Virtual realities: The use of violent video games in U.S. military recruitment and treatment of mental disability caused by war

This article critically analyzes the U.S. military's contradictory use of violent video gaming technologies for recruiting young gamers to the military, training soldiers for combat, and clinically treating soldiers for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by military service. Using a Disability Studies lens, I discuss the commercial video game Full Spectrum Leader/Warrior, the U.S. Army's free video game America's Army, and the virtual reality exposure therapy application Virtual Iraq. I also discuss missions and omissions from the literature on these gaming technologies, which bolsters the underlying ableism of military culture that inhibits soldiers from recovering from PTSD

Achievement and Selected Demographic Variables in Relation to Participation in the Early Childhood Education Program on the Devils Lake Sioux Reservation

The 1969 Kennedy Report revealed that one of the primary reasons for low achievement among Indian children was the negative self-image that they had of themselves. As a primary result of this study, Congress passed the Indian Education Act of 1972, which attempts to address the educational needs and concerns of Indian people, both young and old alike. The Devils Lake Sioux Early Childhood Education program has been in existence since the mid 1960s and provides three- and four-year-old children with a preschool program in the areas of cognitive thinking, social development, and improving psychomotor skills. The purpose of this program is to develop these children in a positive direction, contributing to their educational performance when entering the elementary school and beyond. The basic question to be answered was, Does the Devils Lake Sioux Early Childhood Education program positively influence academic achievement in the elementary grades? Review of Related Literature: A review of related literature revealed that few studies of this type had been done on the Indian reservations across the country. The results of previous studies in the dominant society were mixed in the 1960s; and as these preschool programs continued into the 1970s, the results appeared to show more concrete findings in academic achievement in the elementary grades in favor of pupil participation in preschool programs over pupils without preschool participation. Design of the Study: Three standardized achievement tests were used in this study to draw comparisons between pupil participation and nonparticipation in the Early Childhood Education program on the Devils Lake Sioux Reservation. In addition, selected demographic variables including sex, grade level, age, socioeconomic status, parental employment status, degree of Indian blood, tribal affiliation, parental education, and school attendance were collected for both pupil groups during the 1977-78 school year. Analysis of variance,, correlation coefficients, and chi square techniques were employed in order to determine significance at the .05 level. Conclusions: Three major conclusions were reached as follows:1. The findings revealed significant differences between these two pupil groups on the Science Research Associates Assessment Survey instrument; and no significant differences were found on either the Metropolitan Readiness Test or the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts instruments. However, it was further concluded that the statistical methods employed did not take into account the per-grade-level factor on the Science Research Associates Assessment Survey instrument where there were more non-early childhood education pupils than early childhood education pupils at the sixth grade level, thus skewing the results in favor of the non-early childhood education pupils. 2. Significant relationships were found on the Metropolitan Readiness Test instrument on the variables home stability, degree of Indian blood, tribal affiliation, and parental education of the mother. Significant relationships were found on the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts instrument on the variable tribal affiliation. Significant relationships were found on the Science Research Associates Assessment Survey instrument on the variables achievement, sex, grade level, age, socioeconomic status, home stability, parental employment status, tribal affiliation, and parental education of the mother. 3. No significant relationships were found on the Metropolitan Readiness Test instrument on the variables achievement, sex, grade level, age, socioeconomic status, parental education of the father, and school attendance. No significant relationships were found on the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts instrument on the variables achievement, sex, grade level, age, socioeconomic status, home stability, degree of Indian blood, parental education of the father, parental education of the mother, and school attendance. No significant relationships were found on the Science Research Associates Assessment Survey instrument on the variables degree of Indian blood, parental education of the father, and school attendance

A Collaborative Disability Studies-based Undergraduate Art Project at Two Universities

In this manuscript, we discuss research findings from a collaborative visual arts curricular unit on ableism, which we implemented in non-Disability Studies undergraduate courses at two universities during the 2012-2013 academic year. Our project builds on previous research in which we (Derby, 2015, in press; Karr & Weida, 2013) began adding Disability Studies arts pedagogy to our undergraduate coursework. For this project, we developed a shared unit, which we implemented in a general freshman seminar course, an introductory art teaching methods course, and an upper level art education course on applied technology. Utilizing a pedagogy of transformation, we engaged students with shared resources, including lectures, readings, and videos on Disability Studies and ableism; the project culminated with each student producing and exhibiting both an artwork and an artist's statement. After reviewing the literature and describing the project and research methods, we provide a nuanced discussion of the data, especially the artwork. The data indicate that our students, who were previously unexposed to ableism, conceptualized ableism at least on an elementary level, with many students demonstrating advanced conceptualization of ableism in one or more of three categories. Our findings suggest that integrating Disability Studies into non-Disability Studies curricula on a small scale can be useful, but that results are limited by the complexities of disability. The success of the project indicates that incorporating Disability Studies into standard curricula through a pedagogy of transformation can reach typical college students who are unfamiliar with Disability Studies concepts

A New Surrogate Variable for Erectile Dysfunction Status in the Massachusetts Male Aging Study

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the subject of a vast clinical literature, but little information has been gathered from random samples of the general public. The Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS) addressed this important aspect of men\u27s health. The MMAS was conducted in two waves, with baseline data collection in 1987–1989 and follow-up in 1995–1997. Subsequent to the baseline MMAS survey, a consensus developed that subjective measures are optimal for defining ED. Unfortunately, the baseline questionnaire did not ask subjects directly about their erectile functioning. Thus, we previously assigned the MMAS subjects a degree of impotence at baseline using a series of related questions, employing a discriminant formula constructed from a separate sample of urology clinic patients. At follow-up the men classified themselves directly in addition to answering the original series of related questions. In the present article, we report the results of a new discriminant function, based on the MMAS men at follow-up. We also compare the two methods and discuss our reasons for preferring the internally calibrated method

Solution Processing of Two-Dimensional Black Phosphorus

This feature article discusses solution-phase routes to semiconducting two-dimensional black phosphorus (‘phosphorene’) and highlights challenges in processing the material as well as illuminating new avenues and opportunities in the area.</p

Toward Resonant, Imaginative Experiences in Ecological and Democratic Education. A Response to Imagination and Experience: An Integrative Framework

In this response to Fettes\u27s Imagination and Experience, the authors further consider the varieties of educational experience that inspire ecological flourishing and a living democracy. The essential interconnectedness of encounter-driven and language-driven ways of knowing are explored with particular reference to the authors\u27 involvement in a research project at an innovative elementary school in British Columbia, Canada

Developing and Validating a Risk Score for Lower-Extremity Amputation in Patients Hospitalized for a Diabetic Foot Infection

Objective: Diabetic foot infection is the predominant predisposing factor to nontraumatic lower-extremity amputation (LEA), but few studies have investigated which specific risk factors are most associated with LEA. We sought to develop and validate a risk score to aid in the early identification of patients hospitalized for diabetic foot infection who are at highest risk of LEA. Research Design and Methods: Using a large, clinical research database (CareFusion), we identified patients hospitalized at 97 hospitals in the U.S. between 2003 and 2007 for culture-documented diabetic foot infection. Candidate risk factors for LEA included demographic data, clinical presentation, chronic diseases, and recent previous hospitalization. We fit a logistic regression model using 75% of the population and converted the model coefficients to a numeric risk score. We then validated the score using the remaining 25% of patients. Results: Among 3,018 eligible patients, 21.4% underwent an LEA. The risk factors most highly associated with LEA (P 11,000 per mm3. The model showed good discrimination (c-statistic 0.76) and excellent calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow, P = 0.63). The risk score stratified patients into five groups, demonstrating a graded relation to LEA risk (P < 0.0001). The LEA rates (derivation and validation cohorts) were 0% for patients with a score of 0 and ~50% for those with a score of ≥21. Conclusions: Using a large, hospitalized population, we developed and validated a risk score that seems to accurately stratify the risk of LEA among patients hospitalized for a diabetic foot infection. This score may help to identify high-risk patients upon admission

Board of Regents

This report, fifteenth of an annual series, describes 1993 mineral, oil and gas, and geothermal activities and accomplishments in Nevada: production statistics, exploration and development including drilling for petroleum and geothermal resources, discoveries of orebodies, new mines opened, and expansion and other activities of existing mines. Statistics of known gold and silver deposits, and directories of mines and mills are included. For more information contact

Approaches to lowering the cost of large space telescopes

New development approaches, including launch vehicles and advances in sensors, computing, and software, have lowered the cost of entry into space, and have enabled a revolution in low-cost, high-risk Small Satellite (SmallSat) missions. To bring about a similar transformation in larger space telescopes, it is necessary to reconsider the full paradigm of space observatories. Here we will review the history of space telescope development and cost drivers, and describe an example conceptual design for a low cost 6.5 m optical telescope to enable new science when operated in space at room temperature. It uses a monolithic primary mirror of borosilicate glass, drawing on lessons and tools from decades of experience with ground-based observatories and instruments, as well as flagship space missions. It takes advantage, as do large launch vehicles, of increased computing power and space-worthy commercial electronics in low-cost active predictive control systems to maintain stability. We will describe an approach that incorporates science and trade study results that address driving requirements such as integration and testing costs, reliability, spacecraft jitter, and wavefront stability in this new risk-tolerant "LargeSat" context.Comment: Presented at SPIE, Optics+Photonics 2023, Astronomical Optics: Design, Manufacture, and Test of Space and Ground Systems IV in San Diego, CA, US