Aging-friendliness work uses a model of eight core domains to assess and achieve communities in which people are more equipped to age well, and remain in their community as they age. These domains are broken into the built environment (i.e., Housing, Transportation) and the social environment (i.e., Communication, Social Inclusion, Employment). This dissertation is centered on the efforts to make communities more aging-friendly, and focuses specifically on the Livable Lexington initiative. This dissertation utilized an exploratory study of a pre- and posttest evaluative design to pilot intergenerational discussion groups as a potential intervention. Intergenerational discussion groups were developed with the goal of changing community members’ perceptions of how aging-friendly their community is, and were a way of operationalizing Rawlsian concepts such as the Veil of Ignorance and Wide Reflective Equilibrium, with the end goal of Intergenerational Equity. The three outcome variables in the study were perceptions of 1) ability to age in place, with regard to domains, 2) overall aging-friendliness, and 3) ability to engage and participate in community activities (such as decision making). Recruited from an initial aging-friendly needs assessment developed by AARP, the intergenerational discussion groups (n = 40) exposed participants to an environment that allowed them to lead discussion around what would make their assigned core domains (i.e, housing, transportation, social inclusion, communication, employment, etc.) more aging-friendly. Participants in the discussion groups perceived a greater ability to age in place, with respect to the social environment (p < .001), as well as a greater ability to engage and participate in community activities (p < .001). Additionally, participants perceived their community as more aging-friendly after the intervention (p < .001). The participants, however, did not perceive a greater ability to age in place, with regard to the built environment (p < .001). Throughout the discussion, the results are tied back into the literature and theory, and reasons for the adverse result in the built environment are also discussed (while more time is often necessary to notice changes in the built environment). Implications for this research, as well as future recommendations are discussed, as well.

<p><strong>Syfte:</strong> Vi som studerar till fastighetsmäklare ser att fastighetsmäklarbranschen har hamnat i dålig dager. En tes vi har är att detta till stor del beror på media. En annan tes är att de flesta gliringar gentemot yrkesrollen kommer från personer som saknar erfarenhet av fastighetsmäklare. När vi tog del av statistik som tvärtemot visade att fyra av fem kunder var nöjda med sin fastighetsmäklare, bestämde vi oss för att undersöka saken djupare. Syftet med arbetet är att verifiera eller falsifiera våra två teser. Ytterst är vårt syfte att problematisera det negativa ryktet som fastighetsmäklarbranschen tycks ha.</p><p><strong> </strong><strong>Metod: </strong>Vi har använt oss av kvalitativ metod med intervjuer som bas för arbetet. Genom ett stort antal respondenter, uppdelade i två grupper, har vi kunnat göra jämförelser, både inom gruppen och mellan de två grupperna. Vi valde att intervjua bekanta till oss för att få så sanningsenliga svar som möjligt. Vi har utgått ifrån en, av oss, färdigformulerad frågemall för att sedan låta respondenten prata fritt kring frågorna. Utifrån respondenternas svar har vi lyft fram det primära budskapet från båda grupperna för att sedan diskutera dessa i uppsatsen.</p><p><strong> </strong><strong>Resultat & slutsats:</strong> Majoriteten av nyheterna som media tar upp är negativa och när en yrkesgrupp som fastighetsmäklare är ständigt återkommande skapas misstankar i människors medvetna och undermedvetna. Vår undersökning har visat att de som saknar egen erfarenhet av fastighetsmäklare i regel har fått sina värderingar från hörsägen och media. Det är också de som är mest fördomsfulla mot fastighetsmäklare. De som har erfarenhet tycker i regel bra om enskilda fastighetsmäklare men har fortfarande kvar en del fördomar gentemot branschen i stort. Undersökningar har visat att den övervägande majoriteten av säljare och köpare är nöjda med fastighetsmäklare och det stämmer alltså inte överens med den negativa bild som media sänder ut.</p><p><strong> </strong><strong>Förslag till fortsatt forskning: </strong>Då vi inte har fördjupat oss i vad det är som gör kunder nöjda med fastighetsmäklare kan ett förslag till fortsatt forskning vara<strong> </strong>att fördjupa sig i vad det innebär att vara nöjd med sin fastighetsmäklare.</p><p><strong> </strong><strong>Uppsatsens bidrag:</strong> Vår förhoppning är att denna studie ska bidra till en ökad medvetenhet angående problematiken med det negativa ryktet som fastighetsmäklarbranschen tycks ha.</p> / <p><strong>Aim:</strong> We, studying to become Real Estate Agents, have got the notion that the Real Estate market has a bad reputation. One thesis we have is that this has a lot to do with the media. Another thesis is that most of the sneers towards the profession come from people who lack experience with Real Estate Agents. When we took part in statistics that, on the contrary, showed that four out of five clients were satisfied with their Real Estate Agent, we decided to examine the issue deeper. The aim with the thesis is to verify or falsify our two hypotheses'. The primary aim is to problemize the negative reputation that the industry of Real Estate Agents seem to have.</p><p><strong> </strong><strong>Method:</strong> We have used a qualitative method by conducting interviews as bas for the study. With a large number of people to interview, divided into two groups, we have been able to make comparisons both within the groups and between the two groups. The interviews were conducted with our acquaintances with the intent of reaching answers as truthful as possible. We used a preconstructed list with questions from which they could answer freely and then we chose to discuss the primary messages from both groups in our paper.</p><p> <strong>Result & Conclusions: </strong>The majority of news that is brought up in the media is negative and when a group of professions, like Real Estate Agents, are constantly reoccurring it creates suspicions in people's minds. Our research has shown that those who lack experience get their values from hearsay and the media and they are also the most prejudice. Those with experience have a positive, attitude in general, towards single Real Estate Agents but they are still prejudice towards the industry. Studies have shown that most sellers and buyers are content with Real Estate Agents. This is not in agreement with the negative picture that the media show.</p><p><strong> </strong><strong>Suggestions for future research: </strong>We have not thoroughly examined what it means for a client to be content with his Real Estate Agent. This could be a suggestion for future research.</p><p><strong> </strong><strong>Contribution of the thesis: </strong>Our hope is that this study will contribute to an increased awareness regarding the problems with the negative reputation that the industry of Real Estate Agents seem to have.</p>

Syfte: Vi som studerar till fastighetsmäklare ser att fastighetsmäklarbranschen har hamnat i dålig dager. En tes vi har är att detta till stor del beror på media. En annan tes är att de flesta gliringar gentemot yrkesrollen kommer från personer som saknar erfarenhet av fastighetsmäklare. När vi tog del av statistik som tvärtemot visade att fyra av fem kunder var nöjda med sin fastighetsmäklare, bestämde vi oss för att undersöka saken djupare. Syftet med arbetet är att verifiera eller falsifiera våra två teser. Ytterst är vårt syfte att problematisera det negativa ryktet som fastighetsmäklarbranschen tycks ha.  Metod: Vi har använt oss av kvalitativ metod med intervjuer som bas för arbetet. Genom ett stort antal respondenter, uppdelade i två grupper, har vi kunnat göra jämförelser, både inom gruppen och mellan de två grupperna. Vi valde att intervjua bekanta till oss för att få så sanningsenliga svar som möjligt. Vi har utgått ifrån en, av oss, färdigformulerad frågemall för att sedan låta respondenten prata fritt kring frågorna. Utifrån respondenternas svar har vi lyft fram det primära budskapet från båda grupperna för att sedan diskutera dessa i uppsatsen.  Resultat &amp; slutsats: Majoriteten av nyheterna som media tar upp är negativa och när en yrkesgrupp som fastighetsmäklare är ständigt återkommande skapas misstankar i människors medvetna och undermedvetna. Vår undersökning har visat att de som saknar egen erfarenhet av fastighetsmäklare i regel har fått sina värderingar från hörsägen och media. Det är också de som är mest fördomsfulla mot fastighetsmäklare. De som har erfarenhet tycker i regel bra om enskilda fastighetsmäklare men har fortfarande kvar en del fördomar gentemot branschen i stort. Undersökningar har visat att den övervägande majoriteten av säljare och köpare är nöjda med fastighetsmäklare och det stämmer alltså inte överens med den negativa bild som media sänder ut.  Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då vi inte har fördjupat oss i vad det är som gör kunder nöjda med fastighetsmäklare kan ett förslag till fortsatt forskning vara att fördjupa sig i vad det innebär att vara nöjd med sin fastighetsmäklare.  Uppsatsens bidrag: Vår förhoppning är att denna studie ska bidra till en ökad medvetenhet angående problematiken med det negativa ryktet som fastighetsmäklarbranschen tycks ha. / Aim: We, studying to become Real Estate Agents, have got the notion that the Real Estate market has a bad reputation. One thesis we have is that this has a lot to do with the media. Another thesis is that most of the sneers towards the profession come from people who lack experience with Real Estate Agents. When we took part in statistics that, on the contrary, showed that four out of five clients were satisfied with their Real Estate Agent, we decided to examine the issue deeper. The aim with the thesis is to verify or falsify our two hypotheses'. The primary aim is to problemize the negative reputation that the industry of Real Estate Agents seem to have.  Method: We have used a qualitative method by conducting interviews as bas for the study. With a large number of people to interview, divided into two groups, we have been able to make comparisons both within the groups and between the two groups. The interviews were conducted with our acquaintances with the intent of reaching answers as truthful as possible. We used a preconstructed list with questions from which they could answer freely and then we chose to discuss the primary messages from both groups in our paper.  Result &amp; Conclusions: The majority of news that is brought up in the media is negative and when a group of professions, like Real Estate Agents, are constantly reoccurring it creates suspicions in people's minds. Our research has shown that those who lack experience get their values from hearsay and the media and they are also the most prejudice. Those with experience have a positive, attitude in general, towards single Real Estate Agents but they are still prejudice towards the industry. Studies have shown that most sellers and buyers are content with Real Estate Agents. This is not in agreement with the negative picture that the media show.  Suggestions for future research: We have not thoroughly examined what it means for a client to be content with his Real Estate Agent. This could be a suggestion for future research.  Contribution of the thesis: Our hope is that this study will contribute to an increased awareness regarding the problems with the negative reputation that the industry of Real Estate Agents seem to have.

The engineering design community recognizes that an essential part of the design process is decision making. Because decisions are generally made under uncertainty, engineers need appropriate methods for modeling and managing uncertainty. Two important characteristics of uncertainty in the context of engineering design are imprecision and irreducible uncertainty. In order to model both of these characteristics, it is valuable to use probabilities that are most generally imprecise and subjective. These imprecise probabilities generalize traditional, precise probabilities; when the available information is extensive, imprecise probabilities reduce to precise probabilities. An approach for comparing the practical value of different uncertainty models is developed. The approach examines the value of a model using the principles of information economics: value equals benefits minus costs. The benefits of a model are measured in terms of the quality of the product that results from the design process. Costs are measured not only in terms of direct design costs, but also the costs of creating and using the model. Using this approach, the practical value of using an uncertainty model that explicitly recognizes both imprecision and irreducible uncertainty is demonstrated in the context of a high-risk engineering design example in which the decision-maker has few statistical samples to support the decision. It is also shown that a particular imprecise probability model called probability bounds analysis generalizes sensitivity analysis, a process of identifying whether a particular decision is robust given the decision makers lack of complete information. An approach for bounding the value of future statistical data samples while collecting information to support design decisions is developed, and specific policies for making decisions in the presence of imprecise information are examined in the context of engineering.

Studien handlar om unga vuxnas skuldsättning. Med unga vuxna menas individer mellan 20 – 30 år. Syftet har varit att undersöka myndighets- och verksamhetshandläggares upplevelser av skuldsatta unga vuxnas inställning till sin ekonomi samt hur dessa verksamheter arbetar för att hjälpa dem. Studiens empiri bygger på data från sex semistrukurerade intervjuer som har analyserats och tolkats med hjälp av tematisk analys. De teoretiska ansatserna är Bourdieus klassteori och Julian Rotters teori om locus of control. Resultatet visar att unga vuxna hamnar i skuldsättning på grund av att de saknar förmåga och kunskap om ekonomi. Unga behöver mer kunskap om ekonomi för att förstå konsekvenserna. Konsekvenserna som kan uppstå vid skuldsättning är att de hamnar i Kronofogdens register och det finns en risk att Kronofogden tar kontrollen över den unga vuxnas ekonomi. Det visar sig även att handläggarna arbetar för att motivera och förebygga problemen med skuldsättning. Handläggarnas arbete är således viktigt för de unga vuxnas väg tillbaka mot ett skuldfritt liv. Ämnet bör uppmärksammas i det sociala arbetet eftersom konsumtionen ökar och skuldsättning upptäcks oftast när det redan är för sent. / The study is about young adults in deep debt. With young adults the study refers to individuals between 20-30 years. The aim has been to investigate officials experiences of young adults in debt’s attitude towards their finances and how the officials work to help them. The study is based on empirical data from six semi-structured interviews that have been analyzed and interpreted using thematic analysis. The theoretical approaches are Bourdieu's class theory and Julian Rotters theory of locus of control. The results show that young adults often lack ability and knowledge of the economy and thus end up in debt. The consequences that may occur when the person finds him/herself in debt is that they end up in the Enforcement Authority's records for the rest of their lives, and the risk that the task handler takes control of the young adults' finances. It also shows that the officials are working to motivate and prevent problems of debt. The officials work is also important for young adults heading back towards a debt-free life. The subject should be considered as consumption increases and debt mostly noticed when it is already too late.

This thesis consists of several independent papers in population ethics. I begin in Chapter 1 by critiquing some well-known 'impossibility theorems', which purport to show there can be no intuitively satisfactory population axiology. I identify axiological vagueness as a promising way to escape or at least mitigate the effects of these theorems. In particular, in Chapter 2, I argue that certain of the impossibility theorems have little more dialectical force than sorites arguments do. From these negative arguments I move to positive ones. In Chapter 3, I justify the use of a 'veil of ignorance', starting from three more basic normative principles. This leads to positive arguments for various kinds of utilitarianism - the best such arguments I know. But in general the implications of the veil depend on how one answers what I call 'the risky existential question': what is the value to an individual of a chance of non-existence? I chart out the main options, and raise some puzzles for non-comparativism, the view that life is incomparable to non-existence. Finally, in Chapter 4, I consider the consequences for population ethics of the idea that what is normatively relevant is not personal identity, but a degreed relation of psychological connectedness. In particular, I pursue a strategy based in population ethics for understanding the controversial 'time-relative interests' account of the badness of death.

My dissertation provides an epistemic evaluation of settler colonialism in terms of settlers’ disavowal of past and ongoing settler colonial violence. I seek to explain how settlers can fail to hear Indigenous testimonies in ways that disrupt structural inequality and challenge settler colonial legitimacy. This theoretical consideration of settler ignorance reveals how the elimination of Indigenous peoples requires the delegitimatization of Indigenous peoples as knowers. This insight is crucial in evaluating contemporary governmental apologies and truth commissions aimed at reconciliation. In particular, I focus on the epistemic assumptions that do not challenge what I call ‘settler ignorance’ and so do not transform settler nation-myths that disavow past and present settler colonialism. My epistemic evaluation of settler colonialism demonstrates how the exclusion of Indigenous peoples from the realm of reason, what I call their ‘epistemic elimination,’ is not accidental, but integral to the settler colonial project of eliminating Indigenous presence. Using this characterization of settler ignorance, I evaluate the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in terms of its ability to accomplish its mandate of “establishing and maintaining respectful relationships” between Indigenous peoples and settler Canadians. I conclude that the TRC fails on its own terms because it does not challenge epistemic assumptions that prevent testimonies of residential school survivors to be heard as expressions of Indigenous refusal of settler authority. Without challenging these epistemic assumptions, testimonies cannot disrupt structural settler ignorance and so, cannot lead to meaningful reconciliation. Meaningful reconciliation requires of settlers a reparative transformation of epistemic assumptions that work to maintain a structural ignorance of past and ongoing settler colonial violence. The goal of what I call ‘reparative knowing’ is both a personal one and a critical intervention into how settlers can become epistemically responsible agents. In the context of ongoing settler colonial violence, reparative knowing involves a troubling of settler common sense, and so, a disruption of structural settler ignorance. Without such an understanding of settler ignorance and reparative knowing, an investigation into the aims and transformations of settler colonialism would remain incomplete.

In this dissertation I take exception with a widely held philosophical doctrine, according to which agents are only blameworthy for the bad actions they have chosen to bring about. My argument strategy is to present cases in which agents are blamed for involuntary actions that are not in any way connected to their culpable and voluntary choices. These failures correspond, I suggest, to occasions of culpable ignorance where agents have been negligent or careless. More specifically, I claim that violations of natural duties of respect and consideration, and certain acquired role-type duties, are blamed without any voluntary consent. If my examples are persuasive, then the point is reached where a normative principle of 'voluntary consent' does not in fact coincide with people's actual practices and 'considered judgements'. In the final sections of the dissertation, I argue against the plausibility of keeping the principle and revising our judgements. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

This dissertation contributes to the development of philosophy of disability by drawing on disability studies, feminist philosophy, phenomenology, and philosophy of biology in order to contest epistemic and ontological assumptions about disability within biomedical ethics as well as within philosophical work on the body, demonstrating how philosophical inquiry is radically transformed when experiences of disability are taken seriously. In the first two chapters, I focus on epistemological and ontological concerns surrounding disability within biomedical ethics. Although disabled people and their advocates have been quite vocal regarding their views on disability and in critiquing bioethicists’ approaches to issues that affect them, the interests, knowledge, and experiences of disabled people have had minimal impact on discussions within biomedical ethics textbooks. The risks of making problematic assumptions about disability are high within this subfield insofar as bioethicists impact practices within medical facilities, public policy, and, through student engagement with their texts in biomedical ethics courses, the views of potential health care professionals. All of these, in turn, affect the care provided to disabled people and potential/actual parents of disabled children. Chapter three raises ontological issues related to disability theory, examining the role of the impairment/disability distinction in framing discussions of the body as well as the status of experience. I discuss two approaches to incorporating subjective experiences of the body in disability, arguing that neither is sufficient. I examine debates within feminist theory on questions related to experience. I argue that a feminist phenomenological approach that builds on Merleau-Ponty’s work offers the best way to address bodily experiences in disability theory. The assumptions that disability theorists and Merleau-Ponty make about disability are often at odds. Chapter four points out the ableism in Merleau-Ponty’s use of a case study and considers some of the oversights within Phenomenology of Perception. In spite of my critique, I argue that his approach to phenomenology—with appropriate modifications—is useful not only for theorizing the experiences of disabled people but also for addressing other types of marginalized embodiment. Chapter five applies this method to body integrity identity disorder (BIID), arguing that combining Merleau-Ponty’s insights with those of disability theory allows us to address lived experiences of BIID and to identify assumptions about disability within research on this condition.

With the large amount of research constantly being conducted, all documenting important aspects of multiple phenomena, what makes some scientific claims, and not others, stand out from a sea of possibilities to become staple pieces of knowledge? Utilizing the controversy surrounding the use of heritability studies in criminological research as a case study, this thesis analysed the rhetoric at play in two articles presenting competing arguments to (a) identify some of the discursive devices and strategies used in the production of scientific knowledge and ignorance, (b) illustrate that the production of scientific facts is first and foremost a social endeavour, (c) show that knowledge and ignorance are a part of a duality, (d) explain how the same established scientific information can be used in new claims to generate varied forms of scientific knowledge and ignorance, and (e) illustrate how the production of scientific knowledge and ignorance oftentimes involves appealing to audiences’ emotions. Four main ignorance producing strategies were documented, namely denial, dismissal, diversion, and displacement, each of which were used in a number of ways to increase the facticity of scientific claims over that of competing ones. Acknowledging its strengths as a unique mode of knowledge, this study also underlines the importance to get comfortable with the uncertainties and conflicts at the heart of science.