Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2009.

Thesis (D.N. Sc.)--Catholic University of America, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [181]-217).

Thesis (M.A.)--Lancaster Bible College, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-73).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, November, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-93).

Disclosure risk assessment of statistical data, such as frequency tables, is a prerequisite for data dissemination. This thesis investigates the problem of disclosure risk assessment of frequency tables from the perspective of a statistical institute. In the research reported here, disclosure risk is measured by a mathematical function designed for the data according to a disclosure risk scenario. Such functions are called disclosure risk measures. A disclosure risk measure is defined for frequency tables based on the entire population using information theory. If the disclosure risk of a population based frequency table is high, a statistical institute will apply a statistical disclosure control (SDC) method possibly perturbing the table. It is known that the application of any SDC method lowers the disclosure risk. However, measuring the disclosure risk of the perturbed frequency table is a difficult problem. The disclosure risk measure proposed in the first paper of the thesis is also extended to assess the disclosure risk of perturbed frequency tables. SDC methods can be applied to either the microdata from which the frequency table is generated or directly to the frequency table. The two classes of methods are called pre- and post-tabular methods accordingly. It is shown that the two classes are closely related and that the proposed disclosure risk measure can account for both methods. In the second paper, the disclosure risk measure is extended to assess the disclosure risk of sample based frequency tables. Probabilistic models are used to estimate the population frequencies from sample frequencies which can then be used in the proposed disclosure risk measures. In the final paper of the thesis, we investigate an application of building a flexible table generator where disclosure risk and data utility measures must be calculated on-the-fly. We show that the proposed disclosure risk measure and a related information loss measure are adaptable to these settings. An example implementation of the disclosure risk and data utility assessment using the proposed disclosure risk measure is given.

Sport sociologists have longed defined sport as a heterosexist institution where gay and lesbian athletes are stigmatized. However, the number of active gay and lesbian athletes who have disclosed their sexual identities in sport is increasing, and therefore deserving of attention and investigation. The present study examines why intercollegiate lesbian athletes disclose their sexual identities, how they disclose their sexual identities, and the perceived consequences of sexual identity disclosure in sport. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 self-identified lesbian athletes who disclosed their sexual identities while participating in intercollegiate sport. Unlike most past literature on disclosure, the present study approaches disclosure as an interactional process that involves a discloser, an audience, and a context. Motivational factors leading to disclosure included wanting to be perceived as an honest and "normal" person, further self-acceptance, the desire for closer friendships with teammates, an unwillingness to hide their intimate or sexual relationships with teammates, and tolerant sporting environments. Athletes' perceived consequences of disclosure included a personal sense of relief, more self-confidence, positive responses from teammates, closer friendships with their teammates, and the creation of more supportive environments. Respondents most commonly utilized implicit and reactive methods of disclosure; however, in some cases the lesbian athletes relied on teammates to tell others about their sexual identities. Unlike past literature, the disclosure experiences, and the overall sporting experiences of the lesbian athletes in the present study, were positive. Explanations concerning their positive experiences included a self-fulfilling prophesy, the liberal mentality of the universities they attended, the large number of lesbians on their teams, the implicit nature of disclosure, and greater tolerance for gays and lesbians in sport. Overall, approaching disclosure as an interactional process provided a more inclusive and sociological understanding of the disclosure experiences of lesbian athletes in sport. Future research should consider utilizing such a framework to investigate the disclosure experiences of gay and lesbian athletes in high school and professional sports.

This PhD thesis is an exploratory study examining the practices of Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure (CSED) in the annual reports of the manufacturing sector in Jordan over the period 2010-2012. The study is based mainly on empirical investigation of the level and patterns of CSED practices by 66 industrial companies listed in the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). In addition, it focuses on analysing determinants of the practices of CSED by firms in the manufacturing sector. This study is concerned with the common area between functionalist and interpretive paradigms. Therefore, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed as a mixed practical approach to collect, analyse and interpret the required data. Specifically, the disclosure index was selected as an appropriate approach to extract quantitative data regarding CSED practices. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were used as a qualitative method to explore the stakeholders' perceptions of the impact of local external factors on CSED practices. The Random-Effect Model was the most appropriate analysis technique to analyse possible relationships between internal factors and the level of CSED, and the stakeholders' views were evaluated through the use of open critical discussion to ascertain the effect of the local contextual factors on the practices of CSED. The results showed the existence of unsatisfactory levels in the practices of CSED during the survey period. Furthermore, the results of the random effect model indicated that the firm size, audit firm and type of financial market were all significant. However, this result of type of financial market coefficients indicated an inverse relationship in explaining the level of CSED practices. Moreover, stakeholders’ views regarding the effect of the external factors on CSED practices showed that the political system, legal system, cultural values and economic development are also significant factors in explaining CSED practices in the corporate annual reports.

In the following thesis, I draw on these parallel ideas in works of Heidegger and Oakeshott, in order to develop two contrasting frameworks termed "the meditative idiom" and "the calculative idiom." My aim is to establish how these idioms can signal sweeping and mutually exclusive frameworks or mindsets by means of which human beings approach projects generally and literary projects in particular. Heidegger and Oakeshott present their accounts of various types of thinking and idioms in reference to the experience of literature in the context of living. My efforts to combine their frameworks continue in this same vein. This thesis focuses on what occurs when a person interacts with literature through the meditative or the calculative idioms. Drawing on Susan Sontag's essay Against Interpretation, I argue that when someone approaches literature with the aim of interpretation, they are working within the calculative idiom. This approach contrasts with the way events unfold in the meditative idiom or, better, the way this approach allows them to unfold and reveal themselves of themselves. Allowing as much is inherent to Heidegger's concept of aletheia as an "unconcealing." In this connection I claim that the meditative idiom prevents literature from becoming vitiated through interpretation. Along with consulting Heidegger, Oakeshott and Sontag, I draw upon other philosophers in attempt to elucidate what occurs during an interaction with literature.