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Air Force Institute of Technology

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Full-Text Articles in Business

Usability And Accessibility Of Air Force Intranet Web Sites, Richard S. Bentley Mar 2006

Usability And Accessibility Of Air Force Intranet Web Sites, Richard S. Bentley

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force is moving to a network centric environment where information must be data visible, accessible, and understandable. This transformation has seen the adoption of the Internet web browser as a de facto standard for information access. The Technology Acceptance Model suggests that information systems must not only be useful but also be usable and a large body of usability engineering knowledge exists to support usable design. In addition, the U.S. government mandates specific minimum design features required to support disabled user access. This research effort seeks to establish an understanding of how well common practice usability design principles …


Building A Consensus Forecast For Crude Oil Prices, Kenneth W. Burke Mar 2006

Building A Consensus Forecast For Crude Oil Prices, Kenneth W. Burke

Theses and Dissertations

Skyrocketing fuel prices have stressed the Department of Defense's budget in recent years. In 2001 the DoD spent $4.7 Billion on fuel with the Air Force consuming $2.7 Billion. These figures have grown over due to these increases as well as the increased flying ours to support the Global War On Terror. In fact, the Fiscal Year 2007 budget has already been increased by $1.1 billion, or 1% of the total budget, to accommodate the increased price of fuel. Current forecasts of this resource have yielded poor results, impairing the DoD's ability to budget this critical expense. Further because the …


Influence Of Organizational Culture On The Relationship Between Psychological Contracts And Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Jennifer M. Carbajal Mar 2006

Influence Of Organizational Culture On The Relationship Between Psychological Contracts And Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Jennifer M. Carbajal

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of what antecedents of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and psychological contracts (PC) employees form with their organization has also been of interest as they have many implications on an employee's extra-role behavior, specifically OCBs. This research investigates the relationship between types of PCs (a) relational and (b) transactional and the propensity to perform (a) altruism and (b) compliance OCB. Furthermore, the influence of organizational culture (OC) dimensions (a) internal orientation and (b) external orientation on this relationship was explored. The results show that transactional PCs were negatively related to both dimensions of OCB. Relational PCs were positively related …


Improving Maintenance Data Collection Via Point-Of-Maintenance (Pomx) Implementation, William D. Cone Mar 2006

Improving Maintenance Data Collection Via Point-Of-Maintenance (Pomx) Implementation, William D. Cone

Theses and Dissertations

Maintenance data collection is an integral part of flightline aircraft maintenance. Historically, this data was input via traditional keyboard data entry methods at a computer terminal. These terminals are typically located in the aircraft maintenance unit (AMU) facility, away from where the actual maintenance is being performed. In contrast to the traditional approach, the Point-of-Maintenance system (POMX) seeks to reduce the data entry burden while increasing data accuracy through the use of E-Tools such as ruggedized laptop computers and handheld portable maintenance aids (PMAs). POMX enables data entry at the aircraft or other maintenance location via wireless local area network …


Understanding Innovation Adoption In The Air Force, Morgan J. Evans Mar 2006

Understanding Innovation Adoption In The Air Force, Morgan J. Evans

Theses and Dissertations

Innovation adoption has become a critical issue for organizations in both the public and private sectors. The search for competitive advantage has led to the recognition that innovation is a vital ingredient for an organization's survival and profitability in this information age. The United States Air Force is seeking to adapt to this new information age by transforming its business processes in order to sustain its competitive advantage as the world's most respected air force. Adopting innovations and integrating new or improved technologies, capabilities, concepts, and processes into Air Force planning and acquisition activities, organizations, and operations are goals of …


An Exploratory Case Study Of Information-Sharing And Collaboration Within Air Force Supply Chain Management, Wendy S. Kierpiec Mar 2006

An Exploratory Case Study Of Information-Sharing And Collaboration Within Air Force Supply Chain Management, Wendy S. Kierpiec

Theses and Dissertations

This research sought to identify key elements of the Air Force supply chain as it relates to industry, determine how techniques of information-sharing and collaboration are used to make Air Force Supply Chain decisions, and examine how the resulting impacts on operational readiness may be measured. A multiple case study research design was used to investigate the application of information-sharing and collaboration in two distinct Air Force supply chains. Cross-case comparative analysis of the supply chains supporting the PTO shafts on the F-15 engine and the T-38 engine evaluated each supply chain's characteristics and levels of information-sharing and collaboration. The …


Access Based Cost Estimation For Beddown Analysis, Jasper E. Pennington Mar 2006

Access Based Cost Estimation For Beddown Analysis, Jasper E. Pennington

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to develop an automated web-enabled beddown estimation application for Air Mobility Command in order to increase the effectiveness and enhance the robustness of beddown estimates. This includes generating rough order of magnitude cost estimates for the potential beddown of air mobility assets as well as serving as a centralized data warehouse for current and future scenarios. The application developed is intended to provide the analyst with the maximum amount of both quantitative and qualitative input for any potential decision to quickly identify infrastructure requirement shortfalls and associated costs to satisfy those shortfalls. The application …


Headquarters Air Force Material Command Customer Relationship Study, Damelsa D. White Mar 2006

Headquarters Air Force Material Command Customer Relationship Study, Damelsa D. White

Theses and Dissertations

Because of the lack of product and price differentiation, many organizations consider Customer Relationship Management (CRM) their primary focus. CRM uses information about each customer to make each customer more valuable to the organization, and the organization more valuable to the customer, while decreasing the cost of servicing the customer. However, an organization cannot conform to customer specifications if the needs of the customers as well as what the customer values is not known. As a result, Headquarters (HQ) Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is taking the initiative to gain an understanding of their customers. The purpose of this study …


Application Of The Strategic Alignment Model And Information Technology Governance Concepts To Support Network Centric Warfare, Jennifer R. Valentine Mar 2006

Application Of The Strategic Alignment Model And Information Technology Governance Concepts To Support Network Centric Warfare, Jennifer R. Valentine

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the fields of E-Business and Network Centric Warfare (NCW) in order to identify gaps and overlaps within the two bodies of knowledge. Successful implementation of E-business is more than simply applying a technology to an existing business model. It is about evolving business processes and structures in order for the organization to accommodate for this new dynamic environment. This thesis proposes that while the two areas' success fundamentally resides in the implementation and exploitation of technology, it is only through sound IT Governance policies and strategic alignment practices that success can be measured. Technology has the ability …


A Comparative Assessment Of Knowledge Management Programs Across The United States Armed Services, Patrick L. Booker Mar 2006

A Comparative Assessment Of Knowledge Management Programs Across The United States Armed Services, Patrick L. Booker

Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge is a corporate resource that is required to accomplish business processes, to make decisions, and to improve efficiency and effectiveness. To completely take advantage of the benefits of knowledge, organizations must harvest and leverage the collective knowledge of the entire workforce. This can be achieved through effective knowledge management. Knowledge management involves processes to create, to store, and transfer knowledge to accomplish business objectives and to achieve a competitive advantage. The United States armed services have also recognized the benefits of knowledge management in meeting the emerging challenges of modern warfare. This study investigated knowledge management programs in the …


Hazardous Material Cargo Frustration At Military Aerial Ports Of Embarkation, Niel E. Christensen Mar 2006

Hazardous Material Cargo Frustration At Military Aerial Ports Of Embarkation, Niel E. Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

Since military units often require critical hazardous materials in an expedited manner, identifying choke points within the supply chain is necessary to improve logistic support to front line forces. Hazardous materials are some of the most critical assets for the war fighter, as well as the most restrictive and often most time consuming for transportation. This research quantifies the extent that vendor and depot supplied cargo is being delayed at Aerial Ports of Embarkation. By looking at frustrated hazardous material at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina and Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, a case study methodology is used to …


Cost As An Independent Variable: A Study Of Its Continued Use By Aeronautical Systems Center's Programs And Their Contractors To Set And Maintain Cost Objectives, Kevin W. Codrington Mar 2006

Cost As An Independent Variable: A Study Of Its Continued Use By Aeronautical Systems Center's Programs And Their Contractors To Set And Maintain Cost Objectives, Kevin W. Codrington

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to assess whether Aeronautical System Center's (ASC's) acquisition professionals believe CAIV has enabled their programs and contractors to set and maintain cost objectives. The three major objectives of this thesis are to answer the following questions: First, Do ASC's acquisition professionals believe their programs are setting and maintaining cost objectives? Second, Do ASC's acquisition professionals believe their contractors are setting and maintaining cost objectives? Last, what is the practitioners' perspective of CAIV? This research identified CAIV as being well received by DoD. It also identified that ASC's acquisition professionals believe their programs and contractors …


Data Analysis And Its Impact On Predicting Schedule & Cost Risk, Steven M. Cross Mar 2006

Data Analysis And Its Impact On Predicting Schedule & Cost Risk, Steven M. Cross

Theses and Dissertations

Many databases rely on documents (research) of the past to input data to create a comprehensive database. The Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) is one such document. The SARs are pervasive documents that have undergone decades of scrutiny by Congress and watchdog organizations such as the Government Accountability Office. Since the SAR has undergone such massive evolutionary changes, creating an accurate acquisition database presents a daunting task for the analyst and researcher alike. This research concerns itself with one such database. From this prior research database, we look to fill in missing data. We first conduct a literature review to determine …


Contemplating A New Model For Air Force Aerospace Medical Technician Skills Sustainment Training, Robert M. Corrigan Mar 2006

Contemplating A New Model For Air Force Aerospace Medical Technician Skills Sustainment Training, Robert M. Corrigan

Theses and Dissertations

Two decades ago, Aerospace Medical Technicians received robust skills sustainment training through exposure to multifaceted patient treatment environments. Available training environments included inpatient care, outpatient care, and emergency services. This diverse training environment made possible through large operating budgets and an extraordinary infrastructure could not last. Today (after five separate base closure and realignment initiatives), medical funding and infrastructure is but a shadow of what it once was. Budget constraints and the rising cost of healthcare have necessitated a purposeful movement away from inpatient and emergency care, toward outpatient and preventative medicine. Although changes in Air Force health care delivery …


Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (Ceai): Systematic Validation Of A Measure, Tassika M. Davis Mar 2006

Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (Ceai): Systematic Validation Of A Measure, Tassika M. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of corporate entrepreneurship is becoming an important activity for private- and public-sector organizations. Organizational factors have been linked to successful corporate entrepreneurship. The Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (CEAI) is an instrument that attempts to measure the effectiveness of the key internal organizational factors, or climate, that influence innovative activities and behaviors. This study attempted to assess the content validity and factor structure of the CEAI and thus add weight to the psychometric soundness of the instrument. In sum, the effectiveness of the instrument was tested using the framework for scale development presented by Hinkin (1998). Overall, the CEAI …


Afmc Civilian Retention: Forecasting Policy On The Future Of The Civilian Workforce, Dex Y. Landreth Mar 2006

Afmc Civilian Retention: Forecasting Policy On The Future Of The Civilian Workforce, Dex Y. Landreth

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense's (DoD) achievement of its mission is dependent in large part on the skills and expertise of its civilian workforce. DoD's civilian workforce develops policy, provides intelligence, manages finances, and acquires and maintains weapon systems, to name a few areas of work. During its downsizing in the early 1990s, DoD did not focus on reshaping the civilian workforce in a strategic manner. This resulted in a workforce characterized by a growing gap between older, experienced employees and younger, less experienced ones. With more than 60 percent of its civilian personnel becoming eligible to retire by 2010, DoD …


An Asymmetrical Look At Air Force Human Capital Management: More Emphasis On Qualifications And Less On Rank, Daniel M. Romano Mar 2006

An Asymmetrical Look At Air Force Human Capital Management: More Emphasis On Qualifications And Less On Rank, Daniel M. Romano

Theses and Dissertations

This research explored an asymmetrical concept of personnel management, specifically whether status, rank, is an artificial barrier to employing qualified enlisted personnel in some company grade officer duties. It takes the approach under the Human Capital Theory and questions whether rank plays a roll in effective performance and whether eliminating rank as a criterion to employment, in some duties, can support Air Force transformation efforts, without negatively affecting culture (i.e. chain-of-command, customs and courtesies). It describes a concept where more emphasis is put on meeting the knowledge, education, experience, and training qualifications and the required rank be interchangeable between enlisted …


Factors Affecting The Transfer Of Basic Combat Skills Training In The Air Force, Rodney E. Mccraine Mar 2006

Factors Affecting The Transfer Of Basic Combat Skills Training In The Air Force, Rodney E. Mccraine

Theses and Dissertations

During Operations ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) and IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF), many Airmen in support career fields were deployed to hostile environments like Afghanistan and Iraq. Deployments of this nature are a departure from normal Air Force operations where support personnel are normally far from the front lines of battle. The purpose of this research was to understand the factors that affect the transfer of basic combat skills training from the classroom to the battlefield. Specifically, this thesis sought to answer five research questions addressing the current combat skills training requirements, the perceived training transfer of basic combat skills, the factors that …


Algebra Of Tankers, Margaret M. Romero Mar 2006

Algebra Of Tankers, Margaret M. Romero

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force's aerial refueling tanker aircraft provide essential support for deployment and employment of combat and combat support aircraft, by extending their endurance and enhancing fighting efficiency. As the lead command for air refuelers, Air Mobility Command (AMC) must frequently examine the capability of current and proposed tanker fleets to meet mission requirements due to limited tanker resources. Analysts in AMC primarily use the Combined Mating and Ranging Plans System to provide actual tanker/receiver aircraft schedules and flight plans that take into account numerous system constraints. However, this tool can take weeks to run. Even recently developed quick look …


Using Prospect Theory To Investigate Decision-Making Bias Within An Information Security Context, Neil J. Schroeder Dec 2005

Using Prospect Theory To Investigate Decision-Making Bias Within An Information Security Context, Neil J. Schroeder

Theses and Dissertations

Information security is an issue that has increased in importance over the past decade. In this time both practitioner and academic circles have researched and developed practices and process to more effectively handle information security. Even with growth in these areas there has been little research conducted into how decision makers actually behave. This is problematic because decision makers in the Department of Defense have been observed exhibiting risk seeking behavior when making information security decisions that seemingly violate accepted norms. There are presently no models in the literature that provide sufficient insight into this phenomenon. This study used Prospect …


Comparing F-16 Maintenance Scheduling Philosophies, Konstantinos Iakovidis Jun 2005

Comparing F-16 Maintenance Scheduling Philosophies, Konstantinos Iakovidis

Theses and Dissertations

In the F-16 fighter community it is believed that the flying schedule can make or break a wing's maintenance effort. Nevertheless, there is no published scientific support behind many commonly used maintenance scheduling philosophies. The problem is that a generally accepted overall scheduling philosophy to improve the long term health of the fleet does not exist. The purpose of this research is tri-fold: to identify the most important scheduling philosophies, to identify the most meaningful metrics that capture the long term health of the fleet and maintenance effectiveness, and to compare the various philosophies using the performance measures to help …


Effects Of Career Plateauing On Turnover: A Test Of A Model, Christine Y. Rilovick Jun 2005

Effects Of Career Plateauing On Turnover: A Test Of A Model, Christine Y. Rilovick

Theses and Dissertations

The structure of most organizations dictates that only 1% of the employees will retire before they reach a career plateau. It is estimated that the number of people perceiving they are career plateaued will only increase in the future since more unusually well-qualified candidates will be competing for a diminishing number of positions. Given that an estimated 80% of the work conducted in organizations is performed by employees who are career plateaued, it would be beneficial to better understand if these plateaued individuals are likely to remain with the organization despite being plateaued. Therefore adding career plateauing to an existing …


Investigating Schedule Slippage, James V. Monaco, Edward D. White Apr 2005

Investigating Schedule Slippage, James V. Monaco, Edward D. White

Faculty Publications

Past research shows that schedule slippage within the acquisition community often adversely affects the cost and performance characteristics within a program. To minimize the risk of underestimating schedule growth, a program manager needs a reliable initial schedule estimate. Statistical models can provide such estimates; however, they require accurate historical data and predictive drivers. Many archival studies have investigated potential drivers of schedule growth. In this article, we review several of those studies that investigated schedule slippage and highlight common potential drivers of schedule growth, ending with a list of variables for estimators to consider for incorporating into future predictive models.


An Assessment Of Force Protection Knowledge In Air Force Civil Engineer Officers, Dustin C. Richards Mar 2005

An Assessment Of Force Protection Knowledge In Air Force Civil Engineer Officers, Dustin C. Richards

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to assess force protection knowledge in Air Force civil engineer officers. Specifically, the research attempted to answer four specific research questions dealing with officers' understanding of force protection concepts and principles, effectiveness of current training, which training is effective and which needs improvement, and how officers feel about the training they receive and their ability to apply it to real world situations. The research consisted of 542 civil engineer officers taking a knowledge based survey that tested their force protection knowledge. The results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in force protection …


Interaction Between The Process Used To Introduce Change And The Personality Of Organizational Members: An International Test, Terry W. Riddle Jr. Mar 2005

Interaction Between The Process Used To Introduce Change And The Personality Of Organizational Members: An International Test, Terry W. Riddle Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Organizations introduce change to strengthen organizational performance and improve effectiveness. Drawing from literature in the areas of organizational change and personality characteristics, this study seeks to uncover the influence personality has on an individual's readiness for change. Data were utilized from two previous studies that sampled both an American organization and a Korean organization. The administered questionnaires captured data pertaining to the individuals' perceptions of the change process, their personality attributes, and their readiness for change. Using a statistical method known as moderated multiple regression, the study examined whether personality moderates the impact the change process has on an individual's …


Assessing The Usefulness Of The Decision Framework For Identifying And Selecting Knowledge Management Projects, Kevin G. Budai Mar 2005

Assessing The Usefulness Of The Decision Framework For Identifying And Selecting Knowledge Management Projects, Kevin G. Budai

Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge management (KM) is becoming recognized as a valuable tool for the Department of Defense (DoD) in its effort to maintain a competitive, strategic advantage against its enemies in a new threat environment. Decision superiority is the ultimate end result and is only possible through the effective and efficient use of its chief key resource--knowledge. As the Air Force seeks to transform the way it does business the concept of knowledge management has made its way to the forefront of both the Air Force's Information Strategy and Information Resource Flight Plan. This research assesses the usefulness of a knowledge management …


Key Issues In The Application Of Knowledge Management In Education, George A. Mendoza Mar 2005

Key Issues In The Application Of Knowledge Management In Education, George A. Mendoza

Theses and Dissertations

Today's world is a fast moving place in which decisions are made with an ever-increasing speed, and the success of an organization rests on its ability to correctly make these decisions. This shift in paradigms has made knowledge the key resource as organizations shift their focus from natural resources to intellectual assets, heralding the use of a concept called Knowledge Management (KM). Despite its acceptance and use in commercial organizations, KM is not being applied in the academic world. No KM models exist for educational use, and no other studies into this topic can be found. This research establishes a …


Effects Of Deployment On Homestation Job Stress And Burnout, S. Ryan Johnson Mar 2005

Effects Of Deployment On Homestation Job Stress And Burnout, S. Ryan Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The Global War on Terrorism has increased the demands placed on military members. The increased rate of deployments, coupled with the reduction in resources, has military leaders concerned that these changing demands will cause undue strain, adversely affecting the military member's quality of life. This research tests the effects of active duty military deployments on homestation job stressors and burnout. Pre- and post- deployment surveys were administered to test for any significant changes that resulted from a deployment. A group of non-deploying members was also measured during the same time frame to serve as the control group. Results showed that …


Assessing Influences On Perceived Training Transfer: An Investigation Of Perceptions Of Air Force Logistics Readiness Officer Technical School Graduates, Sarah E. Hobbs Mar 2005

Assessing Influences On Perceived Training Transfer: An Investigation Of Perceptions Of Air Force Logistics Readiness Officer Technical School Graduates, Sarah E. Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations

Training transfer, which is the ability to utilize training back on the job, is an important issue for all organizations. Training transfer is also a concern within the Air Force, and specifically within the Logistics Readiness (LR) domain as the new LR career field and Logistics Readiness Officer (LRO) technical school mature. This research specifically investigates how influences/attitudes/beliefs of LRO technical school graduates regarding their training influence their perceptions about the transfer of such training back to the job. This study employs a survey-based methodology and the use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for data analysis. The results of the …


Output Analysis And Comparison Of Deployment Models With Varying Fidelity, Matthew M. Gill Mar 2005

Output Analysis And Comparison Of Deployment Models With Varying Fidelity, Matthew M. Gill

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the changes in insights that result from using different types of models to assess the capability of deploying the Stryker Brigade within specific timeline goals. The thesis uses as its primary base a study conducted in 2002 by USTRANSCOM to evaluate the ability of Stryker to meet stated deployment timeline goals. Specifically, the author compares the outputs from four different models as they change over three different deployment scenarios and 10 different routes. The study investigates the relationships among the outputs of spreadsheet models, spreadsheet models with elements of variability added, and low- and high-level discrete-event simulations. …