Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Social, Cultural, And Political Influences On American Classical Composers Post-9/11: A Comparison To The New Deal And Early Cold War Eras, Christine E. Letcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore how the social, cultural, and political environments of the post-9/11 period influenced the music composition of American classical composers, from the perspective of the composers. These composers are then compared to those of the New Deal and early Cold War eras. During both the New Deal and the subsequent anti-communist movement of the early Cold War era, composers and musicians made aesthetic choices because of the political climate. While much study has been done of the political engagement and activism of contemporary popular musicians, there is a dearth of research regarding classical …

Searching For A Solution To Political Polarization In The U.S. Through A Feminist Ethics Of Care, Marissa Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

American politics have seen growing polarization in the past few years (Serrano-Contreras et al., 2020; Wojcieszak & Warner, 2020). Polarization is generally defined as “the distance between opposing political views” (Serrano-Contreras et al., 2020, p. 65). With focus on college students, this thesis considers ways to bridge the political divide in the United States and to promote generative engagement with differences across the political spectrum. The specific research questions this study explored were: 1) How do Ethics of Care principles and practices appear in and impact conversations on politically-charged topics among college students? and 2) How does participating in a …

What Women Bring To The Fight: An Analysis Of Female Leadership In U.S. National Security, Alison Tobey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Women have held some of the highest-ranking national security positions in the United States, though the overall number of women in leadership positions has remained relatively small until recently. The Biden Administration has achieved gender parity in their national security leadership positions, with over fifty percent of these positions being held by women. Since this is the first time in U.S. history that women have such a significant presence in the defense field, it is important to analyze and understand the changes that can come as a result.

The purpose of this research is to broadly understand the impact that …

The Future Of Maine's Forests Under Alternative Socioeconomic, Climate And Conservation Pathways, Jianheng Zhao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maine is a historically important timber supply region in North America and understanding the potential change in forestlands and their product industries affected by climate change and various socio-economic conditions can better improve the forest healthy and sustain a sustainable product industry. A statistical harvest choice model for the state of Maine was developed in chapter 1. It was estimated using a multinomial logit model of two products, under varying management intensities, and ownership classifications across varying market conditions. Results indicate that stumpage prices have a significant effect on forest landowners' harvest decisions and that the expansion of conservation land …

Fragmentation, Frustrated Revolt, And Off-Shore Opportunity: A Comparative Examination Of Jihadi Mobilization In Central Asia And The South Caucasus, William B. Farrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research presents analysis for identifying common risk and resilience factors that contributed to or hindered Salafi jihadi mobilization of citizens of Central Asia and the South Caucasus and examines the extent to which these factors had differing internal and external outcomes on Salafi jihadi mobilization. Three levels of analysis provide examination of regime characteristics, behavior of jihadi organizations that mobilized individuals from the region, and case studies through interviews in communities affected by jihadi mobilization in Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.

This research reveals that early distinctions in Islamist subnational struggles had oriented violence towards governments within Central Asia, while neighboring …

Multi-Level Governance Of Climate Change Adaptation: United Nations Negotiations And Adaptation Project Implementation In Nicaragua And Samoa, Anna E. Mcginn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement reaffirmed, with certainty, that the international community would continue its efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts opening a new era of international cooperation on climate change. This thesis explores how both negotiations around climate change adaptation and adaptation project implementation have evolved in this post-Paris Agreement era (from adoption in December 2015 to present). Using the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Adaptation Fund as the central lens, the chapters explore international negotiations around the Fund as well as two Adaptation Fund funded …

Local Food Policy & Consumer Food Cooperatives: Evolutionary Case Studies, Afton Hupper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Darwin’s theory of natural selection has played a central role in the development of the biological sciences, but evolution can also explain change in human culture. Institutions, mechanisms that govern behavior and social order, are important subjects of cultural evolution. Institutions can help stabilize cooperation, defined as behavior that benefits others, often at a personal cost. Cooperation is important for solving social dilemmas, scenarios in which the interests of the individual conflict with those of the group. A number of mechanisms by which institutions evolve to support cooperation have been identified, yet theoretical models of institutional change have rarely been …

Assessment Of South Korea's Role As A "Middle Power Country": Case Studies Of South Korean Diplomacy In Central Asia, Jiwon Nam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The concept of “middle power country” existed since several hundred years agointroduced by European philosophers and political scientists. The definition was proposed by many scholars and used by countries in many different status, one specific definition of “middle power” was not set until current days. The characteristics of a “middle power country” range from economic status, and political system, to patterns of diplomacy. By current broad definition, almost 80 percent of the countries in the world can fit into one or more categories of a “middle power country.”

The purpose of this paper is to depict the importance of middle …

Analysis Of The Impacts Of South Korea's Political Relations On Its Bilateral Trade: Focus On South Korea's Political And Trade Relations With China, Japan, Russia, And North Korea, Mingu Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through all chapters, this thesis is finding answers to the following questions: Why are political relations and trade important to South Korea? What are current problems that South Korea confronts in political relations and trade? How are political relations of South Korea with the trading partners and North Korea? Does South Korea’s political relations with the four countries have impacts on South Korea’s bilateral trade with the countries? If it does, how does it affect South Korea’s trade? In answering these questions, this thesis demonstrates how South Korea’s political relations influence South Korea’s bilateral trade as well as presents trade …

An Analysis Of International Agreements Over Cybersecurity, Lucas Ashbaugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research into the international agreements that increase cooperation over cybersecurity challenges is severely lacking. This is a necessary next step for bridging diplomatic challenges over cybersecurity. This work aspires to be push the bounds of research into these agreements and offer a tool that future researchers can rely on. For this research I created, and made publicly available, the International Cybersecurity Cooperation Dataset (ICCD), which contains over 350 international cybersecurity agreements and pertinent metadata. Each agreement is marked per which subtopics within cybersecurity related agreements it covers. These typologies are:

• Discussion and Dialogue

• Research

• Confidence Building Measures

• Incident Response

• Crime …

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Party Development And Political Conflict In Maine 1820-1860 From Statehood To The Civil War, Lee D. Webb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a history of politics in Maine during the state’s formative period, the years from statehood until 1860. The history focuses on party conflict and on the development of organized political parties, particularly the Democratic and Republican parties. It concentrates on the structures and processes that politicians built, including party newspapers, county conventions, state conventions, legislative caucuses, and ultimately state committees and the office of state committee chair – all to compete effectively for power. During this 40-year period, parties also develop powerful new messages, campaign strategies, and developed leaders with the skills to accomplish these tasks.

I …

Grassroots Diplomacy And Vernacular Law: The Discourse Of Food Sovereignty In Maine, John Welton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the discourse of food sovereignty in Maine, a coalition of small-scale farmers, consumers, and citizens building an alternative food system based on a distributed form of production, processing, selling, purchasing, and consumption. This distribution occurs at the municipal level through the enactment of ordinances. Using critical-rhetorical field methods, I argue that the discourse of food sovereignty in Maine develops a ‘constitutive’ rhetoric that composes rural society through affective relationships. Advocates engage the industrial food system to both expose its systemic bias against small-scale farming and construct their own discourse of belonging. Based upon agrarian values such as …

Analysis Of Japan's Rta And Wto Dispute Settlement Mechanism, Shunsuke Sato

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes Japan’s decision to use Dispute Settlement Mechanisms (DSMs) in trade agreements. International trade rules are effective when properly applied: they prevent abrogation of the obligations that come with membership in international economic organizations. The DSMs are important ways to enforce the international trade commitments agreed upon by signatory countries. To date, member countries have filed more than 500 cases through the World Trade Organization (WTO), effectively enforcing the rules of the largest multilateral trade organization. On the other hand, in Japan's regional trade agreements (RTAs), none of the DSMs have ever been invoked despite the presence of …

Redefining Transitional Justice In The North American Context? The Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth And Reconciliation Commission, Evan P. Centala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that a transformative justice discourse needs to be adopted by the current field of transitional justice in order to account for the many developments in the field. Using the case of the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission, it presents the innovative approaches and unique context the Commission operates in, following a transformative methodology to affect fundamental social change through the political, economic, and social structures that allowed the violence and harm in question to pass. Distinguishing itself from a transitional context where regime change exists with an objective to establish democracy, this thesis suggests …

The Politics And Values Of Individualists And Collectivists: A Cross-Cultural Comparison, David Y. Bourgeois

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism as testable dimensions of cultural variation. Collectivism emphasizes the primacy of norms, duties, and obligations, whereas individualism favors maximum enjoyment for the individual, interpersonal contracts, and freedom fiom the collectivity. While the horizontal dimension stresses equality, the vertical dimension calls attention to hierarchy. While past research (Triandis, 1995, Triandis & Gelfand, 1998) has demonstrated the convergent and divergent validity of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism, it is contended that the Triandis (1 995) measures of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism could provide predictive value by discriminating between attitudinal responses …

The Value Of Inaugurals: Analysis Of Construction, Joseph M. Valenzano Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An analysis of modem mass mediated presidential inaugurals was conducted through the use of close textual analysis of each speech as well as an historical analysis of the development of the mass media since the nation's birth. In an effort to identify the goals, themes and strategies used by presidents in their inaugurals, seven pre-Kennedy and every post-Kennedy first inaugural address were analyzed. Using the work of Campbell and Jamieson (1991) as a stepping stone for the identification of these themes, seven themes and their various strategies of enactment were uncovered. Each of these themes were found to be enacted …