Over the past ten years, the ramp, a traditional Appalachian food, has invaded elite culinary circles outside its native culinary region of Appalachia. Ramps (Allium tricoccum) are wild leeks traditionally foraged for in the spring, and are known for their pungent smell. This unique vegetable is traditionally celebrated in Appalachia through dinners and festivals that have been widely attended by members of the community and recently, outsiders. Similarly, outside the region, the ramp has been featured on fine dining menus and has been sold in farmer's markets and grocery stores for the first time across the country. This study aims to understand not only this recent popularity, but why the ramp has emerged as representative of traditional Appalachian culture. Qualitative interviews with experts in the ramp industry, patrons of ramp festivals, and those outside of Appalachia yet involved with ramps were conducted. Participant observation at ramp festivals and analysis of questions posted on a ramp-based Facebook page corroborate our interview data set. Analysis of these data has uncovered the impact sense of place and rootedness in the Appalachian mountains has on identity creation through festival performance. / Master of Science

Health disparities within Appalachian are not a new concept or challenge for the region, and the medical community, public health officials, and Appalachian scholars continue to look for ways to both understand the complex reasons behind the disparities and improve the health of people within the region. One challenge in Appalachia is how people obtain health information. Previous research shows adults in Appalachia tend to rely on friends and family instead of health care professionals for health information and advice, which contributes to the lack of health knowledge in the region; however, research is lacking on who adolescents in Appalachia discuss matters of health. One avenue to improving health in Appalachia may come from understanding with whom adolescents in Appalachia discuss matters of health and developing interventions around that information. From October 2016 through March 2017 the authors surveyed 829 11th and 12th students in three counties in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia regarding health and health care access. The authors specifically asked adolescents with whom they discuss health and health risks behaviors like weight, exercise, and alcohol use. Chi-squared tests were performed to examine differences among reports of where adolescents seek information. Results of the analyses revealed that adolescents do not tend report discussing health matters with health care professionals. Additionally sex differences were observed among adolescents seeking health information.

No description available.

Counties of Appalachia have long been linked to significant health disparities, including low birth weight infants. Low birth weight is directly related to cognitive and physical developmental delays and long-term health effects such as respiratory and congenital disabilities. On average, women residing in Appalachia have lower educational achievement and incomes and face barriers to accessing essential healthcare services, often associated with poor birth outcomes. However, Appalachia is not a monolith, and there is considerable variability in underlying levels of vulnerability and resources within Appalachia. This study examines variation in low birth weight (LBW) by sub-region of Appalachia. A cross-sectional study using 2022 County Health Rankings (CHR) data and Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) sub-region designations were used to examine the extent to which the percentage of LBW infants varies across Appalachian sub-regions. The percentage of LBW infants at the county level was the dependent variable of interest, and the Appalachian sub-regions were the independent variable of interest. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the mean percentage of LBW infants among Appalachian sub-regions. Means and standard deviations of the percent of infants born at LBW were examined by sub-region and across other variables of interest, including the percentage of the population that was uninsured, of non-Hispanic Black race/ethnicity, had a high school diploma or equivalent, current adult smokers, children in poverty, food insecure, and individuals residing in a rural area. Overall, 90% of the population living in the Appalachian counties have received a high school diploma or equivalent, 11% of all individuals, children, and adults are uninsured, 24% of the adult population admits to smoking daily, nearly 21% of counties have children living at or below the federal poverty baseline, 68% of the counties are classified as rural, and 15% identify as having food insecurity. Almost 7% of the population is non-Hispanic Black. The Southern sub-region had the highest mean percentage of LBW infants (9.8%), followed by Central Appalachia (9.4%), while the Northern sub-region had the lowest (7.6%). The national value for LBW infants is 8.52%. This rate is comparatively lower than all Appalachia sub-regions, except for the Northern sub-region. Our study found that the Southern sub-region of Appalachia had the highest percentage of LBW infants among the sub-regions. These results are unsurprising given the well-documented relationship between LBW infants born to non-Hispanic Black women. Southern sub-region counties of Appalachia span parts of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, all of which have higher proportions of non-Hispanic Black women as a percentage of the overall population. Central Appalachia, however, is predominantly white. Higher rates of LBW infants among this sub-region likely reflect significant differences in access to resources and health behaviors that are more common in Central Appalachia than in other sub-regions. Furthermore, the Northern sub-region of Appalachia is significantly less rural and better resourced than the other sub-regions, which may explain lower occurrences of LBW infants. A limitation of this study includes using CHR as a primary data source, which is compiled from state and national data.

It has been noted that many pregnant women in East Tennessee are THC+ during routine urine drug screenings and/or at the time of delivery despite associations between poor fetal health outcomes both at delivery and neurodevelopmentally later in life. The purpose of this study is to assess beliefs and reasons for marijuana use during pregnancy, informational sources that influence beliefs, likelihood of use in future pregnancies, comfort level in talking with doctors, and associations with age, prior tobacco and/or prior marijuana use. Anonymous surveys consisting of 13 simple questions were distributed to female patients 18+ at three regional university-affiliated clinics. Of the 165 respondents, women less than 40 were three times more likely to perceive marijuana use while pregnant as safe and three times more likely to have used while pregnant. Patients with a history of both marijuana and tobacco use were more likely than any other category of respondents to perceive marijuana use during pregnancy as safe and to have plans to use in future pregnancies. The highest reasons for usage were nausea or vomiting (44%) and anxiety (44%). 45% of respondents felt comfortable talking with their doctors about marijuana use in pregnancy. Patients cited “family and friends (21%), “scientific articles “(21%), and “other” (24%) as sources of information on this subject. These results demonstrate an increased need for research and public information dissemination regarding marijuana use in pregnancy, as well as improving the physician-patient relationship to encourage evidence-based methods to relieve medical complaints during pregnancy.

This dissertation explores the concept of Actually Existing Democracy in the transnational public sphere through the experiences of the Coalfields Delegation to the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD). In particular, this research examines the differential impacts of energy extraction on local communities, and what the term justice might usefully mean in the context of transnational energy politics. I provide an account of justice that engages with the theories of Nancy Fraser and Pierre Bourdieu and mines their insights to provide a novel intervention in debates about justice and the public sphere. I start by defining justice as a transnational construct using theories of the nation-state and then discuss the nature and roles of counterpublics, specifically the Coalfields Delegation, in transnational justice. I then explore Fraser's constructs of redistribution, recognition, and representation, viewing each through Bourdieu's theories of habitus and field. I show that the process through which counterpublics seek justice is mediated through the operations of power in the economic, cultural, and political fields (adopting Fraser's definition of culture over Bourdieu's). To achieve justice, it is insufficient to suggest that movement in a field proceeds directionally; rather, Fraser and Bourdieu are in accord in suggesting that these fields need to be deconstructed (Fraser's term) by counterpublics adopting heterodox practices to challenge the established ordering of the field. Energy injustice, in the particular form of mountaintop removal coal mining, occurs locally, yet is inherently global in its implications through the processes of international trade and consumption. Therefore, the appropriate level at which to examine these seemingly "local" concerns is that of the transnational. In the case of the Coalfields Delegation, appeals have been made at the local, state, and national levels, to no avail. The group pursued several interlinked strategies at the UN. To the extent that their plight is one of economic disparity, the Coalfields Delegation has sought to redefine economic power in a manner different from global capitalism. Where cultural marginalization has been used as a basis for justifying disparate impacts on mining communities, the Delegation decidedly used its own formulation of "culture" as a strategic publicity mechanism. In pursuing representation at the UNCSD, the Delegation began defining its concerns in global terms, suggesting human rights violations, and placing coal mining within the context of global sustainability and climate change. However, in so doing, members of the Delegation started to reconceive themselves in solidarity with other similarly affected groups represented at the UNCSD. Their quest for global redress has not been one of straightforward acts of agency, but rather should be viewed as an oscillation between agency and structure. Fields exert counter-pressure, however, as the Delegation members grew in experience and sophistication, their habitus changed accordingly. My research explores the dynamic play of these social forces by linking the ideas of public sphere and field, counterpublic and habitus, to develop a new way in which researchers might both describe and trace advocacy group efforts to secure justice in the transnational public sphere. / Ph. D.

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In this study, I investigate the concept of insider/outsider teacher identity, focusing on its relationship to teacher education. Having extensive experience as a student and teacher in rural Appalachia, I emphasize the regional perspective. To introduce the study, I present the research questions that guide the study, I explain my decision to present the study in two manuscripts, and I position my relationship within the research. In the first manuscript, "Teaching Inside Out: Exploring Insider and Outsider Status Among Teachers," I explain how I developed interest in this topic and I review academic literature about insider/outsider teacher identity. In the second manuscript, "Teaching Inside Out: A Qualitative Study of Teachers' Experiences as Insiders and Outsiders in Appalachia," I use qualitative research methods (Mayan, 2016) to delve into the experiences of teachers who have come to communities in Appalachia from outside the region, and I interrogate the implications of their experiences. This study can serve as a guide to teachers preparing for or continuing in the profession, to explore the development of their own insider/outsider identities in the communities where they work or will be working. / Doctor of Philosophy / In this study, which I present in two manuscripts, I explore insider/outsider teacher identity in Appalachia. In the first manuscript, I narrate my personal experiences and look to the academic body of literature to inform the topic. In the second manuscript, I present and interpret the experiences of three insider/outsider teachers who have worked in rural Appalachian communities.

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of professional development of principals of schools in the rural Appalachian region of Virginia. The researcher interviewed 13 principals from public elementary, middle, and high schools regarding their professional development experiences. Principals were asked to describe their past and current professional development experiences, identify barriers to accessing professional development, and provide their opinion regarding the importance of professional development that focuses specifically on leading a school in rural Appalachia. Principals reported participation in many different types of professional development. Principals' responses were analyzed to determine the extent to which professional development was on-going, job-embedded, and connected to school improvement goals. Results indicated principals' professional development experiences were seldom on-going, often job-embedded, and somewhat connected to school or district improvement goals. Principals reported the demands of the job, lack of professional development opportunities provided by their school district, lack of knowledge of professional development available outside their district, and being geographically isolated as barriers to their professional learning. The results led to identification of areas for further research. These areas include (a) the role and influence of school division leadership on principals' professional development (b) the importance and impact of incorporating networking and other opportunities for collaboration into the design of principals' professional development, (c) the impact of designing professional development that is on-going, job-embedded, and connected to school improvement goals on initial learning and continued leadership behaviors of principals, (d) the issues relating to the use and non-use of distance technologies for principals' professional development, and (e) the efficacy of professional development designed for teachers in meeting the needs of principals or the ability of principals to translate the content of teachers professional development to knowledge and skills needed by instructional leaders. The researcher also suggested the need for additional research to compare and contrast the professional development experiences of this study's participants with other principals in rural Appalachia as well as principals from suburban and urban school districts. / Ph. D.

This project is a proposal for the design of a house situated on a plot of land within the town limits of Blacksburg. It incorporates ideas drawn from many sources, particularly from this region of Appalachia -- its geology, architectural heritage, building materials, history, Blacksburg's Comprehensive Plan, housing, agriculture and energy resources. An introduction discusses some ideas on architecture followed by chapters which provide the basis upon which the design was developed, then a description of the house design and drawings followed by an analysis of the environmental responsiveness of the design using a computer program called "Energy Scheming." / Master of Architecture