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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The global telecommunications marketplace has witnessed considerable and unprecedented changes in the past twenty-five years, so much so, that comparative recognition of most telecommunications fixed-link network operators is impossible. Consequently, industry structures, market specific structures and the internal operation of dominant firms have been transformed by visionary strategic directional changes. Demonstrably, the impact of national strategic intentions have identified clear shifts away from predominantly monopoly structured - highly bureaucratic, labour-intensive and government-run service providers, towards distinct regulated markets - supporting increasingly competitive, innovative and market-led organisations. With this in, mind, this study considers the nature of organisational strategic evolution and its associated consequences on the UK incumbent BT, since UK telecommunications privatisation. A case study approach was adopted, with face-to-face interviews being carried-out with senior executives, using semistructured questionnaire checklists. Grounded theory was applied during the analysis of data and results presented an historical examination, analysis and collation of the evolving nature of the strategic behaviour of the firm. Hence, BT was seen to evolve from a dormant, fat, inward-looking and inefficient organisation, towards a more dynamic, forward thinking, creative and global firm. Concluding remarks allude to company-specific characteristics of cultural and structural behavioural changes and the development of three conceptual frameworks, which relate to: - industry restructuring; evolving strategic focus of the incumbent; and evolving corporate level strategic decision making at BT.

The U.S.-ROK alliance has been a vital element for South Koreaâ s security since the end of the Korean War. By successfully serving its primary role in deterring a North Korean reinvasion of the South, the U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) was the core within the alliance. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, it began to transform the structure of U.S. forces overseas under the Military Transformation plan. In this context, the USFK is undergoing an unprecedented transformation process. With the United States and South Koreaâ s recent agreement on the strategic flexibility of USFK, it became obvious that the primary role of the USFK will be changed from North Korean deterrence to a regional contingency force. This thesis assesses the implications of the U.S. strategic flexibility policy for South Korean security. It discusses how the U.S. strategic flexibility will influence the security circumstances surrounding the Korean peninsula and how it could change the U.S.- ROK alliance. The U.S.-Japan alliance transformation and the realignment of USFJ is assessed as a case study. Finally, based on the four criteria which are determined as the essential elements in South Korean security, South Koreaâ s policy options toward the U.S. strategic flexibility policy are assessed.

Since the turn of this century, stability in European continent, to a large degree, depends on political-military cooperation among European countries as well as the establishment of common goals in order to eliminate current threats and risks such as terrorism. As far as Poland is concerned, its priority is to be an active leader in improving common security policy within the boundaries of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Polish security policy and strategy is shaped by its geographical location which places Poland in NATO's main strategic area opposite the Russian Federation and Belarus. In other words, Poland sees itself as the eastern "edge" of NATO's area and as a "front-line" country. This motivates Poland to support NATO's further enlargement to the East because Warsaw understands that it is a primary key to stability in Europe and has a responsibility to support NATO activities in this region. Thus, this thesis analyze the character of Polish Defense Policy after integration into NATO and EU and the impact this policy has national interests. It will specifically focus on ongoing efforts to adjust defense policy and strategy to meet contemporary demands through political-military cooperation and dialogue with allies. / Polish Army author.

Dissuasion is a strategy for persuading adversaries to seek acceptable alternatives to building threatening capabilities or adopting hostile intentions towards the United States. Dissuasion is a framework for organizing strategy directed at dealing with future threats. As such, it compliments other traditional national strategies (such as deterrence or coercion), and uses deterrence, coercion, and even appeasement, to meet overall policy goals. Dissuasion as a strategy was not formally articulated until it appeared in the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review. Despite dissuasionâ s comparatively recent recognition, its historical use by states attempting to influence geopolitical rivals has been frequent. Dissuasion is stated as a primary strategy in the capstone national security documents of the United States, but clear guidelines on how dissuasion can be implemented are lacking. This study expands the understanding of dissuasion as a strategy, examining three historical instances where it was used by states seeking to influence the behavior or military force structure building of other states, bringing dissuasion out of the realm of theory and into the real-world. Tools and procedures are described in order to â operationalizeâ dissuasion, the role of naval forces in dissuasion is scrutinized, and the vital intersection of strategic culture and dissuasion is examined. / US Navy (USN) author.

The Pulse Detonation Engine offers the Department of Defense a new low cost, light weight, and efficient solution to supersonic flight on many of its small airborne platforms. In the past, both liquid fuel and gaseous fuel designs have been partially developed and tested. Several aspects of these configurations have led to the need for the development of a new design, in particular the reduction of total pressure losses, and the removal of auxiliary oxygen system previously required to initiate a detonation wave in fuel-air mixtures within practical distances. Furthermore, higher repetition rates are required for practical thrust levels, as well as the use of liquid fuels, as these are more attractive due to their higher energy densities. A new PDE configuration was designed to operate on the liquid fuel, JP-10. The fuel injection system was characterized using laser diagnostics so that the fuel injection strategy could be optimized for the specified operating conditions. The timing parameters for the fuel-air injection profile were characterized as well in order to deliver the desired amount and duration. This was a concurrent effort with computational simulations of the internal flow paths, design/integration of a novel transient plasma ignition system, and ongoing developments of a performance measurement test rig. / US Navy (USN) author.

Communications is a critical enabling capability that is interwoven into every facet of every military operation. Assessing what communication capability is most valuable to the operation is a vital planning process tha t currently resides in several processes that produce differing outcomes within the DoD. This thesis examines these planning processes, particularly the capability-based approach, assessing which process is optimum for determining communication shortfalls. An in depth comparison of the Joint Capabilities Integrated Defense System (JCIDS) and USNORTHCOM's Capability Review and Resource Assessment (CRRA) was conducted, examining the respective strengths and weakness of each process. This thesis then recommends an optimized hybrid solution of the CRRA and JCIDS, thus providing an intuitive methodology that can be used to model what communication capabilities are essential to the DoD and its interagency partners. Ultimately, this model may serve to guide the defense planning process to ensure meaningful collaboration occurs, when crafting a unified DoD and interagency position regarding communications and network-centric capability needs and shortfalls. Particular utility can be applied to fill the gap of interoperable communications solutions between first responders, the military, interagency and Coalition partners, when teaming in a homeland defense scenario. / US Air Force (USAF) author.