Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Belief In Religion And Ethical Values, Lauren Youngquist

Science Symposium

Research suggests that individuals who hold religion to a higher importance are more likely to make ethical judgments, although there has been contradicting research showing no correlation between religion and ethics. My study fills the gap in the literature and examines the relationship between a belief in religion and ethics, specifically looking at the justifiability of certain unethical behaviors.

Ua35/7 Class Of 2025 Commencement, Wku Gatton Academy Of Mathematics & Science

WKU Administration Documents

Commencement program for the WKU Gatton Academy of Mathematics & Science with list of graduates.

Digital Eye Strain In College Students: The Impact Of Academic Majors And Study Habits On Visual Health, Jennica L. Pitts

Honors Thesis

Digital eye strain (DES) has recently grown to become a significant concern among the college student community, particularly with the increased reliance on electronic and screen-based devices for academic and recreational purposes. This study aims to explore potential correlations between a university student's academic major, study habits, and screen-based behaviors, as well as any symptoms they may experience digital eye strain (as well as any other potential contributing factors) In total 81 college students chose to participate in an online survey (through Qualatrics) which assessed their academic majors, GPA, status in the honors program, screen usage, DES symptoms experienced, any …

An Autoethnography Of My Experience Navigating The United States Educational System As An Immigrant: Intercultural Communication Challenges And Cultural Asynchronization, Anuti Ngangana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to share experiences as an immigrant student and answer the following question: What does my personal life history reveal about the importance of intercultural communication in the U.S. educational system? Immigrants leave their countries of origin and migrate to the United States for various reasons. Many are traumatized when they enter the country due to civil unrest in their native countries. Immigrants arrive with their children, who join a school system that is generally unprepared to meet their needs. In order to document immigrant experiences, the researcher utilized an autoethnographic approach using counter-storytelling from …

Storytelling: A Natural Mnemonic, Hailey Stephens

Honors Theses

The present study explored the effectiveness of storytelling as a teaching method in enhancing memory performance for educational material compared to traditional lecture-based instruction. Memory plays a crucial role in learning, and effective teaching strategies should facilitate information encoding, retention, and retrieval. Storytelling, an ancient yet often overlooked pedagogical tool, has been shown to engage students emotionally and cognitively, making presented content more memorable. In the present study, participants were randomly assigned to either a storytelling-based instruction group or a traditional lecture group. Both groups received instruction on the ASSURE Model and were tested immediately after the lesson and again …

Effects Of Acute Exercise On Cognition: Consideration Of Potential Moderators, Mary G. Jackson, Lucy Wilson, Mara Liston, Elizabeth Gaines, Mckenzie Cotten, Reese Carwile

Honors Theses

The present thesis aims to determine the effects, if any, of six potential moderators on the effects of acute moderate-intensity exercise on cognitive functioning. The modes of exercise undertaken by the participants included treadmill (Experiment 1) and stationary bike (Experiment 2) exercise. Participants in each experiment either exercised or rested for twenty minutes and then participated in either a memory recall task or cognitive functioning (“Stroop”) task. The bouts of either exercise or rest on the stationary bike were followed by a rest period during which the participant would be exposed to either standard air oxygen levels (normoxia) or hypoxic …

Prevalence Of Well Water Contaminants In Georgia From 2010-2022, Angelique B. Willis, Suhasini Ramisetty-Mikler, Christine E. Stauber, Uttam Kumar Saha

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Safe, reliable, and clean drinking water sources are a basic necessity. More than 1.7 million individuals rely on private wells for drinking water in Georgia and are confronted with water quality challenges stemming from chemical contamination as private wells are not under mandated regulations as public water supplies. In Georgia, previous studies suggested that the variation of soil and rock in a physiographic province (region) plays an essential role in the quality of private well water. There is a need to understand the distribution of these chemical contaminants above the federal Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) and how different geologies …

The Rural Development Politics Under Prime Minister K.A. Busia Of Ghana, 1969-1972, Kwame Adum-Kyeremeh

Journal of African Policy Studies

This article discusses rural development under the Second Republican government of Ghana. While not directly engaging with the claims of Busia’s unrivalled rural development agenda, this article provides some perspectives as to why the assertions of unqualified success remain popular. Drawing on newspapers and published sources, it discusses the Busia government’s rural development programme and accomplishments, and finds that plans to develop rural Ghana date to several years before the Busia government. By adopting rural development as its flagship programme, Busia directed the government and citizens’ attention towards rapid rural development in the early 1970s. Widespread media publicity has helped …

Associations Between Screen Time, Executive Functioning, And Book Use In Preschool-Age Children From Rural Mississippi, Anabel W. Mccraney

Honors Theses

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between screen time, executive function (EF), and book use in a sample of preschool-age children from rural Mississippi. To measure this relationship children were asked to complete three different EF tasks measuring impulse control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. To measure the child’s frequency of screen and book use, a parent-report survey was used. The results indicated that there might be a relationship between EF, screen, and books within certain variables. There was a relationship found between screen time and fewer books reported in the household. Between EF and …

Challenges Us Study Abroad Students Face When Acculturating To A Foreign Food Environment, Sydney C. Davis

Honors Theses

Studying abroad presents a unique opportunity for college students to immerse themselves in new cultures, including experiencing different food environments and dietary customs. However, adapting to a foreign food culture can pose various challenges that impact students’ overall health, eating behaviors, and study abroad experiences. The purpose of this study to develop a survey instrument designed to investigate the extent to which U.S. study abroad students embrace, accept, and face challenges with different aspects of Italian food culture, using the Social Ecological Model (SEM) as a guiding framework. Initial survey items were developed with information obtained from focus group discussions …

An Intervention To Empower People To Confront Sexism, Rebecca Grace Drake

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Even though sexist comments and behavior occur frequently in everyday life, people do not often confront the individuals who are responsible. However, interpersonal bias confrontations can be powerful tools for reducing expressions of bias and norm setting. The current studies tested an intervention designed to increase confrontations by harnessing theory and research on what holds people back from confronting. We designed a half-hour intervention consisting of engaging and evidence-based videos on confronting bias and self-reflection exercises to increase personal relevance. The module aimed to boost confronting by intervening at multiple points of the decision-making process by increasing recognition of sexism, …

The Economic Geography Of The Production Of A Can-Opener, Richard A. Huck

The Geographical Bulletin

This paper is designed primarily to show the interaction involved among thirty-one centers (Map 1 and Table 1) in the manufacture of one product, a deluxe electric can-opener. This is approached through the problem of transportation in relation to distance between the parts' supplying centers and St. Louis, the site of assembly. The appliance with which this paper deals is a combination "Domestic Electric Can-opener, Knife and Scissors Sharpener," Figure 1: In 1969, over ninety thousand of the can openers were manufactured to retail at $21.99 each

Post-1960 Research Trends In Economic Geography: Review And Prospect, Jack D. Burk

The Geographical Bulletin

In the past twenty years economic geography has undergone very profound and important paradigmatic and methodological changes. The purpose of this note is to delineate and summarize briefly several of these changes and the related trends that have evolved in the recent literature of economic geography. Five trends have been discerned and each will be discussed in turn below. It should be noted that these five trends or tendencies are not mutually exclusive nor do they necessarily pertain only to the post-1960 literature of economic geography. Indeed, some of the research trends discussed below are not only indicative of the …

Exploring Human-Centered Principles To Improve Lecture Slides, Joshua Harlev, Louanne Boyd

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

As a university emphasizing student participation and attention, lectures are central to the educational experience at Chapman. However, slide-based lectures can widely vary in quality and approach. Considering various debunkings of learning styles over the years, it seems more difficult than ever to understand how to most effectively teach students. Effective use of computerized tools has thus become increasingly important as the pace of change continues to increase. Yet, research is available on the effectiveness of teaching methods that can provide guidelines for instructors. With increasingly connected and capable devices at our fingertips, it is imperative to both use the …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Microfoundation Of Demand For Money Theory In Nigeria, Kenneth Ofori-Boateng, Perekunah B. Eregha

Journal of African Policy Studies

The study examines the microfoundations of money demand function specifically the Sidrauski model of money in the utility function was adopted for Nigeria. Data for the study were extracted from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical and Economic Review Bulletin (various issues) and used Error Correction Specification which tied the short run to the long run relationships. The result of the study confirms the Sidrauski conclusion that consumption expenditure has positive impact on money demand. The study then concludes by recommending that for a developing country like Nigeria monetary policy requires careful examination of the microfoundations behavior underpinning monetary economics …

Information, Public Policy Analysis And Sustainable Development In Nigeria, Joseph E. Imhanlahimi, M. O. Ikeanyibe

Journal of African Policy Studies

Information and public policy analysis are critical factors in adequate public policy formulation, implementation and evaluation if the public good is to be achieved in Nigeria. This paper has carried out a critical examination of the interface between information and the public policy process and the effect on public policy analysis and has found that there is a crucial interrelationship among them in order to promote sustainable development. The paper found that the interrelationship is however, seriously interfered with or obstructed by a variety of dominant constraints. The constraints include inadequate human capital, financial resources, large-scale secrecy in government business, …

What Model For Language Planning In Education And Development?, Raymond Mopoho

Journal of African Policy Studies

The implementation of language policies by African countries after independence was very similar to what prevailed in the colonial era in that its centerpiece was the promotion of European languages, to the exclusion of native languages. The official rationale for such policies was political and economic in nature: In a multiethnic context, imposing a foreign language would promote national unity and foster the acquisition of the technical know-how necessary for development. Such a policy was characterized by several weaknesses. In its implementation, for many years, the school system seemed content with being a graduate generating machine, with little attention being …

The Technological Dimension Of Africa's Crsis Of Development: An Agenda For The 21st Century, Osita Agbu

Journal of African Policy Studies

This article critically examined the ways that technological underdevelopment had contributed to the deepening crises of Africa's technological backwardness. Adopting a holistic and historical approach, it tried to show how technological underdevelopment and the dearth of technologically driven approaches to addressing developmental questions had adversely affected the continent.

The article opines that beyond the technological is the fundamental understanding that the problem which Africa is facing is not just a technical one, but involves also a polical dimension which must not be ignored. It sought to explicate the question of whose technology for what, and in whose interest? It maintained …

Patterns And Determinants Of Fertility In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1974-1998, Asfaw Yitna

Journal of African Policy Studies

Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, reported a surprisingly low TFR level of 1.8 births per woman in the year 1994. Such a low level has never been experienced by any other large African city. In this paper, we attempt to confirm the adjusted level fertility of 2.1 births per woman and thus the fertility decline reported by the Central Statistical Authority (CSA), and to explore the important demographics, socio-economic and proximate determinants of fertility decline of Addis Ababa from 1974 to 1998.

We use data from fertility surveys of 1990 and 1995, conducted in Addis Ababa by CSA, …

Adding Libraries To The Equation: Mathematical Sciences’ Underutilization Of Academic Librarians, Jennifer L.C. Burke, Elizabeth C. Novosel, Daniel G. Kipnis, Rasitha R. Jayesekere

Libraries Scholarship

Academic librarians do not engage with all disciplinary departments equally. Despite equal or even greater efforts, some departments are less responsive to librarian outreach. One such department is mathematics. To understand mathematics departments’ relationships with their academic librarians, three mathematics librarians created a 20-question survey that was disseminated to mathematics faculty, instructors, and instructional staff in the United States and Canada. Of the 188 survey participants, more than a third reported that they never engage with their librarians, approximately half only do so occasionally, and a mere eight percent of participants collaborated with librarians to provide information literacy instruction (IL) …

05.05.2025 Ored Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

Research Showcase Photos

Showcase Raffle Winners

Chancellor's Award for Research and Creative Scholarship

Video of the ORED website

Recent U.S. Government Policy Literature On Critical And Strategic Minerals, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Critical and strategic minerals have become increasingly important in U.S. government civilian and military policymaking in recent years. This is demonstrated by the heavy use of such minerals in many critical civilian and military infrastructures. This work will discuss how this subject has been addressed in laws, presidential documents, and works by government agencies along with congressional oversight committees and support agencies. It will stress how the United States is heavily dependent on strategic minerals from adversarial foreign countries such as China and will examine U.S. efforts to increase its ability to produce such materials in the United States by …

Volume 7 Complete Issue, James W. Gallagher

The Geographical Bulletin

Volume 7 Complete Issue

Spatial Ordering In Social Area Typology, Larry B. Bubacz

The Geographical Bulletin

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide tentative evaluation of the general applicability of two statistics, the weighted mean areal center and standard distance, to the question of spatial ordering in social area analysis. More specifically, does the use of these statistics identify whether social phenomena tends to conform to either a concentric (doughnut) ring or a sector (pie-shaped) pattern? The weighted mean areal center is defined as the "balancing point" or "center of gravity" for a population distributed in twodimensions (x-y coordinates) which is comparable to the arithmetic mean of the conventional linear frequency distribution.' The descriptive …

The American State Capital, A Twentieth Century Growth Pole, Frederick A. Hirsch

The Geographical Bulletin

A fall-out of our avoidance of " capes and bays" geography has been a " benign neglect" of political capitals. In addition to the mental block arising from past tedious memorizations of their existence has been a second factor of sparseness of cases. The United States with fifty state capitals has more than the number of capitals in most of the other federally organized sovereignties. The scientifically oriented among academic geographers have preferred to analyze phenomena in greater abundance such as central places or stream beds.

An Analysis On The Most Effective Parental Involvement Behavior(S), Katrina Viloria

Honors Capstones

Parental involvement is the parent participation in the learning and educational process of their children (Myers-Young, 2018). Within parental involvement, there are home-based, school-based, and home-school communication forms of involvement. Previous research indicated that even after accounting for diverse background characteristics and risk factors, parent involvement in school was consistent in positive association with academic achievement, lower rates of high school dropout, increased on-time high school completion, and highest grade completed (Desforges & Abouchaar, 2003). The current study investigated which of the various parental involvement behaviors are the most strongly associated with childrens’ academic achievement as well as how these …

Methodology In The Natural And Social Sciences And Its Relationship To Geography, James T. Lorell

The Geographical Bulletin

Various methodologies are utilized in science in the achievement of these goals. Wellman concludes, "in the determination of cause and effect relations, scientific methods are indispensable, but there is no one scientific method which is inherently superior to others. We are gradually coming to realize that there is no one best method for all problems, but rather that research procedure calls for the finding of a blend of methods that is adapted to our particular problem "2

A Review Of Some Research Paradigms And Problems In Social-Science Research Of Interest To Contemporary Geography, Richard J. Newcombe

The Geographical Bulletin

The purpose of this paper is to contrast research methods in use in the Biological and Physical Sciences with those in use in the Social Sciences, and to do so in a manner which emphasizes aspects of these methods of interest to Geographers. Attention is directed to the strengths and weaknesses of different research paradigms with respect to problems which are characteristic of social science subject matter. Many of these problems take a different form or are absent in the older disciplines in which most of the research types reviewed have their origins.

Leading Factors Positively Impacting Teacher Job Satisfaction, Abby M. Smith Ms.

Graduate Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper examined the issue of declining teacher job satisfaction and its role in the growing national teacher shortage. The purpose was to identify the leading factors that positively influenced teacher job satisfaction and to explore how these elements supported retention, enhanced school performance, and improved student learning. This literature review combined 15 peer-reviewed studies from the past 17 years that included diverse international contexts with participants who varied by age, experience, and culture. The sources employed qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and secondary data analyses to study intrinsic and extrinsic motivators on teacher satisfaction, burnout, and attrition. The findings indicated …

Assessing Implications Through General Strain Theory: Comparative Analysis Of Crime Rates In Flint And Pontiac Michigan, Jennifer Harrison

Honors Projects

Flint, Michigan suffered a city water change from the Great Lake’s Lake Huron water pipeline to an old system using the Flint River as the main source of water (Reuben, et al., 2022). The change took place in an effort to make budget cuts (Denchak, 2024). The switch occurred before checking the safety of the pipes, which were severely corroded (Reuben, et al., 2022). Lead poisoning and Legionnaires disease spread through the Flint community and the water was visibly not safe for use (Reuben, et al., 2022). The people of Flint experienced stress that they could not control. They feared …