Digital Commons Network^™

Leadership Perceptions In Mid-Major Ncaa Athletics: Exploring Women's Teams Head Coaches' Experiences With Athletic Department Senior Staff, Sydnie A. Steele

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Leadership practices within NCAA Division I athletic departments can shape the professional climate, well-being, and stability of the coaching staff. Yet, limited research has explored how senior administrators influence the experiences of coaches who lead women’s teams at mid-major institutions. This phenomenological inquiry study explored how head coaches interpret their interactions with senior athletic department staff and how these relational dynamics inform perceptions of support.

Twelve Division I head coaches participated in semi-structured Zoom interviews about their experiences at former institutions. The interview protocol integrated the LMX-7 framework with open-ended questions to capture the significance of the head coaches’ lived …

Exploring High School Students’ Learning Interests And Information Sources On Viruses And Covid-19, Sahar Alameh, James W. Keck, Elizabeth Loh, Lin Xiang, Scott M. Berry, Anna G. Hoover, Abigail Knapp, Savannah Tucker

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Faculty Publications

This study investigates high school students’ health-information seeking behaviors related to COVID-19 and viruses in a rural area of the south-central United States, and how these behaviors relate to students’ knowledge, perceptions, and learning interests. Survey data were collected from 83 students in Spring 2023, during the post-pandemic period, as part of a STEM and public health unit. Drawing on frameworks from Health Information-Seeking Behavior and student interest, the study examines students’ COVID-19 information sources, how these sources relate to their knowledge about viruses and their perceptions of COVID-19, and the specific topics about which they were most interested in …

Exploring The Relationships Between Social Influence, Vaping Behaviors, And Susceptibility Across Grade Levels In Kentucky, Raphael Adesiyan, Odunayo O. Omotilewa, Saber Feizy, Melinda J. Ickes

Kinesiology and Health Promotion Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study explored the relationships between social influence, vaping behavior, and susceptibility across different grade levels.   Design: The study design was cross-sectional. Data were collected from middle and high school students who voluntarily participated between September 2022 and April 2023.   Sample: A convenience sample of students in 6^th to 12^th grades in Kentucky (N = 4677).   Measures: Demographic information, including age, grade level, school location, and race/ethnicity, was collected. The outcome variables included social influence, susceptibility, and vaping behavior.   Analysis: Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationships between social influence, vaping behavior, and susceptibility.   Results: …

Critical Discourse Analysis Of Nil Policies: Examining Institutional Control And Economic Opportunities For Division I Football Athletes In Power Four Universities, Allen T. Alvarez

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

The adoption of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policies has redefined the economic landscape of collegiate athletics, expanding opportunities for student-athletes and reshaping institutional authority. This dissertation nvestigates how NIL policy language at Division I universities frames economic possibilities for football student-athletes and sustains systems of governance. Through a Critical Discourse Analysis of policy documents from Power Four and mid-major institutions, this study reveals that NIL participation is persistently conditioned by institutional approval, compliance monitoring, and ambiguous definitions, especially regarding boosters and collectives.

Policy language presents NIL as an opportunity but embeds institutional control through oversight structures. The analysis further …

Contractual Democracy From Statehouse To School Board: Shifts In Legislation And School Board Authority In Kentucky, Hannah M. Edelen

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

School boards have long been regarded as a cornerstone of American democracy, providing local governance over public education. While considerable scholarship highlights the increasing involvement of state and federal governments in education, relatively few studies examine with specificity how legislatures shape the local authority of these governance structures. This study investigates how the Kentucky State Legislature has influenced the authority of local school boards over three legislative sessions (2020–2022) and how board members perceive their evolving role. Using a multi-method approach and conceptualized in principal-agent theory, this research contributes to understanding how legislatures shape the governing responsibilities of school boards …

Bringing Pandemic Science To The Classroom: Building Public Health Capacity At A Rural Kentucky High School, Sahar Alameh, Anna G. Hoover, James W. Keck, Scott M. Berry, Sagan Goodpaster, Savannah Tucker, Ashley Goodin

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Faculty Publications

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a multidisciplinary team at the University of Kentucky developed an interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and environmental health unit—the Wastewater Assessment for Coronavirus in Kentucky: Implementing Enhanced Surveillance Technology (WACKIEST) Unit—for high school students in summer 2022. This case study outlines the WACKIEST Unit, which focused on wastewater surveillance and COVID-19, the obstacles faced during development and recruitment, and implementation of the WACKIEST Unit in conjunction with a rural wastewater surveillance initiative. The unit was implemented in spring 2023 at a rural high school in Kentucky, spanning 12 days and engaging 190 students. …

Hurricane Helene, One Year Later: Lived Experience, Geraldine A. Miller

Journal of Appalachian Health

Ashe County is located in the northwestern corner of North Carolina (NC), bordered by Virginia and Tennessee. The county is isolated, mountainous, and historically has lacked good highway access. Hurricane Helene, a category 4 hurricane at landfall, struck Western NC on September 27, 2024, resulting in flooding and wind damage that destroyed local communities in terms of land, homes, bridges, water, electricity, etc. with a damage of $59.6 billion.⁶ One year later, the recovery from the hurricane continues draining individuals and communities of their time, energy, and money. Geri Miller reflects on her hurricane impact experiences a year later. …

Associations Between Social Media Usage, Physical Activity And Flourishing In Rural University Students, Anna Dysart, Minu Sara Thomas

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Most adolescents and young adults report significant use of social media.^1-3 However, there is limited research on the effect of social media use, specifically on physical activity and flourishing.

Purpose: This pilot research study examines the correlation between social media usage and the physical activity and flourishing levels of college students at a rural university in Appalachia.

Methods: The authors conducted a survey including the validated Secure Flourishing Index and Stanford Leisure-Time Activity Categorical Item, containing questions on social media use and demographics. Spearman’s rho was used for nonparametric correlations. Pearson’s correlation was used to determine the correlation …

Influence Of Family Health History And Parental Education On Body Mass Index, Blood Pressure, And Lipid Levels In 5th Grade Children: A Secondary Data Analysis Of The Cardiac Project, Madha Rani Das, Lee A. Plyes, Eloise Elliott, Christa L. Lilly

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Childhood obesity and related cardiovascular risks reflect the interplay of genetic predispositions and socioeconomic adversity. Appalachia’s poverty, limited health care, and educational gaps worsen family health risks, driving early cardio-metabolic problems in children, highlighting the need for effective interventions.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the association of family health history and parental education with BMI, BP, and lipid profiles among 5^th grade children in West Virginia (WV).

Methods: The study used WV CARDIAC data from 2006–2009. Outcomes were BMI, SBP/DBP, and fasting lipids (HDL, LDL, TG). Predictors were parental education and family health history …

Understanding Breastfeeding Practices In Tennessee: Goals, Duration, And Reasons For Discontinuation, Amir Alakaam, Chia-Lin Chang, Hannah Jeffery

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Breastfeeding is widely recognized as the optimal source of infant nutrition, offering many health benefits.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine goals, exclusivity, and duration of breastfeeding and explore factors that influence breastfeeding practices among individuals in Tennessee (TN).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among individuals (N = 1,249). Participants were recruited and data were collected from June – September 2021. The data were entered and analyzed from September 2022 – March 2023. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and ANOVA were used to analyze the data and identify associations between variables.

Results: About 32% of the …

Migratory Songbirds As Potential Ectozoochorous Protist Dispersal Vectors, Silas E. Fischer, Joy J. Jackson, Elise C. Hoffman, Henry M. Streby, Trisha L. Spanbauer

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Protist biogeography, speciation, and systematics continue to generate debate and inquiry because protist distributions and dispersal remain poorly resolved. Identifying potential vectors and basibionts for epibiont protists would contribute to our limited understanding of their ecology. Migratory animals seasonally link disparate landscapes, incidentally transporting other organisms in the process. Waterbirds are known microbe dispersers, but evidence for other avian groups is limited-such as taxa that often migrate longer distances. We asked whether terrestrial songbirds (Passeriformes) host diatoms (Bacillariophyta) by sampling tail plumage of four thrush species (Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus, Swainson's Thrush C. ustulatus, Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina, American Robin …

Becoming Steve Bright, Robert L. Tsai

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

¿Cómo Se Dice, "Liberty And Justice For All Cannot Exist Without Equal Access For All" En Español?, Turner Denise Reynolds

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Prosecutorial Discretion And Digital Democracy, Erin Sheley

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Founder Worship, Effective Altruism, And Corporate Governance, Jennifer S. Fan, Xuan-Thao Nguyen

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

High-Throughput Screens Identify Genotype-Specific Therapeutics For Channelopathies, Christian L. Egly, Alex Shen, Tri Q. Do, Carlos Tellet Cabiya, Paxton A. Ritschel, Suah Woo, Matthew Ku, Brian P. Delisle, Brett M. Kroncke, Björn C. Knollmann

Physiology Faculty Publications

Genetic diseases such as ion channelopathies substantially burden human health. Existing treatments are limited and not genotype specific. Here, we report a 2-step high-throughput approach to rapidly identify drug candidates for repurposing as genotype-specific therapy. We first screened 1,680 medicines using a thallium-flux trafficking assay against Kv11.1 gene variants causing long QT syndrome (LQTS), an ion channelopathy associated with fatal cardiac arrhythmia. We identified evacetrapib as a suitable drug candidate that improves membrane trafficking and activates channels. We then used deep mutational scanning to prospectively identify all Kv11.1 missense variants in an LQTS hotspot region responsive to treatment with evacetrapib. …

"Blocking Out The Haters:" Government Officials Create Split Among Federal Judiciary, Andrew Weisgerber

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

New Challenges To Judicial Federalism, James A. Gardner

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Governors Slightly More Bound? A Critique Of The Uniform Law Commission's Model Public-Health Emergency Authority Act, Paul A. Diller

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Wages Of Hitching Wagons, Thomas B. Bennett

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Symposium Keynote Address, Steve L. Beshear

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Protecting Public Employees' Free Speech: It's Time For The Sixth Circuit To Take Action, Faith O. Turner

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The End Of An Aberration: Overturning Major League Baseball's Century-Old Antitrust Exemption, Jacob Baird

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Fighting Death: A Critique Of Kentucky's Death Penalty System, Pamela R. Goodwine

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Ductile Rights, W. C. Bunting

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Demonstrating Civility: A Law School Learning Outcome, Laurel Rigertas

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Punitive Legal Immigration, Pedro Gerson

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Against Algorithmic Auer Deference, Chad Squitieri

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Myth Of Fundamental Decisions, Michael D. Cicchini

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Disproportionate School Brutality Upon Black Children, Nicole Tuchinda

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.