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Change directed at social justice has been partial at best because it leaves the larger unequal context and structures in place. Social work generally takes place in the context of unequal power relation on individual/cultural/structural levels. The inquiry’s aim is to broaden the perspective on change to facilitate social justice. A qualitative approach that is exploratory and descriptive with a flare of phenomenology was used. Anti-oppressive constructionist research is the point of departure. As such the research attempts to be consistent with values of equality where participants are partners and share in the creation of the inquiry. So in the beginning only preliminary questions designed to provide context and stimulate thought about change are explored. The goals and objectives of the inquiry are to discover and describe the perceptions of activists and literature thus expanding meanings of social justice and how it can be facilitated. In the inquiry, motivation to work for change, what is needed to facilitate social justice, what blocks change for social justice and the values and principles that underlie change for social justice are explored. The inquiry asks the question: How can social workers and the profession of social work facilitate change for social justice? / Social Work / D.Phil (Social Work)

This thesis analyses the constructions of the market in the thought of Adam Smith and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and their relevance for contemporary political philosophy. Combining the history of ideas with systematic analysis, it contrasts Smith’s view of the market as a benevolently designed ‘contrivance of nature’ with Hegel’s view of the market as a ‘relic of the state of nature.’ In two interpretative chapters these two constructions of the market are discussed within the contexts of Smith’s and Hegel’s thought. In three systematic chapters, the relevance of these different constructions for the problems of identity and community, social justice, and different notions and dimensions of freedom is discussed. The first of these chapters argues that the conceptualization of the labour market as a market place for human capital or as a locus for the development of a professional ethos has a deep impact on how one thinks about the relation between individual and community, cutting across the debate between liberals and communitarians. The second systematic chapter shows that the market can be seen either as an instrument for addressing issues of social justice or as an institution against which social justice needs to be realized: for Smith, who thinks that free markets reward virtue and equalize income, it is the former, whereas for Hegel, who holds that free markets lead to unpredictable results and exacerbate social differences, it is the latter. The third systematic chapter addresses the relation between different aspects of liberty and the market. It shows that the market offers both chances and risks for liberty in the sense of individual autonomy, and analyses the relations of the market to positive liberty in a political sense. The concluding chapter draws some broader methodological lessons, arguing for a closer integration of economic and political theory at a ‘less-ideal’ level.

A major objective of the Human Rights Act (HRA) was to bring about a culture of rights in the UK. Its introduction fore-grounded questions about the use of rights to advance social justice issues and was the impetus for this research. At about the same as the Act came into effect another law, Section 55, an antithesis of what the HRA promised, was passed which forced thousands of asylum-seekers into destitution. Section 55 became a major battleground pitting non-governmental organisations (NGOs) against the Home Office in a three-year long campaign, characterised by rancour and viciousness, unlike any in recent memory. The NGOs, with the new HRA as a key part of their strategy, defeated the legislation. This thesis, a bottom-up case study of rights at work, examines the role of rights in the campaign to assess (1) if rights brought about social changes and (2) is a culture of rights developing in the UK? The paper first considers the various theoretical frameworks on rights and social change and analyses various case studies of rights at work. Context is important; therefore, it also examines how asylum has come to be framed in present-day discourse, with an overview on the evolution of welfare as a coercive measure. The study, framed against current events of the day, concludes that while test-case challenges eventually defeated Section 55 welfare as a coercive measure continues. In short, the HRA has proven to be ineffective against illiberal policies and the development of a culture of rights, insofar as asylum is concerned, has stalled. And it has happened with deliberation by a government determined to be tough on asylum irrespective of the HRA.

The purpose of the investigation was two-fold: (1) to develop an educational design for consciousness-raising in social justice education using Paulo Freire's literacy method, and (2) to investigate its effect on the Incarnate Word sisters' attitude toward the economically poor, Workshop sessions examined social justice concepts of the economically poor as stated in the Acts of the Congregation's General Chapter and applied Freire's method of consciousness-raising outlined in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed and his Education for Critical Consciousness.

Social justice allies make important contributions to fighting oppression in campus environments and in their communities after college. However, knowledge of how one becomes a social justice ally is limited. This qualitative, phenomenological study was designed in an effort to better understand the social justice ally development process and advances the pioneering work of Broido (1997, 2000). Examination of student’s understanding of her/his formative and college experiences helped determine how each alone and in combination with other factors or experiences, contributed to her/his ally development process. The role of student affairs professionals and programs in this process was also examined. This study was conducted at The University of Texas at Austin, which was selected because of the historical context, institutional environment and diversity-related initiatives implemented over the past 10 years. Review of the literature on ally development reveals that a majority of the existing research focuses on allies who take action against heterosexism or sexism. Through this research project I addressed this gap by including student allies who focus on other areas of privilege/oppression including classism and citizenship status. This study also expands the analysis of social justice allies by including examination of the influence of gender on the development, motivations and actions of allies. / text

This research seeks a clearer understanding of the field of social justice education in Canada. Informed by multicultural and antiracist pedagogy, I explore the theoretical underpinnings and practical realities of this work among 11 activist Alberta teachers and students. Collaborative interviews with these participants reveal portraits of current activism in voluntary coalitions in secondary schools. Through guided critical self-reflection, fellow activists and I examine forming and sustaining ongoing projects. I present guiding hypotheses and assumptions that steer this research, and a theoretical framework that accommodates complex intersections of "race," class, gender, sexual orientation, and other considerations of social justice pedagogy and activism. This research addresses omissions in the educational literature; one such gap is a lack of research attention to young people—particularly to their role as active participants in social justice movements. In addition, I address teachers' previously undervalued role as crucial participants in educational policy development, reform efforts, and research on social justice education. Attending to the relatively few accounts of school-based action projects, I describe the integrative STOP model of student and community activism. An overview of the unique Canadian and regional contexts and recent political developments around social justice issues, and a summary of relevant research and theory from British and American literature, suggest specific areas of contention, influence, and overlap of relevance to this study. I employ a qualitative research methodology using a specific collaborative approach, and include details of participant selection, data gathering and analysis, and ethical considerations. Two chapters develop my research results along the lines traced by my guiding hypotheses. A concluding chapter outlines the specific significance of this research, factors that promote coalition-building, and promising avenues for further scholarly study. A value of this investigation is the rich offerings from my participants, whose reflections on their work are solidly grounded in understandings of daily activism. Their contributions show the potential mutual benefits of respectful research collaborations that both reveal and share the wisdom of social justice practitioners as theorists.

Unless subjected to skeptical and conscious scrutiny, environmentally-friendly ocean energy technologies can become “Trojan machines of social inequity” due to the subtle re-organizing influences of technologies on culture and the society. Environmental laws that promote or regulate ocean energy technologies can act as “Trojan legal regimes” in the absence of a framework for assessing and anticipating their adverse impacts on social justice. “Environmental justice” is inadequate for this task, so an alternative framework is proposed: ecological social justice, drawn from the Third World’s perspective of sustainable development as equitable sharing. Though overshadowed by the prevalent notion of sustainable development as limits to growth, a review of international environmental law shows that the ideas of equitable sharing have persisted, underpinning demands for more equitable distribution of resources and environmental amenities, greater public participation in decision-making, and special attention in favor of specified social groups. Beginning with the critiques of environmental justice and then drawing upon a substantivist view of the role of the Economy as an ecological link between Society and Nature, a sketch of ecological social justice is drawn. The assessment of whether specific legal regimes or their implementation promote or hinder social justice revolve around three focal points: distribution, recognition, and participation, and pay special attention to the role of culture and power in society. The assessment also incorporates and emphasizes the ‘local’ conception of social justice in order to remain true to its ‘ecological’ character. To demonstrate, the paper conducts detailed case studies of the Philippines. The 1987 Constitution established a right to environment as a result of the historical evolution of a constitutional policy of promoting social justice, This caused Philippine environmental and ocean resource laws to incorporate provisions that promote ecological social justice. Analysis of Philippine ocean environment and energy laws and two internationally-recognized ocean energy projects reveals insights into how even the most environmentally-friendly but complex technologies can lead to domination and oppression, and how guiding ideals of equitable sharing at the local levels can lead to more socially-just solutions.

Change directed at social justice has been partial at best because it leaves the larger unequal context and structures in place. Social work generally takes place in the context of unequal power relation on individual/cultural/structural levels. The inquiry’s aim is to broaden the perspective on change to facilitate social justice. A qualitative approach that is exploratory and descriptive with a flare of phenomenology was used. Anti-oppressive constructionist research is the point of departure. As such the research attempts to be consistent with values of equality where participants are partners and share in the creation of the inquiry. So in the beginning only preliminary questions designed to provide context and stimulate thought about change are explored. The goals and objectives of the inquiry are to discover and describe the perceptions of activists and literature thus expanding meanings of social justice and how it can be facilitated. In the inquiry, motivation to work for change, what is needed to facilitate social justice, what blocks change for social justice and the values and principles that underlie change for social justice are explored. The inquiry asks the question: How can social workers and the profession of social work facilitate change for social justice? / Social Work / D.Phil (Social Work)

The study is a critical investigation of social justice concerns in higher education policy in emerging democracies such as South Africa. The study focuses on three initiatives at the University of Pretoria as exemplary projects that address social justice concerns in order to redress the situation in post-apartheid South Africa. These initiatives are the Institute of Women and Gender Studies, IGWS, which attempts to achieve gender equality, eliminate patriarchal tendencies and unleash women‘s potentialities within the University of Pretoria; The Centre for the Study of HIV/AIDS which seeks to eliminate any discriminatory tendencies against University of Pretoria members who are living with HIV/AIDS and contribute meaningfully in reducing the scourge of the pandemic; and The University of Pretoria Foundation Year Programme, UPFY, which attempts to increase the participation rates of the previously disadvantaged in areas of scarce skills such as mathematics and science. The study seeks to share new insights into the limits of grand policy frameworks that promise much by way of social justice but deliver very little in real terms. This policy gap trajectory between intent and practice begins and ends at the University of Pretoria as a case study that provides important lessons for cognate institutions and other social structures. The study is further likely to contribute insights into how higher education can implement programmes so as to purportedly address and redress social injustices and inequalities when in essence; these programmes achieve little more than a public relations objective. The intent of this case study is to illuminate attempts, through various programmes, by higher education to address social justice concerns such as inequality and discrimination, and reflects the inadequacy of such efforts that are not developed within an institution‘s capacity in order to affect the existing institutional culture. In reflecting on the persistent policy challenges and the marginalisation of social justice agenda, the study points to the dominance of the neo-liberal discourse on a global and local scale and its manifestation in higher education in the form of commodification and marketisation. As a result, the study proposes the revival of a radical social justice agenda so as to mainstream social justice concerns in higher education and promote its emancipatory possibilities. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted