Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2022, History

This project explores the labor history of the Appalachian region and the presence of American labor history in the museum space and in public memory. The first section is a proposal for a Museum of Appalachian Labor Action, detailing the administrative and exhibitionary organization of a museum dedicated to the labor history of the Central, North Central, and Northern Appalachia, situated in Wheeling, West Virginia. The second section, a museum exhibition design titled “The Mine Wars Experience,” attempts to tell the history of the early 20th-century labor conflict, the West Virginia Mine Wars. The final section is an essay titled “Labor in the Museum,” an overall exploration of the place American labor history occupies in the museum space and in public memory more generally.

Committee: David Steigerwald (Committee Member); David Staley (Advisor) Subjects: History; Museums

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2004, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

At first glance, Keystone appears very similar to other small coal towns in southern West Virginia. Dilapidated and empty buildings, coal dust, and churches are evident on the landscape. However, Keystone is far from a typical coal town in central Appalachia. Although Keystone's population has been dropping since the period following WWII, the population that remains in this small city is largely African-American. The 2000 census indicates that of the 453 residents in Keystone, 73 percent are black. According to current literature, this should not be the case. African-Americans left southern West Virginia in the post-WWII era of mechanization in the coal industry. The persistence of the African-American community is due to several factors, including home ownership opportunities, the presence of a diverse economy, and political leadership at the local and state level. I use histories, archives, and interviews with residents and historians to argue that Keystone, West Virginia, is the capital of “The Free State of McDowell.”

Committee: Geoffrey Buckley (Advisor) Subjects: Geography

Master of Science, University of Akron, 2007, Geology

Hellhole is an extensive (32 kilometer) cave system developed within Germany Valley (Pendleton County, West Virginia) on the flank of the Wills Mountain Anticline. The area can be described as a mature karst aquifer on the transitional margin of the Appalachian Plateau and Valley and Ridge physiographic provinces. Hellhole is the most extensive and deepest (158 meters) of several mapped caves in the area (others include Memorial Day Cave and Schoolhouse Cave). The upper bounding lithology is the McGlone Limestone. The cave penetrates through the Big Valley Formation and in to the New Market Limestone, a high purity unit that is mined locally. Faulting and folding are prominently exposed in several passages, but did not affect passage development in a noticeable way. The entrance sinkhole opens in to a large room, however, the morphology of the room suggests that the room formed the entrance by the intersection of passages followed by a vertical shaft intersecting from the surface. Passage orientation and strike of the bedrock are nearly identical (N25°E). Lower passages are generally down dip from upper (older) passages. Cave sediment and paleomagnetic analysis reveals that the minimum age of sediments analyzed are 1.070 million years old. Three hundred measurements of wall scallops show that paleowaters in the Western section flowed southwest (1.1 cubic meters per second). Paleoflow from the Southern portion of the cave flowed northward (0.94 meters cubic meters per second), and flow in the Northern section flowed southward (1.0 cubic meters per second). Most passages are 50 to 100 meters below the present land surface. Most of the cave appears to have formed under phreatic conditions, but the presence of thick clastic sediments in some locations attests to vadose invasion.

Committee: Ira Sasowsky (Advisor) Subjects: Geology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2013, Cultural Studies (Education)

This research study explored how White working class Appalachian males who have completed, or who were within one term of completing a program of study at one of ten community and technical colleges in West Virginia perceived academic success. It examined their definitions of academic success, the perceptions they held regarding their own past and present academic successes, as well as their views regarding factors from their lived experience that they felt contributed to their program of study completion. Using qualitative methodology, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with eight participants. It was designed to reflect the tenets of Appreciative Inquiry. While reflecting the changes within White working class identity formation in response to the deindustrialization of the economy, the findings of this study present two contradictions with the research literature. The first is that these men were found to define academic success from a working class perspective. This demonstrated their adherence to working class cultural capital while successfully completing a postsecondary program of study. This implies they did not need to abandon their working class cultural capital in lieu of new cultural capital in order to be successful at the college level. Furthermore, the factors from their lived experience that participants named as contributing to their program of study completion were factors that have previously been identified in research literature as factors that commonly present as barriers to postsecondary success for working class students. However, the participants in this study indicated these factors presented as positive influences that assisted in facilitating their academic success. Additionally, the perceptions of past and present academic success held by participants were noted as those that 1) reflect the development of/presence of positive psychological capital within these individuals and 2) demonstrate the educational experien (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jaylynne Hutchinson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Michael Hess Ph.D (Committee Member); Jerry Johnson Ed.D (Committee Member); Yegan Pillay Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Community College Education; Community Colleges; Education Philosophy; Educational Sociology; Educational Theory; Higher Education

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1962, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1930, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2024, Geological Sciences

This study investigates the extent, nature, and formation processes of Paleo Lake Buckeye during the Late Pleistocene, located in the Buckeye Creek watershed in the central Appalachian Mountains. This thesis integrates GIS mapping, field methods utilizing sediment coring and trenching, radiocarbon dating and grain size analysis to reconstruct the margins and depositional environments of Paleo Lake Buckeye and its surrounding landscape. Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating indicate that the lake formed between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago, coinciding with the peak of the last glacial epoch. The stratigraphic analysis shows fine-grained lacustrine deposits, organic rich layers, and episodic coarse-grained beds, which reflects periods of quiet water deposition interrupted by high-energy events. Paleo Lake Buckeye's formation is linked to periglacial conditions, where freeze thaw cycles mobilized sediments and permafrost dynamics influenced hydrological processes. This research not only interpret the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Buckeye Creek watershed during the Late Pleistocene, but also contributes to broader discussions on glacial and periglacial processes, climate variability, and landscape evolution in the central Appalachian Mountains.

Committee: Gregory Springer (Advisor); Katherine Fornash (Committee Member); Eva Lyon (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Geology; Environmental Science; Geochemistry; Geographic Information Science; Geography; Geological; Geology; Geomorphology; Paleoecology; Paleontology

Master of Arts in English, Cleveland State University, 2023, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Our Bodies Like Rivers is an essay collection that meditates on the geographical and psychological landscape of home, Appalachia, climate change, and the anxieties and ironies of living in the Anthropocene. From environmental catastrophe, to the opioid crisis, to the plight of consumer, to the health and subtle changes of home and the ones we love, these essays all point to an interconnectedness. Our collective sickness and health is a body of water, without boundary or distinction. This work guides us through the wreckage of modern society and seeks to show us how we might go on.

Committee: Hilary Plum (Advisor); Mary Biddinger (Committee Member); Caryl Pagel (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Climate Change; Cultural Anthropology; Endocrinology; Environmental Philosophy; Environmental Science; Families and Family Life; Fine Arts; Genetics; Geography; Journalism; Toxicology

Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2023, Translational Health

Objectives: The study evaluated the effectiveness of an enhanced West Virginia FARMacy program designed to prescribe healthy food and education to modify multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors in participants who were at risk for or previously diagnosed with a chronic disease. Methods: Participants met weekly for 2-hours where they were provided with locally sourced produce coupled with education and group wellness coaching focused on plant-based food, cooking, and physical activity. Baseline data consisted of demographics, a readiness for change assessment, height, weight, resting blood pressure, lipid panel and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). These were repeated twice throughout the program. Data were analyzed for change over time using repeated measures ANOVAs, t-tests, and F-tests and effect size. Results: The sample consisted of 33 participants (Mean±SD: 62.2+11.7 y; range: 23 to 79 y; 81% females (n= 27). Significant improvements from baseline were observed in systolic blood pressure (↓ 9.4%; p = 0.006), triglycerides (↓ 16.9%; p = 0.04), dark green vegetables ( ↑ 84.7%; p < 0.001), and colorful vegetables ( ↑ 73.5%; p = 0.002). Between baseline and timepoint 3, BMI decreased ~2 kg/m2, improving the overall group weight classification from the obese to overweight classification (p < 0.001). While HbA1c did not significantly change throughout the program, it had a large effect size (0.96) between timepoint 2 and 3. Discussion: These results suggest that FARMacy is an effective program to reduce CVD RFs in a rural Appalachian population using lifestyle interventions.

Committee: David Drozek, DO (Advisor); Cheryl A. Howe, PhD, FASCM (Advisor) Subjects: Health Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Music

Despite hostile political conditions, a vibrant queer cultural scene formed in Appalachia during the 2010s. LGBTQ “pride organizations” in small West Virginia towns used concerts, block parties, and parades for community-building and activism. Local musicians and performers participated in this activity, reshaping local creative and cultural economies to create space for queer performance. Appalachian musicians queered traditional genres and participated in regional cultural activism as well as the national emergence of “queer country” as a network and genre formation. Through these activities, coalitions formed to support local communities through direct and mutual aid, intervene in municipal politics, and participate in statewide political activism. This project uses collaborative ethnography, oral history, documents from archives and the press, and digital/social media analysis to examine how queer socio- musical activities generate LGBTQ communities and activism in Appalachia. It develops a situated theory of queer listening to examine how place and mobility inflect queer identity, community, and aesthetics. Arguing for an attentiveness to audibility politics, the project is a case study that illuminates how queer aesthetics sound out and mobilize grassroots coalitional activism in the United States.

Committee: Danielle Fosler-Lussier (Advisor); Ryan Skinner (Advisor); Katherine Borland (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; Music; Regional Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2023, Mass Communication (Communication)

This project sought a deeper understanding of how the lived experience of teachers and school workers and the use of social media played out in media coverage of a public education strike in West Virginia. Through the unification of the theoretical calls of phenomenology and framing, this dissertation was grounded in the lived experience of the grassroots—teachers and public-school workers during a strike–and how social media was part of that experience. In-depth interviews were utilized to gain an understanding of the strike experience for teachers and school workers. A range of news stories were analyzed through an inductive qualitative frame analysis; finally, in-depth interviews with journalists were also conducted to gain a nuanced understanding of a strike experience and how it was framed in news reports. The results of this research project show that social media played a role in the strike experience for teachers and school workers, who described the power of digital tools in organizing, communicating, and unifying nearly 25,000 public school employees across worker status, geography, and culture. The content analysis of nearly 80 news stories published during the strike showed that news coverage of the event was more positive compared with prior work stoppages. Notably, sourcing included many more grassroots voices (teachers and school workers) rather than relying on government and union leaders in news reporting. Reporters acknowledged that social media helped them to identify sources as well as track events as they unfolded during the strike. However, they still privileged the perspectives of political elites in their coverage, most notably during the “wildcat” phase of the strike, when public school workers refused to accept a deal brokered by West Virginia's governor and the state's three public education unions. Thus, this dissertation suggests that digital tools, including social media, have implications for facilitating significant social c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Drew McDaniel (Committee Chair) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Journalism; Labor Relations; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Social Structure; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Counselor Education (Education)

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how the experience of reproductive loss impacts African American women residing in West Virginia. For the purposes of this study the term reproductive loss (Wenzel, 2014) was expanded to include abortion experiences to capture the full spectrum of the reproductive narrative. The study implemented an explanatory case study design to explain the nuances impacting reproductive loss and give voice to experiences from African American women of West Virginia. Data collection methods consisted of observation, interviewing, document analysis, historical analysis, and analysis of material cultures to address the research questions. The current study, research questions, and subsequent analysis were predicated upon Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological model (2001). This dissertation highlights how a bioecological informed lens can be implemented to study and support women as they navigate various systems and cope with reproductive loss.

Committee: Tamarine Foreman (Committee Chair) Subjects: African Americans; Counseling Education

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2021, Popular Culture

Monstrous urban legends (or cryptids) from the Appalachian state of West Virginia, specifically Mothman, the Flatwoods Monster, and the Grafton Monster, have gone from local tales of horror to international popular culture icons known and loved around the world. While the stories of these creatures have long been familiar to cryptid enthusiasts, more recently these legends have had an impact on the communities surrounding them and entire cultures abroad. Using models from dark tourism studies, first-hand interviews, on-location observations, translated documents, and various folkloric and monster study sources, the effects of these cryptids upon the areas from which they hail are observed and compared as well as the impact they have made upon popular culture both in the United States and in other countries such as Japan. This thesis will explore how the towns of Point Pleasant, Flatwoods, and Grafton, West Virginia use these legends as a means of financial income and how they are integral parts of their cultural identities.

Committee: Jeremy Wallach PhD (Advisor); Esther Clinton PhD (Advisor); Montana Miller PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Asian Studies; Cultural Anthropology; Folklore; Sociology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2021, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

Flood analyses have historically been conducted using the stationarity principle, which assumes a constant hydrological regime within a river system. This research echoed previous studies challenging the assumption of stationarity for the purposes of flood analyses. The Greenbrier River watershed in West Virginia fit criteria for questioning the stationarity principle as it experienced dramatic forest harvesting activities in the late 1800s and has suffered deadly floods in the last four decades. This research questioned the stationarity assumption by testing hydrological data using Pearson's and Pettitt's tests. Additionally, two scenarios were developed to spatially model runoff travel time for a forested and deforested watershed. Stationarity was confirmed for the Greenbrier River. The study showed no evidence of non-stationarity in the hydrological time series of the river, despite widespread changes in land use across the study period. Similarly, spatial modeling of total runoff travel time estimation between watershed scenarios did not drastically vary.

Committee: Gregory Springer Dr. (Committee Chair); Natalie Kruse Dr. (Committee Member); Jenny Schenk Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Studies; Geographic Information Science; Geomorphology; Hydrology

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

The natural beauty and the environment of the Appalachian mountains have been decimated by contemporary methods of coal extraction known as surface mining or mountaintop removal. In order to preserve the natural environment moving forward, architectural integration must raise awareness surrounding the issue by revealing the surface mining process to the public. In order to accommodate architectural designs that accentuate the natural environment, biophilic design principles must be implemented. Biophilic designs transcend the conventional purpose of the urban built environment by connecting society to the natural world. Embedding environmental characteristics into each design will help mitigate ecological decay by reducing building footprints and limiting energy consumption demands. As the built space becomes synonymous with the natural environment, occupants become more aware of their surroundings. At the heart of the rich coal-filled Appalachian Mountains lies Madison, West Virginia. Madison is nestled at the basin of the Little Coal River valley, where coal was discovered in 1742. Over the years, the picturesque landscape and the rich history has been diminished by the socioeconomic disparity of the coal industry. Madison, like many other coal towns throughout Appalachia, will serve as the primary case study for this analysis. The number of coal mining operations decrease each year as clean fossil fuels and renewable energy alternatives are developed. Today in the United States, only 30% of our energy is derived from coal. As this percentage continues to decrease, abandoned surface mines are becoming more prominent throughout southern West Virginia. Surface mines are the most common form of coal extraction; however, this controversial method has generated social, economic, political, and environmental problems. Due to the devastating environmental and economic impact of an abandoned surface mine, the Department of Environmental Protectio (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Riorden M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Sublime causes transcendence beyond individual understanding, prompting a mental feeling of smallness as a response to the environment. Contemplation follows the emotion-based response of the sublime, testing preconceived perceptions and initiating internal reflection and external dialogue. Repose is the comforting resultant condition, the calm that allows the sublime encounter to develop into memory, charged with the influence of an emotive architecture and environment. Sublime, contemplation and repose can be utilized as tools to formulate new respectful understandings of a site with hidden contextual opportunities. West Virginia has a rich industrial history which has helped to shape America in past centuries. This history has largely become dilapidated and confined to closed and abandoned facilities which are inaccessible and forgotten. The benefits that these facilities held within the country's history is incomprehensibly great and West Virginia lacks the celebratory nature that the state deserves. The region of New River Gorge near the New River Gorge Bridge and the abandoned coal mining town, Nuttallburg, will act as a prototypical catalyst for architectural exploration and implementation through the sublime. Park service efforts have re-stabilized the existing coal facility structures within Nuttallburg, however have not provided further incentive for visitation and fall short in contextual comprehension. The site possesses inherent sublime elements within the surrounding nature, historical structures, coal production and hints of coal consumption. In proposing architectural interventions and expressions of site, aspects of the existing sublime will be enhanced, in addition to the creation of new complimentary moments of sublime. The unity between new architecture and existing context seeks to improve the perceived image of West Virginia and its vast contribution to nationwide industry.

Committee: Aarati Kanekar Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Member); Vincent Sansalone M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1981, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1974, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1956, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Geography

Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Bowling Green State University, 2016, Creative Writing/Poetry

"Small Mythologies" is a collection that concerns itself with the question of identity-making. This is not limited to the idea of individual identity; poems here address the ideas of community and regional identity as well. It is my claim that a person does not stand on their own or exist only within the context of relationships with others – a person is, whether or not they acknowledge it, a product of a community. Further, a community rarely exists in isolation; I also focus on a sense of regional belonging. In the case of "Small Mythologies," that region is Central Appalachia; even more specifically, it is the West Virginia I was raised in, and the West Virginia my family calls home. Throughout this collection, I examine personal interiority through poems discussing illness, hospitalization, and death, and expand to meditate on the problems of living within a region such as Appalachia, with poems about the interactions between the environment and the people who affect it.

Committee: Larissa Szporluk (Advisor); Sharona Muir (Committee Member) Subjects: Literature