Thesis (M.B.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2003. / "MBA professional report"--Cover. Joint authors: James Cheatham, Vaughn Gonzalez 2nd, Rolando Ibanez, Richard Nalwasky, Martin Rios, Marco A. Turner. Thesis advisor(s): Ron Tudor, Rod Tudor. Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-237). Also available online.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Donald Summers, Juliette Webb. Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-69). Also available online.

Thesis (M.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2004. / Title from title screen (viewed June 17, 2005). "MBA professional report"--Cover. "June 2004." Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-80). Also issued in paper format.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1999. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2934. Typescript. Abstract precedes thesis as 2 preliminary leaves. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-66).

The following paper explores the relationship between the tobacco industry and the United States government. Through an extensive literature review, I conclude that the government is perpetuating the tobacco crisis in the United States by aligning their policymaking actions with the interests of the industry in exchange for receiving campaign support. I find that the primary method of support the industry provides is through monetary contributions, essentially bribing legislators to assist them on tobacco control regulations. I argue that this mode of persuasion is most effective because the tobacco industry is appealing to the egos of the legislators by bolstering their finances which in turn greatly enables them to sustain their power in office. For future research, I recommend analyzing this relationship regarding the rising trend of e-cigarettes and vaping, especially among adolescents.

Conflict among legislators has been an ever-present component of the legislative process in the U.S. Congress. However, most political scientists have treated all dissension within the legislature as the result of partisan disagreement over various policy options. I propose in this thesis that a second dimension of conflict exists within Congress, one caused by personal rivalries unrelated to the discussion of issues. This category, which I have termed "personality conflict," or "incivility," can take the form of actions between legislators such as name-calling and fist-fights. In my research, I have created a measure of these incivilities and studied the movement in the levels of personality conflict within Congress from 1851 through 2004. In addition, I compare these trends to a conventional measure of party polarization or partisan conflict. The analysis suggests that the two types of conflict are distinct, but also that levels of one type of congressional conflict can have important effects on the absolute level of the other.

The scope of this study is limited to Federal military occupation during the five years from 1865 to 1870. Only the interior counties, where a dense Negro population required the exercise of political and social responsibilities, will be considered in detail. A line from Wise through Bosque, Travis, Wilson, Karnes, and Goliad Counties to the coastal town of Corpus Christi would roughly separate interior from frontier posts.

Thesis (LL.M.)--George Washington University, 2003. / Title from title screen (viewed Sept. 9, 2005). "August 31, 2003." "ADA417077"--URL. Includes bibliographical references. System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Also issued in paper format.

In just over one year since United States v. Windsor— the case invalidating sections of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defined marriage, for purposes of federal statutes, as the “union of man and woman”— more than a dozen states have had their same-sex marriage bans ruled unconstitutional. This suggests a shift in legal meaning; previously successful arguments against same-sex “marriage” now seem irrational as argumentative ground has shifted. Since favorable rulings redefine “marriage” to include same-sex unions, this thesis analyzes Kitchen v. Herbert, a 2014 legal opinion from the United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit, to understand the rhetorical processes underpinning its redefinitional act. That analysis draws on Kenneth Burke’s theories of entitling and constitutions and discusses the rhetorical concepts of terministic screens, casuistic screens, scope and circumference as key features of the rhetoric of the legal opinions. The findings call for a balancing of deconstructive and conventional approaches to legal discourse. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

In an era of acute concern about airline safety, bird strikes are still one of the major hazards to aviation worldwide. The severity of the problem is such that it is mandatory in all developed countries to include bird management as part of airport safety management programs. In Australia, there are approximately 500 bird aircraft strikes per year (Bailey 2000). Brisbane airport has a relatively high occurrence of strikes, with an average of 77 recorded every year (2002-2004). Given the severity of the problem, a variety of techniques have been employed by airports to reduce bird strikes. Scare devices, repellents, continuous patrols for bird hazing, use of raptors to clear airspace of birds and depredation are used by many airports. Even given the diversity of control methods available, it is accepted that habitat management is the most effective long term way to control birds in and around the airport space. Experimental studies have shown that habitat manipulation and active scaring measures (shooting, scaring etc), can reduce bird numbers to an acceptable level. The current study investigated bird populations in six major vegetation habitat types identified within the operational and surrounding areas of Brisbane airport. In order to determine areas where greater bird control and management should be focused, bird abundance, distribution, and activity were recorded and habitats that pose the greatest bird strike risk to aircraft were identified. Secondly, species with high hazard potential were identified and ranked according to their hazard potential to aircraft. This study also investigated the effectiveness of different vegetation management options to reduce bird species abundance within operational areas of Brisbane airport. Four different management options were compared. Each management option was assessed for grass structural complexity and potential food resources available to hazardous bird species. Analysis of recorded data showed that of the habitats compared within the Brisbane airport boundaries, grasslands surrounding runways, taxiways and aprons possess the greatest richness and abundance of bird species that pose the greatest potential hazard to aircraft. Ibis and the Australian kestrel were identified as the bird species that pose the greatest risk to aircraft at Brisbane airport, and both were found in greatest numbers within the managed grasslands surrounding operational areas at the airport. An improved reporting process that allows correct identification of all individual bird species involved in bird strikes will not only increase the accuracy of risk assessments, but will also allow implementation of more effective control strategies at Brisbane airport. Compared with current grassland management practice, a vegetation management option of maintaining grass height at 30-50cm reduced total bird utilisation by 89% while utilisation of grassland by potentially hazardous birds was also reduced by 85%. Maintaining grass height within the 30-50cm range also resulted in a 45% reduction in the number of manipulations required per year (11 to 6), when compared with current management practices, and a 64% reduction in annual maintenance cost per hectare. When extrapolated to the entire maintained grass area at Brisbane airport, this resulted in a saving of over $60 000 annually. Optimisation of potential hazard reduction will rely on future studies that investigate the effect of particular vegetation species that could replace the existing mix of grasses used at Brisbane airport and an understanding of the relative importance of vegetation structure and food supply in determining utilisation by potentially hazardous bird species.