Ph.D., Antioch University, 2015, Leadership and Change

Nigeria ranks as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Its abundant natural resources are being exploited by some privileged few while the majority suffers abject poverty. In spite of a series of laws and reforms directed at waging war against corruption and campaigns against corruption by both government and non-government organizations (NG0s), corruption still reigns in Nigeria and has become part of Nigerian culture. The Association of Nigerians Against Corruption (ANAC), which I founded in 1984, is one such NGO campaigning against corruption through a series of seminars. ANAC focuses on appealing to the minds of individuals and capitalizing on the participants' faith by requiring that they take voluntary public oaths against corruption. This study is about oath takers at the ANAC seminars. Using the life story approach, selected participants reveal why they took oaths against corruption and how it has impacted their lives. The findings will be useful in future seminars to be conducted in Nigeria and other countries where Nigerians are living. It will also help in developing a guideline for the several anti-corruption programs in Nigeria and other African countries. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, http://etd.ohiolink.edu and AURA http://aura.antioch.edu/

Committee: Philomena Essed PhD (Committee Chair); Lize A.E. Booysen DBL (Committee Member); Iyorwuese Hagher PhD (Committee Member); Karin Sporre PhD (Other) Subjects: African Studies; Ethics; Political Science

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2014, History

Since the late 1980s, historians of American Civil War soldiers have struggled to understand the nature, character, and social order of the volunteer Union Army. Debates over individual motivations to enlist and serve, the success or failure of the institution to instill proper military discipline, and the peculiar requirements of leading volunteer citizen-soldiers have remained salient elements of Civil War soldier studies historiography. This thesis offers a new methodology for addressing these questions by examining the antebellum worldview of men from a single regiment -- the 55th Illinois Volunteer Infantry -- in order to create a lens through which to view their wartime behavior in uniform. This allows for an examination of how the antebellum voluntarist social order of Illinois towns continued to structure life in the ranks. Leaders who were aware of this cultural factor were often more successful in enlisting the support and cooperation of their subordinates than those who sought to breakdown their men and force them into the traditional mold of military subordination. Finally, the decision to enlist, cooperate, and remain in the volunteer force was governed by the same personal calculus of individual self-interest that governed men before entering into military service.

Committee: Brian Schoen (Advisor) Subjects: American History; History; Military History

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

While population increases have long been the concern of demographers, today, significant decline in fertility is a new concern. Despite the many implications of fertility decline on society, politics, and economics, most discussion has focused on its causes rather than its consequences. This study contributes to prior literature by examining the relationship between sibship size and social skills among children, and then social capital among adults. First, using fifth and eighth grade data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), I empirically test the relationship between sibship size and children's social skills. I find that teachers rate children who have no siblings as having poorer interpersonal skills, worse self-control, and more externalizing problem behaviors than those who have one sibling. This relationship, however, exists only among fifth graders; the evidence that having at least one sibling is beneficial disappears among eighth graders. In the second part of the dissertation, I propose a new theoretical framework that predicts a link between sibship size and social capital. Using General Social Survey (GSS) data, I also test the relationship between sibship size and generalized trust and participation in voluntary associations among adults. I find that there is only a modest, negative relationship between sibship size and both dimensions, but only for adults who have at least five siblings. Additionally, I note that social network composition does not mediate the main relationship, and that it does not vary across birth cohorts. The findings of this dissertation have implications for the literature and research that seeks to understand better the consequences of decline in sibship size.

Committee: Douglas B. Downey PhD (Committee Chair); Edward Crenshaw PhD (Committee Member); John Casterline PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology