Professional Public Relations and Political Power in Texas (open access)

Professional Public Relations and Political Power in Texas

"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 This exploration of modern campaign technology relies on a survey of related literature, published and unpublished, and on personal interviews conducted in 1968-69 with candidates for public office, party workers, public relations experts, campaign managers and consultants,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 primary campaigns of 1968...the findings show that the public relations professionals are playing an ever increasing role in Texas politics and that their expertise and skills play a particularly important role in political campaigning. The Texas Democratic Gubernatorial primary campaign of 1968 illustrates the widespread use of professional consultants by Texas politicians and indicates that their use has had recognizable consequences for the distribution of power and influence."-- leaf [1].
Date: December 1970
Creator: Mansfield, Michael W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Impact of the Civics Curriculum on the Political Attitudes and Behavior of R. L. Turner High School Students (open access)

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

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 students who have not completed civics--provided, of course, that relevant intervening variables are held constant.
Date: August 1971
Creator: Couch, Stephen L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Leadership and Mexican-American Politics: A Study of Two Texas Cities (open access)

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

"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
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Question of Restrictions on Travel to China: a Case Study in United States-China Relations (1948-1971) (open access)

The Question of Restrictions on Travel to China: a Case Study in United States-China Relations (1948-1971)

This study is concerned with the United States policy on restriction of travel to China and its effects on national and international politics.
Date: August 1972
Creator: Smith, Bennie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Quadrennial -- Act 36: An Analysis of the Administrator-Director Form of Govenment in Fort Smith, Arkansas (open access)

Quadrennial -- Act 36: An Analysis of the Administrator-Director Form of Govenment in Fort Smith, Arkansas

The purpose of this investigation is to review the first four years of municipal government operation under the Administrator-Director form of government in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The basis of this investigation is the reconstruction and review of the political forces and circumstances operating in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and their impact on the Administrator-Director form of government. In addition to the above, an examination of the progress made by the current Administrator-Director form of government will be undertaken.
Date: December 1972
Creator: Chiabotta, William I.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of Voting Patterns in Mobile, Alabama, 1948-1970 (open access)

An Analysis of Voting Patterns in Mobile, Alabama, 1948-1970

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the voting trends in Mobile, Alabama, which have developed since 1948; particular emphasis is placed upon the role of the Negro vote in Mobile politics before and after the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Date: May 1973
Creator: Voyles, James Everett, 1943-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Texas Failure: A Critical Study of Pollution in Texas (open access)

The Texas Failure: A Critical Study of Pollution in Texas

"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 factors as ideology, leadership, decision making and law as they relate to a political consideration of Texas environmental conditions."-- leaf 1.
Date: May 1973
Creator: Chidgey, John Thomas
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electoral Behavior in Texas from 1944 Through 1972 (open access)

Electoral Behavior in Texas from 1944 Through 1972

"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 affording the most support to the liberal faction shift continuously. (5) The Texas electorate had been in a state of flux since 1956. To date no pattern other than the ethnic group realignment has stabilized. (6) Party-competition in gubernatorial elections has been increasing since 1962. (7) Ralph Yarborough has been the only liberal candidate for a major statewide office to draw support in a high and uniform degree across the state. (8) Ralph Yarborough's base of support has completely shifted since 1952. (9) The Farenthold vote was most closely aligned with that of Donald Yarborough. (10) Socio-economic factors have stronger relationship to Republican, liberal Democratic candidates, and major third party candidates than to conservative Democratic candidates. (11) All evidence form these analyses points to personalism and candidate …
Date: August 1973
Creator: Dickenson, Martha Kay
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Job of City Manager from Two Points of View (open access)

The Job of City Manager from Two Points of View

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 and free discussion of these alternatives. 3) The role of the city manager cannot be defined along the lines of two mutually exclusive statements. The job of the manager includes a combination of both administration and policy-making.
Date: December 1973
Creator: Blackburn, Audley
System: The UNT Digital Library
Toward a Causal Model of Texas City Manager Policy Role Orientations (open access)

Toward a Causal Model of Texas City Manager Policy Role Orientations

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 characteristics of the Texas council-manager cities and managers surveyed, the analysis of the isolated variables was carried out. A causal model of managerial policy role orientation was developed and the predictions and assumptions were tested. Further study was indicated, due to the model's failure.
Date: May 1974
Creator: Smith, Russell Lane
System: The UNT Digital Library
Administering Social Reform in a Federal System: The Case of the Office for Civil Rights (open access)

Administering Social Reform in a Federal System: The Case of the Office for Civil Rights

The purpose of this study is to explore the administrative setting of the Office for Civil Rights, treating especially the functional requisites of agencies: namely, the development of a viable role within its set and the internal necessity of developing among its functionaries a degree of cohesion and sense of common purpose. This case study is designed, moreover, to challenge the naturalistic assumptions of the pluralist model of administrative theory. Chapter I develops the theme of "social engineering agencies" as a distinctively new genre of public agency in the American political setting and adumbrates the theoretical challenges which these organizations present to the conventional pluralist paradigm.
Date: August 1974
Creator: Thompson, Gary E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fair Park Expansion: A Case Study of Political Bias and Protest in Urban Politics (open access)

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

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 access to the decision-making arena is due to the existence of persistent and cumulative political biases. The biases are delineated as systemic, modes of operation, and ideological. Protest activity is a response by powerless groups to encountering these political biases.
Date: August 1974
Creator: Davies, Elizabeth Durham
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Journalist as Legislator (open access)

The Journalist as Legislator

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 strategy as well as in policy content areas. While informal relationships were found to have an impact on policy, published news stories were perceived as having greater influence.
Date: December 1975
Creator: Linn, Travis
System: The UNT Digital Library
Urbanization and Republican Growth in the South, 1950-1968 (open access)

Urbanization and Republican Growth in the South, 1950-1968

This thesis tests the hypothesis that increasing urbanization in the South is positively correlated with rising Republican voting in presidential and gubernatorial races. A measure of urbanization was derived by subjecting socio-economic data from three censuses for all southern counties to factor analysis. This measure was regressed against Republican percentages of presidential vote in 1952, 1960 and 1968, and against GOP percentages in governor's races closest to the census years. The coefficients of correlation were uniformly low, reaching as high as .50 only once in each case. It was concluded that urbanization accounts for little in explaining variation in Republican voting and that contradictory findings are the result of reliance on less powerful analytic techniques, misunderstanding of more powerful ones or inadequate operationalization of key concepts.
Date: December 1975
Creator: Hughes, Dorene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Power Politics in a Federal Agency: a Policy Study in Federal Aid Programs for Students in Higher Education (open access)

Power Politics in a Federal Agency: a Policy Study in Federal Aid Programs for Students in Higher Education

This paper determines relationships between three elements of the American policy process: legislature, agency, and administrative clientele. It concerns interrelationships between these elements and their affect to agency functions. A model is constructed; revealing the policy process, illustrating behavior patterns responsible for normal functioning and failure of policies and programs. The model develops through study of a single policy area. Supplemental data are provided from a survey. The paper concludes that the process is based on legislation-- causing activity in an agency or substantial change in programs; agency actions, seated in its own organizational objectives, and resultant to internal conflicts; and by clientele behavior, determined by agency actions or inactions. This model may help predicting policy outcomes, but only after similar but more comprehensive studies.
Date: May 1977
Creator: Allen, Robert Lloyd
System: The UNT Digital Library
American Response to Military Coups among Her Allies: Greece--The Colonels' Coup (open access)

American Response to Military Coups among Her Allies: Greece--The Colonels' Coup

The focus of this thesis is Greece after the 1967 Colonels' Coup. After an analysis of American responses to military coups among allies since 1949, the Greek situation is explored in depth. Emphasis is given to Congressional and Executive infighting and bureaucratic interpretations of policy. The two presidents who dealt with the Colonels are studied for personal reaction. Sources include the New York Times and its Index, the Department of State Bulletins, current Greek history books, Congressional Hearings and other documents relating to Greece. Major conclusions are that Congressional- Executive infighting produced a meandering non-policy toward Greece, and there was a difference in Johnson's and Nixon's reaction with the latter being more pragmatic verbally but less effective factually.
Date: December 1977
Creator: Frith, Roger W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interdependence or Realism: A Study in United States-Iranian Relations (open access)

Interdependence or Realism: A Study in United States-Iranian Relations

This study analyzes recent developments in U. S.- Iranian relations during the Nixon administration and attempts to portray the principal objectives of the United States and Iran vis-a-vis each other. Complex Interdependence is the model for development of the arguments. Due to the circumstances, however, the study substantially draws on Realism as well. Chapter I discusses methodology. Chapter II focuses on the Nixon Doctrine and its impact on U. S.-Iranian relations. Chapter III discusses the evolution of mutual interests between the two nations in the Gulf area. Chapter IV drawing on the previous chapters, concludes that an interdependent relation between the two nations has developed to the extent that in some areas policy of one nation would have an impact on the other, i.e., increase in the price of oil.
Date: May 1978
Creator: Akhavizadeh, Mohaimmad T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of Thailand's Relations with the United States and China, 1965-1975 (open access)

A Comparison of Thailand's Relations with the United States and China, 1965-1975

This thesis compares Thailand',s relations with the United States and China from 196541975, The realist as-sumes that the structure of power in the internationall system determines overall relations between states' First, this study describes the power situation in southeast Asia in 1965, The next steps are concerned with the study of Thai-U, S. relations and Thai-Chinese relations, The thesis finds that Thailand's relations with the United States and China are determined by the structure of power. When a major power like the United States changes its policies to accommodate China, Thailand, which is a small country, turns to be more friendly with China, These attitudes correlate with the realist assumption,.
Date: August 1978
Creator: Charoenratha, Benjavan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Indo-Soviet Relations: The Implications of Soviet-United States Rivalry in the Indian Ocean, 1968-1976 (open access)

Indo-Soviet Relations: The Implications of Soviet-United States Rivalry in the Indian Ocean, 1968-1976

This study presents an overview of Indo-Soviet relations in light of the U.S.-U.S.S.R. competition for a favorable position in relations with India. Both superpowers consider better relations with India to be crucial to the furtherance of their interests in the Indian Ocean region. The study provides background information on Indo-Soviet diplomacy, with emphasis on the period 1968-1976m during which the Soviets gained their greatest influence in the region. This period also represents the nadir of Indo-American relations, although India formally maintained a policy of non-alignment with either of the two superpowers. Conclusions are drawn about India's role as a non-aligned nation, its relations with the superpowers, and its quest for regional influence.
Date: December 1978
Creator: Wannitikul, Udsanee
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Assessment of the Attitudes of the Personnel of Welfare-Oriented Governmental Agencies Toward the Poor (open access)

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

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 the knowledge we have of the effect of attitudes on the execution of policies, these results suggest that the policies governing the different programs studied are being executed to the advantage of the client.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Valverde Rocha, Maria de la Luz
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Impact of U.S. Arms Transfer Policies on Relations with Peru, 1945-1978 (open access)

The Impact of U.S. Arms Transfer Policies on Relations with Peru, 1945-1978

This paper examines United States arms transfer policies as they have been applied to Peru since the end of World War II and analyzes the role of these policies in achieving the goals of the United States as delineated by Luigi Einaudi et al. in their Arms Transfers to Latin America: Toward a Policy of Mutual Respect. The paper traces the course of recent U.S.-Peruvian relations, with special emphasis on Peru's arms acquisitions since 1968. The author concludes that, while U.S. arms transfer policies have undoubtedly strained U.S.-Peruvian relations over the past decade, the refusal of the U.S. to provide advanced weapons to Peru will prove to be in the best interests of the United States in the long run.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Davison, J. Les
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Politics of Funding State Senior Higher Education in Texas: An Analysis of the Pressure Group-Policy Process (open access)

The Politics of Funding State Senior Higher Education in Texas: An Analysis of the Pressure Group-Policy Process

The purpose of this study is to provide research on the funding of state senior higher education in Texas. The focus of this work is on the pressure group-policy process. At the beginning of the study, several questions were raised to assist in establishing boundaries for the research, the collection of data, and the construction of a heuristic model to conceptualize the policy process. The historical and legal factors which affect the funding of higher education were then examined. Attention was focused on the constitutional and statutory provisions which pertain to general appropriations and capital outlays for public higher education. Formula and non-formula items were examined as well as the sources of capital funds.
Date: May 1980
Creator: Wilson, Samuel Paschal
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Development and Implementation of Federal Policy Concerning Health Maintenance Organizations (open access)

The Development and Implementation of Federal Policy Concerning Health Maintenance Organizations

There is some controversy which centers around the question of whether a particular government policy or program may be Judged successful. This dissertation takes the position, with due respect to the difficulties of such a task, that policy success can be evaluated and that it is important that such evaluations be made. Traditionally, health care in the United States has been delivered by the solo medical practitioner on a fee-for-service basis. A relatively new concept in the health care delivery system combines group practice with prepayment for services. These types of practices were designated as Health Maintenance Organizations in 1970 by the Nixon Administration.The major question of this dissertation is whether or not the HMO policy of the federal government has been a success. Along with this question the primary focus of this dissertation is upon the development and evolution of the federal HMO program.
Date: August 1980
Creator: Enochs, David H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Preliminary Study of the Systemic Problems Underlying U.S.-East European Trade Relations (open access)

A Preliminary Study of the Systemic Problems Underlying U.S.-East European Trade Relations

This study hypothesizes that the major barriers to expanded trade between the U.S. and Eastern Europe are systemic in nature. Using this approach, each political/ economic system is examined in an attempt to define the obstacles to foreign trade expansion, to describe the most important systemic and political factors at work, and to demonstrate how they have determined and will continue to shape the economic relationships between the U.S. and the countries of Eastern Europe. A final synthesis presents the two systems in a unified picture of the economic environment and concludes that significant trade expansion is unlikely in the near future due to basic systemic incompatibilities which impede the resolution of key foreign trade problems.
Date: March 1981
Creator: Abbott, Karen L.
System: The UNT Digital Library