Responses of ten Native American men, who reported being homeless for at least six months, waiver slightly from the hypothesis that their concept of home denotes community, family, and an indigenous connection to the land. However, they did strategically cope to create home-like atmospheres. Direct answers show that home provides basic necessities, safety, and emotions of well-being, like belonging. Scrutiny of the complete contexts of these men's lives show that friendship often replaced a lack of family. Some participants referred to an indigenous connection to the land and to home as being more than one place, including a natal reservation. Adoption and a period of time away from culture, an uprootedness, also characterized these lives. Researcher recommendations include a permanent wet/dry residence, a camping area, and provisions for more culturally specific homeless services.

<p> The identification of factors contributing to the farmers' non-retention of subsidy dollars is key in identifying the impact of the subsidy within and across the sector. Relaxing the assumption of perfect competition, amongst input suppliers, allows for an analysis of two upstream of complementary goods. Because it is the case that the farmers are price takers for some inputs (seed) and may negotiate over the price of others (land), I assume the upstream input providers are more akin to Bertrand competition. General findings, from the theoretical and experimental results, indicate upstream market power as having a significant impact on the economic subsidy incidence; and the complementary between the famer's inputs is the main driving force of the results.</p>

This study utilizes the concept of disarticulated accumulation to explore the associations among relations of dominance in the world-economy and human welfare in less developed nations. Disarticulation is cast as the primary intervening factor between dominance and human welfare. / Multiple regression techniques are applied to cross-sectional data in order to test the effects of dominance and disarticulation on human welfare. Additional tests assess the intervening role of disarticulation in the effects of dominance on human welfare. / Both dominance and disarticulation are found to have significant negative effects on human welfare. Disarticulation is found to mediate the effects of dominance on human welfare. This analysis concludes that disarticulation is an important, but overlooked, determinant of human welfare in less developed nations. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: A, page: 0701. / Major Professor: J. Michael Armer. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The Education for Handicapped Children's Act, re-authorized in 1986, mandates special education and related services for all children with handicaps, ages 3 to 21. Perhaps the most confusing aspect of the law involves the interpretation of providing health related services required by children with disabilities. The law has created, in theory, a partnership between parents and professionals in sharing their specialized knowledge and collaborating in implementing services. / The study, conducted in a preschool class for children who had a range of handicapping conditions, used a qualitative strategy. It began with an interest in (a) how school personnel use health and medical information in the performance of their specialized roles and (b) the processes staff use in developing a shared understanding of the information and a coordinated course of action for individual children. The inquiry, however, expanded to include the critical role parents play in brokering information between the medical system and the educational system. / Findings from this study indicate that the lives of children with handicaps are managed by three different social systems: family, medical, and education. Each of these social environments has its own purpose, structure, rules, and perceptions. Communication between the three systems frequently is very difficult because all three are simultaneously but independently involved in assessment, diagnoses, prognoses, developing plans, and establishing outcome measures. Three factors contribute to the ease of communication and coordination between the systems: (a) a definitive etiology of the child's handicap; (b) a definitive diagnostic label of the handicapping condition; and (c) the degree to which the handicap is visible. The study was conducted in a a preschool class for children who have a range of handicapping conditions. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-12, Section: A, page: 4087. / Major Professor: Pearl E. Tait. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among several variables including four indices of organizational culture gaps, job satisfaction, job performance, the perception of performance appraisal fairness, salary, and caseload size. Two hundred and twelve counselors in the state of Florida completed three questionnaires for this study: the Rehabilitation Job Satisfaction Inventory, the Kilmann-Saxton Culture Gap Survey, and a demographic questionnaire designed for this study. / Multiple regression analyses procedures were used to examine the relationships among the culture gap indices, perception of performance appraisal, caseload size, and salary fairness and job satisfaction and job performance (dependent variables). Perception of performance appraisal, caseload size fairness and the task support culture gap were found to be predictive of job satisfaction. Task innovation culture gap and perception of salary fairness were found to be predictive of job performance. The seven independent variables in combination were found to explain 28% of the variance in job satisfaction and 07% of the variance in job performance. The relationship between job satisfaction and performance was not found to be significant. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-01, Section: A, page: 0079. / Major Professor: E. Jane Burkhead. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

The General Educational Development (GED) exam provides a "second chance" for people who, for various reasons, did not complete a secondary school program. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in salary, employment and enrollment in post-secondary education associated with completion of the General Educational Development (GED) exam, as well as an examination of differences between students who participated in formal GED preparation classes and people who were receiving public assistance. / Four null hypotheses were formulated to answer the research questions. A survey questionnaire was developed to gather data related to answering the hypotheses. Subjects included 1988-90 GED graduates in New York State. Multiple regression analysis and analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data. / Analysis of the data found that there was no significant difference in employment or salary over time following acquisition of the General Educational Development (GED) exam. However, there was a significant difference in post-secondary education enrollment. Also, there was no relationship between receiving public assistance and salary or employment. However, there were reported changes in people's lives. People reported increased self-esteem, feeling "better" about themselves and more self confident. They also reported an increase in family literacy activities, including reading to children and helping them with homework, watching the news, reading newspapers, writing letters and going to the library. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-10, Section: A, page: 3503. / Major Professor: Mary L. Pankowski. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

The September 1985 earthquakes in Mexico resulted in impacts on the health and well-being of a population and thus provided an opportunity for gaining insights into the little-studied epidemiology of natural disasters. The intent of this research was to examine patterns of morbidity, health care utilization, and relocation trends in the disaster zone of Mexico City during a nine-month period following the earthquake and to provide direction for relief efforts in the aftermath of a similar catastrophe elsewhere Based on a multistage sampling plan, 504 households from twenty-eight randomly selected camps, or twenty-two percent of camp households, were surveyed eight months after the earthquake. Information at the individual level was gathered for 2,427 persons within the disaster zone at the time of the earthquake, or twenty percent of approximately 12,000 camp residents Although less than one percent of the study population was injured, the injured and non-injured differed significantly with respect to age and height of residence relative to ground level. A rate of 74.1 injuries per 1000 persons was determined among the 60+ age group while 5.3 per 1000 was observed in children 6-14 years. Results of logistic regression indicated that age was significant in predicting injury. The injured tended to have been positioned on ground level or on the third floor or higher of a structure. Trauma to the lower extremities was observed with high frequency Although fear accounted for most perceived illnesses at the time of the earthquake, medical care was sought instead for chest pains, high blood pressure, and respiratory conditions Local medical institutions provided emergency care for all cases for which attention was received. No mention was made of foreign medical relief groups While a destroyed dwelling prompted relocation of a household, choice of a temporary settlement was influenced significantly by solidarity of the pre-earthquake neighborhood During the relief period (two weeks-two months after the disaster), households moved most often and nearer the former residence when compared to other phases Results emphasized the need for a working disaster plan in urban areas and that aid be directed by neighborhood. Further research was proposed for disaster-specific epidemiologic methods, statistical generation of movement patterns, and post-disaster behavioral issues / acase@tulane.edu

Punitive Damages has been a very powerful instrument in many common law tradition countries. Although praised by some and attacked by others, it has had a beneficial effect on improving the safety, even the lives, of individuals. Punitive damage awards are intended to punish the most corrupt or careless behavior towards other human beings by disregarding others' safety, sometimes in order to save money rather than undertake proper preventive measures. The award of punitive damages also makes a statement as to what is and what is not an acceptable behavior in the interests of improving society When people in civil law countries engage in unacceptable behavior it may be desirable to impose a penalty both to deter that behavior and encourage correct behavior. Punitive damages awards could provide the legal mechanism for making citizens responsible for their behavior. Many of the same arguments that support the use of punitive damages in common law countries are also applicable in civil law countries despite the absence of a similar legal tradition. Currently in most civil law countries like Mexico penalties directed primarily at punishment and deterrence are not exacted for disregard for others' care. As a result citizens, particularly in the context of business decisions, may find it cheaper not to undertake proper protective measures that would decrease the likelihood of serious injury to other people The liability system of civil law countries, which is even more ancient than that of common law countries, would benefit from adopting some form of punitive damages. This dissertation proposes a Congressional Bill in the form of an Act that will allow consideration of factors relevant to punitive damages under Mexican law and to value human live and safety above profits. It also proposes changes in the Mexican Civil Code and other Mexican Laws, needed to conform to the new structure of punitive damages / acase@tulane.edu

This dissertation examines the provision of public beneficence during the Porfiriato using the Hospicio de Pobres, a home for poor and orphaned children, as a case study. Although Mexican historians have usually found the origins of public welfare services in the 1910 Revolution, the Porfirian state did attempt to improve the administration of beneficence. In the case of the Hospicio, the state built for it a modern facility which opened in 1905. This not only represented an improvement in living conditions for the children interned there, but also served as a very visible symbol of the desire of the Porfirian state to be modern It is argued that the Hospicio represented a sphere of interaction between the state and poor families in Mexico City. The use that poor families made of the Hospicio is as important as the elite view of the institution. Although some children living there were orphaned or abandoned, most had some family connection. Poor families used the services of the Hospicio as a tool to cope with their poverty and often interned their children only temporarily. Families particularly requested education for their children there, believing, as did the state, that this was the path out of poverty. Social and institutional history are not seen here as two distinct areas of study. The history of the poor is also the history of their dealings with the state, and the history of the state is also the history of its ideas about its poorest citizens / acase@tulane.edu

This dissertation consists of three separate but related essays that examine particular issues relating to insurance markets. The first essay, found public hospital presence and its associated charity care to have a significant impact upon the insurance choices of workers. Independent of income level, access to a public hospital system increases the probability that a worker is uninsured. The magnitude of the effect does depend upon income, with a ten percentage point increase in percent public beds causing a 5.0 point increase in the uninsured amongst the poor while the same change actually decreases the uninsured by 0.1 points for the wealthiest workers. The same change in public hospital presence drives decreases in the supply of employer sponsored insurance ranging from 4.2 percentage points for the poor to 0.1 percentage points for the wealthiest workers. This study was unable to establish whether this decrease in the supply of ESI reflects a lower demand for employer sponsored plans or partially causes the higher uninsured rate by reducing access to group plans The second essay found workers' risk tolerances to have a significant impact upon their insurance choice decision. Risk characteristics affected both the worker's risk aversion and expectations of medical loss. The characteristics identified by a drunk driving indicator had significant effects upon risk aversion as income increased, and the characteristics identified by childhood smoking implied a lower demand for insurance at all income levels. The two risk indicators exhibited little overlap in their influences, and jointly they accounted for 16.6% of the total uninsured in the model The third essay examined the impact of managed care presence and its contracting with hospitals on community level hospital expenditures. For 1991--1997, managed care presence produced significantly lower total market hospital expenditures when measured as expenses per bed and expenses per adjusted admission. Supplemental models traced the sources of the expenditure savings through the local hospital systems with most savings being attributed to reduced staffing levels per bed and reduced prevalence of new medical technologies / acase@tulane.edu