Department: College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science ![[clear]](close-x.png "Remove this limiter")
34 matches in the database.
These are records: 1 - 30.
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1.
Altuntop, Serkan.
The Determinants of the Recruitment Practices of Police Departments: A Nation Level Analysis of Adopting A Certain Recruitment Model.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2008, Kent State University
► Recruitment and selection were always considered as one of the most critical…
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▼ Recruitment and selection were always considered as one of the most critical functions of success and performance in both the private and the public sectors. In a rapidly changing environment and with the increased customer demands, it is not likely that a company or organization that ignores its environment and overlooks revising its policies including recruitment would survive or sustain efficiency.This study identifies the determinants involved in recruitment and selection practices in law enforcement agencies and their importance to the rapidly changing profession in the US. This study examines the logic behind recruitment practices and how they effect decisions in police departments. The moving point to research these arguments is analyzing the selection techniques used in police departments. Unlike other studies that focus on analyzing which selection method(s) is best in predicting how to recruit good police officer (for a compilation of such studies on law enforcement selection, a good resource is “Research in Law Enforcement Selection” by Michael G. Aamodt), this study tries to understand what factors affect using more or less selection tools assuming that using more diverse selection tools helps identify more aspects of an individual which in turn serves police departments better to have more qualified officers. The findings from this research suggest that police departments are aware of the importance of external forces and value organizational change and as such they adapt their structures including their recruitment policies to external demands. At the same time, some internal factors also seem to have a significant role in recruitment decisions.
Advisors/Committee Members: Kessler, David.
Subjects: Organizational behavior; Political science; Public administration
Keywords: police, police selection, law enforcement recruitment, selection methods
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2.
Aslan, Halil Kursad.
International Labor Migration from Rural Central Asia: The Potential for Development in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2011, Kent State University
► In this dissertation, I focus on international labor out-migration from the Central…
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▼ In this dissertation, I focus on international labor out-migration from the Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in the post-Soviet era and the potential developmental outcomes for the sending regions. In light of rational-choice and sociological-oriented theories I investigate the general patterns of remittance usage at the micro level, in the form of family level consumption, saving and investment decisions, and the potential effect of those remittance usage patterns on the economic development of the origin country. Based on the original fieldwork predominantly in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and to a lesser extent in Turkey and the USA, this dissertation answers two sets of questions that remain unsettled in the migration literature: 1- How do sociological institutions and individuals’ rationality interact with each other, and they affect potential migrants’ decisions? 2- In what way are social context and sociological institutions impacting other migration related issues, especially whether remittances are used successfully to foster development in the home country? According to my findings, I maintain that social dynamics play a greater role in potential migrants’ decision-making and potential developmental outcomes than dominant theories suggest. Moreover, the path dependent nature of the institutional context with sociological regularities, habits, norms, social capital, and social networks plays a crucial role especially in the transition societies. The hypothesis is that labor migration from Central Asia is a boundedly rational and socially informed household coping strategy in these transition environments; and additionally, labor migrants and their families are only partly rational constrained by historical macro structures as well as built-in and social limitations. There is enough evidence to support the hypothesis that in the contextual environment where there are weaknesses of the state institutions and market failures are intensive in the domestic arena labor migration is not only a household coping strategy serving to diversify income, but is also a means to overcome local developmental constraints on investment. Therefore, on the question of economic development, I find that the role of the state is central in explaining outcomes especially in the post-Soviet transitioning societies.
Advisors/Committee Members: Barnes, Andrew S.
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3.
Bellas, Christopher M.
“I Feel Your Pain”: How Juror Empathy Effects Death Penalty Verdicts.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2010, Kent State University
► Juries bear the responsibility of whether or not to sentence a defendant…
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▼ Juries bear the responsibility of whether or not to sentence a defendant to life or death. Legal and extralegal factors which impact jurors’ decision-making are important for understanding how they reach their final decision. One theoretical explanation as to how jurors reach their sentencing decision is structural aggravation. The theory states that trials are designed to stress the dehumanizing qualities of both the defendant as well as the crime, while at the same time emphasizing empathy for the victim. This study tests the latter part of structural aggravation. The hypothesis is that jurors who possess empathy for the victims in homicide cases, will be more receptive to aggravating evidence presented to them during the trial. This dissertation utilized data from the Capital Jury Project, which gathers both quantitative and qualitative information about jurors’ experiences in capital cases. Information was obtained from 667 jurors in 14 states. Hierarchical regression was used to test whether or not juror empathy for the victim impacted their receptivity to aggravation. The findings suggest that jurors who possess empathy for victims are not more likely to be receptive to aggravating evidence. What did matter however were the gender of the juror and the severity of the crime. The more severe the crime, the more receptive the juror was to aggravating evidence. The gender of the juror was also significant. Male jurors were more receptive to aggravation. Because race and to a lesser extent gender, have been important factors in capital sentencing outcomes, several demographic variables were combined to test for an interactive effect on receptivity to aggravating evidence. The model disclosed no such interaction effect. While jurors who express empathy for the victim are not more receptive to aggravating evidence, there is still limited support for Haney’s structural aggravation theory. Prosecutors, by stressing the severity of the crime in both the guilt and penalty phases, affect juror decision-making in that jurors are more receptive to aggravation evidence and thus more likely to sentence the defendant to death.
Advisors/Committee Members: Colvin, Mark.
Subjects: Law
Keywords: death penalty; capital punishment; juror; aggravating evidence; trials; courts
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4.
Butcher, Fredrick W.
Measuring the Effect of Exposure to Violence: An Analysis of the Behavioral Health/ Juvenile Justice Initiative.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2012, Kent State University
► Although rates of violent crime among juveniles had dropped precipitously during the…
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▼ Although rates of violent crime among juveniles had dropped precipitously during the 1990s, juvenile violence remains a significant problem with a large percentage of youth reporting exposure to violence in homes, schools, and neighborhoods. The literature to date consistently shows a relationship between exposure to violence and internalizing and externalizing problems. Recent studies have begun to test the effects of neighborhood disorganization on this relationship. This dissertation will examine the effect of neighborhood disorganization and exposure to violence on a population of juveniles in a juvenile justice diversion program in Ohio. The initial sample was made up of 1,039 youth who were included in the Behavioral Health Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) Initiative, a community based treatment program for youth in the juvenile justice system with mental health and substance use issues. Data were collected from the 2000 United States Census, juvenile court records, and survey data from youth, program staff, and caregivers. Competing structural equation models were proposed to test the pathways from neighborhood disorganization to exposure to violence, trauma, and violent offending. Two findings are of note. First, the data indicated that exposure to violence is best conceptualized as a context specific measure where violent victimization and witnessing violence is separated out by contextual location. Second, the structural equation model identified as the most adequate fit to the data showed a link between neighborhood disorganization and neighborhood violence exposure, and a link between exposure to violence in schools and homes and symptoms of anger. However, the data did not indicate a clear path from neighborhood disorganization to exposure to violence, trauma symptoms, and violent offending. Group comparison models also showed race specific pathways, as well as pathways specific to urban and rural samples. Directions for future research including the need to examine self-reported violent behaviors and desensitization to frequent exposure to violence are discussed.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brewer, Thomas.
Subjects: Criminology; Social Psychology
Keywords: youth exposure to violence; trauma; neighborhood disorganization
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5.
Chen, Dongjin.
Legacies and Incentives:Explaining Variation in Local Healthcare Expenditure Variation in Post-Mao China.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2012, Kent State University
► Inequality characterizes health care in China, especially in terms of utilization, outcomes,…
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▼ Inequality characterizes health care in China, especially in terms of utilization, outcomes, expenditures, and financing. This dissertation focuses on variation in local healthcare expenditure by asking the following question: How and why does local government healthcare spending in China vary across time and space? Previous researchers have centered primarily on economic determination, arguing that the local economy is the main factor behind variation in local healthcare expenditures; however, when one sets this argument against the background of an era of reforms and a complicated central–regional relationship, it becomes clear that scholars have missed important factors beyond the local economy. The writer of this dissertation relies on a typical political–economic approach to explain variation in China’s local healthcare expenditures. Drawing upon studies of healthcare policies across nations as well as studies of China’s local government, the author proposes two dimensions to explain local healthcare expenditure. The first dimension explains variation by focusing on the influences of the privatization of state-owned enterprises and the inequality between urban and rural areas. The second dimension emphasizes the incentives of individuals, including governmental bureaucrats. These explanations are tested in quantitative comparisons across localities and in a single-region case study. This project contributes to studies of health care in China as well as our understanding of the central–local relationship in this country.
Advisors/Committee Members: Barnes, Andrew.
Subjects: Public Policy; Regional Studies
Keywords: Healthcare Expenditure; Local Government; China's Reform; Governmental Spending
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6.
Chen, Peng.
Perceptions of Public Libraries: An Empirical Investigation Using Q Methodology.
Degree: MA, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2008, Kent State University
► Public libraries perform multiple functions, such as education, recreation, and access to…
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▼ Public libraries perform multiple functions, such as education, recreation, and access to information, in America. Due to the limitation of resources, these functions could conflict with each other. This thesis employed Q methodology to examine and analyze people’s opinions on public libraries. Three aspects were considered in this study: the main missions and purposes of public libraries, financial support, and technological challenge. There were 31 participants in this research. A majority of Factor A’s respondents are public librarians. They believe that the public library should provide wide-ranging services to all patrons. To achieve this goal, obtaining financial support has become the top priority on the agenda of public libraries. Factor B’s respondents are mature patrons. They emphasize libraries should serve the whole society and perform more educational functions. Factor B does not show a strong positive attitude toward financial support; it disagrees with charging fees to solve financial problems. Factor C respondents are young patrons. They express many attitudes that are opposite to either Factor A or B respondents. They treat public libraries as educational institutions, but they go there with reluctance to do research and homework and they show a strong aversion to taxes as a means of support for public libraries. All respondents in this study support the view that public libraries will continue providing services in the digitized future.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Steven.
Subjects: Political science
Keywords: public library; Q methodology; patron perception of library
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7.
Demir, Serhat.
Diffusion of Police Technology across Time and Space and the Impact of Technology Use on Police Effectiveness and Its Contribution to Decision-Making.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2009, Kent State University
► Crime analysis and crime mapping technologies have diffused rapidly in the United…
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▼ Crime analysis and crime mapping technologies have diffused rapidly in the United States to many law enforcement agencies regardless of jurisdiction and agency size and crime rates. Using a unique data set created by merging several well-known data sets, this research, firstly, explains this rapid spread using innovation diffusion framework with a special focus on the effect of spatial proximity. Secondly, whether the adopting agencies make a use of those technologies in decision-making is examined. This part also tests two rival views on decision-making; rationality and bounded-rationality. Lastly, the direct effect of those technologies on police effectiveness is tested. Potential reciprocal causality problems are considered and multiple methodologies are used in testing the last argument. This comprehensive research on the diffusion, use and effectiveness of crime mapping and crime analysis found that spatial proximity matters in adopting crime mapping. Geographically closer departments are more likely to adopt crime mapping technologies. Besides, statistical analyzes suggest that information obtained from crime mapping is used for strategic decision-making as long the information is parsimonious. When there is too much information, the police department is less likely to base decisions such as resource allocation and redistricting on crime mapping information. Moreover, this research provided partial evidence that crime analysis and crime mapping increases police effectiveness in terms of increased crime clearances.
Advisors/Committee Members: Claassen, Ryan.
Subjects: Armed forces; Criminology; Public administration
Keywords: crime mapping, crime analysis, decision-making, diffusion of innovations, police effectiveness, spatial proximity
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8.
Dotterweich, Lisa J.
Who Knows What?: A Study of the Role of Epistemic Communities in the Making of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2009, Kent State University
► This is a study of the role of epistemic communities involved in…
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▼ This is a study of the role of epistemic communities involved in the policymaking of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB Act). It uses Antoniades’s (2003) framework as a theoretical lens. According to Antoniades, epistemic communities are conceptualized as “socially recognized knowledge-based networks, the members of which share a common understanding of a particular problem/issue or a common worldview and seek to translate their beliefs into dominant social discourse and social practice” (26). The epistemic communities involved in the policymaking of the NCLB Act are identified and analyzed through the content analysis of relevant Congressional testimony and interviews with individuals involved in the development of the Act. NUDIST-QSR (Nonnumerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theorising) software is used to code data from the qualitative analyses. Five epistemic communities involved in the policymaking of the NCLB Act are identified in this study. They are the liberal, conservative, business-oriented, Hispanic, and education epistemic communities. This study finds some support for Antoniades’s framework. Every epistemic community except the business epistemic community exhibited a constant and holistic character. It emerged and ceased to exist as a result of the NCLB Act. All five epistemic communities engaged in cognitive action, served as advisors or sources of information to Congress and enjoyed access to an institutional structure. The only epistemic community that did not have access to the media is the Hispanic epistemic community. These findings support Antoniades’s claims. However, none of the epistemic communities held press conferences or attended seminars or lectures. The Hispanic epistemic community was the only epistemic community to hold a conference. The most significant finding of this research is none of the epistemic communities enjoyed consensus of policy goals. Antoniades’s model should be revised to take into account that members of epistemic communities do not need consensus of policy goals or have to hold press conferences or attend seminars to be effective.
Advisors/Committee Members: Hensley, Tom.
Subjects: Political science
Keywords: No Child Left Behind Act NCLB Epistemic Communities Antoniades Education Policy
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9.
Duerr, Glen.
Talking with Nationalists and Patriots: An Examination of Ethnic and Civic Approaches to Nationalism and their Outcomes in Quebec and Flanders.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2012, Kent State University
► Separatist/nationalist political parties exist in many states in the developed world, yet…
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▼ Separatist/nationalist political parties exist in many states in the developed world, yet there has not been a successful case of secession since 1921 when the Irish Free State effectively seceded from the United Kingdom. One issue is that these nationalist political parties have rarely been popular enough to form a government even amongst their core ethnic group. Relatedly, demography has changed in the developed world given relatively high levels of immigration. Nationalist parties have historically been unable to win support from immigrants or people outside their core ethnic and/or linguistic group. Given this context, three central questions were posed in this study including: whether—and also why—any of the nationalist parties have transitioned from ethnic-based to civic-based policy platforms? And, why have these nationalist parties not yet achieved independence? This study examines two cases—Quebec in Canada, and Flanders in Belgium—to investigate how nationalist political parties are approaching the issue of independence. Through an investigation of five different areas of public policy—language, culture, immigration, political autonomy, and economics—this study answers the questions of whether and why any of these nationalist parties have adopted civic-based policy platforms instead of ethnic-based platforms. Three different types of qualitative research methods were used in this study including interviews, survey/polling data, and archival research. The main research contribution of this dissertation is twenty-seven elite level interviews with nationalist political leaders and members of their staff. The results show that the Parti/Bloc Quebecois in Quebec and Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie in Flanders have both started to make a transition towards civic-based nationalist party platforms, but that the transition is only halfway complete. Vlaams Belang (also in Flanders), in contrast, has retained significant ethnic-based policy platforms. The results also show that a combination of institutions, interests, and ideas have stifled the respective nationalist movements. In Belgium, there are institutional blockages that make independence for Flanders very difficult. In Quebec, however, there is a path to independence through a referendum, but interests in favor of Canada, and ideas opposing secession, have stifled the nationalist movement. Secession remains a very challenging endeavor in the developed world.
Advisors/Committee Members: Barnes, Andrew.
Subjects: Political Science
Keywords: Nationalism; Secession; Dissolution; Ethnic; Civic; Quebec; Flanders
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10.
Duman, Ali.
Effects of Contingent Factors on Community Policing Activities: A Critical Analysis of Adopting a Certain Policing Model.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2007, Kent State University
► In parallel with the apparent ineffectiveness of the police agencies against rising…
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▼ In parallel with the apparent ineffectiveness of the police agencies against rising crime rates, community policing emerged as an alternative to traditional policing starting in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Popularity of community policing spread nationwide when President Clinton signed the "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994" on September 13, 1994. Community policing has not only attracted the police departments but also has drawn the attention of scholars and main body of existing literature has generally focused on the effect of community policing on its dependents such as police officers, police departments, and communities. This approach is one-sided and fails to reflect the other side of the coin. Can community policing be dependent upon other factors? Is there any variation across police agencies nationwide in their implementation of community policing? If any, what are the determinants of this variance? Using contingency theory which assumes that philosophy and structure of an organization are influenced by a variety of internal and external dynamics, it is mainly hypothesized that community policing is contingent upon a set of individual, departmental, and societal factors. Overall, the findings of analyses suggest that internal contingencies (both individual and structural) play a relatively more significant role than external contingencies (societal and environmental) in police departments’ decisions with implementing community policing strategies.
Advisors/Committee Members: Ammar, Nawal.
Keywords: POLICING; COMMUNITY POLICING; Police; COMMUNITY; Crime; POLICING ACTIVITIES; COMMUNITY POLICING ACTIVITIES
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11.
Falinski, Giles L.
The Deterrent Effect of Traffic Enforcement on Ohio Crashes, 1995-2004.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2009, Kent State University
► In the worlds of criminology and sociology, deterrence theory cannot be said…
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▼ In the worlds of criminology and sociology, deterrence theory cannot be said to enjoy the degree of preeminence it holds in the world of those who practice it while attempting to address the traffic crash problem. Critics of these public policies argue that the goal of much traffic enforcement is revenue, not safety, and if there is no public safety benefit to it, the practice borders on the unethical. This research tests deterrence theory on the county level in the State of Ohio during the years 1995 through 2004, using cross sectional time series analysis with panel corrected standard errors. Deterrence is operationalized both as non-crash convictions and as speeding convictions. These independent variables are combined with demographic and operational variables for testing conditional factors. Additively and interactively, models indicate negative relationships exist between convictions and crash rates. The research considers these results in light of specifications to deterrence theory.
Advisors/Committee Members: Kessler, David.
Subjects: Political science
Keywords: deterrence theory; traffic crashes; cross-sectional time series with panel-corrected standard errors
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12.
Gül, Zakir.
A Partial Test of the Intelligence-Led Policing Model.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2009, Kent State University
► This study does a partial test of a new policing model, the…
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▼ This study does a partial test of a new policing model, the 3-i model (Ratcliffe, 2008) of intelligence-led policing (ILP). It is a business model and a managerial philosophy where data analysis is critical to the decision-making process when dealing with crime and criminals proactively and reactively. To explore the research questions, a comprehensive data set was constructed using four nationwide data sets: crime analysis survey (CAS), law enforcement management and administration statistics (LEMAS), uniform crime reports (UCRs), and law enforcement agency identifiers crosswalk. The analyses in the study used an ordered regression model (ORM). The findings indicate that having a crime analysis unit in a law enforcement agency affects all levels of organizational decision-making. Similarly, statistical analysis, crime analysis, and intelligence analysis functions are consistently associated with all of the dependent variables. However, survey analysis is significantly associated with only command-level managers’ decision-making, whereas patrol strategy analysis is significantly associated with both command-level managers’ and patrol officers’ decision-making in the organization.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jefferis, Eric.
Subjects: Criminology; Political science; Social research
Keywords: intelligence led policing; 3-i model; crime analysis; decision making
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13.
Gurer, Cuneyt.
DIVERGENCE OF DISCONTENT: Sociopolitical Analysis of Turkoskepticism in the European Union Enlargement.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2008, Kent State University
► One of the most significant decisions of the EU, after the Maastricht…
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▼ One of the most significant decisions of the EU, after the Maastricht Treaty, was its enlargement decision to accept new members as they fulfill the economic and political criteria. As a result of enlargement decision, in May 2004 10 new members, mostly East European countries, and in January 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union. Enlargement is still a working policy process for the EU, in which accession negotiations with formal candidate countries (Turkey and Croatia) are still proceeding and further expansion to the Western Balkans are being considered as a possibility. Despite its success, the EU enlargement has not been free from skepticism. Among several other reasons opposition to Turkey's EU membership played an important role to explain the skepticism toward the EU enlargement. Especially after the latest round of enlargement process Turkey's accession negotiation became a critical topic for the future of Europe. In this framework, this study attempts to understand the dynamics of sociopolitical structure of the European opposition to Turkish EU membership. Recent literature indicates four major issues and concerns regarding the Turkey's EU membership; identity related concerns, general concerns about future enlargement, individual economic expectations, and the concerns about immigration and crime. The first phase of this study considers each issue area as a separate topic and measure the effect of Turkey related variables independently. The second phase measure the level of opposition to Turkey's membership using all issue areas and other explanatory variables in a single model.
Advisors/Committee Members: Kessler, David A.
Subjects: International relations
Keywords: Turkish EU Membership, European Union Enlargement, Turcoskeptcism
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14.
King, Bridgett A.
The Effect of State Policy on the Individual Vote Decisions of African Americans in Presidential and Midterm Elections, 1996 to 2008.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2012, Kent State University
► Voting is an integral part of the American democracy. Voting is the…
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▼ Voting is an integral part of the American democracy. Voting is the tool by which citizens are able to express their preferences and shape the government to best reflect policies derived from these preferences. However, how we are able as citizens to express these preferences by voting is largely determined by rules and policies that dictate when and how we physically register and cast a ballot. These rules vary from state to state. Because African Americans historically have been subject to unfair rules (poll taxes, literacy tests, property requirements, etc.) governing their access to the franchise it is imperative that we look at the way current voting policies affect the African American population. The goal of this research is three fold: (1) to examine the significance of traditional explanations of African American turnout in a contemporary context; (2) to examine voting policy variation outcomes with regard to a historically marginalized African American population; and (3) to examine the effect of felony disenfranchisement laws from the perspective of their impact on the turnout of the enfranchised population. To achieve this, this research evaluates the effect of seven state voting policies (registration closing date, photo identification requirements, statewide computer registration database, in person early voting, Election Day registration, no excuse absentee voting, and felony disenfranchisement) on African American turnout in Presidential and midterm elections from 1996 to 2008. The research utilizes individual-level data from the US Census Bureau Current Population Survey (CPS) that has been merged with detailed state level voting policy, demographic, social and economic indicators. Using a series of multilevel models the effect of policy variations on the African American population was analyzed. Although none of the state policies included in the analysis presented a consistent effect on voting from 1996 to 2008, the contribution of the empirical research presented here is to demonstrate that voting rules, specifically Election Day registration, computerized registration databases, voter registration closing date, early (in-person) voting and felony disenfranchisement can and do affect the turnout of the African American population.
Advisors/Committee Members: Johnson, Renee.
Keywords: voting; political participation; African American; election rules; voter registration
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15.
Koçak, Murat.
The Application of Q Methodology to Generate A Functional Typology of Terrorist Organizations in Turkey.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2010, Kent State University
► This research seeks to discover the nature of Turkish law enforcement officers’…
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▼ This research seeks to discover the nature of Turkish law enforcement officers’ (LEOs) perceptions of terrorism and terrorist organizations through the application of Q technique. Turkish LEOs’ perceptions reflect their personal experiences with terrorism as well as their agencies’ accumulated learning in a country that has had a terrorism history. The study uses Q methodology and research findings to create a typology of terrorist organizations in the Republic of Turkey, and it demonstrates that the methodology facilitates the investigation of terrorist organizations and their typical characteristics (i.e., distinguishing traits), including their methods of operation. Q technique permits the quantitative assessment of terrorist organizations and facilitates predictions about terrorist organizations, or types of terrorist organizations, that have likely been the perpetrators of past terrorist incidents. The study demonstrates how to make such predictions through application of quantitative assessments. Participants, providing data about terrorist organizations, are police investigators of counterterrorism units within the Turkish National Police and serve as expert informers in the research project. Nonprobability and snowball sampling of expert informers has resulted in 49 participants, who have produced 61 Q sorts comprised of 80 characteristics that are used in assessing 11 terrorist groups: Al Qaeda’s Turkish elements, Hizbullah, Revolutionary People's Liberation Party Front, Marxist Leninist Communist Party, the Kurdistan Workers Party, and others. The correlation and factor analysis of individual Q sorts have resulted in comparative judgments about organizational profiles of different terrorist groups and types of groups. Factor analysis has also led to the discovery of five functional categories (or types) of terrorist organizations: ethno-separatist, intimidator religious, self-conscious religious, provocative religious, and communist.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Steven R.
Subjects: Criminology; Political science
Keywords: Q Methodology; Q Sort; terrorism; terrorist organization; methods of operation; typology of terrorist organizations; typology; prediction; Turkey; Turkish police; perception; investigation; intelligence analysis; counterterrorism; profiling; Al Qaeda
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16.
Koksal, Tamer.
The Effect of Police Organization on Computer Crime.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2009, Kent State University
► This study explores the effectiveness of local and state law enforcement in…
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▼ This study explores the effectiveness of local and state law enforcement in dealing with computer crime. Several criteria are used as a measure of effectiveness. The first one is based on the General Deterrence Theory (GDT), which enables to test whether higher probability of arrest for computer crimes deters future computer crimes. Another criterion for establishing police effectiveness is the amount of computer crime statistics that enter departments’ records under circumstances of extremely low reporting of computer crimes. Factors such as having a cybercrime special unit, or computerization in a department are explored in terms of whether they increase computer crime statistics. Computer crimes are drawn from the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) crime data collected from state and local law enforcement agencies. Departmental variables are assessed using the Sample Survey of Law Enforcement Agencies (SSLEA), which is administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ program on Law Enforcement and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS). According to the findings, there is some evidence that deterrence works in the context of computer crimes after some threshold number of detected computer crimes is reached. While testing the effect of police organization on computer crime, the models are also controlled for the demographic characteristics of the jurisdictions served by the related law enforcement agencies. In making sense of the effect of demographics on computer crime, two themes are utilized: the digital divide and the lifestyle exposure theory of victimization. Findings suggest that there might be a positive correlation between involvement in online activities characterized as “risky” and being a victim of a computer crime.
Advisors/Committee Members: Johnson, Renee J.
Subjects: Criminology; Political science; Social research
Keywords: computer crime, cybercrime, law enfocement, NIBRS, General Deterrence, digital divide, lifestyle exposure
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17.
Kunkle, Susan M.
Bind Over and Blended Sentencing in Ohio.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2011, Kent State University
► In the early 1990s, juvenile crime in the US appeared to be…
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▼ In the early 1990s, juvenile crime in the US appeared to be increasing in frequency and seemed to be exceedingly more violent. In state after state, legislative efforts increased the mechanisms of transfer, made transfer mandatory for a larger number of offenses, and generally sought to remove more serious and violent juveniles from the special jurisdiction of the juvenile courts. This research is an effort to understand how those legislative actions were operationalized by the juvenile courts, specifically by identifying the relationship between legal and extra legal variables and dispositional outcomes. In Ohio, three outcomes are salient in the disposition of cases of youthful offenders who engage in felony-level, violent, and/or repetitive criminal offending – retain in the juvenile court, a blended sentence that straddles both the juvenile and adult criminal court system, and a transfer of the case from the juvenile to the adult criminal court system. Data were collected from five Ohio Juvenile Courts and the Ohio Department of Youth Services and consist of populations of transferred and blended sentence cases and a sample of felony adjudication cases from the years of 2002 through 2006. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the data; retained in the juvenile court was identified as the reference factor. The use of a weapon, the severity of the offense, if the offense was violent, prior record, the age of the offender at the time of the offense, and the age of the offender at first contact with the juvenile justice system were significant in the decision to transfer a case to the adult criminal court system. The use of a weapon, the severity of the offense, prior record, and the age of the offender at the time of the offense were significant in the decision to dispose of a case through a blended sentence.
Advisors/Committee Members: Colvin, Mark.
Subjects: Criminology; Sociology
Keywords: waiver of juveniles, blended sentences, sentencing of serious juvenile offenders
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18.
Licate, David A.
Innovations and Organizational Change in Ohio Police Departments.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2010, Kent State University
► As advancements in mobility and communication technology significantly changed policing strategies in…
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▼ As advancements in mobility and communication technology significantly changed policing strategies in the twentieth century, recent advancements in analytical technology have the most potential to drive contemporary strategic innovation in policing organizations. The crime analysis function is essential to the implementation of innovations including problem-oriented, intelligence-led, and homeland security policing strategies. A robust analytical function is necessary for policing agencies to culturally and structurally transition from reactive and incident-driven organizations to proactive and mission-driven organizations. Although policing strategies that provide an alternative to the standard model of policing receive a considerable amount of scholarly attention, implementation of the analytical function required to institutionalize innovative strategies has only recently come under examination. This study poses three questions in examining the implementation of crime analysis in Ohio police departments. First, has crime analysis emerged in Ohio police departments? Second, has crime analysis been institutionalized in Ohio police departments? Finally, what type(s) of crime analysis is implemented in Ohio police departments? Data used in this study come from a survey administered to all municipal police departments in Ohio and interviews with chiefs of police. The data indicate low analytical capacity in Ohio police departments and poor understanding of crime analysis by policing executives. The absence of substantial analytical infrastructure, databases, distribution, and interpretive processes in Ohio police departments inhibits the implementation of strategic alternatives to the standard model of policing.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Steven.
Subjects: Criminology; Political Science; Public Administration; Public Policy
Keywords: crime analysis; policing innovation; policing organizational change; policing strategy; law enforcement innovation; law enforcement organizations; policing organizations; law enforcement strategies
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19.
Matthews, Ronald Eric Jr.
Charitable Choice and Faith-Based Organizations: Welfare, Policy and Religion in American Politics.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2006, Kent State University
► Apart from its profound political significance, there is every indication that the…
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▼ Apart from its profound political significance, there is every indication that the welfare reform legislation of 1996 (Personal Work Opportunity and Reconciliation Act, PWORA) has altered the landscape of American religion. Through Section 104 of PWORA, also known as Charitable Choice, religious congregations, interfaith ministries and denominational work relief agencies- have been thrust into the center of America’s welfare to work transition and community revitalization efforts. Charitable Choice makes it illegal for state governments to discriminate against social service providers who organization has a religious mandate. This dissertation examines Charitable Choice- and more broadly, the changing relationship between religion and social welfare- as its primary point of departure for investigating faith-based poverty relief in the post-welfare era. This research employs a mixed methods approach to understanding the role of Protestant evangelicals in addressing the needs of the poor and specifically their role in the implementation of Charitable Choice. To accomplish this task, two national surveys, one individual and one congregational, are used to explore the role of religiosity and the creation of Protestant evangelical sub-cultures and their effects on civic engagement, volunteerism and support for Charitable Choice. It then triangulates this data with qualitative research to develop a clearer understanding of the issues that affect participation rates and public welfare delivery systems. In-depth interviews of thirty-six Protestant evangelical ministers from central Appalachia are conducted and analyzed. This research provides a more comprehensible understanding of the complex role theological beliefs, religious culture and religious convictions play in public policy delivery. This research examines the wide range of religious beliefs and moral convictions that Protestant evangelical congregations and individuals "adopt to negotiate the countervailing ethical demands of compassion and moral rectitude" (Bartkowski and Regis 2003, 3). This research demonstrates that social capital, in this case bridging and bonding activities (Putnam 2000) can serve both integrative and exclusionary ends. It pays careful attention to the role religious convictions and beliefs play in reinforcing or transforming social and religious boundaries in matters pertaining to poverty relief and the delivery of public policy initiatives
Advisors/Committee Members: O'Brien, Erin.
Subjects: Political Science, General
Keywords: charitable choice; faith-based organizations; welfare; poverty; evangelicals
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20.
Mills, Russell William.
Collaborating with Industry to Ensure Regulatory Oversight: The Use of Voluntary Safety Reporting Programs by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2011, Kent State University
► Voluntary programs are a fast growing and increasingly important policy tool that…
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▼ Voluntary programs are a fast growing and increasingly important policy tool that is being used by regulatory agencies to increase compliance and adherence to rules (Haufler 2001). Voluntary programs are alternative regulatory regimes used by government managers to foster a free exchange of information between industry and regulators by incentivizing the self-policing and self-reporting of regulatory violations to regulators in exchange for reduced enforcement action. In the wake of large-scale failures of voluntary programs at Securities and Exchange Commission and Minerals Management Service, many observers and elected-officials have concluded, as did former SEC chairman Christopher Cox, that voluntary regulation does not work. However, voluntary programs may offer agencies valuable sources of information that can be used to proactively revise and create new regulations and reduce the need for reactionary policymaking following large scale focusing events. In its role as the primary developer and enforcer of safety regulations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employs a cadre of about 3,000 inspectors in its Flight Standards Service branch (AFS) to oversee the more than 250,000 aircraft in the United States. The FAA long ago realized that its inspectors would never be able to inspect the maintenance operations of all aircraft occupying the airspace above the United States. Since 1976, the FAA has operated voluntary reporting, auditing, and training programs with the aviation industry to ensure an exchange of safety information to guide future safety regulations. Using a multi-method approach that draws on a variety of primary data sources including government documents, interviews with FAA and air carrier officials, survey data, and safety reporting data, this dissertation will explore the design, implementation, and oversight of voluntary safety programs used by the FAA to ensure regulatory compliance by air carriers. The major findings of this dissertation suggest that voluntary programs, if structured properly, can foster proactive bureaucratic policy learning that can reduce the need for reactionary policy-making following highly salient focusing events. Finally, a set of actionable policy and management lessons learned are presented that offer insight to strategies for the further use of voluntary programs in other sectors.
Advisors/Committee Members: Cassell, Mark.
Subjects: Political Science; Public Administration; Public Policy; Transportation
Keywords: Regulation; aviation; public policy; voluntary programs
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21.
Mutuku, Christine Mwongeli.
Youth Perspectives on their Empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Kenya.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2011, Kent State University
► This dissertation involves an empirical case study carried out in the cities…
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▼ This dissertation involves an empirical case study carried out in the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya, to explore youths’ perspectives on how public institutions can empower them to achieve their potential and live more fulfilling lives. Besides being a disproportionately large segment of the population, young people face a number of challenges, which include school discontinuation, unemployment and underemployment, poverty, poor health, and lack of recreation facilities. Although the government is aware of the impediment this has created on the development process, policy makers are unfortunately at a loss about how to go about understanding youth empowerment. The starting point, as recommended by this study, is to ask the youth to specify what they need in order to be empowered. Since different perspectives always surround an issue such as this and determine the solutions selected, Q methodology was adopted as a research strategy capable of not only fully harvesting the indigenous intelligence of Kenya’s youth, but also capable of identifying the different opinions/clusters and establishing how they differ as well as how they are similar. To construct a concourse, eight focus group discussions (composed of purposely selected young people, 18 to 30 years old) were conducted yielding a wealth of information from which a Q sample of 40 statements was drawn. A P set of 81 participants – 77 youth and 4 adults, 2 of whom were senior government officials at the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs – represented their points of view in the form of Q sorts, which were factor analyzed. Narrative interviews were also conducted with the two officials to help understand the government’s effort to address the issues identified by the youth as pertinent to their empowerment. Data analysis revealed three divergence points. First, this study disclosed that at a minimum six perspectives exist within the sample concerning how young people in Kenya prefer to be empowered. These six perspectives were labeled Reformists, Qualification-Based Employment, Laborers, Protectors of Public Property, I Am Able, and Build Cultural Centers. The second divergence was between the perspectives of young people and those of officials. The third division was between the perspectives of the two government officials. The discovery of these three divergence fronts contributes to our understanding not only of the complexity of youth empowerment/development, but also of the conflicting paths and values on which participants base equally divergent actions while pursuing a common goal, in this case youth empowerment. These findings are significant in efforts to institute sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa since they provide at least a partial answer to questions about how the youth prefer to be empowered.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Steven.
Subjects: African Studies; Behavioral Sciences; Political Science; Public Policy; Sub Saharan Africa Studies
Keywords: Youth; Empowerment; Participation; Development; Africa; Kenya; Q Methodology; Education
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22.
Newman, Timothy David.
LINKS BETWEEN ETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY: A Q METHODOLOGICAL STUDY OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2005, Kent State University
► This dissertation used Q methodology to measure and analyze the moral and…
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▼ This dissertation used Q methodology to measure and analyze the moral and political positions of various actors who have an interest in the issue of physician aided dying. The population studied included health care professionals, legal professionals, members of the clergy and religious orders, social workers, caregivers, ethicists, the aged and infirm, all of whom comprised the primary decision making group for end of life issues. There were 41 participants in this study. 36 of the 41 participants who completed the Q-sorting portion of the study also completed a public policy survey. A factor analysis was performed and a judgmental rotation of the factors from which a three-factor solution emerged (referred to in the text as Factor A, Factor B, and Factor C). Factor B, the only Q factor that correlated significantly with a policy factor, supports a policy program that would reform the existing legal system in order to accommodate its moral reasoning. Factor A is distinguished by its belief that PAS and euthanasia are inimical to physicians’ moral duty and fundamentally wrong. Factors B and C believe that physician assisted dying can, for some patients, increase the prospects for dying well and that the medical and legal system should evolve to accept that perspective. Factor C is also more focused than Factor B on emphasizing that PAS and euthanasia do not signify a failure of physicians to follow their moral duty towards their patients and society.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Steven R.
Subjects: Political Science, General
Keywords: PAS, Physician-assisted suicide, Ethics and Public Policy, Euthanasia, End of Life Policies, The Right to Die Debate, Q methodology
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23.
OZGULER, MUSTAFA.
COMPARING AND ASSESSING THE PREPAREDNESS OF POLICE ORGANIZATIONS IN COUNTER-TERRORISM (NETHERLANDS AND UNITED KINGDOM).
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2008, Kent State University
► Security and counter-terrorism have become important issues for national governments. To protect…
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▼ Security and counter-terrorism have become important issues for national governments. To protect national security, governments have made substantial investments, legal frameworks have been enlarged, and police organizations and the military have been strengthened. Although terrorist organizations and their tactics have been studied to a great extent, the quality of police organizations' readiness to cope with terrorism has not been widely researched or compared. The covert nature of counter-terrorism policies and procedures has curtailed the quality of law enforcement agencies' readiness for terrorism. This study sought to learn how and to what degree police organizations improve their internal organizational systems of response to counter-terrorism, and how police organizations develop new policies and procedures to meet rising demands imposed by terrorism. A comparative study of the culture of the Dutch and the UK police agencies' organizational responses to terrorism was conducted. Focused police organizations' learning, change and policy initiatives in counter-terrorism were explored through interviewing with experts and gathering documentary evidence from both police organizations. The narrative interview data and documentary evidence were analyzed through a qualitative embedded comparative (multiple) case study approach. The research discovered universal processes that are characteristic of Organizational Culture, such as organizational learning and organizational memory, and particularized adaptations to terrorism made by police agencies. The research found that terrorist acts cause sudden organizational change. Although responses may not result in precisely similar changes, police organizations adapt to the socio-economic and political conditions of their societies. The Netherlands adapted through a unique approach of national coordination. The UK adapted differently by working toward achieving an institutional memory accompanied by grand effort in organizational learning, which required wide scale structural and operational change. Both the Netherlands and the UK adjusted well and in a manner consistent with this study's theoretical logic model. Both police organizations responded as a learning culture, which led to increased knowledge about terrorism, internal processes and structural transformation within police bureaucracy, and policy initiatives intended to investigate, prevent, intervene on, and suppress terrorists and terrorism. The study produced the Preparedness Model of Counter-terrorism (PMCT) which is a management style. Preparedness was defined as a state of development in organizational management whose outcome concentrates organizational resources on the readiness for and the ability to act against terrorism. The Preparedness Model proposes that police organizations adequately address and respond to terrorism only if particular criteria are satisfied.
Advisors/Committee Members: Flannery, Daniel.
Subjects: Management; Organization theory; Organizational behavior; Political science
Keywords: Counter-terrorism, Organizational Theory, Organizational Culture, Police Management, Learning Organizations, Preparedness, Security
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24.
Paar-Jakli, Gabriella.
Knowledge Sharing and Networking in Transatlantic Relations: A Network Analytical Approach to Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2010, Kent State University
► In our complex and interconnected world, scholars of international relations seek to…
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▼ In our complex and interconnected world, scholars of international relations seek to better understand challenges spurred by intensified global communication and interchange. This dissertation investigates how network-based solutions of knowledge creation and dissemination may enhance our capacity to produce better policies. This research suggests that in order to overcome policy problems transnationally, three critical aspects should be considered. First, as science and technology policy becomes increasingly critical to resolving global issues it should be regarded as an integral element of the foreign policy process. Second, as liberal IR theory argues, the increasing role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and transnational networks call for an alternative approach in unraveling patterns of cooperation in the twenty-first century. Third, scholars from various theoretical perspectives have emphasized the potential value of transatlantic governance in the global economy. This dissertation concentrates on the idea that knowledge network (KNET) participants constitute a “linchpin” in transatlantic relations. To test this empirically, this research uses hyperlink network analysis to investigate cooperative arrangements and virtual communication patterns between the European Union and the United States. This study reveals the knowledge-based structure of the transatlantic relationship as a core element of the international system, and a primary catalyst in the resolution of transnational policy problems. This research also demonstrates that there is a variety of actors actively involved in these transatlantic virtual networks. While state actors are not invisible, they are not predominant actors in these networks.
Advisors/Committee Members: Hook, Steven W.
Subjects: Political Science
Keywords: transatlantic; cooperation; networks; social network analysis; governance; communication; European Union; United States; ideas; knowledge; science and technology; change; complexity
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25.
Pokalova, Elena.
Shifting Faces of Terror after 9/11: Framing the Terrorist Threat.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2011, Kent State University
► This dissertation focuses on post-9/11 counterterrorism and analyzes how the “war on…
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▼ This dissertation focuses on post-9/11 counterterrorism and analyzes how the “war on terror” has affected ways of addressing ethno-nationalist separatist conflicts. With the US-led counterterrorist operations in Afghanistan and Iraq following September 11, 2001, military means of fighting terrorism have become more widespread and more acceptable in the eyes of the international community. Ways of addressing terrorism have changed. However, such changes have not been limited exclusively to the threat of terrorism but have affected other phenomena, including ethno-nationalist separatism. The “war on terror” has presented governments with a discursive construct that some states have extrapolated to their separatist challenges. The dissertation analyses how the “war on terror” has enabled some governments to frame their ethno-nationalist separatist conflicts as a terrorist threat and to justify the use of military force against them under the banner of counterterrorism. The findings of the dissertation indicate that the evolution of the concept of “new” terrorism following September 11 has resulted in a tendency to blur the distinctions between the different types of terrorist threats (ethno-nationalist, religious, left- and right-wing). The subsequent blurring of the boundaries between Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups has resulted in the extension of the application of the term terrorism to other phenomena. As the case study of the Russo-Chechen ethno-nationalist separatist conflict reveals, the “war on terror” has been instrumental in the efforts of the Russian government to frame the unpopular conflict as part of the war, and to justify the use of military force as a counterterrorist operation. Similarly, the dissertation investigates how governments in China, Turkey, and Sri Lanka have resorted to terrorist framing in efforts to employ the military solution against separatism while receiving domestic and international support for their actions.
Advisors/Committee Members: Barnes, Andrew.
Subjects: Political Science
Keywords: terrorism; counterterrorism; war on terror; Chechnya; ethno-nationalism; Uyghur; Kurdish; Tamil
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26.
Povtak, Andrew A.
Deciding to Not Decide: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Politics of Secondary Access on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2011, Kent State University
► Research on the U.S. Supreme Court is ubiquitous, and has focused primarily…
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▼ Research on the U.S. Supreme Court is ubiquitous, and has focused primarily on agenda setting at the primary access point (the certiorari stage) and on decision-making on the merits. In the course of this research, scholars have devised numerous ways to explain justice voting behavior. The main argument has been whether political attitudes motivates justice voting behavior, or whether internal and external variables pose constraints on the ability of the justices to realize their sincere preferences. This dissertation takes a new look at the factors motivating justice voting behavior by examining justiciability and jurisdictional issues (termed “secondary access”). The dissertation’s goal is to develop a strategic model that incorporates pertinent influences on the individual justices’ votes. The dissertation also builds institutional-level models of Court behavior to gauge the effectiveness of the behavioral models. The author finds that attitudes, the adherence to precedent, legal doctrine, public pressure, internal strategy, and preferences of Congress and the President all influence individual voting.
Advisors/Committee Members: Banks, Christopher.
Subjects: Political Science
Keywords: Supreme Court; justiciability; voting; decisionmaking
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27.
Randall, David J.
The Politics of Medicaid Contracting and Privatization.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2012, Kent State University
► State Medicaid programs transfer over $100 billion to private firms to manage…
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▼ State Medicaid programs transfer over $100 billion to private firms to manage the health care needs of beneficiaries every year. As a result of state policy choices, there is a great deal of variation among the states in the scope and use of managed care organizations to serve state Medicaid populations. This research answers questions about what factors help to explain the variations among states; with a specific emphasis on both the role of interest group populations and bureaucratic capacity. The questions posed are answered utilizing pooled, cross-sectional time series analysis from 1997 to 2007 to test the relationship between Medicaid managed care policy choices and a variety of political, economic, demographic and governmental control variables. In addition, a four state case study analysis was conducted with similar policy players in each state that utilizes content analysis software to examine transcribed interview response variations about state Medicaid privatization efforts. The findings from the quantitative models suggest that interest groups play an important role in explaining why states choose to use commercial for-profit managed care arrangements. The models also find that states with higher levels of bureaucratic capacity tend to rely less on the use of all forms of managed care in Medicaid contracting, and that state specific managed care markets are positively related to state managed care policy choices. The four state qualitative interviews confirm the accuracy of the statistical analysis and further provide a narrative explaining why states favor one type of Medicaid managed care use. In addition, the interviews clarify how strong interest group communities and diminished bureaucratic capacity explain a state’s policy choices. The findings contribute to the state policy and politics literature and health policy making about the role of bureaucracy and interest groups and are generalizable to other state policy venues.
Advisors/Committee Members: Johnson, Renee.
Subjects: Health Care; Health Care Management; Political Science; Public Administration; Public Health; Public Policy
Keywords: Medicaid, entitlements, interest groups, state policymaking, state bureaucracy, bureaucratic capacity, contracting, privatization, health policy, managed care
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28.
Saikaly, Ramona.
Decision Making in U.S. Foreign Policy: Applying Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model to the 2003 Iraq Crisis.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2009, Kent State University
► Foreign-policy making is not always responsive, in which the process of finding…
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▼ Foreign-policy making is not always responsive, in which the process of finding solutions responds to the problems that arise. Rather, it can be proactive in which solutions are devised first, to which new problems are attached in an effort to catapult these solutions onto the government decision agenda. This study argues that in the case of the decision to take military action against Iraq in 2003, conventional foreign-policy models, which subscribe to the responsive approach, do not reveal all aspects of the decision-making process. In this case the concept of “preexisting solutions” as devised by Kingdon’s multiple streams model (a conventional domestic-policy model) played a crucial role and rendered the process proactive. Applying this model suggests that a group of policy entrepreneurs had a preexisting solution (military action in Iraq) coupled with a problem that turned into a focusing event (9/11) and a receptive political climate, all of which landed the solution on the decision agenda. This information is crucial in attempting to better understand this case. This study compares the multiple streams model to four conventional models in foreign-policy analysis in an effort to test its viability in this arena. To reconcile the application of several analytical models simultaneously this study utilizes an integrated approach assuming that case studies may have multiple explanations at the same time, which when presented together provide a better understanding of the case. The findings indicate that the multiple streams model provides an analytical approach that is not provided by other conventional foreign-policy models, and that such an approach proves to be necessary to the understanding of the case. This indicates that Kingdon’s model is viable as a theoretical and explanatory model in this arena.
Advisors/Committee Members: Hook, Steven W.
Subjects: Political science
Keywords: proactive foreign policy; the multiple streams model; preexisting solutions
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29.
Seymour, Lisa Ann.
Collective Rape: The Continued Victimization of Women in the International System.
Degree: MA, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2010, Kent State University
► Collective rape in the international system has become a travesty of epic…
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▼ Collective rape in the international system has become a travesty of epic proportions. It has been occurring since Biblical times, yet the global community has done little to address the issue. Historically, collective rape has been considered a byproduct of warfare, but this thesis proves that it has become a methodical weapon utilized to destroy a community with extensive repercussions for the future. Through the examination of collective rape through a hybrid theory referred to as the Triad Approach to Understanding Collective Rape, this thesis illustrates the indicators which can, and often do, result in the use of collective rape. By examining case studies of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, research shows that collective rape is a result of longstanding historical tensions combined with a defined division between genders and gender roles. These criteria culminate in an environment where collective rape is an effective method of destruction on a local and national level. Further, this approach demonstrates that collective rape can be eradicated through an international movement towards education, action, and commitment to ending rape as a weapon of war throughout the world. The time to observe the phenomenon is over, and the time to act is now.
Advisors/Committee Members: Mazzei, Julie.
Subjects: Political Science
Keywords: Collective rape; mass rape; strategic rape; Sudan; Democratic Republic of the Congo; women's rights
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30.
Sezgin, Erkan.
A Comparative Perspective of International Cooperation against Terrorism.
Degree: PhD, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science, 2007, Kent State University
► Terrorism is one of the biggest problems of our time with its…
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▼ Terrorism is one of the biggest problems of our time with its effects that are no longer constrained within national borders. Although international cooperation is necessary against terrorism, it is not at desired levels due to many reasons. The dissertation offers a new perspective that may possibly make international cooperation possible through measuring opinions of people in charge of fighting terrorism in their countries. There is no universally accepted definition of terrorism, which seems to be the fundamental problem that inhibits international cooperation. Moreover, what is understood of the terrorism concept varies at different levels. The dissertation started examining the concept of terrorism from a philosophical perspective to explore the underlying reasons for lack of a common definition. The examination also revealed the remedies to cure the determined problems. As opposed to the common application of defining terrorism operationally, the dissertation’s finding was that the concept should be defined declaratively. For that purpose the dissertation examined how the components (dimensions) of the concept of terrorism come together to “form” the concept. Philosophical structures were used at this level. Depending on the findings of the philosophical examination of the concept, extensive literature review and determining the typology of terrorism, the “statements” that would be used in the data-collection process were prepared. Those statements were offered law enforcement officers, politicians and judges/prosecutors, five from each group in Turkey and the United States. The data collected from a total of thirty participants were analyzed by using Q Methodology, and the results revealed the variations in the understanding of the concept of terrorism. The dissertation disclosed the fact that nationality is more important a factor in shaping understanding of terrorism than professions. It revealed that measuring opinions of people in charge of counter-terrorism could be a useful determinant of the understanding of the concept. Instead of encouraging states to adopt a common definition which can be against those people’s understandings of the concept, learning and comparing those opinions may be more realistic and productive in terms of providing international cooperation.
Advisors/Committee Members: Ammar, Nawal H.
Keywords: Terrorism; Fighting Terrorism; Q Methodology; Concept Formation; Philosophy
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