Solving the mystery of Guanxi-a sociological explanation of social exchange and social networking in Guanxi practice

Guanxi, loosely defined as "inter-personal relations" or "personal connections," is one of the key socio-cultural concepts in understanding Chinese society. This thesis presented a theoretical examination of the Chinese socio-cultural concept of guanxi. By using a broad survey of the available literature, this thesis established the following points: Social structures shape and define the development of guanxi practice in Chinese society. Guanxi relationships are based on the social exchange of gifts and favors in dyadic or multi-stranded social networks. While following the general rules of reciprocity found in social exchange, guanxi exchange is also governed by the internalized social norms such as mianzi (face) and renqing (humanized obligation underpinned by human sentiment). Guanxi relationships are also network-oriented, featuring ties based on familiarity and mutual trust, and characterized by an interplay between expressiveness and instrumentalism.

Dean of the school board: An oral history of the distinguished career of G. Holmes Braddock

Effective school board leadership is often an ephemeral ideal in today's highly politicized public education arena. However, effective leadership is necessary in order to ensure a fair and equitable education for all students. This dissertation described and explained one school board member's perspective of his career as a lens from which to view and assess public educational policy making in Miami-Dade County. ^ Now retired after thirty-eight years of service, G. Holmes Braddock is the longest serving, contemporary, urban school board member in the country. Spanning nearly four decades, his perspective provides a comprehensive view of urban education both locally and nationally. The significance of his longevity and the impact of his leadership on educational policy-making was the focus of indepth interviews with Mr. Braddock and other key educational “influentials.” From this transcript data, recurring themes were revealed and categorized. Five elements of his perspective, i.e., teacher professionalization; desegregation; athletics; bilingual education; and his comprehensive leadership role, were identified and analyzed, as were five variables of his perspective, i.e., fairness; integrity; honesty; courage; and the situational context. Other secondary source material, such as excerpts from newspaper articles, school board minutes, and items from Mr. Braddock's own personal effects further augmented and triangulated the data. ^ Given that the purpose of this study was to describe and explain Mr. Braddock's perspective of his school board career, the findings can be understood from two different viewpoints. The elements of Mr. Braddock's perspective describe or characterize his career and represent the significant policy issues in which he demonstrated exceptional vision and leadership. However, taken alone, these elements cannot fully explain his distinguished career. Rather, an analysis of the variables of Mr. Braddock's perspective provides an explanation for the effectiveness of his leadership role. Personality traits such as fairness, integrity, honesty and courage and the impact of the situational context were factors that strongly influenced Mr. Braddock's decision-making. Thus, Mr. Braddock's school board career can be holistically understood as the intersection of person, place and time with significant public education policy issues. ^ The results of this study provide a unique and historical perspective of school board politics in Miami-Dade County. From Mr. Braddock's perspective, we are able to view one individual's leadership role over time and its impact on local public education policy. ^

A case study: Perceptions of the induction process of intern principals in Broward County Public Schools

The case study is a qualitative study of the perceptions of a purposeful sample of intern principal participants in Broward County Public School's 2001-2003 principal leadership induction program through survey, interview and document analysis of their experiences concerning their success or failure in achieving the position of principal. The study focused on constructs of professional and organizational socialization and instructional leadership that research suggests are vital and integrated components of the effective development of aspiring instructional leaders. ^ The findings revealed that purposeful mentoring, a variety of site placement, hands on practical experiences, in addition to the quality of experience measured by the number of years prior experience are positively reported to affect the degrees of success perceived by intern principals. The study validated the interrelatedness of the three constructs professional and organizational socialization and instructional leadership as components that are realized in the development process through formal and informal characteristics of socialization. The data gathered would be of benefit to principal leadership program designers to assist in their understanding of participants' successes and failures that influence individual needs based on their experience as perceived by this group. ^ Implications for further study are the need for better understanding of leadership development, continued reinforcement of best practices such as mentoring, site shadowing and coaching, clarification of the administrator's role, data analysis, curriculum implementation and student achievement. Organizations need to implement a common set of expectations, reasoning, attitudes, and understanding of purpose that guide behaviors. Recommendations are to design leadership induction programs to meet individual strengths and weaknesses not a one-size-fits-all program including a constructive and prescriptive two-way feedback system, select and assign mentors based on their expertise and candidate needs, varied site placements, develop skills to build collaborative relationships, and a standards based monitoring and assessment system to document program mastery and completion. ^

The development of an optimized system of narcotic and explosive contraband mimics for calibration and training of biological detectors

Current commercially available mimics contain varying amounts of either the actual explosive/drug or the chemical compound of suspected interest by biological detectors. As a result, there is significant interest in determining the dominant chemical odor signatures of the mimics, often referred to as pseudos, particularly when compared to the genuine contraband material. This dissertation discusses results obtained from the analysis of drug and explosive headspace related to the odor profiles as recognized by trained detection canines. Analysis was performed through the use of headspace solid phase microextraction in conjunction with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). Upon determination of specific odors, field trials were held using a combination of the target odors with COMPS. Piperonal was shown to be a dominant odor compound in the headspace of some ecstasy samples and a recognizable odor mimic by trained detection canines. It was also shown that detection canines could be imprinted on piperonal COMPS and correctly identify ecstasy samples at a threshold level of approximately 100ng/s. Isosafrole and/or MDP-2-POH show potential as training aid mimics for non-piperonal based MDMA. Acetic acid was shown to be dominant in the headspace of heroin samples and verified as a dominant odor in commercial vinegar samples; however, no common, secondary compound was detected in the headspace of either. Because of the similarities detected within respective explosive classes, several compounds were chosen for explosive mimics. A single based smokeless powder with a detectable level of 2,4-dinitrotoluene, a double based smokeless powder with a detectable level of nitroglycerine, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, DMNB, ethyl centralite and diphenylamine were shown to be accurate mimics for TNT-based explosives, NG-based explosives, plastic explosives, tagged explosives, and smokeless powders, respectively. The combination of these six odors represents a comprehensive explosive odor kit with positive results for imprint on detection canines. As a proof of concept, the chemical compound PFTBA showed promise as a possible universal, non-target odor compound for comparison and calibration of detection canines and instrumentation. In a comparison study of shape versus vibration odor theory, the detection of d-methyl benzoate and methyl benzoate was explored using canine detectors. While results did not overwhelmingly substantiate either theory, shape odor theory provides a better explanation of the canine and human subject responses.

Politics at the water's edge: The presidency, Congress, and the North Korea policy of the United States

For all their efforts to avoid a nuclear North Korea, the Clinton and Bush administrations failed to achieve this goal, the most important policy objective of the United States in its relations with North Korea for decades, mainly because of inconsistencies in U.S. policy. This dissertation seeks to explain why both administrations ultimately failed to prevent North Korea from going nuclear. It finds the origins of this failure in the implementation of different U.S. policy options toward North Korea during the Clinton and Bush administrations. To explain the lack of policy consistency, the dissertation investigates how the relations between the executive and the legislative branches and, more specifically, different government types—unified government and divided government—have affected U.S. policy toward North Korea. It particularly emphasizes the role of Congress and partisan politics in the making of U.S. policy toward North Korea. This study finds that divided government played a pivotal role. Partisan politics are also central to the explanation: politics did not stop at the water’s edge. A divided U.S. government produced more status quo policies toward North Korea than a unified U.S. government, while a unified government produced more active policies than a divided government. Moreover, a unified government with a Republican President produced more aggressive policies toward North Korea, whereas a unified government with a Democratic President produced more conciliatory policies. This study concludes that the different government types and intensified partisan politics were the main causes of the inconsistencies in the United States’ North Korea policy that led to a nuclear North Korea.

Wage matters & globalization: South Florida's low-wage immigrant plant nursery workers and business protectionism in the age of neoliberalism

Ornamental plant production in the State of Florida is an anomaly with respect to current theories of globalization and particularly their explanation of the employment of low-wage, immigrant labor. Those theories dictate that unskilled jobs that do not need to be performed within highly developed countries are outsourced to where labor is cheaper and more flexible. However, the State of Florida remains an important site of ornamental plant production in the US amidst a global economic environment of outsourcing and transnational corporate expansion. This dissertation relies on 50 semi-structured interviews with insiders of the Florida plant nursery industry, focus groups, and participant observation to explain how US trade, labor, and migration policy-making at local levels are not removed from larger global processes taking place in the world since the 1970s. In Florida, elite market players of the plant nursery industry have been able to resist global trends in free trade, operating instead in a protected market. They have done this by appealing to scientific justifications and through arbitrary implementations of neoliberal ideology that keeps small and middle range business alive, while maintaining a seemingly endless supply of marginalized and exploited low-wage, immigrant workers.^

Perceptions of alibi evidence as a function of the strength of incriminating *evidence

The current study investigated the exculpatory value of alibi evidence when presented together with various types of incriminating evidence. Previous research has reported that alibi evidence could weaken the effects of DNA evidence and eyewitness identification. The present study assessed the effectiveness of alibi evidence in counteracting defendant's confession (experiment 1) and eyewitness evidence (experiment 2). In experiment 1, three levels of alibi evidence (none, weak, strong) were combined with three levels of confession evidence (voluntary, elicited under low pressure, elicited under high pressure). Results indicated significant main effects of confession and alibi and an alibi by confession interaction. Of participants exposed to high-pressure confession, those in the strong alibi condition rendered lower guilt estimates than those in the no alibi condition. In experiment 2, three levels of alibi were combined with two levels of eyewitness evidence (bad view, good view). A main effect of alibi was obtained, but no interaction between alibi and eyewitness evidence. ^ An explanation of this pattern is based in part on the Story Model (Pennington & Hastie, 1992) and a novel “culpability threshold” model of juror decision-making. The Story Model suggests that jurors generate verdict stories (interpretations of events consistent with a guilty or not guilty verdict) based on trial evidence. If the evidence in favor of guilt exceeds jurors' threshold for perceiving culpability, jurors will fail to properly consider exonerating evidence. However, when the strength of incriminating evidence does not exceed the jurors' threshold, they are likely to give appropriate consideration to exculpatory evidence in their decisions. ^ Presentation of a reliable confession in Experiment 1 exceeded jurors' culpability threshold and rendered alibi largely irrelevant. In contrast, presentation of a high-pressure confession failed to exceed jurors' culpability threshold, so jurors turned to alibi evidence in their decisions. Similarly, in the second experiment, eyewitness evidence (in general) was not strong enough to surpass the culpability threshold, and thus jurors incorporated alibi evidence in their decisions. A third study is planned to further test this “culpability threshold” model, further explore various types of alibi evidence, and clarify when exculpatory evidence will sufficiently weaken the prosecution's “story.” ^

Examining the validity of the GRE General Test scores and undergraduate GPA for predicting success in graduate school at a large racially and ethnically diverse public university in Southeast Florida

The purpose of the study was to determine the degree of relationships among GRE scores, undergraduate GPA (UGPA), and success in graduate school, as measured by first year graduate GPA (FGPA), cumulative graduate GPA, and degree attainment status. A second aim of the study was to determine whether the relationships between the composite predictor (GRE scores and UGPA) and the three success measures differed by race/ethnicity and sex. A total of 7,367 graduate student records (masters, 5,990; doctoral: 1,377) from 2000 to 2010 were used to evaluate the relationships among GRE scores, UGPA and the three success measures. Pearson's correlation, multiple linear and logistic regression, and hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to answer the research questions. The results of the correlational analyses differed by degree level. For master's students, the ETS proposed prediction that GRE scores are valid predictors of first year graduate GPA was supported by the findings from the present study; however, for doctoral students, the proposed prediction was only partially supported. Regression and correlational analyses indicated that UGPA was the variable that consistently predicted all three success measures for both degree levels. The hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses indicated that at master's degree level, White students with higher GRE Quantitative Reasoning Test scores were more likely to attain a degree than Asian Americans, while International students with higher UGPA were more likely to attain a degree than White students. The relationships between the three predictors and the three success measures were not significantly different between men and women for either degree level. Findings have implications both for practice and research. They will provide graduate school administrators with institution-specific validity data for UGPA and the GRE scores, which can be referenced in making admission decisions, while they will provide empirical and professionally defensible evidence to support the current practice of using UGPA and GRE scores for admission considerations. In addition, new evidence relating to differential predictions will be useful as a resource reference for future GRE validation researchers.

Identity, Ideology, and Cinema: Making Sense of Japan's Foreign and Security Policies in the 1950s and 2000s

Japan is an important ally of the United States–the world’s third biggest economy, and one of the regional great powers in Asia. Making sense of Japan’s foreign and security policies is crucial for the future of peace and stability in Northeast Asia, where the possible sources of conflict such as territorial disputes or the disputes over Japan’s war legacy issues are observed. This dissertation explored Japan’s foreign and security policies based on Japan’s identities and unconscious ideologies. It employed an analysis of selected Japanese films from the late 1940s to the late 1950s, as well as from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s. The analysis demonstrated that Japan’s foreign and security policies could be understood in terms of a broader social narrative that was visible in Japanese popular cultural products, including films and literatures. Narratives of Japanese families from the patriarch’s point of view, for example, had constantly shaped Japan’s foreign and security policies. As a result, the world was ordered hierarchically in the eyes of the Japan Self. In the 1950s, Japan tenaciously constructed close but asymmetrical security relations with the U.S. in which Japan willingly subjugated itself to the U.S. In the 2000s, Japan again constructed close relations with the U.S. by doing its best to support American responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks by mobilizing Japan’s SDFs in the way Japan had never done in the past. The concepts of identity and unconscious ideology are helpful in understanding how Japan’s own understanding of self, of others, and of the world have shaped its own behaviors. These concepts also enable Japan to reevaluate its own behaviors reflexively, which departs from existing alternative approaches. This study provided a critical analytical explanation of the dynamics at work in Japan’s sense of identity, particularly with regard to its foreign and security policies.

The Development of an Optimized System of Narcotic and Explosive Contraband Mimics for Calibration and Training of Biological Detectors

Current commercially available mimics contain varying amounts of either the actual explosive/drug or the chemical compound of suspected interest by biological detectors. As a result, there is significant interest in determining the dominant chemical odor signatures of the mimics, often referred to as pseudos, particularly when compared to the genuine contraband material. This dissertation discusses results obtained from the analysis of drug and explosive headspace related to the odor profiles as recognized by trained detection canines. Analysis was performed through the use of headspace solid phase microextraction in conjunction with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). Upon determination of specific odors, field trials were held using a combination of the target odors with COMPS. Piperonal was shown to be a dominant odor compound in the headspace of some ecstasy samples and a recognizable odor mimic by trained detection canines. It was also shown that detection canines could be imprinted on piperonal COMPS and correctly identify ecstasy samples at a threshold level of approximately 100ng/s. Isosafrole and/or MDP-2-POH show potential as training aid mimics for non-piperonal based MDMA. Acetic acid was shown to be dominant in the headspace of heroin samples and verified as a dominant odor in commercial vinegar samples; however, no common, secondary compound was detected in the headspace of either. Because of the similarities detected within respective explosive classes, several compounds were chosen for explosive mimics. A single based smokeless powder with a detectable level of 2,4-dinitrotoluene, a double based smokeless powder with a detectable level of nitroglycerine, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, DMNB, ethyl centralite and diphenylamine were shown to be accurate mimics for TNT-based explosives, NG-based explosives, plastic explosives, tagged explosives, and smokeless powders, respectively. The combination of these six odors represents a comprehensive explosive odor kit with positive results for imprint on detection canines. As a proof of concept, the chemical compound PFTBA showed promise as a possible universal, non-target odor compound for comparison and calibration of detection canines and instrumentation. In a comparison study of shape versus vibration odor theory, the detection of d-methyl benzoate and methyl benzoate was explored using canine detectors. While results did not overwhelmingly substantiate either theory, shape odor theory provides a better explanation of the canine and human subject responses.

Wage Matters & Globalization: South Florida’s Low-Wage Immigrant Plant Nursery Workers and Business Protectionism in the Age of Neoliberalism

Ornamental plant production in the State of Florida is an anomaly with respect to current theories of globalization and particularly their explanation of the employment of low-wage, immigrant labor. Those theories dictate that unskilled jobs that do not need to be performed within highly developed countries are outsourced to where labor is cheaper and more flexible. However, the State of Florida remains an important site of ornamental plant production in the US amidst a global economic environment of outsourcing and transnational corporate expansion. This dissertation relies on 50 semi-structured interviews with insiders of the Florida plant nursery industry, focus groups, and participant observation to explain how US trade, labor, and migration policy-making at local levels are not removed from larger global processes taking place in the world since the 1970s. In Florida, elite market players of the plant nursery industry have been able to resist global trends in free trade, operating instead in a protected market. They have done this by appealing to scientific justifications and through arbitrary implementations of neoliberal ideology that keeps small and middle range business alive, while maintaining a seemingly endless supply of marginalized and exploited low-wage, immigrant workers.

Examining the Validity of the GRE General Test Scores and Undergraduate GPA for Predicting Success in Graduate School at a Large Racially and Ethnically Diverse Public University in Southeast Florida

The purpose of the study was to determine the degree of relationships among GRE scores, undergraduate GPA (UGPA), and success in graduate school, as measured by first year graduate GPA (FGPA), cumulative graduate GPA, and degree attainment status. A second aim of the study was to determine whether the relationships between the composite predictor (GRE scores and UGPA) and the three success measures differed by race/ethnicity and sex. A total of 7,367 graduate student records (masters, 5,990; doctoral: 1,377) from 2000 to 2010 were used to evaluate the relationships among GRE scores, UGPA and the three success measures. Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear and logistic regression, and hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to answer the research questions. The results of the correlational analyses differed by degree level. For master’s students, the ETS proposed prediction that GRE scores are valid predictors of first year graduate GPA was supported by the findings from the present study; however, for doctoral students, the proposed prediction was only partially supported. Regression and correlational analyses indicated that UGPA was the variable that consistently predicted all three success measures for both degree levels. The hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses indicated that at master’s degree level, White students with higher GRE Quantitative Reasoning Test scores were more likely to attain a degree than Asian Americans, while International students with higher UGPA were more likely to attain a degree than White students. The relationships between the three predictors and the three success measures were not significantly different between men and women for either degree level. Findings have implications both for practice and research. They will provide graduate school administrators with institution-specific validity data for UGPA and the GRE scores, which can be referenced in making admission decisions, while they will provide empirical and professionally defensible evidence to support the current practice of using UGPA and GRE scores for admission considerations. In addition, new evidence relating to differential predictions will be useful as a resource reference for future GRE validation researchers.

Identity, ideology, and cinema: Making sense of Japan's foreign and security policies in the 1950s and 2000s

Japan is an important ally of the United States–the world’s third biggest economy, and one of the regional great powers in Asia. Making sense of Japan’s foreign and security policies is crucial for the future of peace and stability in Northeast Asia, where the possible sources of conflict such as territorial disputes or the disputes over Japan’s war legacy issues are observed.^ This dissertation explored Japan’s foreign and security policies based on Japan’s identities and unconscious ideologies. It employed an analysis of selected Japanese films from the late 1940s to the late 1950s, as well as from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s. The analysis demonstrated that Japan’s foreign and security policies could be understood in terms of a broader social narrative that was visible in Japanese popular cultural products, including films and literatures. Narratives of Japanese families from the patriarch’s point of view, for example, had constantly shaped Japan’s foreign and security policies. As a result, the world was ordered hierarchically in the eyes of the Japan Self. In the 1950s, Japan tenaciously constructed close but asymmetrical security relations with the U.S. in which Japan willingly subjugated itself to the U.S. In the 2000s, Japan again constructed close relations with the U.S. by doing its best to support American responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks by mobilizing Japan’s SDFs in the way Japan had never done in the past.^ The concepts of identity and unconscious ideology are helpful in understanding how Japan’s own understanding of self, of others, and of the world have shaped its own behaviors. These concepts also enable Japan to reevaluate its own behaviors reflexively, which departs from existing alternative approaches. This study provided a critical analytical explanation of the dynamics at work in Japan’s sense of identity, particularly with regard to its foreign and security policies.^