This thesis aims to contribute to an answer to the question, “What would a philosophy, and more specifically, an ethics, based on Christ, look like?” My first contention is that we find, in the ethical thinking of Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, two particularly radical and complementary attempts to point toward Christ as the basis or foundation of any genuine ethics. What sets the views of Barth and Bonhoeffer apart from many of the other philosophical and theological approaches to ethics, is the extent to which they seek to take seriously the ethical implications of the gospel – the revelation of God's grace in the Word and work of Jesus Christ – for ethics. My second contention is that, even if we follow neither Barth nor Bonhoeffer in the detailed outworking of the character of a Christologically grounded ethics, we nevertheless cannot avoid facing the radical challenge each of these men poses, in their own related but distinct ways, that in thinking about ethics we must take Christ as our standard and foundation. In the first two chapters, on Barth and Bonhoeffer respectively, I identify the structure and content of their arguments and display their textual basis in the texts most relevant to the topic, namely Barth’s Church Dogmatics and Bonhoeffer’s Ethics. I also present an outline of the character of a Christologically-grounded ethics as each of these theologians derives it from its Christological basis. In the third chapter I examine the cogency of their arguments.

Collapse in soils occur when a partially unstable, partially saturated open fabric under high enough stress causing a metastable structure with large soil suction, or in the presence of a bonding or cementing agent, is allowed to free access to additional water. Such excess water reduces soil suction and weakens or destroys the bonding, this causing shear failure at the interaggregate or intergranular contacts, consequently, the soil collapses. In this study, the collapsible soils found in the &Ccedil / ayirhan Thermal Power Plant area has been stabilized by using the desulphogypsum, and fly ash obtained from the &Ccedil / ayirhan Thermal Power Plant. An extensive laboratory testing program has been undertaken to provide information on the geotechnical properties of collapsible soil treated by &Ccedil / ayirhan fly ash and desulphogypsum. At the end of the test program, it has been seen that the collapsible soil (compacted) can be stabilized by adding fly ash and desulphogypsum. Although a significant change on the collapse potential was not observed when fly ash and desulphogypsum added samples were compared with compacted sample without stabilization, but there is an increase in unconfined compressive strength values due to stabilization.

China’s curriculum system has been undergoing substantial transformations since 1986. In response to public criticism of the highly prescribed national curriculum, the central state of China is attempting to build a more inclusive system which is composed of national curriculum, province curriculum and school-based curriculum. The new curriculum system accommodates more flexibility in carrying out national curriculum policies and even encourages local input in curriculum development and management. Apparently, the current curriculum reform in China is moving toward decentralization. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the complexity of decentralization reform in China’s curriculum system and examine the dynamics of policy formulation and outcomes of reform efforts in great depth. The main argument made in this socio-philosophical work is that the on-going Chinese curriculum reform is a process of centralized decentralization, which merely transfers work to the local level but not real authority. With an inquiry into the impetus of current Chinese curriculum reform, this theoretical research illustrates that centralized decentralization is taken as a strategic imperative by the state to avoid loss of control over school curriculum that carries particular social and political significance for China in a transitional period. Another major task for this cultural studies research is to problematize the strategy of centralized decentralization, investigating the consequences of the superficial decentralization in reality and analyzing the bottlenecks in promoting current Chinese curriculum reform. In this research, Mark Hanson’s conceptual framework of education decentralization is used to clarify ambiguity in defining decentralization reform in the education sector in China. Meanwhile, Foucault’s theory about power/knowledge and governmentality and Williams’ theory about hegemony are used to deepen the understanding of the state-education relationship in contemporary China. Besides a descriptive analysis of phenomena in current Chinese curriculum reform, the discussion is deployed through pragmatic approach and logic-based reasoning. Most data are obtained from literature review, including previous studies on Chinese education reform, government documents, laws and regulations related to current Chinese curriculum reform.

Samples collected from 5 bridge sites from around the state of Georgia are analyzed to determine their erosion and rheologic behavior. Most sites were subject to large amounts of local scour due to flood events resulting from Tropical Storm Alberto in 1994. According to the Federal Highway Administration's Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 by Richardson and Davis (2001), scouring of bridge foundations is the most common cause of bridge failure resulting from floods. The erosion rates of the soils are measured in a rectangular tilting flume capable of applying up to 21 Pa of shear stress at the bed. Samples from Shelby tubes are extruded into the flow from below the bed using a hydraulic piston. The displacement is measured as a function of time using a cable-pull potentiometer. The soils are also subject to extensive geotechnical analysis. Sieve and hydrometer analyses are performed to obtain the particle size distribution for each sample. Atterberg Limits and other standard geotechnical measures are also found. Additionally, insight into the shear strength and cohesive nature of the fine (<0.75 micrometers) particles is gained using a stress controlled rheometer to measure the rheological characteristics of the slurry. These results are used to improve and extend a relationship for the critical shear stress of soils developed in previous research that can be used in bridge scour prediction formulae as affected by soil parameters. In addition, the rheologic properties of the soil in terms of a dimensionless yield stress are related to the critical value of the Shields parameter for estimating critical shear stress for erosion.

Suction caissons are a foundation system for offshore structures which offer a number of advantages over traditional piled foundations. In particular, due to the method of installation used, they are well suited for deep-water applications. The suction caisson consists of an open ended cylindrical shell, which is installed below the seabed in a sequence which consists of two loading phases. The caisson is first installed part way under self weight, with the installation being completed by lowering the pressure within the cylinder and thus allowing the ambient water pressure to force the caisson into the ground. This thesis examines a number of structural issues which result from the form of the caisson — essentially a thin walled cylinder — and the interaction of the caisson with the surrounding soil during installation. To do this, variational analysis and nonlinear finite element analysis are employed to examine the buckling and collapse behaviour of these cylinders. In particular, two issues are considered; the influence of the open end, and the interaction between the cylinder and soil on the buckling and collapse loads. First, the behaviour of open ended cylinders is considered, where the boundary condition at the open end is allowed to vary continuously from completely free to pinned, by the use of a variable lateral spring. This lateral spring restraint may be considered to represent the intermediate restraint provided by a ring stiffener which is not fully effective. The effect of various combinations of boundary conditions is accounted for by the use of a multiplier on the lower bound to the buckling load of a cylinder with classical supports. The variable spring at the open end may also be considered to be an initial, simple representation of the effect of soil restraint on the buckling load. More complex representations of the soil restraint are also considered. A nondimensional factor is proposed to account for the influence of this spring on the buckling load. One combination of boundary conditions, where the upper end of the caisson is pinned, and the lower end free (referred to as a PF boundary condition), is found to have buckling and collapse behaviour which is unusual for cylindrical shells. Buckling loads for such shells are much lower than would be found for cylinders with more typical boundary conditions, and of similar dimensions. More unusually however, PF cylinders are shown to have positive postbuckling strength. The behaviour is found to be a result of the large flexibility which results from the low restraint provided by the PF boundary conditions. This is shown by continuously decreasing the flexibility of the cylinder, by increasing the axial restraint at the pinned end. It is shown that this results in a large increase in buckling load, and a return to more usual levels of imperfection sensitivity. In particular, with an intermediate level of axial restraint, buckling loads and imperfection sensitivity are intermediate between those of PF shells with no, and with full, axial restraint. Overall however, collapse loads for PF cylinders with no additional restraint are well below those of cylinders with stiffer boundary conditions, for equal geometries. Eigenvalue buckling of cylinders fully and partially embedded in an elastic material are examined, and two analytical solutions are proposed. One of these is an extension of a method previously proposed by Seide (1962), for core filled cylinders, to pin ended cylinders which have support from both a core and a surrounding material. The second method represents the elastic support as a two parameter foundation. While more approximate than the first method, this method allows for the examination of a wider range of boundary conditions, and of partial embedment. It is found that the buckling load of the shell/soil system decreases as the embedment ratio decreases. Collapse of fully and partially embedded cylinders is also examined, using nonlinear finite element analysis. The influence of plasticity in the soil is also considered. For cylinders with small imperfections, it is found that the collapse load shows a large increase over that of the same cylinder with no soil support. However, as the size of initial geometric imperfections increases, it is found that the collapse load rapidly approaches that of the unsupported cylinder. In particular, in weak soils the gain in strength over the unsupported shell may be minimal. The exception to this is again PF cylinders. As these have relatively low collapse loads, even very weak soils are able to offer an increase in collapse load over the unsupported case. Finally, a summary of these results is provided in the form of guidance for design of such structures.

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-76).

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 214-225). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary, 1991. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 113).

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (doctoral--Freiburg im Breisgau, 2003). / Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-209).

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2010. / Title from screen (viewed on July 19, 2010). Department of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Dwight F. Burlingame, Philip V. Scarpino, Frances A. Huehls. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-154).