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A review of literature, coupled with years of personal clinical experience treating combat veterans, particularly those serving in National Guard and Reserves, indicates a dearth of research on the impact repeated combat deployments have on veterans in their family relationships. Reintegration problems are too often manifested as work/life readjustment stress, family role adjustment issues, relational dysfunction, child neglect and abuse, and domestic violence. These pressing problems highlight the need for greater focus by behavioral health, healthcare, federal agencies and other non-governmental organizations to create reintegration protocols and programs that enable combat veterans to more successfully reintegrate within their marital and family relationships. This qualitative study utilized a single case-study approach to explore spousal perceptions of marital and family relationship disturbances resulting from repeated combat deployment and reintegration of long-term active-duty service members. Although based on the responses from one military spouse, four themes emerged from this study that are likely to be common for other spouses and families who live through repeated deployment cycles: choice, progression, adaptability, and acceptance. Based on these thematic findings, there must be a greater focus on feedback, insights, and constructive suggestions directly from service members, their spouses and children as related to coping more successfully with repeated deployments and reintegration cycles. The results of this research are expected to be useful for military officials, governmental agencies, counselors, educators, and other mental health service providers who engage with this at-risk population of service member and their families about more effective educational and treatment options that can improve comprehensive services. Doctor of Education A review of literature, coupled with years of personal clinical experience treating combat veterans, particularly those serving in National Guard and Reserves, indicates a lack of research on the impact repeated combat deployments have on veterans in their family relationships. Reintegration problems are too often manifested as work/life readjustment stress, family role adjustment issues, relational dysfunction, child neglect and abuse, and domestic violence. These pressing problems highlight the need for greater focus by behavioral health, healthcare, federal agencies and other non-governmental organizations to create reintegration protocols and programs that enable combat veterans to more successfully reintegrate within their marital and family relationships. This qualitative study utilized a single case-study approach to explore spousal perceptions of marital and family relationship disturbances resulting from repeated combat deployment and reintegration of long-term active-duty service members.

There is national attention and concern from industry leaders, educators and politicians that the United States will not be able to maintain its competitive edge due to the lack of students prepared for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (Hurtado et al., 2008; Kuenzi et al., 2006; Kuenzi, 2008; Laursen et al., 2010). Student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE), has been shown to be a high impact activity leading to greater student interest in STEM careers. A closer look is needed to get an idea of what types of experiences during UREs impact a student’s interest in persisting into a STEM field career and to understand what are the key mechanisms of the experience that make it meaningful. The findings in this study add to the literature by exploring participants views of the undergraduate research experience at non-doctoral-granting universities and by supporting the idea that UREs can be effective in these settings as well. Further, this study puts forward a theoretical explanation about how and why UREs promote a student’s interest in persisting to a STEM field career. The purpose of this qualitative study using critical incidents was to identify experiences during a URE that students perceived to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify causal mechanisms for why these experiences made a difference in their interest. This study was designed to use a qualitative approach consisting of individual interviews and a focus group with a total of 31 participants from three institutions to identify and come to a more complex, multi-layered understanding of the undergraduate research experience. A card sorting technique where participants assigned each card to the encouraged an interest, deterred an interest, neither encouraged nor deterred an interest, or did not experience category was used initially to generate a conversation about what individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Follow-up interview questions guided the participant in explaining the incident and how and why it impacted their interest in a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that all participants began their URE with an interest in science. No one set of critical incidents was identified to encourage or deter an interest as the same incident could have positive and negative outcomes. Because of the initial strong interest in science, incidents identified in the literature as deterring an interest in STEM often served to help participants refine the field or topic in STEM they wanted to pursue rather than causing them to leave STEM altogether. The individual critical incidents during the URE in totality, not individually, had an impact on participants’ interest in pursuing a STEM field career. It is a combination of multiple experiences or events that help students gain a greater sense of self and to refine career and research opportunities. The main contribution of this study is a theoretical model of the mechanisms by which a variety of incidents during a URE can impact an interest in STEM. This model identifies underlying causal mechanisms on how UREs can promote an interest in STEM. The model is similar to a grounded theory model in that it highlights student characteristics, contextual factors, mechanisms, and outcomes that help to refine STEM field career interest. The URE incidents in totality provide mechanisms resulting in outcomes that refine a career interest in STEM. As all participants were still involved in their URE, this study is limited in that we do not know with any certainty if the participants will enter a STEM field career. Future research designed with a longitudinal time frame could follow participants throughout the URE then into their career thus allowing greater understanding as to why some students may choose to leave the STEM pipeline. In-depth case studies would allow for testing of the conceptual model to identify turning points in an interest in a STEM field career and how interests in a STEM field career are refined. Further, case studies would allow researchers to compare the conceptual model in different settings. The goals of UREs can be advanced in settings where there is a central organizing office on campus that makes visible that the institution values research and STEM and creates opportunities where students can to connect to a wider community of researchers. Faculty mentors guiding UREs can advance a commitment to pursue science by continually articulating the importance and wider social significance of the research. Further, faculty mentors play an invaluable role by providing information about the range of opportunities to pursue research, connect students with other research, and encourage URE student attendance at professional conferences in order to begin identification with a wider community of like-minded individuals. Ph. D. Educators, industry leaders and politicians are concerned about the lack of students prepared for STEM field careers and the United States being able to maintain its competitive edge globally. One opportunity to prepare students for STEM field careers is through student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE). This study was designed to identify and understand critical incidents in undergraduate research experiences that students perceive to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify why these experiences made a difference in their interest. An incident sorting process was used to identify individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Participant interviews and a focus group were conducted to understand how and why the identified experiences had a bearing on the student deciding to pursue a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that incidents during the URE combined, not individually, had an impact on participants’ interest in pursuing a STEM field career.

The counseling process and relationship are inherently interconnected, and each person involved, or observing, has a unique perspective on what is significant. Thus, it is important for researchers to examine this process holistically for a more complete understanding of the counseling process and relationship. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of counselors-in-training (CITs) and clients in the counseling process with respect to what was meaningful, and the strength of the therapeutic relationship using a mixed methods approach. The following four research questions were a guide for this study: (a) What do CITs and clients experience as most meaningful in counseling? (b) What are the similarities and differences of what CITs and clients experience as meaningful in counseling? (c) How does the strength of the therapeutic relationship correspond to the depth of what CITs and clients experience as meaningful in counseling? (d) What are the similarities and differences of an observer's perspective and the experiences of the CIT and client of what is meaningful in counseling? These questions were explored through qualitative phenomenological interviews to capture the experiences of CITs and clients in a given counseling session, a quantitative instrument to measure the therapeutic relationship, and participant observation to gain an observer's perspective of the counseling session. Data analysis of the interviews revealed several themes of meaningful experiences for clients, CITs, and observer, with many similarities and some differences. Themes for clients were as follows: Counseling Relationship, Goals, Insight, Immediacy, Emotion, and Reflections on Counseling. Themes for CITs were: Counseling Relationship, Goals, Insight, Immediacy, Emotion, Nonverbals, Transference and Counter Transference, and CIT Negotiating the Counseling Process and their Role. Finally, observer themes were: Depth of Congruence, Goals, Insight, Immediacy, Nonverbals and Intuition, and Rescuing. There seems to be a slight connection between the strength of the therapeutic relationship and depth of meaningful experiences. More often than not, the stronger the therapeutic relationship, the greater depth of meaningful experiences of participants, however, these results are inconclusive. Findings from this research have implications for CITs, counselors, and counselor educators and supervisors. Ph. D.

Diversity efforts have a long history on college campuses but faculty diversity efforts have experienced limited success (Smith, Turner, Osei-Kofi & Richards, 2004; Turner, 2002). While there is an abundance of literature exploring the challenges in achieving faculty diversity, there have been very few empirical studies exploring the actual search process. The limited research available regarding race suggests that traditional search processes do not result in hiring applicants of color (Smith et al., 2004) but there is no research that identifies factors that might be addressed to produce a more equitable search process. The purpose of this study is to identify which factors come into play when reviewing a vita. Of particular interest is the influence applicant race, as indicated by applicant name, has on the evaluation of the curriculum vita. A national sample was identified using the membership list of the Council of Industrial Engineering Academic Department Heads. A between subjects design was utilized. Participants were sent the curriculum vita of a Black applicant or a White applicant, a brief survey questionnaire and a self-addressed stamped envelope. All responses were anonymous. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance to determine if there is variance in responses to survey items based on applicant race. Demographic characteristics of the participants influenced the evaluation of the fictitious candidate. Participate age and participant race influenced candidate evaluation. There was evidence of same-race rating effect in which Black participants favored the Black applicant and White participants favored the White applicant. Findings suggest applicant race does influence the evaluation of a curriculum vita when the eligibility criteria is valued by the evaluator and candidate qualifications are ambigious. Ph. D.