Telecommuting is a significant workplace innovation that allows an increasing portion of the work force to work from home or work at a location remote from the central workplace at least one-day a week. Previous studies (Bélanger, 1999; Pinsonneault & Boisvert, 2001; Potter, 2003) have outlined that the reasons for the growth of this phenomenon are found in its perceived benefits for both the telecommuter and their employer: improved productivity, organizational loyalty and belonging, job satisfaction, savings of office space, increased flexibility, improved employee morale and employee retention and attraction. Telecommuting literature has provided models and theories about telecommuting concentrating mainly on the telecommuter's experiences and perspective. However, the ramifications of this practice have a broad range of potential impacts not only on the telecommuter, but also other parties in the work unit. Despite the tremendous growth in telecommuting, relatively few empirical studies (Duxbury & Neufield, 1999; Golden, 2007; Watson-Fritz, Narasimhan, and Rhee, 1998) have directly examined the creeping affect and effect of the telecommuting challenges on others in the work unit. Few studies (Bailey & Kurland, 2002; Cooper & Kurland, 2002; Golden, 2007; McCloskey & Igbaria, 2003) have investigated it from the non-telecommuters' perspective and how it affects their work outcomes and their attitudes More importantly, no earlier studies were found that had ever investigated the effects of the telecommuting arrangement on the non-telecommuter from the organizational justice perspective, and how this affects the non-telecommuter's job satisfaction. This study empirically examined the affects and effects of telecommuting on non-telecommuters, and within that context, examined the extent to which organizational justice perspectives affected job satisfaction. Major findings of the study revealed that : (a) the accessibility of the telecommuter is key, even if they are working offsite, (b) job type/position plays an important role in the selection process or in some non-telecommuters' decision to opt out of telecommuting, (c) there was lack of awareness of a formal telecommuting policy or understanding of how the policy was applied, (d) selection procedures can be biased and unfair, and (e) some non-telecommuters experienced envy and jealousy, frustration, resentment, anxiety, unfairness and anger towards telecommuting colleagues. The results of the study also revealed that interpersonal/interactional, and distributive justice both explained the statistically significant variance in non-telecommuters' job satisfaction. However, interpersonal/interactional justice (which focuses on the quality of interpersonal treatment individuals receive) explained a stronger statistically significant variance in the job satisfaction of non-telecommuters. / Ph. D.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether the separate contributors to procedural and distributive justice also affected the other form of justice. Previous research investigating these cross over effects of justice contributors had not examined inputs in addition to outcomes and procedures, and had typically assumed outcome level to be equivalent to the equitableness of outcomes. Subjects were 120 undergraduate psychology students. Outcomes, inputs and procedures were manipulated in a laboratory experiment in order to assess their independent and combined effects on distributive and procedural justice perceptions. In contrast to past research, the current study found a weak and inconsistent effect of procedures on distributive justice perceptions. Outcome level had a strong effect on both procedural and distributive justice perceptions. In addition, outcome fairness was found to effect procedural justice perceptions. When procedures were fair, the equitableness of outcomes influenced distributive justice ratings. When procedures were unfair, however, the equitableness of outcomes did not influence distributive justice judgements. Implications for procedural justice conceptualizations, equity theory and organizations are discussed. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether organizational practices' fairness (also known as organizational justice) and trustâ contribute to the enhancement of role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE), a form of proactive behavior. The sample consisted of 226 white-collar professionals in large and small organizations. Approximately 70% held a college degree. An a priori path model based on theoretical literature was generated to represent causal relationships among the variables. Two paths were explored: a) the relationship among procedural justice, trust in organization, and RBSE; and b) the relationship among interactional justice, trust in supervisor, and RBSE. Findings indicated a statistically significant relationship between procedural justice and trust in organization. The relationships between procedural justice and RBSE and trust in organization and RBSE were not significant. Interactional justice had a statistically significant relationship with trust in supervisor, but not with RBSE. The relationship between trust in supervisor and RBSE was not significant. Respondents expressed a strong trust in their organization, and a stronger trust in their immediate supervisor. The most important discovery in this study was the statistically significant relationship between education and RBSE. Individuals with graduate degrees reported the highest level of RBSE, followed by people with Bachelor's degrees. Globalization and technology are fueling demands for ever-increasing employee skills and higher levels of education. Organizations need highly educated, proactive individuals in order to be successful. Future research should continue to investigate variables and constructs that may enhance RBSE in the workplace. / Ph. D.

M. Tech. (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of organisational justice on job satisfaction among administrative staff members at a university of technology in South Africa. A critical function of the administrative staff at a university of technology is to ensure that all students and other staff members are assisted as effectively and efficiently as possible. Administrative staff at a university of technology in South Africa needs to be committed and have a high morale to ensure that the vision of the University of Technology is fulfilled. This study promotes the application of the Equity Theory. People prefer to work in an environment that is perceived as just. Employees will experience satisfaction with their job in terms of Equity when the Equity Theory is applied fairly. However, inequity will lead to tension at the workplace. In order for the administrative staff at a university of technology in South Africa to function effectively, it is essential for a university of technology to ensure that their administrative staff is satisfied. In this study, a quantitative approach was undertaken to gain an understanding of the perception of organisational justice and its dimensions on job satisfaction. This involved distributing questionnaires to 200 administrative staff at a university of technology in South Africa. Two primary tests were used to assess the suitability of the data for factor analysis. These tests are the Kaiser-Meyer Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlations among the constructs. A means analysis was conducted to assess the perceptions of the employeesin respect of distributive justice, procedural justice, interactional justice and job satisfaction. Regression analysis was executed to examine whether the independent variables of distributive justice, procedural justice and interactional justice predict the dependent variable job satisfaction. The Cronbach alpha coefficient test provided an adequate indication of reliability of the instrument. Face/content, construct and convergent validity methods were applied to establish validity of the study. A positive relationship between organisational justice and job satisfaction was found in this study. The administrative staff will be able to improve the job satisfaction levels of other administrative staff by making positive improvements when applying organisational justice to influence the various elements of job satisfaction identified in this study. This will effectively enable administrative staff to meet the challenge of providing improved service. The proper implementation of organisational justice will, ultimately, lead to the organisations’ success, as well as the progression of its employees. Since a university of technology depends on human resources, the organisation is required to assess the current organisational justice practices and create a working environment that stimulates and motivates employees so that their job satisfaction levels increase. The recommendations proposed for this study offer vital information on organisational justice practices that could assist a university of technology to improve the perceptions of administrative staff. Accordingly, the application can improve employees’ low morale resulting from perceived unfairness and injustice, thereby increasing the job satisfaction levels among administrative staff. The findings of the research may generate guidelines for organisational justice practices. Recommendations include a systematic and transparent reward system that recognises employees’ excellent performance and rewards them accordingly. Another recommendation is the creation of a well-structured consultative forum to grant employees an opportunity to provide management with their perceptions of unfair practices. Future research should extend to other sectors within the public sector environment, as well as expanding the research to include several other job satisfactionelements. Further, research using both mediation and moderation to investigate the associations between organisational justice and job satisfaction is recommended.

The study makes a descriptive and analytical study of the development of the dynamic concept of the rule of law with special reference to the African contribution. First, the study shows that the Diceyan concept of the rule of law was narrow and peculiar to the Western liberal legal culture, and that more specifically, the substantive content of the concept of the rule of law was limited to the first generation of human rights. In its international and African context the concept was expanded to include all three generations of human rights and also identified with the concepts of democracy and the right of peoples and nations to self-determination. The expanded concept came to be known as the Dynamic Concept of the rule of law. Secondly, the study traces the origins and development of the principle of equal rights and self-determination and their extension to all peoples and nations and shows that these rights are universal, not relative, as they derive from the inherent worth and dignity of the individual. Also, the study shows that in the African context the three generations of human rights have been interlinked, made inter-dependent, and then identified with the rule of law, human rights and the right of self-determination (perceived as a right to democratic self-governance). Hence, the worth and dignity of the human personality has been made the fountainhead of human rights and have been elevated to the substantive elements of the Dynamic Concept of the rule of law and the basis of the modern African Constitutional State. Under the Colonial Rule both the Diceyan and the dynamic concept of the rule of law were not recognised. Instead, Colonial and racist regimes tried to create alternative institutions of government which denied the oppressed peoples the right to democratic self-governance and independence. However, Colonial and oppressed peoples relied on the dynamic concept of the rule of law in their freedom struggles and in the elaboration of their policies. Hence, the constitutions of all the former colonies in southern Africa under discussion were to different degrees informed by the Dynamic Concept of the rule of law. / Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law / LL.D

In recent decades the European Union has moved from a multilateral treaty to a distinctive social, political, and economic order among European states. During the same period political philosophers have increasingly turned their attention to questions of justice beyond the state. But their discussions have largely focused on global justice, and have paid relatively little attention to the distinctive moral and political questions raised by the emergence of a new type of order among European states. This thesis fills this lacuna, by developing a conception of ‘social democratic’ or ‘egalitarian’ social justice for the specific institutional arrangements of the EU. In Chapters one through three, I delineate a general conception of ‘pluralist egalitarianism’, the view that we have a variety of grounds for endorsing equality-inclined economic institutions domestically. Direct egalitarian arguments stress the internal requirements of institutional fairness to which basic economic institutions are subject. Indirect egalitarian arguments favour egalitarian economic outcomes based on concerns of social equality. I further differentiate between a transnationalist and an internationalist position. Direct transnationalist arguments stress the EU’s similarity to domestic institutions and derive egalitarian economic requirements for the EU as a whole. Indirect transnationalists argue that EU citizens stand in a distinctive kind of relationship such that the value of social equality has purchase amongst them, and social equality requires a limitation on economic inequalities at the EU level. By contrast, internationalists insist on the continuing importance of national self-determination. However, they endorse more substantive economic institutions at the EU level to protect existing social democratic welfare state arrangements. In chapter four to seven, I assess the extent to which each of these arguments can support a more egalitarian organisation of basic economic institutions at the EU level. Finally, I offer one practical proposal that would help the EU to realise the social democratic vision I have defended. This is the idea of an EU social minimum. I explain how such a social minimum would be conceived and implemented, and I demonstrate why transnationalists and internationalists should endorse such a policy.

This dissertation aims to defend an egalitarian conception of global distributive justice. Many hold that the scope of egalitarian justice should be defined by membership of a single political community but my dissertation will challenge this view. I begin by considering three distinctive arguments against the ideal of global equality. They maintain that egalitarian obligations of justice apply only to those people who are subject to the same sovereign authority which coerces them to abide by its rules; or to those who contribute to the preservation of each other’s autonomy through collectively sustaining a state; or to those who belong to the same nation. The first three chapters deal with these arguments respectively. Central to these arguments is the assumption that the domestic and the global contexts are different in some morally relevant way so egalitarian principles of justice apply to the former but not the latter. After rebutting these anti-egalitarian arguments I turn to the more constructive task of developing a form of global egalitarianism that is grounded in the value of equality as a normative ideal of how human relations should be conducted. I argue in Chapter 4 that relational equality—that is, standing in relations of equality to one another (rather than relations characterized by domination or exploitation)—is a demand of justice in the global context. This ideal of relational equality has distributive implications. In Chapter 5 I try to spell out these implications by defending a set of principles of global distributive justice that would follow from our commitment to global relational equality. In the sixth and final chapter, I discuss what responsibilities we have in relation to global injustice, how to distribute the burdens associated with these responsibilities, and whether they are excessively demanding on complying agents.

Thesis advisor: James Keenan / Environmental conservation is a pressing issue for modern humans. Health care systems and the consumption of medical goods should therefore be assessed in light of environmental sustainability. While the primary focus of environmental bioethics has been hospitals and health care facilities, ethicists must also address the offerings of the medical industry going forward. My dissertation proposes four principles to assess the environmental sustainability of current and future medical developments, techniques, and procedures. The four principles of green bioethics are: 1. General allocation of resources should precede special interest access: distributive justice 2. Current human needs over current human wants: environmental conservation 3. Simplicity before complexity: reducing dependence on medical intervention 4. The common good should drive health care instead of financial profit: ethical economics. The four principles of green bioethics will move environmental bioethics into the 21st century in a responsible and sustainable manner. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

A presente tese de doutorado propõe-se a viabilizar um estudo comparativo entre as políticas públicas voltadas à inclusão social, particularmente, aquelas denominadas de ações afirmativas em dois países da América Latina: Brasil e México. Por meio de metodologia comparativa e adotando-se uma metodologia de cunho interdisciplinar, bem como de abordagem dos processos históricos desses países, e análise das bases de construção de suas sociedades, delimitando-se, especificamente, a presente pesquisa dessas políticas nos países Brasil e México. A investigação foca-se na situação de grupos discriminados por questões de raça e/ou etnia; e que, como consequência disso, situam-se à margem do direito social, fundamental para o pleno exercício da cidadania a educação. Analisa-se a questão conceitual, teórica e empírica da implantação das políticas públicas de inclusão social sob a modalidade de ações afirmativas, caracterizando sua finalidade, elementos e conteúdos. Apresenta-se um breve histórico da implantação dessas políticas no contexto norte-americano, onde, aliás, essas políticas têm seu nascedouro. Analisa-se comparativamente a validade e a pertinência da adoção dessas políticas e a necessidade de maior permuta internacional, que tenha por objetivo a integração e o estudo comparativo das políticas públicas de ações afirmativas. O trabalho indica e propõe questões que devem ser levadas em conta na intervenção do Estado para garantir, de maneira substancial, o princípio da igualdade de oportunidades. Defende-se a tese do multiculturalismo e da justiça distributiva como fundamento das políticas públicas de ações afirmativas nos países analisados. / The Doctoral thesis herein is proposed to present a comparative study amongst the public policies aimed at social inclusion, particularly those known as affirmative actions, in two Latin American countries: Brazil and Mexico. The delimitation of this research is established by the analysis of same policies aforementioned countries, through comparative methodology and of interdisciplinary nature, as well as through the approach on their historical and normative processes and the analysis of the foundations of their societies. The research is focused on the situation of groups that are discriminated due to racial and/or etnia issues and, as a consequence, they are deprived of their social rights which guarantee them the full exercise of citizenship education. Analyses the conceptual issue regarding public policies for social inclusion under the way of affirmative actions by characterizing their purpose, components, contents, and species. It also presents a brief historical of the implant of such policies in the North American context, where, by the way, they were born. Analyses the public policies issue of affirmative actions. Presents a case study on the implement of these policies both in Brazilian and in Mexican universities. Analyses, in a comparative way, the validity and relevance of adopting these policies and the necessity for a broader international exchange having as an objective the integration and the comparative study of the public policies of affirmative actions. This study indicates and proposes issues that must be taken into account regarding the State and Societys interventions in order to guarantee, in a substantial manner, the principle of equality of opportunities, through the implement of these policies for social inclusion. Finally, the study defends the thesis of multiculturalism and distributive justice as the foundation of the public policies of affirmative actions in the under countries analysis.

A presente tese de doutorado propõe-se a viabilizar um estudo comparativo entre as políticas públicas voltadas à inclusão social, particularmente, aquelas denominadas de ações afirmativas em dois países da América Latina: Brasil e México. Por meio de metodologia comparativa e adotando-se uma metodologia de cunho interdisciplinar, bem como de abordagem dos processos históricos desses países, e análise das bases de construção de suas sociedades, delimitando-se, especificamente, a presente pesquisa dessas políticas nos países Brasil e México. A investigação foca-se na situação de grupos discriminados por questões de raça e/ou etnia; e que, como consequência disso, situam-se à margem do direito social, fundamental para o pleno exercício da cidadania a educação. Analisa-se a questão conceitual, teórica e empírica da implantação das políticas públicas de inclusão social sob a modalidade de ações afirmativas, caracterizando sua finalidade, elementos e conteúdos. Apresenta-se um breve histórico da implantação dessas políticas no contexto norte-americano, onde, aliás, essas políticas têm seu nascedouro. Analisa-se comparativamente a validade e a pertinência da adoção dessas políticas e a necessidade de maior permuta internacional, que tenha por objetivo a integração e o estudo comparativo das políticas públicas de ações afirmativas. O trabalho indica e propõe questões que devem ser levadas em conta na intervenção do Estado para garantir, de maneira substancial, o princípio da igualdade de oportunidades. Defende-se a tese do multiculturalismo e da justiça distributiva como fundamento das políticas públicas de ações afirmativas nos países analisados. / The Doctoral thesis herein is proposed to present a comparative study amongst the public policies aimed at social inclusion, particularly those known as affirmative actions, in two Latin American countries: Brazil and Mexico. The delimitation of this research is established by the analysis of same policies aforementioned countries, through comparative methodology and of interdisciplinary nature, as well as through the approach on their historical and normative processes and the analysis of the foundations of their societies. The research is focused on the situation of groups that are discriminated due to racial and/or etnia issues and, as a consequence, they are deprived of their social rights which guarantee them the full exercise of citizenship education. Analyses the conceptual issue regarding public policies for social inclusion under the way of affirmative actions by characterizing their purpose, components, contents, and species. It also presents a brief historical of the implant of such policies in the North American context, where, by the way, they were born. Analyses the public policies issue of affirmative actions. Presents a case study on the implement of these policies both in Brazilian and in Mexican universities. Analyses, in a comparative way, the validity and relevance of adopting these policies and the necessity for a broader international exchange having as an objective the integration and the comparative study of the public policies of affirmative actions. This study indicates and proposes issues that must be taken into account regarding the State and Societys interventions in order to guarantee, in a substantial manner, the principle of equality of opportunities, through the implement of these policies for social inclusion. Finally, the study defends the thesis of multiculturalism and distributive justice as the foundation of the public policies of affirmative actions in the under countries analysis.