Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
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Item DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO SERVING TOGETHER: DUAL MILITARY COUPLES' LIFE COURSE AND DECISION-MAKING(2010) Smith, David Glenn; Segal, Mady W; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The increase in the number and types of military families since the advent of the All-Volunteer Force in 1973 has increased the impact of the work-family interface for the military. For dual career couples, where both the husband and wife are in the military, both are subject to deployment for extended periods of time, high geographic mobility, probability of a foreign residence, the risk of injury or death, and they must manage two specialized and structured career paths (Segal 1986). The purpose of this study is to analyze the work careers and family life course of dual military couples and their decision-making processes, using a life course perspective. Using a grounded theory methodology, I interviewed and analyzed the transcripts of 23 dual military officer couples in the U.S. Navy. Results show that work and family decisions are influenced by the organizational constraints as well as institutional and cultural norms. The rhythm of life in the Navy is shaped by cyclic changing of job assignments and locations, rotation of sea and shore duty assignments, warfare specialty career paths designed for promotion, and the cultural fast track. These couples' experiences in trying to live together with collocated job assignments shape their long-term decision-making for maintaining a career in the Navy. Their experiences show that the organization's demands and far-reaching control are infused into every aspect of their lives. Couples' discourse is focused on their human agency in an effort to maintain control of their life course while meeting the organizational demands of rigid and structured career paths, increased number of sea duty tours and deployments, and perceived low priority of collocation in the assignment process. Dual career couples in this organization use a long-term perspective of the life course to cope with their current situation with the knowledge that their life satisfaction will improve in the near future as they progress in their career. These couples adapt by employing work-family prioritization strategies for achieving their personal and professional goals. Learning how to successfully combine and separate roles through these prioritization strategies reduces stress and increases life satisfaction.Item Do Lesbians in the Military Pass as Heterosexual?(2010) Bonner, Kimberly Bridget; Segal, David R.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This exploratory multiple-case case study investigates if lesbians in the military, past and present, manage to "pass" as heterosexual. This project is designed with the aim of enabling new questions about old problems regarding gender and sexuality within American military culture. Data come from two sources comprised of seventy-three interviews with military lesbians from three previously published works and five face-to-face interviews with active duty lesbians conducted by the author between 2007 and 2008. Lesbians in the military are centralized here in this multiple-case case study because they are both "women" and "homosexuals" participating in an institution that has had historically tense relationships with members of both of these social groups. This project pays specific attention to non-gender conforming lesbians in the military and argues that this group in particular potentially stands to shed light on how both gender and sexual norms operate within both American society and military culture.Item Simulating and Optimizing: Military Manpower Modeling and Mountain Range Options(2009) Hall, Andrew Oscar; Fu, Michael C; Business and Management: Decision & Information Technologies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In this dissertation we employ two different optimization methodologies, dynamic programming and linear programming, and stochastic simulation. The first two essays are drawn from military manpower modeling and the last is an application in finance. First, we investigate two different models to explore the military manpower system. The first model describes the optimal retirement behavior for an Army officer from any point in their career. We address the optimal retirement policies for Army officers, incorporating the current retirement system, pay tables, and Army promotion opportunities. We find that the optimal policy for taste-neutral Lieutenant Colonels is to retire at 20 years. We demonstrate the value and importance of promotion signals regarding the promotion distribution to Colonel. Signaling an increased promotion opportunity from 50% to 75% for the most competitive officers switches their optimal policy at twenty years to continuing to serve and competing for promotion to Colonel. The second essay explores the attainability and sustainability of Army force profiles. We propose a new network structure that incorporates both rank and years in grade to combine cohort, rank, and specialty modeling without falling into the common pitfalls of small cell size and uncontrollable end effects. This is the first implementation of specialty modeling in a manpower model for U.S. Army officers. Previous specialty models of the U.S. Army manpower system have isolated accession planning for Second Lieutenants and the Career Field Designation process for Majors, but this is the first integration of rank and specialty modeling over the entire officer's career and development of an optimal force profile. The last application is drawn from financial engineering and explores several exotic derivatives that are collectively known Mountain Range options, employing Monte Carlo simulation to price these options and developing gradient estimates to study the sensitivities to underlying parameters, known as "the Greeks". We find that IPA and LR/SF methods are efficient methods of gradient estimation for Mountain Range products at a considerably reduced computation cost compared with the commonly used finite difference methods.Item EXAMINING FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH LEADERSHIP SELF-EFFICACY IN COLLEGE STUDENT MILITARY PROGRAMS(2009) Wilson, Wendy L; Kurotsuchi Inkelas, Karen; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current study examined the relationship between college experiences and socially responsible leadership with leadership self-efficacy for students who participate in military education programs. This study applied the social change model for leadership development, SCM, as the theoretical lens through which a socially responsible leadership process was understood in these programs. In addition, Astin's (1991) college impact model was applied to the design of the study in order to understand the relationship between involvement measures and leadership self-efficacy, an outcome of military education programs. This ex post facto study was a secondary analysis of data collected through the 2006 administration of the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL). The MSL provided a national sample of 1413 students who indicated involvement in a military student group. These military education programs were defined broadly and included participation in Corps of Cadets and ROTC students. The findings of this study indicate significant differences between students who participate in military education programs and other college students in terms of leadership self-efficacy. Military students indicated greater efficacy for leadership even when differences in background were accounted for. Second, the values of socially responsible leadership and leadership self-efficacy were positively correlated for students who participate in military education programs. Finally, the conceptual model designed for this study to understand leadership self-efficacy for military students was able to explain 49% of the variance in the criterion variable. Several factors significantly contributed to leadership self-efficacy, including demographic characteristics, a leadership self-efficacy quasi-pre-test, academic classification, leadership experiences, and socially responsible leadership. The study provided support for leadership self-efficacy as an outcome for students who participate in military education programs, and the use of socially responsible leadership as a means to understand leadership self-efficacy for this population. The study also identified areas of the campus environment that might be incorporated and developed further within military education programs in order to take full advantage of the college environment.Item Mandated Change and Gendered Organizational Culture: A Content Analysis of Graduate Perceptions of the U.S. Air Force Academy's Agenda for Change(2009) De Angelis, Karin Kristine; Segal, Mady W.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Women are a token group at the United States Air Force Academy and by extension within the social networks of Academy graduates. Using Kanter's theory on the effects of proportions on group culture, I complete a qualitative content analysis of the public discourse surrounding the removal of the words "Bring Me Men..." from an Academy ramp in response to the 2003 sexual assault scandal. The vast majority of male graduates and all of the female graduates publicly opposed the decision to remove the words. I observe three phenomena in the public discourse in line with Kanter's theorized process of boundary heightening: loyalty tests, exaggeration of the dominant's culture, and the use of formal in-group recognitions as reminders of difference between the dominants and the tokens. Both the dominants and the tokens failed to consider alleged sexual assault claims and whether these claims had connections to USAFA's organizational culture.Item Commanding Men and Machines: Admiralship, Technology, and Ideology in the 20th Century U.S. Navy(2008-08-05) Hagerott, Mark Regan; Sumida, Jon T; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation engages the important historical and sociological question: how do organizations develop leaders? As technological complexity increased, the military struggled to produce leaders who could understand technology and yet integrate the operations of disparate parts of large organizations. In the late 20th century, the senior leader model in the U.S. military shifted from a 'generalist' to what can be described as a 'technical specialist' model. The commanding elite that resulted have been criticized as overly technical in orientation, and the system of leader development has been subject to several reform efforts. Missing from the reform debates is an historical understanding of how and why the officer system changed. This study contributes to the history by exploring the shift in U.S. Navy leader models from 'generalist' to 'technical specialist'. It is widely believed in military circles that the shift in leadership models from 'generalist' to 'specialist' was natural, an inevitable consequence of technological change. Among scholars, the shift in the U.S. Navy from 'generalist' to 'specialist' is typically associated with aviation, circa 1935-47. This dissertation challenges these notions. The shift in leader models was not fated by technology, but was the result of highly contingent bureaucratic battles fought between general line officers (generalists) and nuclear reactor specialists for control of the development of young officers. Chance events-- in particular, the sinking of USS THRESHER-- also shaped officer policy. This study argues that for six decades--from 1899 to 1963-- navy leadership affirmed the 'generalist' as the preferred model for commander. But in the 1960s the Navy abandoned the 'generalist' model. Admiral H.G. Rickover was largely responsible for the change. In the space of a decade, Rickover restructured assignment and education processes to produce technically expert officers for his nuclear machines. Naval Academy admissions criteria and curricula were changed such that specialized technical majors replaced general degrees and universal language education. The restructured processes encouraged officers to value specialized technical expertise over general knowledge, that is, integrated operational, strategic, and cultural knowledge. Aviators and surface officers followed Rickover's cue and by the 1970s adopted more specialized models of development for their respective officers.Item Breaking Through the Brass Ceiling: Elite Military Women's Strategies for Success(2007-11-27) Iskra, Darlene Marie; Segal, Mady W.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)People who rise to the top of any organization must have a dedication and determination that distinguishes them from their co-workers. White men historically have held these positions due to discriminatory practices by employers, protectionist legislation, and social constructs about their leadership capabilities and motivation. Inroads into these elite positions are being made, however, both in the corporate world and in the military, by women and minority men. This study examines the women who have risen to the top of a masculine institution, and the strategies they used to "break through the brass ceiling" and become General and Flag Officers. Data were collected through several methods, including content analysis of their military biographies, self-administered surveys, and selected interviews. Results generally indicate that the women overcame the challenges they faced and took advantage of opportunities that arose. They rarely said "no" to a challenge; they did not question their ability to succeed simply due to gender, and they overwhelmingly had a positive attitude and loved the military institution. However, the ability for the women to navigate the masculine organization of the military would not have been possible without a vibrant support system, which included mentors, and supportive spouses and family. Mentorship was an important factor in the women's ability to navigate the system; mentors provided career guidance, opened opportunities, and provided personal support and advice when needed. Many also had an active family life. This was especially true for those in the Reserves; family formation was the most obvious difference between Regular and Reserve respondents. Results primarily varied by cohort, with earlier cohorts limited by institutional and legislative impediments to both their professional and family lives. This research is sociologically important because it helps to fill the gap in knowledge about the situations and behaviors that lead to career success for executive women. It is limited in that it looks only at the women in these elite positions and does not compare these findings with male generals and admirals or to women who did not rise to these levels. Suggestions for further research are provided.Item Sheathing the Sword of Damocles: Assessing Al Qaeda and Devising a US Response(2007-12-18) McGrath, Kevin; Schreurs, Miranda; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Al Qaeda killed over 3,000 US citizens on September 11, 2001, and terrorism leapt to the fore of US strategic and political priorities. Yet, after nearly six year of concerted effort by the United States, the dominant power in the international system, Al Qaeda survives and is still acknowledged as a potent threat. This begs the question not just of why, but of what the United States can do to redress the situation. This dissertation seeks answers by examining the four key aspects of Al Qaeda that enable it function as a successful terrorist entity - strategy, organization, financing, and politics. These factors area analyzed relative to the dynamics of the phenomenon of terrorism in the US-Al Qaeda struggle. For each variable, Al Qaeda's perspective and efforts, as well as the perspective and efforts of the United States, are scrutinized. This dissertation assesses Al Qaeda is primarily a political threat, not a military one. Terrorists subvert legitimate political processes to achieve political ends. Al Qaeda challenges not only specific US political decisions, but also the very nature of the US political system, a classical liberal democracy, and the nature of the US-created post World War II international order. The character of the US political response is critical. As such, this dissertation concludes that US efforts to combat such a threat cannot be limited solely to a hard power approach. Such a component must be present in US strategy, for it alone directly degrades Al Qaeda's capacity for violence, the source of its power. The US approach must, however, include a greater emphasis on the US-Al Qaeda struggle's political dimension. The political aspect both drives the conflict and frames its execution, thus shaping the possible outcomes in both the near and far term. Fortunately, as the leader of the international system, the United States is in a position to politically undercut Al Qaeda. The United States can do so by adhering to globally revered traditional US political values and foreign policy emphases - the rule of law, a participatory political system emphasizing the importance of international institutions, and democratic values, such as human rights - in not just the execution, but also the formulation of US policy. The potential impact is significant. Internally, manipulating the US-Al Qaeda struggle's political dimension in accordance with traditional US values can weaken Al Qaeda's internal cohesion. Externally, the United States can narrow Al Qaeda's room for maneuver by depriving it of political support, thus strategically degrading Al Qaeda's operational capability. In the process, the United States will also stunt the terrorism process's subversive effects on the United States' political character. In short, addressing the US-Al Qaeda struggle's political dimension in a manner consistent with traditional US political values ensures US political integrity while also yielding national advantage.