Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2022, International and Comparative Politics

Despite the pervasive trend in civil war of multiple sponsors backing rebels or the government, there is surprisingly minimal analysis on how the balance of support influences conflict duration. Building on the research of Sawyer et al. (2017), who find that the “fungibility” of external support leads to longer civil war, this thesis contributes a new scoring method for analyzing the balance of “fungible” (hereafter “convertible”) support among combatants (rebels versus government), discovering that a balance of convertibility contributes to shorter conflict. Convertible resources are those that combatants manipulate to enhance their warfighting capacity, such as funding, while troops or territory are less convertible since combatants can only use them in a specific context. A balance of convertible forces likely contributes to shorter conflict because both sides recognize the reduced likelihood of victory. Policymakers should thus carefully evaluate the support given to the opposition of the recipient they are backing.

Committee: Liam Anderson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Carlos Costa Ph.D. (Committee Member); Vaughn Shannon Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: International Relations; Political Science

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2020, Journalism (Communication)

In Western world, government intervention via media policy is supposed to help correct market failures such as the existence of external cost/benefit on third parties, the lack of public goods, or the abuse of monopoly power (Rolland, 2008; Hoskins et al., 2004; Picard, 1989). In communist nations, government intervention is more often viewed as to protect political ideas (Lee et al., 2006; Silverblatt & Zlobin, 2004; Siebert et al., 1978). However, in the post-communist era, communist governments were steered towards a market economy with a socialist orientation, leading to the ambiguity of their media policies' goals and subsequently, their policy outcomes. In this study, I choose to analyze media policies in Vietnam, a still communist nation, to understand its current policy goals and to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy on news quality and financial performance of Vietnamese press organizations. The study is done based on Freedman's (2008) definition of media policy, normative analyses and the public interest theory outlined by Hoskin et al. (2004), and financial commitment model developed and tested by many media economists (Lacy, 1989; Martin, 2003; Lacy & Martin, 2004). Three research questions are asked as following: (1) What changes in press laws have occurred in Vietnamese history in terms of Freedman's identified key policy tools, such as regulations regarding ownership, subsidies, taxes, advertising and content restrictions?; (2) Can the current, state-run news media policy be justified on the grounds of market failures according to the economic theory of government intervention?; and (3) How do news organizations perform under the current news media policy, assuming the positive relationship between media competition, as a result of changes in market structure, and media performance, including financial performance and news quality? A qualitative document analysis of 270 legal documents drawn from the Ministry of Information and Communication Arc (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Hugh Martin (Committee Chair) Subjects: Journalism

PHD, Kent State University, 2014, College of Public Health

Abstract With just a year remaining to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline, there is limited evidence for and adequate level of awareness/use of malaria intervention strategies and by extension, decreases in malaria-related mortality and morbidity. This is a cross-sectional study on awareness and use of malaria control interventions based on data collected from a household survey from two of the 20 local government areas (LGAs) of Lagos State, Nigeria – Alimosho and Kosofe where a malaria control program of Roll Back Malaria (RBM) is being implemented. The sample included pregnant women (n = 250) and mothers of children under five years old (n = 233) that were interviewed using interviewer-administered, semi-structured questionnaires in a household survey. Questionnaires developed by the research staff of the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research probed respondents' demographic characteristics; knowledge and compliance of policy guidelines on the awareness and use of malaria intervention strategies. The study was implemented over a 6-month period from February to August 2014. This study used both linear and logistic regression analysis. Linear regression was used to predict the Compliance Index as a function of the independent variables of Age, Marital Status, Maternal Status, Religion, Education and Local Government Area of residence, while logistic regression was used to predict alignment into high/moderate or low knowledge of malaria categories also as a function of Age, Marital Status, Maternal Status, Religion, Education and Local Government Area of residence. Results of the linear regression showed that the overall model of the six independent variables was able to significantly predict the compliance index, R2 = .163, F(6,409) = 13.28, p <.001. Age, Education and LGA were significant predictors. Results of the logistic regression showed the Exp(B) of two predictors, LGA and Maternal Status, as statistically reliable in distinguishing b (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sonia Alemagno Ph.D (Advisor); Jonathan VanGeest Ph.D (Committee Chair); James Mark Ph.D (Committee Member); Bhatta Madhav Ph.D (Committee Member); John Graham Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Public Health

Bachelor of Science in Business, Miami University, 2010, School of Business Administration - Finance

As most are aware, 2008 and 2009 were defined by economic turmoil and uncertainty. The automotive industry was not immune to the panic, arguably feeling the wrath of the chaos more than any other industries. Believing the recession would persist lacking the health of the automotive sector, many experts turned to the U.S. government for a safety net. The government responded with two main tools in an effort to staunch the hemorrhaging of the auto industry: governmental loans (“bailouts” as they have come to be called) and an automotive sector specific policy, the Cash Allowance Rebate System (CARS), colloquially known as Cash for Clunkers. In this thesis, I analyze the government's decisions and test stock market sentiment of each pertinent intervention. Contrary to Adam Smith's revolutionary work with laissez-faire economics, I find that the market overwhelmingly supports government aid. The thesis centers around explaining these implications.

Committee: Thomas Boulton (Advisor); David Shull (Committee Member); Terry Nixon (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Community