ANN ARBOR, Mich., September 25, 2008 - The top two best selling dissertations in the world address issues of national security and military action. Dissertations summarize the original independent research of scholars pursuing an advanced academic degree. When more than 75,000 new graduate works are added to the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) database each year, the demand for dissertations illustrates that some of these constitute the seminal work on a particular topic. The 2007 top ten, based on the best-selling dissertations from all of those available in PQDT, reflect the disciplinary diversity of graduate research and include topics in military studies and international relations, health sciences, music, history, education and applied art.

"The exciting thing about each year's body of doctoral work is that it represents the leading edge of academic scholarship across disciplines," said Austin McLean, director of dissertations publishing for ProQuest.  "These two dissertations are extraordinary examples of how relevant doctoral work is to our society."

The best selling dissertation of 2007 was written by intelligence community veteran George L. Tanner, Ph.D., currently Chief Learning Officer for the Department for Homeland Security.  In his 1996 thesis, "The Problem of 'World Order' When Your World is Your Village Versus Your Globe', Tanner addresses key issues with 'world order' and suggests other future political orders and their probability of mass acceptance.  This is Dr. Tanner's fifth time on ProQuest's Best-Selling Dissertations list and his third time as the #1 best seller, an unprecedented accomplishment.

Dr. George L. Tanner is the Chief Learning Officer for the Department of Homeland Security.  In this role, Dr. Tanner is responsible for the training, education, and professional development needs of all DHS employees.  Dr. Tanner is a retired active-duty Army officer who spent most of his last decade of military service at the Joint Military Intelligence College serving in a variety of positions, including Associate Dean for College Programs, and Academic Department Chairman. 

The second best selling dissertation of 2007 also addresses a military theme.  David Howell Petraeus's dissertation is titled 'The American Military and the Lessons of Vietnam: A Study of Military Influence and the Use of Force in the Post-Vietnam Era' and was published in 1987. General Petraeus is Chief of U.S. Central Command.    In the current context of the Iraq War General Petraeus's dissertation is a compelling study of the lasting influence the war in Vietnam had on senior ranking officials in the American military.  Examining the cautious decisions made by the military in the post-Vietnam era, General Petraeus concludes using past events to decide on future action "can mislead and obfuscate as well as guide and illuminate".

Who buys dissertations and master's theses? Scholars, students, and amateur researchers who need access to the information they contain. Universities and other learning and teaching institutions value this collective knowledge as their intellectual history, a record of their scholarship through time.

Of the 2 million dissertations and theses in our vault, more than 1 million are now in full text PDF format.  ProQuest continues to add thousands of full-text PDFs to the database each week.  ProQuest also publishes more than 75,000 new dissertations per year. 

The PQDT database includes bibliographic citations for materials ranging from the first U.S. dissertation accepted in 1637, to those accepted as recently as last semester.  The Library of Congress has designated the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses digital collection as the nation's official off-site repository for digital dissertations & theses.  PQDT is the world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses.

BEST SELLING DISSERTATION LIST FROM 2007:
1. The Problem of "World Order" When The World is your Village Versus your Globe by Tanner, George Lewis, Ph.D., University of Hawai'i, 1996, 345 pages; AAT 9713989 

2. The American Military and the Lessons of Vietnam:  A Study of Military Influence and the Use of Force in the Post-Vietnam Era by PETRAEUS, DAVID HOWELL, Ph.D., Princeton University, 1987, 339 pages; AAT 8724797

3. Reconciling Differing Realities: Decision-making of Rural Older Adults During Subacute Care Transitions
by Gladden, Joanne Colette, Ph.D., University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 1998, 228 pages; AAT 9842421

4. Compositional Techniques in Rodrigo Asturias's "El Banquete de las Nubes"
by Beteta, Xavier, M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2006, 159 pages; AAT 1434820

5. Retrieving the Importance of Social Justice Themes in the Pastoral Letters of the United States Catholic Bishops, 1919--1961
by Schultz, David Paul, Ph.D., Marquette University, 1998, 219 pages; AAT 9842438

6. An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Leadership Styles
by Schimmoeller, Leon J., D.B.A., Nova Southeastern University, 2007, 129 pages; AAT 3244423

7. A Qualitative Exploration of the Sub-Scales of the Occupational Performance History Interview (OPHI-II)
by Braveman, Brent Howard, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago, Health Sciences Center, 2002, 107 pages; AAT 3074210

8. A Beginning Professional Learning Community: Understanding Teachers' Perceptions
by Crosby, James G., Ed.D., Walden University, 2007, 208 pages; AAT 3254443

9. The Typological Structure of the Pyramid Texts and its Continuities with Middle Kingdom Mortuary Literature
by Hays, Harold M., Ph.D., The University of Chicago, 2006, 480 pages; AAT 3206324

10. John Cotton Dana and the Business of Enlightening Newark: Applied art at the Newark Public Library and Museum, 1902--1929
by Shales, Ezra, Ph.D., The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2007, 399 pages; AAT 3222573

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