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The core issue underlying the bulk of scholarly research into the Japanese political economy is the relationship between the bureaucracy and the politicians. My study investigates whether there has been a relative decline in bureaucratic influence and whether politicians are displaying more independence in the policy making process than they did during previous decades. My main hypothesis is that the loss of bureaucratic influence has largely been a function of the declining position of former bureaucrats within the ruling Liberal Democrat Party (LDP), and that it has largely been politicia...

Recently, endurance athletes and high altitude climbers have gained access to commercially available, portable normobaric hypoxic chambers. Intermittent exposures to hypoxia in these chambers may elicit adaptations similar to those observed during acclimatization to altitude. Manufactures of these systems purport that intermittent exposures may elicit adaptations similar to those observed in response to the hypoxia of high altitude, however there have been no reports in the scientific literature that ventilatory acclimatization or alterations in cerebrovascular dynamics occur following repeate...

This thesis traces the historiography of antebellum reform from its origins in Gilbert Barnes's rebellion from the materialist reductionism of the Progressives to the end of the twentieth century. The focus is the ideas of the historians at the center of the historiography, not a summary of every work in the field. The works of Gilbert Barnes, Alice Felt Tyler, Whitney Cross, C. S. Griffin, Donald Mathews, Paul Johnson, Ronald Walters, George Thomas, Robert Abzug, Steven Mintz, and John Quist, among many others, are discussed. In particular, the thesis examines the social control interpretatio...

Communication is frequently identified in the literature as a major factor impacting Information Technology (IT) project failure. The importance of communication is amplified in buyer - seller relationships through the long-term impact of project failures on the future business of IT vendors with their customers.The formal communication between IT project sponsors from buyer firms and project managers from IT vendor firms within business to business markets is investigated through this study. Typical communication patterns between project sponsor and manager in high and low performing projects...

This dissertation involves a preliminary study into the structural dynamic behavior of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), located in the Flight Acceleration Facility, bldg 29, in Houston, Texas. The 50-ft. arm can swing the three-man gondola to create g-forces astronauts will experience during controlled flight and during reentry. The centrifuge was designed primarily for training Apollo astronauts. During operation of the centrifuge, the astronauts can control the motion of the gondola in two gimbal axes, while the gondola is rotatin...

Limited research exists about the determinants of sales organization effectiveness in pharmaceutical sales organizations. To fill this void, sales management control, sales territory design, and sales force performance are conceptualized as antecedents to sales organization effectiveness in pharmaceutical sales organizations. The results of the structural equation model tested suggested that pharmaceutical sales representatives perform better and are more effective when they are satisfied with sales territory design because of its significant relationship with sales force behavioral performanc...

This thesis analyses how and why culture and geography influence the allocation and licensing of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum in different nations. Based on a broad comparative study of 235 countries, an inter-disciplinary approach is used to explore regulatory frameworks and attitudes toward risk. In addition, detailed case studies of the UK, France, the US and Ecuador provide deeper insights into the main contrasting regulatory styles. Three alternative sociological theories are used to analyse and explain the results for both the in-depth and broad brush studies. The Cultural Theory...

Traditional Islamic law has long been regarded as academic, local in nature, and relevant only as a measure of the inadequacy of women’s rights in the family law regimes of a few Islamic states. In opposition, the author argues that the Sharia is both a quasi-regional customary international law capable of competing with prevailing customary international law, and brings its own international agenda of “Islamic human rights” that compete with and seek to displace “Western human rights.” Rather than acknowledging the rights of Muslims qua Muslims internationally, aggressive proponents of an “Am...

There exists a need for the creation of an objective system for measuring facial attractiveness and along with it a detailed mathematical analysis and understanding of facial sexual dimorphism. Both the areas of ophthalmic and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery and the areas of facial attractiveness and recognition research in psychology would greatly benefit from achieving these goals. The objective of this work has been to: develop and test a system for measuring facial attractiveness in an objective manner; and analyze orbital and facial sexual dimorphism. A facial overlay syste...

The economic and human costs of diabetes in the U.S. population place an enormous burden on its healthcare system as well as on employers, diabetics, and their respective families. Many Medicare Advantage plans have responded to this burden by implementing diabetes case management programs (DCMPs) aimed at reducing inappropriate health services utilization, improving health outcomes, and containing costs. While the use of DCMPs is common to many health plans, the research regarding their effectiveness has been sparse or inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to help fill a critical gap in...