This research will address how the monumental organization of Kincaid Mounds was put together through time. The measurable variability in the potential performative presentation of the mounds and structures of Kincaid will be treated as an archaeological dataset for the exploration of social change. This dataset will emphasize the topological relationships among earthworks, structures, and the ancient Native Americans living within and actively constructing the site and their society. The dynamics of change in the public presentation of these earthworks will relate to public practice and changing political strategies, a local history indicative of Kincaid’s internal social processes and political trajectory in the broader Ohio Valley and Mississippian culture.

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Master of Arts / Department of History / Louise A. Breen / The land west of the Alleghany Mountains and along the Ohio River and Great Lakes was an area of hotly contested land and sovereignty claims during the colonial period, complete with shifting loyalties and highly factionalized alliances. Warfare and diplomacy in the western territories often hinged on the actions of just one man or a small group of people, with consequences that could cause the collapse of entire empires. The long-standing battle for land and power throughout the Ohio Valley has been called the Long War because once conflict began between the French, British, and Indians in 1754, no one power was truly able to claim the land and its people until the British were forced out of their Great Lakes forts in 1815. George Rogers Clark uniquely united these groups for a short moment in history. A feat made all the more impressive when we consider how long the region remained contested ground between empires. These factions united only once prior the era of American control. During the expedition of George Rogers Clark in 1778, backcountry settlers, French habitants, Indian chiefs, and Spanish officials all united during a small window of time to overthrow British control of the Illinois Country. He moved freely from the top political circles of Virginia to the remote frontier outposts of the Illinois Country. This thesis argues that George Rogers Clark was especially successful at gaining the cooperation of diverse groups of populations and coordinating those groups to work together towards his own goals. Clark certainly owes part of his success to being the right man in the right place at the right time, but it must be remembered that he was the only man to ever bring all of these factionalized groups together.

Library media specialists (LMSs) have a unique position within a school, which is the opportunity to reach out to every student, especially to gifted and talented students who can benefit from having more advocates within their learning communities. Collaborating with other education professionals is beneficial to all students and many library media specialists already make this a normal part of their job responsibilities. The LMSs who are participants of Project CATALYST (Collaboration among Teachers and Librarians Yields Successful Teaching) are required to collaborate with classroom teachers in order to provide more enriching opportunities for students when they come to the library media center. So, the purpose of this project was to introduce gifted and talented terminology and strategies that focus on differentiated instruction for gifted and talented students to LMSs participating in Project CATALYST grant through the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC). This will meet two specific needs: providing the LMSs opportunities to collaborate with classroom teachers while becoming another resource for gifted and talented students that can enhance their learning beyond the classroom. The LMSs who participate in Project CATALYST were introduced to specific gifted and talented terminology and strategies that focus on differentiated instruction for gifted and talented students through a three-hour professional development. The participants completed an online pre-survey that identified the specific needs of the group and the professional development was designed with these needs in mind. After participating in the professional development, the participants were asked to complete an online post-survey to determine if the professional development was effective in changing the awareness and instructional practices of the participants when working with gifted and talented students. The pre- and post-surveys were analyzed to validate the effectiveness of the project and found that there was positive response by library media specialists to professional development on using differentiated instruction with gifted and talented students in the library media center. The small changes in instructional practices by 70 percent of the participants validate the effectiveness of the project in enlightening educators in the needs of gifted and talented students and the need to collaborate with other educators to provide enriching and challenging learning activities for these unique students.

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On January 29-30, 2008 a squall line of thunderstorms moved through the Ohio Valley resulting in four deaths and one injury. Such events highlight the importance of accurate forecasting for public safety. Mesoscale Modeling plays an important role in any forecast of a potential squall line. The focus of this study was to examine the performance of several parameterization scheme combinations in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model version three (WRF) as they related to this event. These examinations included cloud microphysics (WRF Single-Moment 3-class, 6-class, and Goddard), cumulus parameterization (Kain-Fritsch and Bets-Miller-Janjic) and planetary boundary layer schemes (Yonsei-University and Mellor-Yamada-Janjic). A total of 12 WRF simulations were conducted for all potential scheme combinations. Data from the WRF simulations for several locations in south central Kentucky were analyzed and compared using Kentucky Mesonet observations for four locations: Bowling Green, Russellville, Murray and Liberty, KY. A fine model resolution of 1 km was used over these locations. Coarser resolutions of 3 km and 9 km were used on the outer two domains, which encompassed the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. The model simulation performance was assessed using established statistical measures for the above four locations and by visually comparing the North American Regional Reanalysis dataset (NARR) along with modeled simulations. The most satisfactory scheme combination was the WRF Single-Moment 3-class Microphysics scheme, Kain-Fritsch cumulus parameterization scheme and Yonsei University scheme for the planetary boundary layer. The planetary boundary layer schemes were noted to have the greatest influence in determining the most satisfactory model simulations. There was limited influence from different selections of microphysics and cumulus parameterization schemes. The preferred physics parameters from these simulations were then used in six additional simulations to analyze the affect different initialization data sets have with regards to model output. Data sets used in these simulations were the Final Operational Analysis global data, North American Regional Reanalysis (3 and 6 hour) and the North American Mesoscale Model at 1, 3 and 6 hour timesteps, for a total of six simulations. More timesteps or an increase in model resolution did not materially improve the model performance.