Digital Commons Network^™

How To Fight Like A Poet: The Socially Engaged Poetics Of Anti-Colonialism In Appalachia., Grace A Rogers

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Colonialism has played a large and complicated part in the history of Appalachia. Upon European contact, almost all Indigenous people were violently removed from the region along with the cultural, agricultural, and linguistic traditions they cultivated in the mountains. The white colonizers who stole the lands were then economically exploited by the wealthier colonizers to the North and East. In light of the complex dynamics of language, place, and exploitation in the Appalachian Mountains, poetry shows promise as a means of linguistic resistance as well as an intellectual and archival practice that might lead to better understanding the multi-dimensional history …

Assessing Conduct Disturbance And Fly Ash Exposure In Children., Jillian G. Winn

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Minimal research has been conducted on fly ash (a byproduct of coal combustion) and health outcomes among exposed communities, and even less has looked at its effect on children’s behavior. This study specifically looks at fly ash exposure and conduct disturbance, using logistic regression to characterize their relationship. Conduct disturbance was gauged by t-scores of 55 or higher on the dimensions of aggression and delinquency of the Child Behavior Checklist. Fly ash exposure was determined by air and surface sampling of the children’s homes. While the odds ratios suggested fly ash exposure increases the likelihood of conduct disturbance, the results …

Experimenting With Adulthood: Liminal Play In Young Adult Literature., Kylee Auten

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Play is an unavoidable element of literature intended for younger audiences. Many scholars have taken up the task of describing, analyzing, and criticizing displays of play in young adult (YA) literature. Involved in discussions of play are the concepts of performance and innocence. Another way of examining play is through the characters’ state of liminality. Their in-between status provides them with the possibility to push against social expectations, escape the realities of their daily lives, and subvert authority figures. Because characters occupy both childhood and adulthood in terms of societal expectations, they possess some positive and some negative qualities of …

Interaction Design For Retention., Susan H. Pallmann

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

UI/UX design, or interaction design, is still relatively new as a discipline and has not been well-studied. Interaction design is typically geared towards facilitating ease of use of technology for the person using it, also called the user. However, interaction design and digital media in general have great potential to impact emotion, action, and retention of information. This creative thesis develops several design principles that govern a resulting conceptual website and the design process behind it. The website brings the user interactively through a narrative and aims to make an otherwise unremarkable story more memorable. Although empirical data was not …

Olfactory Tissue Investment In Tropical Rainforest Ants Scales With Body Size., Heather Evon Short

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Differential tissue allocation in animal sensory systems is common and varies with habitat. Worker ants perform a variety of complex tasks that depend on neural capacity, with chemical cues considered central to ant behavior. The antennal (olfactory) lobes of ant brains are often highly developed relative to other insects; however, arboreal ants that live in environments with higher light levels tend to rely more on visual cues than olfaction compared to terrestrial ants. The extent to which habitat-driven behavior affects neural investment in tropical rainforest ants is unknown. Here, I focused on three common tropical ant species (Pseudomyrmex boopis, P. …

Race Relations During The 1937 Flood: Confronting Polite Racism, Identity, And Collective Memory In Louisville., Elizabeth J. Standridge

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on race relations during the 1937 in Louisville. The dominant narrative of the 1937 flood in Louisville is that the city united while facing mutual adversity and rebuilding the city. In this story, the waters of the flood washed away any social or racial distinctions, rendering everyone equal during the crisis. Despite this popular narrative, the reality of race relations during the flood was much more complicated. Louisville’s race relations from the nineteenth century until well into the twentieth century have been described by historian George C. Wright as “polite racism.” This complex and unequal relationship between …

Universalism And The Paradox Of Redistribution: The Case Of Norway., Madison Swingholm

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The social democratic model of welfare is manifested in Norway. The highly egalitarian and redistributive Nordic model is seen as one of the best, most successful welfare systems in the modern world. With radically high levels of happiness, social cohesion, trust, labor participation, and life satisfaction, it is easy to see why Norway draws so much attention. What is it about their welfare system that makes it so successful?

There are many unique circumstances and cultural factors that surely contribute to this success, which I discuss thoroughly in this paper. However, I argue that what allows for such favorable outcomes …

Identifying Phenotypic Effects In Sporisorium Reilianum And Ustilago Maydis Lacking The Alternative Oxidase Gene., Caroline D. Culver

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Ustilago maydis and Sporisorium reilianum are both dimorphic fungi that cause infection in the host plant, corn (Zea mays). In order for infection to be successful, compatible haploid mating types must form a dikaryon that later leads to the development and dispersal of teliospores. In order to sustain growth, energy is produced via the electron transport chain within the mitochondrion. Host plants often produce harsh reactive oxygen species, resulting in the need to use an alternative respiration pathway such as employing an alternative oxidase. Therefore, this study attempted to investigate the role of the aox gene in pathogenicity …

Filifactor Alocis: Resilience And Manipulation Against Neutrophil Effector Functions In A Dysbiotic Oral Environment., Max N. Rogers

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Periodontitis is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory infectious disease that affects around 50% of the adult population in the USA. Neutrophils, which are the primary immune cells recruited to restore health at sites of infection, are profuse in the gingival space during oral infections. In a community-wide effort, pathogenic oral bacteria hijack neutrophil effector functions to evade killing, resulting in an uncontrollable inflammatory loop that leads into inflammation-mediated tissue injury. One of these harmful emerging oral pathogens, Filifactor alocis, has been shown to evade neutrophil killing and contribute to disease progression. The purpose of this study is to gain a …

The Effects Of Ppal-1 In Arabidopsis Gamete Development., Amanda White

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Prenylation is a type of post-translational modification in which a 15- or 20-carbon lipid is added to the carboxyl (C) terminus of the protein. Arabidopsis thaliana contains the PROTEIN PRENYLTRANSFERASE ALPHA SUBUNIT-LIKE (PPAL) gene, which encodes a protein with homology to the α-subunits of the three known prenylation enzymes, PFT, PGGT, and Rab-GGT. We previously identified two mutations in PPAL, one of which is ppal-1, which contains a T-DNA insertion in the fourth intron. We have previously observed that self-fertilizing heterozygous ppal-1 plants produce progeny in which homozygous ppal-1 is underrepresented. This project attempts to ascertain …

On The Advantages Of The Disabled In Space., Samantha R. Timmers

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Since the start of the astronaut program in the 1960s, candidates have had to prove to be in prime physical shape before being granted clearance to fly, whereas those with physical disabilities such as blindness or deafness are automatically disqualified. The stigma that disabled persons are less qualified to succeed in a physically alien environment has persisted, though little research exists in revisiting the difficulties posed by allowing this group into the space program. This paper aims to reconsider the advantages and disadvantages of a disability-friendly space program, to include cost considerations, potential challenges, and the unique benefits posed by …

From Valladolid To Venezuela : The Legacy Of Las Casas, Vitoria, And Sepúlveda In The Current Venezuelan Crisis., C. Evan Clark

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the current Venezuelan crisis and the international legal questions it has posed concerning sovereignty, the responsibility to protect, and international efforts to influence a state’s internal politics. In particular, the thesis expounds the historical and theoretical context behind international legal principles that governments, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have invoked in favor of Juan Guaidó or Nicolás Maduro. The thesis’s analysis centers around its examination of the parallels between the international legal principles that relate to the Venezuelan crisis and the political and ethical arguments of the sixteenth-century Spanish social reformer Bartolomé de las Casas and …

Spatiotemporal Analysis Of Traffic Crashes Involving Pedestrians And Cyclists In Jefferson County, Kentucky., Joseph M. Garcia

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Walking and cycling are health-conscious, environmentally friendly modes of transportation, yet very few American trips are accomplished using these methods. A major factor behind this is the fear of being involved in a crash with an automobile. From 2009-2019 there were over 5,200 automobile crashes involving either pedestrians or cyclists in Louisville/ Jefferson County, Kentucky. Researchers have found that these kinds of crashes exhibit spatiotemporal patterns in different cities across the globe. The objective of this study was to determine if there exist any spatial and/or temporal patterns regarding these kinds of crashes. Data for this study came from the …

The Lotus, The Orchid, And The Dragon: An Examination Of One Country, Two Systems And Its Trajectory In Xi Jinping’S China., Eric M. Bush

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Xi Jinping has prioritized National Rejuvenation, a new pillar in the Chinese social contract based on the view that western powers exploited China during a Century of Humiliation and now, under the Communist Party, China is reclaiming its former glory. As China approaches its centennial in 2049, the CPC has prioritized fully reunifying and integrating Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau with the mainland. Through a comparative analysis of Hong Kong and Macau’s demographics and political and economic institutions, this thesis examines the current status of the One Country, Two Systems policy and anticipates its trajectory under Xi Jinping.

Public History As Social Justice: How Japanese Americans Won Redress With The Help Of History Packaged For The Public., Sara N. Ulanoski

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

In 1942, the United States government imprisoned over 100,000 Japanese Americans—most of them citizens—in concentration camps for the duration of World War II. After the camps disbanded in 1946, many Japanese Americans struggled to put their lives back together. Still suffering from their Internment trauma, they chose not to speak about their experiences. The American public memory preserved a version of Internment history that encouraged racist stereotypes and neglected the Japanese American perspective. Through the use of public history—in the form of campaigns, pilgrimages, and exhibits—Japanese Americans changed the way Americans remembered the history of Internment and earned Redress for …

The Politics Of Unionization: The Impact Of Politics On The Strength Of Kentucky Coal Miners’ Unions., Bayley Hope Amburgey

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Extensive research has examined the decline of organized labor in the United States and the political implications that have accompanied it (Goldfield, 1989; Tope and Jacobs, 2009). However, only a small number of works have addressed the political implications specific to Kentucky’s relationship with coal labor unions, and very few works have examined reasons for the current possible rebirth of labor organizing. By examining primary and secondary sources such as newspaper articles and previously conducted case studies, this study explores the ways, if at all, political affiliation or control of a state influences the existence and activity of labor unions, …

Reclaiming Images Of Black Women: An Investigation Of Black Womanhood In Visual Communication, Taylor Simone Thomas

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis investigates how Black womanhood has been visually represented in hopes to either recognize Black women as full, nuanced, and legitimate participants of society or to reinforce monolithic representations built from the constructs of social, political, and economic oppression. It also gives an analysis of Black feminism and how Black feminist thought can be applied to the creative process in hopes of challenging visual misrepresentations of Black womanhood. The aim of this thesis is to show that artists and visual communicators do have a responsibility to be conscious of the messages conveyed in their work. In addition, they must …

Phytochemical Content And Anti-Breast Cancer Activity Of Kentucky Native Plants., Nicole A. Mcgrath

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Plants are a proven and rich source of chemical diversity for the development of pharmaceuticals. Plants that are native to Kentucky are an underexplored resource that could lead to advances in treating human diseases such as cancer. Kentucky native plants, especially those with highly diverse or enriched chemical compositions are possible leads for therapeutic drug development. To explore the potential of native Kentucky plants for treatment of breast cancer, a list of prospective target plants was developed based on literature reports. This list was narrowed to 10 tissues for further in-depth chemical analysis including estimation of alkaloids, terpenes, and phenolics, …

In Vitro Immune Activation By Treponema Pallidum And The Effect On Osteoclastogenesis: First Experimental Step Towards An Integration Between Osteoimmunology And Paleopathology., Emily Ann Rich

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The presence of pathogens in the human body influences the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines by activated immune cells. These cytokines, and other factors, regulate osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity. Through experimental osteoimmunology, interactions between the inflammatory response and bone cell physiology may provide insight into how immune processes can be translated into the lesions or abnormalities observed in the osteological record. In this research, our objective was to determine if the cytokines produced by activated immune cells increase osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity. To evaluate this hypothesis, we used two main protocols, one for immune activation and one for osteoclastogenesis, that utilized …

Voices Of The Unheard: Using Photography To Understand Youths' Perceptions Of Problems In Their Neighborhoods., Erica Ann Lush

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Abstract

This study focused on youths’ perspectives of problems in their neighborhoods. This is important because we are often looking for solutions from adults, when not all adults have the answers. This study involved a total of 9 youth from the Mayor’s Youth Implementation Team in Louisville, KY. This team works alongside the mayor to try and prevent youth violence in their community. These youth participated in a Photovoice research project which is a method of allowing the youth to tell a story through their photographs. The youth focused on social justice needs and took photos of what they thought …

Cardiomyocyte Morphology Following Severe Spinal Cord Contusion In Rodents., Addison D. Riney

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is typically a traumatic event that impacts a patient's physical, psychological, and social well-being by damaging motor and sensory neurons and altering autonomic function leading to cardiac remodeling ⁽⁴²⁾. Spinal cord injuries are based on a scale of severity, with severe, high-level lesions strongly correlating to the degree of cardiovascular dysfunction. ^(30)(37)(41). The decline in cardiovascular function is prevalent after high thoracic SCI, with patients suffering from daily bouts of orthostatic hypotension (OH) and autonomic dysreflexia (AD), both of which prevent and delay rehabilitation efforts and lessen quality of life after …

The Dimensions Of Secession In California., Jared J Thomas

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this research paper was to determine whether annual income is an indicator of a respondent’s level of support for the Californian independence movement. Ultimately, the analysis here determined that there is not a statistically significant relationship between the income of the participant and their support for secession in California. However, the data analysis did yield that there is a correlation between an index of ‘Support for Secession’, ‘Interest in Secession’ and ‘Seriousness of Claim’ and income. In addition, this research project determined that there is not a statistically significant relationship between the political ideology of the respondents …

Screen Usage Relates To Neuroanatomy Underlying Reward Processing., Lucus Kiger Hodge

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Today’s world is inundated with technology and our use of screens. It is possible that screen usage might affect the structural development of brain systems underlying motivation, reward, and addiction. Two hundred and thirty-two 10-year-old individuals’ structural MRI and behavioral data from a publicly accessible database were analyzed to find relations between the cortical and subcortical regions of the reward circuits of the brain and the usage of social media, texting, television, YouTube and other video applications, video games, and video chat applications. Both cortical and subcortical results yielded significant relationships with variables of screen time usage. Most significantly, subcortical …

Musicians’ Hairstyles: A Glimpse Into The Meanings And Messages Of Funk, Punk, And Rap Hair From The 1970s To 1990s In The Usa And France., Carolle Pinkerton

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis is an introspective study of our culture by looking at the meaning and messages in hairstyles of popular musicians. It seeks to understand how popular musicians have shaped their sense of style by the political and social movements of the time especially focusing on punk rock, funk, and rap genres in the United States and France. The research also considers the similarities and differences found within the genres across the two countries. The paper studies and analyzes what hairstyles are dominant in each genre and why. Hairstyles that migrated from America to France within the genre, social and …

Effectiveness, Equity, And Ethics Of Costa Rica's Payment For Environmental Services Program., Anna J Carter

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This paper examines the effectiveness of Costa Rica’s Payments for Environmental Services, or PSA program, which provides government subsidies to participants who protect forested lands or reforest their land. Effectiveness is determined in terms of the program’s progress in reversing deforestation and generating reforestation efforts, with particular attention paid to the success and failings of the program in reaching small landowners. The claim that the PSA program can act as a tool for human development is evaluated through its accessibility to small landowners. Finally, the ethical costs and benefits of the market based scheme underlying the PSA program as a …

Telemedicine In Pediatric Speech Therapy: Characteristics Of Child, Mother, And Speech-Language Pathologist Vocal Interaction., Abigail L Betts

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Telemedicine is a potential solution to provide distant or underserved clients with access to their clinician. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the use of telemedicine affects the vocal characteristics of children who received cochlear implants (CI), their mother, and a speech-language pathologist (SLP) as they engage in a speech-language therapy intervention. The children (n = 5), her caregiver, and the SLP engaged in one 30 minute in person session and one 30 minute telemedicine session in a counterbalanced order. The frequency of vocalizations, vocal turns, and between-speaker pause (BSP) duration in both sessions were examined. The …