Digital Commons Network^™

Building The Mental Golden Dome: Arming The Joint Force For Defensive Cognitive Warfare, James Davitch

Joint Force Quarterly

Modern conflict increasingly hinges on mental strength, yet current military thinking lacks a clear defense for the mind. This article introduces a vital new concept: protecting military personnel from an adversary's attempts to distort their perceptions, disorient their judgment, and degrade their decision-making. Building on established research into behavioral psychology, the essay integrates this defense into existing military functions, proposing practical steps. It offers a precise explanation of this protective strategy, suggests pre-deployment exercises for joint personnel, and outlines ways to measure effectiveness even under pressure. A detailed, multi-year plan describes how to update joint doctrine, create training programs, and …

Examining The Lavelle Affair 54 Years Later: An Injustice That Needs To Be Rectified Now, Mark Clodfelter

Joint Force Quarterly

Mark Clodfelter reexamines the case of U.S. Air Force Major General John D. Lavelle, who was relieved as commander of Seventh Air Force in 1972 and reduced in retired rank following allegations that he ordered unauthorized airstrikes against North Vietnam and the falsification of mission reports. Drawing on documentary and recorded evidence, including materials that remained classified until 2015, Clodfelter challenges the findings of earlier congressional and official reviews. He argues that Lavelle acted within an ambiguous command environment shaped by evolving North Vietnamese air defenses, unclear rules of engagement, and guidance from senior military and civilian leaders. The article …

Determining Operational Objectives, Milan Vego

Joint Force Quarterly

Full knowledge and understanding of the true meaning of operational objectives are the main prerequisites for sound planning and execution of major operations A major operations (on land, at sea, in the air) is aimed at accomplishing a single operational objective. They can be conducted predominantly by a single service or two or more services. A campaign in a high-intensity conventional war consists of a series of related major/joint operations (on land, in the air, at sea) plus numerous tactical actions aimed to achieve a single military- or theater-strategic objective. Yet despite their importance, relatively little attention is …

From Data To Victory: The Race For Analytic Superiority In Warfare, Robert Grossman, Emily Goldman

Joint Force Quarterly

Artificial intelligence technologies have reached a tipping point after decades of development. They are diffusing widely across defense and national security applications. Twenty-first century warfighters rely on analytic models in all systems, at all echelons, and in all domains. As more powerful models built on ever larger data sets become ubiquitous, militaries are in a new competition to deploy artificial intelligence. Operational art must embrace “analytic superiority.” This is the operational advantage from collecting and ingesting data, building robust models and computing infrastructure, deploying the models into operational systems, and denying adversaries' ability to do the same

This article explains …

Executive Summary, William T. Eliason

Joint Force Quarterly

In his executive summary for Joint Force Quarterly 120, Editor in Chief William T. Eliason reflects on the 40th anniversary of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 and its enduring influence on jointness, military command relationships, and defense reform. He examines General David C. Jones’s role in advancing reforms that strengthened the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, streamlined the operational chain of command, and improved cooperation among the military Services. Eliason also considers continuing debates over the law’s effectiveness and the future organization of the joint force. He then introduces the issue’s articles on cyber …

The Logic Of America’S Defense Strategy, Elbridge A. Colby

Joint Force Quarterly

In this address at the National War College, Elbridge A. Colby, Under Secretary of War for Policy, explores the strategic logic underlying the 2026 National Defense Strategy. He argues that renewed major power rivalry, military competition, and the risks posed by nuclear-armed adversaries require the United States to align its military objectives, methods, and resources with concrete political goals and American interests. Colby presents a three-part framework for doing so: denial defense, which seeks to prevent an aggressor from seizing and holding key allied or partner territory; favorable escalation management, which places the burden and risks of escalation on the …

Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 120, 3rd Quarter 2026, National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly

Joint Force Quarterly 120, 3rd Quarter 2026, focuses on contemporary defense strategy, joint warfighting, professional military education, operational innovation, and military sustainment. The issue opens with Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge A. Colby’s discussion of the logic underlying the 2026 National Defense Strategy and an executive summary reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the Goldwater-Nichols Act and the future of jointness. Forum articles address analytic superiority in warfare, the development of operational objectives, and new evidence concerning the Lavelle Affair. Contributions on joint professional military education explore defensive cognitive warfare, strategist development, and cyberspace collaboration for homeland defense. …

Child Care Deserts In Mountain West Congressional Districts, 2024, Cason Noll, Yash Kalla, Yiselle Olivas Ruiz, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents data on child care deserts across 28 congressional districts in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah as of 2024. The percentage of young children residing in a child care desert and the urban, suburban, or rural designation of each congressional district are included. The Center for American Progress (CAP) report, ‘America’s Child Care Crisis Leaves Many Families Without Access to Licensed Care,’ includes data on all 435 U.S. congressional districts.

Multimodal Solutions For The Detection Of Safety-Related Railroad Objects Under Adverse Weather: Architectures, Proof-Of-Concepts, And Performance Results, Hayder Radha

Mineta Transportation Institute

The emergence of high-resolution automotive grade lidar sensor technologies and the development of advanced deep- learning frameworks open the door for accurate and real-time perception of the surroundings of mobile trains for improved safety and operational efficiency. Under this project, we developed key components and proof-of-concepts of lidar-based multimodal solutions that rely on advanced deep- learning methods and utilize object detection approaches to demonstrate the feasibility of real-time detection of objects and events that could represent major safety issues for moving trains. The detected objects could be vehicles or people trespassing a railroad track, or they could be hazardous objects …

Without A Map: A Lived Experience Study Of The Paths People Create Through Homelessness, Kathleen P. Conte, Susan Avila, Desiree' J. Duboise, Carlton Bone, Marisa A. Zapata, Transformational Research For Equity And Experience In Shelter (Trees) Committee

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

The Pathways to Housing Study examines how people experience and navigate homelessness and the systems intended to help them move toward stable housing. Conducted in Multnomah County, Oregon, the study used a participatory mixed-methods design co-led with the TREES lived experience committee. The first phase was reported in April 2026 included surveys with 541 people with current or recent experience of homelessness. The second phase, reported here, used in-depth interviews and journey mapping with 29 participants to explore how pathways through homelessness unfold over time and across service systems.

Findings demonstrate that homelessness pathways are rarely linear. Participants described entering …

Displaced By Disaster: Examining The Effects Of Hurricanes Maria And Irma On Chronic Homelessness In The United States Virgin Islands, Clinton Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is an island territory that is geographically isolated and has a fragile economy that has a limited capacity to address homelessness particularly when exacerbated by natural disasters. Existing literature demonstrated that major hurricanes can be associated with displacement, housing instability, and increased demand for emergency housing resources among socially vulnerable populations. However, limited longitudinal quantitative research has examined the impact of hurricanes on changes in homelessness trends in the USVI, representing a gap in territory-specific research. The purpose of this quantitative interrupted time series study was to examine homelessness trends associated with hurricanes Irma …

The Role Of Financial Decision-Making Methods In Achieving Financial Performance, Kifah Sami Hussein

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

This research provides a comprehensive study of the role of financial decision-making methods in improving the financial performance of organizations, focusing on the strategic importance of various financial tools in supporting the process. The study aims to explore how the quality of financial decisions affects key performance indicators of organizations, highlighting the positive relationship between effective financial decision-making and achieving optimal financial results. The research also addresses the various factors that influence the effectiveness of financial decisions, including analytical tools, predictive models, and high-quality accounting information.
The research methodology relies on integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in a comprehensive manner, …

The Role Of Financial Inclusion In The Quality Of Financial Decisions: A Descriptive And Analytical Study Of A Sample Of Startups In Iraq, Inam Abass Hamidi

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

This research examines the role of financial inclusion in improving the quality of financial decisions for individuals and institutions in emerging and developing economies. The research focuses on how the availability of accessible formal financial services enhances the ability to make informed and rational financial decisions. The scope of the study includes examining the relationship between access to formal financial services and positive financial behavior, as the literature shows that individuals with higher levels of financial inclusion are more likely to engage in positive financial behaviors such as regular saving and responsible investing (Musa et al., 2025).  The research aims …

“As The Developing Situation Warrants”: U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Considered Through The 1994 Gerry Adams Visa Debate, Olivia T. Sullivan

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This thesis analyzes the 1994 U.S. decision to grant Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams a visa and what it reveals about American counterterrorism policy in the immediate post–Cold War period. Long suspected of senior involvement in the Provisional Irish Republican Army during the Troubles (1968–1998), Adams had previously been denied entry under terrorism-related immigration provisions. His case became a flashpoint inside the U.S. government: officials debated whether diplomatic opportunity, domestic political incentives, and momentum toward peace in Northern Ireland warranted a departure from the prior “no concessions” posture toward IRA-linked figures. Situating the controversy within U.S. terrorism discourse from the …

Cost Analysis Of Integrated Genderaffirming And Sexual Health Services For Transgender Women In Thailand: Evidence From The Tangerine Clinic, Braprut Sawatwipachai, Kunncadah Anuwong, Nittaya Phanuphak, Rena Janamnuaysook, Kritima Samitpol, Sujin Nitadpakorn

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Background: Transgender women experience a disproportionate burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) globally and in Thailand. Integrating gender-affirming care into sexual health services may improve uptake of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) testing, treatment, and prevention. Cost data are essential to inform program planning and policy decisions regarding inclusion of such services within Thailand’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) system.
Objectives: To estimate the full and unit costs of trans-led, integrated gender-affirming and sexual health services along the HIV care cascade.
Methods: Costs of Tangerine Clinic services in 2021 were assessed from the provider perspective, using standard and activity-based costing …

From Disaster To Resilience: Developing Smart Settlements In The Himalayas, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal’s catastrophic 26 August 2026 Bhote Koshi–Trishuli flood should be understood not only as a humanitarian tragedy but also as a potentially major turning point in updating national settlement and reconstruction policy. Engineers and scientists have described the floods as a glacier–bedrock collapse that triggered an ice-rock avalanche and debris flow. As per the live updates on September 7, 2026, the total death toll was 1,355, and 4,996 people were missing (The Hindu, 2026). Indian and Nepali rescuers worked urgently to locate and rescue people buried under hydropower tunnels, buildings, mud, and landslide debris.

UN News reported on September 3, …

Average Earnings Of Undergraduate Certificate Graduates In The Mountain West, 2024, Devin Streuter, Kahlen Coss, Kevin Yang, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet presents data on the average earnings of undergraduate certificate program graduates in 2024 dollars compared to the average earnings of high school (HS) graduates in five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The fact sheet reports information on the number of undergraduate certificate programs, number of graduates, the most popular certificate programs, and earnings premiums for each state. Published by Open Campus in collaboration with The Higher Education Analytics (HEA) Group, the fact sheet reports data originally published through the “Certificate Earnings Explorer."

Smaller State Development By Competitiveness In Productivity And Sustainability, Anthony Wayne Jerome Phillips-Spencer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Persistent poverty, middle-income traps, uneven growth, and productivity gaps expose smaller countries, defined as those with fewer than nine million people, to multidimensional vulnerability that retards development. Research revealed a positive relationship between competitiveness and growth in larger and developed countries. However, the competitiveness-development nexus in smaller and developing countries was omitted from previous research. Growth is not development. The purpose of this quantitative, longitudinal, comparative study was to examine the development-by competitiveness experiences of smaller states at different stages of development with productivity and sustainability through the lens of punctuated equilibrium theory and the national competitive development model. Results …

From Himalayan Catastrophe To National Resilience: Lessons From The 2026 Bhote Koshi And Trishuli River Floods In Nepal, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

On the morning of 26 August 2026, the mountains above Nepal’s northern frontier delivered a disaster of almost unimaginable speed and scale. A massive mass of ice, rock, and sediment detached in the high Himalayan terrain near the Nepal–Tibet border, descended roughly 1,200 metres, interacted with the Lhende Khola system, and generated a debris-rich flood that surged through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors, destroying settlements, markets, roads, bridges, hydropower facilities, and an international border crossing and transforming them into fields of mud, boulders, and wreckage within minutes (ICIMOD, 2026b; Reuters, 2026a). Satellite analysis indicates that a substantial section …

The Employment Situation Of Veterans: August 2026, Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

U.S. employment grew by 162,000 jobs in August 2026 while the national unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. Veteran unemployment improved significantly, falling from 4.2% in July to 3.4% in August, with Post-9/11 veterans declining from 4.7% to 3.5%. Female veterans (2.4%) and male veterans (3.6%) both had lower unemployment rates than their nonveteran counterparts. Unemployment among Black veterans dropped sharply from 10.4% to 4.4%, while Hispanic veterans improved to 4.9%. Younger veterans continued to experience the highest unemployment rates. Overall, veterans maintained lower unemployment rates than nonveterans across most demographic groups.

Fastest-Warming States And Cities In The Mountain West, 2025, Maisoon Faris, Kahlen Coss, Kevin Yang, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents data published by Climate Central on the change in average annual temperatures for the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah and 15 Mountain West cities from 1970 to 2025. City-level data are derived from Applied Climate Information System (ACIS) operated by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), state-level data are derived from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Studying Extreme Weather Event Impacts For Transit-Reliant Unhoused Populations, Costanza Rampini, Serena Alexander, Jeff Wootton, Amruta Ashish Gandhi

Mineta Transportation Institute

No abstract provided.

Healthcare System Barriers To Somali Refugees In Kenya, Zahra Sharif Hashim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to health care is a fundamental right of every refugee, yet gaps in implementing Kenya's Refugees Acts of 2006 and 2021 continue to limit access for Somali refugees in Dadaab camp. Existing research has documented resource constraints, movement restrictions, and other barriers to refugee health care, but how policy implementation gaps shape access in Dadaab has not been well explored. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand barriers to health care access for Somali refugees resulting from gaps in implementing Kenya's refugee health policies. The narrative policy framework guided the study. Data from semistructured interviews with …

Youths' Responses To Street-Level Bureaucratic Failures In Lebialem, Division Cameroon, Forchenmbin Charles Abessoh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

"Cox Creek Parkway", William Lindsey Mcdonald

Writings

Speech outline detailing the historic origins of Cox Creek Parkway in Florence, Alabama. The Parkway is named after Zachariah Cox of Georgia, so the outline gives some biographical background on Cox, the first promoter who wanted to develop the Muscle Shoals.

A Study On Police Budgets And Impact On Public Safety, Vera Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Law enforcement agencies face ongoing organizational and resource challenges, yet there is limited research on how changes in police funding relate to crime rates and violent crime. There has been increased public awareness concerning police related encounters with civilians, and this has intensified debates about reducing law enforcement budgets. Current literature indicates that although police funding, staffing, and community trust are closely associated with public safety outcomes, empirical evidence on the relationship between police budget reductions and changes in violent crime and overall crime rates remains limited and insufficient to support definitive policy conclusions. The purpose of this quantitative study …

The Perceived Benefit Of A Degree Requirement In Emergency Medical Services Education And Success, Joseph H. Wood

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Introduction: This study sought to assess how graduates of Wallace Community College's paramedic program impacted their readiness for the NREMT Paramedic examination and entering the workforce, specifically comparing those who completed an associate degree to those who completed the certificate program. Methods: This qualitative study analyzed the perspectives of graduates from the paramedic program using a phenomenological approach. Using a purposive sampling technique, nine graduates were chosen for one-on-one interviews, and six were selected for a focus group. Results: Analysis of participant responses revealed three main themes: the perceived value of a degree, student preparedness for the NREMT exam and …

Notes For The Contributors, Space & Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

The Global Chessboard: Strategic Deterrence In A New Era Of Great Power Competition, The 66th Annual Academy Assembly

Space and Defense

The 66th annual Academy Assembly brought together twenty-seven student delegates from civilian institutions and sister military service academies to discuss urgent issues in national affairs. This national student congress was held during March 3-5, 2026 and produced the following committee reports.

Critical Strategic Deterrence Questions For Today, Keith B. Payne

Space and Defense

r. Payne visited the U.S. Air Force Academy to offer keynote remarks at a national student congress, the 66th Academy Assembly, held during March 3-5,2026 and dedicated to the topic of the Global Chessboard: Strategic Deterrence in a New Era of Great Power Competition. Dr. Payne is co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, former Department Head at the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies, Missouri State University, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and former Senior Advisor to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has authored or co-authored over 230 published articles and 50 …