The history of the Bowling Green, Kentucky, Fire Department is presented through the use of two methodologies. Traditional historical methodology has been applied to compile the first ninety years of history while traditional folklore fieldwork--the collection of personal narratives through interviews--has been applied to compile the last fifty-six years, concluding with 1970. Six years, from 1914 to 1920, reflect the blending of the two methodologies. The personal narratives used in this study are those of Assistant Chief Harold Hazelip, who joined the fire department in 1952. Recognized informally as the department's historian, Hazelip's recollections include his own personal experiences as well as second-hand experiences told to him by retired firefighters during the early part of his career. The juxtaposition of the methodologies permits some comparisons and contrasts concerning their strengths and weaknesses. It is demonstrated that neither methodology can be used alone to construct a complete history. Historical records are often incomplete while personal narratives focus only on those events which are significant to the narrator. A discussion of the methodologies leads to the conclusion that since history does not take place in a vacuum it is best portrayed through a blending of traditional historical method and folklore fieldwork. The former can provide information about statistics and events that have occurred while the latter provides information about the persons who shaped history.

After the Vietnam War, increased defense funds assigned to the Army National Guard stimulated and supported small communities in Louisiana. Recruits from economically depressed regions lined up to join the Guard because of the competitive pay and the generous education benefits it offered. In the mid-1980s, when a state budgetary shortfall threatened to limit the stream of federal funds and close local armories, communities in Louisiana rallied to keep the doors of their armories open. This paper examines how the readiness efforts of the Louisiana Army National Guard affected the economies of small communities as defense dollars increased following the shift from a draft army to an all-volunteer force and the implementation of Total Force Policy.

A substantial gap exists between those who are considered experts on mental health (e.g., academics, mental health professionals) and those in charge of constructing mental health policies (e.g., legislators, Senators). This gap is in areas of both knowledge and professional relations. Mental health professionals are not adequately trained to engage in policy advocacy and reform efforts and have little to no policy advocacy training (Smith, Reynolds, & Rovnak, 2009). Policymakers lack necessary knowledge related to mental health for effective mental health policy construction (Corrigan, Druss, & Perlick, 2014; Lee, Smith, & Henry, 2013). As a result of this gap, mental health policies are ineffective, and many mental health professionals lack understanding and experience in the area of policy advocacy (Smith et al., 2009; Tanenbaum, 2005). This qualitative study aimed to contribute to filling this gap by exploring the perspectives of policymakers with the purpose of gaining a better understanding of the mental health policy construction and reform process. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives and lived experiences of state-level, practicing policymakers regarding their decision-making processes related to mental health policy construction in efforts to reveal a clearer understanding of how to participate in effective policy reform.A phenomenological qualitative research design and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was used to explore the lived experiences and perspectives of a total of eight state-level practicing policymakers surrounding the mental health policy construction process. After securing IRB approval, all eight participants participated in face-to-face individual, semi-structured interviews. The interviews were audio recorded and ranged from 45 to 90 minutes. Data was then analyzed using IPA data analysis methods. The final data analysis product included three super ordinate themes and related themes and subthemes.

This dissertation studies Oregon primary care physicians' attitudes toward health care reform. Two models of reform are examined: one, health care rationing such as that proposed by the Oregon Health Plan (OHP); and, two, support for national health insurance (NHI). This work examines the necessity for changing the present health care system, traced from the early origins of the medical profession to the present day health care "crisis." The high cost of health care is examined and an overview of the OHP is provided, including citations from John Kitzhaber, M.D., author of the plan. Overall, Oregon primary care physicians overwhelmingly supported health care rationing policies. Just under 75 percent of the physicians expressed support for health care rationing policies such as that proposed by the Oregon Health Plan. However, just under 48 percent of the same physicians expressed support for national health insurance (NHI). Internal medicine physicians were most supportive of health care rationing policies and OB/GYN physicians were least supportive. Conversely, pediatricians were most supportive of NHI and OB/GYN physicians were least supportive. Regression analyses explained 11.5 percent of variation in support for health care rationing policies and 20.9 percent of their support for national health insurance (NHI). While strong support measures were found for health reform such as that proposed by the Oregon Health Plan (OHP), no similar measures of support for NHI emerged. Almost universal support for health care reform such as the OHP was found among primary care physicians across the state, however similar patterns were not found for NHI. It appears from the research's findings that attempts to change the health care system that include the physician's ability to ration care would be more successful than a more systematic change such as would occur under a national health insurance program. This dissertation points out that physicians represent strong supporting forces and/or opposing forces for health care reform. Their attitudes toward such reform must be considered if successful change is to occur in the U.S. health care system.

Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in Portland, Oregon's criminal justice system. Laws, legal procedures and practices that excessively target minorities are not new phenomena. This study focused on a history of political and social conditions in Oregon, and subsequently, Portland, from the 1840' s to 1895, that created unjust state laws and city ordinances that adversely impacted Native Americans, African Americans, and Chinese Immigrants. Attention was also given to the Jewish population. The approach was to examine available arrest and court records from Oregon's and Portland's early beginnings to ascertain what qualitative information records could provide regarding the treatment of minorities by the justice system. As an outgrowth of this observation, it was necessary to obtain an understanding of the legal environment related to arrests and dispositions of adjudications. Finally, a review of the political and social atmosphere during the time period provided a look at the framework that shaped public attitudes and civic actions. Examination of available arrest records and court records recorded during the period were conducted at the City of Portland's Stanley Paar Archives. Observations were limited to the availability of archive records. Oregon's history, relative legislation, Portland's history and applicable ordinances were studied and extrapolated from valid secondary resources. Political and social conditions were reviewed through newspaper accounts during recorded history from that time period. Research indicated that Native Americans, African Americans and Chinese Immigrants were: not legally afforded equal access to Oregon land provisions; denied equitable treatment under the law in comparison to their white counterparts; were unjustly targeted for criminal activities by the enactment and enforcement of laws based on racist views; and, negatively used as political ploys to the advantage of candidates seeking public office. Much of this research is akin to actions in many political, legal and justice arenas of the 1990' s, that continue to adversely impact racial/ethnic minorities unfairly. Although members of the Jewish community were not negatively affected by law, they suffered social injustices. However, they were members of the legal and political fiber that shaped civic sentiments and legislative action in both positive and negative ways.

This paper seeks to determine under what conditions a U.S. president can implement a grand strategy given the nature of domestic and international opportunities and constraints. It will examine three comparative case studies: Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, with the goal of determining what conditions are necessary at the individual, domestic, and systemic levels of analysis for grand strategy implementation. At the individual level, it will apply operational code analysis, as well as an examination of personal characteristics for each case study. At the domestic level, it will apply a five-prong test for examining factors that are key to grand strategy implementation: (1) unity of foreign policy team; (2) strength of presidency; (3) party alignment between Congress and the president; (4) public opinion; and (5) strength of domestic economy. At the systemic level, it will examine significant events faced by each president that tested whether his grand strategy could respond effectively to international imperatives. Ultimately, it will assess the success of each president's attempt at grand strategy implementation based on: (1) how closely U.S. policies aligned with his grand strategy; and (2) whether policies put in place that aligned with his grand strategy improved the global standing of the U.S. Through this analysis, it will assess the larger implications of having a grand strategy on U.S. foreign policy.

Innovation comprises the processes of invention and commercialization. While the importance of innovation, especially commercialization, has been widely recognized, existing studies have largely overlooked the commercialization process. By examining the determinants of uses and nonuses of patented inventions from firms at the levels of technology, organization, and project/invention, this study attempts to help fill a critical gap in the literature. In doing so, it enriches theoretical understandings of innovation and, in particular, builds on the evolutionary explanation of technology development, the Teecian framework on profiting from innovation, Transaction Cost Economics (TCE), the Knowledge-Based View (KBV), and open innovation and innovation network perspectives. It also reveals an empirical reality of commercial use and strategic nonuse of patents. The study is based on a novel dataset constructed from multiple sources: inventor surveys, the United States Patent and Trademark Office online database, and COMPUSTAT, among others. After examining the factors affecting overall propensity to commercialize patented inventions, this study explores the factors that affect the organizational paths of commercialization. The empirical estimation indicates that technological uncertainty and a strong internal position of complementary assets raise the propensity for internal commercialization. The study argues that openness of innovation processes and network relationships should affect the choice of commercialization paths. Consistent with the hypotheses, empirical estimations show that external industrial knowledge increases the propensity of internal commercialization. The study also indicates that collaboration has diverging effects on the choice of commercialization paths. While collaboration with firms in vertical relationships tends to favor internal commercialization, collaboration with firms in horizontal relationships tends to favor external commercialization (licensing, start-up). Finally, the study reports findings on the strategic use of patents and then tests hypotheses about the factors driving strategic nonuse. It concludes that a significant portion of U.S. patents are indeed filed for strategic reasons. It also finds that characteristics of technology and firms are significantly associated with different strategies. In particular, firms are more likely to use a patent for strategic defensive purposes when they have larger amounts of assets. The study concludes with discussing managerial and policy implications.

This dissertation thesis titled 'Government Communication in the Czech Republic: Or- ganisation, Perception, and New Theoretical Model' is a seminal, exploratory work which contextualizes and maps the development of government communication in the Czech Republic from its foundation to the present time with a primary research emphasis on the years between 2015 and 2017. Stemming from interdisciplinary theoretical sources within media and communication, public policy, and management scholarship, the thesis rede- fines the way of thinking about government communication. It applies stakeholder theory paradigm by researching government institutions, private sector, and news media as three important actors of government communication. Analysing the organization, perception, and tensions of government communication, the dissertation thesis aims to introduce new theoretical model of government communication and provide the government, private sector, and other societal actors with challenging perspectives on their practices and status quo.

When delivered well, education is key to addressing a host of individual and societal ills, from poverty and disease to crime and poor voter engagement. India has demonstrated considerable progress in improving various aspects of its primary education system, including infrastructure and buildings, teacher-student ratios, and school enrollment. However, student learning outcomes remain consistently low across the country. A review of the literature surrounding learning outcomes has highlighted gaps in school instruction and has shown the dire need for innovations in pedagogy and curriculum to improve student learning. This paper assesses the long-term impact of one such pedagogy, called Teaching at the Right Level (or TaRL), in the districts of five states of India via an ordered probit model and linear regressions. The quantitative model shows a positive and significant effect of TaRL exposure on learning levels and income, as hypothesized throughout this paper. Additionally, case studies of two students exposed to TaRL are explored to illustrate individual effects of the pedagogy.

This dissertation assesses the role of social media and its effects on the Arab Spring. The research will be guided by two questions: Could the use of American Dot.com social networking websites (e.g. Facebook, Google, Twitter, and YouTube) by Tunisians and Egyptians during the Arab Spring, to overthrow their governments, be characterized as a violation of Tunisia’s and Egypt’s sovereignty (cyber-sovereignty)? Secondly, what was the significance of the abovementioned social networking websites during the Arab Spring? The first question will be examined by using Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Theory; the problem, policy, and political streams have to converge simultaneously in order to create a window of opportunity to enact change. For this to occur, it is the responsibility of the policy entrepreneur to combine the three streams. The policy entrepreneur is an individual(s) who are tasked with the responsibility of integrating the three streams. During the Arab Spring, social media served as a mechanism for citizens to bypass government censorship to chronicle and narrate events as they occurred. As a result, I assert that it was the use of social media in this manner by the policy entrepreneurs that violated the sovereignty of both Tunisia and Egypt. The second question will be analyzed by administering questionnaires and reviewing tertiary sources to assess the significance of the abovementioned social networking websites during the Arab Spring. By examining the two research questions together, the conclusion of this analysis will potentially provide the basis for political cooperation towards an international cyber-sovereignty doctrine. The Arab Spring was far greater than Tunisia and Egypt. However, I felt it was of the utmost importance to focus on the origin of the Arab Spring, as well as the significance in which the role of social media became instrumental. Analyzing the role of social media, the transformation of power, and cyber-sovereignty in both countries through four (individual, state, organizational, and international) layers of analysis will help to assess the role of social media during the Arab Spring and to generate layers of protection to mitigate its influence.