Veteran trees such as large Quercus robur L. function as biodiversity hotspots and provide a number of valuable ecological functions. This study aimed to increase knowledge about the mechanisms that influence the longevity of Q. robur by: (i) describing the status of veteran Q. robur in Linköping municipality, (ii) describing findings of valuable lichens among these trees, (iii) examine whether land use, nature type, crown layer closure, land management, or overgrowth of brushwood or forest in 2018 or an earlier year could explain girdle growth or crown vitality in Q. robur, and (iv) predict the future population of veteran Q. robur. Data was collected from 51 Q. robur with a circumference larger than 450 cm in April 2018 in Linköping municipality, Sweden. Out of these, 28 individuals could be compared to data from a previous inventory. These were the basis for statistical analyses of correlations between environmental factors, growth and crown vitality. Generally, most Q. robur individuals were standing in pastures, had high crown vitality, had a low amount of overgrowth of brushwood or forest around them, and many of them hosted indicator lichens. The main correlation found was between crown vitality and overgrowth of brushwood. The girdle growth was 1.81 cm year-1 and the mortality was 0.18 % year-1 on average. Based on these growth and mortality numbers, and data from other studies, the future population of veteran Q. robur was predicted to increase from 471 to 2996 individuals in the area in the next 100 years (1615-3433 pcs). / Grova, gamla träd som Quercus robur L. (skogsek) kan fungera som s.k. hotspots för biologisk mångfald och tillhandahåller en mängd värdefulla ekologiska funktioner. Denna studie syftade till att öka förståelsen kring de mekanismer som påverkar livslängden för Q. robur genom fyra syften: (i) att beskriva status för grova Q. robur i området, (ii) att beskriva förekomster av värdefulla lavar hos dessa träd, (iii) att undersöka om någon av omgivningsfaktorerna markanvändning, naturtyp, slutenhet i kronskikt, markskötsel, eller igenväxning av sly eller skog vid 2018 års inventering eller tidigare inventering kan förklara tillväxt eller kronvitalitet hos Q. robur, och (iv) förutsäga framtidens tillgång av grova Q. robur. Data samlades in genom fältinventering av 51 Q. robur större än 450 cm i omkrets i april 2018 i Linköpings kommun. Av dessa kunde 28 jämföras med data från en tidigare inventering. Dessa 28 individer låg till grund för statistiska analyser av samband mellan omgivningsfaktorer och tillväxt och kronvitalitet. De flesta individer av Q. robur stod i betesmark, hade hög kronvitalitet, hade låg grad av igenväxning av sly eller skog runt sig, och på många av individerna förekom signalartslavar. Det huvudsakliga sambandet som konstaterades var att igenväxning av sly var negativt för kronvitalitet. Hos grova ekar var omkretstillväxten 1,81 cm år-1 och mortaliteten 0,18 % år-1. Baserat på dessa tillväxt- och mortalitetsdata samt data från andra studier beräknades populationen av grova Q. robur öka från 471 till 2996 (1615-3433 st) individer de kommande 100 åren.

This dissertation provides an account of the contributions of Canadian universities to the Second World War. It examines the deliberations and negotiations of university, government, and military officials on how best to utilize and direct the resources of Canadian institutions of higher learning towards the prosecution of the war and postwar reconstruction. During the Second World War, university leaders worked with the Dominion Government and high-ranking military officials to establish comprehensive training programs on campuses across the country. These programs were designed to produce service personnel, provide skilled labour for essential war and civilian industries, impart specialized and technical knowledge to enlisted service members, and educate returning veterans. University administrators actively participated in the formation and expansion of these training initiatives and lobbied the government for adequate funding to ensure the success of their efforts. This study shows that university heads, deans, and prominent faculty members eagerly collaborated with both the government and the military to ensure that their institutions’ material and human resources were best directed in support of the war effort and that, in contrast to the First World War, skilled graduates would not be heedlessly wasted. At the center of these negotiations was the National Conference of Canadian Universities, a body consisting of heads of universities and colleges from across the country. This organization maintained an active presence in all major deliberations and exercised substantial influence over the policies affecting the mobilization of university resources.

The aim of this Master's thesis is to examine the securitization discourse used to construct the security threat coming from the veteran effect of the Islamic State's foreign fighters in Europe, and to see what kind of policies were adopted to counter it so far. The phenomenon of departing European citizens, who are becoming foreign fighters in the Syrian conflict, joining the ranks of the Islamic State, and then return back to their country of origin after having acquired combat experience or other training, has become a hot topic of discussion not only for academics, but also for politicians and ordinary citizens. To precise, this thesis is working with three main case studies, whose securitization discourse and security policies are analysed. These are: European Union, United Kingdom and France. The author was interested in finding out what similarities and differences can be found between the analysed countries, plus, whether there is some pattern of influence between the European Union and its member states in this area. The author of this thesis chose to use a comparative case study as a research design. It is useful to realize a contrast of contexts and therefore to discover specifics of the analysed cases. Two tables were created in order to clarify the operationalization of the analysed...

The Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (EHLS) conducted in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, was a population-based study that focused on the prevalence of hearing loss among 3,753 participants between 1993 and 1995. This article reports the results of several auditory measures from 999 veteran and 590 nonveteran males 48 to 92 years of age included in the EHLS. The auditory measures included pure tone thresholds, tympanometry and acoustic reflexes, word recognition in quiet and in competing message, and the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-Screening (HHIE-S) version. Hearing loss in the auditory domains of pure tone thresholds, word recognition in quiet, and word recognition in competing message increased with age but were not significantly different for the veterans and nonveterans. No significant differences were found between participant groups on the HHIE-S; however, regarding hearing aid usage, mixed differences were found.

The enrollment of military/veteran students at U.S. colleges and universities is growing steadily; however, factors affecting their academic success need further investigation. Guided by Tinto's student integration model and Bean and Metzner's model of nontraditional student attrition, the relationships between student characteristics and academic success for military/veteran, and civilian students were investigated. For this nonexperimental study, preentry characteristics (military/civilian status, race/ethnicity, age, gender, transfer credits) as well as 1st-year academic performance (total terms attended and grade point average [GPA]) archived in 393 students' records were examined to determine whether these variables predicted 4 student success measures: retention after 1 year, associate degree (AA) within 4 years, bachelor's degree (BA) within 8 years, and final GPA. Binary logistic regression and ordinary least squares multiple regression were conducted for the 3 retention/graduation measures and GPA, respectively. Significant findings indicated that Black students were more likely than White students to complete both AA and BA degrees and military, but not veterans, were more likely than civilians to earn AA degrees. Age was a positive predictor for earning a BA degree and a higher final GPA; transfer credits and total terms attended predicted student retention and AA degree completion; first-year GPA only predicted final GPA. Based on outcomes from this military-focused college, which showed the academic potential of two student groups often deemed less academically successful (military and Black students), colleges that focus on military students' success can better prepare these students for degree completion.

Symptom severity among veteran survivors with partial or full posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to increase, with approximately 40% of U.S. veterans reporting significant symptomology 10 years after initial onset of the condition. Veteran survivors often struggle to find therapeutic interventions that meet their specific needs and have a difficult time maintaining a therapy that is both equitable and evidenced based. Grounded in the Rogerian, client-centered theory, the purpose of this qualitative collective exploratory case study was to explore the effects of equine-facilitated psychotherapy with 3 veteran survivors with partial or full PTSD. A 4-stage process was used to collect data, including initial semistructured interviews, observations, photo-interviews, and researcher interpretations of photo-interviews. Data were transcribed, analyzed, and coded into within-case themes and cross case-themes. The principle findings revealed that veteran survivors with partial or full PTSD engaged in an equine-facilitated psychotherapy program had both here-and-now experiences and relational connection experiences with the horse. Many other significant details provided insight into the veteran participants' experiences with equine-facilitated psychotherapy, such as trust, connection, nonverbal communication, awareness, peace, decompression, communication, empathic reflection, congruence, reciprocity, concern, respect, and selflessness. These findings provide social change implications that may inform mental health professionals and counselor educators about the benefits of equine-facilitated psychotherapy with veteran survivors with partial or full posttraumatic stress disorder; the findings also provide structure to the use of equine-facilitated psychotherapy as an adjunct and/or alternative to traditional posttraumatic stress disorder treatments.

Each month, thousands of U.S service members are discharged from the military and are forced to make the decision of what to do with the rest of their lives. For an increasingly large percentage of such veterans, the decision that they will make will be to become full-time college students and pursue an education that will provide them with meaningful careers. Unfortunately, due to the type of constant deployment cycles that many student-veterans undergo while enlisted/commissioned, a large percentage of veterans taking part in the military-to-college transition process have received mental/physical injuries that serve as major obstacles for achieving successful transitions. Specifically, this study seeks to determine if social support, willingness towards campus communication, self-esteem, and eagerness towards social networking site usage are related to a student-veterans overall level of academic engagement. This study draws its data from a sample of 202 full-time student-veterans. Data was collected through a volunteer self-administered online questionnaire. Six sections respectively measured eagerness towards SNS (Social Networking Site) usage, academic engagement, social support, willingness towards campus communication, self-esteem, and demographic information. Data was collected from California community colleges, California State Universities institutions, University of California institutions, and California private non-for profit institutions. This study found a statistically significant positive relationship between social support, self-esteem, willingness to communicate, and academic engagement. Essentially, student-veterans who have high levels of social support/self-esteem and are willing to communicate are more likely to possess high levels of academic engagement. There was no significant relationship found between eagerness towards SNS usage and academic engagement. Moreover, this study is significant as it suggests that a student-veteran’s level of academic engagement is positively correlated to their overall level of academic engagement. Thus, maintaining strong social support networks that allow student-veterans to interact in personal and one-on-one interactions is of great importance for a student-veteran during their time in college in order to achieve their academic and professional goals.

The current study examined the impact of resilience and self-compassion on the relationship between combat exposure and psychological outcomes, specifically post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth. Service members and veterans with combat exposure (N = 143) completed an online survey, through which they were administered a Background Questionnaire, the Combat Exposure Scale, the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Self-Compassion Scale. Results of a path analysis revealed a positive direct effect of combat exposure on post-traumatic stress symptoms and post-traumatic growth and a negative direct effect of self-compassion on post-traumatic stress symptoms. Furthermore, self-compassion moderated the relationship between combat exposure and post-traumatic growth. Implications of these findings and future directions for research are discussed.

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