Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Energy policy – United States – Decision making'
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Davis, Whitney Michelle. "THE DECISION TO DECENTRALIZE GOOD PROVISION IN THE UNITED STATES: A STUDY IN CLEAN ENERGY POLICY." UKnowledge, 2019. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/msppa_etds/32.
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Normative economic theory provides justification for at least partially centralized renewable energy provision due to the large, positive externalities associated with renewable energy production. However, the United States is one of the few countries without centralized renewable energy policy. Instead, the federal government actively chooses decentralized renewable energy provision by using fiscal transfers to support subnational renewable energy development. This dissertation explores why U.S. legislators choose decentralized renewable energy provision by asking two primary questions. First, what is the motivation for using federal fiscal transfers for decentralized renewable energy output considering what we know about positive spillovers and market failure associated with decentralized renewable energy production? Second, do fiscal transfers for decentralized renewable energy provision increase renewable energy production at the local level? The theoretical model proposed in Chapter Four posits why policymakers choose decentralized renewable energy provision. The chapter argues that the current political price associated with a specific policy issue affects legislators’ choices regarding good provision. I hypothesize that when the political price associated with vying for centralized good provision is high, legislators are incentivized to choose decentralized good provision. Chapter Five applies this theory to empirically evaluate the choice to decentralize renewable energy provision. The chapter examines whether the current political price of renewable energy policy affects the likelihood of a legislator proposing decentralized funding for renewable energy provision. I hypothesize that legislators will propose funding to support decentralized renewable energy development when the political price associated with renewable energy policies is high at a given time. The results show that when the political price of renewable energy policy is low, a policymaker is less likely to use grants to support renewable energy projects, finding support for the hypothesis. Chapter Six empirically evaluates the effectiveness of renewable energy grants at the local level to further understand the theoretical model proposed in Chapter Four. I hypothesize that receiving a renewable energy grant increases renewable energy output at the local level. The results support this hypothesis by showing that receiving a renewable energy grant is associated with significant and positive increases in solar energy production. These findings provide further insight into legislative decision-making and the role of renewable energy grants in renewable energy development in the U.S.
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Saikaly, Ramona. "Decision making in U.S. foreign policy applying Kingdon's multiple streams model to the 2003 Iraq crisis /." [Kent, Ohio] : Kent State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=kent1239751827.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2009.Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 24, 2009). Advisor: Steven W. Hook. Keywords: proactive foreign policy, the multiple streams model, preexisting solutions. Includes bibliographical references (p. 218-238).
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Schultz, Courtney Allison. "Cumulative effects analysis in U.S. Forest Service decision-making." Diss., [Missoula, Mont.] : The University of Montana, 2009. http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-06102009-101714.
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Murgado, Amaury. "The Bay of Pigs Invasion: A Case Study in Foreign Policy Decision-Making." Master's thesis, Orlando, Fla. : University of Central Florida, 2009. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002522.
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Scott, Randall Paul Evanson Robert Kent. "Cuba constructed the impact of perception on foreign policy decision-making /." Diss., UMK access, 2004.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Political Science and Dept. of History. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2004."A dissertation in political science and history." Advisor: Robert Evanson. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Feb. 28, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 236-252). Online version of the print edition.
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Strathman, Brent A. "Who advises? power, politics, & persuasion in foreign policy decision making /." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1135002242.
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Burr, Timothy Allen. "Administrators as policy makers of an autonomous government corporation : who manages the United States Postal Service? /." Full-text version available from OU Domain via ProQuest Digital Dissertations, 1985.
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Austin, Elizabeth Anne. "Shock and Awe : the foreign policy decision-making process under the Bush administration." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2011. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2566/.
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In recent years a growing number of scholars within the field of Foreign Policy Analysis have asserted that an understanding of the interface between national identity and foreign policy is of paramount importance. Indeed one of the driving forces behind the surge of interest in this topic area is the recognition that foreign policy decision-makers are not immune to the effects of national identity, being themselves a product of the society in which they live. This body of work seeks to highlight the role American exceptionalism played in influencing the Bush administration’s foreign policy decision-making process following the events of September 11th. For many Americans, the events of September 11th served as a cruel re-minder that the United States remained vulnerable to outside attack much like it had been prior to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Both events are now indelibly scarred into the American psyche. While each attack left Americans with a sense of vulnerability, they could have at least consoled themselves with the thought that Pearl Harbor was a reaction to the perceived threat that the United States would pose on entering the Second World War. September 11th only lead Americans to the sobering realization that the citizens of other nations took a growing affront to their very ideals and way of life. Sensing this insecurity, the Bush administration seized the opportunity presented by September 11th and began reshaping the identity of the United States, its enemies and the rest of the world in order to justify its foreign policy. This thesis suggests that in the absence of the September 11th terrorist attacks and the resultant shift in identity, the neoconservatives would not have had the same chance to exert their considerable influence on the administration. In order to achieve its objectives, this research notes that the Bush administration employed a foreign policy decision-making process that not only circumvented executive branch proficiency but also often completely disregarded it. Moreover it is also apparent that key foreign policy decision-makers were overconfident in America’s exceptional nature, mainly its economic and military superiority, which consequently clouded its assessment of public diplomacy’s value. Examination of the administration’s defense posture in the wake of September 11th has revealed that many of its early initiatives did not match the threats faced by the United States. One thing is certain, in the absence of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Bush administration would have been unable to justify a foreign policy doctrine as outlined in the 2002 National Security Strategy. Finally this research seeks to add to the field through an assessment of public opinion in particular that of the Facebook Generation, an up and coming cohort. Appreciation of public opinion is crucial as it provides a perspective through which to understand how the American public sees the nation’s self-image and how it wants the country to act on the international stage. From a foreign policy decision-making perspective, this information is invaluable because it reveals what types of risks the public is willing to take. As a result, it is imperative that researchers begin to understand this generation’s point of view, given the uncertain nature of the international environment that lies ahead.
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Adcox, Wallace O. III. "Force and the United States after Vietnam: Allison applied." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/45473.
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Most studies of the use of conventional military force by the United States in the twentieth century tend to characterize the decision making process in terms of a unitary state and a unitary presidential decision maker. One alternative to this approach is the Bureaucratic Politics paradigm proposed by Graham Allison. To test the explanatory power of this decision making model in the post-Vietnam era, this thesis applies the specific propositions of Graham Allison's "Governmental Politics Model" concerning the use of military force, to selected case studies. In an attempt to determine the explanatory power of Allison's Governmental Politics model in the wake of Vietnam, this thesis draws on case studies ranging from the Dominican Republic intervention to the recent invasion of Panama. This thesis seeks to measure the theory to present reality.
Master of Arts
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May, Cindy Lou. "United States presidential decision-making and the use of force during crises in the Middle East and North Africa, 1979-2009." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.648219.
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Chembayil-Rajan, Sneha. "The Iran policy decision-making of the United States during the Obama Administration : a poliheuristic analysis." Thesis, Durham University, 2016. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11899/.
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This thesis deals with one of the most intriguing political and security issues of this decade, namely the Iran policy decision-making of the United States during the Obama administration, specifically from January 2009 to July 2014. The primary objective of this thesis is to address two questions: (1) why did the Obama administration choose to pursue the specific policy instruments of sanctions, sabotage and diplomacy, when dealing with Iran? (2) What were the variables considered by the decision-makers, when making the Iran policy decisions of the United States? (2.a) How, if at all, did the make-up of those variables change over time? (2.b) How, if at all, did the relative significance of variables change between different decision-making episodes? By drawing upon the theoretical framework of poliheuristic theory, this thesis provides a nuanced analysis of the Iran policy decision-making of the United States, by discussing three in-depth case studies dealing with three different Iran policy decisions. This thesis argues that, the United States had very few policy options when dealing with Iran. Even so, until Hassan Rouhani was elected as the President of Iran, the United States had made no commitment to pursue diplomacy with Iran to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue, because the Obama administration was more concerned with fighting domestic political battles, and appeasing America's international allies. However, since the election of President Rouhani, the Obama administration gave diplomacy a chance, by resisting pressure from domestic opponents and international allies who tried to derail diplomacy, because during this period the Obama administration had to deal with the security crisis in the Middle East, and cooperation with Iran was essential to cope with the turmoil in the region. These findings have profound implications for poliheuristic theory, because it reinforces the claim that decision-makers are not primarily concerned with utility maximisation on the same topic as the decision. By providing a better understanding of the Iran policy making of the United States, this thesis contributes to the literature on US foreign policy, as well as Ph theory, through the use of important and interesting case studies.
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Waterman, Peter A. (Peter Alan). "Resource Evaluation and Presidential Decision-making: Predicting the Use of Force by U.S. Presidents, 1976 - 1988." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1997. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278299/.
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In order to explain presidential decisions to use force, a model is developed that incorporates three distinct decision-making environments. The results indicate the president is responsive not only to domestic and international environments, but also to the resource evaluation environment. The evidence here demonstrates that while these two environments are important the president can't use force arbitrarily; rather, his evaluation of resources available for the use of force can limit his ability to engage the military during crisis situations.
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Oates, Christopher R. "The role of the United States in the European Union's decision-making on security policy, 2001-2005." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.606528.
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At the start of the 21st century. the European Union had entered the realm of security policy, gaining legal competence and building institutional structures. Yet it was not the only actor or institution in European security. Its constituent member states had independent security policies; most were pa11 or the formal institution of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and all existed with in the informal institution of the transatlantic security community. The United States was the most powerful actor in the two latter institutions and had longstanding bilateral ties to EU member states. Given the overlapping institutional nature of this field and the United States' unique pertinence 10 European security, it seems possible that the US, although a non-member state, might have causal significance when the EU deliberates security policy. This thesis seeks to investigate this possibility and to identify what role the United States may play ill the EU's decision-making process. It does so using a typology of roles - accommodator, entrepreneur, spoiler and veto player - created from examples in European and institutional literature and grounded in the-hi story of European security since the end of the Cold War. The American role is explored with three case studies of EU security debates from 2001 to 2005: the discussion over EU security structure prompted by the April 29, 2003, Mini-Summit on European Security and Defense Policy; the political agreements surrounding the creation of the Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System; and the dispute over lining the EU's arms embargo on the People's Republic of China. In each case study, the European Union is a significant force and its internal dynamics are difficult for the United States to penetrate. However, in each episode, the US is ultimately a causally significant player in the EU's decision-making process, most resembling, according to the typology, a veto player.
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McFall, Shawn. "Foreign Policy by Fiat: An Examination of the United States Decision Making Process on Iraq from 1990-1998." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2018. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1906.
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This thesis explores how the United States identified Iraq as a threat to its national interest from 1990 to 1998. The international relations literature is heavily skewed toward exploring the question of why states engage in conflict and neglecting how a country identifies a threat. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the threat identification policy process. This thesis examines two security moves – the Gulf War and the Iraq Liberation Act – and uses primary documents to reveal how the foreign policy apparatus concluded that Iraq was a threat. Through the two cases, I found that foreign policy decisions were made on an ad-hoc basis and government officials were much more likely to inflate the Iraqi threat. Future international relation scholars can use my thesis as a guideline when constructing studies on the threat identification process.
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Farshee, Louis M. (Louis Michael). "The United States' Recognition of Israel: Determinant Factors in American Foreign Policy." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1990. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500365/.
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This thesis examines the critical factors leading to the 1948 decision by the United States government to extend recognition to the newly declared State of Israel. In the first of five chapters the literature on the recognition of Israel is discussed. Chapter II presents the theoretical foundation of the thesis by tracing the development of Charles Kegley's decision regime framework. Also discussed is the applicability of bureaucratic structure theory and K. J. Holsti's hierarchy of objectives. Chapters III and IV present the empirical history of this case, each closing with a chapter summary. The final chapter demonstrates the relevance and validity of the theoretical framework to the case and closes with a call for further research into the processes of foreign policy decision-making.
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Hafner, Ferdinand. "Cognitive biases and structural failures in United States foreign policy explaining decision-making dissonance in Phase IV policy and plans for Iraq." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Naval Postgraduate School, 2007. http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/07Dec%5FHafner.pdf.
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Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2007.Thesis Advisor(s): Russell, James. "December 2007." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 18, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-71). Also available in print.
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Crow, Stephen M. (Stephen Martin). "Dominant Decision Cues in Labor Arbitration; Standards Used in Alcohol and Drug Cases." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1989. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331930/.
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During the past twenty years, extensive research has been conducted concerning the judgmental processes of labor arbitrators. Previous research, sometimes referred to as policy capturing, attempted to identify the criteria or standards used by arbitrators to support their decisions. Much of the research was qualitative. Due to the categorical nature of the dependent variables, log-linear models such as logit regression have been used to examine decisional relationships in more recent studies.
The decision cues used by arbitrators in 249 published alcohol- and drug-related arbitration cases were examined. The justifications for arbitrators' decisions were fitted into Carroll Daugherty's "seven tests" of just cause. The dominant cues were proof of misconduct, the appropriateness of the penalty, and the business necessity of management's action. Foreknowledge of the rule by the grievant and the consequences of a violation, equal treatment of the grievant, and an appropriate investigation by management were also important decision cues.
In general, grievants in alcohol and drug arbitration cases fared as well as grievants in any other disciplinary arbitrations. However, when the cases were analyzed based on the legal status of the drug, illicit drug users were at a considerable disadvantage.
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Moran, Susan Jane. "The influence of the 1968-1975 Congressional reforms on legislative policy-making : the development of the oil-pricing provision of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (1975)." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1986. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:3398b8d3-45ae-4706-b094-692a7ba0f827.
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Congressional reform is the focus of my study. Congress (but primarily the House of Representatives) attempted to reform its workings from 1968 through 1975, so it might be more effective in developing comprehensive policies on national issues, and more independent of the executive branch. Reform raised expectations that the legislature would reassert its policy-making role, which had diminished during the preceding thirty years. My study examines the influence of these changes on the congressional decision-making process, including their impact on the important role played by external actors, interest groups and especially the President, who reacted to these changes. The study examines the process through an analysis of the development and passage of the most controversial provision, dealing with oil-price controls (Title IV), of Congress' major energy bill of 1975, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (H.R. 7014). On 15 December 1975, Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) which President Gerald R. Ford signed into law on 22 December. The EPCA (Public Law 94-163) extended oil-price controls until 1979. The oilpricing provision had significant national and international economic and political implications. Merely to trace the tortuous chronicle of oil-pricing policy would be informative. But this study will go further by using this account to analyze congressional decision-making in the period immediately following Congress' attempts at reform. My study shows that although reforms eroded old norms and power centres, significantly altering some aspects of congressional decision-making (again primarily in the House), they did not create institutional mechanisms or distribute internal powers in such a way that Congress could independently initiate and develop comprehensive national policies. Congress remained more dependent on the President than many of its members understood. The final substance of the oil-pricing policy reflected the characteristic congressional decision-making process, which had become even more dispersed as it was democratized by reform. The committee system, without a strong executive or party control, divides issues in a way that limits decision-makers' options.
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Teater, Barbra A. "Residential mobility and the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program factors predicting mobility and the residential decision-making process of recipients /." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1164641312.
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Guevara, Martinez Alfredo Juan. "The dynamic of the United States decision-making process of foreign policy to Cuba : an analysis of the normalization of 2014 /." Marília, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/183531.
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Orientador: Luis Fernando AyerbeCo-orientador: Harry Edwin Vanden
Banca: Cristina Soreanu Pecequilo
Banca: Samuel Alves Soares
Banca: Luiza Rodrigues Mateo
Banca: Roberto Moll
O Programa de Pós-Graduação em Relações Internacionais é instituído em parceria com a Unesp/Unicamp/PUC-SP, em projeto subsidiado pela CAPES, intitulado "Programa San Tiago Dantas"
Resumo: O anúncio da normalização de relações com Cuba feito pelo Presidente Obama quebrou o caráter de austeridade que a política externa dos Estados Unidos tinha desde a Revolução cubana de 19 5 9. Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar as dinâmicas que influenciam o processo decisório da política externa dos Estados Unidos observando o fenômeno d a normalização de relações diplomáticas com Cuba iniciado pelo presidente Barack Obama em 17 de dezembro de 2014. Por mais de cinquenta anos Cuba e Estados Unidos se mantiveram sem relações diplomáticas oficiais devido ao antagonismo dos Estados Unidos fre nte o caráter do regime de governo da Revolução cubana. Ao longo das décadas a tradição de políticas austeras para a Ilha foi construída, abrangendo diversos setores e instituições do governo dos Estados Unidos e se enraizando em interesses políticos. Mesmo com o fim da Guerra Fria as práticas de antagonismo com Cuba foram mantidas e o embargo econômico à Ilha, iniciado durante o conflito bipolar, foi intensificado e transformado em Lei. A manutenção de práticas de enfretamento originadas de um contexto já ultrapassado leva ao questionamento acerca de quais são os elementos que justificam a continuidade de uma política externa para Cuba que pode ser considerada anacrônica. Assim, est e estudo se propõe a compreender a complexidade do processo decisório que levou à quebra dessa tradição e a iniciativa de normalizar as relações entre Estados Unidos e Cuba. Utilizando o caso da normalizaçã... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: The announcement of normalization of relations with Cuba made by President Obama broke with the austerity aspect that the United States Cuban Foreign Policy had since the Cuba Revolution of 1959. This study aims to analyze the dynamics that influence the United States foreign policy decision making process, observing the normalization of diplomatic relations with Cuba initiated by Barack Obama on December 17 of 2014. For more than fifty year s Cuba and the United States remained without official diplomatic relations due the United States antagonism to the government regime originated from the Cuban Revolution. Through the decades a tradition of austere policies to the Island was built, including several sectors and institutions of the United States government rooting political interests in it. Even with the end of the Cold Wars, the antagonist practices to Cuba were kept and the economic embargo to the Island that was initiated during the bipolar conflict was intensified and turned into law. The maintenance of those practices originated from a n outdated context leads to questioning which are the elements that justify the continuity of a foreign policy to Cuba that can be considered anachronical. Thus, this study seeks to understand the complexity of the decision making process that led to the break in such tradition and to the initiative of normalizing relations between the United St ates and Cuba. Using the normalization case, we present a conceptual discussion about mapp... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Doutor
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Peterson, Shannon. "Stories and Past Lessons: Understanding U.S. Decisions of Armed Humanitarian Intervention and Nonintervention in the Post-Cold War Era." Connect to this title online, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1047933325.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003.Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 420 p.; also includes graphics Includes bibliographical references (p. 411-420). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center
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Matějková, Adéla. "What's at stake of normalized relations between the United States and Iran." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2012. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-162773.
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This thesis tries to identify what's at stake of normalized relations between the United States and Iran since the Iranian revolution in 1979. The thesis tries to find out what are the key issues behind the failed relations between these two countries from the American point of view in order to determine whether normalized relations between these two countries can ever be achieved. It elaborates on four key characteristics of individual level analysis of foreign policy decision making applied on three key Presidents involved in foreign policy making towards Iran since 1979.
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Khalifa, Rafaa Ibrahim. "Evaluating Project Assessment Techniques for High-Profile Transportation Projects Development and Delivery: Case of State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in the United States." PDXScholar, 2019. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/5109.
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Time delays and cost overruns in construction projects are generally due to factors such as inappropriate planning, design errors, unexpected site conditions, inadvisable tools selection, change scope, weather conditions, lack of resources, and other project changes. Time delays and cost overruns are of concern to most project managers, owners, and governments. These elements of time and cost are two of the critical defects that impact the construction project delivery. These defects can lead to project failures and to various negative issues like increasing in disagreements among the project team, the contractor, suppliers, and the owner.
State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in the U.S. continue to spend heavily on roads, highways, and bridges construction, as well as development, maintenance, and expansion. This continued financial commitment reflects decades of commitment to improve the transportation service for safer and better use by the general public. Despite the notable efforts from most of the states to develop the transportation infrastructure, budget restrictions and lack of funds are some of the major challenges faced by DOTs.
Highway and bridge infrastructure has a high potential growth in the U.S. construction market. Well-organized highway and bridge project investment decision-making becomes increasingly crucial in the transportation sector. In this research, transportation is specified to highway and bridge projects, and it focused on high-profile projects. These projects are defined as high-cost projects, and are associated with higher project delivery risk (typically $100 - $500 million).
All states are working with their state transportation plan, listing the projects based on each state priorities and population growth. Proper planning leads to the right decision regarding selecting the best alternative within budget, and it must reflect certain core principles, including a comprehensive analysis. To facilitate such a decision process, decision makers need a trusted decision model that considers all important options and impacts. By using a decision model, decision-making will not be subjectively influenced to favor one option or group. The decision model becomes the primary tool for selecting the best option, based on its structure levels, perspectives, sub-criteria, and experts’ input. Recently, there is an apparent need for a decision model to help DOTs evaluating their options. Effective project delivery assessment tools, techniques, or practices are strongly needed to improve transportation construction projects’ performance.
The research objective is to develop a comprehensive decision model that can be used by project managers and their teams to choose the most effective project assessment technique for measuring the success of performance and outcomes related to the delivery of transportation projects. This research was focused on the assessment techniques that are used in the development phase within the transportation project lifecycle phases.
To this end, the research identified and screened the innovative assessment tools and techniques of project delivery that the transportation and other industries have used by reviewing numerous of academic literature and technical reports. Based on the review, value optimization elements such as cost, time, performance, risk, and resources were selected to be the primary evaluation criteria that lead to achieving the model objective. Also, the model sub-criteria were investigated and selected based on the literature review and direct discussion with some experts such as project managers, civil engineers, and value management consultants.
The outcome analysis of the results showed that in terms of objectives that performance efficiency was rated the highest importance with respect to the mission, while resources presented the lowest importance from an overall assessment point of view. The results showed that Alternative 4, the VE-RACRDAM technique, was ranked as the most important alternative among others followed by Alternative 5, while Alternative 2 was ranked the least important. A five scenarios analysis was applied to measure the sensitivity of the effects of changing the relative importance of the assessment criteria on alternatives’ rankings. Results showed that Alternative 4 was maintained as the most effective assessment technique among the other alternatives in the five scenarios.
In the end, experts were asked to validate the final research results, and they confirmed that the results were appropriate and valid. The validity of the decision model and findings of this research contribute new insights into the transportation construction industry as the case of state departments of transportation. Also, the experts agreed that this decision model is generalizable and could be used in other industries. Therefore, the model significantly contributes to the project management knowledge, and construction project development and delivery success.
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Burlage, G. Rachel. "The Undue Burden Standard: The Effects of Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) on State Abortion Laws." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2006. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5326/.
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This thesis examines the effects of the change from strict scrutiny to the undue burden standard in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). A history of abortion in the United States and the various ways in which government regulates it is explored. Particular attention is focused on the role of the federal judiciary in abortion regulation. Theories of judicial decision making are discussed as means to understand the outcome of cases. Several models are tested to determine which, if any, model explains judicial decision making. The effect of the change in standard, as well as an alternate precedent, are examined.
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Breton, Steven Daniel. "Imperial sunset : grand strategies of hegemons in relative decline." Thesis, McGill University, 1996. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=26724.
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This thesis investigates the economic and military policies hegemons pursue while experiencing relative decline. Based upon the rising costs of leadership associated with hegemony, this thesis establishes that both systemic and domestic environments equally influence the hegemon's policy-making. Furthermore, the paper contends that hegemons do practice strategic planning during relative decline, in an effort to adjust its commitments and resources to the environment. Relative success or failure in maintaining the international system and thus adjusting for decline depends on how decision-makers compensate for two prevailing variables: threat of challengers and availability of allies. This study offers a predictive theoretical model for interpreting the dynamics of grand strategy formulation, compensating for the influences of the domestic environment three historical case studies, the Dutch Republic, Britain and the United States, test the accuracy and validity of the model. This thesis finds that periods of strong leadership, void of threat, while augmented by external balancing best support a hegemon's relative decline.
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Kuntz, Friederike. "Der Weg zum Irak-Krieg : Groupthink und die Entscheidungsprozesse der Bush-Regierung /." Wiesbaden : VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2007. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=016085183&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.
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Schoeman, Justin. "The role culture plays in China's illicit drug/chemical foreign policy." Quantico, VA : Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2008. http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA490912.
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Ramos, Guilherme Antunes. "Reflexões sobre a Islamofobia nos Estados Unidos após onze de setembro de 2001: a construção discursiva da ameaça islâmica e o processo decisório em política externa." Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, 2015. http://www.bdtd.uerj.br/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=9395.
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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível SuperiorA dissertação objetiva analisar a influência da Islamofobia no processo decisório em política externa nos Estados Unidos após a data de 11 de setembro de 2001 por meio de sua apropriação por atores sociais considerados como potencialmente influentes no referido processo. A Islamofobia será conceituada a partir de um medo cultural que converte as culturas islâmicas em uma fonte de ameaça. Alinhando-se a uma perspectiva teórica que aponta para a força criativa dos discursos, se procederá à análise de alguns discursos ilustrativos para se sugerir a construção da ideia de ameça islâmica, bem como as formas através das quais o medo inspirado por tal concepção de uma ameaça islâmica alcançou as instâncias decisórias em política externa nos Estados Unidos. Por intermédio de uma análise de conteúdo que se utilizará de uma bibliografia de apoio multidisciplinar, serão abordados temas relativos à problemática de se representar as culturas, à dimensão social do medo, e às diretrizes gerais da política externa dos Estados Unidos após os Atentados Terroristas de 11 de Setembro, considerando que o desenvolvimento de tais questões subsidiará o alcance do objetivo principal do trabalho. Trata-se, em última instância, de um estudo que busca conjugar considerações sobre a política externa dos Estados Unidos com uma análise antropológica acerca da problemática das culturas, expressa a partir da conversão de uma cultura determinada em uma fonte de ameaça. Nesse sentido, a dissertação pode ser caracterizada como de natureza exploratória, uma vez que busca situar um tema pouco explorado no horizonte teórico, sobretudo em estudos sobre política externa.
The thesis intends to show the circulation of Islamophobia in the foreign policy decision making process in the United States after September 11, 2001, through its appropriation by social actors considered to be potentially influential in said process. We conceptualize Islamophobia as a cultural fear that converts islamic cultures in a threat source. By aligning with a theoretical perspective that points out the criative force of discourses, we will analyze some illustrative discourses in order to suggest the discursive construction of the islamic threat, so that we can indicate that the fear inspired by the conception of a islamic threat has reached the foreign policy decision-makers in the United States. Through a content analysis that will rely on a multidisciplinar literature, we will approach subjects such as the problem of representing cultures, the social dimension of fear, and the general guidelines of US foreign policy after the September 11 attacks, considering that such questions will subsidize the achievement of the main objective.It is ultimately a study that intends to articulate considerations on United States foreign policy with an anthropological analysis about the problem of cultures, expressed as the conversion of cultures in a threat. In this sense, we consider it to be an exploratory thesis that seeks to situate a subject little explored in theoretical horizon, especially in studies about foreign policy.
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Turner, Ivy Brasil Gonçalves. "O Congresso norte-americano e o processo de formulação da política externa." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2006. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/17446.
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Previous issue date: 2006-06-19Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
The objective of the present work was to present factors that promote congressional activism in the area of foreign policy. The work involved an analysis of the main subjects related to the participation of the United States Congress in the foreign policy-making process, the intention being to present the latest thinking in this area. As such, the work seeks to contribute to the body of research being developed on the influence of domestic factors in American foreign policy. Although information and studies in Brazil about the United States abound, this is not the case for this specific area of investigation. It should be stressed that the intention of this work was not to explain the performance of the institution through history, but rather to focus on the institutional structure of the process by which US foreign policy is formulated
O objetivo do presente trabalho esteve em tentar desvendar quais fatores promovem ativismo congressual em temas de política externa. Para tanto, realizou-se análise das principais questões relativas à participação do Congresso na formulação da política externa norte-americana. O intento foi apresentar o estado da arte do debate acerca do papel que o Congresso possui neste processo. Ao estudar este tema pretendeu-se contribuir com as pesquisas acerca da influência de fatores domésticos na política externa norte-americana por que, apesar das informações e estudos disponíveis no Brasil acerca dos Estados Unidos serem abundantes, não o são nesta área específica. Ressalta-se que o trabalho não teve intenção de explicar a atuação da instituição ao longo da história, sendo uma análise focada na estrutura institucional do processo
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Kim, Hyun. "Rationality, bureaucratic politics, and cognitive processes in foreign policy decision-making an analysis of United States policy decisions towards Japan, 1948-1954 /." 1996. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/38015939.html.
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Shafran, Jobeth Surface. "Bringing policy back into the policy making process." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3243.
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My research project is a break from the current trend in the literature that focuses on the conflict associated with roll call voting—party polarization and institutional friction. I am interested in determining how policy characteristics of roll call decisions can affect legislators' vote choices. Bills not only differ according to issue content—agricultural policy versus social welfare policy—but also according to how ambiguous they are—a collection of disparate issues versus one specific issue. Using a dataset of House roll calls from 1985-2004 and the Policy Agendas Project content coding scheme, I show that variation in both policy area and policy ambiguity of a given bill is associated with variation in the accuracy of ideology in predicting roll call vote choice.text
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Luo, Hsin-yi, and 羅欣怡. "The DPP Decision Making Process of Party Transformation and Foreign Policy Towards the United States." Thesis, 2001. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/17020343265959729223.
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碩士淡江大學
美國研究所
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The main theme of this paper is that the DPP’s party transformation and foreign policy adjustments are influenced by two main factors: pressure from the United States and attempts to break through the current domestic ruling situation. The DPP gained attention from the world community when its seat numbers substantially increased and when President Chen Shui-bian won the Taipei mayoral election in 1994. Since the DPP would potentially become the ruling party, it followed pressures of party transformation and had to justify its policies to the international community. Hence, the rise of the Taiwan independence claim. U.S. pressure reached its highest point in 1997 when the DPP became the local ruling party. During the DPP’s 1997 win of local ruling power, the U.S. began to take note of cross-strait relations. Due to Taiwan’s democratic self-determination and its impact on U.S.-China policy, the U.S. had to face the Taiwan independence issue. Through visits and exchanges, however, DPP members have developed an understanding of Taiwan’s position in U.S. China policy. The DPP’s “One China, One Taiwan” policy is based on U.S. support. After Clinton presented the “Three No’s,” the U.S. indicated their stance of not supporting Taiwan independence. The DPP must change the policy to: “Taiwan is already independent, and the DPP does not need to and will not declare independence.” In view of the DPP decision-making process, it corresponds with Allison’s three decision-making models, including the “Organizational Behavior Model,” the “Governmental Politics Model” and the “Rational Actor Model.” First of all, the DPP is concerned with the growth and decline of factions as aroused by inner-party power restructuring. The strongest faction within the party can lead policy orientation. Secondly, the chairman is the main decision maker and has power to dictate internal affairs and to choose the party’s personnel. The chairman’s leadership style and familiarity with diplomacy can also affect his control over diplomatic affairs. Besides the secretary-general, the deputy secretary-general and the director of the International Affair Department, few legislators and few members of the central standing committee can influence policy making. The director of International Affair Department is the main player in dealing with diplomacy. Third, the fact that the DPP changed its diplomatic strategy and upheld party transformation under pressure from the U.S. shows that the DPP is a party that can adapt.
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Park, Nam Tae. "Cross-cultural effects of casualties on foreign policy decision making: South Korea and the United States." 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1964.
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It is well accepted that casualties incurred as a result of interstate militarized
disputes have a significant influence on domestic public opinion and ultimately on
foreign policy decision making (FPDM). Although scholars have studied the influence
of casualties on FPDM, the major line of research ignores the possibility that different
cultural settings may generate different levels of tolerance for human casualties and
thereby differentially mediate public reactions. Therefore, I attempt to clarify the impact
of cultural factors on interpretation and perception of human casualties in international
conflicts by the general public and their implications on consequent foreign policy
choices.
I specifically examine two socio-cultural factors in the context of two culturally
different states, South Korea and the United States. The two cultural factors are (1) the
level of individualism vs. collectivism, and (2) the degree of ambiguity intolerance. I
argue that the two factors will possibly affect the public’s tolerance of human casualties.
I expect that they will affect both the process by which members of the two cultures
make decisions and their choices. Cross-national experimental design (in South Korea
and the United States) and a comparative case study were employed. Regarding the decision choice, I found that the expected number of casualties
were considered in different ways by American students and Korean students. Different
from my expectation, the Korean students perceived the expected number of casualties
more negatively than the American students. With regard to the process of decision
making, the empirical results support the hypotheses that the different levels of
intolerance of ambiguity, a cultural factor, will have an impact on the decision process.
Specifically, Korean students, who are less tolerant of ambiguity, needed less
information to reach a final decision than did American students.
Overall, although the results did not completely support cultural accounts,
cultural explanation has been proven to be a viable ingredient in explaining the different
observed patterns of foreign policy decision making. Specifically, a cultural factor,
ambiguity intolerance, had an impact on the process rather than the choice. In addition,
this study presents some theoretical implications as well as political implications.
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Warhol, Matthew Grant. "Guilt by Association: United States Ties and Vulnerability to Transnational Terrorist Attacks." 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2010-12-8654.
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Do nations' allies and trading partners affect their vulnerability to transnational terrorist attacks? Prior research has focused on how the attributes of individual nations, such as regime type, economic stability, and international power, affect their likelihood of being the target of transnational terrorist attacks. However, prior research has not addressed the impact of a nation's economic and foreign policy ties on this phenomenon. Specifically, the question I ask is whether terrorists attempt to indirectly affect the status quo policy stance of a powerful nation by attacking the allies and trading partners of that nation. I develop a theoretical framework to explain why terrorists are likely to target allies of powerful nations in the international arena to force the more powerful nation to change its policy stance. Focusing on the United States, I examine how a nation's economic and foreign policy ties to the U.S. affect its vulnerability to transnational terrorist attacks. I test my expectations using the ITERATE database of transnational terrorist events from 1968 to 2000. The results suggest that a nation's economic and foreign policy ties may have a significant impact on its vulnerability to transnational terrorism.
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Van, Coller Johannes Daniel. "Die benutting van intelligensie deur besluitnemers met besondere verwysing na die VSA." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/10015.
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"Effluent-Dominated Waterways in the Southwestern United States: Advancing Water Policy through Ecological Analysis." Doctoral diss., 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.14353.
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abstract: Over the past century in the southwestern United States human actions have altered hydrological processes that shape riparian ecosystems. One change, release of treated wastewater into waterways, has created perennial base flows and increased nutrient availability in ephemeral or intermittent channels. While there are benefits to utilizing treated wastewater for environmental flows, there are numerous unresolved ecohydrological issues regarding the efficacy of effluent to sustain groundwater-dependent riparian ecosystems. This research examined how nutrient-rich effluent, released into waterways with varying depths to groundwater, influences riparian plant community development. Statewide analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of effluent generation and release revealed that hydrogeomorphic setting significantly influences downstream riparian response. Approximately 70% of effluent released is into deep groundwater systems, which produced the lowest riparian development. A greenhouse study assessed how varying concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, emulating levels in effluent, influenced plant community response. With increasing nitrogen concentrations, vegetation emerging from riparian seed banks had greater biomass, reduced species richness, and greater abundance of nitrophilic species. The effluent-dominated Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona, with a shallow groundwater upper reach and deep groundwater lower reach, served as a study river while the San Pedro River provided a control. Analysis revealed that woody species richness and composition were similar between the two systems. Hydric pioneers (Populus fremontii, Salix gooddingii) were dominant at perennial sites on both rivers. Nitrophilic species (Conium maculatum, Polygonum lapathifolium) dominated herbaceous plant communities and plant heights were greatest in effluent-dominated reaches. Riparian vegetation declined with increasing downstream distance in the upper Santa Cruz, while patterns in the lower Santa Cruz were confounded by additional downstream agricultural input and a channelized floodplain. There were distinct longitudinal and lateral shifts toward more xeric species with increasing downstream distance and increasing lateral distance from the low-flow channel. Patterns in the upper and lower Santa Cruz reaches indicate that water availability drives riparian vegetation outcomes below treatment facilities. Ultimately, this research informs decision processes and increases adaptive capacity for water resources policy and management through the integration of ecological data in decision frameworks regarding the release of effluent for environmental flows.Dissertation/Thesis
Ph.D. Plant Biology 2011
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Hoskins, Ty. "United States grand strategy and Taiwan : a case study comparison of major theories." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1805/3792.
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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Many authors, critics, and policy makers question the presence of a unified grand strategy with which the United States has striven toward in recent years. This is a topic worthy of pursuit since such a strategy is responsible for identifying how this nation intends to accomplish its goals. This thesis defines what, if any, grand strategy the United States is currently pursuing. It observes several prominent theories of grand strategy, from both the realist and liberal perspectives. This analysis is set in context of historical grand strategy decisions since World War II and uses the framework of Taiwan as the case study. The thesis then compares the three theories, Selective Engagement, Offshore Balancing, and the Liberal Milieu and their recommendations to real-world activities of the United States with a focus primarily on military deployments and national objectives. The study reveals that of the three in question, the Liberal Milieu grand strategy is the only one that is supported by ongoing deployments in the East Asia region as well as by the national rhetoric which define our policy objectives.
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"Where Did You Come From? Where Will You Go? Human Evolutionary Biology Education and American Students' Academic Interests and Achievements, Professional Goals, and Socioscientific Decision-making." Doctoral diss., 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.25049.
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abstract: In the United States, there is a national agenda to increase the number of qualified science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) professionals and a movement to promote science literacy among the general public. This project explores the association between formal human evolutionary biology education (HEB) and high school science class enrollment, academic achievement, interest in a STEM degree program, motivation to pursue a STEM career, and socioscientific decision–making for a sample of students enrolled full–time at Arizona State University. Given a lack of a priori knowledge of these relationships, the Grounded Theory Method was used and was the foundation for a mixed–methods analysis involving qualitative and quantitative data from one–on–one interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, and an online survey. Theory development and hypothesis generation were based on data from 44 students. The survey instrument, developed to test the hypotheses, was completed by 486 undergraduates, age 18–22, who graduated from U.S. public high schools. The results showed that higher exposure to HEB was correlated with greater high school science class enrollment, particularly for advanced biological science classes, and that, for some students, HEB exposure may have influenced their enrollment, because the students found the content interesting and relevant. The results also suggested that students with higher K–12 HEB exposure felt more prepared for undergraduate science coursework. There was a positive correlation between HEB exposure and interest in a STEM degree and an indirect relationship between higher HEB exposure and motivation to pursue a STEM career. Regarding a number of socioscientific issues, including but not limited to climate change, homosexuality, and stem cell research, students' behaviors and decision–making more closely reflected a scientific viewpoint—or less–closely aligned to a religion–based perspective—when students had greater HEB exposure, but this was sometimes contingent on students' lifetime exposure to religious doctrine and acceptance of general evolution or human evolution. This study has implications for K–12 and higher education and justifies a paradigm shift in evolution education research, such that more emphasis is placed on students' interests, perceived preparation for continued learning, professional goals and potential contributions to society rather than just their knowledge and acceptance.Dissertation/Thesis
Ph.D. Anthropology 2014
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Wu, Caiwen. "Essays on location decisions and carbon sequestration strategies of U.S. firms." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/36544.
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Location is a critical component of business decisions. A firm's location decision may be influenced not only by market forces, such as the location of input suppliers, output processors and competitors, but also by government policies if such policies impact their expected profits and are applied non-uniformly across space. Likewise, a firm may adjust its business strategy, including opening and closing establishments and laying off employees as responses to changes in environmental regulations. In certain polluting industries, location decisions may include choosing potential storage sites for geologic carbon sequestration or finding landfills for industrial solid waste.
There is extensive literature discussing the effects of environmental regulations or agglomeration economies on firm location decisions but few studies analyze the interactive effect of environmental regulations and agglomeration economies across regions in the United States. The potential consequences of changes in environmental regulations may include loss of polluting establishments, jobs, and income. Geological carbon sequestration offers long term storage opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gases (GHGs). Incorporating environmental risk into economic assessments of geological
sequestration choices is crucial for finding optimal strategies in using alternative carbon storage sites with limited capacity. This dissertation consists of three essays that address the above issues.
The first essay examines the interactive effects of air quality regulation and agglomeration economies on polluting firms' location decisions in the United States. Newly available annual (1989-2006) county-level manufacturing plant location data for the United States on seven pollution intensive manufacturing industries are applied in the analysis. Conditional Poisson and negative binomial models are estimated, an efficient GMM estimator is also employed to control for endogenous regulatory and agglomeration variables. Results indicate that births of pollution intensive manufacturers are deterred by stricter environmental regulation; and are attracted by local agglomeration economies. County attainment/nonattainment designations can impose heterogeneous impacts over space and across industries. The magnitude of the regulatory effect depends on the level of local agglomeration. Urbanization economies offset the negative impacts of environmental regulation, whereas localization economies can reinforce or offset the negative impacts of environmental regulation, depending on the industry.
The second essay analyzes the effect of changes in regulatory environmental standards on the total stocks of establishments and local jobs and income Results indicate the effects vary across counties in the United States. When the standards were raised to 80 percent of the current level, from 2007 to 2009, the affected counties would lose a total of 326 establishments, 14,711 jobs with $705 million U.S. dollars of income each year. At the national economy level, the impacts of tightening environmental regulations are relatively small.
The third essay constructs a dynamic optimization framework that deals with optimal utilization of alternative nonrenewable resource sites (geological formations) with possible negative externalities. We apply the model to an optimal usage problem of alternative long term CO₂ geologic storage sites for carbon. The storage sites are different in terms of capacity and potential leakage after CO₂ injection; the problem is determining the minimum cost for storing a fixed amount of CO₂ (sequestered) within a
certain time period. Analytical solutions show the decision rule depends on the discount rate, storage capacities, marginal CO₂ storage costs, and environmental damage costs associated with CO₂ leakage from alternative sinks. The framework provides critical information about the optimal timing of switching from one resource sequestration site to another.Graduation date: 2013
Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from Feb. 1, 2013 - Feb. 1, 2015
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Pugacewicz, Tomasz. "Mechanizm kształtowania polityki Stanów Zjednoczonych Ameryki wobec regionu Morza Kaspijskiego po 1991 roku." Praca doktorska, 2015. https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/45752.
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McCaslin, Brianna Jean. "Thou Shalt Not: Experiences of Contraceptive Use and Religious Identity Negotiation Among Married Catholic Women." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1805/8363.
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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)The Catholic Church is widely known for its opposition to birth control. Yet statistics show that the vast majority of American Catholics use birth control. While multiple studies have been conducted on a larger quantitative scale about the use or attitudes of American Catholics toward birth control, there have not been qualitative studies to understand the experiences of Catholics who use contraception. This study is particularly timely given the recent Catholic opposition to the Affordable Care Act’s mandate of employee healthcare provided birth control as well as, the extraordinary synod of bishops to discuss pastoral challenges to family life in October 2015. Fourteen married Catholic women were interviewed about their religious identities and experiences using contraception. Analysis demonstrated how these women constructed a religious identity by maximizing certain aspects, such as prayer and service, while minimizing other aspects, such as individual autonomy and denominational distinctions, of their religious identity. However in order to cope with the tension between their salient religious identity and their contraceptive decision making women utilizing multiple mechanisms. Specifically, they made boundaries around which types of contraception were acceptable and limits to church or individual authority; they justified their decisions based on medical necessity or betrayal they felt from the church; they legitimated their decisions by discussing God’s control and their husband’s perceptions of NFP; and they normalized their decisions through their desire to care for their children and be sexually intimate with their husbands. This research illuminates unique challenges that religious women face in their sexual decision making and sexual health practices that can help sex educators and health care providers care for women. Additionally, the Catholic Church and American Catholics make up huge forces in education, health care, charity, politics, and employment. However, not all Catholics follow the rules of the church. Those members who remain an active part of the Catholic Church, such as the practicing Catholics in this study can influence the way the church changes. By better understanding the experience of these dissenters, social researchers may be able to better understand the future of the Catholic Church.
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Huard, Christine. "The DPRK in China's post-cold war foreign policy - a neoclassical realist analysis." Thèse, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/10000.
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Avec l’échec des négociations entre les États-Unis et la Corée du Nord, menées depuis le début des années 1990, sur la question du nucléaire, le problème est devenu graduellement l’affaire des pays voisins, tous soucieux de l’avenir de la région du sud-est asiatique. Présentée comme le seul allié de la Corée du Nord, la China a été invitée à participer à des négociations à trois, à quatre (1997-1998), et à six (2003-2007), dans l’espoir de faire entendre raison au régime isolé, mais jusqu’à maintenant, aucune des tentatives n’est parvenue à satisfaire chacun des membres à la table. Alors que la tension monte et que la politique américaine se fait de moins en moins flexible, la Chine quant à elle, continue d’encourager le retour des négociations à six (Six-Party Talks) dans l’optique de dénucléariser la péninsule coréenne, tout en travaillant à maintenir ses liens avec la Corée du Nord. Le fil conducteur de cette présente recherche est d’abord d’essayer de comprendre pourquoi la Chine continue de soutenir la Corée du Nord, fournissant dons alimentaires et financiers.
L’idée est donc d’analyser, selon les principes du réalisme néoclassique, la politique étrangère de la Chine. L’hypothèse principale de cette théorie renvoie à l’idée que la distribution du pouvoir dans le système international influence la politique étrangère des États, mais que des variables au niveau de l’état et/ou de l’individu interviennent dans la formulation et l’application de celle-ci. Il est proposé ici que le lien entre l’unipolarité du système international et la politique nord-coréenne de la Chine, est façonné par des variables intermédiaires telles que : a) la perception des leaders de la distribution du pouvoir et de leur place dans le système international; b) l’idéologie du régime politique, et; c) le type d’unité responsable de la prise de décision en politique étrangère. L’analyse de chacune des variables permettra de faire la lumière sur les intérêts politiques et économiques de la Chine dans l’entretien de cette relation avec la Corée du Nord.Since the bilateral negotiations between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula failed to produce any effective outcome in the 1990s, China was brought to the table and agreed to play its part as a mediator in the Four Party Talks (1997-1998) between both Koreas and the United States, as well as in the Six-Party Talks (2003-2007), with the addition of Russia and Japan as negotiators. While the American policies toward the DPRK have taken a tough and inflexible turn with former President George W. Bush declaring, at the end of January 2002, that North Korea, Iran, and Iraq “constitute an axis of evil arming to threaten the peace of the world”, China’s DPRK policy, however, reflects long-lasting terms of friendship and collaboration between the two countries. With concerns mounting over the aggressive policies of the North Korean regime and its determination to keep its nuclear arsenal, the question is: why does China insist on preserving its good ties with its neighbour, even when those policies are said to hinder its political and economical interests? To address this question, the theoretical framework of neoclassical realism will be tested within a three-level – systemic, state, and individual level – analysis, with consideration of the propositions that the relative distribution of power shapes China’s North Korea policy, and intervening variables at the state and individual levels are filtering the systemic pressures and thus, shaping decisions related to North Korea. These variables include: a) leadership’s perception of power; b) regime type and ideology, and; c) type of foreign policy decision-making unit. This in-depth analysis will then provide grounds in defining China’s core interests in backing up the secluded regime.
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Stanecki, Maciej. "Planning, Deciding and the 'Special Relationship' on the perpiheries of historiography - Geostrategic aspects of British-American defence relations, 1958-1968." Doctoral thesis, 2015.
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The main goal of the dissertation is to analyze British – American cooperation in a strategic context, during the key Cold War period. Geostrategic approach offers unique perspective, to examine other dimensions of relations between those two countries. The dissertation has two parts, in which two different case studies are going to be analyzed and compared. First one is related to British and American approach to the idea of creation of the Nuclear Free Zone in Central Eastern Europe, known as The Rapacki Plan. The second one discusses the cooperation of the two countries in the Indian Ocean. The meaning of this analysis will be deepened by the fact that during 1958-1968 there was an important switch in British world role, that affected its relations with United States.Główny celem pracy jest przeanalizowanie brytyjsko – amerykańskiej strategicznej współpracy w kluczowym okresie „Zimnej Wojny”. Geostrategiczne ujęcie pozwala na poszerzenie perspektywy, pokazującej inne wymiary relacji pomiędzy oboma Państwami. Praca została podzielona na dwie części, w których zostaną przeanalizowane dwa studia przypadków. Pierwsze z nich poświęcone będzie brytyjsko-amerykańskiemu podejściu do pomysłu stworzenia strefy bezatomowej w Europie Środkowej i Wschodniej, znanego jako „Plan Rapackiego”. Drugie zaś, koncepcjom współpracy obu państw w basenie Oceanu Indyjskiego. Kolejnym elementem pogłębiającym znaczenie analizy będzie fakt, że Wielka Brytania w latach 1958-1968 dokonała dużego ograniczenia swojej mocarstwowej roli.
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(6615803), Ashley E. Rice. "Factors Influencing Indiana Residents' Level of Interest in Engaging with Purdue University." Thesis, 2019.
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The land-grant university system was founded in the 19th century as a public means to help improve people’s everyday lives. A century and a half later, the challenges that the public faces to live a quality life are constantly changing, creating a need for the land-grant system to respond and adapt to continue to fulfill its mission. While the literature contains a wealth of conceptual papers addressing the role and mission of land-grant universities, relatively few papers could be found that reported empirical data or proposed and tested metrics for public engagement constructs. The current study sought to address this void in the literature through the investigation of factors influencing Indiana residents’ level of interest in engaging with Purdue University. Mail survey methods were used in which up to three contacts were made with adult members of 4,500 Indiana households identified through address-based sampling. Stratified random sampling was employed to ensure adequate rural household participation for other project purposes. Usable responses were received from 1,003 households representing 87 Indiana counties for a total response rate of 26%. A theoretical perspective was developed from Public Sphere Theory and the social science writings of Jurgen Habermas and Alexis de Tocqueville. Descriptive findings revealed some to moderate concerns about community and social issues such as affordable health care, violent crime, pollution and prescription drug abuse. Moderate levels of anomie, or perceived social disconnectedness, were also reported by respondents. Several items tapped respondents’ past levels of interaction with and current perceptions of Purdue University. Nearly a fifth of respondents reported interacting with Purdue University by having visited a website for news or information, followed by interacting with a Purdue University Extension professional. Regarding perceptions of Purdue University, the results of this study revealed relative consensus among respondents that Purdue University makes a positive contribution to the state of Indiana through its educational, research and outreach programs. For a majority of the perceptual items regarding Purdue University, more than one-third of the respondents neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement, suggesting some areas in which the university might improve its reputational standing with Indiana residents in the future. Nearly one-quarter to about half of the respondents indicated interest in topical areas addressed by Purdue Extension programs as well as an interest in engaging with the university. Respondents reported the highest levels of interest in free Extension programs in their local area, followed by the topics of science and technology, health and well-being, and gardening.
A predictive model of respondent interest in engaging with Purdue University was developed and tested using binary logistic regression procedures. The model was shown to be of modest utility in accounting for variance in respondent interest in engaging with Purdue University, explaining 12% to 16% of total variance. Past interaction with Purdue University, perceived level of concern for social and community issues, and highest level of education were the strongest predictors in the model.
The current research was completed in 2019 as Purdue University celebrated its 150th anniversary. Results and implications of this study provide important insight into current engagement levels, concerns and perceptions of residents within the state of Indiana, whom the university is mandated to serve. One of the study’s primary contributions is the establishment of baseline engagement data on current levels of Indiana residents’ interest in engaging with Purdue University on selected topics. Findings from this study could be of benefit to university administrators, faculty, staff and Extension professionals in assessing and improving future programming and setting strategic priorities. This study also adds to the conceptual and empirical body of literature, which may help inform future public engagement efforts at other land-grant universities. Periodic social science and public opinion research is needed to keep pace with the changing needs and perceptions of Indiana residents. Different data collection modes should be utilized to reach more audience segments and add to the growing knowledge base of public engagement.