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Byzantine Foreign Policy During The Reign Of Constans Ii, Joseph Morris Jan 2014

Byzantine Foreign Policy During The Reign Of Constans Ii, Joseph Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the foreign policy of Constans II as the first Byzantine Emperor to rule after the initial Arab conquests in Syria-Palestine. His reign, 641-668, was the first reign of a Byzantine Emperor where the entire reign was subject to Arab raids and invasions. Constans II also had to contend with the Slavs in Thessalonica and Greece and the Lombards in Italy. To complicate matters more, Constans II was forced to cope with the religious division between the eastern and western churches due to Monothelitism in the East. Beset on every frontier and inheriting a much reduced empire after …

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Ancient Maya Regional Settlement And Inter-Site Analysis: The 2013 West-Central Belize Lidar Survey, Arlen F. Chase, Diane Z. Chase, Jaime J. Awe, John F. Weishampel, Gyles Iannone, Holley Moyes, Jason Yaeger, Kathryn Brown, Ramesh L. Shrestha, William E. Carter, Juan Fernandez Diaz Jan 2014

Ancient Maya Regional Settlement And Inter-Site Analysis: The 2013 West-Central Belize Lidar Survey, Arlen F. Chase, Diane Z. Chase, Jaime J. Awe, John F. Weishampel, Gyles Iannone, Holley Moyes, Jason Yaeger, Kathryn Brown, Ramesh L. Shrestha, William E. Carter, Juan Fernandez Diaz

Faculty Bibliography 2010s

During April and May 2013, a total of 1057 km(2) of LiDAR was flown by NCALM for a consortium of archaeologists working in West-central Belize, making this the largest surveyed area within the Mayan lowlands. Encompassing the Belize Valley and the Vaca Plateau, West-central Belize is one of the most actively researched parts of the Maya lowlands; however, until this effort, no comprehensive survey connecting all settlement had been conducted. Archaeological projects have investigated at least 18 different sites within this region. Thus, a large body of archaeological research provides both the temporal and spatial parameters for the varied ancient …

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When Leaders Repress: A Study Of African States, Ashley Wilkes Jan 2014

When Leaders Repress: A Study Of African States, Ashley Wilkes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When do leaders choose state-sponsored repression as a response to certain threats to the state? Conventional wisdom states that authoritarian regimes will be more likely to use these repressive acts in order to maintain law and order, as well as to suppress the opposition. However, previous literature on the subject fails to recognize the effect of irregular civil wars on this decision, as well as the types of repression that will - or will not - be used against citizens. I analyze cross-sectional time series data in 46 African states between 1990 and 2010 on human rights violations and their …

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The Anti-Toxin Properties Of Grape Seed Phenolic Compounds, Patrick Cherubin Jan 2014

The Anti-Toxin Properties Of Grape Seed Phenolic Compounds, Patrick Cherubin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Ricinus communis, Shigella dysentariae, and Vibrio cholerae produce AB toxins which share the same basic structural characteristics: a catalytic A subunit attached to a cell-binding B subunit. All AB toxins have cytosolic targets despite an initial extracellular location. AB toxins use different methods to reach the cytosol and have different effects on the target cell. Broad-spectrum inhibitors against these toxins are therefore hard to develop because they use different surface receptors, entry mechanisms, enzyme activities, and cytosolic targets. We have found that grape seed extract provides resistance to five different AB toxins: diphtheria toxin (DT), P. …

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Uncovering The Sub-Text: Presidents' Emotional Expressions And Major Uses Of Force, Elias Assaf Jan 2014

Uncovering The Sub-Text: Presidents' Emotional Expressions And Major Uses Of Force, Elias Assaf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The global context of decision making continues to adapt in response to international threats. Political psychologists have therefore considered decision making processes regarding major uses of force a key area of interest. Although presidential personality has been widely studied as a mitigating factor in the decision making patterns leading to uses of force, traditional theories have not accounted for the emotions of individuals as they affect political actions and are used to frame public perception of the use of force. This thesis therefore measures expressed emotion and cognitive expressions in the form of expressed aggression, passivity, blame, praise, certainty, realism, …

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Explaining State Crisis Behavior Using The Operational Code, William George Jan 2014

Explaining State Crisis Behavior Using The Operational Code, William George

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Does the operational code of a state's leadership have an effect on its behavior during foreign policy crises? Specifically, do states with more conflictual operational codes opt for a more conflictual response to crises, or do systemic and structural variables intervene to limit their significance? While the study of individual level psychology in international relations has been gaining momentum, the causal links between beliefs and behavior have yet to be solidified. This study used ordered logistic regression across three models to determine the effect of the operational code on state crisis behavior while controlling for key domestic and crisis dimension …

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Instructional Strategies For Scenario-Based Training Of Human Behavior Cue Analysis With Robot-Aided Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, Julie Salcedo Jan 2014

Instructional Strategies For Scenario-Based Training Of Human Behavior Cue Analysis With Robot-Aided Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, Julie Salcedo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Army desires to improve safety during Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) operations by removing Warfighters from direct line-of-fire by enhancing ISR operational capabilities with unmanned systems, also known as Robot-Aided ISR (RAISR) (DOD, 2013). Additionally, RAISR presents an opportunity to fulfill ISR capability requirements of modern combat environments including: detection of High-Value Individuals (HVI) from safer distances, identification of baseline behavior, and interpretation of adversarial intent (U.S. Army, 2008). Along with the demand and projected acquisition of RAISR technology, there is the added need to design training requirements for system operation and task execution instruction. While documentation identifying specific …

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A Framework For Workforce Management An Agent Based Simulation Approach, Mario Marin Jan 2014

A Framework For Workforce Management An Agent Based Simulation Approach, Mario Marin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today's advanced technology world, enterprises are in a constant state of competition. As the intensity of competition increases the need to continuously improve organizational performance has never been greater. Managers at all levels must be on a constant quest for finding ways to maximize their enterprises' strategic resources. Enterprises can develop sustained competitiveness only if their activities create value in unique ways. There should be an emphasis to transfer this competitiveness to the resources it has on hand and the resources it can develop to be used in this environment. The significance of human capital is even greater now, …

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The American Way: The Influence Of Race On The Treatment Of Prisoners Of War During World War Two, Adam Rock Jan 2014

The American Way: The Influence Of Race On The Treatment Of Prisoners Of War During World War Two, Adam Rock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When examining the Second World War, it is impossible to overlook the influence race had in both creating the conflict and determining the intensity with which it was fought. While this factor existed in the European theater, it pales in comparison to how race influenced the fighting in the Pacific. John Dower produced a comprehensive study that examined the racial aspects of the Pacific theater in his book War Without Mercy. Dower concluded that Americans viewed themselves as racially superior to the Asian "other" and this influenced the ferocity of the Pacific war. While Dower's work focused on this relationship …

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The Effects Of State Leader Psychology On Civil War Lethality, Brandon Kelley Jan 2014

The Effects Of State Leader Psychology On Civil War Lethality, Brandon Kelley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Does a state leader's psychology influence lethality in civil wars? This thesis analyzes the aforementioned question during post-1945 civil wars. This particular subject, paying close attention to individual psychology at the state level, is gaining traction amongst scholars, though limited scholarly attention has addressed whether leader psychology is an indicator of conflict severity in terms of lethality. The psychology of the state leader in this thesis is assessed from leadership traits and operational code indices, specifically direction of strategy (I1) and interpretation of the nature of the political universe (P1). The data and cases used are pulled from datasets by …

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Revolutionary Manifestos And Fidel Castro's Road To Power, Luis Plazas Jan 2014

Revolutionary Manifestos And Fidel Castro's Road To Power, Luis Plazas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The historiography of the Cuban Revolution includes numerous accounts which detail the responses to Batista's coup. The fact that anti-Batista sentiments were very popular in Cuba, and that several revolutionary groups existed has also been highly documented. Nonetheless, the most highly recognized insurrectional organization remains Castro's M-26-7. The goal of my thesis is to explain the steps which Castro took in order to remove all competition, allowing him to remain the only figure left in power. The process in which Castro came to power will be analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of how he orchestrated the removal …

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Fire In A Distant Heaven: The Boxer Uprising As A Domestic Crisis In The United States, Daniel Fandino Jan 2014

Fire In A Distant Heaven: The Boxer Uprising As A Domestic Crisis In The United States, Daniel Fandino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the Boxer Uprising which took place in China around the turn of the twentieth century as a domestic crisis in the United States and the means through which different factions within America shaped the popular perception of the event. It argues that American and Chinese interest groups successfully managed the crisis by developing a narrative that served to further their own interests. These efforts were geared towards convincing an uncertain American public of the necessity and righteousness of particular ways to respond to the crisis. The primary factor in this narrative was a malleable ideal of civilization …

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Deadly Premonition: Does Terrorist-Leader Psychology Influence Violence Lethality?, Clayton Besaw Jan 2014

Deadly Premonition: Does Terrorist-Leader Psychology Influence Violence Lethality?, Clayton Besaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to address a theoretical and empirical gap within terrorism studies, and more specially the study of terrorist-group lethality. This research updates a model of terrorist-group lethality by including terrorist-leader psychology as an individual-level variable in predicting terrorist-group lethality. Terrorist-leader statements were analyzed by using two novel coding schemes called Operational Code and Leadership Trait Analysis to create quantified measurements of leader cognitive beliefs and personality traits. The empirical portion of this study utilizes pooled cross-sectional time-series data within the framework of fixed effects and multi-level estimation models. The results find that terrorist-leader psychology, and more specifically Instrumental …

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A Historical View Of Cuban Immigration Policy, Sarah Castro Dec 2013

A Historical View Of Cuban Immigration Policy, Sarah Castro

HIM 1990-2015

Cuba is a communist country an estimated population of 11,075,244(2013), Cuba is located about ninety-three miles south of Key West, Florida. Cuba has been ruled by the communist regime of Fidel Castro, and now his younger brother Raul Castro. For over fifty years this regime has forced a major increase in the amount of people migrating to the United States. The regime has been disregarding basic human rights for decades and oppressing Cuba’s citizens. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have come to the United States using boats, rafts, or any means available. The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 (amended in …

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Predatory War: A History Of Violence, John Chapman Dec 2013

Predatory War: A History Of Violence, John Chapman

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis attempts to explain the reasons states choose to prey on other states or territories. A way of testing significance was devised and three variables were produced: Proclivity to violence, winning coalition size, and whether or not a war of conquest took place. The scope for this project was the time period of 1900-1950 and the location was Europe. The European countries were then refined down to a list of 10 states based on power ratings used in the Correlates of War. Then the leaders of each of these states were rated on a scale of 1 – 5 …

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Looking In The Mirror: Intra-Party Democracy And Party Politics In Southern Africa, Ty Ryan Aug 2013

Looking In The Mirror: Intra-Party Democracy And Party Politics In Southern Africa, Ty Ryan

HIM 1990-2015

Political parties serve as a link between the state and society. Being so, they have a fundamental role in the consolidation of democratic values. It then becomes important to understand their internal functions and character. The purpose of this thesis is to measure the levels of intra-party democracy within three opposition political parties in Southern Africa. Also, this thesis seeks to show whether authoritarian political culture has an affect on a democratic party's behavior. This thesis will strive to show that as party levels of intra-party democracy decrease, fracturing in the party increases. A qualitative case study was conducted on …

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From Pre-Islam To Mandate States: Examining Cultural Imperialism And Cultural Bleed In The Levant, Gabriel Willman Aug 2013

From Pre-Islam To Mandate States: Examining Cultural Imperialism And Cultural Bleed In The Levant, Gabriel Willman

HIM 1990-2015

To a large degree, historical analyses of the Levantine region tend to focus primarily upon martial interaction and state formation. However, perhaps of equitable impact is the chronology of those interactions which are cultural in nature. The long-term formative effect of cultural imperialism and cultural bleed can easily be as influential as the direct alterations imposed by martial invasion. While this study does not attempt to establish comparative causal weight or catalytic impact between these types of interactions, it does contend that the cultural evolution of the Levant has been significantly influenced by external interaction for a period of time …

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Breach Of Allegiance: The History Of Treason Charges In The U.S., And Its Rebirth In The Age Of Terrorism, David Lewis Aug 2013

Breach Of Allegiance: The History Of Treason Charges In The U.S., And Its Rebirth In The Age Of Terrorism, David Lewis

HIM 1990-2015

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a legal history and analysis of how the treason clause has been utilized since the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789. Further, the United States and the United Kingdom share not only a historical parallel of the meaning and use of the charge of treason, but also an abandonment of using the charge today. This thesis will provide an in-depth legal history of treason charges in the United States, along with its close parallels in historical evolution and usage to that of the United Kingdom. Focusing prominently on treason throughout United States …

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The Ambivalence Of Science Fiction: Science Fiction, Neo-Imperialism, And The Ideology Of Modernity As Progress, Graham Hall Aug 2013

The Ambivalence Of Science Fiction: Science Fiction, Neo-Imperialism, And The Ideology Of Modernity As Progress, Graham Hall

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis sets out to examine the relationship between science fiction and its conditions of production, specifically interrogating the genre's articulations of the ideology of modernity as progress. Sf has been characterized variously as a characteristically useful critical engagement with the ideologies of its context and as wholly ideological at the level of form, relying on the authority of a scientific episteme in its "cognitive estrangements," while not obligated to operate within the boundaries of this episteme. As such, the genre is unparalleled in its capacity to articulate ideologies under the guise of a putatively neutral science and reason. However, …

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Examining Social Loafing Within Virtual Teams The Moderating Influence Of A Team's Collective Orientation, Seth Cotter May 2013

Examining Social Loafing Within Virtual Teams The Moderating Influence Of A Team's Collective Orientation, Seth Cotter

HIM 1990-2015

Social loafing is a growing concern for modern organizations. With advancement in computer technology, virtual tools are used more frequently to communicate, which may allow social loafing to occur in new and unfamiliar forms. The intent of this thesis is to examine social loafing through the use of virtual tools, and to analyze whether collective orientation has a moderating influence on the relationship between social loafing and virtuality. 30 teams, each containing four participants, were randomly assigned to a condition of virtuality (i.e., instant messaging or videoconferencing). Participants then completed a computer simulation task in which social loafing, collective orientation …

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A Case Study Of National Identity: An Analysis Of The American Dream In Politics And Literature, Sarah Marie Horning May 2013

A Case Study Of National Identity: An Analysis Of The American Dream In Politics And Literature, Sarah Marie Horning

HIM 1990-2015

The American Dream has been the inspiration of many political speeches, political writings, and works of literature throughout American history. Most recently, it has inspired political groups like the Center for the New American Dream and academic groups like the Xavier University Center for the Study of the American Dream. As of late, the notion of the American Dream has begun to crop up more often than not in main stream political discourse, especially surrounding the topic of immigration with the aptly named Dream Act. Why has the American Dream drawn this new attention and inquiry? Why and how is …

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Costa Rica, Panama, And Nicaragua: Explaining Economic Success Levels, Kevin Negy May 2013

Costa Rica, Panama, And Nicaragua: Explaining Economic Success Levels, Kevin Negy

HIM 1990-2015

Latin America is a region that has deep roots in Spanish colonialism. Since its independence, many countries in the region have heavily depended on agriculture exports to industrialized states to support their economies. This has led to political theorists to label Latin America as an area full of "periphery" countries that are exploited for resources by "core countries. Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua were not the exception. In recent years, however, a noticeable difference between the economies of the countries has helped Costa Rica and Panama become more successful than Nicaragua, on the basis of GDP, GNI, and other similar …

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Sandspur, Vol 119, No 10, January 31, 2013, Rollins College Jan 2013

Sandspur, Vol 119, No 10, January 31, 2013, Rollins College

The Rollins Sandspur

Rollins College student newspaper, written by the students and published at Rollins College. The Sandspur started as a literary journal.

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Integrated Security And Development Simulation Assessment For Counterinsurgency Operations: Is Urbansim An Effective Training Tool For Junior U.S. Army Officers?, Greg Sandifer, Alex Vershinin, Frank Weiland Jan 2013

Integrated Security And Development Simulation Assessment For Counterinsurgency Operations: Is Urbansim An Effective Training Tool For Junior U.S. Army Officers?, Greg Sandifer, Alex Vershinin, Frank Weiland

Institute for Simulation and Training

Based on the current and recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, there is a strong need to train junior officers on COIN operations, to include security and development. This involves training to increase knowledge as well as to develop critical decision-making and analytical skills. UrbanSim is a serious game that has been developed recently to meet this need. UrbanSim’s original intent was to train Battalion commanders; however, it can also be of great benefit to train junior officers. UrbanSim trains users by utilizing specific training scenarios based on real-world situations faced by military leaders deployed to COIN environments. Research and …

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Governmental Responses To Terrorism: Creating Costs And Benefits, Kenneth Klose Jan 2013

Governmental Responses To Terrorism: Creating Costs And Benefits, Kenneth Klose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis assesses four governmental responses to terrorism: conciliation, denial, legal restriction, and violence, each of which may be focused on an organization or its leaders. The theory makes predictions on the resulting frequency and severity of terrorism. Unless responses reduce an organization’s capacity or desire to attack, the frequency of attacks may be reduced, while the severity continues to increase. The theory is tested using a time series regression analysis of the effects of government action on terrorism in Algeria and the Philippines. In general, the results show that conciliation may led to increases in terrorism in the short …

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Gpu Ray Traced Rendering And Image Fusion Based Visualization Of Urban Terrain For Enhanced Situation Awareness, Lingling Sik Jan 2013

Gpu Ray Traced Rendering And Image Fusion Based Visualization Of Urban Terrain For Enhanced Situation Awareness, Lingling Sik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urban activities involving planning, preparing for and responding to time critical situations often demands sound situational awareness of overall settings. Decision makers, who are tasked to respond effectively to emergencies, must be equipped with information on the details of what is happening, and must stay informed with updates as the event unfolds and remain attentive to the extent of impact the dynamics of the surrounding settings might have. Recent increases in the volumes of geo-spatial data such as satellite imageries, elevation maps, street-level photographs and real-time imageries from remote sensory devices affect the way decision makers make assessments in time-critical …

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Use Of Integrated Training Environments To Sustain Army Warfighting Proficiency In An Era Of Constrained Resources: Understanding What's Required To Win The First Battle Of The Next Conflict, Edward Lerz Jan 2013

Use Of Integrated Training Environments To Sustain Army Warfighting Proficiency In An Era Of Constrained Resources: Understanding What's Required To Win The First Battle Of The Next Conflict, Edward Lerz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the current state and ability of homestation training infrastructure (TADSS, networks, and facilities) and framework for training (scenarios, databases, and training support packages) to support a Live Virtual Constructive – Integrating Architecture (LVC-IA) delivered Integrated Training Environment (ITE). As combat operations in Central and Southwest Asia come to a close the Army is faced with extreme post-conflict budget cuts and force reductions. Continued evolution of Army training methodology is required to overcome limited resources and maintain force readiness in the anticipated “era of persistent conflict”. A LVC-IA delivered ITE promises to be the next step in the …

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Pompey's Organization Of The East, Joshua Robinson Jan 2013

Pompey's Organization Of The East, Joshua Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis illustrates how Pompey’s annexations and organizing of the eastern provinces for Rome were more pragmatic than imperialistic. Greek and Eastern specialists are used in order to give a better back story than the imperialist thesis offers in its reasoning for the annexations. By adding more detail from the Greek and Eastern perspective, other dimensions are opened that shed new light upon the subject of Pompey’s eastern settlements. Through this method, the pirate campaign and the annexation of Syria are greatly developed, especially in concern to changes in culture that Pompey’s settlements forced. The culture of piracy and banditry …

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Same Fight, Different Player: An Insight Into Culture, Information Sharing, And Team Performance, Cecily Mccoy-Fisher Jan 2013

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 …

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Incumbent Violence And Insurgent Tactics: The Effects Of Incumbent Violence On Popular Support For Guerrilla Warfare And Terrorism, Jonathan Williams Jan 2013

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 …

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