School Choice is a topic that finds itself at the top of school reform and political agendas across the United States, while also being a significant focal point in the educational literature. However, little attention in the debate has been placed on private, independent school choice – including private religious school choice – despite that data that shows “seventy-nine percent of all private schools had a religious affiliation in 1999– 2000: 30 percent . . . affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, and 49 percent with other religious groups” (U.S. Department of Education, 2002, p. 3) and that “initial research on school choice that concentrated on private schools did acknowledge that many parents are likely to choose a private school for religious values” (Bauch and Goldring, 1995). This study focuses on examining the choice behaviors of families who choose independent, nondenominational Christian education, including the reasons they choose to exit before graduation and including the central role of information sources in making such choices. The study uses Rational Choice Theory and Hirschman’s Exit, Voice and Loyalty Theory as theoretical frameworks in order to couch the findings. The conclusions of this study are further couched in a bi-modal framework that posits choice involves “foundational factors” necessary for further investigation of potential schools and “factors of ethos” that, in essence, “break the tie” in the choice process – leading families to choose one particular school over others. The findings of the study, similar to the findings within other school choice literature, show that word-of-mouth information sources – predominant in informal/relational connections – are clearly the “most helpful” and “most important” sources of information in the choice process. However, the importance of web-based sources and achievement test scores also are found to be significant information sources for families who choose private, nondenominational Christian Education. In addition, in this study the differences between exiters and families that reenroll are not shown to be statistically significant and, therefore, the author suggests that theories focused on the ongoing relationships between constituents and organizations, instead of theories related to exit such as Hirschman’s Exit theory, may be more beneficial in the ongoing school choice and school reform debates.

Les développements récents en économie du bien-être ouvrent la voie à des méthodes d’évaluations reposant sur d’autres modèles de justice sociale que l’utilitarisme. Leur faisabilité dans les pratiques quotidiennes d’évaluation des interventions de santé pose question : l’objectif de cette thèse est de contribuer d’y répondre. Pour cela nous nous sommes intéressés à trois cas pratiques. L’objectif du Chapitre I est de comparer les méthodologies d’évaluation de trois agences publiques d’évaluation, le NICE (Grande-Bretagne), l’IQWiG (Allemagne) et le KCE (Belgique), pour identifier les positions en matière de justice sociale qui en découlent. Le Chapitre II propose d’étudier le dilemme moral que suscite le phénomène d’adaptation des préférences dans l’évaluation deux dispositifs de compensation du handicap. Trois options sont avancées résoudre ce dilemme, elles s’appuient sur les théories de la justice sociale égalitaristes. Enfin, le Chapitre III démontre la faisabilité de l’approche revenu équivalent-santé, développée par Fleurabey, dans l’aide à la décision publique, au sujet des traitements antihypertenseurs en prévention primaire / Welfare economics encompasses other public choice theories besides utilitarianism, like egalitarian social justice theory. Whether these economic frameworks provide practical tools that could be used in health technology assessment is an ongoing debate, and this study aim to contribute to answer this question. The aim of the first chapter is to review health economic evaluation guidelines and compare methods from three national health technology assessment agencies - NICE (England and Wales), IQWiG (Germany) and KCE (Belgium) - and to assess what social justice principles are implied by their methodological choices. The second chapter studies the moral dilemma raised by adaptive preferences in growth hormones treatment and bilateral cochlear implants. Three options are put forward to solve this dilemma: they are grounded on egalitarian social justice theories. The objective of the third chapter is to provide evidence about the feasibility of assessment based on equivalent income approach, developed by M. Fleurbaey, in the context of public decision making. For this application case, we focussed on antihypertensive treatments in primary prevention

This dissertation examines the course-enrollment behavior of first-year students at a public Midwestern university. Using the student choice construct, modern college choice theory, and the constructs of habitus, human capital, financial capital, social capital, cultural capital, along with background variables such as gender and locus of control, a course selection theory is proposed to explain students' voluntarily enrollment in a seminar designed to assist with the academic and social transitions to college. The literature review shows numerous studies have been done examining the impacts these courses may have on first-year students' academic performance, retention, and graduation rates. In many of these studies, however, subsets of students were targeted for enrollment and participation in the seminars was not voluntary. In others, students self-select into the first-year transition seminars, raising questions about whether or not their subsequent success is attributable to their participation in these courses. Prior to this study, few, if any, studies have examined enrollment in these first-year seminars as the dependent variable and attempted to explain how various factors impact whether or not students voluntarily choose to enroll. This quantitative research looked at 7,561 first-year students enrolling in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 and, using logistic regression, attempted to explain whether or not students chose to enroll in a transition seminar. Data was gathered from institutional offices (Admissions, Registrar, and Student Financial Aid) and through an Entering Student Survey completed by 99% of each entering cohort. Of the 52 independent variables included in the model, 17 were significant in one or more steps (or blocks) of the model. This study found that students more advantaged in their individual or family college-going resources (e.g., higher ACT-Composite scores or a higher self-evaluation of their ability to appreciate fine arts, music, and literature) are less likely to enroll in the college transition seminar than students that could be described as more disadvantaged in terms of their college-going resources (i.e., an external locus of control, receiving a Pell Grant, and less access to various forms of capital). There is also evidence that students with past experiences where they may have learned the value of community or teamwork through in- and out-of-class experiences may see the first-year transition seminar as a way to begin creating these same types of connections or communities on the college campus. The dissertation concludes with a consideration of implications for future research, theory development, and institutional policy and practice.

This thesis will apply a theory consuming method studying voter turnout between swing states in the United States. To accomplish the theory consuming study, the study is divided into two phases. It will start testing Downs’ rational choice theory and apply this to voter turnout. It will then move on to applying the independent variables, socioeconomic background and voting laws to understand voter turnout from this perspective. The study starts with the hypothesis that Downs’ rational choice theory should be able to explain swing states’ voter participation. However, the research shows rational choice theory cannot explain the voter turnout in swing states. In the second phase, the study tests socioeconomic background and voting laws. These two independent variables better explain the voter turnout in swing states. Being well educated while being well off financially have a bigger impact than what rational choice theory can explain. It does not matter if P is overestimated and C is almost nil, it did not help to explain the voter difference in swing states, even though according to the theory, swing states should vote accordingly. To be able to increase voter turnout in swing states with a low voter turnout, not only does voting laws have to become more liberal, but one law in particular seems to make the biggest difference: the possibility to register on election day. However, changing voting laws are not enough. The largest impact is your socioeconomic background. A high educational attainment and being financially stable over the poverty level are the core reasons for voter turnout. Taking people out of poverty and creating opportunities for all to attend college is where higher voter turnout starts.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Tübingen, 2007/2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: Speculation regarding interstate conflict is of great concern to many, if not, all people. As such, forecasting interstate conflict has been an interest to experts, scholars, government officials, and concerned citizens. Presently, there are two approaches to the problem of conflict forecasting with divergent results. The first tends to use a bird’s eye view with big data to forecast actions while missing the intimate details of the groups it is studying. The other opts for more grounded details of cultural meaning and interpretation, yet struggles in the realm of practical application for forecasting. While outlining issues with both approaches, an important question surfaced: are actions causing interpretations and/or are the interpretations driving actions? In response, the Theory of Narrative Conflict (TNC) is proposed to begin answering these questions. To properly address the complexity of forecasting and of culture, TNC draws from a number of different sources, including narrative theory, systems theory, nationalism, and the expression of these in strategic communication. As a case study, this dissertation examines positions of both the U.S. and China in the South and East China Seas over five years. Methodologically, this dissertation demonstrates the benefit of content analysis to identify local narratives and both stabilizing and destabilizing events contained in thousands of news articles over a five-year period. Additionally, the use of time series and a Markov analysis both demonstrate usefulness in forecasting. Theoretically, TNC displays the usefulness of narrative theory to forecast both actions driven by narrative and common interpretations after events. Practically, this dissertation demonstrates that current efforts in the U.S. and China have not resulted in an increased understanding of the other country. Neither media giant demonstrates the capacity to be critical of their own national identity and preferred interpretation of world affairs. In short, the battle for the hearts and minds of foreign persons should be challenged. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication Studies 2017

Submitted by Neusa Fagundes (neusa.fagundes@unioeste.br) on 2018-07-10T14:22:14Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Juliano_Baldissera2018.pdf: 2385878 bytes, checksum: 44d1b3b2b1e92cd3c467b94b0ef748fc (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-10T14:22:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Juliano_Baldissera2018.pdf: 2385878 bytes, checksum: 44d1b3b2b1e92cd3c467b94b0ef748fc (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Transparency is a challenge for the current and future reform of public administration. Transparency increases resource allocation efficiency, reduces problems between principal and agent, and discourages rent-seeking activities. Considering the theoretical assumptions of the Theory of Public Choice, man is a utility maximizer, selfish and rational, which would explain his actions against public management. This research aims to analyze the influence of socioeconomic, financial-budgetary and political factors on the index of active transparency and passive transparency of Brazilian municipalities. To do so, this research is a quantitative study, in which 3,550 Brazilian municipalities were selected, in which socioeconomic, financial-budgetary and political information were obtained. We used the multivariate analysis technique, more specifically the multiple linear regression method using the ordinary least squares (OLS) method, with cross-section data. The results show that population size captures the complexity of public administration and government, which justifies the fact that in these municipalities they are more likely to adopt e-government activities, so they are more transparent. The positive variation in municipal per capita income and education levels positively impacts the variation in the level of transparency. Brazilian geographical regions add different socioeconomic characteristics, which justifies being shown as a determinant of the level of transparency. Financial condition and municipal debt are associated with financial credibility and the government's ability to meet its payment commitments, so public managers are encouraged to disclose information as a mechanism to allow their actions to be monitored. Intergovernmental transfers have been shown to exert a negative influence on public transparency, since in Brazil, there are many resources that are transferred without a pre-defined condition or expense, causing flypaper effect. Policymakers engage in meaningful investment projects, and use transparency so that citizens can visualize this type of information. Political competition increases the care of the manager, so the same must justify and give more transparency of their actions. The right-wing political ideology and party coalition with the governor demonstrate that these aspects influence the level of transparency, which suggests that political and ideological stability and alignment justify the actions of public managers. Finally, managers in the first electoral mandate exert a negative influence on the level of transparency, since they are less experienced and do not want to show in this direction to show their inefficiencies. / A transparência se mostra como um desafio para a reforma atual e futura da administração pública. A transparência aumenta a eficiência na alocação de recursos, reduz problemas entre o principal e o agente e desencoraja atividades de rent-seeking. Considerando os pressupostos teóricos da Teoria da Escolha Pública, o homem é um maximizador de utilidade, egoísta e racional, o que explicaria suas ações frente à gestão pública. Essa pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a influência dos fatores socioeconômicos, financeiros-orçamentários e políticos no índice de transparência ativa e de transparência passiva dos municípios brasileiros. Para tanto, essa pesquisa trata-se de um estudo quantitativo, em que foram selecionados 3.550 municípios brasileiros, sendo obtidas informações socioeconômicas, financeiras-orçamentárias e políticas. Utilizou-se da técnica de análise multivariada, mais especificamente o método de regressão linear múltipla por meio do método dos mínimos quadrados ordinários (MQO), com dados de seção transversal (cross-section). Os resultados demonstram que o tamanho populacional capta a complexidade da administração pública e do governo, o que justifica o fato de que, nesses municípios, esses são mais propensos a adotarem atividades do governo eletrônico, por isso se mostram mais transparentes. A variação positiva nos níveis de renda per capita municipal e de educação impacta positivamente a variação no nível de transparência. As regiões geográficas brasileiras agregam diferentes características socioeconômicas, o que justifica se mostrarem como um determinante do nível de transparência. A condição financeira e a dívida municipal estão associadas à credibilidade financeira e à capacidade do governo de atender a seus compromissos de pagamento, por isso os gestores públicos são encorajados a divulgarem informações como um mecanismo para permitir que suas ações sejam monitoradas. As transferências intergovernamentais demonstraram exercer influência negativa sobre a transparência pública, uma vez que, no Brasil, existem muitos recursos que são transferidos sem uma condição ou gasto pré-definido, ocasionando o flypaper effect. Os policymakers se envolvem em projetos de investimento significativos e utilizam a transparência para que os cidadãos possam visualizar esse tipo de informação. A competição política aumenta o cuidado do gestor, por isso esse precisa justificar e dar mais transparência de suas ações. A ideologia política de direita e a coligação partidária com o governador demonstram que esses aspectos influenciam o nível de transparência, o que sugere que a estabilidade e o alinhamento político e ideológico justifiquem as ações dos gestores públicos. Por fim, gestores no primeiro mandato eleitoral exercem influência negativa sobre o nível de transparência, uma vez que se mostram menos experientes e não querem transparecer nesse sentido para mostrarem as suas ineficiências.

This thesis examines the effect political trust has on voter turnout among foreign born citizens in Sweden. Economic theory is used as theoretical framework for this study and describes two types of rationale; rationale of voting and rationale of migration, which must be taking into the account when trying to understand the effect of political trust among foreign born citizens. It is from this argued that the incentives to vote for foreign born citizens are very low but that political trust is high due to an improved standard of living. Based on previous research on the positive relationship of political trust and voter turnout as well as the rationale behind it, hypotheses are constructed to be tested in statistical analysis. The hypotheses are that probability to vote increases with political trust, foreign born citizens have higher political trust than native citizens, but that the effect of political trust on voter turnout among foreign born citizens is weaker than for native citizens. The empirical data used for the study are gathered from the 2016 round of the European Social Survey. The statistical analysis supports the hypotheses that probability to vote increases with political trust and that foreign born citizens do have a higher political trust than native citizens. This support in combination with the knowledge that foreign born citizens vote to a lesser degree creates a paradox that would be solved by the last hypothesis, that the effect is weaker among foreign born citizens. However, this hypothesis cannot be completely supported, but there are reasons to believe that with better data the outcome would be positive. The study still reaches the conclusion that political trust among foreign born people is an important issue to take into account for policy makers and future research.

Abstract Employee violations of IS security policies is recognized as a key concern for organizations. Although interest in IS security has risen in recent years, little empirical research has examined this problem. To address this research gap, this dissertation identifies deliberate IS security policy violations as a phenomenon unique from other forms of computer abuse. To better understand this phenomenon, three guidelines for researching deliberate IS security violations are proposed. An analysis of previous behavioral IS security literature shows that no existing study meets more than one of these guidelines. Using these guidelines as a basis, this dissertation examines IS security policy violations using three theoretical models drawn from the following perspectives: neutralization theory, rational choice theory, and protection motivation theory. Three field studies involving surveys of 1,423 professional respondents belonging to 7 organizations across 47 countries were performed for empirical testing of the models. The findings of these studies identify several factors that strongly predict intentions to violate IS security policies. These results significantly increase our understanding of why employees choose to violate IS security policies and provide empirically-grounded implications for how practitioners can improve employee IS security policy compliance.

This thesis presents a positive answer to the question: "Is theory of value an unjustly overlooked subject of economics?" The positive answer is arrived at by analysis of logical and historical genesis of the concept of value itself and consequences of its nature to both concept of value and its applicability, as well as for economics proper and some of its subject matters (choice theory, theory of money and welfare theory).