Veteran-owned small businesses that possess ratings as service-disabled companies (i.e., service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses [SDVOSB] are 1 of 5 socioeconomic small business contracting goals that U.S. government agencies seek to comply with U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) set-aside goals. Little is known about collaborative strategies for improving training regarding single point of entry into Department of Defense (DOD) subcontracting. The research questions in this study focus on how veteran-owned small businesses pursue acquisition opportunities from training opportunities. Sabatier's advocacy coalition theory was used as the theoretical foundation for this study. This qualitative study was employed using 6 semistructured interviews of small business owners who possessed SDVOSB status and a content analysis of training policies from corporate supplier diversity offices, procurement assistance centers, small business development centers, and DOD Office of Small Business programs from a midwestern city. The emergent themes were (a) availability of training from procurement support assistance agencies is of limited value to mature small businesses; (b) additional support and training are needed for subcontractors desiring to enter the DOD subcontracting market; (c) significant obstacles are present in gaining access to federal subcontracting opportunities, including complex acquisition strategies and selection of contract type; and (d) understanding and enforcement of SDVOSB regulations were perceived as insufficient. SDVOSB entities can use these findings to comprehend what questions to ask about subcontracting training.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the meaning of formerly homeless Veteran’s male relationships to better understand their participation in intervention programs relying on interpersonal support. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to interpret five semi-structured interviews with previously homeless Veterans between the ages of 45-65 with serious mental illness. These men were participating in a peer-support based housing program. Analysis yielded the following five major themes and fourteen subordinate themes: Internalized Role Conflict i) internal conflict, Masculinity as a Barrieri) restricted emotions between men, ii) pride, iii) dominance, and iv) fear of other men, Building Supportive Relationships between Men i) negotiating masculinity, and ii) balancing power in men’s relationships, Experience Accepting Support i) de-shaming, ii) emotional relief, and iii) insight. Experience Giving Support i) strengthen self by supporting other man, and ii) use personal experience to support other men. Implications for providers and programs are discussed, as well as areas for future research.

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Graduation date: 1950

This essay examines why Vietnam veterans, who were draft motivated enlistees, enlisted when drafted or threatened with the draft. Data is taken from 63 oral history interviews conducted by The Vietnam Archive Oral History Project at Texas Tech University and is analyzed using the phenomenological research approach. The background of this paper briefly explains the Vietnam Draft and the draft avoidance options available to those men who were drafted. The results section utilizes quotes from the oral history interviews to show the main themes of why men chose to enlist when faced with the draft. The discussion section discusses these themes in a wider context and brings up areas for further research.

The number of female veterans is increasing daily. Previous research conducted on veterans has focused primarily on males or with small samples of females. Depression and suicidality are becoming increasingly evident in returning veterans. Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that is common in the Middle East and has been reported to cause changes in personality and behavior. The purpose of the current study was to examine relationships between T. gondii antibody titer and socioeconomic variables, dysphoric moods, and risk-taking behaviors in a sample of 70 female veterans. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for T. gondii antibody titer and participants completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale, Profile of Mood States (POMS), PTSD Checklist- Military version (PCL-M), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), and a sexual harassment and assault questionnaire. Results of chi-squares showed a relationship between T. gondii titer, ethnicity, marital status, and level of education. Pearson's correlations and t-tests showed relationships between T. gondii titer and POMS depression, confusion, and anger subscales, and total mood disturbance scores.

This dissertation concerns the disabled veterans of the Turkish army who fought against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) guerillas as conscripted soldiers. While being valorized as sacrificial heroes, “ghazis,” in the realm of nationalist politics, these disabled veterans also face socio-economic marginalization and demasculinization anxieties in Turkey, where discrimination against the disabled is rampant. In such a context, disabled veterans emerged as important ultranationalist actors in the 2000s, championing a conservative agenda around the issues of state sovereignty, democratization, and Turkey’s pending European Union (EU) membership. In this dissertation, I locate the disabled veteran body at the intersection of medical and welfare institutions, nationalist discourses, and cultural formations of gendered normativity to trace the embodied socio-cultural and political processes that constitute disabled veterans as ultranationalist political subjects. I approach the politicization of disabled veterans through the analytical lens of the body in order to understand how veterans’ gendered and classed experiences of warfare, injury, and disability are hardened into an ultranationalist political identity. Exploring the tensions between the nationalist construction of the disabled veteran body and veterans’ embodied experiences as lower-class disabled men, I show how the dialectic between political rites of consecration and everyday rites of desecration translates disability into a political force. By unraveling the ways in which disability caused by violence generates new forms of masculinity, embodiment, and political identity, I illustrate how the disabled veterans’ suffering is brokered into militarization and ultranationalist protest in contemporary Turkey. / text

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, military personnel participating in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have been plagued by traditional barriers to successful labor market attachment such as health and mental health concerns, employer stigma, and difficulty translating military training and experience to the civilian market, but also by a lagging economy. Veteran status since Vietnam has historically been linked to negative employment outcomes over the life course. Currently, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an unemployment rate of 9.5% for male Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, and a 12.1% rate for their female counterparts. Veterans aged 20-24 have a 20.1% unemployment rate, nearly five points higher than that of their civilian peers. To compound the problem, an overly passive labor market policy prevents access to education and training that civilian employers value most. As Veterans continue to separate from the armed forces the United States, employers and policymakers can choose to capitalize on their skills, experience, and willingness to serve, or risk alienating another generation of young service members. This paper addresses five key categories that serve as barriers to successful labor market attachment and summarizes both governmental and private-sector programs designed to assist military personnel in their transition to civilian work. Finally, it provides policy options for remedying the post-9/11 Veterans labor market transition problem through improving service coordination and delivery, deliberately developing human capital through military service, and increasing employer responsibility for skill development and labor market attachment. / text

The “global war on terrorism” has pervaded the social scene following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Although the ripple effects of the wars are continuing to spread across the globe in the various political and foreign policy arenas, the aim of this study is to turn attention to the individuals who bore the battle, have returned home, and now face new challenges. The United States veteran population has experienced an unprecedented increase in numbers as a response to troop withdrawals in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although previous research has considered the potential difficulties veterans face when reintegrating into society, this study goes a step further and investigates how news media sources are called to participate in narrating veteran stories of war and specifically their stories documenting post-traumatic stress disorder. Drawing on a variety of theoretical perspectives and utilizing a multi-methodological approach, this study seeks to answer four central questions: First, how and by what channels do sources enter the news media conversation to comment on the veteran experience? Second, are veterans the main sources narrating their experiences or do other individuals, groups, or organizations speak more often in the news media? Third, what stories circulated and gained traction by narrating the lived experiences of veterans with PTSD? And fourth, what stories did veterans tell about their experiences, and what stories were told about veterans who suffer from PTSD? This study is organized in two distinct parts. Part one employs a quantitative content indexing analysis of four veteran related news media events across various newspaper, broadcast television news, and cable television news outlets in order to determine how sources entered the news media landscape, and who the sources were. Part two turns to examine four dominant news narratives that emerged from the direct quotation and paraphrased remarks gathered from part one’s analyzed news media texts. The study concludes by illustrating the powerful role news media sources play in the news, as well as the stories that emerge to define the lived experiences of veterans who suffer from PTSD. / text

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