Current Search: Liberalism (x)
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- Title
- LIBERTARIAN, LIBERAL, AND SOCIALIST CONCEPTS OF DISRIBUTIVE JUSTICE.
- Creator
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Kassebaum, Daniel, Marien, Daniel, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
What makes for a just society constitutes one of the most intensely debated subject among political philosophers. There are many theorists striving to identify principles of justice and each believes his/hers theory to be the best. The literature on this subject is much too voluminous to be canvassed in its entirety here. I will, however, examine the stances and arguments of three key schools of thought shaping the modern discussion of social justice: libertarianism (particularly Robert...
Show moreWhat makes for a just society constitutes one of the most intensely debated subject among political philosophers. There are many theorists striving to identify principles of justice and each believes his/hers theory to be the best. The literature on this subject is much too voluminous to be canvassed in its entirety here. I will, however, examine the stances and arguments of three key schools of thought shaping the modern discussion of social justice: libertarianism (particularly Robert Nozick and Milton and Rose Friedman), liberal egalitarianism (John Rawls and Ronald Dworkin), and socialism (Karl Marx and John Roemer). Each of these schools articulate sharply contrasting views. These differences create an intriguing debate about what the most just society would look like.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004697, ucf:45235
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004697
- Title
- POLITICIAL CONSERVATISM AND ITS EFFECTS ON MEMORY AND BASIC RECALL.
- Creator
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Caine, Simon, Smither, Janan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The purpose of this study was to investigate how conservatism affects a person's perception of everyday details. It is hypothesized that there will be a positive correlation between the participants' conservative ratings and the amount of details from the readings they recall that are also conservative. This will also mean that there will be a negative correlation between the participants scoring higher on the conservatism scale and the amount of liberal details they recall. A similar pattern...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to investigate how conservatism affects a person's perception of everyday details. It is hypothesized that there will be a positive correlation between the participants' conservative ratings and the amount of details from the readings they recall that are also conservative. This will also mean that there will be a negative correlation between the participants scoring higher on the conservatism scale and the amount of liberal details they recall. A similar pattern is expected to be discovered pertaining to participants that identify as more liberal. How is this measured? The participants will be asked to rate the their political views on a scale of 1-6, 1 being extremely liberal, and 6 being extremely conservative. A transcript of a political debate will contain views that are both conservative and liberal. Each view will be backed up by details supporting each of a candidate's policies. The transcript will include minor grammatical errors including punctuation, spelling, and tenses, all of which the participant will be asked to correct. Following this will be a mathematical task which will include converting mixed numbers to improper fractions at the difficulty of a fifth grade level. A memory recall task will then be administered to the participants asking them to recall as many of the details from the debate as possible.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0003773, ucf:44745
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003773
- Title
- SITUATING POLITICAL OBLIGATION IN POLITICAL ONTOLOGY: ETHICAL MARXISM AND THE EMBEDDED SELF.
- Creator
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Chambers, Chris A, Strawser, Michael, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Though various obligations typically affect our behavior without being recognized, they have a substantial impact on how we operate as human beings. The relationships we have between, say, our parents when in their household obligate us to take out the trash at certain times and wash the dishes after dinner. The relationships we have between our closest friends often oblige us to hear them out when they have undergone a traumatic experience. Upon reflection, it may be easy to point out a...
Show moreThough various obligations typically affect our behavior without being recognized, they have a substantial impact on how we operate as human beings. The relationships we have between, say, our parents when in their household obligate us to take out the trash at certain times and wash the dishes after dinner. The relationships we have between our closest friends often oblige us to hear them out when they have undergone a traumatic experience. Upon reflection, it may be easy to point out a number of the obligations which inform our social behavior. What is not so easy, however, is pointing out the foundation for such obligations. In this project I will explore the foundation of obligation, specifically political obligation. Through this exploration I will attempt to situation political obligation in the ontology of political actors. In particular, an analysis of liberal democracy and social democracy, and their ontological backgrounds, liberalism and communitarianism, will be utilized in order to elucidate both the usefulness and the location of political obligation. Ultimately, I will show how recourse to Marxism provides for a more robust account of political obligation.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFH2000064, ucf:45568
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000064
- Title
- Confrontational Christianity: Contextual Theology and Its Radicalization of the South African Anti-Apartheid Church Struggle.
- Creator
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Rodriguez, Miguel, Walker, Ezekiel, Sacher, John, Zhang, Hong, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This paper is intended to analyze the contributions of Contextual Theology and Contextual theologians to dismantling the South African apartheid system. It is intended to demonstrate that the South African churches failed to effectively politicize and radicalize to confront the government until the advent of Contextual Theology in South Africa. Contextual Theology provided the Christian clergy the theological justification to unite with anti-apartheid organizations. Its very concept of...
Show moreThis paper is intended to analyze the contributions of Contextual Theology and Contextual theologians to dismantling the South African apartheid system. It is intended to demonstrate that the South African churches failed to effectively politicize and radicalize to confront the government until the advent of Contextual Theology in South Africa. Contextual Theology provided the Christian clergy the theological justification to unite with anti-apartheid organizations. Its very concept of working with the poor and oppressed helped the churches gain favor with the black masses that were mostly Christian. Its borrowing from Marxist philosophy appealed to anti-apartheid organizations. Additionally, Contextual theologians, who were primarily black, began filling prominent leadership roles in their churches and within the ecumenical organizations. They were mainly responsible for radicalizing the churches and the ecumenical organizations. They also filled an important anti-apartheid political leadership vacuum when most political leaders were banned, jailed, or killed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004322, ucf:49484
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004322
- Title
- OIL, POLITICS OF THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND THE PERSIAN GULF.
- Creator
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Parks, Jacob, Sadri, Houman, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This study investigated the effect the price of oil has on enabling political establishments to maintain their presence within the business environment. The study consists of three different case studies with each of the states (Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates) being chosen based upon their level of state involvement within the business community. Each case study investigated whether the price of oil had any effect on influencing the amount of political involvement within the...
Show moreThis study investigated the effect the price of oil has on enabling political establishments to maintain their presence within the business environment. The study consists of three different case studies with each of the states (Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates) being chosen based upon their level of state involvement within the business community. Each case study investigated whether the price of oil had any effect on influencing the amount of political involvement within the business community, property rights or trade freedom. The findings for all three case studies suggest that the price of oil has little to no effect on determining the amount of influence the state possesses within the business environment. Based on the results of this investigation, recommendations were made to improve the United States relationship with each country. Additional analysis and recommendations were made concerning the future economic impact of Iraq relying solely on oil as its revenue source.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002390, ucf:47758
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002390
- Title
- A Study of the Relationship Between Trade Liberalization and Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa's Least Developed Countries.
- Creator
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Rash, Stephanie, Sadri, Houman, Morales, Waltraud, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between trade liberalization, measured using the Heritage Foundation's Trade Freedom indicator, and human development, measured using the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index, in sub-Saharan Africa's Least Developed Countries between 1990 and 2011 as data allows. In addition to exploring the relationship between these two variables, alternative factors that influence human development are examined in bivariate...
Show moreThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between trade liberalization, measured using the Heritage Foundation's Trade Freedom indicator, and human development, measured using the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index, in sub-Saharan Africa's Least Developed Countries between 1990 and 2011 as data allows. In addition to exploring the relationship between these two variables, alternative factors that influence human development are examined in bivariate correlations with human development as well as used as control variables in a multiple regression analysis. Namely, this study includes government effectiveness, the percentage of the labor force employed in the agricultural sector, the percent of Gross Domestic Product made up of the sale of agricultural products, geography, and armed conflict as control variables.By conducting a cross-national bivariate correlation analysis as well as a cross-national multiple regression analysis for the years between 1990 and 2011, this study highlights how, when included in a model with control variables, trade liberalization goes from being a statistically significant predictor of human development index scores to losing its significance altogether. The results from this study indicate that trade liberalization, government effectiveness, and geography, more specifically being landlocked or not, do not have statistically significant effects on human development for LDCs in the region. However, this study finds that for every unit increase in the percentage of the labor force working in agriculture as well as the percentage of GDP made up by agricultural products, a lower human development score can be expected. Armed conflict also has a statistically significant, negative effect on human development.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004427, ucf:49362
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004427
- Title
- SUING THEIR WAY INTO THE NEWSROOM: HOW WOMEN AT THE DETROIT NEWS CHANGED JOURNALISM.
- Creator
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Palmeira, Amanda, Voss, Kimberly, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The women's liberation movement in the 1970s and 1980s utilized various means for activism and demonstrations, but women also used the judicial system to fight for equality in the workplace. This study focuses specifically on the field of journalism and how female reporters used the courts to fight the gender discrimination that was widespread and unbridled before the creation of legislation that outlawed it. The lawsuit filed by Mary Lou Butcher and approximately 90 other women against The...
Show moreThe women's liberation movement in the 1970s and 1980s utilized various means for activism and demonstrations, but women also used the judicial system to fight for equality in the workplace. This study focuses specifically on the field of journalism and how female reporters used the courts to fight the gender discrimination that was widespread and unbridled before the creation of legislation that outlawed it. The lawsuit filed by Mary Lou Butcher and approximately 90 other women against The Detroit News is one such case that exemplifies the process of filing a gender discrimination lawsuit, as well as the events that led to the suits and the impact that it and similar lawsuits had on the field of journalism and the women's liberation movement as a whole. Using textual analysis to examine the coverage of these lawsuits by industry literature and by the publications challenged by the lawsuits demonstrates what the field of newspapers and magazines was like during the time of the cases. Comparing the same media during the times of the lawsuits and post-settlement reveal how they contributed to an adjusted view of female journalists and aided women's acceptance in American newsrooms.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFH0004306, ucf:45056
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004306
- Title
- SAVED, SANCTIFIED AND FILLED WITH GAY: LIBERATION THEOLOGY WITH AAMSM AND THE BLACK CHURCH.
- Creator
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Green, Adam, Coverston, Harry, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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AAMSM (African American men who have sex with men) endure homophobia and racism in their political realities because of their identity. How do multiple oppressions impact the experiences of AAMSM participating within Black churches? Despite the Black church's legacy for liberating African Americans, AAMSM feel demonized and alienated while enduring religion-based homophobia espoused within many Black churches. In the church, AAMSM are pushed further down the hierarchy of oppression and...
Show moreAAMSM (African American men who have sex with men) endure homophobia and racism in their political realities because of their identity. How do multiple oppressions impact the experiences of AAMSM participating within Black churches? Despite the Black church's legacy for liberating African Americans, AAMSM feel demonized and alienated while enduring religion-based homophobia espoused within many Black churches. In the church, AAMSM are pushed further down the hierarchy of oppression and privilege. In response to these observations, this thesis employs a sexual discourse of resistance. I engage this discourse with a literature review in order to discover links between homophobia and AAMSM in an interdisciplinary manner. Jungian psychology is then utilized to interpret internalized oppression. This leads to a discussion of social and religious justice for AAMSM in the Black church through the lens of liberation theology. While the oppressed have become oppressors within the Black church as regards AAMSM, liberation theology affirms all of humanity. Liberation theology provides a message of love for AAMSM and a source of Christian ethics for the Black church.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0003838, ucf:44724
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003838
- Title
- Turning Away From Your Slavic Brother: The Effects Of Identity On Relations Between Russia And Belarus.
- Creator
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Matejka, Matt, Morales, Waltraud, Dolan, Thomas, Houghton, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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On September 24, 2011, it was announced that Putin would run for president once again in 2012. The reaction in the West was that (")the more things change, the more they stay the same.(") The Western conception of the post-Cold War Russia is often one of remarkable consistency since the turn of the century. This Western narrative focuses on an autocratic Putin reigning over his resurgent and confrontational Russia. Does this narrative tell the story of Russia today, or does it instead obscure...
Show moreOn September 24, 2011, it was announced that Putin would run for president once again in 2012. The reaction in the West was that (")the more things change, the more they stay the same.(") The Western conception of the post-Cold War Russia is often one of remarkable consistency since the turn of the century. This Western narrative focuses on an autocratic Putin reigning over his resurgent and confrontational Russia. Does this narrative tell the story of Russia today, or does it instead obscure it? To answer this I have elected to analyze Russian identity and how it relates to Russia's foreign policy with Belarus, traditionally a close ally of Russia. Analyzing news articles from state-owned Russia Today, I look at changes in reporting and Russian identity over time. I argue that a shift in Russian identity towards a more liberal outlook between 2006 and 2010 motivated a degradation of relations with Belarus. I argue that once the simplified narrative of a resurgent Russia is peeled back, a closer look reveals competing identities and competing interest groups in Russia's domestic arena. Finally I conclude that not only does identity play a pivotal role in Russia's relations, but also that researching identity is important in that it gives us a window into a fairly closed regime that lies at the center of the global stage. Discovering how Russian identity reacts to and influences foreign policy can offer insight into the domestic framework of contemporary Russia, as well as offer us an understanding of how central ideas are to crafting the world around us.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004249, ucf:49542
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004249
- Title
- The Relationship Between Student Engagement and Recent Alumni Donors at Carnegie Baccalaureate Colleges Located in the Southeastern United States.
- Creator
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Truitt, Joshua, Robinson, Sandra, Cintron Delgado, Rosa, Lambie, Glenn, Cox, Thomas, Marshall, Nancy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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In 2011, over 30 billion dollars were given to colleges and universities across the United States; donors included individuals, corporations, foundations, and religious organizations. Of the 30 billion dollars, 43% of this financial support came directly from individual and alumni donors (Council for Aid to Education, 2011). Leslie and Ramey (1988) stated that (")voluntary support is becoming the only source of real discretionary money [that a college or university has](") (p. 115). The...
Show moreIn 2011, over 30 billion dollars were given to colleges and universities across the United States; donors included individuals, corporations, foundations, and religious organizations. Of the 30 billion dollars, 43% of this financial support came directly from individual and alumni donors (Council for Aid to Education, 2011). Leslie and Ramey (1988) stated that (")voluntary support is becoming the only source of real discretionary money [that a college or university has](") (p. 115). The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of responses from senior class students on the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement to be used as predictors of alumni donor participation in liberal arts colleges. The sample of this study was 10 Carnegie Baccalaureate Colleges from the southeastern United States. The institutions that participated provided alumni donor participation data for members of the undergraduate class of 2006 for a five-year post-graduation period. Logistical regression models were developed to represent the multivariate impacts of NSSE benchmark scores and student demographics independent variables on the bivariate alumni donor participation rate dependent variable.The results indicated that two NSSE benchmarks, measured by the 2006 NSSE, (Level of Academic Challenge and Student-Faculty Interaction) and three demographic variables (parental level of education, Greek Life membership, and receipt of an institutional scholarship) had a positive relationship with increased alumni donor participation.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0005065, ucf:49946
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005065
- Title
- ON RIGHTS: A DEFENSE AND ANALYSIS OF RIGHTS THROUGH NATURAL LAW.
- Creator
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Lopez, Ramon, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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One of the central questions in political theory deals with the nature of rights. What sorts of rights do people possess? How are these rights justified? How ought these rights be reflected and related when seen in political, economic, and social institutions? Following the publication of John Rawls' A Theory of Justice (1971) and Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), rights have once again returned to dominate much of contemporary political theory. However, natural law, which...
Show moreOne of the central questions in political theory deals with the nature of rights. What sorts of rights do people possess? How are these rights justified? How ought these rights be reflected and related when seen in political, economic, and social institutions? Following the publication of John Rawls' A Theory of Justice (1971) and Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), rights have once again returned to dominate much of contemporary political theory. However, natural law, which was the historical basis of the early Enlightenment theories of rights, is no longer the primary system appealed to when discussing rights. In fact, classical natural law has been all but discarded in most of political theory today. There has also been renewed debate over the nature of public neutrality, and what the relationship ought to be between the public and private sphere. The mainstream view of how our liberties relate to our rights, as well as what kinds of rights we have over our private affairs, has come under fire from a newly emerging political philosophy known as communitarianism. This thesis will present a robust theory of rights that provides a new understanding of the relationship between positive and negative rights through a defense of classical natural law as an ethical foundation for political theory. It will side with the communitarian critics of public neutrality, and offer a practical method of determining when the state is justified in limiting private liberties due to public interest.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0003856, ucf:44695
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003856
- Title
- PHILIPPINE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND PHILIPPINE MUSLIM UNREST.
- Creator
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de Leon, Justin, Sadri, Houman, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Muslim culture and society has been a part of the Philippine islands in spite of nearly ninety-five percent of the population being Christian (a majority Catholic), yet did not become a separatist movement until the 1970's. Since then, the two main separatist groups the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have been battling the Philippine government. The parties entered truces in 1996 and 2001, yet there has been a cycle of violence continues...
Show moreMuslim culture and society has been a part of the Philippine islands in spite of nearly ninety-five percent of the population being Christian (a majority Catholic), yet did not become a separatist movement until the 1970's. Since then, the two main separatist groups the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have been battling the Philippine government. The parties entered truces in 1996 and 2001, yet there has been a cycle of violence continues. The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), linked to Al Qaeda, emerged in 1990 and has launched many attacks on the Christian Philippine majority. The prolonged Muslim unrest in the ARMM has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. The main objective of this research paper is to examine Philippine economic and political development and its impact on Philippine Muslim unrest. This paper presents a critical analysis of the economic and political development and Philippine Muslim unrest by examining six major features of the Philippines; they are: The historical evolution, economic development, political development, socio-cultural setting, geographic setting, and the quality of life of the Filipino people. This research also examines Fareed Zakaria's illiberal democracies theory, liberal institutionalism, and the Marxist theory of class revolution and primarily relies on research conducted at the University of the Philippines and from Philippine and Asian scholars. By taking a holistic comprehensive approach and by using international relations theory, this research fills two gaps in the literature about Philippine Muslim unrest. The research concludes with a look at future challenges, both short term and long term that face the country, as well as, possible future scenarios. The findings of this research are that the economic and political development and the historical evolution, though major contributory factors, are not the sole reason for the prolonged Philippine Muslim unrest. The most pervasive causal factor to Muslim unrest was the socio-cultural setting. Because of the all-pervasive nature of culture; at first glance, the socio-cultural setting was not a major apparent cause. At almost all times examined throughout this research, certain cultural tendencies guided decisions and altered the course of events more so than any other single variable. Corruption, crony capitalism, patrimonialism, and irrational institutions all stem from the tendencies of Philippine culture must be addressed to find lasting peace in the country. A move toward rational legal institutions and liberal constitutionalism, will lead the way to the creation of a liberal democracy and break the cycle of violence occurring in the Philippines.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002378, ucf:47812
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002378
- Title
- Institutionalizing Service-Learning as a Best Practice of Community Engagement in Higher Education: Intra- and Inter-Institutional Comparisons of the Carnegie Community Engagement Elective Classification Framework.
- Creator
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Plante, Jarrad, Cox, Dr. Thomas, Robinson, Sandra, Bryer, Thomas, Bowdon, Melody, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Service-learning, with a longstanding history in American higher education (Burkhardt (&) Pasque, 2005), includes three key tenets: superior academic learning, meaningful and relevant community service, and persistent civic learning (McGoldrick and Ziegert, 2002). The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has created an elective classification system (-) Carnegie Community Engagement Classification (-) for institutions of higher education to demonstrate the breadth and depth of...
Show moreService-learning, with a longstanding history in American higher education (Burkhardt (&) Pasque, 2005), includes three key tenets: superior academic learning, meaningful and relevant community service, and persistent civic learning (McGoldrick and Ziegert, 2002). The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has created an elective classification system (-) Carnegie Community Engagement Classification (-) for institutions of higher education to demonstrate the breadth and depth of student involvement and learning through partnerships and engagement in the community (Dalton (&) Crosby, 2011; Hurtado (&) DeAngelo, 2012; Kuh et al., 2008; Pryor, Hurtado, Saenz, Santos, (&) Korn, 2007). Community engagement (")is in the culture, commonly understood practices and knowledge, and (CCEC helps determine) whether it is really happening (-) rhetoric versus reality(") (J. Saltmarsh, personal communication, August 11, 2014). The study considers the applications of three Carnegie Community Engagement Classification designated institutions to understand the institutionalization of service-learning over time by examining the 2008 designation and 2015 reclassification across institution types (-) a Private Liberal Arts College, a Private Teaching University, and a Public Research University located in the same metropolitan area. Organizational Change Theory was used as a theoretical model. Case study methodology was used in the present qualitative research to perform document analysis with qualitative interviews conducted to elucidate the data from the 2008 and 2015 CCEC applications from the three institutions. Using intra- and inter-comparative analysis, this study highlights approaches, policies, ethos, and emerging concepts to inform how higher education institutions increase the quality and quantity of service-learning opportunities that benefit higher education practitioners as well as community leaders.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005864, ucf:50852
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005864