The holotypic locality of the brachiosaurid titanosauriform sauropod, Abydosaurus mcintoshi, is quarry DNM-16, located in Dinosaur National Monument. The bones are preserved near the base of a heterolithic, trough cross stratified to planar bedded sandstone channel complex. The trough cross to planar bedded sandstones mark times of variable flow with times of high flow velocity based on bones whose upper surfaces were eroded before final burial. The abundance of mud with the dominant medium to fine sand, and poorly confined sandstone channels indicate the bones were transported and buried in medial to distal intermittent flows of a distributive fluvial system. The quarry is at the base of the Naturita Formation, the base of which is latest Albian in age. The sauropods lived and died in the middle Cretaceous as the Cretaceous seaway advanced southward. The unconformity below the Naturita Formation and on top of the underlying the Ruby Ranch Member represents the LK-2 sequence boundary. The quarry produced ~260 bones, all of which represent Abydosaurus, except for several small theropod teeth, denoting a single catastrophic event acting on a group of sauropods. About one-third of the bones occur in close association or articulation, including three skulls (one articulated with the first five cervical vertebrae), five limbs, and strings of caudal vertebrae. There is no evidence of preburial weathering or breakage, and trample scratch marks are rare. More than 20% of the bones exhibit irregular, mm-scale pits occur on the shafts and the articular ends of limb bones are commonly hollowed out. The irregular pits are termite foraging traces, and hollows indicate extensive mining by these insects. At least seven individuals of Abydosaurus are present, representing at least two ontogenetic stages (juveniles and subadults).Together, these observations indicate the following: (1) the catastrophic death of a sauropod herd; (2) partial carcass maceration; (3) minor transportation, including articulated units (skulls, vertebrae, limbs); (4) rapid burial in migrating, ephemeral, branches of a distributary fluvial system; (5) channel migration resulting in in-situ scouring of the upper surface of some bones; (6) burial of scoured bones. Termite infestation occurred both prior to, and after, fluvial entrainment and burial.

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In this dissertation, I investigate two key questions: 1) What are the specific conditions under which economic inequality undermines democratic legitimacy; and 2) How does inequality map onto individuals’ perceptions of fairness and subsequently affect satisfaction with democracy and trust in political institutions? I first argue that individuals’ perceptions of distributive unfairness are key factors whereby economic inequality undermines democratic legitimacy. Inequality - and subsequent perceptions that the economic distribution is unfair - undermine political support by signaling that the democratic process is not functioning properly and by challenging people’s normative expectations about what democracy should do in practice. I next draw from a diverse literature on social and political psychology, as well as governance quality, to derive new hypotheses about how people form their fairness judgments and use them to evaluate democracy. Right-leaning and upper-class individuals should be less upset with inequality in the first place, but even when these individuals perceive distributive unfairness, they should be less likely to express political dissatisfaction as a result. Additionally, the context in which individuals form their fairness perceptions should condition the relationship between fairness judgments and political support. In a context of good governance, individuals should be less likely to perceive inequality as unfair, and subsequently less likely to express political dissatisfaction for any perceived distributive unfairness in society. Governance quality provides alternative evidence that democracy is in fact functioning properly and should allay citizens’ concerns about inequality and distributive unfairness, at least when it comes to evaluating democratic legitimacy. To test my theory and hypotheses, I take a mixed-methods approach that combines large-N analysis of public opinion data and original survey experiments. To contextualize my quantitative results, I draw on motivating examples from original open-ended surveys, newspapers, and elite interviews. In the first empirical chapter, I conduct a multilevel analysis of data from 18 Latin American and show that perceptions of distributive unfairness are negatively correlated with trust in government and satisfaction with democracy, yet good governance significantly mitigates this negative relationship. In the second empirical chapter, I use original survey experiments in Argentina, Mexico, and the US to show that perceptions of distributive unfairness are key causal factors linking inequality to political dissatisfaction. In the third empirical chapter, I use a second set of survey experiments to investigate how governance quality moderates the relationship between inequality and political support. When individuals are presented with information about declining corruption, they are less likely to perceive their country’s income distribution as unfair, and less likely to link inequality to political dissatisfaction.

Orientador: Marcelo Santos / Banca: Gabriel Henrique Burnatelli de Antonio / Banca: Milton Lahuerta / Resumo: A presente dissertação verificou a discussão que houve no Supremo Tribunal Federal na Ação de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental 186, que resultou no reconhecimento da constitucionalidade das ações afirmativas para o ensino superior e foi normatizada por meio da Lei 12711/2012. Para tal, observou-se a fixação do sistema de cotas no ensino superior sob a ótica do repertório de teoria de justiça, em especial pela perspectiva de ser pertinente ou não a aplicação dos princípios norteadores da justiça distributiva, de acordo com a abordagem dos teóricos Rawls e Dworkin, tendo em vista que ambos apresentam em suas obras a possibilidade de enquadramento da educação como um dos recursos escassos ou primários, a ser distribuído. Pela aproximação de alguns preceitos existentes sobre liberdade ou igualdade abordados por outros teóricos, tais como o desenvolvimento das capacidades, preceituado por Sen, ou do reconhecimento, como apresentado por Honneth e Fraser, foi permitido que tais princípios também compusessem esse estudo, pois estão presentes no debate atual sobre justiça distributiva ou redistribuição de recursos. A linha de investigação orientou-se por meio da pesquisa bibliográfica a respeito de teoria de justiça distributiva, justiça como equidade, distribuição de recursos, política de cotas, reconhecimento. A abordagem sobre as políticas públicas denominadas de ações afirmativas, ainda que estas não se restrinjam ao estabelecimento de cotas no acesso à educação, se fez por ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This dissertation verified the discussion that occurred in the Federal Supreme Court in the Action of Breach of Basic Precept 186, which resulted in the recognition of the constitutionality of affirmative actions for higher education and was regulated by Law 12711/2012. For this, it was observed the fixation of the quota system in higher education from the perspective of the repertoire of justice theory, especially from the perspective of whether or not it is relevant to apply the guiding principles of distributive justice, according to the theoretical approach Rawls and Dworkin, considering that both present in their works the possibility of framing education as one of the scarce or primary resources to be distributed. By the approximation of some existing precepts on liberty or equality addressed by other theorists, such as the development of abilities, as prescribed by Sen, or of recognition, as presented by Honneth and Fraser, it was allowed that such principles also composed this study, since they are present in the current debate on distributive justice or redistribution of resources. The research line was guided by bibliographical research on the theory of distributive justice, justice as equity, distribution of resources, quota policy, recognition. The approach to public policies known as affirmative action, even if these are not restricted to the establishment of quotas on access to education, was verified through the discussion in the ADPF 186, which made possible t... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Organizational commitment has been a topic of extensive interest in the organizational behavior literature since the 1950's. It has been associated with workforce stability, decreased absenteeism, organizational citizenship behaviors, and decreased turnover. This study focuses on the relationships between organizational commitment and turnover; particularly amongst K-12 school principals. A principal of a school is much like the CEO of a company. Principals impact schools in many ways. They supervise staff, develop culture, implement and enforce rules, guide instruction and ensure that all students receive a quality education. The United States is facing a shortage of principals. Many principals are nearing retirement age. Others are simply choosing to leave the profession. In many cases there are shortages of applicants and/or qualified candidates for available positions. Many teachers hold administrative credentials but, for various reasons, choose not to pursue the principalship. School systems are facing difficulties filling principal positions. One potential solution is to endeavor to keep current principals on the job. Organizational commitment is highly correlated with intent to stay; promoting the suggestion that schools may retain principals for longer periods where organizational commitment is significantly higher. This study focuses on the impact of job autonomy, psychological empowerment, and distributive justice on organizational commitment. The study uses data from a web-based survey of 1,078 principals. The data were collected from K-12 principals in the Midwest United States. The sample includes elementary and secondary principals from public, private/parochial schools, and charter schools. Hypotheses regarding the impact of job autonomy, psychological empowerment, and distributive justice on organizational commitment were tested using multiple regression and path analysis. Increases in each of these variables were found to be significantly associated with increases in organizational commitment. In addition, some support was found for the moderating effects of distributive justice and demographic variables on the relationship between job autonomy and organizational commitment, and on the relationship between psychological empowerment and organizational commitment. Implications for those who supervise principals are discussed. For instance, principals may be provided latitude and discretion in terms of the scheduling and sequencing of supervisory work, and may employ consultative, mutual-means approaches in principal evaluation. School systems should, moreover, provide appropriate professional development in order to increase feelings of self-efficacy. Recommendations for future research are also suggested, including replicating the study in other regions and with other organizational types, as well as including other variables, such as perceived organizational support, resistance to change, conflict, and teamwork.

L’objectif de cette thèse est l’étude de la croissance et du développement économique des pays émergents à travers l’Investissement Direct Etranger. Les pays émergents adoptent des stratégies d’attractivité des IDE, lesquels favorisent ensuite l’assimilation des transferts technologiques qu’ils véhiculent. Ces stratégies sont articulées autour de plusieurs points : surcroît de réglementation, instauration d’un système de bonne gouvernance, renforcement de la stabilité macroéconomique et développement des infrastructures et du capital humain. Nous nous intéressons aux pays de la région MENA qui viennent de subir des changements politiques et sociaux profonds. Des pays que l’Europe occidentale gagnerait à accompagner, pour assurer le succès de cette phase transitionnelle. C’est pourquoi, nous prenons exemple sur les pays de la région PECO au lendemain de la chute du mur de Berlin et sur les pays de l’Europe occidentale au lendemain de la seconde guerre mondiale. A partir de la décennie 1980, suite à l’effondrement des cours du pétrole qui a eu des conséquences majeures sur leurs économies fragiles, les pays de la région MENA se sont efforcés de diversifier leur économie. Dans un premier chapitre, nous montrons la nature des canaux, à travers lesquels se concrétisent les effets des IDE sur la croissance des pays émergents. A partir des théories récentes de la croissance économique, les politiques d’attraction des IDE menées par les pays émergents constituent un élément moteur de la croissance, à partir du moment où ces pays possèdent un capital humain capable d’absorber les technologies et le savoir-faire véhiculés par l’IDE. Dans un deuxième chapitre et à travers diverses méthodes empiriques, nous établissons les déterminants des IDE. A l’aide de comparaisons à l’échelle régionale, nous nous focalisons, plus particulièrement, sur les déterminants institutionnels à court terme. En nous appuyant par la suite sur un modèle gravitationnel dans les troisième et quatrième chapitres, nous mettons en évidence les déterminants essentiels de l’IDE dans les pays d'Europe centrale et orientale (PECO), ainsi que les éventuelles différences de comportement des investisseurs étrangers envers l’ancienne UE-15 et les PECO, et ce, dix ans après l’élargissement de la Communauté européenne. Nous montrons ainsi un glissement à la fois dans l’orientation géographique des investisseurs mais aussi dans leurs motivations. Nous n’observons donc pas de rapprochement des déterminants des PECO vers ceux de l’UE-15. En revanche, l’effet de concurrence fiscale tend à se diffuser dans les stratégies des firmes des PECO vers l’ensemble de l’Union européenne. Ceci coïncide avec la survenue de la crise qui a occasionné une plus grande volatilité dans les flux d’IDE. Dans le cinquième chapitre, nous analysons à long terme les déterminants institutionnels des IDE dans la région MENA. Nous mettons en relief une panoplie d’indicateurs institutionnels afin d’identifier leur importance relative sur les flux d’IDE ; et ce, après le contrôle des déterminants macroéconomiques. Nous prenons en considération les effets de retournement de conjoncture économique, dus principalement aux récessions et aux crises économiques. Nos résultats indiquent que les indicateurs institutionnels sont positivement reliés aux IDE. Enfin, dans le sixième chapitre, et pour la même région, nous examinons la relation entre la croissance économique, l’IDE, les exportations, la population active et l’investissement en capital. Ladite relation demeurant l'un des problèmes les plus importants de la littérature économique, elle rencontre un regain d'intérêt, principalement pour les pays de la région MENA, qui souffrent de problèmes sociaux, économiques et de retard technologique. En utilisant l’approche ARDL, nous montrons enfin qu’il existe une relation de cointégration entre ces variables, aussi bien à long terme qu’à court terme. / This thesis aims at studying the growth and the economic development of emerging countries through Foreign Direct Investment. Emerging countries adopt FDI-luring strategies, which subsequently guarantee the assimilation of the technological transfers they convey. Such strategies are built around several axes: increased regulation, the implementation of a good governance system, the invigorating of macroeconomic stability and the development of infrastructure and human resources. We focus on the OECD countries that have just undergone profound political and social changes. Indeed, Western Europe has to support these countries to ensure the success of this transitional phase. It is precisely for this reason that we follow the example of the CEEC countries in the wake of the Berlin Wall fall on the one hand and the Western European countries in the aftermath of WWII on the other. Starting from the 1980s, after the collapse of oil prices- which had tremendous repercussions on fragile economies-, the OECD countries sought to diversify their economy. In the first chapter, we show the nature of the channels that materialize the FDI effects on the emerging countries’ growth. With reference to the latest theories of economic growth, the FDI attraction policies adopted by the emerging countries represent a driving force for growth as long as these countries are endowed with human resources capable of absorbing the technologies and the know-how conveyed by the FDIs. In the second chapter, relying on a variety of empirical methods, we establish the FDI determinants. More particularly, we focus on the short-term institutional determinants at a national comparative scale.Then, in the third and fourth chapters, relying on the gravitational model, we highlight the main FDI determinants in the Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEECs) as well as the possible differences of foreign investors’ behavior towards the former EU-15 and the CEEC, and that is ten years after the extension of the European Community. Thus, we show a fall in the investors’ geographical orientation as well as motivations. Therefore, there is no reconciliation between the CEEC’s determinants and those of the EU-15. However, the tax competition seems to spread among the CEEC firms’ policiestowards the EU as a whole. This concurs with the financial crisis which brought about a bigger volatility in the FDI flows. In the fifth chapter, we analyze the long run institutional FDI determinants in the OECD region. We emphasize a range of institutional indicators in order to identify their relative impact on the FDI flows; and this after having examined the macroeconomic determinants. We take into consideration the effects of economic conjuncture downturns, which are mainly due to recessions and economic crises. Our findings show that the institutional indicators are positively related to FDIs.Finally, in the sixth chapter and for the same region, we investigate the relationship between economic growth, FDI, exportation, workforce and capital investment. Since the so-called relationship is still one of the main problems in the economic literature, it has witnessed renewed interest, mainly for the OECD countries, which are affected by social and economic problems as well as a technological gap. Based on an ARDL approach, we eventually show that there is eventually a cointegration relationship between these variables, both in the long run as well as in the short run.

Cette thèse a pour objet l'examen empirique des préférences individuelles dans certains problèmes de distribution. L'analyse des préférences individuelles est menée à partir de leur expression sous forme d'opinions, de jugements et de choix. D'une part, nous mettons à jour les conceptions individuelles du juste sur lesquelles repose l'évaluation normative de certaines règles d'allocation de ressources, droits et obligations. Nous cherchons d'autre part à comprendre les raisons qui guident les individus dans leurs choix distributifs. La thèse se compose de six études indépendantes utilisant différentes méthodes empiriques (questionnaires, enquêtes et expériences de laboratoire). La première partie de la thèse traite de l'attribution de droits prioritaires dans le contexte de l'économie des transferts entre générations (héritage et retraites) et dans le domaine de la santé. Dans la deuxième partie, nous étudions des situations où le choix distributif résulte d'un arbitrage entre l'intérêt personnel de l'agent et celui d'autrui. Nous étudions cet arbitrage dans le cadre des politiques publiques de type redistributif et dans une situation de marchandage stylisé entre des agents ayant des revendications asymétriques. Dans cette partie, nous faisons l'hypothèse que les motifs et les déterminants des choix ne se réduisent pas aux intérêts privés des agents. En particulier, nous prenons en compte les attentions à l'autre et les considérations d'équité et de réciprocité. Nous validons cette hypothèse par le biais d'un certain nombre de tests économétriques et expérimentaux.

Nous avons tenté de mettre en lumière les différents fondements normatifs utilisés pour justifier l’octroi de droits linguistiques et l’importance de protéger les langues minoritaires. Ce travail était nécessaire afin de clarifier certaines positions normatives portant sur les questions linguistiques qui ne font que prendre pour acquis l’importance des langues et l’obligation de venir en aide aux locuteurs minoritaires. Cette entreprise nous a amené à identifier trois grandes familles de propositions justifiant des droits ou des protections linguistiques pour les individus membres de communautés linguistiques minoritaires. La première met l’emphase sur la valeur des langues et de la diversité linguistique. On accorde alors aux langues ou à la diversité linguistique une valeur intrinsèque ou instrumentale. Identifiant les langues comme des créations humaines uniques et dignes de respect, ou comme des contenus de connaissances inestimables, ou comme des outils permettant d’atteindre différentes fins, ces auteurs ont voulu justifier l’importance de préserver les langues en tant que telles. La seconde met plutôt l’emphase sur les désavantages socioéconomiques d’être locuteur d’une langue minoritaire. Ils tentent ensuite de justifier des redistributions des membres de la majorité vers les membres de la minorité afin que tous puissent profiter des mêmes droits et profiter d ressources équivalentes. La troisième opte plutôt pour identifier la langue comme un aspect important de l’identité des individus. Dès lors, le fait de ne pas reconnaître certains droits ou privilèges à une communauté linguistique peut être interprété comme un signe de dévalorisation de la culture minoritaire. Ils construisent leur théorie sur l’idée que la formation de l’identité individuelle est dialogique, que l’image que nous renvoient autrui de nous-mêmes contribue à la formation de notre identité. Dès lors, renvoyer une image d’infériorité à autrui peut causer chez cette personne des blessures morales. Nous avons évalué chacune de ces approches et avons conclu qu’aucune d’elles n’arrivait à rendre compte des revendications effectivement émises par les minorités linguistiques, et qu’elles ne représentaient pas des fondements normatifs suffisants pour justifier l’octroi de droits ou de protections linguistiques. Nous avons terminé en proposant une approche alternative, inspirée des approches institutionnelles en économie. Nous avons pris comme point de départ une liberté non contrainte des individus et avons démontré que cette liberté linguistique illimitée donnerait des résultats indésirables. Comme des problèmes d’action collective viennent empêcher la coïncidence de l’équilibre des choix individuels et l’optimalité des résultats collectifs, des contraintes doivent être imposées aux choix linguistiques de chacun. Entre autres, on doit empêcher chacun de produire des externalités négatives qui seront imposées aux communautés linguistiques. De là, nous avons défendu la séparation territoriale des communautés. Chaque communauté devrait pouvoir, si tel est son désir, imposer sa langue sur son territoire à l’intérieur de ses institutions. Cette solution est nécessaire afin de permettre une réalisation optimale des préférences de chacun. Nous avons terminé notre recherche en présentant une défense du principe d séparation territoriale des langues. Souvent critiquée, on lui a longtemps préféré le principe de personnalité, qui octroie des droits aux individus, peu importe le territoire sur lequel ils se trouvent. Nous avons tenté de démontrer que les critiques faites au principe de territorialité, qui octroie des droits selon le territoire, peu importe les individus qui s’y trouvent, étaient mal fondées et que le principe de personnalité posait aussi d sérieux problèmes. De plus, le principe de territorialité permet d’atteindre des objectifs, de réaliser des préférences, qui ne sont pas accessibles aux individus si l’on applique le principe d personnalité.

There have been good arguments made for the development of aggressive affirmative action policies with the end goal of quickly moving black South Africans into corporate and high ranks within management of organisations. One of the central arguments in favour of aggressive AA policies is the risk of racial polarization post-apartheid should a quick fix not be initiated. It makes good business and economic sense for AA policies to be implemented as black consumers coupled with black managers will have the eventual end point of lower unemployment and crime, through job creation and security of the representative majority.

This thesis is a quantitative study of distributive justice between generations or age groups. It is theoretically informed by a synchronic generation approach and John Rawls’s theory of justice-as-fairness. The empirical part compares the economic positions of, and public spending on, children, adults and the elderly in 16 European countries. The theoretical part is used as a platform for the empirical analysis. In addition to Rawls, a discussion of distributive justice includes the classical theories of Plato and Aristotle and more recent utilitarian, egalitarian and desert-based theories. The synchronic generation approach is presented and compared to diachronic approaches to studies of generational relations. The synchronic approach is theorized by scholars working in the tradition of the social studies of childhood. The chapter on methods identifies children, adults and the old by way of age brackets, it presents indicators of public spending and income, and it points out empirical applications of equality, equal opportunity and the difference principle. The techniques of analyses are presented; descriptive analysis and OLS regression. The explanatory variables vary, but in all cases include economic performance, age structure and a modified version of Esping-Andersen`s classification of welfare states (Social Democratic, Conservative, Liberal and Southern European). Six research questions are answered in the empirical part, using official statistics from Eurostat, OECD and Statistics Norway. Over the past few decades there is an extensive growth on spending on the elderly, but spending on family and children does not decline. Multivariate analyses indicate that the size of old age and family and child benefits vary across welfare regimes. The Social Democratic and Conservative welfare states are more egalitarian and have lower poverty rates compared to the Liberal and Southern European welfare states. These regime variances are also seen in multivariate analyses of child poverty and old age poverty. Risk factors for child poverty are parental unemployment, children living with single parents, young parents, ethnic parents, and low educated parents. A multivariate analysis points to a link between the size of family and child benefits and fertility rates. / Children`s welfare: money, time and space