Giving and Taking Orders: Race, Rank, and the United States Military

This thesis explores racial representation in the United States military throughout each rank level, within all active and reserve branches, to determine whether racial representation is related to rank. Using a census of the U.S. military from the Department of Defense, I establish a summary of what representation looks like overall, and more specifically, what it looks like within enlisted, warrant officer, and officer ranks. The citizen-soldier theory contends that failure on the part of the U.S. military to maintain representative forces threatens the legitimacy and credibility of democracy and could even become a threat to it (Armor and Gilroy, 2010:224). Much of the existing research on the military applauds its racially progressive policies and the (overall) proportionately representative forces it maintains. However, there is little scrutiny of what those forces actually look like, broken down by rank. If the military is to maintain a truly representative force of citizen-soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines, then it must be representative among all levels. This research explores what contemporary military representation actually looks like, specifically asking, who is really giving the orders--Whites, Asians, Blacks or Hispanics

Louisiana Urban and Suburban Homeowners’ Fertilizer Management Behavioral Beliefs, Intentions, and Past Behaviors

Nutrient runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus from improper lawn and landscape fertilization practices contributes to water quality issues within the Mississippi River drainage basin and the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NRC, 2009a; Robbins & Birkenholtz, 2003). The implementation of fertilizer best management practices has become a critical strategy for reducing nutrient runoff (Carey et al., 2012a; Carey et al., 2013; U.S. EPA, 2005). The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships exist among selected perceptual measures regarding home lawn and landscape fertilizer management practices among Louisiana urban and suburban homeowners. Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was the theoretical framework used to study Louisiana homeowners’ fertilizer management practices. An online semantic differential questionnaire assessed homeowners’ TPB perceptual measures regarding 12 fertilizer management practices identified through pilot research. The homeowners of this study reported seldom past performance of the recommended Soil testing practice. The results further indicated that homeowners’ intention to perform the Soil testing practice was the strongest determinant of past behavior, and perceived norm was the strongest determinant of intention to perform the practice. Homeowners further reported that they may intend to perform the improper Watering in lawn fertilizer, rain event practice, and homeowners’ perceived control was the strongest determinant of intention to perform the practice. Lastly, homeowners reported that they slightly believed that if fertilizer was applied to areas other than the lawn and landscape that it would result in runoff that contributes to environmental issues in water. The researcher concluded that the Soil testing practice was infrequently performed by the participants of this study. The researcher further concluded that homeowners may intend to use a rain event to water in lawn fertilizer as they think it is a beneficial practice that they can control, and that homeowners’ only slightly believed that fertilizer runoff would result from the Runoff from fertilizer spills practice. To change homeowners’ fertilizer management practices the researcher recommended that the strongest determinants of behavior and the underlying behavioral beliefs identified in this study be targeted in behavioral intervention programming designed by the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service

The Value of Reflective Thinking Among Public Elementary Teachers in Ontario, Canada

This research study investigated the perceived value of reflection among in-service teachers in Ontario, Canada. The surveys were randomly distributed to 140 teachers within the Toronto District School Board (TDSB; the largest school board in Canada). The teachers all had Ontario teaching certification, were surveyed at their current school, and had taught from one to 35 years. I investigated to what extent in-service teachers engage in reflective thinking, specific aspects of the teaching process that teachers reflect about, and sought to determine whether engagement in reflective thinking is related to years of teaching experience, elementary teaching levels (primary, junior, intermediate), and teacher preparation programs. The data were collected using the Perceived Value of Reflective Thinking Survey created by Dr. Sarah Russback (2006), and the data were evaluated and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 22. In this study, self-reflection was regarded as a useful practice by most in-service teachers. The participants had a highly positive perception of improving as an overall reflective practitioner, neutral perceptions of reflecting through the writing process, and moderate perceptions of barriers of personal reflection. They also reflected moderately often on the eight aspects of the teaching process (student level of understanding, student engagement, future goals, classroom management, student assignments, pedagogy, assessment practices, and student grades). However, there was no significant relationship between engagement or reflective thinking and teaching level and years of teaching. I recommend that further research be conducted involving both pre-service and in-service teachers who teach at all levels

The Pursuit of a Combined Educator-Counselor Identity: Gaps and Opportunities in School Counselor Training Scholarship

This special issue focuses exclusively on the training of future school counselors to adopt a non-dual and non-hierarchical identity as an EducatorCounselor. It is long documented that the school counselors’ straddling the worlds of education and counseling have led to identity and role confusion. Concerns about school counselors’ identity have persisted amidst changes in the counseling profession and resulted in a notable schism among leaders and professional associations. Building on the Levy and Lemberger-Truelove (2021) proposition that school counselors are EducatorCounselors, or school-building educators who consistently engage in educational tasks while being oriented by counseling, articles within this special issue offer the field of counselor education an opportunity to understand how shifts in our professional practice, preparation, supervision, and research dissemination can operationalize a clear and distinct EducatorCounselor identity for school-counselors-in-training

Kimura's Disease

Kimuras disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology. It is rare in the West, but endemic in Asia. It typically presents as solitary or multiple subcutaneous nodules, that slowly increase in size. The lesions are variably painful and pruritic. It often accompanied by regional lymphadenopathy, raised serum eosinophil counts, and markedly elevated serum immunoglobulin E levels. Histologically, the lesions are characterized by reactive lymphoid follicles with eosinophilic infiltration and an increased amount of postcapillary venules. The optimal treatment for KD remains controversial. Although the condition seldom resolves spontaneously, malignant transformation has not been reported to date, and the prognosis is good. We describe a male patient with a 4-year pruritic progressive “bump” in front of his left ear. On physical examination, the patient had 2 discrete lesions on the left side of his face near his ear. Postauricularly, there was a 3 × 5 cm erythematous to violaceous, indurated nodule. Preauricularly, there was a similar, but smaller cyst-like nodule. Punch biopsy showed a superficial and deep nodular and interstitial infiltrate, reactive lymphoid follicles with a dense infiltration of eosinophils and areas of eosinophilic follicle lysis. The patient received intralesional triamcinolone acetonide injections 10 mg/cc behind left ear with a good improvement

Design considerations for developing measures of policy implementation in quantitative evaluations of public health policy.

Typical quantitative evaluations of public policies treat policies as a binary condition, without further attention to how policies are implemented. However, policy implementation plays an important role in how the policy impacts behavioral and health outcomes. The field of policy-focused implementation science is beginning to consider how policy implementation may be conceptualized in quantitative analyses (e.g., as a mediator or moderator), but less work has considered how to measure policy implementation for inclusion in quantitative work. To help address this gap, we discuss four design considerations for researchers interested in developing or identifying measures of policy implementation using three independent NIH-funded research projects studying e-cigarette, food, and mental health policies. Mini case studies of these considerations were developed via group discussions; we used the implementation research logic model to structure our discussions. Design considerations include (1) clearly specifying the implementation logic of the policy under study, (2) developing an interdisciplinary team consisting of policy practitioners and researchers with expertise in quantitative methods, public policy and law, implementation science, and subject matter knowledge, (3) using mixed methods to identify, measure, and analyze relevant policy implementation determinants and processes, and (4) building flexibility into project timelines to manage delays and challenges due to the real-world nature of policy. By applying these considerations in their own work, researchers can better identify or develop measures of policy implementation that fit their needs. The experiences of the three projects highlighted in this paper reinforce the need for high-quality and transferrable measures of policy implementation, an area where collaboration between implementation scientists and policy experts could be particularly fruitful. These measurement practices provide a foundation for the field to build on as attention to incorporating measures of policy implementation into quantitative evaluations grows and will help ensure that researchers are developing a more complete understanding of how policies impact health outcomes

A Novel Genetic Circuit Supports Laboratory Automation and High Throughput Monitoring of Inflammation in Living Human Cells

Genetically encoded reporter circuits have been revolutionizing our ability to monitor, manipulate, and visualize specific cellular responses to a variety of environmental stimuli. However, the development of genetic circuits that enable both high throughput (HTP) application and laboratory automation remains challenging. In this report, we describe a novel dual-reporter circuit that utilizes a secretory Gaussia luciferase (Gluc) and a green fluorescent protein (GFP) for monitoring inflammatory signaling, a fundamental process in many life events. We designed and built this genetic circuit into a simple adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector, which is suitable for both simple transfection and efficient transduction protocols. We demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity of this new circuit and its ability to monitor a broad range of inflammatory response in various human cell models. Importantly, this novel system is simple, robust, and readily adaptable to HTP applications and laboratory automation including fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and microplate reader analysis. By combining both GFP and Gluc in one genetic circuit, our new dual-reporter circuit provides an easy and powerful tool for monitoring and quantifying inflammatory signals in various mammalian cells

Tuning of Collagen Scaffold Properties Modulates Embedded Endothelial Cell Regulatory Phenotype in Repair of Vascular Injuries In Vivo

Perivascularly implanted matrix embedded endothelial cells (MEECs) are potent regulators of inflammation and intimal hyperplasia following vascular injuries. Endothelial cells (ECs) in collagen scaffolds adopt a reparative phenotype with significant therapeutic potential. Although the biology of MEECs is increasingly understood, tuning of scaffold properties to control cell-substrate interactions is less well-studied. It is hypothesized that modulating scaffold degradation would change EC phenotype. Scaffolds with differential degradation are prepared by cross-linking and predegradation. Vascular injury increases degradation and the presence of MEECs retards injury-mediated degradation. MEECs respond to differential scaffold properties with altered viability in vivo, suppressed smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation in vitro, and altered interleukin-6 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression. When implanted perivascularly to a murine carotid wire injury, tuned scaffolds change MEEC effects on vascular repair and inflammation. Live animal imaging enables real-time tracking of cell viability, inflammation, and scaffold degradation, affording an unprecedented understanding of interactions between cells, substrate, and tissue. MEEC-treated injuries improve endothelialization and reduce SMC hyperplasia over 14 d. These data demonstrate the potent role material design plays in tuning MEEC efficacy in vivo, with implications for the design of clinical therapies.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 GM 49039