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In this study, a total of 102 high-ranking commanders from a military and police background were included in a simulation involving hybrid attacks on Norway. The aim was to explore the commanders' decision-making in the context of hybrid warfare and changing threats. Data were collected in a simulated national headquarters and analyzed by a multinominal logistic regression method using a scenario that transformed from peacetime into war and returned to peace. The results demonstrated significant differences in the commanders' preferences for unilateral or interagency forces depending on whether decisions were made in peacetime, war or the post-conflict phase. The results also showed how the commanders' level of operational experience was associated with an increased preference for interagency forces. The current findings are new empirical insights into a thus far neglected aspect of decision-making research and have implications for improving police-military interoperability in major security crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the applicability of Bandura's social cognitive theory in predicting organizational performance in dynamic and ambiguous hybrid warfare contexts. Specifically, the study investigated the influence of dyad composition, past performance in peacetime, collective self-efficacy, and persistence on wartime performance among high-ranking police and military commanders. Study design/methodology/approach: One hundred and thirty-eight participants, consisting of police and military commanders, took part in a simulation exercise that escalated from peace to war. The participants were assigned to three types of dyads (N = 69); all-police (n = 20), all-military (n = 27), and mixed police-military (n = 22). The study utilized path analysis to examine the direct and indirect effects of the variables on wartime performance. Results: The model developed in this study accounted for 54% of the variance in wartime performance (R2 = 0.54). Path analysis showed direct effects of persistence (β = -0.33) and peacetime performance (β = 0.45) on actual performance in wartime. Direct effects also showed how persistence was predicted by dyad composition (β = -0.24) and peacetime performance (β = -0.50). Indirect effects indicated how persistence mediated the effects of peacetime performance (β = 0.17) and dyad composition (β = 0.08) on actual performance in wartime. Originality/value: This study contributes to the understanding of how social cognitive factors, as described by Bandura's theory, can predict decision outcomes in collaborative crisis response settings involving police and military commanders. The findings have implications for policy-making and provide recommendations for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nationwide sample of 129 police officers participated in a study aimed at validating and presenting practical implications of a selection procedure for applicants to an educational program for Norwegian police drone pilots. The subjects were part of a selection program for a training and qualification course for police drone pilots. The selection program consisted of tests of spatial orientation, logical reasoning, attentional selection, sustained attention, and visual short-term memory, in addition to a performance test in a drone flight simulator. The aim of the study was to evaluate the cognitive tests used in the selection program and their relation to performance during the simulated flight. The results from the untrained applicants revealed low-to-moderate intercorrelations of the cognitive tests. Only spatial orientation, logical reasoning, and attentional selection were correlated to the performance measures of skills and proficiency. Stepwise regression analysis showed that only spatial orientation and attentional selection had unique contributions in explaining the variance in both measures of performance. Implications are discussed on both practical and scientific levels. The positive implications of using untrained respondents, the use of proficiency measures in addition to skills, the building of a clearinghouse for drone selection data, and considering both the job-analyzes and the total test-performance when interpreting the applicant's test-scores are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The personality disposition hardiness has been shown to be associated with adaptive coping strategies and is considered an important protective factor against development of mental health symptoms. One of the criticisms found in the hardiness literature concerns the question whether the construct is equally important for men and women. Using a prospective design in a moderated mediation model, regression analyses were performed to examine the effect of avoidance coping in the association between hardiness and mental distress. The effect of biological sex was examined in the association between hardiness and avoidance coping. Our sample included 410 civilian personnel employed in a military organization. The results showed that higher hardiness levels were associated with lower reported use of avoidance coping, which in turn was associated with lower levels of distress symptoms. Avoidance coping mediated the effect of hardiness on anxiety symptoms and this indirect effect was not moderated by biological sex. These results indicate that hardiness operates similarly for women and men as a factor influencing mental distress symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]