Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Scope Of Homelessness In Kentucky, Shannon Elyse Catron

Online Theses and Dissertations

This paper is based on a data project that pulled together publicly available data from several sources to examine the scope of homelessness in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The primary findings of the project conclude that there is a lack of data regarding counting homeless individuals, and that the available data should be examined to determine changes in the homeless population and demographics over time. Examining this data would also reveal the rate of progress in the number of counties that have began participating in the K-count since 2006. Increasing awareness about the topic and encouraging local governments to develop …

The Federal State And Hegemony: Politics In Floyd County, Kentucky And The Latter Years Of The War On Poverty, Riccardo Paolo D'Amato

Online Theses and Dissertations

The central question this thesis addresses is how increasing federal power impacted local peoples, both politicians and otherwise. Kentucky politics was an already convoluted subject of local interconnected patronage without adding even more possible connections. The War on Poverty did just that, adding more players to the ‘game’ of Kentucky politics through numerous influential programs. This thesis closely follows the later years of the War on Poverty in Floyd County specifically to discover what changes were created in the political and social spheres.

This thesis’ findings are based in a contextualized reading of local and foreign newspapers, letters to Representative …

Prison Siting In Appalachia: Carceral Expansion, Neoliberalism, And Environmental Harm, Macey Logan Hall

Online Theses and Dissertations

Since 1991, 14 state and federal prisons have been built in Appalachia with a recent proposal for a federal prison to be constructed in Letcher County, KY. Contradicting the narrative that Appalachia remains separated from the national economy, the ills of carceral growth are apparent throughout the region. This study examines the proposal to build a federal prison in Letcher County, KY. The purpose of this study is to gain further insight into the impact that the carceral state, including its promise of economic development, has on environmental harm and land exploitation in the region. The proposed federal prison would …

Teacher Perception Of Principal Leadership Practices: Impacting Teachers' Sense Of Self-Efficacy In Rural Appalachia Kentucky, Brandon Lee Hibbard

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant relationship existed between principal leadership practices, as perceived by teachers, and teacher’s sense of self-efficacy. The target population was rural Appalachian teachers that worked for a principal that had been in administration for at least three consecutive years. This study utilized teacher responses from a survey consisting of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES, Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2001) and the Leadership Practice Inventory – observer (LPI, Kouzes & Posner, 2003).

Results from the survey categorized levels of self-efficacy for teachers based on the works of Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk-Hoy …

The Persistence Of Place In Appalachia: The Phenomena Of Post-Death Migration, 1930-1970, Marjorie Fey Farris

Online Theses and Dissertations

The research for this paper has been over forty years in the making as I first read the obituaries of deceased Kentuckians in state and local newspapers beginning in 1972. A pattern became clear that Kentuckians who had left their mountains and moved to northern industrial cities in order to find work as the coal fields played out and after the Great Depression often returned, or were returned after death, to their birthplaces for burial. Further investigation revealed that the religious beliefs that were deeply embedded in so many mountaineers' lives played a large part in their desire to have …

The Effect Of Appalachian Regional Dialect On Performance Appraisal And Leadership Perceptions, Amie Sparks Ball

Online Theses and Dissertations

Speakers of Appalachian English face unique difficulties in the workplace. Long-held stereotypes of Appalachian English speakers can lead to unfair presumptions about a person's competence and professionalism. Previous research has shown stereotyping on the basis of non-standard dialect can affect recruitment and hiring decisions made by employers. The present study addresses the possibility that these biases extend beyond the hiring process by investigating the impact of Appalachian regional dialect on performance appraisal, perceptions of leadership potential, promotion potential, status perceptions, and solidarity perceptions.

Factors That Contribute To Student Graduation And Dropout Rates: An In-Depth Study Of A Rural Appalachian School District, Ann Lyttle-Burns

Online Theses and Dissertations

There has been a wealth of research conducted on the national epidemic of high school dropouts spanning several decades. It is estimated that the class of 2009 cost the nation $335 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). The citizenry of the country suffers not only because of the loss in revenue but also as a result of the education level of the population. Individuals who choose to drop out of high school are not prepared for the most basic minimum wage jobs available, much less well paying jobs that sustain livelihoods. …

Mental Health Services In Appalachia, Miranda Renee Waters

Online Theses and Dissertations

People from rural areas of the country, such as the Appalachian region of Kentucky, continue to struggle with inadequate mental health services. Past research has identified several barriers for mental health services in rural communities such as lack of mental health providers, lack of transportation, and lack of education. The purpose of this study was to examine the severity of a psychological problem and how it could influence Appalachian and non-Appalachians' preference for type of help. It was hypothesized that people from the Appalachian region would recommend seeing a mental health professional when a problem had reached its highest severity. …