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open access

When Race Matters: The Influence of Race on Case Clearances in Capital vs. Non-Capital Homicides in Texas

Description: Texas leads the nation in the number of executions carried out since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. Race was a key factor in the 1972 moratorium, and though the Supreme Court allowed for its return under new statutes, race continues to plague the capital punishment legal system. In this study, I examine the influence of race on case clearances in capital and non-capital homicides in Texas, using the extra-legal and non-discretionary theories from existing clearance literature. I fin… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Samaniego, Rebekah
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Contextualizing the Law: Sentencing Decisions of Sexual Assault Cases of Dallas County, 1999-2005

Description: The incidence of sexual assault inundates the courts with many cases each year. Given the unique nature of the crime, judges and juries are faced with an array of different scenarios to which they are required to make fair, justifiable and consistent decisions. I examine child sexual assault cases of Dallas County 1999-2005, I look at both legal and extralegal factors including case characteristics, institutional characteristics and characteristics of the defendants and the victims. First, I ex… more
Date: December 2006
Creator: Greening, Megan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Organizational Improvement of the Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fort Worth, Texas, 1969-1988: a Case Study of Forces Responsible for Organizational Change

Description: This study documents that external and internal forces were causes of change at VCWTP. External forces caused. Fort Worth to reorganize and introduce new management at VCWTP after 1982. These improvements led to VCWTP being selected best managed wastewater treatment plant in the nation by EPA in 1988. This study first analyzes external and internal forces responsible for changes at VCWTP. A history of plant operations also is reviewed. Personnel interviews were conducted of perceptions of emplo… more
Date: May 1993
Creator: Akidi, Innocent O. (Innocent Okechuknu)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Assessment of the Attitudes of the Personnel of Welfare-Oriented Governmental Agencies Toward the Poor

Description: This study explores and assesses the attitudes of the personnel of welfare-oriented governmental bureaucracies toward the poor. To fulfill these goals, a treatment and a control group were selected to compare their attitudes toward this group. They were measured by a disguised-structured instrument using the survey approach. It was found that the majority of respondents in both groups have a pro-poor attitude but it is more prevalent among the bureaucrats than among the students. In light of th… more
Date: August 1979
Creator: Valverde Rocha, Maria de la Luz
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Journalist as Legislator

Description: The focus of the study is the way which members of the press corps in the Texas Capitol influence policy-making through their friendships with legislators and through the news stories which they write. Methods of study included questionnaires to reporters and to legislators, interviews with members of both groups, and review of news stories written about the regular session of the 64th Texas Legislature. Respondents reported that journalists were used as "expert consultants" in legislative stra… more
Date: December 1975
Creator: Linn, Travis
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Fair Park Expansion: A Case Study of Political Bias and Protest in Urban Politics

Description: A participant-observer approach is utilized in a case study of Dallas, Texas, homeowners who organized to challenge city acquisition of their property for the expansion of the Fair Park State fairgrounds. From this study, a model of protest and political bias in urban politics is conceptualized. It is hypothesized that some individuals and groups are unable to place their demands, regardless of the extent of their organization and mobilization, on the governmental agenda. This inability to gain… more
Date: August 1974
Creator: Davies, Elizabeth Durham
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Toward a Causal Model of Texas City Manager Policy Role Orientations

Description: The purpose of this thesis was to develop and test a causal model of Texas city manager policy role orientation. The first chapter contains a selective review of major works concerning the city manager and the council manager plan. From these works, research perspectives and variables thought to affect managerial policy behavior were identified. A policy role orientation typology was constructed from nine role questions. Four "types" of managers were identified. After a review of the characteri… more
Date: May 1974
Creator: Smith, Russell Lane
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Job of City Manager from Two Points of View

Description: The purpose of this study is to define more clearly the task of the city manager by examining the following perceptions of his role: 1) The city manager perceives himself as being an administrator, leaving the political realm to the city council. 2) The city manager is a policy-maker perceiving that his job includes providing objectives and goals for council and community. He uses his knowledge and experience to create an atmosphere within which various alternatives can be presented with full a… more
Date: December 1973
Creator: Blackburn, Audley
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Electoral Behavior in Texas from 1944 Through 1972

Description: "This report concludes that the evidence from the analyses seems to support the following propositions in regard to Texas electoral behavior. (1) The 1956 election year was a critical election year in Texas. (2) A pattern indicative of an underlying economic liberalism-conservatism was present in Texas voting patterns from 1944 through 1956, but not after. (3) The Mexican-American and German counties experienced political realignment in 1956 which continued through 1972. (4) The counties afford… more
Date: August 1973
Creator: Dickenson, Martha Kay
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Texas Failure: A Critical Study of Pollution in Texas

Description: "The Texas Failure sets forth the thesis that environmental problems are essentially a product of political decisions and that in Texas the political system has failed to respond to environmental problems because it is dominated by polluter-oriented special interests. The argument advanced is that polluter-oriented interests are well protected by state politicians in both the legislature and regulatory agencies of state government. The thesis is organized around an analysis of such political fa… more
Date: May 1973
Creator: Chidgey, John Thomas
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Impact of the Civics Curriculum on the Political Attitudes and Behavior of R. L. Turner High School Students

Description: The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the civics curriculum on the political attitudes and behavior of R. L. Turner High School students. The impact of the civics curriculum is determined by analyzing the ability of the curriculum to achieve some of the most commonly avowed objectives of civic education. If the objectives of the civics curriculum are being attained, the political attitudes and behavior of students who have completed the course should be different from those of s… more
Date: August 1971
Creator: Couch, Stephen L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Leadership and Mexican-American Politics: A Study of Two Texas Cities

Description: "In an attempt to determine the effectiveness of the political leadership provided by members of an ethnic group, this thesis investigates the Mexican-American electorate in San Antonio and Laredo, Texas. Three variables were studied: the leaders, the followers, and the circumstances under which both operate...Data for this investigation were gathered through personal interviews and from voting records complied by the county clerks of Bexar and Webb Counties. "--leaf 1.
Date: August 1971
Creator: Pinon, Fernando
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Professional Public Relations and Political Power in Texas

Description: "The problem with which this investigation is concerned is the determination of the role played by public relations professionals in Texas politics. This exploration of modern campaign technology relies on a survey of related literature, published and unpublished, and on personal interviews conducted in 1968-69 with candidates for public office, party workers, public relations experts, campaign managers and consultants, and media specialists involved in the Texas Democratic Gubernatorial primar… more
Date: December 1970
Creator: Mansfield, Michael W.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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