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The Future of West Virginia

Why West Virginians in coal country are turning to beekeeping Leisa Moten has a stable job as a church administrative assistant in West Virginia, but like some others in her town of Pipestem, which has a population of 846, she is living below the poverty line, earning $15,800 a year. Where she lives in southern West Virginia, the poverty rate reaches as high as 28 percent in certain areas, and unemployment in some counties is more than twice the national average. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Beekeeping- an alternative for West Virginia Plagued by poverty and unemployment due to the decline in the coal industry, West Virginia is looking to reinvent itself. Beekeeping just might be the answer. Appalachian Beekeeping Collective is a new nonprofit in southern West Virginia teaching those affected by the plummeting coal industry a new trade. With the help of locals, they are hel...
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Research on Animal Adoption and Statistics

For my Capstone project, I am hoping to work with the Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County developing a social media campaign for their Facebook page. For this project, I am looking at two research sources, one from ASPCA and the other from the No Kill Advocacy Center . The ASPCA article outlines approximately how many pets pass through-and remain- in humane societies and adoption centers annually in the US. It also goes into detail about how many people have pets within their household and the approximate surrender rate. The article from the No Kill Advocacy Center goes into detail about percentage of cats and dogs that get euthanized in the United States, with the vast majority of them having a good quality of life remaining. This source also contains helpful statistics on pets and the care that their adopters provide for them. From these sources, I have learned that there is a significantly larger number of animals being euthanized needlessly within the US. I also learned t...
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Potential Capstone Project

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My time at Shepherd is nearing its end, and now it is time for me to start thinking about my final project, my Capstone. While I've been here, I've grown, developed, learned, and loved more than I ever have before. One thing that changed my life for the better was finding my rescue kitten, Phoebe. She's the absolute sweetest cat, and has helped me develop responsibilities and learning to put her needs above my own. Having adopted a kitten, and realizing the amount of responsibility it takes to take care of an animal. I love being a pet owner so much, that for my Capstone I want to help people begin their journey of becoming a new owner. I've spoken with the Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County , and they have agreed to let me work with them for my project. I'm meeting with them this week to discover their needs, but I'm hoping to help them develop a social media campaign that will strengthen their presence in Jefferson County and the surrounding areas, ...
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METAvivor

Author Info: Name: Melody Pickens Date: 01/24/2019 Considerations Goal: To raise funding for research into stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in hopes of finding a cure. Situation: Audience: My priority public(s) are people who have been affected by breast cancer, people who are interested in furthering research on stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, and people who believe in finding a cure to breast cancer. So what? Because 1 in 8 women have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and 1 in 3 turns metastatic. So, the majority of people have been affected by breast cancer either themselves or through a loved one. Objective: My primary objectives for this piece are to bring awareness to METAvivor and the research that they fund. I also want to encourage more donations. Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer receive little funding despite the fact that so many families are affected by it. Key messages: ·       Necessity of funding for research into stage 4 m...
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The Apple Generation

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  Source When walking through any college campus, you will notice a common theme- the Apple logo. Apple has successfully created a cult around their brand; from the original Macintosh computer to the most recent iPhone X, society has followed the company closely. The yearly Keynote where Apple announces their latest lineup is covered in national news. Apple spent billions of dollars to construct an auditorium specifically for their Keynote appearances. The world is so anxious to learn about the upcoming releases that a simple Google search will yield thousands of pages of hypotheses, theories, and "leaks" of what the tech giant is working on. Cell phone companies work to keep up with the demand for the most recent iPhone- many carriers have started an "iPhone every year" program, where iPhone users have the opportunity to break a two year contract for the latest piece of Apple's technology. The hype around Apple today didn't just start with word-o...
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Will the Internet Save Democracy?

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The world wide web holds a plethora of information that is at the fingertips of any user. However, how will the internet benefit democracy? Will it allow for constituents to be more active in democracy? With the wide accessibility to the world wide web, it does encourage participation in politics. The internet provides information on candidates for offices, allow for constituents to contact their government officials much easier via email. Citizens can also pre-register for voting and support their favorite candidates with online donations. The internet has created a well-educated population that have an easier time participating in politics. However, there are arguments that despite the accessibility of the internet, there is relatively low participation in e-politics . This suggests that, while accessibility to politics is at an all-time high, people just aren't educated in it and they have no interest. The argument behind this is that there needs to be education in ord...
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Gaming Product Placement

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Video games have become an integral part of today's society. As the generations age, there is a larger gap between the technological abilities. However, video games is something that all younger generations can relate to. Roughly 91% of the population participates in video games, whether it be the brand new and insanely popular Fortnite , or games as simple as Candy Crush , most of the population has participated in gaming in some way. Therefore, wouldn't it make sense that products utilize these games to market their products? Product placement in video games can be as subtle as the picture above. This is simply a MarioKart game that offers a Mercedes vehicle option. However, product placement can be as blatant as the image below. While Barack Obama was running for President, advertisements in video games would feature Obama and remind players that early voting has begun. Product placement's desired effect in video games is that it will be a subconscious remind...
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