The concept of 'ageism' has often been thought to be of limited moral concern, especially in comparison to other forms of discrimination such as racism and sexism. Nevertheless, there are also those who believe that ageism is morally significant, and there are diametrically opposed views within liberal and egalitarian theory as to whether age discrimination is or is not just. This thesis has two objectives. Firstly, it seeks to overcome the apparent vagueness of the concept that has given rise to such diametrically opposed views concerning ageism by examining exactly what the phenomenon involves. It defines the wrongfulness of much age discrimination as originating in either the nature of the reasons for which people discriminate against the old or the nature of the consequences for the individuals affected. In the course of the thesis I make several important distinctions, the most important of which are between the social and moral worth of a person, and between the synchronic and diachronic interests of a person. These distinctions allow us to distinguish between a culturally oppressive ageism and ageism that is justified by reasons of equality and efficiency. The former is intrinsically morally wrong, the latter extrinsically wrong. The second aim of the thesis is to develop an anti-ageist ethical principle capable of challenging both forms of ageism in a comprehensive way, and which is consistent with a broader liberal egalitarian political theory. This is achieved by drawing on the distinction between the irreducible nature of each person's synchronic and diachronic interests. I have identified the principle that we should protect the synchronic interests of older persons with a democratic social egalitarianism that seeks to equalise the social relations between citizens rather than concentrating upon an equality of distribution. It is in this way that I also connect the debate about the morality (or otherwise) of age discrimination with debates within contemporary liberal egalitarian philosophy.

Over the course of the past several decades the benefits of redeveloping brownfields have been widely recognized. Actions have been taken to foster sustainable redevelopment of brownfields by government, policy makers and stakeholders across the world. However, redevelopments encounter great challenges and risks related to environmental and non-environmental issues. In this work, we intend to build a comprehensive and practical framework to evaluate the hydrogeological and financial risks involved during redevelopment and to ensure developers reserve sufficient capital to cover unexpected future costs within the guarantee period. Punitive damages, which contribute to these costs, are in this thesis solely associated with the cost of repossessing a house within a development should the indoor air concentration of TCE exceed the regulatory limit at a later time. The uncertainties associated with brownfield remediation have been among the barriers to brownfield redevelopment. This is mainly caused by the lack of knowledge about a site’s environmental condition. In order to alleviate uncertainties and to better understand the contaminant transport process in the subsurface, numerical simulations have been conducted to investigate the role of controlling parameters in determining the fate and transport of volatile organic compounds originating from a NAPL source zone located below the water table in the subsurface. In the first part of this thesis, the numerical model CompFlow Bio is used on a hypothesized three-dimensional problem geometry where multiple residential dwellings are built. The simulations indicate that uncertainty in the simulated indoor air concentration is sensitive to heterogeneity in the permeability structure of a stratigraphically continuous aquifer with uncertainty defined as the probability of exceeding a regulatory limit. Houses which are laterally offset from the groundwater plume are less affected by vapour intrusion due to limited transverse horizontal flux of TCE within the groundwater plume in agreement with the ASTM (2008) guidance. Within this uncertainty framework, we show that the Johnson and Ettinger (1991) model generates overly-conservative results and contributes to the exclusion zone being much further away from the groundwater plume relative to either CompFlow Bio or ASTM (2008). The probability of failure (or the probability of exceedence of the regulatory limit) is defined and calculated for further study. Due to uncertainties resulting from parameter estimation and model prediction, a methodology is introduced to incorporate field measurements into the initial estimates from the numerical model in order to improve prediction accuracy. The principle idea of this methodology is to combine the geostatistical tool kriging with the statistical data assimilation method Kalman filter to evaluate the worth and effectiveness of data in a quantitative way in order to select an optimal sampling scenario. This methodology is also used to infer whether one of the houses located adjacent to affected houses has indoor air problems based on the measurements subject to the observation that the affected house is monitored and has problems and developers have liability if a problem occurs. In this part of the study, different sampling scenarios are set up in terms of permeability (1 – 80 boreholes) and soil gas concentration (2, 4 and 7 samples) and three metrics are defined and computed as a criterion for comparison. Financing brownfield redevelopment is often viewed as a major barrier to the development process mainly due to risks and liabilities associated with brownfields. The common way of managing the risk is to transfer it to insurers by purchasing insurance coverage. This work provides two different strategies to price the risk, which is equivalent to an insurance premium. It is intended to give an instructive insight into project planning and feasibility studies during the decision-making process of a brownfield project. The two strategies of risk capital valuation are an actuarial premium calculation principle and a martingale premium calculation principle accounting for the hydrogeological and financial uncertainties faced in a project. The data used for valuation are the posterior estimates of data assimilation obtained from the results of different sampling scenarios. The cost-benefit-risk analysis is employed as a basis to construct the objective function in order to find the least cost among sampling scenarios for the project. As a result, it shows that drilling seven boreholes to extract permeability data and taking soil gas samplings in four locations or seven locations alternatively give the minimum total cost. Sensitivity analysis of some influential parameters (the safety loading factors and the possible methods to calculate the probability of failure) is performed to determine their roles of importance in the risk capital valuation. This framework can be applied to provide guidance for other risk-based environmental projects.

This thesis is a critical reflection of the author’s time as a Principal of an Indigenous state school from 2003-2004. The purpose is to reassess the impact of her principalship in terms of the staff, students and Community change that affected learning outcomes at the school and to reanalyse to what actions and to whom positive changes could be attributed. This thesis reflects and identifies, in light of the literature, strategies which were effective in enhancing student learning outcomes. The focus of this thesis was the Doongal State School*, its students, staff and facilities. The author will attempt to draw out theoretical frameworks in terms of: (1) what changed educationally in Doongal State School, (2) what seemed to be important in the Principal’s role, (3) the processes that took place, and (4) the effect of being non- Indigenous and a female. Overall, the author undertook this critical reflection in order to understand and embrace educational practices that will (a) lessen the gap between the academic outcomes achieved by Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and (b) enhance life choices for Indigenous children. The findings indicate that principal leadership is critical for success in Indigenous schools and is the centrepiece of the models developed to explain improvement at Doongal State School. School factors, Principal Leadership factors, Change factors and factors relating to being a non-Indigenous female principal, which, when implemented, will lead to improved educational outcomes for Indigenous students, have evolved as a result of this thesis. Principal Leadership factors were found to be the enablers for the effective implementation of the key components for success.

My central concern in this thesis is to extend understandings of how the social categories of rurality, gender and class are implicated in subjective meanings and the claiming of worth (associated with paid work) for a group of rural-based wine production workers. However, this concern does not reflect a relativist stance whereby all gendered, classed and rural experiences are read as equal but different, as this would deny symbolic and material inequalities. The core research question is: What gendered classed and rural subjective meanings do women and men production workers in the wine industry give their working selves? A key impetus for this study was my desire to represent working people's lives through a dynamic model of class, gender and rurality that overcomes the limitations of analyses which portray the lives of people, who have limited access to dominant symbolic discourses and processes, solely through the lens of deficit models of class and gender (Savage 2000, 2005; Skeggs 2004a). The overall methodological approach stressed the 'qualitative'. A feminist interpretation of constructivist grounded theory methodology framed the research (Charmaz 2000). Data generation involved two in-depth, face-to-face interviews with a sample of 16 workers (8 women and 8 men) based within the production function of a rural-based corporate wine organisation in South Australia. In the first interview I used a life history orientated approach and in the second I used a semi-structured interview schedule to examine the workers' current working lives, reflecting an understanding that rather than merely having experiences, 'subjects are constituted through experience' (Skeggs 1997). Interpretative analysis (using NUDIST) of the data re-orientated my engagement with established analyses of rurality, gender and class in order to build new, empirically-driven understandings of how multiple social categories are implicated in lived experiences. Preliminary data analysis led me to engage with Bourdieu's (1984) key concept of economic, social and cultural capitals as an analytical tool to examine how rural, gendered and classed lived experiences gave meanings to these workers. I have also paid attention to Skeggs' (2004a) argument that contemporary 'class making' involves uneven value attribution, the conferring of use values on practices and goods, engagement with inscriptions of value (inscription of lack of value and contestation of this), and critique of 'undeserved' exchange-based capitals as well as unequal access to exchangeable capitals. Skeggs' theoretical contribution has been extended to gendered and rural processes to examine how workers claim worth (as a worker) through these as well as classed processes. An exploration of the workers' family and work-based trajectories (including family historical ties to the local wine region, educational experiences and working trajectories) demonstrates the multiple ways in which class, gender and rurality are involved in lived experiences. The data highlight the ongoing influences of accrual of capital values (both use and exchange) tied to family upbringing and working trajectories, while analysis of current meanings of work provides greater detail on how the workers engage with value attribution of capital values, claiming worth in their work through challenging 'undeserved' capital values of winemakers, managers and technical experts.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Texas Christian University, 2009. / Title from dissertation title page (viewed May, 14, 2009). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Texas Christian University, 2009. / Title from dissertation title page. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Ed. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-118).

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo sobre o efeito de sombreamento em detectores de nêutrons, quando estes são utilizados em medidas de reatividade com a técnica de rod drop. O sombreamento pode ser entendido como uma mudança na eciência dos detectores, quando esta é dada em nêutrons detectados/ssão ocorrida no reator, sendo mais evidente nos detectores mais próximos ao banco sendo inserido. O método de análise, fundamentalmente teórica, baseou-se em simulações do reator IPEN/MB-01 utilizando o código CITATION e o programa MCNP. Em ambos os casos, os resultados são estáticos, mostrando os uxos neutrônicos apenas em duas situações: antes da inserção do banco, e após sua inserção. A reatividade, neste caso, é obtida utilizandose a expressão derivada da técnica de source jerk. Em adição ao estudo teórico, os dados de um experimento de rod drop realizado no reator IPEN/MB-01 também foram utilizados. Neste caso, a reatividade foi obtida com o método de cinética inversa, já que os dados experimentais são constituídos de valores que variam no tempo. Em todos os casos, fatores de correção para o efeito de sombreamento são propostos. / This work presents a study on the eect of shading in neutron detectors, when used in measures of reactivity with the rod drop technique. Shading can be understood as a change in the eciency of the detectors, when it is given in detected neutrons / ssion occurred in the reactor, more evident in the detectors closest to the bank being inserted. The method of analysis was based on simulations of reactor IPEN/MB-01, using the code CITATION and MCNP program. In both cases, the results were static, showing Neutronic ows in only two situations: before insertion of the control rod and after insertion. The measure of reactivity in this case was achieved using the expression derived from the source jerk technique. In addition to theoretical study, data from a rod drop experiment conducted in the reactor IPEN/MB-01 were also used. In this case, the reactivity was obtained using inverse kinetic method, since experimental data were set of values that vary with time. In all cases, correction factors for the shadowing eect have been proposed.

This thesis argues that Kant has a viable, intellectualist account of moral character that is much richer and more interesting than has often been thought. This account is consistent with his broader practical philosophy, in particular, his account of moral worth. Chapter one establishes that Kant has a theory of education on which a child's inclinations are to be trained in preparation for her to grasp the moral law and acquire full moral agency. It argues that his account of habit is complex, recognizing a kind of moral value that is broader than his definition of moral worth. Chapter two argues that sympathy is, for Kant, a primarily cognitive disposition of special importance; this is because it provides knowledge of how the moral law applies in particular circumstances, therefore enabling an agent to fulfill her duties toward others. This chapter also resolves a puzzle concerning Kant's dual concept of character (as both intelligible and empirical) by drawing an analogy with one account of weakness of will. Chapter three develops an account of moral worth that incorporates these more palatable elements of Kant's account of moral character with the seemingly more austere elements familiar from the Groundwork. This theory allows for positive, participating inclinations alongside ascriptions of moral worth. Further, it introduces a distinction between full and mitigated moral worth, to account for agents who, for example, act rightly but for confused reasons as in the case of Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Chapter four responds to two objections to Kant on the basis of moral demandingness, one concerning psychological integration and personal relationships, the other concerning the value of non-moral goods more broadly. It then responds to some objections to his account of the highest good, or the idea of a world in which happiness is distributed in proportion to virtue.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Human Ecology-Personal Financial Planning / Maurice MacDonald / Clifford Robb / Americans seem to be financially vulnerable and lack sufficient net worth to overcome financial obstacles such as unforeseen medical issues, temporary job loss, or changing economic conditions. Americans aren’t saving enough, have too much debt, and tend to have a short-sighted view on their finances. Wealth is a primary indicator of financial and economic security and maintaining and improving standard of living are two important financial goals. Aggregate net worth can be used to gauge the financial well-being of Americans because it includes both assets and liabilities. It is hypothesized that part of the instability which results in the lack of accumulating adequate wealth, is time preference. Time preference is an important psychological construct which examines the ability to defer gratification. Time preference represents the intertemporal choice between immediate versus delayed utility. A low rate of time preference implies a low rate of intertemporal discounting. Individuals with low discounting do not heavily discount the future and are able to defer gratification. A high rate of time preference or a high rate of intertemporal discounting, suggests that individuals are more present oriented, heavily discount the future, prefer immediate gratification. This research study takes a unique approach to examining time preference since the experimental community lacks a clear consensus on how to best measure this construct. Standard risk and time preferences measures are typically achieved through responses to financially incentivized choice questions. Researchers have argued that incentivized choice questions may be common but they lack precision. Therefore, combining behaviors that involve intertemporal tradeoffs into a scale to measure time preference is believed to be a more accurate indicator of time preference. However, there is little research that has reliably developed and tested its use. This research examines time preference by comparing incentive choice questions as a proxy for time preference as well as an additive scale of intertemporal behaviors using a national representative sample. Regression analysis revealed that that time preference measured using an additive scale of intertemporal behaviors was significantly associated with net worth. The incentive choice questions as a measure of time preference were not significantly associated with net worth. The respondents with a high rate of intertemporal discounting as measured by the time preference scale accumulated less net-worth than respondents with a lower rate of intertemporal discounting. In addition, in the regression model when individual behaviors involving intertemporal tradeoffs such as smoking, drinking, and not taking physical exams were added as individual behaviors, the model was the preferred predictor of net worth.