A Possible Explanation of the Achievement of Gender and Gender Identity

AbstractThis paper discusses whether a psychological theory referred to as the self-presentation theory may explain how gender and gender identity is developed in an Indian tribe in the Amazon basin. The hypothesis in this paper was that the processes involved in the achievement of a gender identity among the Sharanahua Indians must be understood in relation to their culture and their environment. When it comes to the hypothesis regarding the proposed applicability of the self-presentation theory, it was found to be difficult to apply the theory directly onto the Sharanahua Indians. A conclusion is that one should pay more attention to the social and cultural behavioural aspects of the culture being investigated

Simultaneous decision making: An overview of theories and research results

The aim of this paper is to review empirical findings and explanations relevant to the issue when concurrent decisions are integrated and when they are not integrated. There are few directly related studies. Therefore, the review also covers related phenomena involving the effect of a prior outcome on subsequent decisions, sunk-cost effects, and escalation. An important question emerging from the literature review is the question why integration have been obtained in studies of effects of prior outcomes, sunk cost effects, and escalation, at the same time as this has not been the case with concurrent decisions? One reason may be the existence of mental accounting in these studies. Another is that choices are riskless. An idea for further research is to make subjects being able to think through all possible consequences in a concurrent decision problem. By explicitly illuminating the risk or uncertainty to the subjects, it may be possible to obtain integration in concurrent decisions

Self-awareness in Military Officers with a High Degree of Developmental Leadership

AbstractProblem Statement: Being self-aware about your preferred leadership behavior is important for a military officer. Equally important is getting feedback that indicates how others perceive your leadership behavior. Purpose of Study: To investigate the degree of self-awareness regarding military cadets’ leadership behaviour and how this was correlated with others perceptions of the same leadership behavior. Method: This study was an explorative and descriptive study. 26 cadets at the Norwegian Military Academy filled out the Developmental Leadership Questionnaire (DLQ) measuring their degree of developmental leadership, as well as their degree of transactional leadership and non-leadership. The cadets also had to send the same DLQ to 6-10 commanders, colleagues and subordinates in order to get feedback from them on their leadership behavior. Findings and Results: It was found that the cadets scored themselves lower on both developmental leadership and on the positive parts of transactional leadership and higher on both the negative parts of transactional leadership and on non-leadership as compared to their respondents. Conclusions and Recommendations: In the scores the cadets gave themselves they scored quite high on developmental leadership and on the positive sides of transactional leadership, and quite low on the negative sides of transactional leadership and on non-leadership; one may conclude that they have a high degree of self-awareness. This also indicates that they are developmental leaders although they may not see this as clearly as their respondents do

Lost in Transition: The Dissemination of Digitization and the Challenges of Leading in the Military Educational Organization

Leading change in adult educational organizations is not frequently described in the leadership literature. The education sector in the Norwegian Armed Forces (NAF) is in the middle of an educational reform that requires major changes. More students, fewer teachers and new organization of the studies as well as requirements for an increasingly updated technological expertise may mean that it will be necessary to increase the use of digital teaching aids. However, this is not systematically communicated as part of the reform in the same way as new topics of study. From a teacher's perspective, the most important thing is to safeguard the quality of the education and ensure that important topics do not disappear in a reform. Therefore, one can well imagine that the focus on the purpose of change and the need for active participation is overlooked or not prioritized. Our focus in the process was largely the study content and some concern about the increase in the number of cadets. After completing the first courses in the new education, we were therefore quite surprised that the cadets were asked in the course evaluation whether digital aids had been used in the teaching, As a result, we were inspired to look more closely at what requirements were set and whether more exact plans had been prepared for the introduction of digitization of education as part of the reform process. Since the education reform in the NAF results in such a fundamental change, our perspectives may possibly benefit staffs at other colleges who are going to carry out major change processes. The main goal of this study was to investigate if or how the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research's intention of digitization and its specific primary goals of learning and teaching trickle down through the hierarchies and into the study programs at the Norwegian Military Academy (NMA). To see if the Ministry's intentions were actually understood and realized, as our second aim we investigated whether we found the concepts of digitization or digital tools mentioned in any of the Norwegian Defence University College’s (NDUC) study programs and subject plans for teaching. These intentions cannot be implemented unless they are enshrined in the study programs. As a third aim we also tried to find out whether digitization and digital tools actually had been used in the teaching in the new NAF Basic Officer Education, as this would reflect how the Ministry’s intention of digitization and specific primary goals of learning and teaching had been realized. We used a mixed methods approach in the study as we first investigated documents compiled from the government issued for the university and college sector in Norway, the NAF and the NDUC to see if the overall plan for digitization from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research could be traced. In addition, we investigated the answers that officer cadets had given to questions in three course evaluations related to the use of digital tools in their education. Our three hypotheses were the following: Hypothesis 1: Several of the requirements for digitization have disappeared in the dissemination of the documents from the Ministry to the NAF Basic Officer Education. Hypothesis 2: No plan has been prepared as part of the educational change process for the introduction and implementation of new digital tools in the NAF Basic Officer Education. Hypothesis 3: It is up to the individuals to introduce and implement the use of new digital tools in the NAF Basic Officer Education. We found support for the two first out of our three hypotheses. The latter proved difficult to investigate with the means available, but we will nevertheless discuss some assumptions we have formed, based on the findings that the survey revealed. Hypothesis 3 only received partial support. Finally, the article discusses some leadership challenges that arise from the results we found.Lost in Transition: The Dissemination of Digitization and the Challenges of Leading in the Military Educational OrganizationpublishedVersio

Enhancing the Leadership Communication Skills of Norwegian Military Officers

Background: For military officers it is important to accomplish the mission and to take care of their personnel. The key to knowing how to challenge and support each individual in one’s unit lies in leadership communication and in getting to know each one. Purpose of Study: To discuss the use of guidance as a tool for improving leadership communication skills in officers. Sources of Evidence: The Norwegian Armed Forces needs leaders who can act in their role and position. The challenge is to collect and share information, to create a common situational awareness, and hence to achieve an interaction with others that provides the desired efficiency in accordance with theNorwegian Armed Forces Joint Operational Doctrine. Main argument: The officer needs knowledge and skills in building good relations with others in their own unit. The Norwegian Military Academy teaches guidance as a communication tool in leadership development. This is facilitated through a five-day course in guidance. The interpersonal relationships create a sense of esprit de corps, that is, feelings of loyalty, enthusiasm, devotion to a group, and mutual trust. Guidance helps the officers to learn about themselves and others, their own reaction patterns and those of others, and gives them an understanding of relationships. Conclusion: Dialogue provides an opportunity to reflect on the professional and personal challenges and thoughts. The focus is on facilitating that the individuals being guided increase their will to reflect on their own thought patterns and emotions

Offiserer med høy grad av utviklende lederskap og kompetanse. En studie av kadetter i KSKVK 01/13

Hensikten med denne fagrapporten var å undersøke om andres bedømmelser av kadetter i KSKVK1/2013 sier noe om i hvilken grad kadettene fremstår som utviklende ledere eller ikke. Fagrapporten er en eksplorativ og beskrivende studie. Resultatene fra de deskriptive analysene viste at andre oppfatter kadettene som utviklende ledere, at de skåret høyt på de positive sidene av transaksjonelt lederskap samt at de i lite grad ble oppfattet å utøve ikke-lederskap (la det skure lederskap). De skåret videre lavt på de negative sidene av det transaksjonelle lederskapet, dvs. på bruken av straff og belønning og overkontroll. Videre skåret kadettene høyt på fagkompetanse, sjefskompetanse, sosial kompetanse og på stresshåndteringsevne. Avslutningsvis oppfattet andre at kadettenes lederatferd bidro til gode resultater for den enkeltes hjemmeavdeling.> English summary: The purpose of this report was to investigate whether others judgments of the cadets in KSKVK01/13 could shed some light on whether the cadets appear to been as developmental leaders or not. The report is an explorative and descriptive study. The results from the descriptive analyses revealed that the cadets appeared to be developmental leaders and that they scored high on the positive sides of transactional leadership and they are perceived to have a low degree of laissez faire leadership. Furthermore, they scored low on the negative sides of transactional leadership, that is, the use of punishment and reward and over-control. Furthermore they scored high on subject matter competency, leader competency, social competency and coping with stress. Finally others perceived that the cadet´s leadership behaviour contributed to good results for their respective home units

Leadership challenges for Joint Force commanders during the transition from a high-intensity to a low-intensity conflict

A Joint Force Commander (JFC) leading military joint operations faces several complex challenges. The purpose of this article is to investigate some of the challenges a Joint Force Commander may face when a conflict changes character from being a high-intensity conflict to becoming a low-intensity conflict. Sources of evidence: In connection with command and control, especially issues concerning different cultures and the understanding of this can be the biggest challenge for a Joint Force Commander during the transition to a low intensity conflict as a peace support operation setting. Main argument: Being able to anticipate some of these problems will be essential to a Joint Force Commander's ability to exercise leadership and command and control. Conclusions: Furthermore, target selection and information operations have proven to be two factors that will have a greater importance in the planning and conduct of operations during a transition from a high-intensity conflict to a low-intensity conflict.publishedVersio

Choosing the Elite \u3ci\u3eRecmitment, Assessment, and Selection in Law Enforcement Tactical Teams and Military Special Forces\u3c/i\u3e

In the early morning hours of July 31, 2007, Gazi Abu Mezer and Lafi Khalil, two PcUestinians who had entered the United States after exploiting loopholes in the immigration system. were in the operational phase of a planned suicide bombing of the New York City fransit system. Their weapons: simple pipe bombs with electrical detonating switches packed into knapsacks. Two things would stand in the way of their attempt at martyrdom-their Egyptian roommate and the New York City Fblice Department\u27s Emergency Service Unit (ESU). Mossabah, the roommate, had been taken to the New York Fblice Department\u27s 88th Precinct. When the ESU tour commandex:, a veteran lieutenant arrived at the precinct, he interviewed Mossabah, having him start at the beginning of his recollections, interrupting him for clarifications and details. After digesting what he had heard, the commander began apprising his leadership of the situation and stressing that he believed Mossabah. He then looked at the roster of ESU officers working his shift, from midnight to 8 a.m. The urgency of the situation prohibited him from calling in people from home and handpicking a team to enter the apartment Mossabah shared with the two suspects; he would have to go with those already available. The commander called a sergeant and four police officers and told them to meet him at the precinct. After the five arrived, Mossabah was again asked to tell his stoty from the beginning. They interrupted him with even more questions and requests for clarification and had him draw an extensive diagram of his apartment building\u27s exterior and his apartment\u27s interior, highlighting the locations of the backpacks as well as the spaces Mezer and Khalil normally ocrupied. The commander took his team into another room and devised his tactical plan, giving out assignments as they progressed. The team would exerute a standard dynamic search warrant entry. Mossabah would lead them to the building. and they would enter using his key. The building the team saw upon exiting their vehicle looked nothing like the one Mossabah had sketched at the precinct. Thoughts of an ambush ran through the officers\u27minds. Mossabah then led the team through a narrow alley, at the end of which the team saw a building resembling the one he had drawn. The lead officer, protected by a hand-held body bunker, put the key in the lock, turned it, and opened the door. The team flooded the apartment, yelling. Police! Get down on the floor! The first officer through the door was met by a man who attempted to physically disarm him. The officer fired one shot from his 9-mm pistol, hitting his target. The wounded man stumbled backwards, toward a black canvas bag in the comer of the room. As he flipped one of four toggles on the front of the bag. another officer fired two 5.56-mm rounds into him, and he crumpled into a comer of the room. As the team pressed on, a second man in another room lunged toward a backpack in a comer. Two shots from an officer\u27s pistol dropped him before he could reach it. The entry was over in less than ninety seconds. Both men were taken into rustody. The FBI reconstructed both backpack improvised explosive devises, determining them to be functional with a blast mdius of more than 100 yards. Their analysis also revealed that the toggle thrown on the first backpack should have detonated the device. It is not known why it failed

The Relationships Between Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy, and Military Skills and Abilities

Abstract. This study investigated the relationship between academic self-concept, academic self-efficacy and the self-reported acquirement of certain specific military skills and abilities. Our sample consisted of 141 military cadets from the Norwegian Military Academy (Army), the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, and the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy. Supporting our hypotheses, it was found that perceived academic self-concept related positively to self-efficacy, after controlling for initial levels of self-efficacy, and that self-efficacy relates positively to self-reported Individual Coping Capacity (ICC), Cooperation in Difficult Situations (CDS), and Motivation to Achievement (MA), this after controlling for the initial levels of these Military Skills and Abilities (MSA). We discuss the implications of these findings.publishedVersio

Pathei mathos! Mestringsopplevelser i ulike læringssituasjoner blant kadetter ved Krigsskolen

Artikkelen drøfter hvordan kontekst påvirker kadettenes opplevelse av læringsprosesser. To læringssituasjoner er undersøkt; kryssingen av Hardangervidda om vinteren og trening på skytebanen. Analysen tar utgangspunkt i etnografiske data som feltnotater, intervjuer og et spørreskjema. Kadettene rapporterer slit, men mestring under kryssingen av vidda. I en situasjon med rangering etter dyktighet knyttet til tid brukt og antall treff, er det noen kadetter som rapporterer generelt mismot. De to læringssituasjonene blir drøftet i lys av mestrings- og målorienteringsteori, men også med perspektiver fra læringsteorien. En implikasjon er at gruppeorientert læring kan gi et mestringsorientert læringsklima og således bygge mestringstro. Et annet resultat er at et konkurranseorientert klima kan gi redusert mestringstro i en samlet kadettgruppe. Dette har betydning for utviklingen av narrativet: Det går bra til slutt!publishedVersio