Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: From an epistemological sociological perspective, the research presented in this essay endeavours to understand the emergence, diffusion and dynamics of the social processes which activate legitimising structures such as public relations and ideals of dialogue, and at the same time the social mechanisms which endanger these ideals within the context of late modern society.

The essay discusses how society has become dependent on decisions; how this has increased the awareness of society as the source of danger instead of Nature, Fate, or God as in previous societal forms, and how danger is traced back to risky organizational decisions; organizations being the prime decision makers of society. This puts pressure on organizations to continuously justify their decisions – a pressure which is sought relieved by ideals of ‘dialogue’. These ideals, however, are endangered by the social structures and irreconcilable positions of victim versus decision maker of our present risk society.

The understanding of society in general and of the increasing attribution of danger to risk is based on the theories of the prominent late modern sociologist Niklas Luhmann, whereas the analysis of the consequences to organizations and the evolutionary dynamics between the perspectives of risk and danger is based on research undertaken by the author of the essay.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Market Reforms and Technocracy in Latin America:Endangering Democratic Governance or Enhancing its Prospects?ABSTRACTMost countries of the industrialized ?North? have made peace between market-based economies and democratic governance. In the ?South,? however, the shift to free market economies is more recent, and the region?s grasp upon democracy is more tenuous. This is particularly true in Latin America where many governments embraced technocratic market reform projects, and where the tensions between these programs and fundamental democratic principles of accountability, checks and balances, representation, and transparency, seem to threaten the prospects for sustained democratic governance. This paper argues that there are good reasons to take these concerns seriously. The tensions between technocracy and democracy are real. However, it also suggests that democratic governments who advance technocratic reform projects are not trapped in a zero-sum game; such programs, the political dynamics that surround them, and the market pressures they unleash, can also generate externalities that bolster democratic governance by enhancing accountability, checks and balances, representation, and transparency. The paper develops this argument through comparative analysis of three Latin American countries where government technocrats championed market reform campaigns: Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Party nonconformists--that is, moderate to conservative Democrats and moderate to liberal Republicans who had policy preferences different from the mainstream of their party--have largely disappeared from the Senate. As nonconformists disappeared from both parties, each caucus became less ideologically diverse and congressional parties polarized. Much of the research on party polarization in Congress has focused on the House and on the realignment in the South that led to the demise of conservative Southern Democrats. Yet we show that there are parallel trends of escalating partisanship in both parties in both the House and Senate. The explanations of why Senate parties polarized and why Republican nonconformists have disappeared, however, are less clear. Part of the explanation of polarization in the House applies to the Senate--the most likely cause is electoral and electoral changes in the South provide an answer for the disappearance of nonconformist Democrats. But since state boundaries are not subject to partisan gerrymandering and since moderate and liberal Republicans have also disappeared, there must be additional electoral processes that produced more homogeneous parties in the Senate. This paper seeks to provide a more complete understanding of how and why Senate parties polarized. We find:
1. Partisan nonconformists were elected disproportionately from states that favor the other party--i.e., nonconformists Democrats tend to come from “red” states and nonconformists Republicans tend to come from “blue” states.
2. The ability of a party’s candidates to win on the other party’s turf has changed over time, but this change has not affected both parties equally. In particular, Democrats’ ability to hold seats in red and competitive states has declined since the early 1980s, while Republicans have maintained their ability to hold Senate seats in blue states and they are more successful in competitive states.
3. When a party does win on the other party’s turf, the likelihood of electing a mainstream partisan has increased over time. Moderate and conservative Democrats have disappeared because there are just fewer Democrats elected in red and competitive states. Republican success in blue and competitive states has not declined, but nonconformist Republicans have disappeared because mainstream Republicans can win in states that once elected moderates.
4. The ability to elect mainstream Republicans in blue and competitive states is due in part to changes in Senate electorates and the preferences of Republican voters.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Group influence is an important element of study within political science. How much influence do organized interests exert within the policy process? Is this influence a normatively “good” thing, i.e., linking citizens to government? Or is it a “bad” thing? This study steps back and examines the question from the perspective of how groups might use their resources to influence public policy. I do so not at the legislative or agenda-setting phase of public policy, but at the implementation of policy, where agency officials have discretion to design rules and negotiate agreements without the scrutiny of elected officials. I argue that groups are active in securing the benefits or ameliorating the effects of legislation and devise cooperative or conflictual strategies to affect this process.

Measuring cooperation along a continuum, I argue the degree of cooperation groups exhibit is affected by the policy context, in addition to group resources. The policy context shapes the relative degree of information and access available to groups. Groups lacking access and specialized information regarding the process will fight the process more visibly than those groups with these resources.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Continuing threats from habitat destruction and climate change prompted development of captive rearing protocols for the federally endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana). Larvae take 3-5 years to emerge and require a habitat that features clean, spring and seep fed streamlets that dry for part of the year. During droughts and winter larvae survive by using the burrows of the predatory devil crayfish (Cambarus diogenes). Captive rearing began in 2003. Normally, larvae were housed individually in controlled environments where temperature and feeding regimes mimicked those in the habitat. During summer months, some larvae were placed in their original habitat in cages that allowed natural food sources, temperatures and light regimes while protecting larvae from predators. Large larvae were allowed to emerge in field enclosures. Survivorship ranged from 75% to 87% in 2005-6. To determine appropriate feeding and growth rates, captives were compared to wild-caught larvae. Head width, total length and weights were measured to reveal instar sizes and durations. The successful emergence rate was greater than 90% in 2005-6. Emergence of wild-caught and captive larvae overlapped in time. This work allowed the standardization of successful rearing methods for mid to late instar larvae. Captive rearing will allow testing of restored habitat, augmentation of populations and potentially re-introductions.