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Thesis (Th. M.)--Calvin Theological Seminary, 1992. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [171]-177).

Many of the controversies going on in the world today are concerned with the problem of freedom. Issues involving freedom are important in the fields of theology, law, government, labor, philosophy, and education. For example, in assessing the ideological climate of the world, the standard of freedom is the measure used by many western political observers to demarcate the totalitarian from the free; the emergence of the nations is often defended in theory by appealing to the right of a people freely to determine themselves; the prevailing vitality of the Negro movement is America is a manifestation of a determination to obtain greater freedom and equlaity; the alliegance of many people to a world court is withheld because they fear that it would curtail their nation’s sovereignty and freedom. In education, issues involving freedom are also central. Many educators and institutions of higher learning are concerned about the requirement of loyalty oaths from college students who obtain federal scholarship funds. It could be assumed that hardly any educator in America would deny that the development of freemen is an essential aim of education. Educators have shown an awareness of the pivotal position that freedom plays in America’s life. While issues involving freedom are of crucial importance in the contemporary scene, disputants are not free from confusion and misunderstanding. Certainly, in a democracy, one would be justifiably troubled at attempts to impose conformity. But the very differences of opinion do call for attempts at understanding the issues, so that interested parties could be afforded evidence to make informed judgements of their own about the merits of conflicting claims to truth.

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D.Phil. / The purpose of this research was to answer the following question: Can a feasible liberal model be developed and defended that promotes and integrates egalitarian and Anon-egalitarian @ and aggregative values, while at the same time respecting the individual as an autonomous agent, who, as such, may be held accountable for the consequences of his decisions and actions but not for those consequences that may be attributed to his circumstances? In order to answer the research question a systematic examination of the leading liberal conceptions of equality, with special attention to an alternative approach in terms of a substantive equality of opportunity model, is undertaken. The research falls into three distinguishable parts. In the first part the role of equality in Rawls=s theory of justice as fairness was critically analysed. The conclusion reached was that whereas Rawls=s theory provides valuable insights on which to base a liberal theory of equality his theory fails to provide specific guidelines on which to make the crucial distinction between autonomous choices and choices dictated by the person=s circumstances. In the second part the conceptions of equality found in the work of Nozick, Dworkin, Sen and Walzer were compared with that of Rawls and explored for its potential for grounding a liberal conception of equality based on equality of opportunity. Limited support for the compound equality of opportunity model is found in Nozick=s libertarian conception of equality as formal equality of opportunity. Conceptually Dworkin=s conception of equality as equality of resources was found to be a powerful model to distinguish between those circumstances over which the individual has no control and therefore should not be held accountable and those choices over which the individual exercises control and hence should be held accountable. Moving from the equality of resources approaches, as exemplified by Rawls and Dworkin, to the equality of opportunity approaches, Sen=s equality of capability is discussed. Of particular importance is Sen=s insight that equality of opportunity requires one to take into consideration the individual=s capacity to convert the means at his or her disposal into ends and henceforth that these differential conversion capacities should be equalized. The compound equality of opportunity model proposed in this thesis in important part rests on the assumption that equality is a complex value which derives its value from the context in which it is employed. As such Walzer=s idea of complex equality is valuable in that it recognizes the plurality and the contextuality of the ideal of equality. In the third part the compound equality of opportunity model is introduced by distinguishing between equality of results and equality of opportunity approaches. It is then argued that it is possible, even though imperfectly, to distinguish between circumstances and autonomous choice by means of statistical techniques whereby people may be grouped by identifying independent variables predicative of success in the different spheres of life. It is shown how this approach may enable us to hold people accountable for their autonomous actions and choices but not for their circumstances. It is further argued that efficiency and aggregative considerations may operate as moderating variables in the different spheres of life. It is also argued that this model will promote accountability at the individual as well as the institutional level and how substantive equality of opportunity should predominate at the early stages of life while formal equality of opportunity should prevail at the point where positions of some importance are distributed so that third party interests are protected. This thesis is concluded with the claim that conceptually the model is feasible and capable of implementation. If we take seriously the idea of individual autonomy and accountability, and the notion that equality of opportunity provides the means to isolate the consequences of individual effort and motivation from the consequences of (undeserved) circumstances, then something like the compound equality of opportunity model may provide the means to give expression to our convictions. / Prof H.P.P. Lötter Prof E.F.J. Malherbe

­^¤åºK­n Data pertaining of the volume of circulation as well as the statistical results obtained for advertisement value both indicate that the China Times and the United Daily News are the two most publicly read newspapers during the past three decades dated back from1965 to 1995. China Times and United Daily News preponderate all other publications through numerous crisis and time change while sustaining of market competition including such time when drastic changes need to be dealt with in facing of fierce competition and the shift in the industrial environment; in short, the two publications prevailed. However the hegemony and supremacy these two publications held over the others were challenged by the swift resurrection and revivification within an old competitor- Liberty Times. The cavalcade of industrial competition initiated by the new and improved Liberty Times manifested in a sweeping transformation of the existing industrial structure; consequentially, the market went from being a spilt into allocates of three. The Liberty Times thereby modified the developmental history of the news industry, and made an epoch in the competition within the traditional news industry. Retracing the tracks of the interaction among the three sides in this war of competitive strategies, the researcher discovered that these aberrational competitive behaviors undoubtedly illustrate the characteristics of a hyper-competitive environment. The most apparent of traits comprised of the rapid frequency of the competitor¡¦s enterprising initiatives, the increasing bold and impetuous measures, the rapid decrement of products¡¦ life span, the intrusion of unexpected competitors into the market, and the renaissance of erstwhile businesses. This research will take the Liberty Times as a paradigm in discoursing the directions in which the competitive strategies of the news industries are heading to brace themselves for the unforeseeable trials in this era of hyper-competitive environment. There are many exemplars, related research and applications of the Hyper- Competition Theory in the high-tech and fast cycle markets; however in the standard cycle markets such as the news industries, there is a dearth of comparable research. Cognizant of this situation, this research attempts to discuss the competitive strategies of the Liberty Times in-depth, interpret the interactive relation between the China Times and the United Daily News, and to take the example of TVBS Weekly challenging the China Times Weekly as a precursor of the manifestation of the era of Hyper-Competition to show that the print media can no longer remain stagnant in this hyperactive environment. From the very beginning, the Liberty Times has been in a campaign with strong financial support as its shield, its success seems to foreshadow that the future competition within the news industries will follow this very same pattern.- the pattern of heavy commercialism and capitalism.

Thesis (M. A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-113).

Thesis (M.A.)--Liberty University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.