Persisting lay midwifery in the twentieth century American South is generally attributed to insufficient medical alternatives or to lingering folk practices. This study examines state-sanctioned lay midwifery in the South, using Florida as a case study. The study finds that persisting "official" Southern lay midwifery is best understood as state policy and practice molded by a unique way of life and the complex relations of race and class in which it was grounded. Initial state recognition of the black "granny" owed much to a pragmatic national biopolitical project to improve the conditions of rural mothers and infants through state management of birth attendance. Between the wars the state made "official" lay practice a part of a public health program to normalize the state's agricultural working classes. Incorporation of the lay practice into public health does not, however, account for continuation of the state-sanctioned practice into the 1970s, after the association between midwife attendance and relevant economic and social variables disappeared. The study finds that "official" lay midwifery continued after the 1920s because the policy and practice "fit" into a way of life and a welfare system that dovetailed with the South's culture of paternalism. The racial state sustained lay midwifery by adopting unique licensure and supervisory techniques. Public health officials maintained the shrinking practice by relicensing some who no longer met official standards and by training a declining number of younger black women to serve in areas where lay attendance was "needed." "Official" lay midwifery in the South persisted for almost half a century because it was state policy and practice articulating with historically specific and slowly changing relations of class and race. Relations of race, class, and state policy were woven into the cultural fabric of the / region. Each was supported by the culture of paternalism; all were institutionalized within community roles and practices. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-09, Section: A, page: 3243. / Major Professor: Bruce Bellingham. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

The problems of political conflict and social disorder have proved to be endemic in the case of Northern Ireland. This research aims to probe the underlying factors responsible for one part of the conflict; namely the rise and fall of a new Social Movement in the form of the Northern Irish Civil Rights Association between 1960 and 1972. Analysis and synthesis of two disparate theories; one a social-psychological theory that stresses relative deprivation in the form of unfair treatment, and the other, a variant of resource mobilization (political process) are appropriate to understand the dynamic interaction between individuals and groups in terms of their potential to protest. In the Northern Irish context the goal of the research is not only to understand how organizations become mobilized but also why individuals are motivated to join such movements in the first place. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-11, Section: A, page: 3722. / Major Professor: Scott C. Flanagan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

The goal of agricultural training is the adoption and diffusion of introduced agriculture techniques. New subsistence agricultural techniques have been introduced mainly to the male population in many developing countries, even though most subsistence farmers are women. Therefore, an understanding of how new subsistence agricultural techniques can be introduced and adopted by women would be important to achieve. This study focuses on women's adoption of agricultural techniques. It takes place on the island of Malaita, in the Solomon Islands. The study looks at the adoption of agroforestry and several other subsistence techniques that were introduced under a joint program by Peace Corps and the Malaita Agriculture Division between 1983 and 1989. Two Peace Corps volunteers were posted in North Malaita at Malu'u from 1983 to 1986. The Malu'u volunteers lived in the village of Karu for two and one-half years while introducing and teaching new agricultural practices. Two other Peace Corps volunteers were posted at the Dala Agricultural Training Center from 1987 to 1989, and worked with the residents of the nearby village of Kakara. In 1991, a two-month survey was conducted in the areas where the Peace Corps volunteers were posted, as well as in an area that did not have any Peace Corps volunteers posted. The findings of this study indicate that adoption of new agroforestry techniques is based on several factors. Who introduced the technology, the farmer's wealth, and being able to obtain income from market vegetables and other identified factors improved a respondent's chances of adopting new agroforestry techniques.

In the past few years, initiatives to conserve the Earth's biodiversity began to change from strict protection to integrated conservation and development. The goal of these programs is to preserve biodiversity while improving the quality-of-life of the local residents who live in or around protected areas. Conservation and development projects focus on environmental education, sustainable utilization of natural resources and community development. They are often designed to provide economic returns from natural resources to local residents because it is assumed that the creation of a cash income which can be invested in one's own well-being will provide an incentive for local populations to protect their biodiversity. It is also presumed that increased cash will provide the inhabitants with greater access to goods and services which will raise their standard of living Attempts in the past to measure the impacts of conservation and development programs on the local people they involve have focussed almost exclusively on issues of their access to flora and fauna resources. Impact has been primarily inferred from access, but has not been quantitatively measured This study was designed to investigate the association between natural resource use and human health in the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve of Guatemala. Its primary hypothesis was that the small-scale utilization of non-timber forest resources (NTFRs) by rural families has a positive impact on their quality-of-life as defined by indicators of health. A second hypothesis was that the knowledge of the relationships between the biological and physical environment and human health has a positive impact on indicators of health. A final hypothesis was that rural poor families with access to NTFRs that can be sold will intensify their exploitation of these resources according to available household labor in order to maximize cash income and profit The study showed that in combination with other economic activities, commercial NTFR use is an integral element of an effect strategy for maintaining subsistence. It was also demonstrated that those households where the father believes that there are relationships between the forest and water and the forest and health, have a lower probability of having malnourished children. Finally, the research demonstrated that families in the Sierra de las Minas appear not to be motivated by profit. Instead, they will expend only enough household labor as is necessary to maintain a subsistence level This research has provided an analytical framework to examine the human impacts of conservation projects more objectively and systematically. It demonstrates the linkages between conservation of natural resources, community development and human health. In addition, the results of this work show that the small-scale commercial exploitation of NTFRs in the Reserve has potential as a component of a broader community development intervention, and can provide limited income to help maintain subsistence levels. Finally, the only way to promote true conservation and development is by being completely responsible to the people and resources it was designed to benefit. This research has provided an attempt to foster and advance this accountability / acase@tulane.edu

The recent growth of self-employment (trabajo por cuenta propia ) in Cuba has expanded opportunities for employment, income, professional development, and the provision of goods and services, while simultaneously increasing individual economic autonomy and exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities. Through a review of the existing legislation that regulates self-employment, supplemented by a series of 64 in-depth interviews with self-employed workers in the food service, transportation, and housing sectors of Havana's economy, this study seeks to understand the present role and future prospects for Cuba's self-employed workers by asking the following questions: First, do self-employed workers (cuentapropistas) believe that they are beginning to lay the necessary groundwork for the eventual establishment of a small, private business sector. Second, how do self-employed workers currently respond to the existing legal and fiscal framework for micro-enterprise in Cuba? Third, how does work as a licensed self-employed worker differ socioeconomically from unlicensed, clandestine economic activity in the same three sectors? The hypothesis is that (1) current restrictions make impossible job creation or income generation significant enough to facilitate the emergence of small- and medium-sized enterprises, and that (2) government regulations discourage the growth of micro-enterprises, without declaring them illegal. However, (3) self-employed workers will continue to respond to current prohibitive government restrictions either by 'hedging' on their licenses (underreporting their incomes and engaging in economic activities not included in their license) or by 'informalizing' their private operations (operating underground without a license), not by ceasing to practice them The dissertation argues that the current legal framework discourages the growth of licensed micro-enterprises, drives many entrepreneurs out of business or underground, provokes tax evasion, and encourages operators to develop deeper links with the informal sector. A small number of large-scale operations tend to thrive, while the majority of micro-enterprises are condemned to informality (clandestine operation). Permitting the hiring of employees, extending enterprise rights to currently prohibited areas and markets, allowing for the deduction of one's actual expenses, and ending the monthly quota tax would have the positive effect of increasing competition, productivity, tax revenue, and legal employment, while simultaneously reducing prices, exaggerated incomes, tax evasion, and clandestine economic activity / acase@tulane.edu

This dissertation examines the correlates of negative attitudes immigrant groups and one native ethnic group (i.e. the Roma/Gypsies) in mid 1990s Spain, a period when the country, previously a mass emigration source, was rapidly growing into a major immigration destination. The main theoretical approach is group threat, according to which natives would be more likely to express negative attitudes to outsiders if those outsiders are threatening or are perceived to threaten the status quo, i.e. the dominant position of the native group. I also examine the effect of aggregate-level variables, such as regional GDP per capita on individual-level attitudes. I dwell on regional level aggregate variables because all 17 regions enjoy a high degree of autonomy within Spain under the constitution put in place in 1978 I use the concept of social distance to examine the correlates of Spaniards' attitudes to five immigrant groups (North Africans, South Americans, Asians, East Europeans and Black Africans) and one ethnic group, the Roma/Gypsies. I find little support for the group threat theory, but do find support for the contact hypothesis and for a cohort effect. Respondents who had a long conversation with the members of the minority group tend to express less negative attitudes toward these groups. Respondents from the cohorts that reached adulthood after 1975 tend to express more positive attitudes to these outgroups than respondents from older cohorts The dissertation goes on to analyze the correlates of negative attitudes to immigrants from developing and developed nations, respectively. OLS regression analysis suggests that personal contact and cohort matter for these attitudes as well, and that changes in an aggregate measure of prosperity (regional-level GDP per capita) also correlate, albeit not strongly, with attitudes in the expected direction (i.e. respondents from regions with smaller increases in aggregate prosperity tend to express more negative attitudes) One surprising finding throughout is that education level does not correlate with attitudes once other variables are controlled for. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the limitations of the data and analysis and suggested directions for future research / acase@tulane.edu

In the streets of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras the official unemployment rate nears 30 percent and women and children support themselves by selling produce, sweeping and hauling trash, or picking garbage. Many children work alongside their mothers 'in' the streets while increasing numbers, known as children 'of' the street, are alone and homeless. Although cross-cultural studies of children and third-world poverty examine structural causes, recent culture-of-poverty explanations suggest that matrifocal families produce street children This case study of over 1200 children in and of the street, by far the largest sample of street children ever available for research purposes, provides an extensive description of this population. A subsample of mothers broadens the scope of analysis to reveal differences among them and their mothers' ability to protect them. Regression analyses test the hypothesis of cultural versus structural causes of poverty Borrowing Wilson's (1987) theory of the ghetto underclass, I examine the premise that social isolation and weak attachments to the labor force, result in an urban underclass. I find that the major distinction among street children is their access to better jobs available in the street markets. Those children having mothers employed in the market, or some other adult mentor, are more likely to have such access and less likely to sleep in the streets, use drugs, or to steal. Further analysis of dual-parent families shows that where fathers contribute more to the family, both in time and money, the children's welfare is improved. In families where the mother contributes more than half of the total expenses, fathers are more likely to use threats and violence to maintain control Children who report poor family relationships are more likely to abandon their family for street life, gangs, and drugs; they are also evaluated to have more physical and mental health problems. Comparing the health problems of Honduran street children with those of homeless children in the United States, I find surprising similarities. Further, the differences found are largely explained by structural variances in the two countries, reinforcing Wilson's argument for social reform rather than individual rehabilitation in both contexts / acase@tulane.edu

This study discusses the social space occupied by tuberculosis during the late eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century, as well as its reciprocal impact on both the individual and the social body. It focuses on the radical changes in the perception of the disease between 1780 and 1850 and how they fit with the shifting concepts of disease causation. These changes allowed tuberculosis to become tightly bound with contemporary concepts of beauty, which were prominent in the fashions of the day. The rise of 'civilized' nervous diseases and the elevation of sensibility were entwined with hereditary explanations of consumption to advance it as a disease signifying sophistication in the upper reaches of society. Consequently, there was an explanative split along class lines. Tuberculosis was seen as a product of vice and filth among the lower classes of society and as a sign of refinement and attractiveness among the middle and upper classes. The mythology surrounding the disease continued to draw on earlier notions that associated tuberculosis with a good and easy death, but these concepts were refashioned with the aid of evangelical Christianity, Romantic rhetoric, and sentimental doctrine. As a result of this co-mingling, consumption provided an avenue for the elevation of the respectable woman both spiritually and aesthetically. The physical manifestations of tuberculosis, its chronic nature, and the widespread belief in its incurability also contributed to linking the disease to contemporary concepts of beauty. Through a detailed analysis of social trends, medical advice, and fashionable culture---revealed in medical works, periodicals, literature, and personal papers---I reveal the intimate relationships between fashionable women's clothing, female roles, beauty, and illness in Britain in this period / acase@tulane.edu

The twentieth century has witnessed remarkable economic and political changes, the impacts of which have been felt across the United States. U.S. economic restructuring has resulted in shifts in the composition of labor markets, as well as significant changes in the very nature of employment. How have these shifts affected urban crime? This research uses longitudinal, comparative and historical methods to examine the effects of economic restructuring and political shifts on rates of crime. I analyze economic, political, and crime data for four U.S. cities: Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and New Orleans. Although similar in terms of above average crime rates over most of the post-World War II era, these cities differ in terms of the political-economic changes each has experienced during this same time period. In terms of economic conditions, the most consistent finding across cities is that rates of crime tend to increase as manufacturing employment decreases. Increases in service employment do not appear to necessarily lead to increased crime. These findings hold controlling for changes in industrial wage structures. In terms of political conditions, those cities that emphasize criminal justice at the expense of social welfare tend to exhibit higher rates of crime than cities that do not. Inequality does not influence crime rates except in those cities and at those periods in time where inequality is particularly high. In sum this research suggests that political and economic conditions have influenced crime rates, in unanticipated ways, across the post-World War II urban landscape / acase@tulane.edu

As a global crossroads, Panama has always been subject to the effects of globalization. In recent decades, with technology and market forces advancing with unprecedented speed, these effects have been especially impacting. Higher education is one sector that has changed dramatically. Until the 1980s, there were only two universities in Panama. Now, the Ministry of Education recognizes 36 institutions and the Public Registry lists far more This study examines how the process of globalization from 1990 to 2007 has affected the development of the university system in Panama. It explores this evolution from the standpoint of the vision for university education that stakeholders are developing through policies, accords and legislation, as well from the perspective of the business opportunity that university education represents in the local market The research is designed as an embedded, single-case study. It incorporates qualitative and quantitative data to present a descriptive review of Panama's recent globalization and economic growth, trends in the globalization of higher education and Panama's involvement in this process, the current structure and composition of the university system in Panama, and implications for the future. Specific methodologies include document and secondary data analyses and semi-structured interviews Findings suggest the major strength of the university system is its accessibility; weaknesses include low overall quality, lack of quality assurance mechanisms, and unresponsiveness to market and development needs. The evidence also points to a historical tendency of power concentration that may hinder university system modernization. Stakeholder perceptions indicate the university system is not well positioned to contribute to the country's competitiveness. The implications threaten to relegate the university system to a position of relative insignificance for Panama's development; they also portend an increased reliance on foreign education and labor for continued growth in the provision of international services---the motor driving the Panamanian economy This research provides inputs for national educational policy and establishes a framework for university system analysis, which may serve other countries of the region, as well, that face similar situations with higher education / acase@tulane.edu