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An Exploratory Study On The Strategic Use Of Information Technology In The Source Selection Decision-Making Process, Kathy L. Spainhower Sep 1998

An Exploratory Study On The Strategic Use Of Information Technology In The Source Selection Decision-Making Process, Kathy L. Spainhower

Theses and Dissertations

The strategic use of Information Technology in the acquisition field can be very useful in the decision making process of evaluating alternative solutions during a Government source selection. Current implementation of information technology provides a more tactical approach to systems development. The use of Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange and the internet to electronically transfer information is only the beginning of the shift towards a more strategic design process for information systems within Government procurement agencies. A schematic model was designed to demonstrate how information technology, such as Decision Support Systems, Expert Systems, and Shared Data Warehousing could assist the SSA …

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The Effects Of Internet Misuse On Productivity, Scott A. Stevens Sep 1998

The Effects Of Internet Misuse On Productivity, Scott A. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

The Internet has become one of the most used technological devices in the United States. Air Force members too, have become dependent on the Internet to complete their work. The Internet offers many features that are important to the members of the Air Force, but the Internet also offers features that may interfere with the member completing their assigned duties. This thesis will address the misuse of the Internet by Air Force personnel and how the Internet affects the productivity of the members within their work environment. This thesis also looks at the problem of personal use of the Internet …

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A Pilot Study Of Space/Missile Crews And Crew Resource Management, John E. Varljen Sep 1998

A Pilot Study Of Space/Missile Crews And Crew Resource Management, John E. Varljen

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a first step in formalizing CRM training as part of Undergraduate Space and Missile Training (USMT) and individual Unit Training thereby capitalizing on techniques already developed and in place for pilots. We evaluated the usefulness of two modified versions of existing CRM measures. Because an attitude measure is easier to implement, this study analyzes the use of an established flight crew attitude measure, the Cockpit Management Attitudes Questionnaire (CMAQ), and a modified version of the Air Force Mobility Command AMC Form 128, March 1995. We conducted the study in two phases. Phase 1 dealt only with Space …

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Value Of Increased Use Of Scheduled Maintenance On Aircraft Availability And Maintenance Cost Of The C-5, William T. Webb Sep 1998

Value Of Increased Use Of Scheduled Maintenance On Aircraft Availability And Maintenance Cost Of The C-5, William T. Webb

Theses and Dissertations

The C-5 consistently performs below its established mission capable rate of 75 percent. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not mission capable rates and maintenance costs can be improved by increased use of scheduled maintenance. Nine C-5 components were studied. Availability and cost were compared when scheduled replacement occurred at ten, twenty, and thirty percent before their respective mean time between failure and actual failure times. Actual failure times were not available so they were generated using simulation. The trade-off of using preventive maintenance is the decreased cost of sending fewer maintenance repair teams and increased …

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Determining The Characteristics Of The Air Force Telecommuting Program, Joseph L. Wolfkiel Sep 1998

Determining The Characteristics Of The Air Force Telecommuting Program, Joseph L. Wolfkiel

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores advantages and disadvantages to be realized from telecommuting, along with developing a linear regression model that identifies factors correlated with preference for telecommuting among Air Force personnel. This thesis uses a stated preference model derived from existing telecommuting research to characterize the factors impacting the preference for civilian, officer, and enlisted Air Force personnel. The regression models developed showed that factors affecting telecommuting preference were different among different sub-samples. Two factors were universal across the sample. Those were "Amount of Telecommuting Job Allows," and "Allow More Work Done." These two factors gave R-squared values of over .39 …

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Technology Acceptance: A Fusion Of Human-Computer Interaction And Management Information Systems Constructs, Patrick W. Wright Sep 1998

Technology Acceptance: A Fusion Of Human-Computer Interaction And Management Information Systems Constructs, Patrick W. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, information technology has advanced at a pace that few would have anticipated. It has been estimated that the computing power of the modem desktop computer has been increasing at the rate of 1000% per decade. In combination with the development of personal computers, the advent of networks and the world wide web provide unprecedented access to information and computing power. However, the problem of developing useful user interfaces remains a problem. In many military and commercial settings, the increased computing power offered by current information technology remains unexploited because of user interfaces that are difficult to use. …

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An Integer Program Decomposition Approach To Combat Planning, John C. Van Hove Sep 1998

An Integer Program Decomposition Approach To Combat Planning, John C. Van Hove

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last two decades, our military forces have been working to incorporate the latest computer technology into the combat planning process. The earliest efforts use word processors, spreadsheets, and databases to organize planning data and to display high level summaries for commanders. Later efforts perform feasibility checks as missions are planned to insure that the necessary resources are available and that the assets requested are capable of meeting the assigned scheduling requirements. Some of the most recent computer planning tools have included the capability to automatically plan individual missions or groups of missions. These automated efforts have been heuristic …

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Optimal Atmospheric Compensation For Anisoplanatism In Adaptive-Optical Systems, Matthew R. Whiteley Sep 1998

Optimal Atmospheric Compensation For Anisoplanatism In Adaptive-Optical Systems, Matthew R. Whiteley

Theses and Dissertations

Anisoplanatism in adaptive optics (AO) systems is a performance-degrading effect that arises whenever light from the wave-front sensor beacon and light from the object of interest sample different volumes of optical turbulence. This effect occurs if there is either a spatial separation between the object and the beacon, or a spatial separation between the wave-front sensor and phase-compensation aperture, or if both types of separation are present in the AO system. Anisoplanatism results in an increased value of the aperture-averaged residual phase variance after AO compensation, which causes an exponential decrease in system performance. This dissertation offers a theoretical framework …

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Radial Complexity Estimation For Improved Generalization In Artificial Neural Networks, Lemuel R. Myers Jr. Sep 1998

Radial Complexity Estimation For Improved Generalization In Artificial Neural Networks, Lemuel R. Myers Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

When training an artificial neural network (ANN) for classification using backpropagation of error, the weights are usually updated by minimizing the sum-squared error on the training set. As training ensues, overtraining may be observed as the network begins to memorize the training data. This occurs because, as the magnitude of the weight vector, W, grows, the decision boundaries become overly complex in much the same way as a too-high order polynomial approximation can overfit a data set in a regression problem. Since w grows during standard backpropagation, it is important to initialize the weights with consideration to the importance of …

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Automatic Target Cueing Of Hyperspectral Image Data, Terry A. Wilson Sep 1998

Automatic Target Cueing Of Hyperspectral Image Data, Terry A. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Modern imaging sensors produce vast amounts data, overwhelming human analysts. One such sensor is the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) hyperspectral sensor. The AVIRIS sensor simultaneously collects data in 224 spectral bands that range from 0.4µm to 2.5µm in approximately 10nm increments, producing 224 images, each representing a single spectral band. Autonomous systems are required that can fuse "important" spectral bands and then classify regions of interest if all of this data is to be exploited. This dissertation presents a comprehensive solution that consists of a new physiologically motivated fusion algorithm and a novel Bayes optimal self-architecting classifier …

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An Assessment Of Factors That Affect The Performance Of Air Force O-3 (Captain) Logisticians Working In A Joint Operations Environment, Jeffrey C. Bergdolt, Ty K. Sills Sep 1998

An Assessment Of Factors That Affect The Performance Of Air Force O-3 (Captain) Logisticians Working In A Joint Operations Environment, Jeffrey C. Bergdolt, Ty K. Sills

Theses and Dissertations

Joint operations will likely continue to become more prevalent in the future due to defense spending cuts and the nature of modem warfare. Currently, Air Force O-3 (Captain) logisticians, working in the joint operations environment, receive little if any initial training. Exploratory research, by the authors, indicated that these members felt uncertain about their jobs and how they related to the organization, which has been described in the literature as role ambiguity. Consequently, this research project was designed to determine if AF O-3 logisticians serving in the joint operations environment experience more role ambiguity than their counterparts serving in the …

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An Exploratory Study Of The Use Of Parametric Estimating In Department Of Defense Contracting, Patricia Blakely, Rudolph Haynesworth Sep 1998

An Exploratory Study Of The Use Of Parametric Estimating In Department Of Defense Contracting, Patricia Blakely, Rudolph Haynesworth

Theses and Dissertations

An initiative to expand the use of parametric estimating in government contracting has enjoyed only marginal success. Some reasons for the slower pace of implementation are the lack of availability of historical data, training, acquisition rules, utility, and accuracy concerns. Those associated with the Parametric Cost Estimating Initiative (PCEI) have a higher perception of parametric utility and accuracy than those not associated with the initiative. The PCEI advocates using parametric techniques in any situation, not just the concept/development phases advocated by most literature. Parametric estimating is a catch all term for several different types of statistically based methodologies, ranging from …

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Software Support Cost Estimating Models: A Comparative Study Of Model Content And Parameter Sensitivity, Kevin L. Brummert, Philip R. Mischler Jr. Sep 1998

Software Support Cost Estimating Models: A Comparative Study Of Model Content And Parameter Sensitivity, Kevin L. Brummert, Philip R. Mischler Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This research entailed a comparison of five software estimating models: PRICE-S, SEER-SEM, SoftCost-OO, SoftEst, and SPR KnowledgePLAN. The objective was to research the differences of the software models as related to software support cost. The following major question areas were addressed: (1) How do the differences between the models impact the resulting cost estimates? (2) To what degree can we explain and adjust for the differences between cost models? All items were for flight avionics of a manned aircraft. The differences between the models significantly impact the resulting estimates. Over the five models evaluated, a range of over $60 million …

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Feasibility Study On The Use Of The Internet For Traffic Of Unclassified Data, Alexandre L. Guerra, Luiz Gustavo F. P. Silva Sep 1998

Feasibility Study On The Use Of The Internet For Traffic Of Unclassified Data, Alexandre L. Guerra, Luiz Gustavo F. P. Silva

Theses and Dissertations

This research compares two possible networking methods for connecting all Brazilian Air Force Materiel Command units responsible for support and operation of Brazilian Air Force's weapons systems. The network includes the use of dedicated X.25 links, and the use of a virtual Private Network using the Internet (TCP/IP) as the medium of transmission. The Brazilian Air Force Materiel Command, responsible to support operating units over a very large sparse territory, lacks an efficient media of computer communications, which makes it difficult to control the supply chain channels of materiel present in each unit, depots, and warehouses. We studied the network …

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Factors Influencing Utilization Of Air Cargo Containerization In The United States Air Force, Joel W. Gartner Sep 1998

Factors Influencing Utilization Of Air Cargo Containerization In The United States Air Force, Joel W. Gartner

Theses and Dissertations

As the Department of Defense budget continues to decrease, the growing requirement to meet national strategic mobility objectives with limited resources provides a major impetus for cost effective and credible transportation innovations. The commercial transportation industry has increasingly accepted cargo containerization as a method to take advantage of intermodal shipping efficiency and cost savings. The military implementation of these same shipping initiatives must be flexible, reliable, and compatible with the existing cargo handling systems already designed to deliver fighting forces to conflicts throughout the world. This thesis examines cost and container utilization factors among units familiar with the ISU bins …

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Material Requirements Planning In Air Force Depot-Level Maintenance, Kevin J. Gaudette Sep 1998

Material Requirements Planning In Air Force Depot-Level Maintenance, Kevin J. Gaudette

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense has historically relied on Wilson's Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model for consumable item management at all levels. With inventory practices under intense Congressional scrutiny over the past decade, the Air Force Materiel Command has searched for alternative systems to better manage its consumable inventory. Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is one such system, as is the MRP-based Repairability Forecast Model (RFM) developed by CACI. This thesis examines the wisdom of applying MRP logic in a remanufacturing environment. MRP has had some degree of success in environments where requirements are relatively certain and demand and lead time variability …

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An Evaluation Of Characteristics And Practices Associated With Effective Mentoring Within The United States Air Force, Sharon Gibson Sep 1998

An Evaluation Of Characteristics And Practices Associated With Effective Mentoring Within The United States Air Force, Sharon Gibson

Theses and Dissertations

The US Air Force has recently implemented a policy of assigning supervisors as the mentors of company grade officers. This study investigated the differences in mentoring effectiveness and perceived barriers to mentoring reported by Air Force company grade officers (CGOs), their organizationally assigned mentors (assigned), and CGO selected mentors (voluntary). Results indicated that junior officers believed they had effective mentoring relationships from both assigned and voluntary mentors, but as officers progressed to the rank of captain, they were more likely to seek out mentors outside of their chains of command. Junior officers indicated work related contact time spent on career …

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A Comparison Of Proposed Air Expeditionary Force Packages Using The Thunder Campaign Simulation Program, Brian M. Godfrey Sep 1998

A Comparison Of Proposed Air Expeditionary Force Packages Using The Thunder Campaign Simulation Program, Brian M. Godfrey

Theses and Dissertations

There are currently only two force packages under consideration for Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) deployment: the Eagle package and the Falcon package. This thesis examines these and three other force packages for operational feasibility. The comparisons made between the five packages were based on five operational measures and two which describe the logistics involved with deploying each package. The operational measures and one logistics measure are obtained from the THUNDER simulation software package. The other logistics measure, amount of short-tons of cargo required to support each package, was obtained from the Logistics Plans office at HQ ACC. The principal contribution …

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General Logistics Paradigm: A Study Of The Logistics Of Alexander, Napoleon, And Sherman, Richard Alan Hardemon Sep 1998

General Logistics Paradigm: A Study Of The Logistics Of Alexander, Napoleon, And Sherman, Richard Alan Hardemon

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the campaigns of Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte and William T. Sherman. By analyzing the influences of the logistics policies and practices employed during these campaigns common underlying logistics principles are identified. The resultant logistics principles are then codified into a logistics paradigm to be used when developing and managing operational level logistics. Using an analysis schema that employs inductive reasoning, principles of historical analysis and critical thinking, each of the three campaigns is analyzed to identify events of interest. The events of interest are specific occurrences during the campaign when what occurred was directly influenced by …

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Effects Of Group Support Systems On United States Air Force Strategic Planning Efforts, Bryan K. Hasty Sep 1998

Effects Of Group Support Systems On United States Air Force Strategic Planning Efforts, Bryan K. Hasty

Theses and Dissertations

Strategic planning at an Air Force wing is a team based activity that offers many advantages to the Air Force. But, it is clear there are still questions about how to properly conduct strategic planning to produce the highest quality plans in the most effective and efficient manner. To answer this question, the Air Force created a research project aimed at discovering new methods to improve strategic planning at Air Force wing levels using a computer-mediated communication system. The research project's goal is to apply collaborative processes and technologies, such as Group Support Systems (GSS), to improve the quality of …

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Strategic Planning Within The Department Of Defense: A Focus On Strategic Hierarchical Consistency, Thomas E. Hartzell Sep 1998

Strategic Planning Within The Department Of Defense: A Focus On Strategic Hierarchical Consistency, Thomas E. Hartzell

Theses and Dissertations

Mandated within the Department of Defense (DoD) by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, strategic planning is a systematic process organizations employ to envision the future and direct actions to desired outcomes within that future. Unfortunately, strong evidence suggests DoD and United States Air Force (USAF) planning efforts to date have met with limited success. This research explores one reason for this limited success. Towards this end, it defines a strategic hierarchical consistency construct and proposes a scale to measure one component, the alignment of mission, vision, and goal statements among a hierarchy of organizational plans. It …

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Technology Transfer In Poland: An Investment Of U.S. Government, U.S. Corporate, And Polish Government Strategies, Susan E. Hays Sep 1998

Technology Transfer In Poland: An Investment Of U.S. Government, U.S. Corporate, And Polish Government Strategies, Susan E. Hays

Theses and Dissertations

This case study examines how U.S. Government (USG) policy, U.S. corporate policy, and Polish government policy affect the strategy of technology transfer of military and/or dual-use technologies in Poland. The traditional supplier/recipient relationship is explored and found to be insufficient to describe the process associated with military and/or dual-use technology transfer. An alternate model is proposed that accounts for the activities of the USG, U.S. corporations, and the Polish government. These relationships are investigated in the context of six strategies to determine the validity of the model in the case of military and/or dual-use technology transfer to Poland. The analysis …

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Media Selection In The Air Force Environment: How Communications Requirements Influence Effectiveness As An Outcome Of Media Choice, David L. Hillman Sep 1998

Media Selection In The Air Force Environment: How Communications Requirements Influence Effectiveness As An Outcome Of Media Choice, David L. Hillman

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past two decades, great interest has been given to the research of media choice within organizations. However, there is still confusion over which factors influence media choice. This study examined the effectiveness of five media under different conditions in an effort to better understand which factors impact media choice. Through the examination of several theories on communication and media choice, a theoretical model was created to determine if effectiveness is an outcome of media choice. To test the proposed model, a 54 scenario policy capturing instrument was developed and distributed. Results from the study support the theory that …

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Electro-Mechanical Fatigue Behavior Of A Quasi-Isotropic Laminate With An Embedded Piezoelectric Actuator, Tse Lin Hsu Sep 1998

Electro-Mechanical Fatigue Behavior Of A Quasi-Isotropic Laminate With An Embedded Piezoelectric Actuator, Tse Lin Hsu

Theses and Dissertations

This study primarily investigated the electro-mechanical fatigue behavior of the embedded piezoelectric actuators in graphite/epoxy laminate with a lay-up of 0 | ± 45 | 90s. A secondary focus was the investigation of the mechanical fatigue effects of the 0 | 0 | ± 45 | 0 | 0 | 90s laminate with embedded PZT under tensile loading. All the fatigue tests were conducted with a triangular loading waveform which had a frequency of 10 Hz and with R=0. 1. In the electro-mechanical testing, the embedded actuator was excited by a -10 V to -100 V or a 10 V …

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An Examination Of The United States Air Service's Logistics Operations, Andrew W. Hunt Sep 1998

An Examination Of The United States Air Service's Logistics Operations, Andrew W. Hunt

Theses and Dissertations

This historical study details the U.S. Air Service's logistics operations at home and abroad in an attempt to determine the relationship between the process and more recently established logistic principles. The information in the study was collected through an extensive review of both first hand accounts and historical compilations of the nature of World War I aviation logistics. Information regarding the production of the De Haviland DH-4 and Liberty Engine serve as the primary case examples of the operation of the logistics system. The established principles required for comparison were extracted from the writings of a number of expert military …

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Evaluation Of The Performance Of The Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Arrangement For Rokaf, Mansik Hur Sep 1998

Evaluation Of The Performance Of The Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Arrangement For Rokaf, Mansik Hur

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the performance of the Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Arrangement (CLSSA) for Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). As one of the biggest FMS customer countries, ROKAF buys a substantial portion of its weapon systems from the U.S. Government and relies on the follow-on supply support from the source of acquisition. Because of the advantage of the CLSSA program for its timely support to foreign countries, the CLSSA has been the preferred method of follow-on supply support for FMS customer countries and its magnitude and coverage are being increased. To find out the level of supply support for …

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Republic Of Korea Weapons Acquisition Through The Post-Cold War And The Case Of The Sam-X Project: Implications For Us-Rok Relations, George A. Hutchinson Sep 1998

Republic Of Korea Weapons Acquisition Through The Post-Cold War And The Case Of The Sam-X Project: Implications For Us-Rok Relations, George A. Hutchinson

Theses and Dissertations

The dissolution of the Soviet Union has ushered in a new era. With the Cold War arrangement no longer in place, relations between the US and friendly nations are being subject to redefinition. In the arms trade, the post-Cold War era has produced expanded opportunities for recipient countries, opening new and autonomous paths for defense acquisition. For the Republic of Korea (ROK), a traditionally steadfast recipient of US weapons and weapons technology, this has resulted in the emergence of alternative sources for arms procurement. Thus, the supplier-recipient relationship between the US and ROK, traditionally dominated by US supplier control, is …

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Building A Conceptual Model To Define The F-22 Supply Support Decision Process, Steven P. James Sep 1998

Building A Conceptual Model To Define The F-22 Supply Support Decision Process, Steven P. James

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force requires a method to determine the most effective and efficient means of supply support for new weapon system acquisitions. This study is a qualitative research effort that examines this requirement in an environment that embraces interim contractor support for the F-22. A series of six propositions are suggested to incorporate in the supply support decision-making process. A conceptual model is developed from these propositions to describe the process for determining the optimal timeframe for making long term supply support decisions. A systems approach to project management is used as the vehicle for this process, and the F-22 …

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An Analysis Of A-76 Study Effectiveness, Joshua M. Kovich Sep 1998

An Analysis Of A-76 Study Effectiveness, Joshua M. Kovich

Theses and Dissertations

As the Air Force budget continues to decrease, A-76 studies have become an increasingly popular method to cut costs. By cuffing costs, money is then freed up for other requirements such as force modernization. Care must be taken to ensure the process is working as designed and the actual savings are in line with projections. This thesis examines an A-76 study recently conducted at Wright Patterson AFB, OH. The focus is to evaluate the costs used in the decision and how the decision would have been affected by changes in these costs. The results indicate that some costs are incorrectly …

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Impact Of Facilitator Co-Location And Alignment On The Efficacy Of Group Support Systems Employed In A Distributed Setting, Jeffrey A. Lea Sep 1998

Impact Of Facilitator Co-Location And Alignment On The Efficacy Of Group Support Systems Employed In A Distributed Setting, Jeffrey A. Lea

Theses and Dissertations

Group Support Systems (GSSs) are a combination of hardware, software, and human facilitation designed and employed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of decision making groups. Engineers at the Sustainment Logistics Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory have recently proposed employing the technology in a distributed setting to conjoin geographically separated members of decision making groups in order to facilitate the reengineering of logistics processes in an any place/any time environment To date GSSs have been studied and employed primarily in the same time/same place setting. Consequently, little is known or understood of the effects that use of these …

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