abstract: This thesis explores the role of film industry boosterism in Arizona from 1911 to 2014; it argues that boosters consistently employed film as a promotional tool toward building state identity for Arizona. These boosters harnessed a variety of strategies catered specifically to a combination of personal interests and historical circumstances. Consequently, their efforts produced a variety of identities for Arizona that changed over time as new generations of boosters addressed different concerns. These state identities that boosters wanted to build relied heavily on the power of perception, often attempting to overcome or reinforce stereotypical imagery and iconography associated with Arizona. Over time, boosters used the film industry to project Arizona as: a modern and progressive state that had outgrown its frontier past; an ideal setting to make films that relived the mythical Wild West; a film-friendly place of business ideally suited for Hollywood production; and a cultural haven for filmic sophistication. Textual analysis of primary sources comprises the methodology of this thesis. Primary sources include historical newspapers, such as the <italic>Arizona Republican</italic>, and archival records of Arizona's past governors, including Governors Jack R. Williams and Raul H. Castro. These sources constitute valuable documentation created by boosters in the course of their day-to-day activities promoting Arizona, providing a window into their aspirations, worldviews and strategies. Personal interviews with active and retired members of Arizona's film boosting community are also included as primary source material, intended to capture firsthand accounts of filmic activity in the state. Using these sources as its foundation, this thesis fills a gap in the historiography by analyzing the relationship between the film industry and Arizona's state identity. While a handful of scholarly works have discussed Arizona's film history to a minor extent, they tend to take a pure narrative approach, or offer a "behind-the-scenes" look that focuses on the production aspects of films shot in Arizona. No other work focuses explicitly on boosterism or explores the statewide meaning of Arizona's film history over such a comprehensive period of time. Thus, this thesis offers a previously neglected history of both film and Arizona. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis History 2014

The Canadian astrophysics program rapidly developed between 1903 and 1914, leading to the wartime construction of what was hoped to be the world’s largest research telescope. The institution opened in Victoria British Columbia in 1918 with fanfare. Throughout the 1920s, the new Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) contributed to discoveries on the frontiers of astrophysics, while educating residents of Victoria about astronomy. In a history often overshadowed by the advent of cosmology in the 1920s, the discoveries of Victoria’s astronomers produced lasting insight into the size and scale of our own galaxy. Accordingly, historians of astronomy have probed the scientific accomplishments of Canadian astronomers, devoting relatively little attention to the regional importance of these scientific facilities. The Victoria observatory itself developed into a widely visited tourism destination as staff astronomers regularly engaged in public education initiatives. This study utilizes newspaper sources, scientific papers, and contemporary publications in assessing the cultural relationship between the DAO, Victorians, and Canadians, while examining the significance of the scientific research conducted with the world’s second largest telescope. In doing so it engages themes of public interest in the achievements of the institution, and Victoria’s civic identity as an emerging tourism destination. / Graduate / 0334 / 0585 / danielgposey@gmail.com

Syftet med den här uppsatsen har varit att studera hur grön platsmarknadsföring formas och samverkar med det lokala miljöarbetet i Karlstad. Jag ställde därför följande frågeställningar; Vad innebär grön platsmarknadsföring för Karlstads kommun och hur marknadsförs Karlstad som ”den goda gröna staden”? För att kunna besvara mitt syfte och mina frågeställningar så har jag utgått ifrån teorin om policy boosterism, som i sin tur bygger på teorier om den urbana entreprenörialismen samt policy mobilitet, som också har varit en viktig del i förståelsen av mitt studerade problemområde. Därtill har jag utgått ifrån teorier om vad som bygger en ”framgångsrik” grön stad och hur den gröna staden marknadsförs. Jag avslutade sedan mitt teoretiska ramverk med en kritisk reflektion över den gröna stadens medborgarskap. Som metod valde jag att göra en diskursanalys, där jag genom ett varierat empiriskt underlag i form av dokument, bilder och intervjuer har studerat hur språket konstituerar den goda gröna staden och dess marknadsföring. Utifrån det analyserade materialet fann jag ett antal återkommande utsagor i mina två teman. Den goda gröna staden handlade om vaghet, attraktivitet, fossilfria mål samt den ”gröna” medborgaren. Den gröna platsmarknadsföringen handlade i sin tur om målgrupper och kanaler, grön energi och grön transport, att informera och engagera medborgarna samt den goda gröna stadens rekreations- och friluftslivsupplevelser. Efter genomförd analys kom jag fram till att den goda gröna staden har mobiliserats och muterats från andra städers ”framgångsrika” exempel till den institutionella kontexten i Karlstad genom ett ganska komplext och tävlingsinriktat tillvägagångssätt. Samtidigt bygger den goda gröna staden på en slags tematisering, där det framförallt görs punktinsatser kring fokusområdena klimat och luft samt rekreation och friluftsliv. De här punktinsatserna kännetecknas av så kallade ”vinn vinn”-situationer, där kommunen väljer ut områden där både miljöpolitiska och ekonomiska mål kan uppnås. Därmed såg jag att miljöpolitiken i allt större utsträckning formas för att kunna marknadsföras, där de underliggande motiven handlar om att skapa en attraktiv stad, där miljöpolitiken styrs i en strävan efter tillväxt och konkurrens. Jag har också kunnat visa att den goda gröna staden framförallt marknadsförs som en bebolig stad där det fokuseras på grönområden och vatten för dess möjligheter till rekreation- och friluftslivsupplevelser Genom att marknadsföra unika och enastående gröna energi- och transportprojekt marknadsförs också staden som en kunnig stad. Den goda gröna staden marknadsförs mot externa målgrupper, i första hand för att locka till sig inflyttare men också mot externa nätverk för att stärka bilden av Karlstad som en innovativ miljökommun på dennationella nivån. För att balansera upp den externa marknadsföringen så marknadsförs även den goda gröna staden inåt mot den egna befolkningen för att engagera invånarna att bidra till att de utåtriktade målen uppnås. De ”gröna” medborgarna kommuniceras ut som vita och välmående, och dessutom lyfts de fram som friska, glada och aktiva. Samtidigt marknadsförs den gröna medborgaren som en person, som likt en turist, upplever och hänförs av sin goda gröna stad. Därför dras också slutsatsen att de gröna medborgarna blivit ett komplement till ekonomiseringen där deras rättigheter och skyldigheter förtjänas utifrån marknadens rationalitet.

The purpose of this study has been to examine how Swedish municipalities use place marketing and what place-specific qualities municipalities choose to highlight in their place marketing. The study also aims to describe how municipalities involve the inhabitants in their place marketing. The study is based out of a geographical perspective with ”place” as the fundamental approach, the study has focused on how place marketing is used in practice, its emergance as well as its effects on a place and the people who live there. This has been examined by studying place marketing in Northern Sweden's three largest university municipalities.The purpose of the study is not to prove the positive or negative effects of placemarketing and from that conclude if place marketing as a "good" or "bad" strategy. Rather, this study aims to create an understanding of municipal place marketing as a phenomenon with a perspective from the place and its inhabitants. The study shows that the municipalities describe place marketing as very important for economic growth and further development. The study's results also show that there are several similarities regarding what qualities the municipalities choose to highlight and how they position themselves in their place marketing. The study explains how municipalities mainly describe themselves based on the characteristics of the people who live there. The study also shows that the interest in involving the inhabitants in placemarketing varies and that some municipalities focus on that more than others. Involving citizens is highlighted as important in research, but nevertheless, they are primarily ”used” to legitimize the placebrand and give it credibility.

Situating the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Memphis's long history shows how concern over Memphis's national reputation influenced how city leaders dealt with crisis. Throughout its history, Memphis government officials and business leaders promoted Memphis as a good city to do business, free from disease and racial strife. Despite their best efforts, they could not deny explosive incidents of racially-based violence or disease outbreaks. Instead, they tried to mitigate negative repercussions on the local economy during times of crisis. When the 1878 yellow fever epidemic struck, the Citizen's Relief Committee, the impromptu government formed by business leaders after outbreak, promoted Memphis as a functioning white city that was operating the best it could under terrible circumstances so the city could resume normal economic activity once the fever passed. This became the dominant narrative, repeated by newspapers across the country in 1878 and historians today. This narrative is problematic because it ignores black Memphians, who composed of 80% of the city's population after outbreak. Instead of recognizing black Memphians participation in relief activities, they promoted stories in the media about lazy or riotous African Americans to justify denying sufficient aid to the black community. Catholics had better luck earning the gratitude of Memphis's leaders. They worked with the white government and charities as nurses and fundraisers, and earned a glowing reputation in national newspapers. The inclusion of African Americans and Catholics in this thesis tells a more complete story and challenges white Memphians' carefully cultivated narrative. / Master of Arts

In 2017, urban planners in Roanoke, Virginia, created a plan to construct a new public space that will honor the city's first professional city planner, John Nolen. Nolen is now considered a founder of the urban planning profession in the United States. Roanoke officials hope to celebrate the city's connection with Nolen and emphasize his influence over Roanoke's development. Similarly, historical narratives about urban planning focus on male city planners while ignoring citizens' contributions. Urban histories, on the other hand, concentrate on large metropolitan areas in the urban North. By combining urban history, women's history, and southern history, this thesis seeks to understand how diverse citizens in a small city of Southwest Virginia shaped the city. Beneath the surface of John Nolen and professional city planning, upper-class white women, African Americans, and male city leaders and businessmen, engaged in a dynamic power play over Roanoke's built environment.  As they engaged in this battle for control, citizens shaped Roanoke from below. Wealthy Roanokers partnered with John Nolen to assert power over other citizens and to shape the city in their own interests. By uncovering the story of a southern city's development in the early twentieth century, this thesis exposes the ways in which southern citizens shaped urban spaces to exert power over other citizens and engage in a battle for control over the urban environment. / Master of Arts

Place branding is commonly conceptualized with a focus on big cities, such as London, New York and Singapore, building from concepts and models from mainstream branding theory. In contrast to such conceptualizations, this thesis focuses on place branding in small and medium-sized cities. The present thesis aims to study place branding from a geographical perspective. It starts with debates theoretical and empirical understandings of place branding; what it is and how it is affecting the places where it is introduced. The thesis develops and argues for a perspective of territoriality and relationality to place branding discussing concepts, methods and empirical approaches to carry out place branding research using geographical perspectives. Empirically, this thesis focuses on in-depth studies of place branding in small and medium-sized cities in Sweden. By analyzing the development of place branding over the course of time, nuances and aspects of both territorial and relational origin emerge, situating place branding practices within a wider spatial contextualization. Four individual papers are presented, which taken together contribute to the aim of the thesis. Paper 1 introduces the place branding research field in geography and how it has developed; Paper 2 investigates the phenomena of flagship buildings located in small cities and towns; Paper 3 discusses the relationship between policy tourism and place branding; and Paper 4 analyzes how local environmental policies are affected by green place branding. The thesis demonstrates the complex and continuously interchangeable spatial structures and place contexts that create and re-produce the geographies of place branding. Here, research models and methodological examples are presented to illustrate how place branding can be studied from a geographical perspective and thus improve theoretical understandings of place branding. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

This work explores the relationship from 1925 to 1939 between the business and government leaders of Indianapolis and the development of a municipal airport for the city. Beginning in 1925, local leaders worked to provide the city with a public airport. The initiation of three distinct and consecutive airport projects during this period closely tied development of a public airport with the commercial future of Indianapolis. The Chamber of Commerce led the first project, which established a public airport shared with the Indiana National Guard. Soon after this airport opened, the City of Indianapolis, with the cooperation of the Chamber of Commerce, undertook the development of a larger municipal airport in Indianapolis that opened in 1931. Finally, in 1938 the city government cooperated with the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) to build a national aviation experimental station at the Indianapolis Municipal Airport.