Bourbon, pork chops, and red peppers: Political immorality in Florida, 1945--1968

Weitz, Seth A The Florida State University 2007 해외공개박사

The end of Reconstruction ushered in a new era in Southern history. White supremacy returned to the region and the Republican Party was run back across the Mason-Dixon Line leaving the South with a virtual one party system. From 1877--1967 Florida was a member of the "solid south" where the winner of the Democratic primary was victorious in the general election. While Florida was tied to the Democratic Party, it also differed from its sister states in the South. The Sunshine State experienced a population boom like no other state in the nation except possibly California, transforming the peninsula from a backwater, poor, insignificant state into one of the largest state's in the United States by 1965. Many of the new Floridians brought with them political beliefs alien to the Deep South, and these principles threatened to undermine the deeply entrenched system that had been in place since the end of Reconstruction. At mid-century, Florida politics was dominated by the Pork Chop Gang, a group of conservative, states' rights, segregationist Democrats from rural Northern and Central Florida. The Pork Choppers held a stranglehold over the state Legislature due to the archaic apportioning of legislative districts which had been mandated by the Constitution of 1885. The Pork Choppers espoused "Old South" values and looked to maintain their power and control of the state in any way possible despite Florida's ever changing demographic and political landscape. Under the 1885 document, power in the state resided in the Legislature and the cabinet which was directly elected by the people. Because of the malapportioned political districts, 12.3% of the population could elect a majority in the state senate and 14.7% could do the same in the lower house. Florida's government in the first half of the twentieth century was highly suspicious of outsiders and most of the Pork Choppers viewed the state's political apparatus as a means of protecting their friends and advancing the interests of the Northern section of the state at the expense of the rapidly expanding population of South Florida. The Pork Chop Gang not only defended the Old South against the New South, but it also viewed itself as the last bastion of protection for the agrarian lifestyle of rural Florida which was being challenged by growing industry and big business from Orlando, and Tampa south. The Pork Choppers knew that in order to preserve their power over the state they would have to retain their control of the Legislature and to ensure this they needed to protect the 1885 Constitution which was coming under more scrutiny by South Floridians. The first assault on the "Old South" values of the Pork Chop Gang was the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v Board of Education which in 1954 directly challenged segregated educational systems throughout the nation. Florida, like its Southern neighbors largely resisted this perceived affront to white supremacy and the Pork Choppers soon saw the court's decision as a means to rally support to their cause and hopefully maintain their power within the state. On the national level the Pork Choppers took their cue from Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy who, confronted by the perceived notion of the "Red Menace" infiltrating American society, emerged to lead systematic attacks against anyone and everyone deemed a threat. McCarthyism in Florida, commencing at the end of the junior senator's national reign of terror, proved a methodical and orderly assault on all opponents of the region, whether they be Communists, African-Americans, homosexuals or liberals. The perceived threats against morality, white supremacy and the concocted communist hazard were used as an excuse and disguise to purge Florida of its enemies and more importantly maintain the power of the Pork Chop Gang in the face of its growing political enemies. It was in the attacks on the Universities of Florida, South Florida and Florida State University where the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee (FLIC) employed ignominious tactics in assaulting homosexuals and others labeled immoral within the student body as well as the faculty. The FLIC demonized homosexuality in order to convince Floridians that an overhaul of the state universities was needed. The offensive against the state's flagship university was billed as a moral crucible aimed at protecting the state against unwanted intrusion by liberal academics and homosexuals. The FLIC, aptly called the Johns Committee, outlasted Senator Joe McCarthy on the national level, wreaking havoc in Florida until 1965. Despite the efforts of Johns, the Pork Chop Gang was unable to curtail the changing political and social atmosphere in Florida. The Pork Choppers aimed to resist change by employing reprehensible tactics but their strategy backfired helping to accelerate the disintegration of the one party political system in the state. Governor LeRoy Collins tried to drag Florida into the twentieth century in the 1950's but was blocked by the Pork Choppers. In the 1960's the election of Republican Claude Kirk to the Governor's mansion highlighted a glaring chink in their armor. As the population of South Florida grew in the 1960's so did the opposition to the Pork Chop Gang and their stranglehold on the Legislature. Kirk backed a change to the constitution, eventually resulting in the Constitution of 1968 which realigned the voting districts to represent the profound shift in population and draw power away from the rural counties. No longer would Liberty County (population 2,889 in 1960) and Lafayette County (3,138) hold as much political clout as Dade County (900,000). Ironically the final demise of the Pork Chop Gang can be attributed to the combined efforts of liberal Democrats who were recent immigrants to Florida from the North and the reemergence of the Republican Party under Kirk.

English education: A multi-case study of three university programs in Florida responsible for initial teacher preparation

Rentz, Pamela R The Florida State University 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

This study explores the critical issue of teacher preparation in university-based English education programs in the state of Florida. Numerous training programs and certification avenues currently exist in response to the growing concentration on teacher training, teacher quality, induction and retention, and teacher shortages. This study, an exploration of Florida's State University System undergraduate programs of initial English teacher preparation, examines how Florida universities are preparing pre-service middle and high school English teachers for induction into the profession. Of specific interest is the incorporation of the state-mandated Florida Educator Accomplished Practices into the programs preparing novice teachers for the classroom. Following a collaborative case study design, data were collected from three university-based English education programs in Florida. Interviews and focus groups targeted stakeholders from each baccalaureate program including faculty and administration at the university, current students, and recent graduates. Textual analyses were used to determine trends in course offerings, sequencing, requirements, and standards infusion. Findings from this study address the issues of the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices, professional identity formation, field experience, induction support, and professional collaborations---all relevant components in the preparation of Florida's middle/secondary English language arts teacher preparation.

Internet use by graduate students in the Communication Department of Florida State University and its impact on the use of FSU academic libraries

Al-Harbi, Abdulmohsin Hasan The Florida State University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

This research study explicated a user oriented view to explore the use of the Internet as well as the use of FSU academic libraries by graduate students in the Communication Department at Florida State University. It also investigated the impact of Internet use on the overall use of FSU academic libraries. The study employed a combined theoretical framework of the use and gratification theory and the least effort principle. It surveyed all the graduate students in the Communication Department at Florida State University as its targeted population. Findings of the study suggested that although graduate students of the Communication Department at FSU considered the Internet to be equally important for their academic major field as FSU academic libraries, the majority of them (52%) depend on Internet resources and services more than FSU academic libraries. Furthermore, 26% of the respondents do not use FSU academic libraries for their academic information needs. From the graduate students' point of view, the Internet has slight effects on the overall use of FSU academic libraries (54%). Moreover, Kendall's tau_b and Spearman's rho nonparametric correlation tests indicated a strong relationship between the choice of using the Internet as a primary information resource and reduced FSU academic libraries use. Likewise, Pearson correlation coefficient test found that there is a statistically significance between graduate students who were at an advanced level in using the Internet and graduate students who used FSU academic libraries less frequently. In addition, FSU academic libraries were most used for academic work purposes and were least used for entertainment, whereas the Internet was mostly used for communication gratifications and was least used for employment (work) satisfactions. Among the other findings of this research study was the criteria of use preferences, which govern the selection and use of a particular information source over others. Among these criteria—convenience, cost, usefulness, reliability, satisfaction, ease of use, and the source that requires the least amount of effort. Finally, the study illustrated a basic information-seeking pattern of graduate students, where the Internet ranked first followed by FSU academic libraries and then teachers and professors labeled third.

The impacts of state growth management regulations on housing prices and housing affordability in Florida

Anthony, Jerry The Florida State University 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

In the last few years, urban sprawl has captured the nation's attention. This in turn has renewed interest in land use planning and growth management. As a result, many states are considering adoption of state-wide growth management legislation, similar to those in place in some states such as Oregon and Florida. While state-wide growth management policies may improve the quality of urban environments and help preserve natural environments, housing advocates are concerned that such policies increase housing prices and decrease housing affordability. To date very little research has been conducted to examine the impacts of state growth management policies on housing prices and affordability. This research seeks to partly fill this void by examining the impacts of Florida's Growth Management Act on housing prices and housing affordability. The Growth Management Act, enacted in 1985, seeks to preserve the state's environmental resources and reduce urban sprawl. It contains measures to encourage compact urban development and availability of affordable housing. This research uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods for impact analysis. The quantitative component examines housing price and affordability trends from all 67 counties of the state over a 16 year period and, after controlling for alternate hypotheses, finds that the Act did raise housing prices and reduce housing affordability in a statistically significant manner. By reducing housing affordability, the Act reduces home-ownership opportunities for renters and reduces residential location choice. Detailed case studies of three counties highlight differences in implementation of the Act and how these result in differential impacts on housing affordability. The findings of this research can inform planners and policymakers in Florida, other states that have growth management legislation and those that are considering such policies.

State and local institutions and environmental policy: A transaction cost analysis

Tavares, Antonio Fernando Freitas The Florida State University 2003 해외박사(DDOD)

This project focuses on the intergovernmental relationship between states and their local communities in environmental policy in the United States. The dissertation examines both state and local policy tool choices using a single theoretical framework recently developed by Avinash Dixit---a neoinstitutional transaction cost politics framework. Transaction cost politics (TCP) is a positive analytic approach to the study of public policy that combines elements of organizational economics and public choice. The dissertation addresses two subjects within the environmental policy area: solid waste management and growth management. The first question I attempt to answer is: "To what extent do transaction costs of intergovernmental relations determine the degree to which states attempt to constrain and direct the behavior of local governments in environmental policy making?" The results of the empirical analysis of the 50 U.S. states indicate that state legislators share the risks of policy choices and decisions with local level officials and consider past and present local government practices when adopting specific legislation. In addition, the degree of professionalism of state legislatures seems to be an important factor in the approval of state environmental policy. Finally, the political transaction costs arguments are confirmed by the results regarding the influence of local institutions in state level policy making. The empirical findings indicate that, when one considers the effect of local institutions in the aggregate, the impact on state environmental policy is important, affecting the expectations and monitoring costs of state legislators. The second major question this project attempts to answer is: "To what extent do transaction costs of local politics affect environmental policy instrument choices made by local governments?" I employ the concept of policy instrument/policy tool to convey the idea that local government officials have goals that are pursued by using certain means ("tools"). The preferences of local officials for one or several instruments depends on a series of factors: economic efficiency, political transaction costs, and influences or constraints imposed by local institutions (form of government, system of election, and home rule status) as well as state level constrains (state grants to local governments). The empirical findings reveal that none of these factors can be ignored in explaining local environmental policy options. Both local level analyses of the 67 Florida counties indicate a pattern in terms of community characteristics which favors both recycling and growth management programs. In general, wealthier, more educated and racially homogeneous communities are more likely to engage in environmental policy programs, because the concern of local officials is to maintain a high quality of living for their constituents and this can be best accomplished using specific policy tools.

Florida's unique constitutional experiment: Cabinet elections, 1888--1932

Phillippy, George Duncan The Florida State University 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

“Florida's Unique Constitutional Experiment: Cabinet Elections, 1888–1932” explores the political history of Florida's state government from the populist revolt through the Progressive Era and continues up to the Great Depression. The major focus is on elections to the state's plural executive board, the Cabinet, beginning with the implementation of the 1885 Constitution. A secondary focus concentrates on the rapid growth and development of the central and southern region of the peninsular state. This dissertation traces the transformation of a frontier-like, sparsely populated area into a vibrant urban region over the course of a few decades. By the time of the Banking Crisis of 1926 and the Great Depression, this area held the reins of political power in Florida.

National human rights institutions: Adoption, design, and effectiveness

Welch, Ryan M The Florida State University 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

Does adopting a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) makes states' international commitments more constraining? If so, why would states adopt the constraining institution in the first place? When states do adopt an NHRI, how do they design it? I answer these three questions in three separate essays in the dissertation. Past scholarship emphasizes the role of domestic institutions for international human rights commitments. NHRIs, domestic institutions tasked with the protection and promotion of human rights, represent another institution to explore. Focusing on the generally secretive practice of torture, I argue NHRIs provide information to potential mobilizers and domestic legal systems increasing the probability states follow through on their commitment not to torture. I find that when a country already ratified the Convention Against Torture (CAT), the presence of an NHRI substantively decreases the chances the state tortures often. Given NHRI ability to constrain state behavior, why do states adopt NHRIs? Most NHRI adoption happens within a norms cascade. I argue states weigh the reputational benefits with the costs of NHRI adoption. Shaming by other actors approximately signals how those actors perceive the state in question's status with respect to the international society of states. Those states never or always shamed do not reap high enough benefits to adopt; more adoption exists in the middle. I test the hypothesis with a Cox Proportional Hazards model and find support that states adopt NHRIs to manage their international status. Not all NHRIs are created equally, though. Considerable variation exists pertaining to what actions NHRIs can legally take to affect their charge; some even levy punishment. The final essay proposes a theory of legislature delegation to NHRIs with the executive seeking to influence the process to retain maximum discretion in the future. Electoral laws and political situations allow the executive to leverage her power with respect to the legislature in order to decrease the probability the NHRI may levy punishment. The executive may even hijack the whole process and create the NHRI unilaterally through decree also decreasing the probability legal NHRI punishment powers. Estimating a Bayesian logistic regression, that accounts for selection and uncertainty, I find support for the theory.

Adjustment of local service rates and universal service: An empirical study of Florida local telephone customers

Yu, Yiwen The Florida State University 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

The universal service policy has generated some contradictory issues in the current debate of deregulation in the telecommunications industry. While it has relied on a cross-subsidization mechanism to provide affordable local telephone service to all users, the on-going deregulation will release a market force to correct such artificial distortion. Regulators and universal service advocates have shown concerns that in a deregulated market, the penetration rate of local telephone service will be hurt. There is an ample literature on demand for local telephone service. However, most of the studies were done in the 1970's and 1980's. The telecommunications market and technologies have changed rapidly in recent years. Updated data and studies are needed to provide answers to universal service questions in today's deregulated environment. The Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) survey on residential customers' willingness to pay for local telephone service presents us a timely opportunity to study the demand for local telephone service in Florida. In an appropriate theoretical framework set forth by Mitchell (1976), an aggregate demand curve for local telephone service in Florida is simulated based upon the FPSC survey data. In addition, an econometric model called ordered probit is structured to fit the FPSC survey data. Two sets of price elasticities of demand are calculated by using both simulated and econometric results and are compared with ones estimated by many other studies. It is found that the demand for local telephone service in the current Florida market is more elastic than two decades ago. Furthermore, the theoretical model has also been simulated for people at low income levels and in a simple welfare framework, the simulated results are used to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of universal service programs such as Lifeline in Florida. This welfare analysis demonstrates that the existing Lifeline program in Florida is ineffective and inefficient. The overall results of this study presents insightful understanding of the characteristics of the aggregate demand in the current Florida local telephone market. They contribute useful and timely information and answers regarding universal service issues in the current deregulation debate. Regulators and telecommunications policy-makers shall find important policy implications in this study.

An analysis of performance-based funding policies and recommendations for the Florida college system

Balog, Scott E The Florida State University 2016 해외박사(DDOD)

Nearly 30 states have adopted or are transitioning to performance-based funding programs for community colleges that allocate funding based on institutional performance according to defined metrics. While embraced by state lawmakers and promoted by outside advocacy groups as a method to improve student outcomes, enhance accountability and ensure return on investment of public resources in higher education, limited research exists confirming the effectiveness of performance-based funding in meeting intended policy goals. The policy analysis examined performance-based funding programs administered in Florida as the status quo and Ohio as the policy alternative. Prompted by their Governors, both states recently developed new approaches to performance-based funding that move funding away from enrollment and tie substantial amounts to student outcomes. To provide a context for the policy analysis, the study chronicled the history of performance-based funding and accountability programs for higher education enacted by states and reviewed policymaking processes and influences. The study applied a multi-goal approach to compare the policy alternatives applied in each state. Although it is still too early to assess the effectiveness of the performance-based funding programs in both states, the review of both system and institutional level performance data and interviews with stakeholders in Ohio revealed little to no connection between the intended program goals and behaviors exhibited by colleges. Based on the study findings, policy recommendations were proposed to enhance the effectiveness of the performance-based funding program for the Florida College System.

The influence of sport specific social organizations on the development of identity: A case study of a professional golf management program

Armstrong, Cole G The Florida State University 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

In 1951, the Professional Golfer's Association (PGA) code of ethics included a passage describing the necessity for a professional golfer to uphold the sport of golf above material gains in order to serve the game, fellow golfers, the industry of golf. Coupling five years golf experience with industry knowledge and respect for fellow professionals and golfers formed the foundation for the PGA professional. Clearly, the PGA, for many years, has held a position that the professional golfer must develop a specific identity that enables him or her to uphold the role of golf professional in the eyes of the PGA and in the eyes of the golf consuming public. Beginning in 1975 at Ferris State University, the PGA, and the university, formed a partnership and curriculum to develop future PGA professionals known as the Professional Golf Management University Program. Building from the success of the Ferris State Program, the PGA expanded the PGM University program to an additional 19 institutions within the United States. Since its inception, the PGM University Program has produced hundreds of graduates and boasts a 100% job placement rate (PGA Education, 2013). Through the use of qualitative research methods (i.e., ethnography, participant observation, autoethnography, and interviews), I investigated the impact that a PGM University program has on the identity development of its students. Guided by theories of identity (Brown, 2000; Burke & Stets, 2009; Hogg & Terry, 2000; Hogg et al., 1995; Tajfel, 1974; Tajfel & Turner, 1979), the social theory of Pierre Bourdieu (1978, 1984, 1988) Ericsson and colleagues' theory of deliberate practice (1993), and theory pertaining to self-presentation (Leary, 1996), I provide a conceptual model of golf professional identity formation that is cognizant of personal histories, economic realities, and the influence of deliberate sport practice. Resulting from eighteen months of participant observation and interviews with ten students, I found that the PGM program had a distinct impact on both the role and social identities of the students, and that they formed a PGM influenced social identity prior to a PGM influenced role identity. I also found that deliberate practice was important for the group and was utilized to attain the skill level necessary to pass the Playing Ability Test (PAT); however, the use of deliberate practice tapered off after the completion of the (PAT). Emanating from the results of the project, I offer theoretical and practical implications for the study of identity, and deliberate practice. I conclude by offering future research directions and by offering an informed critique of the focal PGM program.