From Conscripts to Volunteers

Since the Cold War ended, twelve of NATO’s twenty-six member states have suspended compulsory military service or announced plans to phase it out, thus joining the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg in the family of nations with all-volunteer armed forces (AVFs). Most of NATO’s other members are deeply reducing the number of conscripts they call up each year, relying increasingly on volunteers to fill their military ranks

A Case Study of Two High School English Teachers Transitioning from Arkansas Writing Standards to Common Core Writing Standards in the Secondary English Classroom

The purpose of the study is to gain an understanding of secondary English teachers\u27 perceptions towards implementing Common Core writing standards. The study allowed me to examine how teachers\u27 perceptions affect the level of implementation of Common Core writing standards in their English classrooms during the first year. The study focused on two research questions and two sub-questions centering on the perceptions of secondary English teachers and how they are responding to early implementation to the Common Core State Standards. Specific facets to consider in teachers\u27 transitioning from state standards to Common Core standards are what pedagogical training opportunities teachers received related specifically to CCSS; how instruction was designed (or redesigned); and, how teachers were expected to adapt their teaching to meet the Common Core State Standards. The importance of this study is that it offers and extends knowledge in the area of changing from state controlled writing standards to one set of writing standards that are available to all states. Teachers, students, educators, and perhaps educational policy makers might find this study important because many states\u27 education departments (e.g. Arkansas Department of Education) have offered a number of assumptions about how this transition will work; but, because this particular transition is new, few studies or experiences yet exist. This study offers knowledge--based on data gathered from questionnaires, interviews, and observations--about how teachers\u27 perceptions influenced the implementation of Common Core State Standards in a localized classroom setting. Also, one of the more relevant benefits of the study was the foundation of knowledge from the teaching fields that may inform future studies, theories, curriculum, policies, and teacher practices (among other possibilities) about implications in implementing the Common Core State Standards for any content

A Grammar Sketch of Demena

This thesis provides a description of the morphology and syntax of Damana, a Chibchan language of northern Colombia. Damans is an SOV language with postpositions and genitive- nominal, noun-adjective word orders. Unusual features of Damana include: case marking suffixes which occur as phrasal affixes, a fusion of person marking and deixis in verbal suffixes, and interaction of temporal and spacial deixis on question suffixes. Damana exhibits more agreement than would be expected. Causative constructions may contain two different direct object person agreement prefixes side by side on a single verb. In cases of advancement to direct object, the same argument may be referenced by two different agreement markers. This study was carried cut by interviewing speakers of Damana in Avingui and Santa Marta. Part of the process was to study research done in related languages and test the claims for Damana

Proposal for an Elemenatry Science Curriculum Outline to Help K-4 Teachers Prepare Students to Take the 5th Grade Science WASL

With a statewide pilot of the 5th grade science Washington Assessment of Student Leaming (WASL) in the spring of 2003, all elementary schools were tiying to prepare their students to meet the standards. At this time, the only resources schools had for preparation was a glimpse of the first criterion-referenced assessment, the Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs), Grade level Expectations (GLEs) and a release booklet of sample items distributed to 5th grade science teachers. Educators knew that the best curriculum built on the previous year\u27s knowledge which spiraled throughout the curriculum. At this time there were no curriculums designed starting with the first three EALRs in science from the kindergarten level and building up to the 5th grade. Another important factor in successful learning was to break down common terminology. All staff must commit to using a consistent science vocabulary with their students which was aligned with the assessment. This would assist the students\u27 understanding and competence with the assessment. Additionally, the assessment format needed to be practiced by the students in order for them to achieve optimum success. In order for elementary schools to make science the new basic teachers will require three important criteria. First, teachers must be provided a science curriculum that deliberately emphasized themes in the state assessment of systems, inquiry, and design. With such a resource, lesson plans could be aligned to the EALRs and follow the WASL format. Secondly, teachers needed to utilize a common vocabulary consistent throughout the grade levels and taught across the curriculum including during spelling. Thirdly, K-4 teachers needed an opportunity to see the 5th grade scenarios, so they could create unit assessments which closely mirror the science W ASL at 5th grade level

Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate: Developing Technology to Protect America

In response to a congressional mandate and in consultation with Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the National Academy conducted a review of S&T's effectiveness and efficiency in addressing homeland security needs. This review included a particular focus that identified any unnecessary duplication of effort, and opportunity costs arising from an emphasis on homeland security-related research. Under the direction of the National Academy Panel, the study team reviewed a wide variety of documents related to S&T and homeland security-related research in general. The team also conducted interviews with more than 200 individuals, including S&T officials and staff, officials from other DHS component agencies, other federal agencies engaged in homeland security-related research, and experts from outside government in science policy, homeland security-related research and other scientific fields.Key FindingsThe results of this effort indicated that S&T faces a significant challenge in marshaling the resources of multiple federal agencies to work together to develop a homeland security-related strategic plan for all agencies. Yet the importance of this role should not be underestimated. The very process of working across agencies to develop and align the federal homeland security research enterprise around a forward-focused plan is critical to ensuring that future efforts support a common vision and goals, and that the metrics by which to measure national progress, and make changes as needed, are in place

What Do We Mean by “Transformation”?

What is “defense transformation” (by whatever name), and how might it affect strategy? What might it cost, and how could its cost affect military forces? What systemic impediments to implementation does it face, and what are its competitors in the budgetary realm? A distinguished panel of the Secretary of the Navy’s Current Strategy Forum held at the Naval War College on 12–13 June 2001 addressed these issues from various perspectives

IDENTIFYING HEALTHY ALCOHOL CUSTOMS: A CULTURAL ANALYSIS COMPARING THE ITALIAN AND AMERICAN ALCOHOL CULTURES

This research utilizes the methodology of qualitative research to investigate the drinking habits and culture of two countries: Italy and the United States. The thesis highlights statistical evidence provided by the two individual countries indicating Italy‘s ability to limit the probability for unhealthy drinking habits that lead to issues such as drunkenness or alcoholism. Comparison of these data prompted this research. The research aims to highlight the underlying cultural values that lead to the drinking habits of each population in hopes that one culture may learn from another. Five individuals were interviewed from each country (the first five from a small Tuscan town in Italy, the other five from a small town in the Southern Bible Belt of the United States) with a pre-established questionnaire which asked about their nation's cultural habits and own drinking philosophies. The individuals from each country counter-acted with individuals from the other country and represented different levels of society being comprised of: a male mayor, a male bar manager, a female professor, a female faculty member originally from another country, and an 18 year old girl. The interviews found that among other factors already discussed in literature, the cultures differed on their level of perceived community connectivity and their perceived role of alcoholic drinks. The Italian's collective mindset seems to result in a healthier relation to others and to alcohol in Italy compared to the American individualist mindset. Also, Italy's role of alcohol as a beverage enjoyed for its taste at a meal seems to suggest a relation to alcohol inhibiting the likelihood of falling into alcoholism rather than the young American's aim to use alcohol as a means of intoxication

The role of history in interior design education: a study of the content of history courses of accredited programs

The interior design profession has been working to establish itself among its peer design professions as an active participant in protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public, thereby requiring licensing. Part of that effort has involved instituting accreditation standards for its educational programs. The standards are well developed in most knowledge areas, but by comparison the standard specific to history is lacking in structure and definition. Past literature has focused on how to teach history, not what content to include. This study was designed to discover the common course content of history courses required in accredited undergraduate interior design education programs during the 2001-2002 school year. Further, the study attempted to identify whether the standards used for accreditation needed to be refined to better explain what programs are expected to teach their students in history. Because the study was exploratory in nature, a qualitative approach was used. History instructors at all accredited interior design programs were asked to submit specific course documents for every required history course they taught and to complete a short questionnaire. The data was then analyzed using a combination of simple tabulation and constant comparison analysis. A composite profile of the current interior design history course was created from survey data. Ten knowledge categories emerged from analysis of course syllabi, with two core categories, Objective Knowledge and Competency Skills, being identified. Analysis of all the data resulted in a grounded theory of interior design history, and a suggestion for a rewritten standard. Fort-four programs participated in the survey, and thirty-six submitted course documents