The increase in direct personal investment in capital market assets by Australians over the past two decades represents an unprecedented engagement with that sector of Australian economic life. This dissertation critically investigates claims that this engagement heralds a shareholder democracy. Increased economic participation based on private direct ownership of corporate securities could be interpreted as a weak form of democratisation. Using a class-theoretical framework, the dissertation conceptualises the private shareholder phenomenon as a process of embourgeoisement and argues that the development of a macro-level mass consumer financial products market is the result of capitalist class development and expansion. A thesis of strong democratisation proffers the notion that the private shareholder, as an ascendant class of financial actor, engages with real democratic processes in addition to simply owning securities. To test this thesis the dissertation measures the extent to which small shareholders control the objective conditions under which they accumulate greater wealth by seeking evidence of potential or actual engagement with macro-market and meso-corporate level social processes. The dissertation assesses macro-level practice by drawing on the work of Bourdieu and on notions of the social field. It considers the entry of the new class of financial actor to the financial field and analyses their capacity to accumulate and deploy informational capital, and compares their ability to influence a state-sponsored economic reform process (CLERP) with that of other actors. The dissertation analyses longitudinal ownership and shareholder voting data from a set of over 30 major Australian companies. It finds that the new class of economic actor is most prevalent in privatised state-owned enterprises and mutuals. In the context of an ideal Habermasian public sphere, the study considers the potential for small shareholders to participate in meso-level, corporate agenda-setting and deliberation. Using the ideal political space of Arendt, it searches for methods of achieving democratic outcomes. The dissertation finds that while the personal ownership of tradable financial assets may constitute a weak form of economic democratisation, small shareholders?? inability to influence real outcomes, even in companies in which they constitute the majority, places substantial restrictions on the overall strength of the share ownership-as-democracy thesis.

The increase in direct personal investment in capital market assets by Australians over the past two decades represents an unprecedented engagement with that sector of Australian economic life. This dissertation critically investigates claims that this engagement heralds a shareholder democracy. Increased economic participation based on private direct ownership of corporate securities could be interpreted as a weak form of democratisation. Using a class-theoretical framework, the dissertation conceptualises the private shareholder phenomenon as a process of embourgeoisement and argues that the development of a macro-level mass consumer financial products market is the result of capitalist class development and expansion. A thesis of strong democratisation proffers the notion that the private shareholder, as an ascendant class of financial actor, engages with real democratic processes in addition to simply owning securities. To test this thesis the dissertation measures the extent to which small shareholders control the objective conditions under which they accumulate greater wealth by seeking evidence of potential or actual engagement with macro-market and meso-corporate level social processes. The dissertation assesses macro-level practice by drawing on the work of Bourdieu and on notions of the social field. It considers the entry of the new class of financial actor to the financial field and analyses their capacity to accumulate and deploy informational capital, and compares their ability to influence a state-sponsored economic reform process (CLERP) with that of other actors. The dissertation analyses longitudinal ownership and shareholder voting data from a set of over 30 major Australian companies. It finds that the new class of economic actor is most prevalent in privatised state-owned enterprises and mutuals. In the context of an ideal Habermasian public sphere, the study considers the potential for small shareholders to participate in meso-level, corporate agenda-setting and deliberation. Using the ideal political space of Arendt, it searches for methods of achieving democratic outcomes. The dissertation finds that while the personal ownership of tradable financial assets may constitute a weak form of economic democratisation, small shareholders?? inability to influence real outcomes, even in companies in which they constitute the majority, places substantial restrictions on the overall strength of the share ownership-as-democracy thesis.

The ambition of the study Nyanser av beroende is to analyze and problematize the concept of addiction. A broader aim is to investigate if it in the Swedish population exists different patterns of addiction and how these patterns then look like. The empirical material constitutes of Negativa konsekvenser av ANDT-bruk i den svenska vuxna befolkningen 2014. The selection consists of 26 257 individuals with a response rate of 59, 3 percent (N=15 576). The individuals that at some time during the last year used any narcotic substance and fulfilled at least one of the addiction criterias in the diagnose manual DSM-IV are subjects to the analysis (N=560). By the analyze method of Latent klassanalys (LCA), patterns of addiction have been investigated. The theoretical framework consists of medical and social addiction theory. This to see how different patterns of addiction comply with the medical and social perspectives that can be found in DSM-IV. In the latent class analysis, four different groups with different patterns of addiction are identified: Kontrollförlust, Försökt minska intag, Hard core gruppen och Tolerans. The group’s patterns have further on been connected with sociodemographic factors and substance use. The result of this study indicate that addiction is not a homogeneous concept but that there are differences concerning patterns of use and sociodemographic factors.

This thesis explores the forces driving a series of momentous transformations to Indonesia�s production and distribution systems since early colonial rule. The analysis of these forces is anchored in four conceptual themes: the basis of these systemic transformations, their politico-economic ordering as driven by a surplus-creation imperative, labour�s role in this imperative and its response to the �ordering�, and the mode of production as the historical setting within which the transformations occur. This thesis illuminates an analytical gap in the literature by nominating labour as the key force in wealth-creation and recognising its active role in challenging ruling appropriation regimes and in the broader social struggles against exploitation and oppression. The thematic focus defines the boundaries for an exploration of successive colonial and post-colonial ruling regimes. Early chapters examine how the Dutch penetrated the Indonesian politico-economy, entrenching their systems of production organisation and creating an exclusionary system of wealth appropriation. Appropriation systems are characterised by transitions in European political and economic systems, especially from mercantilism to industrial capitalism. The entrenchment of colonial power is considered in relation to the expansion of capitalist organisation in Indonesia. The state�s stimulation of this expansion is associated with an undermining of the country�s reproductive base and a growing challenge to foreign rule. The Japanese occupying force� demolition of colonial productive and distributive linkages and encouragement of independence activism is connected with a post-war struggle for independence. Links are drawn between colonial rule and the tensions and organisational difficulties faced by Republican regimes leading up to the New Order�s re-establishment of a strict regulatory regime, and the development of an indigenous system of capitalist organisation. The surplus-generation and appropriation perspective informs the evolution of Indonesia�s productive and economic systems across colonial and post-colonial epochs and the challenges to the system of social and production regulation that heralded the destabilisation of New Order rule and the rise of the contemporary era of political democracy.

This thesis explores the forces driving a series of momentous transformations to Indonesia�s production and distribution systems since early colonial rule. The analysis of these forces is anchored in four conceptual themes: the basis of these systemic transformations, their politico-economic ordering as driven by a surplus-creation imperative, labour�s role in this imperative and its response to the �ordering�, and the mode of production as the historical setting within which the transformations occur. This thesis illuminates an analytical gap in the literature by nominating labour as the key force in wealth-creation and recognising its active role in challenging ruling appropriation regimes and in the broader social struggles against exploitation and oppression. The thematic focus defines the boundaries for an exploration of successive colonial and post-colonial ruling regimes. Early chapters examine how the Dutch penetrated the Indonesian politico-economy, entrenching their systems of production organisation and creating an exclusionary system of wealth appropriation. Appropriation systems are characterised by transitions in European political and economic systems, especially from mercantilism to industrial capitalism. The entrenchment of colonial power is considered in relation to the expansion of capitalist organisation in Indonesia. The state�s stimulation of this expansion is associated with an undermining of the country�s reproductive base and a growing challenge to foreign rule. The Japanese occupying force� demolition of colonial productive and distributive linkages and encouragement of independence activism is connected with a post-war struggle for independence. Links are drawn between colonial rule and the tensions and organisational difficulties faced by Republican regimes leading up to the New Order�s re-establishment of a strict regulatory regime, and the development of an indigenous system of capitalist organisation. The surplus-generation and appropriation perspective informs the evolution of Indonesia�s productive and economic systems across colonial and post-colonial epochs and the challenges to the system of social and production regulation that heralded the destabilisation of New Order rule and the rise of the contemporary era of political democracy.

My dissertation offers an advancement of the Marxian theory of money, motivated by a methodological critique of monetary theory in general. As such, my dissertation is located within the philosophy and methodology of economics and the history of monetary thought, in addition to Marxian political economy. This intermingling of fields reflects both my research interests and my argument with respect to the current state of scholarship on Marx and money. Despite increasing acceptance of the compatibility of non-commodity money and Marxian political economy, a dualist social ontology has stunted attempts to theorize the relationship between money, value, and class. I base my development of a Marxian theory of money in a rejection of this dualism. In other words, I contribute a theoretical analysis of the relationship between money, value, and class informed by a critique of these dualist notions of economic reality. Accepting criticism, leveled by Keynesians among others, of the tendency to reduce money to the status of a mere veil, I further argue that the ontological privileging of a real economy over its monetary moments is prevalent across time and paradigms. This dichotomy between real economy and less-real money, which I call the \emph{realist dualism}, is thus more general than the classical dichotomy. As such, even fervent opponents of the classical dichotomy may reproduce their own ontological dualism between the real and merely monetary. After outlining the basic features and theoretical consequences of the realist dualism, I present examples of how this philosophical tendency shapes monetary theory and debate, both ancient and modern. Within the Marxian tradition, dependence on such a dualism has impeded attempts to theorize money in its relation to both (1) the economy in general and (2) its own manifold forms and functions. The distinction between real and less-real on a macroeconomic scale is repeated within the conceptualization of money itself, privileging real commodity money over symbolic and imaginary forms. I provide an alternative to this tendency, based on an overdeterminist understanding of the relationships between so-called imaginary, symbolic, and real/material aspects of money. This alternative ontology informs a critical and deconstructive reading of money within the Marxian tradition and a reframing of the problem of non-commodity money. In lieu of deriving a theory of non-commodity money from a logically and historically privileged notion of real commodity money, my general Marxian theory of money takes as its object the interaction between (1) the imaginary, symbolic, and real/material dimensions inherent to money in general and (2) class processes of value production, appropriation, and distribution. This project accepts that a specifically Marxian theory of money is not produced from the logic of supposedly real commodity money, but through the entry point of class.

Much current discourse around policing in the UK stresses the need for a partnership between the police and public and, in particular, the need for the police to be responsive to the concerns of local communities. It is argued that appearing responsive to local needs, and showing a willingness to consult the public in the process of decision making, is likely to increase support for the police. Despite this, detailed analysis of the public’s preferences for policing remains relatively sparse. This thesis uses data from the 2003-04 Metropolitan Police’s Public Attitude Survey (PAS) to consider whether survey data can provide a useful indication of a respondent’s preferences, and how these preferences may vary depending on the characteristics of respondents and the boroughs in which they live. This thesis argues that rather than simply considering some overall measure of the level of policing individuals would like to see, or investigating attitudes towards different functions of the police individually, a more interesting and complete view of preferences for policing can be developed by looking at the mix of policing that individuals best believe will meet their needs. Additionally, it will be shown that differences in respondents’ preferences can be related to both the characteristics of individuals and the nature of the boroughs in which they live. It will be suggested that some of these relationships provide evidence that respondents favour a mix of policing they believe will protect them from perceived threats and reflect their perception of the police’s role within society. In addition, this thesis provides an example of how the techniques of Factor Analysis and Latent Class Analysis can provide greater insight into the data collected in large scale surveys. It is suggested that responses provided to different questions are often related and may represent a more general underlying attitude held by the respondent. It is also argued that using techniques which can handle multilevel data will provide greater explanatory depth by suggesting how a respondent’s attitude may be influenced by the context in which they live. The analysis presented offers new insights into the public’s priorities for policing and demonstrates the worth of the statistical methods employed. However it is, to some extent, limited by the form of the questions within the PAS dataset and by the lack of information about the thought process underlying a respondent’s answers. These concerns will be discussed, along with suggestions for future research.

Both theory and empirical evidence support the existence of “aggressive-victims,” a subgroup of youth who have been found to experience the negative outcomes associated with being an aggressor and being a victim. It remains unclear, however, if aggressive-victims possess risk factors that are unique from youth who are either aggressive or victimized. The present study sought to: (a) identify subgroups of seventh grade adolescents who differ in their patterns of aggression and victimization, (b) determine the number and structure of subgroups differ by school or sex, and (c) investigate whether aggressive-victims differ from all other subgroups in their social and emotional functioning. Secondary analyses were conducted on baseline data from 984 seventh grade adolescents participating in a randomized controlled trial evaluating an expressive writing intervention. Latent class analysis identified four subgroups of adolescents representing predominant-aggressors, predominant-victims, aggressive-victims, and youth with limited involvement. This pattern was consistent across sex and across schools that differed in the demographics of the adolescents. The findings indicate that aggressive victims are highly similar to predominant-aggressors and do not possess any unique characteristics beyond their pattern of involvement in both aggression and victimization. Further evidence of unique differences in risk factors is needed to support prevention and intervention efforts that are tailored to meet the specific needs of aggressive-victims. Future research should consider addressing methodological limitations of the present study, such as by examining continuous indicators, including additional indices of social and emotional functioning, or investigating differential item functioning.

Latent class analysis explains dependency structures in multivariate categorical data by assuming the presence of latent classes. We investigate the specification of suitable priors for the Bayesian latent class model to determine the number of classes and perform variable selection. Estimation is possible using standard tools implementing general purpose Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling techniques such as the software JAGS. However, class specific inference requires suitable post-processing in order to eliminate label switching. The proposed Bayesian specification and analysis method is applied to the Hungarian heart disease data set to determine the number of classes and identify relevant variables and results are compared to those obtained with the standard prior for the component specific parameters.

Currently, sexual assault is characterized as the primary threat to women’s safety on university campuses. Accordingly, many post-secondary institutions in Canada have developed specialized policies, resources, and prevention strategies to address this form of gendered violence. Although a serious concern, the narrow focus ignores university students’ vulnerability to multiple other forms of gendered violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV). In an effort to address this neglected topic, this thesis explores the way five university students experienced and navigated IPV. Adopting an intersectional lens informed by feminist work on gender roles, gendered expectations, and sexual scripts as well as Pierre Bourdieu’s work on class, this thesis examines how gender oppression and class privilege intersect to create unique experiences of IPV for university students. To that end five semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who suffered psychological, physical, sexual, and/or financial abuse while in university. The interviews facilitated open and honest dialogue whilst providing this research project with valuable insight into how IPV plays out among class privileged university students. The thesis concludes that although the participants are oppressed in terms of gender (and susceptible to IPV on this basis) their class privilege also conditioned their experiences of IPV. While affording them access to social and economic resources, the disjuncture between their self-identity as educated, smart, and independent women inhibited their ability to accept their identity as victims; as a result, the participants struggled to disclose, seek help, and address the abuse.