Search

Libraries that support military patrons often face unique challenges. One of the most traumatic is the temporary transfer, or sudden deployment of members of the university community, often in the middle of an academic term, sometimes without notice or adequate preparation time. Not too long ago such an event would almost certainly have interrupted if not altogether halted students' academic progress until they could return to the parent institution. Technology now in place has allowed many of these students to continue their education regardless of their physical locations, and libraries will have to improvise with regard to the delivery of resources and materials to the “sharp end of the spear.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study explored the extent to which personal growth initiative (PGI) may predict posttraumatic stress and growth in student service members/veterans (SSM/V). Participants: Participants were 136 SSM/V (79% men) representing multiple branches of the armed forces. Forty-four percent of participants reported having combat experience. Methods: Data collection occurred from October 2013 to February 2014. Data were collected via a Web-based survey that included demographics and measures of personal growth initiative, posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, and perceived social support. Results: Results indicated that PGI is not a unique predictor of posttraumatic stress but is a unique predictor of higher levels of posttraumatic growth. PGI appears to be at least as important as perceived social support in facilitating growth in SSM/V. Conclusions: This study provides further evidence for PGI's potential to facilitate growth after a traumatic event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the education of members of the Bavarian officer corps from 1815 to 1866. Educational requirements for Bavarian officers including the Abitur standardized examination are scrutinized, the role of an 1866 defeat of Bavaria by the more highly-educated Prussian forces in reforming the military's education policy is examined, and information is offered on Bavaria's transition from a specialized military education to a more comprehensive general education curriculum.

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 or 'New GI Bill' has resulted in rising enrollment and related demand for services by students in the USA. We examined current supports for student service members and veterans at institutions of higher education in Indiana in the context of this national trend. We employed prospective student service members who contacted campuses to ask staff and administrators about admissions, financial aid, academic, and student services policies and programs. Results showed that most institutions had the ability to refer to disability services, award credit for military training, and waive reapplication requirements following deployment. Few institutions reported support to military families or availability of student veterans' organizations. Institution type and size, degrees offered, and the presence of graduate programs were related to availability of programs and services. Considerable variability across campuses suggested opportunities to refine, coordinate, and expand assistance to student service members and veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on data that formed part of a major three-year longitudinal study (2008–2011), which set out to investigate basic skills (BS) provision and needs in the British army and its relationship to operational effectiveness. Using mixed methods, the findings draw on qualitative data from 60 semi-structured interviews with 26 young recruits and interviews and survey data with 1518 recruits, with an average age of 19.6 years. The research also uses testimony from their line managers and trainers. The first part of the paper looks at educational BS provision that the army provides. While the benefits of this provision are discussed, there is a debate about the extent to which BS programmes provide recruits with qualifications rather than enduring and transferable skills, which would make them more operationally effective and useful to the army organisation. The second part deconstructs the concept of what is meant by being ‘operationally effective’ and the role BS play in reaching this ultimate military objective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: Students with active duty military experience are a unique and growing population on college campuses in the United States. This study explores student veterans' perceptions of their transition to and experience in higher education. Method: This mixed methods study used a sample of 10 active military and reserve component student veterans to explore their perceptions of their personal strengths, challenges, factors impacting participation in university resource programs, and suggestions for ideal resources to support their academic success. Results: Content analysis yielded primary themes such as the strength of self-discipline, the challenge of social interactions, and the desire for programs that connect student-veterans and assist with social integration. Conclusion: Implications for education, retention, and transition from active duty are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current high-stakes educational context compels many schools and school systems to encourage teachers to use restrictive literacy teaching practices, which are unlikely to meet students’ diverse needs. These restrictions typically fall on novice teachers, who enter the field through various preparation routes, because they often work in schools which are difficult to staff. Researchers suggest that literacy teachers with a clear vision for their teaching may have the fortitude to negotiate such obstacles to best meet students’ needs. This study follows teachers’ vision development from their literacy teacher preparation coursework through their beginning years teaching. The participants come from two different preparation routes: a university based program and Teach For America. This study found both similarities and differences in the development of teachers’ visions from these different preparation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on services for student servicemembers, veterans, and active-duty members of the military. The authors look at challenges facing higher education for adult students, such as a balance of school, life, and work, geographic mobility, and financial concerns. The article also discusses services and support that higher education institutions can provide for students in the military.

In this study, the Tinto model of student integration is applied qualitatively to soldiers attending college. The authors found that soldiers commit to the military primarily and to college secondarily; therefore, military policies and relationships related to college offered a better understanding of college commitments than did college policies and relationships. For understanding the college integration of non-traditional students, like soldiers, this study highlights the importance of viewing higher education as part of a larger social system, rather than as a stand-along institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Military Engineer / Hadmérnök is the property of National University of Public Service and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article examines the role of cross-cultural competence (3C) in improving proficiency in cross-cultural interactions and enhancing readiness in operational environments. The significance of 3C to military and civilian personnel who need to frequently interact with people from other cultures is described. Efforts by the U.S. Defense Department to address the need to improve the language, regional expertise and cultural (LREC) capabilities of military personnel are also discussed.

The article provides information regarding the development of a new transition course in higher education for military service members. Several suggestions related to it are presented including instructing administrators and teachers to stick to the recommended criteria to help transition of service members in higher education, identification of objectives and outcomes of the course and assessing needs of the learners. It concludes that every institute can improve its transitional courses.

The present study examined the nature and correlates of 252 student service members'/military veteran and civilian college students' drinking motivations. Data was collected via electronic survey. Results revealed no differences between military affiliated and civilian students in mean levels of alcohol motivations; however, the links between alcohol motives and problem drinking differed for these two groups of students. Specifically, coping motivations were linked to problem drinking for student service members'/veterans but not civilian students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rivista di Storia del Cristianesimo is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this study is to examine the reserve force’s role in and contribution to the new Swedish expeditionary armed forces. Survey data were obtained from 418 reservists. The results show that reserve officers are well educated and hold high positions in the civil society. According to the reserve officers themselves, the Armed Forces do not ask for their nonmilitary competence. The discontent with this situation is greater among the younger reservists as opposed to the older ones. Four different opinions on the need for the reserve officers are suggested. First, reserve officers are requested to fill vacancies, that is, a volume regulator. Second, the reserve officers are needed because they have unique competences other than military that are used by the armed forces. Third, reserve officers are needed from an economic point of view. Finally, reserve officers contribute to the civil–military relationship. However, when using a framework intended for regular officers, the contribution of the reserve officers’ civil professional competence has not been recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education is the property of Canadian Association for University Continuing Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

States have increasingly replaced military personnel with armed civilian contractors. Are these civilians members of the military profession? I address this question in two ways. First, I assess whether armed contractors exhibit the characteristics of the profession of arms: expertise in the application and management of violence, provision of cost-effective solutions within the jurisdiction of warfare, legitimacy derived from the state and polity, and a recognized corporate identity. Then I assess the views of 260 elite American field grade officers. I find that armed contractors do share many of the characteristics of military professionals but that officers do not view the civilian contractors as military professionals, are uncomfortable with their intrusion into the profession of arms, and are cognizant of their negative effects but some ambivalence in their responses suggests that the boundaries of the profession of arms are being permeated by civilian contractors acting in combat roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand's army education schemes were established in 1943, following overseas practice, with several objectives in mind. Those on active service often suffered from boredom, and the schemes' libraries, movies and study courses offered one means of boosting flagging spirits. At the same time, military personnel needed to be prepared for an eventual return to civilian life, and the educational programmes had an important role to play. Personnel could study a range of practical skills courses by correspondence, and engage in discussion groups on current affairs and the changing nation to which many of them would return. The army's study materials provide both an important source of contemporary social analysis and a means of acculturating servicemen and servicewomen into a new postwar citizenship. In this way, education and recreation were fused together in ways that dovetailed with individual needs on the one hand, and the New Zealand government's wish to foster aware and self-governing citizens on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need to establish learning centers for military members assigned at remote locations. Such learning centers should optimize the potential of distance education courses and meet the immediate needs of the military member while on a remote assignment. Financial constraints accompany the setting up of learning facilities and creative low-cost ideas and approaches making effective use of on-hand materials, services, equipment and technology are discussed.

This chapter provides insight into the separation and return processes experienced when undergraduate National Guard and reserve personnel are mobilized for military duty. Suggestions for faculty and administrative staff on how to assist these individuals throughout this process are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter outlines major trends in supporting student veterans at colleges and universities, including ways that campus professionals can initiate programs and services to assist this emerging population of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-five students who served in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars were interviewed. The findings suggest that combat veterans are a student population with special needs and require support from both policymakers and program providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter discusses a statewide response to the needs of veterans, military members, and their families. Specifically, it addresses the collaboration between Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs-Higher Education Veterans Programs, St. Cloud State University, and a student veteran organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of women veterans attending college is increasing. Campus professionals need to be aware of how issues pertaining to mental health, sexual assault, and gender identity may influence how these women make transitions to higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter describes the federal laws and policies that affect enrollment and retention of servicemembers, veterans, and their dependents in higher education institutions, providing campus administrators with an essential reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lessons learned by campus personnel at Appalachian State University as they worked to meet the needs of student soldiers who were deployed during earlier conflicts provided a framework for programs and policies when students were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter describes how initiatives developed at the University of West Florida provide services for students who are on active duty around the world, as well as those stationed at bases in the region. Descriptions of programs and recommendations are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a summary of the comments of several military students regarding the brief questionnaire provided by the author. It examines the appropriateness and helpfulness of the author's composition and literature classes for military students and nonmilitary students. It notes the impact of world events on the goals of military students, the author and her pedagogy. It cites the comments of military students James Wingate and Adam Tyler. It lists the questions found in the questionnaire.

The article focuses on the broad range of inclusive opportunities that composition instructors might use to facilitate service-related experience transformation into effective compositions from working with and learning from veterans. It depicts that enabling inclusion and providing freedom of choice in terms of writing topics render less resistance in veterans and non-veterans. It notes that the process of starting with sentence combining and moving on to narrative and then to argumentation permits the introduction of nonthreatening ideas that are quite radical.

The article offers the basic process for establishing a veteran's oral history program. The program can be as simple as the basic process required for students to meet with veterans to record their stories, or it can become more complex, with requirements for transcription and archiving. Moreover, students should be organized, responsible and respectful. According to historians, positive relationship between interviewer and interviewee is the key to the project's success. Additional resources available to teachers and students who wish to research military history and the best ways to recapture veteran's stories are also noted.

This article surveys the history of compulsory education for soldiers' career advancement in the British army. It begins with an examination of the organisational context before analysing the rationale, syllabus, teaching and assessment of soldier education. It concludes that for members of the army education organisation their self-perception as soldiers and educators is of crucial importance; that the justifications for soldier education have been debated constantly between the 'liberal' and 'utilitarian' groupings within the organisation; and finally that significant work remains to be done in this nexus between British military and educational history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the United States was gearing up for war in 1940, San Diego, California, was one of the cities most affected by the increase in both military personnel and civilian defense workers. Confronted with a rapidly increasing population and a growing demand for information to support the aircraft and shipbuilding industries, the staff of the San Diego Public Library exemplified the important role that libraries played in educating citizens, building morale, and maintaining a sense of normalcy in a very uncertain world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers observation on the U.S. higher education during the World War II. The education soldiers received during and after the war altered their lives. Fear of the psychological maladjustment of GI in the field led top military leaders to approve the use of psychological screening mechanisms that seemed to indicate educated soldiers were superior soldiers. Education was a democratic form of propaganda that offered soldiers a clear affirmation of liberal values. In 1943, the War Department authorized the formation of 239 Special Training Units to help illiterate draftees learn how to read at or above fourth-grade level. Yet the crafting of state education policy before and after the GI Bill did not lead to the revolutions in the higher education and democratic citizenship.

Although the purpose of the Department of Defense humanitarian and civic assistance (HCA) projects is training, there is no system to evaluate HCA training or humanitarian effectiveness. Few after-action reports (AARs) document the number of personnel trained, skills taught, or proficiency before and after HCAs. Nevertheless, HCAs are positively viewed by participants and offer great potential for training service personnel as well as donors, expatriates, and host nation representatives. Linking unit training calendars with HCA projects and vice versa, would improve both projects and training. Mission essential tasks should be incorporated into HCAs, and conversely, HCAs into training. Training objectives should be clearly stated early in the planning and shared with all participants {subject to security). Proficiency to training standards and performance to international humanitarian standards should be documented in after-action reports. Mandatory after-action reporting (ideally, in a standardized, easily retrievable format that supports postproject analysis) should be implemented. Reported training benefits of medical HCAs include a large number of patients treated in a short amount of time, often under austere conditions, and the opportunity to treat diseases of military importance that are not endemic in the United States. The vast majority of medical HCAs have involved direct patient care, but this scope should be expanded to include public health-oriented developmental and infrastructure-building projects that would provide lasting humanitarian benefits and training for additional personnel and units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]