This thesis deals with motives of the South Africa's inclusion to BRIC countries and examines the impact of this inclusion on South Africa. It explores the question whether South Africa "deserves" the inclusion to BRIC countries and what characteristics connect it with these economies. The thesis also analyzes the BRICS bloc, the current situation in these economies, their cooperation and performing on the global scene.

Student Number : 0311005K - MA dissertation - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / In this paper I track the work of Alvin Goldman, the American epistemologist, from 1979 to 1992 to assess its adequacy as a theory of justified belief. Many philosophers have pointed out that the theory faces problems, the three most important of which I consider. The first is the “clairvoyance problem.” In this case we intuitively deny the status of “justified” to certain beliefs produced by the reliable process of clairvoyance. This indicates that reliable belief formation is not sufficient for justification. The “generality problem,” the second problem, concerns the correct identification and description of the process forming each belief. If the process cannot be identified, then no assessment can be made of a belief’s epistemic status. Moreover, if the process is described too narrowly such that each process only has one output belief, then all true beliefs will be “justified” and all false beliefs “unjustified,” an unacceptable result. If the process is described too broadly then all output beliefs of that process will share an equal epistemic status, also an unacceptable result. Finally, it is possible to challenge the necessity of reliable formation for justification using the case of a cognizer in an evil demon world such that his unreliable visual beliefs are intuitively “justified” since those beliefs are produced by the same reliable processes in our world where they produce justified beliefs. I defend Goldman against these challenges by elucidating subtleties in Goldman’s work that answer these problems and by adding three necessary conditions to his theory. I argue that by modifying Goldman’s early work and rejecting parts of his later work, we can formulate a version of his theory that counts as an adequate theory of justified belief immune to the foregoing problems.

L'objet du présent mémoire est d'effectuer une comparaison historique de deux systèmes épistémologiques comportant un aspect externaliste. Les deux philosophes mis à l'étude sont Thomas Reid, Écossais ayant vécu au 18e siècle, et Alvin Goldman, professeur et chercheur américain contemporain travaillant sur l'épistémologie et la psychologie. Ce dernier a développé une analyse de la connaissance qu'on qualifie d'externaliste. Selon cette position, on considère généralement qu'une croyance vraie s'élève au titre de connaissance si elle a été causée de manière adéquate par le fait qui la rend vraie. La croyance n'est alors plus validée de l'intérieur, par la réflexion du sujet, mais bien de l'extérieur, par les faits du monde. Notre thèse est que bien qu'il ait vécu bien avant l'arrivée de ce type de position, Thomas Reid a développé une épistémologie contenant des traces bien similaires à celle de Goldman. Nous soulèverons les points de similitude et tenterons de déterminer si on peut interpréter la philosophie de Reid comme une sorte de fiabilisme, type d'externalisme postulé par Goldman. Nous affirmons que cela est possible et nous en faisons la démonstration dans ce mémoire. Ce type de lecture historique n'est pas sans problème. Il nous faudra aussi résoudre une multitude de problèmes, tant historiques, en ce qui concerne Reid, que théoriques, pour ce qui est du fiabilisme de Goldman. Le travail se fera en trois temps : l'exposition de la thèse de Reid et des traces d'externalisme s'y retrouvant; l'exposition de la thèse de Goldman et les liens possibles avec celle de Reid; enfin, l'exposition et l'évaluation d'interprétations concurrentes à la nôtre. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Épistémologie, Externalisme, Internalisme, Fiabilisme, Thomas Reid, Alvin Goldman

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Submitted by Marilene Donadel (marilene.donadel@unioeste.br) on 2018-11-22T16:21:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Francioli_Bagatin_2018.pdf: 1289252 bytes, checksum: ed1cdbc7d6aedbc85c9897f72481191a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-22T16:21:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Francioli_Bagatin_2018.pdf: 1289252 bytes, checksum: ed1cdbc7d6aedbc85c9897f72481191a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The mainstream of Political Science is composed of a homogeneous group of men, European, white and heterosexual, raised to the category of "classics" of this field as if they were the only human beings who were interested in think about politics. Are there women whose political thinking might be considered relevant to Political Science? Emma Goldman, a militant and anarchist, published several texts about politics, developing a thought in which she reflected on the relations between individual, state and society. Did she produces consistent political thinking about such issues and deserve to stand alongside of the "classics" of political science? To answer this question, we apply the "social contextualism" method - developed by Neal Wood and Ellen Meiksins Wood - for two main reasons. First, because it makes it possible to show that all political thinkers were also partisans in the social conflict of the period in which they lived and wrote – the fact that Emma Goldman is openly anarchist and feminist does not invalidate her chances of being considered a "thinker" of politics. Second, it allows us to understand how the ideas of an author are organically linked to the social context in which he lived and wrote - in the case of the "classics" of political science, this shows that they were also "partisans" engaged in the political conflict of its time, but that does not invalidate its importance for the understanding about "politics". In Emma Goldman's case it is a question of "inserting" her writings in the social context in which they were produced to analyze the extent that her reflections on politics - which are "marked" by her experiences - could constitute a political thought that is able to do a rational reflection and consistent approach to "politics". Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and discuss "if" besides being clearly "partisan" - anarchist and feminist - she was also a political thinker. With this aim, we show how she reflected about concepts considered relevant to Political Science - State, Power, Politics and Government - and also how she showed that other themes - love, marriage, maternity, abortion and homosexuality, among others - are also "political", because they are bound to the way that social relations are organized and normalized, in other word, how ways of living and loving, that are part of social and political "conflict", become object of political institutionalization by the State. / O cânone da Ciência Política é composto por um grupo homogêneo de homens, europeus, brancos e heterossexuais, alçados à categoria de “clássicos” desta disciplina como se fossem os únicos seres humanos que se interessaram pela reflexão acerca da política. Será que existem mulheres cujo pensamento político poderia ser considerado relevante para a Ciência Política? Emma Goldman, militante e anarquista, publicou diversos textos sobre política, desenvolvendo um pensamento no qual refletiu sobre as relações entre indivíduo, Estado e sociedade. Será que ela produziu um pensamento político consistente acerca de tais questões e mereceria figurar ao lado dos “clássicos” da política? Para responder essa questão, aplicamos o método do “contextualismo social” – desenvolvido pela parceria de Neal Wood e Ellen Meiksins Wood – por dois motivos principais. Primeiro, porque possibilita mostrar que todos os pensadores e teóricos da política eram, também, partidários no conflito social do período em que viveram e escreveram – logo, o fato de Emma Goldman ser abertamente anarquista e feminista não invalida suas chances de ser considerada uma “pensadora” da política. Segundo, porque permite compreender como as ideias de um autor ou autora estão organicamente ligadas ao contexto social em que viveu e escreveu – no caso dos “clássicos” da política, isso mostra que eram também “partidários” engajados no conflito político de seu tempo, mas que isso não invalida sua importância para a compreensão da “política”. No caso de Emma Goldman trata-se de “inserir” suas obras no contexto social em que foram produzidas para analisar em que medida suas reflexões sobre a política – que estão “marcadas” por suas experiências – poderiam constituir um pensamento político que inclui uma reflexão racional e consistente sobre a “política”. Portanto, cabe analisar e discutir “se” além de claramente “partidária” – anarquista e feminista – ela era também foi uma pensadora política. Com esse objetivo, mostramos como ela refletiu sobre conceitos considerados relevantes para a Ciência Política – Estado, Poder, Política e Governo – e também como mostrou que outros temas – amor, casamento, maternidade, aborto e homossexualidade, entre outros – são também “políticos”, pois estão vinculados ao modo como as relações sociais são organizadas e normatizadas, ou seja, como modos de viver e amar que são fruto de “conflito” social e político tornam-se alvo de institucionalização política pelo Estado.

This essay examines the connection between children's religiosity and their cognitivedevelopment and what impact this has on how children understand religious conceptssuch as God and Bible stories. The problem formulation of this thesis is how doeschildren’s cognitive understanding affect their perception of christian God and Biblestories, according to religious psychological theories with cognitive development as afocal point. To try to answer this problem formulation, the working questions are focusedon children's cognitive development, their understanding of the concept of God and whatpossibilities or limitations children's cognitive understanding give to their understandingof biblical stories.This is a comparative study that compares four different theories on psychology ofreligion, to form an understanding of the view of children's cognitive religiousdevelopment. These theories are developed by Ronald Goldman, David Elkind, James WFowler and Justin L Barrett.The result of the analys on the cognitive development are organized into four differentstages to make it easier for the reader to understand. The most interesting find about thecognitive development is that all the theories agree on that around the age of 12, childrenhave the cognitive ability to understand religion and God at the same level as a grown up.This is also one of the biggest possibilities the theories give on children’s understandingof biblical stories.The discussion in the essay focuses on three points: natural theology, the concept of Godand problematic studies. Are children born religious or do they become so? Is it biologicalor sociological factors that create religiosity? Is there a difference between understandingGod and understanding God's theological significance? This essay answers manyinteresting questions, but also creates new possibilities in expanding the subject.

The Church of Sweden often states that children have a special position in the church, and this statement is the basis of this essay. This essay evaluates the special position that children is said to have in the church and what role children’s religious and cognitive understanding have in this special position. The purpose of this essay is to analyze the Church of Sweden’s knowledge of children's cognition and how they apply this knowledge in their work with children. To analyze this special position I use material created by the Church of Sweden, such as propositions for the church meeting, episcopal letter, statements and other publications made by the Church of Sweden. This essay looks at how the church is run on a national level, and on the level of the diocesans and the parishes. The data collected on how the Church of Sweden runs its operation regarding their education of children are then analyzed based on theories from the Psychology of Religion. These theories are from Jean Piaget, Ronald Goldman, David Elkind, James W. Fowler and Justin L. Barrett. This essay also examines the ages of children that the different parishes in Umeå uses to select when children should receive their first children’s bible, and how different theories on cognitive development relate to these ages. There is an awareness, within the Church of Sweden, of how theories and methods from the psychology of religion can help with the teaching of Christian faith. To date, there has been a lot of talk and wishes from the Church of Sweden to make the change needed to provide better education to children in regards to their cognitive understanding, but the implementation of this change has so far been moving slowly.

Historically unjust wars have never improved the standard of living for the American citizen and have served to suppress the inherent natural rights of the human beings involved. In conclusion, I combine contemporary and historical arguments to highlight the continuing stream of injustice that exists in American foreign policy.; The conceptual bases of this thesis include the philosophical constructs of Just War Theory, limited government, and natural rights as applied to foreign policy. Just War Theory was originally articulated by St. Augustine and represents the requirements a nation must satisfy to wage war justly. Building upon the basis of Just War Theory, I then split the discussion into two main categories. The first is a historical look at certain American thinkers and their reactions to what they saw as unjust wars based in their strong idealistic goals for humanity. The second is a critical examination of American foreign policy based upon the analytical model arising from these American thinkers. The thesis concludes with an examination of contemporary applications of this analysis with an examination of recent wars that have taken place in the Middle East and an assessment of their just or unjust nature. My historical research examines the arguments of Thomas Paine, Emma Goldman, Henry David Thoreau, and Martin Luther King, Jr. I will review each thinker to highlight their criticisms of the unjust wars in which America has been involved from the 18th Century to the 21st Century. A secondary goal of this research is to trace a pattern of idealistic thinking that is present in American Revolutionary thought. These ideals refer to notions of natural rights, social liberty, economic freedom, and the constant pursuit of justice. By using the established arguments put forth by these four American thinkers, I argue that another unjust war will only bring misery to America and any other nation involved. Finally, my contemporary research develops the CIA term "blowback" and its effect on American foreign policy. By applying the theory of blowback to the current military disputes in which the United States has been or could be involved, I attempt to persuade the reader to resist the notion of engaging in another war.

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2007年是中華電信企業民營化的第二年，如同以往地在業務面及財務面締造了佳績。然而，在2007年9月時，中華電信與香港高盛簽下一紙長達10年期的外匯避險合約，使得中華電信在隔年第一季公佈高達新台幣40億元的未實現匯兌損失，引起市場一片譁然與投資人的輿論，認為此合約讓收入多以新台幣計價的中華電信陷入了不必要的衍生性商品陷阱之中。本個案讓閱讀者以當時中華電信財務長謝劍平的角度，帶領閱讀者解構、分析這個極具爭議的的結構型商品。過程中牽涉到避險決策、契約評價、代理問題、公司治理、外匯預測、市場效率性等議題。2008年10月契約觸及匯價32.7終止，中華電信最終獲利新台幣3010萬元出場，新台幣10多億的帳面損失也全數回沖。個案閱讀者能從中學習到重要的思考過程，並做出權衡之下對股東利益最好的決策，我們發現這個外匯避險契約本身並無絕對好壞，因為這是一個風險控管與節省成本的抵換關係，端看決策者的出發點、需求及風險偏好決定。 / 2007 was the second year after the privatization of Chunghwa Telecom, the financial performance was strong as usual. However, on September of the same year, Chunghwa Telecom had signed a 10-year currency hedging contract with Goldman Sachs, which leads to NTD 4 billion unrealized book losses in the first season of 2008. Investor and the public were shocked about it, because it was not compatible with the company’s corporate image, and the book losses was too huge. Many public opinion criticized that it was a big mistake for Chunghwa Telecom, which let them fall into the trap of financial derivatives. This case put students back to the scenario of September 2007, played the role as Chunghwa Telecom’s CFO, CP Shieh. The case will guide them understand how to decompose and analyze a tailor made structure product provided by investment bank. In the analyzing process, readers will involve many interesting issues, like hedging decision, contract valuation, agency problem, corporate governance, forex forecasting and market efficiency. October 2008, the contract knocked out by reaching NTDUSD quote 32.7. Chunghwa Telecom end up gained NTD 30.1 million from the contract and over NTD 1 billion unrealized book losses were also reversed. Case readers can acquire important intuition during the analyzing process and make decision based on the shareholder’s best interest. There is no absolute answer to dictate whether this hedging contract was good or not, because it was a tradeoff between risk control and cost saving. It depends on the decision maker’s point of view, demand and risk preference.