United Through Reading (UTR) is a non-profit organization that provides the tools for military service members to take videos of themselves reading books so that when they must leave their family for training, deployment, temporary duty (TDY), or other military induced separations, their family gets a copy of the video recording and a copy of the book. Although UTR developed their program supported by research about the academic benefits of being read aloud to as a child, the importance of developing a love of reading, the impacts of deployment on military youth, and the impacts of service on children's academics before this research began, they had not yet conducted an evaluation of their specific program. To this end, this research sought to understand how participation in UTR impacts 1) a child's love of reading, 2) child behavior, 3) morale and stress levels for service members and caregivers, and 4) service members' retention or re-enlistment in the military. To address these questions this study utilized a mixed methodological approach, combining participant observation at UTR recording events, interviews (n = 19), and surveys (n = 58). UTR was found to improve and reinforce children's love of reading, improve child behavior, increase morale …

This paper examines the concept of safety as it encompasses the personal and technological spheres as imagined by a group of active duty service members, veterans, a police officer, and civilians, as well as the agency exercised by those with military or police backgrounds when it comes to safety technology. A group of seventeen individuals took part in a battlefield simulation to test a wearable junctional tourniquet created by ARMR Systems, LLC, an innovative advancement in tourniquet technology. After the simulation, participants were interviewed, surveyed, and took part in a focus group to determine not only product suitability but also to explore the underlying reasons for their recommendations for product changes. Results showed that those with military or police background performed safety rituals prior to duty and exercised agency in the desire to obtain the best possible personal safety devices and technology to be used for themselves and their comrade-in-arms. All participants expressed concerns for their safety in regards to technology in general, specifically, the hacking and use of personal data and what is perceived as lack of governmental oversight. Almost all of the changes to improve product safety, comfort, and utility were adapted. The topics discovered during the course …

The client for this study, the Entheogenic Research, Integration, and Education (ERIE), was interested in the use of anthropological methods to examine the experiences of people who use psychedelics beyond the clinical setting. Through collaborative discussions with the client, we decided that the central questions guiding this research are to understand the various reasons why people consume psychedelic substances across the United States as well as examine the self-reported influences of psychedelics in various areas of participants' life and identity. Participants were recruited using stratified sampling and were given a confidential, online survey that also provided an option to arrange a semi-structured interview. In total, there were 103 completed survey responses and 25 interviews. The results of this research indicate that the reasons for participants' psychedelic use often change over time from strictly recreational or out of curiosity to intentions based on therapeutic and psychospiritual development. Additionally, the majority of both survey and interview participants believed their psychedelic use to have had a transformative influence on their health and well-being, perception of nature, identity, spirituality, and creative expression of art and music. Another theme uncovered in this research is the impacts of punitive drug laws on psychedelic use such as …