Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Information Sharing Within The Coea Process, Constance S. Maginnis, Michael J. Monroe

Theses and Dissertations

In order to meet the challenges of a reduced work force and the changing roles and/or missions of the Air Force in particular, the Cost and Operational Effectiveness Analysis COEA is used in the decision-making of every phase of the acquisition process. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense OASD has mandated that COEAs are to be an integral part of the acquisition process. The COEA information gathering or sharing process is not well defined. Areas within the COEA process affected are the coordination of common elements of information required, the data collection, and the generation of possible solutions. …

The Effects Of Violations Of Bar Chart Standards On Managerial Decision Making, Jeanne E. Tennison, Phillip G. Puglisi

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated whether a difference in data display, modes or a difference in data trends affected mid-level Air Force managers trend impressions, risk assessments. and loan decisions. By presenting data in four different modes, and by three data trends, a 4 x 3 factorial design experiment was prepared 180 subjects were tested, 15 in each of the twelve treatment cells. Each subject viewed three graphs or tables and made a decision based on the trend observed, their assessment of the trend, and a decision table. At the end of the experiment. they were asked for their impression of the …

Interrogatives In Yanomám, Richard A. Thiele

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a general linguistic description of yes-no and information questions in Yanomám (a member of the Yanomami language family of Brazil and Venezuela) in the descriptive/typological tradition, including morphosyntax and semantics, appropriate responses, certain discourse-pragmatic conditions of their use (such as bias and focus), and intonation patterns.

Some things in the Yanomám language that are typologically unusual are an information question system that utilizes just one interrogative word, interaction of temporal-evidential particles with questions, and the occurrence of hortative constructions in questions.

My sources of information include the limited published works and articles on the language, previously unpublished …

The Great Tone Split And Central Karen, William G. Kauffman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a comparative reconstruction of the tones and initial consonants of Proto-Central Karen based on the languages Eastern Kayah, Western Kayah, Geba, and Padaung. Other Karen languages are referred to but not studied to the same detail.

The study focuses on the great tone split that affected nearly all the languages of Southeast Asia, including Central Karen. I show that an understanding of the great tone split is crucial if one is to discover the phonological characteristics of Proto-Central Karen syllable-initial consonants.

In agreement with Haudricourt's (1946) analysis of Proto-Karen, I conclude that Proto-Central Karen had three proto-tones …

Imyan Tehit Phonology, Ronald Gerhard Hesse

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a description of the phonology of Imyan Tehit, a West Papuan language of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, couched in the framework of templatic syllable theory espoused by Junko Itô. It is based on 18 months (1989-1991) of linguistic fieldwork, in which the author and his family lived among the Tehit of Haha village, learning their language and culture.

Imyan Tehit has a maximal syllable template [CCVVC], obligatory onsets except word-initially, and a rare liquid coda. Syllable onset, nucleus, and coda are shown to be equally autonomous sub-syllabic structures. If they are complex or branching, they attract syllable stress. …

The Shaping Of The U.S. Security Assistance Program, David B. Edwards, Terry L. Meneley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to review the history of the U.S. Security Assistance Program to determine factors that shape the program. This research question was answered by accomplishing a literature review of the major legislative acts related to U.S. security assistance. After completing the review, the researchers determined that each of the acts contained four common factors: (1) the threat of Soviet expansion, (2) significant global events, (3) monetary authorizations, and (4) the attitudes and policies of the current leadership. After analyzing these four factors, the researchers concluded that only three could be determined to shape the U.S. …

The Impact Of Goal Setting And Empowerment On Governmental Matrix Organizations, Stephen R. Corey, Patricea W. Hogan

Theses and Dissertations

The matrix management concept is currently in use by many DoD organizations. Theories of goal setting and empowerment seem to align with some of the responsibilities assumed by matrix project managers. The research problem was to determine whether will-functioning government matrix organizations owe their effectiveness to a project-oriented matrix organization structure, or to good goal setting and empowerment practices by managers. Interviews were conducted at three SPOs at WPAFB and at DLA's DESC and DCSC. Qualitative analysis, including dendrograms and matrix displays were utilized. Conclusions include the following points: Goal Setting is not prominent, but may not be critical in …

Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of The United States Air Force And Selected Unit Vision Statements, Joseph N. Gomes, Quinn A. Gummel

Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the Air Force and subordinate unit vision statements to determine how effectively current Air Force efforts provide vision for Air Force personnel. There were two main parts to the research: a literature review, and a field study of various Air Force units to assess the effectiveness of the Air Force visioning process. A review of the literature revealed the definition, and role, of vision statements, and identified five essential elements for effective vision statements. The elements of effective vision statements were found to be: a clear image of a future end state; a realistic and attainable goal; …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Effects Of Organizational Change To Integrated Product Teams (Ipts) On Employee Attitudes, Joseph A. Paul, Roger D. Stull

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines what effect an organizational change to Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) within a System Program Office (SPO) has on employ attitudes. Chapter One of this study presents the general research problem/issue, pertinent background information, definitions of important terms, investigative questions, limitations of the research, and a general overview of the thesis. Chapter Two describes the IPT (matrix) organizational environment, presents literature establishing the relationship between individual attitudes, motivation, performance, and explores the relationship between IPTs and employee attitudes. Chapter Three presents the methodology used to analyze the SPO's survey data collected before and after implementation of IPTs. Finally, …

A Comparison Of Users' And Providers' Perceptions Of Critical Spacelift Vehicle Characteristics And Capabilities, Dawson S. Oslund, Mark M. Shafer

Theses and Dissertations

This study compares spacelift vehicle users' and providers' perceptions of critical spacelift vehicle characteristics and capabilities. The researchers conducted a mail survey of military, commercial, and civil spacelift vehicle users and providers to determine a criticality rating for each of the 22 characteristics and capabilities identified through a literature review. Primary results of the study indicate: (1) the three most critical characteristics and capabilities are reliability, launch cost, and resilience; (2) the three least critical characteristics and capabilities are man-rateable, reusability, and gross lift-off weight; (3) only launch cost has a significantly different mean 'criticality rating among spacelift vehicle users …

Computer Simulation Study Of The Joint Deployment Of The 23rd Wing And 82nd Airborne Division From Pope Air Force Base, John B. Prechtel, Mark S. Wingreen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis produced a model of the Army airdrop segment of the Pope AFB deployment system. The original intent was to model the entire system and simulate the simultaneous deployment of the 23rd Wing and 82nd Airborne Division; however, time constraints and incomplete data forced a reduction in scope. The study provides an excellent foundation for further research into the use of simulation to develop a generalized deployment sizing model. The airdrop segment of the system was modeled using the researcher's personal observations of the system, the expertise of personnel who work within the system, and documentation of the problems …

A Test Of The Theory Of Reasoned Action At The Group Level Of Analysis, Thomas A. Fitch, Edward A. Mccarty

Theses and Dissertations

A vast array of studies exist which have sought to explore the relationships between behavioral intentions, job satisfaction, turnover and performance at the individual level of analysis. Recent efforts to move to the group level of analysis have shown some promise, but few exist. The crux of the issue under consideration here was whether or not there was utility in treating attitude-intention-behavior linkages as group level phenomena. Both Schneider (1987) and George (1990' contend that, while individual analysis cannot be discounted as a means of understanding behavior, there is also value in examining group-level phenomena. The purpose of this study …

A Study Of Usn Aircrew Attitudes Regarding Technology's Ability To Replace The Naval Flight Officer On Typical Combat Missions Carrier Based Aircraft Are Tasked To Perform, Robert E. Britt, William J. Cain

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed survey responses of 290 Navy pilots and Naval flight officers (NFOs) regarding their perceptions of technology's ability to replace the NFO in typical combat missions carrier-based aircraft are tasked to perform. The study is a follow-on to a similar USAF effort conducted with pilots. The objective of this study is to provide operator input to the critical crew complement issue. These missions vary significantly in complexity and in demands placed on the aircrew. The survey instrument and analysis methods were designed to detect and evaluate these differences. The USAF study concluded that-the perception of a requirement for …

A Grammar Sketch Of Dəməna, Cindy S. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a description of the morphology and syntax of Dəməna, a Chibchan language of northern Colombia. Dəməna is an SOV language with postpositions and genitive-nominal, noun-adjective word orders.

Unusual features of Dəməna include: case marking suffixes which occur as phrasal affixes, a fusion of person marking and deixis in verbal suffixes, and interaction of temporal and special deixis on question suffixes.

Dəməna exhibits more agreement than would be expected. Causative constructions may contain two different direct object person agreement prefixes side by side on a single verb. In cases of advancement to direct object, the same argument may …

Perception Of Leadership Style And Job Satisfaction, Carlos Holgado

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between the perception of leadership behaviors, self-perception (managers and supervisors) vs. perception of others (staff members), and the level of job satisfaction of those staff members will be analyzed.

The main focus of the present study is to determine what the relationship is among the four basic leadership behaviors - Telling, Selling, Participating, and Delegating- based on the Situational Leadership theory (Hersey and Blanchard, 1974, 1982) perceived by staff members, and job satisfaction in terms of work, pay, opportunities for promotion, supervision style, relationship with coworkers-workers-workers-workers, and job in general according to the Job Satisfaction theory developed by …

Understanding The Nature Of Bureaucracy: An Integration Of The Organizational And Public Choice Approaches, Rodney G. Vernon

Theses and Dissertations

Bureaucracy is a term that has taken on different meanings in the academic literature since its inception. Vincent de Gournay first coined the term during the eighteenth century to describe the illnesses of rule by officials. Since that time, the term has evolved in organizational theory to describe a form of rational hierarchical organization in the public and private sector and at the same time, the public choice school describes it as a class of institution associated with inefficiency. This study reviews the literature on bureaucracy and incorporates the insights of Austrian economic theory on information, rules, and uncertainty to …

A Statistical Analysis Of Terrorism And Instability In Latin America, Juan A. Hurtado

Theses and Dissertations

In this research the effect of socioeconomic factors on terrorism and government instability in Latin America are studied. A commonly held opinion is that terrorism and instability are caused by repressive conditions. The objective of this research was to generate a methodology to forecast terrorism and instability given certain socioeconomic indicators. This methodology was generated for individual countries, two groups of countries, and a composite developing country. A set of 28 socioeconomic factors were evaluated and reduced based on correlation analysis. Patterns of terrorism and instability were investigated through data analysis and factor analysis. Multiple regression was used to develop …

Report Of Developed Services In The El Pinalito Village Of The Chiquimula Municipality, Department Of Chiquimula, Fredy Samuel Coronado López

Theses and Dissertations

This paper reports on efforts to improve socioeconomic conditions and natural resource use in the El Pina lito community, department of Chiquimula, Guatemala. Students participating in supervised practical training at Centro Universitario de Oriente/Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (CUNORI) developed projects to address these issues. A general diagnostic instrument was created for this community to assist in the development of specific work projects. Students prepared community first-aid kits, agricultural activities with school children, and instructional sessions with farmers on how to prepare a family garden and efficiently manage domestic animals. Other activities included ornamental tree preparation for female participants …

Measuring Press Release Placement From Brigham Young University's Public Communications Office To Utah's Newspapers, Gregory T. Kunde

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a replication of a study conducted at Oklahoma State University in 1986. This study measures the percentage of Brigham Young University press releases published in Utah newspapers during a four month period in 1989. The results of the two studies are analyzed and compared.

Additionally, personal interviews were conducted with thirty Utah newspaper editors to help determine any additional factors that may affect publishing decisions among Utah's newspaper editors.

Employment And Happiness Among Mormon And Non-Mormon Mothers In Utah, Kimberly Grace Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of maternal employment status on the happiness and/or unhappiness of married Utah women with children were studied. The independent variables were employment status, age, and denomination. Covariates were health, husbands income, and number of children. Denominational differences were not found to impact happiness, but age and employment status were related to happiness, with non-employed and younger mothers being happier.

The Diffusion Of Public Defenders In Virginia: A Study In Organization Adaption And The Relationships Between Values, Decisionmaking Processes, And Organizational Output, Cyril Woodvil Miller, Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Research into indigent defense issues has shown that the growth in the use of public defenders has been accompanied by increased bureaucratization and has paralleled the expansion of the right to counsel and the "due process revolution." The goal of this research is the development and testing of a model of organization adaptation which explains for public defender offices in Virginia the evolution of multiple and contradictory organizational goals, the means by which they balance conflicting values and goals, and the effect of resulting decision making processes on organizational output. The basic research question addressed is the relationship between values, …

Inservice Training And Accessing Knowledge: The Perceived Needs Of Parents And Educators Of Children With Special Needs In North Dakota, Randal W. Eckart

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose and procedure. The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed analysis of needs assessment data regarding inservice training and accessing knowledge as perceived by parents, special education teachers, general education teachers, related services providers, and administrators in the state of North Dakota. These five groups were surveyed by the Bureau of Educational Services and Applied Research at the University of North Dakota. Resulting data were statistically analyzed utilizing frequency distributions and percentages to identify perceived needs for accessing knowledge or skills in special education and inservice training.

Conclusions and recommendations. Educators prioritized concerns over programming and instruction …

A Study Of Ninth Grade Students' Satisfaction With School And Self-Esteem In Two Grade Organization Patterns, Marcia Jane Brokenik Fivizzani

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on ninth grade students attending school in two grade organization patterns, 7 through 9 and 9 through 12. Students' satisfaction levels with school as measured by the NASSP Student Satisfaction Survey and students' self-esteem measures on the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory were assessed to determine whether a relationship between grade organization, gender, satisfaction with school, and self-esteem existed. Ninth graders from one upper midwest community who attended a four-year high school (N=317) or a 7 through 9 junior high school

Findings revealed that both schools scored within the average range on all subscales of the Student Satisfaction Survey. …

A Morphophonology Of Komo: Non-Tonal Phenomena, John Paul Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Komo, a sub-Bantu language spoken in northeastern Zaire, exhibits a number of interesting interactions between the morphology and phonology during the process of word derivation. A framework using parametric rule description, underrepresentation of morphemes, and lexical phonology is used in describing non-tonal phenomena of the language. Use of this framework results in optimalizing the description of lexical entries and simplifying the derivation of forms exhibiting complex phonological alternations. Complete paradigms of verbs in a number of tense-aspect-mood configurations are included, even though they may go beyond the requirements of the analysis. This brings to light a language that has not …

Congress And Early Federalist Military Policy: An Examination Of Defense Related Roll Calls In The Second United States Congress, 1792-1793, Elbert S. Barker Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The legislators of the Second United States House of Representatives faced a set of challenging military and political problems when they met in November 1791. The issue of what would be the primary means of the young nation's defense had not yet been determined. The old British and colonial precedents of a militia as the first line of defense were firmly rooted in the minds of most congressmen meeting in Philadelphia. Many of the legislators had been indelibly imprinted with a fear of a large standing army in peacetime from their own personal experiences in the pre-Revolutionary days. Many of …

A Comparison Of Computer And Paper Media In Psychological Testing, Anthony C. Hensley, Timothy R. Morris

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined differences based on computer and paper modes of administration in psychological testing. The hypotheses tested were the expectations that scores on the computer Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) would be higher than the paper version and subjects would report higher levels on the computer Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) scales. A counterbalance experimental design with two experimental groups was used. The subjects were volunteers from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) and Wright State University (WSU); 90 subjects completed the study. This included 75 students from AFIT and 15 from WSU; 69 subjects were male and 21 were …

Examination Of Psychological Type And Preferred Negotiation Tactics And Strategies Of Contract Negotiators, John P. Hebert, Alan J. Meade

Theses and Dissertations

This research identified the psychological types of government and industry contract negotiators and determined whether their preference for using negotiation tactics and strategies were correlated with their respective psychological types. A survey consisting of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and a questionnaire concerning use of negotiation tactics and strategies was mailed to 2,000 contracting professionals of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA). During May and June 1992, 627 usable surveys were received. The MBTI results were paired with the responses to the negotiation tactics and strategies questionnaire. These results were analyzed on a microcomputer using the DBase IV, Excel, and …

Cultural Resources Management In The United States Air Force: Development Of A Planning Primer, Steven R. Becker, Russell R. Hula

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to produce a USAF base-level primer for use as a guide to requirements, standards, and procedures concerning the preservation of cultural resources. Cultural resources include buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that have significant scientific, historic, or cultural value. The research had two major objectives: (1) Identify existing sources of cultural resource information through a review of legal requirements, regulations, USAF policy documents, and other sources such as data bases. (2) Produce a 'cultural resources management primer' after identifying the appropriate characteristics of a primer. This product could then be used by novice personnel …

Analysis Of U. S. Military Mobilizations, Demobilizations, And Peacetime Force Maintenance From 1890 To 1991, Gottfried Kloimwieder, Noel P. Owen

Theses and Dissertations

Military manpower management principles and policies are in constant flux as the military forces mobilize and demobilize during periods of war and peace. This study identifies trends in U.S. military manpower policies and procedures from 1890 to 1991. Major military conflicts reviewed are the Spanish- American War, World wars I and II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. In all wars until Vietnam, post war active duty forces were larger than prewar forces. However, these active duty forces tended to be relatively small until the Cold War period. This tendency is driven by a combination …

Nasa And Logistics-A Match For The 21st Century, Stephan P. Brady, Jay R. Jennings

Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluated current NASA organizational and logistical strategy processes to compare them with current academic theory and make recommendations to improve the processes. Various strategy theories were explored, resulting in a model synthesizing the various elements. The organizational, cultural, and political environment surrounding NASA was studied. Personal interviews were conducted and various NASA strategic plans and other documents were analyzed. From these activities emerged six recommendations: (1) Create a formal strategy process for NASA logistics (and NASA), (2) Tie logistics strategies directly to organizational strategies/goals, (3) Get logisticians from different functions/programs/centers to crossflow information, (4) Identify redundancies in logistics …