This dissertation uses Critical Discourse Analysis to study debates among elite members and affiliates of the Democratic Party from 1988-2008 on class issues and their relevance to the party's environmental agenda. This research builds off of several related historical and theoretical accounts (both primary and secondary) of new social and economic divisions between college-educated and non-college educated workers that have shaped American politics since the 1970s. I focus on how Democratic interest in environmentalism changed as a 'professional-managerial-class' or 'new class' supplanted unionized, industrial workers as the primary social base of the Democratic party. I trace how related people and groups associated with the party understood the relevance of these different classes to consolidating enduring electoral power, and how these informed specific arguments for what ideological views or policy proposals the party should publicly embrace. Furthermore, I identify 'green' narratives related to environmental protection, as an emerging thematic framework that some Democrats felt could help them build a coalition based primarily around support from educated, white-collar workers. I contend that the ideological character of the party's environmental rhetoric, as articulated in this debate, has been influenced mostly by attempts to tailor the party's agenda to the perceived sensibilities of the college-educated, rather than the older working-class base. My analysis proposes three overarching core concepts most often ascribed to the professional class and its members' ideological disposition. I use the discursive method described above to explore their relationship to the framing of the climate issue and its connection to broader ideological values. These are (A) Meritocracy (B) Technocratic Rationality, and (C) Individualism. I argue these professional-oriented climate narratives can be understood as adapting the conceptual reasoning of an older liberal tradition to the structural conditions of the post-70s, globalized economy. Specifically, that the frequent emphasis on these three concepts implicit to the PMC-centric discourse is consistent with a liberal view of freedom as 'non-interference', and a related hostility to democratic interventions into the market. This ideological analysis is significant to the dissertation's focus on framings of climate change because an account this conceptual logic reveals the potential limits of the Democrats' efforts to create majoritarian, political support for environmental protection. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation provides an analysis of debates among elite members and affiliates of the Democratic Party from 1988-2008 on class issues and their relevance to the party's environmental agenda. This investigation is informed by existing accounts of the social and economic divisions between college-educated and non-college educated workers that have shaped American politics since the 1970s. I focus on how Democratic interest in environmentalism developed as a 'professional-managerial-class' or 'new class' supplanted unionized, industrial workers as the primary social base of the Democratic party. I trace how related people and groups associated with the party understood the relevance of these different classes to winning future elections, and how these informed specific arguments for what ideological views or policy proposals the party should publicly embrace. Furthermore, I identify 'green' narratives related to environmental protection, as an emerging thematic framework that some Democrats felt could help them build a coalition based primarily around support from educated, white-collar workers. There are two narratives about class and its relevance to the party that recur frequently in these sources. The first advocates for a coalition made up primarily by the working-class, conceived of as wage-earning, high-school educated voters working in domestically bound, blue collar industries. The second argues the party should build a coalition made up of a professional-managerial class—referred to as the "symbolic analysts", "the rising learning class", "ideapolis dwellers", or "wired workers"— conceived of as affluent, well-educated professionals working in globally integrated sectors of a high-tech "new economy". Each of these views are based on identifying specific ideological sensibilities with the respective classes, which then justify arguments for particular framings of the party's identity and policy agenda. I contend that the ideological character of the party's public philosophy, as articulated in this debate, has been influenced mostly by attempts to tailor the party's agenda (or rhetoric) to the perceived sensibilities of the college-educated, rather than the older working-class base. I show that this was motivated by a belief that a coalition built around votes from the PMC would serve as a more reliable electoral base in a political environment where it was difficult to build support through redistributive, New Deal-style policies as the party had done since the 1930s. Some members perceived the professionals' investment in a post-material "New Politics" or "progressive centrism" as an alternative. The college-educated, they argued, could be motivated to support the Democrats on cultural grounds, allowing the party to embrace more free-market policies. In addition, several figures, including Chuck Schumer, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore argued that environmentalism could or should serve as the foundation of this progressive centrist version of the party, because of green issues' supposed compatibility with a 'pro-business', market-based agenda.

This dissertation argues that we need to reconceive our notions of economic freedom to be bothmore inclusive and worker-centric. The status quo of economic freedom is dominated by the libertarian perspective, which envisions economic freedom as a matter of individuals being unrestricted in the exercise of their sovereign capacities, especially with regards to the state. Such a view of economic freedom does not account for how individual capacities are made possible, neglecting that in modern economic life, it is only through non-sovereign dependencies on others that makes individual economic capacities substantive. Additionally, outcry against injustices in American economic life is primarily framed through the lens of inequality, which too quickly concedes freedom to the libertarian perspective. Chapter one articulates a critique of three libertarian perspectives, arguing that each in its own way is too closely tied to a sovereigntist view of individual capacity, and as such is incapable of offering a more inclusive conception of economic freedom. Chapter two examines the recent neo-republican resurgence, arguing that Philip Pettit’s revival of freedom as non-domination neglects to account for its own logical and practical assumption on a polity that is bounded and stable, making it less credible as a politics of inclusion. The chapter also extends this critique to Alex Gourevitch’s labor republicanism, arguing that casting freedom as non-domination in a more working class mold is insufficient to eliminate its reliance on exclusionary boundaries. Chapter three draws from recent care theory to argue that we should conceive of economic freedom as the enabling conditions of economic agency, which are made possible only through dependencies on others. But even if such dependencies are universally necessary, they are not experienced in an equitable way. The more privileged tend to be in a position to enjoy access to such enabling conditions, which the work of the less privileged makes possible. Transforming economic freedom into a more inclusive value means properly recognizing such contributions. Chapter four examines two case studies from American labor history: garment workers in the early twentieth century, and the more contemporary Los Deliveristas Unidos, who represent delivery cyclists in New York City.

The specific problem of this study was to determine common characteristics of midlife professional, technical, and managerial workers who have made voluntary radical career changes, to identify positive and negative experiences faced by these individuals, and to identify coping strategies used by the career changer and families of the career changers. Data were gathered by the participant observation method of qualitative research. Twenty purposively selected career changers were interviewed using semi- structured interview questions. Questions were categorized as follows: personal background, schooling, career history, the career change, and after the career change. The interview sessions were tape recorded. Responses to the interview questions were assembled, codified, and examined for similarities. A profile of a middle-aged professional who has made a radical career change was developed. Excerpts from the profile follow. This individual: (a) is about 43 years old, (b) has worked in the same career for about 13 years prior to the change, (c) experienced no major traumatic event before the change, (d) received no assistance from a "help" agency during the time of change, (e) had few barriers to overcome in making the transition, (f) adjusted to the change with a minimum of effort, and (g) remained financially stable after the change. A major finding of the study was that 17 of the 20 subjects said they were better off psychologically after making the career change. / Ed. D.

Des recherches approfondies ont démontré que la représentation descriptive est importante. Les membres de groupes sociaux partagent souvent des intérêts communs et les élus qui font partie de ces groupes peuvent exercer leur pouvoir pour promouvoir les intérêts de leur groupe. Alors que la plupart des études sur la représentation descriptive portent sur les femmes et les minorités ethniques, peu d'entre elles s'intéressent à la représentation descriptive des groupes économiques. Cette étude tente de remédier à cette situation en posant deux questions : comment la représentation descriptive de la classe ouvrière a-t-elle évolué et comment ces changements de représentation sont-ils liés aux politiques des partis ? J'utilise des informations sur l'ancien emploi des députés du Royaume-Uni et du Canada comme indicateur de classe sociale pour analyser les tendances de la représentation de la classe ouvrière depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Ensuite, je combine ces données avec les données du Comparative Manifesto Project (CMP) pour mesurer l'ampleur du lien entre la proportion de députés issus de la classe ouvrière et l'orientation idéologique des plateformes électorales des partis. Les résultats relatifs aux tendances de représentation démontrent que même si le nombre total de travailleurs au parlement a progressivement diminué, la classe ouvrière dispose d’une meilleure représentation descriptive aujourd'hui. En outre, les résultats de régression montrent que la présence de députés issus de la classe ouvrière pousse vers la gauche les politiques proposées par les partis britanniques et canadiens, indiquant un lien clair entre la représentation descriptive et substantive de la classe ouvrière. Les implications de ces résultats alimentent le débat sur l'importance de la représentation des classes sociales et démontrent que l'élection de membres d'un groupe économique est un moyen efficace de voir les intérêts de ce groupe pris en compte dans les politiques des partis. / Extensive research has demonstrated that descriptive representation matters. Members of groups often share common interests and elected officials who are part of these groups can wield their power to advance their group’s interests. While most research on the topic of representation focuses on women and ethnic minorities, few have inquired into the descriptive representation of economic groups. This study seeks to address this gap in the literature by asking two questions: how has descriptive representation of class changed over time, and how are changes in representation connected to party policy? First, I use information on the former occupation of UK and Canadian MPs to analyze trends in the representation of class since the Second World War. Second, I combine this information with data from the Comparative Manifesto Project (CMP) to establish a link between the proportion of working-class MPs and party policy. Results pertaining to trends in representation show that even though the total number of workers in parliament has gradually declined, the working class is better represented descriptively today than before. Furthermore, regression results show that the presence of working-class MPs pushes the policies proposed by UK and Canadian parties to the left, indicating a clear link between the descriptive and substantive representation of the working class. The implications of these findings fuel the debate on the importance of class representation and demonstrate how electing members of an economic group is an effective way to see the group’s interests reflected in policy.

In the financial industry, there is a high demand for employees to possess all the necessary skills and motivation to perform highly specialized functions, and handle demands that accompany increasing stress levels. The aim of the research was to determine whether there is a relationship between work and non-work stressors and work-life balance in the Global Market Trading industry. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with a sample of 72 global market trading professionals drawn from a financial institution in Gauteng. Two questionnaires and a biographical questionnaire were administered. The questionnaires proved to be reliable. The power of the study was calculated. Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation was used to organise, summarise and describe the data. The findings of the study show that as global market trading professional’s intrinsic factors at work and stress regarding their personal time increases, their experience of negative WHI increase as well. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology )

The background variables, GDP per capita, marketization, industrialization and urbanization are used to control different levels of development across provinces. The role of the state is measured in the following ways. First, financial capacity, administrative capacity and coercive capacity are used to measure the role of state capacity in BMI extension. The study examines whether there is a difference in choosing different agencies to collect social insurance premiums: one is local taxation agency and the other is social insurance agency. Third, the performance of BMI is measured through the deposit rates of BMI funding which reflects governments' ability to manage the BMI program. In the current policy, employers are charged largely the social insurance fees. So their willingness and capabilities to pay will affect BMI coverage. The study investigates two kinds of employers: loss making State-Owned-Enterprises (SOE hereafter) and Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIE hereafter). On the employee's part, the percent of informal employment in total urban employment is used to measure the effect of adverse employment conditions on BMI coverage. Trade union density is used to estimate the labor organization strength. / The complicated process of extending coverage is related to three major stakeholders: state, employers and employees. These three stake-holders influence BMI progress. Also, the background factors (such as the economic growth) should be taken into account for the regional variations in development level. Since BMI is a typical social policy field, this study reviews major theories about social policy development: logic of industrialism, power resource theory and state-centered approach and so on. These theories help organize pieces of phenomena into a unified framework and testable hypotheses are also derived. / The contributions of this study can be twofold. First, from the theoretical aspect, this research tests several welfare state development theories using Chinese data. In this way, it does not only expand the scope conditions of theories, but also improves our understanding of the social policy development in China, an outlier of traditional western democracies. Second, this study tests some controversial issues on BMI development and the research findings provide knowledge support for the policy practice in the real world. / The low coverage of social health insurance is one of the causes of the problems in Chinese health care system which is criticized for the rising health cost, large share of out-of-pocket payments and health inequality issue. The Basic Medical Insurance for Urban Employees (BMI hereafter) was chosen as the subject of my investigation. It was established in 1998 for the working population and till now it has not achieved universal coverage yet. The Basic Medical Insurance for Urban Residents (BMI-R hereafter) was started in 2007 and it is still in pilot stage, therefore data are still inadequate. In rural areas, the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS hereafter) achieved almost full coverage in 2008. Thus extending coverage is not issue at concern for NCMS. Besides, the NCMS data at province level are quite limited. Considering the stages of policy development and data access, BMI-R and NCMS are not included in this study. / The proportion of winning lawsuit in labor disputes is used to measure the function of labor protection system. This study adopts the panel method. Data is ranging from the year 1999 to 2005 and the unit of analysis is province/year. They were collected from various official statistics and constructed into a panel database which can trace the development of BMI from its origin to most recent situation. / The research question is what are the determinants of BMI's coverage? It is originated from some puzzling observations: the NCMS achieved full coverage in four years and it is a voluntary participation insurance program. On the contrary, why the mandatory BMI did not reach universal coverage after almost ten years' development? Besides, the progress of BMI across different provinces varied greatly. Given the policy designing and starting points are rather similar, how can we explain these variations? / The research yields several interesting results. First, the roles of financial capacity and administrative capacity in BMI development are supported by data, especially the social insurance agency. Second, results show that using local taxation to collect social insurance premiums has better effects in extending coverage than the alternative approach. This result will give an end to the decade-long debate on choice of social insurance premiums collection agencies. Third, the deposit rates of BMI funding are negatively related with BMI coverage. It implies that governments should improve the performance of BMI so as to attract more people to enroll in this program. Fourth, the union density in the private sector is positively related with BMI coverage. This result disagrees with the conventional wisdom that the Chinese trade unions are useless. It implies that strengthening the organization of employees (even through the official channel) can protect the rights of employees in some degree. / 劉軍強. / Adviser: Cheek-Kie Wong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-03, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 198-222) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Liu Junqiang.

李艷紅. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2004. / 參考文獻 (p. 320-328). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Li Yanhong. / Lun wen (Zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2004. / Can kao wen xian (p. 320-328).

L’expérimentation sociale de Titus Salt (1803-1876) à travers sa communauté industrielle modèle de Saltaire, dans la région du Yorkshire, a été considérée jusqu’à nos jours comme une référence pour répondre aux maux urbains résultant de la rapide industrialisation du début du dix-neuvième siècle. L’enjeu de cette recherche est de contextualiser cette expérience, débutée en 1853, dans le mouvement de réformes sociales entre 1850 et 1880 à Bradford que nous considérons comme la ville à l’origine de Saltaire. Nous centrerons cette étude sur les différents aspects et influences alors à l’oeuvre dans la promotion de l’évolution ouvrière, tels que le bien-être social mais aussi les pressions économiques, politiques et religieuses. A travers cette comparaison nous constaterons l’étendue de la participation réformatrice et innovatrice sociale du village sous la direction de Titus Salt et observerons dans quelle mesure l’expérimentation à Saltaire prit part à l’avancée de la condition des ouvriers du textile lainier. / Titus Salt’s social experiment conducted through his model industrial community of Saltaire, in Yorkshire, has been perceived and presented this far as a solution to the contemporary issues resulting from rapid industrialisation. The aim of the present research is to put into context this experiment, started in 1853, within the wider social reform movement that occurred from 1850 to 1880 in Bradford- which we consider as the “mother town” of Saltaire. This study focuses on the various influences promoting the advancement of the factory workers’ conditions, such as social welfare concerns but also religious, political and economical pressures, in order to see their achievements on the urban life. This comparative study is aiming to demonstrate the extent to which the model village, under Titus Salt’s leadership, took part in the social reformation and in the progress of the worsted trade workers’ circumstances.

In the financial industry, there is a high demand for employees to possess all the necessary skills and motivation to perform highly specialized functions, and handle demands that accompany increasing stress levels. The aim of the research was to determine whether there is a relationship between work and non-work stressors and work-life balance in the Global Market Trading industry. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with a sample of 72 global market trading professionals drawn from a financial institution in Gauteng. Two questionnaires and a biographical questionnaire were administered. The questionnaires proved to be reliable. The power of the study was calculated. Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation was used to organise, summarise and describe the data. The findings of the study show that as global market trading professional’s intrinsic factors at work and stress regarding their personal time increases, their experience of negative WHI increase as well. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology )

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