The question of discrimination in sentencing is an issue that continues to be a source of controversy in the social sciences. Authors such as William Willbanks (1987) have concluded that after controlling legally relevant variables there is no significant effect of race on sentencing. Other researchers such as Hagan and Bumiller (1983) have noted that the relationship between race and sentencing may be dependent on context. This research is the first to apply a contextual analysis to examine possible racial discrimination in the application of the habitual offender statute in Florida. The sample consists of 9,645 male inmates sentenced to the Florida Department of Corrections in fiscal year 1992-1993, who were eligible for habitualization. / Logistic regression models show a strong and significant impact of race (black) on the odds of being sentenced as an habitual offender. This significant impact became stronger under a variety of economic and structural controls. The impact of race was significant both as a main effect and in interaction with other variables, especially drug offenses. The Ordinary Least Squares analysis for sentence length did not show a significant impact of race, as demonstrated in previous research (Chiricos and Crawford, 1995). The theoretical implications of the context of sentencing are discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-02, Section: A, page: 0871. / Major Professor: Theodore G. Chiricos. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This dissertation is a study of the events that brought about the systematic, mass exodus of over 14,000 children from Communist Cuba to the United States between December 1960 and October 1962. It also provides an account of the federally-sponsored and privately managed system of providing foster care for around half those children. / The dissertation's chapters include sections on: parental motives for sending their children unaccompanied to the United States; the role of the U.S. government, the Cuban anti-Castro underground, and the Catholic Church in facilitating the exodus; the actions of the private, local Miami agencies that cared for and relocated children in the Cuban Children's Program; and the overall experiences of the children who passed through the programs. / For this dissertation, a variety of sources were utilized including taped interviews with those who took part in facilitating the exodus, individuals who participated in providing care for the children in the United States, and a number of people who were participants in the program. Also used were Congressional hearings, articles, government reports formulated by social workers and other observers of the time, personal letters written by the children while in the program, statistical reports prepared for the Catholic Welfare Bureau, and informational pamphlets put together by Operation Pedro Pan Group, Inc. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-12, Section: A, page: 4920. / Major Professor: William W. Rogers. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

Researchers in the critical education tradition have documented the importance of women's peers in campus culture reproducing gender inequality in schooling. This dissertation focuses on fraternity little sister programs (groups of women who affiliate with men's social fraternities on college campuses) as organizational elements of campus peer culture. / Using data from open-ended depth interviews with forty Euro-and African-American little sisters, participant observation, interviews with other students and campus officials, and archival data, I show how organizational structure and culture differed by race and how this directly affected the reproduction of gender inequality. The structure of little sister organizations (particularly little sisters' quasi-member status) and their activities facilitated the reproduction of men's domination over women by creating a hierarchy where men ruled and women served. Aspects of fraternity little sister culture such as men's selection criteria, sexual ideologies and fraternity sex culture served to reproduce gender inequality as well. Euro-American women were more likely to be exploited sexually; African-American women faced exploitation in the form of their domestic labor for the fraternity. I examine the strategies of resistance that women used to combat the structural and cultural subordination they experienced as fraternity little sisters. African-American women were more likely to resist domination collectively and had greater success than their Euro-American counterparts, whose individual acts of resistance had little effect on their organizations. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-07, Section: A, page: 2633. / Major Professor: Irene Padavic. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

As soon as they were emancipated, freedmen established schools. Their resources were limited and assistance came from the North. When representatives of the American Missionary Association (AMA) arrived in Macon, Georgia, in December 1865, they quickly established a teachers "Home" and arranged to continue the Lincoln Schools that had recently been established in black churches. / The AMA's educational program at Macon emphasized "religion, patriotism, morality, and an industrious black citizenry." To increase the number of black teachers, in 1868 the AMA instituted a normal curriculum at its newly opened Lewis High, which soon became a model teacher training school. / The Macon School Board designated Lewis High a public school for blacks in 1872, but in 1875 the AMA resumed control. In 1888 the AMA built a new, larger facility, renamed Ballard Normal School. The purpose of this dissertation is to trace the history of Ballard until 1949 and to determine its effectiveness in educating African Americans in Central Georgia. / Until the 1940s Ballard was one of few secondary schools for blacks in Georgia. Led by principals such as George Burrage and Raymond von Tobel, students thrived and the school not only survived but excelled. Public schools for black students in Bibb County ended at grade six, and fully-accredited Ballard offered the only opportunity for a high school education. After completing Ballard's four-year college-preparatory course, many students pursued higher education. Those completing the normal program became teachers. Ballard graduates went on to make significant contributions to their professions, their communities, and society at large. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-01, Section: A, page: 0402. / Major Professor: Joe Richardson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This study investigated marital satisfaction among Korean immigrant spouses. It was hypothesized that marital satisfaction could be predicted from level of acculturation, the number of years of residence, status inconsistency, annual income, educational level, decision making, household tasks, and communication problems. / This study used a number of existing measures. These included the Marital Satisfaction Scale (Roach, Frazier, & Bowden, 1981), the Short Acculturation Scale (Marin, Sabogal, Marin, Otero-Sabogal, & Perez-Stable, 1987), the Decision Power Index (Blood & Wolfe, 1960), the Task Participation Index (Blood & Wolfe, 1960), and the Conjugal Understanding Measure (deTurck & Miller, 1986a). Additionally, other more general demographic information was gathered including respondent's income, gender, religion, educational background, residence year in the United States, occupation, and employment status. / This present study collected data from both married men and women. Using a snowball sampling strategy, questionnaires were sent to 32 acquaintances of the investigator living in one of 23 urban areas. Thirty-two research assistants mailed the questionnaires to their friends or relatives. Data were anonymously returned directly to the investigator through mailed questionnaires by a pre-paid return envelope that was provided. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed to known acquaintances, 304 were returned for a response rate of 76%. Results showed that level of acculturation was significantly associated to marital satisfaction for Korean immigrant husbands, but not for wives. Marital decision-making was significantly related to marital satisfaction for Korean immigrant wives but not for husbands. Both level of acculturation and marital decision making accounted for only 3% of the variance in marital satisfaction. For both husbands and wives, conjugal communication problems were the best predictor of marital satisfaction (16% and 37% of variance explained, respectively). None of the other independent variables (the number of years of residence, status inconsistency, income, educational level and division of household tasks) was significantly associated with marital satisfaction. / It is intended that these findings will contribute to social work practice by providing additional knowledge of the characteristics of Korean immigrant spouses in the United States. The study was limited by the nonprobability sample; results must be interpreted with caution. / Future research needs to include in-law pressures, sponsorship of immigration, sexuality, infidelity problems, employment status of respondents, length of marriage, incongruence of personality, value incongruence, problems related to children, and conjugal violence as factors related to marital satisfaction. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-11, Section: A, page: 4557. / Major Professor: Dianne H. Montgomery. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

A statewide survey of Vietnam theater veterans was conducted for two purposes. The first was to determine the extent to which they had used the GI Bill to achieve their higher education goals. The second purpose was to examine the relationship between specific demographic and war related variables and determine if they were associated with veterans usage of the GI Bill. The premise that these men and women had used their Chapter 34 entitlements to enhance their upward social and economic mobility was challenged in this study. Achievement of college educational goals were presumed to be influenced by the variables of gender, race, PTSD, and employment. / Sixty-eight percent of survey respondents reported that they had used the GI Bill at least once. A "college completion rate" of forty-seven percent for all veterans was established in this study. Significant associations with college underachievement were found to exist between the dependent variable of "college completion rate" and the independent variables of race, PTSD, and employment, but not for gender. / Males completed their college goals at a forty-six percent rate, while females completed at a fifty percent rate. White veterans achieved their college goals at a forty-nine percent rate, blacks completed at thirty-six percent, Hispanics at thirty-one percent, and "other" minorities (mainly American Indians) completed at twenty percent. As a group, minority Vietnam theater veterans achieved their college educational goals at a thirty-three percent rate. It was therefore concluded, that the Vietnam Era GI Bill was not an effective asset in assisting Vietnam theater veterans achieve upward economic and social mobility. / Replication of this study is recommended at the national level by an independent research organization and should include Vietnam Era veterans. Because of their very small numbers, a separate national study should focus on the experiences of female Vietnam theater veterans. The state of Florida should consider various methods to implement a "GI Bill" style educational program for these men and women. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: A, page: 0818. / Major Professor: Louis W. Bender. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

In this study, I examine various relationships between racial housing segregation and juvenile arrest rates in 86 of America's largest metropolitan areas. While there is a growing literature documenting the relationship between segregation and race-specific arrest rates, the relationship between residential segregation and age-specific involvement in arrest statistics remains largely unexplored. A focus on youth is salient for three reasons: (1) contemporary youth are involved in crime at rates higher than previous birth cohorts; (2) juvenile arrest rates may have substantively different effects on community dynamics than adult rates; and, (3) young people are less likely than their older counterparts to have the material resources necessary to move away from dangerous neighborhoods. The implication is that youth should be affected more adversely by segregation and crime than older Americans. Arguing primarily from a Social Disorganization theoretical perspective, I depart from previous tests by comparing several indices that measure specific dimensions of residential segregation that are not captured by % black a commonly used proxy. Also included in the analysis are control variables common to both crime and migration literature. The study shows some support for effects by various measures of residential segregation on age-specific arrest rates of juveniles when other variables are held constant. However, the effects are offense- and race-specific. Support is shown for a relationship between evenness and juvenile arrest rates for burglary and robbery. However, none of the segregation measures used seem correlated with homicide arrest rates of juveniles. Implications of these findings are discussed / acase@tulane.edu

This dissertation examines Irish immigrants and their family members in antebellum New Orleans. Historians often depict Irish immigrant families as disintegrating in the face of abject poverty, prejudice, and rampant epidemics and as victims of a cruel fate which they seem unable to escape. However, my work demonstrates that Irish immigrant families behaved in a pro-active manner: they appropriated aspects of American society, and used them for their benefit as they established cohesive communities with their own value systems. Furthermore, they did not seek validation for this system by mainstream America. The morally binding customs of the Irish came from a variety of sources, such as the Catholic Church, the transplanted customs of the old country, and the experience of the famine immigration which gave them a common basis of understanding of shared survival strategies This dissertation is based on extensive analyses of several comprehensive databases consisting of passenger lists, census records, marriage records as well as Catholic asylum records. Altogether, these databases contain over half a million entries. This study describes the coping mechanisms and familial as well as economic strategies utilized to confront a harsh new environment. Intrinsic to this investigation is a thorough consideration of the changing functions of the Irish immigrant family in New Orleans, and how these changes affected the stability of the family unit. Indeed, the Irish displayed a remarkable degree of innovation as they settled into a new urban environment. Rather than a lack of enterprise, the data reveals repeated examples of it. The Irish appropriated space that enabled them to maintain the family, build a community, and garner some measure of control over their lives. Thus, the massive relocation of this ethnic group to avoid near certain destruction was not a haphazard event. Nor was their re-settlement in New Orleans. Both undertakings were the result of Irish initiative or, put differently, Erin's Enterprise / acase@tulane.edu

Latinos are the fastest growing minority in the United States, yet their television presence is minimal (less than two percent of characters throughout the 1990s). The history of children's television, children's developmental needs, Latino demographics and media images are discussed as background This dissertation then examines children's television texts of the 1990s, identifying five optics through which ethnic difference is viewed. These are representational strategies that position Latinos vis-a-vis the rest of U.S. society and convey significant assumptions about reality and culture. Each is examined in a separate chapter, as follows: Omission---the Latino as cipher. Most children's shows leave Latinos out entirely. Many avoid ethnic difference by avoiding human characters, substituting animals or fantastic creatures. Others portray multiethnic societies but still omit Latinos, denying them admission to the symbolic community Assimilation---the Latino as consumer. Many children's shows portray Latinos as undifferentiated consumers of products (most commercials) or of mainstream US culture (for example Barney and Friends and The Magic Schoolbus.) Pastiche---the Latino as sign. Shows such as Sesame Street generally portray reality, including ethnic difference, as a rich surface of rapidly circulating symbols. Pastiche trains children for the information management tasks of the twenty-first century, but does not promote in-depth understanding Parody---the Latino as joke (But on whom ?). Cartoons such as Speedy Gonzales and Santo Bugito flaunt ethnic stereotypes to expose the reality of racism in the US, but it is uncertain whether or not children have the necessary foundation of knowledge to understand them in this way Insider narratives---the Latino as authorial voice. A small but growing number of children's programs include fully developed portrayals of Latinos who express their culture and speak for themselves as members of a multiethnic community. Examples include Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, The Puzzle Place, and Gryphon The first four types of programs position Latinos as outsiders, containing them as Others in a discourse similar to Orientalism. Insider narratives, however, offer the child viewer a more fully realized polyphonic discourse capable of promoting both esteem and empathy, imperatives for an increasingly multiethnic nation / acase@tulane.edu

In this study I consider a particular sociocultural institution, The Dance of the Conquest, as it is manifested in and around the department of Totonicapan, Guatemala. As much a play as a dance, La Conquista is considered 'the national dance of Guatemala' and belongs to a larger genre of popular ritual theater known as traditional dance. The narrative of the play relates the events surrounding the 1524 defeat of the K'iche' Maya at the hands of Pedro de Alvarado and his army. The dancer/actors are indigenous Maya, and this study primarily concerns ethnic conflict as it is expressed in performance. I argue that ethnicity is not created in isolation but is profoundly embedded in larger sociocultural systems. The dance itself and the way that it presents ethnicity are products of many influences, Pre-Columbian, colonial, and postcolonial. The movement to revive Maya culture in the aftermath of recent violent internal conflict is the latest lens through which participants understand the play. Additionally, in consideration of symbolic ethnic conflict I endeavor to advance the understanding of the real strife that has been a predominant feature of the history of Guatemala To conduct research, I apprenticed the Moreria Nima' K'iche', one of the shops that prepares and rents the masks, costumes, and props necessary for the presentation of traditional dance. Cultural activists are responsible for the very existence of this particular moreria , and these circumstances shaped the research in two important ways. First, and by design, the costumes, the props, and particularly the masks used in The Dance of the Conquest receive the most investigative attention. Second, and by happenstance, I was influenced by (and in a small way participated in) a project to rescue an important part of a community's cultural patrimony / acase@tulane.edu