Fixed bayonets: The New York State National Guard during the era of industrial unrest, 1877--1898

Kotlik, Ronald Howard State University of New York at Buffalo 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation explores the role of New York State's National Guard between 1877 and 1895 in quelling labor unrest. The rapid industrialization of the United States from the mid to late nineteenth century was marked by powerful changes in the relationship between labor and capital. With the decline of the independent craftsman and the greater use of unskilled factory labor, skilled workers increasingly used labor unions, collective bargaining, and the strike to assert some power over their own fate. Because of this tension between labor and capital, the late nineteenth century saw a series of turbulent and often bloody strikes throughout the country. In many cases, National Guard troops were used by state governments to quell the disorder and to protect private property. The Guard found itself in a precarious situation: citizen soldiers called out against fellow citizens in the name of law and order. New York State Guardsmen were called to strike duty seven times during the late nineteenth century including the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the Syracuse Railroad Strike of 1890, the Buffalo Switchmen's Strike of 1892, the Tonawanda Lumber Strikes of 1892 and 1893, the Oswego Lumber Strike of 1894, and the Brooklyn Trolley Strike of 1895. In order to comprehend the significant role Guardsmen played during these strikes, this dissertation explores the political, institutional, and social development of the New York State National Guard during this period. The dissertation investigates New York State's National Guard as an institution looking at the statewide organization and how politics affected New York's Guard especially in the areas of major legislation and appropriations. An exploration of the socio-economic and ethnic composition of New York's Guard during the late nineteenth century reveals that many of the officers were from the upper levels of society, and a significant number officers and enlisted men were also skilled tradesmen with similar class characteristics as many of the strikers they confronted. Many regiments contained men who either shared a similar ethnic background or were involved in similar occupations. These similar socio-economic backgrounds allowed for the establishment of strong social networks among the Guardsmen. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Urban stall: Development failure in Buffalo and Western New York from 1980 to 2004

Webb, Daniel Walter, Jr State University of New York at Buffalo 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

The region of Western New York and its anchor city of Buffalo have undergone profound changes over the past century. Moving from a growth pole to an aging industrial hub marked by rampant decline, the Western New York region is one of potentially high interest to urban scholars. The recent history of Western New York holds much in common with the histories of other industrial areas in the northeastern United States: massive losses in industrial and defense economies; major changes in spatial development; population shifts within and among regions; and a general strain on the economic, political, and cultural fabric of communities in decline. In these and other ways, Western New York is another in a constellation of hard-hit urban areas in post-World War II United States. As is also the case with other areas, the leaders and citizens of Western New York have attempted to reverse their region's decline. With the aid of hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds and innumerable studies, meetings, and proposed projects, the region's population has battled to return Western New York to an area of relative prosperity. Over at least the past 25 years, there has been a steady and strong push to buoy Western New York and its anchor city of Buffalo. These public and private attempts over the years have largely failed. For this reason Western New York is unique and worthy of extended study. Through multiple large-scale development projects and proposals, the region's leaders and citizens have forged little progress. In the worst cases there has been regression. A disturbing trend has developed in Western New York: although there is constant energy expended in trying to better the region, most large projects fail to achieve their intended outcomes. This dissertation examines how one region's efforts to reverse urban decline were met with interminable delays, insurmountable roadblocks, and outright failure. Through a series of detailed case studies it is shown that---although faced with major structural impediments to growth---the leaders and citizens of Western New York continually hindered their own chances of development success through political provincialism, untenable expectations, mismatches between vision and action, a poor public participation process, and ineffective leadership. Through additional sociospatial studies of historical trends in the region's economy, politics, and culture, it is shown that there are several common and devastating factors that run through the major development projects selected for study in this dissertation. From a "terminal nostalgia" that threatens development projects to an entrenched and bitter political atmosphere that largely follows geographical lines, there are deeply seated issues in the region that routinely sidetrack or derail projects that demand cooperation, compromise, and punctuality. After careful consideration of the most damaging and prevalent issues commonly found throughout development projects in Western New York, potential avenues for positive change are briefly discussed. This is followed by a discussion of several recent projects undertaken in the region that are instructive models for successful development in the future.

Analysis of university manufacturing extension initiatives: The case of the Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE) at the University at Buffalo (New York)

Ziolkowski, Michael Francis State University of New York at Buffalo 2004 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation examines the extent to which university-based technical services support the innovation and/or business performance efforts of industrial firms in the manufacturing sector. The analysis focuses on a specific institution (University at Buffalo), a specific outreach unit (the Center for Industrial Effectiveness [TCIE]), and a specific region (Western New York). The central proposition behind the dissertation is that TCIE services contribute to the process of incremental innovation among client firms. A related proposition is that these firms would have been unable to innovate in the absence of TCIE inputs. Data for the study come from a questionnaire survey of 19 TCIE client firms, as well as from personal interviews with senior executives of these firms. Supplementary data come from personal interviews with TCIE principals. A number of important findings are uncovered that ought to be of interest to economic geographers, as well as policy-makers. First, the survey data and follow-up interviews suggest that TCIE services generate a positive return on investment for client firms. The single most common benefit for client firms lies in accelerated ISO certification for specific products. A second finding is that some firms believed that they would have been able to introduce the necessary innovations to secure ISO certification in the absence of TCIE support albeit with less ease and more cost. For other clients TCIE is irreplaceable. A third finding is that the benefits that flow from TCIE support are somewhat geographically confined to business establishments in Western New York. A fourth and critically important finding is that TCIE does not necessarily transmit leading-edge knowledge or technical inputs to client firms. In many cases, these inputs represent developments that are radically new to TCIE's clients (but not to the industry as a whole). Nevertheless, such inputs do appear to improve the efficiency of local firms. A fifth finding is that most sample firms were either innovating products or processes. An important point given that product innovators had higher growth rates than process innovators.

The new university president: How nontraditional presidents construct their presidencies

Davies, Robert O State University of New York at Buffalo 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

"The college presidency is one of the most influential of all positions because the future leaders of the world sit in our classrooms. The academic presidency also is one of the most important of all positions because it is chiefly on the campus that knowledge---the foundation of the future---is created" (Rhodes, 2001 p. 223). As a reflection of a shift to the research agenda during of the late 19th Century, by the end of the Second World War an overwhelming majority of university presidents were academicians-individuals who had spent a majority of their careers inside the academy (Corrigan, 2002). As a result, the universal career ladder for a president during the latter half of the 20th Century was: Faculty → Department Chair → Dean → Vice President/Provost → President (Cohen & March, 1974). While this ladder is still popular, it is not the single pathway it once was. Both internal and external forces shifted the expectations and required experiences of the modern university president. As a result, new pathways to the university presidency have emerged. Because of the difficulty of cutting costs, providing more services, responding to political and market forces have provided the foundation for universities to increasingly select presidents from outside the academy---the nontraditional president. This thinking is based on the assumption that the experiences of leading major corporations, nonprofit organizations or government agencies are more aligned with leading a university than a scholarly background. As stated by Atwell and Wilson (2003), "If college and university presidents continue to be drawn largely from the ranks of persons who are primarily scholars, there will be an increasing disconnection between the skills necessary to lead our institutions and the qualifications of their leaders" (p. 24). This study is focused on how the nontraditional president creates his or her presidency. To accomplish this, a case study approach was used. Eight presidents were selected based on their individual career paths and because of their initial success at their respective universities. The eight presidents include: Dr. Gregory Geoffroy from Iowa State University, Dr. Shirley Tilghman from Princeton University, Dr. T. K. Wetherell from Florida State University, Dr. John DiGioia from Georgetown University, Dr. Lee Todd from the University of Kentucky, Dr. Shirley Jackson from Rensselaer Polytechnic University, Dr. Robert Gates from Texas A&M University and Dr. Bob Kerrey from the New School University. Each president represents one of four possible career paths: Scholar; Administrator; Dual-Experienced; and Outsider. The basis of the analysis was the use of four lenses: Leadership and Decision Making Style; Action Preference; Focus and Orientation; and Connection to the University. The major findings of this study include: nontraditional presidents are used to transform a university, hired for specific agendas, are very quick to act, rely on the managerial leadership style for control, decision making, and communication, and have a strong personal relationships to the universities they serve. This study also revealed that nontraditional presidents are not hired solely for an external focus or for fund raising needs, can be very effective internal leaders and can have an incredibly strong commitment to the concept of shared governance. In addition, the study reveals several ways in which nontraditional presidents overcame this perceived liability and have been embraced by the academy.

Community Building through Economic Opportunity: Entrepreneurship among Female Refugees in Buffalo, New York

Root, Laurel D State University of New York at Buffalo ProQuest D 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

Buffalo, New York is a national hub for refugee resettlement. Each year as a mid-sized city it welcomes some of the highest numbers of refugees in the country. The West Side is home to the city's largest concentration of refugees. The West Side is also home to the Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI). Opportunities for entrepreneurship are offered to refugees by WEDI through a small business incubation space (the West Side Bazaar), business coaching, and low-interest microloans. Other organizations for encouraging entrepreneurial activity are present on the West Side, including Stitch Buffalo and Sew REDI (Refugee Economic Development Initiative). These organizations aid refugee women by teaching them a skill, in this case sewing. The women directly earn profit from the sale of their work. This in turn teaches economic empowerment and self-sufficiency. This dissertation examines the experiences of women refugee entrepreneurs from a variety of countries. These women had either been the recipients of training or microloans from WEDI or members of Stitch Buffalo or Sew REDI. Culture takes on a fluid manifestation for these women. Due to the event of relocation, many times leading to multiple relocations, individuals are exposed to a variety of cultural frameworks in which they must operate. Women often spend many years in refugee camps in multiple countries outside of their home countries. This creates a necessity for adaptation and renegotiation of culture and identity in order to survive. Because of the complicated intersection of cultural influences it makes it difficult, and nearly impossible, to define how individual cultures change. Instead, the women that have participated in the research display common themes related to the experience of what it means to be a woman refugee entrepreneur. These women come from all over the world, including the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.While there is ample literature on the areas of entrepreneurship and refugee studies separately, very little scholarship has explored the connection of these two topics, particularly within the context of the United States. This dissertation design is a multi-sited approach conducted at the West Side Bazaar and the sewing collectives. Data was collected through a research design with rigorous qualitative methods through participant observation, informal interviews, and formal interviews.

Rust Belt Renaissance? The Experience of Refugees from Burma in Buffalo, New York

Cavello, Seth Michael State University of New York at Buffalo ProQuest D 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

Buffalo, New York receives the most refugees for resettlement in the state, and has constructed a narrative as a welcoming place for this population. While this narrative is mostly true, refugees from Burma are facing a new set of challenges arising from Buffalo's broader urban redevelopment that need to be addressed. This study asks the following specific research questions: 1) How do refugees from Burma build community in Buffalo? In particular, how do they build social capital through ethnic and religious organizations, and shared identities? 2) How do refugees adapt their housing strategies in the face of neighborhood change? In particular, how are they responding to gentrification of the West Side neighborhood?.

Enforcement of tobacco possession, use, and purchase laws in relation to smoking behavior and attitudes toward smoking among youth

Tworek, Cindy State University of New York at Buffalo 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Despite recent increases in legislation restricting minors' possession, use, and purchase (PUP) of tobacco products, evaluation of PUP laws and their enforcement in relation to youth smoking behavior has been minimal. The three study objectives were: to describe the existence and enforcement of state and local PUP laws; to assess the relationship between PUP laws, including enforcement, and youth smoking behavior and attitudes; and to assess youth awareness, perceptions, opinions, experiences, smoking behavior, and attitudes in communities with PUP ordinances. PUP laws have been controversial; this study assesses the laws and their enforcement from a national perspective. State and local PUP enforcement data were collected via key informant interviews, and state and local PUP enforcement indices were developed. Logit regression was used to analyze the association of PUP laws, with enforcement, and youth smoking behavior and attitudes from nationally representative 8 th, 10th, and 12th grade Monitoring the Future student data (total N = 29,362). Analyses controlled for demographic and state tobacco control policy variables. In addition, four focus groups, involving 25 minors, were conducted in two New Jersey communities with local possession ordinances. Results indicated that purchase laws were the most common state-level PUP law, while possession ordinances were most common locally. Most PUP enforcement occurred in localities, and fines were the most common PUP penalty. State PUP laws were not consistently associated with youth smoking behavior or attitudes, while local possession ordinances were associated with lower odds of current smoking and increased odds of anti-smoking attitudes, especially in the absence of state possession laws. However, PUP enforcement did not have a consistent dose-response relationship with youth smoking behavior or attitudes. Focus group participants did not find local PUP ordinances, or their enforcement, to be effective in influencing youth smoking behavior or attitudes. Study findings do not consistently support PUP laws and their enforcement as effective tobacco control policies to discourage youth smoking. In a tobacco control environment with increasingly limited money and resources, comprehensive tobacco control policies and programs focusing on both youth and adults are important to denormalize smoking in society and can achieve the maximum benefit for the entire population.

CdSe/beta-Pb0.33V2O5 heterostructures: Nanoscale semiconductor interfaces with tunable energetic configurations for solar energy conversion and storage

Milleville, Christopher C State University of New York at Buffalo 2016 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation focuses on the formation and characterization of semiconductor heterostructures, consisting of light-harvesting cadmium selenide quantum dots (CdSe QDs) and single crystalline lead vanadium oxide nanowires (beta-Pb0.33V2O5 NWs), for the purpose of excited-state charge transfer and photocatalytic production of solar fuels. We reported two distinct routes for assembling CdSe/beta-Pb0.33V2O5 heterostructures: linker-assisted assembly (LAA) mediated by a bifunctional ligand and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). In the former case, the thiol end of a molecular linker, cysteine (Cys) is found to bind to the QD surface, whereas a protonated amine moiety interacts electrostatically with the negatively charged NW surface. In the alternative SILAR route, the surface coverage of CdSe on the beta-Pb0.33V2O5 NWs is tuned by varying the number of successive precipitation cycles. Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) measurements revealed that the mid-gap states of beta-Pb0.33V2O5 NWs are closely overlapped in energy with the valence band edges of CdSe QDs, suggesting that hole transfer from the valence band of CdSe into the mid-gap states is possible. Preliminary evidence of hole transfer was obtained through photoluminescence quenching experiments. Steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements on Cys-CdSe dispersions, mixed dispersions of Cys-CdSe QDs and beta-Pb0.33V¬2O5 NWs, and mixed dispersions of Cys-CdS QDs and V2O5 revealed a greater extent of quenching of the emission of Cys-CdSe QDs by beta Pb0.33V¬2O5 relative to V2O5. V2O5, devoid of mid-gap states, is unable to accept holes from CdSe and therefore should not quench emission to the same extent as beta-Pb0.33V¬2O5. The additional quenching was dynamic, consistent with a mechanism involving the transfer of photogenerated holes from CdSe QDs to the mid-gap states of beta Pb0.33V2O5. Transient absorption spectroscopy (TA) was used to probe the dynamics of interfacial charge transfer of CdSe/beta-Pb0.33V¬2O5 and CdSe/V2O5 heterostructures. TA measurements indicate that, for both types of heterostructures, photoexcitation of CdSe QDs was followed by a transfer of electrons to the conduction band of beta-Pb0.33V¬2O5 and holes to the mid-gap states of beta-Pb0.33V¬2O5. Ultrafast transient absoprtion measurements revealed that holes actually transferred before electrons, on time scales of ca. 2 ps. In contrast, for analogous heterostructures consisting of CdSe QDs interfaced with V2O5, only electron transfer was observed. In addition, electron transfer was readily achieved for SILAR-prepared heterostructures; however, for LAA-prepared heterostructures, electron transfer was observed only upon excitation at energies substantially greater than the bandgap absorption threshold of CdSe. Transient absorbance decay traces revealed longer excited-state lifetimes (1beta3 betas) for CdSe/beta Pb0.33V2O5 heterostructures relative to bare beta-Pb0.33V2O5 NWs (0.2 to 0.6 betas); the difference was attributed to surface passivation of intrinsic surface defects in beta-Pb0.33V2O5 upon interfacing with CdSe. In an effort to improve the energetic offset in QD/beta-Pb0.33V2O5 heterostructures, cadmium sulfide (CdS) QDs were used in place of CdSe QDs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) valence band spectra of CdS/beta-Pb0.33V2O5 and CdSe/beta-Pb0.33V2O5 revealed a greater binding energy onset for CdS compared to CdSe. Binding energy onsets of 1.33 (+/- 0.03) and 0.92 (+/- 0.02) eV were determined for Cys-CdS/beta Pb0.33V2O5 and Cys-CdSe/beta Pb0.33V2O5, respectively; suggesting a 0.41 (+/-0.04) eV decrease in the free energy (betaG) needed for hole transfer from the valence band edge of the QDs to the mid-gap states. Linear sweep voltammetry was employed to measure the photocatalytic activity of CdSe/beta Pb0.33V2O5 heterostructures in electrolytes containing ascorbic acid as a sacrificial proton donor. Preliminary photoelectrochemical measurements on CdSe/beta-Pb0.33V2O5 electrodes revealed reductive photocurrents at applied potentials ca. 450 mV positive of the dark proton reduction onset. Importantly, no reductive photocurrents were measured on bare beta-Pb0.33V2O5 electrodes. These results are consistent with a mechanism in which photoinduced hole transfer from CdSe QDs to the mid-gap states of beta Pb0.33V2O5 NWs facilitates the reduction of protons, as the charge-separated state allows proton reduction to compete with exciton recombination. This avenue of research is ongoing.

We are all brothers: Secret fraternal organizations and the transformation of the white male political culture in antebellum Virginia

Pflugrad-Jackisch, Ami State University of New York at Buffalo 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation explores the role secret fraternal organizations, such as the Freemasons, the Sons of Temperance, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, played in white male unity and civic culture in antebellum Virginia. These fraternities, composed primarily of white working and middle-class men, repeatedly stressed the ideals of brotherhood, fidelity, and white male equality. More than just social clubs or charities, these orders softened class distinctions and created a civic brotherhood among white men. This dissertation can be roughly broken into three sections. Chapter One, "Fraternal Organizations in Antebellum Virginia," serves as an overview of the history of secret fraternal orders. The second section explores the way in which antebellum fraternal orders contributed to the creation of a new standard of masculine independence in Virginia. As members of fraternal organizations, I argue that white men made themselves the protectors of their community's moral order, and the guardians of society's "true" dependents, women, children, and African Americans. Chapter Two, "Keeping out the Unworthy," investigates the membership requirements for each order. Chapter Three, "Brothers of Vow: Fictive Kinship and the Refuge of the Lodge," examines how members believed their principles would secure social order in their communities. Each order endeavored to protect society from moral decay, the perceived by-product of new market relations in Virginia. The final section of the dissertation describes how this new social role for non-elite white men redefined the boundaries of public paternal leadership. Chapter Four, "Securing the Republic: Fraternal Republicanism and Masculine Civic Responsibility," explores how and why fraternal orders believed that their organizations played a special role in the long-term preservation and promotion of American republicanism. Chapter Five, "Civic Brotherhood," describes fraternity members' participation in public celebrations. The orders believed that these ceremonies were crucial to permanently securing the republican principles of the nation's founders. Based on primary source documents (including minute books, rosters, by-laws, proceedings, census materials, speeches, state and organizational newspapers, and personal papers) this research fills a noticeable gap in existing scholarship on antebellum southern culture and gender in several important ways. First, this study provides new insight into associational life in Virginia during the state's transition to a market economy. The rapid changes in the tumultuous years of the antebellum era caused the men of Virginia to seek ways of stabilizing their society. Second, this project addresses the role of fraternal orders in the decline of women's reform efforts in Virginia in the 1840s and 1850s. This dissertation suggests that fraternal orders helped to narrow women's opportunities outside the home by assuming their roles in the public sphere. Finally, it contributes to recent scholarship regarding the transition from class based distinctions among white men to what historians have described as the arrival of "racial modernity" or herrenvolk republicanism in antebellum politics and culture. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Intra and extra-firm exchanges in firm networks: A study of Korean subsidiaries in the United States and United States state offices of trade and investment in Korea

Gress, Douglas R State University of New York at Buffalo 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation examines the nature of Korean inter, infra, and extra-firm networks through an analysis of Korean firm outward foreign direct investment (FDI) to the United States and the activity of Korean firm subsidiaries in America. Particular attention is devoted to the intra and extra-firm relationships employed by these Korean firms in and across space. Additionally, the extra-firm dimension is further explored through an examination of U.S. State Offices of Trade and Investment in Korea. The focus study of Korean subsidiaries in the United States reveals that inter, infra, and extra-firm relationships do indeed impact the location decisions made by Korean firms investing in America. Further, subsidiary managers do not perceive significant benefits from place-place competition at the country or state levels. Also, once situated in the U.S., the strength of infra-firm ties between a subsidiary and a parent firm in Korea is not diminished by a subsidiary's market power, inter-firm network power, or location in an industrial cluster. Intra-firm network power, however, does contribute to higher levels of autonomy. These findings remain consistent with the character of Korean firm networks in terms of their cultural, political, and structural embeddedness. Likewise, culturally embedded relationships between subsidiaries and parent firms are perceived by subsidiary managers to be helpful to their U.S. operations. Non-chaebol subsidiaries perceive an additional benefit from culturally embedded ties between their parent and Korean business associations, and slightly younger subsidiaries perceive a benefit from embedded relationships between their parent and the Korean government. At the extra-firm level of interaction, communications with local and state-level governments are conducted overwhelmingly at the subsidiary level, and subsidiaries do not indicate any inclination to relocate. A more robust understanding of extra-firm linkages highlights the perceptions of U.S. State Offices of Trade and Investment with regard to place-place and firm-place competition, in addition to their perceptions of the Korean firm network relationships deployed during the FDI process.