Search

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted rural and under-resourced urban communities in Kansas. The state's response to COVID-19 has relied on a highly decentralized and underfunded public health system, with 100 local health departments in the state, few of which had prior experience engaging local community coalitions in a coordinated response to a public health crisis., Methods: To improve the capacity for local community-driven responses to COVID-19 and other public health needs, the University of Kansas Medical Center, in partnership with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, will launch Communities Organizing to Promote Equity (COPE) in 20 counties across Kansas. COPE will establish Local Health Equity Action Teams (LHEATs), coalitions comprised of community members and service providers, who work with COPE-hired community health workers (CHWs) recruited to represent the diversity of the communities they serve. CHWs in each county are tasked with addressing unmet social needs of residents and supporting their county's LHEAT. LHEATs are charged with implementing strategies to improve social determinants of health in their county. Monthly, LHEATs and CHWs from all 20 counties will come together as part of a learning collaborative to share strategies, foster innovation, and engage in peer problem-solving. These efforts will be supported by a multilevel communications strategy that will increase awareness of COPE activities and resources at the local level and successes across the state. Our mixed methods evaluation design will assess the processes and impact of COPE activities as well as barriers and facilitators to implementation using aspects of both the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) models., Discussion: This protocol is designed to expand community capacity to strategically partner with local public health and social service partners to prioritize and implement health equity efforts. COPE intentionally engages historically resilient communities and those living in underserved rural areas to inform pragmatic strategies to improve health equity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Pacheco, Bridges, Ellerbeck, Ablah, Greiner, Chen, Collie-Akers, Ramírez, LeMaster, Sykes, Parente, Corriveau, Miras Neira, Scott, Knapp, Finocchario-Kessler and COPE Team.)

The present study reports results from a quasi-controlled empirical investigation addressing the impact on student test scores when using fixed form computer based testing (CBT) versus paper and pencil (P&P) testing as the delivery mode to assess student mathematics achievement in a state's large scale assessment program. Grade 7 students served as the target population. On a voluntary basis, participation resulted in 644 students being "double" tested: once with a randomly assigned CBT test form, and once with another randomly assigned and equated P&P test form. Both the equivalency of total test scores across different student groupings and the differential impact on individual items were examined. Descriptively there was very little difference in performance between the CBT and P&P scores obtained (less than 1 percentage point). Results make very clear that there existed no meaningful statistical differences in the composite test scores attained by the same students on a computerized fixed form assessment and an equated form of that assessment when taken in a traditional paper and pencil format. While a few items (9 of 204) were found to behave differently based on mode, close review and inspection of these items were not able to identified factors accounting for the differences. (Contains 5 figures and 17 tables.)

The article presents a study which examines the capstone course in economics at Pittsburg State University (PSU) in Pittsburg, Kansas using the undergraduate business research paper in the assessment of learning and writing outcomes in business students. It discusses the assessment processes at the university in line with the writing goal of the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) standards. It explains the holistic and pragmatic approach used in the capstone course for the development and evaluation of writing skills, basic research methods, and oral communication in students. It also explores the impact of using rubrics and the LiveText online assessment tool as a communication platform for undergraduate research studies.

Dr. Michael E. Newman presented the 2016 AAAE Distinguished Lecture at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education in Kansas City, Missouri in May, 2016. The article is a philosophical work based upon the author's experiences in the agricultural education profession.

This publication is the executive summary of a white paper that Kansas City Consensus developed on the libraries of metropolitan Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas. The document analyzes the service issues, costs, and political issues that face the KC libraries if and when they consider consolidation or more extensive collaborative arrangements than they now have in place. Librarian readers will find many issues that will face them if they attempt consolidation or more extensive collaboration. The localism that is the basis of so much in public library tradition is examined as a weakness and as a strength. The executive summary of the report is followed by a statement that explains the perspective and work of the Kansas City Consensus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiple baseline across 8 nationally syndicated cartoonists evaluated the effects of personal advocacy letters encouraging presentations of a specific prevention message--the depiction of safety belt use in comic strips showing motor vehicle occupants. During baseline these cartoonists depicted safety belt use in only 15% (6 of 41) of their strips with occupied vehicles, but following receipt of a personal letter requesting safety belt use 41% (42 of 102) of their strips depicted safety belt use. Four cartoonists showed clear and immediate increases in depiction of safety belt use, 2 demonstrated delayed and somewhat less consistent belt use, and 2 cartoonists showed no change. The approach and results are discussed with regard to advocacy efforts intended to influence presentation of prevention messages in the media.

At a time when most other institutions of higher education in the country excluded ex-slaves from admission, the University of Kansas conferred degrees upon sixty African Americans by 1910. However, while the university did allow ex-slaves to matriculate, these students still experienced a degree of exclusion and encountered barriers of racial segregation on campus. This article outlines the educational experiences of African American students at the university from the 1870s to the 1920s and includes a discussion on the racial and social tensions in Lawrence, Kansas, and at the university during the years under study, a view of campus life for African Americans, and profiles of several students. The goal of this paper is to illuminate some of these experiences and provide an overall sense of what the university community offered (or did not offer) these courageous students. Archival documents and personal collections, which include newspapers, yearbooks, personal letters, and photographs, are used to identify significant themes.

Several states had an assessment that they considered to be an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) in place, or in development, when the April 2007 federal regulations on modified achievement standards were finalized. This article uses publicly available information collected by the National Center on Educational Outcomes to analyze changes in states' AA-MAS between 2007 and 2008. The article compares across the 2 years the number of states that had an assessment they considered to be an AA-MAS, states' participation guidelines, and the characteristics of these assessments. We also provide information about the number of students who participated in this assessment option during the 2006-07 school year. In 2007, six states (Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma) either had or were in the process of developing an assessment they considered to be an AA-MAS. In 2008, California, Connecticut, and Texas also offered this assessment option. Six of the nine states that have been early implementers of the AA-MAS were states that had offered an out-of-level testing option until federal policies required that option to be phased out. Most states had fewer items on their AA-MAS than on their regular assessment. States that had participation guidelines for the AA-MAS in 2007 developed them prior to finalization of the federal regulations, and some changes between 2007 and 2008 in states' participation guidelines appear to have been made to better align the guidelines with the regulations. The characteristics of the assessments states consider to be AA-MASs are changing rapidly and will probably continue to change rapidly over the next few years as more is learned about the advantages and limitations of this assessment. (Contains 5 tables and 4 footnotes.)

Snow and ice route removal activities play an essential role in travelers' safety and roadways' reliability. They often require the deployment of a large number of snowplow trucks on a vast maintenance area and involve a set of vehicle routing problems with multiple objectives and constraints. Many transportation agencies have limited resources and budgets for snow and ice route removal activities during winter maintenance operations. The objective of this paper is to propose a constraint-based snowplow optimization model to accommodate vehicle routing problems and justify the optimized fleet size for achieving the maximum level of service in snow and ice route removal. The proposed snowplow optimization model was developed using the geographic information system (GIS) base maps created by using ArcGIS Pro (version 2.7). After the model was tested and verified by experts in the Kansas Department of Transportation, it was applied to the snow and ice route removal activities in a district in Kansas as an illustrative example. The optimization results showed that the level of service could be increased up to 81% with an average route removal efficiency of 86% and the total travel time required to treat all snow routes in the selected district can be reduced by approximately 29 h for one treating iteration. The proposed model contributed to the winter operation maintenance body of knowledge by providing an efficient approach to snow and ice route removal activities. The findings of this study also may assist transportation agencies in optimizing their snow route removal practice in winter maintenance operations. This study developed a snowplow route optimization model using a geographic information system (GIS)-based software platform to enhance the efficiency of snow removal of Departments of Transportation of states in their winter maintenance. The model outcomes provided a detailed set of optimized snowplow route maps with time-related parameters (e.g., total travel time, plowing time, and deadhead time), snowplow route efficiency, and percentage of level of service (LOS) satisfaction of snow removal. Then, transportation agencies can utilize the optimized routing networks to monitor their resources spent on snow and ice control activities and increase the LOS in their maintenance operations. The results of this study enable transportation agencies to effectively justify the fleet size required at each service area and efficiently allocate limited resources to maintain all roadways in an economic, safety, and reliability manner. This study also facilitates the automation of snowplow optimization processes using GIS to provide satisfactory services during snow and ice events. The proposed model can serve as a tool to assist the agencies in directing any future facility locations and capacities for their winter maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many older adults residing in rural communities faced particularly damaging consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Given the impact of the pandemic on the ability to rely on traditional forms of information (i.e. interpersonal communication), reliance on digital technology and other non-traditional sources of information grew. Those who lacked the information literacy, defined in this study as the ability to find and evaluate the reliability of information to address an information need, may have faced psychologically damaging consequences caused by the proliferation of misinformation and information poverty. Informed by an ecological understanding of human information behavior, this paper reports on the findings of a study of rural older adults' information literacy skills and sense of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. A mail survey, based on concepts from psychology and information science and question wordings adapted from the 2021 Health and Retirement Survey and Jones-Jang et al.'s study of literacies and fake news, was distributed in the summer of 2021 to older adults living in rural Kansas. About 206 valid responses to the survey were received. These were analyzed using correlation and regression testing. The findings indicate a significant relationship between information literacy skills and one's overall sense of well-being. Personal (age, gender, health, life control), economic (employment, finances), and social-relational resources (social engagement, relationship quality) all were shown to relate positively to information literacy skills. These findings provide definition to our understanding of the importance of information literacy in modern understandings of psychological well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the use of wireless smart sensors for examining the underlying mechanism for the wind-induced vibration of high-mast illumination pole (HMIP) structures. HMIPs are tall, slender structures with low inherent damping. Video recordings of multiple HMIPs showed considerable vibrations of these HMIPs under wind loading in the state of Kansas. The HMIPs experienced cyclic large-amplitude displacements at the top, which can produce high-stress demand and lead to fatigue cracking at the bottom of the pole. In this study, the natural frequencies of the HMIP were assessed using pluck tests and finite element modeling, and the recorded vibration frequencies were obtained through computer vision-based video analysis. Meanwhile, a 30.48 m tall HMIP with three LED luminaires made of galvanized steel located in Wakeeney, Kansas, was selected for long-term vibration monitoring using wireless smart sensors to investigate the underlying mechanism for the excessive wind-induced vibrations. Data analysis with the long-term monitoring data indicates that while vortex-induced vibration occurs frequently at relatively low amplitude, buffeting-induced vibration was the leading cause of the excessive vibrations of the monitored HMIP. The findings provide crucial information to guide the design of vibration mitigation strategies for these HMIP structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we address the controversies of epidemic control planning by developing a novel Simulation-Deep Reinforcement Learning (SiRL) model. COVID-19 reminded constituents over the world that government decision-making could change their lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments were concerned with reducing fatalities as the virus spread but at the same time also maintaining a flowing economy. In this paper, we address epidemic decision-making regarding the interventions necessary given of the epidemic based on the purpose of the decision-maker. Further, we intend to compare different vaccination strategies, such as age-based and random vaccination, to shine a light on who should get priority in the vaccination process. To address these issues, we propose a simulation-deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework. This framework is composed of an agent-based simulation model and a governor DRL agent that can enforce interventions in the agent-based simulation environment. Computational results show that our DRL agent can learn effective strategies and suggest optimal actions given a specific epidemic situation based on a multi-objective reward structure. We compare our DRL agent's decisions to government interventions at different periods of time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results suggest that more could have been done to control the epidemic. In addition, if a random vaccination strategy that allows super-spreaders to get vaccinated early were used, infections would have been reduced by 32% at the expense of 4% more deaths. We also show that a behavioral change of fully quarantining 10% of the risky individuals and using a random vaccination strategy leads to a reduction of the death toll by 14% and 27% compared to the age-based vaccination strategy that was implemented and the New Jersey reported data, respectively. We have also demonstrated the flexibility of our approach to be applied to other locations by validating and applying our model to the COVID-19 case in the state of Kansas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists' (AATCC) 1989 Student Paper Competition in Philadelphia. The Student Paper Competition was won by the Kansas State University through its research on the influence of antimicrobial agents on dye fading which was presented by Diana G. Johnson. Its runnersup included the University of Nebraska, Universite de Sherbrooke, and the Auburn University. It aimed to provide student chapters an opportunity to develop and present original research projects on dyes. Its research paper presentation was also presided by Theresa A. Perenich.

Water is a critical input to agricultural production in arid regions. Understanding irrigator perspectives and determining their information and technical needs are critical to increasing water conservation while maintaining profitable yields. This paper summarizes survey data for 140 irrigators operating in the High Plains Aquifer portion of southcentral Kansas. We document adoption of different farm management practices, key challenges facing irrigators, information gaps, and qualitative information obtained from openended questions. Survey response patterns are discussed in the context of local water use conflicts and water governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded in Jenell Johnson's theory of visceral publics, this study examines 229 letters published in the Smasher's Mail, an American temperance newspaper edited by Progressive-era reformer Carrie (or Carry) Nation1 at the height of her 1901 saloon-smashing crusade to enforce Kansas prohibition. Because the newspaper printed letters from citizens who energetically endorsed saloon-smashing as a tactic of pro-temperance agitation and from those who vociferously opposed it, this analysis illuminates how Nation's paper functioned as an important platform for fervid public deliberation over the perceived necessity of temperance reform and the best means of achieving it. Exploring what the smashing controversy meant to real people and the powerful feelings it elicited on both sides of the debate, this study demonstrates the emergence of two oppositional visceral publics bound by shared intense feelings over perceived boundary violations involving the borders of the human body, the home, private enterprise, law and order, and the "woman's sphere." Pro-smashing writers, who elevated their alcohol-free vision of the common good over the individual rights of saloonkeepers and their patrons, saw saloon-smashing as justified, even necessary, to protect society from the consequences of intemperance. In contrast, smashing opponents, rejecting prohibitionist calls to regulate private behavior for the common good, prioritized saloonkeepers' and patrons' individual rights of life, liberty, and property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper recites fundamentals of historical runoff estimation methodologies that were developed for ungauged drainage basins. Additionally, new approaches are also provided as extensions of modern ones. Early methodologies of runoff calculations were suggested towards the end of the 18th century, when there was no historical record availability for rainfall or runoff. Some of these methodologies have not been cited in the scientific literature, but they have been frequently used by engineers as practical hydrological approaches in different parts of the United States, especially in Kansas. Early hydrologists were aware of the shortcomings, but they were hampered by the shortage of reliable streamflow and rainfall data. These methods did not consider recurrence intervals associated with designs, and their drawbacks originated more from a shortage of useful hydrologic data rather than logical and rational interconnection between the causative and resultant factors. With availability of measured data, early studies considered daily total rainfall amounts for design purposes, which continued until 1935 when reliable rainfall frequency maps were published for durations shorter than 24 h. Frequency analysis advancement in 1940s provided regional flood frequency methods for ungauged sites. The transition to modern frequency-based hydrologic methods started from 1950 onwards. It is the main purpose of this review paper to cite the early and recent simple methodologies for ungauged drainage area rainfall, especially runoff estimation works. This paper provides the logical and rational fundamentals of each approach so that the reader may become acquainted with the evolution of the hydrological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article reports on the acquisition of the Atlanta, Georgia-based paper company, Georgia-Pacific Corp. (G-P) by the Wichita, Kansas-based Koch Industries. The acquisition includes the assets and debt of G-P as approved by the boards of directors of both G-P and Koch including the non-integrated market and fluff pulp operations of G-P at New Augusta, Mississippi and Brunswick.