A soldier’s journey: An arts-based exploration of identity

My time in the army has past but I still see myself as a soldier. Why is this identity still salient beyond my career when I no longer have a role “as” a soldier? How did this soldier identity form, how did it develop and how complex is it? In order to gain a deeper understanding of the creation, development and maintenance of various military identities through a life course within the military environment and broader society, I focus on the funds of knowledge that an individual member of a military organisation may internalise in his or her military identity work. Taking an autoethnographic approach and based on the developing theory of funds of identity, I apply an arts-based method and thematic analysis of seven of my military-related drawings and accompanying descriptive texts, as well as a description of my childhood and adolescence and desire to be a combat soldier. The evidence suggests that there are two forms of military identity work that I have conducted, a more personal “warrior/soldier” identity work and pragmatic or utilitarian “community of practice” identity work. Each has a progressive structure and associated funds of knowledge and is influenced by the history and geography of both the group and myself as an individual member. I find that even though operational and career experiences validated my community of practice identity work that my journey has always been one of chasing combat or warrior experience. Without that experience part of me feels that I have only been “playing soldier”. The thesis concludes with discussion on the implications for military identity research, particularly military-exit research, the further development of funds of identity theory, and the role of formalised or structured education and training in identity development. Key terms: military identity, identity regulation, identity work, funds of identity, education and trainin

An Investigation of the System Architecture of High Power Density 3U CubeSats Capable of Supporting High Impulse Missions

This study examines the system architecture of high power density 3U CubeSats capable of supporting high impulse missions. Under analysis is the ALBus CubeSat, a 3U High Power Density CubeSat at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The mission is a technology demonstration of a 100-Watt power management and distribution system aboard a small volume CubeSat and serves as evidence of CubeSats being able to provide high power to the subsystems necessary to support high impulse missions. This study mainly explores the thermal behavior of a CubeSat subjected to substantial waste heat due to extra power generation. It was found through a thermal vacuum test that, despite 100-Watts of waste heat being deposited into the system, the thermal limits of the electrical components were not exceeded and remained at steady-state operable temperatures. The thermal vacuum test proved the ALBus CubeSat was able to provide enough power without overheating to the point of detriment to its electrical components. A propulsion system is a fundamental necessity for any high impulse mission so a practical option for 3U CubeSats was explored to solidify the viability of such a spacecraft. The Miniature Xenon Ion Thruster, or MiXI, being researched and developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is proven to be a desirable propulsion system for small satellites due to its high efficiency, low contamination, and precise thrust and impulse bits. It also is only 3 inches in diameter and can be operated on less than 100-Watts of power. This study is intended to help solidify the feasibility assessment of a high-power density CubeSat capable high-impulse missions

Agricultural and Finance Intervention Increased Dietary Intake and Weight of Children Living in HIV-Affected Households in Western Kenya.

We tested whether a multisectoral household agricultural and finance intervention increased the dietary intake and improved the nutritional status of HIV-affected children. Two hospitals in rural Kenya were randomly assigned to be either the intervention or the control arm. The intervention comprised a human-powered water pump, microfinance loan for farm commodities, and training in sustainable farming practices and financial management. In each arm, 100 children (0-59 mo of age) were enrolled from households with HIV-infected adults 18-49 y old. Children were assessed beginning in April 2012 and every 3 mo for 1 y for dietary intake and anthropometry. Children in the intervention arm had a larger increase in weight (β: 0.025 kg/mo, P = 0.030), overall frequency of food consumption (β: 0.610 times · wk-1 · mo-1, P = 0.048), and intakes of staples (β: 0.222, P = 0.024), fruits and vegetables (β: 0.425, P = 0.005), meat (β: 0.074, P < 0.001), and fat (β: 0.057, P = 0.041). Livelihood interventions have potential to improve the nutrition of HIV-affected children. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01548599

Internal parasites of cattle

Worm parasites can have a most serious effect on cattle, even causing deaths. This article describes the main parasites of cattle, treatment with modern anthelmintic drugs and the best means of preventing and controlling worm outbreaks

Toward a Renewal of Supervisory Scholarship and Practice in Teacher Education: A Collaborative Self-Study

University supervision of teacher candidates is a well-recognized component of teacher preparation. However, teacher education has long devalued supervision, largely relying upon retired teachers, administrators, and graduate students to serve as supervisors, often with little training or support. Although clinical practice has received increased focus among accrediting bodies, supervision as a field of scholarship and practice continues to receive little support within institutions or attention in teacher education. As supervision practitioners and scholars, the three authors engaged in collaborative self-study, sharing and interrogating professional autobiographies and narratives related to supervision, to make sense of institutional and professional contexts and to interrogate the tensions of practice and legitimacy surrounding supervision in teacher education. Together, we acknowledged the complexity of supervision, challenged dominant narratives of supervision institutionally and professionally, and constructed new spaces of supervisory practice and learning. Learning from our experiences, teacher educators can better understand how to prepare and support future supervision scholars and practitioners

Dark Triad, Employee Creativity, and Employee Performance in the New Venture Context

Entrepreneurship literature has generally focused on the positive attributes of the entrepreneur, leaving a significant gap in relation to dark characteristics. A common assumption is that individuals higher on dark characteristics may experience short-term gain, but eventually derail � leaving a wake of interpersonal abuse and harm. This study focuses on the relationship between founder levels of the dark triad (Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy), employee tenure, and employee outcomes (levels of creativity and performance). Hypotheses propose that the relationships between founder dark triad levels and both employee creativity and employee performance � will be moderated by employee tenure, weakening positive outcomes. The results of the first study provide significant support for tenure moderation of the dark-triad � employee performance relationship. Study two provides significant support for tenure moderation of the dark-triad � employee creativity relationship. This research provides support for the idea that increased exposure to founders with high levels of psychopathy is associated with negative employee outcomes. For founders with high levels of narcissism, the opposite is true. Findings from both study one and two show higher levels of founder narcissism are linked to positive employee outcomes over time. The results of both studies also demonstrate that while high levels of founder Machiavellianism may correspond to higher employee performance � even in for high-tenure employees � the increased performance appears to come at the cost of significant decreases in creativity.Business Administratio