Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 26-08, page: 4776. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1965.

The study traces the development of the French National Front. As a new political party in an old party system, the development of the Front offers a unique opportunity to examine the currently popular theories related to the changing roles of political parties in advanced industrialized societies. / By way of introduction, we give special attention to the political antecedents of the National Front. This involves a detailed discussion of the complex web of cleavage structures which formed the political and ideological cradle in which the National Front was nourished. In addition, we recognize that the development, from creation to political durability, of any new political movement, involves a complex mix of elite actions and mass response, which are in turn influenced by the context of specific institutional and political facilitators. / These points are addressed by employing a blend of research strategies. This multi-method approach involves a consideration of the voluminous literature, both popular and academic, which has recently appeared on the French National Front. Elite interviews with the political leadership of the Front form the cornerstone of the methodology. In addition, mass level survey data is utilized to illustrate the contemporary manifestation of the cleavage structures upon which the Front is based. / Emphasis is placed on identifying the political and institutional factors which facilitated the development of the party at three distinct levels: (1) creation, (2) electoral success, and (3) durability. The role of the French political elite in transforming the cleavages into a competitive political party is linked to specific institutional and political facilitators at three distinct levels of the party's development. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-07, Section: A, page: 2526. / Major Professor: Russell Dalton. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

Previous research on federal aid allocations made the serious claim that the federal government is largely unresponsive to the problems of American cities. Later studies suggest that federal responsiveness has improved over time due to New Federalism programs which distributed funds by revenue sharing and block grants. However, these studies do not comment on the substantive impact of New Federalism programs which also give city officials the policy making authority to spend the federal funds. This omission assumes that city officials spend the federal funds in relation to the problems for which they were funded. / This study proposes and tests hypotheses about federal grants-in-aid for urban problems by examining past categorical grant programs and present block grants for community development. Moreover, the linkages between federal aid, city needs, and city spending are examined in the context of a single model. Consistent with recent studies, the responsiveness of federal aid to community development needs has increased over time. In addition, these needs predict city spending patterns, but the political institutions of cities play a very important role for shaping these spending decisions. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: A, page: 1877. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The thesis of this study claims that recent socio-political changes in Greece have aided the political awareness of Greek women and hence their political involvement. The study is based on a public opinion survey. The sample (N = 300) involves three heterogeneous target groups of working women (professional women, saleswomen and women factory workers). To measure the political involvement (or lack thereof) of the Greek working women who were surveyed, an empirical model was constructed involving socio-demographic, ecological and attitudinal indicators. / The findings clearly indicate that traditional agents such as the family, the church and the traditional community setting, have lost considerable influence in the wake of modernizing influence such as urbanization, educational achievement, the increased movement of women into the work force, etc. Increasingly traditional attitudes are being replaced with modern values and modern attitudes concerning appropriate gender roles. This tendency is more evident among working women, and especially among the young, the educated and the urban. These modern attitudes encourage rather than inhibit the involvement of women in politics and the result has been signs of a growing political involvement. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-06, Section: A, page: 1728. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

Women in the workforce earn an average of two-thirds of the wages by men, partly because the majority of women are segregated into female-dominated jobs and occupations that receive lower wages than male-dominated jobs and occupations. Basing wages on the comparable worth of jobs to the employer is proposed as a partial solution to the wage discrimination experienced by women. States are in the process of adopting comparable worth as a basis for setting wages for state employees. Five comparable worth initiatives or actions taken within states are examined separately and combined to form an index. The five initiatives are introduction of comparable worth legislation in the legislature, initiation of a job evaluation study, establishment of a comparable worth task force, implementation of comparable worth as a basis for wage-setting for state employees, and appropriation of money to implement comparable worth. The relationship between political, economic, and women's status factors within states and a state's adoption of comparable worth initiatives are examined using a cross-sectional survey approach. Data are analyzed with Pearson Product Moment Correlations and multiple regression techniques. / Political liberalism, wealth, education, women's political status, and women's legal status are positively associated with adoption of comparable worth. Urbanization is not associated and industrialization is negatively associated with comparable worth adoption. Women's economic status is weakly associated with comparable worth adoption. The best predictors of comparable worth adoption for state employees are political liberalism (right of state employees to bargain collectively), women's political status (percent of women in state House of Representatives), and women's legal status (state ratification of federal ERA). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-09, Section: A, page: 2441. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The study is based on a survey of 828 persons among the Puerto Rican voting population. The predictors of party identification which are operating within a quasi-colonial setting, were analyzed from different clusters of variables using inferential statistics depending on each variable scale of measurement. The independent variable clusters were grouped depending on their main characteristics, for example: "demographic", "socio-economic", "socio-attitudinal", and "political". Each variable was analyzed by using other cross-national and national studies of party identification and compared to the Puerto Rican findings. Since the Caribbean nation has not finally decided its political status, and has an industrialized economy, but one that is dependent on the United States. The findings sometimes did not coincide with those of the post-industrial and independent states of the West. The results supported the theoretical argument that the political status dominates all other cleavages dimensions. The twelve independent variables resulting in statistically significant relationship with party identification were: political status preference, nationalist sentiment, mother's I.D., political ideology, father's I.D., value priorities, dependency sentiment, education, religion, age, occupation, and race. The main predictor of party identification in Puerto Rico is the political status issue. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1565. / Major Professor: Scott Flanagan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

Re-invention, a term coined by communications scholar Everett Rogers, refers to purposeful changes made to an innovation by subsequent adopters as the innovation diffuses. In an analysis of the content of four innovative state policies, I elaborate on Rogers' findings to demonstrate that these purposeful changes are cumulative as later adopting states take into consideration the successes and failures of previous adoptions through a social learning process. Cumulative re-invention refers to cumulative changes which build on the previously adopted policy making it either more expansive or possibly more restrictive over time. A content analytic technique is developed to measure the effects of re-invention and cumulative re-invention on the diffusion of these four policy innovations as originally adopted in the states during the last three decades. The policies analyzed are living will laws, crime victim compensation laws, child abuse reporting laws, and public campaign funding laws. Three of these policy innovations evolve during diffusion to become more expansive over time and the fourth policy becomes more restrictive over time. An analysis of the specific provisions of each law shows that some provisions may become more restrictive while others become more expansive. Finally, analysis of the current laws as amended demonstrates little relationship among the laws and the date they were originally adopted, suggesting that earlier adopters re-invent their legislative policies through amendment. The results challenge traditional models of innovation, which suggest that the earliest adopters are the most "innovative", and cast doubt on the status of later adopting states as "laggards" or "followers." / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-05, Section: A, page: 1877. / Major Professor: Henry Glick. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

The study assesses the relationships between law, legal policy, and criminal choice. It is argued that the level of criminal violence can be reduced through legal changes which increase the probability of receiving a severe prison sentence upon conviction. Decreasing the opportunities for plea bargaining and reducing the discretionary powers of judges will reduce the number of crimes in society. / The law selected for the study is Florida's mandatory gun law. It was specifically created to reduce violent gun crime. The statute mandates a minimum sentence of three years for those convicted under the law. It requires that the charges for the offense cannot be dropped once they are officially filed and that the trial judge must sentence those found guilty to a minimum of three years. The law does not allow for gain time nor early parole. Creators of the law felt that it would increase the certainty of punishment as well as the severity of punishment. / Results of a Box-Tiao intervention analysis indicate that the law did reduce the amount of armed robbery, total robbery, homicides committed with a firearm, and total homicides. The effects of the law, however, subsided after a twenty-four month time period. Our theory of criminal choice is generally supported by the data. The inability of the mandatory gun law to continue its reducing effects on violent crime is attributed to the sentencing policies of trial judges. It is suggested that the operations of the criminal justice system tend to negate the impact of the law. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, Section: A, page: 0564. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 29-04, Section: A, page: 1258. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1968.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 31-09, Section: A, page: 4857. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1970.