Steel Monsters: Soviet Tank Development during the Second World War

This thesis aims to explore the far-reaching effects of armored warfare and tank development on the outcome of the Eastern Front of the Second World War, where Nazi Germany and the United Soviet Socialist Republics fought an existential war that would decide the destiny of Eastern Europe. As such, this thesis provides background information on the Nazi ideology that opened this theater of the Second World War before delving into German tank development, examining several vehicles that had a significant impact on armored development in general as well as within the theater when these vehicles raged across the steppes of Russia and Ukraine. The perspective then changes to cover the Soviet response to the invasion, the general flow of the war in this theater after Operation Barbarossa, culminating with the Battle of Berlin. Several important facets of this front such as the Soviet implementation of Deep Battle philosophy and the evacuation of Soviet war industry to the Ural Mountains is also covered. Finally, common trends in Soviet armor that allowed their tanks and other armored vehicles to prevail over Nazi Germany will be discussed, and an overview of several significant Soviet armored vehicles ranging from self-propelled guns to an assortment of tank destroyers and the vaunted T-34 and IS-2 medium and heavy tanks is also explored

Pre-corneal tear film thickness in humans measured with a novel technique.

PurposeThe purpose of this work was to gather preliminary data in normals and dry eye subjects, using a new, non-invasive imaging platform to measure the thickness of pre-corneal tear film.MethodsHuman subjects were screened for dry eye and classified as dry or normal. Tear film thickness over the inferior paracentral cornea was measured using laser illumination and a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera. A previously developed mathematical model was used to calculate the thickness of the tear film by applying the principle of spatial auto-correlation function (ACF).ResultsMean tear film thickness values (±SD) were 3.05 μm (0.20) and 2.48 μm (0.32) on the initial visit for normals (n=18) and dry eye subjects (n=22), respectively, and were significantly different (p<0.001, 2-sample t-test). Repeatability was good between visit 1 and 2 for normals (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=0.935) and dry eye subjects (ICC=0.950). Tear film thickness increased above baseline for the dry eye subjects following viscous drop instillation and remained significantly elevated for up to approximately 32 min (n=20; p<0.05 until 32 min; general linear mixed model and Dunnett's tests).ConclusionsThis technique for imaging the ocular surface appears to provide tear thickness values in agreement with other non-invasive methods. Moreover, the technique can differentiate between normal and dry eye patient types

Introduction: Critical pedagogy "under the radar" and "off the grid"

Introduction to this issue

Impact of COVID-19 on Recruitment of High School Athletes to DI Track and Field

Due to COVID-19, in the spring of 2020, the NCAA gave scholarship athletes an extra year of eligibility but did not increase the number of scholarships a school could issue. This potentially led to increased competition for scholarships as coaches could choose between retaining athletes or recruiting new ones. Furthermore, the Spring 2020 track and field season for high school seniors ended early – limiting high school athletes’ chance to get their best scores, and interrupting student to college interaction. This research looks specifically at the impact of COVID-19, and the resulting NCAA policy changes, on the recruitment to DI of high school athletes who excelled at the 200-meter track and field events. The study looks at both the supply side, by examining recruitment trends and athlete scores, and the demand-side, by looking at DI track and field grade compositio

A Method to Establish Trend Areas that Predict Pronghorn Populations to Guide Management Actions

Trend area flights offer substantial cost and time-savings over total population counts, but trend area data need to be calibrated to total count data before they can be used with confidence in wildlife management decisions. To develop trend areas for pronghorn (Antelopcapra americana) in FWP Administrative Region 5, group location data from total surveys, for the period 1984-2009, were combined with classification information by hunting district (HD) into a GIS. Number of total counts conducted per HD varied from a low of six to a high of 13 and involved classification of between 364 and 8088 antelope. Grids, 5 mi x 5 mi to 12 mi x 12 mi (increasing by 1-mi2 intervals) in size were overlain on the pronghorn locations as potential trend areas. Number of yearling, adult and total bucks, does, fawns and total number by year, were calculated for each grid and cross-referenced with HD census data. The predictive ability of each candidate trend area was estimated and internally validated. We selected grids with the highest internally validated predictive ability to be used as trend areas for each HD in Region 5. Correlation coefficients between trend count data and total count data varied from a low of 0.88 to a high of 0.98. Newly established trend areas varied in size from 64.3 mi2 to 216.6 mi2. The time-savings and reduction in survey costs will allow biologists to fly surveys in each HD annually without sacrificing the ability to predict pronghorn populations accurately

Recreational reading habits of agricultural communications students

There is an assumption that students who read for pleasure are more successful students, but there is little academic literature to support this assumption (Gallik, 1999). A survey was conducted to assess the recreational reading habits of agricultural communications students at Oklahoma State University to determine if there is any relationship between self-reported reading habits and students' grade point average. Data was collected using Gallik's (1999) instrument, "Survey of recreational reading habits." Participants recorded how much they read during vacations and while school is in session as well as what types of materials they read. A statistically significant relationship was not found between reported GPAs and how much time students spent reading for pleasure while school is in session or during vacations. Participants reported reading more during vacations than while school is in session, but the majority of students spend less than six hours per week reading for pleasure, regardless of whether or not school is in session

Educating early childhood preservice teachers about dual language theory and practice

The article discusses Educating Early Childhood Preservice Teachers about Dual Language Theory and Practices. It mentions that many teachers are fearful or unsure about how to include literacy instruction in their curricula to affirm their students\u27 multiple languages. It informs that Massachusetts had been one of the few states in the country that had eliminated, or highly restricted, bilingual education by law

Recognition and Positional Identity in an Elementary Professional Learning Community: A Case Study

Professional learning communities are typically conceived of as spaces for reducing teacher isolation, supporting informed and committed teachers, and fostering student academic gains. Focusing on a professional learning community that supported the teaching and learning of engineering in elementary schools, we also conceived of this learning environment as a space for negotiating a teacher-of- engineering identity. Calling attention to emergent issues of power and status through a lens of positional identity, this article examines a Black female educator’s sense of self as a teacher-of-engineering and how this perception was informed by participation in the professional learning community. Findings reveal that racialized and gendered positionings informed the teacher’s perception of having limited access to being recognized in this space as a teacher-of-engineering. Implications for this work include reimagining the design of professional learning spaces in engineering education that intentionally account for teachers’ identity development, as well as supporting the identity development for teachers from historically marginalized communities