abstract: Mexican drug cartels have been a difficult group to get official data on because of the clandestine nature of their operations and the inherent dangers associated with any type of research on these groups. Due to the close relationship that the United States and Mexico share, the United States being a heavy demander of illicit drugs and Mexico being the supplier or the transshipment point, research that sheds light on cartels and their effects is necessary in order to solve this problem. A growing concern is that cartels have been seeking to improve their international infrastructure. This could potentially be done by partnering with gangs located in the United States to help with the distribution of drugs. The author uses data from the 2009 and 2010 Arizona Gang Threat Assessment and three sets of analyses (dummy variable regression, change score, multinomial logistic) to shed light on the possible partnership between cartels and U.S. based gangs. Primarily using the varying level of intervention strategies practiced by police departments throughout the state of Arizona, this study is exploratory in nature, but attempts to find the effectiveness of intervention strategies on "cartel affiliated" gangs, as identified by federal authorities, and how police departments respond towards these same groups. With the current data, there was no significant evidence that suggests that intervention strategies were less effective on "cartel affiliated" gangs or that police departments were responsive towards these “affiliated” gangs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2015

The subaltern is a recurrent literary figure in Mexican narrative. The objective of this thesis is to investigate three ethnic groups – indeed, subalterns – in Mexico which include: Afro-Mexicans, indigenous groups, and Filipino colonial subjects from the perspectives of the Mexican Revolution, post-revolutionary Mexico, and the conquest of the Philippines in the sixteenth century. The principal characters play crucial roles in events shaping the history and culture of Mexico and thus demonstrate their importance to the country's development while also revealing the reality of subalterns. The literary research shows that trying circumstances or a lack of self-identity were the main causes for a character to be or become a subaltern in addition to their inherent ethnic disadvantages. However, the characters who overcame their subaltern state often changed personality traits or adapted to their surroundings in order to be assimilated into the majority culture.

The main focus of examination of this thesis can be broadly defined as the analysis of the main determinants of economic activity in Mexico. In this analysis, it is found that real and nominal exchange rates have enormous importance in the determination of economic activity in Mexico compared to other candidates. This conclusion is reached through a series of quantitative examinations of Mexican times series of aggregated macro economic variables. First, the determination of long-run real exchange rate is analyzed. Then, an inverse relationship between real exchange rate (defined as Pesos/Dollars) and real output and consumption has been established both empirically and theoretically, using explicit long-run models. Variance decomposition and impulse response analyses, carried out with the help of vector error correction models embedding long-run relations, have revealed the fact that the most important source of fluctuations either in consumption or output is the real exchange rate. The other variables considered in the analysis, such as supply, demand, or monetary shocks have been found to have less or non-robust importance. Next, the thesis examines the business cycle associated with exchange rate based programmes for the case of Mexico. The impulse responses, provided for this analysis, partly confirmed initial-boom-Iater-recession hypothesis observed in exchange-rate-basedstabilization programmes. The variance decomposition analysis, on the other hand, indicates that, the movements either in consumption or output can be largely explained by nominal exchange rate shocks rather than monetary shocks. Finally, given the importance of exchange rate variables, the thesis returns to the question of their determinants. Based on the quantitative analysis performed, the thesis concludes that real exchange rates can be solely explained by real shocks and nominal exchange rates can largely be explained by real shocks. Hence, it is the real exchange rate models that explain real exchange rate movements via the predominance of real shocks that get credit.

The overall objective of the research was to study the job search of Hispanics. This included an assessment of unemployment duration, postunemployment wages, and reported minimum acceptance wages of Hispanics, distinguished by Spanish surname, compared to non-Hispanic whites, referred to as Anglos, to ascertain whether there may be personal or job market characteristics that explain observed differences. The differences that were examined indicate program changes and additional programs to make job search outcomes of Hispanics more like those of Anglos. Three models of job search under conditions of imperfect information were utilized. These models of expected unemployment duration, expected postunemployment wages, and actual minimum acceptance wages were run separately for Hispanics and Anglos and in pooled regressions with an ethnic dummy variable and ethnic interaction variables. Differences in slope and intercept coefficients were tested for statistical significance. The data were collected for the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefit Adequacy Study of the Arizona Department of Economic Security. This survey contains information relating to the job search and financial status of 3347 UI beneficiaries in Arizona. This study first focused on 110 Hispanics and 1031 Anglos who found new employment and subsequently on a randomly selected sample of 449 Anglos and 51 Hispanics that included individuals who did not accept reemployment during the survey period as well as those who did. Differences in job search outcomes between Hispanics and Anglos appeared to be caused by personal characteristics, specifically age, education, career choices, and method of coping with necessary and obligated expenses while unemployed. Supplemental programs that enhance the job search effectiveness of Hispanics are in order, including career counseling, programs that keep Hispanics in school longer, educating Hispanics about alternatives for coping with financial burdens while unemployed or programs to ease those burdens, and the adoption by the state of Arizona of a program whereby UI benefits increase with the number of dependents.

This research provides a descriptive account of the desegregation case Adams-Celaya v. Southwest School District (1978) in a large urban public school district in the southwestern United States. Arias (1990) conceptual framework was utilized along with a chronological account of the events that occurred in the case. Research questions included: (1) Was bilingual education implemented along with desegregation after the Adams-Celaya v. Southwest School District lawsuit?; and (2) Did the district deal primarily with linguistic or descriptive needs of Mexican-American students? This work constituted a detailed case study of the school district. Method included analysis of data gathered through board minutes, newspaper and district publications, historical data, and semi-structured interviews with individuals who played key roles in the district desegregation process. Findings indicate that the court-ordered desegregation remedy occurred in three stages known as Phases I, II, and III. In Phase I mandatory busing occurred (minority students bore the burden). In Phase II, some inner-city elementary schools were designated as magnets with majority (white) students bused in after being offered and taking advantage of incentives such as extended day, small classes, and teacher aides. In Phase III, the focus of this study, four inner-city schools (three elementary and one middle school) were designated as magnets with bilingual curricula offered at each school along with incentives to attract east-side majority students to the inner-city minority populated schools. With regard to impact, findings of this study generally support Arias (1990) that: (1) desegregation remedies must go beyond student reassignment strategies to include appropriate instructional components such as bilingual education, (2) demographic considerations, and (3) "controlled choice system" which is a form of the magnet school approach such as those offered by Southwest School District after the lawsuit. Further findings suggest some of the Phase III schools may be resegregating as racial isolation may be recurring and student enrollment at these schools is declining.

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The status of bilingual education in Texas has been examined in this paper in order to explore the nature of bilingual education and bilingual education programs, to ascertain whether the implementation of bilingual education programs has been successful in Texas, and to determine if there is sufficient justification for the continuation of such programs.

This thesis presents a history of the United States' war with Mexico with a focus on the maturing of the United States artillery on the battlefields of Mexico.