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The purpose of this research was to examine Colombian immigration in South Florida from a sociological standpoint. This thesis studied Colombian immigrants from the moment they made the decision to depart Colombia to the moment they established themselves in South Florida. The main question of this study was: What is the level of satisfaction of Colombian immigrants in South Florida? The central hypothesis was that the level of information prior to migration greatly affects their level of satisfaction in South Florida. It was also hypothesized that informal sources of information - rumors, stories from relatives or friends in the U.S. - raise their expectations about migrating and contribute to the decision to migrate. The methodology used for this research was based on two elements. First, a theoretical approach, which explored three migration theories related to the topic. Specifically, a behavioral theory that examines the migrant's decision-making process became the core of the theoretical approach. Second, an ethnographic approach, which used focus groups, interviews with leaders of the Colombian organizations in South Florida, and one-to-one interviews conducted in Colombia and in South Florida. Through the interviews and the focus groups, this study established the way that Colombian migrants raise their expectations before arrival and the process they go through once in South Florida. The findings reveal that potential migrants in Colombia, as well as immigrants (already living in South Florida) tend to make the decision to migrate to the United States based on informal information sources. Such information is often incomplete and unreliable. As a consequence, most of the Colombian immigrants in South Florida are disillusioned, as they failed to realize their expectations. The study concludes that reliable and accurate information may contribute to the lowering of expectations and the picturing of more realistic images of the migration experience.

The purpose of the thesis was to first, document the expansion of Trinidad's business sector and then to probe the implications of this expansion on Caribbean regionalization. The variables analyzed were physical expansion, technology and development and community involvement. The methodological approach used first, a theoretical approach based on the New Regionalism Approach (NRA) which best accounts for non-state actors (multinationals) and their role in the scheme of regionalization. Second, interviews were conducted with leaders of the major multinationals in Trinidad to ascertain their opinion on the role of multinationals in the regionalization process. Based on the case studies analyzed, namely Royal Bank Group of Companies and Trinidad Cement Holdings Limited, the findings of the thesis indicate that Trinidad multinationals are helping the process of Caribbean regionalization and consider themselves regional rather than national entities. It can be concluded that the growth of Trinidad multinationals will continue to be integral to the economic integration of the region.

The purpose of this study was to examine formal and informal networks within the South Florida Colombian community. The qualitative, ethnographic study used research from personal interviews, focus groups, and observations, placed within a theoretical framework based predominantly on Putnam’s conceptualization of social capital, as well as previous research on immigrant and Colombian communities. The resulting analysis focused on Colombian immigrant solidarity and social capital in South Florida, examining the role of the context of reception and the effects of social structures on levels of trust and reciprocity. The results showed that a non-receptive immigration policy, socio-economic differentiation in migration waves, and spatial fragmentation within the receiving community, hinder community-building. There were incipient signs of civic engagement, yet Colombian leadership as well as individual Colombians perceived that the community lacked solidarity. Both formal and informal networks are best characterized as fragmented and guided by pre-existing social structures. The findings showed that a unique context of arrival and low levels of social capital have challenged Colombian immigrants’ ability to create the type of community cohesion that would facilitate their transition to life in South Florida.

<p>This study attempts to investigate the position, working and activity of ' the Senate as revealed in Cassius Dio's account of the Principate of Augustus. I have selected what seem to me to be the principal passages on this theme in Books 52 to 56 for comment (the list is provided in the Table of Contents), and have freely referred to many others not so chosen.</p> <p>Although the work is in no way a treatment of the constitutional position of the Princeps, this topic must intrude often on a discussion of the Senate's relation to its new master: and so must other, at first glance unrelated, subjects such as provincial governorships and financial administration--so central to the government of the State was the Senate. Frequent references also must be made to Republican usages, and to developments between the age of Augustus and Dio's own time.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

The present paper analyzes a case study of the Madeira Complex, which plans to build two massive dams on the Amazon River's largest tributary, to identify religious discourse in ecological debates. Three sides of the debate are investigated in order to analyze the various perspectives of proper human relations with the rest of nature that emerge. The Brazilian government and large corporations support the project as a necessary step to meet future national energy needs, the indigenous groups settled in federal territories that are directly affected by the environmental impact of the project and have mixed opinions, and environmentalist organizations starkly opposed to the project because of its impact on the environment. Each perspective reflects a Christian model of stewardship, where humans are responsible for the management of the rest of nature, and even the indigenous worldview adapts this dominant perspective in order to gain visibility in the debate. This debate reveals how the stewardship model can be a subtle form of neo-colonization of indigenous people and of ecosystems.

This dissertation deals with the nature of the political system in sixteenth- century colonial Spanish America through an analysis of the administration of Viceroy Fernando de Torres y Portugal, Conde del Villar, in Peru (1585-1590). The political conflicts surrounding his government and the accusations of bribery leveled against him and members of his household provide the documentation for a case study in a system in which prestige and authority were defined through a complex network of patronage and personal relationships with the Spanish monarch, the ultimate source of legitimate power. This dissertation is conceptualized using categories presented in Max Weber’s theory on the nature of political order and authority in the history of human societies and the definition of the patrimonial system as one in which the power of he king confers legitimacy and authority on the whole political structure. The documentary base for this dissertation is an exceptionally detailed and complete record related to the official administrative review (visita) ordered by Philip II in 1588 to assess the government of Viceroy Torres y Portugal. Additionally, letters as well as other primary and secondary sources are scattered in repositories on both sides of the Atlantic. The study of this particular case offers an excellent opportunity to gain an understanding o f a political order in which jurisdictional boundaries between institutions and authorities were not clearly defined. The legal system operating in the viceroyalty was subordinated to the personal decisions of the king, and order and equilibrium were maintained through the interaction of patronage networks that were reproduced at all levels of the colonial society. The final charges against Viceroy Conde del Villar, as well as their impact on the political career of those involved in the accusations, reveal that situations today understood to constitute bribery had a different meaning in the context o f a patrimonial order.

This study holds that recurring political crises prior to Colombian elections broadly shape electoral strategies. Through reviewing the history of Colombia, political crises emerge as a salient characteristic that precedes most elections and affects electoral strategies. To measure the impact of political crisis on electoral strategies, two Colombian presidential campaigns were analyzed: that of César Gaviria in 1990 and of Ernesto Samper in 1994. The examination of descriptive data, from both case studies and interviews with key political consultants, were used to identify how political crises have resulted in the modifications of the campaigns. The findings showed that the electoral strategies for the two cases were adapted or modified due to the extreme conditions resulting from crises, such as the assassination of three presidential candidates before the 1990 election. The study concludes that crises led to the modification of electoral strategies in three specific areas: preparation of the campaigns, organization of the strategies, and in campaign themes and advertising images.

The purpose of this study was to compare the political, economic and social problematic of Mexico in the early 1900s and the 1990s, using political caricatures as primary sources of information. To fully understand the Porfiriato regime during the early 1900s, images from the Mexican newspapers El Diablito Rojo, El Hijo del Ahuizote and El Paladin were selected and analyzed, while Carlos Salinas’ government of the early 1990s was studied through the caricatures found in La Jornada. The political caricatures demonstrated that similar conflicts existed during the early 1900s and the 1990s, such as the abuse of an authoritarian government, corrupt elections, an evident polarization between a small elite and the masses, the exploitation of the agricultural sectors, and a strive for the modernization of the country.

This thesis examines the work of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) in the eastern Coachella Valley between 1965 and 1973. I reconstruct the major events that occurred in Coachella and argue that the valley's climate and diverse farm worker population contributed to a unique set of labor organizing experiences. These circumstances in Coachella affected the grape harvest and were key in both the success and demise of UFW efforts in Coachella.