Digital Commons Network^™

The Benefits Of Animal-Assisted Therapy In A Nursing Care Facility, Cheydan Crump

Scholars Week

±Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a goal directed therapy in which animals, specifically dogs, are utilized in order to reach a variety of patient-oriented goals and outcomes. Research has shown that AAT is beneficial in aiding a patient in achieving both their emotional and physical goals or needs. Thus, evidence has shown that AAT is useful in the achievement of optimal patient outcomes. However, while evidence supports the notion that AAT would be beneficial if regularly implemented within a patient’s care, few facilities utilize this therapy on a semi-regular basis. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to further acknowledge the …

Fallen Kingdom: A Novella, Sarah Black

Scholars Week

Fallen Kingdom is a work of fiction that falls into the category of fantasy/romance. Exploring themes of PTSD and loss of self, we begin in a world on the brink of ruin. After The Fall, Scarlett finds herself in an unknown land, hunted, injured, and alone. She has few memories of her arrival or the time before--memories that become ever more frequent as a world of magic takes shape around her. Fallen Kingdom is a fast-paced, striking adventure that documents her struggle with responsibility, friendship, and love.

Kay Yount Art399 Portfolio, Kay Yount, Kay Yount

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Eden is a show based around the concept of love. Love can be clean, messy, warm, cold, good, bad,it can be conditional or unrequited. Love is enigmatic— no one understands or experiences it exactly the same. I wanted to find a way to capture a part of this thing that I crave, something that is so close and yet so far out of reach. This exhibition is my way of giving to others my conception of Love in my own way.

Eden is a garden occupied by the two lovers, a cyclops and a blind prince. In secret, the two …

Molly Ramsey Art399 Portfolio, Molly Ramsey

Professional Practices (ART 399)

As I have grown as an artist and learned increasingly more difficult technical skills I have been able to continue to find what inspires me to create. My main focus as a medium has been split between metalsmithing and printmaking through the last few months of my academic career. I enjoy the contrast between what each material can convey to the viewing audience. The theme of my work specifically has been heavily focused on aquatic life, more specifically aquatic life that seems to be in a difficult situation. With much reflection I've come to the conclusion that in most situations …

Sugar Shenanigans: Curbing The Added Sugar Epidemic In Children And Adolescents, Amy Krazl, Tonia Mailow

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Background: The consumption of added sugar is one of the most dangerous problems regarding the health of society’s youngest generation. Children today consume added sugar at an alarming rate, on average surpassing the daily limit recommended by the American Heart Association. This study aims to educate and empower the child and adolescent population for the purpose of increasing knowledge and improving dietary practices. Methods: An educational program, entitled “Sugar Shenanigans” was delivered to groups of children between the ages of 8 and 13. Data was gathered from pre- and post-tests and “Impact Level Questionnaire” surveys for both participants and parents/guardians …

The Use Of Nebulizer Medications As A Possible Treatment For Covid-19, Jacob Kaufman

Honors College Theses

For the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the focal point in healthcare and research. This disease has permanently changed daily life and left a historic impact on the world. Most people have felt the effects of this pandemic either directly, via infection, or indirectly, via change in workflow, financial impact, etc. The main question for this virus still remains today; how do we treat this illness effectively? While many ideas are being tested and suggested, a definite answer has yet to be procured. Vaccine rates are climbing on a daily basis, serving as the first and most …

The Relationship Between People And The Tegu: A Review Of The Literature, Jordan Haley

Honors College Theses

This thesis will explore the relationship humans have had with tegu lizards and how it has evolved over time, from their historical use as a source of leather and bushmeat in South America to their more recent rise in the pet trade and consequential establishment as an invasive species in the United States.

Data And Algorithmic Modeling Approaches To Count Data, Andraya Hack

Honors College Theses

Various techniques are used to create predictions based on count data. This type of data takes the form of a non-negative integers such as the number of claims an insurance policy holder may make. These predictions can allow people to prepare for likely outcomes. Thus, it is important to know how accurate the predictions are. Traditional statistical approaches for predicting count data include Poisson regression as well as negative binomial regression. Both methods also have a zero-inflated version that can be used when the data has an overabundance of zeros. Another procedure is to use computer algorithms, also known as …

Barriers To Client Compliance And Understanding Of Heartworm Prevention In The Canine Patient, Emily Fischels

Honors College Theses

Dirofilaria immitis is a common and largely preventable mosquito-borne parasite that causes dirofilariasis, or heartworm disease, in a number of animal species. The necessity of heartworm prevention in the canine patient is undisputed and well-known among veterinary professionals, yet there are still many dogs not protected from this fatal parasite. Heartworm prevention traditionally requires a once-a-month administration of medication; therefore, its efficacy relies on owner compliance. The barriers to canines receiving heartworm prevention were assessed using a survey targeted at pet owners whose dogs have seen the veterinarian in the past year. The main barriers identified were inadequate client communication …

Sangaku In Multiple Geometries: Examining Japanese Temple Geometry Beyond Euclid, Nathan Hartmann

Honors College Theses

When the country of Japan was closed from the rest of the world from 1603 until
1867 during the Edo period, the field of mathematics developed in a different way
from how it developed in the rest of the world. One way we see this development
is through the sangaku, the thousands of geometric problems hung in various Shinto and Buddhist temples throughout the country. Written on wooden tablets by people from numerous walks of life, all these problems hold true within Euclidean geometry. During the 1800s, while Japan was still closed, non-Euclidean geometries began to develop across the …

Funhouse, Kathryn Huttunen, Kathryn Rebekka Huttunen

B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499)

Kate Huttunen Artist Statement

Am I black enough to question this? Am I valid, are my opinions valid?

Do I sound like that? Do I look like that?

Will my partner like me for me – not for an exotic kink?

My work is informed by personal memories and self-reflections about both black and white culture as an adopted woman of color. I often find myself contemplating how society views me and how I view society. As I grow as an artist I find myself questioning my identity in my artwork. What is gender in the black community? What is …

I Love You; I'M Glad I Exist, Ashlynn Eve Mcintyre

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Artist Statement

Ash Eve McIntyre

I create figural work exploring themes of object-human relationships in the context of childhood trauma and its aftermath. The works are made using a variety of media, including wood, ceramic, paint, and even found objects such as stuffed animals. The same craft techniques that are used to create comfort within domestic settings, I utilize to give care to the figures.

In the work, there is an emphasis on comfort and platonic love in my work. Stuffed animals are used in my sculptures to relate back to both domesticity and physical comfort. While the works represent …

Roots To Ridges, Amanda Cohoon

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

We all want a place to call home where we get to put our roots down. For some, this place is the state they were born in, and for others, it is a place they stumble upon along the journey of life. Some of us are lucky enough to live in such unbelievably special places, however, we don’t always seem to notice or appreciate this. The seemingly endless nature of our bustling society seems too often keep our focus shifted away from the natural beauty around us. This thought prompted me to begin this series of paintings and prints that …

Suicide Risk And School Related Stressors In Veterinary Students, Deanna Arnold

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Compared to the general population of the United States, veterinarians are at an increasingly higher risk for suicide. This is commonly associated with stressful work environments, long work hours, poor work-life balance, client demands and complaints, and large amounts of euthanasia procedures. While many studies have been performed to confirm the above statements, few to no studies have been done on students currently enrolled in veterinary school to assess their mental health. This study will survey graduate school students in this field and will evaluate their mental health state and risk factors towards suicide. Through comparing the results of this …

Mathematical Model Of Devil Facial Tumor Disease (Dftd) Spread In Tasmanian Devils, Abigail Collins

Scholars Week

Applications of disease models can lead to insight on spread of diseases, population movements, and wildlife health safety. This exploration of mathematical models sought to determine the spread of wildlife disease, specifically devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). Tasmanian devil populations have been negatively affected by DFTD. The basic SIR disease model was modified to better fit the spread of DFTD, along with a network model to inspect the rate of infectivity. It was found that the population of Tasmanian devils will continue to decrease in size and multiple populations are connected to each other. Models of wildlife disease have the …

Fragile Foal Syndrome: Its Past, Present, And Future, Alena Martin, Alena M. Martin

Honors College Theses

Though Fragile Foal Syndrome (FFS) has been around for some time, the public interest in FFS is recent. The hype spread rapidly from a public media announcement that a stallion at a prominent North American stud farm was a carrier (Brooks, 2021). As with most genetic mutations, FFS likely arose due to the increased inbreeding that results from human selection (Orlando & Librado, 2019). Fragile Foal Syndrome affects the enzyme responsible for developing the connective tissues. Two recent case studies highlighted the devastating effect of FFS on every part of the equine body (Metzger, et al., 2020; Grillos, 2021). So …

Cross Berry Art399 Portfolio, Cross Berry

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Fear is something that every person experiences in their life. Ever since I was younger, this has been something that I’ve wanted to explore further. Since beginning studying at Murray State I have made this my main focus throughout mediums. When working in my primary medium, Woodworking, I aim to imbue zoomorphic aspects into the furniture that I build. With this, I am wanting to blur the line between what is real and what is unreal. I want my furniture to have an uncanny feeling when you look at it. In my 2D work, I am more drawn to narrative. …

Effective Classroom Management On Overall Learning Outcomes, Emily Rust, Emily Rust

Integrated Studies

Education is a lifelong learning process and is constantly changing. Therefore, classroom management is a process as well. Due to the constant changes, educators must adapt to achieve successful academic outcomes. This research offers a better understanding of how classroom management impacts overall learning outcomes. Knowing what strategies prevent poor behavior and how to act on it when a situation arises is explored as well as how to keep student’s best interests in mind and meet students on their level through effective classroom management. When that happens, positive learning outcomes are achieved through the implementation of effective classroom management processes.

Covid-19’S Impact On Healthcare, Austin Johnson

Integrated Studies

Abstract

Covid-19 is a highly infectious virus that has drastically impacted healthcare systems across the world. This virus had such a unique makeup that modern-day medicine did not have an answer for it and the impact it’d have on the population as it rapidly swept across the planet. Due to the severity of this virus, effects can be seen regarding supply shortages, healthcare staff shortages, and everyday PPE requirements. Even by looking past the humanitarian effects caused by Covid-19, the financial burden on the healthcare systems cannot be ignored. Although this pandemic is generally viewed as a negative part of …

When In Doubt, Go To The Library, Phyllis Albright

Integrated Studies

Abstract

This paper is about the history of the public library system from the establishment of the first free modern public library, and how the face of the public library system has changed dramatically over the years. What was once just a place to peruse book titles and pick up the latest new release, has turned into a safe, open space to hold meetings, workshops, arts and crafts activities, programs on many subjects, and even research your genealogy. It is a place where patrons can come to and find help with a wide variety of subjects.

Analysis Of Public Relations, Andrea Watson

Integrated Studies

The public relations profession is a person’s ability to communicate to various publics on behalf of a person, organization, or a place of business to build positive relationships and create awareness of a brand. The field of public relations is important in today’s society. PR requires expertise in communication in order to maintain and help meet an entities’ mission, vision, and goals. Through a close examination of communication skills, types of public relations, the effectiveness of communication in public relations, PR ethics, and the future of PR, we analyze the communicative profession of public relations.

Covid-19'S Effect On Education, Madison K. Puckett, Madison Korte Puckett

Integrated Studies

The purpose for this paper is to inform the reader of what the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic has on students and teachers along with finding solutions. The biggest concern during this time is if students are meeting the required materials while in school. Many students are falling behind and there needs to be a solution on how to solve this problem. Covid has caused many problems in everyone’s life but, especially in the lives of students. Teachers are struggling to find solutions due to limitations of Nontraditional Instruction and virtual classrooms. Parents and teachers can team up to help …

The Sweeping Changes Felt In Healthcare During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Leslie Shehorn

Integrated Studies

This paper aims to acknowledge frontline healthcare workers’ obstacles and hospitals’ hardships during the covid pandemic in 2020. After identifying the origin and epidemiology of the covid-19 virus, extensive research determined how challenges impacted global hospitals. These challenges included reduction of staff, supply shortages, changes in policies and procedures, organizational forced mandates, decreased revenue, hospital capacity overflow, hospital visitation guidelines, fears among healthcare professionals leading to psychological distress, and management of the unknown virus within healthcare organizations worldwide. The research will discuss healthcare mandates that took place to manage the covid virus, visitation guidelines hospitals adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic …

Formal Ethics Education In Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students, Jennifer N. Gaylord

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Ethical service provision is an essential foundational skill for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and is fundamental for maintaining the integrity of the profession of speech-language pathology. While practicing speech-language pathologists are required to complete formal ethics training during each certification maintenance interval, there are no guidelines set forth as to the amount and type of training for graduate students in speech-language pathology. This quasi-experimental investigation compared the effect of ethics training embedded within a curriculum to formal ethics training on the ethics knowledge and self-reported comfort levels of first-year graduate students in speech-language pathology. Two equal, non-randomized groups of participants completed …

Georgia High School Counselor Perceptions Of Careers In The Agricultural Field, Meredith Arrington

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The word “farmer” somehow still evokes that stereotypical image of an old man in overalls wearing a straw hat and holding a pitchfork. Agriculture is our nation’s largest employer, but agriculture careers still have that stigma of being backbreaking manual labor that yields a low income and is reserved for those less educated or uneducated. At the secondary education level, this type of skewed perception by school counselors can have an impact on their abilities to counsel students who are seeking college or career advice. To meet the demands of our growing population, agricultural careers have evolved to become highly …

Effects Of Cannabinoid Supplementation On Weaning And Transportation Stress In Beef Calves, Savannah Kaitlyn Austin

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Transportation stress is a major factor increasing the risk of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in young calves. Bovine respiratory disease is currently the most economically important disease affecting the cattle industry, costing producers millions of dollars annually. Cannabidiol (CBD) has shown therapeutic benefits in other species, making it a potential tool to use as a supplement to reduce transportation and weaning stress in calves. However, little information is available on cannabinoid bioavailability and disposition of bioactive residue in livestock tissues. The objectives of these studies were to evaluate effective dosage rates of a cannabinoid gel on beef cattle and to …

Bottom-Up Effects Of Degradation Outweighs Stabilizing Potential Of Omnivores, Hannah Marie Moore

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic activities have led to degradation in streams throughout much of Western North America. In particular, cattle grazing has led to a loss of riparian vegetation resulting in higher water temperatures and an increase in nutrient runoff. The effects of degradation on food quality and quantity for aquatic consumers could have large implications for stream communities. Since omnivores feed at multiple trophic levels, they may be resilient to altered food webs, which may allow them to stabilize communities in degraded environments where resources have been reduced. To test the hypothesis that omnivores positively impact community stability in degraded conditions, I …

Overlooked And Under-Referred, Gretchen Spencer

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

According to the National Association for Gifted Children (2019) up to 10% of the population can benefit from receiving gifted services. Due to wide variability in definition, identification and services offered, the NAGC recognized that gifted students have been and continue to be overlooked (NAGC, 2019). Not only are gifted students under identified overall, the ratio of identified students who are Black, Latine, special education, and female was lower than the ratio in the population and occurred at a significantly lower rate than their white counterparts (Ecker-Lyster & Niileksela, 2017). The issue of underrepresentation within the gifted population has …

The Role Of Glis3 In Zebrafish Endocrine Development And Regeneration, Tasha Swenney

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Maintenance of proper blood glucose homeostasis is governed by the endocrine cells of the pancreas. Dysregulation of blood glucose is characteristic of the disease, diabetes mellitus. Relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms that underlie diabetes. The genes associated with more common forms of diabetes remain more enigmatic and likely have less direct roles in blood glucose homeostasis such as glucose sensing, insulin secretion, and β cell maintenance. GLIS3, a transcription factor involved in pancreatic development as well as the transcriptional regulation of insulin has been identified as a risk locus for type 1 and type 2 diabetes …

Kentucky Agricultural Education Teachers’ Perceived Barriers Of Delivering Instruction Through Internet-Based Distance Learning Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jeci Crane-Bohannon

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a multitude of challenges around the world. Mass closures of public places seemed to happen overnight and instantaneously. Essential workers kept the world afloat to the best of their abilities, but the harsh reality quickly settled in that education was not considered essential in the view of a worldwide pandemic. Educators worked continue the education of their pupils while trying to minimize movement and limit social gatherings leaving schools around the world reeling to find their ground in an abrupt switch from in-person learning to internet-based, distance education. Globally, the …