This thesis focuses on the issue of whether or not the government is ever justified in prohibiting the actions of an individual who is harming herself but not others. I first analyze some of the key historical figures in the paternalism debate and argue that these accounts fail to adequately meet the needs of a modern, pluralistic society. Then, I analyze and critique the nuanced, soft-paternalist strategy put forth by Joel Feinberg. Finally, I defend a version of hard paternalism, arguing that a balancing strategy that examines each action on a case-by-case basis shows all citizens equal, and adequate concern and respect.

This thesis explores ways evangelical Christian communicators remediate traditional ministry functions and community formation onto new media platforms. This exploration is framed by a discussion of literacy and digital composing reflecting Stuart Selber’s multiliteracy approach to teaching digital composition. The author positions evangelical churches’ approaches to texts, community, education, and communication as components of a distinct literacy that is often at odds with values, controls, and cultures found on the Internet and in new media. Discovering how church communicators use new media, how their education prepares them for effective digital communication, and how external sources, such as expert authors, aid the transition from print to new media helps us understand the gap between Selber’s ideal multiliteracy and the reality of new media literacy for this group. This also expands our understanding of digital composition, and the role it plays in both the classroom and in all students’ greater lives.

The purpose of this essay is, in a political philosophy perspective, to offer an illumination of John Stuart Mill¡¦s thoughts on modernity. In this essay, firstly, in the first chapter, I will try to elaborate the reason why I write this essay and take a perspective of history and political philosophy as my analytic viewpoint. Moreover, I also briefly introduce Mill¡¦s writings and the frameworks of this essay. In the second chapter, I describe the events, movements, and thoughts that gradually shape the modernity. From the standpoints of Weber, Hume and Romanticism, I also refer to one of the most important characteristics of modernity in political philosophy: value pluralism. In Mill¡¦s thoughts, how to response to the problem derived from value pluralism is my most important discourse. In the following chapter, I offer an exposition to detail Mill¡¦s discourses on modernity, focusing on his utilitarianism and liberalism. I mainly discuss how Mill¡¦s principles of utility and liberty response to the problem derived from value pluralism. I also discuss two contemporary thinkers¡¦ thoughts to find Mill¡¦s discourses on modernity, namely John Rawls and John Gray. In the fourth chapter, I assess and review the criticisms on Mill¡¦s discourses on modernity. In the conclusion chapter, I briefly go through the major viewpoints of this essay.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 58 pages / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: In this thesis I examine three models of justification for the epistemic authority of the principle of contradiction. Aristotle has deemed the principle "that the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject and in the same respect" the most certain and most prior of all principles, both in the order of nature and in the order of knowledge, and as such it is indemonstrable. The principle of contradiction is involved in any act of rational discourse, and to deny it would be to reduce ourselves to a vegetative state, being incapable of uttering anything with meaning. The way we reach the principle of contradiction is by intuitive grasping (epagoge) from the experience of the particulars, by recognizing the universals in the particulars encountered, and it is different from simple induction, which, in Mill's view, is the process through which we construct a general statement on the basis of a limited sample of observed particulars. / ABSTRACT: Hence, the principle of contradiction, being a mere generalization from experience, through induction, loses its certainty and necessity. Even though it has a high degree of confirmation from experience, it is in principle possible to come across a counter-example which would refute it. Mill's account opens the path to the modern view of the principle of contradiction. In Principia Mathematica, Russell and Whitehead contend that the principle of contradiction is still a tautology, always true, but it is derived from other propositions, set forth as axioms. Its formulation, " (p & p)" is quite different from Aristotle's, and this is why we are faced with the bizarre situation of being able to derive the law of contradiction in a formal system which could not have been built without the very principle of which the law is an expression of. / ABSTRACT: This is perhaps because the principle of contradiction, as a principle, has a much larger range of application and is consequently more fundamental than what we call today the law of contradiction, with its formal function. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This paper explains the relationship and different arguments concerning freedom of speech. It uses Swedish newspaper columns, such as editorial pages, as its main source. The paper is mainly based upon the work of John Stuart Mill and his book On Freedom and Thomas Hobbes work Leviathan. The main focus is to see if there’s any connection between the Swedish newspapers and the theories which in itself is based upon the two works. The method that was used throughout this thesis was a content analysis which means that all of the newspaper articles and columns were analyzed and put into three different categories with category number one being based upon John Stuart Mill and his ideas, and number three being based upon Thomas Hobbes. Number two worked as a middle way and combined both of the theories. In those separate categories they were read and analyzed after arguments. Arguments that were often recurring were the main focus and were also the ones that were used for the final conclusion. The conclusion was based on the articles and the output was that the majority of the articles actually went on the same line as John Stuart Mill and that a few would like to see some kind of restriction on freedom of speech.

Gilbert Stuart completed the portrait of the new bride, Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, as well as portraits of 15 other women during his Washington period from late 1803 to early 1805. Scholars have often discounted this period in Stuart's work for its "compositional simplicity" and repeat choice of a stock white dress for the portraits of many of these women. But to dismiss this period is Stuart's work is to dismiss a period when Stuart positioned himself in the center of the "first circle" in Washington, a circle that included Dolley Madison and her most ambitious friends. Women, in this era after the American and French revolutions, had the freedom to enter into the public discourse. They were liberated from many of the more conservative principals of the early colonial period, shedding their restrictive clothing in the process. Stuart's salon, a highly visible public venue, as well as his ability to portray the strength of character and a direct, forthright gaze of the American woman, all made him extremely popular with women. Stuart, a critical force within the construction of a new image for this Nation, based on Jeffersonian ideas of republicanism, based his practice on simple, natural design influences. My goal is to more thoroughly examine Stuart's decisions in composing Betsy Bonaparte's portrait, as well as the facts surrounding her marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte's youngest brother. I will then consider why Elizabeth Bonaparte's wedding portrait represents the chef d'ouvre of his work during this period and how the young bride served as his muse, influencing his Washington style, and the women who followed her into the painter's studio. / text

In 1800, Gilbert Stuart began three paintings of his friend, republican writer, Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton--the Worcester, Winterthur, and Boston portraits. While Morton has been remembered more for a tragic personal family scandal than for her literary endeavors, Stuart's provocative images acknowledged her as both a poet and an intellect. His portraits presented a progressive and potentially controversial interpretation of his sitter--the lovely and learned Morton--by prioritizing the writer's life of the mind rather than her socially prescribed life in the world. This study reconstructs the circumstances by which Stuart composed the group of Morton paintings that culminate in his unorthodox Worcester rendering through which he ultimately depicted Morton as the first woman of ideas in American art. Supported by close readings of her work, this dissertation illuminates both the course and depth of the exceptional personal and professional relationship between Morton and Stuart. The paths of the two republican figures crossed at several historic junctures and is highlighted by the interconnectivity of their work. Most significantly, the Stuart portraits represent an ideal lens through which to view Morton's life and work as well as to follow the Boston native's transformation into one of America's earliest women of ideas. / text

Under sommaren och hösten 2009 fick Apolivas reklamfilm stor uppmärksamhet av såväl det svenska folket som i media. Uppståndelsen grundades i att en stor andel människor som tagit del av reklamen uppfattade den som skrämmande, medan Apolivas avsikt var att skildra de svenska, något melankoliska, väderförhållandena. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka tolkningsskedet av Apolivas reklamfilm, hos flickor i nionde klass. Vår specifika frågeställning utvecklades till att ta reda på om den utvalda gruppen tolkar budskapet och känslan som förmedlas i reklamfilmen, på det sätt som Apoliva avsett, med utgångspunkt i Halls (2009) encoding/decoding-teori. Enligt denna modell finns tre olika sätt att tolka ett budskap; dominant, oppositionell eller förhandlande tolkning. I en dominant tolkning godtar mottagaren budskapet, medan den oppositionella tolkningen innebär att mottagaren vänder sig mot budskapet. I den förhandlande tolkningen godtar mottagaren budskapet till viss del i en mix av tvivel. Intervjuerna inleddes med en visning av Apolivas reklamfilm, därefter ställdes frågor med tyngdpunkten på att ta reda på vilka känslor och budskap som respondenterna upplevde av reklamen. Undersökningen genomfördes med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer på åtta stycken flickor i årskurs nio. Respondenternas svar analyserades med hjälp av Halls (2009) encoding/decoding-teori, och under arbetets gång kom vi till insikt att modellen behövde modifieras. Detta blev nödvändigt då vi i analysen märkte att en stor del av de intervjuade missuppfattat det inkodade budskapet. Trots att vissa respondenter inte tolkat budskapet som avsändaren planerat, var det inte otänkbart att dessa ändå godtog det uppfattade budskapet till viss del. Således delades modellen in i olika kategorier av egenuppfattningar. Svaret på huvudfrågan som ställdes till materialet; Med utgångspunkt i Halls teori om encoding/decoding, tolkar kvinnliga elever i årskurs 9 budskapet och känslan som kommuniceras i reklamfilmen, på det sätt som avsändaren avser? är att flickorna inte kan anses tolka reklamens budskap och känsla på avsett sätt. Endast en respondent kunde bedömas göra en dominant tolkning av Apolivas reklamfilm. Påtagligt är istället hur många som faktiskt gjort en annan tolkning av budskapet, än vad Apoliva avsåg sända ut.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker hur identitet uttrycks i tre musikvideos som tillhör genren ”queer rap” (Mykki Blanco, Le1f och Zebra Katz) där jag ställer frågan om den identitet som uttrycks hos dem är subversiva. För att ta reda på detta användes representations-begreppet tillsammans med Richard Dyers definition av stereotyper och José Esteban Muñoz avidentifikations-begrepp. Dessa tre artisters identiteter går att tolkas som subversiva då de använder normer och redan befintliga identiteter för att skapa nya uttryck, både från det heteronormativa och andra subversiva subkulturer. De skapar nya identiteter och uttryck med de normer som finns.

Celebrities used in advertising has recently been something that consumers have come in contact with on a daily basis. Corporations use celebrities and their attributes as positive reinforcement and association towards the company or their marketed product. Through increased usage of media, the consumers to this advertising technique have been given an opportunity towards better insight into celebrities’ daily life. People are not only receivers of advertising, they are also media producers for the medias agenda. This makes everyone significant in the distribution of advertising. The area of research is called Celebrity Endorsement. All theories within the area presume that all receivers interpret the message in the same manner. In classic communication research there are theories like habitus, encoding and decoding that are the basis for a receiver perspective. These theories are aimed inter alia at people’s past experience influences how people act in a social structure and the receiver thus detects the communication in different ways. In this study, we have therefore created a deeper understanding of consumer’s perspective in celebrity endorsement for further find links to the theories of classical communication research. In this study we want to create a deeper understanding from the perspective of the receiver of celebrity endorsement. This study is also to find connections to theories within classical communications research. The study will also investigate deeper to understand how people within the same target audience are decoding celebrity and advertising activities. To reach a result we have used a qualitative reception analysis, where focus groups from different target audiences has been used. Within the focus groups discussions of current TV-commercials and fictitious cooperation between celebrities and corporations were used for the participants to express their opinion of celebrities in advertising. The study’s result is summarized in four different perspectives, which emerged from the empirical material. The first perspective has been analyzed from the participants’ earlier experiences. The second perspective deals with the participants’ self-knowledge and differences in their capability to objectively being able to analyze their own, as well as the others capability of decoding the messages. The studies third perspective affects the participants’ confessions. This includes further differences in the participants reasoning and confessing or not confessing to celebrity endorsements impact on them. In the last perspective it is described how participants used irony to make a difficult topic easier to talk about. The result of our study shows that advertising with celebrities are decoded in more ways than are described in the models within celebrity endorsement and that classical communication research should be implemented Keywords: Celebrity endorsement, celebrity, encoding, decoding, habitus, Stuart Hall, Pierre Bourdieu, trademarks, brand