This dissertation examines the reasons why states want to acquire nonconventional weapons and analyzes interconnections between decisions on nuclear weapons (NW) on the one hand and chemical/biological weapons (CBW) on the other. Much of the literature on non-conventional weapons has tended to focus either on nuclear weapons or on CBW, with CBW often portrayed as the “poor man's nuclear bomb.” While there is some truth in this, the interconnections between decisions to develop NW and decisions to develop CBW are more numerous, more varied and more nuanced. The dissertation examines non-conventional armament processes in the United Kingdom and Iraq. Using two disparate cases provides the analysis with a comprehensive data set, the lessons from which have formed the basis of the analysis. Having nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) weapons for the purpose of use is not always a state's ultimate goal and factors as wide-ranging as national prestige and the maintenance of international relationships are important in determining why some states decide to pursue NBC weapons. The case study findings have been synthesized into four key areas in which NBC linkages are particularly significant: strategic issues and strategic cultures; political considerations; economics and finances; and future challenges. The key finding is that there are interconnections that show how NW and CBW influence each other. For example, both the UK and Iraq showed that if nuclear weapons were not available, interest in CBW would increase. Conversely, possession of nuclear weapons does not necessarily rule out interest in acquiring CBW armament. Non-conventional weapons present a significant challenge to the maintenance of international peace and security. As this dissertation demonstrates, NBC weapons are linked on many levels and it is important to understand how CBW can and do influence policy on nuclear weapons and vice versa.

This thesis crafts a narrative about how Confederate soldiers during the siege of Petersburg experienced an intensified war that caused them to refine soldierly coping mechanisms in order to endure. They faced increasing deprivations, new forms of death, fewer restrictions on killing, dwindling fortunes, and increased racial acrimony by facing African American soldiers. In order to adjust, they relied on soldierly camaraderie, Southern notions of honor, letter writing, and an increasingly firm reliance on Protestant Christianity to cope with their situation. Postwar, these veterans repurposed soldierly coping mechanisms and eventually used institutional support from their states. Camaraderie, honor, literary endeavors, and Christianity remained prevalent postwar, such as through the various emerging veterans’ organizations. However, institutional support took considerable time to appear, such as disability, pension, and soldiers’ home benefits. This required the veterans to fall back onto earlier learned mechanisms, illustrating that the status of veteran began during the conflict.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2002. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 389 p.: ill. (some col.). Includes abstract and vita. Advisors: John Rule and John F. Guilmartin, Jr., Dept. of History. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-144). Includes bibliographical references (p. 363-389).

Objective: This study aims to explore the traumatic experiences and to estimate prevalence and predictor factors for PTSD, depression and general psychiatric morbidity amongst Palestinian adults living in the Gaza Strip. Method: A total of 500 Palestinian adults were recruited from four areas of the Gaza Strip using a snowball sampling. The same sample was used for both quantitative studies. Four scales were employed to identify predictors for trauma, PTSD, depression and general mental health. Participants were divided into three age groups: young adults (18 to 25 years), adults (26 to 49 years) and older adults (50 to 65 years). The third qualitative study was aimed at exploring the traumatic experiences of adults living in the Gaza Strip to expand upon the outcomes from the quantitative studies. Results: For Studies 1 and 2, the prevalence rate of PTSD symptoms was 90% and 36.7% met the criteria of DSM-IV for PTSD. Study 2 found depression was 38.4%, and general mental health comorbidity was 67.1%. Study 2 revealed significant differences in PTSD between age groups. Novel results were found amongst adults and older adults on the re-experiencing subscale for PTSD. Participants who lived in Gaza City scored significantly higher on the PTSD subscale for hyperarousal compared to those living in the middle Gaza region. Study 3 expanded on the psychometric data through interviewing members of the Gaza community. When analysed five main themes were identified: Siege related stressors; war related trauma; psychological negative effects; re-experiencing initial event and coping strategies. Conclusions: The findings indicated that blockade was the predominant cause of the increased prevalence rate of PTSD. These studies found that the Palestinian adult participants in Gaza had been exposed to a variety of traumatic events on an ongoing basis that was having a detrimental impact on their mental health.

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The role of Public Diplomacy (PD) in conducting foreign relations has emerged as a critical component for modern statecraft, foreign policy and arguably for the state’s global existence. With the world now more interconnected than ever before, public diplomacy has taken on new meaning and new importance. However, despite these marked shifts, public diplomacy remains under-researched and under-utilised both as a concept and as a vital activity. The complexities that underscore the development and evolution of public diplomacy within a dynamic international milieu therefore warrant renewed attention. The benefits and opportunities that accompany public diplomacy are equally complicated by a number of challenges to its practice. This research identifies and advances a critical understanding of public diplomacy through a theoretically rigorous perspective that accounts for the fluid environment in which it operates, the evolving nature of stakeholders and audiences involved in shaping it, the sweeping impact of global information and communications development, the persistence of cultural divides and conflicts of interests and how they contribute to the lack of strategic frameworks in place to advance public diplomacy practice. This thesis investigates Qatar as a case study due to its international stature and influence despite it being a small geographical state. Renowned for its international role as a leading actor in conflict reconciliation and commended for its contributions to international humanitarianism, the ambitious, forward-looking and steadfast foreign policy of Qatar has faced increased pressure in recent years. Qatar has encountered significant challenges in the form of the Nepali workers’ crisis that ensued following its selection as host for FIFA World Cup 2022 and with the diplomatic siege against it by a number of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. This study critically analyses Qatar’s public diplomacy practice considering these pressing developments and advances an original strategic public diplomacy framework that can assist Qatar in managing and mitigating the effect of these crises on its global image and reputation. This research contributes to enhancing public diplomacy practice within the diplomatic context of statecraft and foreign policy by developing a nuanced and original framework that can be utilised by Qatar and other states to manage and mitigate modern public diplomacy challenges. The thesis utilises a mixed-methods research approach that includes literature reviews, media analyses, interviews and questionnaires. The study contributes to knowledge and practice by advancing research in an understudied field and by developing and implementing an original strategic PD empowerment framework.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:58:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Perwin Fraiman.pdf: 3818282 bytes, checksum: 3631114114743b17184657c9f856881d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-15 / This thesis aims to reveal: the macro context, which is public and impersonal, and the micro level, which is private, highly personal and subjective, around time that has marked the withdrawal and retirement of those who are older from their jobs. The phenomena described here inscribe its history about what actually comprise and means retirement, in the midst of the current transformations in the labor market, at the same time it clarifies the subjective experiences lived by people close to retire. Presented within the transverse model of study and research, not only of related knowledge, interlacing the social sciences to other different areas, this thesis gathers a group of knowledge that, as a whole can better lead to understanding the paths taken to reach the precarious situation experienced by a large parcel of the population of all retired Brazilians and what other ways might be opened from that. This thesis focuses mainly on major areas of conflict and paradox, as well as search possibilities for dialogue between the old and new. Similarly, it demands to know how the human person has absorbed and metabolized the violence slaughtered on it by virtue of convulsive paradigmatic changes that occur. It refines its lenses, driving looks particularly to interpersonal relationships that are seen in the labor universe. It aims to inventory, interpret and narrate about the processes and mechanisms that people have adopted, and may also be able to use to create a new future: a future in where they have the freedom and autonomy to recreate and integrate the new reality that emerges. It is focusing on rituals that deny and others that dignify the value of the person, and seeks to understand what specifically happens in human relations within the organizational work space and within the institutions space that, often as a guillotine, prevent the person from continuing and use its vital forces, that allows it to signify their existential journey and recognize themselves in possession and enjoyment of full rights of citizenship / Esta tese pretende revelar: o contexto macro, que é público e impessoal, e o contexto micro, que é privado, altamente personalizado e subjetivo, em torno do tempo que tem marcado a retirada e o afastamento dos postos de trabalho daqueles que são mais velhos. Os fenômenos aqui descritos inscrevem a sua história sobre aquilo que, efetivamente compreende e significa a aposentadoria, em meio às transformações atuais no mercado de trabalho, ao mesmo tempo em que lança luzes às experiências subjetivas vividas pelas pessoas que estão próximas a aposentar-se. Apresentada dentro do modelo transversal de estudos e pesquisas, não apenas de saberes afins, entrelaçando as ciências sociais a outras diferentes áreas, este trabalho integra um grupo de saberes que, em seu conjunto é capaz de melhor conduzir à compreensão dos caminhos trilhados para se chegar à compreensão da situação de precariedade vivida por grande parcela da população de brasileiros e brasileiras aposentados nos tempos atuais e quais outros caminhos podem se abrir a partir disso. Esta tese se debruça, principalmente sobre algumas das principais áreas de conflito e paradoxo, bem como busca possibilidades de haver diálogo, entre o velho e o novo. Da mesma forma, procura conhecer como a pessoa humana tem absorvido e metabolizado as violências que sobre ela se abatem em virtude das convulsivas transformações paradigmáticas que ocorrem. Refina suas lentes, dirigindo os olhares em especial às relações interpessoais travadas no universo do trabalho. Procura inventariar, interpretar e narrar a respeito dos processos e mecanismos que as pessoas têm adotado e, poderão ainda vir a utilizar-se de, para criar um novo futuro: um futuro através do qual elas próprias tenham liberdade e autonomia para se recriar e para se integrar a nova realidade que se desenha. Focando rituais que negam o valor da pessoa e outros que a dignificam, busca compreender o que de específico acontece nas relações humanas no espaço organizacional de trabalho e no espaço das instituições que, muitas vezes, como uma guilhotina, impedem-na de prosseguir e empregar suas forças vitais, que lhe permitam significar sua jornada existencial e se reconhecer em posse e gozo de seus plenos direitos de cidadania