This study explores the impact of sincerity of terrorists on committing terrorist activities in Turkey. The researcher is a Chief of Police in Turkey and has worked in the Anti-terror Department for a considerable part of his professional career. His professional experience has shown that the more sincere a terrorist is the more violent or heedless the terrorist activity is. Thus this research academically and statistically examines this observation and finds that sincerity affects level of violence. Attachment and adherence to the terrorist organization turn even the characteristically non-violent people into blood seeking terrorists.

Research indicates that female athletes have long occupied marginal and sometimes invisible positions in sport settings and mainstream media. The focus of this study is on understanding and analyzing how race, class, gender, and other forms of oppression shape women’s professional sport using as the focal point, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the type of mainstream media coverage it receives. The researcher believes that a better understanding of these varied experiences would add depth and knowledge to research on CSR in sport, women and sport research, as well as allow professional leagues and teams to move forward with a more informed perspective regarding design, delivery, and overall purpose of CSR in women’s professional sport. The purposefully selected sample includes six semi-structured interviews with league and team executives from the Women’s Tennis Association, Ladies Professional Golf, Women’s National Basketball Association, and Women’s Professional Soccer. Additionally, this study includes content analysis of 218 public organizational documents and a content analysis of the New York Times Sports sections. The data was coded and organized according to the research questions. Analysis and interpretation of findings were organized by way of two analytic categories that were based on the study’s conceptual framework: (a) Intersectionality and sport, and (b) How and why women’s professional sport leagues and teams engage in CSR. Ultimately, this study is important because CSR initiatives often serve as a way to connect with the community, bring attention to socially relevant issues, and highlight athletes who serve as positive role models for youth. Race, class, and gender discrimination by the sporting public negatively impacts the level of interest in women’s sport, which, in turn affects the ability of women’s professional sport leagues and teams to effectively engage in CSR. As a result of discriminatory practices, opportunities to conduct meaningful outreach to young women and girls are weakened. Recommendations are offered for future research possibilities. Given that there are multiple factors that affect CSR in women’s professional sport and the type of mainstream media coverage leagues and teams receive, the recommendations generated by this research should be considered for their appropriateness on an individual basis.

The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is perhaps the most magnificent and most marvelous nomadic wild animal living in the world. It lives in the deep blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the largest of the world’s fin fish and the largest of the 48 other species of tuna (Kuhn, 1996). It is a species that seems to have been designed and sculpted by an artist—sleek, smooth, and beautiful—instead of having been a product of an evolutionary process. Today, the existence and future of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is in question because of the constant overexploitation of the stocks for its flesh. The insanely high prices being paid for its flesh have resulted in a modern day gold rush for almost any person who has the ability and equipment to catch it. The movements of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna take it through multiple jurisdictional, national, and international boundaries, spending part of its life in areas of the world’s commons, also known as the high seas. In each, the species is managed through complex, often cloudy and poorly enforced state, regional, and national laws and international treaties. For decades the terms overfished, under pressure, listing, and extinction have become synonymous with the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna because the scientific facts have, and continue to, indicate that it is in great peril and nearing the tipping point of no return in terms of viability as a species, all because of short-term economics and politics. This dissertation is rooted in complexity theory and public choice theory. The research design for this dissertation is based on the 5-component structure, interactive model, prescribed by Joseph A. Maxwell, Ph.D. (2004), and current policies were evaluated through the policy framework prescribed by Frank Fischer, Ph.D. (1995). Ten public policy steps are suggested to save the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna from collapse.

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to examine if there is a significant relationship between organizational culture and tolerance of corrupt practices among the Non-Governmental Organizations located in Kenya. Despite the fact that NGOs have been attributed with a strong organizational culture, previous literature indicates that there is a connection between the organizational culture and decisions to engage in corrupt practices. Another purpose is to investigate tolerance of corrupt practices and determine the dominant organizational culture among NGOs. The study applied the competing values framework, which describes four dimensions of organizational culture. Mixed methods techniques were used to collect data from a sample of 185 participants selected from 30 organizations in Nairobi. The organizational culture data was collected using the organizational culture assessment instrument while tolerance of corruption was collected using ten scenarios in the first phase. The qualitative data was collected through telephone interviews with six participants. Statistical analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics to test for the most dominant culture and tolerance of corrupt practices. Clan dimension was the most dominant dimension, while some of the practices were perceived as less corrupt and likely to occur. Bivariate correlations revealed the number of years working in an organization was associated with the acceptance variable, while clan culture was correlated to corrupt variable. The three propositions were not supported by the multivariate analysis of variance. However, the second proposition could not be tested due to lack of adequate data to compare. In sum, the study did not find a significant relationship between the dimensions of organizational culture and the tolerance of corrupt practices. The study has helped in exposing some of the areas requiring further strengthening and is also useful in setting the agenda for future research.

Using Cognitive Evaluation Theory, this research evaluated the impact non-monetary extrinsic incentives in the form of department t-shirts had on the intrinsic motivation of Virginia career and volunteer firefighters. Intrinsic motivation was measured using the Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale (WEIMS). The survey was administered to a randomly selected sample of firefighters. Data was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results suggested that the department t-shirt did not have a statistically significant impact on intrinsic motivation of both career and volunteer firefighters. Additionally, this study suggested that volunteer firefighters did not perceive salary as an inequitable reward. This was exhibited by the higher levels of intrinsic motivation by volunteer firefighters than career firefighters. This was also found in the comparisons of volunteer firefighters from combination and volunteer fire departments. Finally, delays in the distribution of non-monetary extrinsic incentives did not have an impact on intrinsic motivation of both career and volunteer firefighters.

This dissertation examines vaccination rates for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) among college women 18-26 years of age who participated in the American College Health Association’s National College Assessment (ACHA-NCHA). Utilizing secondary data, this research sought to report HPV vaccination rates among a racially diverse population and to identify potential barriers to vaccination. The ACHA-NCHA survey provided a large sample size (N=68,193) in which to perform a binary logistic regression analysis. Demographic characteristics were analyzed as potential barriers to HPV vaccination. Additionally, lack of certain health behaviors were explored as potential barriers to HPV vaccination. In this study, White/non-Hispanic women had a higher HPV vaccination rate when compared to minority women. The binary regression analysis demonstrated that minority women were less likely to receive the HPV vaccine. Furthermore, it was determined that as the age of the respondents increased, the likelihood of receiving the vaccine decreased. Health behaviors that were predictive of receiving the HPV vaccine included receiving the Hepatitis B and Influenza vaccine, number of sexual partners and receiving sexually transmitted disease information. Women who received a gynecological exam were almost twice as likely to receive the vaccine, as were women who had parental health insurance coverage. One aim of The Affordable Care Act (2010) is to decrease disparities in health care. Drawing attention to potential barriers to HPV vaccination allows policy makers to make informed decisions regarding future activities to reduce disparities. Health promotion activities should be targeted to specific populations in an effort to increase HPV vaccination rates.

This study examines the effect of strain on youth drug use in Turkey. With its many unexplored fields, Turkey is a haven for social researchers. Adolescent crime and especially drug use is an important yet poorly studied subject in Turkey. Of the many correlates of youth drug use, strain as asserted by the General Strain Theory of Agnew (1985) is chosen as the main explanatory variable in this research. Using Youth in Europe (YIE) survey data administered to a representative sample of high school students in Istanbul City, correlates of marijuana, LSD, amphetamine and ecstasy use among adolescents are analyzed in this study. The logistic regression analyses reveal that, as hypothesized, strain operationalized by the negative life events experienced and having been exposed to physical violence, significantly affect drug use. In order to enhance our understanding of this significance and measure the magnitude of the effect controlling for the effect of other explanatory variables, Post simulation developed and advised by Long and Freese (2006) is used.

This dissertation examines the relationship exposure to forensic crime television has on a potential juror’s willingness to find a suspect guilty when presented with a case involving only circumstantial and eyewitness evidence. This study also looks at a potential juror’s expectation of forensic evidence being presented at trial based upon this exposure. To better understand these relationships, the study utilized social constructionism as the theoretical framework. To collect data, an original survey instrument that included either a violent or non-violent crime scenario was developed. Reponses from 1572 undergraduate students were analyzed to better understand what might influence their willingness to find a suspect guilty and their expectation of forensic evidence being presented at trial. The results indicate that viewership of forensic crime television does not significantly influence a potential juror’s decision to find a suspect guilty or not guilty. After controlling for viewership, it appears that the number of justice-based classes completed by the potential juror does influence their decision to find the suspect guilty. The analysis also shows that gender and the type of scenario (violent versus non-violent) may influence a juror’s willingness to find a suspect guilty. It does not appear that there is a correlation between a juror’s willingness to find a suspect guilty and their expectation of forensic evidence being presented at trial.

Public administration agencies are increasingly called upon to collaborate across organizational boundaries as a regular part of practice. Leaders in the organizations are expected to deliver positive outcomes from collaborations. Common sense implies that good leadership leads to successful collaboration within public administration agencies. However, the exact link between leadership and collaboration continues to be a puzzle for both practitioners and academics in the field. This study examines the relationship of leadership and collaborative governance within a group of social services executives, who are specifically chartered to collaborate with one another and across organizational boundaries for successful delivery of public welfare services. Relationship-based leadership orientation and trust-building leadership style are evaluated for main effects on perception of collaboration. Leadership satisfaction and performance satisfaction were evaluated for simple effects on the relationship between leadership orientation and leadership style on perception of collaboration. The results provide that there are no direct effects of leadership orientation and leadership style on perception of collaboration. Performance satisfaction moderated the association of both leadership orientation and leadership style on perception of collaboration. Leadership satisfaction moderated the relationship of leadership style with perception of collaboration. Implications from this study include the need for further study into a threshold of acceptable collaborative activities for practitioners.

Structural inequalities within the social and economic environment have wide reaching impacts on the housing conditions of the poor. These households are marginalized by swelling housing cost burdens, shelter insufficiency, and sociospatial restriction to the lowest income communities. Housing research has examined the correlation between policy and the social location of low-income individuals. However, very little research analyzes the intersection of low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) policy design and sociospatial trends among low-income households. Using content analysis, the purpose of this dissertation is to determine whether the policy documents that guide allocation of the LIHTC encourage poverty deconcentration. The research questions are (a) How have states represented sociospatial themes in their low-income housing tax credit allocation plans and do these sociospatial themes emphasize poverty deconcentration? (b) How have these priorities changed over time? and (c) Are there correlations between changes in poverty concentration and emphasis of poverty deconcentration within state low-income housing qualified allocation plan designs? The findings of this study suggest that: (1) The social constructs embedded into the QAP policy instrument design confines understanding of the LIHTC program to advantaged and contender social groups; (2) Sociospatial themes have evolved between 2000 and 2010. There was a significant shift from 2000 to 2010 with the inclusion of priorities related to the accessibility of transportation and the quality of services within targeted communities; (3) Poverty deconcentration themes represented approximately 27 percent of the sociospatial themes in 2000 and 2010. There was a marginal change in the weight of these themes over time. (4) There were correlations between changes in MSA poverty concentration and poverty deconcentration priorities within QAP. The direction and the degree of these changes were correlated with region and political ideology. This study shows that opportunities exist to enhance outcomes within the documents that guide allocation of LIHTC. Doing so could serve as an important step toward improving the well-being of low-income households.