Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Military geography – Case studies'

This study aimed to answer the following question: What is the transformative learning process, if any, undergone by soldiers who apply for status as a conscientious objector? Answers to this question were sought through a comparative case study that involved four soldiers who while serving in the military during the Iraq War applied for status as conscientious objectors. Semi-structured interviews, documents submitted by soldiers involved in the study while in the military, archival data, and autobiographical material, both written and documented through audio-visual media, were used as data sources to inform each of these cases.

The case study methodology was selected for its exploratory capacity, as it can provide rich insight into the attitudes, beliefs and worldviews of the study’s participants by triangulating multiple sources of data. The researcher used semi-structured interviews to elicit openness of response by the participants, allowing for a process of discovery. Data analysis involved extraction of themes and statements that represented each individual’s thought process and experiences that contributed to his decision to apply for status as a conscientious objector. The themes and statements elicited from the study’s subjects were then evaluated from a transformative learning theory framework as developed by Mezirow (1991) to identify the degree to which the individuals underwent a transformative learning process.

Findings of this study indicated themes extracted from narratives of the four participants that could be categorized within Mezirow’s 10 phases of the transformative learning process. A disorienting dilemma was present within all participants’ interviews and rational discourse was the theme least reflected within the narratives. Each of the participants engaged in reflective thinking in making his decision to apply for status as a conscientious objector and then took action in submitting his application. Of interest is that each entered a period of participation in activism, which over time subsided. However, despite departure from participation in activism a change in worldview related to conflict resolution remained. Participants’ enlistments stemmed from a combination of factors including lack of employment opportunities prior to joining, family tradition, desire for structure, the desire to help others, family dynamics and a sense of patriotic duty and security within communities.

This exploratory research provided a starting point for potential future research within peace studies. Follow up inquiry may include further qualitative research into the experiences of soldiers who join the anti-war movement after completion of their term of enlistment.

This thesis examines the role of women geographers and cartographers during World War II and their post-war careers. Like the celebrated Rosie the Riveters, who worked in the heavy defense industry during the war, the largely unknown women mapmakers, or Millie the Mappers, were also indispensable to the war effort. In my research, I attempt to dispel the widely held belief and argument that almost all of the women who worked during World War II were forced to forfeit their positions to the returning veterans at the end of the war, as experienced by the Rosie the Riveters. This study will also refute the claims that the employment gains made by women in the workforce during the war were not permanent and it will illustrate that the women mapmakers thrived as a result of their wartime work experiences and, in fact, advanced in their careers.

By researching, identifying, analyzing, and developing seven case studies of women cartographers and geographers, this thesis will bring to light via primary sources the roles these women played during the war and their many and significant accomplishments to the war effort. In addition to having very successful careers during the war, these women retained their jobs or found new positions at the same or higher levels in the post-war era. They did not have to take other jobs at reduced pay or status as experienced by most of the women who worked in the defense industries.

My research shows that a large factor in the women mapmakers being able to retain their jobs was a result of their high level of education; professionalism; relevant work experience; technical skills; foreign language proficiency; and the nature of the jobs in the mapmaking profession. In addition, the fields of geography and cartography were transformed during the war with new processes and technologies for map production. Furthermore, intelligence and information gathering, which are part of the research and mapmaking process, assumed a critical role during World War II and the post-war years when the United States was thrust into the Cold War. There continued to be a need for maps and intelligence information, as well as mapmaking personnel, by the expanding Federal Government to plan strategy in foreign and geopolitical matters.

Leadership encompasses all types of organizations including for profit, not-for-profit, government agencies, and the U. S. military. The U. S. Army requires its leaders to provide leadership at the direct, organizational and strategic level in a variety of situations from preparing to deploy to combat, actions in combat, redeployment and continuing the cycle for the next deployment. Senior U. S. Army leaders identified that leadership development is a priority for the future. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study, which included 15 voluntary participants, was to understand if the U. S. Army's organizational leadership development process based on the 2012 revisions in leadership doctrine be improved based on the opinions and experiences of prior military leaders, and the analysis of U. S. Army doctrine, regulations and prior leadership surveys. Thirteen themes emerged answering the 3 research questions that included 6 attributes, 4 competencies, and 3 improvements to training and education. The attributes included the combined experiences, lessons learned, and history to make decisions. Other attributes of importance were flexibility, critical thinking skills, ethical leadership, self-development, and becoming a mentor. Competencies were sense-making, understanding leadership doctrine and its implementation, ability to prioritize requirements at the organizational level, and enforcing counseling standards. Improvements were to identify problems and recommend change, talent management, and fostering organizational change. The U. S. Army leadership development is marginally sufficient for leadership development; however, necessary revisions and changes to processes be developed and implemented to strengthen the organizational leadership development outcomes for the U. S. Army.

The study explored whether the U.S. Marine Corps’ Basic Officer Course (BOC) creates a Marine Corps cultural identity within officers and how the acculturation process functions. The Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Communities of Practice (CoP) serve as the theoretical foundation for this study because identity is an integral aspect of both SIT and CoP. The researcher used a constructivist approach to identify and interpret the value-laden meanings and influencers of a Marine Corps cultural identity expressed by the participants. Since the study explored the perspectives of the participant group, the researcher determined a case study was the most fitting form of qualitative research. The research revealed that change, culture, adherence to behavioral norms, continual development, and cultural identity were themes expressed by every participant. Participant input showed the influence that cultural lore (Marine Corps history) has on the acculturation process. The study also refined the conceptual framework used for this research, which resulted in the researcher developing the Manufactured Culture Model (MCM). Recommendations for further study include: 1) the influence of gender on the acculturation process, 2) exploring any influences the Marine Corps’ acculturation process has (if any) on individuals that fail during the screening process, and 3) examine the dynamics of interactions among the Marine Corps’ culture and a Marine’s culture of origin.

Problem. As demonstrated by strategic miscalculations since World War II, national security and military strategy development often do not integrate understanding of a range of possible future conditions in the national security environment. Scholarly research lacks examination of the role foreseeing plays in strategy development in the national security, or military, context. Foreseeing as a cognitive process, to include its application in sectors other than the national security establishment, is a much-discussed but not empirically researched topic within the strategy and management fields.

Research question. This study addressed one primary research question: How does the process of foreseeing possible future conditions inform development of national security strategy?

Method. This research was a case study of foreseeing, viewed as it occurred within the organizational strategy development process initiated by the commanding officer of a large U.S. military organization and key senior members of his staff. The researcher conducted interviews of the commander and his staff, observed a strategy review session, and reviewed working documents and published strategy documents produced by the organization.

Conclusions. The study resulted in three conclusions. The first and most fundamental conclusion was that foreseeing was observed in this case of strategy development through eight properties that describe the foreseeing process, and they were dynamically interrelated to generate enactive inputs to strategic decision making. Next, the data clearly illustrated that foreseeing was shaped by several factors, including individual characteristics of the participants, external environmental conditions, and internal aspects of the organization that impacted the organization’s strategic resource allocation decisions. Finally, foreseeing and sensemaking, as described by Dr. Karl Weick and his colleagues over several years, are inextricably linked as distinct but complementary processes; foreseeing is sensemaking forward.

Mentorship in the workplace is a critical component of leader development that benefits both the individual and organization. While the United States Army’s mentorship program takes an informal approach to initiating mentoring connections, active mentorship is an expectation of all leaders. Women in the army remain underrepresented in the senior ranks, creating a situation that may lead to more limited opportunities for the female-to-female interactions that would result in a diverse mentoring experience. This qualitative case study explored the mentoring experiences of a purposive sample of interviews with 10 women officers assigned to Brigade Combat Teams while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Results were analyzed using two cycles of inductive coding and pattern-matching techniques. The six themes that emerged provide insight into the conditions and mechanisms that may create more effective professional mentoring relationships for military leaders.

Key Words: female mentoring, women’s mentorship, United States Army officers, U.S. Army officers, leader development, qualitative

When a crisis captures the attention of a nation and the world community, the questions are always Why did it happen and How did it happen. Such an event was revealed on April 28, 2004 with a report on CBS's 60 Minute II and in an article by Seymour Hersh posted online in the New Yorker magazine April 30, 2004. The event was the detainee abuse by U.S. Army soldiers at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. The abuse occurred between late 2003 and early 2004, and the story shook the U.S. government and the coalition partners who helped the United States bring down the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. This case study examined how the detainee abuse occurred and why the detainee abuse occurred by applying the theory of practical drift to the events in Iraq. However, the study revealed that while the abuse was conducted in Iraq the forces and causes were not confined to Iraq. The forces that contributed to the breakdown in soldier discipline in Iraq were the result of leadership and doctrinal decisions made decades earlier and governmental decisions made to fight the War on Terror. The study also identified stages of practical drift that illustrate how practical drift occurs in organizations. The case study avoided dealing with the actual events of the detainee abuse but concentrated on the elements that contributed to setting the conditions for the abuse. Practical drift in the war fighting doctrine development of the U.S. Army and the policies adopted by the U.S. administration to fight the War on Terror were causes of the detainee abuse identified in the case study. Individual behavioral traits of dismissive responsibility and deflected responsibility also contributed to practical drift and ultimately the detainee abuse.

The war on terror after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, continues to include ongoing efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries in which the military serve and protect. Active-duty members of the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard continue to serve in these hazardous zones to minimize war crimes where families are left behind. With the necessity of military deployments, issues of psychological, emotional, and behavioral tribulations surrounding the children of deployed active-duty members are observed. The purpose of the qualitative study was to explore schoolteacher’s perceptions about effective actions taken to enhance the performance of children and the classroom environment, while the children were coping with their active-duty parent’s deployment. The sample included elementary schoolteachers and administrators that taught in the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) in Belgium who have had parents of their students deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hazardous zone areas. The research question asked: When observed behaviors are identified in relation to parental deployment, how do effective actions taken mitigate behavioral problems and enhance the classroom learning environment? The qualitative explorative case study aided in identifying and understanding schoolteachers’ perceptions about effective actions taken to enhance the performance of children and the classroom environment while children were coping with their active-duty parent’s deployment. This critical situation for children showed stressful and coping challenges and an imposed hardship on the children’s customary way of living and participation in the school environment.

Military organizations are often called upon to assist with emergency management missions, so it is critical that they have appropriately established and well understood organizational perceptual factors. Military organizations are often unique within a nation, which increases the challenge for scholars to effectively analyze how organizational factors are influenced by the dynamics of national use of military forces for emergency management missions. There are several disparate theories of government organization, but the most recent and relevant is Keith James' organizational science of disaster and terrorism prevention and response theory. James' theory identified several important organizational factors specific to emergency management organizations. These factors include organizational structure and networks, processes, teams, leadership, and technology. James' organizational factors guided the development of this qualitative comparative case study's interview protocol with 24 members from the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of the United States National Guard and Israeli Homefront Command. Results revealed why two nations use their military forces for disaster response as well as provided a description of how each organization is used within their respective nation. The data affirmed aspects of James' theory, including relevant structural, networking, and procedural factors and identified the other organizational factors within James' theory as possible areas for future research. Finally, based upon interview participant perceptions, recommendations were made to the leadership of the Homefront Command and National Guard regarding areas of potential organizational emphasis to include internal messaging, additional doctrine, and clarified organizational structures for disaster response.

Passage of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of combat-experienced veterans enrolling in institutions of higher learning. While these student-veterans bring unique perspectives to the classroom, they also face many challenges to their educational pursuits. Few educators are aware of how the effects of trauma or recalling combat experiences might support or hinder adult learning in the cognition, emotion, and social dimensions of learning. This qualitative multiple case study explored how combat experiences supported or hindered learning by graduate-level student-veterans within the content of the curriculum, as an incentive to learn the content of the curriculum, and for facilitating social interactions within the learning environment. Semi-structured interviews described how student-veterans perceived the use of their combat experiences within these three dimensions of learning. Ten purposefully drawn participants from graduate-level student-veteran volunteers attending the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas described a variety of military and educational experiences. Data were analyzed and coded using qualitative data analysis software to reveal themes within the perceptions of the participants and across participant cases. All participants described how their combat experiences supported their learning; eight of 10 described how their combat experiences hindered their learning. Themes supported the theoretical proposition that combat experiences could support student learning through the cognitive, emotional, and social interactions of student-veterans with the curriculum and other students. Participants also described how combat experiences and the military lifestyle could hinder learning in all three dimensions suggesting educators should consider adjusting instructional approaches for some student-veterans. Negative cases to the themes were reported. The study added to an understanding of Illeris' learning theory and the application of contemporary adult education models with graduate-level student-veterans. Recommendations for use of the findings in the classroom were made. Proposals for further research included case studies of student-veterans who have experienced flashbacks during instruction, student-veterans at the graduate and undergraduate level for further comparison, and other traumatized student groups such as law enforcement, medical, and first responders.