Inaug.-dis.--Bonn. / Vita. "Die dissertation bildet den 2. hauptteil der schrift: Der begriff des belief bei David Hume, abgedruckt als. nr. xvii der Abhandlungen zur philosophie und ihrer Geschichte, herausgegeben von Benno Erdmann, Halle, Max Niemeyer."--Note (verso of t.-p.)

Thesis--Heidelberg. / Includes bibliographical references.

The starting point of the thesis is an acceptance of the principles of a moderately naturalized epistemology which allow for the traditional questions of epistemology, especially that of empirical justification, to be addressed in a recognizable way. It is argued that naturalism construed in this way is not compatible with scepticism regarding empirical knowledge, at least as far as the justification condition goes. Five general consequences of a moderately naturalistic position are deduced. It is shown how these general conclusions lead to a modest foundationalism, that is, they imply the corrigibility of all empirical beliefs and the basic status of some. The sensory character of basic beliefs is argued for, as is the claim that basic beliefs are not about the character of experience but about physical facts in the subject's immediate environment. The way in which an empirical belief is brought about (its 'dependence relations') is then examined. The important conclusion, for a theory of justification, to be drawn from this examination, is that sensory beliefs depend on no other beliefs but themselves for their empirical justification. This points to the fact that, if they are justified for their subjects, they must be self-evident and prima facie justified. Before explicating the nature of prima facie justification, the general requirements for a satisfactory theory of epistemic justification are set out. Such a theory must account for the reasonableness of the agent in believing as she does; it must accommodate deontological aspects and explain how justified belief is distinguishable from unjustified belief; and it must provide some objective link between the justified belief and its likely truth. It is shown that the theory of prima facie justification of sensory beliefs which emerges from a naturalized epistemology, satisfies these requirements, and that a conception of prima facie justification which ignores naturalistic constraints cannot explain immediate justification. / Philosophy and Systematic Theology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Philosophy)

Nothing is more important, more strategic and more urgently needed than the local Church (Hybels 1995:203). What people need most in life is to have a relationship with Christ, therefore one of the main thrusts of the Church should be evangelism. Hybels repeatedly declares that lost people matter to God and therefore should matter to the Church (1995:186). The Church has used a myriad of ways to evangelize their communities. A relatively unknown (in South Africa) tool for evangelism is a special service designed to attract and convert seekers. The leaders of Willow Creek Community Church do not believe it is possible to minister optimally to both seekers and believers within the confines of one service. Seekers have a need to hear and receive the gospel message in an atmosphere of anonymity whereas believers, on the other hand, need to regularly participate in worship as a body and to receive biblical teaching that enables them to more fully live their lives as believers. In honouring the needs of both groups, Willow (Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois which is pastored by Bill Hybels) and Saddleback (Saddleback Valley Community Church in Orange County, Southern California which is pastored by Dr. Rick Warren) has chosen to minister to each group through separate services. They believe that seekers can be optimally reached in a type of service geared primarily to them. The type of service that has been developed there, to serve this purpose is the Seeker Service. Although both these Churches employ the seeker service to fulfill the Great commission, they approach the service from different perspectives. Hybels’ version of the seeker service could be more aptly termed a “Seeker-driven service”, whereas Warren’s approach is a “seeker-sensitive service”. In the seeker service, conversion is seen as a process and not a momentary experience, where the so-called “journey of a seeker” is identified and legitimized. Some mainstream Churches and theologians question and oppose the validity of separate services designed to attract and entertain seekers only. They are convinced that the seeker service is a humanistic attempt to please the unchurched and raise the concern for more sensitivity to God and not man. Proponents of the seeker service maintain that although the message of the Gospel should remain untouched, the methods should reform to reach a changing generation with the gospel. They are convinced that the seeker service is an excellent tool to reach the lost. What every Church needs to figure out, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is how to fulfill the front end of the Great Commission (Hybels 1995:175). The specific goal that I have in mind is to evaluate the seeker service to determine it’s validity as an evangelistic tool for the Church today and the Church tomorrow and to find possible practical recommendations for interested parties. / Dr. Johan Geyser

In managing organisations for optimal performance, managers are faced with the dilemma of either positioning their employees to compete or collaborate internally within the organisation. Internal competition can motivate individuals and teams to strive to be the best and in so doing result in continuous incremental performance improvements. In contrast, internal collaboration can result in effective problem solving through knowledge sharing and innovation. Management is therefore faced with a challenging dilemma of how best to leverage these seemingly opposing tensions for optimal performance. This study investigated the key factors that drive the adoption of internal competition and internal collaboration in organisations, the consequences of implementing either management approach, how levels of internal competition and internal collaboration vary at different management levels in the organisation and finally whether a viable hybrid combination of both management approaches was possible. To this end a qualitative research study with an explorative design was conducted with twenty senior executives. The insights from these in-depth interviews formed the basis of the data that was analysed to produce the research findings in this study. The research identified drivers and outcomes of the management approaches under review. The Internal Competition and Internal Collaboration Hybrid Model (Figure 14) emerged from these research findings. This model was found to confirm while the management approaches are different there is an optimal way of combining them to allow managers to leverage competitive and collaborative tensions. In this way managers can achieve sustainable high performance within their organisation. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

No description available.

Mao, Yina. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-73). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / List of Tables --- p.2 / List of Figures --- p.3 / Abstract --- p.4 / 摘要 --- p.5 / Acknowledgement --- p.6 / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.7 / Chapter 2. --- Theories and hypotheses --- p.10 / Chapter 2.1 --- actors and third parties --- p.10 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Belief in a just world --- p.10 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Threat to the belief in a just world --- p.13 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Maintenance of the belief in a just world --- p.14 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- Current research focus and the research gap --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1.5 --- Actors and third parties --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.6 --- Hypothesis development --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2. --- Heuristic cues --- p.27 / Chapter 2.3 --- Multiple strategies --- p.29 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Co-occurrence of strategies --- p.29 / Chapter 3. --- Method --- p.37 / Chapter 3.1 --- Research design --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2 --- Scenarios --- p.38 / Chapter 3.3 --- Pilot study --- p.40 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Measurements --- p.40 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Description of the sample --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Analysis --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Adjustments --- p.45 / Chapter 3.4 --- Power analysis --- p.45 / Chapter 3.5 --- Main study --- p.47 / Chapter 3.6 --- results --- p.48 / Chapter 4. --- Conclusions and implications --- p.58 / References --- p.67 / Appendix: Questionnaire used in this study (Chinese version) based on scenario 1 --- p.74

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-192). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (M. Div.)--International School of Theology, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-123).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of English, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 323-367).