University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
University of Tennessee, Knoxville: TraceNot a member yet
47048 research outputs found
Sort by
Access to Veterinary Care: Barriers and Insights from Pet Families
No full textThis study identifies notable shifts in families with pets and access to veterinary care compared to the 2018 study. The average number of pets per household declined from 2.2 to 2.0, with nearly half of households now caring for only one pet—most often a dog. This change may reflect evolving lifestyle patterns, including urbanization and financial constraints. Differences between cats and dogs were also evident: cats are more frequently taken in as strays, highlighting ongoing challenges with unowned populations, while dogs are less likely to be spayed or neutered. Although cost remains a barrier to sterilization, many dog families reported intentional breeding decisions, underscoring the need for continued education about the health and societal benefits of spay/neuter practices.
Acquisition methods were also linked to sterilization rates, with pets adopted from shelters more likely to be spayed or neutered, and gifted pets least likely—suggesting gaps in preparedness and awareness among recipients. Compared to 2018, barriers to accessing veterinary care have increased across all income groups, geographic locations, and age ranges, with rising reports of logistical challenges such as appointment availability and clinic hours. These obstacles extend beyond financial capacity, with higher-income households also reporting limited access.
Households encountering veterinary barriers were more likely to report surrendering or euthanizing pets and described pets as a source of stress, underscoring the wider emotional and practical consequences of limited access. Respondents expressed strong interest in local pet resources, including training, behavior support, and temporary care options for aging populations. Findings emphasize the need for expanded veterinary access, targeted outreach, and supportive community systems
Infodemic Crisis: Measuring Social Media Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation in the United States Population
No full textSocial media platforms started becoming the breeding ground of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and have raised significant public health concerns worldwide, particularly in relation to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. This dissertation is comprised of three interconnected studies which examined the landscape of social media misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines through a systematic literature review, a meta-analysis, and the development of a psychometric measurement tool known as the Social Media COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation Scale (SMCov-19VMS-46). The first study was a systematic literature review that rigorously synthesized existing research on online COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, conspiracy theories, rumors, disinformation and religious fatalistic beliefs across the world. This study identified key themes of dissemination patterns while highlighting the psychological and social factors contributing to the spread and acceptance of misinformation on COVID-19 vaccines. The second study was a meta-analysis that quantitatively assessed the relationship between social media exposure to COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. By aggregating data on effect sizes from ten empirical studies, this analysis provided a comprehensive estimate of the strength and consistency of the effects of social media misinformation on COVID-19 vaccine confidence. The third study focused on the development and validation of the Social Media COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation Scale (SMCov-19VMS-46). This scale assesses an individuals’ online behavior on how they consume, trust and share information about COVID-19 vaccines from various social media platforms. Through confirmatory factor analyses, reliability testing, and validation against related constructs, this study provides evidence in establishing this scale as a reliable and valid tool for future research. Together, these three studies provide evidence on how misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines proliferates on social media, its impact on public health, and how it can be measured. The findings contribute to both theoretical and practical discourses on tackling misinformation, suggesting strategies for healthcare policymakers, social workers, health communicators, and researchers in developing targeted interventions to mitigate vaccine misinformation and promote informed decision-making.
Keywords: COVID-19, vaccine misinformation, social media, systematic literature review, meta-analysis, SMCov-19VMS-46 scale, vaccine hesitanc
Minor Details: Tracing the Radical Potential of Minor Characters and Their Narrative Dynamics Through Urban Spaces of Early Twentieth-Century American Novels
No full textMinor characters are by definition at odds with the narrative structure. The tension between their potential and their limited access to agentive narrative articulation draws our attention to the relationship between an individual and the systems and structures that they exist within. Focusing on minor characterization dynamics, “Minor Details” centers Black feminist theory within a study of narrative form to try to widen approaches to close reading and examinations of narrative form to expand and refocus conversations about early twentieth-century American novels that decenter traditional problematic structural approaches to reading these texts. The readings featured in this dissertation emphasize the significance of formal constructions of wayward, fugitive, precarious, and minorized Black women characters written by Black American authors in the American city spaces of early twentieth-century novels and explore formal revolutionary relationships between these marginalized characters and the narrative structures and logics in which they are contained
Policy, Power, and the Politics of Silence: Tennessee Public School Districts and the Prohibited Concepts Law
No full textThis qualitative study investigates how Tennessee K-12 public school district leaders interpret, construct, and enact the state\u27s prohibited concepts law—a law that restricts instruction on certain topics related to race, gender, and American history. Grounded in critical policy analysis and discourse theory, the study examines how power, ideology, and language converge in local responses to politically driven educational policy. Using document analysis as the primary data collection method, the research draws from a sample of official district-level materials, including school board policies, meeting minutes, public statements, and curriculum-related documents from 15 school districts across Tennessee. Findings reveal wide variation in how district leadership frames the policy, ranging from strict legalistic compliance to subtle forms of resistance and reframing. Some district leaders reinforce dominant narratives by omitting references to diversity and equity, while others attempt to preserve inclusive practices through vague or strategic language. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how leaders of public school systems navigate controversial education mandates and the discursive work involved in balancing legal compliance with commitments to inclusive education
Search for Hidden Sectors With Neutrons
No full textThe fundamental nature of Dark Matter (DM) is heretofore entirely unknown. Inter-acting only gravitationally, to this form of matter is attributed many astronomicalobservations of behaviors astronomic. Explanations of DM abound, ranging fromWeakly-Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) of a range of mass-energies fromO(100 GeV) [1] down to below O(1e-20 eV) [10].Mirror matter is a proposed explanation for dark matter as well as a means ofexplaining the baryon asymmetry of the universe. Here I present my work on theanalysis of two experiments performed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as wellas a third-party analysis of an experiment performed at the Institut Laue-Langevinin Grenoble, France
DEFENSORES ANCESTRALES: TRADICIONES, EVOLUCIÓN Y PROTECCIÓN DEL MEDIO AMBIENTE, COMO MECANISMO UNIFICADOR DE LA COMUNIDAD GARÍFUNA
No full textThe Garifuna people, an Afro-Indigenous community with deep roots along the Central American Caribbean coast, have historically faced marginalization, forced displacement, and territorial dispossession. Since their arrival to Central America in the late 18th century, the Garifuna have endured political exclusion, racialized policies, and the erosion of their land and cultural rights. These historical injustices persist today, intensified by environmental degradation, extractive development, and rising migratory pressures. In addition, contemporary forces such as tourism and capitalist expansion often appropriate Garifuna territories and traditions, threatening the continuity of their identity. In the face of these enduring and evolving threats, various cultural productions, including poetry, oral narratives, performance, and film, have emerged as powerful tools of resistance, cultural affirmation, and memory preservation. Rather than portraying culture as static, these works reveal dynamic, situated responses to historical and contemporary challenges, particularly around language loss, displacement, and ecological violence.
The dissertation is organized into three chapters. The first explores how historical and contemporary narratives reflect economic exploitation and cultural displacement. The second focuses on dance and performance as embodied forms of memory and continuity. The third chapter turns to cinema as a space of community empowerment and cultural pedagogy, highlighting the role of women and language in the defense of territory and tradition.
@font-face {font-family: Cambria Math ; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent: ; margin:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family: Times New Roman ,serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman ;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family: Aptos ,sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Aptos; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Aptos; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times New Roman ; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:8.0pt; line-height:115%;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;
Cattle Ranching and Deforestation in Colombia: The Impact of Conflict, Land protection, and Uneven Development
No full textIn this dissertation, I study the impact of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) in 2016 on forests. This study focuses on the impact of cattle ranching on areas left by FARC, the role of protected areas (national parks, Indigenous lands, and Afro-Colombian collective lands), and the effect of institutions and poverty on forest conservation.
My dissertation examines the background of deforestation and conflict in Colombia, along with the importance of cattle in shaping the Colombian rural structure and its relationship with historical forest clearing. These elements are relevant to understanding the purpose of the investigation. Using a political ecology approach, which emphasizes the importance of uneven power relations within environmental destruction processes, I aim to determine to what extent cattle ranching drives deforestation in areas under former FARC control; to what extent protected areas reduce deforestation associated with cattle; and to what extent cattle ranching drives deforestation in poor areas and those that have less institutional presence.
For this purpose I collected official and non-official data on deforestation, former FARC presence, cattle ranching, protected areas, army and judges, and poverty. In order to understand the relationships of these variables I build different sets of robust regression models.
I found that cattle ranching drives deforestation to a greater extent in areas under former FARC control compared with those areas under no former FARC control. The results of my study also lead to the conclusion that national parks, Indigenous lands, and Afro-Colombian collective lands have a protective effect from deforestation, although only national parks protect the forest from cattle impacts. Finally, my study concluded that cattle produces more deforestation in areas with less institutional presence and more poverty
SACSCOC Response - Program Closure - Secondary Mathematics Education Graduate Certificate
No full textReducing Falls in Older Adults Using Antipsychotics During Hospitalization: Implementation of a Fall Risk Screening and Prevention Protocol
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Falls are a major global health concern for older adults, causing about 684,000 deaths and 37.3 million injuries worldwide each year. Older adults prescribed antipsychotic medications are at high risk due to side effects that increase fall likelihood. These patients have a 1.5 higher risk of falling; typical antipsychotics increase risk by 48% and atypical antipsychotics by 72%. Preventing falls in this group is essential to reduce injuries, fatalities, and healthcare costs.
LOCAL PROBLEM: The project was conducted on a unit primarily serving patients aged ≥65 with multiple comorbidities. Frequent falls among older adults prescribed antipsychotics led to the implementation of a standardized fall risk screening and prevention protocol for this high-risk group. The primary aim was to achieve at least 50% adherence to fall risk assessments and interventions during a 90-day period from mid-February to mid-May 2025.
METHODS: The project used the Evidence-Based Practice Improvement model. The Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool (JHFRAT) was chosen for its predictive validity. Patients prescribed antipsychotics were screened with the JHFRAT at admission. Screening and intervention adherence were audited. Staff received targeted education on antipsychotic risks and proper JHFRAT completion.
INTERVENTIONS: Routine JHFRAT screening informed risk-based fall prevention, supported by staff education, reminders, reference materials, and PDSA-driven updates.
RESULTS: Of the 262 patients admitted to the unit aged ≥ 65, 66 (25%) patients were prescribed antipsychotics and screened using JHFRAT. 33 (50%) patients screened by staff were in adherence to JHFRAT scored correctly and 64 (97%) received appropriate fall prevention interventions. Falls with injury decreased from four to one after implementation. Fall-related costs declined by $129,052.
CONCLUSIONS: Standardized fall risk screening for older adults on antipsychotics reduced falls and costs. However, sustainability remains a challenge, with recent declines in screening rates after implementation ended. Future efforts should focus on workflow integration, ongoing staff education, and periodic audits
