Thesis advisor: James F. Keenan / The United States penal system, fragmented by contradictory impulses toward retribution and incapacitation, is in need of coherent objectives for its prisons and jails. This dissertation draws upon the resources of virtue ethics to suggest a new model of justice, one which claims that a Christian theological framework can offer insight for public correctional institutions. In developing a model of justice as virtue, I incorporate rehabilitative goals and contributions from restorative justice. Advancing beyond these foundations, I draw upon two key sources. First, from a study of virtue and justice in the work of Thomas Aquinas, I argue that the virtue of legal justice - an orientation toward the common good - is the fundamental lens for understanding punishment. The prison can only cultivate justice to the extent that it empowers moral agency and (re-)orients offenders toward right relationship with the community. Second, an inclusive, restorative account of biblical justice - developed particularly from Isaiah, the Psalms, and the New Testament - establishes justice as a saving intervention. Thus, punishment can be a legitimate means but is not constitutive of justice itself. Despite its necessary limitations, the prison must empower the moral agency of inmates through just action, reformulate the role and practices of correctional staff, and facilitate just relationships between offenders and their communities and families. Furthermore, prisons themselves can be understood as moral agents that bear responsibility for cultivating justice in society. For the United States prison, a model of justice as virtue mandates unremitting efforts to transform offenders and the larger community into just moral agents. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Converting individual knowledge into organizational knowledge can be difficult because individuals refuse to share knowledge for a number of different reasons. Creating an atmosphere of fairness plays an important role in the creation of a knowledge-sharing climate. This dissertation proposes that perceptions of organizational justice are crucial building blocks of that environment, leading to knowledge sharing. Data was collected using a field survey of IT managers representing a broad spectrum of the population in terms of organizational size and industry classification. The survey instrument was developed based on the adaptation of previously validated scales in addition to new items where no existing measures were found. Hypotheses regarding the influence of distributional, procedural, and interactional justice on knowledge sharing processes were tested using structural equation modeling techniques. Based on the theory of reasoned action, which states that attitudes and subjective norms are the major determinants of a person's intention, the hypotheses examining the relationship between attitude toward knowledge sharing, subjective norm and the intention to share knowledge were supported. However, results did not support the hypothesis exploring the relationship between the organizational climate and the intention to share knowledge. The results show that all three types of justice constructs are statistically significant antecedents of organizational climate and interactional justice is an antecedent of an attitude toward knowledge sharing. The study attempts to merge streams of research from sociology and organizational behavior by investigating organizational justice and knowledge management. It contributes to theory by the development of the survey instrument, comprised of seven constructs that were developed by incorporating multiple theories to address various aspects of knowledge sharing and provide application to practice and research. It is relevant to IT managers who need to know how to design information systems that are most effective in distributing knowledge throughout organizations.

Cette thèse porte sur l’atrocité du crime de parricide dans la culture pénale de la modernité que reconfigurent les Lumières libérales du droit de punir après 1750. Entre la doctrine criminelle et les pratiques judiciaires du parlement de Paris – la plus haute cour d’appel du royaume au XVIIIe siècle –, se nouent des relations dialectiques fondamentales qui structurent ce travail. Dès la Renaissance, les traités criminels définissent le crime à partir de l’acception juridique étendue que lui confère la législation pénale romaine. Le parricidium s’étend à l’homicide d’un parent jusqu’au quatrième degré. La nature familiale du crime définit son atrocité juridique. Amplifiant l’horreur attachée aux transgressions de l’autorité paternelle, le parricide qualifie aussi toute atteinte à la personne sacrée du roi « père de son peuple ». Contaminé par la catégorie de la lèse-majesté, le crime atroce encourt la rigueur suppliciaire de châtiments extrêmes (démembrement du parricide royal, roue et poing coupé du parricide domestique). Des excès à l’empoisonnement, des cousins aux père et mère, du parricide familial au parricide du roi : dans les pratiques judiciaires du parlement de Paris (1694-1780), la diversité des faits et des parents relevant du parricide domine. La rigueur punitive s’efface pourtant devant l’atténuation du crime atroce. La majorité des accusés sont élargis au bénéfice du doute voire exonérés du dernier supplice en cas de folie. L’atténuation globale s’accompagne, dans le même temps, d’un processus d’aggravation pénale ultra restrictive, lequel s’intensifie après 1750. Dans l’arbitraire de leurs pouvoirs pénaux, les magistrats du Palais réservent la qualification pénale du parricide à l’assassinat d’un ascendant au premier degré. Le « véritable parricide » se voit reconfiguré dans la culture pénale d’Ancien Régime annonçant les codifications pénales révolutionnaires de 1791 et de 1810. / The main of this PH dissertation is to study the “parricide” as an atrocious crime in the penal culture during the liberalEnlightenment, and notably after 1750. Criminal doctrine and Parlement de Paris’s judicial practices help to build thetopics and research problem about legal punishment to this vicious offense. From Renaissance, legal treatises broadlydefine this crime in the legacy of Roman Law. Parricidium means killing a relative to the fourth degree by blood.Criminal atrocity is determined by family links. Moreover, parricide also means a crime committed against the sacredperson of king. Major criminal offence (“lèse-majesté”), the regicide is punished with extreme torments as thequartering of the body. Accordingly, the common parricide is punished by hand cutting off. Physical abuse, poisoning,cousins, father, mother and king’s parricide: in judicial practices of Parlement de Paris (1694-1780), many are thecases and parents involved in a criminal trial for “parricide”. However, penal moderation prevails quantitatively overextreme repression. In majority of cases, defendants are liberated and, if they are insane, declared non punishable. After1750, general temperance is combined with a more and increasing severity concentrated on a relative to the first degreeby blood (“ assassinat d’un ascendant au premier degré ”). The “ geniune parricide ”, so restored by this study to itsepistemological centrality of Enlightenment penal culture, gives way to the penal codification (1791, 1810), which endsthe Ancien Régime of crime and punishments.

This thesis lies in the overlap of environmental political theory and environmental ethics. More specifically, it focuses on the intersection between distributive ecological justice (justice to nature), and environmental justice (distributing environmental goods between humans). Against the backdrop of the current sixth extinction crisis, I address the question of what constitutes a just usage of ecological space. I define ecological space as encompassing environmental resources, benefits provided by ecosystems and physical spaces and when considering its just usage I not only take into account claims to ecological space held by other humans but also the demands of justice with regards to nonhuman living beings such as animals and plants. In order to address my overall research question, I look at three areas of inquiry in particular. My first area of concern is questions around how environmental justice can be made compatible with a theory of ecological justice. Here I defend a specific definition of ecological space and provide a critique of theories of justice that are based on the view that humanity has an original ownership of the Earth. Secondly, I defend a biocentric approach to distributive ecological justice based on all living beings constituting together a community of fate, and I additionally clarify the relationship between justice and biodiversity loss. Lastly, considering that the current situation of life on Earth does not resemble the circumstance of moderate scarcity where all needs could theoretically be met (as usually assumed by the most influential theories of justice), I inquire into how demands of environmental and ecological justice differ in different circumstances of scarcity, and what could be considered a just compromise between these two domains of justice. I then apply these last considerations to the Half-Earth proposal for creating large protected areas for nonhuman species, which has been advocated by E. O. Wilson and other ecologists as a means to slow the current rate of anthropogenic species extinctions. In essence, the Half-Earth proposal might be ambitious, but I argue there are good reasons to consider it as one building block of a (distributively) just future for life on Earth.

How individuals form justice perceptions has been a fundamental question in justice research. While most justice researchers treat justice perceptions as results of deliberate cognitive process, very few studies examined the role of affect in justice perception formation. Among these studies, most of them perceive affect as outcomes of justice; others investigating the predicting role of affect in justice perceptions were far from enough, either due to lack of solid theoretical foundation or due to the limitation of methodology. Based on the Affect Infusion Model, this dissertation focused on exploring the predicting role of affect in justice perception formation and three moderating contextual factors, including personal relevance, emotional control, and group context. A pilot study and two experimental studies, with both student sample and employee sample, were conducted. Structural equation modeling, ANOVA and regression were employed to test the hypotheses. / Results showed that people in positive affective states perceived higher distributive justice, procedural justice, interpersonal justice, and informational justice than their counterparts in negative affective states. Moreover, personal relevance moderated the relationships between affect and distributive justice and procedural justice so that the relationships above were enhanced as personal relevance increased. It is also suggested that individuals constrained the influence of their affect on procedural justice in group context, compared to the case when they make individual judgment. Surprisingly, the moderating effect of emotional control was not found as predicted. Results, implications, limitations as well as future directions were discussed. / Mao, Yina. / Adviser: C.S. Wong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-04, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-133). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

Partant des travaux existants sur la notion de dispositif, cette thèse propose une conceptualisation sociologique de celle-Ci. La caractérisation obtenue est appliquée à un dispositif d'intervention sociale dans la sphère privée. Ce dispositif, l'« espace de rencontre », est dédié aux parents dont la séparation ou le divorce sont conflictuels et son recours est majoritairement l'initiative d'une autorité juridique. Il est conçu pour être un lieu dans lequel le droit de visite du parent non hébergeant auprès des enfants est exercé dans un cadre extérieur aux domiciles respectifs des deux parents. Les intervenants, principalement psychologues et éducateurs de formation, accompagnent les parents vers le comportement attendu : l'investissement ensemble dans l'éducation de l'enfant et une organisation autonome du droit de visite. A partir de l'enquête empirique réalisée en Hongrie (2007-2009) et en France (2009-2011), cette thèse reconstitue l'émergence de ce dispositif dans des contextes socio-Historiques différents. Elle analyse ensuite le travail qui s'y effectue, à savoir l'incitation des parents à résoudre eux-Mêmes les difficultés qu'ils rencontrent, ceci sans contrepartie financière et alors même qu'ils ne sont pas officiellement qualifiés de déviants : les intervenants rationalisent la relation afin d'amener les parents à gérer leurs émotions. Les situations à la marge, à savoir les parents de cultures différentes, les cas de violence domestique et de suspicion de pédophilie, illustrent le processus de normalisation à l’œuvre dans le dispositif pour l'ensemble des parents et des enfants. Il apparaît que l'activité de ces lieux a pour objectif d'agir sur la subjectivité en devenir des enfants. En effet, les États sociaux français et hongrois considèrent que le parent-Visiteur est une ressource pour l'autonomie du futur adulte et qu'à ce titre, le maintien du lien est une mesure de prévention à une éventuelle précarité socio-Économique de ces futurs adultes. / Based on the state of the art on the notion of « dispositif », this thesis offers to map it as a sociological concept. This characterization is then applied to a social service which intervenes in the private sphere. This dispositif, child access services, addresses parents whose separation or divorce is a source of conflicts. Parents are mostly sent by a judicial authorities. It is conceived to be a place where the non guardian parent can practice his visitation rights outside of both parents homes. The workers, mainly trained psychologists and educators, guide the parents towards the expected behavior : common commitment to the education of the child and independent organization of child visitations. From the collection of empirical data in Hungary (2007-2009) and France (2009-2011), this thesis rebuilds the genesis of the dispositif in those different socio-Historical contexts. It then analyses the work which is accomplished within the dispositif, that is the incitement to self-Resolve the difficulties encountered, knowing that the parents do not receive any financial help from the service neither are they qualified as deviants : the workers rationalize the relationship in order to bring the parents to manage their emotions. Marginal situations, which are parents of different cultures, cases of domestic violence and suspicions of pedophilia, illustrate the process of normalization happening within the dispositif for all parents and children. It appears that the aim of the service activity is to act on the evolving subjectivity of children. In fact, the French and Hungarian social States consider that the visiting parent is a resource for the future adult's autonomy. For that reason, maintaining the relationship is a prevention measure for the eventual socio-Economical vulnerability of those future adults.

Mental health services provided through the Youth Offending Service (YOS) are inadequate to meet the needs of young offenders. The differing viewpoints of mental health and criminal justice are not incompatible, but require consideration in terms of how to work together. This has not occurred within youth justice, and there are tensions between the YOS and CAMHS. If the YOS structure better allowed for social justice approaches to occur within practice, these tensions could be avoided and the needs of young people better met. This research looked at the ways in which provision of mental health services impacts upon social justice within the YOS. A case study was constructed looking in detail at mental health provision, the challenges faced by mental health workers and their ability to overcome these problems. Mental health workers and managers within the YOS were interviewed to construct the case study. From this a number of issues were identified within practice that impact upon social justice, and how some youth offending teams had overcome them. From this both long and short-term suggestions and strategies for practice have been created to improve levels of social justice within youth justice practice.

The thesis addresses the problematic of the relationship between Christian love and justice as it regards political structures and institutions. In doing so we hope contribute to a better understanding of the relationship that ought to pertain between the Christian church and political authorities. We make a distinction within the concept of justice, distinguishing between a more general loving justice and temporal justice which belongs specifically to political authorities and is reactive to loving justice. We argue that it cannot be maintained that love simply becomes temporal justice, in the sense that the justice of temporal authorities should be the same as the loving justice Christians proclaim and hope for. Neither is there the opposite, a peaceful boundary between love and temporal justice. This is because there is another criterion for the interrelationship between love and justice to be deduced from what will be established in the thesis. Temporal justice is the space created that allows love to be actualized. The nature and limits of this interaction between love and temporal justice will be explained and the spaces of temporal justice argued to be neither negative nor positive but rather suggestive. The thesis provides a descriptive framework for how the interaction between love and temporal justice takes place and posits the criteria that should guide political action and political judgment. The entire argument of the thesis is substantiated by conversation with certain key interlocutors who are all participants in a broader conversation that is defined in the thesis.

This thesis uses empirical data to explore criminal justice social workers’ experience of ‘ethical stress,’ which is the discomfort experienced by workers when they cannot achieve value/behaviour congruence in their practice. The research was operationalised via questionnaires distributed to criminal justice social workers in four Scottish local authorities, from which both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. From the data, it appears that the more risk averse a workplace is perceived to be, and the less value-based the ethical climate is judged to be, the more ethical stress will be experienced. The approach to working with offenders, however, seems not to have a direct effect on ethical stress experienced. Rather, workers are very clear that public protection/risk work takes priority and this only becomes a source of stress when the ethical climate is such that any additional welfare, helping work the social worker is inclined to undertake, is thwarted. A worker’s experience of ethical stress may depend upon where they work, as levels vary significantly between local authorities, as do perceptions of ethical climate. Approaches taken to risk and to working with offenders, however, do not vary between local authorities, probably because of the strength of influence from government. A model of ethical stress in criminal justice social work (CJSW) is ultimately suggested, highlighting the connections and influences above, and depicting the important role of the senior social worker. Finally, significant differences on all variables were found between older, more experienced workers and younger, less experienced workers who appear to be happier with a ‘new penological’ approach to the management of (as opposed to engagement with) offenders. Less experienced workers seem to accept, more uncritically, the prioritisation of public protection and reduced autonomy and, although they do experience ethical stress when value based practice is impeded and risk aversion prevails, it is experienced to a significantly lesser degree. The culmination of these differences may well cast doubt upon CJSW’s continuing commitment to social work values.

The dissertation employs insights from critical race theory and the environmental justice literature, questioning the sustainability of dominant state policies concerning development of informal settlements. The work explores spatialized and racialised forms of class and their normalisation in South Africa. Discussion of the rise and redefinition of urban segregation in South Africa notes racialised exclusions have not disappeared with the end of apartheid. Economic supremacy of ‘white’ populations reproduces ‘white’ control – with dirt, crime and disorder constitutive of the pathological spaces of the ‘other’. Second part examines the role of environmental ideas in reproducing ‘white’ spaces of privilege and ‘black’ spaces of degradation. Discussing neo-liberal development, sustainable development and ecological justice in South Africa – the dissertation shows service delivery and housing policy to possess similarities to apartheid projects – with weaknesses of the dominant model failing the requirements of environmental justice. The case study which follows examines a contemporary attempt to relocate an informal settlement sited in an affluent neighbourhood through ‘greenfields’ housing development, revealing environments as contested, with spatial subjugation dramatic and ongoing.