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Effects of Financial Situations on Mental Health in College Students
No full textKirmser Undergraduate Research Award - Group category, honorable mentionJung Sim JunThe purpose of this study is to address and explain the relationship between anxiety and access to financial assistance on the Kansas State University Campus. The study will be conducted in a quantitative, cross-sectional method utilizing 200 participants from Kansas State. Participants will complete questionnaires asking questions regarding demographics, financial status, financial assistance, and financial anxiety, as well as completing an informed consent. Financial status will be measured through a) student credit card and student loan debt and monthly income. Financial anxiety will be measured using the Financial Anxiety Scale. We expect that those individuals who have utilized financial assistance before will have lower anxiety levels and that those individuals who have not utilized financial assistance before will have higher anxiety levels. The results of this study will help determine new methods for helping college students struggling with finances. It can help bring awareness to the link between financial assistance and financial anxiety among college students
Technology and AI in Dentistry
No full textWhen the word “technology” is spoken, most individuals imagine their cell phones or laptops that they take everywhere. Or maybe they imagine gamers playing Call of Duty for hours on end. Technology is an important aspect of our society, and we place value upon it. The technological advancements in the medical world, particularly in dentistry, have impacted present and future generations. Although dentistry often gets overlooked in the medical world, oral health is incredibly vital for the health of an individual by preventing infections, diseases, and contributing to a better quality of life. Dentistry is ever-changing with new developments and technologies trying to continuously improve the oral health of patients. Understanding how dental technology evolved to where it is today, how the prevalence of artificial intelligence can be beneficial, and how this knowledge can be applied in an office setting is key to improving the lifestyles of dental patients in today’s society and the future
Pathways to Blue Oceans: the case of three agritech companies
No full textMaster of AgribusinessDepartment of Agricultural EconomicsVincent R. Amanor-BoaduBlue Ocean Strategy has become the most innovative approach to creating and sustaining competitiveness in organizations. Over the past several years, many organizations across numerous industries have adopted it as a way of ensuring and protecting their performance. The AgriTech sector is an emerging technology sector using the Internet of Things (IoT), the latest innovations in coatings as well as data and relationships to accelerate the seizure of opportunities in the food and agricultural industries. Whether focusing on generating easily accessible information to make data-driven decisions in an orchard, or optimizing the value downstream by expanding the use of coatings to reduce food waste or using data and past relationships to attribute value to future sales, innovative startups in the space are playing a role in further refining applications of technology to add value to different stakeholders across the supply chain.
The purpose of this research was to evaluate a selected number of these emerging Agritech products within the context of their ability to help their users create blue ocean strategies that shift the competitive advantage landscape in their industries. The selected technologies spanned use in field , moisture measurement, and financing. These solutions allow the customers to reduce their waste, maintain the quality of their production, optimize productivity, and increase their overall profitability. In providing these solutions, these companies separate themselves from their competitors. But they do more. They also alter the nature of competition in their industries because they, through their Blue Ocean Strategy actions, force their peers to up their game to serve their customers or else risk losing them. The three companies reviewed have each been around for at least a decade, and in that time some competitors have sprung up in the space, offering similar solutions in the past few years. However, one of the strongest advantages of being first to market for your product or service is that you can continue deploying Blue Ocean strategies to continue molding the market offering and in combination with relationship-building efforts, these evolutions can result in a dynamic, sustainable business that continuously adds value to the supply chain. They also alter the nature of competition in their industries because they, through their Blue Ocean Strategy actions, force their peers to up their game to serve their customers or else risk losing them
Clonmel, Sedgwick County
Full text linkMatthew Barnes, “Clonmel, Sedgwick County,” Chapman Center Research Collections, https://ccrsresearchcollections.omeka.net/items/show/196.This study examines the town of Clonmel, in Illinois Township, Sedgwick County, Kansas. It lasted from 1871 to 1938. When the railway left accompanied by the rise of the automobile, Clonmel lost residents, but the bond of St. John’s Catholic Church has kept the town alive. This study relies on church history, newspaper articles, and site studies
Extension agent retention: practices that improve job satisfaction and agent longevity
Full text linkMaster of Science - Agricultural Education and CommunicationDepartment of Communications and Agricultural EducationJason D. EllisK-State Research and Extension (KSRE) is experiencing record high extension agent turnover. Turnover in local unit agent positions creates a burden on local and state extension systems. When an agent makes a career separation from KSRE, the organization experiences a financial loss, local programs are disrupted, and local unit employees are burdened with additional work responsibilities until the agent vacancy is filled. Employee turnover is not unique to extension, however the repercussions of an agent position vacancy create a strain on the organization.
While agent retention data is lacking at the federal level, KSRE has extensively tracked extension agent retention since the early 1990s. KSRE has a presence in each of the 105 counties and has 220 extension agent positions in local unit offices. According to agent retention data collected by KSRE, as of August 14, 2023, of the 220 agent positions currently filled, 91 have less than five years of experience and 74 agents have less than three years of employment with KSRE.
The purpose of this collective case study was to understand practices that influence agent retention in local extension units. A sample of 24 local unit agents with at least five years of service with KSRE was selected. Study participants were invited to a one-on-one interview based off their years of extension experience, program area, administrative region, sex, and type of unit served in, county or district.
The R.E.T.A.I.N.S. model was the guiding framework for this extension agent retention study. The interview protocol was designed to gather field experiences related to the R.E.T.A.I.N.S. model from the participating agents. The study examined the role of local unit agents and experiences regarding professional development, organizational and office culture, and relationships with supervisors. The aim of this study was to identify best practices for KSRE to improve agent retention. The research questions were: 1) How has engagement in professional development influenced the success of agents? 2) How does organizational culture and office culture environments impact agent job satisfaction? 3) How do relationships between agents and their supervisors influence agent retention?
The experiences shared in this extension agent retention study are varied, like the uniqueness of each extension unit’s local community. Themes were identified from multiple rounds of coding including open, axial, and selective coding methods. Six themes emerged from the coding process: 1) relationships with supervisors, 2) relationships with extension council boards, 3) access to professional development, 4) organizational culture, 5) organizational loyalty, and 6) work practices. Each theme represents a factor that influences agent job satisfaction and ultimately agent retention.
KSRE has a strong and well-understood culture of continued professional growth. Agents acknowledge high-quality professional development is available to extension professionals. More experienced agents prefer to participate in trainings that align with their program area of focus, while newer agents tend to participate in more general professional development to build a foundation of organizational knowledge. For equitable access to professional development to be a reality for KSRE, funding outside of the local unit’s extension council budget needs to be provided. Not all local unit budgets allow for agents to travel and pay registration fees for training that is not in close proximity to the unit’s office.
Local unit organizational culture has greater influence on an agent’s job satisfaction in comparison to the regional and state level organizational culture. Agents desire a local unit culture that includes colleagues who have shared values and who work toward the organization’s mission. Agents shared expectations for trustworthy and communicative coworkers. From the agent’s perspective, supervisors also influence their team’s organizational culture.
KSRE local unit directors are in positions of leadership and influence an agent’s professional growth and day-to-day job satisfaction. Agents value a supervisor who is accessible and has the capacity to support agents beyond transactional requests. The majority of the study participants reported a positive relationship with their supervisor. Adversely, agents shared past and current experiences of working with a supervisor who lacked the human resources, interpersonal, and communication skills to successfully lead a local unit.
Implications for practice include developing best practices for local unit agents to improve job satisfaction and employee retention. Emphasis needs to be put on practices that foster strong and supportive relationships between extension agents and both their direct supervisor and their local extension council board. In addition, supplemental funding outside of the local unit budget needs to be available to provide equitable access to professional development. Lastly, an opportunity exists to create practices for local units to recognize and celebrate employee success.
In the present study, agents emphasized how the role of the unit director is critical in ensuring agent success and creating the environment that establishes the local unit’s organizational culture. The study collected data about the field experience of an extension agent but the story from KSRE local unit directors remains untold. Additional research is needed to gather perspectives of local unit directors in order to establish best practices to support both local unit agents and directors
Optimization Models for Flash Flooding in Developing Countries
No full textKirmser Undergraduate Research Award - Individual Non-Freshman category, grand prizeRoger FriedmannThis paper details two optimization models which are designed to increase the number of lives saved from flash flooding in developing countries. The evacuation planning model is prescriptive and built to minimize road link failure probability as civilians evacuate the area. The operational planning model is formulated and applied during a flash flood and focuses on minimizing the number of trips taken by public transportation services to evacuate civilians. Both models are discussed in detail and evaluated according to applicability, ability to predict crowd behavior, road link maneuverability with rising water depths, ability to identify risk-averse relief points, and assumption requirements. After evaluating both models, this paper recommends the evacuation planning model as best suited for countries with poor infrastructure or rural environments with limited technological resources. The operational planning model is found to be best suited for countries with large cities and public transportation networks. The paper recommends that the UNDRR hire an industrial engineer familiar with operations research and CPLEX optimization software. This engineer would coordinate with local officials to develop flash flood evacuation plans by tailoring one of these models to fit the specific needs of that country
Evapotranspiration, fiber yield and quality, and water productivity of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under different irrigation technologies in a semiarid climate
No full textCotton is a relatively new crop in southern Kansas, and its effective irrigation scheduling requires information on crop water requirement and water productivity in a given climatic condition. This study aimed to: (i) assess cotton crop actual evapotranspiration, irrigation water requirement, (ii) evaluate lint yield and quality, and (iii) determine the water productivity related to total water (irrigation and rainfall), irrigation, and evapotranspiration under different irrigation technologies and rainfed conditions in semi-arid climate of western Kansas. Field experiments were conducted in 2020, 2021, and 2022 at the Southwest Research and Extension Center (SWREC) in Garden City, KS, to evaluate cotton production under four irrigation technologies which were low elevation spray application (LESA), low energy precision application (LEPA), mobile drip irrigation 1 (MDI1 with 3.79 L/hour), mobile drip irrigation 2 (MDI2 with 7.57 L/hour) and a rainfed treatment under a randomized complete block design with the variety PHY 205 W3FE. Crop management was similar across all treatments for three growing seasons. The results showed that the seasonal actual evapotranspiration (ETa) varied among the irrigation technologies, the rainfed treatment, and years. On average, LESA recorded the highest ETa value of 463.9 mm and LEPA had the lowest ETa value of 457.2 mm. The lint yield and lint quality (micronaire, length, strength, uniformity, color grade) varied significantly among the irrigation technologies and the rainfed setting. The highest lint yield of 1061.94 kg ha-1 was obtained under LEPA, while the rainfed registered the lowest lint yield of 224.13 kg ha-1. The irrigated cotton had a high value for lint quality parameters with the LEPA having the best lint quality. Furthermore, on average, LEPA recorded the highest evapotranspiration-water, total-water, and irrigation-water use efficiencies, and the values were 0.23, 0.33, and 0.39 kg m-3, respectively. The cotton ETa and water productivity are valuable parameters for effective irrigation scheduling for cotton production under similar climate and soil conditions
Bridging Healthcare Disparities: Lessons from Volunteering in Guatemala
No full textGlobal healthcare disparities are clear, particularly in under-developed countries like Guatemala, where access to basic medical services remains a significant challenge for many. My summer spent in Guatemala provided a unique opportunity to engage directly with these disparities, offering healthcare support to poverty-stricken rural communities, as well as volunteering at a special needs facility. Immersed in a culture vastly different from my own, I was confronted with the realities of living and working in a healthcare system with limited resources, contrasting firmly with the system I have known in the United States. This experience not only highlighted the significant gaps in healthcare access and quality between the two countries, but also emphasized the importance of understanding a culture to providing effective care. As I navigated the difficulty of cross-cultural communication and adjusted to the challenges of foreign healthcare conditions, I gained invaluable insights into the social factors of health and the toughness of communities facing adversity. This paper explores my journey through the lens of these experiences, analyzing the cultural and healthcare differences I encountered, and reflecting on the huge impact this immersion has had on my understanding of global health and my development as a future healthcare professional
Soil erodibility parameters for two soils with different soil moisture content evaluated with the mini-Jet Erosion Test (JET)
No full textSoil erosion by water leads to various surface water problems including sedimentation of streams and reservoirs, degradation of soil health, reduction of water quality, and other. Soil detachment by water can be described by the excess shear stress equation. Values of two physical soil erodibility parameters, erodibility coefficient and critical shear stress, presented in the non-linear excess shear stress equation can be generated with a laboratory mini-Jet Erosion Test (JET). Raw JET experiment data is scour depth versus time. This dataset contains the results of JET experiments on two studied soils: silty clay loam (soil I, 16% sand, 48% silt, 36% clay, 4.25% organic matter, 1.45 Mg/m3 bulk density) from a tilled row crop field and clay loam (soil II, 38% sand, 32% silt, 30% clay, 4.13% organic matter, 1.49 Mg/m3 bulk density) from an annually grazed pasture. A total of 32 JET experiments (17 for silty clay soil I and 15 for clay soil II) were conducted on the samples with 0 g to 423 g initially infiltrated masses of water. For each JET experiment, the scour depth was recorded as a function of time. The experiment ended when the scour depth did not change after at least two scouring periods, and 30 to 38 periods were needed to reach the equilibrium depth. During the experiments, the time step increased from 15 sec at the beginning to 300 seconds at the end. The final scour depth varied from the smallest of 31 cm for a 0 g water for silty clay loam soil to the deepest of 46 cm for clay soil. The data files in the dataset are organized by the soil type and sorted by the index for the mass of initially infiltrated water provided in the summary file
The Role of Artistic Expression in Therapeutic Design
No full textOver my years at Kansas State University pursuing my master’s in interior architecture, I have realized that my design philosophy revolves around human connection and expression. I aspire to design spaces that are artistic and inclusive while placing value on well-being.
To implement and represent this concept, my thesis looks to struggles of occupational stress and self-expression, both of which are key professional problems present and relevant to today.
Throughout this research, design development, and final proposal, I seek to design a therapeutic space that hinges on creative expression through the practice of art therapy. In the design of this interior build-out, I hope to showcase my interior architecture, furniture, and graphic design knowledge and versatility