Western Kentucky University Research Articles

Food as Folklife: Public Folklore Practice in the Museum and Archive

This article examines folkloristic methods for collecting and presenting foodways in museum and archival settings. Drawing on the author’s experience as a public folklorist and exhibit curator, the article offers two case studies on foodways collection and presentation. The first case study explores the Smithsonian Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage’s annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., in which the author presented in 2023. The second case study highlights the Kentucky Folklife Program of Western Kentucky University’s exhibit, “A Culture Carried: Bosnians in Bowling Green” (mounted at the Kentucky Museum 2017–2019). As the then-folklife specialist for the Kentucky Folklife Program, the author served as a co-curator for the exhibit and associated programming. Through these case studies, the article aims to provide concrete ideas and methods for documenting and presenting foodways for museum professionals and archivists.

Sam G. McFarland (1939-2022).

This article memorializes Sam G. McFarland (1939-2022). A social and political psychologist, Sam joined the Western Kentucky University (WKU) faculty in 1979 and remained there throughout his 42-year career. In addition to teaching and research, Sam was the long-time director of the WKU Honors Program. Sam achieved the highest university honor, University Distinguished Professor. He remained an active researcher and writer throughout his life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Court rules against former student

Case name: Peden v. Western Kentucky University, et al., No. 2021‐CA‐0106 (Ky. Ct. App. 03/18/22).

Court rules against former student

Case name: Peden v. Western Kentucky University, et al., No. 2021‐CA‐0106 (Ky. Ct. App. 03/18/22).

Court rules against former student

Case name: Peden v. Western Kentucky University, et al., No. 2021‐CA‐0106 (Ky. Ct. App. 03/18/22).

Court rules against former student

Case name: Peden v. Western Kentucky University, et al., No. 2021‐CA‐0106 (Ky. Ct. App. 03/18/22).

Introduction from the Editorial Team

Introduction from the Editorial Team Selima Sultana, Paul Knapp, Ridwaana Allen, and Tyler Mitchell Our Editorial Team is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Southeastern Geographer, the flagship journal of the Southeastern Division of the American Association Geographers (SEDAAG). We are pleased to report that the 2021 Annual SEDAAG Meeting in Florence, Alabama during November 20–22 was well attended following the virtual-format platform arrangement for the 2020 conference. The success of the SEDAAG Conference is made possible by the extensive work of numerous division members. We recognize the outstanding contributions of Lynn Resler and Jennifer Rahn for their roles as SEDAAG President and SEDAAG Vice-President, respectively, and Local Arrangement Chair, Michael Pretes during this unprecedented and challenging time. We were pleased that AAG President Emily Ye attended the meeting and presented the Keynote Address at the Awards Banquet. SEDAAG meetings offer a suite of professional development benefits and have excelled in distinguishing exceptional contributions in scholarship, instruction, and service. The recognition of awards is judged by the members of the Honors Committee, who must decide on recipients of nominated awards prior to the meeting and then spend much of the meeting evaluating student presentations. We applaud the efforts of the Committee, especially committee chair Douglas Allen, for their dedication. We note that while we list some of the 2021 awardees below, there were no nominations for the prestigious Research Honors Award. 2021 Awardees • Southeastern Geographer Award for Best Paper: Thomas Saladyga and Stockton Maxwell (A Multi-Century Fire History from the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia) and Gabe Schwartzman (POWER and the Future of Appalachia: Discursive Framings of an Economic Transition) • Southeastern Geographer Cover Art: Yin-Hsuen Chen, Old Dominion University • Lifetime Achievement Award: Bobby Wilson (posthumous) • Outstanding Service Award: Heidi J.L. Lannon, Santa Fe College • Excellence in Teaching: Ingrid Luffman, East Tennessee State University • John Fraser Hart Award, Best Ph.D. Student Paper: Savannah Collins-Key, University of Tennessee • Best Master's Paper: Avery Catherwood, University of North Carolina Greensboro [End Page 89] The conclusion of the annual meeting marks the transition of SEDAAG Officers. We thank Lynn Resler for her excellent work as President during 2019–2021 while navigating the numerous issues associated with the onset and continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Treasurer, Amy Potter of Georgia Southern University. We congratulate newly elected President William (Bill) Graves of the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and Treasurer Paul McDaniel of Kennesaw State University for their two-year appointments as SEDAAG Officers. SEDAAG also welcomed newly elected State Representatives Jordan Cissell (Samford University), Johanna Engström (University of Florida), Michele Abee (Bellarmine University), Dean Hardy (University of South Carolina), and Thomas Saladyga (Concord University). We extend our warm thanks to the outgoing state representatives Caroline McClure (University of Alabama), Cynthia Simmons (University of Florida), Peggy Gripshover (Western Kentucky University), Conor Harrison (University of South Carolina), and Jamison Conley (West Virginia University) for their commitment and contributions to SEDAAG during the past two years. Please consider Southeastern Geographer as a publication outlet for work that relates to the American South. As an Editorial Team, we try to process manuscripts in a timely fashion with an average initial decision time of approximately six weeks. Manuscript submissions during the past four years have been from authors located from many locations outside of the SEDAAG region and SEDAAG membership is not a requirement to submit work to the journal. We are thankful for the contributions of authors and external reviewers that make Southeastern Geographer an outstanding journal. We are also grateful for the contributions of Joseph Weber of the University of Alabama for his role as Book Editor. Issue 62.2 (Summer) contains four papers, which we summarize below, and two book reviews. Biggs builds on cultural geography and the geographies of memory to explore how the managers at three historic sites in Durham, North Carolina attempt to manage the interests of historic preservation with present-day use and enjoyment of these sites. Rather than viewing the landscapes surrounding these sites as racially neutral backdrops, Biggs maintains that they are racialized spaces with their own histories. Specifically, the trees and grass at these sites are not...

Judge rules against student

Case name: Dahmer v. Western Kentucky University, et al., No. 1:18‐cv‐124 (W.D. Ky. 03/03/21).

Stronger together: understanding and protecting karst resources.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized more than 350 karst areas of global importance through various designations (Biosphere Reserve, World Heritage Sites, Ramsar Sites, and Global Geoparks) with at least one UNESCO protected area with karst in 86 countries (Gunn 2020). In August 2020, Western Kentucky University, the George Wright Society, and the UNESCO Mammoth Cave Biosphere Region hosted Conservation of Fragile Karst Resources: A Virtual Workshop on Sustainability and Community in support of UNESCO science programs. The purpose of this meeting was to enhance communication and the sharing of ideas and resources between major conservation and science programs that protect, study, or manage cave and karst resources, with particular interest to those of international significance. This special issue is published in celebration and support of the UIS International Year of Caves and Karst and as a call-to-action to better explore, understand, and protect the value of cave and karst areas to humanity in both our everyday lives as well as our natural and cultural heritage.

Judge rules against student

Case name: Dahmer v. Western Kentucky University, et al., No. 1:18‐cv‐124 (W.D. Ky. 03/03/21).

Investigating “Texting while Driving” Behavior at Different Roadway Configurations Using a Driving Simulator Setting

This study investigates the safety impact of distracted driving (texting while driving) for different roadway configurations (intersections, segments, freeways, and roundabouts; urban, suburban, and rural sections; and straight and curved road cross-sections) and various lighting conditions (nighttime and daytime) using a driving simulator. The study took place at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY. Fifty participants (30 young adults, 18 to 25 years old; 20 middle-/old age adults, 26 to 70 years old) drove the simulator, for approximately 10 min each. Video recordings and behavior observations (e.g., recording single longest off-road eye glance while texting and driving) were further documented. While texting and driving at the roundabout, significant differences were found between the mean lane positions of the young and middle-/old age groups. Additionally, a slightly higher speed variance for middle-/old age drivers existed while texting and driving on freeways during the daytime compared with their younger counterparts. Comparisons with the safe stopping sight distance revealed potential safety risks for all texting while driving situations for both age groups compared with nontexting situations. On average, participants with a higher distracted-driving crash-risk expended 0.676 more seconds glancing off-road than lower distracted-driving crash-risk participants. Furthermore, on average, lower-risk participants had a 3.99 mph speed standard deviation compared with the 5.34 mph speed standard deviation of higher-risk participants. It should be noted that the top five higher-risk drivers were from the middle/older population, whereas the top five lower-risk drivers were from the younger population.

Development and implementation of virtual field teaching resources: two karst geomorphology modules and three virtual capstone pathways

Abstract. During the summer of 2020, many geology field camps were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the karst geomorphology field course I was scheduled to co-teach through Western Kentucky University. When the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT), in collaboration with the International Association for Geoscience Diversity (IAGD), began the project of supporting working groups to create online field experience teaching materials, this presented an opportunity. This paper describes the development of two activities derived from that field camp curriculum that are now freely available as peer-reviewed exemplary teaching activities on the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) Online Field Experiences repository under “Karst hydrogeology: a virtual field introduction using © Google Earth and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)” and “Karst hydrogeology: a virtual field experience using © Google Earth, GIS, and TAK [Topographic Analysis Kit].” Each product includes a student handout, an instructor workflow reference, a grading rubric, and NAGT-established learning objectives. The introductory activity is the more basic of the two, is expected to take about an 8 h workday to teach, and walks students through all the steps, as well as providing global examples of karst landscapes that can be virtually explored. The other activity, “Karst hydrogeology and geomorphology”, assumes student familiarity with © Google Earth, GIS, and karst drainage systems and is expected to take about twice as long as the introductory activity to teach. To make these learning opportunities financially accessible, all software required for the activities is open source, and alternative workflows for the introductory module are provided so that the entire exercise can be completed using a mobile device. Addressing this need for virtual capstone options during the pandemic, and providing a virtual alternative for years to come, these karst activities, along with a subset of other SERC activities, were assembled into three learning tracks, each one providing learning hours equivalent to a traditional field camp, that have been added to the course offerings at the University of Cincinnati Department of Geology. In addition to providing online capstone activities in the time of a pandemic, these learning materials provide alternative experiences to traditional field camps that are inclusive for all geoscience students.

Introduction: On Learning, Freedom, and Democracy

Introduction: On Learning, Freedom, and Democracy

Effects of stream permanence on stonefly (Insecta, Plecoptera) community structure at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA.

Stoneflies (Plecoptera) are often associated with inhabiting cold perennial streams, but many species also inhabit intermittent streams that experience reduced or lack of flow during summer and autumn. In this study, the influence of stream permanence on stonefly assemblage composition and spatial distribution at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA, was addressed, based on a 14 month sampling regime from the fullest range of stream sizes and habitable flow regions available. Adult stoneflies were collected monthly from 43 sites at the Park plus an additional two sites at the near-adjacent Western Kentucky University Green River Preserve. Collections were done from December 2018–November 2019 using a standard timed protocol with beating sheets for adults and once in December 2019–January 2020 for larvae. Stream sites were assigned one of five category types: perennial spring runs, perennial spring seeps, upland perennial streams, perennial riverine and summer dry runs. In total, 34 species were collected. The most prominent difference in stonefly community structure was between spring runs, spring seeps and summer dry streams vs. upland perennial streams. Approximately 88% of species collected had univoltine-fast life cycles and 79% likely had an extended period of egg or larval diapause. Due to the predominance of small upland perennial and summer dry streams, species commonly typically found in larger lotic systems are fundamentally filtered out of the region due to the lack of available habitats. Species able to survive in intermittent habitats do so by life history adaptations including to survive desiccation as larvae or eggs.

The ELALC-SEK Project: Developing English language library classrooms to support literacy learning in the early childhood and primary English language programs at a multilingual Spanish school

Two consultants from Western Kentucky University developed a proposal for and then assisted with the implementation of English Language Arts Library Classrooms in a private Spanish school near Barcelona, Spain. The intent of the project was to enhance the English instruction in the primary grades program at the school. The project involved field observations and a literature review of school libraries in Spain, proposal development, technical assistance, and training in library organization, administration and collection development.

The learning ecology of Web 2.0 tool use by teacher librarian candidates

The learning ecology captured by this survey of Web 2.0 tool usage among teacher librarian candidates at Western Kentucky University paints a narrow landscape of Social networking and communication tools used for personal activities, which are used to a lesser degree in the professional and academic spheres. Results indicate that the Top five Web 2.0 tools (Social Networking, Communication, Photo/Video Sharing, Blogs, and Productivity Tools) are being used more often in professional settings than previously reported in other national and state studies. Age does not appear to be significant in the learning ecology of teacher librarian candidates' Web 2.0 tool use, indicating that an overall enthusiasm for technology among teacher librarian candidates putthem in a special category of user. Suggestions for further study include exploring how ―gateway‖ Web 2.0 tools such as collaboration and networking tools used by teacher librarian candidates in their personal lives could transfer to the professional and academic spheres, and spur motivation to use other less commonly used Web 2.0 tools such as social gaming, pod-casting or virtual environments. This study confirms that the potential for educators to integrate Web 2.0 tools into all aspects of their lives are currently hampered by limited bandwidth at home, and the use of restrictive acceptable use policies and filters in schools.

Status of Women in Geography (SWIG) in the Southeastern Division

Status of Women in Geography (SWIG) in the Southeastern Division Heidi J.L. Lannon (bio) In honor of the women of the Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers (SEDAAG) and in recognition of the second consecutive female President, it is with pleasure that the cover of Southeastern Geographer is dedicated to the Status of Women in Geography (SWIG) in the Division. Women are strongly represented at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) in addition to the Southeastern Division. SEDAAG is led by President Lynn Resler of Virginia Tech, who followed Joann Mossa of the University of Florida. Women are represented on the SEDAAG Executive Board by Vice President Jennifer Rahn of Samford University, Amy Potter of Georgia Southern University as Treasurer, and Selima Sultana as Regional Councilor and Co-Editor of Southeastern Geographer. Amy Lobben of the University of Oregon served as the first virtual President of the AAG from 2020–2021. Emily T. Yeh of the University of Colorado at Boulder is serving as the second consecutive female President of the AAG from 2021–2022. The following recollections began as anecdotal observations to accompany the cover of this issue. The author was ushered to her first meeting in the early 1990s as a graduate student by her female mentor, Joann Mossa. Further research and assistance by mentors and friends Peggy Gripshover, Anne Oberhauser, and Ezra Ozdenerol (personal communications 2020) unearthed a lengthy history of female participation in SEDAAG. An exact date for the establishment of SWIG at the Division level has not been determined, and membership is not formally recorded. Meetings of women geographers have historically been over breakfast and scheduled at the uncivilized hour of 7 AM. Meetings were informal and attended by a faithful few (Figure 1). Southeastern Geographer has a tradition of publishing details of annual conference activities. From the accounts, historical activities of women in geography can be gleaned. In a 1979 report of the annual meeting, Nancy Erwin and David Lee arranged a session entitled "Questions and Answers: AAG Committee on the Status of Women" (Lineback 1980). The first acknowledgement of the SEDAAG Committee on the Status of Women in Geography was at the 1981 meeting when SWIG sponsored a discussion on "The Working Woman" (Fisher 1982). At that meeting, Jackalie Blue convened a regional meeting of the AAG Committee on the Status of Women and Susan Moorlag led two workshops on careers in geography. The award for best Ph.D. student paper that year was to a woman, Ellen Cromley of the University of Kentucky, and Jonathan Phillips of East Carolina University [End Page 281] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Enjoying breakfast together, SEDAAG meeting, Asheville, NC, 2012. Margaret "Peggy" Gripshover, Western Kentucky University; Helen Ruth Aspass, Virginia Commonwealth University (retired); Amanda Rees, Columbus State University; Heidi Lannon, Santa Fe College; Michael Brown, Northwest Florida College (retired). Image courtesy of Heidi Lannon, Eric Spears, photographer. won at the master's level. In 1982, Helen Jane Armstrong of the University of Florida led a map library workshop (Fisher 1983). At the 1984 meeting, the first Merle C. Prunty Scholarship was awarded to Jeanne Murday of the University of South Carolina. The same year Risa Palm was elected the President of AAG (Aiken 1985). She was the second female President of the AAG since 1904, after Meredith Burrill in 1965 (Wikipedia 2020). SWIG meetings are reported as being part of annual meetings beginning in 1991 (Meentemeyer 1992). At the 50th meeting of SEDAAG in Knoxville, conference highlights included that "panel sessions were organized to address current issues, including the status of women in geography" (Hartshorn 1996, 82). The 1997 meeting was reported on by Moore (1998), who wrote that two panel sessions were organized by the SWIG Committee. [End Page 282] Click for larger view View full resolution Table 1. Female Presidents of SEDAAG Click for larger view View full resolution Table 2. Female Treasurers of SEDAAG A perusal of Southeastern Geographer volumes provides a record of female participation and the activities of SWIG. Table 1 shows the six women who have served as the President (previously "Chair") of SEDAAG, since 1946, beginning with Lillian Worley Stimson of the...

Greetings from the Editor

Greetings from the Editor Deborah A. Logan Victorians. A Journal of Culture and Literature, #140 Winter 2021, marks the seventieth anniversary of the publication launched in 1952 as The Victorian Newsletter. Organized in response to growing interest in Victorian literary and cultural studies and the corresponding need to facilitate scholarly networking beyond the annual MLA conference, The Victorian Newsletter is distinguished by being the first such specialized publication. Today, scholars can access a wide variety of Victorian-centered academic journals and a wealth of conference opportunities throughout the world, from single-author focus to large conventions. What began, then, as a very modest attempt to link a few dozen scholars and their research through a twice-yearly newsletter continues today as Victorians Journal. Poised between the "crisis" in academic publishing and the online revolution, Victorians Journal continues to present its trademark reflection of the evolving intellectual trends shaping current world history and its resonance with the Victorians. This anniversary offers a unique opportunity to evaluate various shifts in perspective over the last seven decades, radical shifts incorporating the race / class / gender nexus, interdisciplinarity, and technology while challenging the boundaries of what did, what does, and what should constitute our discipline. A case in point is this very number: a special-topics issue addressing the subject of Victorian domesticity. As my retrospective essay in this volume reveals, Victorian domesticity as a serious scholarly investigation is, surprisingly, a comparatively new endeavor. Long-held assumptions in the scholarly community about separate-spheres-ideology and the sexless Angel-in-the-house with nothing-to-do have not been adequately scrutinized or revisited, despite the rise of feminist studies marking the 1970s and 1980s. What other assumptions and truisms have been left unchallenged that invite investigation? How do we adjust our perspectives on this endlessly fascinating period in social history once we realize that the very foundation of Victorian culture—prescribed gender roles, the nuclear family, the socio-economic underpinnings of domesticity, the microcosm of the imperial macrocosm—is not quite what we thought it was? While the textual evidence has always been there, Victorian culture reveals itself to us gradually, when we ask the questions that enable us to view it with fresh eyes. As editor of Victorians Journal, I am especially grateful to Emily Taylor of Ohio State UP / Journals Division for her ongoing support and guidance. And I'm most excited to welcome Tamara Wagner as Guest Acquisitions Editor for this special topic issue. I thank Tamara and all our wonderful authors for their hard work and professionalism, and for the insights they bring to a variety of Victorian texts and contexts. The issues raised here are relevant and provocative, offering significant contributions to the dynamic intellectual endeavors characterizing Victorian scholarship. [End Page 1] Deborah A. Logan Professor Emerita, Western Kentucky University Copyright © 2021 The Ohio State University

A Public–Private Networking and Partnership Model: The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science

This article profiles public–private partnerships and networks established by the public, residential, STEM-focused Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky. Authors discuss relationships and partnerships cultivated to extend student learning opportunities beyond what public support provides. The article focuses first on key partnerships that were imagined when the program was created, profiling how these relationships have evolved in the program’s first 12 years. These foundational partnerships include the program’s integration with Western Kentucky University and a model designed to partner with every school district in the state. The authors then take a wider view of program partnerships, spotlighting relationships within the program’s portfolio of philanthropic networking, external funding, and corporate partnerships. The network of partnerships profiled includes strategies to endow summer internship programs, need-based scholarship funding, and to provide a rounded arts education in a STEM-focused learning environment.

Practical Applications of Analyzing the Evidence:Are Multiclass Mutual Funds the Right Choice?

<h3>Practical Applications Summary</h3> In <b>Analyzing the Evidence: <i>Are Multiclass Mutual Funds the Right Choice?</i></b> in the Spring 2020 edition of <i>The Journal of Index Investing</i>, <b>Jonathan Handy</b> of <b>Western Kentucky University</b>, <b>Jonathan Ricketts</b> of <b>Furman University</b>, and <b>Thomas Smythe</b> of <b>Florida Gulf Coast University</b> review the empirical and academic literature on multiclass mutual funds and draw conclusions about the suitability of such funds for investors. The authors trace the history of these investment products and examine the considerable body of evidence that multiclass funds have governance issues and incur substantial, if not excessive, expenses. Although the multiclass framework may broaden investor options, it also inherently leads to agency problems. Fund advisors often face conflicts of interest between themselves and their clients. They may be motivated to recommend a class of mutual fund shares that is inappropriate for a client but may be the most profitable for the advisor to sell. Moreover, investors are confused by the categorization schemes of multiclass funds and their associated fees. Advisors and fund managers themselves are often not fully conversant with the characteristics of the multiclass funds they are touting. The systemic weaknesses of the multiclass-fund framework should prompt reconsideration or even eschewal of these products by investors and advisors alike. <b>TOPICS:</b>Financial crises and financial market history, mutual fund performance