The Discursive Construction Of Child Sexual Abuse

Currently in the English speaking world adult/child sex and knowledge about it has become firmly located within a taken-for-granted 'child sexual abuse' discourse. My argument in this thesis is that despite being commonly portrayed as a singularity, the discursive arena of adult/child sex is a site of controversy and conflict, invested with meanings that differ over time and place. Child sexual abuse cannot thus be thought of as something that exists outside of the situated knowledge through which its taken-for-granted nature is brought into being and maintained. A stated aim of this thesis is, therefore, to explore some of the complex, heterogeneous and nuanced ways in which adult/child sex is put into discourse as child sexual abuse. The analytics of Beryl Curt and Michel Foucault were applied to Q Methodology, participant observation and a range of ethnographically informed methodologies. The Q Methodological study revealed five explanatory accounts. These were explicated as a Mainstream Professional Account; Boy-Love; A Liberal Account of Child Sexual Abuse; Sexual Abuse as Paraphilia and a Feminist lnformed Account. The Q study also revealed three standpoints on child sexual abuse: Feminist/Child Protectionist; Social Constructionist/Children's Rights; and Childhood Sexuality. Three alternative viewpoints on the social policies that should be adopted in this area were also identified in this study. These were explicated as Libertarian; Control and Protect and Liberal Humanism . Also examined were the performative aspects of the phenomenon of child sexual abuse through an interrogation of the subject position that are available (to survivors of sexual abuse, convicted child sex offenders and those who advocate adult/child sexual contact), to be adopted, resisted or reformed. The thesis ends with a review of the main findings of my research in terms of theory. practice and research in the area of child sexual abuse. It also examines methodological issues and reflects upon my own experiences of conducting this work

Undergraduates' personal circumstances, expectations and reasons for attending university

Undergraduate students are likely to have a range of reasons for attending university and expectations about their education. The current study aimed to determine the most prevalent reasons and expectations among students, and how these differed based on their personal circumstances. First-year undergraduate psychology students completed a questionnaire on reasons for attending university and expectations of university regarding assessment, teaching, learning and organisational resources. Improving career prospects was found to be the most important reason for attending university. The most important aspect of assessment was receiving feedback clarifying things they did not understand. Being good at explaining things was the most important teaching quality. Reasons and expectations were also found to differ depending on students’ gender, age group, caring responsibilities, application route, fee status and whether English is their first language. Implications for educators are discussed in terms of bringing student experiences more in-line with their expectations

Conceptions of research methods learning among psychology undergraduates: A Q methodology study

A range of conceptions held about research methods learning have previously been identified. The current study aimed to examine in-depth shared conceptions among undergraduate psychology students. Utilising Q methodology, which links both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to uncover the subjective viewpoints that a group of individuals hold towards a particular domain, participants ranked statements reflecting different conceptions of research methods learning. Ranks were then factor analysed and four distinct profiles of student conceptions were identified, labelled and described in qualitative detail: Research methods as integral to psychology, Research methods as a digression from psychology, Research methods as disconnected from psychology and Research methods as beneficial to psychology. Some of the perspectives displayed a clear understanding about the reasons for undertaking research and learning about research methods in psychology, whereas other standpoints saw research as being something that was difficult to relate to the practice of psychology. Findings are considered in terms of how some conceptions appear to be more beneficial or problematic to hold than others and recommendations are made to educators about how they could support students to change their views

Undergraduates’ personal circumstances, expectations and reasons for attending university

Undergraduate students are likely to have a range of reasons for attending university and expectations about their education. The current study aimed to determine the most prevalent reasons and expectations among students, and how these differed based on their personal circumstances. First-year undergraduate psychology students completed a questionnaire on reasons for attending university and expectations of university regarding assessment, teaching, learning and organisational resources. Improving career prospects was found to be the most important reason for attending university. The most important aspect of assessment was receiving feedback clarifying things they did not understand. Being good at explaining things was the most important teaching quality. Reasons and expectations were also found to differ depending on students’ gender, age group, caring responsibilities, application route, fee status and whether English is their first language. Implications for educators are discussed in terms of bringing student experiences more in-line with their expectations

Feedforward: turning feedback around

Feedback on summative work comes too late. Feedback lacks specificity to future assessment tasks. Feedback must be timely for it to be effective. Students fail to engage with assessment criteria, and often do not read feedback

Mental health and wellbeing in doctoral students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds (BAME)

There is a large body of evidence for the poor mental health of both undergraduate and postgraduate students in higher education settings (Peluso et al., 2011), leading to the Higher Education Academy calling for higher education (HE) institutions to embed information and support on mental wellbeing into teaching and learning strategies (Houghton & Anderson, HEA 2017). There is a dearth of research on doctoral students. The limited evidence available suggests that doctoral students may experience a greater degree of difficulty with maintaining good levels of mental health and wellbeing compared to undergraduate students (Peluso et al., 2011). Evidence also suggests that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) doctoral students face specific challenges that are not addressed by universities’ support structures (Peluso et al., 2011). The objective of this study was to explore the mental health and wellbeing of doctoral students from BAME backgrounds

Individual Differences in Psychology Undergraduates’ Development of Research Methods Knowledge and Skills

Not all psychology undergraduates appear to benefit from participating in research methodology classes. This longitudinal study tracked how students’ knowledge of research methods developed throughout their three-year undergraduate psychology degree. Card sorting procedures measuring knowledge of research methods terminology were repeated at four time-points across three years then analyzed using multidimensional scaling. There was no significant improvement in students’ research methods structural knowledge after a year, but there was by the end of students’ second year. Knowledge did not improve after students’ final year of study. Various metacognitive and motivational variables were significant correlates of research methods knowledge and research skills. Structural knowledge of research methods terminology appears to be developed from formal methodology training and is not improved upon after completion of a final year research project dissertation. Improving metacognitive skills and increasing motivation for methodology classes may be linked to better development of research methods knowledge and research skills

'I think that it's a pain in the ass that I have to stand outside in the cold and have a cigarette': representations of smoking and experiences of disapproval in UK and Greek smokers

Smokers in Greece and the UK are habitually exposed to different levels of social disapproval. This qualitative study explored the accounts of smoking and disapproval offered by 32 UK and Greek smokers. Accounts were framed with reference to a highly moralized construction of smoking. Participants were sensitive to social disapproval of their smoking. While disapproval from those close to them was accepted, disapproval from the general public was not. Two discursive repertories 'smoking works for me now' and 'the struggle to quit' were identified as resources that participants drew upon to enable continued smoking while acknowledging the health issues. While there were many similarities in the accounts provided, there were important differences that seem to reflect the different 'smoking worlds' inhabited. Copyright 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution

Discourses of sexual relationships in a sample of German and British young people: a Q methodological study

Young people live in an environment which sexualises young people, particularly women, along traditional gender roles. This, in parallel with a silence about positive sexuality in policy development, means that sexual double standards prevail in young people’s lives. The aim of this study was to explore the discourses young women and men from two European countries, Germany and England, draw on when making sense of sexual relationships, and how these are steeped in the local cultural climate and messages. The study used Q methodology and included 65 German and English young people between 16 and 19 years of age. Six accounts emerged: sex as responsible, intimate and shared experience; sex as joint fun; ideal versus reality; sex has to be responsible, consensual and shared; caring relationships offer the perfect context for fulfilling sex; and equality between partners. The importance of cultural context in the availability of specific dominant and alternative discourses is discussed with a focus on how this influences young people’s sense-making with regard to sexuality and sexual relationships. Future directions for research are highlighted