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Exploring Teacher Perception and Implementation of SAE Programming in West Virginia
No full textThe purpose of this study was to describe the phenomenon of SAE implementation in West Virginia. This study utilized qualitative research methodology to describe teacher perceptions of how student, guardian, school and community factors affect SAE program implementation. Additionally, teacher backgrounds, including formative experiences, training and education, guiding philosophies, skills, and motivation were explored. This study describes contextual aspects of population, economics, state guidelines and local agriculture industries. This is done through a document review of student reported records as well as surveys and teacher interviews
La Valse and the Parisian Salon: Nostalgic Continuities and Sonorous Modernisms
No full textImmediately following World War I and the death of prominent French composer Claude Debussy, French composers and music critics were concerned that the war created an unbridgeable chasm between generations of composers who, through their various aesthetic allegiances, worked to define musical sounds as undeniably French. Numerous scholars have characterized this process as an aesthetic rupture brought on by the World Wars. French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), however, seems to have bridged this gap, at least for some influential critics. My project challenges notions of wartime rupture by resituating musical modernism within a framework of aesthetic continuity. Ravel’s choreographic poem La Valse best exemplifies this blend of nostalgia and modernity. Originally commissioned for orchestra, Ravel simultaneously transcribed it as both solo and duet for piano. The work’s patron disapproved of its performance in a large concert hall, and it premiered instead in a private salon. Set in the intimate and exclusive environment of aristocratic households, the French salon encouraged the genesis and exploration of artistic movements. Literature on Ravel’s activities in salons is sparse, and this project aims to fill some of these scholarly gaps. By situating the salon performance of La Valse as a case study, I position the salon as a site of continuity that allowed for Ravel’s simultaneous aesthetic exploration of nostalgia and progress. If the World Wars were the source of cultural fissures, the salon was, at least for Ravel, a site for consensus and continuity during the interwar period that has, to date, remained overlooked
Brittle Failure and Reinforcement of Shale Roofs in Underground Coal Mines through Image Processing and Numerical Simulation
No full textIn the United States, most underground coal mine roofs consist of shale, often referred to as shale roofs. The presence of bedding planes makes shale exhibit complex anisotropic and brittle failure behaviors, especially under mining-induced stress, making these roofs highly susceptible to collapse. Traditional geomechanical models often oversimplify bedding planes as continuous and equidistant. This dissertation applies image processing to capture realistic bedding plane characteristics and integrates numerical simulations to study brittle failure characteristics and reinforcement strategies for shale roofs. The research spans multiple scales, from laboratory specimens to entry-scale mine models, culminating in the development of a ground reaction curve (GRC) methodology for optimizing standing support design.
Firstly, an image processing method was applied to capture bedding plane characteristics across different orientations, scales, and shale types. The extracted bedding plane data—coordinates, number, spacing, and length—were compiled into a comprehensive database. Secondly, using the image-processing-based bedding plane extraction, a laboratory-scale numerical model was developed to simulate the brittle failure of shale specimens. This study developed a comprehensive calibration procedure that incorporated bedding plane anisotropy into numerical models. The procedure involves component analysis of shale, capture of bedding planes through image processing, initial micro-property selection, assessment of anisotropic effects, and validation of macro-properties against laboratory data. The results demonstrated that the calibrated UDEC model successfully replicated stress-strain behavior, failure modes, and anisotropic effects across bedding plane orientations. These models provided detailed insights into shale’s anisotropic brittle failure characteristics, showing that strength, Young’s modulus, and failure modes depend on bedding plane orientations.
Thirdly, extending to the entry scale, the anisotropic brittle failure characteristics of shale roofs were investigated across five U.S. coal seams: Lower Kittanning, Pittsburgh, Pocahontas No. 3, Blue Creek, and Sunnyside. Vertical stress values ranged from 5 MPa to 48 MPa, while horizontal stresses varied from 6 MPa to 42 MPa, covering diverse roof geological conditions. An anisotropic brittle failure criterion was developed and incorporated into a FLAC3D entry-scale model to capture the strength and Young’s modulus anisotropy due to bedding plane orientations obtained in the laboratory. The developed anisotropic brittle failure criterion was verified in a single-element model, multiple elements model, and entry-scale model. Particularly, the entry-scale model was calibrated by underground measurements of stress path, roof sag, and cable loads. Finally, based on the calibrated entry-scale model, a numerical methodology was developed to generate local geology- and stress-dependent GRCs. Seven case studies from the aforementioned five coal seams were used to calibrate and validate the methodology.
By integrating image processing, lab-scale models, entry-scale model analysis, and standing support optimization, this dissertation presents a comprehensive approach to understanding and mitigating shale roof failures in underground coal mines where standing support is utilized
The Professional Backgrounds and Experiences of Higher Education Trustees and Its Influence on Decision Making
No full textThere are many complex decisions that must be made among the board of governors within institutions of higher education. Recent headlines on the decisions of trustees regarding campus closures and consolidations, program cuts, and presidential appointments have put a spotlight on the individuals responsible for making such decisions. This study examined how trustees of public 4-year institutions in the state of West Virginia perceive the value of their professional backgrounds and experiences in fulfilling their governance responsibilities. Using an explanatory sequential design, this study investigated how trustees’ professional experiences shape their decision-making processes through the theoretical lenses of sensemaking theory and Bolman and Deal’s organizational frames. This study specifically explores what professional experiences trustees highlighted as most important to decision-making in the trusteeship, and what gaps in knowledge that trustees perceive for themselves in their higher education roles. Key findings reveal that trustees used a variety of mindsets, informed by their professional background and experiences, to interpret and frame their governance decisions. This research identifies specific professional experiences that contribute to trustees’ perceived efficacy in the role as trustee, as well as specific knowledge gaps within their higher education roles. This study contributes to the existing scholarship on trustees by providing practical insights into how trustees’ professional backgrounds and experiences influence their sensemaking processes and decision-making approaches. These findings offer valuable implications for trustee selection, orientation, and development of the trustees of West Virginia’s public institutions of higher education
Five-year analysis of Kiko buck growth rate, carcass muscling and parasite resistance in a feedlot setting
No full textFive-year analysis of Kiko buck growth rate, carcass muscling and parasite resistance in a feedlot environment
Garrett T. Vaughan
From 2018 to 2023, Kiko bucks born from January 1st to March 15th were performance tested at West Virginia University to evaluate growth rate, ultrasound carcass characteristics and parasite resistance under an artificial infection. Kiko bucks were submitted by producers from 17 different states and over 5 performance tests, 830 Kiko bucks were evaluated. Bucks were group housed and fed ad libitum with a 16% CP pellet containing soyhulls, serving as the dietary fiber component. Upon arrival, bucks were required to meet the minimum weight requirement of 40 lbs. Out-of-state goats were subject to a 2 lb shrink allowance. Goats were vaccinated for Enterotoxemia, Tetanus, and Sore Mouth and given a color-coded RFID tag coordinating which pen they will remain in for the test. Fecal samples were collected, and goats were administered anthelmintic dewormers; Cydectin, Prohibit, and Valbazen. After a 2-wk transition period, a 63-day test period began. On-test weights were taken 12 hours apart and averaged to account for rumen fill. Then weights were taken weekly until the off-test weight, where final weights were taken 12 hours apart and averaged. Fecal sampling occurred at on-test, 21d, 42d and off-test. Ultrasonic measurement of REA at the 12th and 13th rib interface was conducted 1 week prior to test completion. Arrival weight, on-test weight and off-test weight did vary by year (P \u3e 0.05). Five-year average delivery weight was 24.07 kg (± 4.09 kg), average on-test weight was 27.21 kg (± 4.19 kg), average off-test weight was 39.22 kg (± 6.36 kg) and ADG was 0.19 kg/d (± 0.07 kg/d). Analysis of adjusted REA revealed a 5-year average of 10.74 cm2/cwt (±2.16 cm2/cwt). To evaluate parasite resistance all bucks were orally administered 5,000 H. contortus larvae at test initiation. Average 5-year test fecal egg count (AFEC) was 210.48 eggs/g (±282.57 eggs/g). To normalize FEC data, a log transformation was performed. Average 5-year test Log fecal egg count data (ALFEC) for on-test was 1.78 eggs/g (±0.53 eggs/g), mid-test was 2.08 eggs/g (±0.62 eggs/g), and off-test was 1.91 eggs/g (±0.52 eggs/g). Across these 5 years, most bucks did not develop a large FEC making evaluation of parasite resistance difficult in this setting. Nonetheless, these data provide a robust summary of Kiko buck feedlot performance, pertaining to growth and carcass metrics. These data will be useful to producers in efforts to improve their herds and for other performance test stations across the US as a benchmark for performance
Performance is in the Eye of the Beholder: Exploring the Moderating Role of Psychological Perspective Distancing within Thought Self-Leadership in an Organizational Context
No full textSelf-leadership, or the process through which individuals perform various cognitive and behavioral strategies to attain the self-direction and self-motivation necessary to perform in desired ways, has consistently been evidenced to enhance individuals’ performance through promoting a variety of positive individual cognitions, such as self-efficacy, positive affect, and engagement and through diminishing key threatening mental states such as stress, negative affect, and dysfunctional thinking (Harari et al., 2021; Knotts et al., 2022). The cognitive component of self-leadership, thought self-leadership (TSL) has been found to be particularly impactful, aiding the individual to modify and adapt their dysfunctional thinking to be more constructive and aligned with their goals (Neck & Manz, 1996; Knotts et al., 2022). Unfortunately, many cognitive-oriented self-leadership studies have found only marginal significance for pertinent outcomes such as enhanced self-efficacy and reduced stress (Neck & Manz, 1996; Knudstrup et al., 2003; van Raalte et al., 2016). This may be driven by the self-leadership literature’s failure to examine how a foundational element of these cognitive strategies – the perspective (first- versus second/third-person) used during their performance – may alter their effectiveness (Holmes & Mathews, 2010; Kross et al., 2014; Papeo & Lingnau, 2015; Moser et al., 2017; Orvell & Kross, 2019; Gainsburg et al., 2022). This study therefore takes the first steps toward addressing this oversight, expanding self-leadership theory to include psychological perspective distancing in the performance of TSL through examining how the use of second/third- versus first-person self-talk and mental-imagery more effectively promotes individuals’ self-efficacy, reduces stress, and thereby enhances their self-perceived performance. Through utilizing structural equation modeling to perform multi-group comparison analyses, the efficacy of second/third- versus first-person TSL is evaluated across both a student and employee sample. Evidence suggests psychological perspective distancing – utilizing a second/third-person perspective – in TSL considerably increases its effectiveness in producing desired outcomes, such as decreased stress, enhanced self-efficacy, and greater self-perceived performance. As a result, the paper argues for the need of a substantial transformation to existing self-leadership theory by incorporating the use of a distanced second/third person perspective in TSL’s self-talk and mental imagery. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed, as are many avenues for future research