M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The question of exercising authority has become crucial as a result of many disciplinary problems which educators progressively encounter. Social structures in educational context are presently changing drastically and consequently children and adults are facing new demands in their disciplinary relationship. This study forms part of a research project initiated by the Department of Educational Sciences of the Rand Afrikaans University. The importance of ten facets of discipline in the consideration of the discipline of children is being investigated. The aim of this study is to determine the importance of authority as a facet of discipline. Once this is known, educators in future could be directed towards this. In this research project authority has been fundamentally analysed. A literature study revealed aspects such as the acceptance of the child that he/she is subjected to authority, the child's attitude towards authority, the childs human decency, the mutual support of teachers and parents in implementing authority, the fact that the child should know that educators have authority over him/her, that the child should know that authority is the "rule of life" and that the child should know that authority is meant to protect him/her. Following the identification of the above mentioned aspects, a questionnaire was compiled to establish perceptions regarding the importance of authority as a facet of discipline. Parents and teachers were approached to respond to the questionnaire. The validity of the findings obtained from the questionnaire were investigated through factor analyses. A principal component analysis (peA) was followed by a principal factor analysis (pFA). The reliability of the information was investigated by means of an item analysis. Hypotheses on gender, language, qualification, educator status, school involvement, age, permanent residence religion marital status of respondents, number of children in primary school, number of children in secondary school and income level of respondents were tested. Significance was tested on the 1%- and 5%-level. The most important findings of the above mentioned investigation are as follow: The high averages obtained on all of the items on the importance of authority indicate that authority as a facet of discipline is very important. The high value which was attached to the mutual support of teachers and parents in ' implementing authority, that the child should know that authority is meant to protect him/her and that the child's human decency should be considered in an authority situation, show these aspects to be of fundamental importance to education. Significant differences of opinion between respondents were found to exist between gender, language groups, qualification groups, religious groups, marital status groups, residential localities, number of children in secondary school and income groups. No significant differences of opinion were found between respondents at different degrees of school involvement, educator status, age groups and number of children in primary school. It is concluded that respondents are of opinion that authority is of the utmost importance in the disciplining of children. It is recommended that guidance programmes in authority should be developed to equip parents and teachers with the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes and understanding regarding the discipline of the child.

This thesis seeks to clarify the role that democratic decentralisation reforms play in dynamics of state building in developing societies where states are often qualified as weak. Within the literature, on natural resource management, democratic decentralisation is seen to either erode public authority in favour of non-state actors, or to strengthen it, as a repertoire of domination hiding an illegitimate recentralisation of control. In the light of these contradictory statements, I propose positing the exercise of public authority as an empirical question. Situating my work within geography and anthropology, I examine the exercise of public authority, that I call institutional power, in a context of competing claims to gold and forest resources in the commune of Séguénéga in North Burkina Faso. An analysis of the way overlapping and competing institutions of power relate in the everyday in the field of decentralisation brings to light the significance of autonomy, and I argue that the relevance of the state is enhanced under decentralisation through the politics of autonomy. Three concepts are mobilised to make this case. Regulation sheds light on the fact that the forms of institutional power over gold and woodfuel are characterised by the degree of autonomy that they enjoy vis-à-vis government. Recognition as a concept queries the durability of institutional power. It shows that where the rule of law weak, or where autonomy vis-à-vis the rule of law in greater, institutions of power emerge from the relations of recognition between government and non-government sanctioned institutions of power. As these institutions operate at the twilight of lawfulness and lawlessness, the democratic decentralisation reform presents an opportunity for these institutions to increase their authority. This claim is made through the operation of the concept of political field. I show that democratic decentralisation has created a democratic field, which is semi-autonomous from the bureaucratic and customary fields. As institutions of power struggle for authority over gold and forest resources in the democratic field, a particular kind of politics emerges and is articulated around claims of autonomy. Through the politics of autonomy, the rule of law is recognised by both state and non-state sanctioned institutions of power, and the state is being built.

The first Christian historian, Eusebius of Caesarea, wrote his pioneering Ecclesiastical History in the early 4th century, just after the western emperor Constantine’s “conversion” to Christianity. It was a history born of Eusebius’ present and designed for the future. Reading Eusebius and the Ecclesiastical History within the second sophistic movement, I argue that Eusebius’ picture of Christian history appropriated the past to fundamentally re-imagine the essence of Christian authority. Eusebius’ descriptions of past Christians used them as exemplars of a new model of Christian leadership designed for his 4th century context. Eusebius was writing in the first place for the Christian clergy; elite provincial Christians who shared the mores and stereotypes of their elite non-Christian neighbours. He therefore presented a model of Christian authority not based around the extreme violence of martyrdom and asceticism which had characterised the charismatic heroes of earlier 2nd and 3rd century Christian literature. It was based instead on a traditional elite rhetoric of temperance, learned through paideia and manifested in care for dependents. Around this thread Eusebius built his Empire-wide church.

Dr. James Barr is a prolific writer who has contributed significantly to theology and biblical studies for over four decades. Indeed, he is a writer and a Bible scholar who deserves a hearing. I became aware of Barr's works and influence on theological trends in the summer of 1991 while taking a graduate course in hermeneutics under Dr. Kenneth Shoemaker at Prairie Graduate School in Three Hills, Alberta, Canada. This study is on Barr and his view of biblical inspiration. The main body of this dissertation is composed of seven chapters: Chapter One (Introduction) locates Barr in the broad context of biblical studies, especially in the arena of ongoing issues concerning the difference between evangelical and liberal scholarship. Attention is given to the inquisitiveness of the human mind, the place of the Bible in Christianity, and the ongoing need to study the Bible with an open mind in order to enhance biblical studies. Barr is introduced within the context of his academic standing and contributions to theological studies. Chapter Two gives an overview of the history of the doctrine of biblical inspiration and the formation of the canon of Scripture. This chapter provides the important background for analysing and evaluating Barr’s view of biblical inspiration within a broader context. Various theological camps (evangelical and non-evangelical) are discussed showing their attempts to address the issue of biblical inspiration. The history of the evangelical development of biblical inspiration is also presented. Chapter Three attempts to help the reader to understand Barr’s view of biblical inspiration. It starts by exploring his hermeneutical conclusions on biblical inspiration, his interpretation of two key biblical texts used, conventionally, to support inspiration. The chapter also identifies and discusses specific assumptions Barr makes about the Scriptures. The chapter ends by presenting his preferred view of biblical inspiration. Chapter Four analyses and evaluates, exegetically, Barr’s interpretive conclusions on key biblical texts and his preferred view of biblical inspiration. The chapter also provides a detailed analysis of and treatment of the crucial texts Barr uses to formulate his conclusions on inspiration. Attention is given to the exegetical issues and understanding of specific texts vis-a-vis their relation to the doctrine of inspiration. Chapter Five critically evaluates Barr’s preferred four-point view of biblical inspiration, his hermeneutical principles, and their implications for the Scriptures. Chapter Six discusses the perennial issue of biblical authority as the point of departure for evangelical and liberal approaches to studying the Scriptures. This chapter shows clearly that our presuppositions about the Bible affect how we handle the Bible. Chapter Seven responds to the discoveries of this dissertation and assesses Barr’s contribution as being part of the contemporary theological trend to help us sharpen our tools. Thus, a four point view of biblical inspiration is suggested. Considering that theology is a human contrivance, the four views are offered within the context of trying to establish a view of biblical inspiration that is biblical in the light of recent theological and exegetical developments. Chapter Eight, the conclusion, summarizes this dissertation and offers some specific comments on the biblical doctrine of inspiration. Attention is given to the need to bring the reader into the world of the biblical text, if the voice of God in the written Scriptures is to be heard in our generation as well as in the generations to come. Barr’s constructive comments are considered and carefully integrated into these comments. The dissertation closes with a suggestion for further study on the topic of biblical inspiration. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Dogmatics and Christian Ethics / unrestricted

Chapter 1 introduces the thesis, methodology, and outline of the dissertation. It also includes a brief historical survey of the doctrine of inerrancy and a study of the factors that led to the formation of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy (hereafter, ICBI) and original writing of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (hereafter, CSBI). The final section of this chapter examines the initial usefulness of the CSBI among evangelicals. Chapter 2 traces the developments that occurred within evangelicalism with regard to the doctrine of inerrancy immediately after the formation of the ICBI and the writing of the CSBI. This study is followed by an examination of major contemporary developments concerning the doctrine of inerrancy. In this latter section, the works of several important evangelical scholars who have recently attempted to reframe the inerrancy debate are examined and assessed in order to demonstrate the resilience of the CSBI and note the areas that require reformulation. Chapter 3 begins a three-part reassessment and reformulation section in which the CSBI's nineteen articles of affirmation and denial are studied in their original context and in light of the contemporary challenges examined in chapter 2. Chapter 3 examines specifically Articles I-V. These articles deal chiefly with matters related to the doctrine of revelation. Chapter 3 offers several modifications to these existing articles as well as proposing two new articles. Chapter 4 is the second part of the reassessment and reformulation section. This section comprises and examination of Articles VI-XII. These articles deal primarily with matters related to the doctrines of inspiration and inerrancy. This chapter examines these articles in their original context, offers several modifications to the existing articles, and proposes the addition of two new articles. Chapter 5 is the final part of the reassessment and reformulation section. This section examines Articles XII-XIX. These articles deal mainly with miscellaneous issues related to the doctrine of inerrancy. Chapter 5 examines these articles in their original context, offers several modifications to these existing articles, and proposes the addition of two new articles. Chapter 6 is the concluding chapter in which I summarize my research and offer suggestions for future studies in this vital area. I recommend that a new group of evangelicals gather together to reconsider the CSBI as it currently stands and use the work provided in this dissertation to begin a conversation toward a revised statement.

Five cases of resistance to authority in the United States Navy in 1971 and 1972 were studied intensively. These included anti-war campaigns to keep the USS Constellation and the USS Kitty Hawk from sailing to Vietnam, a movement defense of a sailor charged with sabotage on the USS Ranger, a racial fight of over 200 crew members on the USS Kitty Hawk off Vietnam and two strikes by 130 Black sailors aboard the USS Constellation. White Jacket, Herman Melville’s documentary report of life aboard a navy Man O'War in 1843 and 1844 was also studied. The social construction of authority, that is, the way that authority was produced, strengthened or weakened by participants, was taken as a problematic. Published letters, reports, pamphlets and articles by members and supporters of the groups involved were the primary sources of information. Officers were found to use either a militarist or a managerial ideology when they commented on authority. Each ideology included assumptions about the practical actions necessary for the exercise of authority and justifications of the right of the few in leadership to demand compliance of the many. The militarist ideology assumed an opposition of interests between officers, and men and that authority was manifested by and depended on an inferior's exact obedience to a superior's commands in a face-to-face situation such as the social and technological setting of Melville's sailing Man O'War. The managerial ideology identified authority as the manipulation of institutional paths to career opportunity so that all levels of personnel were channeled into compliant behavior. Anti-war resisters and Black movement sailors were very critical of authority but at the same time held parallel ideas with one of the two models of how authority was; constructed. Anti-war sailors assumed authority depended on a face-to-face command situation as in the militarist ideology and Black movement sailors based their analysis of racism on institutional channeling which was consistent with the managerial view. The actions of the Black movement sailors were the most effective challenge to authority because their solidarity obviated extensive planning: or organization and because their analysis of racism tended to delegitimize managerial authority. The atomization of personnel by the requirements for organizing the technologically complex work of the ship and the militarist maintenance of oppositions between officers, senior NCOs and enlisted men made cooperation in resistance unlikely. At the same time the authoritarian style of lower level leadership also produced an anti-NCO solidarity among enlisted people. The anti-war sailors had hoped to capitalize on this solidarity but their understanding of the base of authority was incorrect and the Navy was able to absorb their actions without direct impact; however, their libertarian attack on authority along with the Black actions precipitated a conflict between 'managerial' and 'militarist' officers throughout the Navy. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. (Education Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

One of the core issues in contemporary political philosophy is concerned with `political obligation.' Stated in an overly simplified way, the question being asked when one investigates political obligation is, "What, if anything, do citizens owe to their government and how are these obligations generated if they do exist?" The majority of political philosophers investigating this issue agree that a political obligation is a moral requirement to act in certain ways concerning political matters (e.g. a moral requirement to obey the laws and support one's country). Despite this agreement about the general nature of what is being searched for, a broad division has arisen between political obligation theorists - there are some who take political obligations to actually exist ("defenders of political obligation") and there are some who take there to be no general political obligation ("philosophical anarchists"). While there is debate within the camp defending political obligation about what it is that generates the obligations, the common core of all "defender theories" is the fundamental idea that one has a moral requirement(s) to support and obey the political institutions of one's country. Despite utilitarianism's status as one of the major ethical theories, historically, it has largely been dismissed by theorists concerned with political obligation. Within the contemporary debate it is generally accepted that utilitarianism cannot adequately accommodate a robust theory of political obligation. The overarching objective of this dissertation is to challenge this general dismissal of a utilitarian account and to build upon the two accounts which have been developed (R.M. Hare's and Rolf Sartorius') in offering a robust utilitarian theory of political obligation which can be considered a competitor to the other contemporary theories (i.e., theories of consent, gratitude, fair play or fairness, membership or association, and natural duty). However, as this utilitarian account of political obligation develops, the possibility will also emerge for a non-antagonistic relationship between the utilitarian theory on offer and the contemporary political obligation debate. The moral reasons posited by the traditional theories of political obligation (i.e., consent, fair play, gratitude, associative, and natural duty) can be included in and accommodated by my utilitarian account. The utilitarian account of political obligation can accept that there are many types of reasons explaining why broad expectations concerning individual and group behavior are created, and each type of reason can be understood as supporting the utilitarian claim that there are moral reasons for following the laws and supporting legitimate political authorities. Taken all together, my arguments will take the form of a three tiered response to the prevailing opinion that any utilitarian attempt to account for political obligations is doomed. The first tier contends that the utilitarian can consistently claim that there are moral reasons to follow the law. This is not a particularly strong claim, but it is one which has been denied by the vast majority of political theorists. The second tier of my argument addresses this apparent issue by contending that even the traditional deontological accounts of political obligation are not offering more than this. Lastly, it is contended that, given the contingent features of humans (i.e., intellectual fallibility, selfish biases, and the way moral education is tied to rules), the strength of the utilitarian political obligations is comparable to other accounts' analyses of the obligations.

When a police officer exercises their statutory authority to use force against a member of society, and that force results in death, the public must have confidence that the police acted legitimately. The inquiry this thesis facilitates examines current police oversight law that purports to hold police accountable in circumstances of police-involved death in British Columbia. The research is motivated by two assertions: 1. The government’s response to reform the investigatory and legal processes for the determination of allegations of police-involved death is inadequate; the resulting police oversight regime is too complex, and fails to act in the public interest. 2. Oversight and law enforcement agencies limit access to the information required for families and the public to understand the circumstances of, and to fairly assess, alleged police-involved death. While this research does not anticipate a singular resolution to the complex and longstanding questions of police accountability in BC, it draws attention to an unresolved history of police un-accountability as a matter of public interest. Due to the complex nature of the legal framework, this research does not identify an exhaustive list of issues within policing law. / Graduate

'What is a chief?' and 'what do chiefs do?' are the two questions which begin this study of political authority in rural Lesotho. These questions are contained within a broader one, 'why do villagers often hold chiefs, individually and generally, in contempt but recoil at the suggestion of dissolution of the chieftainship?' The latter question arose from the author's initial field experiences to become the basis for a study which examines the history of the chieftainship in Lesotho. This history is seen as a dialectical process involving a struggle over, and a struggle for, the chieftainship. The former struggle refers to the interventions of elites in society, namely senior chiefs, colonial government officials and, in more recent times, post-independence governments and foreign aid agencies. The latter struggle refers to the interventions of chiefs and the rural populace. Having outlined different ethnographic descriptions of Lesotho's chieftainship, in order to illustrate the different criteria of authority which were applied in the making of the chieftainship, the study goes on to consider the efforts of different agencies to make the chieftainship in the image they desired. The contradictions within, and between, these interventions are explored as the study moves towards consideration of why rural Basotho still support the chieftainship. This analysis takes the discussion from the colonial context, during which Basutoland and the chieftainship were created, to contemporary regional and local rural contexts, in which the chieftainship exists. The discussion illustrates how chiefs have been personifications of family and society, and how this representation is being challenged amongst the rural populace today. The multiplicity of forces which have shaped the chieftainship are then drawn together in a conclusion which examines the pivotal role of the chieftainship in the creation of a national identity and in the crisis of legitimacy facing the contemporary state in Lesotho. The study is informed by a marxist theoretical perspective, but it is also influenced by the debate on postmodernism in Anthropology. This leads the study to acknowledge the current context of theoretical uncertainty for ethnographic research, and the opportunities this affords for exploration of new perspectives. One result is that the study examines tentatively the role of bio-physical phenomena in the way Basotho have constructed society and nature, and represented this construction in their collective understanding of political authority.