The present study is a test of Donald Black's (1976) The Behavior of Law. Accordingly, the degree of control exerted by the state upon the population is variable, therefore, susceptible to quantification. The quantity of law varies with five social conditions, namely, stratification, morphology, culture, organization, and informal social control. Expressed in a propositional format, Black argues that the law-society relationship is potentially applicable to the development of law across-space and over time. This claim also extends to micro and macro legal encounters regardless of the content of the legal matter, e.g., civil, criminal, conciliatory, or therapeutic. A 3-equation model that comprises a literal yet, methodologically sound interpretation of The Behavior of Law was constructed to test the validity of the propositions using United States time-series data, from 1948 to 1980. The extent to which fourteen social-condition indicators affect the operations of the state-controls was estimated for five law activities: legislative, police, litigious, judicial, and correctional. The results show from moderate to limited support of Black's propositions. The sensitivity of state organizations to respond to demands from the environment appears to be contingent on the particular bureaucratic interests of the agencies and their role-occupants / acase@tulane.edu

This study was designed to explore the relations between some aspects of the global digital and human development over the last decade, using an analytical framework which includes factors considered to have an impact on national development suggested by theory and practice. The operational definition of the global digital divide linked access, adaptation and creation of information and knowledge via the use of digital information and communication technologies to national development processes, within a demographic, economic, political and social context. The methodology carried out to analyze the relations between the global digital divide and national development included the construction of a quantitative model for 174 developed and developing countries which explained more than 91% of the variability in development in 1997 in terms of the national info tech infrastructure, and another quantitative model which explained more than 43% of the changes in development over the last decade in terms of the national core computing and network capacity. Findings from the study suggest the existence of an S-shaped curve depicting differences between inadequate, weak, medium and strong national info tech infrastructures. In conclusion, the existence of a significant, strong and positive relation between national core computing and network capacity and progress in national development in developing countries over the last decade suggests that this single factor will play an increasingly important role in the near future / acase@tulane.edu

The Instituto Superior de Estudos Brasileiros (ISEB), located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was one of the main centers for the formulation and dissemination of nationalist ideologies in Brazil during the period from 1955 to 1964. This dissertation provides a survey of the institutional life and production of the ISEB and its members, as well as an assessment of the goals, successes and failures of the institute Previous studies of the ISEB include Marxist-dependency critiques of the group's ideas and functioning and a portrait of the ISEB as a pressure group that failed in its bid to set development policy in Brazil. This study finds that the ISEB was more than just a disseminator of 'bourgeois' ideology or a political interest group. The study shows how the isebianos (members of the ISEB) contributed to intellectual and political extremism and the concomitant closure of debate through their ideological constructs. Scrutiny of the ISEB's dealings with other political and intellectual groups in Brazil suggests that the ISEB often failed to seek meaningful dialogue or forge enduring alliances with other intellectuals and groups, thereby contributing to the political fragmentation that culminated with the 1964 military coup in Brazil Among the factors that hindered the ISEB from achieving its goals of forging a hegemonic national ideology of development were the personal ambitions and conflicts between the institute's members; the group's inability to take on a coherent identity such as had the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) under Argentine economist Raul Prebisch; and the insistence by the isebianos on setting the criteria for the validity and success of their ideas themselves. By demanding that authentic ideas depended on engagement in the nationalist struggle, the ISEB's politicized the realm of ideas and excluded other voices from joining the debate over Brazilian nationalism and economic development. Ironically, while they ferociously criticized others for importing ideas from abroad, the isebianos themselves relied extensively upon ideas from the United States and Europe, including those of Weber, Marx and others / acase@tulane.edu

This study is based on the idea that one strategy to reduce a community's vulnerability and risk of disasters is to increase organizational capacity for effective action (learning capacity). Members of disaster management organizations can take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to increase that capacity. However only under an appropriate culture that promotes learning among their members is where ICT could play a real role of increasing organizational learning. This study explores the relationship between learning culture and the use of ICT learning mechanisms in the context of Disaster Management organizations in Central America Four dimensions of learning culture are measured: incentives, social support, continuous innovation and competitiveness. ICT learning mechanisms considered (1) the use of ICT to access knowledge, and (2) the use of the Internet tools supporting Senge's learning disciplines A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 292 'knowledge workers' from disaster management organizations in Central America. Results supported the two proposed hypotheses: (1) Learning culture characteristics are positively related to the access to knowledge through ICT, and (2) Individuals exposed to a higher degree of learning culture use the Internet differently than individuals exposed to a lower degree of learning culture The most interesting finding of the present study is that individuals experiencing a higher learning culture choose different types and use information technology that support learning goals in a greater extent than do individuals without such a culture. Findings provided empirical based information about the role of individuals in a learning culture and the characteristics of the use of ICT. General results showed 'incentives' as a very sensible aspect of the learning culture that approaches people to technology. Individuals appear to have greater access to knowledge through ICT and use Internet in a greater extent when incentives such as recognition from superiors, availability of resources, job-training and rewards are present. Results provide directions for intervention programs where cultural factors must be considered into technology transfer programs / acase@tulane.edu

Patterns of Revolution Reconsidered: The Central American Laboratory analyzes social class participation in revolutionary movements in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras. The primary findings of the study are that the social base of revolutionary movements is a function of both the prevailing class structure in a given country, and the extent to which working and peasant classes were politically mobilized in the pre-revolutionary period. Class structure is operationalized by considering the extent of polarization in rural land-holding, measured by gini coefficients of inequality. Political mobilization is operationalized by considering the overall extent of voter participation in the pre-revolutionary period, as well as the extent to which workers and peasants participated in economic forms of organization, such as labor unions or agricultural cooperatives / acase@tulane.edu

The Mexican state of Aguascalientes experienced dramatic social and demographic change during the years from 1868 to 1938. During the Revolutionary period Aguascalientes, often thought of as a peaceful region amidst chaos, witnessed demographic upheaval which greatly affected the population, land tenure and society of Aguascalientes Revisionist scholars have argued that the Porfirian era led to the rise of small family land holdings ('ranchos'), beside the great landed estates ('haciendas'). However, based on the information of several underused contemporary sources, this dissertation argues that the Porfirian era in Aguascalientes was dominated by the large landed estate and the land fragmentation was a symptom of overpopulation which did not necessarily change the patterns of the land distribution. It thus argues that even in the less affected regions of Mexico, the Revolution indeed resulted in greater change than continuity The other changes ('the quiet revolution') that occurred in the society are explored in this dissertation through the first demographic transition characterized by the descent of mortality, achievements reached with the coordination of public health and the centralization of the revolutionary state. It describes also the mass women education as a key for future changes in the 'cultural revolution' that implied the homogenization of the public services at national level Insisting in the changes more than in the continuities that resulted from the Mexican revolution, this dissertation attempts to offer a new 'old perspective' on the nature of social changes in Aguascalientes / acase@tulane.edu

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, contentious battles have raged throughout the nation which pit grassroots environmental activists against industry representatives, government officials and other development advocates. In some, activists have successfully stopped the siting of nuclear waste facilities or the dumping of toxic waste. In other struggles, industry representatives have won the right to build facilities or maintain landfills. These struggles raise the questions of who controls economic development decision making within a community and how power is shifted from one group to another. This dissertation will examine these questions by analyzing two cases in which Shintech, Inc., a large chemical manufacturer, attempted to site a polyvinyl chloride plant in two small communities in Louisiana. The first siting attempt was unsuccessful and the second was achieved. These cases are ideal to examine the topic of community power because they were very contentious, high profile cases. Additionally, the first case is considered a landmark environmental justice struggle that was followed closely by activists, environmental regulators, government officials, developers, and industry officials throughout the country. Research for this comparative case study includes participant observation, in-depth interviews, a review of news articles, organizational and government documents, and a content analysis of permit hearing minutes and news articles. I develop a theoretical analysis which reconstructs theory from four sub-fields of sociology: urban political economy, political sociology, social movement theory, and environmental sociology. My theoretical analysis proposes that a shift of power depends on the interplay of structural factors and factors that are under the control of the actors. Structural factors include community economic history, site selection and characteristics of the surrounding neighborhoods, and cultural and political opportunities. Factors under the control of the actors include the manner in which they frame their grievances or issues and the strategies they employ. These factors are analyzed in terms of both the protest group and the traditional power holders. Additionally, I employ a power analysis using the three dimensional view of power proposed by Lukes (1974) and Gaventa (1980) to understand how the causal sequence of events involving these factors leads to power shifts within a community / acase@tulane.edu

This study addresses the analysis of six local coffee organizations in two communities of the Isthmus region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The central purpose of the study is to identify and analyze those social factors that explain the emergence, proliferation, and level of success accomplished by each local coffee organization. The emergence and proliferation of the local coffee organizations is explained through: the withdrawal of the state in regulating and supporting the coffee activities; the economic differentiation among the coffee producers within the coffee communities; and the political competition and fragmentation among the coffee producers. The local organizations' success is analyzed in terms of the local organization linkages (horizontal and vertical), the origin of leadership (local and external), the number of activities undertaken by the organization (single or multiple), the span of organizational control of the coffee production and distribution, the degree of autonomy, and the degree of internal democracy and level of participation of members in organizational decision making and organizational posts. The findings show that those organizations with external leadership, greater number of horizontal and vertical linkages, multiple activities, greater span of control, more democratic structure, and greater degree of autonomy enjoy higher level of economic success (level of capitalization) and social success (improving members' standard of living) / acase@tulane.edu

In recent decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in ecological explanations of crime, especially as they relate to Shaw and McKay's (1942) research regarding community structure, crime and delinquency. Social disorganization, relative deprivation and subcultural deviance theories identify several variables measuring formal and informal social controls, inequalities, and learning opportunities that mediate the effects of the community structure and crime relationship. Robert Agnew (1999) poses a macro-level strain theory (MST), which suggests that strain is conditioned by social control and learning variables that influence systemic levels of negative affect and community crime rates. Preliminary tests of MST (Brezina, Piquero, and Mazerolle 2001; Hoffman and Ireland 2004; Pratt and Godsey 2003) provide partial support for the theory; yet, studies have been limited in abilities to operationalize variables and to model indirect effects. This dissertation tests MST using data collected from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods: Community Survey, 1994-1995; 1990 Census Data; and Homicide Incident Data from the Chicago Police Department for the years 1996-1999. Structural equation models measuring the mediating effects of strain on the relationship between community characteristics and homicide rates fit better than models of social disorganization and subcultural deviance. While variables measuring social control do condition the effects of strain on negative affect and crime, these models have poor fit. Thus, while the mediating effects of MST are supported, more research is needed on the moderating effects of social control and learning variables / acase@tulane.edu

How do non-governmental organizations (NGOs) facilitate and expand citizen participation in the political process in Mexico? This study examines the role of NGOs and political participation in the context of Monterrey, a city located in the north of Mexico with a unique socio-economic and political context. My central argument is that political participation is about the struggle over and challenge to the boundaries of the multidimensional aspects of citizenship (political, social, and civil). Using multiple data collection strategies in a single embedded field case study design, I elucidate three themes: (1) the citizenship demands of the NGOs, the social groups they claim to represent, and the targets of the demands, (2) the strategies of the NGOs, and (3) the use of identity by the NGOs Based on in-depth interviews with twenty NGO leaders, I demonstrate there is fluidity to the strategies used by the organizations such that they move beyond traditional, radical strategies of mobilization. I argue that geographical location and the local Monterrey institutions of power have affected not only what the NGOs demand, but also how they engage in making demands. Therefore, I show that the majority of the organizations have transformational demands, but use system-stabilizing strategies to enact those demands. Through my comparison of these organizational demands and strategies, I contend that the Monterrey NGOs have two roles in the political process: transformational and system-stabilizing. Moreover, based on thirty-four in-depth interviews with two of the embedded NGOs, I demonstrate that rather than identity rooted in gender, class, or ethnicity, NGOs use the discourse of social justice and citizenship rights in making their demands. Both of these NGOs impact local politics, albeit through different coalitions and levels of visibility. Finally, while one organization is a transformational NGO and the other a system-stabilizing NGO, I contend that this differentiation is vital because the 'NGOization' of society challenges boundaries of what should be included in the political arena, confronts traditional notions of political participation and citizenship, and encourages the participation of underrepresented groups / acase@tulane.edu