Within this thesis the challenge of reducing bullying among children and adolescents in schools is reviewed (Chapter 2). The focus of this research was to examine the developmental decline in prosocial bystander responses to bullying (when a “bystander” is an individual who witnesses the bullying incident). To do so, a “developmental intergroup approach” (cf. Killen, Mulvey & Hitti, 2013; Rutland, Killen & Abrams, 2010) was applied to the context of bystander intentions. This approach suggests that intergroup factors such as group membership and identification, group norms, intergroup status and social-moral reasoning influence attitudes and behaviours during childhood and adolescence (e.g., Abrams, Rutland & Cameron, 2003; Rutland & Killen, 2011; Chapter 3). The present research examines whether this approach could shed light on why, with age, children become less likely to report helpful bystander intentions when faced with bullying and aggression among peers (e.g., Rigby & Johnson, 2006). Three studies were conducted, following an experimental questionnaire-based design (e.g., Abrams, Palmer, Rutland, Cameron & Van de Vyver, 2013; Nesdale & Lawson, 2011; Chapter 4). Study 1 (Chapter 5) showed support for examining group membership and group identification, group norms and social-moral reasoning) when understanding the developmental decline in helpful bystander responses. Two hundred and sixty 8-10 year olds and 13-15 year olds read about an incident of intergroup verbal aggression. Adolescent bystander intentions were influenced by norms and perceived severity of the incident. A significant moderated mediation analysis showed that the level of group identification among participants partially mediated the relationship between age and helpful bystander intentions, but only when the aggressor was an outgroup member and the victim was an ingroup member. Moral (e.g., “It’s not right to call them names”) and psychological (e.g., “It’s none of my business) reasoning differed by age and intention to help the victim or not. In Study 2 (Chapter 6) the role of intergroup bystander status and type of bystander response was manipulated. Two types of bystander norm (attitudinal and behavioural) were measured along with an exploratory examination of perceived leadership. Participants (N=221) read about an incident of verbal aggression where a bystander (who belonged to a high- or low-status group), either helped or walked away from an incident of verbal aggression. Helping bystanders were viewed more positively than those who walked away, but no effect of status on bystander evaluations was observed. However, moral reasoning was prioritised for high-status compared to low-status bystanders, regardless of their bystander behaviour. Additionally, bystander response (but not status) moderated the relationship between the behavioural norm and perceived leadership qualities. To further examine the role of norms a norm for helping versus not getting involved was manipulated in Study 3 (Chapter 7). Participants (N=230) read about deviant ingroup and outgroup bystanders who observed an incident of intergroup verbal aggression. Group membership was either school group or ethnicity (ingroup British and outgroup Travellers). Not only were participants sensitive to the group membership of the bystander, but they evaluated those who transgressed a helping norm more negatively than those who transgressed a norm not to get involved. Importantly this study also showed, for the first time, that children and adolescents are aware of group-based repercussions (e.g., social exclusion) if they do not behave in line with group norms. The studies presented within this thesis show strong support for considering group processes when examining the developmental decline in bystander responses to bullying and aggression and developing age-appropriate anti-bullying interventions. Further implications for theory, practitioners, policy and future research are discussed (see Chapter 8).

Evidence exists that the NHS has had, over many years, persistent problems of negative and intimidating behaviour towards staff from other employees in the NHS. The evidence also suggests the responses to this behaviour can be inadequate. Pope and Burnes (2013) model of organisational dysfunction is used to investigate and explain these findings. A qualitative approach was taken to research the organisational responses to negative behaviour, and the reasons and motivations for those responses. Forty three interviews and six focus groups were conducted. The Framework Method of thematic analysis was chosen for the main analysis and fourteen Framework Themes were identified. ‘3 word summaries’ of the culture were analysed. Further analysis was undertaken of words relating to fear, rationalisations/justifications, what people don’t want to do, the culture, and assumptions/beliefs. The model of organisational dysfunction has been extended. The findings show that participants consider the NHS to be a politically driven, “top down”, “command and control”, hierarchical organisation; a vast, enclosed, bureaucratic machine/system under great pressure. They believe there is a culture of elitism, fear, blame, bullying and a lack of accountability; a culture where power, self-interest and status matters. There is constant change. Saving money and achieving targets are seen to be the priority. A lack of care and humanity is described and negative behaviour seems to have become tolerated and normalised. Bullying is mentioned many times, and viewed as “rife” and “endemic”. Good practice/behaviour can be punished, and bad rewarded, as can failure. Corrupt and unethical behaviour is identified as are totalitarian and Kafkaesque characteristics. Participants describe resistance to voicing concerns and any information which puts individuals or organisations into a ‘negative light’. Employees who raise concerns can be victimised. The “top-down bullying culture … suppresses constructive dissent”. There can be rhetoric, “empty words” and “spin”, rather than reality. A desire for “good news” and the rejection and hiding of “bad news” is described. There seem to be “islands” and “pockets” with a positive culture, however, the generalised evidence suggests the NHS is systemically and institutionally deaf, bullying, defensive and dishonest, exhibiting a resistance to ‘knowing’, denial and “wilful blindness”; a dysfunctional, perverse and troubled organisation. The NHS could also be described as a coercive bureaucracy and under certain definitions, a corrupt entity. The NHS appears to be an organisation with a heart of darkness; a “self perpetuating dysfunctional system”. There may be widespread “learned helplessness”. Overall, the needs of the NHS and the protection of image appear more important than the welfare of staff or patients. It does seem to be a “good news factory”. The NHS appears to have “lost its way” and its focus/purpose as an institution. The dysfunctional organisational behaviours manifest in the NHS need to be addressed urgently as there is a detrimental, sometimes devastating, impact on the wellbeing of both staff and patients. The NHS needs to embrace an identity of being a listening, learning and honest organisation, with a culture of respect.

A systematic review of the literature was conducted to ascertain whether or not childhood bullying predicts the later development of psychotic symptoms. A meta-analysis and review of ten prospective studies suggests that this is the case. What is lacking from the literature, is adequate investigation into other potential mediating factors that contribute to some of the variance. The current review serves to highlight the significant role of bullying within this complex interaction. Potential influencing mediators are explored, including a dose-response effect for the severity and frequency of victimization. Suggestions for targeting intervention are also suggested alongside clinical implications and recommendations for future research. The first empirical paper compared rates of self-reported trauma with that which was recorded in patients’ case notes. High levels of lifetime, childhood and Troubles-related trauma were reported within a psychosis sample. As expected, large discrepancies were noted. In line with similar studies, the results suggest that mental health practitioners continue to be reluctant to enquire about trauma histories with this population and as a result, case notes extensively underestimate the prevalence rates of trauma. The second empirical paper asked people with psychosis about their perspective with regards to participating in trauma-related research. The results suggest that enquiring about trauma within a psychosis population does not cause considerable distress and that a significant majority participants also report, in line with previous research, favourable views on the importance of such even if they do find it somewhat difficult.

The student bullying of teachers (SBT) is a distinct and complex form of bullying with a multiplicity of diverse, changeable and intersecting causes which is experienced by and affects teachers in a variety of ways. SBT is both a national and an international phenomenon which is under-recognised in academic, societal and political spheres, resulting in limited conceptual understanding and awareness of the issue. This study explores teachers’ experiences of SBT behaviours in Irish second level schools as well as teachers’ perceptions regarding training, policies and supports in Ireland to address the issue. Specifically, the study seeks to explore the influence of historical low State intervention in education on contemporary policies and supports to deal with SBT in Ireland. A mixed methods approach involving a survey of 531 second level school teachers and 17 semi-structured interviews with teachers, Year Heads and representatives from teacher trade unions and school management bodies was employed to collect and analyse data. Findings indicate that SBT behaviours are prevalent in many forms in Irish second level schools. The hidden nature of the phenomenon has simultaneously contributed to and is reinforced by limited understanding of the issue as well as teachers’ reluctance to disclose their experiences. Findings reveal that teachers perceive the contemporary policies, training and support structures in Ireland to be inadequate in equipping them to effectively deal with SBT. State intervention in addressing SBT behaviours to date, has been limited, therefore many teachers are forced to respond to the issue based on their own initiatives and assumptions rather than from an informed critically reflective approach, supported by national guidelines and sufficient State investment. This has resulted in a piecemeal, un-coordinated and ad-hoc approach to SBT in Irish schools both in terms of teachers’ management of SBT behaviours and with respect to the supports extended to staff. The potential negative consequences of SBT behaviours on teachers’ wellbeing and professional performance and thus, on the education system itself, underlines the need for a strategic, evidence-based, resourced and integrated approach which includes, as a pivotal component, consultation with teachers, whose contribution to the process is crucial.

This thesis investigates workplace cyberbullying, defined as a situation where over time, an individual is repeatedly subjected to perceived negative acts conducted through technology (for example, phone, email, web sites, social media) which are related to their work context. In this situation the target of workplace cyberbullying has difficulty defending him or herself against these actions. The thesis has two broad aims: (1) to develop a workplace cyberbullying measurement scale; and (2) to investigate the impact of workplace cyberbullying on employees. Workplace cyberbullying is conceptualised in this thesis by drawing on the traditional workplace bullying and cyberbullying literature. A rationale is presented for investigating it as a distinct form of workplace bullying and four separate studies address the development of the workplace cyberbullying measure (WCM). The first study generated measurement items by asking employees to describe cyberbullying behaviours. The behaviours were sorted into categories using content analysis and converted into measurement items. In the second study, the relative severity of each item was assessed so that the measure could be weighted according to severity. In the third study, the 34 item WCM was completed by a sample of 424 employees. A two factor structure (comprising work-related cyberbullying and person-related cyberbullying) was compared to a unidimensional factor structure and the measure was refined into a 17 item instrument. During the fourth study the nomological network of the WCM was constructed and further reliability and validity evidence was obtained. The fifth and final study then used the WCM to investigate the impact of workplace cyberbullying within a theoretical framework. The theoretical and practical contributions of the studies are discussed along with directions for future research.

Despite abundant literature about bullying, previous research has predominantly focussed upon the characteristics of those who bully, peer influences in bullying and anti-bullying interventions, with little acknowledgement of how young people who bully and their counsellors experience counselling. This research seeks to address the gap by asking; how well young people who bully feel able to express themselves to their counsellor, and what facilitates or inhibits the therapeutic relationship for both counsellors and young people who bully? These research questions derive both from existing literature and my profession as a counsellor of young people who bully. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), data were gathered using focus groups and semi-structured interviews with a sample consisting of six participants representing four young people and two counsellors. In IPA, the researcher’s use of self is equally implicated in the collection and analysis of data (Smith & Osborn, 2003); consequently, my dual identity as counsellor and researcher has asserted differing perspectives. The three superordinate themes identified in the current study focus upon attachment states (Bowlby, 1977, 1988), the therapeutic relationship, and the influence of emotional management upon counsellors. Trust and risk emerged as pervading concerns for the young people and have been integrated into discussion of the superordinate themes. The research received favourable ethical opinion from the Faculty of Health and Medical Science (FHMS) ethics committee. Findings suggest that young people who bully experience insecurities which manifest as mistrust, inhibiting the relationship with their counsellor. It also appears that a counsellor’s life experiences and occupational identity variously affect the therapeutic relationship. Individual counselling may not be a panacea but I recommend that if undertaken expertly, it has potential. Future research could focus upon confidentiality where equivocal standards are confusing for young people who bully.

Psychological models of psychotic experiences suggest that social adversity (e.g., difficult family relationships, bullying) and anomalous percepts play an important role in the development of paranoid thinking, while intrusive cognitions and problems in reality discrimination play an important role in the development of auditory hallucinations (AH). The studies reported in this thesis examined a number of research questions relevant to these models, by investigating psychotic experiences in non-clinical populations (typically referred to as psychotic-like experiences, or PLEs). In Study 1 it was shown that the association between poor parental bonding and PLEs is mediated by individual differences in exposure to bullying and levels of negative affect. In Study 2 it was shown that associations between insecure attachment styles and paranoid thinking are mediated by individual differences in loneliness. In Study 3 it was shown that the association between experiencing anomalous percepts and paranoid thinking is moderated by individual differences in attachment anxiety. In Study 4 it was shown that the association between experiencing intrusive thoughts and AH-proneness is moderated by individual differences in reality discrimination skills. Finally, in Study 5 it was shown that a person’s reality discrimination abilities can be weakened through the induction of a negative mood. The studies included in this thesis, therefore, show how a variety of social, emotional, and cognitive factors interact with each other to foster or preclude the development of PLEs in ways that extend current psychological models of AH and paranoid thinking.

Histories of the working class in France have largely ignored the existence of working-class conservatism. This is particularly true of histories of the interwar period. Yet, there were an array of Catholic and right-wing groups during these years that endeavoured to bring workers within their orbit. Moreover, many workers judged that their interests were better served by these groups. This thesis explores the participation of workers in Catholic and right-wing groups during the 1930s. What did these groups claim to offer workers within the wider context of their ideological goals? In which ways did conservative workers understand and express their interests, and why did they identify the supposed ‘enemies of the left’ as the best means of defending them? What was the daily experience of conservative workers like, and how did this experience contribute to the formation of ‘non-left’ political identities? These questions are addressed in a study of the largest Catholic and right-wing groups in France during the 1930s. This thesis argues that, during a period of left-wing ascendancy, these groups made the recruitment of workers a top priority. To this end, they harnessed particular elements of mass political culture and adapted them to their own ideological ends. However, the ideology of these groups did not simply reflect the interests of the workers that supported them. This thesis argues that the interests of conservative workers were a rational and complex product of their own experience. They were formed by a large range of materials, from preconceived attitudes to issues such as gender and race, to the everyday experience of bullying and intimidation on the factory floor. This thesis shows that workers could conceive of their interests in a number of different ways, and chose from a range of different groups to try and further them.

From 2011 to 2012, 1.1 million workers were impacted by work related stress, lack of professional support and bullying (Health and Safety Executive, 2013). “Burnout” is not easily defined but it can be described as a phenomenon that affects both the personal and professional dimensions of an individual’s life. This study investigates counselling psychologists’ experience and management of “burnout” using the qualitative method of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Six qualified counselling psychologists from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States of America were interviewed via telephone. The three main themes that were found are: (1) “batteries run out” which includes the physical and emotional effects, as well as the disillusionment of the reality of the profession, (2) “Prisoner of an eroding system” describes the professional dimension of the experience such as locus of control, effect on client work, boundaries and values, and (3) “Recharging the batteries” which gives an insight into how the participants managed their experience, such as their personal view of “burnout”, the issue of reclaiming their space and time, as well as the role of support. Overall, there was an underlying sense that the participants wanted to be taken care of by others but were unable to ask for help. The relevance of this study to the field of Counselling Psychology is discussed in relation to theory and professional practise. The limitations and shortcomings of this investigation are highlighted and suggestions for future research are made.

Bullying is a widespread public health problem. While its prevalence, key correlates and major health outcomes have been well researched, important gaps or controversies remain. In particular, the association between bullying and both socioeconomic status and ethnicity remains unclear. Furthermore, other areas are under-researched, such as sibling aggression and its relationship to peer bullying. Finally, while there is evidence of the adverse effects of bullying on mental health, there is still uncertainty whether any experience of being bullied, or only sustained, chronic victimisation, will lead to adverse consequences. Do those who escape bullying fare better? This thesis comprises five studies. Study 1, a meta-analysis, explored the relationship between bullying and socioeconomic status, finding victims and bully-victims, but not bullies, more often came from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Study 2 examined sibling aggression, identifying a strong homotypic association with roles taken in school bullying. Study 3 explored ethnic differences in bullying, finding ethnic minority children were not more likely to be victims, but in some cases were more often bullies. Study 4 identified individual, social and sociodemographic correlates of school bullying. Distinct profiles were observed for each bullying role. Finally, Study 5 examined the timing of bullying in relation to individual and social outcomes. Stable and concurrent victimisation was associated with more negative outcomes, while escaping bullying reduced the adverse consequences. The findings are considered in relation to ecological systems theory. Distant environmental factors, such as socioeconomic status, were only weakly associated with school bullying, while more immediate socio-ecological influences, including sibling relationships and individual characteristics, predicted victim, bully and bullyvictim roles. Further research should focus on the association with sibling aggression, and identify characteristics which can explain why some children escape being bullying, thereby limiting the adverse consequences. The findings have implications for interventions, which should take account of children’s home environments.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterised by symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and attentional difficulties. Originally thought to be a condition of childhood, ADHD has now been recognised in adults. One of the main theoretical explanations of ADHD is related to deficits in Executive Functioning (EF). The state of current knowledge regarding the relationship between EF and ADHD was reviewed. Findings suggest that adults with ADHD are likely to exhibit deficits in EF mainly related to response inhibition, set-shifting or working memory. Deficits in EF as shown on neuropsychological tests may help to identify people who are at risk of under achieving in various life domains such as education or occupation. Tests of EF which are more ecologically valid may be more sensitive to EF dysfunction than traditional measures. The experience of having adult ADHD and preferences for support were explored using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Four super- ordinate themes emerged from five interviews: ‘Process of adapting to ADHD’, ‘Social Appraisal’, ‘Self-regulation’ and ‘Coping’. Participants described an adjustment process which impacted on their identity and the impact on self-perception was evident. ADHD was not understood well by others and some participants experienced stigma and bullying. A range of coping strategies were identified and clinical implications and limitations of the study were discussed. Finally, a commentary and reflexive analysis of the research process was offered and factors influential to the research were discussed.

Homophobic-bullying is reported to negatively impact on the psychological, social, educational and cultural lives of sexual-minority youth, denigrating their identity, and emphasising their marginalised status. The long-term implications of victimisation on their ‘journey’ into adulthood remain a poorly misunderstood area of psychology. The present study aimed to explore how sexual-minority young adults construct meaning in the light of their childhood homophobic-victimisation; what coping processes they recall using to survive; and in what ways their childhood victimisation experiences impacted on their self and sexual-identity development, over their life-course. Four female lesbian and bisexual undergraduate university students provided accounts of their childhood homophobic-victimisation and subsequent journey into emerging-adulthood. Data was gathered via semi-structured interviews and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2009). Four superordinate themes were identified. Firstly, ‘ Constructing the self, the evolving journey’ explores how participants’ sense of being ‘different’ and undesirable (acquired through bullying) transformed into becoming ‘wrong’ and unacceptable. This transformation coincided with participants’ experiences of homophobic-bullying and sexual-identity awareness. Participants’ transitions from ‘victim to warrior’ and ‘helplessness to saviour’ over the course of their life-span were also explored. Secondly, ‘ Distancing the intolerable’ outlines participants’ cognitive and social processes of distancing themselves from the position of the victim, the behavioural and psychological consequences of victimhood and their sexuality. Such processes continued into emerging-adulthood, despite most participants ‘ no longer being bullied. Thirdly, ‘My bully-the developing interpretation’ explores the changing role of the ‘ blameworthy self, the’ ignorant bullies’ to the biggest bully of all- society, in participants’ understanding of victimisation. Homophobia as an ‘ infectious disease’ and identification of the positive benefits of their childhood-victimisation were identified. Fourthly, ‘Trapped bird breaking free from its shackles’ highlights participants’ sense of confinement to the dominating heterosexual norms and life as a repetitive victim. Participants’ ‘ turning points’ marked their embarked journey of escape, yet their lingering struggles from A qualitative exploration into the experiences of childhood homophobic victimisation for sexual minority young adults. their victimised past continue on. The clinical implications and need for further research are discussed.

Since the 1970s women have clearly made great advances toward equality in education and in the resultant employment opportunities afforded by an excellent education. Today women are graduating from universities at a rate unparalleled in history (Mitchell 2012:56; Townsend & Twombly 2007:208), and are also entering management positions at a greater rate than we have ever seen (Cejda 2008:172). While the rate of women university graduates taking up entry level management positions is almost on a par with men (Bosak & Sczesny 2011:254), the rate of women professionals who move into senior management positions decreases as the position becomes more senior until, at the highest level management positions, women hold only between 3% and 5% of the top posts. (Mitchell 2012:56). Through the analysis of in depth interviews of women holding higher level management positions (including President, Chancellor, or Vice Chancellor,) at universities in four different English speaking countries, the study sought to investigate the reasons why there are so few women found in top management positions in universities. The results of the study indicate that the factors having the greatest effect on the success of women managers at university are those of identity; being able to overcome academic bullying in the workplace; having key support at critical times, especially from a spouse or from family; and developing the strategies to overcome career obstacles through the use of metacognition. The study also found that informal, multiple, mixed gender mentoring was the most effective type of mentoring for women. As a result of the study findings, new theory is proposed for advancement of women managers that offers the concept of identity as a lynchpin factor. Identity develops concurrently with sets of personal and management skills that are interwoven into the experiences of women as they work in management.

Psychological research into bullying has highlighted the importance of considering the role of bystanders within this complex social interaction (see literature review). The aim of this paper was to apply this research to develop an anti-bullying intervention programme that increases pro-defending attitudes and behaviour, and consequently reduces bullying. The methodology was a design experiment; in this first iteration, the intervention programme was designed, implemented, and evaluated in collaboration with staff and students at a secondary school. Data were collected using a mixed methods approach via questionnaires, focus groups, an interview, and observation. The results showed that there was no significant difference in prevalence estimates of defending or bullying pre and post intervention. However, two thirds of participants reported that their attitudes and behaviour had become more supportive of defending victims since the intervention. Qualitative data revealed a diversity of perspectives regarding the effects and value of the programme. A model outlining factors that influence decisions to defend a victim of bullying was developed from the results and previous literature. The findings from this paper were used to inform modifications to the design of the intervention programme for implementation in the second iteration in paper 2.

This thesis examines the figure of the wandering adolescent, prominently visible in Japanese television anime and videogames produced from 1995 to the present. Japan in the 1990s and at the millennium experienced intense economic and social change, as the collapse of the ‘bubble’ economy of the 1980s resulted in a financial recession from which the country has yet to recover. At the close of the decade, the national experience was characterised in media descriptions of malaise and disenfranchisement, and the loss of perceived core traditional cultural values. Arguably in this period the figure of the adolescent changed qualitatively in Japanese culture, rising to prominence within youth panic discourses circulated by the Japanese news media. These concerned the perceived rise in antisocial and problematic teenage behaviour, including the otaku, the hikikomori shut-in, classroom disobedience, bullying, and prostitution, while multiple cases of brutal murder perpetrated by teenagers became the focus of extensive media coverage. Public discourse expressed alarm at the perceived breakdown of the traditional family and the growing commodification of childhood in Japanese culture. This thesis develops understanding of the shifting attitude in Japan towards adolescence within the context of these cultural anxieties, and through the analysis of anime and videogames suggests strategies that are at work within popular cultural texts that are the product of, contribute to and reorient debates about the position of the suddenly and inescapably visible teenager in Japanese society. Through analysis of discourses relating to the shifting representation of the wandering adolescent as it moves across cultural texts and media forms, the thesis forms an original contribution to knowledge and understanding of Japanese anime and videogames through illumination of a prominent motif that to date remains unexamined.

This thesis addressed the bystander intervention gap in the workplace bullying literature. Bystanders are employees, other than the bully or target, who are present when bullying occurs. They are well placed to intervene but often they do not. Previous research suggested that increased bystander intervention may lead to a reduction in workplace bullying. Although suggestions for bystander intervention in workplace bullying were found in the literature none had been implemented or measured. As field research this thesis addressed a real-world problem. The participating employees were from a large, mainland UK organisation where workplace verbal bullying had been identified as a problem. Therefore a strategy for bystander intervention in workplace verbal bullying was designed, implemented and measured. The new Responsible Intervention Decision Strategy (RIDS)model combined existing theories on the bystanders’ decision process and responsibility to support bystander intervention. This quantitative study developed and validated a new 15 item Responsible Bystander Intervention in Verbal Bullying (RBI-VB) metric. The concise metric was incorporated into a practical, single-page survey to test the RIDS model in the field. Shop-floor employees participated in pre and post-intervention surveys (N = 1501) and one of four conditions. The RBI-VB metric demonstrated that responsible bystander intervention was positively correlated to bystander willingness to intervene in workplace verbal bullying. This could be increased with RIDS-based training or the in-house campaign; and was positively correlated to self-reported bystander intervention. The study is limited as it took place within a single UK organisation. However, the findings demonstrated the efficacy of the RIDS model and the practical application of the RBI-VB metric for baseline measurements, monitoring and to assess bystander intervention programmes. Willingness to intervene can be increased and this relates to actual intervention but most bystander intervention was carried out by previous targets of workplace verbal bullying. The implications are discussed.

Positioning itself within policy debates on the best way to deal with disputes in UK workplaces and the (potential) resultant increased interest in mediation, this thesis draws on literature from law, philosophy, psychology and management to add to the growing, but largely theoretically-underdeveloped research on workplace mediation. In this research, mediation refers to a voluntary and confidential process where parties to dispute seek a mutually agreed outcome. This process is facilitated by an impartial third-party mediator. The research offers an empirically-informed theoretical framework exploring the extent to which the use of mediation to deal with bullying and harassment is appropriate. In asking whether mediation is appropriate, it argues that it is necessary to consider whether its use is not only feasible but also fair. Using Rawls’s (2001) theory of justice as fairness to structure the discussion and focusing on cases involving sex, race and sexual orientation it constructs an argument for the use of fairness as a guiding concern for an understanding of mediation grounded in an appreciation of public values and notions of social cooperation. It explores tensions between the nature of mediation and of bullying and harassment to question the extent to which an emphasis on cost/efficiency and empowerment in mediation rhetoric may obscure questions of the privatisation and individualisation of systemic and structural problems. Within this discussion theoretical and practical questions are identified and are then explored through the use of a mixed method research design comprised of a small-scale questionnaire (N=108), interviews (N=20) and focus groups (Four groups, N=16). Samples were purposively recruited and consisted of those over 18 years old with six month’s work experience in a UK workplace (questionnaire/focus groups) and external workplace mediators (interviews). Answers to the questions are offered in the form of a framework comprised of a theoretical model and a practically-orientated schematic. It is argued that the reconciliation of potential conflicts between mediation and bullying and harassment are found in a greater understanding of the way mediation operates in practice. This understanding is guided by an appreciation that different standards of reasonableness apply to different behaviours and that individuals, organisations and the courts have differing levels of responsibility for setting and upholding these standards. In meeting this responsibility it is important an organisation is seen as a party to the mediation process since a threat to fairness arises not from privatisation per se but from a personalisation of problems of organisational and/or societal significance. Rather than reject the use of mediation in such situations it suggests the notion of ‘tailored privatisation’ offering a compromise between the concerns of privatisation and the purported benefits of mediation.

This thesis considers how sexual and romantic relationships between academic faculty and students in higher education are governed. Using analytic techniques drawn from Foucault and discursive psychology to interpret a corpus of texts, which includes policy documents, interview transcripts, fictional accounts, newspaper articles, and computer mediated discourse, I explore how five discourses are mobilized to frame faculty student relationships. I find that harassment discourse, which emerges as the dominant frame of reference in scholarly accounts, is taken up less readily in the accounts studied here. Rather, discourses foregrounding four alternative, but often imbricated, themes are more extensively mobilized: infantilization; religiosity; health, safety, and hygiene; and professionalism. These discourses reinforce elements of the truth claims propounded by harassment discourses; notably, their gendered and heterosexist assumptions, and their insertion of a gap between academic and student, albeit one configured along subtly different lines. However, they also challenge them, positing alternative claims to truth, recasting the subject positions of academic and student, and re-orienting relations between the two. For example, infantilization discourses construct faculty-student relationships as a horrific relation between adult or parent and child which must be monitored, whereas religious discourses construct a pastor-flock relation, articulating relationships as a temptation to be resisted or atoned for. The thesis offers contributions to research on faculty-student relationships per se, and is also understood as opening up analysis of organizational sexuality and the university more generally by arguing for the usefulness of a government approach to these phenomena.