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Examining Eastern Food Hub\u27s Food Access Programs: A Research Study Sustainable Development Internship (SDI) Spring 2024
Get PDFIn 2020, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) introduced the Farmers to Families Food Box (FFFB) program. Its objectives were threefold: (1) deliver food to those in need, (2) support small and mid-sized producers, and (3) bolster food distribution companies through the pandemic. While the program ended in 2021, the USDA has continued to fund other programs, such as the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and the Local Food For Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS). The WVU Center for Resilient Communities (CRC) is researched how previous, current, and future programs can be implemented to best support producers, build a regional food system, and increase food security across the East Coast
Reclaiming Housing for Sustainable and Equitable Development
Get PDFAcross West Virginia, Appalachia, the South, and other regions which have borne the historic brunt of extraction, capital flight, and systemic lack of opportunity, cooperative and community-based solutions to economic challenges have historically and presently been found in and amongst marginalized communities. As a critical component of community wellbeing, development, and prosperity, we situate housing as a necessary component to the understanding of cooperative, grassroots, and solidarity forms of economic organization. In this we explore the ways community-based housing solutions contribute to senses of community and solidarity both within housing structures and the broader community. We place these findings in the broader context of solidarity economy, as mechanisms for understanding both how solidarity is born and reinforced through community-based housing solutions
Flood Resiliency Planning: Historical Analysis and Youth Participation in Monongalia County, WV
Get PDFFlooding is a prevalent threat to community wellbeing, particularly in West Virginia where the mountainous topography and narrow valleys create perfect conditions for flood water to accumulate. To more deeply understand how hazards, such as flood events, become disastrous, we must consider not only the environmental/physical aspects, but also political, economic, and social dimensions. Thinking holistically about flood vulnerability acknowledges the influence of economic positioning, inadequate policies, industrial legacies, etc. which result in varied vulnerabilities to hazards within communities. The insights, knowledge, and experiences of local individuals and communities remain absent from domain top-down approaches to flood preparation. In an effort to better understand the historical context of flood vulnerability in WV, we began to prepare an archive of the history of flooding, focusing particularly on Monongalia County. To address a lack of community participation in flood planning, this project began outreach to high school students for a summer workshop that involves younger generations in creating more prepared and flood-resilient communities
Empowering Inclusive Mobility: Addressing Team Challenges and Advancing Solutions for Deaf Communities in Rural West Virginia through Innovative Engineering and Collaborative Initiatives
Get PDFThis report provides an overview of the strategic initiatives, challenges, and future considerations encountered by the West Virginia University (WVU) EcoCAR Team in their mission to enhance accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in rural West Virginia, with a specific focus on improving the Cadillac LYRIQ\u27s features. The report delves into the stakeholder profile, encompassing demographic characteristics and mobility challenges unique to the target population, while also highlighting the team\u27s SMART goals, key challenges faced, and forward-looking strategies to better the team.
The WVU EcoCAR Team\u27s mission revolves around addressing mobility barriers for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in rural West Virginia. The stakeholder profile encompasses 306,000 residents, predominantly White, with an average age of 42 years, facing mobility challenges due to reliance on single-occupancy automobiles and limited transportation infrastructure. The report outlines mobility barriers faced by deaf individuals, highlighting challenges with auditory-centric vehicle features like the Tell-Tell/Notification Systems. It emphasizes the need for visual and tactile alternatives in vehicle design to ensure inclusivity and safety on the road. The team\u27s SMART goals, including enhancing internal education and team culture, fostering inclusive sub-team integration, strengthening cross-sub-team collaboration, and utilizing data analysis for continuous improvement, are at the core of their strategic approach to address these mobility issues. These goals serve as a framework for targeted initiatives that align with the team\u27s commitment to inclusivity, education, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making.
Challenges identified by the team encompass the complexity of understanding and mitigating mobility barriers comprehensively, external resistance towards new vehicle technologies, financial constraints amidst the university\u27s economic challenges, and the evolving landscape of clean energy infrastructure. However, through proactive strategies, collaborative partnerships with stakeholders, and a relentless pursuit of excellence, the team navigates these challenges effectively.
Looking towards the future, the WVU EcoCAR Team plans to sustain inclusivity and diversity initiatives, prioritize continuous technological innovation aligned with their SMART goals, navigate regulatory frameworks effectively, and forge stronger partnerships within the community. By addressing these challenges and considering future considerations, the team aims to drive positive societal impact, create a more accessible and sustainable mobility landscape, and set a precedent for industry-wide transformation towards inclusivity and accessibility in transportation design. The Team\u27s comprehensive approach, guided by SMART goals and collaborative efforts, showcases a paradigm shift towards inclusivity and social responsibility in the automotive industry, paving the way for a more equitable and sustainable future
Performance Evaluation of Composite Utility Structures under Wildfires and Mitigation Methods
No full textThe Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite utility poles and crossarms have been getting wider attention from the utility industries because of their advantages over the traditional wooden, concrete, and steel poles. Wood is vulnerable to fire, rot, and animal damage. Concrete poles are heavier, increasing both transportation and installation costs of the poles, in addition to limited-service life (40-50 years). Similarly, steel poles have durability and safety concerns because of their inherent corrosive nature and conductivity. These disadvantages are significantly reduced by the use of FRP composites in utility structures because of FRP’s strength, specific gravity, flexibility, non-conductivity and durability against insect damage and corrosion. In addition, FRPs are superior to steel or concrete in mechanical performance per unit weight and have better fire retardancy. Despite the surge in the adoption of the FRP utility structures, their performance against wildfire is still fully understood yet. The number of wildfires is increasing more than ever in the US, and the utility structures are collapsing due to high intensity and longer duration of wildfires. Hence, it is essential to understand the performance of the FRP utility structures against wildfire and increase their fire performance by implementing robust fire-mitigation methods.
West Virginia University Constructed Facilities Center (WVU-CFC) proposed to develop a small-scale test method to simulate wildfires for varying temperatures and duration. The simulated wildfire testing leads to a better understanding of the performance of FRP utility poles and crossarms when exposed to wildfire-induced thermal environments. The change in the mechanical properties of the FRP utility structures under simulated wildfires at elevated temperatures of around 10000 C for various flame exposure durations was first determined, and then different fire mitigation strategies were evaluated for their effectiveness in improving the performance of the FRP utility poles. The composite pole specimens studied were categorized into two Batches: Batch A and Batch B, wherein Batch A samples from four pole manufacturers were tested with and without intumescent coatings, while Batch B poles were subsequently acquired from two additional manufacturers to evaluate protection methods. These methods are the use of intumescent coating and fire protective sleeve. Crossarms were also classified into Batch A and Batch B. Batch A comprised six crossarms from different manufacturers, and Batch B consisted of just one crossarm.
For both batches, test samples were first exposed to propane gas flames regulated to be around 1000°-1100°C for 1, 2, and 3 minutes without any intumescent coating. Then, the unburnt sections of the poles from both batches were carefully coated with intumescent paint. The coated sections were again subjected to gas-regulated flames. Additionally, Batch B-sleeved poles (uncoated) were also subjected to flame aimed at the sleeves covering the pole samples. Batch A crossarm samples were subjected to flame without intumescent coating, while Batch B crossarm was subjected to flame with and without intumescent coating. Coupon test specimens were cut from the post-burn sections of both pole and crossarm samples and tested for their mechanical properties under three-point bending and short beam shear test methods as per ASTM D790-17 and ASTM D2334/D2344M-16, respectively. Then, both the bending and short beam shear strengths were compared to the strengths of unburnt poles and crossarms.
For both batches, test samples were first exposed to propane gas flames regulated to be around 1000°-1100°C for 1, 2, and 3 minutes without any intumescent (fire protection) coating. The unexposed (to fire) sections of the poles from both batches were carefully coated with intumescent paint. The coated sections were subjected to the gas-regulated flame. Additionally, Batch B-sleeved poles (uncoated) were also subjected to the flame aimed at the sleeves covering the pole samples. Batch A crossarm samples were subjected to flame without any intumescent coating, while Batch B crossarm was subjected to flame with and without intumescent coating. Coupon test specimens were cut from the burned sections of the pole and crossarm samples and tested for their mechanical properties under three-point bending and short beam shear test methods as per ASTM D790-17 and ASTM D2334/D2344M-16, respectively.
The bending strength and short beam shear strength were compared to the unburnt poles and crossarms. The results indicate that the bending strength or short beam shear strength of uncoated (unprotected) poles decreased as a function of burning duration, and their reduction trends depended on sample thickness, fiber volume fraction, fiber architecture, fiber type, filler content, manufacturing method, etc. These parameters varied from one manufacturer to another, based on burn test data of the samples. The results showed significant protection offered by coatings as well as sleeves against any degradation in mechanical properties of FRP poles and crossarm. The fire-resisting capacity is attributed to the expanding nature of the intumescent coating, which, upon exposure to fire, expands and creates a thermal insulating barrier that mitigates the degradation effect of thermal damage to the composite poles and cross arm. Furthermore, the fire-protective sleeves were deemed to have sufficient thickness to stop the penetration of the flame into the core of the poles
An Integrated Framework for Establishing Long-Term Transportation Management Strategies Promoting Sustainable Urban Growth
Get PDFUrban land areas are experiencing a more rapid expansion compared to their population growth on a global scale. This phenomenon, known as urban sprawl, is characterized by low-density development in the outskirts of cities. This unplanned urban growth leads to changing urban transportation patterns, posing a threat to sustainable development. In response, government agencies implement growth management practices, with transportation management strategies playing a crucial role in achieving sustainable urban growth. However, developing effective growth management strategies is difficult because of several challenges, including limited understanding of the key influencing factors, the complex interdependencies among these factors, and the uncertainties arising from their interactions. Additionally, the extensive timeframes required for government policy planning further amplify uncertainties, complicating informed decision-making for long-term urban transportation management.
By addressing these gaps in literature, this research aims to develop an integrated framework for establishing long-term transportation management strategies, emphasizing sustainable urban growth. The first stage of the study focuses on identifying the key factors influencing urban transportation decisions in the United States. An extensive review of the literature using the PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal) tool reveals a list of 46 important factors. The study then narrows down the most significant factors in the context of urban growth based on survey responses from 32 experts, using analytical tools such as the Relative Importance Index (RII) and the Mann-Whitney U-test. In the next stage, the interdependencies (cause-effect relationships) among the top-ranked influential factors are identified using the fuzzy DEMATEL (decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory) model, analyzing survey results from 27 experts. Subsequently, to address the issue of uncertainty, four plausible urban scenarios and corresponding transportation management strategies are developed. The scenarios depict urban conditions over the next 20 years, while the strategies within each scenario focus on sustainable urban growth. The scenario-based approach is used in this stage, facilitated by two rounds of Delphi surveys with nine experts. Finally, a decision-making support tool (DST) is developed utilizing the information obtained from the four scenarios.
The findings from the fuzzy DEMATEL analysis reveal that Land Use Planning and Traffic Congestion are the critical effect factors, which are strongly influenced by the five driving causal factors, Urbanization, Government Regulations, Demand for Increased Mobility, Perception of Public Transit Use, and Political Stability. The four scenarios highlight key strategies across varying urban settings, including promoting sustainable transportation, multimodal systems, mixed land use, high-density development, transportation demand management (e.g., telecommuting, carpooling, public transit), city planning (e.g., greenspace, redevelopment incentives), improving quality of life (e.g., affordable housing, air quality), and boosting political stability. A validation test of the DST conducted with five experts in Morgantown, West Virginia, indicated that, over the next two decades, Morgantown is expected to experience relaxed land use planning and significant traffic congestion.
This research provides significance by analyzing the effects of urban growth in different scenarios and offering more informed management strategies for both new and existing urban transportation systems. The developed DST is expected to assist transportation agencies in making informed decisions about the future of their urban transportation systems through strategic assessments. Additionally, by developing a framework integrating various tools and approaches, the research introduces a replicable methodology for future work
When the Right Man Rings Them?
Get PDFThis research aims to outline the suitability of Vaughan Williams’s songs to a broader selection of performers, including singers in academic settings and professional musicians around the globe. The significance of Ralph Vaughan Williams\u27s impact on the music world is difficult to question. Among his considerable accomplishments are the editing of the Anglican English hymnal, the advocation for traditional British folk songs as national works of art, the composition of the same number of symphonies as Beethoven and Dvořák, and, most notably for singers, the writing of song cycles and collections of songs. While these accomplishments are significant, his songs enjoy lesser popularity internationally than many other composers of the same era. In American universities, his music is assigned primarily to younger singers. Even then, only a select few songs are chosen with regularity. This handful of works offers only a glance into the broader world of his art songs and leaves many works that may have great artistic value untouched. Through close study of the song cycles House of Life, Four Last Songs, and Four Poems of Fredegond Shove, this project sheds light on the numerous issues that may prevent both singers and teachers from undertaking these works and provides suggestions as to how such problems may be overcome
A Randomized Need-Supportive Intervention with U.S. Youth Hockey Coaches
Get PDFCoach behaviors impact several essential athlete factors such as the quality of athlete motivation and psychological functioning and yet, many youth coaches remain untrained in motivation and athlete-centered principles. This study’s aim was to explore the efficacy of a need-supportive intervention on youth hockey coaches’ attitudes toward, and reported use of, need-supportive and/or need-thwarting approaches. Participants included 25 youth hockey coaches randomly assigned to an intervention or delayed control condition. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the intervention included four sessions within which coaches learned how to adopt need-supportive coaching strategies and reduce need-thwarting tactics. A mixed-methods approach guided the evaluation of the program’s effectiveness via an integration of pre- and post-test measures of coaches’ self-reported coaching style and written reflections. At post-test, intervention participants showed significant improvements in self-reported autonomy-supportive coaching and significant reductions in controlling and chaotic coaching behaviors when compared with the delayed control group. Coaches reported how program enhancers, barriers, and their implementation efforts contributed to the overall training experience. Overall, the findings indicate that the present intervention approach may be suitable for training other youth sport coaches to adopt need-supportive behaviors and reduce need-thwarting tactics which can enhance youth sport experiences
Site Specific Probable Maximum Precipitation Implications for High Hazard Dams in West Virginia
Get PDFEstimates of probable maximum precipitation (PMP) are necessary for designing the maximum reservoir storage necessary to prevent dam overtopping. Recent investigations in Ohio, Virginia, and Pennsylvania imply that reducing PMP rainfall estimates in West Virginia may be appropriate; however, additional studies in this data deficient region with changing climate is necessary before any reductions are contemplated. The objective of this study was to re-evaluate PMP for the Howard Creek Dam watershed in West Virginia. The 6-hr, 10 mi2 PMP was evaluated for current (2019) and projected (2100) climates and compared to the design PMP. Then, the impact of the PMP alternatives was determined for Howard Creek Dam, which was selected to be a case study of the region delineated in Hydrometeorological Report No. 51 as a data deficient region. The estimated current (2019) PMP is 4% greater than the design PMP, and the projected (2100) PMP is 14% greater than the design PMP. Analysis of the dynamic, nonstationary climate anticipated for the Howard Creek Dam, designed for a stationary climate, shows inadequate storage that will increase the likelihood of dam overtopping. Therefore, this study cannot support a reduction in PMP for the Howard Creek Dam watershed and similar surrounding watersheds.
The site-specific Howard Creek Dam study also showed further analysis was needed for West Virginia on a statewide scale. Seven additional dams of similar watershed size were selected as part of the statewide PMP study, capturing the expanse of West Virginia through a range of elevation, latitude, and hydrometeorological zones. The additional sites were combined with the Howard Creek Dam study to create statewide PMP maps as updated figures of the Hydrometeorological Report No. 51 deliverables specific to West Virginia. Probable maximum precipitation estimates were completed for 10 mi2 watersheds, at both the 6- and 24-hr event durations. The current (2020) statewide estimates were updated using storm and dewpoint data through present day and showed changes to PMP across different areas of the state for both event durations. Results ranged from a 10% decrease to a 10% increase. Projected (2120) statewide PMP estimates were calculated based on the observed trends in dewpoint and were projected another 100 years to recalculate PMP. The projected (2120) PMP values show an increase from 22% to 27% over the current (2020) statewide PMP values. The changes observed in PMP have the potential to impact the storage of dams over the life of the structure under current hydrologic design criteria
Control Freak Loser Bitches Need Love, Too
No full textControl Freak Loser Bitches Need Love, Too is a personal essay collection examining how author Megan Williams attempts to obsessively control her own body after suffering sexual harassment and assault in her girlhood. Even a decade later, Williams grapples with the shame of being silenced due to her weight. She shrinks down one-hundred and fifty pounds in the hopes of making a body that is hers and hers alone, but finds hunger cannot heal her. Through narrative, lyric, and experimental storytelling, Williams weaves a devastating, humorous, and warm tapestry about the ways we get worse before we get better