Thesis advisor: Christopher R. Matthews / Thesis advisor: Thomas D. Stegman / The overall narrative in the Acts of the Apostles displays a noticeable dual-emphasis of the author: emphasis on the mission to the Gentiles despite the obstructions of the Jews and emphasis on the Jewish roots of the Gentile mission, which results in an ambivalent attitude toward the Jews and Judaism. These seemingly contradictory emphases easily push careless readers to an unbalanced interpretation and reading of Acts, and the Holocaust is the ultimate horrible consequence of the anti-Semitic interpretation of Acts. This thesis argues that the two emphases, rather than being contradictory, are mutually intertwined: Jewish roots help illuminate the origin and meaning of the mission to the Gentiles, and the mission to the Gentiles fulfills the promise God made to Israel. A good example of this is the Apostolic Letter composed at the Jerusalem Council, which was held to address and solve the problem of the conditions by which the Gentiles could be members of the church (cf. Acts 15:2). In this study, I will place the Apostolic Letter (15:23-29) within a larger theological and narrative framework of Luke-Acts—the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel— and argue that, as Luke’s rhetorical device, the Decree (15:20, 29; 21:25) not only serves to explain some already existing practices among Jewish and Gentile Christians, but more importantly, serves as a guiding principle for concrete table fellowship between Jewish believers and Gentile believers within a community that calls its believers to be of “one heart and soul” (4:32). / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

陳偉昌. / 論文(哲學碩士) -- 香港中文大學硏究院哲學學部, 1996. / 參考文献 : leaf 44. / Chen Weichang. / 論文撮要 --- p.i / 本論文中援引的奧斯丁著作的縮寫 --- p.ii / 導論 --- p.1 / Chapter 第一章 --- 從實際的話語開始 --- p.4 / Chapter 第二章 --- 在約定與事實之間 --- p.18 / Chapter 第三章 --- 「意義」的蔓衍 --- p.31 / 本論文所涉及的關鍵術語的英漢對照 --- p.43 / 參考書目 --- p.44

The study aims to investigate the effect of airline one-year placement experience on Taiwanese students’ development and acquisition of L2 pragmatic competence focusing on their English speech act behaviours. 50 subjects participated in this study, including 10 airline staff and 40 hospitality university students. Two instruments - the Discourse Completion Test and the Focus Group Interview were used to elicit the request strategies from three research groups for analysis. The results of the study demonstrated that exposure to the target speech community specifically a year-long airport placement is relatively influential for the pragmatic development of Taiwanese hospitality university students. The findings in this study also showed that there is a positive relationship between linguistic proficiency and pragmatic ability. It is observed that the participants with better performance in the linguistic and grammatical knowledge tend to show equivalent pragmatic development more than the participants with lower proficiency. The study is believed to significantly contribute in three directions. Firstly, the findings of this study provide valuable data for the development of pragmatic competence in airline English learning. An overall review of the relevant literature shows that there are no studies until now that have explored the effects of airline placement on the pragmatic development of Taiwanese hospitality university students in terms of their English request realisation. Secondly, the results of the study can serve as important practical evidence and can provide guidelines for airline English instructors to start considering how to integrate effective instruction with intercultural pragmatic learning in their teaching materials and curriculum design in order to assist Taiwanese hospitality university students to acquire the pragmatic and social cultural abilities to meet the airline workplace language requirement in the future. Thirdly, the results of the study also revealed information about the pragmatic performance of Taiwanese ground staff; senior employees and supervisors. Therefore, it is hoped that the results of the study can raise the awareness of both English course planners and administrators in Taiwanese airlines to develop appropriate airline English courses for ground staff in order to improve ground staff’s English communication competence when dealing with passengers and also reach the standard of good service quality.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

No description available.

At the top of the hierarchy, construction project managers emphasise that safety is a key priority; and at its bottom, front-­line workers do not turn up to work to get hurt. Yet, somewhere within the organisation it goes wrong, as accidents still occur. Research has suggested that unsafe acts contribute to over 80% of accidents, and hence reducing or eliminating unsafe acts should take a significant step forward to improving construction safety. While it has been recognised that the vast majority of accidents are still caused by unsafe behaviour, research has shown that organisational and cultural factors considerably affect unsafe work behaviour. This study aims to provide insights on unsafe acts that were committed by construction mangers and operatives; as well as providing insights on the effects a multinational workforce has on unsafe behaviours. Hence, the content within this thesis has purely focused on ‘unsafety’ rather than safe practices, and there were many good safety practices on the QC (Queensferry Crossing). It is the premise that by concentrating on ‘unsafety’, theoretical and practical insights can be gathered for safety improvements in the construction industry. This investigation explores this problem on a large multinational construction project in the UK, the QC. The contractors of the QC, Dragados of Spain, Hochtief of Germany, Morrison of the UK and American Bridge, represent Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC). Adopting an interpretive paradigm, this study used a qualitative approach through ethnographic methods. A moderate participant observer approach was implemented; where the researcher adopted a role as a member of the H&S department and frequented the research setting between one and three times a week for almost three years. The contribution of this research is the in-­depth ethnographic insights into the complexity of unsafe acts. The insights revealed that: there was a blame culture, creating an environment that was very difficult to learn from; that some cost-­saving strategies appeared to increase safety risks; some H&S rules were viewed as excessive and inflexible by construction workers, and therefore their were times when workers used their own judgement about when to follow the rules; there were communication barriers with migrant workers, and the one in six translator policy used in an attempt to overcome this was far from ideal; and that the different ways of working that foreign subcontractors had meant they were difficult to manage, monitor and adjust. The findings revealed that there were two main underlying themes that were influential in the undertaking of unsafe acts: firstly, the perceived compensation culture and secondly, tight financial budgets. The fear of compensation claims appeared to prompt the H&S rules that were viewed as excessive, and took away ‘common sense’ from some procedures. The operatives desired more of a common sense approach, and felt at times they needed to break the rules in order to complete the job. The fear of claims also appeared to lead to the unconscious adoption of a ‘Person approach’ perspective, which concentrates on individual error and blame, and as far as possible uncouples organisational responsibility from an individual’s unsafe acts. This approach is inextricably linked to a blame culture, where accidents were under-­reported, misreported and reported late. The second theme was tight financial budgets. Previous research has explained that the competitive tendering process in the industry can discourage contractors from factoring into bids the cost of performing the work safely. In this research study, there appeared to be additional risks taken for schedule or cost reasons. Directors and senior managers acknowledged there was significant pressure for production, construction site managers believed the budget they were working with was too tight, and construction operatives explained that a phrase used on site was ‘just get it done’. To cope with production pressure construction site managers used undercover and informal reward schemes, referred to as ‘Vegas Time’ in this study. These schemes strongly incentivise production, potentially at the cost of safety. Ethnographic insights also revealed the areas where cost saving strategies appeared to increase safety risks, such as temporary designs, labour shortages, machinery and equipment. One of the most obvious cost-­saving strategies was to employ a cheap multinational workforce. However this led to many challenges with communication and different work practices, which was also perceived as an additional safety risk. The theoretical implications of this research work is that to avoid additional safety risks from occurring due to cost-­saving strategies, occupational health and safety considerations should be planned and priced for in more detail during the tender stage. Also, the eradication or reduction of the perceived compensation culture would increase the likelihood of adopting the System perspective to unsafe acts, rather than a Person approach, which is inextricably linked to a blame culture.

Rules of diplomatic immunity, which nowadays are enshrined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, play an important role in interstate diplomacy because they ensure the efficient performance of diplomatic functions. This thesis investigates a particular form of diplomatic immunity - diplomatic immunity ratione materiae. Unlike diplomatic immunity ratione personae, which pertains to the personal status of a diplomatic agent, diplomatic immunity ratione materiae depends in essence on the official nature of a particular act In practice, however, the determination of diplomatic immunity ratione materiae may meet with many conceptual and practical difficulties. For one, it is not always easy to distinguish the official acts of a diplomatic agent, who represents the sending State in the receiving State, from his or her private acts. In case of disagreement between the two States, questions may also arise as to who has the authority to make a final determination. The Vienna Convention does not offer much guidance on these issues; on the contrary, the Convention complicates them by employing, without adequate explanation, distinct formulas for different kinds of diplomatic immunity ratione materiae. This thesis examines these formulas in detail. On a general level, it is submitted that diplomatic immunity ratione materiae for certain types of activity constitutes not only a procedural bar to court proceedings but also a substantive exemption of individual responsibility. More specifically, it is argued that each formula must be understood in the light of the rationale behind immunity, the type of immunity concerned, and the specific functions or duties performed. In case of controversy, weight should be given to the opinion of the sending State, although the authority to make a decision lies ultimately with the court of the receiving State.

Language students must learn to communicate effectively in cross-cultural settings, avoiding unwitting violations of culturally determined norms of behavior. This study compares German learners of English ( GEs) with native speakers of English ( AEs) and German (GGs), studying pragmatic transfer associated with the face-threatening speech act of refusal. Data elicitation involved a written role-play questionnaire composed of twelve refusal situations, including four refusal stimulus types (requests, invitations, offers, and suggestions) and interlocutors of higher, lower, and equal status. Response strategies were identified and classified, and the three groups were compared in terms of frequency and content of strategies chosen. Overall, the findings suggest that the AEs strove for friction-free interactions, while the German subjects tended to be candid. The AEs opted for inoffensive, routinized responses, emphasizing face-protection, and eschewing expressions of unwillingness. The AEs generally provided only vague excuses, relying extensively on positive forms aimed at preserving rapport. Social distance affected AE levels of politeness. By contrast, GG response patterns were situation-specific. Toward unjustified requests or unwelcome suggestions, the GGs exhibited directness, outspokenness with critical remarks, and willingness to risk confrontation, regardless of relative status. In more neutral situations, status and social distance influenced levels of politeness. The GEs appeared to assess situational factors in much the same way as the GGs; however, GE responses were consistently more tempered. Both groups of Germans were more open with expressions of unwillingness than the AEs. They tended to provide solid justification for refusals, while maintaining a more aloof stance. When there was no cause for irritation, the GEs recognized the need for greater tactfulness in English (probably responding according to explicit teaching). When aggravated, however, they lapsed into pragmatic patterns of their native language, following their "gut reactions." Sometimes GE efforts to exceed German native speaker levels of politeness led to "hyper-correction" (i.e., going beyond the AEs' degree of politeness).Occasionally, the GEs transferred German native speaker strategies for increasing politeness. In situations of potential conflict, the GEs might startle native speakers with unexpected candor, the shock exacerbated by cultural proximity and the GEs' near approach of native speaker norms on other levels.

Literacy is widespread, but little is known about its effect on cognitive processes. Research suggests that learning to read is beneficial because it fosters awareness of the structure of language, and orthographic images of words and letters may provide memory anchors for speech. The general hypothesis of this thesis is that orthographic images aid oral language activities. Adults who are illiterate perform poorly on initial phoneme manipulation tasks, suggesting that learning to read fosters phonemic knowledge. However, literate adults may use orthographic images to aid phoneme manipulation, so this conclusion may be false. In the 11 experiments reported in this thesis, literate English speakers performed phoneme deletion/addition tasks with word and non word items - half had orthographically matched stimuli and responses (wage-age), and half were mismatched (worth-earth). Longer reaction times were expected for orthographically mismatched than matched items. The results of experiments are discussed in some detail. Future experiments are suggested to validate the models, and to investigate further the role of orthographic images in oral language activities. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

As a result of the development and recognition of human rights and of the principle of normalisation, in recent decades sweeping changes have occurred in the living conditions of many people with intellectual disability. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons (1971)contains statements to the effect that, as far as possible, the lives of disabled persons should resemble those of their non-disabled peers, and this presumably extends to sexual expression. However, the words “as far as possible” imply that in some circumstances, limitations on a right may be justifiable. One such circumstance is where a competing right exists, for example, the right to sexual expression has to be balanced against a right to protection. Under some conditions, the provision of protective measures may fall to the criminal justice system, which may be used to afford protection to persons with intellectual disability. Australian jurisdictions have used three different approaches in current legislation: to set a minimum standard of sexual knowledge that must be present before the person is deemed capable of consent to sexual activities; to prohibit sexual relations with persons holding power or authority over the person; and to proscribe all sexual exploitation. This thesis contains proposals for reforms to each category of legislative provisions. First, it is suggested that the standard of knowledge required to support consent should more closely resemble the knowledge required for informed consent to medical procedures. Second, restrictions on sexual activity with persons with intellectual disability based on employment status should be relaxed where the role of the staff member does not confer power to coerce people with intellectual disability. Third, with regard to the prosecution of offences against incapable persons with mental impairment, it is proposed that the charge should be sex without consent. On the other hand, it is argued that prosecution under criminal law is inappropriate where a vulnerable but capable person is deemed to have been exploited. The thesis contains a number of further recommendations for the reform of anomalies which exist between the general law of sexual offences and those committed specifically against persons with mental impairment. It is suggested that marriage be abolished as a defence to sexual acts with an incapable person and that offences against persons with mental impairment carry equivalent penalties to general sexual offences. On the basis of literature reviewed in this thesis, two additional proposals have been made. First, that education in the sexual rights of persons with intellectual impairment should be given to carers so that they do not unduly inhibit the development of sexual relationships by that person. The second proposal is that reform should be accompanied by the provision of repeated, appropriate, detailed and specific sex education of all persons with intellectual impairment and that this education should be based on needs identified in the aforementioned research. The tentative outcome of proposals contained in this thesis is that persons capable of consent would enjoy enhanced freedom to exercise their right to sexual expression, and those incapable of consent would be afforded more certain protection.