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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Place Matters: The Role Of Public Libraries As Change Agents In Central Appalachia, Jasmyne R. Lewis
Place Matters: The Role Of Public Libraries As Change Agents In Central Appalachia, Jasmyne R. Lewis
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
The role of public libraries is changing in response to a multitude of influences and trends. The exponential growth of technology as the primary method of information access, funding challenges, changing demographics, and other mitigating factors have forced public libraries to become more than book repositories. Community library leaders and governing board members are faced with challenges such as decreased funding, community division regarding library services, and soaring costs for library materials and services, as they develop and adopt policies and practices to navigate this ever-changing environment.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to collect data from the public …
Weathered Mountains: A Qualitative Study Of West Virginia Women And Their Perceptions Of Strength, Land, And Womanhood, Danielle Renee Mullins
Weathered Mountains: A Qualitative Study Of West Virginia Women And Their Perceptions Of Strength, Land, And Womanhood, Danielle Renee Mullins
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Appalachia and those living within the region have been discussed, examined, critiqued, and defined primarily by those living outside of the area, particularly following the 2016 Election. The main narratives of Appalachia form a dichotomous view of the land and its people: beautiful landscapes threatened by resource extraction and a people wrecked by the symptoms of longterm poverty and economic stagnation. Simultaneously, the Appalachian identity has been constructed around a rugged or blue-collar male identity that excludes and makes invisible the female experience. This study seeks to break through the landscape and poverty binary, as well as the male-archetype, to …
The Geography Of Stuck: Exceptions To Brain Drain In West Virginia, Lindsay Heinemann
The Geography Of Stuck: Exceptions To Brain Drain In West Virginia, Lindsay Heinemann
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Brain drain, also known as “human capital flight,” can be defined as “the mass emigration of technically skilled people from one country to another country” (Weeks, 2008, p. 250) or one state to another state. This theory surmises that highly skilled people or those with high education levels are more likely to migrate from places with little to no economic opportunities to places with better economic and job opportunities. West Virginia has largely been a state with few high paying or prestigious job opportunities. So why do highly educated people stay in West Virginia? Using census data and personal interviews, …
Climate Influence On The Health Of An Appalachian City, Ryan Wade Becka
Climate Influence On The Health Of An Appalachian City, Ryan Wade Becka
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
In 2008 the Center for Disease Control (CDC) found Huntington, West Virginia, to be the unhealthiest city in America. A Gallup Poll conducted in 2010 found the Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area number one of 188 metro areas where depression diagnoses are most common. Manifestations of poor health in Huntington may be related to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that occurs mainly in winter months. Symptoms of SAD are reported as a lack of energy, sleeping more, and consuming high amounts of carbohydrates and starchy foods. I theorize that these maladaptive behaviors may be a reaction to climate conditions …