Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2012, Botany

Bush medicine is the traditional use of indigenous and introduced plants for medicinal purposes in the Bahamas. Even with access to westernized health care, elderly Bahamians in the Family Islands continue to rely heavily on bush medicines because these remedies are affordable, readily available, accepted within the culture, and considered more effective than biomedicine or over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. This oral tradition is severely threatened as younger generations are increasingly influenced by westernization and lured by greater economic opportunities, causing them to become disassociated from the land and its flora. Ethnobotanical fieldwork aimed at documenting and identifying plants used for therapeutic purposes was conducted on two Bahamian Islands: Long Island in 1998, where 47 persons were interviewed; and on Cat Island in 1999 and 2000, where 56 persons were consulted. This investigation represents the first attempt to quantify the various medicinal applications attributed to numerous plant species in the Bahamas. Information on all plant species reported to have therapeutic value was recorded, including scientific identity, illness(es) treated, plant part used, preparation, mode of administration, and common name(s). The results were quantified for each island individually and for both islands collectively. A total of 176 plant species were reported from both islands as having medicinal value. Of those, 120 species are commonly used on both islands for similar purposes. This continuity demonstrates that transfer of knowledge between islands is extensive, with disparities most likely attributed to ecological differences affecting floristic composition. In addition, the most frequently reported species (>10%) used to treat 56 different popular or emic medical complaints are presented. Cognitive symptomatologies for each illness are described, in addition to a plant remedy's relation to naturalistic or personalistic theories of disease causation and the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: W. Hardy Eshbaugh PhD (Committee Chair); Adolph M. Greenberg PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Michael A. Vincent PhD (Committee Member); Susan R. Barnum PhD (Committee Member); Mark R. Boardman PhD (Other) Subjects: African American Studies; African History; African Studies; Alternative Medicine; American History; Biology; Black History; Black Studies; Botany; Caribbean Studies; Cultural Anthropology; Ethnic Studies; European History; Folklore; Health; Health Care; History; Medicine

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2017, History (Arts and Sciences)

This dissertation argues that U.S. economic strategies and policies were effective means to wage the Cold War during its final years and conclude the conflict on terms favorable to the United States. Using recently declassified U.S. and British government documents, among other sources, this analysis reveals that actions in East-West economic relations undermined cooperative U.S.-Soviet relations in the 1970s, contributed to heightened tensions in the early 1980s, and helped renew the U.S.-Soviet dialogue in the late 1980s. Scholars have focused on the role arms control initiatives and political actions played in the end of the Cold War. Arms control agreements, however, failed to resolve the underlying ideological and geopolitical competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. Through economic statecraft, the United States strengthened Western security and moved beyond containment to aid the democratic revolutions in Eastern Europe, help settle U.S.-Soviet political differences, and encourage the transformation of the oppressive Soviet system. In effect, this analysis highlights the ways in which U.S. economic statecraft served as an instrument to promote national interests and peace. Between the 1970s and early 1990s, the Soviet Union intended to overcome its economic decline through deeper commercial relations with the West. But, the United States continually sought to block Soviet moves, fearing deeper East-West economic relations would enhance Soviet military potential and grant Moscow leverage over the Atlantic alliance. While working with its West European allies to strengthen the regulation of East-West trade and protect alliance security, the United States also attempted to place further pressure on the Soviet economy and punish Moscow for its aggressive international behavior. In the late 1980s, trade restrictions and limited economic engagement helped the United States negotiate with the Soviet Union from a position of strength, moving bey (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Chester Pach PhD (Advisor); Paul Milazzo PhD (Committee Member); Ingo Trauschweizer PhD (Committee Member); James Mosher PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Economic History; Economics; European History; History; Military History; Modern History; Peace Studies; Russian History; World History

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2013, Political Science

This research contributes to the current scholarship regarding the influence of domestic interest groups on United States (U.S.) foreign trade policy and it is unique in that it specifically considers the likelihood for approval of protectionist trade policy by an executive administration. It investigates this question: What is the relationship of influence between domestic interest groups and presidential trade policy protection? Research that considers this research question may have important policy implications in that it allows scholars, citizens, and state officials to better understand how interest groups influence foreign trade policy. Specifically, one may find the following contributions from this work: scrutiny of the relationship between interest groups and presidential foreign trade policy output, unique interest group operationalization, specific case study analysis of the Bush Administration's aberrant favor toward protectionist trade policy during the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) case of United States--Countervailing duty measures concerning certain products from the European Communities (WT/DS212)_2002, and insight into the influence of interest groups of various kinds as I apply my theory in a time series analysis of administrations from 1964-1992 in order to observe the accuracy of my theory across time and when considering various administrations and industries of trade.

Committee: John Rothgeb Jr. (Advisor); Augustus Jones (Committee Member); Abdoulaye Saine (Committee Member); Andrew Cayton (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2010, History (Arts and Sciences)

Selling the Gulf War required the George H. W. Bush administration to depart from its ineffective approach to public communications. The American people initially supported the President‘s response to the invasion of Kuwait, but over time the administration‘s inconsistent arguments caused the case for intervention to be increasingly called into question. By late November the administration perceived a looming crisis in support and moved to solidify domestic approval. Public opinion research informed them that the memory of the Vietnam War was the greatest threat to public support of an American war in the Persian Gulf. Consequently the administration simplified the justifications for war and argued that challenging Saddam Hussein was a moral imperative. After an initial swell of support in the aftermath of victory, the administration became less able to publically justify the war and unable to use it for political ends. The cultural and political consequences of the administration‘s decisions contributed to Bush‘s defeat in the 1992 presidential election.

Committee: Chester Pach (Advisor); Chester Pach (Committee Chair); Paul Milazzo (Committee Member); John Brobst (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; History; International Relations

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2006, Political Science

This paper reports on a comparative analysis of the environmental policy campaign promises and in-term performances of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. The study divides environmental policy promises into domestic and global issues, and evaluates presidential performance with campaign promises, categorizing performance into five categories: comparable action, partially comparable action, no action, mixed action, and contrary action. Results of the analysis reveal a markedly lower level of promise fulfillment for environmental promises, particularly promises concerning global environmental issues, than for campaign promises in general. The promise fulfillment disparity arises from the intergenerational and politically subordinate nature of environmental policy.

Committee: Ryan Barilleaux (Advisor) Subjects: Political Science, General

BA, Oberlin College, 2022, Politics

This thesis seeks to understand the conditions in the United States post-9/11 that enabled the Bush administration to pursue a wide-ranging and all-encompassing “War on Terror,” with substantial support from the general public. I am principally focused on two significant facets of the War on Terror: the invasion of Iraq and the establishment of a permanent security state (and the interrelated creation of a new state of exception). I ask why the George W. Bush administration was so successful in generating support for both the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and for policies that violated fundamental civil liberties; I argue that the Bush administration, with substantial collaboration from mainstream mass media, was able to effectively instigate a moral panic as a result of the pre-existing widespread belief in American exceptionalism, as well as the prevalence of deeply rooted colonialist ideology, among the general public. Relatedly, I assert that the post-9/11 moment, including both the cultural reaction to the attacks and post-9/11 foreign policy, cannot be understood without first examining the significant political and cultural shifts that took place during and after the Cold War, among both the general public and among political elites. I then argue that this moral panic, which was actively cultivated by the Bush administration and many fixtures in the media, enabled Bush to implement policies and practices that violated domestic and/or international law with minimal backlash from the American public, and in many cases, even received enthusiastic support. These policies and practices established, and then further entrenched, a permanent state of exception centered principally around “homeland security.”

Committee: Kristina Mani (Advisor); Amanda Zadorian (Committee Member); Joshua Freedman (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Armed Forces; International Law; International Relations; Middle Eastern Studies; Political Science; Public Policy; Rhetoric

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2022, Antioch Santa Barbara: Clinical Psychology

In Montserrat, traditional healing medicines consist of herbal treatments and customary therapeutic methods such as ritual practices and herbal teas also known as “Bush and Weed” (Duberry, 1973, p.1). The purpose of this study is to discuss herbs known as “Bush,” in Montserrat, and how they benefit psychological wellbeing among the communities in Montserrat. A subsequent intention of this study is to address how an understanding of Montserratian Traditional Healing remedies can be beneficial to Western Psychological practice and enhance the efficacy for psychological healing. The gap in the literature indicates that few studies are examining mental health methods in Montserrat, and that further exploration is necessary. This dissertation has contributed to this small but growing body of information, although more research may be needed. In order to analyze this effect, this study uses an ethnographic qualitative methodology. Eight Montserratian participants who were familiar with traditional healing treatments were interviewed and the data was transcribed and coded utilizing MAXQDA. Three major themes emerged from the data, Herbal/Bush Treatments, Jumbie Dance and Mental Illness, which focused on the use of traditional healing remedies. Traditional treatments in Montserrat are indigenous remedies that are utilized mostly by Montserratians for daily use, as well as for the treatment of mental and physical wellbeing. The study concludes with discussions which recommend a need to continue focusing on passing down generational knowledge of Traditional Healing methods and having a more localized understanding of mental health in Montserrat. This includes an analysis of responsibly integrating Montserratian healing methods into Western psychology. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, https://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu

Committee: Brett Kia-Keating EdD (Committee Chair); Fanny Brewster PhD (Committee Member); Stephen Southern EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Alternative Medicine; Black History; Caribbean Studies; Folklore; Health; Psychology

Bachelor of Film and Media Production, Capital University, 2022, Media

The 1960s in the United States was a time period where great hope led to great despair. The Philosophical Implications of Alternate History is a historical analysis of an alternate outcome of some of the tumultuous events of the decade, such as the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. This hypothetical timeline engages with three questions: (1) what might have happened, had these tragedies not occurred; (2) how these events contributed to our present political and cultural landscape; and (3) what we can learn by imagining alternate scenarios. My findings from analyzing these three questions resulted in Vigilant Conservation Theory (VCT), which argues that solving societal problems quickly ultimately leads to less consequences. In both historical and present-day examples, I conclude that when tangible issues aren't dealt with, culture and society come into question as well. With VCT in mind, I posit that if we solve the tangible problems of today, we will diffuse cultural flashpoints and, in doing so, build consensus instead of division. I also observe and emphasize the importance of having a unifying national myth when envisioning our future and discuss whether an alternate history can serve this function.

Committee: Andrew Carlson (Advisor) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Political Science

Artium Baccalaureus (AB), Ohio University, 2021, History

In 2001, George W. Bush ran for (and won) the presidency on a platform that emphasized the potential benefits of government partnerships with private, religious social service providers. He called this idea the "Faith-Based Initiative," and it was implemented into law by executive order shortly after the election. Although there were historical precedents to this kind of public-private partnership in American welfare, Bush's Faith-Based Initiative was a unique blend of different religious and political theories. Among these were Kuyperian sphere sovereignty, civil society, and compassionate conservatism. The mixture of various philosophies that influenced the conception of the Faith-Based Initiative made Bush's project something new to the American welfare landscape. This paper examines the intellectual history of Bush's Faith-Based Initiative and how the Faith-Based Initiative interacted with the American political landscape.

Committee: Paul C. Milazzo (Advisor) Subjects: American History; American Studies; History; Public Policy; Religion; Welfare

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, History

My dissertation explores the influence of British and American grand strategy on the Anglo-American military alliance from 1981-1991 and analyzes the notion of a “Special Relationship” between the two states. Drawing heavily on primary source documents from British and American governmental archives, I analyze the alliance's performance in the Polish Solidarity crisis, the Falklands War, the second deployment of the Multinational Force in Lebanon, the American invasion of Grenada, the American bombing of Libya in 1986, the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and, of course, the Cold War. I argue that, while there is a Special Relationship, its nature is generally misunderstood. At the time, for instance, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher worried that the bonds of the Special Relationship were weakening. Instead, she simply failed to understand how it actually worked. It did not make the American and British governments more likely to agree on a common course of action than any other pair of allies. It instead made them more effective when they happened to agree, and helped ensure that disagreements did not fester or escalate into larger problems. The most important variable for determining the effectiveness of American-British cooperation was whether or not they shared strategic aims—which was hardly unique to the Anglo-American alliance. Finally, I argue that the true value of the “Special Relationship” lay in the cooperation between the lower levels of government, and not in the relations between the heads of state.

Committee: Peter Mansoor PhD (Advisor); Jennifer Siegel PhD (Committee Member); Joseph Parrott PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: History; Military History

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2019, History

This paper explores the power of history in the rhetoric of conservative politicians, historians and media figures during the Long American Culture Wars (1992-2010). Throughout these years, the content of historical rhetoric remained generally consistent and emphasized four essential ideas: the 1960s as a moment of national declension, a national history of neoliberalism, the Christian tradition in America, and general opposition to multiculturalism. Throughout these 18 years, conservative rhetoric grew progressively more hostile in three distinct sub-eras, “The Contract With America” era (1992-2000), the “With Us or Against Us” era (2002-2006), and the “Tea Party” era (2007-2010). The rhetoric of conservative figures demonstrated this paper's central argument – that history was an essential tool for conservative elites to defend their policies and values, while simultaneously attacking those of their liberal opponents.

Committee: Nishani Frazier PhD (Advisor); Steven Conn PhD (Committee Member); Thomas Misco PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: History

BA, Oberlin College, 2017, Politics

This thesis examines U.S. democratization efforts in Haiti and Iraq: two instances where the United States used military intervention in its failed attempts to export democracy around the world. If the United States is to continue pursuing democratization, it is necessary for policy makers to modify their practices, as recent attempts have only resulted in failure. Thus, the study of how and why democratization attempts fail is critical in order to minimize the damage created by disastrous attempts at exporting democracy. So, in the Clinton and Bush administration's attempts to implement democracy in Haiti and Iraq, where did the democracy planners go wrong, and how did these mistakes further each country's failure to democratize successfully? Through a careful examination and analysis of the United States' democratization efforts in Haiti and Iraq, this thesis demonstrates that due to an inadequate understanding of universal characteristics of democracy, poor assessments of each country's historical, political, and social contexts as they relate to internal characteristics associated with democracy, and various obstacles to democracy, the Clinton and Bush administrations failed to successfully democratize Haiti and Iraq. Furthermore, these two cases suggest that the very practice of externally motivated and militarily enforced democratization cannot lead to a sustainable democracy.

Committee: Eve Nan Sandberg (Advisor) Subjects: International Relations

Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2015, International and Comparative Politics

What are the reasons for the increasing number of drone strikes between 2002 and 2012 by the United States? This study examines the various aspects of the United States government which led to this increase in the number of strikes. Specifically, this study examines the military capabilities, the military leadership bureaucracy and presidential aspects of drone use. Through the division of this time period into three sections, this study seeks to find explain the events which led to the increase in the use of drones by the United States. This study concludes with a discussion on what the future may hold for the United States Unmanned Aerial Combat Vehicle program.

Committee: Vaughn Shannon Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jonathan Winkler Ph.D. (Committee Member); R. William Ayres IV Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: International Relations; Military History; Military Studies; Political Science

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Popular Culture

President George W. Bush experienced a drastic rise in popularity after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, and this popularity continued through his first term and enabled him to be reelected for a second. In this thesis, I seek to explain some of President Bush's popularity by examining American popular entertainment media produced between 2001 and 2004. I look at ways that this media reinforced White House rhetoric and encouraged Bush's continued popularity with the American people. I analyze television shows (24 and Alias), romantic comedy and superhero movies (Two Weeks Notice, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, Maid in Manhattan, Spider-Man, and Spider-Man 2), and war-themed video games (Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Call of Duty, and Freedom Fighters) to examine how they contributed to the establishment of an “Us vs. Them” mentality and the construction of the wealthy white man (i.e. Bush himself) as the American savior, as well as created an environment in which any questioning of the Bush Administration or the War on Terror could be interpreted as traitorous.

Committee: Motz Marilyn (Committee Chair); Brown Jeff (Committee Member); Gajjala Radhika (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Cultural Anthropology; Film Studies; Mass Media; Middle Eastern Studies; Modern History; Motion Pictures; Political Science; Rhetoric

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2012, Political Science

This thesis examines the ideology of George W. Bush prior to and during the Iraq War. In the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, George Bush used ideology to justify the invasion. The method used to determine the nature of Bush's ideology is content analysis of Bush's speeches. The thesis finds that George W. Bush's ideology regarding Iraq was heavily influenced by neo-conservatism, and was influenced very little by realism.

Committee: Mark Denham PhD (Committee Chair); David Davis PhD (Committee Member); David Wilson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Political Science

The president's agenda and Congress's support for the president's programs are key drivers in American public policy and electoral politics. The study of presidential-legislative relations, however, lacks a broad and rigorous treatment of the normal legislative process, from initial presidential position taking on votes before the House to final veto override votes cast by Congress. This dissertation broadly examines two stages of the normal legislative process, presidential position-taking and House support for the president's positions, using a data set consisting of more than 3,200 House votes representing the first terms of the Carter through Clinton administrations. The dissertation suggests that three temporal contexts—regime time; political, or intra administration time; and policymaking or discrete time—prominently shape the politics of presidential position taking and legislative support for the president. My analysis then employs a series of uniquely constructed variables to account for the personal and external context within which the president legislates and attempts to persuade members of the House. By doing so, this dissertation tests the degree to which the legislative or executive branch dominates the policy process. Drawing from a data set that treats presidential position-taking—and subsequent legislative action—as discrete decisions and using a series of binary cross-sectional probit models, the dissertation finds strong evidence suggesting that the waxing and waning of the president's political capital over regime and political time is among the most critical factors to consider when examining legislative-executive relations. These findings call into question past analyses of presidential-congressional relationships that fail to account for the dynamic nature of presidential and/or legislative dominance of the policy process. The dissertation concludes by discussing directions for subsequent research.

Committee: Janet Box-Steffensmeier (Advisor) Subjects: Political Science, General

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2009, History (Arts and Sciences)

This thesis examines the activity of the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), a citizens committee founded in December, 1950, by James B. Conant and Tracy S. Voorhees. The CPD believed that neither the government nor the people of the United States paid sufficient regard to the immediate military threat posed by the Soviet Union. To remedy this situation, the CPD favored a strong American response to what it perceived as a growing trend of aggressive actions by the Soviet Union and its allies, highlighted by the ongoing Korean War. High on the CPD's agenda was support for compulsory military service for a period of two years for all eighteen-year-old males, under a system known as universal military service. Previous studies have contended that the CPD played a major role in the political discussions on national security in the first half of 1951, known as the Great Debate. Through an examination of the evidence, including the committee's own files, it is clear that the CPD's role was far less significant than previously understood, that its relationship with the administration was far from harmonious, and that its political campaigning was often ineffective at a crucial time in the Cold War.

Committee: Chester J. Pach PhD (Advisor); Paul Milazzo PhD (Committee Member); Alonzo Hamby PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: History

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2008, English (Arts and Sciences)

This dissertation consists of an allegorical novel, written in the form of a diary, set mostly in southeastern Ohio. The critical introduction explores the effect of temporal perspective on first-person interpolated stories such as diaries and epistolary narratives. Based on the work of narratologists such as Gerard Genette and Gerald Prince, the introduction discusses the need for thoughtful consideration of temporal position and distance in the composition of first-person interpolated narratives.

Committee: Darrell K. Spencer (Committee Chair); David Burton (Other); Zakes Mda (Other); Robert Miklitsch (Other) Subjects: American Literature

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2006, Film (Fine Arts)

Mainstream news media organizations have adopted classical Hollywood narrative storytelling conventions in order to convey vital news information. In doing so, these organizations tell news stories in a way that paints political realities as causal agents, delicate international crises as sensational conflicts, and factual profiles of public figures as colorful characterizations. By establishing artificial narrative lines and unnecessarily antagonistic conflict, the press has at times become an unwitting agent of government policy and, in part, altered the course of international events. The classical Hollywood narrative is the storytelling model on which the American media based its coverage of United States foreign policy after September 11, 2001. The sensationalized coverage culminated in a cinematic presentation of events that led to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Since September 11, a narrative plot unfolded, the characters were defined, and the tension rose. The news media primed the audience as if the American people were watching a well-executed and often predictable Hollywood narrative. And though there was no evidence that proved Iraq had played a role in the September 11 attacks, by March of 2003 the war seemed inevitable and possessing of seemingly perfect narrative logic.

Committee: Adam Knee (Advisor) Subjects:

Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, 2008, College of Arts and Sciences - Communication

On September 11, 2001, Americans watched in horror as nearly 3,000 people perished at the hands of an enemy whom most had never heard of and in a manner that none could have ever imagined. It was the first time since Pearl Harbor that a foreign enemy had carried-out such a large-scale attack on U.S. soil and, in doing so, it shattered the interlude of relative peace that had emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union a decade earlier. When the smoke cleared and U.S. officials named the culprit, many were shocked at the fact that it was not another state that had attacked the worlds sole superpower, but one man and his terrorist organization. In the months and years after the 9/11 attacks, America would unveil the most aggressive and controversial military doctrine in its history which included the utilization of overwhelming preemptive military force against an enemy who existed in over 60 countries worldwide. At the dawn of the 21st century, American military capabilities far surpassed those of any nation or combination of nations on the planet and President George W. Bush and his administration were eager to display such capacity. At the heart of these new policies laid the strong belief that the 9/11 attacks had somehow transformed the nature of the world and made the enactment of specific military policies the only way to ensure American security in the new century. Essentially, this thesis is designed to explore the world that existed both before and after 9/11 as well as the elements of the American domestic environment that influenced which policies were used to engage such a world. This comprehensive analysis which ranges from the Cold War to the Iraq War - will thus challenge the merits of the perception behind the post-9/11 military strategies and determine why, six years later, subsequent policies in Afghanistan and Iraq have not been successful in eliminating al Qaeda.

Committee: Ryan Barilleaux (Advisor); John Forren (Advisor); Howard Kleiman (Advisor) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Political Science