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 …

Complimentary and alternate medicine, especially Ayurveda is gaining popularity in United States. However, there are various barriers that people face in adopting Ayurvedic practices into their lives and making cultural, familial and societal changes to better their health. This research explores these relationships and barriers behind why some people adopt and are able/unable to sustain Ayurvedic practices in the presence of traditional bio-medicine.