This thesis examines the extent to which optimism has a bearing on objectivity in scientific inquiry. It is not, however, a psychological level examination into objectivity. Rather, the discussion focuses on collective attitudes, whether in the form of science or a more general public opinion. In essence, sources of optimism at the fundamental level of scientific inquiry are articulated with a careful attempt to differentiate between attitudes about the subject (methodology) and the object of study. The antithetical thread of optimism versus pessimism is teased out with the use of a joint case study of liberalism and Stalinism. The idea of antithesis, however, is contrasted by the fact that, although mirror image ideologies, these collective attitudes share a common faith in progress (albeit through different social mechanisms). This faith in progress provides the basis for the crux of the thesis as it moves to discuss scientific methodology. There is general agreement on what good science should look like and the possibility of progressive science can be articulated. However, it is also possible to highlight the conditions for degenerative science and to further link this to a degenerative social totality in which democracy and social progress are undermined. Economics is used as a case study and it is argued that dogmatic notions on progress have proved to be a major stumbling block to objectivity in the discipline. Furthermore, the implications on the real world are serious.

<p>Avsikten med detta arbete har varit att synliggöra och att utforma en lärarhandledning som baseras på det entreprenöriella förhållningssättet i undervisningen. Bakomliggande metod har inkluderat litteraturstudier, inventering av befintliga projekt inom området, deltagande av utbildningsdag om entreprenörskap, intervjuer av lärare samt västerås projektansvarige för entreprenörskap i Västerås skolor. Entreprenörskap för elever har tidigare drivits av organisationer utanför skolorna varför det har blivit mer angeläget att utbilda skolpersonal så att förhållningssättet kan börja utvecklas inne i den dagliga verksamheten inom skolans egen arena. Resultatet visade att det fanns lärare som framhöll att de alltid undervisat med ett entreprenöriellt förhållningssätt. Det fanns lärare som kände behov av att lära elever olika strategier som eleverna sedan själva kunde utnyttja i sitt lärande. Arbetet visade även att det fanns lärare som blev nyfikna och intresserade av det entreprenöriella förhållningssättet.</p>

This thesis enquires into the role of values in the attrition of teachers of physical science subjects in the formative years of their teaching careers. Recruitment and attrition have contributed to a shortage of these teachers in English schools (Bousted, 2016), and while recruitment has benefited from increased investment (Gov.uk, 2017), attrition has largely gone unaddressed. In belief system theory, values are considered to be intrinsically linked to the behaviours people exhibit (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). As the behaviour of interest in this thesis is the departure of these teachers from the profession, it was decided that the values informing this behaviour should be investigated. Values are also components of an organisation's culture, which is linked to job commitment and satisfaction (Branson, 2008). It is therefore possible that when the values of these teachers and those in school culture are aligned, this will contribute to reduced attrition. Based on the works of Rokeach (1973) and Schwartz (2012), an adapted value scale using Q-method was developed to measure the value systems of student teachers and those contributing to school culture as determined by secondary school department leaders. The measurement and comparison of these value systems showed: values held by these teachers in the formative years of their careers evolve, and ITT guides this; physical science and non-physical science student teacher value systems were shown in some instances to be similar, and in others to be noticeably different; one of the two physical science student teacher value systems was in most instances aligned with the value systems identified as being present in English secondary school culture; misalignment showed that physical science specialists place less emphasis on having a sense of belonging and on benevolence oriented values; when compared with the values in English secondary school culture, teachers in the formative years of their careers, regardless of their specialism, have the potential to overemphasise the importance of conformity oriented values. It is suggested that these combined factors contribute to the attrition of teachers of physical science subjects in the formative years of their careers.

The primary objective of this thesis is to study the role of surveys as power factor with a particular focus on studies of Internet users. The conditions and practices of the private research field are related to the academic discourse on the essence of science as well as to media's role in society. The methodological basis of the quantitative studies and their practices are examined in relation to a range of competing theories on the nature of science and its role in society. Earlier contributions to the criticism of quantitative surveys are also discussed. The methodological problems are further highlighted by concrete examples based on own analyses of various data collections. One empirical part of the thesis consists of analyses of survey studies as reported in the press coverage of the Internet in 1997, 1999 and 2000. The goal of the analyses is to show that surveys are an important mechanism for creating truth effects. The methodological tools are part of the struggle for mastery of the discourse –thereby confirming or changing existing power relations – in part through the dissemination of selected results in the media. Through a perusal of the newspaper articles with regard to the context in which the keywords "Internet" and "survey" appear and what the specific actor says, to whom, with which intention, an overall discourse appears, which reveals that the leading commercial actors endeavour to promote the development of the Internet in accordance with their aspirations. The published results are also related to other, more complex analyses of data collections from the same period. In another empirical part of the thesis findings from some fifty interviews with various experts are presented. The aim is to evaluate the methodological sources of error associated with sampling, the carrying out of studies, the analysis of results and other factors that have to do with the value of the surveys as basic facts, as well as the survey buyers’ awareness of the nature of the errors and their relevance for the results. The quantitative surveys appear as an uncontrolled and uncertain source of knowledge. The survey industry is profit-oriented and characterised by competition whereby methodological issues often land up in the background. The final discussion addresses a set of mechanisms by which the interested parties from the media industry use the ratings in the internal competition or in various administrative documents. They achieve this by establishing a "common currency" on the basis of such studies, which is valid in relation to other interested parties, such as media owners and advertisers. Different strategies developed by the survey industry in order to lend more market value to their products are also discussed. The methodological problems, the lack of openness to external scrutiny and the dependence on the economic field signify that the praxis of the survey field essentially deviates from the basic concepts of science. Surveys take therefore undue  advantage of scientific legitimacy.

Avsikten med detta arbete har varit att synliggöra och att utforma en lärarhandledning som baseras på det entreprenöriella förhållningssättet i undervisningen. Bakomliggande metod har inkluderat litteraturstudier, inventering av befintliga projekt inom området, deltagande av utbildningsdag om entreprenörskap, intervjuer av lärare samt västerås projektansvarige för entreprenörskap i Västerås skolor. Entreprenörskap för elever har tidigare drivits av organisationer utanför skolorna varför det har blivit mer angeläget att utbilda skolpersonal så att förhållningssättet kan börja utvecklas inne i den dagliga verksamheten inom skolans egen arena. Resultatet visade att det fanns lärare som framhöll att de alltid undervisat med ett entreprenöriellt förhållningssätt. Det fanns lärare som kände behov av att lära elever olika strategier som eleverna sedan själva kunde utnyttja i sitt lärande. Arbetet visade även att det fanns lärare som blev nyfikna och intresserade av det entreprenöriella förhållningssättet.

To determine how leading companies in North America, Europe, and Asia develop and sustain strong talent pipelines, this research investigates talent management processes and practices in a sample of 37 multinational corporations, selected on the basis of their international scope, reputation, and long-term performance. In-depth case studies and a Web-based survey of human resources professionals identify various effective practices that can help companies attract, select, develop, and retain talent. However, the results suggest that competitive advantage comes not primarily from designing and implementing best practices but rather from the proper internal alignment of various elements of a company's talent management system, as well as their embeddedness in the value system of the firm, their links to business strategy, and their global coordination.

Over the past 30 years there has been an increase in socioeconomic inequities between Black and White persons in the United States. Some research suggests that political ideology, which in turn impacts political competition levels, may at least partially explain these disparities, though the body of academic literature in this area is sparse. Little is known about how Black political ideology is formed by perceptions of inequality. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of Black political ideology, political competition, and socioeconomic status to determine how political competition relates to social inequities between Blacks and Whites. The theoretical framework of the study was Lockean social contract theory. The overarching question guiding this study explored how competition could better defend natural rights to reduce social disparities and the obligations of government to equally protect, similarly to the protections of government historically extended to Whites. Multiple and multivariate regression models were developed using data from the 2010 General Social Survey, the 2010 American Community Survey, and the presidential election results of 2008. Results showed no significant relationship between Black beliefs of inequality with Black political ideology and that high political competition rates might contribute to the increasing Black/White socioeconomic gaps. Contrary to economic competition models developed through Locke's social contract, there was no evidence that political competition reduces socioeconomic inequities between Blacks and Whites. The implications for positive social change include education of policy makers that higher political competition rates in their states contribute to lower socioeconomic outcomes for Blacks.

This thesis discusses linguistic constraints on scrambling and flexibility in word order in spoken Persian (Farsi) and presents a computational model for efficient implementation of these constraints for a subset of Persian. Linguistic phenomena which we have studies include local scrambling, long distance scrambling, extrapolation of clauses, topicalisation, case tendancy and the discourse marker ra. The work extends previous work on Persian based on Government and Binding (GB) theory by considering the pragmatic aspects of Persian Grammar and long distance scrambling.

Nosso objetivo principal, nesta tese, é fornecer um esboço de reconstrução programática do livro Os Limites da Liberdade, escrito por James Buchanan, aplicando os recursos da Metodologia da Teoria da Ciência e do Programa de Pesquisa, visando, especificamente, definir a nossa estrutura conceitual, que pretende reconstruir o problema e o modo de organizar a concepção de Estado ou da ordem constitucional, na perspectiva do autor James Buchanan. O núcleo da concepção deste autor é baseada na tese ontológica que considera o indivíduo uma entidade livre, auto-interessada e racional, dentro de uma perspectiva analógica, ligada com a noção econômica do mercado. O processo de reconstrução, deste trabalho, acompanha a idéia de emergência da cooperação, traduzida na ordem política pela noção do meio-termo entre a Anarquia e o Leviatã. Isto é feito buscando-se as regras metodológicas e as teses programáticas que controlam o equilíbrio ou balanço democrático da ordem política, em relação a esses dois extremos ou limites institucionais. A imagem deste equilíbrio, que é modelada pela analogia com a idéia econômica de mercado, está definida, apropriadamente, na expressão anarquia ordenada. A regra fundamental deste sistema institucional propõe otimizar a delegação de autoridade para o cidadão controlar poderes políticos, resgatando as premissas fundamentais da democracia, no sentido de evitar qualquer possibilidade da anarquia e do controle excessivo do Leviatã. A idéia básica da anarquia ordenada consiste em valorizar a racionalidade e a capacidade de negociação dos indivíduos, que são conhecedores de seus próprios interesses e limitados pelo interesse dos outros participantes. A operacionalização da anarquia ordenada é fundamentada no desenvolvimento de um projeto institucional que disponibiliza tecnologias, regras, sistemas e critérios de decisão que, supostamente, podem resolver problemas relacionados ao conflito dos interesses públicos e privados, através da interação democrática dos indivíduos. Nesta perspectiva, são elementos relevantes no contexto público do desenho institucional da anarquia ordenada, os sistemas político e judiciário, onde as tecnologias legais e as inovações legislativas podem desempenhar significativo papel na implementação da visão democrática da anarquia ordenada. / Our first aim at this thesis is to provide an outline of a rational reconstruction of the book The Limits of Liberty by James Buchanan with the methodological resources of the Methodology of Theory of Science and the Research Program with the purpose of defining our conceptual framework out of which we pretend to build up the problem and the specific way of organizing the conception of state or institutional order in Buchanan\'s view. The core of this conception is based upon the ontological thesis according to which the only entity existing is the individual, free, self interested and rational and also the guideline of pursuing the analogy with the notion of market in economics.This process of reconstruction follows, therefore, the idea of a emergency of cooperation that it is translated into the notion of political order as a middle way between anarchy and Leviathan. This is done pursuing the methodological rules and theses that controls its balance or skewness at the political order towards one of the boundaries.The image of this balance, that is moulded by this analogy with the idea of market, is properly defined as ordered anarchy. The main rule coordinating the other rules, a radical one, is that one should optimize the delegation of authority for citizen to control the political powers in order to work out the basic postulates of democracy in order to avoiding, on the one hand, any possibility of anarchy and in the other hand, Leviathan\'s excessive control. It follows the basic idea of valuing the rationality and capacity of negotiation of the individual who knows best its own interest but it is also limited by the interest of the others. The operationalization of this rule is based upon the development of a institutional design with resources of technologies, rules and systems and criteria of decision that are suposed to solve the problems related to the conflict of public and private interests coming from the interactions among the individuals in the ordered anarchy. In this perspective, a relevant element of this institutional design is that one of the electoral and judiciary system inside of which the technologies and its innovations will play a very meaningfull role for implementing this view of ordered anarchy.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é realizar uma aplicação da Metodologia da Teoria da Ciência, elaborada pelo prof. José R. Novaes Chiappin, no campo do direito internacional. Essa metodologia procura desenvolver mecanismos racionais para análise e solução de problemas. Tais mecanismos permitem uma melhor compreensão teórica das variáveis envolvidas num problema dado, de modo a fornecer orientações mais seguras para a ação prática. Selecionei o problema da justiça internacional para mostrar como a solução de problemas depende de estruturas teóricas prévias. Mais especificamente, pretendo demonstrar que a criação do Tribunal Penal Internacional representa a emergência do primeiro regime de direito internacional penal, no qual os princípios fundamentais desdobram-se em normas e regras detalhadas e são operacionalizados por mecanismos de tomada de decisão. Diversas outras iniciativas, consubstanciadas em documentos internacionais significativos, já haviam condenado o uso da força nas relações internacionais, afirmado os direitos da pessoa e criminalizado a violação dos mesmos, mas nenhuma obtivera efeito prático satisfatório. Em contrapartida, o TPI apresenta instrumentos concretos para a operacionalização da normativa internacional de direitos humanos. A análise dos documentos constitutivos do TPI à luz da Metodologia da Teoria da Ciência permite identificar a função dos componentes do Tribunal e situá-los com relação ao direito internacional penal como um todo. / The purpose of this research is to make an application of the Methodology of the Theory of Science, created by professor José R. Novaes Chiappin, in the field of international law. This methodology strives to develop rational mechanisms for the analysis and solution of problems. Such mechanisms help to attain a better theoretical understanding of the variables involved in a given problem, thus providing more reliable orientations for practical action. I have chosen the problem of international justice to show how problem solving depends on previous theoretical structures. More specifically, I intend to demonstrate that the creation of the International Criminal Court represents the emergence of the first regime for international criminal law, in which the fundamental principles unfold in detailed norms and rules and are made operative by decision-making devices. Several other initiatives, contained in significant international documents, had already condemned the usage of force in international relations, sustained human rights and transformed their violation into a crime, but none had obtained satisfactory practical effect. On the contrary, the ICC presents concrete instruments to make international human rights law operative. The analysis of the constitutive documents of the ICC in the light of the Methodology of the Theory of Science helps to identify the function of the components of the Court and to situate them in relation to international criminal law as a whole.