Digital Commons Network^™

Not Too Peaceful: Maritime Rifts And Governance Crises In China, Joseph Tse-Hei Lee

Faculty_Staff_Showcase

Much attention has been paid to China’s determination to exert its influence over the East and South China seas using both political and military power. The final few weeks of 2013 saw a rapid deterioration of the diplomatic goodwill that China had built with its maritime neighbours over the past several decades, threatening regional stability and risking an arms race with the U.S., Japan, and Southeast Asia. This article draws on some snapshots of the latest sovereignty disputes in the East and South China seas and the bilateral ties across the Taiwan Strait to discuss the continuities and breakpoints in …

An Arms Race Or Bureaucratic Dogfight? Assessing The Underlying Causes Of India’S Nuclear Force Development, Drew Stommes

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

States have developed military capabilities throughout the history of the nation-state international system. Examples include the Anglo-German naval arms race at the beginning of the 21^st century and the United States-Soviet Union arms competition during the cold War. One contemporary example of an arms buildup can be seen with the expansion and enhancement of India’s nuclear arsenal. Drawing from two broad bodies of literature that focus on the role of external and internal causes of arms buildups, I argue that India’s nuclear buildup has been caused primarily by the external threat posed by Pakistan, and less so by China. …

Hegemony And Humanitarian Norms: The Us Legitimation Of Toxic Violence, Eric Bonds

History and American Studies Articles

Despite widespread beliefs that the United States has not used chemical weapons since the distant past of World War I, this study suggests a more complicated history by examining U.S. use of herbicides and incapacitating gases in the Vietnam War and its use of herbicides in the "War on Drugs." This article places such use of toxic violence within a context of U.S. hegemony, by which U.S. officials have used contested forms of violence to secure geopolitical goals, but have also been pressured to comply with humanitarian norms or-when there is a gap between norms and state policy-to do legitimating …

The Politicization Of Popular Culture: A Case Study In Reagan And Star Wars, Nathan A. Wingert

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This project examined the use of Ronald Reagan’s rhetoric, specifically the “Star Wars,” “Zero Option” and “Evil Empire” speeches. It answers the question: Why do we know SDI as Star Wars? It also The rationale for the study came from myriad sources, including the historical and political undertones of the Star Wars films and rhetorical criticism of other Reagan speeches. G. Thomas Goodnight’s analysis linked all three speeches together as a reformulation of wartime rhetoric, so that was the rationale for analyzing three speeches. After performing a rhetorical criticism using Burkean identification as the lens, there are several results: Reagan …

Leadership Strategies That Foster Innovation And Creattvity In 21st Century Organizations, Patricia Dianne Carlson

Theses and Graduate Projects

In an increasingly change-driven world, leaders are called upon to evolve their mindsets and skill-sets to reflect and serve the demands for innovation that characterize the 2Ist century. In this research, I examined the leadership strategies that foster innovation and creativity as a stimulus for sustained competitive advantage in organizations. Creativity without innovation in an organization is a wasted effort. However, without creative ideas there is nothing to promote, feed and develop the innovation process. I focus on three critical questions: What type of organizational climate fosters innovation and creativity? What is leadership's role in fostering innovation and creativity? What …

Mediator Impartiality And Mediator Interest, Su-Mi Lee

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Scholars have debated whether mediator impartiality or mediator interest plays a more vital role in bringing about a successful outcome. This research develops a comprehensive model that accounts for mediation occurrence and medication outcome in terms of an additive model of both mediator impartiality and mediator interest. The two channels through which mediators influence the changes of mediation and occurrence and outcome are hypothesized to be two dimensions of trust, mediator fairness and mediator capacity. This research argues 1) that mediator impartiality contributes to successful mediation outcomes by improving disputants’ trust in mediators’ fairness and 2) that mediator interest increases …

The Civilian And The War On Terror: Do Norms Shape Strategy?, Sherri Replogle

Dissertations

Despite a growing research agenda centered on issues of civilian immunity, it remains unclear what effect norms protecting civilians have on state behavior, especially democracies. This study asks when and how the civilian immunity norm (CIN) matters, specifically examining how it alters short term strategic choices and even long term doctrines.

Employing a constructivist approach to examine shifting attitudes toward civilians within the military during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, this study argues that democracies will choose strategic outcomes that strengthen compliance with the CIN when they see the constraining normative environment as a key part of the strategic environment. …

Narratives Of Mass Violence: The Role Of Memory And Memorialization In Addressing Human Rights Violations In Post-Conflict Rwanda And Uganda, Carla De Yeaza, Nicole Fox

Societies Without Borders

This paper explores the question of what do Rwandans and Ugandans working on memorialization initiatives deem important when discussing the role of individual and collective memory in the aftermath of mass violence and human rights violations. Social scientists and human rights scholars have asserted the importance of memory in both reconciliation and healing after mass violence. However, it is difficult to determine the most appropriate way to facilitate reconciliation between groups who previously raped, stole from or killed one another, as there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. While policies cannot remedy the murder of one’s family, scholars, activists and practitioners argue …

Sedentism, Social Change, Warfare, And The Bow In The Ancient Pueblo Southwest, Paul F. Reed, Phil R. Geib

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In the ancient American Southwest, use of the bow developed relatively rapidly among Pueblo people by the fifth century AD. This new technology replaced the millennia-old atlatl and dart weaponry system. Roughly 150 years later in the AD 600s, Pueblo socioeconomic organization began to evolve rapidly, as many groups adopted a much more sedentary life. Multiple factors converged to allow this sedentary pattern to emerge, but the role of the bow in this process has not been fully explored. In this paper, we trace the development of the bow and discuss its role as sedentism emerged and social changes occurred …

Same Fight, Different Player: An Insight Into Culture, Information Sharing, And Team Performance, Cecily Mccoy-Fisher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among culture, information sharing, and performance among culturally-homogeneous NATO Officer teams. Forty-eight teams participated from five countries, namely, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and USA. Teams of four participants were randomly assigned to a role and the task was an interdependent computer-based mission using an adapted version of Neverwinter Nights™ (Bioware, 2003), where they had to communicate among teammates and with non-human players to find weapons caches and other mission objectives. Not one individual had all of the information needed to perform the tasks; thus, they needed to share information with …

Incumbent Violence And Insurgent Tactics: The Effects Of Incumbent Violence On Popular Support For Guerrilla Warfare And Terrorism, Jonathan Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Insurgency has two main strategies, guerrilla warfare and terrorism, which should be treated as linked, but distinct, strategies. This thesis examines the role of incumbent violence in leading insurgents to select one, or both, of these strategies. It argues that incumbent violence can create support for insurgency by causing fear and a desire for revenge and reshaping the social structures of a community. It also argues that incumbent violence increases popular support for terrorism in particular by creating outbidding incentives and desires to respond in kind to civilian deaths and as a way of punishing norm violations against attacking civilians …

A Mechanism Design Approach To Bandwidth Allocation In Tactical Data Networks, Ankur Mour

Open Access Theses

The defense sector is undergoing a phase of rapid technological advancement, in the pursuit of its goal of information superiority. This goal depends on a large network of complex interconnected systems - sensors, weapons, soldiers - linked through a maze of heterogeneous networks. The sheer scale and size of these networks prompt behaviors that go beyond conglomerations of systems or `system-of-systems'. The lack of a central locus and disjointed, competing interests among large clusters of systems makes this characteristic of an Ultra Large Scale (ULS) system. These traits of ULS systems challenge and undermine the fundamental assumptions of today's software …

Exploring The Dynamics Of Identity Based Conflict And The Possibility For Its Sustainable Management: A Study Of The Persistent Ethno-Religious Conflict In Wukari Area Of Taraba State, Nigeria, Jude A. Momodu, G.I. Matudi, Abiodun L. Momodu

Ethnic Studies Review

This article explores the dynamics of identity-based conflict and the possibility for its management. The study in particular focuses on the persistent ethno-religious conflicts in the Wukari Area of Taraba State, Nigeria. The real issues precipitating the persistent ethno-religious conflicts and the costs of the conflicts were clearly brought to the fore. The study proposes a new paradigm for managing social conflicts at the community level through the 'use of community solutions for community problems' which will involve the constructive participation of all of the stakeholders in the community. This paper concludes by making a proposal for the establishment of …

Tribal-Led People's Resistance In Transition: 1765-1800, Ananda Bhattacharyya

Ethnic Studies Review

The year 1799 A.D. is marked in the annals of Midnapore as the year of the great Chuar Rebellion when all the Adivasis, Sirdars and paiks broke out in a rebellion. They wanted the restoration of their Jagir lands which the British had forcibly resumed earlier. It was a formidable resistance of the Adivasis against the colonial regime. The lawless tribes of the jungle mehal made common cause with the paiks and peasants and carried slaughter and flame to the very doors of the Magistrate's cutcherry. The plundered booty on some occasions was distributed among the ryots. The threat to …

Assessing The Relationship Between Hotspots Of Lead And Hotspots Of Crime, Kimberly L. Barrett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous medical and environmental toxicology studies have established a link between lead (Pb) exposure, crime, and delinquency. In human environments, lead pollution- like crime- is unequally distributed, creating lead hot spots. In spite of this, studies of crime hotspots have routinely focused on traditional sociological predictors of crime, leaving environmental predictors of crime like lead and other neurotoxins relatively unaddressed. This study attends to this gap in the literature by asking a very straightforward research question: Is there a relationship between hotspots of lead and hotspots of crime? Furthermore, what is the nature and extent of this relationship? Lastly, is …

Freshwater Management In Libya : A Premonition Of The Global Water Crisis, Kelly P. Byrnes

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The global supply of freshwater depends on spatial and temporal factors. Because of its nature, there are parts of the world where sufficient amounts are simply not available. With the onset of global climate change and unpredictable politics in some areas, what is referred to as the "global water crisis" will become a cause of unrest throughout the world. Using Libya as an extreme case, this thesis seeks to display the immensely complicated nature of water provision and suggests that the unlikelihood of violent conflict predicted by certain authors, such as Aaron Wolf, needs to be reconsidered. Their faith in …

Socially Situated Identities Of Gay Gang- And Crime-Involved Men, Vanessa R. Panfil

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Within the criminological literature, gay men have primarily been portrayed as victims of anti-gay bias crimes or intimate partner violence, or as sex workers and/or drug users. This coverage, which is limited in scope, largely fails to recognize that gay men have agency (choice or power to control the situation). It also provides an incomplete picture regarding gay men's involvement in gangs, violence, and crime.

Winning Battles And Losing Wars : Governor George E. Pataki And The Executive Veto, Steven Koczak

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The work first outlines a theoretical framework referred to as the Theory of the Strong Executive, drawn from what comparatively little literature there is about the state governors, as well as certain primary sources. The Theory of the Strong Executive outlines two sets of expectations for state governors, one theoretical (descriptive labels of expected political behavior) and one institutional (certain institutional or constitutional features one might expect to see).

Constructing Veterans : Women Military Veterans, Va And Society, Cecilia Ferradino

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Despite having honorably served in the U.S. military, many women do not see themselves as veterans. In so doing, they may miss out on much-needed benefits to which they have rightfully earned and deserve. But, the question goes beyond benefit claiming. If women who served in the military do not see themselves as veterans they are also relinquishing power that comes with membership in a politically and socially esteemed group. If women who served in the armed forces do not see themselves as veteran, then what is a veteran? Therefore, this research centers on the question: who, or what entity, …

Impact Of Gender Inequality And Religion On How States Experience Terrorism, Aneela Salman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation includes three essays that present a quantitative analysis of the policy implications of gender equality and religious attitudes as predictors of terrorism at the state level using a broad dataset. Essay one focuses on impact of gender equality, especially women's political empowerment on terrorism, both domestic and transnational. The second essay examines both gender equality attitudes and actual outcomes in social, economic and political spheres, to measure their effect on terrorism. The third essay analyzes the relation of religiousness in a society with incidents and lethality of terrorism. The overall findings of this thesis suggest that attitudes and …

Coercion, Persuasion, And Reflexivity In Major Counterinsurgency Wars, Stephen M. Pampinella

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines the effectiveness of different counterinsurgency practices of states in 47 conflicts from 1945-2010. After discussing contemporary theories of counterinsurgency, it traces these theories to realist and liberal traditions of international relations to demonstrate how propose specific relationships with the civilian population as a means of ending social conflict. To evaluate these theories, I perform a Boolean analysis of counterinsurgency practices to determine which combinations of realist and liberal factors leads to counterinsurgent victory. Overall, I find that pure realist and mixed combinations are most likely to lead to victory, while pure liberal combinations fail to produce victory. …

From The Philippines To The Field Museum: A Study Of Ilongot (Bugkalot) Personal Adornment, Sarah E. Carlson

Honors Projects

Abstract: The Philippine Collection at The Field Museum contains over 10,000 objects, including hundreds of objects of personal adornment. As an intern at The Field Museum in the summer of 2012, I got to experience the collection first-hand and began examining six ornaments from the Ilongot peoples of the Philippines. At the beginning of the 20^th century, the Ilongot wore ornaments to visually communicate social meaning about themselves, their villages, and their relationships. The Ilongot were a headhunting society with fearsome warriors who beheaded their enemies. These hunters wore delicately crafted earrings and headdresses to mark their masculinity and …

Producing Bodies, Knowledge, And Community In Everyday Civilian Struggle Over Surveillance, Michelle C. Billies

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In a global context of rapidly expanding security practices, those cast as social threats are themselves often most risk of harm. In this dissertation, I develop the concept surveillance threat (ST) to describe the perception or experience of impending or actual harm faced by targeted civilians when they are stopped or screened by law enforcement. Singled out by race and other lines of sociocultural force, those stopped risk physical, legal, sexual, and spatial consequences. Yet focusing solely on the risk of harm limits the full meaning of this encounter. As I show in my research, civilians persistently struggle against these …

Environmental Footprints Of Violent Conflict, Swapna Pathak

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of militarized conflict pervade countless aspects of society, yet scholars have focussed very little attention on the consequences of conflict. My dissertation assesses the cost of war by examining the relationship between violent conflict and the environment. I argue that the effect of conflict on the environment is an im- portant consequence of war that is often overlooked in favor of other repercussions such as economy and health that are more politically expedient . I study this effect in the light of components of national environmental capacity and hypothesize that conflicts result in short-term and long-term impact on …

An Analysis Of Lead Shot From Fort Motte, 2004-2012: Assessing Combat Behavior In Terms Of Agency, Stacey Renae Whitacre

Theses and Dissertations

The siege of Fort Motte took place between May 6 and 12, 1781. This battle was part of the American offensive against British posts in South Carolina during the American Revolution. During the siege, British troops were confined within the fort while American Continental forces as well as the South Carolina militia maintained a presence outside the walls. In addition to discussing the general history of the battle, I will specifically discuss the cultural variability of lead shot recovered from this site during archaeological excavation and systematic metal detection between 2004 and 2012. During the mid-eighteenth century, British troops were …

Exploring A Paradigm Shift: The New York Times' Framing Of Sub-Saharan Africa In Stories Of Conflict, War And Development During The Cold War And Post-Cold War Eras, 1945-2009, Zadok Opero Ekimwere

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated The New York Times' framing of sub-Saharan Africa during the Cold War and post-Cold War eras. The aim was to determine whether a paradigm shift has taken place in the way Western news media cover Africa following a change in the world view system from the Cold War to the post-Cold War. To look for frames, the research examined how The New York Times portrayed sub-Saharan Africa in stories of conflict, war and development.

.Framing analysis methodology was used to examine the stories and to search for frames. Findings showed that The New York Times used violence …

Kony2012: The New Face Of Citizen Engagement, Nicole Audette

Exchange: The Journal of Public Diplomacy

This paper breaks down the nongovernmental components of public diplomacy and examines the evolution of new public diplomacy. It discusses the rise of nonstate actors and the importance they play in changing international diplomatic engagements. It explores the rising prominence of both soft power and public relations on the global stage, highlighting the importance of strategic relationships and effective communications. The case study, used to exemplify the power of new public diplomacy, examines how Invisible Children’s KONY2012 campaign used public diplomacy to harness successfully the power of the American people to influence governmental foreign policy. The author shows that Invisible …

Yemen, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

In February 2011, Tawakkol Karman stood on a stage outside Sanaa University. A microphone in one hand and the other clenched defiantly above her head, reading from a list of demands, she led tens of thousands of cheering, flag-waving demonstrators in calls for peaceful political change. She was to become not so much the leader as the figurehead of Yemen's uprising. On other days and in other cities, other citizens led the chants: men and women and sometimes, for effect, little children. These mass public performances enacted a veritable civic revolution in a poverty-stricken country where previous activist surges never …

The Archaeology Of Archaeology: 2012 Excavations At Alkali Ridge Site 13, James R. Allison

Faculty Publications

Alkali Ridge Site 13 is one of the largest, and most extensively excavated Pueblo I villages in the Northern Southwest. It also is one of the earliest Pueblo I villages, dating to the late A.D. 700s. The site was first excavated in 1932 and 1933 by J.O. Brew of Harvard University, who dug all or part of 118 storage rooms, 11 pit houses, and 25 surface habitation rooms belonging to the early Pueblo I component. In 2012, the first excavations at the site since Brew’s work focused on reexcavation of several storage rooms previously excavated in 1932, screening of backdirt …

The Role Of Peacebuilding And Conflict Management In A Future American Grand Strategy: Time For An “Off Shore” Approach?, Charles J. Dunlap Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.