From 1996 to 2006, the number of Department of Defense (DoD) contract transactions increased, leading to over expenditures and the need for agencies to determine benefit estimation to improve risk management of a project. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to apply a total quality management theory to explore if a standardized versus decentralized benefits framework within the cost benefit analysis process could improve the Department of the Army acquisition selection process. The two central research questions addressed (a) the differences between successful and failed acquisition systems cost benefit analysis, and (b) whether a standardized or decentralized cost benefits framework would best serve contract selection process. Data were collected via interviews with 20 DoD acquisition specialists and analysis of cost benefit analysis cases; NVIVO software was used to examine word frequency and comparative phrases. The data analysis resulted in themes that encompassed how standardization improves product quality, enhances innovation, and accelerates the acquisition procurement process. Other themes included the need to build metrics into the cost benefit assessment to measure risk management controls and cost-reduction initiatives. The DoD might benefit from the results of this study by reviewing and instituting a standardized benefit assessment within its cost benefit analysis framework to protect business stakeholders' from fraud, waste, or abuse. The implications of this doctoral study will promote social change in the form of government spending fiscal stewardship and could serve as a benchmark to improve the budget formulation and management of the American taxpayer's investment in national security.

Abstract Presently there are few studies that describe the current experiences of women warriors relative to issues such as sexual hostility, sexual harassment, and other uncommon experiences during their military careers. Very little is known about how being a woman in a male-dominated military may affect women warriors' choices between making the military a career or returning to civilian life. With better understanding of women warriors' military experiences, mental health professionals, educators, and other human services professionals may have a better understanding of the issues that may affect women in the military. To date there are limited studies that have examined the effects of military experiences on the psychological and emotional well-being of women warriors. Whether its effects are positive, negative, contextual, or permanent is not yet known. This study supports the earlier research regarding the needs and unknown needs of women programs and the training of counselors and helping professionals. With the United States Military being one of the largest special populations, and women warriors making up 15% of that population, it is imperative that appropriate training becomes available for counselors, educators, and other helping professionals.

A task force commissioned by President Obama overhauled the U.S. Military Transitioning Program (MTP) in 2012-2013. U.S. veterans have continued to struggle with military transitions following the MTP restructuring. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the critical success factors of the MTP after the redesign based on perceptions of 20 military officers intending to transition to the civilian sector in the National Capital Region. The problem studied was that there was no indication that the redesigned MTP was effective in helping officers transition to the civilian workforce. The study included 3 research questions and semistructured interviews were the primary means to collect data. Schlossberg's 4S transition theory, identity theory, and work-role transition theory comprised the conceptual framework. Data analysis included content analysis and the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method. The findings in this study emphasized the importance of several critical success factors of the redesigned MTP: its focus on transition preparedness, its practical applications, individual counseling, and the knowledge and education obtained while attending the MTP. Senior leaders responsible for the MTP can benefit from this study by understanding the challenges the participants encountered while attending the MTP. Implications for social change include informing U.S. government leaders of the MTP of the need for continued improvements to MTP processes, services, and programs to aid transitioning veterans seeking civilian employment.

This thesis is a review of U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan through a realist lens. It critiques the current state of U.S. policy and recommends that the United States prioritize national security interests, particularly with regards to counterterrorism, over building Pakistani democracy and running civilian aid programs. It then further recommends ways for the United States government to account for ground level dynamics in Pakistani politics in crafting foreign policy aimed at bringing Pakistan into line with U.S. counterterrorism priorities.

Master of Science / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Briana S. Nelson Goff / Traumatic events affect not only the primary trauma survivor, but also secondary trauma survivors (e.g., spouses, children). Intimate partner relationships provide unique conditions for examining how the interpersonal and/or systemic impact of trauma exposure and post-trauma responses can impact both the primary and secondary trauma survivors, and the interpersonal dynamics of the couple. Preliminary work has indicated that the extent of trauma disclosure may serve as a buffering effect for relationship adjustment for those below the clinical threshold for PTSD (Monk & Nelson Goff, 2014). Researchers also have found that relationships can suffer effects in direct correlation to trauma disclosure (Creech, Benzer, Liebsack, Proctor, & Taft, 2013; Nelson Goff et al., 2006). The current study explored qualitative and quantitative data from low trauma disclosure individuals (n = 15) and their partners. The Couple Adaptation to Traumatic Stress Model (Nelson Goff & Smith, 2005; Oseland, Gallus, & Nelson Goff, in press) was used to provide the framework for understanding the experiences of low trauma disclosure to spouses in a sample of Army soldiers and their spouses. The low trauma disclosure group reported some positive and negative themes related to relationship functioning. The mixed trauma disclosure partners (n = 7) reported primarily negative themes related to relationship functioning, as well as the positive theme of increased communication. The high trauma disclosure partners (n = 4) reported all positive themes related to relationship functioning. Contrary to the original hypothesis, the results indicated mixed trauma disclosure partners seemed to be functioning at lower levels than the low or high trauma disclosure partners A quantitative analysis demonstrated a number of trends throughout the disclosure groups. The low trauma disclosure group reported scores between the mixed and high trauma disclosure groups for all measures. The mixed trauma disclosure group overall reported the highest PTSD scores and lowest couple adjustment scores, despite experiencing the lowest number of traumatic events and general trauma symptoms. The high trauma disclosure group reported the highest couple adjustment scores, despite experiencing the highest number of traumatic events, trauma symptoms, and lowest PTSD scores. Implications for practice and future research also are described.

Syftet med den här studien har varit att bidra med kunskap om den grundläggande officersutbildningens betydelse för kadetters lärande. Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie där en explorativ ansats med en etnografisk undersökningsdesign har använts. Forskningsprocessen har involverat deltagande observationer och intervjuer i både ett akademiskt och ett militärt sammanhang. Studien har velat besvara frågor om hur utbildningen organiseras, hur aktörer kommunicerar och samspelar, vilka förväntningar de har på utbildningen samt hur de upplever den. I resultaten har det framkommit att den grundläggande officersutbildningen är komplex, genom att den omfattar två sammanhang som skiljer sig så tydligt åt att man kan tala om två olika kontext. Resultaten har visat att utbildningen tycks involvera två dimensioner av lärande: dels kunskapsinhämtning, dels en fostrande socialiseringsprocess in i ett militärt meningssammanhang som kadetterna ska komma att verka i framöver. Ett av huvudfynden har varit att kadetter tycks delta i utbildningen på väldigt olika sätt, varför fokus har varit att studera lärande genom kadetters olika sätt att delta i utbildningens sociala processer. Dessa har visat sig innehålla ett antal motstående förväntningar, som kadetterna verkar förhålla sig till på olika sätt. Studiens huvudsakliga slutsatser är att kadetters sätt att delta i utbildningens sociala processer tycks vara av avgörande betydelse för lärandet, samt att lärandet förefaller ske inom ramen för kontinuerligt pågående sociala processer, där villkor, lärprocesser och utfall på olika sätt påverkar, kompletterar och är beroende av varandra. Utbildningens organisering tycks dock innebära en del utmaningar gällande hur de två kontextens sociala praktiker gemensamt ska kunna främja kadetters deltagande och deras upplevelser av autonomi, handlingsutrymme och kontroll, och därmed främja de lärprocesser och dimensioner av lärande som utbildningsanordnaren har tänkt. Den yrkesidentitet och kompetens som officersprofessionen kräver tycks inkludera en analytisk kompetens, som inte ska särskiljas från den militära praktiken utan ses som en del av den. / The intention of this case study has been to increase knowledge of how education can contribute to the learning of cadets. It’s a qualitative study using an exploratory ethnographic design of analysis. The research process has involved participative observations and interviews during a three month period at the Military Academy Karlberg, studying both the academic and the military context. Main focus has been on studying the cadets’ participation in the education, with starting-point in the social processes. Therefore I’ve been seeking to answer questions on how education is organized, how actors communicate and interact, and actors’ experiences compared to their expectations. I have found that the education of cadets seem to involve two dimensions of learning. It’s not all about academic and military knowledge, becoming an officer also involves a socialization process. This includes not only how to act as a military leader, but also who you are and how you behave, always, and therefore includes the fundamental values from which you lead your life as a whole. Hence, the study shows that the cadets need to develop a professional military identity that is also a social one. The results indicate that organizing an education that requires collaboration of two public authorities has proved to involve a number of challenges in combining two separate learning environments into one learning context. As a result, in the making of officers, a number of opposing conditions have been found, within as well as between the educations’ military and academic context, which seem to challenge cadets’ learning processes in various ways and degrees. Main findings of the study indicate that cadets’ access to participation combined with individual differences in contributing in the social processes seem to be crucial to learning. To develop the competence of an officer, the cadets need to develop a military professional identity and expertise, which also includes analytical academic skills.

The intention of this thesis is to identify and analyze the precise shift from an exploitative archetype to an empowered representation of women warriors, to identify the arena in which male and female characters are given equal agency in the context of war, and finally explore the key characteristics that make up an empowered female hero. This thesis also addresses the sociocultural nature of the warrior woman archetype as it pertains to the current role of women in the military. The films analyzed in this thesis are all post 9/11 films; a fact that links them culturally to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In recent years, numerous milestones have been reached for women in the armed services, especially for those women in combat positions. For the first time in American history women are being recognized for their active role as soldiers in combat. Therefore, it is valid to consider the correlation between seeing women as military professionals, fighting alongside male soldiers in these films, and the cultural impact of female combat soldiers. This aspect of the thesis also imbues the female just-warrior archetype with a legitimate history, mythology, and current cultural reference; which is essential to the visibility of female combat soldiers of the 21st century.

The purpose of the present study was to explore a theoretically based social-cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by investigating attachment-related and social-cognitive predictors of PTSD in a sample of 125 post-9/11 U.S. combat veterans. Subjects completed an online survey assessing PTSD symptomology, attachment-related internal working models, perceived social support, and mentalizing capacity. Path analysis provided empirical support for a respecified version of the model. More negative internal working model of self and poorer mentalizing capacity predicted higher PTSD symptom levels. Contrary to previous findings, greater perceived social support predicted higher, not lower, PTSD symptom levels. Mentalizing capacity mediated the relationship between internal working model of self and PTSD symptoms in a complementary manner, whereas perceived social support as a mediator was dampening. The relationship between internal working model of others and PTSD symptom levels was fully mediated by perceived social support, which buffered the effect of negative working model of others on PTSD symptom levels. These findings underscore the importance of social-cognitive processing, rooted in early attachment experiences, in the development and symptomology of PTSD in trauma-exposed veterans. In preparing clients for trauma work, clinicians may consider employing modalities that promote earned secure attachment and highlight mentalization in the therapeutic change process.

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