Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2019, History

Oil was discovered in northwest Ohio in 1885. Men came from Pennsylvania and the oil boom was born. Towns appeared and disappeared overnight, and they were often known for a proliferation of saloons, houses of ill repute, and gambling. Derricks littered these towns and posed safety hazards. However, some oil towns were different. In 1890 Gibsonburg, in Sandusky County, Ohio, passed laws prohibiting the drilling of oil wells within 300 feet of a residence. Their efforts revealed environmentalist tendencies decades before it became a national concern. The reforming spirit found in Gibsonburg's residents continued and those early efforts set a precedent for further activism. In 1983 a local lime plant closed its doors and was slated for sale to the Gibsonburg Lime Company who would incinerate polychlorinated biphenyls, a known human carcinogen, as fuel. Many Gibsonburg residents quickly formed a group to oppose the plan. Their timely action resulted in the cancellation of the sale. In both instances, residents resisted the allure of money and jobs to keep themselves and their environment safe. This underscores the lengthy history of environmental activism in Gibsonburg, particularly related to petroleum and the petrochemical industries.

Committee: Michael Brooks Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Andrew Hershberger Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; History

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2013, History

The San Francisco Bay Area played a critical role in supporting military activities throughout the twentieth century. Due to its location, the Bay Area served as one of the key military staging grounds for the Pacific campaign of WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The region benefited from war-related industry, housing the largest shipyard west of the Mississippi and supporting the burgeoning postwar military industrial complex. Its demographics diversified dramatically as soldiers, Vietnam War refugees, and war workers migrated to the region. As part of the Sunbelt, the Bay Area benefited economically from generous military procurement spending. However, over the course of the 1980s, 1990s, and the 2000s, the Bay Area shifted away from having a significant military presence to having practically none. Compared to the approximately thirty military facilities operating in 1980, today all but a handful are either closed or slated for closure. Residents, experts, and scholars wondered how could a single region in the Sun Belt, which benefited from significant federal defense investment, lose so much, so quickly? Many locals blamed the region's "liberal" people and politicians for inciting the military's wrath. Hence, a popular social narrative evolved. Many contended that the navy and Department of Defense deliberately targeted bases in the Bay Area for closure as a way of punishing the Bay Area for its anti-war intransigence. This dissertation challenges the narrative that the Bay Area was punished. It examines the causal factors that led to the elimination of the region's bases. Through three case studies covering base closures in three Bay Area cities, Alameda (Alameda Naval Air Station), Vallejo (Mare Island Naval Shipyard), and Oakland (Oakland Army Base and Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Oakland), a different explanation for the closures emerges. This project demonstrates that the passage of federal policies and legislation, urban encroachme (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Stephen Ortiz Ph.D. (Advisor); Douglas Forsyth Ph.D. (Committee Member); Gary Hess Ph.D. (Committee Member); Amy Robinson Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: History

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2006, History

Marianne Strengell overcame sexual stereotypes and established herself as a notable 20th century designer. The study considers Strengell's role as an educator at Cranbrook, innovator in cottage industry development, and active participant in design for architects and industry. Emigrating from Finland to the Detroit area in 1937, Strengell served as weaving instructor at Cranbrook Academy of Arts in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where she inspired numerous Cranbrook weavers who shaped textile design in America and abroad. Strengell pursued various projects outside of the Academy, including the development of a cottage industry in the Philippines. During the 1940s and 1950s Strengell worked with several architects and industrial designers and designed woven car upholstery fabrics. Research methods for this thesis included archival research at Cranbrook Archives, as well as readings in published books, articles, and reports on related topics: woman designers in the United States, Scandinavian immigrants, and Cranbrook artists.

Committee: Douglas Forsyth (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1962, History

Committee: Gerald C. Eggert (Advisor) Subjects: History

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1953, Economics

Committee: Lloyd A. Helms (Advisor) Subjects: Economics

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1941, Higher Education Administration

Committee: H. C. Witherington (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education; Industrial Arts Education

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1953, Economics

Committee: Lloyd A. Helms (Advisor) Subjects: Economics

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Journalism (Communication)

This dissertation will utilize trauma scholarship and feminist standpoint theory as frameworks for understanding how women's accounts of gender-based violence have been—and continue to be—un- and under-valued by (and in) the media, culture, and society. The broad goal of this critical cultural and historical study is to 1) name, identify, and classify a phenomenon known as the first-person industrial complex; 2) examine the phenomenon's history; 3) identify systemic barriers to the phenomenon's elimination, including legal and ethical considerations; and 4) encourage others to partake in similar research and writing, and see their own stories of gender-based violence as valuable. Thus, this dissertation will examine the various flashpoints of women's first-person writing that have contributed to today's digital media landscape and will trace the history of the first-person industrial complex through primary documents containing such writing, including newspapers, magazines and digital media outlets. This work will draw from archival sources in order to trace the history of this phenomenon from 1841 to the present utilizing critical discourse analysis; will include qualitative analyses of legal and ethical structures that keep women's stories from being shared in an equitable way; and will conclude with a normative critique of the current landscape, offering potential solutions and new possibilities for research in this area.

Committee: Aimee Edmondson (Advisor); Patty Stokes (Committee Member); Kelly Ferguson (Committee Member); Katherine Jellison (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Ethics; Gender Studies; Journalism; Mass Communications

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2003, Education : Educational Foundations

The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (Junior ROTC) has been a part of the American educational system for nearly ninety years. Formed under the 1916 National Defense Act, its primary function was and is to train high school youth military techniques and history, citizenship and discipline. The organization has recently seen its stature elevated and its reach widened once Congress lifted caps on its expansion in 2001. The Junior ROTC's proliferation has led to criticism from peace activists who denounce military training and tactics in schools and political leaders who claim the benefits are suspect. Conversely, the program has earned the praises of varied school and government officials. What becomes clear is that little consensus on the program has been reached. It is my contention that Junior ROTC's current popularity within the American educational system is multifaceted and cannot be simplistically embraced or summarily discounted by disparate analyses. One must understand the organization's historical roots to comprehend its current manifestation. Thus, three related questions have guided my research. First, what, if any, prerequisites existed relevant to Junior ROTC? Second, how does recruitment correspond to the purpose of Junior ROTC's inception and consequent growth? Third, has the program focused on the recruitment of working class and racial minorities over its ninety-year history? First, two dialectically related historical constructs – preparedness ideology and economic imperialism-expansionism – serve as prerequisites to Junior ROTC's inception and consequent growth. The antecedent relationships of military philosophy, education, training and drilling are explored in relation to these constructs. Second, the historical record points to a program designed primarily to recruit high school aged youth. Primary data in various forms aptly illustrate the point. Third, the combination of historical and recent demographic data confirm Junior ROTC's recr (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dr. Marvin Berlowitz (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, History

The warfare state is much older than the welfare state. For centuries, the relationship between militaries and the private manufacturing sector has been the most important point of interaction between the state and society. The naval-manufacturing relationship has even deeper historical roots: since warfare at sea has traditionally required much more sophisticated technology than warfare on land, nations have had to invest more money in navies in peacetime. In the late nineteenth century, two developments transformed the naval-manufacturing relationship. First, the intense naval competition preceding World War I increased the pace of technological change and the need for peacetime investment in naval technology. Second, the Second Industrial Revolution transformed the manufacturing sector into the industrial sector, and it accordingly altered the nature of military and naval technology. Torpedoes were in the vanguard of both developments. They played a significant role in the arms race before World War I because they threatened to revolutionize naval tactics and strategy. Navies realized that the tactical system built around capital ships primarily armed with big guns might give way to one built around smaller vessels primarily armed with torpedoes. At the strategic level, the ability of smaller vessels carrying torpedoes to sink larger ones made battle and blockade very risky. Given the potential of torpedoes to alter the metrics and application of naval power, navies worked feverishly to develop them before World War I. The sophistication of torpedo technology, however, complicated the task of turning potential into reality. Powered by fossil fuels and made with hundreds of small, steel, inter-changeable parts, torpedoes symbolized the Second Industrial Revolution at sea. Sending a torpedo prototype into mass production without adequately testing it beforehand would produce nightmares of assembly and operation. A robust research and development infrastructure w (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Geoffrey Parker PhD (Advisor); John Guilmartin PhD (Committee Member); Jennifer Siegel PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: History

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2009, Environmental and Plant Biology (Arts and Sciences)

Throughout the Appalachians, residual effects from furnace and mining industries may still influence plant communities. The purpose of this project is to determine if the species composition on two industrial sites in Ohio differs from reference forests. The long time since industrial abandonment (120 years) provides insight into the potential for forests to regenerate to their natural plant composition. Plots were established on remnant industrial disturbances and in reference forests as controls. Plots were described based on species composition, soil properties, and community characteristics. Results indicate differences between industrial and reference forest sites, and the microsites within the industrial sites (i.e., waste dumps). Differences can be attributed to soil pH and cation concentrations, as well as disturbance intensity and frequency. This study argues that the plant community is still affected by century old industrial activities. Identifying the most influential disturbances could aid in restoring industrial sites.

Committee: Glenn R. Matlack PhD (Advisor); Jared DeForest PhD (Committee Member); Brian McCarthy PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Botany; Ecology