Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Defense and Security))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2007. / Thesis Advisor(s): Stanley Supinski. "March 2007." Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2007. / Thesis advisor: Daniel Mulcahy "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-187). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business, March, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Recent polls (e.g., Edgell, Gerteis & Hartmann, 2006) have consistently found that atheists are the least liked group in America today, a type of prejudice that has barely been researched. This anti-atheist prejudice is surprising because atheists do not constitute a cohesive, recognizable, or powerful group. To the degree that people feel that religion provides a unique and necessary source of morality, they may dislike atheists primarily because of moral distrust towards them. This suggests a distinct origin for anti-atheist prejudice that sets it apart from ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice. We explored this broad hypothesis in a series of three experiments. First, we find that on an implicit level anti-atheist prejudice is driven by distrust rather than a feeling of generalized unpleasantness towards atheists. Second, we find that discrimination against atheists is limited to contexts requiring a high degree of trust. Finally, we find that anti-atheist prejudice is malleable. These findings are discussed in terms of prominent evolutionary theories of religion. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

The research problem that this study addresses is two-fold. First, the persistance of poverty gives rise to a real world concern for improving the effectiveness of international development efforts. To address the link between the alleviation of poverty, adult education, and a grass-roots approach, this study focuses on planning within an organization that offers adult education programs overseas, specifically a nongovernmental organization (NGO). An understanding of the dynamics of planning in such an NGO will help in articulating more effective approaches to planning practice in international development. The second aspect of the research problem is that the relationship between the planning process and the planning context seems not to have been fully explored in the literature on adult education program planning. There is a need for a more complete set of analytical tools that captures the complexities of planning and sheds light on the relationship between the planning context and the planning process. The purpose of this dissertation is to address the main theoretical question raised by the research problem: How do nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) plan so as to maintain themselves and be effective given the pressures on them? This theoretical question was investigated through a case study method, specifically ethnography. Ethnographic fieldwork, which included seventeen months of participant observation, twenty-five interviews, and document analysis, was carried out at an NGO, refered to here by the pseudonym of "Global Faith." The conceptual framework developed in this dissertation builds on the negotiation approach to planning. The first part of the conceptual framework links two strands of research: leadership theory and negotiation theory. Through this juxtaposition, I was able to examine the process of planning in a new light - as the negotiation of meaning. The second part of the framework shows how a deeper understanding of the context of planning is accomplished by applying a subjectivist, multi- perspective approach to analyzing cultures in organizations. This approach - which incorporates the integration perspective, the differentiation perspective, and the fragmentation perspective was used to see Global Faith cultures in three different ways. These same ways of viewing culture at Global Faith were matched with the varying interpretations held by staff members in order to characterize the cultural contexts for specific episodes of planning involving the negotiation of meaning. The findings show that by including the negotiation of meaning in planning activities, Global Faith is able to motivate staff and deal effectively with confusing requirements, conflicting expectations, and diverse demands that they face in their interactions with CIDA, general public donors, the Board of Directors, and overseas partner organizations. There is a recursive relationship between planning processes involving the negotiation of meaning and Global Faith cultures whereby the cultures are both precursors and products of negotiation of meaning episodes. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

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Metal-Ligand Cooperation (MLC) has been under study over the past two decades as a powerful tool for small molecule activation and functionalization. However, more mechanistic details are needed in order to understand the detailed steps that are enabled by the bifunctional cooperation between ligand and metal. In this regard, the hydroboration reaction offers a useful platform through which to assess the details of bifunctional reaction pathways and catalyst speciation. This dissertation focuses on the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity of base-metal complexes with cooperative N-, S-, and O-donor ligands to explore reaction pathways that are a consequence of diverging from traditional phosphine-based ligands. In Chapter 1 concepts and examples of MLC, especially as applied to hydroboration catalysis, are presented. In Chapter 2, three new Zn(II)-(κ²-SNS)₂ complexes were synthesized to directly compare the bifunctional catalytic activity rendered by amido and thiolate SNS ligands. Although all three complexes catalyzed carbonyl hydroboration, a detailed catalyst speciation study showed that the Zn amido complex reacts with pinacolborane (HBpin) to generate Zn-H and an unbound borylamido ligand. Subsequent substrate-derived zinc alkoxide formation followed by a second equiv of HBpin generates the product, regenerating the Zn hydride catalyst. In contrast, the Zn thiolate complex adds HBpin to the ligand imine unit, followed by aldehyde deoxygenation to give a benzothiazoline heterocycle and [Zn](OBpin). Reaction of the latter with HBpin then gives pinBOBpin and Zn-H, leading to the same active catalyst as that derived from the Zn amido precatalyst! For these systems, then, the bifunctional N- and S-donors serve to activate the catalyst rather than participating in a bifunctional catalytic cycle. Dissociation of the borylamido SNS ligand in Chapter 2 led us to reinvestigate a previously reported Cu(I) amido complex Cu[(κ²-SNS)(IPr) that was proposed to hydroborate carbonyls via an outer sphere process [IPr = bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]. Indeed, we showed that this complex also undergoes ligand borylation-dissociation to form the active catalyst [CuH(IPr)]₂ which had been reported previously as a carbonyl hydrosilylation catalyst. To compare these complexes with their heavier Group 10 analogue, we prepared and structurally characterized the silver amido SNS complex. Interestingly, this complex was not able to serve as a carbonyl hydroboration catalyst. Then we sought to use the MLC catalyst activation strategy to prepare an especially active Zn hydride hydroboration catalyst. Using a bidentate amine-pyrollide ligand with an aryl ether side-group, the 5-coordinate Zn complex, Zn(κ²-ONN)₂(DDI) (2.11Zn) was prepared and structurally characterized (DDI = 4,5-dichloro-1,3-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene). On treatment with excess HBpin, formation of ONN(Bpin)₂ [(Bpin)₂-L3] gave rise to the reactive NHC-stabilized ZnH₂ catalyst that effected the rapid hydroboration of nitriles and quinoline derivatives under ambient conditions with only 0.01 and 0.05 mol% catalyst loading, respectively. In Chapter 3, in an attempt to prepare a cobalt complex containing both amido and thiolate SNS ligands, we obtained instead the Co(II) dithiolate complex, Co(κ³-SNS)(DDI) (3.2Co). This complex showed a unique selectivity for aldehyde hydroboration, over other functional groups such as ketones, cyanides, nitriles and olefins. A DFT study, in collaboration with Prof. Erin Johnson from Dalhousie University, showed that 3.2Co bifunctionally assembles the HBpin and aldehyde substrates, with Co binding the aldehyde oxygen and sulfur binding the boron of HBpin. With aromatic aldehyde substrates, interesting aromatic-aromatic dispersion effects led to catalyst inhibition which could be reversed by simply rinsing off the product with hexane. These effects were not observed for catalytic hydroboration of aliphatic aldehydes. In Chapter 4 we focused on expanding our MLC investigation to include additional donors beyond N and S. First, a dimeric Zn(II)-(κ⁴-NSNO) complex (4.1Zn) was synthesized and evaluated as a catalyst for nitrile dihydroboration to compare aryloxide and amido donors for B-H bond activation. In fact, 4.1Zn successfully catalyzed dihydroboration of a range of different aromatic and aliphatic nitriles under neat condition. Mechanistic studies determined that the aryloxide donor activates the B-H bond in the first step and the mechanism then likely proceeds through an inner-sphere insertion. As detected by our kinetic study, at high turnovers the catalyst decomposes when Bpin also binds to the amido donor. To compare the potential of other donors for B-H bond activation, a series of divalent NiᴵᴵX(κ³-NNN) complexes were synthesized, with X = bromide (4.3Ni), phenoxide (4.4Ni), thiophenoxide (4.5Ni), 2,5-dimethylpyrrolide (4.6Ni), diphenylphosphide (4.7Ni), and phenyl (4.8Ni), and employed as precatalysts for nitrile dihydroboration. Superior activity of the phenoxy derivative (vs. thiophenoxy or phenyl) suggests that B-H bond activation occurs at the Ni-X (vs. ligand Ni-N_pyrrolide) bond. Furthermore, stoichiometric treatment of 4.3Ni-4.8Ni with a nitrile showed no reaction, whereas stoichiometric reactions of 4.3Ni-4.8Ni with pinacolborane (HBpin) afforded the same Ni-H complex for 4.3Ni, 4.4Ni and 4.6Ni. Considering that only 4.3Ni, 4.4Ni and 4.6Ni successfully catalyzed nitrile dihydroboration reaction, we suggest that the catalytic cycle involves a conventional inner sphere pathway initiated by substrate insertion into Ni-H. In summary, our investigations confirm the importance of mechanistic studies and catalyst speciation for studies involving potential bifunctional catalysis. In Chapter 5 we summarize the findings of this thesis, placing them in the context of the current state of the art and speculating on future investigations they may enable.

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