View All Items

Title: ON RIGHTS: A DEFENSE AND ANALYSIS OF RIGHTS THROUGH NATURAL LAW.
Creator: Lopez, Ramon, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: 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: THE UNRAVELING OF AMERICA'S EDUCATION SYSTEM.
Creator: Wright, Amy, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This research project takes a critical look at the data that drives educational policies. This research project looks at the data at the national level as well as the regional levels in order to see if the data is functioning differently at the different levels. All data has been collected from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) through reports published by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an independent committee assigned to collect and analyze...
Show moreThis research project takes a critical look at the data that drives educational policies. This research project looks at the data at the national level as well as the regional levels in order to see if the data is functioning differently at the different levels. All data has been collected from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) through reports published by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an independent committee assigned to collect and analyze educational data. The data was collected and then correlations were run between the expenditures per pupil, number of pupils per teacher, standardized test scores, such as average ACT, average SAT, average 8th grade Math and Reading tests, and average 4th grade Math and Reading tests. This research project also included the percentage of minority students in the classroom, a variable whose data has been collected over the years, but it has never been included in any prior analyses. What this research project found is that some of the data, such as the standardized test scores, have a different strength of relationship between variables at the different levels. For example, expenditures per pupil have strength in the relationship between the different standardized test scores at the national level, but once those numbers are broken down by region, the strength in the variables relationship is weakened. This research project also discovered that the make up of the classroom, specifically the percentage of minority students, is a vital factor in the performance of all students.
Show less
Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000766, ucf:46556
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000766

Title: A COMPARTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF FOREST MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES IN GENERAL, WITH A FOCUS ON OREGON, NORTH CAROLINA AND FLORIDA.
Creator: kelly , patrick, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and discuss the evolution of forest management practices in the United States. The paper discusses the trends in forest management that have occurred within the United States in general, and specifically within the western (Oregon) and southern (North Carolina and Florida) United States. The trends discussed include the three (3) to four (4) epochs of management and use that are generally accepted within the forest management literature, with...
Show moreABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and discuss the evolution of forest management practices in the United States. The paper discusses the trends in forest management that have occurred within the United States in general, and specifically within the western (Oregon) and southern (North Carolina and Florida) United States. The trends discussed include the three (3) to four (4) epochs of management and use that are generally accepted within the forest management literature, with the exception of North Carolina that is in the process of a fifth (5). The comparative analysis within the paper discusses the western model of management which tends to be distinctly different from the southern model in terms of regulatory approaches. The western model (i.e. Oregon) tends to be highly regulated, while the southern model is primarily voluntary, and quasi-regulatory in terms of using alternative mechanisms of regulation (i.e. Best Management Practices that regulate water quality). The paper also discusses the role of professionalism within the various forest services in each state, although the regulatory mechanism is the most important explanatory variable. In general, each state's forest services tend to be highly professional with licensing requirements, educational services and cooperative management. The two models are also distinctly different in terms of ownership, with Oregon being owned (nearly 50%) by the public, whereas the southern states are dominated by Nonindustrial Private Forest Owners (NIPF).
Show less
Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001074, ucf:46770
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001074

Title: THE DOCTRINE OF SELF-DETERMINATION.
Creator: Moskovits , Kelsey, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Poverty and underdevelopment plague millions of people in the world today. Interestingly, the 800 million people that are currently living on less than a dollar a day correlate very closely with the 750 million people who were under colonial subjugation in 1945. In an effort to understand how the disparities in development came about, the theory of self-determination will be defined and historically assessed. Through qualitative evaluation of the principle and history of self-determination...
Show morePoverty and underdevelopment plague millions of people in the world today. Interestingly, the 800 million people that are currently living on less than a dollar a day correlate very closely with the 750 million people who were under colonial subjugation in 1945. In an effort to understand how the disparities in development came about, the theory of self-determination will be defined and historically assessed. Through qualitative evaluation of the principle and history of self-determination and case studies on three key regions that have never known genuine self-rule, it will become clear that the doctrine of self-determination only ever existed in rhetoric. Resource trap theory will be applied to those who have been plagued by outside rule and a general assessment of the state of self-determination in the world will be given. Lastly, an argument for what right transcendently will be given based on the current state of affairs and on Kantian ethics.
Show less
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFH0004359, ucf:45028
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004359

Title: RAWLS'S THEORY OF JUSTICE: A NECESSARY EXTENSION TO ENVIRONMENTALISM.
Creator: Greene, Andrew, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: John Rawls's stated intergenerational justice scheme, known as the just-savings principle, does not include an institutional concern for the environment and is therefore incomplete and incapable of maintaining meaningfully just relations between generations. The theory's emphasis on economic theory and capital accumulation demonstrates a misinterpretation of environmental issues and concerns as well as their underlying causes and repercussions. This lapse in Rawls's intergenerational scheme...
Show moreJohn Rawls's stated intergenerational justice scheme, known as the just-savings principle, does not include an institutional concern for the environment and is therefore incomplete and incapable of maintaining meaningfully just relations between generations. The theory's emphasis on economic theory and capital accumulation demonstrates a misinterpretation of environmental issues and concerns as well as their underlying causes and repercussions. This lapse in Rawls's intergenerational scheme exposes flaws in his larger theory of justice by leaving the stability of society in question and placing arbitrary burdens on generations and peoples without institutional recourse. However, by supplementing justice as fairness (JAF) with Rawls's other writings, such as The Law of Peoples, a more satisfactory outline for justice between generations can be achieved and a more comprehensive scheme of intergenerational justice can be incorporated into Rawls's theory of justice.
Show less
Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004025, ucf:49176
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004025

Title: ACHIEVEMENT GAPS THROUGHOUT THE EDUCATION PIPELINE: TRACKING THE TRENDS BEFORE AND AFTER THE FLORIDA EDUCATION GOVERNANCE REORGANIZATION ACT OF 2000.
Creator: EMAS, RACHEL, KIEL, DWIGHT, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: To assess the effectiveness of the Florida Education Governance Reorganization Act of 2000, I analyze the achievement gaps across different levels of the education pipeline: elementary, secondary, and postsecondary. This paper evaluates three objectives of Florida's new system: strengthening of foundation skills, improvement of college and career readiness, and the expansion of opportunities for postsecondary degrees, by asking: Has the introduction of a PreK-20 seamless system in Florida...
Show moreTo assess the effectiveness of the Florida Education Governance Reorganization Act of 2000, I analyze the achievement gaps across different levels of the education pipeline: elementary, secondary, and postsecondary. This paper evaluates three objectives of Florida's new system: strengthening of foundation skills, improvement of college and career readiness, and the expansion of opportunities for postsecondary degrees, by asking: Has the introduction of a PreK-20 seamless system in Florida reduced the educational achievement gaps between students, compared to Texas, which has not instituted a seamless system? At the elementary level, the analysis looks at 4th and 8th grade National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) average scale scores, from 1998 to 2007, of White, African-American, and Hispanic students and those students eligible and ineligible for the National School Lunch Program. At the secondary level, a comparison is made between the Advanced Placement passing rates of White, African-American, and Hispanic students from 1997 to 2008. At the postsecondary level, this paper examines the proportion of professional, master, and doctoral degrees awarded to White, African-American, and Hispanic students from 1995 to 2007. Results show that although Florida has raised the level of achievement for White, African-American, and Hispanic students in the past ten years, disparities between these groups still exist in NAEP scores, AP passing rates, and the proportion of graduate degrees conferred. Therefore, while the state has made progress towards its three goals, achievement gaps still remain in several levels of Florida's PreK-20 education system.
Show less
Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002705, ucf:48175
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002705

Title: NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND?: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION POLICY AND STUDENT SUCCESS.
Creator: Resmann, Brittany, Kiel , Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study investigated how education policy influences student success, and if there are linkages between K-12 education policy and higher education. Historically, education has primarily been a function of state and local governments. The role of the federal government drastically changed with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. This thesis focused on the influence of No Child Behind on several indicators of student success in K-12 and postsecondary education. All fifty...
Show moreThis study investigated how education policy influences student success, and if there are linkages between K-12 education policy and higher education. Historically, education has primarily been a function of state and local governments. The role of the federal government drastically changed with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. This thesis focused on the influence of No Child Behind on several indicators of student success in K-12 and postsecondary education. All fifty states were examined in this study. This approach is rather unusual since it is typical to focus on one state or a small group of states. In addition to the state level analyses, macro analyses were also conducted to generate sounder policy prescriptions. This study tested three primary research questions. The first research question tested possible changes in several measures of student success since the implementation of No Child Left Behind. The second research question analyzed the relationship between K-12 education policy and higher education. The third research question addressed the possibility that state education reforms have had an impact on test scores, graduation rates, and college enrollment. Findings showed that K-12 test scores have improved on the national level since the implementation of No Child Left Behind, but there are several states that have witnessed a decline in test scores since legislation was enacted. There was no relationship between the state reforms and the variables that measured student success. Based on the findings, policy prescriptions were generated for both leaders within education and policymakers.
Show less
Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002607, ucf:48249
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002607

Title: Democracy and Education Equity in Latin America.
Creator: Stonerook, Olen, Kinsey, Barbara, Morales, Waltraud, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In the literature democratic longevity in countries transitioning from authoritarian regimes to democracy is linked to economic development; four factors of economic development are identified: industrialization, education, urbanization, and growing wealth. Education is viewed as a primary factor for effective democratic participation and economic development. This thesis examines the relationship between level of democracy and educational outputs and outcomes. Does the level of democracy ...
Show moreIn the literature democratic longevity in countries transitioning from authoritarian regimes to democracy is linked to economic development; four factors of economic development are identified: industrialization, education, urbanization, and growing wealth. Education is viewed as a primary factor for effective democratic participation and economic development. This thesis examines the relationship between level of democracy and educational outputs and outcomes. Does the level of democracy (political rights and civil liberties) have an effect on the levels of investment in education and measurable outcomes in education equity toward meeting the educational needs of the newly represented public? The expectation is that the increased scope of political participation and representation in new democratic regimes would result in higher government spending for education with implications for education equity.This study is conducted using a cross-sectional, longitudinal statistical model. The analysis is based on 18 Latin American countries over a thirty-eight-year period, from 1972 to 2010. To examine the connection between level of democracy and education equity, the study explores the effects of democracy on different levels of education, gender, and social class. In addition to the quantitative analysis, a qualitative component aims at contextualizing this relationship that is, examining closer the mechanism that underlies the connection between democracy and education equity in the cases of Mexico and Brazil.
Show less
Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004170, ucf:49073
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004170

Title: The Sustainability of Overconsumption? A Discursive Analysis of Walmart's Sustainability Campaign.
Creator: Adams, Kathleen, Jacques, Peter, Kiel, Dwight, Knuckey, Jonathan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study inquires as to whether Walmart's sustainability campaign represents a sincere and holistic change throughout the company's global supply chain or if it is simply a public relations campaign which caters to the growing target market of (")next-generation(") consumers and justifies further expansion into (")emerging markets("). A critical analysis of Walmart's sustainability discourse is presented, using transcribed texts of various corporate and publicity-geared publications....
Show moreThis study inquires as to whether Walmart's sustainability campaign represents a sincere and holistic change throughout the company's global supply chain or if it is simply a public relations campaign which caters to the growing target market of (")next-generation(") consumers and justifies further expansion into (")emerging markets("). A critical analysis of Walmart's sustainability discourse is presented, using transcribed texts of various corporate and publicity-geared publications. Frequently utilized terms and themes are identified throughout the big-box retailer's sustainability campaign which convey a distinctly Neoliberal ethos(-)a political economy which lies at the heart of current practices of institutional unsustainability(-)and emphasize the role of the atomized individual(-)who may purchase protection from environmental risks via green products. Other themes, which are commonly associated with sustainability research, are glaringly absent: subsidiarity; human rights; steady-state economics; economic inequity; the precautionary principle. This research aims to shed light on the prospects for the sustainability of green overconsumption, which Walmart is leading the way in promoting, and for the continuation of the modern economistic zeitgeist into the twenty-first century.
Show less
Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004346, ucf:49416
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004346

Title: Go Fish: An Analysis of Economic Rents in Panamanian Fisheries Against Ecosystem Service Values.
Creator: Glassner, David, Jacques, Peter, Morales, Waltraud, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Global demand of fish for consumption in developing nations is expected to continue to rise in the near future, putting pressure on stocks that are already overexploited. In the territorial waters of Panama there is a constant struggle between commercial vessels with high yield, subsistence fishermen trying to feed a remote village, and ecosystem services struggling to sustain themselves. These services are the direct and indirect benefits received by the population in the form of food, raw...
Show moreGlobal demand of fish for consumption in developing nations is expected to continue to rise in the near future, putting pressure on stocks that are already overexploited. In the territorial waters of Panama there is a constant struggle between commercial vessels with high yield, subsistence fishermen trying to feed a remote village, and ecosystem services struggling to sustain themselves. These services are the direct and indirect benefits received by the population in the form of food, raw materials, nutrient cycling, and disaster regulation. They are being degraded by illegal and unregulated fishing, bottom trawlers raking the benthos and destroying coral reefs, longlines responsible for thousands of sea turtle and bird deaths, and purse seines that decrease species biodiversity in fish stock. While the government has passed laws to reduce the environmental impact the industrial fisheries have, they lack effective enforcement. An alternative approach is to place monetary values on ecosystem services to show the monetary value of previously unrepresented natural capital. Application of this method to fisheries management can educate policy makers on the economic losses to expect if overfishing of the seas continues and provide the economic imperative to lessen impacts on oceanic ecosystems. Through comparative analysis it is shown that the market value of all fish catch in Panamanian waters is less than that which is provided by the ecosystem services in the area. Open ocean and coral reef ecosystem services provide a combined $103 billion per year while the highest grossing fish catch in Panamanian waters managed to net $356 million in 2004. There is an economic and political imperative to protect and promote sustainability of not only the fish stock, but all ecosystem services in the ocean.
Show less
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004683, ucf:49854
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004683

Title: Women on the Line: A Qualitative Study of Women's Experience of Work in the Meat Industry.
Creator: Jacques, Jessica, Jacques, Peter, Kiel, Dwight, Pollock, Philip, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study examines the experiences of women who work in the meat industry. Drawing from symbolic interaction and standpoint theory frameworks, this research focuses on how gender, race, and nationality influence work experiences and family life for women in comparison to men in the meat industry. This study is based on 15 in-depth interviews with men and women who work in management positions and in the processing rooms of meat companies where non-human animals are disassembled in the...
Show moreThis study examines the experiences of women who work in the meat industry. Drawing from symbolic interaction and standpoint theory frameworks, this research focuses on how gender, race, and nationality influence work experiences and family life for women in comparison to men in the meat industry. This study is based on 15 in-depth interviews with men and women who work in management positions and in the processing rooms of meat companies where non-human animals are disassembled in the production of food. Data collection and analysis were performed using grounded theory methods of inquiry. Participants' stories highlight women's experience in adapting to the organizational culture of the meat industry, strategies of survival in everyday life in the organization, and the conflict between work and family. While women in management positions discuss the process of fitting into the male-dominated organizational culture, women in the processing room experience gender segregation and inequality that prevents moving into the men's world of processing management, a separation that is built into the structure of the facility. This study contributes to the literature on work in the meat industry as well as the sociological research on gender and work, race and ethnicity studies and research on the family.
Show less
Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005634, ucf:50224
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005634

Title: Becoming a Food Citizen: Can Eco-Citizens Realize Their Obligations to Sustainable Consumption Given the Confines of the Globalized Fish Market?.
Creator: Hornung, Nicole, Jacques, Peter, Kiel, Dwight, Morales, Waltraud, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Environmental citizenship is positioned as a platform where the rights of social and environmental justice converge with civic engagement and responsibility. As industrialized economies continue to exhaust the limits of finite natural resources and exacerbate conditions of global climate change, scholars have questioned if environmental citizenship models offer a method for deepening obligations to a sustainable movement. In the material culture enjoyed by Western civilizations, existing...
Show moreEnvironmental citizenship is positioned as a platform where the rights of social and environmental justice converge with civic engagement and responsibility. As industrialized economies continue to exhaust the limits of finite natural resources and exacerbate conditions of global climate change, scholars have questioned if environmental citizenship models offer a method for deepening obligations to a sustainable movement. In the material culture enjoyed by Western civilizations, existing research supports that an individual's purchases are seen as an indicator of their values and identities. Consequently the commitment to responsible buying behavior or sustainable consumption is in a sense an expression of eco-citizenship. My thesis offers a critical perspective of Andrew Dobson's ecological citizenship theory, by asking how sustainable consumption can be conceptualized in the existing political and economic infrastructures. Using a thorough case study of globally traded fish provisions, I investigate the existing barriers for eco-citizens attempting to realize their obligations to sustainable consumption. This analysis allows me to draw conclusions on how these barriers may inhibit eco-citizenship theories and ultimately a sustainable social movement. The structure of this thesis is broken into three parts. First, I define existing theories of ecological citizenship and sustainable consumption, including the theoretical propositions, requirements, and limitations. Secondly, I rely on Dobson's conception of ecological citizenship and an instrumental case study of Pacific Salmon provisions to illustrate the barriers eco-citizens encounter in the current market and regulatory system. Finally, this paper concludes by proposing individual and institutional changes that will assist in fostering an eco-citizen community and the contribution my findings may have on existing green citizenship research.?
Show less
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004692, ucf:49864
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004692

environment (2)	+ -
fisheries (2)	+ -
justice (2)	+ -
political theory (2)	+ -
politics (2)	+ -

sustainability (2)	+ -
ACADEMIC (1)	+ -
ACHIEVEMENT GAP (1)	+ -
Aristotle (1)	+ -
Civil liberties (1)	+ -
Democracy (1)	+ -
Devlin (1)	+ -
EDUCATION PIPELINE (1)	+ -
Education Change- Government Policy (1)	+ -
Education Equity (1)	+ -
Education Reform (1)	+ -
Education- United States (1)	+ -
FLORIDA (1)	+ -
Higher Education- Government Policy (1)	+ -
John Rawls (1)	+ -
Kant (1)	+ -
MINORITIES (1)	+ -
Mill (1)	+ -
NIPF (1)	+ -
No Child Left Behind (1)	+ -
Nozick (1)	+ -
Panama (1)	+ -
Policy Sciences (1)	+ -
Rawls (1)	+ -
Strauss (1)	+ -

ETD Collection (10)	+ -
Honors Collection (2)	+ -

University of Central Florida (12)	+ -
Kiel, Dwight (10)	+ -
Jacques, Peter (4)	+ -
Morales, Waltraud (3)	+ -
Adams, Kathleen (1)	+ -

EMAS, RACHEL (1)	+ -
Glassner, David (1)	+ -
Greene, Andrew (1)	+ -
Hornung, Nicole (1)	+ -
Jacques, Jessica (1)	+ -
KIEL, DWIGHT (1)	+ -
Kiel , Dwight (1)	+ -
Kinsey, Barbara (1)	+ -
Knuckey, Jonathan (1)	+ -
Lopez, Ramon (1)	+ -
Moskovits , Kelsey (1)	+ -
Pollock, Philip (1)	+ -
Resmann, Brittany (1)	+ -
Stonerook, Olen (1)	+ -
Wright, Amy (1)	+ -
kelly , patrick (1)	+ -

Search In

Sort Results By:

Narrow results by:

Topical Subject

Collection

Type of Resource

Language

Creator

Format

Owner