This thesis is an investigation into the frames and implicit concepts that drive the current trend of corporate-led agriculture, now known as the Third Food Regime. I consider whether this neoliberal regime is hegemonic in rural Ontario, that is, whether the dominant ideology of the corporate ruling class is reflected in and perpetuated by our farmers, despite it being against their best interests. I employ a critical approach, using mixed methods – participant observation of general farm organizations, content analysis of the farm media in Ontario and in-depth interviews with farmers in Wellington County – and find strong evidence of a free market frame in rural Ontario. This thesis outlines the dimensions and dangers of the existing frame in hopes that alternative agricultural models can again be considered. / SSHRC

Neo-liberal political-economic ideology, theory and practice have had an immense influence on public and private life across the world, including the delivery of health care, and neo-liberalism has become the dominant economic paradigm. Market practices, business management theories and practices, and private enterprise have become increasingly significant in health care, as the welfare state and public health services have been challenged by factors such as rising costs, economic efficiency, globalisation and increasing competitive demands. The question of how, and to what extent, neo-liberalism has influenced contemporary health care is, however, deserving of more critical attention. This thesis examines the neo-liberal approach to, and effect on, contemporary health care, in the context of Western developed countries, and offers a conceptual analysis of the theoretical and ideological framework of neo-liberalism, especially regarding its ethical and moral underpinnings. Additionally, this thesis is concerned with the moral nature of health care. The objectives of this thesis are to articulate and analyse the neo-liberal interpretive framework, moral values and language; and to articulate and analyse the neo-liberal approach to, and effect on, contemporary health care. Thus, it is the intention that this thesis will provide a framework for reflection on the context of contemporary health care in Western developed countries and the influence of neo-liberalism. To achieve these objectives, the research strategy of this thesis is that of philosophical inquiry, additionally drawing on political philosophy; and the research is, therefore, basic, theoretical research. This thesis finds that neo-liberalism, and the neo-liberal approach to health care, is a highly complex theory and ideology, constituted of several intricate concepts and moral underpinnings. It is found that the neo-liberal approach affects the nature and purpose of health care, for example by making health care part of the free, competitive market, by commodifying health care, and by replacing the notions of the common good, social justice and public health care with an emphasis on the rational, self-interested consumer, individual responsibility and self-sufficiency. Another essential aspect of the neo-liberal approach is that it emphasises the ability to pay (user-pays system), rather than health care need, as the dominant determinant in health care. Furthermore, this thesis finds that the neo-liberal ideology excludes the ontological complexity and reality of the human condition, and in health care this has consequences in relation to, for example, interdependency, interrelationships, vulnerability and need. In essence, this thesis finds that there are several pragmatic and moral problems with applying a neo-liberal approach to health care, and that the complexities, irregularities, and unpredictability of health care make a neo-liberal approach difficult to realise in health care. The neo-liberal approach undermines the moral purposes of health care, and it is concluded that the neo-liberal approach offers no well-founded moral alternative to the universalistic, solidarity based approach common in most Western developed countries (except in the United States). This thesis seeks to add to the knowledge and literature concerning neo-liberalism, especially as regards its moral underpinnings and normative framework, and, furthermore, concerning the neo-liberal approach to, and effect on, contemporary health care in Western developed countries. Additionally, this thesis seeks to contribute to the knowledge of philosophical inquiry by documenting the method of 'doing' philosophical inquiry. Based on the research in this thesis, it is clear that there is a need for more empirical research into the pragmatic consequences of applying neo-liberal policies and practices to health care, and the analysis in this thesis could favorably serve as a basis for empirical inquiry.

Orientadores: Christiano Lyra Filho, Leontina Maria Viana Graziadio Pinto / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T15:14:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernandez_MarceloRichter_M.pdf: 1222990 bytes, checksum: 048fede24ff2fe68c77f818304e01abd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Este trabalho propõe o desenvolvimento de metodologia para a operação de um portfólio de contratos de compra e venda de energia elétrica no ambiente de contratação livre utilizando conceitos de otimização, em especial de programação linear, matemática financeira e estatística, além de considerar também as regras de comercialização de energia do setor elétrico brasileiro. Isso permite que comercializadores maximizem seus resultados financeiros pela alocação ótima de seus contratos de compra e venda de energia. Além disso, permite a simulação de cenários alternativos de consumo, variações de preços de curto prazo e opções de contrato. A partir dessas informações, os agentes de comercialização de energia elétrica podem realizar comparações entre as várias alternativas de operações no mercado de energia; podem também comparar essas ações com outras propostas de investimentos. Estudos de casos ilustram a aplicação da metodologia a cenários reais do sistema elétrico brasileiro. A análise desses resultados permite avaliar benefícios alcançados e sugere possibilidades de desdobramentos / Abstract: This work proposes the development of a new approach for the operation of electric energy contracts in the Brazilian free market. It uses concepts of linear optimization, financial mathematics, statistics and considers the Brazilian free market regulation. The methodology allows traders to maximize their profits by using the optimal allocation for each energy contract. It also allows traders to simulate trading with different scenarios of energy consumption by the customers, spot market prices, future market prices and long term contracts. Results allow investors to compare energy trading options with other alternatives for investments. Case studies illustrate the application of the proposed methodology to real world scenarios; benefits are also evaluated / Mestrado / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Adopting a gender perspective in this study aimed to examine the identity construction of young people entered in the informal sector in the free city of the Days of Simon in Sergipe. The methodological choice fell on the qualitative research based on oral history, to understand how to build the subjectivity of young people entered into informal work, its universe of meanings, aspirations, beliefs, values and attitudes. We consulted several sources: bibliographic, documentary, focusing on free observation and interviews. The study participants were 15 students (10 women and 05 men) aged between 15 and 24 years entered in the free city of the Simão Dias / SE. Most young students is part of the informal activity to contribute to the family income by reason of exclusion of class. The social roles played by them are built in the wider social context and as defined territories according to the sex of the worker. The space occupied by women in the free stall is limited by, local private space associated with the occupation "light" appropriate to the female characteristics. The men perform activities that require more physical strength enabling the movement in public space at the fair. Domestic roles and family members limit the availability of women in the formal market and impede the expansion of rights. However, informally, women are present in order to acquire a relative "autonomy". In general, young people are unemployed, have low educational level, and thus little prospect of building design professionals. The absence of public policies for integral formation of youth, including quality education, participation in professional training, job placement, is a determining factor for them to fall in informal employment. / Adotando a perspectiva de gênero, este estudo teve como objetivo principal analisar a construção da identidade de jovens inseridos no setor da informalidade na feira livre do Município de Simão Dias em Sergipe. A opção metodológica recaiu sobre a pesquisa qualitativa, com base na história oral, visando compreender como se edifica a subjetividade dos jovens inseridos no trabalho informal, seu universo de significados, suas aspirações, crenças, valores e atitudes. Foram consultadas várias fontes: bibliográficas, documentais, priorizando-se a observação livre e a realização de entrevistas. Os participantes deste estudo foram 15 jovens (10 mulheres e 05 homens) na faixa etária entre 15 e 24 anos inseridos na feira livre do município de Simão Dias/SE. Grande parte dos jovens insere-se na atividade informal para contribuir com a renda da família em razão da própria exclusão de classe. Os papéis sociais por eles desempenhados são construídos no contexto social mais amplo e definidos como territórios de acordo com o sexo do trabalhador. O espaço ocupado pela mulher na feira livre é limitado pela barraca, local associado ao espaço privado, a ocupação ―leve‖ adequada às características femininas. Os homens exercem atividades que exigem mais força física possibilitando a circulação no espaço público da feira. Os papéis domésticos/familiares limitam a disponibilidade das mulheres para o mercado formal e dificultam a ampliação dos direitos. Contudo, na informalidade, as mulheres se fazem presentes visando adquirir uma relativa ―autonomia‖. Em geral, os jovens encontram-se desempregados, apresentam baixo nível educacional e, portanto, reduzidas perspectivas de construção de projetos profissionais. A ausência de políticas públicas voltadas para a formação integral dessa juventude; incluindo uma educação de qualidade, participação em cursos profissionalizantes, oferta de emprego; é um fator determinante para que eles se insiram na informalidade do trabalho.

This thesis tries to prove that some historical aspects of forest environmental regulation could be more suitable than contemporary ones. It connects these historical aspects with free market environmentalism approach and provides a specific evaluation of this synthesis. Its aim is to draft application of functional historical aspects into current environmental regulation. The study confirmed the hypothesis that applicable historical aspects exists and they could be used into current environmental forest regulation. In accordance with FME principles and case -- studies results showed application of historical aspects solid recommendations to private law solution in the Czech silvicultural environment. However, there is a necessary further research impact assesment of incorporation precedents as a particular change in Czech justice system.

This master thesis is intended as a contribution to the understanding of the influencestructural changes has on urban transformation in housing domain, by focusing onmechanisms behind the upgrading as accidental model for regeneration of the collectivehousing. In particular, the aim is to do so in relation to a comparison between differentoperational scales on which process is carried out. The process is investigated at the city,neighborhood and street/square scale. With the use of qualitative methods, such asinterviews, in depth analysis of policies and regulations and observations, differences inmanifestation of the regeneration on different scales are discovered. It is suggested thatundefined strategy, indifferent attitude of local authorities, inconsistent legislativeenvironment, disconnection between the operational scales and presence of the market asessential driving force of the process, results in asymmetric outcomes of upgrading, both inphysical and social terms. But on the other hand, in respect to wider political and economicalenvironment in which regeneration happened, it is acknowledged that considerable housingstock is renovated and living standards are improved. The most critical issue in the process isproved to be the uneven awareness of the importance of the regeneration among the actorsat different scales and consequently their performance in respect to it. Furthermore,influence of upgrading on the community life and social relation in the regeneratedneighborhoods are totally neglected, which has for its consequences decreased use ofcommon space between the buildings and erosion of existed communities. It is proved alsothat fully market driven regeneration has rather regressive consequences on urbantransformation in context of Nis but in same time gives valuable lessons for improvement ofthe future upgrading as regeneration model for collective housing. Based on these lessons,adaptive policy changes are suggested and platform for further studies in system or processoriented urban regeneration and design is established. Thesis is organized as follows: firstmethodological approach is explained, second it situate problem in wider regional and localcontext in respect to urban transformation and housing trends, third thesis discuss analysisof operational scales and conclude with final cross-scale discussion and potentials for furtherresearch.

School choice dominated discourses within educational policy in the last year; some have even described 2021 as “the year of school choice.” School choice allows public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs. This is often summarized by its advocates as “funding students over systems.” Generally, school choice allows market forces to influence education by providing more competition in the education market. Teachers’ unions have fought against school choice measures for years, but what impact do they have? This undergraduate thesis compares 49 states to determine if the proportion of public school teachers in teachers’ unions in a given state serves as a proxy to measure the impact of unions and to discover whether teachers’ unions influenced whether a state passed new school choice legislation in 2021. By employing a binary logistic regression analysis, the results provide evidence that as the share of public school teachers who are union members increases, a state’s likelihood to pass new school choice legislation increases. This thesis gives a broad view of the impact teachers’ unions have on school choice at the state level, but more research detailing the ways unions leverage these effects and how politicians respond to teachers’ unions in their states would be valuable.

Thesis advisor: Peter Skerry / K-12 education policy has become increasingly centralized and technocratic, while falling short of achieving policy objectives. Young people are generally maladjusted to the personal and professional challenges of contemporary life. Parents experience diminishing political influence over the form and substance of their children’s education. I argue that improvement of the quality of private education requires greater emphasis on local political dynamics. School choice offers a free market alternative to a public school system which has largely ceded decision making to avowedly apolitical bureaucrats. Ironically, politics remains essential for the formation and regulation of the very policies that enable the marketplace to thrive as in the case of the tax credit scholarship. The politics behind the marketplace is brought to light by examining the local political relationships required to establish and maintain the Illinois Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship (TCS), a school choice policy of unprecedented magnitude in Illinois. Furthermore, this research examines local dynamics among parents in the Archdiocese of Chicago, many of whom benefit from the aforementioned tax credit scholarships and manifest a variety of views on the teleological purpose of the parochial school. In a nation that is both diverse and increasingly polarized, successful governance of community schools depends upon discerning leaders and the practice of reinvigorated federalism. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Think tanks are generally described as nonprofit institutions made up of experts who achieve change by offering policy prescriptions to lawmakers and by strategically marketing their ideas in the media. They have been part of the American political landscape since the turn of the 20th century, and there are now hundreds of such organizations across the country. This study was directed to state-based groups on the conservative side of the political spectrum that produce policy research in support of their political philosophy of a limited role for government, free enterprise in the marketplace, and greater individual liberty. The purpose was to examine the effectiveness of state-level, free-market think tanks, using some of the same criteria that have been applied to national think tanks; evaluate their use of nonprofit networks and the types of social capital they generate; and provide new insights into this relationship.

Scholars have documented the ways in which the influence of neoliberal ideology, and particularly the extension of free-market logic, has resulted in meaningful changes within colleges and universities in the United States. However, largely omitted from these discussions is the impact of neoliberal ideology on college students. Concurrent with the discussion concerning neoliberalism and higher education, a separate dialogue focusing on the rise of the conceptualization of students as customers has been occurring amongst higher education scholars. Such an understanding of college students is consistent with free-market logic, as the relationship between students and their institutions become defined in economic terms. While many scholars have lamented about the rise of this new approach towards education, few have connected it with larger changes in higher education or with the influence of neoliberal ideology. More importantly, researchers have yet to measure reliably the extent to which students actually express a customer orientation. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide the first measure of a customer orientation, and in the process help describe the impact neoliberal ideology, and freemarket logic in particular, has had on college students.