Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2022, History

Hockey holds a central place in Canadian national identity. Despite the traditional dominance of Canadian teams in the pre-war and immediately post-war years, European nations such as the USSR, Sweden, and Czechoslovakia developed their hockey programs quickly in the post-war years, challenging Canadian dominance, and thus jeopardizing, in the eyes of Canadians, one of the most central aspects of their national culture. This loss of hockey supremacy compounded an already challenging period in which Canadians struggled to define what it meant to be Canadian in the US-led Cold War world. This thesis examines the Canadian cultural dynamics of Canadian participation in international hockey competitions during the 1960s and 1970s. These tournaments and exhibition tours played against foreign teams were commonly detailed by the Canadian press using no uncertain terms to express their contempt for their opponents. This thesis suggests the public focus on international hockey during this period reflects the uncertainty of Canadian culture and politics at home. Faced with trouble defining Canadian national identity in the Cold War world, Canadians looked to their national sport as a means of reaffirming their identity, rooted in northern masculine toughness and “Canadianness.” This work uses sports periodicals from the period between 1955 and 1975, to assess the shifting attitudes towards Canadian hockey in international competitions, and how Canadians viewed themselves in relation to the wider Cold War world when confronted with a domestic cultural crisis. This work expands on the diligent work of scholars of Canadian culture and those in the expanding subfield of hockey studies by providing a look at the thoughts of Canadians, and how their attitudes towards hockey reflect their attitudes towards Canadian culture.

Committee: Benjamin Greene Ph.D (Advisor); Rebecca Mancuso Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Canadian History; Canadian Studies; History

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Popular Culture

The Tunisian artistic scene has witnessed remarkable changes after the 2011 Revolution. These transformations are not only a product of artists' work, but they have also been shaped by other components such as time, space, and spectators' reactions. This research explores the revival of the Tunisian “cha'abi” music genre stambeli in the capital Tunis during and after the month of Ramadhan. More specifically, this thesis sheds light on the social relationship dynamics during stambeli performances in “cultural spaces”. I argue that the commodification of stambeli music in the post-Revolution era occupies a significant role in asserting the hybridity of the Tunisian identity and culture. I focus on artists' and youth perceptions of stambeli music; in particular, I claim that the complexity of the transitional period birthed a new form of music: a fusion of traditional “folk” with other popular music genres which are appealing to the public. I postulate that this mix of tradition and newness creates a new popular music “scene” in Tunisia. Expanding on Bakhtin's concept of “carnivalesque” space, I affirm that Tunisian youth consume stambeli music in urban “cultural spaces,” to create their own realities, negotiate their identity, and navigate social relationships as a form of “national healing” This thesis examines stambeli in a more contemporary context: how it functions in a post-Revolutionary environment in relation to political transition, social changes, and interactions. I also argue that stambeli music has become more appealing to local tourists through its creative representations, and therefore, my research studies the phenomenon of reclaiming indigenous culture and commodifying it among non-locals, locals, and the diasporic. My thesis thus demonstrates the intersection of music, identity, tourism, and politics in post-Revolution Tunisia.

Committee: Jeremy Wallach Dr. (Advisor); Esther Clinton Dr. (Committee Member); Montana Miller Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: African History; African Studies; Ethnic Studies; Folklore; Music; North African Studies; Performing Arts; Religion

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Arts and Sciences: Geology

Chaco Canyon National Historical Park is world-renowned for its multi-story sandstone masonry Great Houses built by a complex society of Anasazi Puebloan people who inhabited the canyon from about 450 – 1300 AD (1500 - 650 yrs BP). These people managed and modified the arid landscape in and around the canyon to cultivate maize, which was the primary subsistence crop for the large population at that time. A thorough understanding of changes in landscape during habitation, as well as variations in climate, is necessary for archaeologists to understand the magnitude and type of environmental management necessary for the civilization that inhabited Chaco Canyon. This study has developed alluvial chronologies in areas of the upper and lower reaches of Chaco Canyon by applying optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of quartz sand within depositional packages in the canyon. By synthesizing these new dates with existing chronologies of the full canyon, a more detailed master alluvial chronology for Chaco Canyon has been developed, defining the nature and rate of changes in the canyon's landscape from the middle Holocene to the present. The geomorphology, sedimentology, and dates indicate cycles of repeated erosion/incisional events and depositional/aggradation events according to the following chronology: deposition in the middle Holocene followed by an undated episode of erosion; deposition from 3.8 ka until soil development at 3.4 ka and then incision until ~2.5 ka; aggradation between 2.5 and 1.7 ka; a likely incision event between 1.7 and 1.3 ka with aggradation at 1.3 ka; a full cycle of incision and aggradation before 0.9 ka; and finally aggradation until the recent modern arroyo incision began around 1880 AD. This study demonstrates the success of utilizing OSL dating to develop a more detailed alluvial chronology than previous studies in Chaco Canyon. Although future research is necessary, this study has taken a crucial step in defining the timing (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Warren Huff (Committee Chair); Nicholas| Dunning (Committee Member); Lewis Owen (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Business Administration

In the last fifteen years there has been a drastic increase in the outsourcing of manufacturing activities to offshore suppliers, otherwise known as offshore outsourcing. These offshore outsourcing endeavors have often encountered a variety of unanticipated or hidden costs. While these hidden costs can manifest in a variety of forms, two of the main variations are intellectual property risk (i.e., supplier poaching) and quality risk (i.e., supplier shirking). The research in this dissertation utilizes dyadic data from 109 manufacturer-supplier relationships to investigate how the institutional environment of a supplier's location influences the effectiveness of different safeguards and relationship management practices, which can result in increased poaching and shirking. Understanding how to control these hidden costs of outsourcing is what differentiates successful outsourcing relationships and is of critical importance to manufacturers. Manufacturers are often putting their innovations at risk by outsourcing to suppliers in geographical locations that do not protect intellectual property. For that reason, poaching, or supplier's unauthorized use of a buyer's proprietary information, has been considered one of the main hidden costs of outsourcing. The strength of property rights has also been suggested to influence the effectiveness that safeguards have on poaching. Building on these arguments, this dissertation investigates how property rights impact the effectiveness of two safeguards, supplier transaction specific assets and communication, on poaching. Property rights are found to not only have a direct effect on supplier poaching, but they also change the effectiveness of both safeguards. In weak property rights locations, communication is found to be more effective in reducing poaching. Interestingly, in weak property rights locations not only are supplier transaction specific assets less effective in reducing poaching, but increases in these investments (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: W.C. Benton Jr. (Advisor); Peter Ward (Committee Member); James Hill (Committee Member); Sean Handley (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 0, Higher Education

The graduation rate among Black students has been lower than the national average for all races combined (NCES, 2011). This national problem was addressed in this study by examining flagship state institutions that have been successful at graduating Black students at rates higher than the national average for all races combined. A systematic grounded theory approach was used as the methodology in this study. Participants consisted of administrators at flagship state universities across the country. The Miller Conceptual Model for the Degree Attainment of Black Students at Flagship State Universities emerged as a result of this study. This model highlights the importance of supporting Black students as they progress toward the goal of degree attainment. This model provides insight into strategies that can be implemented to support Black students more effectively in their efforts to earn a college degree. The study ties together (a) theoretical concepts currently within the research literature and (b) new theoretical ideas. Recommendations to institutions based on The Miller Conceptual Model include supporting an institutional culture that encourages diversity and inclusion and demonstrating a commitment to the academic success of Black students. It is important for institutions to hire Black faculty members and staff members who care about students' academic success. The Miller Conceptual Model supports peer-support programs and programs that specifically target Black students. Finally, the Miller Conceptual Model unites concepts currently in the literature and allows degree attainment of Black students at flagship universities to be viewed as a unified collection of scholarly perspectives.

Committee: Ron Opp (Committee Chair); Shanda Gore (Committee Member); Debra Harmening (Committee Member); Penny Poplin Gosetti (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; Black Studies; Education; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Multicultural Education

PHD, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

The use of atomic weapons against Japan in August 1945 ushered in a new age—not only in the context of international relations, but within U.S. popular culture as well. While Americans rejoiced that World War II had at last come to an end, the technological innovations that secured Allied victory also laid the groundwork for unprecedented anxiety. Suddenly, the destruction of the world through nuclear annihilation became a practical possibility rather than simply fodder for science fiction novels. Negotiating this unfamiliar terrain, American policymakers, military leaders, and ordinary citizens debated strategies surrounding civil defense and national security, often utilizing gendered language and reproductive metaphors that reflected concerns about American masculinity. Popular films and novels of the era also imagined a variety of post-apocalyptic American societies if a worst-case scenario should ever be realized. In both political discourse and popular culture, Americans asked similar questions: Would it be possible to survive a nuclear war? What should men and women do to protect themselves—if anything? Would federal attempts to prepare the nation for nuclear attack serve as a public acknowledgment of U.S. vulnerability? And in the event of nuclear annihilation, who might be left to repopulate America? This dissertation examines how the discourse of American survival reflected gendered constructions of Cold War national identity. Examining civil defense discourse in the context of Cold War anxieties surrounding masculinity and male fertility illuminates areas in which political and science fiction narratives overlap, challenge, and reinforce each other. For example, civil defense planners recognized the importance of image in the 1950s and in many ways attempted to construct civil defense in the nuclear age as a reflection of strong, white, middle-class masculinity that was just as significant as military programs for the nation's defense. In the context (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mary Ann Heiss (Advisor); Elizabeth Smith-Pryor (Committee Member); Walter Hixson (Committee Member); David Trebing (Committee Member); Patricia Dunmire (Committee Member) Subjects: History

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2010, Journalism (Communication)

In this thesis, the Chinese- and English-language homepages of 113 multinational companies on the Fortune Global 500 list were content analyzed, based on the frameworks of Hofstede's (2001) five dimensions of national culture and Ghose and Dou's (1998) three dimensions of interactivity. Those companies' English homepages were found to have used indicators that suggested the level of consumer-consumer interaction significantly more often than did their Chinese counterparts. Meanwhile, inconsistent with the previous literature, Chinese homepages were found to have employed fewer indicators that suggest the level of uncertainty avoidance than did their English counterparts. English homepages were also found to have used fewer consumer-marketer interaction indicators than did Chinese ones. Results yielded weak support for prior literature, casting doubt on Hofstede's theory. Nevertheless, more studies are needed to test this position and further explore the cultural sensitivity of individual companies' various websites.

Committee: Hong Cheng (Advisor) Subjects: Communication; Journalism; Marketing

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2008, Telecommunications (Communication)

This research begins with the assumption that Afghanistan should have a system that is suitable for the current economic, political, social and technological conditions of the country. Afghanistan is a young democratic country with strong social, religious and cultural values. To complement a growing commercial broadcasting sector, Afghanistan needs a structure for content production and distribution that is better integrated into its social structure. In terms of content, structure, operations and mission, this thesis presumes that a media system that serves the development process of the country based on Afghanistan's National Development Strategy (ANDS) will be best for Afghanistan.A centralized radio and television network with the capacity to reach the marginalized rural population that constitutes 85 percent of the population is recommended. The goal is to make media outlets and production facilities available in every village. In these locations, people will be invited to watch and participate in programming in close coordination with the community leaders. Formal educational, capacity building and public awareness programs will be designed based on the expectations and cultural sensitivities of the public. Unlike commercial broadcasters, the system of public service broadcasting (PSB) will involve the general population in ways that accommodate to their religion and culture. The idea is to use modern telecommunications and media not to entertain the public but to involve and educate them in an entertaining and uplifting way. To address the shortage of human and financial resources in Afghanistan, social channels of communication will be formalized among media, community leaders, government agencies and the United Nations. This approach is recommended as a way to solve the country's problems collectively. The concepts of diffusion of innovation, with particular attention to the diffusion networks, social channels of communication and the use of human and fina (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Don Flournoy PhD (Committee Chair); Drew McDaniel PhD (Committee Member); Greg Newton PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Journalism; Mass Media

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2007, Political Science (Arts and Sciences)

This thesis seeks to document the construction of Mexican immigrants as a national security threat in the U.S. media during the 2006 Congressional debates over immigration reform. This is done with both a qualitative newspaper content analysis and a qualitative critical discourse analysis. A random sample of 107 newspaper articles printed between 1/1/06 and 6/30/06 are analyzed from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle and USA Today. Using an analysis of two framing metaphors—Immigrant as Threat and Immigrant as Dangerous Waters—this thesis documents how Mexican immigrants, by being framed as a national security threat, have been used to forward a call to secure and defend the borders from a perceived threat to U.S. Anglo culture. This thesis shows how these calls are partially rooted in beliefs about white nationalism and the fear of Mexican immigrants seen as a foreign invasion.

Committee: Hector Perla Jr. (Advisor) Subjects:

PHD, Kent State University, 2012, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

The phenomena of material culture, collecting, economics and hyperinflation, and festival are related to identity formation, yet their connection is understudied. This dissertation contributes to the existing literature by analyzing not only how the Nordische Gesellschaft emerged but how it evolved between 1921 and 1933. Additionally, the cultural performances endorsed by the Society essentially retained the spirit of regional, local, and national identity fostered by the 1921 Nordische Woche festival in Lubeck. The expansion of the Nordische Gesellschaft beyond the borders of its home city demonstrates competing and often contradicting voices that were present in Germany on the topic of dominant identity. Rather than highlighting the organizational framework of the Society, my study views the group through the lens of culture, affected by and affecting Lubeckers and Germans at large. The material culture left behind by groups such as the Nordische Gesellschaft and events such as Nordische Woche add to the growing literature on European material culture, expanding it to account for overlooked sources such as collectable money, souvenir programs, and printed ephemera.

Committee: Richard Steigmann-Gall PhD (Advisor); Shelley Baranowski PhD (Committee Member); Rebecca Pulju PhD (Committee Member); Stephen Harp PhD (Committee Member); David Purcell PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: History