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Contributing human factors expertise to the United States national intelligence community
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Contributing human factors expertise to the United States national intelligence community
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Content
Running head: HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 1
CONTRIBUTING HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE TO THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
by
Ernest Calderón
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2020
Copyright 2019 Ernest Calderón
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 2
DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to my wife, Terri Kay, who persuaded me that I was more than some
said I was or could ever be and that God’s plan included this leg of my journey to open higher
education doors for students of modest means. Thank you, Terri, for believing in me.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As I embarked on this academic journey, I had not been in graduate school for 35 years.
The challenges of massive reading, a dramatic change in both research and writing style and the
technology (I started practicing law using carbon paper with limited access to a Xerox machine)
were daunting. My result is the product of Providence and love. I thank God for giving me the
work ethics of my parents Nellie Duarte Calderón and Albert Provencio Calderón. They have
been physically gone for over three decades, but they are present in my heart and in this work.
I thank my children for encouraging me and, particularly Stephen, for pointedly
reminding me that my mantra always has been ‘failure is not an option’. My alma maters played
a large role in my preparation. Northern Arizona University taught me that a measure of a man
is in his fight for right and dedication to task. The University of Arizona provided me with the
ability to successfully practice law for 36 years, to sustain my financial obligations during my
studies and to pay for my studies.
My dissertation chairperson, Dr. Patricia E. Tobey, inspired me to persevere and had an
undying belief that I would succeed. Her support was invaluable. I am immeasurably grateful to
her and also am appreciative of my other dissertation committee members, Drs. Estela Bensimon
and Paul Koehler, whose patience and encouragement will never be forgotten. My editor, Dr.
Guadalupe García Montaño was a godsend. Her 8th inning editing helped me convert carbon
into a gemstone. Reginald Ryder was my University of Southern California assigned coach from
day one and I was blessed to have him coaching from the dugout.
Thank you to my friends that gave me encouragement along each step of the way.
Michael Crow, Chris Callahan, Kyle Longley, Bob Dickeson, Nancy Tribbensee, Dennis
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 4
DeConcini, Dick Davies, Mike Love, Stephen Hudgens, Gene Hughes, Rita & Tom Cheng and
many others who gave me an “atta-boy” when needed. Their encouragement fueled another mile
or two of my trudging.
Thank you to David and Lori Shough for guiding me through the technological
challenges and presenting my thoughts in a digestible format. I also thank Frederick C. Corey,
for giving me a point of departure on how a provost would view curricula development and
change.
My USC colleagues are the finest students and people. All deserve kudos but, in
particular, Erin, Stephanie, Meredith, Shoshana, Jeremy, KT, Lorena, Smokin’ Joe, Edwin,
Carlos, and Chelley shared in the struggles and triumphs over the last three years. I was the least
in their midst and am grateful for their kindness. Fight on!
I thank the University of Southern California for inviting me to the journey. Many of my
faculty professors were inspirational and encouraging. A special thanks go to Drs. David Cash,
Jenifer Crawford, Imre Meszaros, Mark Pearson, and Sourena Haj Mohamadi.
I am indebted to the national experts who volunteered to be interviewed. They were
presidential cabinet members and a retired member of the United States Senate. I am humbled
by their graciousness in taking the time to be interviewed. They are loyal citizens and remain
dedicated to the welfare of our country.
"Without a strong educational system, democracy is crippled. Knowledge is not only key to
power. It is the citadel of human freedom.” - Harry S. Truman
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 8
List of Figures 9
Abstract 10
Chapter One: Introduction to the Problem of Practice 12
Related Literature 13
Innovative University’s Organizational Innovation 18
Organizational Context and Mission/Performance Status and Need 18
Organizational Performance Goal 19
Description of Stakeholder Groups: Faculty Are the Key Stakeholders 19
Stakeholder Group for the Study 20
Stakeholder Performance Goals 22
Purpose of the Project 22
Research Questions 24
Definitions 25
Organization of the Dissertation 26
Chapter Two: Literature Review 27
Human Factors Expertise Is Critical to National Security 27
Clark and Estes’ Organizational Problem-Solving Framework 29
Stakeholder Knowledge Factors 30
Knowledge Influences 31
Stakeholder Motivation Factors 35
General Motivation Theory 35
Expectancy Value Theory 36
Utility Value and Self-Efficacy Theories 38
Stakeholder Organization Factors 39
Stakeholder Specific Factors 40
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation and
the Organizational Context 42
Conclusion 46
Chapter Three: Methodology 48
Participating Stakeholders 48
Interview Question Criteria and Rationale 49
Document Review 49
Interview Group Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale 50
Explanation for Choices 51
Explanation of the Study 52
Sampling Strategy and Timeline 53
Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation 53
Document Review Procedures 55
Interviews 56
Interview Protocol 58
Interview Procedures 60
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 6
Credibility and Trustworthiness 61
Validity and Reliability 63
Ethics 64
Positionality and Bias 66
Limitations and Delimitations 66
Chapter Four: Results 69
Participating Stakeholders 71
Results Overview 72
Knowledge Results 72
Motivation Results 72
Organizational Results 73
Artifact Review 73
The Mandated IU101 Course 74
Course Creation Process 76
Mandatory Syllabus Content Regarding Objectionable Course Material 77
Review of Syllabi 78
Syllabi Results 79
Interview Results 86
Knowledge Results 87
Motivation Results 89
Organizational Results 93
National Security Expert Interviews 99
Higher Education’s Role in National Defense 100
Faculty Motivation 102
Higher Education/National Defense Relationship 104
Need for More Human Factors Expertise 106
Summary 107
Overview of Findings 107
Knowledge 108
Motivation 108
Organization 109
Closing 110
Chapter Five: Conclusion 111
Related Literature 111
Organizational Performance Goal 112
Description of Stakeholder Groups: Faculty Are the Key Stakeholders 113
Stakeholder Group for the Study 114
Purpose of the Project and Questions 114
Results 115
Declarative Knowledge Solutions 117
Self-Efficacy 120
Value 121
Implementation and Evaluation Framework and Plan 125
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators 126
Level 3: Behavior 128
Level 2: Learning 132
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 7
Level 1: Reaction 135
Evaluation Tools 136
Data Analysis and Reporting 138
Summary 140
References 143
Appendix A: Immediate Evaluation Instrument 150
Appendix B: Delayed Blended Evaluation 152
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 8
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Organizational Goal, and Stakeholder Performance Goals 22
Table 2: Knowledge Influences 33
Table 3: Summary of Assumed Influences on Teamwork Practices for Employees 34
Table 4: Motivation Influences and Motivation Indicators 37
Table 5: Organizational Influences and Influence Assessments 41
Table 6: Proposed Sampling Strategy, Sample Size, and Timeline. 53
Table 7: Questions Linked to KMO Analysis 57
Table 8: IU 101 Sample Weekly Course Schedule 75
Table 9: Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 116
Table 10: Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 120
Table 11: Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations 123
Table 12: Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 128
Table 13: Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation 129
Table 14: Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors 131
Table 15: Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program 134
Table 16: Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 136
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 9
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Interactive conceptual framework for curricula development to serve national security
interests and make IU more relevant to those it serves. 44
Figure 2: Syllabi review by faculty rank. 80
Figure 3: Faculty use of mandatory syllabus trigger warning. 81
Figure 4: Faculty belief that social science students are more intuitive. 88
Figure 5: Faculty assessment of IU scholarship. 90
Figure 6: Faculty confidence working with national defense/intelligence community. 95
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 10
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to evaluate university faculty members’ knowledge,
motivation and interest in creating cutting-edge curricula to attract social science students to a
career in national intelligence and thus encourage greater financial investment in higher
education from national defense. In addition, this study addressed the problem of how to help the
university innovate and become more relevant to society through security curricula to increase
national intelligence human factors abilities and close the existing knowledge gap.
This qualitative study evaluated faculty members’ knowledge of and motivation using
gap analysis. The study examined mandated syllabi content and faculty reaction to mandates.
Ten faculty members were interviewed. The study also included interviews of national experts
who reacted to the faculty’s assertions and suggestions made in their interviews.
This study concluded faculty are aware of higher education’s role in the United States
national defense posture and that human factors expertise is critical in the identification of
potential terrorists. Faculty believe that they have a critical role in creating a good citizenry and
are open to a curriculum change that would integrate geopolitics topics into their academic
discipline. Greater financial access to continuing education motivated faculty to actively
participate in a curriculum change. Both the national intelligence community and faculty have a
high level of trust in prospectively working together so long as measures are taken to ensure that
the funder does not control the research thereby preserving academic freedom.
Finally, faculty suggestions for national intelligence and defense funding centered on
scholarships for students who desire a career in the federal government and stipends for faculty
to attend continuing education symposia. There is strong support for the suggestion that lower
division courses be modified to include geopolitics and/or national security topics. Faculty
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 11
believed that doing so would encourage social science students’ interest in a national intelligence
career, would help elevate the level of faculty scholarship, and would help elevate the university
to national prominence.
Keywords: Social science curriculum, national security, human factors, preventing
terrorism
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 12
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM OF PRACTICE
The United States (U.S.) intelligence community has been second-guessed and criticized
for its intelligence analysis, or lack thereof, since the September 11 disaster (Lefebvre, 2004).
This researcher argues the national intelligence community has not filled analyst positions with
enough social science graduates who are necessary for identifying human factors in terms of how
humans behave physically and psychologically in relation to environments, products, and
services in potential terrorist threats (Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). Will more social science graduates
make a difference? Are counterintelligence experts correct in their argument? How can
Innovative University (IU) play a critical role in enhancing our national intelligence community,
thereby strengthening national security? In terms of IU, the problem is whether the faculty will
create innovative security curricula to attract social science students, who will then provide their
diverse expertise to the national intelligence community.
The “national intelligence community, consisting of the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), may have
overemphasized their recruitment of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
graduates, as well as campaigned to recruit diverse STEM students to little success (Martin,
2016). Most STEM graduates are predominantly White males, and Martin (2016) argued STEM
programs favor this demographic. Global demographics and the need to understand diverse
cultures place the U.S. at a disadvantage when most security analysts do not reflect or understand
the culture of those who are labeled as potential national security threats (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis,
2012). Higher education must become more relevant to society through anticipating the need for
greater security and, more importantly, enhancing the understanding of diverse cultures
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 13
amalgamated in the U.S. (Crow & Dabars, 2015). Experts argued exercising multicultural
understanding is a means for combating terrorism (Plous & Zimbardo, 2004).
Related Literature
Both national security and the national intelligence corps require college graduates
(Grossman & Schortgen, 2016). Higher education must challenge the norms and realign its
public agenda to better serve our communities, which will result in economic prosperity, national
security, and social well‐being (Duderstadt, 2009). Counterintelligence experts have surmised
some security failures can be attributed—in part—to our intelligence community’s emphasis on
recruiting STEM scholars to the inadvertent exclusion of social science graduates (Zúñiga-
Brown, 2011). The study of human factors helps pinpoint potential threats before violence occurs
(Plous & Zimbardo, 2004; Fein, 2002).
The exercise of human factors and social science can help prevent terrorism. For
example, social scientists have predicted specific acts of terrorism months before they occurred.
Social media sites can be used to disseminate messages, and, sometimes, those messages can be
pro-terrorism. In the digital age, human factors expertise can help predict acts of terrorism
(Magdy, Darwish, & Weber, 2015). Plous and Zimbardo (2004) noted the U.S. should not have
been surprised by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. They cited a report from the
federal research division of the Library of Congress (Hudson, 1999), which stated, “Al-Qaeda’s
expected retaliation for the U.S. cruise missile attack against Al-Qaeda’s training facilities in
Afghanistan on August 20, 1998, could take several forms of terrorist attack in the nation’s
capital” (p. 7). Among the possibilities listed in the report was that suicide bombers might crash
an aircraft into the Pentagon or other buildings (Hudson, 1999).
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 14
Furthermore, social scientists Abbasi, Khatwani, and Soomro (2018) noted major
psychosocial theories in their examination of terrorism, including drive theory, the frustration-
aggression hypothesis, the relative deprivation theory of terrorism, the negative identity
hypothesis, the narcissistic rage hypothesis, and social learning and social cognitive theory. The
authors argued sociological and psychological understanding of terrorism is the most critical
factor for curbing the phenomenon.
Social scientists have long argued an enhanced understanding of social phenomena can
prevent acts of terrorism. Such authors argued psychologists determined terrorists do not display
high rates of clinical psychopathology, personality disorders, or irrationality compared with the
general public. On the contrary, terrorist groups often eliminate the unstable from their
clandestine operations to ensure stability (Silke, 2003). Moreover, social scientists determined no
typical mentality or pathology exists among terrorists (National Research Council, 2002).
In addition, Plous and Zimbardo (2004) argued an increased military response to
terrorists only coagulates and emboldens the terrorists. These social scientists identified a three-
pronged approach to neutralizing terrorism: (a) incentivize terrorists not to act; (b) socialize
younger potential terrorists by introducing problem-solving rather than violence as a social
remedy; and (c) reduce intergroup conflict. This researcher notes that none of these potential
remedies involves the exercise of traditional STEM skills, whereas all involve the exercise of
social sciences: interpersonal skills or human factors.
The exercise of human factors incorporates the practical application of disciplines such as
psychology, economics, political science, law, and education. This researcher advocates IU
should actively attract the interest of social science students to enter national intelligence careers
by exposing them to a national intelligence or geopolitical component in their courses. There is
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 15
an active need for human factors expertise, which social scientists possess. For example, the
military recruits for key defense positions focused on human factors expertise. The U.S. Air
Force (n.d.) advertises,
Behavioral Sciences and Human Factors Scientists provide deep insight into human
behavior of those who serve. Whether through monitoring and observation or carefully
developed projects and activities, these experts help enhance the safety and effectiveness
of our Airmen as they complete their respective missions. (p. 1)
The exercise of human factors can help reduce intergroup conflict when group members show
mutual respect and are dependent on each other. The social sciences of psychology, social work,
and economics can be key foundations for interpersonal engagement to foster respect and
interdependence. The law can be the arbiter of disputes and help ensure sovereignty and human
rights among groups which could radicalize (Plous & Zimbardo, 2004).
The law’s roots are in the social sciences. For example, Cairns (1935) argued
anthropology is of special value when the functional (law in action) point of view is adopted. He
stated comparative observations may then be made on the solution to a given legal problem by
primitive cultures, and economics should interpret many court cases where the strict application
of legal theory is treacherous for modern society (Cairns, 1935). He asserted the first sociologists
were jurists and current lawyers focus on the sociological analysis of public institutions.
Psychologists should evaluate the assumptions courts make regarding the probable behavior of
an individual in a given situation, and political science and the law have long been running mates
(Cairns, 1935).
This researcher argues that, if the law is a remedy to the primitive injustices causing
terrorism, then it is crucial to note the law is rooted in anthropology, economics, political
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 16
science, and psychology, none of which can be found in STEM curricula. It is social sciences
which can be part of the answer to the terrorism question.
In addition, the aforementioned science of politics can be part of the solution to terrorism.
Plous and Zimbardo (2004) argued U.S. foreign aid can help the economically disenfranchised
from using poverty as the denominator for a terrorism equation. They also argued the social
sciences can ameliorate inclinations toward terrorism by resetting the problem solution default
from violence to understanding. They cited Israel and Palestine’s commitments to education as a
driver toward less conflict. These two parties’ pledge of education as a remedy is characterized
in part by its wording in the 1995 Oslo Interim Agreement:
ensure that their respective educational systems contribute to the peace between the
Israeli and Palestinian peoples and to peace in the entire region, and will refrain from the
introduction of any motifs that could adversely affect the process of reconciliation.
(Chapter 4).
Plous and Zimbardo rested their case by urging the U.S. rely on social science research as a more
effective method of making the world safe. The present researcher notes Plous and Zimbardo’s
approach was deemed inadequate by another terrorism scholar (Ukaegbu, 2004). Regardless, this
researcher advances the notion of human factors being grounded in the social sciences and the
exercise of human factors as helpful in ameliorating vulnerability to terrorism.
IU’s focus on contributing to national defense can resurrect a financial support stream
from the US. Department of Defense (DOD). These funds can help public universities meet
increasing costs without relying on tuition. For example, the University of Mount Union, Ohio,
faced financial ruin. Its president recognized higher education must embrace America’s changing
need for a national intelligence curriculum. The university created a national security curriculum
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 17
from its existing course offerings and secured institutional viability and federal funding as well
as placed its graduates in jobs (Grossman & Schortgen, 2016).
The Truman and Eisenhower Commissions identified higher education as a critical
component in our national defense (Markwardt, 2012; Leslie, 1993). Reflecting Cold War fears,
funding was directed only to those institutions and students who pledged national loyalty and
who openly rejected communism. For example, the National Defense Security Act of 1958 was
passed to include higher education in the national defense structure. However, mandating loyalty
oaths and compelling each state to match funding (as each state funded the National Guard)
crippled the National Defense Student Loan program, which was the lodestar of this legislation
(Leslie, 1993; Markwardt, 2012). The campus political atmosphere and ensuing Vietnam War
put an end to congressional funding of the programs (Grossman & Schortgen, 2016; Zúñiga-
Brown, 2011).
There is relevance today to national intelligence participation in our universities.
Recently, Golden (2017) argued our universities are targets of international espionage. For this
reason, the current presidential administration is considering banning Chinese students from
studying in American universities (Voice of America News, 2018). It argues foreign adversaries
place students in our prestigious universities as spies to learn scientific and business secrets. That
information is then transmitted to the foreign adversary and used against the U.S. Conversely,
Golden also argued our national intelligence agencies have infiltrated universities to operate
counterespionage by monitoring foreign nationals reputed to be spies. Regardless of whether this
is the case, our academic checks and balances will be the faculty members’ creation of new
curricula which will be neutral on their face rather than political advocacy.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 18
The study of terrorism is founded in the social sciences (Ellis, 2008). Ellis noted there is
no formal study of terrorism as a discipline, but the study of terrorism grew from the social
science disciplines of political science, history, law, communications, anthropology, sociology,
criminology, economics, military science, psychology, and philosophy. Today, there is a
practical possibility of more federal support for higher education. This will help create jobs. The
prospect of jobs, faculty oversight of curricula, and placement of vibrant, national intelligence
graduates are catalysts for higher education’s welcoming of intelligence funds for academic
purposes.
Innovative University’s Organizational Innovation
Key to resolving the problem is IU and its faculty. The goal is to help IU, one of the
largest public universities in the country, become the leading public university in national
intelligence issues through comprehensive programs based on cutting-edge curricula on national
security issues in multiple disciplines. IU’s president challenged university personnel to become
more relevant to the global community it serves. He labeled IU the cutting-edge university.
Faculty members’ knowledge of a gap in serving our nation through an innovative national
intelligence curriculum is key to creating this innovation.
Organizational Context and Mission/Performance Status and Need
As a national leader in education, IU can assist national defense by integrating social
science graduates into the national intelligence community. With the cutting-edge university
moniker, IU accepted the challenge to become a leader in societal relevance. Although IU
already matriculates well-prepared STEM students, it must also matriculate social science
students for national security service if it is to live up to its mission of relevance to the
communities it serves.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 19
The university’s goals dovetail into national security needs. Its charter states it is a public
research university seeking to advance research and discovery while assuming responsibility for
the well-being of the communities it serves. IU faculty stakeholders are critical in the
development of curricula, which will help advance value and meet our national security needs.
Organizational Performance Goal
Our national intelligence agencies can be better served by recruiting graduates with the
human factors expertise necessary to identify terrorism threats (Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). We must
prepare social science students to fill national intelligence jobs because of the multicultural face
of terrorism. Global demographics and the need to understand diverse cultures place the U.S. at a
disadvantage when most security analysts do not reflect or understand the culture of those
labeled as potential national security threats (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012). IU’s goal is to
innovate and become more relevant to society, and creating national security curricula to attract
diverse students and foster a funding partnership with the national intelligence community will
help accomplish this goal.
Description of Stakeholder Groups: Faculty Are the Key Stakeholders
IU as an entity is a global stakeholder in the development of geopolitically sensitive
curricula to advance public value and can help satisfy our national security needs. The long-term
goal is to help IU become the leading public university in the multidisciplinary integration of
national security awareness through creative curricula. The three stakeholder groups are IU’s (a)
cabinet, (b) administration, and (c) its faculty the key stakeholder group.
The IU cabinet must take the first steps to innovation. First, the cabinet must commit IU
to integrating national security curricula into multiple disciplines. Second, it must market the
innovative concept to cautious faculty members who are invested in the status quo.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 20
The IU administration, as the organizational lead, must support faculty in creative
curricula design. Faculty members will be asked to incorporate a unit of national or global
security substance into multiple disciplines in two test colleges. The administration must
encourage deans and department chairs to provide faculty with the time and resources to design
and implement new curricula. The administration should insist students be educated to be global
citizens through geopolitical and national security curricula. Eventually, national security
curricula should be integrated into one unit of every discipline, but, in the interim, it can be
phased in at two test colleges. For example, the administration, as a point of departure, can
advocate for the incorporation of topics such as world religions and political instability into
multiple disciplines. Thus, the paramount stakeholder group, the faculty, is the stakeholder group
of focus in this study.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
Faculty are the key to building cutting-edge curricula, which must be brought to the
attention of the defense department and our national intelligence communities to enhance
government funding for IU. However, a previous faculty-defense partnership failed.
In the past, our national intelligence agencies worked with higher education. During the
Cold War, higher education institutions participated with national intelligence agencies, but the
aforementioned mandated loyalty oaths created a toxic relationship (Grossman & Schortgen,
2016; Leslie, 1993; Markwardt, 2012). Grossman and Schortgen (20126) noted faculty members’
long embrace of academic freedom, founded in the First Amendment, conflicted with the
National Defense Security Act’s mandatory loyalty to the government. Faculties argued: Did the
First Amendment also not guarantee the right not to pledge loyalty to the government?
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 21
The faculty must trust IU’s partnership with our national intelligence community will not
compromise academic freedom. For example, national intelligence agencies created a climate of
distrust of higher education partnerships through the early 1960s requirement of loyalty oaths
and late 1960s chemical testing of ROTC students, which must be remedied. Faculty reticence to
such a partnership must be overcome. This could be challenging because some scholars
identified faculty as the most recalcitrant stakeholder group and one who disdains change
(Caruth & Caruth, 2013). A study showed faculty treat change akin to the emotional stages of
death and dying (Zell, 2003). Absence of faculty leadership in the development of new curricula
will mean the entire cause is lost, yet change is critical to maintaining higher education’s
relevance to society (Crow & Dabars, 2015).
Today, shared governance of intelligence curricula design will overcome historic
obstacles (Comp, 2013). September 11 resurrected national security’s role in higher education
and offered solutions to the academy’s objections to the National Defense Security Act’s
political agenda (Comp, 2013; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). Academic freedom does not have to be
sacrificed (Caruth& Caruth, 2013; Comp, 2013). For example, in the aftermath of September 11,
Congress passed the National Security Education Act, which established the $150 million Boren
National Security Education Program Trust Fund to provide scholarships for undergraduate
study abroad, graduate foreign languages, area studies fellowships, and university grants to
create or improve foreign language and studies. Based on academic concerns, the act passed
absent loyalty oath requisites (Comp, 2013). Mandated oaths are now rejected, which should
calm academic suspicions. IU faculty will retain control of curricula design. The prospect of
jobs, faculty oversight of curricula, and the placement of vibrant, national intelligence graduates
are catalysts for the academy’s welcoming of intelligence funds for academic purposes.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 22
Stakeholder Performance Goals
Faculty member’s support or reticence to curriculum changes must be gauged as part of
the knowledge, motivation and organization gap analysis. Table 1 identifies the performance
goals to be studied.
Table 1
Organizational Mission, Organizational Goal, and Stakeholder Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
IU is a public research university seeking to advance research and discovery while assuming
responsibility for the well-being of the communities it serves
Organizational Global Goal
We must prepare social science, education, psychology, and language (social science) students to fill
national intelligence jobs.
Stakeholder Goal
The IU faculty, by the end of fall 2020, must design and adopt a plan for one unit of national and
geopolitical security topics for every discipline in two test colleges. Each unit must be related to the
discipline substantively and be compatible with advanced national security trends and greater, more
diverse cultural understanding.
STAKEHOLDER GROUP 1 GOAL: The provost’s office, by summer 2019, must place its imprimatur
on the integration of national security topics for a one-unit blend into existing courses in two test
colleges. The cabinet must commission a multidisciplinary faculty committee structure, the formative
templates, and ensure faculty “buy-in” for the innovative curricula development.
STAKEHOLDER GROUP 2 GOAL: Administration, by the beginning of fall 2019, must charge its
cabinet to serve as the catalyst in developing the new curricula. It must allow the cabinet to free up
resources to support and commission an interdisciplinary faculty committee to set the course unit
standards and template. The administration must also set forth goals and timetables for the new
curricula development.
STAKEHOLDER GROUP 3 GOAL: Faculty, by the end of fall 2020, must design and adopt curricula
design to include one unit of instruction in every course in two test colleges linked to national security.
Purpose of the Project
The purpose of the project is to measure IU faculty members’ motivation to innovate to
be more relevant to society. This work entails designing and integrating security curricula into
multiple disciplines, thereby stimulating student interest in a career in national intelligence.
Faculty would need to design the curricula fundamentals, and then the administration would need
to bring curricula development to the attention of the federal government for new or additional
funding. Therefore, would the national intelligence community not be stronger if social science
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 23
graduates, many of whom have human factors expertise, were at the forefront of IU’s
contributions to the national intelligence corps? Furthermore, because higher education is one of
the pillars of national security, should IU not capitalize on this national priority by tailoring more
curricula introducing students to national security issues, thereby making IU more relevant to
society in general and to the intelligence community in particular?
The national intelligence community has critical jobs to fill. Our intelligence community
requires STEM graduates as well as those whose disciplines focus on human factors (Grossman
& Schortgen, 2016). The CIA, NSA, and other intelligence agencies need social science
graduates (Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 79.8% of new
federal employees are hired by defense- and security-related agencies (Grossman & Schortgen,
2016). Our country has a national security need for linguistics, social science, and behavioral
studies graduates (Prewitt & Hauser, 2013). Former members of the intelligence community
suggested academia’s distance from the intelligence community could have contributed to acts of
terrorism because of a lack of human factors assessments (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012; Prewitt &
Hauser, 2013; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). Graduates who are human factors-oriented can identify
security risks before suspected terrorists act. Filling the education gap will also ameliorate public
universities’ dwindling state support.
Our public universities face financial strains, as state legislatures reduced funding
(Duderstadt, 2009; Ho, Mozes, & Greenfield, 2010). As a result, public education is increasingly
reliant on private endowments. However, those foundation endowments are at best volatile and
create an unreliable income stream (Yan, 2016). The reliable default funding in public education
is tuition. Public universities are forced to raise tuition to meet students’ needs (Gilbert &
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 24
Hrdlicka, 2013; Duderstadt, 2009). Partnering with our national intelligence agencies can
supplant tuition as the funding default.
Public universities have an opportunity to place their graduates in intelligence jobs
(Grossman & Schortgen, 2016; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011; Duderstadt, 2009). The national
intelligence community can fund curricula and create jobs (Grossman & Schortgen, 2016;
Levine, 2014; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011; Cole & Espinoza, 2008; Leslie, 1993). According to the
Department of Labor, the field of intelligence analysis is expected to grow, with an overall
27,700 projected job openings between 2012 and 2022 (Grossman & Schortgen, 2016). Higher
education can immediately supply graduates for analyst jobs and, in turn, receive the required
revenue.
National security resources reflect an under-utilized higher education portfolio.
Affirmative steps can be taken to assuage the academy’s concerns while simultaneously allowing
national intelligence curricula to sprout. Academic fears of government control may also be
ameliorated through active academic participation in national intelligence program oversights
(Comp, 2013). Partnering with our intelligence agencies will fill the gap in national intelligence
vacancies and bring critical funding to our public universities.
Without the proposed expanded partnership, our terrorism assessment will be
handicapped by a lack of human factors analysts. We will then continue to react to terrorism
rather than help to deter it. IU faculty can be key in creating a safer America.
Research Questions
Three questions guide this study:
1. What are the faculty members’ knowledge and motivation foundations necessary to lead
IU in becoming the Cutting-Edge American University by revising its curricula to ensure
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 25
geopolitical and national security topics are integrated into multi-disciplines in two test
colleges?”
2. How does IU’s organizational culture and context relate (e.g., support or inhibit) to its
faculty members’ motivation and knowledge?
3. What recommendations can help the faculty achieve the organizational goals?
Definitions
Counterintelligence: Information gathered and activities conducted to protect against
espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage, or assassinations conducted for or on behalf of
foreign powers, organizations or persons or international terrorist activities, sometimes including
personnel, physical, document, or communication security programs.
Human factors: Human factors (also known as ergonomics) is the study of how humans
behave physically and psychologically in relation to environments, products, or services.
National intelligence community: Office of the Director of National Intelligence, CIA,
Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National
Reconnaissance Office, NSA, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security,
Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Drug Enforcement Administration, and all
military branches.
Radicalization: A process by which an individual or group comes to adopt increasingly
extreme political, social, or religious ideals and aspirations that reject or undermine the status
quo or undermine contemporary ideas and expressions of the nation. The outcomes of
radicalization are shaped by the ideas of the society at large. For example, radicalism can
originate from a broad social consensus against progressive changes in society or from a broad
desire for change in society. Radicalization can be both violent and nonviolent, although most
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 26
academic literature focuses on radicalization into violent extremism. There are multiple
pathways that constitute the process of radicalization, which can be independent but are usually
mutually reinforcing.
Social sciences: The social sciences are a group of academic disciplines focused on
human aspects of the world. Social sciences include anthropology, archaeology, economics,
geography, political science, psychology, education, and sociology.
STEM: An acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM is a
term used to group together these academic disciplines.
Organization of the Dissertation
This dissertation is presented in five chapters, and the remainder is organized as follows.
Chapter Two presents a literature review and provides greater depth to the aforementioned
assertions and questions. Chapter Three provides the methodology for data analysis and the
qualitative methods used to test the hypothesis and reach conclusions. Chapter Four provides the
results of the document review and interviews. Finally, Chapter Five presents the solutions to
catapult IU to a national leadership role in national intelligence student matriculation.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 27
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter provides a review of the literature on the national intelligence community’s
recruitment of analysts to thwart potential terrorism risks. IU is well positioned to become a
leader in providing well-prepared graduates for employment in the national intelligence
community. This chapter presents the hypothesis that, if our national intelligence community
were to recruit more social science graduates, then our national security agencies would better
identify potential terrorists. This literature review chapter is divided into three sections. The first
discusses the need to apply intuitive human factors to the analysis of potential terrorism risks and
how social science graduates are better grounded in human factors than are STEM graduates.
The second section presents views from national intelligence leaders on how to improve
terrorism identification and prevention capabilities by increasing geopolitical topics in a single
unit of every discipline in two test colleges. Finally, the third section introduces higher
education’s unique and well-established role as a key pillar in the national security plan.
Human Factors Expertise Is Critical to National Security
The U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education jointly addressed the need
for human factors analysis. Robert Fein, the director of the National Violence Prevention and
Study Center, speaking on behalf of the Secret Service and the department of education,
highlighted the Safe School Initiative study, which concluded most attackers did not threaten
their targets directly but did engage in preattack behaviors which would have indicated the
potential for targeted violence had they been identified. Said identification would have occurred
by analyzing human factors (Fein, 2002). Furthermore, Hogarth (2001) argued one can teach
intuition.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 28
Counterintelligence experts opined security failures from the 2010 bombing of the CIA
headquarters in Afghanistan, through 9/11, to current varied acts of terrorism can, in part, be
attributed to our national intelligence community underemphasizing recruitment of social science
graduates adept at analyzing human factors (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011).
Active faculty participation in intelligence curricula is part of the success formula and lends itself
to curricula on intuition.
Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, former head of several intelligence and defense
community enterprises, stated America’s lack of understanding of the human dimension of
conflict created stresses on our national security structure (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012). He
noted, once a problem has arisen, it is too late to start learning about its protagonist’s culture and
politics. Flynn opined we must assess and influence potential threats before the violence occurs.
Recruiting social science graduates will help our national intelligence community structure and
identify those threats by increasing the focus on human factors (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012;
Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). One scholar equated terrorism with crime. It is standard practice to
combat crime using psychological means. For example, behavioral profiling, teaching
citizenship, and teaching tolerance are examples of focusing on risk before the crime or act of
terrorism exists (Stevens, 2005). Stevens (2005) recommended a multidisciplinary approach to
combating terrorism.
This researcher provides the following predicate for the gap analysis: approach the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational strengths and weaknesses. This is the foundation for
the present research. The following is only a synopsis and serves as the preface to the
knowledge, motivation and organizational analyses.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 29
Clark and Estes’ Organizational Problem-Solving Framework
IU’s current efforts are noteworthy but can be enhanced to meet its 21st century
relevancy goals and become the cutting-edge university. IU may have a gap in the preparation of
its national intelligence majors, which might be the gap in human factors education (Clark &
Estes, 2008). IU can become a leader in preparing social science graduates for careers in national
intelligence, thereby assuring more human factors expertise in evaluating potential terrorist
threats. To evaluate potential threats, training must include the exploration of the relationship
between sociocultural sensemaking and forecasting cultural behaviors (Mathieu & Servi, 2014).
Teaching intuition must be part of that training (Hogarth, 2001).
Faculty knowledge of the gap in human factors expertise is critical. Faculty engagement
in curricula design will close the gap in the number of social science students graduating and the
number who enter the national intelligence community. Based on research involving corporate
employees, individual engagement will increase if individuals are brought into the process early
(Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda, 2011). An assessment must be made to determine whether the
faculty possesses the necessary skills (Rueda, 2011). Conceptual knowledge of faculty
relationships with the administration and students is central to making this determination
(Krathwohl, 2002).
Individuals are responsible for acquiring factual knowledge, which is the predicate
procedural knowledge for creating change (Krathwohl, 2002). Krathwohl identified four
knowledge types necessary for innovation: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive.
Factual knowledge is characterized by established facts and verifiable data, conceptual
knowledge is the acceptance of the global concept or theory, procedural knowledge is more of a
“how to” knowledge involving practices, and metacognitive knowledge is knowledge stemming
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 30
from within the individual’s past experiences and knowledge. Faculty may create new channels
of curricula and metacognitive knowledge to assess its ability, or lack thereof to, be innovative.
Once faculty members identify the gaps, this framework shall specifically examine the
stakeholder knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences which may impact
performance gaps (Clark & Estes, 2008). Faculty knowledge of the social science/human factors
gap is a prerequisite for focusing on the motivational aspects. The IU faculty members’ self-
efficacy in wanting to become an elite scholar-recognized faculty in the cutting-edge university
is the key motivational factor. Finally, the untraditional leap-frogging over organizational
obstacles and rewards provided by IU’s presidential leadership will complete the model by
providing a unique organizational resolution.
Stakeholder Knowledge Factors
The U.S. faces significant national intelligence challenges as it reacts to acts of terrorism.
Some experts argue the country overlooked the importance of human factors expertise in the
national intelligence corps, perhaps to the detriment of national security (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis,
2012).
Their hypothesis is social science graduates are more intuitive to human factors as they
analyze potential terrorist threats (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012; Plous & Zimbardo, 2004; Zúñiga-
Brown, 2011). This dissertation will examine ways in which faculty may serve as the catalyst for
the integration of national security issues into curricula and the escalation of social science
graduates’ entry into our national intelligence corps. Faculty knowledge of the aforementioned
gap is key to creating the innovation.
Social science-based research is one of the keys to this researcher’s gap analysis. The
Department of Defense focuses on six variables when undertaking operational analysis
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 31
(Ehlschlaeger, 2014). Those variables are political, military, economy, social, infrastructure, and
information. In turn, these variables are analyzed as social science variables, which include
social capital, sense of community, feelings of membership, ethnic factionalism, environmental
pressure, life conditions, physical disorder, quality of life, and sense of security. The DOD’s
variables are only as useful to social science-based research on these variables.
Faculty engagement will increase if they are brought into the process early (Clark &
Estes, 2008; Rueda, 2011). Faculty may learn the process and skills necessary to assist in
transforming IU into the cutting-edge university. It is essential for faculty members to focus on
their past performance in addressing national intelligence issues and integrating these into
curricula. Thus, an assessment must determine whether the faculty possesses the necessary
motivation and ability for change (Rueda, 2011). Conceptual knowledge of faculty relationships
with the administration and students is central to making this determination (Krathwohl, 2002).
Knowledge Influences
Knowledge influence 1. Faculty, based on factual knowledge factors, must understand
human factors graduates are sorely needed as intelligence analysts. Knowledge transfer is key in
that IU faculty must learn the changing face of terrorism because of the growing diversity in
radicalism. At one time, terrorists were labeled by their country of origin. However, domestic
terrorists are now present and share the same ideals as foreign terrorists. The theory of human
factor sensitivity must be translated into action steps, which can only occur if the faculty
embraces innovation (Van De Ven & Johnson, 2006). This factual knowledge is key to learning
how to integrate relevance into curricula (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011). Addressing the dearth
of human factors specialists among the ranks of national intelligence analysts is the key to
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 32
meeting IU’s mission and creating the practical steps of integrating national intelligence subjects
into curricula.
Factual knowledge is based on established data (Rueda, 2011). In the case of fighting
terrorism, the data emphasizes the importance of human factors. This information is readily
available to faculty and may be part of an introduction or orientation provided by the
administration on the importance of human factors. The faculty must then focus on declarative
knowledge in the context of organizational learning (Argote & Miron-Spektor, 2011). An
appreciation of our national intelligence community’s analytical needs, while not germane to
one’s discipline of study, is the foundation for faculty engagement.
For example, introducing the faculty to experts’ perceptions on the requirement for
human factors knowledge is necessary for the transfer of knowledge from academic study to
organizational action. Duderstadt (2009) argued greater emphasis on studying human factors
might have led to more intelligence successes in our fight against terrorism thus far. The Secret
Service and department of education jointly addressed the need for human factors analysis. For
example, regarding the conclusion of most attackers not threatening their targets directly but
engaging in preattack behaviors, these behaviors (Fein, 2002) would have been identified
through analysis of human factors. Faculty embracing this declarative knowledge will lead to
organizational change.
Knowledge influence 2. In terms of factual knowledge, faculty must know higher
education is part of overall national defense strategy to innovate and create organizational
change. Innovation comes from within and, as discussed in the following section on motivation,
higher education has been one of the main pillars of our national security plan since the 1950s.
Once again, this type of declarative knowledge is key to the faculty appreciating their role in the
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 33
national defense structure. For example, few faculty members know the Truman and Eisenhower
Commissions identified higher education as a critical component in national defense (Leslie,
1993; Markwardt, 2012). As previously mentioned, funding was directed only to those
institutions and students who pledged national loyalty and who openly rejected communism.
Faculty members did not arrive at IU as a tabula rasa. Each brought her or his formative
beliefs, values, and scholarship. Faculty vetting identifies these attributes, and they play into
hiring. Incorporating a national intelligence component into diverse curricula will be a challenge.
The substantive interjection of this component into the arts, social sciences, language, and
education will require faculty participation and ingenuity. Tables 2 and 3 present the assumed
knowledge influences addressed in this study.
Table 2
Knowledge Influences
Organizational Mission
IU is a public research university seeking to advance research and discovery while assuming
responsibility for the well-being of the communities it serves
Organizational Global Goal
We must prepare social science, education, psychology, and language (social science) students to fill
national intelligence jobs
Stakeholder Goal
The IU faculty, by the end of fall 2020, must design and adopt a plan for one unit of national and
geopolitical security topics for every discipline in two test colleges. Each unit must be related to the
discipline substantively and be compatible with advanced national security trends and greater, diverse
cultural understanding.
Knowledge Indicators
(Only for the improvement model)
Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence
Assessment
Faculty must understand human
factors graduates are sorely
needed as intelligence analysts.
Declarative and Factual Knowledge:
Facts documenting lack of human factors
analysis to potential terrorists. Practical
knowledge from T. Brown’s service as
an intelligence officer
Interviews
Document analysis
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 34
Table 2, continued
Knowledge Indicators
(Only for the improvement model)
Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence
Assessment
Faculty must know higher
education is part of the overall
national defense strategy.
Declarative and Conceptual Knowledge:
Facts about the development of
government partnerships with higher
education for national security purposes.
The author knows the theoretical
underpinnings of Eisenhower’s
integration of higher education into the
national security umbrella.
Document analysis
Interviews
Table 3
Summary of Assumed Influences on Teamwork Practices for Employees
Assumed KMO Influences on Teamwork Practices
Innovative University (IU)
General Literature
Knowledge Influences
IU faculty must understand human factors graduates are
sorely needed as intelligence analysts.
Ellis, 2008; Fein, 2002;
Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012 &
Zúñiga-Brown, 2011; Prewitt
& Hauser, 2013
IU faculty must know higher education is part of the overall
national defense strategy.
Comp, 2013; Duderstadt,
2009; Leslie, 1993;
Markwardt, 2012
Motivational Influences
Self-Efficacy: The IU faculty must believe it can become the
finest faculty of any public university, thereby helping IU to
fulfill its 21st century goal
Bandura, 1995 Covington,
1999; Crow & Dabars, 2015;
Duderstadt, 2009;
Utility Value: The IU faculty understands increasing social
science graduates will result in a stronger intelligence
community which is sensitive to culture and human factors.
Fein, 2002
Organizational Influences
IU faculty must create new curricula and incorporate a
national security/world understanding unit in selected test
courses.
Argote & Miron-Spektor,
2011; Clark & Estes, 2008;
Grossman & Schortgen, 2016
IU faculty must overcome the fear of change and suspicion of
working with national intelligence agencies.
Caruth & Caruth, 2013; Zell,
2003
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 35
Stakeholder Motivation Factors
If IU is to become the top public university in national intelligence studies, its faculty
must be energetic, vibrant, and aggressive in their work. To reach the goals, the faculty
members’ intrinsic motivation must be awakened to ensure the zealous pursuit of IU’s mission
(Covington, 1999).
The researcher must consider the existing stressors on faculty performance to assess
motivation strength. The premise of this research is faculty will volunteer to create innovative
curricula. However, doing so means taking time away from existing commitments. Those
stressors include reward and recognition, time constraints, departmental influence, professional
identity, and student interaction (Gmelch, Wilke, & Lovrich, 1986). The researcher will ask
faculty members to add to their stressors and burdens in this project. Therefore, specific
motivational values must be touched upon.
General Motivation Theory
Faculty motivation, in this case, is founded on its self-efficacy and the utility value of the
effort. The faculty will become motivated as characterized in three facets of motivated
performance: active choice, persistence, and mental effort (Clark & Estes, 2008). Active choice
is defined as replacing one’s intent to reach a goal with active effort, persistence is characterized
by staying the course despite distractions once the action has started to reach the goa, and mental
effort is applied to the aforementioned two facets of motivation through working smarter and
developing novel solutions (Clark & Estes, 2008). The motivation to accomplish the integration
of social sciences into IU’s curricula will be found when faculty answer the question, “Is this
proposed change consistent with my values?” (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Faculty will draw the
utility value that action is worthwhile and needed to satisfy IU’s mission.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 36
Expectancy Value Theory
Eccles wrote individuals must determine whether their values justify performing the task
(Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). The utility value construct, advanced by Eccles and Wigfield (2002),
is illustrated by faculty understanding the useful purpose and egalitarian goal of embracing
change. For example, IU faculty understand matriculating social science students into national
intelligence corps will result in a stronger, human-factor-sensitive intelligence community.
Individuals’ metacognition or internal motivation will assist change agents by drawing from
within based on past experience and successes (Mayer, 2011). In this case, the IU faculty will
draw on those experiences to become catalysts for change.
Although not the focus of this study, IU does not operate in a vacuum. IU faculty
members who review the statistics of underrepresentation will embrace or create an action plan
to re-chart the curricula. The inquiring faculty will soon discover LatinX graduates comprise a
small percentage of STEM graduates. Cole and Espinoza (2008) found, of all bachelor’s degrees
awarded in science and engineering to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, 7.3% were earned
by Latino students, whereas 65.1% were earned by White, non-Hispanic students. Once these
statistics are processed, faculty will actively choose to create an environment where IU’s
statistics dwarf the national average. Their active choice will be consistent with the faculty
members’ intrinsic self-motivation to be the very best (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Each faculty
member’s self-motivation will help her or him reach that utility value/level of professionalism
consistent with the IU president’s goal of being the cutting-edge university that is more relevant
to the communities it serves.
Finally, persistence will be the next step and is key in the faculty members’ positive
disruption of the status quo. To achieve greater human factors expertise in IU’s graduate
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 37
numbers, innovative curricula design is necessary. The faculty members’ acumen will come into
play as it applies its mental effort to accomplish part of the task. The cutting-edge university is to
be known for whom it includes; this will require faculty members’ analytical action to achieve
the optimal effect with the least resources. Because external resources are scarce, faculty will
recognize the practical importance and usefulness/utility value in achieving greater diversity.
Table 4
Motivation Influences and Motivation Indicators
Faculty members’ motivation to achieve IU’s mission and attain the aforementioned
goals may seem complicated, but it is not. Table 4 synthesizes this into two simple motivational
indicators. In sum, IU’s faculty, who possess high self-efficacy and adhere to the value of IU
Organizational Mission
IU is a public research university seeking to advance research and discovery while assuming
responsibility for the well-being of the communities it serves
Organizational Global Goal
We must prepare social science, education, psychology, and language (social science) students to fill
national intelligence jobs.
Stakeholder Goal
The IU faculty, by the end of fall 2020, must design and adopt a plan for one unit of national and
geopolitical security topics for every discipline in two test colleges. Each unit must be related to the
discipline substantively and be compatible with advanced national security trends and greater, diverse
cultural understanding.
Motivational Indicator(s)
(Only for the improvement model)
Assumed Motivation Influences
Motivational Influence Assessment
Self-Efficacy: The IU faculty subscribes to
becoming the finest faculty of any U.S. public
university because IU aspires to be the cutting-
edge university.
Question: “I want to be part of an elite faculty that
provides all students with equal and enhanced
opportunities regardless of their economic or
underrepresented position in society.”
Utility Value: The IU Faculty u faculty
understands increasing social science
graduates will result in a stronger intelligence
community which is sensitive to culture and
human factors.
Question: “I would be willing to create a unit in
my course that focuses on understanding other
cultures and assessing underrepresented
Americans’ role in our national future.”
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 38
being known for whom it includes, can achieve the social science curricula innovation required
for a 21st-century national intelligence posture.
Utility Value and Self-Efficacy Theories
The IU faculty subscribe to becoming the finest faculty of any U.S. public university
because IU has defined itself as the cutting-edge university. Committed faculty members are
confident in their mastery of their discipline and, to some extent, their ability to convey what
they have learned to others. This is an example of self-efficacy (Bandura, 2005). Self-efficacy is
defined as the self-perception of one’s abilities (Bandura, 2005). Building on Bandura’s
foundation, academic self-efficacy is defined as an estimate of confidence in one’s ability to
perform various tasks classified as teaching, research, and service in higher education (Landino
& Owen, 1988). The key to meeting IU’s mission and goals is the IU faculty members’ ability to
believe they are the best or can be the best at what they do.
Bandura (1993) researched how self-efficacy contributes to cognitive development and
functioning. Perceived self-efficacy exerts its influence through four major processes: cognitive,
motivational, affective, and selection. Three distinct levels exist at which perceived self-efficacy
operates as a crucial contributor to academic development. Bandura suggests faculty members’
beliefs in their personal efficacy to motivate and promote learning affect the types of learning
environments they create and the academic progress their students achieve. In the present case,
this would directly affect how the diverse spectrum of university disciples would include a
national intelligence component.
In line with Bandura (1993), faculty members’ beliefs in their collective efficacy
contributions have a direct relationship with the achievement of their goals. The IU faculty
would need to take stock of their collective ability and receive affirmation from the president and
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 39
board of regents as to their ability to become the very best in public higher education. The
external encouragement of faculty optimism might be a catalyst in prompting faculty to sprint
toward the university’s goals (Hsu, Hou, & Fan, 2011). When employees' creative self‐efficacy
is high, those members with greater optimism exhibit greater innovative behavior at work (Hsu,
Hou, & Fan, 2011). A key would be to tap into faculty metacognition, and thus they would take
stock of their ability and be encouraged to excel toward IU’s mission and goals. An element of
self-efficacy is metacognition; metacognitive knowledge will allow the faculty to know the
“when and why” to solving the problem of integrating national security information into
curricula (Bandura, 1993).
Mastery over the problem will accomplish two critical things. First, it will enable the
faculty to metacognitively discern they do have the potential to be the foremost public university
problem-solvers. Second, it will enable self-talk or affirmation of faculty welcoming the
challenge. It will be quite a challenge to fulfill IU’s mission of inclusion while meeting the goal
of becoming the cutting-edge university. These two prongs will be characterized by the faculty
members’ self-efficacy conducted at an elevated performance (Bandura, 1993; Bandura, 2005).
Stakeholder Organization Factors
IU’s organizational culture is a high-pressure and dynamic public university. The tone is
set by its president who expects innovation to be integrated into all aspects of IU. The cultural
settings and models are critical to analyzing the organization (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001).
Cultural settings are concrete and include the faculty, its functions (both academic and
administrative), and the reasons the faculty completes its tasks. When reviewing those completed
tasks, it is crucial to determine why and how the tasks are completed along with analyzing the
social context in which the faculty members’ work is performed. The cultural practices and
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 40
commonality within IU are illustrated through its cultural model (Gallimore & Goldenberg,
2001). The faculty members’ unique posture is discussed in the following paragraphs.
Stakeholder Specific Factors
The cultural-setting perspective centers on two organizational structures. First, the IU
faculty senate is a robust enclave with fierce but positive dialogue on university changes. It
adopted the IU charter and embraced IU’s mission to be known by whom it includes as well as to
become more relevant to the communities it serves. The cabinet embraced the IU president’s call
for IU to become the cutting-edge university, so the cabinet must adopt and advocate for the
proposed curricula changes to integrate social science human factors expertise in the cadre of
graduates destined for a national intelligence career as well as to ratify higher education’s role as
a key component of the national security infrastructure. The cabinet must advocate for the
financial and procedural support of its faculty as they embark on the changes to propel IU to
cutting-edge-university status.
An organizational problem anticipated is faculty members’ reticence to accept the call to
integrate national security topics into the cross-section of multi-disciplines. The cabinet must
take a lead in championing the cause. Furthermore, faculty members’ workload might impede
efforts, as they are immersed in research, teaching, and other administrative duties. In this case,
both the faculty senate and departmental leadership must ameliorate those burdens.
Second, each department in the proposed test colleges is responsible for implementation
of curricula and integration into multiple disciplines. These departments must directly advise the
cabinet and indirectly advise IU administrators as to the obstacles encountered. The departments
are in the best position to identify remedial steps to circumscribe obstacles and leapfrog to
practical solutions to implementation problems.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 41
Table 5 illustrates the cultural model influences and cultural settings which present
faculty with both opportunities and obstacles. Furthermore, the table presents a point of
departure for how to assess the listed organizational influences.
Table 5
Organizational Influences and Influence Assessments
Organizational Mission
IU is a public research university seeking to advance research and discovery while assuming
responsibility for the well-being of the communities it serves.
Organizational Global Goal
We must prepare social science, education, psychology, and language (social science) students to fill
national intelligence jobs
Stakeholder Goal
The IU faculty, by the end of fall 2020, must design and adopt a plan for one unit of national and
geopolitical security topics for every discipline in two test colleges. Each unit must be related to the
discipline substantively and be compatible with advanced national security trends and greater, diverse
cultural understanding.
Assumed Organizational
Influences
Organizational Influence
Assessment
Research-Based
Recommendation
or Solution
Principle
Proposed Solution
Cultural Model Influence 1:
A faculty buy-in must be the
catalyst for curricula
innovation, which would
incorporate a national
intelligence component in
one unit in all departments in
two test colleges.
Interview Questions about
their belief that higher
education has a role in
national security.
Incorporate Faculty
participation in the
curricula re-design.
Created working,
university -wide
task force to create
new curricula. Use
all levels of
teaching faculty as
well as
administrators as
participants.
Cultural Model Influence 2:
Faculty must believe it is
advantageous to increase
social science graduates in
the national intelligence
corps to increase human
factors expertise.
Interview Questions about
their belief that diversity is
a strength and that they
can play an active role in
recruitment.
Study an overview
of human factors
elements that
enhance
identification of
potential solutions
to neutralizing
potential terrorists.
Provide faculty
with key literature
and expert opinions
regarding the acts
of terrorism that
could have been
prevented had there
been more social
science/human
factors expertise
revealing the
potential terrorism.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 42
Table 5, continued
Assumed Organizational
Influences
Organizational Influence
Assessment
Research-Based
Recommendation
or Solution
Principle
Proposed Solution
Cultural Setting Influence 1:
Cabinet and administration
meeting to marshal resources
for faculty work on
innovative curricula
development.
Interview Questions based
on a review of syllabi with
mandated course topics
required to be integrated
into the curricula of
selected faculty members
about the support for
innovation.
Faculty must
believe that
administration is an
asset and not an
obstacle.
Administration
funding for faculty
that help create, use
and test the new
curricula should be
identified at the
onset of the
process.
Cultural Setting Influence 2:
Department study groups or
task forces to integrate
national intelligence into
their curricula.
Interview Questions (more
intimate) about what
resources are necessary,
what obstacles appear, and
how to help faculty help
create the innovation.
Identify the
difficulty or ease in
creating new
curricula. Measure
faculty interest in
integrating
geopolitics into
lower division
courses.
Create a template
with minimum
course
competencies
needed to be be
accomplished when
integrating
geopolitics into
multidisciplines.
The conceptual overview highlighted in the aforementioned cultural motivation and
cultural setting discussion is amplified in the following section in a more thorough discussion of
the cultural framework. The researcher starts with the foundational questions which must be
asked to embark on an explanation of the cultural strengths and obstacles to be faced in the
curricula development.
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation and
the Organizational Context
A conceptual framework must be defined to understand the questions’ interrelationships.
Designing and elucidating the conceptual resources of experiential knowledge, existing theory,
and research relationships is paramount to creating an optimal conceptual framework (Maxwell,
2013). A conceptual framework is the sum of the assumptions, beliefs, expectations, and theories
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 43
at the heart of the research. It provides a narrative explanation of the interrelationships and
includes terms, concepts, models, thoughts, and ideas (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The conceptual
framework is the embodiment of the knowledge, motivation, and organizations’ influences.
Furthermore, it is subject to a gap analysis of the faculty members’ goal attainment (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Finally, a conceptual framework is illustrated in a diagram for enhanced conceptual
understanding.
This paper focuses on IU and the national intelligence community’s need for greater
human factors expertise in assessing security threats (Fein, 2002). The remedies suggested
include a greater focus on social science graduates’ integration into our national intelligence
community infrastructure to bring the relevancy of national security issues to the cross-section of
academic disciplines. The data and qualitative analysis in this study will come from the literature
review as well as interviews with stakeholders and national intelligence experts to gather
experiential knowledge. That experiential knowledge (Maxwell, 2013) is a key to understanding
what can and cannot be done to reach IU’s mission and goal.
The researcher has experience in system-wide, curricula development and adoption.
Furthermore, with that experience comes a familiarity and a positive relationship with IU faculty.
Faculty are key in developing curricula most relevant to reaching IU’s mission to advance
research and discovery while assuming responsibility for the well-being of the communities it
serves. Counterintelligence experts opined the national intelligence community would be better
served with more human factors experts to avoid acts of terrorism altogether (Flynn, Sisco, &
Ellis, 2012; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). The researcher will bring these hypotheses to the attention of
the interviewees for comment, experiential observations, and analysis.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 44
President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally adopted higher education as a key component
of the national security structure. This is critical to the faculty members’ knowledge because it
plays a key role in national security, and faculty has a duty to prepare our graduates to serve in
the national intelligence community. An additional benefit is the potential for increased
governmental funding to IU if a partnership with the national intelligence community is
fashioned as other institutions have done (Grossman & Schortgen, 2016).
The conceptual framework identifies the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences on this research. Their interdependency is illustrated in the following diagram.
Figure 1. Interactive conceptual framework for curricula development to serve national security
interests and make IU more relevant to those it serves.
Cultural Model Influence 1:
There must be faculty buy-in to be the
catalyst for curricula innovation which
would incorporate a national intelligence
component in one unit in all departments
in two test colleges. Cultural Model
Influence 2: Faculty must believe it is
advantageous to increase social science
graduates into the U.S. national
intelligence corps in order to increase
human factors expertise. Influence 1:
Cabinet and administration meeting to
marshal resources for faculty work on
innovative curricula development. Cultural
Setting Influence 2:
Department study groups or task forces to
integrate national intelligence into their
curricula.
Faculty Goals
The IU faculty, by Fall 2020, must design and adopt a
plan for one unit of national and geopolitical security
topics for every discipline in two, test colleges. Each
unit must be related to the discipline substantively and
be compatible with advanced national security trends
and greater, diverse cultural understanding.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 45
This figure illustrates the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences necessary
for IU to become more relevant to the national community it serves. The organization, IU,
through its faculty, senate, and department groups, provides the cultural setting. The cultural
influences emphasize the importance of faculty buy-in to curricula development. Faculty can
only achieve the above organization goals with institutional financial and political support. The
necessary resources are key to closing the current performance gap (Clark & Estes, 2008). In
turn, the communication flows in the opposite direction because faculty must communicate its
needs to the organizational bodies of the faculty senate and individual departments if a true
partnership is to be achieved.
Note the two-way arrow between IU as an organization and the IU faculty members’
knowledge and motivation. The faculty must rely on the organization, be it the cabinet or
individual departments, to gain the historical knowledge about higher education’s part in national
security and in the gap created by the lack of human factors’ multidisciplinary expertise.
Furthermore, IU, as an organization, must partner with the national intelligence community to
educate faculty on the need for human factors analysis in assessing potential terrorist threats.
The other side of the two-way arrow represents faculty must communicate to IU its needs
to reach the organizational goals. Faculty’s response is also critical in identifying colleague
recalcitrance and obstacles which require organizational problem-solving and support.
The one-way arrow from the IU faculty members’ knowledge and motivation to its goals
highlights the faculty members’ paramount importance in the cultural settings and motivations
necessary to achieve the overall goal. Faculty members are the only stakeholders who can
accomplish the curricula development and garner faculty support for IU’s greater involvement in
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 46
national security education, which, in turn, will make IU more relevant to the communities it
serves.
Of the influencers, motivation will be the key component for faculty buy-in. Motivation
has been identified as the causal element in performance gaps (Clark & Estes, 2008). In this case,
the faculty must self-identify its strengths and embrace self-efficacy (Bandura, 2005) to be
known as the finest public university faculty in the country. Faculty’s enthusiasm and positive
work will be one of the key components necessary for change (Hsu, Hou, & Fan, 2011).
Conclusion
Counterintelligence experts opined the United States national intelligence community
would be better served with more social science graduates who would increase its ability to
identify human factors prior to potential terrorists becoming radicalized (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis,
2012; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). Chapter Two examined literature on the problem of how to help IU
innovate and become more relevant to society through creating security curricula to attract
diverse students, increase national intelligence human factors abilities, and close the human
factors knowledge gap (Clark & Estes, 2008) in the present corps of undergraduates. The faculty
members’ knowledge and motivation are key to creating innovative curricula (Krathwohl, 2002),
and moreover, faculty are the key to creating the curricula necessary to close any gaps and
ensure IU becomes more relevant to the communities it serves.
IU’s faculty, the key stakeholder, were characterized by knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences, which included a need to recognize higher education as a key
component in national security, identifying their self-efficacy as potentially the strongest faculty
in public education in the country, and the utility factor in closing the human factors gap and
garnering organizational support for creative curricula development, which would engender
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 47
national security relevance to key IU test colleges (Krathwohl, 2002). The goal is for faculty to
propel IU to accomplish its mission to become the cutting-edge university and become more
relevant to the communities it serves.
The researcher presented the conceptual framework in a diagram. This conceptual
framework identifies the knowledge needs, motivations, and organizational points. The
following chapter presents the methodology used to gather and analyze the data to yield
recommendations to prompt change. Furthermore, also in Chapter Three, the researcher
amplifies the rationale for qualitative methodological approaches to accomplishing the goals
while simultaneously preserving faculty members’ academic freedom.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 48
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
As discussed in Chapter One, the purpose of this study was to examine what is needed to
measure IU faculty members’ motivation to innovate to be more relevant to society.
Specifically, this study aimed to provide responses to the following three research questions:
1. What are the faculty members’ knowledge and motivation foundations necessary to lead
IU in becoming the Cutting-Edge American University by revising its curricula to ensure
geopolitical and national security topics are integrated into multi-disciplines in two test
colleges?
2. How does IU’s organizational culture and context relate (e.g., support or inhibit) to its
faculty members’ motivation and knowledge?
3. What recommendations can help the faculty achieve the organizational goals?
This chapter describes the participating stakeholders, the rationale, methodology, and
instruments to be used for data collection and analysis. Additionally, it clarifies the approach
used to enhance the validity and credibility of the study, discuss the ethical principles to be
followed, and state the study’s limitations and delimitations.
Participating Stakeholders
In this study, the IU faculty were the principal stakeholders. Although they were not the
sole stakeholders, the faculty are paramount in analyzing IU’s ability to metamorphize its
curricula to a more relevant position. The faculty serve in the primary roles of change architect,
marketer of the necessary curricula change, and builder of the new curricula. The organization,
through its president, vice presidents, and deans, serve in a supportive or complementary role to
the faculty members’ initiative. The faculty, following IU’s mission to become more relevant to
the community it serves, will prepare social science graduates who are adept in human factors
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 49
skills to apply for national intelligence community jobs and attract the federal funding
commensurate with higher education’s role in national security.
In this chapter, discussion of document review methods will be followed by the interview
approach and rationale. The interviews will help assess the faculty members’ knowledge of this
study’s focus. The following criteria were transferred to qualitative interviews.
Interview Question Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1. We must assess the faculty members’ knowledge of the National Defense
Education Act of 1958 and President Eisenhower’s integration of higher education as a
fundamental part of the national security infrastructure. Without obstacles such as antiquated
loyalty oaths, a greater partnership with the national intelligence community can create jobs for
IU graduates and become a sustainable stream of income.
Criterion 2. Counterintelligence experts opined greater human factors capabilities among
national intelligence analysts can help identify potential terrorists before they become
radicalized, and those human factors assets come from social science graduates. We must gauge
faculty buy-in to that concept as well as their desire to modify social science curricula to prepare
students for a career in the national intelligence community.
Document Review
Documents and artifacts were gathered via the IU internet course catalogue. The primary
group of documents reviewed were lower-division undergraduate course syllabi. The document
review was the predicate to qualitative interviews of faculty. In addition, national security
policymakers were interviewed based on the same knowledge and motivation topics as well as
the needs of our national intelligence community.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 50
The review of the syllabi was interpreted into a narrative piece, which was shared with
the IU leadership. This approach sought faculty members’ buy-in. This researcher randomly
selected 10 culturally and academically diverse faculty members whose syllabi were reviewed.
This researcher asked for a 45-minute in-person interview with each faculty member. Ten
affirmative responses were received, and those respondents were interviewed. Open-ended
questions were created and vetted for trustworthiness, clarity, and ethical merit.
As a reactor panel, national security policymakers were interviewed based on the same
knowledge and motivation topics as well as the needs of our national intelligence community.
The results of the qualitative interviews were shared with them to provide the requisite
information for a meaningful interview. The reactor panel of interviewees expanded on this
researcher’s study premise. The reactor panel members were individually interviewed for their
reflections on the preliminary study results. The reactor panelists all had practical, national
intelligence expertise and provided overview and comments.
This researcher secured national experts with experience in defense, intelligence
collection and appropriations. The experts included two former members of a United States
presidential cabinet and a former member of the United States Senate.
This approach is appropriate for the conceptual framework because of the cultural model
influence and cultural settings which interact with the previously identified motivational self-
efficacy and utility. In turn, this relates to all faculty goals identified in this researcher’s cultural
framework model.
Interview Group Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
This researcher interviewed 10 faculty members in addition to the national policymakers
identified previously. The interviews took place at the faculty members’ offices, a quiet coffee
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 51
shop, via Zoom or via telephone. All interview sites were within 45 minutes of the researcher’s
home. The 10 interviewees were selected from volunteers based on the syllabi review. The
interviews were conducted in late summer to early fall of 2019 to ensure the questions and
questionnaire were appropriate. This researcher reiterated the aforementioned two criteria
because he was hopeful the research would be purely qualitative.
Explanation for Choices
Interviews were the primary data collection method, although the document review
served as a useful predicate. These two sources of data collection were selected because of the
ease of use and to minimize the time volunteered by the faculty and outside interviewees
(Johnson & Christensen, 2008). The interviews utilized the interview guide approach and
standardized open-ended questions because of their effectiveness at eliciting general and wide-
ranging opinions. These methods are particularly critical when interviewing external
policymakers. Interviews were conducted in a natural setting and because this researcher is the
key instrument (Creswell & Creswell, 2017).
The document review focused on syllabi used in multiple disciplines. Selected syllabi
included a component mandated by IU. The syllabi were reviewed for trends, commonalities,
and challenges. Finally, because the study involved national policy, qualitative data were
collected via documents and articles in the public domain as well as select IU syllabi. The work
was undertaken as a predicate to preparing meaningful questions for the qualitative interviews.
Informal conversational interviews would be have been deemed a waste of time by the
interviewees and closed qualitative interviews would be too restricting. Furthermore, tests, focus
groups, observations, and constructed and secondary or existing data were not considered
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 52
because of their impracticality for securing cooperation from the faculty and outside
policymakers.
A cover story introduced the subject matter. The researcher selected qualitative,
purposeful, two-tier sampling because of the information-rich conceptual and declarative
knowledge which must be elicited from the group (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Thus, typical,
maximum variation, convenience, and snowball sampling were eliminated.
Explanation of the Study
The interviews were predicated with an identical script informing the participants about
the study. The following is the general explanation of the study was used.
This study focuses on faculty leadership in creating curricula which may aid IU’s
students, financial well-being, and international reputation, as well as the national intelligence
community and ultimately all who fear and fight terrorism. IU has adopted a mission to be
known by whom it includes, become more relevant to the global community it serves, and
become the cutting-edge American university. IU contributes graduates to the national
intelligence community who go on to become analysts. We will focus on the curricular
preparation of those graduates.
Some national security analysts argued the national intelligence community would be
better served by more graduates in the analyst corps who are attuned to human factors. The
argument is analysts with more human factor expertise would identify potential terrorists or call
out terrorism propensities before those being observed become radicalized. If identified earlier,
our national intelligence community can step in to prevent the radicalization before an act of
terrorism materializes.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 53
Since 1958, higher education has been identified important to national defense quiver.
Presidents Truman and Eisenhower convened expert commissions to define higher education’s
role in the country’s defense posture. At one time, U.S. defense policy included the integration of
higher education loans, scholarships, and research grants, which was populist in nature rather
than today’s concentrated defense research partnerships with colleges and universities. Part of
this study will explore the IU faculty members’ predisposition to or abhorrence of resurrecting
the former defense partnership by integrating a unit of geopolitical or national defense concerns
into standard college curricula. This will require significant faculty buy-in and creativity in
curricula development.
Finally, this study gauged whether faculty want to create innovative curricula
emphasizing human factors in the preparation of IU graduates for recruitment into the national
intelligence community.
Sampling Strategy and Timeline
Table 6 presents the sampling strategy, sample size, and timeline for each method.
Table 6
Proposed Sampling Strategy, Sample Size, and Timeline.
Sampling
Strategy
Number in Stakeholder
Population
Number of
Proposed
Participants
Timeline for Data
Collection
Interviews 10 30 10 August 1 to
September 15, 2019
Observations N/A N/A N/A N/A
Documents 31 30 30 June 1 to July 15,
2019
Surveys N/A N/A N/A N/A
Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation
This research employed qualitative methodology. The document review focused on
course syllabi where a university-mandated unit in the course has been integrated into the
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 54
curriculum by the undergraduate course professor. The aforementioned questions laid the
foundation for this researcher to venture into IU’s faculty community to listen and explore the
members’ knowledge and motivation as well as the organizational support, or lack thereof, for a
revised curriculum (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Maxwell, 2013; McEwan & McEwan, 2003).
This researcher’s premise was the inclusion of a national security or geopolitical topic
into one class session of multiple disciplines in two IU test colleges can sensitize social science
graduates to the national security needs as well as their role as a global citizens, and create
interest in a national intelligence career. Further, as previously noted, some scholars believe
intuition can be taught. The hope was social science students would also want to learn intuition
and apply it in a national intelligence career. Once the faculty create the innovative curricula,
these are vetted, and IU approves them, rank-and-file faculty members will be required to modify
their syllabi and prepare the single class unit content. This researcher reviewed course syllabi for
specific IU-mandated language. The IU board of regents, in response to legislative pressure
regarding students being offended by controversial course content, mandated language for
inclusion in all syllabi to afford students to opt out of controversial course matter. This
researcher reviewed course syllabi in the two test colleges to determine whether faculty included
the mandated language in their syllabi. This was to help measure faculty reticence regarding
mandates.
Further, a former IU provost mandated a course named IU101 to cover IU’s philosophy
and role in the world. I understand the faculty senate and others strongly objected and fought
this effort. This researcher undertook a document review of the history of the mandate’s success.
The document review measured knowledge and motivation to determine whether change
is possible, as well as which change model would be appropriate (Clark & Estes, 2008). Faculty
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 55
knowledge questions focused on awareness of higher education’s role in national security and
determine whether faculty members know of a nexus between their discipline and national
security. This method of surveying syllabi is a more effective method than attempting to elicit
information about mandated course content from interviewees (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Document Review Procedures
The researcher reviewed 31 undergraduate course syllabi containing IU-mandated
content. The syllabi were selected from the posted Fall 2019 syllabi in the IU course catalogue.
Two test colleges were used as the sample base. This random selection was key to ensuring
participants were not selected because of preference or prejudice (Salkind, 2016; Shenton, 2004).
The purpose of selecting such syllabi was to determine faculty acceptance of integrating such a
single class period unit into the course curriculum. Moreover, it helped the researcher gauge the
faculty members’ knowledge, motivation, and assessment of IU’s organizational support. This
mandate syllabi content might not have dovetailed with the course discipline. Nevertheless, the
content was identified as intended to advance the students’ education and overall well-being as
well as serve IU’s interests.
While the syllabi were being reviewed, this researcher created a code to aggregate
commonality and avoid outliers. This information was used as the predicate to the open-ended
interviews, which gauged faculty enthusiasm, reticence, and time devoted to the integration of
mandated course content. A priori codes and empirical information were aggregated, and
formative axial coding was the primary means of doing so. Patterns and themes emerging in
response to the researcher’s questions were amalgamated into the above codes or through
theoretical coding.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 56
The timing of the document review (early summer of 2019) was predicated on the
researcher securing approval from the dissertation committee and institutional review board to
proceed. Concurrently, this researcher expanded on the aforementioned sample questions to
complete 20 to 30 questions from which the salient qualitative questions were selected.
Furthermore, as previously noted, the document review served as a predicate to the qualitative
data collection, which occurred in late summer and early Fall of 2019. This allowed the
researcher to modify the semi-formal questions partially based on the document review data
(Fink, 2015; Bogdan & Biklen, 2010).
Interviews
The researcher identified 31 syllabi containing the IU-mandated course content. The
researcher emailed the faculty members whose syllabi were reviewed to request an interview.
The goal was to interview 10 faculty members.
The interviews focused on the KMO model to gauge knowledge, motivation, and
organizational support. Interviews, using a semi-formal open-ended question approach, are the
best means to allow the respondent to react to the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
obstacles. This allowed the researcher to follow up to determine how to pursue possible solutions
to newly identified obstacles. The interviews served to verify or disprove the conclusions
reached from the qualitative document review (Fink, 2015; Shenton, 2004).
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 57
Table 7
Questions Linked to KMO Analysis
Questions
KMO Measurement
Is higher education a key component or rib in United States
national security?
Measures
knowledge
Does your discipline have a nexus/relevancy to national security
topics?
Measures
knowledge
Would you be willing to devote one class period to a topic with a
nexus to greater world understanding or geopolitical relevancy to
your discipline and/or national security?
Measures
motivation
Would you participate in a multidisciplinary team to create
curricula that touch on the aforementioned topics?
Measures
motivation
If it required volunteering extra hours of your time, would you be
willing to participate in a test study designed to enhance IU’s
academic reputation and help achieve IU’s goal of becoming the
Cutting-Edge public university?
Measures
motivation
Would you have the support of your department, college, and IU
for leave time, financial incentive, sabbatical time, reassignment
of teaching load, etc., if you were to modify your course
curriculum to include a single class period of national intelligence
or geopolitical study?
Measures
organization
How do you feel about IU-mandated provisions for your course
syllabi?
Measures motivation
If you included mandated sections to your syllabus, what
motivated you to do so? If you did not include the mandated
language, what motivated you not to do so?
Measures motivation
How do you feel about the mandated syllabus language that when
a student raises concerns about controversial course content, the
faculty member is to try to accommodate that student so that there
is a substitute for the controversial or objectionable course
content?
Measures motivation
Interviews are the researcher’s paramount qualitative research tool. A semi-formal, open-
ended question approach is the best means of allowing respondents to react to knowledge,
motivation, and organizational obstacles. This allowed for follow-up to determine how to pursue
possible solutions to newly identified obstacles. The interviews served the purpose of verifying
or disproving the conclusions reached from the qualitative document review (Fink, 2015;
Shenton, 2004).
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 58
Interview Protocol
The document review is the foundational predicate to the interviews. The interviews were
designed to produce the research’s substance and fiber. As previously noted, semi-structured
questions were used. The intent was to avoid robotic responses to the questions. The researcher
recognized the opportunity to gather faculty expertise, problem-solving skills, and curricula
development expertise from the interviewees (Fink, 2015; Patton, 1990). The number of
questions selected was aimed at the faculty members completing the interview in less than an
hour for the sake of their convenience and, hopefully, enthusiastic participation (Fink, 2015). A
model of the sample questions is found below.
This researcher provided the following point of departure questions related directly to the
KMO conceptual framework. The questions are categorized by each relevant KMO application.
Questions 1, 2, and 3 pertain to participants’ knowledge. Questions 4 through 9 as well as 13
pertain to the participants’ motivation. Questions 10, 11, 12, and 14 pertain to organizational
factors.
1. What role, if any, does higher education play in the United States national security
umbrella?
2. What role, if any, do human factors play in identifying potential national security threats?
3. Please identify the human factors that are incorporated into the IU national security
curricula.
4. Second, the researcher, having elicited basic information regarding higher education’s
role in U.S. national security as well as IU’s role within that community, will focus on
faculty motivation.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 59
5. What academic strengths does the optimal world-class faculty possess, and which of
these attributes does the IU faculty possess?
6. What must IU do to elevate its faculty so that by practice and reputation IU becomes the
Cutting-Edge American University?
7. What can IU do to help you become the best in your academic discipline?
8. Please describe the difficulty or ease in developing and adopting new curricula at IU?
9. Describe the optimal characteristics of IU graduates who are best prepared to enter the
national intelligence service and how you may draw out those characteristics?
10. Faculty must be the catalyst for curriculum change. IU as an organization must support
the faculty catalyst. Next, the interviews will focus on the organizational obstacles and
opportunities that must be addressed as key influences.
9. IU’s mission statement includes becoming more relevant to the community it serves;
therefore, what strategies must the IU faculty follow to support its mission to become
more relevant to our national intelligence community and our national community at
large?
10. What IU resources can be marshaled to assist faculty in innovative curricula
development?
11. What are the benefits of national security topics to be integrated into interdisciplinary
curricula across all departments within a college?
12. If faculty were incentivized to incorporate national security topics into their curricula,
how would that impact your curricula development?
13. How do you feel about IU-mandated provisions for your course syllabi?
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 60
14. If you included mandated sections to your syllabus, what motivated you to do so? If you
did not include the mandated language, what motivated you not to do so?
15. How do you feel about the mandated syllabus language that when a student raises
concerns about controversial course content, the faculty member is to try to accommodate
that student so that there is a substitute for the controversial or objectionable course
content?
Interview Procedures
The interviews were scheduled at the interviewees’ convenience in the summer of 2019
and early fall of 2019. All expert interviews occurred in September 2019. This timing ensured
the 45-minute interview, with 15 minutes of potential follow-up or interviewee questions, did not
conflict with final spring-term examination and grading times. The timing was based on the
researcher’s need to have fresh, Fall 2019 syllabi to review and to time the interviews as the
faculty returned to campus after their summer hiatus. The faculty the prime interviewees.
This researcher conducted all the 45-minute interviews himself. The interviews were
semi-formal. This is because the same questions were asked of all interviewees, yet the questions
were open-ended, thereby eliciting more of an ad hoc narrative from each interviewee.
Regarding budgeting for travel time within the region, an hour each way was budgeted for travel
to and from the interview, and the interview with follow-up will take up to 45 minutes. Thus,
approximately 3 hours was budgeted for each interview. Forty-five hours was devoted to the
interviews notwithstanding the transcription, analysis, and narrative.
Data were captured using the REV application with a digital tape recorder for back-up
recording. The requisite waivers and consent forms were provided to each interviewee well in
advance of the interview to elicit consent for the recording. Contemporaneous handwritten notes
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 61
were taken during the interviews as a tertiary means of data collection. All interviews were
conducted in English and were initially transcribed using REV. It was important to ensure no
information was lost in translation, hence the rigid English-only prerequisite. It was paramount
to keep things simple and straight-forward (Fink, 2015; Shenton, 2004; Patton, 1990).
Credibility and Trustworthiness
The following analysis flows from Guba’s constructs, setting a foundation for this
researcher (Guba, 1981; Shenton, 2004). The researcher was concerned with excluding or
neutralizing researcher bias. A second threat to the qualitative research was stakeholder
reactivity. Both can be obstacles to objective qualitative research (Maxwell, 2013). This
researcher engaged with the IU faculty to develop an adequate understanding of IU’s political
and to create a culture of trust (Erlandson, 1993; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
For this study to achieve trustworthiness and credibility, this researcher utilized
triangulation, or verification of information from two or more sources. The qualitative document
review coupled with the qualitative interviews was the means of triangulation. Furthermore, in
limited instances, follow-up qualitative research, whether it be more interviews or the search for
artifacts, was used to ensure the accuracy of interpreted data (Bogdan & Biklen, 2010). It was
essential to address threats to qualitative validity of the document review which was the
predicate to the interviews.
The researcher’s bias regarding the integration of social science graduates into the
national intelligence corps must be recognized and addressed. As a social science undergraduate
major, the researcher identifies with the use of intuitive, human factors expertise and is
persuaded by counterintelligence experts such as Flynn and Zúñiga-Brown. Steps were taken to
ensure this bias did not taint the interpretation of the information elicited. One step was
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 62
preparing progress memoranda documenting decision-making in the securing of information and
in its interpretation. The memoranda addressed why specific questions were selected and why
conclusions were drawn from them (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). A second means was used to
ensure absolute adherence to the language in each question, avoiding leading questions to secure
an answer the researcher favors and ensuring each question is asked with the same intonation of
voice so as not to “lead” the interviewee to a preferred response.
Descriptive validity can be a key factor in the interpretation of information secured
during the interviews. While this researcher focused on what was said in response to questions,
he was also cognizant of what was not said. That was particularly salient in the national expert
interviews. For example, General Flynn reported to one of the experts. That expert, when given
General Flynn’s name, responded that he knew him because “he reported to me.” Nothing more
was said.
To ensure trustworthiness, detailed handwritten notes were kept complementing the tape
recordings. This allowed the researcher to make note of hesitant responses, retractions, and eye
movements. Those same notes described the environment of the interviews and any external
distractions to completely capture the interview in totality.
It was impossible for this researcher to control stakeholder reactivity to their syllabus
review and interviews. Such reactivity can be a threat to the integrity of the study. All steps were
taken to ensure the interviewees answer objectively regardless of this researcher’s interjection
into their daily norms. The researcher was ever mindful of how his presence in the environment
may influence the interviewee’s responses. Triangulation assisted this researcher in achieving
clarity from the various paradigms (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 63
Validity and Reliability
As to the syllabi review, steps were taken to ensure no population validity issues were
present. As for the document review, this researcher focused on syllabi identified as containing a
university-mandated class component. Generalizations of the stakeholder population’s syllabi
were avoided to ensure external validity is not threatened. There was no predetermined person or
group, other than faculty as stakeholders and architects of new curricula and those affected by
mandatory content prescribed for their course syllabus, whom this researcher required for the
project. The document review required a review of 31 syllabi gathered from the IU online,
course catalogue. There was a common theme in the syllabi with mandated course content, so a
form of analyst triangulation was used to determine if it was germane to the study results.
Furthermore, both in the document review and the interviews, this researcher was identified as
singularly only a researcher and was so identified in the written project description given to all
participants (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). This straight-forward approach added to the perception of
study objectivity (Pazzaglia, Stafford, & Rodriguez, 2016).
In the syllabi review, steps were taken to ensure no population validity issues were
present. Much as a deponent can review the deposition and make changes on the log to best
explain her or his testimony, some researchers recommend allowing interviewees to review their
response after it is in a printable format but before the data are interpreted.
Finally, a split-half method form of triangulation was used on one or two of the interview
conclusions. The intent was to ensure reliability in the answer conclusions because the same
question might be asked in several different ways (Fink, 2015; Salkind, 2016). This researcher
searched for the same answers to different forms of the question as a lawyer looks for
consistency (or inconsistency in deposition questions).
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 64
The aforementioned methodology outlined the researcher’s plan and guidance of the
study. The results yielded an application of the conceptual framework chosen and demonstrated
how the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements factor into faculty creating
innovative curricula to make more social science graduates available to the national intelligence
community.
Ethics
This researcher’s topic is IU’s opportunity to create curricula to help the national
intelligence community close the human factors undergraduate expertise gap. The human
participants in this research fell into two categories with a reactor group reflecting and
commenting on the study’s preliminary findings. Unlike a focus group or other type of
qualitative tool, this researcher did not specify the exact requisites for participants (Krueger &
Casey, 2014). A broader approach was followed, which is delineated as follows (Glesne, 2011).
IU faculty syllabi were reviewed. The syllabi were selected after identifying two test
colleges at IU. Utilizing the IU online course catalogue, 31 Fall 2019 syllabi were randomly
identified for review. From the 31 syllabi, 20 faculty members identified and asked for
interviews. Ten of those contacted volunteered to be interviewed. No remuneration was paid to
the interviewees although the researcher purchased a cup of coffee for two of the interviewees
who selected a coffee shop as the interview site. The syllabi were retained after the analysis and,
after this dissertation is approved, they will be destroyed by shredding if there are no objections
from the University of Southern California.
The faculty members were interviewed at their offices or a place of their choice, in a
qualitative interview session, to identify the obstacles to be overcome and what resources or
administrative support is necessary to help faculty create the curricula change, as well as to
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 65
assess the faculty members’ interest in helping lead the change. A second category of
interviewees were national security leaders of national prominence interviewed telephonically.
These individuals were interviewed to gauge their assessments of the lack of human factors
theory and to determine whether and how IU can expect to financially partner with the federal
government.
At the onset, the USC institutional review board reviewed the proposed research and
methodology. These ethical checks and balances were satisfied before the board approved
outreach communications (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). All participants signed an informed consent
form with specific language highlighting they could withdraw from this unremunerated research
at any time and for any or no reason. This is modeled after the posit that this researcher was a
guest in the private spaces of the participants (Stake, 2005). There was a written description of
the project and the purpose of the interviewees’ participation. All participants were provided
with the description in their email invitation to participate as an interviewee.
Confidentiality was not be promised but anonymity was ensured by assigning each
interviewee a code number. The interviewees were also admonished that, if they wanted their
responses to remain confidential, not to tell others they were being interviewed in this study. All
efforts were made to ensure the interviewees understood the study purposes and procedures
(Rubin & Rubin, 2012).
All interviews were digitally recorded with each interviewee signing a consent form and
verbally documenting their consent to the recording. This consent indicated the audiotape or
digital recording would be maintained until the dissertation was approved. The recordings would
then be destroyed, and participants were informed of the security measures used to preserve the
interviews (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). The data/digital recording was kept in a locked safe to which
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 66
only the researcher had access. The other digital recording was kept on a computer with no
access to the internet. Finally, all interviewees had the right to decline a digitally recorded
interview with the understanding that the interview would conducted over a longer time period to
be accurately scribed.
Positionality and Bias
The researcher was singularly only a researcher and was so identified in the written
project description given to all participants (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). This researcher recognized
his biases and assumptions as he embarked on the project (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The
researcher identified terrorism as a grave threat to our democracy and concurred with President
Eisenhower’s incorporation of higher education into national defense infrastructure as first
embodied in the National Security Act of 1958 (Markwardt, 2012).
As an assumption, General Flynn and other counterintelligence scholars suggested the
U.S. has a gap in human factors expertise in its intelligence corps with (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis,
2012; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). This researcher concurred with this premise and was hopeful that
IU could create a curricula and financial partnership with the federal government similar to but
on a larger scale than was successfully done by the University of Mount Union (Grossman &
Schortgen, 2016).
Finally, participants were told the purpose of the research was to help the faculty support
IU’s mission to be known by whom it includes rather than excludes as well as to propel IU into
its community-identified goal of becoming the cutting-edge university.
Limitations and Delimitations
This was the researcher’s first foray into determining the knowledge and motivation of
the faculty. The limitations were outside of his control. It was a preliminary task to persuade
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 67
faculty of the worth of this research in terms of their time. At the onset of the interview,
participants received a written narrative of the study purposes. Faculty members may have been
initially reticent to participate.
For example, creative curricula design is within the faculty members’ purview. One
possible limitation was whether the faculty would embrace their role as architects of cutting-edge
curricula into multidisciplinary areas. Would the faculty do so with the promise of potential
federal funding? Could the administration be persuaded to provide financial incentives to those
members who take time out of their lives to meet, confer, and create new curricula?
Furthermore, a potential limitation was the subject matter itself. Faculty were asked to
create one course unit a class session dealing with geopolitics as related to their discipline. While
French instructors can discuss the political instability in countries where French is predominant,
they might choose not to do so. While mathematics professors can include a discussion of
algorithms used in identifying cyber espionage, they might disdain military involvement in
identifying cyber espionage and refuse to participate.
This research took place over five months, which can be a limitation to some faculty
members in that a new class period is being proposed for implementation within a year. Any
curriculum change merits analysis and questioning. The timeframe itself can become an obstacle.
IU is beginning a robust, national intelligence curriculum concentrated in one college on
one of its rural campuses. That campus is STEM-oriented and has limited social science
offerings except for basic requisites needed to enroll in upper-division studies. A potential
limitation is IU’s view of the multidisciplinary characteristics of what this researcher sought to
advance. Are the proposed new curricula going to dilute that college’s enrollment numbers? In
public higher education, growing enrollment is the mother’s milk of school or college success.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 68
State funding is based on full-time equivalent numbers of students enrolled in a college. It is
possible that the college with the national intelligence curricula could view this researcher’s
proposal with suspicion and doubt. Thus, it is incumbent on this researcher to persuade a leader
in that college to participate in the initial discussion and fact-gathering, as that person’s buy-in is
critical to this research.
As previously mentioned, a limitation exists on the administration’s incentives or support
for faculty members’ creation of new curricula. The administration’s role was also a delimitation
within this researcher’s control in that administration’s support of this researcher’s project was a
predicate to the research. IU’s president was presented with the initiative and supported the
endeavor. Initially, for the fact-gathering phase, no financial resources were sought. The
president’s imprimatur was key to encouraging faculty to participate because of the end goal of
elevating IU to the cutting-edge status it seeks.
In addition, this researcher’s choice of objective, creation of the questions, and
philosophical view were delimitations. The researcher could have manipulated the interviews by
asking the provost’s office to identify faculty members who believe innovation is critical and ask
for incorporation of a cross-section of those members into the questionnaire recipients. The
objective of measuring faculty interest in introducing students to the geopolitical relevance of
their discipline was a delimitation because this researcher proposed it as a neutral means rather
than the only or most popular means to review curricula.
Finally, as previously noted, the faculty is the nucleus in curricular change. A
delimitation was this researcher focused solely on faculty for qualitative input. This researcher
recognized faculty are key in reaching/not reaching the final goal.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 69
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
This study focused on motivating social science students to consider a career in the
United States national intelligence community via faculty integration of geopolitics and national
security topics into their academic course offerings. The IU faculty members were the key
stakeholders. The aim was to achieve the goal by including one class period focusing on
geopolitics and/or national security in all lower-division course offerings in two test colleges.
The class period would transcend disciplines and the curricula would be developed by an IU task
force comprised of senior administrators, faculty of every stratum, graduate students and
administrative personnel. Faculty would comprise the lion’s share of the task force. The IU
faculty members’ knowledge, motivation and identification of organizational influences were the
key topics of assessment.
As discussed in Chapter Three, qualitative data were analyzed. These data were gathered
from a review of a mandated courses at IU, IU’s new course development protocol, IU’s
mandated syllabi trigger (not weapon but to evoke) warning, a review of lower-division courses
from the two test colleges relevant to the mandated syllabus content, interviews of faculty whose
syllabi were reviewed and reaction interviews from two former United States presidential cabinet
members and one former member of the United States Senate Appropriations Committee.
This chapter details faculty motivation and knowledge relative to integrating the single
course period, and curricula, into their existing course to touch on factual, procedural,
metacognitive and motivation categories (Krathwohl, 2001). It also reviews organizational
support for the proposed curricula. These topics are addressed to answer the research questions:
1. What are the faculty’s knowledge and motivation foundations necessary to lead
IU in becoming the cutting-edge American university by revising its curricula to
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 70
ensure geopolitical and national security topics are integrated into multiple
disciplines in two test colleges?
2. How do IU’s organizational culture and context relate (e.g., support or inhibit) to
its faculty’s motivation and knowledge?
3. What recommendations can help the faculty achieve the organizational goals?
The research approaches the suggested course content from the perspective of a
stakeholder’s acceptance or rejection of such content. If IU creates and adopts the suggested
new curricula, then that curricula will be mandated across academic disciplines to be used in one
course period in lower-division courses in the two test colleges. To gauge faculty knowledge
and motivation in addressing mandated curricula, the researcher will highlight the IU faculty
experience with a mandated course and an aspirational, mandated syllabus trigger warning. An
aspirational mandate is one that is strongly suggested but is not measured, not rewarded if used,
and not penalized if not used. The aspirational mandate, in this case, was created to respect the
faculty member’s academic freedom. Faculty reaction of both serves as a prologue to the
interviews founded on syllabi review.
The results are presented in the following order. First is a discussion of the successful
but highly controversial IU 101 course. The discussion illustrates faculty need to be part of the
course design process rather than the audience for a fait accompli. Second, the IU course creation
protocol is reviewed as it is, in part, the outgrowth of the controversial IU 101 rollout. Third, the
history of the mandated syllabus content is discussed along with determining whether it was
actually implemented. This data was collected in the review of syllabi and in the follow-up
interviews. Fourth, the review of the syllabi helped to determine whether faculty complied with
the aspirational mandate and what their motivation was in doing so. Fifth, the results of the
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 71
qualitative faculty interviews are presented to evidence faculty members’ knowledge and
motivation along with their assessment of the organizational influences. Sixth, interviews of
former United States national security leaders are discussed in terms of the interviewees’
reaction to the argument that more social science graduates are needed in the national
intelligence corps to prevent acts of terrorism (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011;
Plous & Zimbardo, 2004). The point of departure is identifying the participating stakeholders.
Participating Stakeholders
Faculty members were the primary participating stakeholders because they educate IU’s
students. After syllabi from two test colleges were reviewed, 10 faculty members were selected
for interviews. Faculty members are involved in curricula development and course instruction.
Their knowledge, motivation, and assessment of organizational influences were key in this study.
The faculty interviews yielded suggestions as to how higher education could better be
appreciated by the United States government. Funding and pedagogy suggestions were made.
To measure the feasibility and gauge the practicality of those suggestions, experienced senior
government officials were interviewed. All were experienced in budgeting and higher
education’s role in United States national defense. They were asked about the faculty
suggestions and offered their own opinions on the premise that geopolitics and national security
were lacking in higher education. A former member of the United States Senate Appropriations
Committee, a former United States presidential cabinet member with national security and
jurisprudence expertise and a former cabinet member with expertise in defense and national
intelligence issues were interviewed.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 72
Results Overview
In response to the three principal questions, the following is a synopsis of the results. A
discussion of faculty members’ knowledge and motivation is followed by the results regarding
organizational influences.
Knowledge Results
Faculty expressed knowledge that higher education is part of the United States national
defense structure and frustration over the lack of federal funding for higher education.
Interviewees had a general knowledge of the definition of human factors and believed social
science students were more intuitive than other students, but that fact might be predicated on
more intuitive high school students deciding to major in the social sciences. All faculty
interviewees believed their academic discipline had a nexus to national security and all believed
part of higher education’s mission is to create an informed populace.
Of the faculty interviewees, 10 believed their existing courses, ranging from tourism to
French to the arts, already contained geopolitical or national security topics. All believed
integrating the new curriculum into a single class period was a worthwhile effort and could be
readily accomplished. Some interviewees opined their course content already contains more
than a single class period in the suggested new curricula. They expressed a desire to help IU
become a cutting-edge university via their teaching and scholarship. The motivational forces
behind those opinions are discussed below.
Motivation Results
Faculty interviewees responded that mandated curricula changes were not an obstacle and
would not create less faculty enthusiasm for the changes. They argued that faculty buy-in is
better achieved when the faculty are involved in creating the mandated subject matter. Further,
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 73
they believed that IU faculty scholarship was high, that it can be elevated, and that they have the
realistic potential of becoming the finest, public university faculty in the country. They found
value in their potential to introduce a national intelligence or national security career opportunity
for a student not already predisposed to such a career. They believed teaching geopolitics and or
national security topics was within their personal value systems and helped IU create a good
citizenry.
Organizational Results
In addressing the third question, the organizational results are reviewed below. Faculty
interviewees were unanimously accepting of mandated course content. However, they believed
some administrative obstacles inhibited the execution of those mandates. For example, a lack of
clear administrative direction was cited as an obstacle. One interviewee noted the administrators
needed to propose “more streamlining and unification in terms of how we’re trained to deliver
and teach. There’s a lot of focus on content and not a lot on types of pedagogy.” All
interviewees sought uniformity in the direction of new curricula. Only two interviewees
believed a larger salary was necessary to secure faculty buy-in. Often cited was the need for
greater IU financial support for career development to help faculty members realize their
maximum self-efficacy. Faculty can help IU achieve its goals with a greater organizational focus
on helping faculty enhance their own knowledge via continuing education, providing a platform
for national exposure to faculty achievements, and providing coordination of faculty effort.
Artifact Review
The first half of this qualitative research consisted of the artifact review. Faculty
members’ knowledge of existing mandates and their motivation to comply was the core of this
review focused on the successful yet strictly mandated IU 101 course, the aspirational mandate
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 74
of syllabi trigger warnings, the requirement for a diversity reference in syllabi, the streamlined
course creation protocol, and an inventory of faculty compliance based on the review of 31 Fall
2019 course syllabi. The syllabi were selected from the two test colleges, College of Public
Programs and the College of Arts & Letters. The artifact review occurred over the Summer of
2019. The following section presents the results of the artifact review.
The Mandated IU101 Course
Mandating curricula leads to a need to assess faculty knowledge regarding acceptance of
this new curricula and motivation to do so. Faculty members have been reticent to accept
mandated courses or requisites absent their involvement in developing such curricula. A case in
point is IU101, pass/fail course. In 2006, the provost imposed the mandatory course, which is a
required, one-credit course offered in sections and designed to introduce all first-time students to
the university’s unique elements, culture, challenges, and opportunities. Initially, the course was
not well received by university faculty because of their lack of input in its content, their lack of
participation in its creation and the requirement that select faculty teach the new course in
addition to their existing teaching load.
1
Newer IU faculty interviewed readily accepted the new
course because, as one interviewee stated it was not controversial “…because I taught at
community colleges, too and they have something very similar.”
IU101 is taught in five in-person class sessions. The course has six core focus areas: the
mission of the university, diversity and its impact on students, the importance of
1
IU has no files or details of the IU101 proposal controversy. The previous Provost, who
spearheaded the new course left IU for another prestigious university, has passed away. The IU
Provost’s Office has indicated that the former Provost scrubbed all emails, documentation after
the course approval. The IU faculty senate archives do not contain a reference to its debate over
the new course. This researcher is left to his personal knowledge and the informal discussion
with current Provost Office personnel.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 75
entrepreneurship/innovation/creativity in supporting students’ education, sustainability, social
embeddedness, and academic integrity. The purpose of the course was explained as having
students consider how these topics affect them and how they can use them to further their
academic goals. Ancillary IU101 topics explained are understanding and managing stress, safety
at IU, the importance of being globally engaged, basic advice on how to succeed at IU and other
college-specific topics. Table 8 illustrates its implementation in a course schedule.
Table 8
IU 101 Sample Weekly Course Schedule
Week Topics Post-class follow up assignments Pre-class preparation
assignments
Week 1 Class,
instructor, and
student
introductions.
Review of
syllabus and
assignments.
Succeeding at
IU.
Watch Succeeding at IU presentation
online.
Complete Student Success Activity:
Schedule Grid.
Complete Succeeding at IU quiz
online.
Module evaluation.
Complete the Entrepreneurial
Spirit pre-class assignment:
watch Thomas Friedman video
and complete quiz.
Complete stress self-
assessment.
Week 2 Taking Charge
and Being
Innovative:
The
Entrepreneurial
Spirit.
Managing
stress
Complete the post-class
Entrepreneurial Spirit reflection
activity.
Complete entrepreneurship quiz
online.
Module evaluation.
Complete Diversity pre-class
assignment: World and US as
a Village.
Complete academic integrity
game as assigned.
Week 3 Understanding
and
Appreciating
Differences:
Diversity
Contribute to Diversity discussion
online.
Complete diversity quiz online.
Module evaluation
Read Excerpt from Creating
the “Cutting Edge” University
at IU: A Plan for Social
Embeddedness.
Watch the Sense of Place:
Metro IU video.
Week 4 Engaging in
Your
Community:
Social
Embeddedness.
Complete Social Embeddedness
reflection assignment.
Contribute to Social Embeddedness
online discussion.
Complete Social Embeddedness quiz
online.
Module evaluation
Complete ecological footprint
exercise.
Watch Running Dry video.
Listen to Sustainability
Podcasts.
Review Global engagement
materials.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 76
Table 8, continued
Week Topics Post-class follow up assignments Pre-class preparation
assignments
Week 5 Green Living:
Sustainability
Complete Sustainability refection
assignment.
Contribute to online discussion.
Complete Sustainability quiz online.
Complete course evaluation survey
online.
Although this course was detailed, it received lukewarm reception by the faculty. The
provost is now deceased and did not keep a file on the proposal and execution of the new course.
It is my understanding that objection to the course came from the fact that faculty members had
no input into its creation, the course created additional workload even if they taught only a
fraction of the new course, and there was no remuneration beyond their current salary for the
new course. Faculty, having no choice but to implement IU101, reticently carried out their
assignment to teach the new course. An indirect result of the new course is the following,
relatively new, course creation process.
Course Creation Process
In a measured response to faculty criticism of the mandated course, supra, campus
leaders took affirmative steps to ensure that, prospectively, there would be faculty buy-in.
Leadership implemented a detailed new course protocol called ChangeMaker. ChangeMaker
prescribes the process begin with college/school review. Academic units initiate the process for
new courses or modifications to existing courses by entering the information in Curriculum
ChangeMaker for department and college dean review. All proposals require the dean’s
approval. New courses and modifications to existing courses are reviewed by the office of the
executive vice president and provost to ensure curriculum ChangeMaker forms are properly
completed, required information is present, and proposals adhere to university policies.
Examples of items reviewed are course data, shared courses, and proposed course numbers,
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 77
enrollment requirements, academic unit impact, transfer agreements. If additional information is
required, the academic unit is contacted for clarification. When the necessary concerns are
addressed, the form is edited, approved and added to the faculty senate’s consent agenda. It is
important to note that, throughout the process, there are checks and balances to ensure there is
faculty buy-in. This process is a sharp contrast to the IU101 rollout via the former provost’s motu
proprio.
Mandatory Syllabus Content Regarding Objectionable Course Material
Faculty acceptance or rejection of mandated course content was also analyzed. Faculty
reticence or acceptance of mandated syllabus content provided a measured view of faculty
motivation and how mandated curricula would be received. The university’s response to
legislative pressure to warn students of controversial course matter resulted in aspirational
mandated syllabus trigger warnings. The trigger warning is language to warn students that the
course might contain objectionable content. A history of that controversy and the resulting
artifact review follow.
The state legislature is politically conservative and contrasts with the university
community. In 2006, legislators suggested that remedial steps were needed when a student
found course content to be objectionable. Senate Bill 1331 was proposed to require faculty to
substitute course content when a student found the existing content objectionable. University
administrators suggested mandatory syllabus content required faculty to present alternative
course content if their normal course content was found to be objectionable.
The researcher was a university regent and argued this proposal violated faculty’s
academic freedom. The regents debated the matter, in large part, because approximately one-
third of the public university’s budget came from legislative appropriation. The statewide faculty
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 78
council objected to the senate bill’s content and stated affirmed support for academic freedom
and the need for students study and discuss diverse materials, some of which may be cause
controversy. The result was an aspirational suggestion of including specific language notifying
students that the course might have objectionable content and to bring objections to the attention
of the instructor or department lead. This suggested syllabus language is the core of the artifact
review. In measuring faculty motivation, syllabi were reviewed to determine whether faculty
incorporated the mandatory language or substituted their own.
Review of Syllabi
The proposed single class period, geopolitical or national security curriculum focuses on
two test colleges: the College of Arts and Letters and College of Public Programs. These two
colleges embody one-fifth of total enrollment. Further, these colleges include undergraduate
majors traditionally considered social science disciplines. Lower-division courses were selected
as the common denominator for the proposed curricular inclusion. The researcher reviewed 31
syllabi for Fall 2019 that had been posted in the online IU course catalogue:
Tourism
Sustainability
Social Work
Sociology
Psychology
Mathematics
Japanese
Italian
History
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 79
World History
Earth and Space Exploration
French
English
Criminal Justice
Communications
Biology
Art
Spanish
Microbiology
Chinese
Civic & Economic Thought
The syllabi were reviewed to ascertain whether the suggested objectionable course content
trigger warning language was included. Factors such as faculty rank and gender were also
reviewed.
Syllabi Results
The suggested syllabus content was intended to warn students that some content may be
deemed offensive. Students were informed of how to bring this to the attention of the instructor.
Warnings are redacted to exclude identifying information. Thirty-one lower-division course
syllabi were reviewed. Lower-division courses were targeted, as they would be a common
denominator for undergraduate students compared to upper-division courses which would
contain more electives and would be focused on academic disciplines as a major. It is important
to remember that the goal was to present national intelligence as a potential career interest
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 80
among undergraduate students. Upper-division students would be less apt to change majors or
consider other career fields as they are entrenched in their academic disciplines.
In terms of gender, 18 faculty members were female and 13 were male. The
determination of gender was made by first name. Transgender or other gender expressions were
not considered due to reliance on first names as listed on syllabi. The syllabi were created by two
professors, five associate professors, two assistant professors, eleven instructors, eight lecturers,
one faculty associate (adjunct), one post doctorate associate (adjunct), and one senior scientist.
Figure 2. Syllabi review by faculty rank.
Of the thirty-one syllabi reviewed, 26 contained generic content: prohibition of
commercial note taking services, copyright information, notice of mandatory course evaluations,
disclaimers, an accessibility statement, student conduct and academic integrity policy, and Title
IX information. The university’s mission of inclusivity was recognized by 15% of instructors
via reference to the diversity policy. The mandated statement of inclusion states,
Syllabi Review by Faculty Rank
Professors Associate Professors
Assistant Professors Instructors
Lecturers Faculty Associate - Adjunct
Post Doctoral Associate Sr. Scientist
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 81
IU is deeply committed to positioning itself as one of the great new universities by
seeking to build excellence, enhance access and have an impact on our community, state,
nation and the world. To do that requires our faculty and staff to reflect the intellectual,
ethnic and cultural diversity of our nation and world so that our students learn from the
broadest perspectives, and we engage in the advancement of knowledge with the most
inclusive understanding possible of the issues we are addressing through our scholarly
activities. We recognize that race and gender historically have been markers of diversity
in institutions of higher education. However, at IU, we believe that diversity includes
additional categories such as socioeconomic background, religion, sexual orientation,
gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, nationality and intellectual perspective.
Fifteen percent of the syllabi review contained a warning about controversial course
content consistent with the regents and administration’s aspirational mandate to notify students
of ensuing objectionable course content. Four syllabi created by females and two created by
males contained a warning.
Figure 3. Faculty use of mandatory syllabus trigger warning.
Faculty Use of Mandatory Syllabus Trigger
Warning
Used Mandatory Trigger Warning
Did Not Use Mandatory Trigger Warning
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 82
The syllabi with warnings were created by four of the instructors, one lecturer, and one
professor. One warning was listed in a criminal justice course syllabus, two on French studies
syllabi, one on a sociology course syllabus, one on a philosophy course syllabus and one on an
English course syllabus. The syllabi warnings were different. The following criminal justice
course warning presented the most extensive of all warnings reviewed:
WARNING: At times, we will be discussing material that may be disturbing—even
traumatizing—to some students. This may include strong language (including swear
words); graphic descriptions of or extensive discussions of crimes and associated
victimization (including suicide, homicide, rape and sexual abuse, kidnapping, violent
assaults, and drug abuse); and depiction or discussion of discriminatory attitudes or
actions. If you have experienced criminal victimization or some other type of trauma in
your past, you should feel free to excuse yourself from the classroom during a discussion
that causes you to experience distress. You will, however, be responsible for any material
you miss or, alternatively, for an alternate assignment if you are unable to engage with
the material. If you ever wish to discuss your personal reactions to this material with me,
I welcome such discussion as an appropriate part of our coursework. If you suffer from
some form of post-traumatic stress that may be triggered by discussion of material in
criminology and criminal justice courses, I encourage you to formulate a plan for
treatment with the relevant health advisers to work on preventing unexpected reactions to
potentially triggering material. IU student counseling services can be reached Monday
through Friday from 8am to 5pm at XXX-XXX-XXX or in the X Building, Office X.
There is also a 24-hour IU-dedicated crisis hotline at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Keep in mind
that some discomfort is inevitable in classrooms because the goals of higher education
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 83
include exposing students to new ideas; having students question beliefs they have taken
for granted and grapple with ethical problems they have never considered; and, more
generally, expanding their horizons so as to become informed and responsible democratic
citizens. Thus, you should expect to become exasperated from time to time as you
struggle with viewpoints that differ from your own. Even if you have previously
experienced some form of trauma or victimization, this course may offer you the benefit
of helping to understand behaviors in a manner that allows you to process what may have
occurred in your past and move forward in your recovery.
The above warning is intended to inform students that controversial matter would be reviewed
and considers students’ mental health and well-being. The instructor provided information on
resources to help the student maneuver the effects of reviewing controversial material. It is
important to note that the instructor did not provide information on how to discuss the
controversial course content with her, which is part of the aspirational mandate.
Two French courses syllabi contained the same culture-based trigger warning, which is
nuanced when contrasted with that used in the criminal justice syllabus:
Important Information on Course Content: The language and culture(s) you will be
studying are different from your own in many ways. The goal is to help you not only
learn a new language but also a new way of thinking about the world and a different way
of organizing your knowledge about the world. Although some aspects of the
French/francophone cultures may seem familiar, other aspects might be very different
from your own and might even be considered offensive to some of you. If you find some
of the course content (videos, movies, readings, etc.) offensive, please feel free to discuss
it with me. If you find it difficult to approach me, you should know that it is also possible
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 84
to contact the coordinator of the lower-division French courses, Dr. X, xx@XX.edu, who
can address your concerns.
This warning is sensitive to students who view life as insular and who might become
uncomfortable learning about other cultures.
The warning in the English course is more personal but is actually labeled “Trigger
Warning.” It states,
Trigger warning. Please note that some course content may be deemed offensive by some
students, although it is not my intention to offend anyone. In addition, some materials
that we link with online might also be considered offensive, troubling, or difficult to
review in terms of language or graphics. I attempt to provide warnings when introducing
this kind of material; yet if I forget to do so, or if something else (in my materials or posts
from fellow students) seems offensive, please contact me at xx@XX.edu, or the faculty
head, Dr. XX, xx@XX.edu.
The instructor is apologetic based on her statement that she does not intend to offend anyone.
She also provides information on how students may contact her or her superior with concerns
which is consistent with the aspirational mandate. This personal apologetic approach can be
sharply contrasted with the philosophy course’s brusque trigger warning:
The course will cover material that some may consider sensitive. This includes but is not
limited to the definition of “adultery” and whether it encompasses fellatio with someone
other than one’s lawful spouse, the evolutionary origins of male nipples and the female
clitoris, the possibility that God doesn’t exist and that you don’t have an immortal soul,
and other such potentially sensitive topics. The professor will call into question certain
religious beliefs and will challenge students to think critically about their religious
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 85
beliefs. The professor may also sometimes use profanity if it seems useful in illustrating
some point.
One might argue that the warning itself is objectionable. The use of the word fellatio, the
argument that God does not exist, and the professor’s intention to use profanity as part of his
pedagogy are controversial in nature but may be within the definition of academic freedom.
Sociology is aligned with intuitive skills that some scholars argue are less prevalent
among STEM students. The sociology syllabus warning also uses the phrase “trigger warning.”
It states,
Trigger Warning
Please note that some course content may be deemed offensive by some students,
although it is not my intention to offend anyone. In addition, some materials that we link
with online might also be considered offensive, troubling, or difficult to review in terms
of language or graphics. I attempt to provide warnings when introducing this kind of
material; yet if I forget to do so, or if something else (in my materials or posts from
fellow students) seems offensive, please contact me either face to face or via email –
xx@XX.edu Reasonable accommodations will always be made.
This warning goes the extra mile and would be consistent with the failed SB 1331, supra,
in that the instructor promises that reasonable accommodations will always be made.
Stakeholder faculty acceptance or rejection of the mandated IU 101 course and
the prescribed warning content for syllabi gave the researcher a basis to inquire as to how
faculty view mandates. Faculty reaction to the prescribed warning helps us measure
faculty motivation and knowledge. If a faculty member does not know the purpose of the
warning, she might ignore it as irrelevant to her course. Further, if the warning is not
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 86
adequately explained, the faculty member might not be motivated to use the mandate as it
may interfere with her academic freedom. Hence, the artifact review identified syllabi in
which the trigger warning was and was not presented. That artifact review served as the
predicate for the interviews which questioned faculty on their knowledge of the purpose
and their motivation to use mandated syllabus language and ultimately integrate
mandated course content into a single class period.
The artifact review provides the foundation for further qualitative analysis.
Faculty interviewed were randomly selected, using the roll of a single dice and selecting
the corresponding number from the list of syllabi. The preliminary selection was
modified by ensuring that at least one tenured professor was selected as well as balancing
the interviewees by gender. The results of the preliminary selection were then included
in individual electronic mail invitations for an interview. Several faculty members
declined to be interviewed. When that occurred, the dice was rolled again to identify
another group of invitees from which the full cadre of 10 interviewees was reached.
Interview Results
The second half of the qualitative analysis consisted of interviews. As previously
noted, 10 faculty members and three national policy experts were interviewed. The
responses to the interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed using a professional
transcribing service. The artifact review was selected from IU’s online syllabi. The 31
syllabi reviewed were then reduced, by roll of the dice, to 10 interviews. The
interviewees taught a cross-section of multiple disciplines. Further, the gender of the
interviewees was not taken into consideration, but the result was an equal number of
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 87
males and females. Gender was determined by first name; therefore, it was impossible to
identify transgender participants.
Knowledge Results
Understanding what knowledge faculty require to achieve the goal of
multidisciplinary integration of geopolitical and national security course content was
important. Interviews showed six faculty members had some knowledge of what human
factors expertise entailed. The faculty who recognized this human factors definition were
grounded in sociology and psychology. The four who did not know the definition were
historians, art educators, et cetera.
Social science students are intuitive by nature. Seven of the faculty members
interviewed responded by affirming that social science students are intuitive by nature.
There were no negative responses. However, three of the respondents were neutral on the
subject, not wanting to provide an opinion one way or the other. Explanations for social
science students’ intuition were provided in explanatory commentary by the interviewees.
Examples of why social science students were intuitive included that people with
intuition tend to go into the social sciences; social science students study intuition; all
students have some intuition, but the social sciences nurture it more; intuitive students
select social sciences as their majors; and that social science students with intuition use
that intuition and incorporate it into analytical techniques, such as data mining. Overall,
faculty believed social science students were more intuitive when contrasted with STEM
and other disciplines.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 88
Figure 4. Faculty belief that social science students are more intuitive.
Faculty recognized higher education is a key component in national security.
All of the faculty interviewed responded they believed higher education has a critical role
in the national security. The responses ranged from stating that every course and every
professor had an obligation to add to national security to a belief that higher education’s
relevance to national security was limited to CIA, FBI, and other intelligence agencies’
recruitment on campus.
Faculty members’ background added significantly to their conclusions that higher
education was critical. Some responded that, based on their experience with the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency, higher education had a place in national defense.
An example given was that many of the communication skills taught at IU emanated
from research the military had done regarding submariner service. Faculty with
psychology backgrounds drew a direct nexus to the fact that terrorism has psychological
roots, and the defense against terrorism has equal roots. Overall, if the faculty are to
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Intuitive
No More Intuitive
Unsure
Faculty Belief That Social Science Students Are More
Intuitive Than Other Undergraduate Students
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 89
implement the multidisciplinary integration suggested, interviewees uniformly embraced
higher education as a key component in national defense.
Faculty believe their courses have a nexus to national security. All of the
faculty interviewed responded they believe their course had relevance to national security
topics. This ranged from subjects such as criminology to the humanities and to art. The
historians, political scientists, and psychologists all drew a direct nexus through their
existing course content. However, it was interesting that those without the existing course
content believed they have a duty to help create a good citizenry and that their disciplines
could be easily modified to include geopolitical or national security topics and remain
within the integrity of their academic discipline.
Motivation Results
Faculty, as the key stakeholder, comprise both the philosophical and mechanical
catalyst to elevating IU into national prominence as well as integrating the new course
curricula in their disciplines. To achieve stellar faculty status, faculty introspection is
necessary to determine whether they believe their skill set is suitable for refinement and
achievement. In that regard, faculty self-efficacy and utility value were gauged via the
interviews. The findings are as follows.
Self-efficacy. Faculty were asked to gauge their worth in the form of the strength
of faculty scholarship on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 was very little scholarship and 10
being an extremely high level of scholarship. Two respondents indicated they operated in
an insular environment and, therefore, could not opine on the general faculty’s
scholarship realm. However, the remaining eight gave a 9.2 score, reflecting their belief
that faculty had a high level of scholarship. Their belief in the strength of their
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 90
colleagues, in turn, indirectly reflects on whether they believed they belonged in a high
scholarship centered academic setting. Faculty who responded that there was a high level
of scholarship took pride in being part of that reputation. This motivational basis serves
as a foundation for faculty who believe they can escalate the level of scholarship and, in
turn, become one of the finest faculty groups in any public United States university.
Further, interviewees were also asked whether the faculty has the potential for
becoming one of the finest faculty bodies in the United States. Eight responded with a
certain yes. There were no negative responses, but two responded with a maybe or
uncertainty. Once again, this connects to their own self-efficacy as a motivational
foundation as to whether they believe the IU can change its curriculum and, in turn,
elevate itself in scholarship.
Figure 5. Faculty assessment of IU scholarship.
Faculty were asked whether they agreed with the following statement: “I want to
be part of an elite faculty that provides all students with equal and enhanced
Faculty Rating of IU Scholarship
High Uncertain Low
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 91
opportunities, regardless of their economic or underrepresented position in society.” Nine
of the interviewees indicated they subscribed to that statement. One did not and, in part,
the basis for that rejection was the use of the word “elite.” One of the nine indicated
objecting to the use of the word “elite,” but that, generally, they accepted the fact that it
was their mission to help the underrepresented and could do so with a refined level of
scholarship. The interviewee who rejected the statement believed the university failed
many opportunities to do so in the past and, therefore, they would not subscribe to such a
statement knowing that the university would not provide that type of organization. This
statement provides a motivational basis for those who believe they can be a high-level
faculty with focused scholarship yet continue to serve the underrepresented in society. In
short, high scholarship did not relate solely to those who are not in underrepresented
social strata.
A follow-up question asked the faculty to identify what the university needed to
do to help elevate the faculty so that, by practice and reputation, the university would be
identified as a cutting-edge national public university. The responses to this question
were far ranging. The responses, which also have relevance to the organizational support
addressed late in this chapter, included requiring faculty to uniformly follow published
guidelines, therefore ensuring that all students are treated equally; that the administration
ensured no politics were involved in grants or scholarship resources and expenditures;
more training on how professors can be taught to teach; organizational search for
opportunities that would merit national attention for heightened scholarship; and
establishing common performance goals, thereby elevating IU uniformly.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 92
However, the unanimous response was a belief that faculty could elevate their
scholarship if the university provided them more training opportunities, such as access to
conferences. Many noted their conference or continuing education budgets were limited
to $500, which only covers the cost of registration at many national symposia and does
not cover travel, meals, or housing. The litany of suggestions to help faculty enhancement
were focused on an outward view of what would be good for the education of students,
rather than the inward view as to what would be good for interviewees personally.
Utility value. All of the faculty members interviewed responded that it was
within their personal value system as educators to increase the number of social science
graduates entering the national intelligence corps. Further, the interviewees unanimously
believed they each had a role and a responsibility in increasing the social science
complement in our national intelligence community. This utility value reflection supports
the argument that faculty believe they have a practical purpose in providing talent, which
will help make America safer. When asked for comments on the question, the responses
exhibited a belief that the service would be indicative of their duty to serve the greater
good, that we live in a global framework, and that contributing to the national intelligence
corps would help preserve democracy, which would add to global stability.
The faculty were then asked if they would devote one class period to a topic with
a nexus to greater world understanding, geopolitical relevancy, and/or national security.
This question was grounded in measuring motivation. Nine of the faculty members
responded they would be willing to devote one class period to those topics. One indicated
they would not because they did not believe that geopolitics, greater world understanding,
or national security had any relationship to their academic discipline. Of the nine who
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 93
responded affirmatively, eight asserted that they are already integrating that type of
course content in their current course offerings. Some suggested they only needed to
amalgamate some of their preexisting course content into a single class period because it
is spread across the breadth of the course. These responses indicate that faculty members
are already motivated to provide that type of support for integrating the single class
period content suggested by this study.
When faculty were further pressed on whether they would be willing to
voluntarily participate in a test study designed to enhance IU’s academic reputation and
achieve its goal of becoming a cutting-edge public university, six responded
affirmatively. One responded with a strong negative based on their lack of confidence in
the university’s past performance and treatment of faculty and their assertion that, due to
their longevity on the faculty, they had already given as much as they would to the
organization. Three respondents were unsure as to whether they would devote that time.
Responses for the uncertainty ranged from questioning whether there would be financial
compensation to requiring a clear understanding of what the plan for the test study would
be before they would commit to volunteering their time.
Organizational Results
Faculty were asked if it was a worthwhile use of faculty time to have them create
a new curriculum that would integrate geopolitics and/or national security into a class
period in lower-division courses. Nine interviewees responded affirmatively, with no
negative responses. There was one response of uncertainty. This question was designed to
focus on organizational influences and whether faculty believed their valuing of their
time coincided with the organization’s valuing of faculty time. Some responses reflected
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 94
a concern that, if they participated in the study, their fellow faculty would believe they
were trying to mandate course content. Others noted it was worthwhile to explore the
possible volunteering of time, but some faculty would be reticent. Also, some noted that
not all faculty are United States citizens and, therefore, might resent such a study. Others
highlighted that IU must create a stronger bridge to the Central Intelligence Agency and
that they would participate as long as the study did not come up with a template because
a template would be an infringement on their fellow faculty’s academic freedom.
The faculty were then asked about the university’s level of ease in creating new
curricula if the test study occurred and new curricula were created. Eight respondents
indicated that, so long as the new course curricula are well organized, IU provides a very
easy platform for their creation. One believed it was difficult to create new curricula, and
one had no idea because they had no experience in creating a curriculum. This question
supports the belief that IU as an organization supports faculty in creating new ideas via
new curricula, whether they be integrated in existing curricula or in new course content.
One faculty member extrapolated the possible effect of the new curricula and its intent to
interest social science students in a career in national intelligence. She noted that social
science professors opening up career opportunities can quell the criticism that studying
social science does not provide job opportunities.
Cultural models. Faculty were asked whether they had confidence or trust in
working with the national intelligence community if that community would fund their
work or work collaboratively with them. Six of the faculty responded that they had
confidence and trust in working with the national intelligence community. One responded
negatively, and three indicated they were unsure. The basis for responding negatively or
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 95
for being unsure was a concern that the national intelligence community would
indoctrinate them. Faculty would want to know the national intelligence community’s
motivation. Support for working with the national intelligence community was partially
based on an interviewee’s previous experience doing so, previous occupational
experience and interaction with national intelligence, and the belief that the national
intelligence community had matured to the point where it was not exploiting faculty, as
many believe it once did.
Figure 6. Faculty confidence working with national defense/intelligence community.
The faculty culture was examined through answers to a question on whether
faculty agreement or buy-in was necessary for the successful integration of geopolitics or
national security substance into course curricula. Nine of the respondents indicated that
faculty buy-in was a must. One believed that, if senior leadership mandated the curricula,
faculty buy-in would be overridden and, therefore, was not necessary. The reasons for
believing faculty buy-in was required were a belief that, for faculty to teach the new
course content, they must believe in it; that faculty hierarchy blessing the new content
would help enlist support; and that faculty buy-in was necessary because academia is a
democratic egalitarian enterprise.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 96
Further exploring that cultural model, the faculty were asked whether their
colleagues believed it would be advantageous to increase the number of social science
graduates in the national intelligence corps and whether that advantage would persuade
the respondent to integrate new curricula into their course offering. In other words, the
question was whether the social pressure of other faculty be influential. Nine of the
respondents indicated that, if other faculty believed it would be advantageous, they would
follow suit. There were no negative responses, but one responded that they were not sure
if they would follow the faculty pack.
Researching the culture setting, faculty were asked whether they would have the
support of the department or college for doing that type of curricula integration. This not
only measures the cultural setting, but also measures organizational support. All of the
respondents indicated they believed the organization would support them but, to varying
degrees, they responded with requisites they expected from the university hierarchy.
Requisites equated to amenities and resources: greater travel and continuing education
budgets, financial compensation for the time off required to and in exchange for
incorporating that curricula into their courses, and increased resources to help illustrate
the new points in their curricula. None of the responses indicated they wanted more base
salary pay. In fact, one of the respondents indicated that, as a faculty member, they are
already well paid when contrasted with the general population based on an hourly wage.
In short, the cultural setting is such that faculty believed that continuing education took
precedence over personal gain.
In evaluating whether the integration of new curricula was possible, the faculty
were asked to identify obstacles that would thwart this integration. The obstacles
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 97
identified included administrative retribution if they failed in integrating the curricula,
loss of confidence by their colleagues if there was a lack of faculty buy-in, the lack of
time to adequately integrate, general faculty attitudes against geopolitical and national
security topics, some distrust of the federal government, and commentary about the
current presidential administration’s lack of support for higher education. None of the
respondents indicated they believed these obstacles would stop the integration of the new
curricula, but they were frank in identifying the potential barriers.
In further evaluating the cultural setting, faculty were asked whether their existing
circumstances would compel them or encourage them to participate in a multidisciplinary
task force to create the new curricula. Nine of the faculty responded that they would. The
reasons for the support of that included that the new course curricula served a critical
purpose, it was important to provide students with a range of new career opportunities,
the faculty’s love of teaching and a love of creating new subject matter, expanding the
liberal arts critical thinking platform, and helping the national intelligence community
identify student talent that would not be discovered otherwise. One responded negatively,
indicating that they already have a full load of teaching and would not have time. One
who responded in the affirmative indicated they would gladly participate but required a
financial incentive.
Mandate opinions. Faculty were asked about their feeling on mandates pursuant
to the document artifact review. This measurement of motivation arose out of the review
of the 31 course syllabi to determine whether faculty had included the mandated
provisions. Seven of the respondents indicated they were not aware of the course content
mandates. Three respondents indicated they accepted the mandates because they believed
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 98
students deserved notice of potential controversial topics and the provisions were
harmless in nature. None of the faculty responses indicated academic freedom was in any
way infringed upon, therefore dousing their motivation.
The faculty were then pressed on whether they included the required trigger
warning in their syllabi. They responded differently. Six respondents indicated they were
aware of that trigger warning. Three did not know the trigger warning, and one did not
understand what a trigger warning was. Many of the faculty indicated they had already
drafted their own trigger warning because they might include nudity or discussion of
cultural differences. The faculty responded they were motivated to include the trigger
warning to avoid legal trouble.
The motivational question discussed above was followed up with a question to
specifically determine whether there was any resentment regarding to having to provide a
trigger warning. Seven indicated there was no resentment, and three, as reflected above,
indicated they did not even know there was trigger warning language. Questions were
then asked as to why the mandated language was included in their syllabi. The range of
responses included that it was purely mandatory, added to avoid legal trouble, and that it
was done without thought as a courtesy to the students. This question was followed up by
the interviewees’ responses to IU101.
As previously indicated, IU101 was a mandated course presented without faculty
design or input. It was reported that there was significant disdain about the creation and
forced teaching of the new course. Interviewees responded to a question on whether they
had any recollection, support, or resentment for the IU101 course. Only one had any sort
of resentment toward the new course, and two had knowledge of the course but no
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 99
objection. Seven of the faculty had no knowledge of the controversy. This is reflective of
the fact that the IU faculty are relatively new and were hired after the 2006
implementation of the course.
Mission. The interviewees were reintroduced to the university’s mission to
become more relevant to the communities it serves. They were asked whether preparing
students for a career in national intelligence would assist the university in becoming more
relevant to that mission. Nine of the faculty responded that, yes, doing so would serve the
purpose of becoming more relevant to the community. There were no negative responses,
and only one was not sure because they were not clear on the academic definition of
relevance. Responses indicated that it was the university’s mission to have international
outreach and its obligation to prepare good citizens who would contribute to society, that
IU already did so through existing programs and courses, and that the integration of
social science graduates into a national security career supported the academic goal of
providing students with new occupational opportunities.
Organizational support. Faculty were asked what the university could do to help
them become the best in their academic discipline. They responded that more
professional development would be clear support in helping them becoming the best in
their academic field. Nine discussed continuing education and some added the caveat that
more pay would be appreciated and that a sabbatical would be appreciated so that they
could enhance their academic skills.
National Security Expert Interviews
As previously noted, interviews with former national defense, national intelligence,
homeland security and appropriations experts were undertaken in reaction to the faculty
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 100
interviews. Several faculty interviewees provided ideas for greater federal government financial
support and involvement in higher education. One had served as director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, one was a former prosecutor, and one was formerly head of the Office of
Management and Budget as well as member of the United States Senate Appropriations
Committee. They are generally referred to as national security experts. Two of the interviewees
were former members of a presidential cabinet. All independently indicated that this research is
timely and needed based on world politics and the nation’s current security posture.
These interviews utilized the research questions as the overarching research guide,
although questions were distinctly different than those used in faculty interviews. To elicit
responses to those guiding questions from the national security experts, more detailed questions
were presented regarding their belief in the premise that higher education is part of the national
defense umbrella, their views on funding higher education, their experience working with higher
education, their overall beliefs regarding the need to educate social science students on national
security and/or geopolitical issues, and their views on General Flynn’s premise (Flynn, Sisco, &
Ellis, 2012) and others’ opinions that more human factors expertise is needed in national
intelligence. Their responses are presented and analyzed as follows.
Higher Education’s Role in National Defense
The national security experts unanimously ratified the argument that higher education
plays a key role in national defense. Further, they reiterated that faculty must have knowledge of
higher education’s role in national defense. This is critical for advocacy for more funding and,
more importantly, in the delivery of education to students. The experts opined that faculty
should be cognizant that they are critical in creating a safer populace via their teaching regardless
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 101
of their academic discipline. The experts argued a significant part of education is security
vigilance.
Two experts took the philosophical view that higher education’s role is to “uplift” the
individual into career opportunities, as one expert emphasized current undergraduates are the
United States’ future. All argued higher education gives students the tools to succeed and the
ability to decide on career paths. Another expert was specific in noting that higher education’s
national security role is to educate the next generation of intelligence analysts and field
operatives. Two experts noted higher education plays a key role through faculty research and the
development of new technologies to help the national intelligence corps.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was referenced by two
faculty interviewees whose advocacy was ratified by one of the experts. The expert stresses that
greater DARPA funding is needed to better utilize higher education expertise. This dovetails
with the faculty interviewees who pled for greater DARPA funding to allow them to reach a
higher plateau of scholarship.
One national expert opined that President Dwight Eisenhower’s emphasis on higher
education as a critical part national security no longer exists from the federal government’s end
of the equation. The expert stated that “we’ve lost sight of the importance of education to our
national security.” That expert’s comment is significant in that this opinion is grounded in direct
experience as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency along with significant federal budget
experience. The expert with United States Senate appropriations experience validated that point
by noting that defense spending on education was limited to funding language schools and
military integration of university language institutes. This assertion coincides with faculty
opinions on financial motivation to teach and the reality of federal funding of higher education.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 102
One expert was passionate about the gap between higher education and national
intelligence efforts. That expert stated that higher education must “pay more attention” to the
problems of the world. The expert stated,
We are living in dangerous times, probably the most dangerous since World War II. We
have lost track of informing young people about the present-day dangers that exist in the
twenty-first century. There are a host of flashpoints…failed states in the Middle East,
threats from Iran, threats from North Korea, a new Cold War with Russia, challenges
with China, a whole array of cyber warfare and its potential…a whole series of areas that
demand attention.
The expert noted a lack of overarching strategy to deal with those challenges. The expert stated,
“for that reason, it’s really important to educate a new generation into what challenges” they
face. The expert supports the integration of geopolitical content into all undergraduate courses
for the reasons he articulated. The expert also mentioned the need to overcome the
organizational obstacle of reticence to welcome national intelligence agencies onto university
campuses for lectures and recruitment. On the latter point, the researcher presented Golden’s
(2017) premise that national intelligence agencies exploit universities. The expert stated
Golden’s premise was “screwy” based on the expert’s experience collaborating with American
universities.
Faculty Motivation
Faculty motivation to create and teach new curricula is fueled by greater federal funding,
but, per the experts interviewed, an increase in higher education cannot be tied to defense
spending and cannot be formulaic. Several faculty interviewees suggested funding formulae as
the means to ensure that federal support of higher education kept pace with defense and national
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 103
security funding. For example, the faculty formula advanced in the faculty interview was that a
certain dollar amount be directed to higher education for every aircraft carrier built. This type of
formulaic funding was rejected by all three experts. One expert stated,
We can moralize on the lack of funding, but it’s not the way Washington works. It is not
the way the budget process works. Relating it to an artificial formula like that just
doesn’t quite accomplish what I think people want to see achieved.
Another expert, the Senate appropriations expert, noted that funding for higher education
should not come from the Department of Defense but from the Department of Education. The
expert noted that Department of Defense funding could follow members of the military who seek
higher education. Finally, one expert noted that “money always lubricates a partnership” and
that greater federal funding of higher education will help expand its partnership with national
security.
One expert raised the need for national defense and national intelligence scholarship
funding for students. That expert mentioned rarely interviewing a university student who would
like a career in the federal government. The expert expressed the need for federal scholarships
for students who plan to have a career in national intelligence and/or national security.
The faculty interviewed uniformly identified a lack of university support for continuing
education as an organizational obstacle. The researcher presented that argument to the national
security experts and asked if they felt a faculty scholarship could be created to help faculty attend
national conferences or continuing education symposia. All experts rejected the suggestion.
They argued that defense or national intelligence funding should be narrowly limited to
symposia related to national defense or security.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 104
Generally, all three experts believed higher education is underfunded and should be a
national funding priority. They believed increased federal funding helps motivate faculty and
removes organizational obstacles to faculty scholarship and teaching.
Higher Education/National Defense Relationship
Results showed no organizational obstacle or motivational deficit in a higher
education/national security partnership because there is mutual trust between faculty and the U.S.
national intelligence community. Faculty and the national security experts believe trust between
faculty members and the federal government is imperative. Trust helps motivate faculty to
support national security initiatives. Trust helps the national security infrastructure reach out to
faculty as it perceives faculty to be receptive to national security efforts.
Faculty interviewees were asked about their trust in the national defense and intelligence
community. As noted above, two responded with distrust for fear of indoctrination. One expert
noted that the Defense Department has created some mistrust because “our military
establishment didn’t always make the right decisions.” One expert noted the military needed to
enhance its level of trust in working with higher education and that the military needed to be less
rigid in its partnering with universities. That expert noted faculty distrust is based on ideological
fear and that “the military’s rigidity is counterintuitive to faculty mentality.”
Conversely, eight faculty interviewees felt confidence and trust in the national
intelligence community. The national security experts unanimously expressed trust in working
with higher education. Further, one expert with Central Intelligence Agency expertise strongly
refuted the argument that Golden (2017) and others make alleging that the national intelligence
community indoctrinates educators via financial support of higher education. Another expert
noted federal funding enhances higher education’s partnership with national security agencies.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 105
Another expert, when commenting on the two interviewees who showed distrust of the national
intelligence community, stated that it is easy to find 20% of any institution opposed to a variety
of political issues. The expert opined that federal funding is always political in nature.
A discussion of the Confucius Institute ensued, providing the nexus to the experts’ point
that all funding is political in nature. The Confucius Institute has a broad mission to promote
scholarship about China and foster high-quality Chinese language and cultural education within
schools and the community at large. The Confucius Institute hosts academic conferences and
scholarly talks, holds regular professional development workshops for teachers, and sponsors
cultural outreach events for students and the community. The institute was founded by the
Chinese government. Recently, several universities severed their ties with the institute based on
Department of Defense concerns arising from possible Chinese espionage. One expert indicated
having vetted the Confucius Institute and had no concerns. All experts opined it is important to
allow the Chinese government to fund their students so that they can receive an American
education, but that caution needed to be exercised due to the alleged espionage.
Continuing along the line of measuring faculty motivation to work with governments,
one expert dug deeper into the Confucius Institute topic. That expert emphasized that the
institute was an “asset” to higher education so long as the university, not the Chinese
government, maintained control over the curricula. The expert expanded by noting “the coin of
realm of research at the university level is that it has the utmost integrity, it’s not influenced by
funders, [and] the results are the results.”
This review by the experts spoke directly to faculty motivation to work with government
funding, the need for government funding and the necessity that universities maintain control of
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 106
research and curricula. The experts were then asked about the premise that our national
intelligence corps needs more human factors expertise.
Need for More Human Factors Expertise
Results of the interviews with the experts were that the premise that our national
intelligence corps needs more human factors expertise is on point and bears out faculty
knowledge that it must fill that gap. All experts interviewed agreed that greater human factors
expertise is needed in our national intelligence corps. This unanimity is significant in that all the
experts have a classified working knowledge of the United States defense and national
intelligence communities. One expert noted the military academies, once known for a heavy
emphasis on science, are now including significant social science components in their curricula.
The expert stated, “It’s the analysis of what is collected where having knowledge about historical
and cultural context, language, social structure and the like is so invaluable.” One expert
subscribes to the argument that social science graduates are more intuitive in nature. On the
other hand, the two other experts questioned that premise.
One expert argued that students might major in the social sciences not because of their
innate human factors skills but because “they don’t want to do the math” (required in the hard
sciences). Two experts expressed a concern that broad generalizations are not always correct.
Another expert argued,
The difference in whether we have a quality government or not, or whether we have a
quality national security or not, rests a great deal on the human factor. It is important to
understand human qualities in other people, understanding other issues, understanding
what makes other cultures tick, understanding kind of the emotions and the history
behind our cultures.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 107
This latter comment parallels the comments made by Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis (2012). Another
expert stated General Flynn is exactly right in that the 9/11 tragedy could have been prevented
had the intelligence community exercised a greater emphasis on human factors analysis.
Summary
In summary, the experts ratified the premise that more human factors expertise is needed
in the national security/intelligence corps and that the topic of higher education closing the civics
gap is timely. All of the experts opined that the topic of involving higher education in curricular
changes to create an interest in national security/intelligence careers is timely. One expert noted,
It is really important to try to make young people aware of the issues that we discussed.
The tensions we’re seeing in our democracy, not only here, but aboard, problems that
democratic governments are facing across the world and in our own country, that a lot of
that is due to the failure of education to stress basic civics and knowledge of government,
knowledge of how our democracy is supposed to function. The failure to give young
people that depth of understanding of just exactly how important it is to work within our
democracy and take responsibility for democracy, I think the failure to do that is really
hurting our approach to trying to put democracy back on the right track.
Overview of Findings
The first research question asked about the knowledge and motivation foundations
necessary to create new curricula which, in turn, will help IU become a cutting-edge public
university. The curricula suggested would be one class period of geopolitics/national security
substance tied to the academic discipline being taught. The content would be integrated into all
disciplines in all lower-division courses, in two test colleges. This study addressed this question
based on the assumed influences described in Chapter Two.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 108
Knowledge
There was no knowledge gap regarding faculty familiarity with higher education’s role in
national defense. Faculty were attuned to their responsibility to educate students to become
better citizens. Further, there was a significant majority of faculty who recognized human
factors expertise as an asset demonstrated by their social science students. Some faculty were
zealous in their belief that higher education has inadvertently weakened national defense by not
funding and emphasizing the social sciences.
Faculty expressed the desire to help elevate IU in the realm of peer recognition and
scholarship. Faculty embraced IU’s mission to become more relevant to the communities it
serves. Finally, recognized IU as organizationally supportive of new curricula development,
innovative faculty involvement in new endeavors and in resource support of faculty willing to
enhance their scholarship.
Motivation
The faculty interviewees recognized that their scholarship was significant and that their
self-efficacy represented a realistic introspection. They believed IU can become the best public
university faculty in United States. Some faculty believed IU already has the finest faculty in the
United States while one faculty member believed that IU’s organizational structure prevented it
from ever reaching that goal. Faculty are motivated to help IU reach its goal by creating and
implementing new curricula. There was no motivational gap when it came to faculty creating an
interest in social science graduates to enter a national defense and/or national intelligence career.
Faculty believed it was their civic duty to help strengthen the United States whether through
teaching a diversity of ideas or through opening occupational opportunities for their students. Of
the ten faculty interviewed, faculty believed they already incorporated geopolitics and/or cultural
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 109
sensitivity into their classes. Nevertheless, the faculty interviewees were open to creating
content for one class period to address those issues. Faculty motivation to do so is heightened
when faculty are involved in the drafting of the new curricula, presentation of the concept to
faculty at large and in the testing of the new content.
Organization
The faculty recognized IU as a supportive institution for faculty self-improvement,
scholarship, and innovation. They are accustomed to IU mandated syllabi language and course
curricula. The faculty did not dissent regarding the concept of creating mandatory, single class
period content on geopolitics and/or national security. They voiced their support for the
innovative idea so long as it helped students while projecting IU into national prominence. But
for one faculty member, all believed that IU advocated on both student and faculty benefit.
Eight faculty interviewees voiced confidence in working with the United States
Department of Defense and other intelligence agencies. A caveat to that confidence is that
assurance must be given by the federal agency that there be no political indoctrination from the
funding agency. Faculty viewed potential federal funding of the new initiative as an asset. Only
two faculty members voiced a concern over the potential of impinging on academic freedom by
partnering with the national defense and intelligence communities.
The national security experts interviewed believed this study is timely based on the
United States’ present world posture. All expressed a concern that current university students do
not fully understand the danger posed to democracy and the omnipresent physical danger to
themselves and their loved ones. The experts unanimously agreed there is a need for national
intelligence analysts with greater human factors capability. All recognized the need for greater
federal funding of higher education not tied to a budget formula. Finally, all experts expressed
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 110
significant confidence and trust in working with higher education to attain greater national
security.
Closing
This chapter addressed questions one and two of the three questions guiding this study.
The third question addresses recommendations to help the faculty achieve the organizational
goals and is the subject of Chapter Five. All interviewees had the opportunity to respond with
any content that was not discussed in the interview. One response pertained to the belief that the
suggestion of the new course content would be worthwhile and would provide IU with a greater
connection to the world. Another answer was that their academic discipline is already relevant to
society, and the new course content would enhance their academic discipline’s relevance. A third
stated that STEM has been over-emphasized by higher education, and the often-overlooked
social sciences provide a broader structure of support for students. All who chose to respond to
this catch-all question indicated that national security is a hyper-sensitive topic and that it would
have to be approached in a measured fashion.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 111
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION
The U.S. national intelligence community requires graduates enter the national
intelligence corps (Grossman, 2016). Therefore, higher education must challenge norms and
realign its public agenda to better serve our communities, which will result in economic
prosperity, national security, and social well‐being (Duderstadt, 2009). This researcher argues
the national intelligence community has not filled analyst positions with enough social science
graduates who are necessary for identifying human factors in potential terrorist threats (Zúñiga-
Brown, 2011). In terms of IU, the problem is whether the faculty will create innovative security
curricula that attract social science students who will then provide their diverse expertise to the
U.S. national intelligence community.
Related Literature
The Truman and Eisenhower Commissions noted higher education is a critical
component of national defense (Leslie, 1993; Markwardt, 2012). There is relevance today to
having national intelligence participation in our universities (Golden, 2017). Counterintelligence
experts have surmised that some security failures can be attributed, in part, to our intelligence
community’s emphasis on recruiting STEM scholars to the inadvertent exclusion of social
science graduates (Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). The exercise of human factors and social science can
help prevent terrorism. For example, social scientists have predicted specific acts of terrorism
months before they occurred. Social media sites can be used to effectively disseminate messages,
and sometimes those messages can be pro-terrorism. In the digital age, human factors expertise
can help predict acts of terrorism (Magdy, Darish, & Weber, 2015).
The study of terrorism is founded in the social sciences (Ellis, 2008). Ellis noted there is
no formal study of terrorism as discipline, but the study of terrorism grew from the social science
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 112
disciplines of political science, history, law, communications, anthropology, sociology,
criminology, economics, military science, psychology, and philosophy.
Key to resolving the problem of a lack of social science majors in national security is IU
and its faculty. The goal is to help IU, one of the largest public universities in the nation, become
the leading public university in national intelligence issues through comprehensive programs
based on cutting-edge curricula touching upon national security issues in multiple disciplines.
IU’s president has challenged the university to become more relevant to the global community it
serves. He has labeled IU “the cutting-edge university.” Faculty’s knowledge of its gap in fully
serving our nation through an innovative, national intelligence curriculum is key to creating this
innovation.
As a national leader in education, IU can assist in national defense by integrating social
science graduates into the national intelligence community. With the “cutting-edge university”
moniker, IU has accepted the challenge of becoming a leader in societal relevance (Crow &
Debars, 2015). Although IU already graduates well-prepared STEM students, it must also
graduate social science students for national security service if it is to live up to its mission of
relevance to the communities it serves. IU faculty stakeholders are critical in the development of
curricula to help advance value and meet our national security needs.
Organizational Performance Goal
Our national intelligence agencies can be better served by recruiting graduates with the
human factors expertise necessary to identify terrorism threats (Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). We must
prepare social science students to fill national intelligence jobs because of the multicultural face
of terrorism. Global demographics and the need to understand diverse cultures place the U.S. at a
disadvantage when most security analysts do not reflect or understand the culture of those who
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 113
are labeled as potential national security threats (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012). IU’s goal is to
innovate and become more relevant to society and creating national security curricula that will
attract diverse students and foster a funding partnership with our national intelligence community
will help accomplish this goal.
Description of Stakeholder Groups: Faculty Are the Key Stakeholders
IU as an entity is a global stakeholder in the development of geopolitically sensitive
curricula that advance public value and can help satisfy national security needs. The long-term
goal is to help IU become the leading public university in the multidisciplinary integration of
national security awareness through creative curricula. The three stakeholder groups are IU’s
cabinet, administration, and faculty.
The IU cabinet must take the first steps to innovation. First, the cabinet must commit IU
to embark on the integration of national security curricula into multiple disciplines. Second, it
must market the innovative concept to cautious faculty members who are invested in the status
quo. Second, the IU administration, as the organizational lead, must support faculty in creative
curricula design and provide financial resources to compensate faculty for their time to help
develop the new curricula. Faculty members will be asked to incorporate a unit of national or
global security substance into multiple disciplines in two test colleges. The administration must
encourage deans and department chairs to provide faculty with the time and resources to design
and implement the new curricula. The administration should insist its students be educated to be
global citizens through geopolitical and national security curricula. Eventually, geopolitics
and/national security curricula should be integrated into one unit of every discipline, but, in the
interim, it can be phased into two test colleges. For example, the administration, as a point of
departure, can advocate that topics such as world religions and political instability be
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 114
incorporated into multiple disciplines. Thus, the paramount stakeholder group, the faculty, is the
stakeholder group of focus in this study.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
Faculty are the key to building cutting-edge curricula, a fact that must be brought to the
attention of the Department of Defense and our national intelligence communities to enhance
government funding for IU. The faculty must trust that IU’s partnership with our national
intelligence community would not compromise academic freedom. Faculty reticence to such a
partnership must be overcome. This could be challenging because some scholars have identified
faculty as the most recalcitrant stakeholder group and disdain change (Caruth & Caruth, 2013).
However, academic freedom does not have to be sacrificed (Caruth, 2013; Comp, 2013). IU
faculty will retain control of curricula design. Additionally, the prospect of jobs, faculty
oversight of curricula, and the placement of vibrant, national intelligence graduates are catalysts
for the academy’s welcoming of intelligence funds for academic purposes.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The CIA, NSA, and other intelligence agencies need social science graduates (Zúñiga-
Brown, 2011). Thus, the purpose of the project was to help increase the number of social science
graduates in national security careers. Towards this goal, this study suggests including one class
period focusing on geopolitics and/or national security in all lower-division course offerings in
two test colleges. Faculty would need to design the curricula fundamentals, and the
administration would need to bring curricula development to the attention of the federal
government for new or additional funding. Therefore, partnering with intelligence agencies will
fill the gap in national intelligence vacancies and bring critical funding to public universities.
Three questions guided this study:
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1. What are the faculty’s knowledge and motivation foundations necessary to lead IU in
becoming the Cutting-Edge American University by revising its curricula to ensure
geopolitical and national security topics are integrated into multiple disciplines in two test
colleges?”
2. How does IU’s organizational culture and context relate (e.g., support or inhibit) to its
faculty’s motivation and knowledge?
3. What recommendations can help the faculty achieve the organizational goals?
Results
The researcher prioritized three influences as paramount because of their impact on
beginning the curricula change. First, faculty must have knowledge that more human factors
expertise is sorely needed if we are to prevent future acts of terrorism. The faculty interviews
showed respondents had high cognizance of the importance of the social sciences in national
intelligence. Second, since the 1950s the United States’ national defense policy includes higher
education as a key component. The interviews resulted in unanimous faculty recognition that
higher education is a key component in the United States national defense. Third, the inclusion
of the new curriculum in a single class period is not an effort to thwart academic freedom but an
effort to enhance IU’s relevance to the communities it serves. The faculty interviews resulted in
a high interest in implementing the new curricula even if it is mandated. Mandates do not appear
to be an obstacle.
A task force of faculty and administrators was proposed as a way to create new curricula
and, thereby, ensure leadership buy-in for the new endeavor. A solid embarkation is necessary if
the new curricula will be embraced by faculty (Krathwohl, 2002). Clark and Estes (2008) model
for training will be a component of the task force’s final product. The following table highlights
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 116
the knowledge influences, their importance in this study, and the literature that serves as their
foundation.
Table 9
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
Validated
as a Gap?
Yes, High
Probability
or No, (V,
HP, N)
Priority
Yes, no
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
IU faculty lack the
knowledge that social
science graduates, who
possess human factors
expertise, are sorely needed
as intelligence analysts.
(Factual)
N Y Factual
knowledge is
defined as
knowledge of
terminology or
knowledge of
specific details
and elements
(Krathwohl,
2002).
Faculty were well versed
in this regard. Provide IU
faculty with an
introduction to the
proposition that acts of
terrorism could have been
avoided if intelligence
analysts were more
intuitive and
knowledgeable in human
factors evaluative
strengths.
IU faculty are not aware
that higher education is part
of the U.S.’ overall national
defense as a matter of
United States formal,
national strategy.
(Declarative)
N Y Declarative
knowledge
involves knowing
that something is
the case, it is
conscious and
can often be
verbalized
(Krathwohl,
2002).
Faculty were well versed
in this regard. Provide
faculty with President
Dwight Eisenhower’s brief
statement, delineating his
formal adoption of a
policy change, on higher
education’s role in our
national security and
defense.
IU faculty must reflect on
their own embrace of
change, by accepting a
mandatory class period
devoted to national security
or global politics in a
spectrum of multiple
disciplines, as part of IU’s
mission to become the
national, cutting-edge
university. (Metacognitive).
N Y Metacognitive
knowledge if the
knowledge of
cognition in
general as well as
the awareness of
knowledge of
one’s own
cognition (Mayer,
2002).
Faculty already embraced
the new curricula concept
even if it was mandated.
Provide faculty with the
training focused on the
nexus between the
proposed curriculum
changes to helping IU
attain its mission to
become more relevant to
the communities it serves.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 117
Declarative Knowledge Solutions
Faculty possess the knowledge that social science graduates are needed as
intelligence analysts. The result of this study is that all faculty interviewees were familiar with
the human factors factual knowledge component. Regardless, a reaffirmation of that cognizance
is to increase germane cognitive load by engaging the learner in meaningful learning and schema
construction to facilitate effective learning (Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R., 2006).
This would suggest providing faculty with the conceptual overview of the human factors
dynamic (Flynn, Sisco, & Ellis, 2012; Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). The commentary piece, from The
Chronicle of Higher Education titled “How Social Science Can Reduce Terrorism” (Plous &
Zimbardo, 2004), is the ideal means of communicating social science’s contributions to national
security. The recommendation is to provide IU faculty with a reinforcement of the proposition
that acts of terrorism could have been avoided if intelligence analysts were more intuitive and
knowledgeable in human factors evaluative strengths.
Social science graduates are adept in the human factors expertise which is critical to
understanding the genesis of terrorism (Zúñiga-Brown, 2011). Abassi, Khatwani, and Soomoro
(2018) asserted the sociological and psychological understanding of terrorism is the most critical
factor for curbing the phenomenon. Reinforcement will help persuade faculty of the link
between greater application of human factors expertise to potential acts of terrorism and the
reduction of terrorism. Therefore, sharing factual data directly with faculty will enlighten them
on the key role the social sciences can play in national security in producing individuals who
possess human factors expertise.
Faculty are fully aware that higher education is part of overall national defense as a
matter of formal national strategy. The researcher determined that all faculty interviewed were
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 118
aware of higher education’s role in the official national security structure. Krathwohl’s (2002)
premise that declarative knowledge is a known fact suggests that providing the faculty with a
credible document that further delineates higher education’s role would support their learning by
providing a factual basis for their effort. To reinforce that knowledge, the recommendation then
is to provide faculty with the Truman and Eisenhower Commissions’ policy statements which
identify higher education as a critical component in our national defense (Leslie, 1993;
Markwardt, 2012).
The knowledge that individuals possess influences in what they choose to do or not to do
(Pajares, 2006). Faculty are highly educated and are more prone to act based on evidence rather
than on an unexplained mandate. The transfer of the critical knowledge of higher education’s
role in national security, supra, is a key building block in ensuring individuals have the requisite
factual basis for their actions (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). This transfer of information,
contained in the Truman and Eisenhower Commissions’ policy statements embodies the job aid
necessary to equip the faculty for innovative curricular change (Clark & Estes, 2008). Providing
the explicit facts about higher education’s role provides the foundation for faculty members to
achieve the performance goal of becoming a stellar faculty (Rueda, 2011).
Faculty must reflect on their own embrace of change by accepting a mandatory
class period devoted to national security or global politics as part of IU’s mission to become
a cutting-edge university. Nine of the faculty interviewed had no objection to required syllabus
content and mandates for inclusion in their courses. As it relates to the dissenter, a
recommendation from self-efficacy theory was identified to close this metacognitive knowledge
gap (Pajares, 2006). Schraw and Lehman (2009) noted that activating and building upon
personal interest can increase learning and motivation. This suggests that reiterating the faculty’s
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 119
civic role in creating a society with greater global understanding can be achieved by reiterating
what they have accomplished and what their calling would allow. The recommendation is to
provide faculty with training focused on how building innovative successes based, in part, on
their past success will increase their self-efficacy and motivate them to help IU meet its goal to
become more relevant to the communities it serves.
Self-efficacy is defined as the self-perception of one’s abilities (Bandura, 2005). Building
on Bandura’s (2005) foundation, academic self-efficacy is defined as an estimate of confidence
in one’s ability to perform various tasks (Landino & Owen, 1988). The key to meeting IU’s
mission and goals is the faculty’s belief that they are the best or can be the best at what they do.
Metacognitive skillfulness, manifested through self-efficacy, is an indicator of performance
achievement (Veenman & Verheij, 2003). IU faculty, equipped with the knowledge that they are
significant contributors to national security, will accept the challenge to re-tailor their courses if
the result is that it will enhance their already praise-worthy skills. Table 10 below addresses the
assumed motivational influences, their scholarly origin, and specific recommendations for
implementation.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 120
Table 10
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Motivation
Influence
Validated as a
Gap
Yes, High
Probability,
No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Self-Efficacy: The
faculty has
confidence to
become the finest
faculty of any U.S.
public university
because IU aspires
to be the Cutting-
Edge University,
Creating innovative
curricula is an
aspirational
requisite.
V Y Self-efficacy is
defined as the self-
perception of one’s
abilities and as an
estimate of
confidence in one’s
ability to perform
various tasks
(Bandera, 2005;
Landino & Owen,
1988).
The IU curriculum task
force must provide faculty
members peer-models,
guided practice, and
targeted feedback in the
application of the new
curricula.
Utility Value: The
faculty sees that
increasing social
science graduates
will result in a
stronger U.S.
intelligence
community that is
sensitive to culture
and human factors.
V Y Rationales that
include a
discussion of the
importance and
utility value of the
work or learning
can help learners
develop positive
values (Eccles,
2006; Pintrich,
2003)
Provide faculty rationales,
which will include
reflecting on faculty past
successes as modeling,
guided practice building on
faculty successes and
strengths and providing
positive and targeted
feedback on refinements
needed, with relation to the
usefulness for themselves
to increase social science
graduates’ interest in a
career in national
intelligence.
Self-Efficacy
The faculty subscribes to becoming the finest faculty of any U.S. public university.
The results and findings of this study indicated that nine of the faculty interviewed subscribe to
their ability to persevere so that IU faculty will become a nationally recognized cutting-edge
faculty. A recommendation rooted in self-efficacy was selected to motivate the remaining
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 121
faculty to reach that goal. Self-efficacy is defined as the self-perception of one’s abilities and as
an estimate of confidence in one’s ability to perform various tasks (Bandera, 2005; Landino &
Owen, 1988). This would support IU praising and enumerating the faculty’s past successes to
motivate faculty to build on them. The recommendation is that the IU curriculum task force
provide faculty members the new curricula with the message that it is already a fine faculty that
can become stellar if it embraces innovative curricular change.
Bandura (1997, 2005) opined that perceived self-efficacy is based on a belief in one’s
ability to reach a goal based on past successes and skills. Self-efficacy theory stresses that
human action and success depend the depth of interactions between one’s personal thoughts and
a given task (Bandura 2005). Landino and Owen (1988), building on Bandura’s work, concluded
that feeling nourished and rewarded contributed to success through self-efficacy. Based on the
above theory, it stands to reason that the IU curriculum task force should focus its training on not
only on the new curricula’s substance but also on how faculty are uniquely postured to
successfully adopt the curricula due to their faculty’s capabilities and past success.
Value
The faculty sees that increasing social science graduates will result in a stronger
intelligence community sensitive to culture and human factors. The results and findings of
this study indicated that all of the faculty interviewed recognize that their integration of
geopolitical or national security topics in one single class period will make their graduates more
relevant to IU and the communities it serves. A recommendation grounded in utility value was
selected to reinforce that conclusion to faculty to help them reach that goal. Reasoning that
includes a discussion of the importance and utility value of the work or learning can help learners
develop positive values (Eccles, 2006; Pintrich, 2003). This would support the IU curriculum
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 122
task force emphasizing IU’s nexus to national security and the faculty’s ability to support IU’s
role by integrating the new course content in a single class period. The recommendation is to
provide faculty rationale including reflecting on past successes as modeling, guided practice
building on faculty successes and strengths, and providing positive and targeted feedback on
refinements needed with relation to the usefulness for themselves to increase social science
graduates’ interest in a career in national intelligence.
Pintrich (2003) suggested motivation and achievement are related to value components.
An individual’s value of a proposed task is critical in determining whether the individual will
endeavor to successfully reach a goal. The attainment value of various tasks, such as opening
social science students’ interest in a national intelligence career, is influenced by the affordances
provided by these tasks to fill a need (Eccles, 2006). In this case, IU’s mission to become more
relevant to the communities it serves is the overriding need. This supports the IU task force’s
education of faculty on IU’s aim to become the United States’ cutting-edge university and
thereby play a key role in supporting national security via graduating social science majors who
go on to join the national intelligence corps. IU can contribute to national security and
graduates’ employment via its faculty’s embrace of the value of its effort.
The key stakeholder, the faculty, are motivated if they have the opportunity to buy into
the proposed changes. Further, the organization has an obligation to provide adequate support,
whether it be financial or motivational resources. Table 11 provides a summary of the
organizational influences with the recommendations for achieving the stakeholder goals.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 123
Table 11
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Organization
Influence
Validated as a
Gap
Yes, High
Probability,
No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
A faculty buy-in
must be the
catalyst for
curricula
innovation, which
would incorporate
a national
intelligence
component in one
unit in all lower-
division courses
in all departments
in two test
colleges.
V Y Cultural models are
dynamic rather than static
and are expressed through
cultural practices of
behavior in specific
instances (Gallimore &
Goldenberg, 2001;
Rueda, 2011).
The curricula
development team
must include a
cross-section of
multidisciplinary
faculty in order to
ensure faculty buy-
in of the final
product.
Cabinet and
administration
must marshal
resources for
faculty work on
innovative
curricula
development.
V Y There must be shared
basic assumptions by the
cabinet and
administration in order to
ensure internal
integration (Rueda, 2011;
Schein, 2004).
The IU
administration must
timely respond to
the curriculum
development team
articulation for
organizational
support, including
but not limited to,
financial needs.
Faculty buy-in must be the catalyst for curricular innovation to incorporate a
national intelligence component in all lower-division courses in two test colleges. All of the
faculty interviewees believed they must have input into mandatory course content regardless of
the altruistic basis for such content. This gap can be closed if faculty are fully engaged in the
creation of the new curricula as members of the curriculum development task force. Rueda
(2011) suggested shared mental schema are dynamic and can result in supporting adaptive
changes. Cultural models are dynamic and are expressed through cultural practices of behavior in
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 124
specific instances (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Rueda, 2011). The curriculum development
team must include a cross-section of multidisciplinary faculty to ensure faculty buy-in of the
final product.
Schein (2004) asserted that shared basic assumptions, used by a group to solve problems,
will become the culture taught to successors. In this case, if faculty work together and agree on
creative curricular tenets, their decisions will amalgamate into a faculty position that constitutes
buy-in. Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) argued a cultural model becomes familiar and
invisible. This invisible faculty consensus deescalates any perception of us versus them and
helps the entire curriculum development task force reach consensus. The literature supports
integration of faculty in critical curricular development to ensure those responsible for effecting
change believe in that change. The recommendation is that any curricular change flow from a
carefully created curriculum development task force that is faculty-heavy.
Cabinet and administration must marshal resources for faculty work on innovative
curricular development. The entire cabinet and administration must support the faculty in
creative curricular development and integration by ensuring adequate funding and resources.
This gap closure can be ensured if top administrators are fully engaged in the creation of the new
curricula as members of the curriculum development task force. Rueda (2011) suggested a
shared cultural model can result in the way an organization is structured. There must be shared
basic assumptions by the cabinet and administration to ensure internal integration (Rueda, 2011;
Schein, 2004). The curriculum development team must include cabinet and administration level
participants with gravitas to ensure financial resources are devoted to the curricular development
and implementation.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 125
Clark and Estes (2008) focused on the importance of motivation to reach organizational
goals. Specifically, they noted a lack of incentives will undermine reaching goals. In this case,
if curriculum development team members believe they are working in a vacuum without
administrative support, there is little incentive for them to buy into the idea of innovative
curricula which will take time out of every lower-division course in two test colleges (Gallimore
& Goldenberg, 2001). This gap can be closed by ensuring cabinet members and administrators’
physical participation on the task force and financial support of task force members. The cabinet
and administration must compensate all task force members for their time and provide a bully
pulpit for the final plan rollout to the faculty at large. Further, all of the faculty interviewed
expressed frustration with prohibitively low levels of continuing education funding. A further
recommendation that, as part of the IU’s administrative funding, more resources be devoted to
continuing education access in the two test colleges bearing the burden of the curricular rollout
and testing.
Implementation and Evaluation Framework and Plan
The researcher selected Kirkpatrick’s New World Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2016) for the creative course curricula implementation and the evaluation or assessment of the
results of that implementation. Per Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), the assessment or
measurement metric is the point of departure, based on the organization’s mission and goals, in
creating a change plan. In the present case, focusing on targeted outcomes on a global or
organizational level is key. The organizational progress review will ensure that success is not
isolated to limited areas when contrasted with the lack of progress in other parts of the
university. The organizational assessment provides clarity to the university’s curricular redesign
and can formatively provide a view of curriculum development progress.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 126
IU’s organizational goal is to prepare social science students to fill national intelligence
jobs because of the diverse face of terrorism. The key stakeholders are the IU faculty members.
They are responsible for developing and implementing the new curricula. Further, faculty buy-in
is a predicate for success of the new curricula. The IU faculty must design and adopt a plan for
one unit of national and geopolitical security topics for every discipline in two test colleges. Each
unit must be related to the discipline substantively and be compatible with advanced national
security trends and greater, more diverse cultural understanding. This goal is part of IU’s action
plan if it is to be known as the cutting-edge university with relevance to the communities it
serves. National security and geopolitical cognizance are key factors in IU achieving relevance
as is its mission and goal. IU’s students must perceive themselves as citizens of the world with
greater nexus and responsibility to their role in an interactive world community.
The researcher’s desired external outcomes are creating undergraduate social science
student interest in a career in national intelligence and to draw national attention to IU’s new
curricula and its faculty leadership in implementing the cutting-edge curricula. Those outcomes
will be manifested in increasing the number of undergraduates who inquire about careers in
national intelligence agencies and markedly prominent national attention to the innovative
curricula. The outcomes will also be achieved by increased intelligence agency funding to the
university.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Ascertaining whether the stakeholders are achieving success, measurement along the
journey is critical. Formative measurements of stakeholders’ progress toward external outcome
benchmarks can be illustrated as follows. The university can solicit data from intelligence
agencies on the number of university undergraduates who seek information on a national
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 127
intelligence careers. Further, the university public relations departments can contact all media
(including social) to publicize the stakeholders’ innovation. Finally, university liaisons to
intelligence community funders can disseminate information about IU’s ongoing contributions to
national security.
Internal outcome benchmarks, formatively assessed, are illustrated by social science
undergraduates interviewing for jobs with national intelligence agencies via the university’s
career placement office and the integration of new curricula into all undergraduate lower-
division courses in two test colleges. The metrics for measurement are university placement
office statistics on student interest in national intelligence careers and quantifying the number of
undergraduate lower-division courses with new curricula integrated into the courses.
Table 12, based on Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s New World Model (2016), illustrates
methods for addressing internal and external outcomes based on outcome definition and the
metric to measure outcomes. Results and leading indicators address faculty integration of
geopolitical or national security curricula into one class period in all undergraduate level courses
in two test colleges. Th tables also addresses social science undergraduate students’ interest in a
career in national intelligence. The success of the external factors, how IU is viewed by the
academy, is structurally founded on the success of internal factor implementation. The external
and internal factors are presented in the form of outcomes, metrics, and methods for positive
outcomes.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 128
Table 12
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
Increased undergraduate
social science student
interest in a career in
national intelligence.
The number of undergraduates that
inquire about careers in national
intelligence agencies.
Solicit data from intelligence
agencies on university
undergraduates who seek
information on a national
intelligence career.
Draw national attention to
new curricula and faculty
leadership in implementing
cutting edge curricula.
Number of national news pieces on
innovative curricula and financial
response from the U.S. intelligence
community.
University public relations
outreach to all forms of media and
university research to U.S.
intelligence community funders.
Internal Outcomes
Social science undergraduate
participation in interviews
with national intelligence
agencies..
Number of students who express
an interest in a national intelligence
career.
Survey students at the end of the
course to determine if they have an
interest in a national intelligence
career.
Integration of new curricula
into all undergraduate,
lower-division courses in
two test colleges.
Percentage of undergraduate,
lower-division courses with new
curricula for one class period that
comply with the new curricula.
Review all syllabi to find new
course curricula in a single class
period.
Level 3: Behavior
The key stakeholders are the university faculty. The faculty are both designers and
implementers of the new cutting-edge curricula that will integrate geopolitical and national
security topics into all lower-division courses in two test colleges. The dual role arises out of the
unique faculty knowledge of what will work in the classroom, what type of change their faculty
colleagues will tolerate and the level of faculty self-efficacy present to motivate faculty to
effectuate the change. Key faculty behaviors include willingness to participate in the curriculum
design task force and their propensity to persuade the faculty as a whole of the benefits of the
curriculum changes. Table 13 illustrates the critical behaviors, their measurement, methods of
execution, and a timetable for implementation.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 129
Table 13
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical
Behavior
Metric(s)
Method(s)
Timing
1. Faculty
volunteer to
participate on the
university-wide,
curricula design
task force.
The number of faculty
members who volunteer to
participate and/or accept
the invitation to participate
on the curricula design
task force.
The Provost and
Faculty Senate Report
number of faculty
volunteers.
Must occur within 45 days
of the university
administration placing its
imprimatur on the creation
of one single class session
of geopolitical and/or
national security content in
one single class period in
all lower-division course
in the two test colleges.
2. Faculty
organize
educational
sessions for
colleagues
advocating
adoption and
support of the
new curricula in
two test colleges.
The number and saturation
rate of faculty who
participate in
informational meetings,
write communiques, and
articulate other means of
persuasive communication
advocating for the new
curricula.
The task force
chairpersons will
gather task force
member outreach via
telephone or private
email contact and
report the number of
task force faculty
members who create
outreach to colleagues.
Must occur no later than
30 days before the task
force completes its work
and adopts new course
curricula framework.
Required drivers. Required drivers of encouragement, monitoring, reward and
reinforcement are critical to stakeholder success. The faculty stakeholders must feel an
appreciation for their work, receive both laudatory and financial recognition for their work, and
garner college-wide reinforcement that they are using their time for scholarly advancement and
greater good along with continual progress monitoring. The monitoring will ensure progress is
made or a lack of progress addressed.
The task force chairpersons will gather task force member outreach information via direct
telephone or private email contact. The task force chairpersons will report the number of task
force faculty members who create outreach and the number of outreach sessions to colleagues in
the two test colleges. Whenever possible, they will provide the task force knowledge of the
planned outreach, which will also be reported to the IU administration.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 130
Organizational encouragement is important because the creation of the new curricula is
tied to the organizational goal of becoming more relevant to the communities the university
serves. Collegial reinforcement is key. No one likes to labor alone. It is important, particularly
for later faculty buy-in that the faculty task force members feel they are representatives for and
of their colleagues, as the new curricula will require change which might create discomfort.
Finally, financial reward for faculty time is important because, although the project is worthy, no
faculty member’s family should suffer because of the time commitment.
Stakeholder success hinges on motivational and organizational influencers. The faculty
must be motivated to create and embrace change. Motivation manifests itself when the
university curriculum task force provides faculty members peer-models, guided practice, and
targeted feedback in the application of the new curricula. The task force must also provide
faculty rationale which include reflecting on faculty past successes as modeling and guided
practice building on faculty successes and strengths. Further, it must provide positive and
targeted feedback on refinements needed to increase social science graduates’ interest in a career
in national intelligence.
Stakeholders can only succeed if the organization supports their hard work and
leadership. Organizational influencers arise primarily from the creation, constitution and
funding of the new curriculum task force. The curriculum task force must include a cross-
section of multidisciplinary faculty to ensure faculty buy-in of the final product. The curriculum
development team must include cabinet and administration level participants with gravitas to
ensure financial resources are devoted to curricula development and implementation. Table 14
illustrate the influence drivers, their implementation timing, and supportive critical behaviors.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 131
Table 14
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing
Job Aid providing document on
university approval process for new
courses or changes in course content
Inception/Ongoing 1
Introduction of senior faculty, involved
in previously successful curricula
changes, for leadership modeling
purposes.
Inception 1, 2
Encouraging
Internal university publicity for the
curricula redesign project and casting the
task force members as august scholars.
Ongoing 1, 2
Rewarding
Hourly financial compensation for all
curricula redesign task force members.
Ongoing 1, 2
Progress financial bonus for faculty
members outreach to other faculty
regarding the adoption and
implementation of the new curricula.
End of the task force work
but before final adoption of
the new curricula.
1, 2
Monitoring
Written progress summaries share
internally to the two test colleges’
faculty at large.
Monthly 1
Task force action plan and meeting
minutes with follow-up each week’s “to
do” list for faculty senate, administration
cabinet and task force members.
Weekly 1
Organizational support. The faculty will not succeed in their work without
organizational support. Faculty will instantly determine if they are working without full
organizational force and support. At the onset, it is important that the organization make
available a stipend or hourly funds to mitigate the negative effects on faculty participants.
Organizational support must also be manifested in material support: computer access, programs,
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 132
paper, meeting rooms, administrative note taking, and other needs. Faculty should not be
expected expend their own resources , so organizational funding is critical for success.
Level 2: Learning
1. IU faculty must gain the knowledge that social science graduates, who possess human
factors expertise, are sorely needed as intelligence analysts (Factual).
2. IU faculty must become aware that higher education is part of the overall United
States’ national defense umbrella as a matter of formal, national strategy (Declarative).
3. IU faculty must become familiar with the course approval process so that new
curricula can be created with faculty buy-in (Factual).
4. Senior IU faculty must serve as curriculum development mentors to faculty creating
new curricula to ensure future processes are seamless (Declarative).
5. IU faculty involved in the new curricula development must internally highlight the new
curricula development and praise their colleagues for their hard work (Value,
Confidence).
6. IU faculty must communicate in writing with colleagues when new curricula is being
considered or developed (Declarative).
7. IU faculty must ensure there is an institutional memory regarding the curricula
development in its faculty senate minutes (Value).
Program. The faculty will contribute to a university-wide curriculum development task
force which will create new curricula. The curricula to be created are intended to fill one class
period in two test colleges, with that class period focus to be geopolitics or national security.
The goal is to integrate those topics into the existing course discipline. For example, a French
professor might devote the class period to French-speaking countries experiencing political
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 133
strife. A mathematics professor might discuss the algorithms used to identify cyber security
breaches.
There are two overriding goals noted above. First, the introduction of these topics may
precipitate student interest in pursuing a career in the national intelligence corps. Second,
regardless of student interest in a national intelligence career, the new curricula will underline
national security relevance across all academic disciplines. In short, regardless of the discipline,
national security preservation is everyone’s business. The latter serves IU’s mission of
becoming more relevant to the communities it serves. The remainder of the goals are important
but are overshadowed by the two discussed above.
The learning goals above will be the direct result of the proposed curricula. Achieving
the goals will empower faculty to create new, cutting-edge curricula to help satisfy IU’s mission
of becoming the cutting-edge university and becoming more relevant to the communities it
serves. The goals are generally not achieved through symposia or workshops. They are more
individually centered. For example, the senior faculty mentoring requires one-on-one work on
the development of new curricula. However, that does not preclude intra-university outreach
sessions to reinforce goals one and two which focus on the importance of national security, the
need for social science graduates in the United States national intelligence corps, and the
relevance of that duo to IU.
Evaluation of the components of learning. It is important that the task force members
appreciate the importance of their work, appreciate the importance of a collective effort to
bolster national security, experience the actual creation of a new curriculum for one class period
of their own course, and familiarize themselves with the literature on the importance of social
science in preserving national security. Declarative and procedural knowledge are at the heart of
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 134
learning (Krathwohl, 2002). The activities or methods for faculty learning, understanding and
appreciation of their own solutions are generally centered on a single faculty member rather than
classes, workshops, or retreats. Faculty self-efficacy is often introspective and can be bolstered
with better understanding of faculty importance and the collective good that participation in a
curriculum development task force will achieve. Table 15 lists the methods, activities, and
timing of the components of learning.
Table 15
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge “I know it.”
In seeking volunteers for the cutting-edge curricula
development task force, highlight the importance of social
science expertise in national intelligence operations.
At the onset of creating the task force
and immediately after the IU
administration places its imprimatur
on the cutting-edge curricula
development.
Discuss with volunteers higher education’s role as part of the
official United States national intelligence umbrella.
First task force meeting.
Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”
Use job aids to review the multidisciplinary spectrum and how
national security is relevant to each discipline.
First task force meeting.
Use the article, “Left of Bang” as a job aid to inform task
members of the importance of intuitive knowledge in
identifying potential terrorists before they radicalize.
Presented at onset of first meeting.
Discussed at second task force
meeting.
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Discussion of the value of the task force creating the new
curricula.
Posted at the top of each meeting
agenda and closing each meeting with
an affirmation of the importance of
their work.
As reinforcement for importance, revisit Flynn’s “Left of
Bang” article and introduce Plous’ Chronicle of Higher
Education article on how social science will save national
security as job aids.
Both presented three meetings before
curricula is finally adopted for faculty
senate and cabinet approval.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 135
Table 15, continued
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
Use job aids to work through hypotheticals of the integration
of geopolitical and national security topic into various
disciplines.
Second meeting of the task force.
Assign each task force member to create a job aid of
geopolitical or national security hypothetical class period
insert for their own teaching in their specific discipline.
Third meeting of the task force.
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
Create faculty information teams, composed of task force
members, to explain to faculty at large, the value of the new
curricula.
Begin organizing two meetings
before curricula is finally adopted for
faculty senate and cabinet approval.
Celebrate completion of drafting new curricula with affirming
the importance of the integration of geopolitics and national
security into multiple disciplines.
Final meeting and in subsequent
outreach meetings.
Level 1: Reaction
The proposed integration of geopolitical or national security course content into one class
period must be measured to determine success, failure, or remediation. The faculty teaching the
courses and the students taking the courses must be interviewed or, at a minimum, given an
evaluative instrument to complete. IU cannot look at the new cutting-edge curricula as
successful or a failure after the initial offering. Formative and summative evaluations must
occur to modify the curricula to ensure student receptivity and relevance. Further, both forms of
evaluation are necessary to assist faculty in successfully offering the new curricula or identifying
negative outliers that might undermine the original course discipline and the faculty member’s
pedagogy. Table 16 provides a point of departure for measurement of integration of the new
curricula into the preexisting course discipline to assist faculty in their presentation.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 136
Table 16
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Teaching faculty administered in class Likert survey of
students to determine if a new interest in national
intelligence
Class period after class period on
geopolitical or national security issues
integrated with substantive course discipline.
College administered Likert survey of faculty to
determine faculty and student engagement in the new
geopolitical or national security issues integrated with
substantive course discipline.
Two class periods after class period on
geopolitical or national security issues
integrated with substantive course discipline.
Department administered questionnaire of faculty to
determine the ease or difficulty of integrating
geopolitical or national security topic into the course
discipline
Done at the beginning of each semester,
including summer session.
Department chair visit to faculty member to determine
student engagement with geopolitical and national
security course content.
Done immediately after the new course
content is presented to students.
Relevance
Informal interview of volunteer students to determine
relevance to their overall studies and their perceived
roles in society
End of each semester
Formal interview with select faculty to determine
relevance to their teaching and their perceived roles in
academia
End of each semester
Customer Satisfaction
Summative measurement through 12 random
interviews with faculty who changed their courses to
include the single class period, new curricula
First Year of Implementation: Mid-semester,
first semester; Mid-semester, second
semester; End of Summer Session
New Curriculum Evaluation by Faculty One year after initial implementation
New Curriculum Evaluation by Volunteer Students One year after initial implementation
Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. Although it is critical to have
summative and formative surveys to measure learning (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016), it is
paramount to conduct formative surveys after the presentation of the new curricula each semester
during the first calendar year of implementation. The surveys will provide information that can
be used to nuance the curricula so as to make it more useful to the communities IU serves. A
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 137
survey immediately after the single class period offering will help capture data while the
experience is fresh in faculty and students’ minds.
The survey (Appendix A) is intended to assess the curricular insert along the creation and
implementation continuum. It includes questions measuring faculty member’s comfort in
teaching the new material. There is a provision for the faculty member to seek help to improve
future presentations. It also measures faculty member’s perception as to how her students
received the new material and if it spurred national intelligence career interest. Finally, there is a
provision for the faculty member to ask to speak to her department chair. This should allow for
an earnest conversation about teaching the content.
It is important to note that, along with the immediate Likert-scale survey, the researcher
recommends an in-person visit to discuss the faculty member’s attitude, confidence, and
commitment with the department chairperson. This will allow a frank discussion of the new
course content and how it fits into the faculty member’s pedagogy (i.e., procedural skills). Note
that the instrument (Appendix B) is not labeled with the topics (i.e., procedural skills,
competence, or attitude) so as not to prejudice responses. The respondent must view the
instrument as a means to assist in teaching the new course content rather than a measurement of
her commitment or ability.
Delayed for a period after the program implementation. The researcher will use a
summative, Likert-scale questionnaire for faculty completion. It will be time-effective and allow
the faculty member to review her experiences with the new content and provide the IU
curriculum development task force and administration with the direct results of implementing the
new curricula. Unlike the formative Likert-scale previously identified, this instrument will report
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 138
final results. There will be no opportunity for the respondents to seek midstream help. It will be
the postmortem of three semesters’ teaching of the new content.
Evaluation must occur close in time with the curricular implementation. It can also occur
more summatively after several semesters of its implementation. The questionnaire will measure
the respondent’s commitment to the program, knowledge of its importance, procedural skills,
confidence in presenting the content prospectively, recognition of IU’s position in the United
States national security schema and whether the respondent believes the new curricula is relevant
to the communities IU serves. Further, customer satisfaction will be measured in that the
respondent will relate student engagement in the single class period, expressed student interest in
a national intelligence career, and whether there was adequate transfer of information.
The questionnaire results will be shared with the curriculum task force, the faculty senate
and, the administration. The task force’s review is paramount in that it is in a position to refine,
revise or reject the concept of integrating national security topics into a single class period in
multiple disciplines. The faculty senate must have placed its imprimatur on the new curricula, so
it merits a postmortem review. The faculty senate will then be in a position to debate whether to
continue to support the new curriculum’s integration into multiple disciplines. Finally, the
administration must review the data because it made the financial and reputational investment in
the new curricula. Appendices C and D are the illustrations of the qualitative interview results.
Data Analysis and Reporting
A summary of the overall goals is faculty acknowledgement of the importance of
addressing geopolitical and national security topics as demonstrated through their agreement to
integrate those topics into their courses, the generation of social science student interest in a
national intelligence career, and the resulting elevation of IU’s national reputation as the cutting-
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 139
edge university in the United States. A manifestation of those goals includes reinforcing the
stakeholder knowledge recognition of faculty cognizance that higher education is part of the
United States national defense plan as well as of the importance of integrating human factors
expertise into our national intelligence corps via the integration of more social science students
into that corps. Another manifestation would be to make IU more relevant to the communities it
serves and to close any motivation gaps by emphasizing that the faculty stakeholders have
already demonstrated scholarship and instructional successes upon which to build.
Organizational support of both manifestations is critical to the success of the proposed
integration of new curricula in the two test colleges’ lower-division multiple disciplines.
The data were collected from documents and interviews. Thirty-one syllabi were
reviewed for compliance with IU’s aspirational mandated warning provision. The reasons for
compliance or noncompliance were then determined via randomly selected interviewees who
authored 10 of those syllabi. Measuring the success of prompting student interest in a national
intelligence career and IU’s rise in national prominence cannot be immediately measured as they
both would occur over time and require a longitudinal measurement. Based on that dilemma, the
researcher focused on faculty attitude toward the new curricular integration.
Ultimately, the paramount measurement of success is whether faculty will agree to
include mandated geopolitical and national security content in their course. Absent faculty buy-
in, the proposed new curricula and its projected impact become a theory at best. The results of
the research were, in part, that some faculty found the inclusion so distant from course content
that it would serve as more of a distraction than an ancillary benefit. Other faculty determined
their discipline had some nexus to geopolitics and national security issues, so it could be
advantageous to include the new content. All faculty believed a curriculum development task
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 140
force was needed to provide common denominators and course competencies that would be
instructive if they were to integrate the new curricula into their courses.
The researcher learned that, upon discussion and explanation of the importance of social
science/human factor expertise needed in the United States national intelligence corps, faculty
became less reticent to modify their course curriculum. Further, of the interviewees, eight
faculty drew a nexus from their established scholarship to propeling the new curricula into
national prominence, thereby assisting IU in reaching its goal of becoming the cutting-edge
university.
Summary
IU’s creation of new curricula integrating geopolitical and national security topics into a
single course period was uncharacteristically done via a simultaneous implementation and
evaluation protocols. Achieving the return on expectations required a Level 1 introduction of
IU’s posture, academic needs, assessment of knowledge and motivational gaps, a projection of
the needed organizational support, and an alignment of both with IU’s mission and goals. This
resulted in a point of departure for Level 2. Faculty successfully achieved the Level 2 goals
through use of job aid and group presentations which highlighted higher education’s role in the
U.S. national defense posture, the need for social science expertise, and the planned faculty
participation in curriculum creation.
Level 3 behaviors were successfully achieved with the IU administration’s marshalling
faculty members to comprise the new curriculum task force. This convention of a spectrum of
faculty ensured faculty buy-in. Task force members reached out to their colleagues on the design
of the new content and reinforced its relevance to IU’s mission. Further, task force chairpersons
gathered information on task force member outreach via telephone or private email contact and
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 141
reported the rate of task force faculty members outreach to the faculty senate, the administration,
and the task force itself.
Level 4 success was reached in the faculty’s embracing IU’s organizational goal to
prepare social science students to fill national intelligence jobs because of the diverse face of
terrorism. Level 4 success was also achieved with faculty recognition of IU’s mission to become
“a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it
includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming
fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the
communities it serves.” The IU goal and mission are dependent on the faculty as the key
stakeholder group. Therefore, the closing of the knowledge and motivation gaps while
augmenting those closures with organizational support was the focus of the research. The
researcher relied the Clark and Estes’ (2008) model to identify stakeholder gaps in knowledge
and motivation. The questions of whether the plan meets expectations are addressed through the
answers to the questions that guided the study:
1. What are the faculty’s knowledge and motivation foundations necessary to lead IU in
becoming the cutting-edge American university by revising its curricula to ensure
geopolitical and national security topics are integrated into multiple disciplines in two test
colleges?”
2. How do IU’s organizational culture and context relate (e.g., support or inhibit) to its
faculty’s motivation and knowledge?
3. What recommendations can help faculty achieve the organizational goals?
The Kirkpatrick New World Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016) provided a structure to
evaluate, categorize, and suggest means to close the gaps and answer these questions.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 142
IU’s internal summative outcomes were (a) how many faculty members actually
incorporated the new content into their lower-division courses in the two test colleges; (b)
whether faculty recognized their own self-efficacy and their importance in helping IU achieve its
goal and satisfy its mission; and (c) whether social science students expressed an interest in
pursuing a national intelligence career after experiencing the new course content. To measure the
results, IU needed to identify means to quantify them.
Its external summative outcomes were (a) national intelligence agency interest in IU’s
revised curricula and (b) national academic and public relations recognition of IU’s new
curricula. IU also needed to determine whether the efforts were successful. Internally, IU
surveyed students at the end of each course to determine if they had an interest in a national
intelligence career and if that interest arose out of the new content blended into their course. IU
also reviewed all lower-division course syllabi in the two test colleges to determine faculty
compliance with the new mandate.
Although a longitudinal view is necessary to determine whether IU will reach the
national prominence it seeks, whether students will gain a lasting interest in a national
intelligence career, and whether the U.S. national intelligence community will reward IU for its
work, IU’s implementation of change using the Kirkpatrick New World Model (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016) was a key to its success in IU creating and implementing new curricula to
serve the United States’ national community.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 143
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HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 150
APPENDIX A
Immediate Evaluation Instrument
Please check the
appropriate box at right.
In addition, if you would
like to speak to your
department chair, please
place a checkmark at
right of each question.
Thank you!
Strongly
Disagree
1
Disagree
2
Neutral
3
Agree
4
Strongly
Agree
5
In addition to the
scoring: I would
like to discuss
this with my
department
chair.
L1. The new curricula
was easily integrated
into my course in a
single class period.
L1. The new curricula
infringes on my
academic freedom.
L2. The new curricula is
so different from my
course content that it
radically distracts from
my subject matter.
L2. The new curricula
outline and teaching
suggestions were user-
friendly.
L3.. I am making a
contribution to the U.S.
national security by
including the new
curricula into my course.
L3. I need assistance in
integrating the new
curricula into my course
to make this a positive
teaching and learning
experience.
L4. My students are
expressing an interest in
a national intelligence
career.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 151
L4. The new curricula
helps me make my
course discipline more
relevant to today’s
society.
L4. I would like to make
some minor adjustments
to the new curricula
before I teach a course
with its content again.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 152
APPENDIX B
Delayed Blended Evaluation
Please check the
appropriate box at
right. In addition, if
you would like to
speak to your
department chair,
please place a
checkmark at right of
each question. Thank
you!
Strongly
Disagree
1
Disagree
2
Neutral
3
Agree
4
Strongly Agree
5
In addition to the
scoring: I would
like to discuss
this with my
department chair.
Level 1: Engagement
A. The new curricula
was a meaningful way
for me to contribute to
our national security
Level 1: Engagement
B. I understand and
subscribe to the
premise that higher
education is part of the
United States’ national
security posture.
Level 1: Engagement
C.. I am well prepared
to present the new
course material and
have command of the
subject matter.
Level 2: Relevance
D. My students
expressed an interest
in a national
intelligence career.
Level 2: Relevance
E. IU’s commitment to
participating in the
preservation of
national security is
within my academic
philosophy and
expectations.
HUMAN FACTORS EXPERTISE 153
Level 2: Relevance
F. I want IU to be at
the forefront of
academic innovation
so that its mission of
being relevant to the
communities we serve
is accomplished.
Level 3: Customer
Satisfaction
G. The new curricula
was easily integrated
into my course in a
single class period.
Level 3: Customer
Satisfaction
H. The new curricula
was easily integrated
into my course in a
single class period.
Level 3: Customer
Satisfaction
I. The task force
primer on the new
course content
prepared me to
integrate the curricula
into my class
presentation.
Level 3: Customer
Satisfaction
J. My students were
engaged in
participation and
discussion in the class
period.
Level 3: Customer
Satisfaction
K. I look forward to
presenting the new
curricula in future
semesters and to help
refine it.
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate university faculty members’ knowledge, motivation and interest in creating cutting-edge curricula to attract social science students to a career in national intelligence and thus encourage greater financial investment in higher education from national defense. In addition, this study addressed the problem of how to help the university innovate and become more relevant to society through security curricula to increase national intelligence human factors abilities and close the existing knowledge gap. ❧ This qualitative study evaluated faculty members’ knowledge of and motivation using gap analysis. The study examined mandated syllabi content and faculty reaction to mandates. Ten faculty members were interviewed. The study also included interviews of national experts who reacted to the faculty’s assertions and suggestions made in their interviews. ❧ This study concluded faculty are aware of higher education’s role in the United States national defense posture and that human factors expertise is critical in the identification of potential terrorists. Faculty believe that they have a critical role in creating a good citizenry and are open to a curriculum change that would integrate geopolitics topics into their academic discipline. Greater financial access to continuing education motivated faculty to actively participate in a curriculum change. Both the national intelligence community and faculty have a high level of trust in prospectively working together so long as measures are taken to ensure that the funder does not control the research thereby preserving academic freedom. ❧ Finally, faculty suggestions for national intelligence and defense funding centered on scholarships for students who desire a career in the federal government and stipends for faculty to attend continuing education symposia. There is strong support for the suggestion that lower division courses be modified to include geopolitics and/or national security topics. Faculty believed that doing so would encourage social science students’ interest in a national intelligence career, would help elevate the level of faculty scholarship, and would help elevate the university to national prominence.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Calderón, Ernest
(author)
Core Title
Contributing human factors expertise to the United States national intelligence community
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)
Publication Date
01/09/2020
Defense Date
12/03/2019
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
Human Factors,national security,OAI-PMH Harvest,preventing terrorism,social science curriculum
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Tobey, Patricia Elaine (
committee chair
), Bensimon, Estela (
committee member
), Koehler, Paul (
committee member
)
Creator Email
calderon@azlex.com,ernestca@usc.edu
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Tags
national security
preventing terrorism
social science curriculum