Primitive Accumulation In The Late Twentieth Century: Mexico, The United States, And Nafta, Mark Huffman

Scholars Week

Between 1971 and 1994, American capital succeeded in redirecting state action toward the interests of the largest transnational firms, facilitating extreme concentrations of wealth and capital alongside a profound defeat of organized labor and the dismantling of social programs. The post-Keynesian political economy produced the North American Free Trade Agreement, an event which demonstrated both the ideological capture of the American state by neoliberalism and the purpose of the ideology as a social force (as opposed to a strictly economic one). This article investigates the neoliberal turn generally and NAFTA specifically as engines of social dislocation in North America and …

Cropland Change And Prime Farmland In Calloway County, Kentucky, 2015–2025: A Gis Analysis Of Corn And Soybean Fields, Shiba Hari Dhakal Shiba

Scholars Week

Understanding where cropland change occurs relative to soil quality helps indicate whether farmland is being used on the most productive land. This study used GIS-based change detection analysis to evaluate changes in corn and soybean fields in Calloway County, Kentucky, between 2015 and 2025 and to test whether new corn and soybean fields were located on prime farmland. USDA Cropland Data Layer maps for 2015 and 2025 (30 m resolution) were reclassified into seven classes and compared in ArcGIS Pro, and the results were overlaid on USDA NRCS gSSURGO farmland classification. Combined corn and soybean area declined about 19% from …

Remembering The Fallen: College Football Death, Community Memory, And The Memorialization Of Student-Athletes, 1923–1984, Seth Skebo

Scholars Week

Remembering the Fallen: College Football Death, Community Memory, and the Memorialization of Student-Athletes, 1923–1984

Student Name: Seth Skebo

Panel: History Senior Research Seminar Panel: The History of Death

This presentation will examine how local communities and changing social values shaped the ways college football players were remembered after dying from injuries on the field. Using Gilbert Graves of Murray State University, who died in 1924, and Jack Trice of Iowa State University, who died in 1923, this project asks why their deaths were memorialized differently and how the meanings attached to their lives and deaths changed over time.

Both deaths …

Enhancing Salinity Tolerance In Black Soybean Genotypes Through Synergistic Rhizobacterial Inoculation, Fairus Hisanah Hibatullah

Scholars Week

Soil salinity is a major environmental constraint that limits soybean productivity by disrupting plant growth, nutrient uptake, and biological nitrogen fixation. Beneficial microorganisms have emerged as a sustainable approach to improve crop tolerance to saline conditions. This study aimed to identify the most salt-tolerant black soybean phenotype and evaluate the individual and combined effects of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria (SNFB) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) under salinity stress. This study consisted of two stages, the first identified the most salt-tolerant black soybean phenotype (BS 87, BS 99, and BS 114), and the second evaluated the effects of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria, plant …

Seasonal Variations In Radar Backscatter And Corn Vegetation In The South Fork Iowa River Watershed During The Growing Season Of 2025, Monika Bhusal

Scholars Week

Remote sensing provides complementary information on crop development and surface conditions, but radar backscatter over agricultural areas can be influenced by vegetation and soil characteristics. This study examines seasonal relationships between Sentinel-1 radar backscatter and Landsat-derived vegetation greenness over corn-growing areas in the South Fork Iowa River Watershed, Iowa, during the 2025 growing season. Landsat 8/9 was used to derive the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), while OPERA RTC-S1 imagery provided VV and VH backscatter and a VH/VV polarization measure. USDA Cropland Data Layer was used to identify corn growing areas, and analysis was restricted to areas with common satellite …

Evaluation Of Soil Properties In Pollinator Gardens Vs. Agricultural Cropland, Shelby E. Barber

Scholars Week

Soil is important to pollinator gardens because the soil establishes a foundation for the plants, leading to more biodiversity and habitat for insects. The objective of this research was to review the effects of pollinator gardens on soil, including soil organic matter (SOM), water-holding capacity (WHC), total porosity, and soil pH. This study was conducted in Calloway County, Western Kentucky, with silt loam soil collected in September 2026. The study compares multiple pollinator gardens with conventional tillage corn fields and grasslands. This study used disturbed and undisturbed soil samples. The results from the disturbed soil samples show the pollinator plot …

Comparing Soil Health Indicators Between Corn-Soy Production And Restored Utility-Prairie Systems, Katie Oakley Anthony

Scholars Week

It has long been known that cultivation in agroecological systems disrupts inherent soil attributes that support soil health. Soil health can be defined as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans – but is soil health a blanket concept? This research intended to address health gaps in production systems – corn-soy rotation (CS) and restored utility-prairie (UP) – based on USDA taxonomic classifications. The quality of soil is generally reported in terms of physicochemical and biological indicators. By examining same soil series in adjacent land management systems, those indicators …

Evaluation Of Selected Physical Properties Under Diverse Cropping Systems, Elizabeth A. Heine

Scholars Week

Evaluation of Selected Physical Properties

Under Diverse Cropping Systems

Elizabeth Heine and Dr. Iin Handayani, Ph.D. Murray State University, Hutson College of Agriculture

Abstract

Soil quality influences agricultural productivity, water retention, nutrient cycling, and environmental sustainability. Soil organic matter (SOM), soil water at field capacity (SWFC), macroporosity, and total porosity are important indicators of soil health because they affect soil structure, aeration, and water availability. This study evaluated these properties under different land-use systems at the West Farm Complex in Calloway County, Kentucky. Soil samples were collected from corn, soybean, sunflower, tobacco, pasture, and miscanthus fields; 24 disturbed and 24 …

Social Media Experiences On Well-Being, Alexandra A. Kolts, Maci Robinson

Scholars Week

Social Media Experiences on Well-Being

Social media plays an important role in the everyday lives of college students, allowing individuals to communicate, share experiences, and interact with different types of content. However, frequent social media use may also influence how individuals view themselves, like social comparisons. Self-esteem refers to an individual’s overall evaluation of their own worth or value, and it is especially important during young adulthood as individuals develop their sense of self. Previous research has found relationships between social media use, social comparison, body image, and self-esteem, like finding that upward social comparisons were associated with lower self-esteem …

Authenticity Assurance: Risk Aversiveness & Authenticity Signaling In Local Product Evaluation, Sidney B. Lasley

Scholars Week

Local products are commonly associated with attributes that contribute to perceptions of authenticity such as ethical values, simplicity, and community embeddedness. However, the characteristics often associated with local businesses, such as small scale, informality, and limited standardization, may be signals of uncertainty regarding quality, consistency, or reliability. As a result, perceptions of authenticity for local products may vary across consumers depending on their sensitivity to risk. Across two studies, we examine how risk aversiveness influences perceptions of authenticity and subsequent purchase intentions in a local product context. Study 1 uses survey data to show that authenticity mediates the relationship between …

Variability Of Soil Properties In Southern Illinois Croplands, Megan Waeltz

Scholars Week

Understanding soil properties and what causes their variability is important for improving or maintaining soil health, as well as incorporating better cropland management practices. The objective of this research was to determine the variability of soil properties from six St. Clair County, Illinois fields with different soil orders, types, textures, and field conditions. The six fields studied were a soybean field with clay hills, corn field with medium texture, corn field with light texture, corn field with high plant residue, soybean field with medium texture, and corn field with Mollisol heavy clay. The soil properties evaluated in this study were …

Land Management Practices Control The Changes In Soil Quality, Jillian E. Graham

Scholars Week

Soil quality is essential for agricultural productivity and long-term sustainability. Different land management practices can influence soil properties and their ability to support plant growth. This study evaluated differences in soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), soil water-holding capacity (SWFC), and microporosity among eight sampling locations representing different land management practices in Western Kentucky. Soil samples were collected from McLean and Calloway Counties at eight locations: Woodland, Berry Field, Squash Field, Wheat Field, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Corn Field, Bean Field, and Conservation Tillage Field. These locations represented different agricultural and conservation management practices. Soil samples were collected at a …

Soil Health Indicator Responses To Different Crop Production Systems, Lynnlee Jones

Scholars Week

Various crop production systems have affected soil health by changing soil physical, chemical and biological properties. In general, differences in crop production management systems include crop rotations, tillage and crop types. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the changes of soil organic carbon (SOC), soil water holding capacity (SWHC), bulk density (BD) and total porosity (TP) following various crop production management practices in Western Kentucky. The study was conducted in Calloway and McLean counties and were performed in a 90m x 90m area. These fields consisted of row crops (CRP, Bean Field, Woods Field, Corn Field, Conventional …

Determining Soil Characteristics Under Six Land Management Practices In Western Kentucky, Lyndsey R. Bryant

Scholars Week

Different types of land management practices can change soil chemical, physical, and biological characteristics. The objective of this study was to determine the changes of soil properties as affected by cultivation practices through measuring soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), soil water holding capacity (SWHC), and soil water field capacity (SWFC). The sites for this study include an agriculture hemp field, construction site, urban pathway, bison prairie, control burn field, and forest floor. The sites were located in Calloway and Trigg County; Kentucky. Twenty-four undisturbed and twenty-four disturbed soil samples were taken across six fields with four replications each. The …

Evaluating Soil Properties Of Silt Loam Between No Till Cropland And Pasture: Study Case From Ballard, Graves, And Hickman Counties, Avery Bray, Shiba Hari Dhakal

Scholars Week

Ballard and Hickman County is home to silt loams in the northern and eastern parts of the county due to the Ohio and Mississippi River. Graves County’s silt loam is a product of windblown glacial loess thousands of years ago. Silt loam soil contains around 50% silt and less than 27% clay. The annual flooding and windblown loess are the cause of minerals into these soils, making them perfect for canola, corn, pasture, soybeans, and wheat production. The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of different agriculture land systems on selected soil properties including soil organic matter …

Crop And Tillage Management Practices Impact On Soil Properties, Elijah James Brown

Scholars Week

Crop and tillage management practices control the changes in soil properties. The purpose of this study was to compare the dynamics of soil properties across six management systems that differed in crop type and tillage practices. Soil properties tested were soil organic matter(SOM), soil pH, macroporosity, and soil water holding capacity(SWHC). The study was conducted in Morris, Illinois. The crop management systems included alfalfa (AR), grass hay (GH), no-till corn (CNT), conventional till corn (CT), no-till soybeans (BNT), and conventional till soybeans (BT). Management histories from 2023 to 2026 differed in crop rotation, tillage, fertilizer use, herbicide applications, and residue …

Land Management Impacts On Soil Physical And Chemical Properties In Murray, Kentucky, Bhawana Bhusal

Scholars Week

Soil surface properties serve as key indicators of overall soil health and quality. This study aimed to characterize selected physical and chemical properties of cropland, pastureland, and forest soils in western Kentucky. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were gathered from University Farms including North Farm, West Farm, Hutson Farm, and the Be Creek Forest area in Calloway County, Kentucky. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from the University Farms includes North Farm, West Farm, Hutson Farm, and Be Creek Forest area in Calloway County, Kentucky. Three replications per field were collected at a depth of 0-7 cm from each …

Assessment Of Soil Properties Under Diverse Crop And Land Use Types, Olivia P. Berger

Scholars Week

Assessment of Soil Properties Under Diverse Crop and Land Use Types

Olivia Berger and Dr. Iin Handayani, Ph.D.

Hutson College of Agriculture, Murray State University, Murray, KY

Abstract

Soil properties can vary among different crop and land use systems and can influence soil health and agricultural productivity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of six different crop and land use types on selected soil properties in western Kentucky. Soil samples were collected from six sites at the West Farm Complex in Calloway County, Kentucky, which contained tobacco, soybean, corn, sunflower, pasture land, and Miscanthus. Four disturbed …

Soil Differences Between Worked And Unworked Ground In Western Kentucky, Landon Herring

Scholars Week

Soil often loses its richness in nutrients over decades. Tracking fields that are constantly being worked against a field that has not been worked in several years were observed in this study to see better soil qualities.The objective of this experiment was to determine the changes of soil organic carbon (SOC), soil pH, macroporosity, and soil water at field capacity (SWFC). For this study, 24 undisturbed and 24 disturbed soil samples were taken across eight fields. The three worked fields were located in Lyon county Kentucky and were used for corn and soybean production. All three fields had a clay …

Comparing Soil Characteristics Between Forest And Farm Land, Nabin S. Khatri, Dr. Iin P. Handayani Ph.D.

Scholars Week

Agricultural ecosystem sustainability is affected by soil degradation. Within the United States, this degradation is primarily caused by agricultural activities and monocropping systems. The objective of this research was to determine the impact of different ecosystems on selected soil characteristics, such as soil organic Carbon (SOC), total porosity, macro-porosity, and soil water at field capacity (SWFC). A total of 24 disturbed and 24 undisturbed soil samples were collected at a 0 to 7 cm depth interval with three replications per field/cropping system. This study evaluated eight agricultural lands: grazed and ungrazed pastures in West Farm; ungrazed pastures in North Farm; …

Comparing Soil Properties Between Row Crops And Pastures In Western Kentucky, Drew Davis

Scholars Week

Drew Davis

Mentor: Dr. Iin P. Handayani, PhD,

Hutson College of Agriculture, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky, USA

Soil health plays an important role in agricultural production because it affects plant growth, water availability, and overall soil productivity. The purpose of this study was to compare soil organic carbon (SOC), soil water field capacity (SWFC), total porosity (TP), and soil pH between row crop fields and pasture fields. Soil samples were collected from two pasture fields, Gordon Pasture, House pasture, Tabor-no til soybeans, Turner-no til corn in Ballard County, Kentucky. Four row crop fields, Dodson- no til soybeans in Carlisle, …

Comparing Soil Health Indicators Between Corn-Soy Production And Restored Utility-Prairie Systems, Katie Oakley Anthony, Iin Handayani

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

No-Till Compared To Conservation Tillage With Effects On Soil Health., Abbie Macdonald

Scholars Week

No-Till compared to Conservation Tillage with Effects on Soil Health.

Author: Abigail MacDonald

Mentor: Dr. Iin P. Handayani, PHD

Hutson college of Agriculture, Murray State University, Murray, KY, USA

Farming practices can have a significant impact on soil health, especially when it comes to how the soil tilled and what types of fertilizers used. No-till and conservation tillage are two practices that can help protect soil and reduce erosion. Fertilizers made from treated sewage may also provide nutrients and organic matter that help improve soil quality. The purpose of this study is to compare no-till and conservation tillage to see …

Using The Houdini Method For Nurse-Driven Foley Catheter Removal, Chloe G. Dodd, Hannah Colvis

Scholars Week

Abstract

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are a preventable complication associated with indwelling urinary catheters. Although Murray-Calloway County Hospital (MCCH) has an existing nurse-driven Foley catheter removal policy, opportunities remain to improve nurses’ adherence to the policy and promote timely catheter removal. This evidence-based practice project focuses on improving adherence to existing Policy IC-027 through education and implementation of the HOUDINI criteria, which help nurses identify patients who no longer require an indwelling urinary catheter. The project aims to increase nurses’ awareness of the current policy, encourage consistent daily catheter necessity assessments, and support timely catheter removal when appropriate. The …

How Does Nurse-To-Patient Ratio Impact Patient Satisfaction?, Kathryn G. Courtney, Alexa Nicholson

Scholars Week

This evidence-based practice project examined the relationship between nurse-to-patient ratios and patient satisfaction. A review of current literature, guided by Jean Watson's Theory of Human Caring and the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) quality improvement framework, found that lower nurse-to-patient ratios are associated with improved communication, higher patient satisfaction, better patient outcomes, and increased patient safety. Based on these findings, recommendations and a Safe Nurse-to-Patient Staffing Policy were proposed to support acuity-based staffing, enhance quality of care, and improve both patient and nursing outcomes.

Implementing Evidence-Based Mental Health Education For School-Age Children, Bailey Schipp, Addison Piatt, Olivia Jackson

Scholars Week

This evidence-based practice project examines the effectiveness of implementing age-appropriate mental health education in schools to improve mental health literacy, reduce stigma, and promote positive help-seeking behaviors among school-aged children. Research findings support the use of structured educational presentations, open discussions, and contact-based activities to increase awareness, encourage early intervention, and support students’ emotional well-being.

Implementation Of A Standardized, Multimodal Safe Sleep Education Policy For Newborns, Emma C. Cook, Anisa E. Toliver

Scholars Week

This evidence-based practice project proposes updating a regional hospital’s infant sleep policy to include standardized, multimodal safe sleep education. The goal is to improve adherence to safe sleep practices and reduce the risk of sleep-related infant death using interventions such as multiple forms of standardized parent education, consistent staff modeling of safe sleep practices, environmental modifications, and routine bassinet audits. This project uses Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory to strengthen parental understanding and promote safe sleep environments during hospitalization and at home.

Developing An Emergency Department-Specific C. Difficile Infection-Prevention Policy, Katelyn M. Wuest, Chris Bray

Scholars Week

Our evidence-based practice project focuses on the need for an Emergency Department (ED)- specific Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection-prevention policy that adapts the existing facility-wide guidelines to the unique workflow and environment of the ED. Using infection-prevention literature and environmental disinfection recommendations as a foundation, the project proposes the need for clearer guidance regarding applying precautions, managing shared equipment, and maintaining environmental cleanliness. Implementation and evaluation using a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach can help assess staff adherence and identify opportunities to improve consistency in infection-prevention practices.

Improving Fall Risk Assessment In Inpatient Rehabilitation, Sarah B. Flick, Aaliyah Garcia, Trista Hamblin

Scholars Week

This evidence-based practice project examines how fall-risk assessment can be improved for patients in inpatient rehabilitation by incorporating rehabilitation-specific functional factors into the existing assessment process. A review of four research studies identified toileting, transfers, ambulation, cognition, previous falls, and functional limitations as important considerations for fall-risk identification. The project proposes a structured functional review to supplement current assessment tools, with a phased implementation plan using staff education, a pilot program, and ongoing evaluation to support patient safety and individualized fall-prevention interventions.

What Works For Dyslexia Training? A Comparative Study Of Three Professional Development Approaches For Elementary General Education Teachers, Kayla Steltenkamp

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Teachers are the foundational component of the educational system, yet many enter the classroom without adequate knowledge of dyslexia -- a specific learning disability affecting up to 17.5% of the student population. Despite growing legislative mandates requiring teacher training on dyslexia, recent research confirms that misconceptions and knowledge gaps persist among both preservice and inservice teachers, and the question of which professional development models most effectively address those gaps remains largely unanswered. This study compared three two-hour professional development approaches -- simulation only, lecture only, and a mixed-method combining both -- using a quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test design with 58 elementary general …