Since 1998 there has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of paid, additional, support staff, employed in Scottish primary schools as successive Scottish governments have attempted to raise standards by freeing teachers from administrative and ‘housekeeping’ duties and allowing them to teach. Of these additional staff, currently just over 4000 are classroom assistants, with a remit to provide general class learning and teaching support, including social inclusion and pupil discipline, under the direction of a fully registered teacher. Classroom assistants in Scotland are almost exclusively White women, typically aged 31-50, but concentrated in the 41-50 age range, partnered and with children of school age. These women exist on the margins of school hierarchies as witnessed by short-term contracts, low pay, limited access to formal training and low status. Nevertheless, many classroom assistants seem willing to accept poor working conditions as a trade off for family friendly working hours. Given these working conditions the study sought to consider several key questions: • Why are classroom assistants willing to undertake work that has low status, low pay and insecurity? • How do classroom assistants create and maintain a sense of integrity and commitment to their work? • How do classroom assistants create and sustain positive social and professional identities in this context? • Why do classroom assistants appear to be complicit, to some extent, in their own oppression? To achieve this the study used a critical ethnographic methods to explore the lived experiences of 13 classroom assistants as they supported pupils in two Scottish primary schools. The key insights were firstly that a Bourdieuian account of class, combined with an understanding of patriarchy, provided an explanation of these women’s labour market decisions. In addition, ‘preference theory’, was rejected in favour of a range of constraints, particularly having children and the associated childcare costs, that were considered much more important factors. Secondly, classroom assistants performed versions of ‘emphasised femininity’ as part of their identity as ‘classroom assistants’. Thirdly, the notion of ‘respectability’ was a crucial analytical tool in explaining not only these women’s constant struggle for recognition, but also their continuing oppression. And finally, classroom assistants told a particular type of talk, the ‘atrocity story’, which contributed to the social production of occupational boundaries. The study concluded that from their position of insecure and poorly paid employment, classroom assistants justified and reconciled their position by drawing on talk of moral superiority associated with mothering and caring to construct and perform identities that created the spaces and boundaries from which they positioned themselves as superior to both parents and teachers. As a result they were able to negotiate their roles within the micro-political world of the school.

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This thesis is an exploration of the concept of evil. It attempts to define what we mean by this elusive concept and its relevance to human behaviour. The thesis then develops an operational definition of evil that is distilled from the writings of various social scientists. The thesis argues, however, that in addition to merely defining evil, there are three emotive elements that also go towards our preparedness to label an act as evil. The thesis then examines the causes of evil acts. The thesis argues that the interactive causation, of situation and disposition, is the most robust explanation of evil acts. The thesis rejects the notion of the evil person, instead arguing that it is ordinary people who commit evil acts. The thesis then examines the causes of genocide, the most evil of acts, and links this back to the previous discussion of causal factors of evil acts. Germany’s war against the Soviet Union in World War II, in particular the role of the Waffen-SS is then discussed. The death and destruction during this conflict would result not just from military operations, but also from the systematic killing and abuse that the Waffen-SS directed against Jews, Communists and ordinary citizens. The thesis then utilises the case study of the Waffen-SS to highlight the application of the interactive causation explanation in regards to evil acts. The conventional wisdom that the Waffen-SS in WWII fought a relatively clean fight, unsullied by the atrocities committed by the Nazis, is challenged—and largely demolished. Focusing on the Eastern Front, the thesis contends that the Nazi vision of a racial-ideological death struggle against Slavic hordes and their Jewish-Bolshevik commissars resonated with soldiers of the Waffen-SS, steeped in traditional anti-Semitic and racist dogmas. In doing so the thesis clearly shows that the Waffen-SS was an organisation that committed widespread atrocities. The thesis then applies the operational definition of evil to the case study and determines that the acts committed by the Waffen-SS were in fact evil. It also contends that the concept of evil is useful in explaining human atrocity. In conducting this examination the thesis provides some insight into the challenges facing society from preventing future broad-scale acts of evil.

Degree awarded (2003): MA, Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, George Washington University / This thesis focuses on the issue of dissonance in the interpretation of atrocity at museums and other cultural heritage sites. The existing debates in the field are outlined in an extensive literature review encompassing general and specific references. The basic conceptual framework of the dark tourism phenomenon is elaborated through case studies in Washington D.C., illustrating the variety of interpretative dilemmas faced by museum directors and curators. The cases include the permanent exhibition at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Enola Gay exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum, and the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall. The identified controversies are analyzed, and recommendations for mitigating existing conflicts and suggestions for future research are offered. / Advisory Committee: Prof. Donald E. Hawkins (Chair)

This thesis is an exploration of the concept of evil. It attempts to define what we mean by this elusive concept and its relevance to human behaviour. The thesis then develops an operational definition of evil that is distilled from the writings of various social scientists. The thesis argues, however, that in addition to merely defining evil, there are three emotive elements that also go towards our preparedness to label an act as evil. The thesis then examines the causes of evil acts. The thesis argues that the interactive causation, of situation and disposition, is the most robust explanation of evil acts. The thesis rejects the notion of the evil person, instead arguing that it is ordinary people who commit evil acts. The thesis then examines the causes of genocide, the most evil of acts, and links this back to the previous discussion of causal factors of evil acts. Germany’s war against the Soviet Union in World War II, in particular the role of the Waffen-SS is then discussed. The death and destruction during this conflict would result not just from military operations, but also from the systematic killing and abuse that the Waffen-SS directed against Jews, Communists and ordinary citizens. The thesis then utilises the case study of the Waffen-SS to highlight the application of the interactive causation explanation in regards to evil acts. The conventional wisdom that the Waffen-SS in WWII fought a relatively clean fight, unsullied by the atrocities committed by the Nazis, is challenged—and largely demolished. Focusing on the Eastern Front, the thesis contends that the Nazi vision of a racial-ideological death struggle against Slavic hordes and their Jewish-Bolshevik commissars resonated with soldiers of the Waffen-SS, steeped in traditional anti-Semitic and racist dogmas. In doing so the thesis clearly shows that the Waffen-SS was an organisation that committed widespread atrocities. The thesis then applies the operational definition of evil to the case study and determines that the acts committed by the Waffen-SS were in fact evil. It also contends that the concept of evil is useful in explaining human atrocity. In conducting this examination the thesis provides some insight into the challenges facing society from preventing future broad-scale acts of evil.

abstract: Recently, philosophers have charged that Aristotelian-based virtue theories are empirically inadequate because the conception of character in which they are grounded is largely unfounded by findings in psychology. These philosophers argue in favor of situationism, the theory from social psychology that situational rather than dispositional differences among individuals are in large part responsible for human behavior. Situationists dispute the existence of traits that remain consistent across time and diverse situations and argue that features of situations can better explain and predict human behavior. After analyzing the psychological literature and historical cases put forth as evidence for situationism as well as the basic premises grounding arguments against situationism, I make some conclusions about the best responses to situationism. I agree with situationists that Aristotelian-based virtue and character are not quite empirically adequate but disagree that human behavior owes more to situational rather than dispositional determinants. Basing my theory on literature from social psychology, I argue instead that a concept of character grounded in social-cognitive theory is more psychologically realistic and can explain and predict human behavior and ground a character-based virtue theory. A social-cognitive conception of character would highlight the dynamic role between situations and individual psychological factors like beliefs, values, desires and the way that an individual perceives a situation. I sketch out a non-ideal theory of virtue based in a social-cognitive conception of character that is partially dependent on social networks for its maintenance and is fragmented, or contextualized to particular types of psychological situations. However, fragmented and socially dependent virtue is not an optimal type of virtue because it is vulnerable to situational features that place strong psychological pressures on agents to behave in various ways, including ways they would not have normally endorsed. I agree with Aristotelian virtue ethicists that argue that a type of practical wisdom can help to counter the often unwanted and dangerous influence of these strong situations but also maintain that some measure of moral luck is inevitably involved, even in the development of practical wisdom. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Philosophy 2012

This study proposes and tests a comprehensive theory detailing the motivations behind political apologies. A brief survey of the literature shows a field rich in case studies but lacking in rigorous scientific analysis. The theory presented proposes a three-level examination of political apology at the state, dyadic, and system levels and incorporates the effects of culture, conflict, and the nature of the international system into analysis. This study makes use of a new dataset recording the occurrence of political apologies for interstate conflict atrocities from 1900 to 2006. The results suggest that the existing literature, while rich, does not account for all the motivating factors behind apology. The results also confirm that political apology is a creation of the modern era and a result of the liberalization of the international system. In conclusion, paths for future research are suggested and the advent of a global "age of apology" is confirmed.

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<p>This study examinates technology's traumatic impact on the male subject in The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard. In my analysis I show how the protagonist uses a fetischistic strategy in order to make sense of the trauma that technology embeds. Paradoxically it proves to be the agent of his trauma, but also functions as his shield. The machine is thus in a position of the hinge, the point in a structural system that both enables and deconstruct the system. In the same position we find the woman. She is the very epicentre of the novel and the violence directed towards her is part of a complex problem that I adress. The woman is divided into pieces and fetischized by the male gaze to serve as a solution for his trauma.</p><p>Hal Foster's notion ”the double logic of prosthesis” constitutes a theoretical base. The model shows how a fetischistic strategy is applied by avant-garde artists to solve the technological trauma that they experience. Both content and composition of The Atrocity Exhibition are inspired by avant-garde practices, I have therefore compared the text with Foster's theory on how the avant-garde problematized the interaction between man and machine. Marshall McLuhan's belief that the human body and technology are inseparable in the era of electronics further helps me to study technology's effect on perception.</p>

This project seeks to expand the dialogue about international humanitarian intervention in a complex emergency or mass atrocity situation by asserting that post-intervention political reconstruction is as essential to the intervention as is the provision of material humanitarian aid and even the ostensive goal of protecting the aid regimes. As a result of this assertion, consideration of humanitarian intervention has, to this point, been too focused on the legal, ethical, and theoretical implications of war and hegemony. The current dialogue centers on its security studies aspects, owing largely to its Cold War precedent. However, a full consideration of the subject of humanitarian intervention must also consider the broader implications of the intervention, including recovery and mitigation of future events. When this is considered at all, the literature to this point largely treats post-intervention establishment of political and social infrastructure as a secondary consideration to the military intervention. The primary approach to address this needed expansion includes drawing a comparison between humanitarian intervention and a similar domestic concept: comprehensive emergency management theory. While there are several dissimilarities between emergency management and its putative international correlate, the theoretical framework it establishes—including not only the response found in the usual literature, but also the well-defined concepts of recovery, mitigation, and preparedness—can expand our understanding of the implications and requirements of humanitarian intervention. It also provides an important lesson in its mirror example for the prescribed evolution of humanitarian intervention scholarship away from its Cold War genesis. This is because domestic emergency management also has a foundation in security studies concerns, but has since evolved into an all-hazards philosophy that embraces prevention and recovery as much as simple response to a human crisis. This parallel will provide a framework for approaching humanitarian intervention that goes significantly beyond the literature to this point and provides a much more encompassing approach to the subject than there has been to this point.