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This dissertation examines how Antiochian Greek Orthodox Christians in the Levant and diaspora navigated turbulent political and social upheaval from the late Ottoman era, through the formative years of French colonialism (1920-1946), and into the early postcolonial period of Lebanon and Syria. To highlight communal heterogeneity, I follow a diverse cast of characters, including diplomats, intellectuals, merchants, migrants, journalists, poets, clergy, and political activists to show how sharply Orthodox Christians disagreed about how best to secure a place for themselves in a rapidly changing world of empires and nation-states. I rely on a polyvalent and transnational collection of sources in Arabic, French, and English including colonial reports, consular files, petitions, largely untapped Arabic language newspapers, memoirs, interviews, personal papers, and literature to show how the production of identity is a fluid, historically contingent, and continual process of construction. First, I argue that Orthodox Christians pursued greater autonomy within an Ottoman framework which simultaneously created new expectations of what it meant to belong to a modernizing Orthodox community. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, innumerable religious and lay leaders claimed to speak on behalf of their community and offered different visions of how to protect and advance Orthodox interests during the French Mandate. The lack of a single shared social habitus combined with colonial partition, a fractured church hierarchy, and the intensification of sectarian politics all contributed to intense divisions within the Orthodox community. This, in turn, fueled efforts by Orthodox Christians to transcend social division through various influential political movements from the 1930s to the 1950s.

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Abstract: I explore the sources of union decline from 1970-2008, inspecting the shifting prominence of different causes at different points in time. Using a relational approach which views labor and capital as actors that gain or lose power at the expense of each other, I find that U.S. union decline is the result of several institutional transformations that benefitted capital relative to labor. Capital was advantaged and labor was disadvantaged due to: 1) the financialization of the economy in the 1980s, 2) weakening protections of labor policy by the 1970s, 3) the reconfiguration of productive capital in the 1970s and 1980s, 4) an anti-union business offensive gaining momentum in the 1970s, and 5) the failure of unions to sufficiently organize new members throughout the entire period. Combined, this confluence of factors led to a steep decline in union membership. Results highlight the complex nature of temporal dynamics in capital-labor power struggles.

There is evidence that the American agrifood system is a significant contributor to environmental, economic, social, and ethical-animal welfare damage to the earth and to society and is unsustainable, yet the worldview of a substantial percentage of the population conflicts with this assessment. A significant number of researchers, non-governmental organizations, and government entities assert that the detrimental effects of industrial agriculture must be addressed without delay and sustainable agricultural practices implemented. The transition from industrial to sustainable agriculture will not be a simple one. Attempting to change a worldview is not an easy task. A growing body of research in other disciplinary areas suggests that storytelling can serve as an effective method of fostering change. This mixed-methods study examines the role of storytelling in effecting positive change in worldview and attitudes toward sustainable agriculture. A review of the related literature revealed that no instrument was available to measure attitudes toward sustainable agriculture with consideration of economic, environmental, social, and ethical-animal welfare dimensions. The first objective of the study, therefore, was to design such an instrument. The instrument is called The Sustainable Agriculture Paradigm Scale and is used as a pre and post-test in the study. A number of open-ended questions were added to the post-test to solicit qualitative data. The study explores the effects of Story-based, that is, a told story and a read story, versus Information-based treatments, that is, a lecture and a read factsheet, on effecting positive change in attitudes toward sustainable agriculture. The qualitative data provides a secondary, supportive role exploring what characteristics of a story are associated with change. The hypothesis of the study is that Story-based treatments will be more effective in promoting positive change than will Information-based treatments. The findings of the study provide evidence supporting this hypothesis. The story characteristics found to be associated with positive change included: first-hand personal view, vivid description, and identification with the narrator. / Ph. D.

For students who want to make a difference in college and beyond, involvement in a variety of available leadership positions while in college can lead to gains in many areas-and most importantly, the ability to work respectfully, flexibly, and effectively with an increasingly diverse population. While it is widely acknowledged that leadership qualities and skills are principally learned and developed (rather than inherently innate to the individual), scholars are less certain as to the specific variables and values that result in socially responsible leadership skills among college students. The Resident Assistant (RA) represents a pivotal student leadership role on campus-but it is not the only way for students to assume an influential and skills-building leadership role. Other student leaders (OSLs), encompassed herein under the umbrella title of "peer helpers," include peer counselors, peer educators, and tutors. College and university educators are striving to develop leaders to be effective in an increasingly diverse society through a variety of methods including co-curricular opportunities. The implementation of targeted leadership development opportunities represents another way to meet this goal. The Social Change Model (SCM) of Leadership Development, which consists of seven core value (citizenship, collaboration, common purpose, controversy with civility, consciousness of self, congruence, and commitment), was created to help educate college students by focusing on positive social change through leadership. Given the lack of research examining leadership outcomes from serving in the RA position, this quantitative investigation was designed to compare SCM values in RAs to the analogous values in OSLs to determine if there were differences between the two cohorts with respect to socially responsible leadership. In short, are outcomes associated with socially responsible leadership due to being a student leader in general, or will serving in the RA role be more advantageous in developing those skills? An additional goal was to determine to what degree elements of the Social Change Model (SCM) could predict a student leader serving as a RA or in another role as an OSL. Findings from this investigation were based on responses from the 2012 iteration of the Multi-institutional Study on Leadership (MSL). A careful analysis of the data revealed that the SCM value of "citizenship" was the only one among the seven that could predict a student leader serving as an RA over an OSL; in contrast, RAs did not score significantly higher than OSLs on any of the other remaining six values. Although there is a large body of work related to RA performance, further research is needed to understand the relationship between the performance of student leaders who serve in this role and SCM values. / Ph. D.

This study attempts to evaluate whether or not the theories of social change and conflict formulated in the United States and Western Europe can be applied to postcommunist societies. In particular, with Poland as a case study, the applicability of two theories has been examined. One is Ronald Inglehart's theory of a shift from materialist to postmaterialist values in postindustrial societies. The other one is Ralf Dahrendorf's theory of the modern social conflict and the emergence of the underclass in postindustrial societies. The operationalization of Inglehart's theory has been based on the support given to political parties in the Polish parliamentary elections on September 19, 1993. The findings suggest that there is a value cleavage in Polish society between older and younger age cohorts. The conditions of the socioeconomic environment prevailing during the maturation period of each age cohort appear to be a main factor causing the differences in value orientation. Since older age cohorts experienced World War II and the subsequent economic hardships they give priority to personal safety and economic security (materialist values). Younger age cohorts take their economic well-being for granted and are interested in problems like the condition of the natural environment or the sense of life (postmaterialist values). The operationalization of Dahrendorf's theory has been based on statistical data from Poland. The findings suggest that although it is too early to talk about the existence of the underclass in Poland there are social and economic processes which may cause its emergence. These processes include the political and economic diversification of the working class, increasing unemployment, and exclusion of the economically disadvantaged groups of Polish society from the democratic political process. / Master of Arts

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This project attempts to assess critically the 'dualistic' role of Organised Labour within the complexities of societal transition processes. As observed by Bendix (1976/2000), the Industrial Relations System, and Organised Labour within it, is a generator for societal and political change. At present, the German union federation Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) do not only hold prominent positions in their respective collective bargaining systems, but also a considerable amount of political power. In both societies, strict labour legislation and strong social-democratic or even communist factions prevent government from adopting more liberal and flexible labour laws. In this paper, the historical and the present role of Organised Labour in its wider societal, context has been critically examined within the framework of the EQUILIBRIUM CONVERGENCE approach (Willy Bendix, 1979) and the TRADE UNION POLICY MATRIX (Willy Bendix, 1979). Both, the EQUILIBRIUM CONVERGENCE model and the TRADE UNION POLICY MATRIX have been applied to place the Deutcher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) into their own societal perspectives in order to establish their role and policy in the societal transition process of their respective countries. In this respect, great similarities between problems, developments and policy formation have been found. Also that, albeit with a historical 'time lag', COSATU appears to follow the structural developments of its German counterpart, the DGB. Perhaps the most salient observation and conclusion is that, while the adaptation of the trade union movement in Germany within this country's societal, industrial transition phases, and particularly in the period of the reunification of East and West Germany, entailing the integration of a communist-socialist system into a social market economy and parliamentary democracy, was of a relatively realistic nature and resulted in a high degree of co operation between the social partners at the highest level leading to 'post modern unionism', South Africa, in its present industrial transition phase, has still to contend with strongly ideologically driven 'fighting unions'. This might hamper an effective economic policy formulation by the government. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie werkstuk is 'n evaluasie van die 'tweeledige' rol van die arbeidsbeweging binne die kompleksiteit van 'n sosiale oorgangsproses. Soos deur Bendix (1996/2000) beweer, is die nywerheidsverhoudingsstelsel met arbeid as hoofakteur daarbinne as 'n dryfkrag, die katalisator vir sosiale en politiese verandering. Die vakbondfederasies Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) end die Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) speel tans nie net prominente rolle in hulle individuele nywerheidsverhoudingsstrukture nie, maar het ook sterk magsbasise in hulle sosiale konteks. In albei samelewings verhinder streng progressiewe arbeidswetgewing en oorweldigende sosiaal-demokratiese, of selfs kommunistiese faksies die regering daarvan om meer liberale en buigbare arbeidswetgewing in te stel. In hierdie skrif word die geskiedkundige en huidige rolle van georganiseerde arbeid ondersoek binne die raamwerk van die EQUILIBRIUM CONVERGENCE Benadering (Willy Bendix, 1979) asook die TRADE UNION POLICY MATRIX (Willy Bendix, 1979). Albei, die EQUILIBRIUM CONVERGENCE model en die TRADE UNION POLICY MATRIX is toegepas om die Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) en die CONGRESS OF SOUTH AFRICAN TRADE UNIONS (COSATU) in hulle samelewingskompleksiteit te plaas om hulle rolle en beleid in hulle eie lande te bepaal. In hierdie proses van ondersoek is 'n groot ooreenstemming tussen hulle ontwikkelinge en posisies gevind, en ook dat, alhoewel met 'n historiese 'time lag', COSATU die pad van strukturele ontwikkelings van sy eweknie in Duitsland, die Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB), volg. Miskien die mees belangrikste bevinding en gevolgtrekking is dat, terwyl die aanpassing van die Duitse vakbondbeweging binne die land sy industriele oorgangsfase, en besonders in die periode van die herenigingsproses van Oos en Wes Duitsland, en dus die inlywing van 'n sosialistiese sisteem in 'n sosiale markekonomie en sosiale demokrasie op 'n relatiewe, realistiese basis bewerkstellig was, wat in 'n hoe mate van samewerking tussen die sosiale venote op die hoogste vlak bewerkstellig het, wat na die stadium van 'post modern unionism' voer, Suid Afrika in sy teenwoordige industriele oorgangsfase nog steeds aan die probleem van sterk ideologies gedrewe 'fighting unions' bloot gestel is, wat 'n effektiewe proses van ekonomiese beleidsformulering mag benadeel.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Despite a century of scholarly critique, William Fielding Ogburn’s cultural lag hypothesis (CLH) endures. The inclusion of Ogburn’s hypothesis in introductory sociology textbooks, reference books, and histories of technology lends an unwarranted authority to its scientific credibility. I critically assess Ogburn’s CLH and find that it is neither scientifically nor theoretically sound. Specifically, I discover presumptions of cultural integration and normative progressivism, the fallacy of ambiguity, problems of causal explanation, operationalization, and selective bias, which renders the CLH unmeasurable, unfalsifiable, and non-replicable. Finally, I briefly discuss the implications and make suggestions for future research.