Minimum wage setting and standards of fairness

We examine the setting of minimum wages, arguing that they can best be understood as a reflection of voters' notions of fairness. We arrive at this conclusion through an empirical investigation of the implications of three models, considered in the context of policy setting by sub-units in a federation: a competing interests group model; a constrained altruism model; and a fairness based model. In the latter model, voters are interested in banning what they view to be unfair transactions, with the notion of fairness based on comparisons to the "going" unskilled wage. We use data on minimum wages set in the ten Canadian provinces from 1969 to 2005 to carry out the investigation. A key implication of the models that is borne out in the data is that minimum wages should be set as a positive function of the location of the unskilled wage distribution. Together, the results indicate that minimum wages are set according to a "fairness" standard and that this may exacerbate movements in inequality.

U.S.-Swiss Relations: Is the United States fighting terrorist financing operations in Switzerland to the exten of its power?

Switzerland has long been notorious for its acceptance of large, sometimes nefarious banking clients. However, in a world increasingly plagued by multi-millionaire terrorist organizations, that target large numbers of innocent civilians, Switzerland's guaranteed banking secrecy is increasingly called into question. Terrorist financing is one area in which relatively little progress has been made since the September 11 attacks. Terrorist financial networks continue to thrive, funding acts of violence. In the Patriot Act, the United States gave itself increased abilities to follow these financial transactions overseas. Yet it still does not make full use of these new powers. This study examines the funding structure of terrorist organizations. It then assesses the abilities of the United States to neutralize these financial assets. Finally the author assesses whether the United States is utilizing these tools to engage its ally Switzerland in substantially limiting or eliminating terrorist financial action within its borders.B.A. (Bachelor of Arts

Creating Sustainable Workplace Environments: An Exploratory Study of Social Energy Expenditure in Cross-Sex, Heterosexual Organizational Friendships

This thesis outlines the reasoning and methods used to investigate the concept of social energy expenditure from Hall and Davis’ (2017) communicate bond belong (CBB) theory as a lens for understanding how individuals invest social energy into forming and maintaining cross-sex, heterosexual friendships in organizations. Informed by previous literature, this study explores the intersect between interpersonal communication and organizational communication. Apart from Hall (2018), no other scholars have tested the 2017 CBB theory. Therefore, the present study’s goal is to provide a foundational inquiry into the usability of the theory by utilizing the core concept of social energy expenditure and by specifically testing theorem 5b from principle 5 (i.e., the principle of human energy investment). The testing of CBB, as a new theory, adds a valuable contribution to the field of communication

A Political Ecology of Scaling: Struggles over Power, Land and Authority

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2016.05.007This paper integrates insights from political ecology with a politics of scaling to discuss the construction and transformation of scalar topographies as part of the politics and power dynamics of natural resource management. The paper details two case studies from Community Based Natural Resource Management in the forest and wildlife sectors of Tanzania to: (1) analyse the devolution of power from the state to the local level; and (2) investigate the constant renegotiations and scalar transformations by actors across multiple levels in attempts to manipulate the governance system. The paper highlights the sociospatial aspects of the struggles and politics of natural resource management, and emphasises that whilst these processes of scalar negotiation and struggle are distinct between the two examples, they both revolve around the same political struggle over power. This indicates an important structuration element of power and scale as they are shaped by both the structural configuration of power within each sector alongside the agency of different actors across multiple levels.Economic and Social Research Council (Doctoral research award: ES/GO1924X/1

Breaking with tradition(?) : female representations of heroism in old english poetry.

For the Anglo-Saxons, strength, bravery, and the willingness to put oneself in harm’s way for king and kingdom were not only part of contemporary society but recurring themes in Old English literature. Poems like Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon reinforce the important bond between lord and retainer and the heroic ethos key to that relationship. Women were not historically part of this relationship and, therefore, not subject to the heroic code in the same way; consequently, they are rarely seen as anything more than conventional mothers, queens, wives, sisters, daughters, and virgins, all identified by their relationships to men, the “real” heroes in the literature. The poets of Beowulf, Judith, and Juliana, expanded this tradition by introducing the Anglo-Saxon world to a new kind of female character, a physically powerful heroine. By constructing heroines that connect Germanic tradition with changing Christian sensibilities, poets not only reveal their appreciation for strong women in literature but their willingness to afford women the opportunity to break with tradition and perform autonomously. The characters of Grendel’s mother, Judith, and Juliana serve as primary examples for this analysis. This dissertation identifies these three figures as exhibiting a heroic ethos, explores how they fit into and deviate from the defined Old English heroic ideal, and examines select character traits in order to reveal how their unique performances broaden the conventional definition of a hero. Chapter I centers on the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideal and situates both men and women within the tradition. It emphasizes how the motivational factors driving heroic behavior differ between the sexes by examining specific performances within the genre. Chapters II, III, and IV, are individual case studies focusing on Grendel’s mother, Judith, and Juliana, respectively, emphasizing one significant way each serves to shape a new version of the heroic ideal. Chapter V focuses on four of the major similarities identified between the characters and the texts in which they appear—the trope of self-sufficiency, the “manly” woman, the symbol of the head, and the female voice—which demonstrates how these specific females engage with certain themes and symbols embedded within heroic poetry. Finally, the conclusion provides a collective view of the three characters which shows how Old English poets created powerful, engaging female heroines that audiences could believe in

An investigation into perceptions, expectations, and development of professional skills in engineering students

Upon graduation from an undergraduate institution, engineering graduates are expected to have a baselevel skill in technical skills related to their discipline. Teaching technical skills comes naturally to engineering programs as the conceptual understanding of the material form the foundation of engineering ability. However, engineering graduates also are expected to have a baselevel of professional skills, which are more subjective in nature and do not have a standardized approach for teaching or assessing them at the undergraduate level. An investigation into current perceptions of professional skills by relevant parties is an initial step in providing more structure to professional skills education in engineering departments and courses. This dissertation explored the perceptions of engineering students, engineering faculty, and practicing engineers when it comes to professional skills. Eight professional skills were investigated: collaboration, communication, ethical considerations, inclusivity, leadership, professional judgment, task management, and teamwork. Surveys were administered and interviews were conducted with students. Statistical analysis on survey data indicated that how students rate their peers’ abilities aligns with the perceptions that practicing engineers have of student abilities with both groups’ means for each skill be lower than how the students rated their own ability to a significant level (p \u3c 0.001 for six of eight skills). Student interviews yielded potential operational definitions for professional skills, which can be validated in future work. Interviews also gave insight into how various student experiences aid in professional skills development. Recommendations for methods to improve professional skills education in engineering curricula were provided for each professional skill