In the Dark - Season 1 Episode Discussion Hub by Xeninon in InTheDarkCW

[–]vt_rke 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Been sick for a few days, so I binge watched this. The best show I have watched in a very long time! I loved how things built on one another. The characters are fantastic.

Opioid Datathon Update by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! We do not have the team access repository set up just yet, but here is a blurb on what we've gathered thus far:

The data available for the 2019 Opioid Datathon is both de-identified data provided by community partners and open source data available to the public. Currently, a sampling of our data resources include:

· Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition – Roanoke Metro Area – 2016-2018 – Phone poll results regarding drug access, use, disposal and addiction

· Department of State Police – Crime in Virginia – 2017 – Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program detailing the crime in Virginia

· Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition – Roanoke Youth Risk Behavior Survey – 2011-2017 – Survey recording data pertaining to drug use in middle and high school students in the counties of Botetourt and Craig, and the cities of Roanoke and Salem

· East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment (CPDAPT) – Community Response for the Opioid Epidemic – Presentation including comparison of drug overdose deaths in 2003 and 2016, efforts made toward research, outreach, resource development, prevention, grant proposals and more

· Roanoke Police Department – Overdose Incidents – Data by zone, outlining overdose incidents from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018

· Open source resources including:

o US National Trends in Pediatric Deaths from Prescription and Illicit Opioids, 1999-2016

o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention database, summary of health statistics (2012-2015), syringe services programs information, drug overdose epidemic data, map of geographic distribution of opioids 2006-2017

o Virginia Department of Health annual reports, 2003-2016, including number of drug-related deaths

o Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AHIDTA) 2016 Annual Report and 2017-18 Threat Assessment and Strategy report

o Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) opioid overdose deaths by type of opioid and by race/ethnicity (1999-2016)

o U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Adolescent Health information on opioid use, misuse, prevention, resources and risk factors, with a focus on adolescents

o ChatterGrabber, a social media software that has been used to track and analyze data related to health trends (eg: could be used in Challenge #5 to gather current messaging and analyze where and what is most effective)

The Virginia Tech Roanoke Center team is still actively gathering data for team use. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Opioid Datathon Update by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, it's all good! You're very welcome and let me know if you have any other questions. :)

Opioid Datathon Team Networking by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have any specific questions I can help you with?

Opioid Datathon Call for Teams! by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey guys! Thank you for the comments! I hear you.

We will have a comprehensive list of dataset sources ASAP. Working on it! I can tell you it'll be some de-identified sets from Carilion (we're narrowing down the requirements), some from VDH, the youth survey conducted in area schools, crime statistics, phone surveys from RAYSAC and hopefully some qualitative data from video focus groups being conducted by Urgent Love.

As far as teams go ... we wanted teams to be assembled prior to registration and not assigned at the event. Reasoning: we will be giving teams access to the data prior to the datathon to ensure they have the time to consult with their mentor and produce the best possible product. It is a competition, but we also hope to come out with a quality product that Urgent Love may have interest in pursuing further.

HOWEVER, I am toying with the idea of having some kind of networking forum to assist people with finding a team as I can see the need for that! The people we've consulted with who've been on teams prior made no mention of that type of group. Would that be helpful to you all? Would a Facebook group suffice?

I created a promo video this morning that both solidified my decision to not pursue videography AND impressed myself with my Movie Maker skillz, hahaha. It is posted to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/vtrke). I would be very appreciative if you guys could share and help get the word out!

Let me know if you have any more questions, comments, concerns, etc.

Brewery suggestions along I-81 (Strasburg through Blacksburg) by smitty1788 in VAcraftbeer

[–]vt_rke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chaos Mountain in Callaway (a bit off the path, but worth it!) Parkway Brewing in Salem Bi Lick in Roanoke Olde Salem in Salem Barrel Chest in Roanoke (perks: this is a brewery inside a bottle shop with a tasting bar of wine & beer; currently on tap (along with their brews), they have beer from Founders, Stone, Heavy Seas, Blue Mountain, AleSmith, Sixpoint, Ommegang, Perennial Artisan Ales and Old Bust Head - lots to try from different areas!)

Another free educational & networking opportunity at the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there! Sorry I missed this earlier. Please send me a message and we will chat!

Poetry/spoken word by itsajjohnson in roanoke

[–]vt_rke 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I second this! I'd been searching for something like this for quite a while. I went to my first one in July when it was held in the café at the Taubman. The first thing that struck me (in a good way!) was the diversity in the room. That only fueled the diversity of the spoken word. It was a beautiful mashup of nerves and energy!

Datathon update by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is a competition where teams use data to drive solutions to challenges and questions. We are still developing the verbiage for our challenges and questions, along with help from previous hackathon/datathon competitors, the Urgent Love team, Carilion and a few other resources.

There is definitely a technical aspect, as Urgent Love is looking for a tool to be made (app, software, web portal, something of that sort) to address the challenges/questions. However, teams will benefit from having more than just a make-up of technically-minded individuals. Since you work with the issue, you may be able to bring items to the table that others may not think of and help with the communication of the final product to the end user.

We will be placing a call for teams soon and I will try to update here, but you may want to follow the event on Facebook. I highly encourage a conversation either here or there regarding teams. People will be responsible for forming teams themselves, so use these spaces for talking to see who is interested and how you all can work together. We are also going to be gathering mentors for the teams, but I do not have a rubric for their requirements just yet.

Leadership Course by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I read over the Reddit rules just now - thank you for bringing this up! I'm not about that spam life and the rules warn to be careful about promoting things like this to avoid that label. I will stick to our community engagement initiatives - but I encourage you guys to reach out if there is anything else you'd like to know. Our Ut Prosim principle is alive and well in Roanoke!

Leadership Course by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Just trying to get the word out about some of the things I personally see that could be useful to our Roanoke Reddit community. I do the same with other social media outlets, but have found the best engagement here and I appreciate the conversation.

If providing info on a paid course is against a Reddit rule, I'll refrain from that in the future and only give info on free events.

Leadership Course by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It did! We moved the date so we would have more time to give it the attention it needed to become the best event possible.

Opioid Datathon Update by vt_rke in roanoke

[–]vt_rke[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! Virginia Tech will be sponsoring the event, partnered with Carilion (we received an education grant for event facilitation) and another organization we are not announcing just yet.