Hip-Hop Culture emerged in the early 1970s from Black and Latinx youth living in the South Bronx. At the time, the Bronx was stereotyped as the nation’s iconic “ghetto”. However, as in many of the nation’s cities, the built environment that defined the Bronx was a product of ghettoization that marginalized African Americans through confinement and overcrowding of urban centers; exclusions from mortgage loans and home ownership; and the redistribution of resources. Hip-Hop Culture allowed marginalized communities to reclaim the built environment through repurpose of space and found materials; it creates opportunities for self-sufficiency; and establishes a community around the ethos of peace, love and having fun that mitigated street violence. As the research makes palpable the impact the built environment has had on Black and Latinx communities, my intent is to turn the table and illustrate how the defining elements of Hip-Hop Culture can influence a design rooted in equity and social justice through the proposal of a Hip-Hop Youth Center in Springfield, Massachusetts; a facility that supports underserved youth in their creative endeavors and entrepreneurship.

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The purpose of this study was to identify which school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia have equitable representation of Culturally Linguistically Economically Diverse (CLED) students in gifted programs within their schools. Existing literature on CLED students was reviewed. Three years of data (school years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019) obtained from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) were analyzed to determine whether equitable representation exists within gifted education programs in each of the 132 Virginia school divisions. Furthermore, the researcher used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to acquire longitudinal gifted data from each school division 2016-2019. The Relative Difference Composition Index (RDCI), Equity Allowance Formula (EAF), and Representation Index (RI) formulas were used to determine, which schools have equitable representation within their gifted programs. This study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What school divisions have proportional representation of economically disadvantaged students? 2. What school divisions have proportional representation of Black or African American students? 3. What school divisions have a proportional representation of Hispanic or Latinx students? At the conclusion of the data collection process, the researcher examined (1) which school divisions have equitable representation of gifted students in their gifted programs in schools using the EAF, and (2) What schools have equitable representation utilizing the RI. The analysis revealed the majority of the school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia had equitable representation when the EAF was applied to the economically disadvantaged students. When the EAF was applied to the 2016-2019 school years data for the Black or African American students and Hispanic or Latinx students the range of 33%- 42% were proportionately represented. The English Language Learner students were not proportionately represented when the EAF was applied. When the RI formula was applied to the data, none of the school divisions had perfect proportion in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 2016-2017, Halifax school division had a score of .86 which translates to proportionate representation when the EAF and RI formula were applied to the data. The findings of this study provide educational leaders with relevant research toward equitable representation for CLED students in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VDOE and school leaders could offer professional development regarding equitable representation for teachers and staff that work with CLED students to resolve disproportionality. School divisions could benefit from the implementation of equity allowance goals to help reduce inequitable representation of CLED gifted students. / Doctor of Education / The underrepresentation of students with low incomes in gifted education is a persistent problem (Ford, 2013a; Hamilton, McCoach, Tutwiler, Siegle, Gubbins, Callahan, Brodersen, and Mun, 2018). In recent times, researchers have started to discuss educational access and outcomes for low socioeconomic students (Goings and Ford, 2018). According to VanTassel-Baska and Stambaugh (2018), there is a need to address economically disadvantaged for students who attend public schools in the United States. In particular, there are problems formally identifying economically disadvantaged students for gifted services (VanTassel-Baska and Stambaugh, 2018). Researchers seldom focus on gifted students that live in low-income households. The purpose of this study was to identify which school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia have equitable representation of Culturally Linguistically Economically Diverse (CLED) students in gifted programs within their schools. Existing literature on CLED students was reviewed. Three years of data (school years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019) obtained from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) were analyzed to determine whether equitable representation exists within gifted education programs in each of the 132 Virginia school divisions. Furthermore, the researcher used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to acquire longitudinal gifted data from each school division 2016-2019. The RDCI, Ford Equity (EAF), and RI formulas were used to determine, which schools have equitable representation within their gifted programs. At the conclusion of the data collection process, the researcher examined (1) which school divisions have equitable representation of gifted students in their gifted programs in schools using the EAF, and (2) What schools have equitable representation utilizing the RI. The analysis will reveal which school divisions have equitable representation within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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This thesis attempts to resolve the deadlock to achieve an equitable division of taxes, and thereby internation equity. As the present tax laws were not negotiated, it is not considered here as fair. In this thesis it is proposed that an equitable division could be achieved through a division based on the levels of human development (combining Rawlsian schema and Sen’s capability approach). Therefore, it is argued that such a division would be equitable; because it would be based on entitlements (territorial claims), it would generate cooperation and thereby lead to greater efficiency. Importantly, this thesis establishes that the present tax treaties neither generate cooperation nor cohere with global welfare. Similarly, it is also found that the other institutions (OECD, IMF, WB and Dispute Settlement) related the tax regime presently do not promote development based on human capabilities. This could help developing countries to pursue a division favouring development (laws favouring development) and understand the institutions better suited to pursue such goals.

Bakgrund I svensk hälso- och sjukvård skall prioriteringar utgå från de tre principerna i den etiska plattformen. Habiliteringen i Västra Götaland har utvecklat ett beslutstöd för prioriteringar med utgångspunkt från den nationella modellen för öppna prioriteringar vars syfte är att omsätta den etiska plattformen till praktiken.   Syfte Syftet med förbättringsarbetet var att börja använda beslutsstöd vid val av behandlingsmetoder, och hypotesen var att om beslut tas strukturerat ökar förutsättningarna för en mer likvärdig vård. Studiens syfte var att beskriva medarbetarnas upplevelser av förbättringsarbetet.   Metod I det pågående förbättringsarbetet har Nolans förbättringsmodell använts. Studien genomfördes som en deskriptiv kvalitativ studie och fokusgrupper genomfördes i två omgångar med deltagande team.   Resultat Medarbetarna upplever att arbete utifrån prioriteringsriktlinjer är viktigt men är beroende av beslutsstödet utformning och yttre faktorer. Att prioritera blir enklare om åtgärderna på väntelistan är rangordnade. Det går än inte att utläsa att mer likvärdig vård uppnåtts men när medarbetarna får styra över förbättringsarbetet minskar väntetiden från beslut till behandlingsstart.   Slutsatser Nolans förbättringsmodell fungerar vid införande av beslutsstöd för prioritering. Det återstår att se om beslutsstödet bidrar till en mer likvärdig vård. / Background In Swedish health care priorities shall be based on the principles in the ethics platform. Habilitation Services in Västra Götaland has developed a decision support for priorities on basis of the national model of priorities aimed to translate the ethical platform to practice.   Purpose Improvement work aimed to start using decision support in the selection of treatment. The hypothesis was, if decisions are structured increases the prospects of a more equitable care. The purpose was to describe employees’ experiences of improvement work.   Method The ongoing improvement work have used Nolan's model of improvement. The study was conducted as a descriptive qualitative study with focus groups in two rounds.   Results Employees feel that work on the basis of priority guidelines are important, but are dependent on decision support design and external factors. Prioritizing becomes easier if the waiting list are ranked. It is not yet possible to say that a more equitable care has been achieved but when employees get control over the improvement work the waiting time from decision to treatment reduces.   Conclusions Nolan's model of improvement works at the introduction of decision support for priority. It remains to be seen whether decision support contributes to more equitable care.

This scenario study focused on potential future demand of critical metals if the world strives for equitable use of technologies in the world in 2050. Smartphones and other electronics are increasing in the world and the consumption rate is high as the use-life generally are short. Technologies moving away from fossil fuels have increased in recent years and include solar cells and wind power in the energy sector and electric vehicles in the transportation sector. All these growing technologies are dependent on some specific metals. In some technological areas, the potential future use of specific metals have the risk to become critically scarce, as the use of these technologies increase. These technologies and their use of these potentially critical metals have been investigated in this scenario study, assuming equitable technology distribution in 2050. For metals which in the scenario study indicate critical supply, potential strategies have been screened. Rare earth elements have played a huge role improving wind turbines due to their use of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. Indium and tellurium are used to produce the new generation of solar cells. Lithium is important in electric vehicles and smartphone batteries. These potentially scarce metals might have the possibility to be substituted with other metals that can serve as a good enough substitution in these application. If these metals are substituted it is important that the substitution materials will not in themselves become critical. Substituting one critical metal with another might just result in the same unsustainable problems. These potentially scarce metals are also connected to some environmental consequences as demand is rapidly growing and mining is the main source for these metals. Another problem is that recycling rates are low and these metals often end up in landfills where they pose a risk of leaching hazardous or harmful substances. This scenario study showed supply limitations for the seven metals that were included. The outcome of this study resulted in the following conclusions:  Indium and tellurium have a risk to become extremely critical where neither reduced material intensity nor recycling can decrease demand enough.  Lithium demand Risks to become too high to support with current reserves and as material intensity is likely to increase, and recycling only can contribute with small shares in 2050, substitution is the preferable solution to the lithium scarcity.  Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium demands can be reduced through reduced material intensity, but as they are dependent on other REEs the availability of these four metals will depend on the demand for other REEs  Materials under development as substitutions have to be studied regarding their availability and price sensitivity. Substituting one critical metal with another may result in similar problems for a new metal instead of a long-term solution. / <p>2017-05-02</p>

This thesis contributes to academic debate about the question: how much substantive protection should investment treaties (IITs) provide to foreign investment? Chapters 5 and 6 argue that arbitral tribunals have interpreted fair and equitable treatment and indirect expropriation provisions of existing IITs in several different ways. Each of these interpretations is sketched as a model level of protection that could be explicitly adopted by states in the future, either through inclusion in new IITs, or through amendment to existing IITs. In this way, the thesis defines a range of prospective options available to states concerning the level of protection to provide to foreign investment through IITs. The thesis evaluates the relative desirability of these different levels of protection. The thesis argues that different levels of protection should be evaluated according to their likely consequences. The thesis develops a framework for inferring and understanding the likely consequences of adopting different levels of protection. The framework proposes that the consequences of a given level of protection can be understood in terms of its likely effect on: economic efficiency; the distribution of economic costs and benefits; flows of foreign direct investment into host states; the realisation of human rights and environmental conservation in host states; and respect for the rule of law in host states. Within this framework, the thesis provides an assessment and synthesis of existing empirical evidence and explanatory theory so far as they relate to the consequences of IIT protections. It also specifies the normative criteria by which these consequences should be evaluated. Through the application of this framework, the thesis concludes that lower levels of protection of foreign investment are, in general, likely to be more desirable than higher levels of protection.

Sverige är idag part i ett flertal bilaterala investeringsskyddsavtal med länder världen över. Dessa avtal skyddar investerare som placerar kapital över landsgränserna. Avtalen ger ett långtgående skydd på så sätt att investerare ges rätt att vid tvist föra värdstaten inför internationell skiljenämnd. I tidigare investeringsrättsliga tvister har värdstaternas lagstiftning i vissa fall ansetts strida mot investerarens rätt till rättvis och skälig behandling. Rätten till rättvis och skälig behandling är en vanligt förekommande skyddsklausul i de bilaterala investeringsskyddsavtalen och uppsatsen avser därför utreda på vilket sätt denna rättighet skulle kunna påverka Sveriges möjlighet att lagstifta i allmänhetens intresse.   Uppsatsen utreder dels innebörden av rättvis och skälig behandling genom att undersöka hur tidigare skiljenämnder har tolkat skyddet, dels hur rätten till rättvis och skälig behandling skulle kunna tolkas i förhållande till tre hypotetiska svenska lagförslag. Utredningen tyder på att rätten till rättvis och skälig behandling ger ett långtgående skydd för utländska investerare. Uppsatsen ger avslutningsvis förslag på hur lagstiftning skulle kunna ske i enlighet med tidigare tolkning och tillämpning av skyddet för rättvis och skälig behandling.