The major objective of this study was to attempt to empirically test and validate a portion of conflict-critical theory using the Panama Canal society as a base for this research. According to conflict-critical theory, the law may be used as an instrument to maintain the status quo of a society by the vested-interest group for their own self-serving interests. More specifically, two propositions of Chambliss and Seidman's conflict-critical theory state that: the lower one's social class, the more likely laws against his illegal behavior will be enforced and the more likely the sanctions will be severe (1971: 475). / The Panama Canal society provided a unique population to test Chambliss and Seidman's proposition due to the existing division between the upper and lower social classes based on ethnic nationality of the offender population. / All ethnic nationality groups who were convicted of committing a crime and subsequently sentenced within the U.S. Federal Court operating in the Panama Canal Zone between 1963 and 1979 were compared on punitive enforcement (type and degree of punishment) after being matched on prior criminal history and present offense. Type of punishment referred to the actual case disposition which varied from fine, probation, to incarceration. Degree of punishment referred to the actual severity of sentence (amount of fine or length of sentence) within the five possible sentencing categories of fine, probation, incarceration, parole, and incarceration with parole. Chi square analysis was then utilized to determine the relationship between ethnic nationality and sentencing. / The statistical findings in regard to punitive enforcement and severity of punishment based on ethnic nationality were found to be significant. It was learned that the lower social class offender (Panamanian) in the Panama Canal Zone did experience more punitive enforcement (type of punishment) than did the upper social class offender (Zonian, American, or both), and thus experienced differential sentencing. This finding did appear to support Chambliss and Seidman's proposition. However, severity of sanction (degree of punishment) based on ethnic nationality was found to be significant but it was the upper social class offender (American and Zonian) who experienced severity of sanction and thus differential sentencing. This finding did not appear to support Chambliss and Seidman's proposition. / The ultimate finding of this study was that punitive enforcement is correlated with ethnic nationality factors in the population studied. As predicted by conflict-critical theory, it apeared that the law--and judges within the U.S. Federal judicial system who applied the law--were used as an instrument of the vested-interest group to maintain the status quo of the dominant society for their own self-serving interest during the sixteen-year period studied. This finding, therefore, appeared to support the position taken by conflict-critical theorists, that the lower one's social class, the more likely he is to experience negative enforcement sanctions for his behavior. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-03, Section: A, page: 1328. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The present research presents an exploratory study of selected internal factors that are particularly important to the probation and parole officer occupation, and how they impact on the career stability of Florida probation and parole officers. Two models were developed to represent the conceptualized relationships. The first model suggests that the identified internal factors are key dimensions upon which the expectations of new officers are met, or not met. The degree to which the new officer's idealized expectations are met by the reality of the work environment are viewed as being directly linked to the level of strain experienced by the officer, with the level of strain linked to career stability. The second model suggests that career stability is linked to an officer career continuum with four identifiable positions: stayers, passive potential leavers, active potential leavers, and actual terminations. / Internal factors identified in the model are role orientation, work practice orientation, and professional autonomy. It was hypothesized that individual offices, and the organization as a whole, would manifest an agency personality encompassing these factors and that this collective position could be quantified. Additionally, it was hypothesized that former officers, or officers strongly contemplating terminating service, would differ from the agency norm on these selected factors. Thus, some former officers were theorized to be organizational rejects. Two similar questionnaires were designed to survey former (N = 67) and in-service (N = 88) officers. / Initially, the study found that officers with a criminology/criminal justice education were more likely to leave, or contemplate leaving, than colleagues with an alternate educational background. However, subsequent analysis discovered that 52 percent of the ex-officer sample terminating for new employment remained in the criminal justice field, and 24 percent of that same group went to different probation and parole agencies. There was evidence that a specialized criminology/criminal justice education may actually increase expectations about the officer role in relation to the actual reality eventually encountered. / The nature of the relationship between career stability and work practice orientation proved quite elusive. A high work practice orientation score signified that the individual viewed the primary responsibility of the officer role as service to the probationer/parolee. Conversely, a low score signified the individual's belief that community protection was the officer's primary responsibility. The differences between scores of in-service and ex-officers, for both the state and district levels were not significant. However, when type of new employment was controlled for, it was discovered that all former officers going into law enforcement were below the work practice orientation median, and that all former officers going into social services were above the median. The distribution was significant at the .0011 level. The latter finding suggests that the work practice orientation of the individual in relation to the aggregate agency orientation does impact on career stability. / The relationship between low perceived autonomy and low career stability was much clearer and stronger. It was discovered that officers wishing to leave service at the time of the survey were much more likely to be below the autonomy median (highly restricted) than those wishing to stay in service. The distribution was significant at the .15 level. Additionally, the autonomy scores between in-service and former officers at the state level and for one of the ten districts were significant, .0074 and .00015, respectively. These results are supportive of the position that autonomy impacts on career stability and that autonomy related terminations may be viewed as organizational rejections. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-03, Section: A, page: 1326. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Prior to the implementation of Florida's Objective Parole Guidelines, many considered the state's parole release process to be capricious. Consequently, the guidelines were formulated to approach "offender fairness." Although the professional literature stresses various equity issues such as similar treatment for similarly situated offenders, there is little consensus on definitions of "similar." This research attempts to more precisely define "equal treatment of equally situated offenders" and, thereby, more accurately analyze "offender fairness." The thrust of the research analyzes Florida's parole process both prior to and during the first year's implementation of objective parole guidelines with a focus on length of incarceration, consistency of the parole release decision, capriciousness due to the parole release decision, and predictive factors which may enter into the parole release decision. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-07, Section: A, page: 3312. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The present study attempted to examine the relationship between status and deviant behavior. An experiment was designed to determine whether an individual possessing low status in a small group would be more likely to cheat when presented with the opportunity than an individual occupying a middle or high status position. / Sixty female undergraduate students volunteered to participate. Each subject met in a small group with two (2) female confederates and one (1) male confederate who posed as subjects. Differential levels of status were induced by assigning each group member an objective status source consisting of a false score on a test. Subjects had been led to believe the test measured sensitivity and had been correlated with I.Q. and leadership potential. The confederates then conferred status on the subjects by either flattering a higher scorer or by obviously ignoring a low scorer. Middle scorers were treated in a neutral manner. Subjects were then provided an opportunity to cheat on a subsequent test. No statistically significant differences were found among the number of subjects who cheated in each status condition. In addition, the experiment attempted to identify whether the effects of status stemmed from an objective status source (i.e., level of competency on a test) which subjects might value in and of itself, or the response of their peer group to their objective level of achievement. Subjects were no more likely to cheat when their peers recognized their objective status source then when no one recognized their objective level of achievement. / It was suggested that the small sample size and the use of a nominal-level dependent variable may have contributed to the lack of statistically significant findings. Therefore, the experiment was reexamined in terms of its methodology. Recommendations were made for an increase in sample size as well as modification in the measurement of the dependent variable (i.e., cheating). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-10, Section: A, page: 4596. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-09, Section: A, page: 5198. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

The purposes behind this study of political terrorism were to determine if there is unity in underlying principles of terrorism and whether practical conduct of terrorist acts adheres to the principles. A group of 12 advocates of political violence was established, guided by three criteria. Fi / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-11, Section: A, page: 4845. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

Throughout the history of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), which was created in 1968 through the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, professional and, purportedly, objective evaluations of the agency have been published and congressional hearings have been conducted concerning the performance of the agency and possible directions for the future. The congressional activity has resulted in amended legislation which has affected the purpose, administration, process, program, and level of federal budgetary support of LEAA. The evaluations have made criticisms and offered recommendations regarding those elements of the LEAA program. / This dissertation examines those published evaluations and assesses the degree of concurrence which they have to the amended legislation related to LEAA. The evaluations are described, their place in the congressional hearing process is examined, and the relationship they have to the legislation is assessed. / The findings of this study provide evidence that limited concurrence between evaluations and legislation exists. It is demonstrated that the evaluations are included in congressional liberations, that agreement among the various evaluations concerning recommendations is infrequent, and that Congress makes changes to the legislation without concurrence of those evaluations. The degree to which Congress adheres to recommendations of published evaluations in the case of LEAA leads to the conclusion that factors other than evaluators' recommendations affect legislation and that evaluations are conducted and published for purposes other than to influence legislation. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2873. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

This study had two primary objectives. First, to determine whether William Glasser's Reality Therapy was capable of developing the belief that a group of juvenile delinquents committed to a public residential treatment facility were responsible for their behavior, as measured by Julian B. Rotter's theoretical construct, locus of control (LOC). Second, to determine if these perceptual changes in LOC were associated with changes in delinquent behavior. / A review of the literature examined the viability of the LOC construct, relationship between LOC and crime and delinquency, relationship between LOC, crime and delinquency and psychotherapy, and relationship between LOC and Reality Therapy. / Instruments utilized in this study were: Elliot and Ageton Self-Report Delinquency Scale, arrest data, Children's Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, Siegel Prestige Scale, Reality Therapy Evaluation Scale, weekly school progress reports, and staff log entries. / Three of the six results were found as hypothesized: (1) Before treatment, controlling for socioeconomic status, the treatment group was significantly more externally oriented than the comparison group. (2) Between the beginning and end of treatment, the treatment group had a significant change in LOC in an internal direction. They were in treatment for an average of four months. (3) There were no significant changes in LOC for the comparison group over an equal time span. / The three results that were not as hypothesized were: (1) There was no relationship found between LOC and in-program behavior. (2) Treatment subjects whose LOC did not move in an internal direction, experienced a significant reduction in delinquent behavior six months after treatment as compared to six months prior to treatment. (3) Treatment subjects whose LOC did not move in an internal direction did not experience a significant reduction in delinquent behavior six months after treatment as compared to six months prior to treatment. / Based on the above results, conclusions and implications for treatment were developed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-04, Section: A, page: 1096. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

The purpose of this dissertation is twofold. First, it is an explication of "Critical Criminology"--a theoretical perspective that currently challenges the hegemony of traditional "classical" and "positive" criminologies. It is not, however, a comprehensive explication because not all theorists who consider themselves "Critical Criminologists" are represented. Nevertheless, a non-random but representative group is cited. Secondly, it is a critique of "Critical Criminology." However, it is not an exhaustive critique since not all the criticisms leveled at "Critical Criminology" are examined. It is rather a critique from an historically-informed "critical theory" or "reflexive-revisionist" Marxist perspective. It is argued that an essential criterion of "critical theory" is an analysis of the import of philosophical assumptions. This is considered necessary in order that important components of the theoretical enterprise (e.g., the social and personal contexts in which explanations and conclusions are formed and made) are not omitted, as is typically done in traditional "positivistic" science, in general, and criminology, in particular. In other words, it is maintained that in order to understand the entire theoretical enterprise of "Critical Criminology" and subject it to a "critical theory" or a "reflexive-revisionist" Marxism, not only must the theoretical propositions of "Critical Criminology" be subjected to explication and critique, but so must the philosophical assumptions that inform those theoretical propositions. Specifically then, this dissertation is an explication of some of the philosophical assumptions and theoretical propositions of "Critical Criminology," which, as argued here, are based primarily on an "instrumentalist" (that is, "ruling class determinist") or "structuralist" (that is, "economic determinist") Marxism and a critique of / "Critical Criminology" from a "critical theory" or "reflexive-revisionist" (that is, "relational" or "dialectical") Marxist perspective. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-02, Section: A, page: 0811. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

Forensic science supports the legal profession by scientifically ascertaining facts for use in resolving disputes. The principles of forensic science are the principles of science as constrained by the law. This dissertation addresses the problem that there is no clear statement of science or the scientific method upon which to base, or to assess, the examinations of forensic science. / The law imposes three requirements on its deliberations and thus on forensic science: evidential proof is necessary in legal decisions, such proof must be compatible with the nature of legal decisions and that proof must meet the requirement of evidentiary reliability. Developing proof is an iterative process of constructing, testing and evaluating a theory relating to the issues in dispute. This cyclic process operates at three levels: the case theory, a hypothesis to test the theory and testing procedures to assess whether the hypothesis is false. / The process of proof forms the structure of the scientific method. The distinctive essence of the scientific method is the criteria used to assess its credibility. These criteria include: objectivity, testability and reproducibility. Using the scientific method, forensic scientists conduct two types of examination--classification and individuation--for the purposes of identifying objects and explaining events. In order to draw a conclusion of value to the court, forensic science must have a valid theory, appropriate to the situation, and evidential facts, relevant to the case. This can be summarized in a six-part syllogism:(UNFORMATTED TABLE OR EQUATION FOLLOWS) / The criteria of forensic science are examination specific. Schooled in the concept of proof and the philosophy of science, and equipped with a set of guidelines elucidating the scientific principles relating to forensic science, a judge can rule on the admissibility of a scientific examination and a forensic scientist can assess the reliability of his examination. This dissertation provides such a set of guidelines. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-03, Section: A, page: 1329. / Major Professor: Leroy C. Gould. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1996.