The Warrior's Heart (Common Text 2014-2015): Articles

What sort of person chooses to remain in a place like Rwanda when an easy exit is offered, when leaving seems the only safe or sane option, and when one is not directly connected to the would-be victims? And how does this person come to develop a circle of care that is expansive enough to include those who are radically Other? In what follows, I consider these questions through a detailed examination of the recent example of Paul Rusesabagina, the Hutu hotel manager in Kigali, Rwanda, who sheltered more than a thousand Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees during the hundred-day genocide. I argue that Rusesabagina was primarily motivated by an awareness of his own mortality, his personal history, a desire to distance himself from the negative behavior of Hutu like himself, and a strong identification with the Tutsi refugees under his protection.

Rationale: When humans are acutely exposed to multiple stressors, cognitive performance is substantially degraded. Few practical strategies are available to sustain performance under such conditions. Objective: This study examined whether moderate doses of caffeine would reduce adverse effects of sleep deprivation and exposure to severe environmental and operational stress on cognitive performance. Methods: Volunteers were 68 U.S. Navy Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) trainees, randomly assigned to receive either 100, 200, or 300 mg caffeine or placebo in capsule form after 72 h of sleep deprivation and continuous exposure to other stressors. Cognitive tests administered included scanning visual vigilance, fourchoice visual reaction time, a matching-to-sample working memory task and a repeated acquisition test of motor learning and memory. Mood state, marksmanship, and saliva caffeine were also assessed. Testing was conducted 1 and 8 h after treatment. Results: Sleep deprivation and environmental stress adversely affected performance and mood. Caffeine, in a dose-dependent manner, mitigated many adverse effects of exposure to multiple stressors. Caffeine (200 and 300 mg) significantly improved visual vigilance, choice reaction time, repeated acquisition, selfreported fatigue and sleepiness with the greatest effects on tests of vigilance, reaction time, and alertness. Marksmanship, a task that requires fine motor coordination and steadiness, was not affected by caffeine. The greatest effects of caffeine were present 1 h post-administration, but significant effects persisted for 8 h. Conclusions: Even in the most adverse circumstances, moderate doses of caffeine can improve cognitive function, including vigilance, learning, memory, and mood state. When cognitive performance is critical and must be maintained during exposure to severe stress, administration of caffeine may provide a significant advantage. A dose of 200 mg appears to be optimal under such conditions.

Reports that shocking images from battered Bosnia have put pressure on President George Bush to decide what America should do--or can do--to stop the violent nightmare going on in this war-torn region. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's assertion that Serbia should be given an ultimatum to stop the fighting or face military retaliation; Lack of consensus on this issue in the US State Department.

WHILE working with refugees and landmine survivors in Rwanda, Bosnia and Cambodia in the 1990s, a Rhodes scholar named Eric Greitens had an epiphany about teenagers in traumatic circumstances: the ones who fared best were the ones who helped others. Later, after he had served in the Navy Seals in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Greitens had conversations with wounded troops, and a similar refrain emerged. If they could not return to active duty, they wanted to find a way to serve their communities

By chance, Eric Greitens saw an ad in the Duke University student newspaper about a grant for independent study overseas.

"Talk of the Nation" interview with Eric Greitens.

Despite the growing concern of researchers in the field of business ethics, cases of unethical practices have continue to manifest in corporate organisations. Corporate leaders engage in decisions that have resulted to lack of trust in the organisations leadership; and lack of commitment to organisation's goals. This paper tries to examine the concept of ethical leadership, the characteristics of an ethical leader, ethical leadership and its impact on employee job performance and how organisations can develop leaders that are not only sound in character but sound in action. Corporate business leaders are expected to be persons of "strong characters" and serve as role models to their employees; which without, the organisation's goals may be undermined. Two important variables; trust and commitment were discussed for better understanding of ethical leadership and employee job performance. The study concludes with some suggestions from the literature.

The article highlights the lecture and creative writing workshop conducted by Tim O'Brien, acclaimed author of war literature and Vietnam veteran, for the cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut focused on leadership lessons from fiction. O'Brien highlighted the leadership duty of a cadet and officer using his books "The Things They Carried," "Going After Cacciato" and "In the Lake of the Woods." He reminded cadets about the value of stories during the creative writing workshop and told about his experience about the Vietnam War and its influence on his writing. O'Brien also conducted booksigning at the end of the lecture.

The article profiles several programs and organizations which seek to work with participants of the U.S. Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, commonly referred to as the G.I. Bill, assisting war veterans transitioning from military to civilian academic life. The organization Student Veterans of America, the Pat Tillman Foundation, and the "From Boots to Books": Veteran and Student Service Members Academic Support Program of Purdue University are each discussed in turn.

The article presents an interview with war photographer Chris Hondros. Hondros discusses absurdist qualities present in his photographs documenting the Iraq War. He discusses connections between photography and exploration and how the use of social media by U.S. soldiers and cameras by Iraqi citizens have affected perceptions of the war.

The authors discuss several lessons learned by U.S. Army officers during the war on terror in the early 21s century, particularly Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). They analyze the Army as a learning organization. The authors also recommend that the Army implement studies on the human aspects of leadership and soldiering in military leadership development schools and programs.

An interview with Eric Greitens, chief executive officer of The Mission Continues, is presented. He relates his views regarding the issue of stopping aid and encouraging long-term growth in Africa. Organizations that provide great services when it comes to aid including the Cambodia Trust are acknowledged. The role of the United Nations (UN) in allocating aid is discussed.

Reports on the plight of abandoned children in Bucharest, Romania. Impact of the weak economy; Encouragement by the government for poor families to give their children to state institutions; Number of children that spend their lives on the streets; How they survive on the streets; Lack of social workers due to Communism.

The article focuses on arts and crafts education and its positive effect on veterans. The article discusses the authors experience in the arts and crafts room of the Dallas Veteran (VA) Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, how arts and crafts nurtures creativity and communication in veterans and challenges faced by veterans such as traumatic memories. The article goes on to discuss reciprocal learning relationships, a passion for learning developed by the veterans and the historical and psychological perspectives found in veteran art.

SANTIAGO, Chile _ Chilean police fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators who protested an event honouring a former military officer imprisoned for killings and other abuses committed during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Sociological work on how cultural objects are produced tends to neglect the politcal context of such production, whereas work on social movements and art neglects how movement artwork acquires its form and content. This article aims to fill these lacunae by analyzing the protest art of shantytown women against Pinochet. Artists, movement organizers, movement sponsors, and buyers interact to shape political art. The national and international political and economic contexts also play a part in that shaping. Ethnographic data from Chile and Europe, as well as a study of the art forms themselves, form the basis for the article's claims.

The article discusses economic and social conditions in Haiti as of November 2012, with a focus on international humanitarian efforts to help the country recover from damages caused by an earthquake in January 2010. Topics include living conditions for the Haitian people; the facilities for the United Nations (UN) Logistical Base, headquarters for the UN recovery effort; the lack of representation of Haitians in the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in charge of the recovery; and the recovery effort's effect on the weakening Haitian government.

The article examines how the growing number of motion pictures and books based on U.S. Navy SEALs (Sea, Air, and Land Teams) operations could impact the military branch. It states that the Navy SEALs' values, which include loyalty, selflessness, and patriotism, has increased national attention, causing some Navy SEALs to suggest that it could give some members false confidence or misconstrue the nature of their duties. In particular, the films "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Act of Valor" are discussed.

The article examines how censorship affects journalism and journalists in China. Topics include why propaganda ministers in China are so popular with members of the press, how the author's job as editor-in-chief of the "Southern Metropolis Daily" newspaper was threatened by criticism in a rival newspaper, and why censorship is dangerous to the Chinese people as well as the government.

"The goal of this article is to present an overview to the surgical community of global voluntary humanitarian projects, activities, and initiatives. The target audience is general surgeons and surgical specialists with an experience or interest in this area. By no means exhaustive or complete, this information hopefully will form a base from which to expand, compare, analyze, debate, criticize, stay involved, or get involved" From author's introduction.