In spite of the crucial importance of the Russian front in the outcome of the Second World War, this aspect of the conflict has been studied relatively little in the West since 1945. This omission can be attributed to several factors including linguistic complexity, the difficulty of access to Soviet archives, and the political constraints caused by the ideological climate of the Cold War. Since the time of glasnost' and the collapse of the Soviet block, however, a new era has begun for historians thanks to the release of many documents which had been secret and to the improved ideological climate. / The present work aims to summarise the current situation of the debate in this rapidly expanding field of historiography. Some of the most controversial military, political, and strategic questions are examined, most frequently from a Soviet perspective. These include the Soviet preparations for war and their shortcomings; the German campaign of 1941 and the reasons for its failure; the turning of the tide in 1942-1943, especially the battles of Kursk and Stalingrad; the Yalta conference and the "division of the world"; the role of Stalin and his regime in the "Great Patriotic War"; the human and material losses of the Soviet Union during the conflict; and finally the importance of the Soviet contribution to the victory of the Allies.

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The implementation of a tobacco-free policy is the leading recommendation among health institutes for reducing the harms associated with tobacco exposure–for both smokers and nonsmokers–on college campuses. Despite the health benefits associated with tobacco-free policies, compliance with these policies remains a serious challenge on college campuses. Interventions aimed at increasing smokers’ willingness to comply with tobacco-free policies are essential for improving public health. Guided by the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the purpose of this study was to (a) investigate the factors associated with tobacco-free policy compliance among undergraduate students and (b) design and evaluate a theory-based campaign aimed at increasing compliance with a tobacco-free campus policy. To achieve these aims the current study was conducted in two phases. Phase One was a qualitative investigation that analyzed focus group data related to messaging strategies for increasing tobacco-free policy compliance. Phase Two was a quantitative investigation that used survey data to explore variables associated with tobacco-free policy compliance and to test the effectiveness of a campus-wide print-based campaign. Results from Phase One suggest various ways to target the TPB variables in messages in order to improve tobacco-free policy compliance. Results from Phase Two suggest the psychological variables and the physical variable of nicotine dependence are not related to tobacco-free policy compliance behaviors; however, social variables, quit attempts, and daily cigarette use are predictors of compliance behaviors. Similarly, the TPB variables had mixed results for relating to tobacco-free policy compliance behaviors. In addition, the campaign materials were supported as effectively improving tobacco-free policy compliance behaviors, both through individual level survey reports of compliance and observed compliance behaviors on campus. Although the campaign materials were designed around the TPB variables and were supported for improving compliance behaviors, above average campaign exposure was only found to improve normative beliefs from pre- to post-intervention. In addition to theoretical and practical implications offered from this study regarding tobacco-free policy compliance behaviors, this study also provides critical insight into the current compliance behaviors on the University of Kentucky’s campus.

Concerns over the way in which judicial campaigns are conducted have been voiced since the 1970s. Judicial elections are thought to have become rough and tumble contests, featuring increasing campaign expenditures and controversial campaign speech. With the widespread deregulation of judicial candidate campaign speech in the early 2000s, scholars have become increasingly concerned with how judicial candidates campaign. This dissertation examines the role of the media in judicial elections, campaign communication methods used by candidates, how candidates develop campaign messages, controversial campaign speech, the consequences of campaigning, and candidates’ attitudes toward judicial selection reform. Data gathered from a survey of judicial candidates who ran for election in 2012 (n = 490) and follow-up interviews with candidates (n = 35) were used to address the research questions posed by this investigation. Findings reveal a number of areas of concern with judicial elections beyond campaign speech, including lack of media coverage, lack of access to adequate communication channels, and concerns over external group involvement in judicial elections. Controversial speech is rare in judicial campaigns and few candidates favor strong speech regulations, which are viewed as barriers between the office and the public.

En kvalitativ studie har genomförts på tre kampanjbilder från IQ-initiativets satsning “IQ student”. Kampanjbilderna har ett motsvarande tema baserat på att det alltid finns en anledning till att dricka alkohol. Studien har med hjälp av fokusgruppsintervjuer och en intervju med IQ tagit reda på hur IQ vill att studenterna ska tolka bilderna och hur studenterna faktiskt tolkar dem. Studien utgick från teorier som receptionsstudie, semiotik och socialpsykologi. Analysen av resultaten har dessutom ställts upp i förhållande till relevant forskning inom området publika kampanjer och gruppbeteende. Studiens resultat visar bland annat på att IQ vill att studenter ska tänka över sina alkoholvanor och att de på sikt ska minska sin konsumtion av alkohol. Resultatet visar även att studenterna tar till sig budskapet eftersom de kan relatera till det, men tar det sedan inte vidare. Studenterna tycker inte att deras alkoholkonsumtion är ett problem och känner därför inte att det är något de behöver förändra. / A qualitative study has been conducted on three campaign images from the company IQ. The campaign is called “IQ student” and the images are based on the same theme, suggesting that students always finds a reason to drink alcohol. We have used focus group interviews and an interview with IQ as our methods to find out how IQ want the students to interpret the images, and also how the student interpret them. The study is based on theories as reception study, semiotics and social psychology. The analysis of the results has also been set in relation to relevant research in the field of public campaigns and group behavior. Our results demonstrate that IQ wants students to think about their alcohol habits and that they want the students to reduce their consumption of alcohol. The result also shows that students embrace the message as they can relate to it, but it does not come any further. The students think that their drinking is not a problem and therefore they don’t want to change anything about their alcohol habits.

This thesis examined the movements of Rufus King's Federal division during a portion of the Second Manassas Campaign. With an emphasis on the role of John Gibbon's brigade, this study concentrated on the battle fought on the evening of August 28, 1862 near Groveton, Virginia between King's division and two Confederate divisions under Stonewall Jackson. Events leading up to file battle, poor cooperation between the Union generals and the faulty deployment by Jackson were stressed, as was the severity of the fighting.The withdrawal of King's division following the battle was portrayed as an important strategic error which allowed the two wings of the Confederate army to unite the following day. Although the Union troops fought Jackson's larger force to a draw, poor leadership by the Union generals resulted in tide loss of the advantages gained by the fighting. The Battle at Brawner Farm was an important event in the campaign, although it has generally been overlooked by historians.

This thesis represents the result of a close study of the early Arabic sources concerning the long and violent conflict between Muhammad and the three Jewish tribes of Medina: the B. Qaynuqa, B. al-Nadir and B. Qurayzah. It is discovered that in his actions against these tribes the Prophet was not acting from a simple anti-Jewish bias but in order to protect himself and his community from these potentially very dangerous centers of opposition. Thus the elimination of the Jewish tribes from the oasis is the result of Muhammad's efforts to break up centers of opposition and thereby make secure his own community. In his long struggle with the Jewish tribes Muhammad skillfully isolated the three tribes--from each other as well as from their Arab allies-- and eliminated their dangerous presence one by one, beginning with the weakest of the three tribes. The justifications set forth by Muhammad for actions against the Jews are almost without exception political in nature (although the Jewish opposition was primarily religious in nature), and redress was usually called for under the traditional tribal law. On the rare occasions when the tribal law would not support his actions, Muhammad used revelation as justification.

Gaius Julius Caesar remains one of the most studied characters of antiquity. His personality, political career, and military campaigns have garnered numerous scholarly treatments, as have his alleged aspirations to monarchy and divinity. However, comparatively little detailed work has been done to examine his own personal religiosity and even less attention has been paid to his religion in the context of his military conquests. I argue that Caesar has wrongly been deemed irreligious or skeptical and that his conduct while on campaign demonstrates that he was a religious man. Within the Roman system of religion, ritual participation was more important than faith or belief. Caesar pragmatically manipulated the Romans' flexible religious framework to secure military advantage almost entirely within the accepted bounds of religious conduct. If strict observance of ritual was the measure of Roman religiosity, then Caesar exceeded the religious expectations of his rank and office. The evidence reveals that he was an exemplar of Roman religio throughout both the Gallic Wars (58-51BC) and the subsequent Civil Wars (49-45BC).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-270).

Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-95).