Adam Smith on liberty and reputation: Is reputation property? Are defamation laws coercive?

Bonica, Mark J George Mason University 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

Esteem, admiration, fame, and reputation are powerful motivators of human behavior in Adam Smith's moral philosophy. According to Smith, we are willing to go to great ends to earn the esteem of others and achieve a lasting reputation. Indeed, he asserts men are even willing to attempt acts which will result in certain death if they believe they might achieve a sufficiently great and lasting reputation in the process. Despite the central nature of reputation and its importance to understanding human motivation, Smith is never explicit about how reputation should be treated under the law. We know Smith thinks we will go to great lengths to achieve a good reputation, but we do not know with certainty how the government should treat the reputation of individuals. The focal questions of this dissertation then, are first, whether Smith believed reputation was like property, which men can be said to have a right to defend with violence; and second, if he believed it should be protected by law. In the first essay, I consider Smith's jurisprudence, and the role of natural liberty. In <underline>The Theory of Moral Sentiments</underline> Smith alludes to an intent to write a full book on jurisprudence ("TMS"), which presumably would have dealt fully with the issue of reputation. I discuss the nature of commutative justice and distributive justice, which becomes central to my exploration of Smith. I then discuss the role of natural liberty and natural jurisprudence, and conclude that Smith was optimistic about establishing a society that embraced a system of natural liberty based on classical liberal ideals. Such a system would likely have included a libertarian perspective on reputation. In the second essay I begin to explore the question of reputation using Smith's published works, <underline>The Theory of Moral Sentiments</underline> and <underline>An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations </underline> ("WN"). I use a simple 2×2 framework to consider the interactions between the two core questions of the dissertation, i.e., is reputation property-like and therefore the subject of commutative justice, and are laws protecting reputation desirable? I also introduce a model of rhetorical bargainer vs. challenger to explain why Smith might have opted to avoid an explicit libertarian position on reputation. In the final essay, I continue my inquiry expanding beyond Smith's published works to a review of the <italic>Lectures on Jurisprudence</italic> ("LJ"), two collections of student notes taken down during Smith's lectures at Glasgow University. In this concluding paper, I explore some statements which seem on the surface to explicitly support the position that reputation is a perfect right, but also review many interesting statements Smith makes about related issues, such as dueling, that point to the opposite conclusion.

Seeking a better future: Latino students' journeys towards college

Percy Calaff, Kristin George Mason University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Latino immigrants are at high risk for dropping out of high school and few of those who do graduate are prepared for the rigors of a college education. The purpose of this study was to follow nine successful Latino high school students enrolled in a college preparation program to examine their development of college aspirations and identify factors that contribute to their successful preparation for a four-year university. This multi-sited ethnography explores these students' "multiple worlds" of home, school, community, and a university-sponsored college preparation program. Qualitative methods including student and parent interviews, focus groups, participant observation in the school and college program, and review of documents and records were used to collect data over a period of 18 months. All of the students in this study come from Latino immigrant families with various risk factors and participate in a program designed to foster and support their college preparation. The major findings of the study include the development of three typologies to explain how Latino immigrant families employ different strategies to motivate and support their children's progress and rely on various resource networks across their "multiple worlds" to meet students' academic, economic, sociocultural, and psychological needs. Factors in each of the students' environments are also identified that appear to contribute positively to their college preparation. The results of this study suggest that Latino immigrant students can successfully prepare for college when all of their needs are met through a network of resources in the home, school, and community. Implications are offered for how families, communities, schools, and programs can create a holistic approach to supporting Latino students' journeys towards college and a better future.

A qualitative and comparative study on the course: History of Western Civilization

Guidry, Chretien F George Mason University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

The course History of Western Civilization has undergone many criticisms and changes over the past twenty years. Most arguments tend to center on the value of the course. In addition, there is considerable debate about the validity of continuing to use History of Western Civilization as part of a history curriculum. While the debate centers on universities, there is also a need to consider what impact the course, History of Western Civilization, has on community colleges. Because of this debate, the opportunity and timing is excellent for further research into this course. The challenges faced by this course in community colleges are numerous, when one considers the diversity of the student body, the accessibility of new technology, the discovery of different student's learning styles, and the issue of transferability as some community colleges must change their course criteria to match new university requirements. The question is how can History of Western Civilization contribute in developing knowledgeable, thinking students, as both a course for community colleges and universities? Finding a solution to this challenge requires an examination of the purpose History of Western Civilization serves to both the academic field and community colleges. This is necessary in order to determine whether this purpose is still valid and whether it needs redevelopment to maintain its value. Also, an examination of both teaching methodologies and evaluation techniques such as exams, papers, and participation should reveal whether this purpose is addressed or not, and if so, how it is addressed. In order to contribute to the development of knowledgeable, thinking students, the purpose of this dissertation is to focus on a more thorough examination of the course content and the distinction between the teaching of Western Civilization at universities and at community colleges. To accomplish this, this study examines four college institutions and their syllabi on the course, History of Western Civilization. In addition, the purpose of the research is to examine critical research questions, which are broken into three prime components including: purpose, value and effectiveness of this course.

Conflicting decisions: Measuring group conflict management styles in a crisis decision-making environment

Thurston, Cathryn Quantic George Mason University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

The main hypothesis stated that a group's approach to conflict (resolve, avoid, or aggressive), combined with the decision rule (consensus or majority rule), would strongly impact the group final decision. The study proposed 4 types of decisions that these groups might make: dominant, subset, integrative, or deadlock. Small decision-making groups were studied in the context of crisis intervention using an experimental simulation. Participants included 296 students in 100-level basic communication courses at George Mason University. Three homogenous groups were built around each conflict approach (avoid, resolve, aggressive) and one diverse group included members from each conflict approach. Each group was divided between majority rule and consensus for a total of 8 groups of three people each. Groups were asked to decide whether or not to intervene in a fictional ethnic conflict in a neighboring country. The subjects answered a short questionnaire and tape-recorded their discussions. The main hypothesis was partially confirmed. A group's approach to conflict had a strong impact on the group final decision (F(3,3) = 25.31, p < .001). But the decision rule had no effect on the group final decision (F(1,3) = .03, p = .857). The type of group (resolver, aggressive, avoider, or diverse) did not determine the type of decision (dominant, integrative, deadlock, or subset). Most groups made dominant or low integrative types of decisions. However, 90% of the conflict resolver groups favored integrative types of decisions, as hypothesized. There was no difference between consensus and majority rule in the type of decision. However, consensus and majority rule did affect group process. For example, in a test of the group polarization effect at the .05 and .10 level of significance, aggressive and resolver groups in the consensus condition (t = 3.13, 70 df, p = .003; t = 1.83, 70 df, p = .07) and diverse groups in the majority rule condition (t = 1.99, 76 df, p = .05) became significantly more assured that their conflict roles were justified. This finding suggests that consensus causes extreme homogenous groups to become more extreme, but tempers opinions in groups with diverse views.

Cognitive content and vulnerabilities to anxiety in later life

Ayers, Catherine R George Mason University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Research on the unique characteristics of anxiety and its corresponding consequences in older adulthood is only in the beginning stages of scientific examination (e.g. Salzman & Lebowitz, 1991). Isolating the cognitive components of anxiety in older adults and examining the interrelationships with other factors, such as cognitive hardiness and looming vulnerability, is one possible step toward understanding this phenomenon. This study examined: (1) the unique cognitions that are predictive of anxiety; (2) their relationship with validated constructs of anxiety, such as generalized anxiety and the looming maladaptive style, and (3) how various cognitive styles, such as cognitive hardiness, interact to prevent or maintain anxiety in an older adult population. The sample consisted of 177 (age range 56--100) high functioning older adults who reside in a continuing care retirement facility in Northern Virginia (N = 94) and another sample of community dwelling seniors who take courses through the Learning in Retirement Institute at George Mason University (N = 83). A sample of undergraduates (N = 75) was also recruited to compare age related differences in anxiety cognitions. Results from the present study indicate that (1) older adults demonstrate a unique pattern of anxiety cognitions, distinct from young and middle aged adults (age range 18--50); (2) anxiety and depression are highly interrelated in the elderly, (3) certain cognitions, particularly escalating loss of control cognitions, may be more useful in pinpointing anxiety in healthy older age groups; (4) the looming maladaptive style is a useful construct that provides information on vulnerability to anxiety in later life and (5) cognitive hardiness does not serve as a protective factor against anxiety, physical health consequences, and negative life events.

The imprisoner's dilemma: The political economy of proportionate punishment

D'Amico, Daniel J George Mason University 2008 해외공개박사

What punishment theorists have termed "proportionality"---where the response to crime is well-suited to the crime itself---I frame as a problem of economic coordination. Providing criminal justice proportionately is a task of social coordination that must confront both knowledge and incentive problems simultaneously. This dissertation begins by surveying the potential for cross-disciplinary work in the economic-sociology of criminal punishment. Next I analyze today's criminal punishment system on two margins: its ability to overcome Hayekian knowledge problems and its ability to avoid Public Choice-styled rent-seeking and capture. I conclude that centrally-planned criminal justice institutions are ineffective at solving knowledge and incentive problems to produce proportionate punishments. I argue that markets tend to promote proportionate allocations of goods and services in similar fashions as the term proportionality is used by criminal justice theorists. In this sense there is good reason to believe that market provided criminal justice services would better satisfy the ends of proportionality compared to central-planning.

Net modeling of error behaviors in hardware architectures

Lamb, Douglass T George Mason University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

As technology scaling shrinks transistor dimensions, electronic components become more susceptible to errors caused by electromagnetic and background radiation and emissions from packaging impurities. Non-rigorous analysis of this sensitivity can result in ignorance of circuit and system behavior in the presence of errors, failure to detect latent safety or reliability problems, and catastrophic consequences. Prior attempts to apply formal modeling have been limited, and none has provided a consistent model by which to evaluate architectures designed to address errors. Methods developed in this research can determine the likely error behaviors of a system and relative rates of occurrence. This work develops a new, graphical, formal modeling technique called the "lambda-net" that can both produce quantitative results and communicate essential information about system behavior and structure. A PowerPC-like processor model is developed using the technique, validated without the presence of errors, and then enhanced with error overhead elements layered incrementally on the base. Further, a sample instruction mix is executed on the model, error occurrence locations and their effects are tabulated, and results are compared to empirical results from a substantially similar system. Concurrently, an abbreviated notation for this model is developed that concisely represents errors in single processors as well as parallel arrays and potentially other failure mechanisms.

After war: Essays on the mechanisms for successful postwar reconstruction and social change

Coyne, Christopher J George Mason University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

The aim of this dissertation is to understand the transferability of the desirable consequences of political and economic liberalism to postwar countries. The central claim is that two key aspects characterize a successful postwar reconstruction. The first aspect entails turning potential games of conflict into games of coordination. Once this transformation has taken place, the second aspect involves coordinating the populace around a set of conjectures aligning with the aims of the reconstruction. A detailed analysis of the various mechanisms enabling success in the two aspects of reconstruction is provided. Historical evidence from the eight U.S. led post-World War II reconstruction efforts serves to illuminate and support these claims.

The effectiveness of a lesson planning strategy to aid preservice elementary teachers in developing reflective practice on lesson design

Ayres, Donna B George Mason University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

Although schools of education spend considerable effort teaching future teachers to develop lessons, teachers spend little time writing lesson plans on the job. This study explored preservice teachers' lesson development processes. Research shows that reflective dialogues and metacognitive self-talk prompts help prospective teachers become more deliberate in their planning. Research questions addressed the effectiveness of an original metacognitive lesson planning strategy—“P.A.C.M.A.N.”—in improving lesson development effectiveness for interns who were coached in the strategy via the Internet and who responded through e-mail. Twelve preservice interns matriculating through a master's degree program while working as instructional aides in an elementary school represented teachers in transition from preservice program to classroom. Quantitative analyses compared six interns who used the strategy to six interns who did not through questionnaires developed to measure perceived and actual lesson planning and lesson delivery effectiveness, reflectivity, metacognition, and lesson confidence. Whereas both groups improved their actual lesson planning and lesson delivery effectiveness, those coached in the strategy were significantly higher in their perceived skills to plan and deliver a clear lesson, reflect on its effectiveness, and employ strategic teaching. The more reflective or metacognitive the intern, the more strategic was the intern's approach. Qualitative analyses of interviews and lesson documents showed that effective lesson planners internalized a mental model linking learning objectives, learning activities, and assessments and consciously kept this linkage in mind as a lesson design template. Ancillary analyses highlighted the instructor of a graduate reflectivity seminar as critical in reinforcing the Linkage Model. An on-line strategic dialogue was productive for those who liked e-mail conversations and who sought coaching for problem solving. Qualitative analyses of journals indicated that coaching via the Internet was problematic for those preferring face to-face communications or who viewed the strategy's questions as homework. Differences between <italic>Reflective</italic> and <italic>Commonsense Teachers</italic> suggested cognitive style differences in lesson approaches. Qualitative analyses suggested that personality and motivation inhibits lesson competency development.

Teachers' perspectives on the National Endowment for the Humanities' school-based curriculum reform initiative: Schools for a New Millennium

Everett, Gwendolyn H George Mason University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

This research study presents teachers' perspectives on the National Endowment for the Humanities' Schools for a New Millennium Program (SNMP), a relatively new grant-funding initiative designed to encourage school-based curriculum reform. School reform literature reveals that researchers tend to approach the topic from an outcomes based perspective, focusing primarily on student achievement and give little attention to the perspectives of teachers on school-based reform. This descriptive interpretive research study focuses on teachers participating in SNMP from three program sites in the U.S.—a middle school in the Southwest, a high school in the Midwest, and a regional school in the Northwest. The sites are reflective of the diversity of programs supported by SNMP and the range of schools participating nationwide. Data were collected from 14 teachers in the form of an electronic survey, semi-structured, audiotaped interviews; and e-mail correspondence. Curriculum materials were also collected. The qualitative data analysis software program, The Ethnograph v5.0, (Seidel, 1998) was used to identify and sort thematic categories. The assumption underlying this study is that teachers' perspectives, defined as the ways in which teachers think about their work and give meaning to beliefs by their behavior in the classroom, can shape teachers' decision-making and classroom interactions. Most of the teachers came to the project in part because they wanted to experience something new. In general, teachers in this study associated SNMP with professional growth and student achievement. The general meanings teachers associated with SNMP revealed that an integral part of their desire to participate was linked to how the program would benefit their students. The teachers in this study tell an insightful and detailed picture of what SNMP is like for teachers as a school-based curriculum reform initiative. The description is comprehensive as teachers discussed all aspects of their experiences—both personal and professional, successes and failures. Their stories are informative and enlightening and tell of the varied reasons they chose to participate in the program, what they hoped to accomplish, and the program's positive effect on school-based reform. This study was a first step in examining SNMP and the perspectives of participating teachers on its influence in school-based curriculum reform. As an initial study, it revealed that teachers are an important resource in the study of reform in American education.