College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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Item Defying Expectations: Associational Participation and Democratization in Poor Communities in Argentina(2008-08-19) Sacouman, Natasha; Korzeniewicz, Roberto P.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Alexis de Tocqueville noted that the key to democracy is "knowledge of how to combine." This dissertation focuses on the following question: Can participation in associations facilitate democracy within the communities in which they exist even if such associations are not democratically organized - i.e., vertical, hierarchical organizations. To consider this question, this dissertation explores a poor community's transition from a sparse to a highly developed associational space, and examines the impact of this process of democratization on social relations at both the associational and the personal levels (between leaders, participants, and non-participants). Specifically, I compare three different associational settings in a barrio in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina -- i.e., a non-governmental organization, a religious network, and a political party network -- to assess whether democratization can occur with the construction and communication of symbolic meaning and objective practices by vertically structured, hierarchical organizations. I analyze the interplays between inclusion and exclusion; solidarity and generalized distrust; and inequality and protagonism. Ultimately, this dissertation demonstrates how the configuration of social relations serves to legitimate and reproduce civic life in poor communities. This dissertation is based upon extensive ethnographic observations in three different associations and the community itself, as well as upon qualitative interviews with community leaders, participants, nonparticipants, politicians and academics.Item THE CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY OF REVENGE IN THE UNITES STATES AND SOUTH KOREA(2005-05-03) Shteynberg, Gary; Gelfand, Michele J.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Although there has been notable progress in the study of the revenge (Vidmar, 2001) its triggers and processes have eluded cross-cultural investigation. I argue that although revenge is likely a universal phenomenon, the process of revenge may be culture-specific. A unifying theme of this thesis is the influence of the cultured self-construal (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Markus & Wurf, 1987) on the stages of the revenge process: naming, blaming and claiming. Two scenario studies, carried out in the United States and South Korea examined the theory presented. The results generally support the hypotheses posited. Most notably, the found cross-national differences in cognitions of harm, blame and revenge intentions were mediated by construals of the self. Theoretical implications for further cross-cultural study of the revenge process are discussed.