Michael J. Schwerin

Socio-cultural factors that foster use and abuse of alcohol among a sample of enlisted personnel at four Navy and Marine Corps installations.

Rates of heavy drinking are consistently higher among U.S. military personnel than among civilians, particularly among young male personnel. In addressing drinking in the military, more information is needed on contextual factors influencing drinking to better understand the conditions that lead to or facilitate drinking. Results from 15 focus groups conducted with enlisted personnel at 2 Navy and 2 Marine Corps installations as part of formative research for an alcohol abuse prevention trial are reported in this article. The study explored the drinking climate of each installation in terms of shared attitudes and recognized norms regarding alcohol use and installation personnels general understanding of policies concerning alcohol consumption. Analysis revealed several contextual factors that add to our understanding of drinking behaviors.

A cluster evaluation of Navy quality of life programs

Abstract The objective of this study was to describe a program evaluation system that can be applied to a wide range of quality of life (QOL) programs in the Navy—specific enough to capture the variability of several QOL programs with sufficient consistency across programs to facilitate multi-program comparisons. Evaluation measures were designed specifically for each program consisting of a core set of items that evaluated how well each program affected program-specific outcomes, general QOL program outcomes, and organizational outcomes (i.e. overall QOL, readiness, and retention plans). Surveys were administered at 13 QOL programs in three US Navy Fleet concentration areas: Southern California, Norfolk Virginia, and Yokosuka Japan. Program evaluation surveys were distributed to program patrons at the point of service for a 6-month period ( n 10,765). Analyses and results examining general QOL program outcomes and organizational outcomes are presented. Advantages, limitations, implications, and areas for future research will be discussed.

The utility of focus group interviews to capture dietary consumption data in the distant past: dairy consumption in Kazakhstan villages 50 years ago

From 1949 to 1962, residents of several villages in Kazakhstan received substantial doses of radiation to the thyroid gland resulting from nuclear tests conducted at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. The primary source of radiation was internal from an intake of radioactive iodine by consumption of contaminated dairy products. A previous research study of childhood exposure and thyroid disease in this region gathered limited data on study participants dairy intake at the time of the fallout for the purpose of estimating past radiation doses. As many participants were too young at the time of the nuclear tests to recall dietary consumption and existing sources of archival data are limited, it was necessary to interview parents and other village residents who cared for children during this time - older adults ranging in age from 75 to 90 years. Results from 11 focus group interviews conducted in 2007 with 82 women from 4 villages in Kazakhstan yielded group-level estimates of age-, gender-, ethnicity- and village-specific dairy consumption patterns in rural Kazakhstan during the 1950s. Children typically consumed cows milk with limited consumption of mare, goat and sheep milk; and consumed dairy products such as sour milk (airan), soft cottage cheese (tvorog) and fermented mare milk (koumiss) with the greatest amounts of koumiss reported at ages 15-21 years. The consumption patterns differed by age, and between Kazakh and Russian children, which should lead to different estimates of radiation exposure to the thyroid. This study showed the utility of focus groups to obtain quantitative estimates for dietary intake in the distant past.

A Participant Evaluation of the U.S. Navy Parent Support Program

This study reports on the results of a program evaluation of the U.S. Navy New Parent Support Program (NPSP). NPSP is comprised of two components: center-based parenting classes and home-based visits. Data are presented on: (a) satisfaction with program quality, (b) how well the program met its primary objectives (e.g., helps reduce parenting stress), (c) how well the NPSP met its Reasons for Being (RFBs; e.g., Helps service members concentrate on their job), and (d) program impact on mission-related outcomes (i.e., quality of life (QOL), readiness, and program impact on their decision to remain in the military). Results indicate that parents who take part in both the parenting classes and home-based visits report that the program exceeded their expectations, the program improved their perceptions of their parenting and coping skills, they perceived that the program demonstrated the Navy’s concern for Sailors and their families, and the program enhanced the family’s quality of life. Implications of study findings are discussed.

Quality of life in the U.S. Navy: Impact on performance and career continuance:

Previous research has shown the importance of quality of life (QOL) for critical organizational outcomes such as the retention of U.S. Navy personnel (Wilcove, Schwerin, & Wolosin, 2003) and Marines (Hindelang, Schwerin, & Farmer, 2004). These studies employed a life domains approach addressing a full range of work and non-work life needs as well as specific aspects of each life domain. In contrast, most other research exploring outcomes critical to military organizations focused only on work life needs of personnel (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, command climate). This study extends previous research by (a) including both performance and career-continuance plans of personnel as outcomes of interest, (b) exploring the contribution of an additional life need—spiritual well-being—to the measurement of QOL, and (c) examining changes in perceptions of QOL over time between 1999 and 2002 among U.S. Navy personnel. Implications of findings to military personnel, families, and manpower and personnel policy as well as future directions for research are discussed.

Shipboard Habitability in the U.S. Navy

Studies of sailor quality of life (QOL) reveal that shipboard life is one among several work and non-work factors that help explain retention plans and behavior (Schwerin, Kline, Olmsted, & Wilcove, 2006; Wilcove, Schwerin, & Wolosin, 2003). The study of factors affecting satisfaction with shipboard life lacks serious exploration, with most of the research on shipboard habitability being conducted 25 years ago. In the present study, data from the 2002 Navy QOL Survey were analyzed to reveal the facets of shipboard habitability viewed as most and least satisfying, to create habitability subscales, and to apply those subscales in a multiple regression to better understand satisfaction with shipboard life. Results are related to the larger discipline of environmental psychology (Gifford, 2002). Implications of study findings on policy and research, study limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Multi-Iteration Usability Testing of the U.S. Navy's Performance Management System

The U.S. Navy has undertaken the second of two iterations of usability testing for the Navys Human Performance Feedback and Development (HPFD) and ePerformance system. This second of two iterations included 34 officer and enlisted supervisors and nonsupervisors in usability testing conducted at three Navy locations—Naval Meteorology and Oceanographic Center (NAVMETOCCEN) Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia; USS HOWARD (DDG 83) in San Diego, California; and the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in Arlington, Virginia. Each participant completed a usability test scenario in addition to pretest and posttest surveys designed to obtain Navy personnels subjective impressions of the HPFD and ePerformance systems. Results from analyses comparing data from Iteration 1 (reported in Schwerin, Dean, Robbins, Bourne, & Reed, 2006) and Iteration 2 (reported in Dean, Aspinwall, Schwerin, & Kendrick, 2006) show an overall reduction in user burden (e.g., fewer errors and less time to complete usability tasks) and increased user satisfaction (e.g., more satisfied with the professionalism, efficiency, and overall effectiveness). These findings indicate that the Navy HPFD and ePerformance systems are easier to use but, more generally, results support the value and effectiveness of usability in human systems integration (HSI) and usability testing. Recommendations for system refinement, policy development, and implementation planning are discussed.

Subjective and Objective Results of Usability Testing of a Prototype Performance Management System Among U.S. Navy Personnel

The U.S. Navy conducted usability testing for the Navy’s Human Performance Feedback and Development (HPFD) and ePerformance system to capture both quantitative and objective data as well as qualitative and subjective data from participants to identify potential sources of error and user burden. A total of 57 officer and enlisted supervisors and nonsupervisors took part in usability testing conducted at 3 Navy test sites. Each participant completed a usability test scenario and took part in focus group interview debriefings of their usability testing session to elicit recommendations for improvement and cultural factors that might affect system implementation. Results identified various usability errors, their frequency, and duration, as well as recommendations for improvement. In addition, user ratings of the system and qualitative data from focus group interviews indicate that system users believe the systems worked well. Focus group interview results indicate that the frequency and severity of connectivity problems had a negative effect on user perceptions of the HPFD and ePerformance systems, and there were several cultural factors that were key for the acceptance of a new performance appraisal system. Implications of the findings, study limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.