The current study examined the relationship between uncertainty and supernatural beliefs, as well as the link between individual personality traits and supernatural beliefs. Participants were placed in four different prime conditions: self uncertainty, other uncertainty, self affirmation, or other affirmation. The current study was created due to the widespread belief in supernatural phenomena in America and its effect on society. Results suggest that uncertainty increases religious beliefs but not paranormal beliefs when the self is threatened. Results also suggest that narcissism and neuroticism have a negative correlation with paranormal beliefs, inconsistent with previous research. The search for meaning in life has a positive correlation with paranormal beliefs, which is consistent with past research in relation to religiosity. Further research needs to be conducted in order to understand the relationship between religious and paranormal beliefs and the way uncertainty affects belief, as well as the individual differences that make someone more likely to believe in the supernatural.

Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-04-26T15:23:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 edsondasilvacaldas.pdf: 968411 bytes, checksum: b6ab2a2cfc023dd90cbd0ea77b5f6a58 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-05-09T12:08:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 edsondasilvacaldas.pdf: 968411 bytes, checksum: b6ab2a2cfc023dd90cbd0ea77b5f6a58 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-09T12:08:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 edsondasilvacaldas.pdf: 968411 bytes, checksum: b6ab2a2cfc023dd90cbd0ea77b5f6a58 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-26 / Religião e cidadania são termos carregados de significado em nossa sociedade. Neste sentido, este trabalho tem por objetivo compreender a concepção de cidadania das Testemunhas de Jeová, um grupo religioso que a partir de uma visão de mundo peculiar, além de fazer distinção entre os integrantes da Organização de Jeová e os demais membros da sociedade, considera que as normas vigentes na primeira são superiores às leis que vigem na segunda. Deste modo, todas as escolhas feitas pelos integrantes dessa organização ocorrem em função desse entendimento, o que resulta em um exercício de cidadania moldado por convicções religiosas, tal como por ela concebido, em consequência de interpretações bíblicas peculiares. Para atender ao proposto, inicialmente são feitas algumas considerações sobre a história do movimento, seguidas por uma abordagem sobre alguns aspectos relativos à visão de mundo, ponderações sobre o processo de formação de cidadãos do Reino de Deus e finalmente algumas considerações sobre a concepção de cidadania desses religiosos. / Religion and citizenship are terms full of meanings in our society. In this direction, this work has as an aim to comprehend the conception of citizenship of Jehovah’s Witnesses’, a religious group that from a peculiar view of world, besides making a distinction between the members of Jehovah’s Organization and the other members of the society, it considers that the current rules in the first one are superior to the laws that are held in the second one. So, all the choices made by the members of this organization occur from this understanding, which results in an exercise of citizenship, framed by religious convictions, such as conceived by it, in consequence of peculiar biblical comprehension. In order to attend the proposed study, some considerations about the history of the movement are initially made, followed by an approach about some aspects related to the view of world, deliberations about the process of formation of Kingdom of God's citizens and at last, some considerations about the conception of citizenship of these religious people.

Many legal systems throughout the world have established out-of-court remedies to rectify miscarriages of justice and wrongful convictions. In Canada, this extraordinary remedy is served by a government minister, who is entrusted with the assessment of claims of innocence post-conviction. While researchers have already addressed various concerns over the current conviction review process (Braiden & Brockman, 1999; Walker & Campbell, 2009; Roach, 2012a), Roach (2012b) emphasized that little is known about the applicant’s lived experience. This thesis intends to explore the underlying rationale of the current regime under section 696.1 of the Criminal Code and shed light on how the Canadian government, through the Minister of Justice addresses claims and attempts to remedy wrongful conviction. A case study of Mr. Hailemikael Fekade Kassa’s criminal case file, an applicant who consented to this study of his second-degree murder conviction in 2009, will be used to explore the challenges faced by a Canadian claimant of innocence in preparation of his post-conviction review application. This research has revealed that: (1) the Canadian conviction review process implicitly removes the responsibility for error from the conventional justice system; and (2) despite significant evidence capable of raising doubt, the applicant under study encountered great difficulty in meeting the stringent eligibility criteria. A review of the literature provides the necessary contextual information to this critical examination through a comparative study of the post-conviction review schemes operating in North Carolina, the United Kingdom, Norway and Canada. Further, this project uses Foucault’s (1991) theory of governmentality as its analytical framework to investigate the governmental technologies and rationalities securing the current objectives of the Canadian review process and to explore the effects of policy at the micro-level. Following a presentation of the major findings and brief discussions of the evidence discovered in Mr. Kassa’s file, a final analysis situates the research findings within governmentality theory and highlights their broader implications.

The majority of information related to the postprison experiences of exonerated individuals is frequently found in reports by journalists, or based on the findings of scholars on systematic factors that contribute to wrongful incarcerations. There is a lack of social science research on the unexplored meanings and essence of the postprison lived experiences of exonerees exclusively from their perspectives. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe the postprison lived experiences of exonerated individuals, 1 year or longer after their prison release. The conceptual framework was guided by Tajfel's social identity theory and Becker's social reaction theory. Interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 8 exonerated males who were released from prison 1 year or longer. The data were analyzed using van Kaam's 7-step phenomenological analysis process as modified by Moustakas. The 7 themes that emerged from the data were employment and financial challenges, negative societal reaction, broken family relationships, unresolved emotional and psychological factors, self-imposed social isolation, role of family support, and resilience. Understanding the experiences of exonerees contribute to positive social change by providing knowledge to policymakers and others in the criminal justice system to assist in creating policies to expunge the records of exonerees without the necessity of litigation. Findings from this study also provide valuable insights on the need to offer monetary compensation and social services assistance to exonerees in all U.S. states to help in their reintegration experiences as they transition into their communities.

In this essay, I examine the interplay between history, progress, and morality, as it is discussed explicitly or implicitly in the metaethical literature. At first sight, it is perhaps intuitive that these three are necessarily intertwined and mutually dependent, as if they were casually connected. For instance, few would deny that moral progress has occurred throughout history. The abolishment of slavery and the political emancipation of certain groups are seen as obvious signs that morality does indeed progress. Those who believe in de facto moral progress would point to such 'facts' by comparing two states of affairs according to their moral status. Moral progress thus occurs when we move from a "worse" state of affairs to a "better". However, this simple algorithm becomes increasingly untenable once we ask what it means for something to be "better". Better by what measure, better according to whom, better in what sense? Some – moral realists– will argue that as we become increasingly aware of moral truths and as these truths steadily accumulate, progress occurs. Others will argue that there are no moral truths and no moral facts, and a comparison between different states of affairs is impossible because it involves a sort of moral 'historical imperialism' in which we assert our convictions and prejudices upon a time and culture with completely different beliefs. Taken to the extreme, this view gives rise to the idea that moral progress is nothing but a mirage, a psychological necessity without justification. I conclude the essay by arguing that several positions fall short when addressing questions regarding moral progress, and that there are other ways of discussing it which might be more fruitful.

Disertační práce je zaměřena na mladé odsouzené muže, kteří se nacházejí ve výkonu trestu odnětí svobody. Jsou umístění na specializovaném oddělení, které se ve svém resocializačním působení zaměřuje cíleně na tyto odsouzené ve věku od 18 let do 26 let věku. Pro každého z nich je sestaven individuální plán zacházení, který má za cíl nalézt souvislosti psychologického individuálního plánu resocializačního působení s možnou změnou svého osobního náhledu na páchání trestné činnosti. Výsledkem tohoto snažení je pak dosažení změny u každého jednotlivce s cílem komplexního zapojení se v civilním životě po propuštění z výkonu trestu odnětí svobody. První část práce zahrnuje ucelené kapitoly, které jsou ve svém myšlenkovém obsahu vzájemně propojeny. Tematika sociálně patologických jevů ve společnosti je rozpracována i v podkapitolách, které se věnují kriminalitě, delikvenci, možnostem socializace a resocializace v působení na každého jednotlivého odsouzeného během výkonu trestu odnětí svobody. Komplexnost pohledu je zahrnuta v rozpracování sociálních příčin páchání trestné činnosti s osobnostními dispozicemi jedinců k delikventnímu chování. Další kapitoly se opírají o výkon trestu odnětí svobody v České republice s kontextem na Evropská vězeňská pravidla. Větší prostor disertační práce je věnován...

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Text in Afrikaans, abstract in Afrikaans and English / Die nie-nakoming van onderhoudsbevele is 'n universele problem. Wereldwyd word daar gedurig pogings aangewend om by wyse van wetgewing effektiewer afdwinging van onderhoudsbevele te bewerkstellig. Op 1 Maart 1992 het die wetgewer hier te lande 'n aantal nuwe maatreels vir hierdie doel beliggaam in die Wysigingswet op Onderhoud, 2 van 1991, wat op genoemde datum in werking getree het. 'n Ondersoek is gedoen by die Johannesburgse Landdroshof waar 'n studie gemaak is van 2,248 afgehandelde sake en strek oor die periode 1Maart 1992 tot 31Augustus1995. Die ondersoek bring aan die lig dat die bepalings van genoemde Wysigingswet op Onderhoud, wat gerig is op effektiewer afdwinging van onderhoudsbevele, nie 'n noemenswaardige verbetering in effektiewer afdwinging van hierdie bevele in die praktyk tot gevolg gehad het nie. Dit blyk dat die meeste howe geneig is om belangrike afdwingingsmeganismes soos besoldigingsbeslag bevele en lasbriewe vir eksekusie oor die hoof sien. Kritiek word uitgespreek op sommige van hierdie bepalings en voorstelle word gemaak hoe relatiewe geringe wysigings daaraan effektiewer afdwinging van onderhoudsbevele kan bewerkstellig. Daar word kortliks verwys na die afdwinging van onderhoudsbevele in antler regstelsels en hoe hulle poog om effektiewer afdwinging van onderhoudsbevele te bewerkstellig. / The ineffective enforcement of maintenance orders appears to be a world wide phenomenon. Legislators here and aboard are always attempting to improve the effectiveness of maintenance collection and enforcement methods. Research done at the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court involving 2,248 cases covering the period 1 March 1992 to 31 August 1995 reveals that the Maintenance Amendment Act, 2 of 1991, which is aimed at improving the enforcement of maintenance orders had a negligible effect on enforcement mechanisms used by the courts. It appears that most courts are inclined to overlook important collection methods such as garnishee and attachment orders. Criticism is levelled at certain provisions contained in the Maintenance Act, 23 of 1963, as amended. Suggestions are made how relatively simple amendments would contribute to more effective enforcement of maintenance orders. A brief survey is made of attempts by some Western countries to improve the manner of maintenance collection. / Private Law / LL. M. (Law)

This thesis sets out to provide a deep analysis of the mechanisms for review of convictions in New Zealand and England after initial appeal rights are exhausted, and to identify the key areas of similarity and difference between these systems, the reasons for these differences, and their implications. The appeal systems in each jurisdiction are briefly examined, alongside the pressures and restrictions on their functioning. Particular attention is paid to the options for appeal out of time, and for revisiting appeal decisions if new material comes to light. The main discussion is of the specialist procedures for review of suspect convictions in each jurisdiction: the Royal Prerogative of Mercy process carried out by the New Zealand Ministry of Justice and the work of the English Criminal Cases Review Commission. This discussion presents the results of empirical research carried out by the author utilising the files of each of these bodies. It investigates the legal context in which each body functions, and provides an account of how each body functions in practice, by examining the circumstances in which each body will contemplate referring a matter back to an appeal court and the means by which a determination is made as to whether to do so in an individual case. In addition it examines the various factors (legal and non-legal) which impact on their work. Finally, the key features of the two systems are contrasted, with a discussion of the areas of similarity and difference, as well as the possible implications of these, in particular for reform of the New Zealand processes.