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The emergence of supranational organizations like the European Union (EU) raises questions fundamental to the sociological study of regions and nation-states. Hypothetically, the EU could provide regions within nation-states most of the governmental services that they currently receive from the state. For regions with strong ethnic and cultural identities that have sought to break away from the nation-state over time, decreased political and economic dependency may provide the autonomy that they have been seeking. On the other hand, if the emergence of supranational organizations like the EU represents state-building at the global level, then the EU can pose a threat to regional groups seeking autonomy from the nation-state. At issue is how the growing influence of supranational organizations like the EU is affecting the demand for autonomy within ethnically, politically, and culturally distinct regions. This dissertation attempts to answer these questions by examining variations in nationalism over time for three regions in Spain (Basque Country, Galicia, Catalonia) from 1977-2002. In order to begin to answer this question, I created a new dataset of protest events in Spain in order to assess variations in demands for autonomy over time. The protest event counts were incorporated into a comparative historical analysis that seeks to explain the effects of the influence of the evolving European Union (EU) on contentious demands for autonomy within those three regions; the variations in the protest event counts over time were analyzed against additional economic and political data collected from archival materials. I find that, while nationalism declined overall over time, it did not disappear but rather took on a different character. The classical manifestations of nationalism transformed into distinct movements centered on human rights. I argue that this transformation took place as a result of three interrelated factors: 1) Forced cooperation between the regions and the central Spanish government; 2) Elite abandonment of the nationalist movement; and 3) The state of the regional economies. In contrast to what extant theory might predict, my results indicate that nationalism continues to exist for the following reasons: 1) The EU has not rendered the nation-state irrelevant, but rather has altered their competencies; 2) The EU has not resolved the tensions between the nation-state and regions, but rather has created new ones; and 3) The EU has not leveled the economic playing-field between regions, but rather has opened them up to new forms of competition. In conclusion, this dissertation argues that supranational organizations like the EU have altered the relationship between regions and nation-states, thus transforming - but not solving - the nationalist question.

To predict the final eye position in the middle of a saccadic eye movement will require long-range prediction. This dissertation investigated techniques for doing this. Many important results about saccadic eye movements and current prediction techinques were reviewed. New prediction techinques have been developed and tested for real saccadic data in computer. Three block processing predictors, two-point linear predictor (TPLP), five-point quadratic predictor (FPQP), and nine-point cubic predictor (NPCP), were derived based on the matrix approach. A different approach to deriving the TPLP, FPQP, and NPCP based on the difference equation was also developed. The difference equation approach is better than the matrix approach because it is not necessary to compute the matrix inversion. Two polynomial predictors: the polynomial-filter predictor 1 (PFP1), which is a linear combination of a TPLP and an FPQP, and the polynomial-filter predictor 2 (PFP2), which is a linear combination of a TPLP, and FPQP, and an NPCP, were also derived. Two recursive predictors: the recursive-least-square (RLS) predictor and the least-mean-square (LMS) predictor, were derived. Results show that the RLS and LMS predictors perform better than TPLP, FPQP, NPCP, PFP1, and PFP2 in the prediction of saccadic eye movements. A mathematical way of verifying the accuracy of the recursive-least-square predictor was developed. This technique also shows that the RLS predictor can be used to identify a signal. Results show that a sinusoidal signal can be described as a second-order difference equation with coefficients 2cosω and -1. In the same way, a cubic signal can be realized as a fourth-order difference equation with coefficients 4, -6, 4, and -1. A parabolic signal can be written as a third-order difference equation with coefficients 3, -3, and 1. And a triangular signal can be described as a second-order difference equation with coefficients 2 and -1. In this dissertation, all predictors were tested with various signals such as saccadic eye movements, ECG, sinusoidal, cubic, triangular, and parabolic signals. The FFT of these signals were studied and analyzed. Computer programs were written in systems language C and run on UNIX supported minicomputer VAX11/750. Results were discussed and compared to that of short-range prediction problems.

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This thesis explores processes of social movement organizing in response to the neoliberal restructuring of public services in South Africa. Through a case study of an alliance of municipal workers and community activists collaborating to contest public service commercialization in Cape Town, this thesis examines the limits and possibilities of contemporary efforts to build labour community alliances. In many parts of the world, particularly Latin America, broad coalitions including community organizations and labour unions have formed to defend public services and propose alternatives to market delivery. Despite widespread discontent, rising levels of poverty, increasing inequality and the success of anti-privatization coalitions elsewhere in the world, a sustained and successful movement has not emerged in South Africa. Situated in the debates within social geography on South African neoliberalism and those in the labour and social movement literature on labour-community alliances, this thesis argues that several factors serve to frustrate coalition formation in the present. These include the organizational and institutional complexities and heterogeneity of partner organizations, the fragmenting effect of a diverse and problematic socio-cultural context, and the disabling political economy of South Africa at the fore of which is the enduring hegemonic project of the ANC. Highly interrelated, these factors ultimately continue to thwart attempts to build a social movement to effectively challenge and move beyond the neoliberal restructuring of public services in Cape Town. However, this thesis argues that openings and spaces for the emergence of labour-community alliances and deep coalitions do exist, and concludes that the outlook for the emergence of transformative movements in Cape Town is not so bleak as the complexity and fragmentation of the present may suggest. / Thesis (Master, Global Development Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-21 15:52:00.612

This thesis explores the relationship between the participants of a social movement and movement intellectuals. A case-study focus on the WestcliffFlats Residents Association (WFRA) was taken to provide a contextual and "holistic" understanding thereof. At the centre of the study is an intellectual puzzle concerned with investigating the dynamics and processes that constitute this relationship. The approach is one of qualitative inquiry, relying on the perspectives of participants within the movement to develop a grounded theory with respect to the primary intellectual puzzle and research questions. In this way, the emergent conclusions are non-categorical and provide an argued perspective on the interactive processes between movement intellectuals and the WFRA. A typology ofpossible relationships between movement intellectuals and social movements is developed and constitutes the primary findings of the study. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

The present study sets out to challenge a common assumption that Green politics is virtually non-existent in Spain. This assumed state of affairs has been attributed to a number of factors including a materialist society which prioritises economic growth, Spain’s political culture and, finally, the country’s electoral system. The result, according to the few scholars who include Spain in their studies, is a country with a weak political ecology social movement (PESM) and a Green party that enjoys only ‘trivial support’ (Mair 2001:103). As will be demonstrated, such assumptions are based on an insufficient knowledge of political ecology in Spain. The lack of knowledge has resulted in Spain’s green movements and parties being routinely misinterpreted and, indeed, overlooked. The first and most glaring misconception is many scholars’ persistence in referring to the ‘Spanish Green party’ as if a single party existed. In fact, the ‘Spanish Greens’ comprise not one national party but a variable and variegated number of different political parties, a few of which have certainly achieved a measure of electoral success (depending, of course, on how success is defined). Furthermore, it will be shown that reasons often given for the failure of the Green parties – such as the country’s alleged lack of interest in environmental matters – overlook other more pertinent factors such as, for example, tensions between the Spanish Greens and the environmental movement organisations (EMO), the nationalist factor and continuing tensions between the ‘green-greens’ and the ‘red-greens’. Despite numerous problems at party level, the present study will show that Spain’s PESM is as vigorous as – though different from - that of other countries which are reputed to be environmental leaders. To pursue this argument, the thesis will provide an overview of Spain’s Green parties, setting these within the cultural and historical context of the broader PESM to which they belong. Drawing on territorial politics literature, the thesis will, in particular, demonstrate that the territorial dimension – that is, Spain’s division into 17 autonomous regions – has been one of the neglected but determining factors contributing to the problems besetting the Spanish Greens. It will also be argued that, in its own way, the efforts of Spanish ecologists have undoubtedly contributed towards the ‘piecemeal’ greening of Spain. The arguments are further developed through two in-depth case studies focusing on political ecology, and more particularly Green parties, in two of Spain’s regions, Catalonia and Andalucia.

Approved for public release, distribution unlimited / The Shiite ulama have become politically active in past decades, beginning in the 1960s-70s with the articulation of the new ideology that empowered the Iranian Revolution. Though a significant portion of the ulama retained their quietist tradition, enough felt motivated by wilayet e-faqih to become a major force in the political landscape. The ulama were particularly well suited to lead a successful social movement. Shiite tradition and symbology, once released from the bonds of quietism, were perfectly suited to motivate a struggle for justice. Despite the ulama's successful leadership, they are most influential when they are part of an underground opposition movement. The three case studies demonstrate that when movements reach a certain level of success, the ulama tend to retreat back to their studies. While many significant ulama continue to pay lip service to the wilayet e-faqih, many have also admitted that it is not practical in their country's particular circumstance. This is not to say that they are not influential, but that they prefer to let others perform daily political tasks. The scowling, turbaned 'alim is not necessarily the uncontrolled voice of radicalism bent upon founding an Islamic state.

This research will analyze the comprehensive organizational strategy of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA was dramatically transformed from a gun enthusiasts' group to one of the most powerful organizations in the US starting in the late 1970s. The key focus of the study will be on the political influences and victories the NRA has accomplished in the US over the past 30 years. The research will also focus on NRA senior leadership, NRA members, media sources and US politics as they relate to the current and future strategies of the organization. Furthermore, an in-depth look at the NRA's history will be examined followed by a broad focus on how the NRA has became, and remains, one of the most powerful lobbying organizations in the US. Due to the fluid nature of the NRA, interviews were taken with senior NRA personnel at NRA Headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, and at the Washington D.C. field office. The positions used for this paper were with the Director of the Grassroots Division and the Director of Federal Affairs. The goal of these interviews was to give this research the most current, up to date information on future goals and trends in the NRA.