The U.S. Southwest Border is associated with highly politicized topics, yet the lived experience of Border Patrol agents is not one of them. Border Patrol agents face risks to their personal safety and security as they attempt to safeguard the national security of the United States while implementing the policies of their organization, which are sometimes at odds with the beliefs and expectations of agents in the field. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore perceptions and lived experiences related to the threats and dangers that Border Patrol agents face as they protect the U.S. Southwest Border. The theoretical framework for this study involved McGregor's organizational behavior theory, Janis's groupthink theory, and the bureaucratic dissonance phenomenon. Data collected through semistructured interviews of 11 former Border Patrol agents with direct experience working along the U.S. Southwest Border were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. On-duty risks, emotional toll, lack of community support, and separation from family are among the stressors for members of this profession. The key findings regarding threats and dangers included: perceived manpower shortage, fear of assaults, the very nature of the job, political and presidential administration conflicts, and lack of mobility (location and career advancements). The recommendations call for greater policy-and decision-maker understanding of the stresses and conflicts facing Border Patrol agents, which could effect positive social change by encouraging policies and regulations to improve job safety and security, and to inform training programs. The promulgation of the findings may contribute to improvements of the morale and safety of Border Patrol agents and enhance security of the United States.

The collective nature of group affiliation may inhibit an individual from exhibiting prosocial behavior regarding acts of religiously-motivated terror. This study's purpose was to investigate the nature of bystander intervention as it relates to religious group affiliation. Darley and Latane's bystander effect theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions examined the impact of religious group affiliation and group size on the dependent variables of civic moral disengagement (CMD) and commitment to the war on terror (CWT). Three validated survey instruments were administered to a random participant pool of 206 respondents. An ANCOVA and Spearman's rho correlation were employed to address the research questions. Findings revealed that neither religious group affiliation nor group size significantly predicts either CWT or CMD after controlling for the degree of religious commitment. Further research should test alternative theories associated with leadership and group dynamics. Positive social change is advanced by acknowledging that bystanders to acts of terrorism may not be influenced by factors such as group affiliation or size of religious group affiliations. These findings underscore the complexity of the relationship between behavior and religious affiliation. Policy makers and future researchers may benefit by redirecting their focus for prevention and intervention toward influences such as the motivational dynamic between religious leaders and their followers.

The magnitude of internal displacement worldwide is growing every year and represents a tripling of the existing number of refugees worldwide. Internally displaced persons have specific vulnerabilities and the system of assistance to them needs to be adapted and revised. The purpose of this case study was to identify external factors that influence protection interventions for internally displaced persons in humanitarian response. Using Benet's Polarities of Democracy theory and the Theory of Change Conceptual Framework as a framework, the study sought to identify key external factors influencing protection intervention in humanitarian aid settings. Data for this study was gathered through focus group discussions with internally displaced persons in Niger. Key informant and protection cluster members were interviewed and an online survey conducted. In total, 38 persons participated. Content analysis was used to identify significant themes. The data revealed that multiple external factors impacted the effectiveness of protection intervention in humanitarian action. The central theme was a need for strengthened accountability towards affected populations, with other major themes, including donors and their influence; quality of programs - holistic approach, external attention to the crisis; coordination; nature of the crisis; security; position of the government; and data and analysis, also emerging. The findings shed light on the vulnerability of protection intervention in humanitarian settings, and open opportunities for further research in this topic.

Ethnic division fuelled by inadequate governance and uneven economic development has led some ethnic based groups to regard violence as a legitimate means to achieve political and social ends. The political disruption caused by ethnic militia related violence in Nigeria prevented the first 3 attempts at republican democracy. The purpose of this study was to analyze the role played by human rights abuse in Nigeria in the formation of the Oodua People's Congress (OPC) in 1994, and to also analyze the OPC turning to violence in 1999. The theoretical construct of the study is the constructivist philosophy, which purports that people develop meanings based on personal feelings, tastes, and opinions from their experiences. The conceptual framework of human rights theory is used to analyze whether human rights abuses and material deprivation created conditions that encouraged violence. The central research question addressed whether the militarization of politics in Nigeria so abused the citizens' political and personal rights that the human rights threshold was met, influencing the OPC to turn to violence as means to achieve political end. Interview data was collected from 15 founding members of the OPC to form themes and descriptions for the study. Results indicated that the incessant abuse of citizens' political and personal rights led to a violent reaction after the July, 1998 death of Chief MKO Abiola, who died in military detention. This research contributed to social change by documenting that human rights abuse in Nigeria created a condition that led violence by those abused. Further, research recommendations, if implemented, can facilitate social change through increased stability in governance, reduced human carnage from terror activities, and improved personal economy of Nigerians.

After the United Nations' mission in Liberia (UNMIL) ends on September 30, 2015, effective policing will be a security concern for Liberians. Liberians have expressed fear that conflict could return if ongoing police training programs do not sustain public safety. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand how UNMIL's training affected public confidence in the Liberia National Police (LNP). The theoretical bases for this study included public choice theory and liberal democratic theory. Quantitative data were used to address impact of UNMIL's police training on the maintenance of law and order. These data were collected through a researcher-developed survey which measured recruitment, training, effectiveness (insert comma here) and public confidence in the LNP. Participants were government officials, members of UNMIL, LNP, and civic organizations (n = 120). Data were analyzed using ANOVA. Qualitative semistructured interview data were also gathered from 18 additional participants to address the challenges for quality improvement in the police security forces. The results were inductively coded and organized across themes and patterns. Quantitative findings indicated a moderately significant correlation between police perceived knowledge and job effectiveness (r = -0.35). However, qualitative findings show the government of Liberia failed to provide adequate resource support to complement the training due to its weak commitment. Diversity of trainers from contrasting policing jurisdictions produced an outcome that lacked a country-specific context for Liberia. This study promotes positive social change by informing future police training interventions by the United Nations on a host county's policing needs.

Individuals with communication impairments (CI) are at a distinct disadvantage when attempting to interact through more traditional conversational means. Although their intentions may be similar to peers, physical limitations make verbal articulation of thoughts and feelings a more laborious undertaking. For some, the use of external augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has offered an otherwise unavailable communicative opportunity. However, this type of communication requires more of the non-AAC using conversation partner and, unlike traditional forms of communication, may increase the likelihood of miscommunication. Although there is agreement as to the importance of understanding the experience of individuals using external AAC, there is limited research in the area of miscommunication, conflict, and conflict resolution. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of six individuals who use external AAC devices. The purpose of this study was to address the following research questions:1) What are the conflict behaviors, beliefs, values, or thoughts of individuals using external AAC devices? 2) Does miscommunication between AAC and non-AAC users contribute to conflict? 3) Do identity standards and empowerment needs contribute to the development of conflict? and 4) For those using external AAC devices, what is the impact of, and what do successful resolutions mean? This study finds similarities in the interpersonal conflict experience of external AAC users and non-users. However there were differences in their experience with larger societal-level conflict. Understanding these areas of similarity and difference is beneficial to anyone who endeavors to support the interpersonal and societal level conflict resolution of this unique population.

The purpose of this study was to examine and explore the meanings, and essence of the lived experience of Nigerian women whose male siblings had been prioritized in the family. The goal of the was to use the detailed description given by the research participants to understand the impact of male sibling prioritization, and thereby advance gender equality in Nigeria. The fundamental importance of obtaining a better understanding of the impact of male sibling prioritization on women and gender equality influenced the researcher to commit herself to this study. A qualitative phenomenological research method was employed to conduct this study. Sources of data for this research study were observations, semi-structured one-on-one interviews, and transcripts from the research participants. The twelve research participants for the study were Nigerian women, homogenous by the criteria that they were all born and raised to adulthood in Nigeria. In addition, the research participants lived in South Florida, could read and write English and had one or more male siblings. Initial analysis of the data led to the unfolding of themes connected to male sibling prioritization and gender equality. Twenty symbolic themes surfaced from the research. These themes helped to show how Nigerian women were affected by male sibling prioritization, and how understanding these disadvantages could be used to promote gender equality. It is anticipated that the results from this research study will inform scholars, researchers, therapists, government officials, families, and conflict practitioners on ways to provide social, economic, educational, and political conditions favorable to Nigerian women seeking gender equality, and empowerment.

Even though women who have been abandoned by their fathers at a young age are more likely to exhibit destructive behaviors as adults, there are cases in which women develop new social skills and become successful at building new relationships (Stolberg, Complair & Wells, 1987). The main purpose for this phenomenological research wasto understand the shared experiences of Hispanic women who were abandoned by their fathers at a young age and explore their conflict management skills. This research wasguided by the following research question: What are the lived experiences of Hispanic women who were abandoned by their fathers before the age of seven? Through conducting and analyzing phenomenological interviews with 25 participants and using the lenses of attachment theory, social construct and phenomenology, this research will contribute to scholarshipin different arenas. Findings of this research used the participant’s shared recommendations and suggestions as a means for discussion to help women who were abandoned as children prevent and cope with conflict effectively. Finally,this research will help social scientists understand whether being abandoned by a father at a young age has any effects in a Hispanic woman’s conflict resolution skills.

States regularly use fear of terrorist threats to gain support for domestic political agendas and promote geostrategic interests. Consecutive U.S. presidents have cited the theory of the just war to defend these policies and particular violations of national sovereignty. Those doubtful of whether existing threats justify violations of privacy and territorial integrity also use fear -- of corruption, mission creep, and unintended consequences -- claiming that such interventions are a cure worse than the disease, yet one about which domestic audiences are easily misled. To combat abuse of moral arguments for the use of force, some in peace and conflict studies advocate military force be restricted to self-defense, per strict interpretation of the United Nations Charter (as in international legal positivism), or restricted completely (as in pacifism). Because the goal of reducing violent conflict is nearly universally acceptable, these varieties of noninterventionism are rarely scrutinized. In social psychological peace research (SPPR) on public opinion, however, positivism and prescriptive pacifism mask the diversity of opinion on whether and when intervention is necessary to curb aggression, prevent atrocity, and/or restore stability in failed states. This project critically examines SPPR's positivistic premises and the political implications of moral skepticism generally. In an intellectual history of the discipline, I contrast scientific emphasis on certainty in the formulation of threat and risk-avoidance with the humanities' appreciation of the ethical implications of uncertainty, also at the heart of just war theory. Taking Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory (SCT) of moral dis/engagement as a case study, I argue that SPPR skepticism of individual citizens' moral judgment implicitly endorses elite or consensus-driven models of social and political change. The determinism, consequentialism, and institutional gradualism of SPPR approaches, I argue, contradict stated progressive aims and the egalitarian individualism behind liberal conceptions of the rule of law and international human rights regime. Using just war's ethical framework and a non-consequentialist Kantian theory of moral judgment, I construct a reasoning model and coding manual for use in public opinion research on international conflict. These instruments operationalize moral dis/engagement in a manner consistent with political liberalism and humanitarian law, including the Responsibility to Protect.