Digital Commons Network^™

The Effectiveness Of The International Criminal Court And The Impact Of The Initiating Entities, Magret Chingono

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Social Media And Democratic Revolution; The Impact Of New Forms Of Communication Democracy, Christina Ruby

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Glacier Change In The North Cascades, Washington: 1900-2009, Kristina Amanda Dick

Dissertations and Theses

Glaciers respond to local climate changes making them important indicators of regional climate change. The North Cascades region of Washington is the most glaciated region in the lower-48 states with approximately 25% of all glaciers and 40% of the total ice-covered area. While there are many on-going investigations of specific glaciers, little research has addressed the entire glacier cover of the region. A reference inventory of glaciers was derived from a comparison of two different inventories dating to about 1958. The different inventories agree within 93% of total number of glaciers and 94% of total ice-covered area. To quantify glacier …

Shaping The Future Past: Finding History, Creating Identity In The Kwan Hsu Papers, Lisa Chere' Donnelly

Dissertations and Theses

Dr. Kwan Hsu was neither a superstar nor a celebrity. Her name does not come up in conversations about important contributors to her field of biophysics nor is she instantly recognizable for her contributions to Portland State University's international program or the state of Oregon's business ties with China. Yet she was a contributor, a cog-in-the-wheel, at the very least, in all of these areas and more. She was a peripheral member of a well-known Chinese family, but few in the United States know of or perhaps have interest in, but otherwise, she had no great connections or family ties …

The Effects Of Social Media On Democratization, Melissa Spinner

Dissertations and Theses

"Within the past decade people around the world have become progressively more aware and interested in the new uses of digital technologies in movements for political change. The technologies have given more people and groups access to information and the tools needed to increase productivity and communication than in the past. As a result of these new digital technologies, the number of people contributing to their civil societies has radically increased. My thesis questions: What is the value of digital activism in the process of democratization around the world? How did those that succeed successfully use these new technologies as …

The Impact Of Design On The Compliance Of States With International Agreements, Jakub Walko

Dissertations and Theses

This work tackles the question of the importance of design of international agreements on the compliance they elicit on all levels of the global trade regime. Discussing the international legal theories that underpin the different perspectives on this issue and scrutinizing case studies of both large and small treaties this thesis establishes the impact that elements of an agreement's structure have on its aggregate success. A case study of the GATT/WTO system illustrates the challenges of scale and diversity of trade issues while the study of the OILPOL and MARPOL environmental pollution regimes presents a lens on the practical implementation …

Mining Culture In Roman Dacia: Empire, Community, And Identity At The Gold Mines Of Alburnus Maior Ca.107-270 C.E., Heather Ann Pundt

Dissertations and Theses

Trajan conquered Dacia in 106 CE and encouraged one of the largest colonization efforts in the history of the Roman Empire. The new province was rich in natural resources. Immigrants from Dalmatia, Moesia, Noricum, Pannonia, Greece, Syria, Bithynia, Italy, indigenous Dacians, and soldiers from Legio XIII Gemina participated in the extraction of gold from the Apuseni Mountains. The inhabitants of mining settlements around Alburnus Maior and the administrative center Ampelum coexisted under Roman governance but continued to mark their identities in multicultural communities. At Alburnus Maior the presence of wage laborers with access to outside materials and ideas created the …

The Challenges And Opportunities Of Immigrant Integration: A Study Of Turkish Immigrants In Germany, Matthew Franklin Clark

Dissertations and Theses

In an ever-globalizing world, societies comprised of myriad people and cultures are quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception. In societies made up of culturally diverse, religiously pluralistic and disparate people, an added layer of complexity becomes apparent when attempting to integrate multiple cultures into a single society. Germany, in its reconstruction effort following World War II, faced such an integration challenge when a massive influx of Turkish migrants arrived as part of a "foreign worker" agreement. The introduction of a large and culturally diverse immigrant population made cultural understanding of paramount importance. Culture is an intangible element that …

Family-Supportive Supervisory Behaviors As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Job Strain And Workers' Blood Pressure, Christopher Scott Harper

Dissertations and Theses

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in industrialized nations. Research indicates that job strain may be significantly related to cardiovascular disease in employees with little to no social support. Using the JDC-S model developed by Karasek (1979) and elaborated upon by Johnson and Hall (1988), the family-supportive supervisory behaviors (FSSB) measure created by Hammer et al., (2009), and the blood pressure wrist monitor device Omron317T, this study examined FSSB as a moderator of the relationship between job strain, job demands, job control and workers' blood pressure on work and non-work days. Sixty-nine grocery store workers from …

Leo Strauss And The Problem Of Sein: The Search For A "Universal Structure Common To All Historical Worlds", Jennifer Renee Stanford

Dissertations and Theses

Leo Strauss resurrected a life-approach of the ancient Greeks and reformulated it as an alternative to the existentialism of his age that grew out of a radicalized historicism. He attempted to resuscitate the tenability of a universal grounded in nature (nature understood in a comprehensive experiential sense not delimited to the physical, sensibly-perceived world alone) that was historically malleable. Through reengagement with Plato and Socrates and by addressing the basic premises built into the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger, Strauss resurrected poetry (art, or the mythos) that Enlightenment thinkers had discarded, and displayed its reasonableness on a par …

Community Development For A White City: Race Making, Improvementism, And The Cincinnati Race Riots And Anti-Abolition Riots Of 1829, 1836, And 1841, Silas Niobeh Crowfoot

Dissertations and Theses

This project is an historical ethnography and a cultural history of the anti-black race riots and anti-abolition riots in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1829, 1836, and 1841. It is also a case history in an urban and commercial/early industrial context of the idea that violent social practices such as riots, as well as law and the customary practices of everyday living, are deployed as race making technologies, actually constructing racial categories. By extending this constructivist concept to the conversion of space to place through the human ascription of meaning, this study also examines racial violence as a strategy for place making …

Vita Brevis; A Public Art Initiative At Boston's Institute Of Contemporary Art, Rikki Sierra Rooney

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Theodore Roosevelt On Labor Unions: A New Perspective, Louis B. Livingston

Dissertations and Theses

Historical studies of Theodore Roosevelt's views about labor and labor unions are in conflict. This was also true of contemporary disagreements about the meaning of his labor rhetoric and actions. The uncertainties revolve around whether or not he was sincere in his support of working people and labor unions, whether his words and actions were political only or were based on a philosophical foundation, and why he did not propose comprehensive labor policies.

Roosevelt historiography has addressed these questions without considering his stated admiration for Octave Thanet's writings about "labor problems." Octave Thanet was the pseudonym of Alice French, a …

Bonneville Power Administration And The Creation Of The Pacific Intertie, 1958 -1964, Joshua D. Binus

Dissertations and Theses

Construction of the Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest Intertie (also known as the Pacific Intertie) began in 1964, following the culmination of a series of interrelated negotiations which included: 1) the planning for the construction and operation of the Pacific Intertie; 2) the passage of federal legislation that put limits on the export of electricity from the regions where it was generated; and 3) the full ratification of the Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada. By 1970, with construction complete, the Pacific Intertie allowed for the movement of more than 4,000,000 kilowatts of power among the electrical systems of …

The American Of Japanese Heritage: Nisei (Second-Generation Japanese Americans) And Their School Education In The Pacific Northwest Before World War Ii, Misako Sadahiro

Dissertations and Theses

The Pacific Northwest opened a door of opportunity for people from all over the world. Among those who settled there to pursue the American dream were many Japanese and their descendants. Since the establishment of direct shipping line between the Pacific Northwest and Japan in the late nineteenth century, numerous Japanese immigrants crossed the Pacific Ocean to seek employment in the United States. As the number of lssei (first generation Japanese) increased, they began to organize institutions to help each other and improve their life in the New World. One of the most significant institutions was the Japanese Language School. …

Lincoln C. Andrews And The Enforcement Of National Prohibition, 1925 To 1927, Philip Earle Metcalfe

Dissertations and Theses

Using newspaper accounts, congressional testimony, and recently declassified personnel files, this thesis traces the institutional history of the Treasury Department's Prohibition Unit in the years 1925 to 1927. From its inception in 1920, the Prohibition Unit functioned as a constitutional morals police, signally extending federal authority into the area of states' rights, with consequent scandal and public criticism. In an attempt at reform, the Treasury Department in 1925 placed Customs, the Coast Guard, and Prohibition enforcement under a single commander: Brigadier General Lincoln C. Andrews, an efficiency expert and West Point graduate. Andrews' plan was to wage a two-front war …

From Pietism To Pluralism: Boston Personalism And The Liberal Era In American Methodist Theology, 1876-1953, Amos Yong

Dissertations and Theses

Boston personalism has generally been recognized as a philosophic system based upon a metaphysical idealism. What is less known, however, is that the founder of this school of thought and some of the major contributors to the early development of this tradition were committed members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The purpose of this study is to examine the contributions made by the early Boston personalists to the cause of theological liberalism in the Methodist Church. It will be shown that personalist philosophers and theologians at Boston University ushered in and consolidated the liberal era in Methodist theology. Further, it …

Sustainable Development In Sub-Saharan Africa: Strategies For Self-Help In Food Production, Case Study Of Kenya, Dieudonne Mayi

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis analyses the food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s, identifies roots of the problem, and proposes strategies of sustainable development based on self-sufficiency in food production for domestic needs. The main goal of this research has been to devise development strategies centered on development of the food production sector. The thesis strongly suggests that countries of the region should consider developing the food production sector to experience any meaningful development, and to escape a dark future of food shortages and food dependency on developed economies. Investigation into Development Economics, Dependency, Underdevelopment, and Modernization theories has …

Private Profit Versus Public Service: Competing Demands In Urban Transportation History And Policy, Portland, Oregon, 1872-1970, Martha J. Bianco

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation is a case study of the history of urban transportation policy in Portland, Oregon, between 1872 and 1970. The emphasis is on mass transit policy formulated and implemented by the private and public sectors as response to crises within both the local transit industry and the urban political economy. These crises are placed in the context of the continuing conflict between the industry's right to profit and its obligation to meet the competing demands of its constituencies: ridership's demands for low fares and comprehensive service; labor's demands for competitive wages; downtown businesses' demands for peak-hour service; and the …

The Intellectual Grounding Of The San Francisco Committee Of Vigilance Of 1851, Jon Jeffrey Walker

Dissertations and Theses

Vigilantism has a long history in the United States stretching back to the Regulator movement in South Carolina in 1767. These extralegal movements are distinguished from spontaneous and ephemeral mob activity by their regular organization and limited life-span. The San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856 was the largest vigilante movement in American history. After a summer of vigilantism that included four hangings, the committee turned to politics and formed the People's Party which dominated San Francisco's city government for the next decade. The 1856 committee is generally considered the great exemplar of American vigilantism and has received considerable attention …

The Formation And Expansion Of High Technology Firms In Metropolitan Areas, Oliver Ikeotuonye Orjiako

Dissertations and Theses

The theme of high-technology economic base and regional development, around which this research is based, has been receiving increased attention from policy-makers and researchers in recent years. This partly reflects the reappraisal of the emerging structural changes which have been stimulated by the negative effects of the economic recessions of the past decade. It also reflects the rapid growth and expansion of high-technology firms in centers like the well-publicized Silicon Valley in California, Route 128 in Massachusetts, and the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Promoting a high-technology economic base thus has been widely adopted as a regional development policy for …

A Study Of The Identification And Referral Components Of Substance Abuse Intervention Programs In Washington State's Public High Schools, Todd C. Herberg

Dissertations and Theses

This multiple-case study investigated the characteristics of successful high school substance abuse intervention programs.

The unit of analysis for this multiple-case study is the public high school substance abuse intervention program of twelve selected Washington State high schools. Sub-units of analysis within the multiple-case study include the various components and attributes of a substance abuse intervention program. Examples of these sub-units include: formal drug education policies; staff training on substance abuse issues and intervention skills; formal curriculum and student instruction; central office administration and building administration support for the program; community support for the program, staff time to administer the …

Justice Brennan And The Bill Of Rights, David B. Brownhill

Dissertations and Theses

The research problem examined in my thesis is stated clearly in the title: Justice Brennan and The Bill of Rights. In my examination, I relied primarily on Brennan's opinions, and secondarily, on scholarly commentaries authored by Brennan and others. I located the cases through a combination of sources. Initially, I consulted the Harvard Law Reviews' "Supreme Court Term, (1956-1981) Term(s)," which is published annually in its November edition, and then, I turned to the writings by, and about, Brennan my findings show that Brennan's approach in these cases has evolved over the years toward a more absolutist one.

The Sovereign People, Minority Rights And State Judiciaries : An Historical Study Of Tocqueville's Majoritarian Thesis, Erica Goodwin

Dissertations and Theses

In the decade of the 1830's, Alexis de Tocqueville published a perceptive analysis of America in the Jacksonian era, which focused upon the customs, manners and intellectual habits of its citizens, and their social condition as seen through its political institutions. He advanced the proposition--a paradox of democracy--that equality of condition was as compatible with tyranny as with freedom. The social consensus, which stemmed from the wide acceptance of doctrine of equality and common wants and interests, when brought to bear upon legislator and judge, public official, juryman, and the non-conforming individual, he termed the "tyranny of the majority."

Trouble In River City: An Analysis Of An Urban Vice Probe, Joseph S. Uris

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation is an historical case study of a highly publicized investigation of vice and official corruption which took place in Portland, Oregon from 1954 to 1958. Three major relevant areas of social science literature are reviewed. These are: historical material on American reform and corruption, criminology and political science. This literature suggests both the ubiquity and usefulness of vice and corruption in the urban situation.

A set of propositions regarding vice, corruption and reform was developed from these works. These propositions were then examined in terms of the vice probe and political situation in Portland, Oregon.

The triangulation method …

The Bungalow Aesthetic: The Social Implications Of A Nationwide Phenomenon Viewed From The Perspective Of A Small Town, Janice Williams Rutherford

Dissertations and Theses

During the first two decades of the twentieth century, a new aesthetic in the domestic architecture of middle-class America emerged. A new style of house, the bungalow, was introduced soon after the turn of the century, and within a very few years, became the most popular building style among Americans who were buying moderately-priced homes. The bungalow was a low, horizontal style of house with deep overhanging eaves and large porches, usually built of natural, textured materials. Its floor plan was notable for opening interior space. The research problem addressed in this study was to determine what factors popularized the …

The Teaching Of History In The Secondary Schools Of Australia, Richard Townley Blaine

Dissertations and Theses

Australian students terminating their secondary education with completion of Form Four provided the major stimulus during the last decade for new curriculum developments in an organized study of man. To provide these fifteen-year old pupils with the necessary exposure to life for social adjustment underscored the debate between many social scientists and history teachers on the ability of their respective subject's focus.

Where in the middle of the last decade Australia found herself in the middle of a communication revolution, many students, ending their educations during mid-adolescence, did not finish the normal sequence of history courses. History's dominance in the …

Marx On Population: A Critical Review Including A Comparison To Malthus And A New Perspective On Marx, David Orval Jermain

Dissertations and Theses

A critical review of Marx on population is made to determine if the modern Marxist population thepry can validly claim to follow from Marx. An historical review of population thought from the Greeks to Malthus is made and a dominant trendline is identified. Marx's population thought is presented and it is compared to Malthus. Anomalies in Marx are discovered. A new perspective on Marx using the history of demography is advanced in which Malthus is found deviating from the dominant trend line and Marx's criticism of Malthus as focusing on these specific points of deviation. Marx is found defending the …

Negotiation Within The Therapist-Client Interview, Rhoda Elaine Estep

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis combines a theoretical perspective and a methodological technique in order to clarify the concept of negotiation. The theoretical perspective represents a merging of a formal analysis as suggested by Georg Simmel and Erving Goffman and an interactional emphasis upon reciprocity of actions as proposed by Herbert Blumer. Accordingly, a methodological scheme was constructed to examine negotiations in terms of their forms and content.

The Sasswood Ordeal Of The West Atlantic Tribes Of Sierra Leone And Liberia: An Ethnohistoriographic Survey, Sarah Louise Davies

Dissertations and Theses

The sasswood ordeal of poison presents a divinatory ritual which has been used in criminal cases by the traditional African of Sierra Leone and Liberia. For at least six hundred years, the peoples of these present countries have imposed this strictest of ordeals on their moral transgressors; and the practice has survived, despite the protestations of nineteenth-century missionaries and the encroachment of the western world.

The investigation of the historical evidence of the sasswood ordeal among the West Atlantic tribes of Africa has three basic purposes. First, because of the paucity of interpretive data on the sasswood ordeal, the primary …