Archives and Inference: Documentary Evidence in Case Study Research and the Debate over U.S. Entry into World War II

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 84-126
Author(s):  
Christopher Darnton
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
World War ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Source Selection ◽  
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Did Franklin Delano Roosevelt escalate confliict with Japan and Germany before Pearl Harbor, or did he attempt to avoid war? To what extent did U.S. public opinion influence these decisions? And, crucially, how do we know? Scholars offer diametrically opposed analyses of this historical case, bearing directly on international relations theories regarding the effects of democracy on war and foreign policy. In this debate and the broader security studies field, scholars increasingly employ published and archival primary sources. Because researchers lack a clear template for descriptive and causal inference with documentary evidence, though, such work is indeterminate and ultimately unpersuasive. How can political scientists approach archives and primary documents more effectively and efficiently? Above all, case studies need stronger research designs and clearer source selection strategies, not just more authoritative documents. A critical review of the sources cited in recent scholarship in the debate leading to the United States' entry into World War II, and a replication analysis of a key portion of the documentary record, underscores this need for improved research design and buttresses eight guidelines for the selection and analysis of textual evidence in case study research.

Defenders of Patriotism or Mothers of Fascism? The Daughters of the American Revolution, Antiradicalism, and Un-Americanism in the Interwar Period

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 943-969
Author(s):  
SIMON WENDT
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
World War I ◽  
American Revolution ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
Women's Organizations ◽  
The United States ◽  
World War ◽  
Women’S Organizations

Focussing on the nationalist women's organization Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), this article seeks to make an important contribution to the historiography of un-Americanism by exploring its gendered dimensions as well as its ambiguities in the interwar period. By the early 1920s, the DAR boasted a membership of 140,000. It was during this period that the organization became the vanguard of a post-World War I antiradical movement that sought to protect the United States from the dangers of “un-American” ideologies, chief among them socialism and communism. Given the DAR's visibility and prominence during the interwar period, the organization constitutes a useful case study to analyze notions of un-Americanism between World War I and World War II. A thorough analysis of the Daughters' rhetoric and activities in the 1920s and 1930s reveals three things: (1) the importance of gender in understanding what patriotic women's organizations such as the DAR feared when they warned of “un-Americanism”; (2) the antimodern impulse of nationalist women's efforts to combat un-American activities, which is closely related to its gender dimension; and (3) the ambiguity of the term “un-American,” since it was used by the DAR and its liberal detractors alike to criticize each other.

The treasure of the Berlin State museums and its allied capture: remarks and questions

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 308-341
Author(s):  
K Goldmann
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
World War ◽  
Art Objects ◽  
Art Works ◽  
German Nation ◽  
History Of

Following the disclosure of archives in the former Soviet Union detailing art works taken from Germany at the end of World War II, it is now possible to reconstruct more accurately a history of those objects removed from Germany but never returned. Inconsistencies in the documentary evidence concerning both the location of objects sent West from Berlin and other repositories (particularly in the last few months of the war) and the number of objects returned to Germany indicate that the United States may have been involved in an unofficial policy of claiming as war booty art treasures form the conquered German nation. This article attempts to detail some of those inconsistencies by comparing what is known of the inventories of German museums before the war, the movements of art objects and repositories used during the war, and the inventories of the German museums today, in order to reconstruct some of this missing pact.

Landscape Design in Clear Zone: Effect of Landscape Variables on Pedestrian Health and Driver Safety

2003 ◽  
Vol 1851 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jody Rosenblatt Naderi
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Clear Zone ◽  
Driver Safety ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Study Research ◽  
The Impact

The relationship between landscape installations and safety or pedestrian activity was evaluated in pilot studies. The sites selected for study were those adjacent to or within the areas often referred to as the “clear zone” of the transportation corridor, an area shared by pedestrians and driver perception. Case study research on the impact of environmental mitigation on driver safety is summarized to identify the landscape installations in the clear zone that appear to have an effect on safety. This is followed by case study research on the identification of variables that encourage walking for health purposes. Preliminary findings indicate that the improved definition of spatial edge resulting from typical curbside and median landscape treatment in the clear zone appears to solicit positive behavioral responses by either attracting pedestrian activity or improving driver safety. It is not possible to draw definitive conclusions from the results because of the small sample sizes in the pilot studies (a pedestrian survey included 52 responses), but indications are that the landscape in the clear zone may be having a positive impact on safety or pedestrian activity under certain circumstances. Both pilot studies were conducted separately in Canada and the United States.

scholarly journals Technology Transfer in the Interwar U.S. Pharmaceutical Sector: The Case of E. Merck of Darmstadt and Merck & Co., Rahway, New Jersey

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW GODLEY ◽  
MARRISA JOSEPH ◽  
DAVID LESLIE-HUGHES
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Technology Transfer ◽  
The United States ◽  
World War ◽  
Know How ◽  
Global Industry ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S

This is a case study of the U.S. pharmaceutical producer, Merck & Co. By 1940 this was one of the leading pharmaceutical producers in the United States, and the company went on to become one of the global industry leaders after World War II. It was founded in 1891 as the U.S. subsidiary of a much larger German pharmaceutical company, E. Merck of Darmstadt. The existing understanding of Merck & Co.’s history emphasizes how it was reacquired by the American branch of the Merck family after wartime sequestration, and from then onward it pursued a path of development separate from its former parent. This article revisits that history of the company and shows how the two Mercks began to cooperate and share technology and manufacturing know-how during the 1930s, something that was particularly to the advantage of Merck & Co.

scholarly journals Casting innovative aerospace design case studies in the parameter analysis framework to uncover the design process of experts

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehud Kroll ◽  
Ido Farbman
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Parameter Analysis ◽  
World War ◽  
Unique Case ◽  
Innovative Design ◽  
Human Powered

Traditional aerospace design methods offer quick and efficient ways to generate new designs, but such that often resemble previous ones. For truly innovative design, however, a different approach is needed. This paper suggests that a general conceptual design method called ‘parameter analysis’ (PA) may be used for teaching and practicing innovative aerospace design. To support this proposition, we investigate four diverse, innovative and unique case studies, all carried out by very experienced aerospace designers: the ‘dam busting’ bouncing bomb of World War II, the Gossamer Condor human-powered plane of the 1970s, the asymmetric Boomerang twin-engine plane of the 1990s and the SpaceShipOne suborbital spacecraft of the early 2000s. The paper elaborates on how the methodology of case-study research has been adapted and applied to provide the evidence supporting the research hypothesis, and presents the results of analyzing the case studies. It shows that the expert aerospace designers followed a thought process similar to PA, even if unknowingly, where the similarity was measured by counting the number of PA characteristics that could be shown to exist in the case studies. Advantages and limitations of the research methodology are also discussed.

scholarly journals How many type specimens can be stored in old lesser-known herbaria with turbulent histories? – A Juncus case study reveals their importance in taxonomy and biodiversity research

PhytoKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 153 ◽  
pp. 85-110
Author(s):  
Jarosław Proćków ◽  
Anna Faltyn-Parzymska ◽  
Paweł Jarzembowski ◽  
Małgorzata Proćków ◽  
Anna Jakubska-Busse
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
The United States ◽  
Original Material ◽  
World War ◽  
Type Specimens ◽  
Biodiversity Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
America South

Many herbarium sets in Europe are still being catalogued and it is likely that many old-type collections are yet to be discovered. This research has the potential to facilitate the study of the biodiversity of many regions, especially regions for which collections are extremely scarce. This has been confirmed by a case study using Juncus (Juncaceae) examining the turbulent history of botanical collections at the WRSL herbarium and the evaluation of its importance to the study of taxonomy and biodiversity since 1821. The analysis revealed that the WRSL collection is rich in types (ca. 3.6%) and we identified 76 (of 78) new, historically and nomenclaturally important specimens (types, original material and so-called “topotypes”). Some of these type specimens represent duplicates of these that were stored in Berlin and destroyed during World War II. Many of the type specimens are from the United States of America, South Africa, India, and Canada. The largest number of Juncus type specimens stored at WRSL originate from South Africa (42.3% of all type specimens), even though Juncus is rare in Africa. Our study highlights that uncatalogued old collections that are under-explored and under-exploited have the potential to facilitate the discovery of specimens important for the study of biodiversity, conservation, taxonomy and nomenclature.

scholarly journals Integration through Sports? Polish Migrants in the Ruhr, Germany

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (S1) ◽  
pp. 275-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diethelm Blecking
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
World War I ◽  
Weimar Republic ◽  
Historical Case Study ◽  
World War ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Football Clubs

AbstractSport, and football in particular, is described in socio-political discourse as an effective way to integrate immigrants. This thesis will be tested by means of a case study examining Polish migration to the mining areas of the Ruhr from the 1870s. It will be shown that, up until World War I, the sport participated in by Polish miners served, in contrast, as a means of nationalization, ethnicizing, and as an aid to furthering Polish ethnic identity. Only during the Weimar Republic were football clubs in the Ruhr actually used as a vehicle for integration and assimilation for males among the Polish minority. After World War II, memories of these footballers from among the Polish minority were either repressed or reduced to folklore. Based on this historical case study, sport appears in principle to be ambivalent between its ability to form “we” groups and the building of bridges between nationalities.

Infusing Yourself into the Backstory

2015 ◽  
pp. 349-374
Author(s):  
Renée L. Cambiano ◽  
Pamela Carter Speaks ◽  
Ronald M. Cambiano
Keyword(s):  
Case Study Research ◽  
Multidimensional Case ◽  
Historical Case Study ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Action Strategy ◽  
Organizational Theories ◽  
Clear Thinking ◽  
Study Perspective

The Ubiquitous Infusion Thinking (UIT) strategy is an innovative action strategy evidenced by the weaving of cognitive and affective thinking into organizational theories that serve to shape the understanding of multidimensional threads and themes that emerge in the problem-solving analysis of complex problems, situations, and/or dilemmas used in a multidimensional case study perspective. The UIT strategy utilizes a focus-refocus-focus–visualize-interpret technique allowing the researcher to engage the power of emotions by stepping in and out of a situation, observing, and then stepping back to acquaint and reacquaint the actions taking place in the setting, permitting clear thinking to emerge. There are four phases: Ubiquitous Investigation, Shaping One's Understanding, Building the Backstory, and Action. This chapter walks the researcher through the historical case study research methodology and the Multidimensional Perspective to case study research using ubiquitous infusion thinking strategy.

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