Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Encouraging Bipartisanship: Polarization And Civility As Rhetorical Tools For Ameliorating The U.S. Senate’S Partisan Environment, Angela Marie Mcgowan

Dissertations

On October 1, 2013, the Senate buckled under the pressure of intense partisanship. Dramatically demonstrating their lack of mutual agreement, senators refrained from conducting the nation’s business for 16 days. Considerable media attention covered this shut down, especially the ensuing rhetorical activities of the Senate’s female policymakers who urged bipartisanship. The flurry of activity surrounding the legislative impasse sparked this dissertation’s conceptual orientation. Accordingly, this investigation reveals how Washington lawmakers can, in good faith, set aside partisan views in order to accommodate policy objectives.

This project reveals rhetorical strategies that, when utilized, are capable of facilitating Senate bipartisanship. Each chapter …

The Natural Resource Curse In Sub-Saharan Africa: Transparency And International Initiatives, Meaza Zerihun Demissie

Dissertations

The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region has become a classic case of the resource-curse phenomenon characterized by the abundance of natural resources, low economic development, and misuse of natural resources. Economic-development experts debate ways to overcome or avoid the resource curse to advance SSA countries into developed countries. Only one natural resource-rich country in the region, Botswana, has succeeded in becoming an upper middle-income country using its natural resources, making the possibility of replication of this achievement difficult. The literature aligns in the belief that the economic and political well-being of resource-rich nations depends highly on the actors involved. National and …

A Comparison Of Institutional Climates In Higher Education In The United States And South Africa, Juanyce Deanna Taylor

Dissertations

Increasing opportunities and access of historically underrepresented populations to higher education in both the United States and South Africa have proved challenging due to institutional climates that are perceived as unwelcoming and unsupportive. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors relating to institutional climates to uncover social constructs that positively and negatively impact the institutional environment. Transformational leadership serves as the theoretical framework for this study.

Data results from institutional climate studies administered higher education institutions in the United States and South Africa were analyzed and compared. Collegiality and collaboration; communication; diversity and equity; governance and strategy; harassment …

Determinants Of Tax Effort: A Cross Country Analysis, Mark Alan Mccoon

Dissertations

This paper analyzes the determinants of tax effort. Tax effort is defined as the aggregate tax level of a country divided by its Gross Domestic Product. A country‘s tax effort is an expression of the tax burden the government imposes on the economy. One of the most fundamental issues confronting a society is the size of the governmental sector. How large should the government be relative to the size of the economy? The nations of the world have crafted many different answers to that question as evidenced by the fact that tax effort and the size of government sectors varies …

Influence Of Financial And Policy Environments On The Business Strategy Of Biotechnology Companies In India, Sumesh Mohan Arora

Dissertations

The biotechnology industry thrives on innovation and new knowledge creation, but is also capital intensive with a complex regulatory environment (Hine and Kapeleris 2007). It is seen as a sunrise industry by the Indian government (Natesh and Bhan 2009). Current literature on the business strategy of Indian biotechnology companies and the influence from external factors is very limited. The objective of this research was to qualitatively test the applicability of the Miles and Snow (1978) theory of organizational behavior which describes four strategy choices: prospector, analyzer, defender and reactor, in the context of the Indian biotechnology sector. Research on Western …

Global Agricultural Price Supports: The Political And Economic Forces That Drive Unsustainable Agricultural Protectionism Policy, John Francis Hays

Dissertations

Agricultural tariffs and price supports are the last bastion of US and European protectionism. While all other areas of commerce have embraced change and welcomed open-market international commerce, agriculture has remained the lone holdout.

The small farmers for whom these support programs were designed no longer exist. Yet governments appropriate billions of dollars annually for the continued support of these outdated programs.

The fact that these governmental agencies resist change, even in an age of economic crises, record national debt, and one of the highest negative trade balances in history, is testimony to American civic indifference.

Public apathy precludes timely …

An Investigation Into The Use Of Geospatial Technologies As Part Of Disaster Management Efforts Related To The Asian Tsunami Of 2004, Robert William Redding Jr.

Dissertations

On the 26th of December, 2004, a tsunami impacted the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, immediately killing over two hundred and eighty thousand people, displacing another million people, and initially causing at least US$10 billion in damage. The response by the international community was swift and massive. Disaster decision-makers who led their organization's responses to the tsunami used geospatial information to support their decision-making efforts with mixed success. When describing their use of geospatial technologies during the response, a select set of disaster decision-makers provided information about how they used geospatial information, they described what worked and what did not …

An Assessment Of Democratic Policing In The Turkish National Police: Police Officials' Attitudes Toward Recent Police Reforms, Akin Karatay

Dissertations

This study defines democracy, describes democratic policing, analyzes the development of democratic policing principles in the developing country of Turkey and contends that democracy can be enduring only when the police embody democratic values. As Turkey transforms itself in order to become a member of the European Union, the process has fostered national, institutional, cultural and socioeconomic adaptations, all of which lead towards democracy. This process has influenced the Turkish National Police (TNP) as well. In theory, these efforts towards political democratization, legal reform and the adoption of European Union police policy guidelines should have a positive effect on Turkish …

China And The United States: A Balance Of Power, William Jeffery Stephens

Dissertations

Throughout world history states have banded together to form coalitions, alliances, and economic agreements with each other to protect and secure their borders, develop their economic prosperity, and grow their political relationships. Alliances, economic agreements, and political relationships have come and gone, decreased or increased, and continue to be at times as fluid as water. During the Cold War the international system had a bipolar structure, with the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies balancing against the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies. What makes countries align themselves with other countries economically, politically and militarily? There …

Attacking Ethos: The Rhetorical Use Of Uncertainty In The 2004 Election, Theron Allen Verdon

Dissertations

The rhetorical use of uncertainty in political communication (and other areas) has many implications. Uncertainty plays a major role in everyday life. Therefore, it likely plays a major role in political decision-making. Research has shown that uncertainty about a candidate affects a voter's voting preference. Uncertainty usually affects voter decisions. Uncertainty was a factor in the 2004 presidential election. The Bush-Cheney Campaign used uncertainty to corrupt the ethos of the Democratic nominee, Senator John Kerry. The Bush-Cheney campaign rhetorically manipulated information about Senator Kerry to create a perception of a leader whose actions revealed an unpredictable flip-flopper. A lack of …

Economic Inequality In The New European Union: Are Monetary Policies In The European Union Unfair For Certain Countries?, Gregory Eric Banach

Dissertations

This research is focused on the affect one uniform monetary policy will have on the less developed countries that entered the European Union (EU) in 2004. One of the challenges facing the new entrants involves the required implementation of monetary policy goals, even though these new entrants do not have a vote on how the monetary policy is determined. Monetary policy in the EU is the responsibility of the European Central Bank (ECB) who has a stated goal price stability. It is possible to use the Taylor Rule to test whether the ECB focuses on price stability for both old …