This thesis investigates bullying and negative behaviour among chefs working in commercial kitchens. The idea for this study arose due to evidence from the hospitality industry and amongst chefs in particular which suggested that negative behaviour and bullying were widely accepted practices. However, much of this evidence has been either anecdotal from media reporting or based on small scale studies.The industry has also complained about high labour turnover and the need for a trained workforce. Therefore, this study examines the behaviours to which chefs are exposed and if negative behaviours cause them to leave the industry.This thesis has used a questionnaire to measure responses from chefs who were either in training in catering colleges or working in the industry. Questionnaires were distributed to first year student chefs (n = 202), final year student chefs (n = 153) and working chefs (n = 304). Working chefs and final year student chefs were given questionnaires that included a behavioural method of measuring bullying, known as the NAQ-R, a self labelling method of measuring bullying and items about kitchen specific behaviours. Working chefs and final year student chefs were also asked about positive aspects of work and job satisfaction. First year student chefs were also given a personality instrument as well as being asked their opinions of kitchen specific behaviours. The findings suggest chefs’ exposure to regular bullying was in line with another major UK study (Hoel, 2002). However, occasional bullying was much higher. An examination of industry specific behaviours revealed that chefs tolerate a range of behaviours from verbal abuse on the one hand to physical and sexual abuse on the other. There were also positive aspects about the freedom of work and job satisfaction but this study was unable to find any evidence as to what made chefs stay in the industryThe study found that as student chefs become socialised into their role they were more likely to tolerate negative work behaviours and could identify reasons for their use although, this did not mean that they necessarily agreed with them. In fact, as the working chef sample was very different in ethnicity, gender and nationality from the student sample it could mean that due to negative behaviours on graduation students may not work as chefs.

Background: There are concerns over the low proportion of young people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA] who regularly participate in physical activity [PA] (Al-Hazzaa, 2004; Al-Hazzaa, et al., 2011). Schools have a unique opportunity to promote PA and provide adequate PA opportunities for young people via the formal/informal curriculum, school sports programmes, and out-of-hours PA (Dobbins et al., 2009). However, implementing effective PA promotion programmes in schools is a challenge and requires consideration of a range of factors. In Saudi Arabia context, the secondary boys school PE programme comprises two main elements: 1) the PE curriculum which is compulsory for all students and includes one 45 minute PE lesson per week; 2) the extra-curricular programme which is optional and comprises the Internal Physical Activity Programme (IPAP) and the External Physical Activity Programme (EPAP). The IPAP activities occur during breaks between lessons whilst the EPAP takes place after school. Both are delivered by PE teachers. Research Aims The aims of this study were: 1) To investigate the nature and extent of the promotion of PA in boys secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. 2) To explore physical education teachers perspectives on the promotion of PA in boys secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. 3) To identify the factors that influence the promotion of PA in boys secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework for the study was based on Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997) which presumes that PA behaviour is influenced by: personal characteristics; behavioural factors; and environmental factors. In addition, the Active School model (Cale, 1997; Cale & Harrris, 2005) was utilised as a conceptual framework, guiding the investigation of PA promotion within schools and the analysis of data. Methodology In order to investigate the research questions, a two phased mixed method (Creswell, 2009) research project was carried out. Phase one involved a detailed survey questionnaire, informed by the Active School model, which was designed to gather information about PE teachers policies, practices and views with respect to the promotion of PA. The questionnaire s validity was enhanced via a number of Saudi experts who confirmed its appropriateness for use in the Saudi context. Moreover, a pilot study was undertaken to obtain valuable feedback relating to the format, content and clarity of both the survey questionnaire and interview schedule before the main study. The questionnaire was distributed to all secondary boys schools in Riyadh in KSA (N=181 schools). The response rate was 52%. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 was employed in the analysis of the data. Phase two involved semi-structured interviews. Prior to conducting these, the interview schedule was piloted at one secondary school. Six PE teachers drawn from the survey sample were interviewed and the interview data were then transcribed and analysed using MAXQD10 software. Research Findings The survey revealed that two thirds of the secondary boys schools had a plan or policy for the promotion of PA, and almost 70% of PE teachers thought that their school significantly contributed to the promotion of PA. Games activities (e.g. football) dominated the PE curriculum, and the majority of schools also organised inter-school games competitions (e.g. league). In contrast, exercise and fitness-related activities (e.g. circuit training) were less common within the schools PE curricula. The PE curriculum was viewed by the teachers as the most important avenue to promote PA, followed by the IPAP and EPAP (95%, 91% and 73% respectively). Sports/activity facilities varied between schools, particularly in terms of indoor facilities, and over half of the PE teachers considered their indoor and outdoor facilities to be inadequate for promoting PA (54% and 57% respectively). The vast majority (90.3%) of the schools did not offer PA opportunities to parents/families. Furthermore, three quarters of the teachers expressed a need for professional development specifically in the area of PA promotion. On a positive note, headteachers and local PE supervisors were reported to be supportive of efforts to promote PA in the schools and provided support for both the IPAP and EPAP. All PE teachers, who were interviewed, considered the time allocated to PE programme to be insufficient for promoting PA amongst pupils. Further, some teachers viewed PE lessons as time off from serious school subjects and entertaining time . Most teachers reported that parents considered PE as unimportant and/or playtime . Discussion/Conclusion PE teachers views on role of schools in the promotion of PA were generally positive. The ways in which the teachers practiced the promotion of PA varied and maybe have been due to their narrow understanding of the whole school approach to PA promotion. The teachers focused on the PE curriculum and the PE extra-curricular programmes as the main avenues through which to promote PA within their schools, and gave less attention to other avenues such as the whole school environment. Almost all of the teachers had a sporting philosophy for PE leading them to privilege competitive sports. Although the teachers reported to have support from head teachers and local PE supervisors, many schools were not as conducive to PA promotion as they could be due to the narrow range of physical opportunities on offer, and the teachers lack of relevant professional development, the limited sports facilities and the insufficient maintenance of these. In addition, the status of, and time allocated to PE were found to be an issue influencing the promotion of PA in schools. It was concluded that actions could be taken to broaden PA promotion within Saudi schools. For example, policy update and development for PA promotion could be improved to address clothing and changing, traffic/transport, and playground bullying; establish links with outside sports agencies and professionals; and increase PA opportunities before or after school, or at weekends. The findings suggest that if the descriptor comprehensive which is widely used to distinguish whole school approaches from curriculum-only models of PA promotion is to be fully realised, schools need to make a clear and explicit effort to promote PA within the social/cultural environment. Further that research is needed on the social and cultural values, norms and perspectives affecting PA promotion in schools.

A wealth of research evidence has been accumulating over the last two decades, highlighting the association of childhood trauma and psychosis. The literature review evaluates empirical evidence and builds upon the previous literature reviews in this area. In addition, the literature review examines the theoretical bases and the underlying psychological factors that contribute to the relationship between childhood trauma and psychosis. It concluded that despite a large body of literature on the association between childhood trauma and psychosis, there is a paucity of empirical research which investigates other forms of childhood trauma, such as, bullying. The empirical paper investigates whether ‘anxiety’, ‘depression’, ‘interpersonal sensitivity’, and/or negative beliefs would mediate the relationship between childhood bullying and paranoid thinking in people with psychosis. Data were collected through self-report measures on demographics, childhood bullying (‘direct aggression’, ‘indirect aggression’), ‘anxiety’, ‘depression’, ‘interpersonal sensitivity’, ‘other-self negative beliefs’, ‘self-self negative beliefs’, ‘self-other negative beliefs’, and paranoid thinking (‘ideas of social reference’, ‘persecution’). A significant association was found between childhood bullying and paranoid thinking. ‘Interpersonal sensitivity’ was found to mediate the relationship between childhood bullying (‘direct aggression’, ‘indirect aggression’) and ‘ideas of social reference’, indicating the importance of the Rejection Sensitivity Model in the understanding of paranoid thinking in victims of childhood bullying. Clinical and research implications, as well as, directions for future research are highlighted.

Traveller communities form a distinctive and ever-growing group of home-educators in England. This thesis examines the reasons why Traveller families take up Elective Home Education (EHE). Although there is a substantial research literature about the difficulties Travellers experience in school, there is limited research on Traveller families’ experiences of EHE. The aim of my research was to explore the reasons why Traveller children are home-educated and to illuminate issues of educational inequality that lie therein. I wish to inform current understandings of the education system, as experienced by a marginalised community and to work towards making this system more socially just. This study considers equality issues in education for Traveller children within two educational spaces, mainstream school and EHE, by documenting the rarely-heard accounts of a sample of Traveller families. I interviewed 11 different Traveller families and the main professionals responsible for EHE in one particular Local Authority in England. Critical Race Theory (CRT) provided an appropriate theoretical framework for this study. CRT focuses on concepts of racism and inequality as well as providing methodological approaches such as storytelling and counter-stories to give voice to Traveller families. I found that although many Traveller families were satisfied with home-education as preferable to mainstream school, they were all compelled to take it up, rather than adopting it as a positive and desirable choice. Racism, bullying and discrimination in school were commonly cited reasons for the uptake of EHE. EHE was chosen by my Traveller families as a safe educational space. My study reveals how current education systems do not facilitate the opportunities which many Traveller families desire for their children’s success. Wide-spread racism still denies many Traveller children equitable educational opportunities. This study’s findings will, it is hoped, inform new understandings of racism and education to address these inequalities.

Bullying is a serious problem for many adolescents, and one that can have detrimental effects on normal developmental processes, as chronic and severe bullying can obstruct the fulfilment of essential psychological needs. However, there are currently few targeted interventions available for chronic and severe bullying cases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Red Balloon Learner Centres (RBLC) which are a full time personal and academic recovery programme for bullied adolescents. A mixed-methodology was utilised, and quantitative outcome measures included: depression, anxiety and trauma symptoms, self-esteem and academic engagement and self-concept. The study was non equivalent groups design (NEGD) and incorporated a comparison group of bullied adolescents from Hertfordshire local authority (LA). The aim was to compare the recovery process between groups over time by taking an initial baseline measure, and conducting follow-up assessments every three months. Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in outcome variables over time, but there were no significant differences between groups at six month follow-up on any outcome variable. Both groups reported similar recovery themes that related to need fulfilment in the areas of safety and security, control, belonging and self-esteem. Recovery is not just the absence of internalising symptomology, but constructive fulfilment of needs. Social needs were felt to be most affected by chronic and severe bullying and most difficult to fulfil constructively. It is recommended that interventions for chronically and severely bullied adolescents should enable constructive need fulfilment, which may involve changes to the ethos and culture of schools, collaborative therapeutic intervention and targeted skill building.

Email is, in the early part of the 21st century, an integral part of organisational life. Its centrality has resulted in it being more than a mere organisational process. Rather, email represents a vehicle by which organisational culture develops. Using concepts of “email communities” and “insider-outsider social habitus” statuses, this phenomenon is explored through evocative ethnography and is found to be both benign and malign. Issues of alternative hierarchies, bullying, inclusion and exclusion emerge. These issues are characterised by a lack of awareness of the effects of their actions on the part of protagonists. Because the protagonists’ actions are not usually deliberate, those suffering the effects doubt the validity of their experiences and feelings. From the organisational perspective, official notions of organisational culture and organisational values are compromised or even rendered irrelevant. This in turn compromises the honesty and integrity of organisations in respect of the ways in which they present themselves to their employees and the outside world. Organisations, however, are largely unaware of these effects as the insider-outsider social habitus concept does not engage with the structural culture-as-an-entity understanding favoured by organisations. Remedies, examined within the compass of organisational learning and knowledge management are explored, with a need for remedies within both concepts being found to be necessary, together with a need for emotional intelligence.

Aim The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) on the lives of young people and identify factors that promote resilience to mental health difficulties within this population. Methods The study used a mixed methods approach. Results from the analysis of data from a longitudinal population-based birth cohort, the Avon longitudinal Study of Parents and Children {n=6,902) were synthesised with qualitative data from a purposive sample of 11 young people with clinically diagnosed DCD aged 11 to 16 years. Findings from the qualitative study highlighted areas that were important in the lives of the young people interviewed. These areas, such as the importance of friendship groups, bullying and a positive sense of self, were added to the final analytical model as explanatory mediators in the relationship between DCD and mental health difficulties. Findings In total, 123 young people (1.8% of the eligible cohort aged seven years), met all four diagnostic criteria for DCD using strict (5th centile) cut-offs (severe DCD). In addition, 346 young people met wider inclusion criteria (15th centile of a motor test and activity of daily living scales) and were defined as having moderate or severe DCD. These young people with moderate or severe DCD had increased odds of difficulties in attention, short-term memory, social communication, non-verbal skills, reading and spelling. They also had increased odds of self-reported depression, odds ratio: 2.08 (95% confidence interval (Cl) 1.36 to 3.19) and parent reported mental health difficulties, odds ratio: 4.23 (95% Cl 3.10 to 5.77) at age nine to ten years. The young people interviewed did not see themselves as disabled. Factors that increased a positive sense of self were inclusion in friendship groups, information that helped them understand their difficulties and being understood by parents and teachers. These findings were mirrored in the quantitative analysis which showed that the odds of mental health difficulties reduced after accounting for social communication difficulties, bullying, lower verbal intelligence and self-esteem. Conclusions Developmental Coordination Disorder is a common developmental disorder in childhood. The difficulties seen in these young people are complex and assessment needs to be multidisciplinary and consider neurological causes of poor motor coordination, the presence of coexisting developmental difficulties and associated mental health difficulties. Due to the high prevalence of the condition, ongoing one-to-one therapeutic interventions are not feasible. School based interventions, using therapists as trainers, working within a socio-medical model of disability, could work to promote resilience within the individual and improve the acceptance of differences in abilities within the school.

This thesis examines prisoners’ experiences of imprisonment. Initially, some of the challenges that prisoners face during imprisonment are considered, of which bullying represents a prominent feature. A systematic review of literature exploring bullying within prisons is presented, with emphasis on the nature and prevalence of bullying and the characteristics of those involved. High rates of bullying within prisons are reported, with prisoners tending to have experience in both perpetration and victimisation. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Snaith & Zigmond, 1994) is suggested as a useful tool for measuring psychological wellbeing within prisoners. The measure is investigated in terms of its reliability and validity. Finally, an empirical research study exploring the influence of perceived safety and social support on the psychological wellbeing of prisoners in open conditions is described. The study employed a mixed-method design, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Results revealed relatively low levels of anxiety and depression among prisoners with high levels of perceived safety. There were some significant differences in social support according to levels of anxiety and depression but prisoners’ concerns about trust and fear of being moved back to closed conditions limited the degree to which they sought support from relationships within prison.

Background Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is a common problem among adolescents in Ireland and internationally. However, large scale population-based studies of adolescent self-harm and its correlates have been lacking. Method Data were obtained from a cross-sectional school-based study conducted in Ireland (n=3,881) and in six other centres of the Child and Adolescent Self-harm in Europe (CASE) study. Across all 7 centres over 30,000 adolescents participated. Data were gathered on lifestyle, self-harm thoughts and behaviour, life events, psychological characteristics and support available. Results The factors associated with DSH among Irish adolescents differed by gender, but among both genders drug use and knowing a friend who had engaged in self-harm were associated with DSH. Among Irish boys, strong associations were found between bullying and poor mental health and DSH. In the international CASE sample, increased history of self-harm thoughts and acts was associated with greater depression, anxiety and impulsivity, lower self esteem and increased prevalence of negative life events. Mediating effects of emotion-oriented coping on associations between mental health factors and DSH was found for both genders and between problem-oriented coping and mental health factors for girls. Self-harm thoughts were common among resilient adolescents exposed to suicidal behaviour of others. Vulnerability factors among exposed boys were drug use and anxiety. Among girls, drug use, bullying and abuse were vulnerability factors, while resilience was associated with self-esteem and problem-oriented coping. Conclusion These findings can aid in the identification of young people at risk of self-harm in the school setting and highlight the importance of mental health, peer-related and lifestyle factors in the development of DSH. Findings relating to the importance of positive coping skills can inform positive mental health programmes. Knowledge of the factors associated with positive adaptation among at-risk adolescents can inform prevention efforts among this group.

Being the victim of bullying is a problem for many children and young people, yet challenges in defining the term and methodological issues have made research findings difficult to compare (Pugh & Chitiyo, 2012). Nevertheless, there is agreement that certain factors at different ecological levels can raise or lower the likelihood of being bullied, and that children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) tend to be more vulnerable than their peers without ASD. The social impairments at the core of ASD have led to these children being termed “perfect victims” (Klin, Volkmar, & Sparrow, 2000, p. 6), although their developmental and behavioural profiles may mean that some bullying research conducted with typically developing peers is inappropriate for this group. Nevertheless, if left unaddressed, the problem of bullying may prevent inclusion in school and have serious negative effects on the child.The aim of the current study was to investigate prevalence, victim role, risk and protective factors for being bullied among children and young people with ASD, using a representative sample taken from the evaluation of Achievement for All (Humphrey et al., 2011). An embedded mixed methods design was used to permit a richer understanding of being bullied. For the risk and protection analyses there were 722 responses from teachers and 119 from parents concerning children with ASD. Teachers and parents completed a survey on bullying and wider outcome areas, with additional contextual data collected. Data were analysed using multiple regression, including a cumulative risk analysis. There were five focus pupils in the qualitative strand, and interviews were conducted with teachers, parents and pupils to investigate issues around being bullied. Thematic analysis was used to explore the interview data.Results indicated that children and young people with ASD were bullied more than other pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, although actual prevalence varied greatly according to the method of measurement. Children with ASD were more likely to be victims, although the proportion of bully-victims was higher than in the general population. A multiple regression analysis with bullying mean score as the dependent variable indicated that 43% of variance was attributable to the predictor variables in the teacher model, and 38% in the parent one. Risk factors were having higher levels of behaviour problems, being in Years 5, 7 and 10 (compared with Year 1), use of public/school transport to get to school, and being at School Action Plus; protective factors were increased positive relationships, attending a special school, and higher levels of parental engagement and confidence. Bullying rose according to the number risks to which a child was exposed, and the rise was exponential in the teacher model. Qualitative results allowed an exploration of the experience of bullying and processes contributing to vulnerability, with transition emerging as an additional concern. Implications and directions for future research are discussed in the context of these findings.

This study explores the role of trade unions in intervening in incidents of workplace bullying, adopting an employment relations perspective. The data was obtained from the members and officials of three major UK unions and analysed using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Between a quarter and a third of respondents in each union considered they were bullied within a two-year period. A key finding was that most bullied individuals voiced their concerns through non-organisational support mechanisms, including trade unions, in preference to the systems created by employers to address bullying. Colleagues rarely offered overt support and union officials typically responded by providing indirect support to individual bullied members. Outcomes tended to place the onus on perceived targets of bullying to resolve the situation irrespective of the source of support utilised. Employers’ attitudes towards bullying appeared to exert greater influence over resolutions. Whilst unions may have limited power to alter managerially-derived solutions, there was some evidence that, where they engendered a collective response to allegations of bullying, perpetrators were more likely to be held accountable. This study makes a significant contribution to the collective knowledge on workplace bullying by proposing a typology of union responses and an industrial relations model of intervention, which highlights the potential for the responses of unions, co-workers, and employers to affect the balance of power in the employment relationship and influence outcomes of work place problems like bullying.

This thesis investigates gendered power relations, including violence, control and coercion, within teenage heterosexual relationships, and broader relationship cultures. It focusses on upper-middle class 14-16 year olds, whose sexualities – unlike those of working-class teenagers – are seldom seen as a social problem. It explores the interactions of romantic and sexual experiences with classed identities and social contexts, based on data generated within a large, high-performing state comprehensive in an affluent, ethnically homogenous (white) area of south-east England. The research, conducted in and outside school, used a mixed-methods approach, incorporating in-depth individual and paired interviews, and self-completion questionnaires. It draws on insights from feminist post-structural approaches to gender and sexualities, and is situated in relation to work that explores the negotiation of gender in “post-feminist” neoliberal societies. Despite (in some ways, because of) their privileged class positioning, these young people faced conflicting regulatory discourses. Heteronormative discourses, and gendered double standards, still shaped their (sexual) subjectivities. Sexuality was very public and visible, forming a claustrophobic regulatory framework restricting movements and choices, particularly girls’. But inequalities and violences were often obscured by powerful classed discourses of compulsory individuality, with young people compelled to perform an autonomous self even as they negotiated inescapably social networks of sexuality. These discourses could exacerbate inequalities, as participants denigrated others for vulnerability. A significant proportion of participants reported controlling, coercive or violent relationship experiences, but girls especially downplayed their importance. Girls shouldered the burden of emotion work, taking on responsibility for both their own and partners’ emotions. Sexual harassment and violence from peers were often regarded with resignation, and sometimes led to further victimisation from partners or peers. Policing of sexuality was bound up with classed prejudices and assumptions; participants’ performances of identity often rested on dissociation from the working class. Young middle-class people’s heterosexual subjectivities sat uneasily with educationally successful, future-oriented subjectivities; sexuality was an ever-lurking threat to becoming an educational and therefore classed success.

Cyberbullying is a relatively recent phenomenon originally coming to the forefront of the public agenda following a number of anecdotal accounts. It has been defined as “any behaviour performed through electronic or digital media by individuals or groups that repeatedly communicates hostile or aggressive messages intended to inflict harm or discomfort on others” (Tokunaga, 2010: 278). This study is designed to explore cyberbullying issues in school settings from the perspective of teaching professionals. This area is of consequence given that research focussing on face-to-face bullying has suggested that teaching professionals and school staff can have differing definitions and understandings of bullying behaviour and the high prevalence of unreported cyberbullying in schools. The participants in this research were Anti-Bullying Co-ordinators in eight schools in one Local Authority. The staff who participated were employed in a range of settings (Primary, Secondary, Middle and High schools). The views of teaching professionals were obtained using semi-structured interviews and the data were analysed using Thematic Analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006). The results indicate that teaching professionals are beginning to develop an understanding of issues relating to cyberbullying and acknowledge the unique features of this type of behaviour. The findings also highlight that consideration has been given to the level of involvement schools should have when dealing with cyberbullying issues. Furthermore schools are aware of the impact of this type of behaviour and have employed a range of methods to prevent and intervene in cyberbullying. However schools still require additional support to understand how to respond to this phenomenon more comprehensively.

Shame is considered to be a negative emotion which encompasses feelings of inferiority, self-condemnation and the desire to hide from others. It has been associated with psychopathology, including depression, which is a significant and growing concern particularly in young people. Understanding how shame contributes to adolescent depression is therefore important. 0 Previous research with adults indicated that rumination and social rank are important in the relationship between shame and depression. However the small number of studies related to adolescent depression suffered from methodological weaknesses and did not test for mediation. Objectives The present study aimed to elucidate the contexts inwhich adolescents experience shame. Moreover it aimed to investigate whether rumination and social rank (social comparison and submissive behaviour) mediated the relationship between shame and depression in adolescents. Method A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based design was used and data were collected from a community sample of 16 to 18 year-olds (mean age 17.09). Measures of chronic, external and event-specific shame, general and event-specific rumination, social comparison, submissive behaviour and depression were completed by 188 participants (175 females and 13 males). Results The findings suggested that adolescents experienced shame in a variety of contexts including bullying, poor academic achievement and relationship difficulties. Mediation analyses suggested that rumination did not significantly mediate the relationship between shame and depression in adolescents, independently of social 104 nk. social comparison and shame appeared to act in a reciprocal relationship to influence adolescent depression. Shame and submissive behaviour behaved similarly but in adolescents submissive behaviour may be protective. conclusion The findings differed from previous research examining shame, social rank, rumination and depression in adult samples. In the presence of shame, social rank may be more important than rumination during adolescence in relation to depression as an outcome.

Aim The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) on the lives of young people and identify factors that promote resilience to mental health difficulties within this population. Methods The study used a mixed methods approach. Results from the analysis of data from a longitudinal population-based birth cohort, the Avon longitudinal Study of Parents and Children {n=6,902) were synthesised with qualitative data from a purposive sample of 11 young people with clinically diagnosed DCD aged 11 to 16 years. Findings from the qualitative study highlighted areas that were important in the lives of the young people interviewed. These areas, such as the importance of friendship groups, bullying and a positive sense of self, were added to the final analytical model as explanatory mediators in the relationship between DCD and mental health difficulties. Findings In total, 123 young people (1.8% of the eligible cohort aged seven years), met all four diagnostic aThis thesis presents research that explored the nature of bullying amongst girls aged 12 to 15 years old in Northern Ireland. The aim of the research was to provide insight into bullying amongst girls of this age through investigating types of female friendships and the impact they may have on the ways in which girls can experience bullying. The roles adopted by girls in relation to bullying are seen from multiple viewpoints of bully, target and bystander. Furthermore, the thesis considers the relatively new phenomenon of ‘cyberbullying’ by exploring how girls use technology such as mobile phones and the Internet in their everyday lives and how this technology offers new and alternative ways to participate in and experience bullying. In order to investigate the participants’ different perceptions and experiences of bullying. Goffman’s theory of social interactions as a performance has been used as an analytical framework. The study sample consisted of 494 questionnaire responses from girls aged 12 to 15 years old across eight schools in Northern Ireland, and eight semi-structured interviews conducted online using instant messenger. A social networking site, Bebo, was used to communicate more widely with possible participants. The study found that the majority of girls have been a target of bullying at some stage with participants reporting experiences involving a diverse range of methods. The findings provide insight regarding the methods girls use to bully and how age is a significant factor regarding the ways in which girls tend to participate in bullying. The study found that over ninety five percent of participants owned a mobile phone and had internet access at home. As these technologies may be used as alternative ways to bully, it is important that adults understand this new area in order to assist girls in their experiences of bullying.
criteria for DCD using strict (5th centile) cut-offs (severe DCD). In addition, 346 young people met wider inclusion criteria (15th centile of a motor test and activity of daily living scales) and were defined as having moderate or severe DCD. These young people with moderate or severe DCD had increased odds of difficulties in attention, short-term memory, social communication, non-verbal skills, reading and spelling. They also had increased odds of self-reported depression, odds ratio: 2.08 (95% confidence interval (Cl) 1.36 to 3.19) and parent reported mental health difficulties, odds ratio: 4.23 (95% Cl 3.10 to 5.77) at age nine to ten years. The young people interviewed did not see themselves as disabled. Factors that increased a positive sense of self were inclusion in friendship groups, information that helped them understand their difficulties and being understood by parents and teachers. These findings were mirrored in the quantitative analysis which showed that the odds of mental health difficulties reduced after accounting for social communication difficulties, bullying, lower verbal intelligence and self-esteem. Conclusions Developmental Coordination Disorder is a common developmental disorder in childhood. The difficulties seen in these young people are complex and assessment needs to be multidisciplinary and consider neurological causes of poor motor coordination, the presence of coexisting developmental difficulties and associated mental health difficulties. Due to the high prevalence of the condition, ongoing one-to-one therapeutic interventions are not feasible. School based interventions, using therapists as trainers, working within a socio-medical model of disability, could work to promote resilience within the individual and improve the acceptance of differences in abilities within the school.

This study focuses upon the relatively unexplored area of sexual harassment in British universities. In sum, the thesis suggests that although MacKinnon’s (2004) aim is to enable women to feel more powerful and less stigmatised, the contribution of feminist harassment discourses may, in part, generate in some women an understanding of powerlessness and vulnerability. In particular, it suggests seemingly prevailing discourses surrounding sexual harassment in higher education and considers if and how the women interviewed define themselves through these discourses. Thus, by exploring the power effects of and resistances to these suggested prevailing discourses, it is possible to infer the degree to which these discourses may have constituted the participants’ subjectivities. Further, the thesis argues that feminist harassment discourses may have generated specific effects of power with regard to my participants. That is to say, many of my participants seem to understand sexual harassment as exploitative behaviours rooted in the unequal distribution of ascribed power in higher education. Feminism’s understanding of power as a static and gendered appears to have generated for the participants, at least in part, the understanding that sex at work is used to humiliate and degrade women, maintaining and reproducing ascribed notions of power. For this research, twenty-four unstructured interviews were carried out with women who had identified themselves as having experienced sexual harassment within higher education, either as a student or a member of staff, or who had witnessed events they had defined as sexual harassment. This was a passionately interested form of inquiry, recognising the partial nature of knowledge and identifying my political positionings (Gill 1995; Aranda 2006). The analysis is Foucauldian oriented, understanding power as fluid – rather than possessed – and as generating particular ways of being. In addition, although it notes that the participants did resists specific effects of power, this resistance always takes place from a new point of power and does not, therefore, carry us beyond power into a power free space. The prevailing discourses suggested from my data are: the ‘grades for sex’ discourse; the ‘all boys together’ discourse; the ‘trustworthy lecturer’ discourse; the ‘knickers in a twist’ discourse; and the ‘sexual harassment as unwanted sexual behaviour’ discourse.

A longitudinal case study of a Central London coeducational secondary school is presented, as an investigation into traditional bullying and cyberbullying problems across three age groups of the student population (Year 7 aged 11 to 12; Year 8 aged 12 to 13; Year 9 aged 13 to 14), collectively entitled Key Stage Three of the National Curriculum. Using repeated measures over a period of four years a total of 983 students aged 11 to 14 (537 male and 434 female) participated in a series of activities taking place during the academic years of 2008/2009 to 2011/2012. Four approaches to mixed methods were applied: a school bullying survey, student worksheets, Quality Circles, and focus groups. Each assessed the nature and extent of the problem in part; the school survey identified the number of bullies, victims, and bully victims, as well as the type of bullying behaviour occurring most often; as part of the school survey, themed worksheets further examined student opinion on legal aspects of cyberbullying, coping skills and school interventions. Quality Circles were introduced as a method of investigating the bullying problems specific to each year group and class. Focus group discussions held as part of Quality Circles work assessed the problems occurring in school. The knowledge gained from this work with students was collated to provide a meaningful interpretation of the survey data (which established the extent of the problem) and the informative materials produced as part of student worksheets, Quality Circles and group discussion (which explained the nature of the problem). This information was used to construct a model of bullying behaviour in the school and establish the most suitable approach to anti-bullying intervention, relevant to the unique needs of this setting and other schools with similar bullying problems.