Cadet Voice: A Curious Trinity: War, Media, and Public Opinion

The following USAFA cadet Capstone project from spring 2017 won the Best Undergraduate Class Paper Award from the national Political Science honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha. The article appears, below, as submitted, with allowances for Space & Defense formatting. August, 2012- President Obama drew a “Red Line” on chemical weapons use in Syria. Just over a year later, a UN report confirmed Syrian chemical use. Two words, spoken by the most powerful man in the world, generated massive media coverage. Around the world, news outlets and people everywhere looked for Washington’s reaction. Words are powerful because of the narrative they create; framing how people see the world. When a powerful enough frame is used, it sways people’s views of the world, changing policy by extension. The words the President spoke were powerful because they created a frame for the issue of Syria. People the world over recognized the frame, thereby giving it power

Computer-assisted Instruction in Academic Libraries

The implementation of a computer-assisted instruction package to supplement college-level bibliographic instruction is described. An outline of goals and objectives for an introductory package and a sample segment explain the technique for creating software locally, allowing for custom design. The use of sample materials permits student-tool interaction in a realistic exercise while also taking advantage of the computer\u27s capabilities. Using locally available hardware with librarian-created text allows for subject-specific lecture presentations, elimination of repetition, and immediate instructional feedback. Results from use of materials by almost 2000 students are summarized

Mode of Delivery and Infant Cognitive Development

The rate of nonindicated cesarean births is increasing each year within the United States. Although cesarean delivery can function as a life- saving intervention, emerging evidence suggests that it may also be associated with deleterious developmental consequences for the child. Here we test the hypothesis that mode of delivery is associated with cognitive development during infancy. 229 pregnant women were recruited and their infants’ cognitive development was assessed at 6, 12 and 24 months with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Medical charts were reviewed by obstetric nurses to determine prenatal medical risk and birth outcomes, including mode of delivery. Infants who were delivered vaginally (n = 163) exhibited better performance on the mental development index of the Bayley at 6, 12, and 24 months (M= 98.56, 96.20, and 98.79 respectively) compared to those delivered by cesarean (n =66 ; M= 94.38, 89.64, 90.83 respectively; all F’s \u3e 7.97 and all p’s \u3c .005). These group differences remained even after consideration of potential covariates and third variable explanations in ANCOVA models including: 1. Whether the birth was spontaneous or induced 2. Length of gestation 3. A range of demographic factors including maternal age, socioeconomic status and postpartum depressive symptoms. The benefits of cesarean delivery when medically indicated are undisputed. However, these findings suggest that in the case of nonindicated cesarean delivery, practitioners should carefully consider the potential short and long-term costs and benefits of this intervention

“I had to adapt to continue being a student to the best of my ability”: Identifying Occupational Therapy Students’ Processes of Adapting to Academic Disruption

In the wake of COVID-19, practitioners, educators, and students had to shift to virtual interactions while experiencing significant unknowns and valid fears. This project describes the lived experiences of 37 occupational therapy students who lived through this international pandemic examining their reflections of how occupational therapy theories and models of practice could inform approaches to adapt to the changing context of their lives. Narratives of students collected as part of routine educational assessments in an introduction to occupational therapy theory course were examined using methods of content analysis to understand the perspectives of students’ needs, supports, and mechanisms of adaption as well as how students used personal experiences as part of transformative learning in the process of understanding approaches used clinically in occupational therapy practice. Three thematic categories emerged: ‘the demand to adapt,’ ‘engagement,’ and ‘mastery/agency.’ More students describe connecting to concepts from the model of Occupational Adaption (OA; Schkade & Schultz, 1992) versus other models of practice to achieve satisfactory engagement with occupations. Understanding these mechanisms of adaption may help faculty and university administrators effectively develop intervention strategies to help manage students’ reactions to disruptions in the future