Recent scholarship in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century has explored the active roles of middling and genteel women in the home, redefining such ‘leisure’ activities as polite conversation, tea-making, and embroidery as ‘work’, thereby relocating women’s activities into broader webs of productive relations. The majority of this scholarship has remained largely historical in nature, and my thesis moves this field forward by examining these work/leisure activities in close relation to the developing novel form and its inherent narratological and ideological possibilities, in the period 1770-1820. I analyse the novel and the specific perspectives on work and leisure it generates in relation to narrative mimesis, and the works of Hannah Arendt, Karl Marx, and Arlie Hoschild. Using these diverse theories and theorists, I am able show the autonomy, relaxation, and pleasure women’s activity could potentially give in the period, and therefore show its leisure functions, whilst at the same demonstrate the importance of women’s activity in broad social structures, thereby emphasising their status as work. My first three chapters move through women’s engagement with needlework, musical accomplishment, and reading in that order. As such, I create a progression from needlework, understood as work as such; to musical accomplishment, which is more closely aligned with leisure but which nevertheless required patience and commitment; to the reading of novels, which was usually understood as a purely personal, introverted experience requiring no active effort. I therefore move from activity well understood as work through to activity understood as pure leisure, and gradually break down the work/leisure binary my showing both work and leisure functions within all three activities. My final two chapters extend this argument by considering the seemingly spontaneous acts of falling in love and feeling sympathy within a framework of work, thereby locating emotions within the context of my argument.

Research shows a predominantly female orientated approach to the study of fertility and childbearing. Prior to the 1990s men were missing from this research by design. Women were asked to report their partner’s childbearing preferences and behaviours and thus the true attitudes and opinions of men were largely unknown. Although men are no longer missing from this research, their participation rates are disproportionally low compared to women. The aims of the studies to be presented in this thesis were to better understand the childbearing preferences and behaviours of men, establish reasons for why men have disproportionately low participation rates in the research on childbearing, identify who and what could be a target of behaviour change interventions aimed to increase participation in childbearing research and identify whether the implementation of such interventions increase male participation. The work presented in this thesis demonstrates that, as with women, a number of factors influence whether and when men begin parenthood. However, there is diversity between men and women in terms of what factors they consider to be important and influential in the preconception decision-making process. Men overall wanted to be fathers but did not want to be involved beyond being the breadwinner of the family.Therefore results highlight the need to consider the childbearing preferences and behaviours of men in order to understand contemporary fertility trends and identify unmet needs in policy and research that concern men. Notwithstanding this, the disproportionally low participation rates of men in the research on childbearing ultimately means that the research base is not providing a good account of male attitudes towards whether and when to have children. When given the opportunity to participate in childbearing research men participate significantly less than women actively excluding themselves from the research as a result of less favourable attitudes towards the behaviour. The modification of attitudes is thus identified to be the mechanism that would most likely elicit intention (and potentially behaviour) change. The implementation of persuasive messages aimed to modify attitudes towards participation in childbearing research increased the perceived relevance of the behaviour but had little effect on attitude, intention and research behaviour. Overall, the work presented in this thesis demonstrates that raising public awareness that childbearing is an issue that affects men as well as women is likely to be key to integrating men into family life and increasing their participation in childbearing research.

There are many researching studies to be found that describes how media relates to men and women differently. Even if it’s a newspaper research or a magazine research they all display the same information. That there are differences in the way that women and men are described or portrayed in articles and pictures. Most of these gender studies are made on a basis of magazines that are mainly intended to men or to women. They all send out messages that the consumer sees as a fact but that really are a construction of the reality. In this research we have studied a movie magazine called Cinema from a gender perspective. The magazine intends to both men and women. One of our main goals was to see if there were any differences between how the men and women are described in Cinema compared to the ones that only are intended to men or women. We have been studying eight articles of well known actors from the magazine Cinema. Four of them are portraits of men and four are portraits of women. We have been using qualitative analysis to study the texts and the pictures in the articles to see if there are any differences in the way that men and women are portrayed. We have also considered and researched if the gender of the writers influences the article and what it is in the portraits that construct genders. The results of our study, points out that there are differences in the way that men and women are portrayed by the magazine Cinema but not to such a great extent as the magazines that are only intended to men or women. But there are still differences. In this study we have been pointing out many of these differences and constructions that make a woman to be seen as a woman and a man to be seen as a man. Hopefully this will help both producers and consumer to become more aware of how the media constructs the reality.

Extramarital relationships and women's sexuality are by far some of the most controversial and elusive subjects in our society, and most of the empirical literature and popular opinion about the connection between women and infidelity perceive it as unequivocally taboo. Following the work of feminist researchers who valorize the potential for women's sexual experiences and view heterosexual relationships as a form of oppression, I explore the extramarital relationships between single women and married men. To perform this exploration, I completed two-part, in-depth interviews with eleven single women who had an intimate relationship with a married man. Once the interviews were transcribed verbatim, I completed a four-step voice-centered relational reading and analysis of the interviews in which participants' experiences were summarized into three relationships: with themselves, with the married man, and with the married man's wife. I set aside the themes that emerged from this inquiry and I performed a discourse analysis on the participants' narratives for each of these three relationships. Since the resulting themes from the voice-centered relational analysis overlapped considerably with the dominant discourses that emerged from the discourse analysis, a more in-depth feminist analysis was performed exclusively on the latter. In summary, the most commonly occurring dominant discourses were a struggle with morality, identity development and identity reconstruction; responsibility toward women (the married man's wife); and a negative emotional aftermath following the end of the relationship. Consequently, this analysis also found an occurrence of three types of extramarital relationships: satisfying, distressing/distancing, and emotionally abusive. Each dominant discourse was deconstructed per participant and per interview by using a feminist theoretical lens. / The analysis paved the way for a relational and socio-political examination of single women's experiences of infidelity. The implications of this study are discussed by comparing them to existing investigations, both feminist and traditional, of women's intimate relationships. This study thus aimed to understand the experiences of single women who have had intimate relationships with married men, to empower them as well as the mental health professionals and educators who work with this particular clientele.

This thesis examines the two literary genres of romance and chick lit with regards to the treatment of relationships, career, sexuality, consumerist culture and beauty industry as represented in Lynne Graham’s An Arabian Courtship, Eve Gladstone’s Between two Moons, Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada and Marian Keyes’s Sushi for Beginners. Lynne Graham (b. 1956) is a popular Northern Irish author of over sixty romance novels. After the first unsuccessful attempt to be a writer Lynne Graham got married to a man she had loved since her teens. When their first daughter was born Graham began writing again, this time with success. The novel An Arabian Courtship is about a young female protagonist, Polly, who is arranged to marry an Arab prince Raschid. Eve Gladstone’s Between Two Moons is a Harlequin romance written by two authors, Joyce Gleit and Herma Werner. Both Gleit and Werner are married and worked in the fashion industry before becoming romance writers. Eve Gladstone is the name of their writing team. The novel is about a young and successful career woman, Kelly, in charge of a big store Lambs. Suddenly she realizes that her store has been sold to Tony Campbell, a handsome, charming and enigmatic man. Lauren Weisberger (b. 1977) is the writer of the contemporary new woman’s fiction (called as chick lit genre). Her first job as the assistant to the editor-in-chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour, influenced her to write The Devil Wears Prada. This novel was her first book... [to full text] / Šiame baigiamajame magistriniame darbe nagrinėjami du literatūros žanrai – tradicinis meilės romanas ir šiuolaikinis moterų romanas. Lynne Graham „An Arabian Courtship“ ir Eve Gladstone „Between Two Moons“ yra tradiciniai meilės romanai, o Lauren Weisberger „The Devil Wears Prada“ ir Marian Keyes „Sushi for Beginners“ yra šiuolaikiniai moterų romanai. Šie romanai yra analizuojami norint atskleisti jau minėtų žanrų panašumus ir skirtumus atsižvelgiant į pagrindinių herojų tarpusavio santykius, karjera, lytiškumą, jų santykį su vartotojiška kultūra ir grožio pramone. Romano „Between Two Moons“ autoriai – Joyce Gleit ir Herma Werner. „Eve Gladstone“ buvo pasirinkta slapyvardžiu. Abu rašytojai yra sutuoktiniai, kurį laiką dirbę mados industrijoje, vėliau nusprendę rimtai atsiduoti rašytojo karjerai. Romanas „Between Two Moons“ pasakoja apie jauną, sėkmingą, karjeros siekiančią moterį, kuri vadovauja prekybos centrui „Lambs“. Staiga ji suvokia, kad parduotuvė parduota pasiturinčiam ir žavingam anglui vardu Tonny Campbell. Lynne Graham (1956) yra populiari Šiaurės Airijos autorė, išleidusi daugiau kaip šešiasdešimt romanų. Pirmasis bandymas tapti rašytoja buvo nesėkmingas, todėl Lynne Graham panėrė į šeimyninį gyvenimą: ištekėjo už vyro kurį mylėjo nuo pat paauglystės, susilaukė dukros. Pabandžiusi rašyti dar kartą Graham sulaukė sėkmės. Jos romanas „An Arabian Courtship“ atskleidžia jaunos merginos vardu Polly istoriją. Ši netikėtai sužino, jog yra pažadėta Jungtinių Arabų Emyratų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

With dramatic changes in family-related behaviours in the past 50 years, there has been an increasing awareness and acceptance of different family arrangements. Subsequently, measuring and studying people’s attitudes towards issues such as commitment to marriage, acceptance of alternative family forms, parental separation and gender roles has gained a lot of attention among those working in the fields of sociology, social psychology and demography. The majority of studies examining the relationship between family-related attitudes and behaviour have focused on either the selection or adaptation effects of attitudes, with fewer (particularly of those using British data) specifically addressing the possibility of both processes taking place. This study’s main goal is to address the latter using the data of two British cohorts born 12 years apart: the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS) and the 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS). The cohort’s attitudes are measured by a scale consisting of three items which relate to: marriage being a lifelong commitment, a divorce being easily obtainable these days and the acceptability of parental separation. This work adopts the perspective of value orientation and life course position which implies a recursive nature of attitudes and behaviour whereby behaviour is influenced by people’s values (the selection effect of attitudes) and these values, in turn, adjust following changes in people’s circumstances (the adaptation effect of attitudes). The availability of attitude statements at two time points for each cohort (at age 26 and 30 for BCS; at age 33 and 42 for NCDS) and rich partnership history data allows for such analyses to be carried out as the order of events can be established. Firstly, this research utilises bivariate and multivariate techniques to investigate the determinants of attitudes. Further, it implements regression analyses to explore the relationships between attitude scores and: a) transition to first marriage for non-cohabiting cohort members (BCS and NCDS); b) transition to first marriage of cohabiting cohort members (BCS) and c) dissolution of first marriage (NCDS). The main findings show some evidence of both the selection and adaptation effects of attitudes in relation to marital transitions for both cohorts, indicating the importance of attitudes in shaping people’s behaviour and at the same time showing the tendency of attitudes to change in line with an individual’s personal circumstances.

The aim of this study was to describe false consensus in romantically involved couples. False consensus is the tendency of the perceiver to overestimate the degree to which other people agree with his or her beliefs, opinions and behavioral choices. Previous research has demonstrated false consensus in a variety of situations and circumstances, but prior to this study false consensus had not been measured in couples. This study asked two research questions: (1) Does false consensus occur at the same rate in romantically involved couples that it occurs in non-couples? (2) Does false consensus occur less in romantically involved couples in longer-term relationships? In order to examine these questions this study surveyed 143 couples using modified versions of the Relationship Beliefs Scale (RBS) and the Attitudes Toward Divorce Scale (ATDS). The scale were modified to measure false consensus by adding the question “Do you believe that your partner agrees with your view on this item?” to each item. The results indicated that while false consensus does occur in couples it occurs at a lower rate than in non-couples. This study did not find a relationship between false consensus and length of time in the relationship. Clinical implications are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This thesis examines the development of representation in typically developing children and in young children with Down's Syndrome. The focus on representation allows us to adopt a general approach to development in infancy spanning domains such as motor development, language, object permanence, imitation, and symbolic play. Theoretical approaches to children with Down's Syndrome have been dominated by the `delay versus difference' controversy. This perspective suggests that development in children with Down's Syndrome should proceed with a sequence and structure similar to that observed in typically developing children. In this thesis it is argued, in contrast, that children with Down's Syndrome present a number of challenges to the organisational perspective. This thesis examines the strengths and weaknesses in the development of children with Down's Syndrome and attempts to identify the structural links between domains which are threatened by such a profile. These results of empirical studies detailed in this thesis suggest that development across domains such as language, motor development and object permanence appears to be relatively coherent. However, children with Down's Syndrome show subtle differences in their performance on object permanence and symbolic play tasks which suggests deviation from the typical pattern of structural coherence. Specifically, children with Down's Syndrome appear to adopt a more imitative strategy in solving object permanence tasks and in their symbolic play. The prevalence of imitation as a strategy may be indicative of a shallow level of processing. Alternatively, it may also be argued that children with Down's Syndrome adopt a different representational style in performing tasks. These subtle difference in the style with which children approach task suggest that the learning and consolidation process may differ between children with Down's Syndrome and the typically developing population. Such findings may have important consequences for intervention.

The aim of this research was to explore fatherhood from a man’s perspective. How do fathers respond emotionally when they experience fatherhood for the first time? What influences these responses? When fathers feel unable to share difficulties with their partner do internet discussion sites provide an effective medium for fathers to access support and advice? Given the important role fathers play in the lives of their children, what factors might lead them to disengage and cease contact? These questions are addressed within the thesis. Chapter 1 provides a review of the literature and aims to focus on exploring the father-child relationship from the father’s perspective and potential hurdles and barriers fathers may have to negotiate when developing and maintaining involvement with their child. Chapter 2 details the main paper. This Grounded Theory study explores the salient emotional experiences of nine fathers, three to six months after the birth of their first child. Emotional responses appear to be influenced by the father’s personal history and the social and interpersonal context. Feelings of attachment to the child are linked to the early attachment experience at birth and subsequently to interplay between instability, turmoil and positive change or growth. Methodological issues and clinical implications are discussed. Chapter 3 details the brief paper. A topic area on an on-line internet discussion forum for fathers was examined in detail using narrative analysis. Findings revealed evidence of significant emotional expression, yet limited emphatic emotional or informational support. Two types of contributors were identified, those using a ‘conversational’ dialogue and those only expressing their views/experience. Future research and developments within the internet are discussed. Chapter 4 offers a reflective review of entering a father’s world as a researcher and includes reflections on the research process, my role as a researcher and the research findings.

Social support has been shown to reduce the effects of stress and help individuals to cope. However, research suggests that the effects of social support depend on whether there is a match between the type of support offered and the needs of a particular situation, and from whom the support is offered. The aim of this study as a whole was to examine the social support experiences particular to women who are faced with the distressing problem of chronic pelvic pain (CPP). The literature review (chapter one) revealed that although pain is defined as a subjective experience, research in this field has rarely been concerned with the experience of CPP from the perspective of the women who suffer it. The first study (chapter two) therefore aimed to gain a detailed description of social support transactions as experienced by women with CPP. Eight women with CPP were interviewed about what has been helpful and unhelpful in terms of social support from their partners, families, friends, acquaintances, doctors, nurses and other women with CPP. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of interview transcripts revealed both helpful and unhelpful efforts at support from the various support providers. Findings are discussed in relation to extant literature and in terms of their clinical implications. The second study (chapter three) was concerned specifically with social support from partners. Standardised measures of pain experience, social support and psychological well being were administered to 29 women with CPP. Correlational analysis revealed significant associations between particular perceptions of partner support behaviours and depression and pain severity. Finally, the research review (chapter four) reflects on the extent to which this research project fulfils evolving criteria for the assessment of qualitative research.