrain the possibilities of organizational action by the homeless and the organizational characteristics of homeless social movement organizations (SMOs) that are associated with the ability to successfully negotiate these environments. The core of the dissertation is organized around four related issues: the organizational environment, resources, form, and action and outcomes. I map the organizational field of homeless mobilization and illustrate how the presence or absence of various organizational orientations within the field influences the potential for resource acquisition, the type of form adopted, and the types of collective action tactics and outcomes available to the homeless. Next, I examine the resource relationships of homeless SMOs, the types of resources they mobilize, and the influence of particular types of resources on SMO viability. Following this, I explore the role of organizational form on homeless mobilization and collective action and the various pathways by which the homeless SMOs came to adopt or not adopt nonprofit form. Finally, I examine the determinants of collective action tactics utilized by homeless SMOs and their efficacy in procuring various outcomes. By emphasizing the organizational level, this dissertation operates at the intersection of the organizational and social movements literatures. Thus, the research offers theoretical insights for both while addressing a neglected level of analysis in the study of social movements.

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