Digital Commons Network^™

Comparison Of Muscle Activation And Kinematics During The Deadlift Using A Double‐Pronated And Overhand/Underhand Grip, Luke Allen Beggs

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This study examined muscle activation and relative joint angles during a conventional deadlift while using either a double‐pronated or overhand/underhand (OU) grip. Ten weight‐trained individuals performed the deadlift with 60% and 80% of their 1‐repetition maximum, with three different grip variations. EMG recordings were taken of the left and right biceps brachii, brachioradialis, upper trapezius, and upper latissimus dorsi. Motion capture was used to measure angles of the wrist, elbow, knee, and hip. With an OU grip, significant bilateral asymmetry was seen in EMG activity of biceps brachii and brachioradialis. Mean wrist and elbow angle also showed significant bilateral asymmetry …

Examining Adminitrators' Disciplinary Philosophies: A Conceptual Model, Brittany Wilkinson Smith

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

In the 40th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes toward the Public Schools, Americans rated discipline as the second largest problem facing public education (Bushaw & Gallup, 2008). This poses a substantial problem for administrators as they strive to employ school reform policies, address public demands and meet the needs of contemporary students. A review of literature revealed a large body of research which examines disciplinary practice; however, it also showcased a literary gap regarding administrative disciplinary philosophies. This multiple case study highlights disciplinary philosophies possessed by five secondary school administrators. Analysis included utilizing the Administrator Discipline …

Factors Affecting Rural Kentucky Patients Hospital Choice And Bypass Behavior, Xiao He

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This study examines the underutilization of rural hospitals in Kentucky. The authors study hospital and patient characteristics to determine why and how rural patients bypass local rural hospitals and how they make their decision in the hospital choice. A Health Care Service Survey conducted in rural Kentucky and hospital data drew from American Hospital Directory are used. A binary probit model and a conditional logit model are applied. The results suggest that the hospital quality, prior experiences and the satisfaction of the local hospital, along with patients’ value of hospital size, reputation and patients’ insurance coverage influence rural patients’ hospital …

Practice And Application Of Knowledge By Nutrition Students, Jennifer Kristin Boyee

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Practice and knowledge of upper‐level human nutrition and dietetics students (juniors and seniors, n=96) attending a midwestern university were compared to their comprehension and application of the Scope of Dietetics Practice. The sample consisted of 96 students, primarily (72%) in the 21 – 23 age category; females made up 83% and males comprised the remaining 17% of the sample. In this sample, 70% of the participants reported dietetics as their current major, and 30% stated that their major was human nutrition. Overall, students majoring in human nutrition responded neutrally to the questions concerning comprehension, knowledge, and implementation of the Scope …

A Reliability-Based Routing Protocol For Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks, James Bernsen

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks (VANETs), an emerging technology, would allow vehicles to form a self-organized network without the aid of a permanent infrastructure. As a prerequisite to communication in VANETs, an efficient route between communicating nodes in the network must be established, and the routing protocol must adapt to the rapidly changing topology of vehicles in motion. This is one of the goals of VANET routing protocols. In this thesis, we present an efficient routing protocol for VANETs, called the Reliable Inter-VEhicular Routing (RIVER) protocol. RIVER utilizes an undirected graph that represents the surrounding street layout where the vertices of …

Teacher Disclosure: Developing Privacy Rules, Managing Boundaries And Building Relationships, Renee Monique Kaufmann

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The roles and responsibilities of middle school teachers are never ending. From instructing students on state-mandated curriculum to the enrichment of character and inquiry, teachers make daily decisions about how and what to disclose to their students. The current study reexamines Hosek and Thompson’s (2009) study on how teachers develop privacy rules and coordinate boundaries using Petronio’s Communication Privacy Management as the theoretical framework. Studying middle school teachers, in lieu of college instructors, allows for a better understanding of how privacy rules and boundaries are constructed and used within the middle school. This provides a better understanding of the important …

Capacitor Switching Transient Modeling And Analysis On An Electrical Utility Distribution System Using Simulink Software, Durga Bhavani Mupparty

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The quality of electric power has been a constant topic of study, mainly because inherent problems to it can bring great economic losses in industrial processes. Among the factors that affect power quality, those related to transients originated from capacitor bank switching in the primary distribution systems must be highlighted. In this thesis, the characteristics of the transients resulting from the switching of utility capacitor banks are analyzed, as well as factors that influence there intensities. A practical application of synchronous closing to reduce capacitor bank switching transients is presented. A model that represents a real distribution system 12.47kV from …

Beef Cattle Grazing Preference Of Tall Fescue As Affected By Endophyte, Herbert Troye Owens Iii

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Many factors control, contribute to, stimulate and limit forage selection. It is apparent that cattle prefer certain cultivars compared to others. This study sought to test if cattle displayed preferences for certain cultivars over a two-year period in 2008 and 2009. Determining the effect of endophyte status on preference was another objective. Previous research showed rapid increase in the selection of preferred cultivars, i.e., diet learning. We attempted to replicate those results. Forty cultivars (34 tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.) cultivars), two festuloliums (Festuca pratensis x Lolium perenne), two meadow fescue (Lolium pratense) and one meadow …

Ruminative Thought In Individuals With Borderline Personality Features, Brian Thomas Upton

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by patterns of intense negative affect, interpersonal difficulties, and maladaptive impulsive behaviors, and is associated with impairments in social and occupational functioning. Rumination is a maladaptive form of repetitive thought that maintains and intensifies emotional disturbance and is associated with behavioral dysregulation. This study tested several hypotheses about relationships between rumination and borderline personality features. This study included 117 college student participants, 88 female students and 29 male students, most of whom (84%) identified themselves as Caucasian. Participants completed a series of measures which included a writing sample to sample repetitive thought. Findings consistently …

The Ghost Of Heracles: The Lost Hero’S Haunting Of Argonautica 2, Rachel Severynse Philbrick

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The abandonment of Heracles at the end of Book 1 in Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica marks a turning point for Jason and the rest of the Argonauts. The aid of their mightiest hero, upon whose strength they had relied, is lost to them and they must find a means of accomplishing their nearly impossible mission without him. Allusions to Heracles occur throughout Book 2, in all nine units of action, drawing the reader’s attention to Argonauts’ efforts to carry on in the face of their loss. These allusions can be grouped into four categories: explicit mention, verbal echo, extrapolative allusion, and …

Character Education And 4-H Youth Development, Jessica Lynn Mullins

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Character education assumes responsibility for influencing and educating youth on morals, values, beliefs and positive character attributes in order to influence them into being positive and contributing members of society. Character education is most often taught in the home, schools and community. One community organization that integrates character education into its programming is 4-H Youth Development. The purpose of this research is to view the relationships between character education and 4-H, and more so whether Kentucky 4-H programs influence the knowledge, attitudes and practices of positive character among youth leaders. This study also looked at length of 4-H involvement and …

Everyday Speech Production Assessment Measure (E-Spam): Reliability And Validity, Tracy N. Watts

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Purpose: The Everyday Speech Production Assessment Measure (E-SPAM) is a novel test for assessing changes in clients‟ speech production skills after intervention. This study provides information on reliability and validity for the test and overviews its clinical application.

Method & Procedures: E-SPAM, oral reading, and sequential motion rate tasks were administered to 15 participants with motor speech disorders (MSDs). E-SPAM responses were scored using a 5-point system by four graduate students to assess inter-scorer and temporal reliability and to determine validity for E-SPAM.

Results: Findings of this study indicate that the E-SPAM can be scored with sufficient …

Synthesis And Characterization Of P-Type Copper Indium Diselenide (Cis) Nanowires Embedded In Porous Alumina Templates, Sri Harsha Moturu

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This work focuses on a simple template assisted approach for fabricating I-III-VI semiconductor nanowire arrays. Vertically aligned nanowires of p-CIS of controllable diameter and thickness are electrodeposited, from an acidic electrolyte solution, inside porous aluminum templates using a three electrode set up with saturated calomel electrode as the reference. AAO template over ITO-glass was used as starting template for the device fabrication. The deposited CIS is annealed at different temperatures in a reducing environment (95% Ar+ 5% H₂) for 30 minutes. X-ray diffraction of the nanowires showed nanocrystalline cubic phase structures with a strong orientation in the <112> direction. …

Simulation And Control Of A Quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Michael David Schmidt

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The ANGEL project (Aerial Network Guided Electronic Lookout) takes a systems engineering approach to the design, development, testing and implementation of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle. Many current research endeavors into the field of quadrotors for use as unmanned vehicles do not utilize the broad systems approach to design and implementation. These other projects use pre-fabricated quadrotor platforms and a series of external sensors in a mock environment that is unfeasible for real world use. The ANGEL system was designed specifically for use in a combat theater where robustness and ease of control are paramount. A complete simulation model of …

Evaluation Of Intelligibility And Speaker Similarity Of Voice Transformation, Anusha Raghunathan

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Voice transformation refers to a class of techniques that modify the voice characteristics either to conceal the identity or to mimic the voice characteristics of another speaker. Its applications include automatic dialogue replacement and voice generation for people with voice disorders. The diversity in applications makes evaluation of voice transformation a challenging task. The objective of this research is to propose a framework to evaluate intentional voice transformation techniques. Our proposed framework is based on two fundamental qualities: intelligibility and speaker similarity. Intelligibility refers to the clarity of the speech content after voice transformation and speaker similarity measures how well …

New Photovoltaic Acceptors: Synthesis And Characterization Of Functionalized C-Fused Anthradithiophene Quinones, Kerri Shelton

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Stable organic semiconductors are critical to produce inexpensive, efficient and flexible thin film organic solar cells. A current chemical focus is the synthesis of stable, electron-accepting materials to be utilized as an acceptor layer in photovoltaics.¹ The Anthony group has shown that the functionalization of pentacene with suitable electron withdrawing groups provides a catalog of suitable acceptors for this purpose.² These pentacenes can be further modified to pack in a unique 1-dimensional "sandwich herringbone" crystal packing, leading to improved device current.³ To improve the stability of acene acceptors, we have taken two hetero-atom themed approaches. First, we …

Development Of Novel Electrophilic Ruthenium(Ii) And Iridium(Iii) Complexes And Their Applications As Homogeneous Catalysts, Ryan R. Ketcham

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Our aim was to develop the synthetic potential and reaction chemistry of Ir³⁺ and Ru²⁺ electrophiles by preparing well-characterized complexes whose properties are controllable by modification of the ancillary ligand environment Specifically, we prepared a series of ruthenium complexes to serve as selective hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis catalysts of furan derivatives. We also expanded the synthesis of electrophilic Ir³⁺ di-thiolate complexes. These types of compounds could eventually serve as catalysts precursors for the addition of weak nucleophiles to alkynes and nitriles.

The Effect Of Client Self-Disclosure On The Physiological Arousal Of The Therapist, Kristyn M. Blackburn

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This quantitative study investigated the effect of client self-disclosure on the physiological arousal of the therapist and subsequent ratings of the therapeutic alliance, session smoothness, and session depth. Three therapists and 10 clients participated in a 40-minute videotaped therapy session while being attached to sensors that measured heart rate and skin conductance. The participants completed self-report questionnaires designed to assess the therapeutic alliance and session smoothness and depth immediately following the therapy session. The videotaped therapy sessions were later transcribed and coded by two independent coders for the occurrence of client self-disclosure. Correlation analyses were utilized to determine whether or …

Constructing Coldstream: Sustainability And The Politics Of Local Economic Development, John Taylor Shelton

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This thesis explores the evolution of the Coldstream Research Campus, a high-tech research park operated by the University of Kentucky. Conceived of in the late 1980s and built in 1992, Coldstream was expected to become the „economic engine‟ of central Kentucky through the commercialization of applied scientific and technological research coming out of the university. Twenty years later, with Coldstream having failed to live up to expectations, the university initiated the process of updating the Coldstream Master Plan to incorporate a decided emphasis on the concept of sustainability. Through a mix of archival research and semi-structured interviews, this thesis argues …

High Speed Continuous Thermal Curing Microfabrication System, Franklin Dibartolomeo

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Rapid creation of devices with microscale features is a vital step in the commercialization of a wide variety of technologies, such as microfluidics, fuel cells and self-healing materials. The current standard for creating many of these microstructured devices utilizes the inexpensive, flexible material poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to replicate microstructured molds. This process is inexpensive and fast for small batches of devices, but lacks scalability and the ability to produce large surface-area materials. The novel fabrication process presented in this paper uses a cylindrical mold with microscale surface patterns to cure liquid PDMS prepolymer into continuous microstructured films. Results show that this …

Conceptualizing And Improving Red Wine Grape Cultivars Grown In Kentucky, Matthew Simson

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Wine sensory attributes are associated with quality of wines. Cabernet Franc did not possess good coloration of its wine. Therefore, in the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons, studies including the sampling of four red wine grape cultivars from the end of flowering throughout the rest of the season and applying treatments to Cabernet Franc grapevines at veraison were commenced to address suitability and color enhancement, respectively. The study examining Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chambourcin, and Norton looked at sampling their grapes at two-week intervals from times post-flowering to understand the demands of each cultivar during key stages of berry development, …

Sibling Conflict Resolution Styles And Marital Conflict Resolution Styles, Fatimah Shalash

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This study used qualitative methods to examine if there was a connection between conflict resolution styles used with siblings in adolescence and conflict resolution styles utilized in current romantic committed relationships. The Conflict Resolution Behavior Questionnaire (Reese-Weber, & Bartle-Haring, 2003) and Gottman‟s (1994a, 1994b) couple-conflict types as adapted by Holman and Jarvis (2003) were administered to 144 participants through an online questionnaire. Analysis of the CRBQ using a multiple regression indicated participant‟s self-rating of compromise, attack, and avoidant conflict resolution styles used with siblings when an adolescent predicted current self-ratings of compromise, attack, and avoidant conflict resolution styles utilized in …

Ethnic Identity And Perceived Discrimination As Predictors Of Academic Attitudes: The Mediating And Moderating Roles Of Psychological Distress And Self-Regulation, Hui Chu

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The current study addressed the deficiency in research by examining risk factors for immigrant children that may lead to academic disengagement (such as ethnic discrimination by peers and teachers, and psychological distress) and resilience factors that promote academic engagement (such as the development of a positive ethnic identity). Children who had stronger, more positive ethnic identities had more positive academic attitudes. Furthermore, the more the children were teased by their peers and graded unfairly by their teachers because of their ethnicity, the more they thought school was less important, less useful and felt less efficacious about school and valued school …

Effect Of A Silicon Tip On Absorption Cross Section, Field Enhancement, And Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Of Different Sized Gold Nanoparticles Under Evanescent Wave Illumination, Gazi Mostafa Huda

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

We have numerically investigated the influence of a nanoscale silicon tip in proximity to an illuminated gold nanoparticle. We describe how the position of the high-permittivity tip and the size of a nanoparticle impact the absorption, peak electric field and surface plasmon resonance wavelength under different illumination conditions. We detail the finite element method (FEM) approach we have used for this, whereby we specify a volume excitation field analytically and calculate the difference between this source field and the total field (i.e., scattered-field formulation). We show that a nanoscale tip can locally enhance the absorption of the particle as well …

The Effect Of Loose Mix Aging On The Performance Properties Of Warm Asphalts, Thomas Martin Clements

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Recent improvements in warm mix asphalt technologies have spurred an aggressive adoption of these new practices within the asphalt paving industry. Concerns have arisen among federal and state agencies about the effects of this line of products on the performance of asphalt pavements. An investigation of the effects of lowering mixing, aging and compactions temperatures while varying the loose mix aging time was performed. Hamburg Wheel Tracking, Flow Number, Dynamic Modulus and Fracture Energy testing were used to evaluate mechanistic properties of the materials.

Analyzing Educational Attainments And Occupational Outcomes Of Tibetan Refugees Living In India, Tenzin Palkyi

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Opportunities of mass education are a relatively new phenomenon in the Tibetan community. Following the incidents of 1959, the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetans fled into India. Mass education was implemented and sustained within the Tibetan community for the first time. The goal of this exploratory research is to study the impact of mass education on the first generations of Tibetans who experienced it in exile. This study analyzes the gendered pattern in subjects students choose to pursue, their educational attainment and the kinds of jobs they assume after graduation. The study presents a quantitative analysis of data spanning …

Analysis Of Student & Teacher Outcomes From Pre-Existing Data Obtained Through The Low Incidence Initiative: Teaching Academic Age-Appropriate Learning Via Communication Project, April M. Holman

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Students with significant cognitive disabilities frequently exhibit reduced communicative and academic competence. The Low Incidence Initiative (LII) project was a professional development model designed to train school-based teams to facilitate increased communicative and academic competence with such students via distance-technology coaching. This study analyzed pre-existing data from year one of the LII. Data were analyzed to determine effectiveness of the project on communication status of students and on training school personnel to accurately identify student levels of communication, and for overall satisfaction with the project. Results indicated that all student participants demonstrated improvement in expressive communication output. 100% of students …

Rotate And Hold And Scan (Rahas): Structured Light Illumination For Use In Remote Areas, Eli Ross Crane

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

As a critical step after the discovery of material culture in the field, archaeologists have a need to document these findings with a slew of different physical measurements and photographs from varying perspectives. 3-D imaging is becoming increasingly popular as the primary documenting method to replace the plethora of tests and measurements, but for remote areas 3-D becomes more cumbersome due to physical and environmental constraints. The difficulty of using a 3-D imaging system in such environments is drastically lessened while using the RAHAS technique, since it acquires scans untethered to a computer. The goal of this thesis is to …

Investigation Of The Toxicity And Efflux Of Polychlorinated Biphenyls And Hydroxylated Polychlorinated Biphenyls In Escherichia Coli, Shen Geng

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants. Due to their properties, PCBs accumulate in the food-chain and post a threat to the health of human beings and wildlife. Hydroxylated PCBs (OH-PCBs) are oxidative metabolites of PCBs and are more hydrophilic than their parent PCBs. One of the best approaches to break down these contaminants is through bioremediation, which is an environmental friendly process that uses microorganisms to restore natural environment.

Towards this goal, we have investigated the toxicity and accumulation of PCBs and OH-PCBs in a Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli. We have also determined the role played by a …

Influence Of Tissue Absorption And Scattering On Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy Blood Flow Measurements, Daniel Irwin

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This investigation evaluates the influences of optical property assumptions on nearinfrared diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) flow index measurements. Independent variation is induced in optical properties, absorption coefficient (μ_a) and reduced scattering coefficient (μ_s’), of liquid phantoms with concurrent measurements of flow indices. A hybrid instrument is incorporated consisting of a dual-wavelength (785 and 830 nm) DCS flow device to obtain flow indices and a frequency-domain tissue-oximeter for optical properties. Flow indices are calculated with measured μ_a and μ_s’ or assumed constant μ_a and μ_s’. Inaccurate μ_s’ assumptions produced …