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Climatic Trends in Madison & Fayette County, Kentucky
No full textThe Kentucky Mesonet is recognized as the official provider of climatological observations in the Commonwealth. Meteorological data from the Kentucky Mesonet are used to show how Madison and Fayette County’s climates have varied since summer 2009. These data are also compared with concurrent observations from Lexington’s Bluegrass Airport (BGAP). The data will be analyzed for any discernable trends. Variables considered include minimum, maximum, and average daily temperatures, precipitation totals, growing season length, frost and freeze dates, heating degree days, and cooling degree days. The statistical analysis for these trends will be done in Microsoft Excel and Minitab, and charts and graphs will be constructed in these software. The data will be analyzed for monthly, yearly, and seasonal trends. Maps may also be created in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software to visually display findings. The findings of this project aim to show how Madison and Fayette County’s climate have changed over time. Weather and climate monitoring helps us to understand how the Earth’s climate is changing and by what magnitude. Climate has great impacts on the Earth, and monitoring it allows us to better prepare for future possibilities. Kentucky Mesonet data provide valuable scientific insight into local climate variability and change
The Moderating Effect of Optimism on Mood State and Prosocial Behavior
No full textRegardless of background or culture, prosocial behavior is an aspect of societies around the world. Prosocial behavior can be defined as intentional behavior and motivation to benefit other people. One aspect of prosocial behavior is the act of helping others. Other variables like optimism may be important to the relationship between mood state and helping behavior. The aim of this project is to determine how optimism works to moderate mood state and helping behaviors. For this poster, data is currently being collected, analyzed, and ready to be presented at the conference. Participants will be asked to complete a series of surveys and a demographics assessment. Afterwards participants described two images and receive positive or negative feedback based on the group they are in. Once the feedback is given participants were asked to assist the researcher in a task to recover a document of information after being told they are free to leave. The actual experiment is measuring how long participants spend on the helping task provided to the participant. Each condition will be compared by optimism levels and the amount of time spent helping to determine how important optimism is in moderating mood state and helping behavior. This will hopefully be most noticeable in the negative experience condition on participants who scored a high level of optimism on the LOT-R.
Keywords: Optimism, Positivity, Feedback, Altruism, Helping, Prosocial
The Harlan Renaissance: a Memoir of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns [Video]
No full textWilliam H. Turner is a sociologist and anthropologist and the author of the acclaimed book, The Harlan Renaissance: Stories of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns, winner of the Weatherford Award for Nonfiction. Turner, the fifth of ten children, was born in 1946 in the coal town of Lynch, Kentucky, in Harlan County. His grandfathers, his father, four uncles and an older brother were coal miners.
After completing a sociology degree at the University of Kentucky, Bill Turner went on to earn a Masters in Sociology and the PhD in Sociology and Anthropology from Notre Dame University, before pursuing post-doctoral studies at both the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University.
Turner has spent his professional career studying and working on behalf of marginalized communities, helping them create opportunities in the larger world while not abandoning their important cultural ties. He is best-known for his ground-breaking research on African-American communities in Appalachia, but Bill’s work is universal. As an academic and a consultant, he has studied economic systems and social structures in the urban South and burgeoning Latino communities in the Southwest. What he strives for on behalf of his clients and their communities is what we all want: prosperity, understanding and respect.
In addition to co-editing the groundbreaking textbook, Blacks in Appalachia, Turner has contributed essays on Black Appalachians to the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and the Encyclopedia of Appalachia.
Among his many academic position, Dr. Turner served as Chair of Social Sciences at Winston-Salem University, Dean of Arts and Sciences and Interim President at Kentucky State, Vice President for Multicultural Affairs at UK, and Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Studies and Regional Ambassador at Berea College. From 1979-91, he was a research assistant to Roots author Alex Haley, who said, “Bill knows more about black people in the mountains of the South than anyone in the world.”
Turner’s many awards and recognitions include induction into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame, the University of Kentucky Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, a lifetime service award from the Appalachian Studies Association and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Citizen of the Year Award.
Black History Month Keynote
Part of the Chautauqua Lecture Series: INTER/ACTION(S) (2022-2023
The Importance of Relationships in Service-Learning Projects: A Case Study from Eastern Kentucky University
Get PDFA graduate course at Eastern Kentucky University included a significant Service-Learning project that evaluated and made recommendations about the University’s Writing Intensive program in collaboration with University administrators. The project’s goals included making sure that students have quality writing courses, that faculty are supported in teaching Writing Intensive courses, and that students develop the writing skills necessary to be successful in their professional lives. Additionally, the goals of Service-Learning center both on learning outcomes and community engagement, making it an effective method for cultivating this collaboration
Relationship-Rich Pedagogy: Cultivating Positive Classroom Experiences for Undergraduate and Graduate Students
Get PDFFelten and Lambert’s (2020) relational pedagogy encourages faculty to create educational experiences that ensure every student experiences a genuine welcome and deep care; is inspired to learn; encounters a web of significant relationships; and explores questions of meaning and purpose. These principles promote student success at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This essay will provide methods to incorporate Felten and Lambert’s relationship-rich strategies into courses ranging from general education to the graduate level
Occupational Therapy Certified Hand Therapists\u27 Perceptions of Remaining Rooted in Occupation in the Hand Clinic: A Phenomenological Study
Get PDFBackground: Occupational Therapy Certified Hand Therapists (OT CHTs) working in the outpatient hand clinic tend to use the dominant biomechanical approach in the rehabilitation of their upper extremity (UE) clients. Due to the existence of a multitude of barriers and challenges for implementing an occupation-based approach, OT CHTs may not treat their UE clients holistically, placing less focus on treating the occupational performance deficits caused by the UE impairment. Purpose: The purpose of this Capstone is to explore the essence of OT CHTs’ current lived experiences in the use of occupation-based approach in the outpatient hand therapy clinic. Theoretical Framework. The Capstone project is guided by the dominant biomechanical approach used in the outpatient hand clinic, The Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement (CMOP-E) an occupational-performance model, and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). The ICF is a framework that can bring balance to applying the occupation-based approach in hand therapy along with the dominant biomechanical approach. Methods. The descriptive phenomenological study included a questionnaire that was completed through interviewing six study participants on their perspectives on using an occupation-based approach with their UE clients. The results of the interviews were then analyzed for codes that resulted in four themes on the participants’ perspectives of the use of an occupation-based approach in outpatient hand therapy. Results. The results from the study indicate that the participants value occupation and do apply occupation-based interventions (OBI). The use of an occupation-based approach was found to be implemented at varying degrees in the hand clinic determined by the challenges and existing barriers each of the OT CHTs faced in the hand clinic culture and environment. Conclusions: The study participants demonstrated an awareness of occupation as the core value of the occupational therapy profession and implemented it to varying degrees in the outpatient hand clinic
Comparing Substance Use Social Issues in Appalachian and non-Appalachian Regions in Kentucky
Get PDFSubstance use and abuse is not a uniquely Appalachian problem, but it remains a prevalent social problem for the geographical region. Kentucky has been one of the central states experiencing generations of substance abuse, ranging from methamphetamines to OxyContin to heroin. Eastern Kentucky, which includes a portion of Central Appalachia, has been a focal point for the proposed war against substance use. What remains undemonstrated in studies is exactly how substance abuse differs between the Central Appalachian counties of Eastern Kentucky and the remainder of the state, if any difference exists at all. In this study, the researchers examine how drug mortality, nonfatal overdoses, emergency room substance abuse diagnoses, and inpatient hospital substance abuse rates vary between Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties in Kentucky. Results indicate that there is a marginal difference in drug fatalities and a statistical difference in both emergency room and inpatient diagnoses of substance abuse. However, the non-fatal overdose rate is nearly identical for Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties across the state. The authors argue this can be explained through Relative Deprivation Theory, persistent underdevelopment of Kentucky’s Appalachian counties, and medical use practices in the region. The researchers close with recommendations on reconsidering how substance use is treated
Print Government Documents: Working Together to Eliminate Your Print Documents (with Empathy)
No full textEkstrom Library collected print government documents for decades as a selective depository. We will discuss our process for weeding hundreds of print documents collection from the collection. What are the reasons for weeding? Where can you find digital copies? What is the process for exchanging documents, and how many are really being requested by other depository libraries? What is the current state of depository rules and procedures
Hooves for Hope: Equine Assisted Psychotherapy as a Modality for Social and Emotional Learning in At-Risk Youth
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to educate its readers on the utility of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy; an emerging modality of mental health treatment and to introduce a new program model for utilization of this treatment with at-risk youth. This paper is particularly focused on the use of this modality to facilitate social and emotional learning in at-risk youth. It begins by establishing the reasons that mental health providers, and American citizens on the whole, should be concerned with at-risk youth as well as defining what this term “at-risk youth” means within the context of this paper. In order to fully establish this concept the author provides several conceptualizations for understanding at-risk youth, including a statement on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and an explanation of the necessity for social and emotional learning within this population. It then transitions into explaining and defining Equine Assisted Therapies broadly; examining the history of this field and moving towards a better understanding of how Equine Assisted Psychotherapy can be used to teach social and emotional learning. This can be done through targeting four key areas of deficit found within at-risk youth: 1) building self-esteem, 2) developing empathy and trust, 3) teaching emotional control and distress tolerance through mindfulness, and 4) learning how to be a friend and have a friend through the human-animal bond. Finally, a model program design including eight sessions of Equine Assisted Therapy is presented as a template for use by future providers