Digital Commons Network^™

Intimacy Following Cerebral Vascular Accident, Hannah Caitlyn Guschel, Sarah Hendrickson

Graduate Student Scholarship

In the United States, a cerebral vascular accident (CVA) is a leading cause of death and a significant contributor to severe disabilities for adults (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022a). Two areas of post-stroke deficits and changes that are not frequently addressed in treatments are sexual activity dysfunctions and challenges with intimacy after stroke. Occupational therapy practitioners have the education, training, and practice areas within our framework to address issues relating to sexuality and provide education on the matter. Sexuality should be addressed, like all other activities of daily living, thorough and assiduous. This study was a cross-sectional design …

Traumatic Brain Injury: Impact Of Falls On Occupational Performance And Their Caregiver, Sarah A. Mcaninch

Graduate Student Scholarship

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of disability and expenses in healthcare. Many signs and symptoms occur as a result of TBI making it difficult for medical disciplines to pinpoint healthcare treatments to address these deficits. Falls are not only the leading cause of TBI but also of recurrent TBIs (rTBIs) due to physiological and sensorimotor changes in an individual after injury. The aim of this research is to investigate the gap in knowledge surrounding falls after a TBI by surveying and interviewing caregivers on their experiences with the person they are providing caregiving. Data was …

Occupational Therapy’S Role In Developmental Programming At Early Childhood Education And Childcare Centers: A Qualitative Study, Alexis N. Foehrkolb, Jenna Lenhart, Hayley Woods, Madison Wetzel, Breanna Adkins, Sueann R. Woods

Graduate Student Scholarship

This research study aimed to discover what strategies of developmental programming are integrated into early childhood curriculum, whether occupational therapy had a role in the formation of the guidelines, and the importance of early intervention on child development. A case study with ethnographic methods was used, including observations and interviews, to gain an understanding of how sociocultural phenomena affect rural childcare centers in Morgantown, West Virginia. Data was collected and coded into 14 themes, and then analyzed by student researchers. Results from interview data found that daycare teachers are given the choice to follow provided lesson plans or individualize their …

Project Foresight Annual Report, 2022-2023, Paul J. Speaker, Paul J. Speaker

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Project FORESIGHT is a business-guided self-evaluation of forensic science laboratories across the globe. The participating laboratories represent local, regional, state, and national agencies. Economics, accounting, finance, and forensic faculty provide assistance, guidance, and analysis. Laboratories participating in Project FORESIGHT have developed standardized definitions for metrics to evaluate work processes, linking financial information to work tasks, and functions. Laboratory managers can then assess resource allocations, efficiencies, and value of services—the mission of Project FORESIGHT is to measure, preserve what works, and change what does not.

The benchmark data for the 2022-2023 performance period includes laboratory submissions for a variety of fiscal …

Water Equity And Planning: Acid Mine Drainage In Deckers Creek Watershed, Brooke O. Waters, Lennon Jewell Auvil, Grace Dever

Undergraduate Scholarship

When mines close, they simply do not disappear. They cannot be buried or forgotten about. The implications of mining leave a lasting history and impact not only on our lands but on the people as well. Abandoned mine lands are areas of our community and environment that have been destroyed due to the extraction of coal and other minerals. Mining results in the destruction of landscapes, contamination of waterways, and the emission of harmful chemicals to our communities.
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is a resultant water pollutant that is derived from mining practices, active or abandoned. This pollutant forms from …

Exploring The Intersection Between West Virginia Farmland Protection Boards, Landowners, And The West Virginia Agrarian Commons, Samuel W. Bayne, Joshua Lohnes

Undergraduate Scholarship

New Roots Community Farm (NRCF) came to life through the purchase of a piece of land by the Fayette County Farmland Protection Board in a buy-protect-sell model. NRCF then partnered with The Agrarian Land Trust, a New England based organization experimenting with land commons models across the United States, to purchase the property and create the West Virginia Agrarian Commons (WVAC), an entity that could advance land access for the next generation farmers in WV. The experience of NRCF and the WVAC and the vision for its operation and extension of the buy-protect-sell model in partnership with county farmland protection …

Reclaiming Housing For Sustainable And Equitable Development, Ethan Harner, Gabrielle Fraizer, Bradley Wilson

Undergraduate Scholarship

Across West Virginia, Appalachia, the South, and other regions which have borne the historic brunt of extraction, capital flight, and systemic lack of opportunity, cooperative and community-based solutions to economic challenges have historically and presently been found in and amongst marginalized communities. As a critical component of community wellbeing, development, and prosperity, we situate housing as a necessary component to the understanding of cooperative, grassroots, and solidarity forms of economic organization. In this we explore the ways community-based housing solutions contribute to senses of community and solidarity both within housing structures and the broader community. We place these findings in …

Examining Eastern Food Hub's Food Access Programs: A Research Study Sustainable Development Internship (Sdi) Spring 2024, Devin Anthony Barkefelt, Fritz Boettner

Undergraduate Scholarship

In 2020, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) introduced the Farmers to Families Food Box (FFFB) program. Its objectives were threefold: (1) deliver food to those in need, (2) support small and mid-sized producers, and (3) bolster food distribution companies through the pandemic. While the program ended in 2021, the USDA has continued to fund other programs, such as the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and the Local Food For Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS). The WVU Center for Resilient Communities (CRC) is researched how previous, current, and future programs can be implemented to best support producers, …

Ethnic Minority Owned And Serving Grocers In Morgantown And Solidarity Economies, Bane B. Clements-Smart, Rissell L. Velarde Vila, Cameron G. Rishworth

Undergraduate Scholarship

This project sought to build off previous research within the Center for Resilient Communities on grocers and solidarity economies, by learning about grocers owned by minority ethnic groups and that serve minority ethnic groups through offering products for cuisines and cooking unavailable through large, mainstream grocery chains such as Walmart, Kroger, or Giant Eagle. These stores also offer a cultural space where people from minority ethnic groups can connect and build community through a sense of home and familiarity provided by these spaces, not easily found elsewhere in Morgantown.

Seeding Sparks For The Right To Food, Alexandra Grace Winn, Shelby Lynn Davis, Kirsten Hannah Jaquish, Alexandra N. Ehlers, Joshua Lohnes

Undergraduate Scholarship

Seeding Sparks for The Right to Food partnered with Voices of Hunger to disperse a grant to community leaders. These community leaders have projects that are aimed to advance the Right to Food and promote food security. This project interviewed the applicants and pulled out common themes among their responses to further understand their motivations and passions related to food justice.

Food Policy Council, Alexandra G. Winn, Kirsten Hannah Jaquish, Shelby Lynn Davis, Alexandra N. Ehlers, Joshua Lohnes

Undergraduate Scholarship

Nourishing Networks is a workshop that promotes the development of Food Policy Councils, which are a group of community members that advocate for the Right to Food in their community. Through conversation surrounding food access barriers and strategies in their community, the workshop aims to educate participants on how they can improve food access in their community. This research project sought to conduct Nourishing Networks meetings in a variety of West Virginia counties with the intention of accompanying local community members and organizations to create a Food Policy Council for their region. Using a standardized organization process, curriculum, and reporting …

Water Security And Justice: Community Pfas Exposure In Monongalia County, Selena A. Melendez, Ilan Rice, Grace Dever

Undergraduate Scholarship

Water security and justice is the right of all people to have reasonable access to clean and safe water. Pollution in the form of toxic discharge from various industries poses a significant risk to public and environmental health. Among these toxic pollutants are per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals” that compromise water quality in our communities. Despite the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1974 aimed at ensuring clean drinking water for WV, there is still an alarming pattern of neglect and injustice to communities related to race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and language barriers . Non-compliance …

Feeding Deficits Contributing To Picky Eating, Olivia Paige Allen, Brianna Paige Pestrosky, Caitlyn Shaffer

Graduate Student Scholarship

Children are often known as picky eaters but many aspects contribute to feeding that one may not be aware of. These factors include sensory, oral motor, behavioral, neuromuscular, social skills, developmental readiness, and functional feeding skills. This study analyzes the aspects of feeding that contribute to picky eating and examines why some aspects may contribute more than others. The study will be conducted through the use of observation and standardized occupational therapy assessments while looking at children ages 2-10 years old. The goal of the study is to increase the knowledge of picky eating by relating it to the various …

Collegiate Student-Athlete Mental Health In West Virginia: An Occupational Perspective, Natalie P. Gates, Bailey A. Riggs, Drew D. Altizer

Graduate Student Scholarship

Collegiate athletes must take on multiple roles while they are attending a college or university, which can negatively impact their mental health. These student-athletes must not only follow the role demands and expectations of an athlete but also of a college student, all while emerging into adulthood in the college environment. This can be overwhelming for many collegiate athletes, and they often find it difficult to balance all their responsibilities to live a satisfactory life. Therefore, a role for occupational therapy exists in this realm. A quantitative study design using survey methods was chosen in hopes of identifying and describing …

Food System Transformation: Farm To School, Dylan Upperman, Cameron Mahar

Undergraduate Scholarship

This project conducted with the Center for Resilient Communities at West Virginia University is focused on identifying and understanding barriers and opportunities present within the Farm to School program in West Virginia. Through this project, a producer survey was conducted to understand the production side of the program, a quantitative analysis was conducted of state and county level Farm to School purchasing data, and organizational sales through a local nonprofit were reviewed. Through this analysis, it was found that access to new markets and lack of knowledge and information posed a significant barrier for increased production from producers surveyed. It …

Creative Economies, Inclusive Communities: Arts-Based Development In West Virginia, Kylie Blackburn, Ben Heinlein, Bradley Wilson, Lori Mckinney, Riffraff Arts Collective, Princeton Wv

Undergraduate Scholarship

Since 2020, the WVU Center for Resilient Communities and RiffRaff Arts Collective (RRAC) have worked in partnership to advance action research on arts-based development in Appalachia. RiffRaff Arts Collective inspires and empowers the arts and creativity in downtown Princeton, West Virginia, Southern WV and the Appalachian region. For 20 years the RRAC have drawn upon the power of music and the arts to promote healing, growth and transformation in small towns. By providing venues for expression and producing events and experiences that inspire and uplift, the RRAC is helping to reestablish the social and economic vitality of their neighborhood, the …

The Teacher Acute Concussion Tool And Return To Learn In West Virginia, Samantha Jane Windisch

Graduate Student Scholarship

Due to the complex nature and varying presentations of concussions or mild TBIs, multiple health categories are often involved in the recovery of post-concussion symptoms including physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral health concerns. The neurological side effects, along with the potential involvement of other health domains can propagate decreased participation and engagement in meaningful occupations or impact the overall quality of performance of these activities. One of those activities is being able to return to learning in the classroom. West Virginia (WV) has been providing education and training on the Teacher Acute Concussion Tool (TACT) to school staff and personnel. …

Collectible Pricing And Collector Utility: The Role Of Production Commitments, Corey J.M. Williams, Kole Reddig, Adam Nowak

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

This paper investigates the effect of production commitments on consumers of collectable goods. Using data on prices for Magic: The Gathering trading cards, we estimate that the reprinting of certain card varieties caused a 34% decrease in the relative price of reprinted cards. We interpret this estimate with a model of a forward-looking consumer that views collectibles as both a source of enjoyment and a store of wealth. Using a mapping between structural parameters of the model and difference-in-differences regression parameters, we compute lifetime discounted utility decreased by as much as 14% for collectors holding mainly reprinted cards.

Is The Statutory 60-Day Deadline For Filing A Petition For Review Of A Final Mspb Order Jurisdictional?, Anne Marie Lofaso

Law Faculty Scholarship

Case at a Glance: The Department of Defense (DOD) furloughed employee Stuart R. Harrow in 2013. Harrow timely challenged DOD’s decision before an administrative judge, who affirmed it. Harrow timely appealed the judge’s decision to the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB or “Board”), which could not act on the appeal for over five years because it lacked a quorum. On May 11, 2022, the MSPB issued a final order, affirming the judge’s decision. However, Harrow did not learn of the decision until August 30. Harrow promptly filed a petition to review the Board’s order with the Federal Circuit, which denied …

Learning By Doing, Productivity, And Growth: New Evidence On The Link Between Micro And Macro Data, Brad Humphreys, Scott Schuh, Corey Williams

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

No abstract provided.

Digital Terror Crimes, Cody Corliss

Law Faculty Scholarship

Terror actors operating within armed conflict have weaponized social media by using these platforms to threaten and spread images of brutality in order to taunt, terrify, and intimidate civilians. These acts or threats of violence are terror, a prohibited war crime in which acts or threats of violence are made with the primary purpose of spreading terror among the civilian population. The weaponization of terror content through social media is a digital terror crime.

This article is the first to argue that the war crime of terror applies to digital terror crimes perpetrated through social media platforms. It situates digital …

Systematic Review Search Strategies: Non-Arthritic Hip Diseases And Psychosocial Factors, Jenn Monnin

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The following search strategies were built for a systematic review addressing non-arthritic hip diseases and psychosocial factors. An a priori protocol for this review was developed and registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021248562). The search was originally designed in PubMed, then translated to the other databases searched (Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus). Search peer review was performed by Anna Crawford using a modified version of the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies guideline. The original search was run on July 12, 2021, with a search update performed on June 21, 2023.

Flood Resiliency Planning: Historical Analysis And Youth Participation In Monongalia County, Wv, Josephine Q. Kemp-Rye, Jack P. Van Dusen, Kennedy Lawson

Undergraduate Scholarship

Flooding is a prevalent threat to community wellbeing, particularly in West Virginia where the mountainous topography and narrow valleys create perfect conditions for flood water to accumulate. To more deeply understand how hazards, such as flood events, become disastrous, we must consider not only the environmental/physical aspects, but also political, economic, and social dimensions. Thinking holistically about flood vulnerability acknowledges the influence of economic positioning, inadequate policies, industrial legacies, etc. which result in varied vulnerabilities to hazards within communities. The insights, knowledge, and experiences of local individuals and communities remain absent from domain top-down approaches to flood preparation. In an …

Positive Responses Of Solanum Lycopersicum Growth To Additions Of Gibberellin In The Presence Of Wounding Stress, Tatum Curtin

Undergraduate Scholarship

Herbivory is a consistent and prevalent stressor that threatens plants. Gibberellin, a naturally occurring plant growth hormone, has been known to increase plant growth when under a physical stress such as herbivory. To investigate, we set up a two-factorial design with 60 Solanum lycopersicum plants and subjected 15 plants each to four treatment groups: reference/control, 65 mg gibberellin, wounding, and 65 mg gibberellin+wounding. We found that S. lycopersicum root-to-shoot ratio decreases with the addition of gibberellin under mechanical wounding stress. Additionally, chlorophyll fluorescence increases under any mechanical wounding, with and without gibberellin present. Our experiment allows us to conclude that …

Positive Responses Of Solanum Lycopersicum Growth To Additions Of Gibberellin In The Presence Of Wounding Stress, Molly Davis

Undergraduate Scholarship

Herbivory poses significant challenges to many economically valued crop plants. Plant growth hormones such as gibberellins are known to influence plant growth mechanisms especially at times of stress such as herbivory. To investigate, we set up a two-factorial design with 60 Solanum lycopersicum plants and subjected 15 plants each to four treatment groups: reference control, 0.187M gibberellin, wounding, and 0.187M gibberellin+wounding. We found that addition of gibberellin significantly influenced plant height and chlorophyll fluorescence, but not biomass or root-to-shoot ratios. Mechanical wounding showed significant effects on chlorophyll fluorescence but did not significantly impact other tested plant factors. The interaction between …

Sensory Differences And Coping, Ka Ki Tse, Victoria Mccoy

Graduate Student Scholarship

Introduction: Individuals do not have to have a disability to be diagnosed to experience a sensory difference. These differences include high and low thresholds and active and passive responses to these thresholds. The four categories include low registration, sensory seeking, sensory sensitivity, and sensory avoidance. These sensory differences can affect temperament and personality, mental health, quality of life, coping, and other areas. Methods: The research was completed at the Health Science Center at West Virginia University. Students (n=51) in graduate programs within the university completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile and Brief COPE survey as well as demographic questions. Results: Seventeen …

Does Follow-Up Contact Impact Caregiver Perceptions And Reports Of Usage Of The Go Baby Go Car, Ashten Cenkus, Taylor Grout, Loryn Frame

Graduate Student Scholarship

Previous studies have shown that a lack of follow-up from a child’s care team affects the level of usage of an assistive technology device. Occupational therapy plays a role in improving this carryover. The present study investigates the use of the Go Baby Go powered ride on toy vehicles and their ability to promote children’s independence, mobility, exploration, and participation in play through caregiver interviews. The qualitative research design employed was a descriptive phenomenology to understand the meaning to the caregivers of their child’s receipt of and use of the Go Baby Go assistive technology in order to facilitate mobility …

Pepperoni Roll Studios: A Handbook & Policy Guide For A Podcast And Audio Production Student Organization, Nicholas Kirk Kratsas

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

For Students

Welcome to Pepperoni Roll Studios, WVU’s new and exciting experiential podcast and audio production organization! You’ve made a great decision to join one of the best communities on campus.

This handbook will guide and facilitate our new student-run organization. Within its pages, you’ll find out who we are, what we do and how we do it to fill you in on everything you need to know. Let’s roll!

For Advisors and Staff

WVU Student Media is excited to launch our new podcast and audio production organization, Pepperoni Roll Studio! This venture grew out of a demand for more …

Sports Team Success And Managerial Decisions: The Role Of Playing Time Concentration, Alexander Cardazzi, Brad R. Humphreys, Kole Reddig

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Professional sports teams employ highly paid managers and coaches to train players and make tactical and strategic team decisions. A large literature analyzes the impact of manager decisions on team outcomes. Empirical analysis of manager decisions requires a quantifiable proxy variable for manager decisions. Previous research focused on manager dismissals, tenure on teams, the number of substitutions made in games, or the number of healthy players on rosters held out of games for rest, generally finding small positive impacts of manager decisions on team success. We analyze manager decisions by developing a novel measure of game-specific coach decisions based on …

Duncan Alford, Setting The Bar For Collegiality And Professionalism, Caroline L. Osborne

Law Faculty Scholarship

Duncan E. Alford (1963 – 2023), lawyer, librarian, scholar, colleague. This essay documents the significant contributions our colleague, Duncan E. Alford, University of South Carolina School of Law made to his profession. Professor Alford’s is remembered for his significant contributions.