Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis examines the passage of the Act which decriminalised suicide in England and Wales in 1961. Although often listed with other reforms of the period under the label "permissive", empirical evidence reveals this to be a serious misreading of what the Suicide Act was actually designed to accomplish. This thesis argues that, far from the decriminalisation being a relinquishing of state control over a deviant behaviour, the Suicide Act - which was a government, not a Private Member's Bill - stands as an unusually explicit example of a transfer of responsibility for control of a deviant behaviour from criminal justice to medical jurisdiction in the interests of establishing more effective control. Further, the thesis argues that the passage was only possible because of a unique and short-lived conjunction of structure and agency. The long positivist trend towards re-defining deviancy as a medical, not a moral, matter was at its peak in the late 1950s, at a time when the upheavals of war and unprecedented affluence had created a climate conducive to social change. However these conditions, while necessary, were not sufficient to effect the passage of the Act. Suicide law reform was not a matter of popular concern and the profound moral and religious implications of suicide itself made it the kind of sensitive subject governments generally leave to private members. Drawing on cabinet and government papers now available, and on interviews with key participants in the passage of the Act, this thesis seeks to demonstrate that suicide would not have been decriminalised without the actions of three very specific human agents, and at the same time to show how these actions were shaped by, and their success dependent upon, structural elements that both constrained and guided them.

Over the past few decades, researchers have been developing computerized data collection systems in order to find a more efficient alternative to traditional paper and pencil data recording. Although there have been many successful developments, these programs often have limited applications. Currently, there are no electronic data collection systems targeted towards Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) that objectively record both therapist and client behavior. The purpose of the current study was to develop a direct observation, partial interval recording iPad application for ACT that surpasses traditional methods in both accuracy and efficiency. The current study compared the iPad application (ACT Observer) to the paper and pencil version of a data collection system designed to measure treatment integrity. Findings from this study suggest that ACT Observer is a suitable replacement for paper and pencil data collection. Data analysis using ACT Observer is more accurate and efficient than traditional methods of measuring treatment integrity in ACT.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of selected student profile variables in the 2005 American College Test (ACT) on academic performance of Mississippi high school graduates as measured by the subscales in the ACT. The sample consisted of 16,779 high school graduates that completed the ACT in Mississippi in 2005. The variables that were studied were the ACT subscores: English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning subscales; race/ethnicity, size of graduating high school class, high school curriculum, and gender, which were completed on the student profile section when the student registered for the ACT. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression analysis at the .05 alpha level, and Means were used to test the statistical significance of the effect of each variable on the ACT subscores. The findings resulted in a statistically significant difference occurring in all four predictor variables: race/ethnicity, size of graduating high school class, high school curriculum, and gender; except no statistically significant difference in gender in the ACT subscore of English and reading. Only two variables explained 40% of the variance of the English ACT subscore: race and ethnicity, and class size. Three variables explained 52% of the variance of the math ACT subscore: (a) race and ethnicity, (b) class size, and (c) gender. All four variables explained 36 % of the variance of the science reasoning ACT subscore. The conclusions drawn from this study were that there were statistically significant differences in the ACT subscore means among the different racial and ethnic groups of students. The mean scores were the lowest for the race and ethnicity variable in the African American background. The lowest ACT subscore mean was in the 399 or below class size, and the highest ACT subscore mean was in the 900 or more class size. The college preparatory program of study scored higher mean scores than the lower ranking other or general and business/vocational program of study, respectively. Overall, males scored higher on the ACT subscores than the females with females outranking males in English. These were found to be probable predictors of success on the ACT.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Mercantile Law / unrestricted

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has a dual purpose of protecting United States businesses (and importantly, their investors) and combating corruption abroad. The latter purpose is the focus of this study. Reduced corruption has been linked to improving human rights conditions and supporting development projects; thus, if the FCPA reduces corruption, it can positively impact other United States' concerns. Given this importance, this study seeks to determine whether the FCPA reduces corruption in targeted countries. FCPA enforcement actions brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 1998 to 2012 were compiled and allocated by country where the underlying bribery took place. The top ten countries from which the most FCPA enforcement actions arose were selected for individual case study. The level of corruption in each country was approximated with the World Bank's Control of Corruption Indicator (CCI) for the relevant time period of 1998 to 2012. The number of FCPA enforcement actions are compared to this CCI score to determine if the FCPA reduced corruption in those countries relative to countries without as many FCPA enforcement actions. This comparison, both individually and collectively, is not able to demonstrate that FCPA enforcement reduced levels of corruption in those countries that gave rise to the most enforcement actions. Thus, although the FCPA may be an important tool in the toolbox of international regulations the United States uses in combatting corruption, as well as promoting human rights and international development, it alone does not appear to significantly reduce corruption abroad. / text

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No description available.

No description available.

The immediate object is a determinate resolution of Aristotle's position in Nicomachean Ethics 7.3. over the Socratic problem and in particular the possibility of last-ditch akrasia. My approach seeks interpretational constraints and illumination from considering the argument as a structured whole. Moreover, the passage is a point on which larger issues in Aristotle's philosophies of mind, action, and morals converge: the elucidation offered attempts both to frame and throw light on these. Chapter One makes preliminary moves on several fronts. Firstly it looks briefly at Aristotle's position over last-ditch akrasia in De Anima and Eudemian Ethics. Then it outlines the problems of Nicomachean Ethics 7.3. and classifies previous lines of solution. Thirdly an intuitive picture is given of Aristotle's method and basic stance. Finally some contrasts are drawn between Aristotle's and modern approaches to akrasia. Chapters Two to Five discuss the four Sections of Nicomachean Ethics 7.3's argument. Chapters Two and Three take Section 1 and 2 together and consider two major problems of interpretation. Chapter Two asks whether these Sections concern akrasia at all, and, if so, how. I argue that their concern is direct, general (i.e. not confined to some akratic species), and inclusive (i.e. embracing non-akratic phenomena). Chapter Three asks about the interpretation of "exercising knowledge". Firstly the results of Chapter Two are defended; an aporetic discussion of this difficult issue then follows. Chapter Four examines Section 3. After analysing its structure, it distinguishes three principal issues. I argue firstly that Section 3, like 1 and 2, concerns akrasia directly, generally and inclusively; secondly that the knowledge that the akratic is temporally unable to use (that is 'tied') is his (universal) knowledge of what is worthwhile; thirdly that this failure involves a cognitive failure (I suggest a distortion of the agent's situational appreciation) - and not, as some scholars have recently urged, merely a motivational failure. Chapter Five, perforce selective, tackles firstly various problems of Section 4's argumentative structure, and then the interpretation of 1147a26-31 (the 'normal case'). Finally 1147a31-5 (the 'akratic case') is examined and a case argued for its offering two syllogisms but only one practical syllogism.