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Qualitative Research: Exploring Food Preservation Methods in Rural Appalachian Kentucky to Address Food Deserts
Get PDFThis study aims to explore safe food preservation methods for rural Appalachian households in Kentucky, where residents may face challenges related to food insecurity and living in food deserts. Four interviews were conducted with food preservation professionals from Extension Offices (n=2) or community kitchens (n=2) in Kentucky. The researchers transcribed the interviews, and the qualitative data were analyzed using MAXQDA version 24. Through this qualitative analysis, coding and themes related to food preservation methods were identified. The results indicated that water bath canning and freezing were identified as the most recommended methods for home preservation due to their convenience and cost-effectiveness. While pressure canning and dehydrating could be viable options, they were less familiar to users due to a lack of knowledge. Additionally, all interviewees noted that food preservation is becoming less common among younger generations, who often do not maintain gardens and prefer purchasing processed foods such as canned and frozen items from the market. The surplus of preserved foods can be bartered with others in the community who may have other needed items. For future sustainability practices, it is recommended that local Extension Offices or food banks host open barter markets
Edge of the Wagon Wheel
Get PDFThis is a satirical sci-fi novel set in the near future. Following the inadvertent melting of the ice caps, the United States splits—peacefully, like a mutual breakup—into four new countries. In an attempt to prove that the earth is flat, the Best States of America (BSA) have launched a replica of the Apollo 11 spacecraft with a child prodigy aboard, alone. Meanwhile, a disgruntled low-level government employee from the Left States of America (LSA) detects the launch with the help of his AI computer and makes contact with the BSA astronaut. The story follows everything that transpires to get Buzz to the moon (or the edge of the Earth) and back safely, while the governments and militaries of the BSA, LSA, USA, and Texas each try to exercise their own spin on the mission and its outcome
Bat Activity Across Urban Forest Plantings in Lexington, Kentucky
Get PDFUrbanization has led to major forest loss and negatively impacts ecosystem services. Urban reforestation efforts, such as Reforest the Bluegrass (RTB) in the Lexington-Fayette metropolitan area of Kentucky, have been implemented to address these negative effects, and to create habitat for forest-dependent wildlife such as bats. My research focused on assessing differences in bat activity across a 20-year chronosequence of RTB sites. Acoustic detectors were deployed across 10 different-aged plantings at 60 randomly-defined detector locations. Each planting was surveyed across 8 sampling periods from May – August 2023. Each recording session spanned ca. 7 consecutive nights, yielding a total of 417 detector nights which resulted in the detection of 10 species of bats. Bat activity was assessed according to phonic groups of species sharing similar echolocation characteristics. Bat activity was greater at the edges rather than the interiors of plantings across all phonic groups. Generally, bat activity was greater at plantings exceeding 10 years in age, plantings within 100 m of riparian areas, and at plantings with a perimeter-to-area ratio of 420 m/ha or smaller for all phonic groups, except hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) which exhibited habitat affinities counter to this. AIC model selection suggested that while various factors influence activity across phonic groups, bat activity was generally greater at plantings with larger-diameter trees. Bat activity was negatively associated with greater canopy cover across most phonic groups. These data suggest most bat species were associated with the edges of older plantings with less canopy cover and those located near riparian areas. Results of this study provides resource managers with guidance for future planting strategies to improve habitat for bats in urban and exurban environments in the Bluegrass region
Living Pedagogy: Redesigning the First Year Writing Classroom
Get PDFIn this thesis the writing pedagogies of process, critical literacy, and multimodality are used as a framework for redesigning the physical layout and aesthetics of the first-year writing classroom. The idea of embracing a fully embodied ‘living’ pedagogy is also explored as a means to develop and sustain professional identity as a college writing instructor. An examination of process pedagogy reveals a natural materiality of writing and the role of physical environment. The pedagogy of critical literacy is used to determine how issues accessibility and representation can be answered by classroom design. Current practices of multimodality in classroom design are reconsidered, including the role of both digital technologies and material, hands-on resources. It is found that the best design of a classroom depends on instructor goals and student needs, but research indicates that stakeholders need to consider how well a design establishes an environment of care and whether seating should be flexible or stationary. In place of traditional rows, two layouts, a ‘studio style’ and ‘roundtable workshop’ are proposed and discussed
The Highlands
No full textThe Highlands is a novel that follows the professional relationship between Detective Chase Tonne, a detective at the LMPD, and Dr. Doug Peet, a psychiatrist and fiction writer working in the Highlands neighborhood in Louisville. While struggling with addiction issues stemming from traumatic loss, Detective Tonne must undergo a psychological evaluation to retain his job at his own expense after a long suspension. As the check-ins with Dr. Peet come and go throughout Detective Tonne’s career, Dr. Peet’s own losses come into and out of focus. The boundaries of their relationship are tested throughout periods of Chase’s own life in which he struggles with his addictions, friends, co-workers, romantic partners, and his own sexuality
Counting the Cost of Training Up Children within a Large Christian Fundamentalist Family
No full textFor four episodes of the TLC reality TV show 17 Kids and Counting a behavioral coding scheme was devised and applied. Behavioral data for the four oldest Duggar children (2 male, 2 female) was collected and analyzed, in order to explore themes of Christian fundamentalist parenting within this sample. Parenting practices were postulated to have biblical roots- such as parenting goals of obedience and faith-keeping, and common parenting practices of corporal punishment, enforcement of traditional gender roles and isolation. In addition to coding child behavior during these four episodes, the current whereabouts and functioning of the four children (now adults) were noted during this case study and also used to consider the outcomes of this kind of parenting style. The hypothesis is that children growing up within this kind of subculture may experience negative later life outcomes. The findings of this study were that parenting was primarily concerned with religion and obedience to authority, and that there were gendered differences in parenting practices/opportunities for child behavior, as well as a lack of time spent with parents alone or spent doing educational endeavors. The outcomes for adult children seemed to relate to whether they remained within the parental faith. For children who did not keep their childhood faith, there were fewer negative outcomes noted. However, struggles were noted for all four children studied as they entered adulthood.
Keywords: Duggars, Christian fundamentalism, parenting practices, parenting goals, child outcomes
Technology in the Classroom: Twitter as a Tool for Student Engagement
No full textIn today’s fast-paced world, students are learning in a different environment than in the past and with many different tools than ever before. The students of today have been termed “digital natives” (Prenksy, 2001) due to being raised in a digital age and exposed to technology from the day they were born. According to Prensky (2001), digital natives can speak the digital language and multi-task on several technologies at one time. Given these aptitudes, educators have been eager to incorporate technology into their classrooms without it becoming a distraction. This has been an ongoing discussion at the university level and the means to make it happen takes time, effort and trial and error on the part of the students and university professors
Impact of COVID-19 on Asynchronous Learning for Higher Education Administration Graduate Students
No full textOnline courses can be isolating experiences, as many students need a high level of discipline and structure to complete coursework. The impact of COVID-19 caused major disruptions to higher education particularly for teaching and learning in early 2020. Teo and Williams’ (2005) framework for effective online learning was applied to this study to learn of its utility for asynchronous graduate student learning. Eight students taking courses in an online asynchronous graduate program in higher education were interviewed for this study. The findings indicated that not all of Teo and Williams’ sub-environments described students’ asynchronous learning experience during COVID-19, with additional ones more applicable to the non-traditional population of students in the program. Engagement and success depended on discussion board importance to instruction, environmental and cultural impacts on learning, need for support, and faculty communication. Students were less impacted by the evaluative and collaborative components of the framework, likely due to being accustomed to these approaches with little transition from pre- and post-COVID teaching and learning practices
Dietary Restrictions and Specialized Diets on College Campuses
No full textAlthough the number of people who eat a specialized diet (i.e. food allergy, vegan, religious diet, etc.) has been increasing with every new generation, there is a noticeable lack of literature about this community’s experiences on college campuses. In this project, I explore student perceptions of adequate food availability in Eastern Kentucky University’s on-campus dining options. I review published literature regarding students\u27 perceptions and experiences with their specialized diets on college campuses within the U.S., and analyze findings from a survey and independent interviews to discover how EKU students with specialized diets interact with campus food options. Students consistently report a lack of satisfaction not only with the options available to them, but also often with the correspondence they hold with CASE dining hall after reaching out for accommodations. I conclude that a lack of food accommodation on the institutional level is a problem that needs to be addressed, with core tenets that campus can focus on being more comprehensive education outreach programs for accommodation options, and emphasizing thoroughness in responses to student concerns
Partnerships, Care, and Vulnerability: Being Human in the Classroom Leads to Human Connections in the Workplace
Get PDFPartnership based classes allow students to see the meaning of their work. The course is no longer instructor directed, it is collaborative. When instructors are willing to be vulnerable and demonstrate caring for students, students build confidence to share their creative and critical thinking, in classrooms and in the workplace