Digital Commons Network^™

Personalized Learning: An Engagement Strategy For At-Risk Student Populations, Abbigail Morris

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Personalized learning in the United States experienced a resurgence in the educational landscape as a result of increased technology access and computing power. The availability of affordable technology, software solutions, and access to the Internet led to the infiltration of technology into personalized learning approaches and provided a new platform for personalized learning advocates. Engagement and student agency were components of personalized learning attracting many educators to reinvest in personalized learning opportunities. This study focused on a rural, western Kentucky school district that piloted personalized learning through a blended learning environment. The study sought to measure engagement levels of both …

Influence Of Work Values On Rural-Practice Intentions Among American Students Attending A Rural University, Nicholas Best

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Rural areas in the United States frequently face difficulties regarding the prevalence of healthcare-related professionals. To better address this issue, it is important to understand how various demographic factors as well as individual work values influence the workplace setting decisions of future "helping" professionals. Previous research has studied the impact of various work values and how they relate to working with underserved populations (Aviram & Katan, 1991; Krous & Nauta, 2005). The current study aimed to compare various demographic factors and work value's ability to predict intentions to work in rural areas among students attending Murray State University (N …

No Regrets? A Study Of Sex Shame, Guilt, And Embarrassment, Lauren Castor

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between sexual regret and shame, guilt, and embarrassment in college students. Specifically, the current study examined which emotion (shame, guilt, or embarrassment) was the biggest predictor of sexual regret through an online survey. The results showed that shame, guilt, and embarrassment were all highly correlated. However, the relationships between regret and guilt and shame were more powerful than the relationship between regret and embarrassment. The findings were unable to distinguish which emotion (e.g. shame, guilt, embarrassment) was the greater predictor of regret. However further support is provided that shows shame, guilt, embarrassment, and regret are …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Transition To Retirement Of P-20 Educators In The State Of Kentucky, Chanel M. Schwenck

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological research study explored the physical, mental, social, emotional, and financial experiences of P-20 educators in their transition from teaching into retirement. A grand tour question and three research questions guided this study. Data collected from interviews with retired educators provided a thorough understanding of the issues experienced during the transition into retirement from the Kentucky public school system. The experiences of recently retired P-20 educators showed that stress was a motivating factor for retirement but not chronic illness, disease, or other serious physical health concerns. Public educators in Kentucky may retire after 27 years of service, and many …

Effects Of The Asian Clam, Corbicula Fluminea, On Native Freshwater Mussels And Biofilms, Kiersten Youngquist

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

As native, freshwater mussels continue to decline in the United States, successful conservation and management plans are essential for their survival. Understanding the drivers of native mussel declines, how the ecological roles mussels play within aquatic systems may be affected by declines, and the conservation status of our mussel fauna in different watersheds is critical to inform management and conservation efforts. The Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea, Müller, 1774) is an invasive species found throughout the United States that can reach densities of greater than 1000/m². Given these high densities, Asian clams have been linked to declines in native mussels …

Understanding Educators’ Experiences During Long-Term School Closures, Jessica Pryor, Jessica Pryor

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

In the spring of 2020, many public places closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most public schools in the United States suddenly closed buildings as educators and students scrambled to adapt to distance education. This phenomenological, qualitative study holistically explores elementary educators’ experiences during the extended school closures. The 18current elementary educators who participated in individual interviews, served rural, elementary students. Individual interviews allowed participants to discuss and explain their experiences concerning methods, materials, time commitments, and communication with colleagues, parents, and students. They also discussed how they used feedback to alter their teaching. The interviews were conducted during …

The Transition Experiences Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students Into Postsecondary Education, Christy S. Adkins

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what the transition experiences of deaf and hard of hearing students into postsecondary education were and what barriers, exist within the transition process. It is evident that deaf and hard of hearing students, face a number of challenges throughout their academic career. Aspects of deaf culture, language acquisition, and communication method, along with lack of support services further exacerbate, an already difficult transition from secondary school to college. This study sought to shed light on the additional obstacles faced by deaf and hard of hearing students, as they transition into their first …

A Historical Analysis Of The 2020 Agricultural Education Vision Plan And The Reformation Of Agricultural Education In Georgia As It Intended, Marcus Pollard, Marcus Stephen Pollard

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study was designed to record the history of a significant event in agricultural education in Georgia, the 2020 Vision for Agricultural Education in Georgia, which was in response to the Reinventing Agricultural Education for the Year 2020 initiative from the National Council for Agricultural Education in 1996. A steering committee was made up of agricultural educators and industry partners. Eleven themes were identified by the steering committee. The steering committee took the eleven themes and created goals and strategies for the 2020 Vision for Agricultural Education in Georgia. This study was conducted by gaining the perspectives from participants …

Population Demographics Of Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix In Kentucky Lake, Allison M. Lebeda

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species continue to threaten aquatic ecosystems in the United States. Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix have successfully infiltrated much of the Mississippi River Basin, including Kentucky Lake – a large reservoir located on the Tennessee River in Western Kentucky. Although Silver Carp have been present in Kentucky Lake for at least a decade, until recently, very little was known about the population, how often successful reproduction is occurring, or the environmental conditions that facilitate strong year-classes. Hence, it is difficult for managers to predict the potential impact of Silver Carp on native species. Silver Carp were collected from Kentucky Lake …

The Impact Of Credible And Non-Credible Treatment Information On Depression Treatment Preferences In College Students, Sydney Hayden, Dr. Michael Bordieri, Phd

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of considering client treatment preference when providing treatment for depression. However, little research has focused on the impact of treatment information on client preference. This study investigated differences in treatment preference between potential clients that read credible treatment information and those that read non-credible treatment information. The study was conducted via an online survey that was administered to undergraduate students. Eighty participants were randomly assigned to either read credible treatment information or non-credible treatment information and treatment preferences was assessed via a free response item before and after information regarding treatments was given. Overall, …

Help-Seeking Behaviors And Coping Styles Related To Sexual Assault Labelling, Shahzor Hashim

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Sexual Assault is defined as non-consensual sexual activity that includes groping and rape. Based on previous research, a large number of people experience sexual assault, which results in trauma and post-traumatic stress. In order to mediate the stress, people try to cope and seek help to manage the distress and trauma stress. Following the assault, people adopt the identity of or are viewed as victim/survivor. This study investigated the difference between sexual assault label, victim or survivor, in terms of coping strategies, approach or avoidant, and help-seeking behaviors. The study was conducted by administering a survey via Amazon’s Mturk. A …

Paleofloods And Landform Development Influence Carbon Storage In A Humid-Subtropical River Valley, Christopher Lance Stewart

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Floodplains can store large amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC) despite covering a small fraction of the global land area. Since these valley-bottom landforms build through the action of flooding, the century to millennial-scale record of overbank deposition could be important in understanding controls on deep (>30 cm) SOC storage. Yet, the influence of flood history and landform development on carbon content is surprisingly not well known. I use a combined geological and pedological approach to characterize the sedimentation, soil development, and SOC of fluvial terraces along an impounded reach of the humid-subtropical Tennessee River valley, U.S.A. The standardized …

Cannabidiol In The Horse: Pharmacokinetics And Effects Of A Pelleted Supplement On Reactivity And Movement, Anna L. Draeger

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

A multitude of claims exist regarding therapeutic benefits of cannabidiol (CBD) in human and animal medicine. Though supportive evidence of CBD as a nutraceutical option exists, lack of regulation means that product safety, consistency, and efficacy cannot be guaranteed. Trials for specific conditions and species are needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate CBD safety and use effects on reactivity and movement in the horse. Project 1 examined the bioavailability of a single 50 mg dose of an oil and pelleted CBD product. One of 2 Quarter Horse geldings received the oil product. The second received the pelleted …

Reasons For Academic Attrition Among Rural Community College Students By Way Of Satisfactory Academic Progress, Cathy Vaughan

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of the investigator’s research was to examine reasons for attrition among rural community college students by way of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals. Seminal student departure theories of Spady (1971), Tinto (1993), Bean and Metzner (1985), and Braxton, Doyle, Jones, McLendon, Hirschy, and Hartley (2014) laid the foundation for this mixed methods investigation of challenges students face in meeting satisfactory academic progress as defined by federal financial aid guidelines: maintaining a 2.0 cumulative GPA, completing 67% of attempted coursework, and not exceeding the maximum time frame of credit hours for degree completion. Three broad categories of challenge …

An Application Of A Binary-Integer Programming Process To The Faculty-Course Assignment Problem, Charles Graves

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Have you ever wondered why you have a certain class or professor at a certain time during the week? Creating a faculty-course schedule is a complicated and time- consuming process. In this thesis, we will examine two binary-integer programming models to generate the faculty-course schedule with various unique course preparations for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Murray State University. The first model will present a traditional, on-campus course schedule, and the second will present an online, asynchronous learning course schedule.

Making Discrimination Legal: A Comparison Of The Penal Laws In Ireland And The Nuremberg Laws And Other Laws In Nazi Germany, Gage Overton

Honors College Theses

The Penal Laws and the Nuremberg Laws were sets of legal codes which stripped away basic rights and civil liberties from Irish Catholics in the seventeenth and eighteenth century and German Jews in the 1930s and 1940s respectively. My research into these laws has allowed me to discover that the methods used by the English Crown and the Nazi German state to separate the groups targeted by their laws, as well as the circumstances which led to their implementation, were eerily similar, nearly identical. Besides this, they ultimately used this strategy as a way to justify the elimination of the …

A People So Different From Themselves: British Attitudes Towards India And The Power Dynamics Of The East India Company, Eric Gray

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Today, many characteristics of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century British Raj are well ingrained in the public consciousness, particularly Victorian Era Britons’ general disdain for numerous aspects of the many cultures found on the Indian Subcontinent. Moreover, while many characteristics of the preceding East India Company’s rule in India were no less exploitative of Indian peoples, evidence shows a much different relationship between British and Indian cultures during the East India Company’s hegemony over India than those of the later Raj. Prior to the nineteenth century, many Britons, both those who traveled to India and those who did not, appeared to …

American Bolsheviki: The Beginnings Of The First Red Scare, 1917 To 1918, Jonathan Dunning

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

A consensus has developed among historians that widespread panic consumed the American public and government as many came to fear a Bolshevik coup of the United States government and the undermining of the American way of life beginning in early 1919. Known as the First Red Scare, this period became one of the most well-known episodes of American fear of Communism in US history. With this focus on the events of 1919 to 1920, however, historians of the First Red Scare have often ignored the initial American reaction to the October Revolution in late 1917 and throughout 1918. A study …

Letter From The Editor, Kaitlyn Clary

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

N/A

Die Hard: A Case Study Of Masculine Romance, Elizabeth Tretter

Scholars Week

Works of the Romance genre have long been regarded as “chick flicks” or “chick lit,” leaving scholars to question the long-standing, gendering stereotypes of romances as feminine and action/adventure works as masculine. This paper explores the connection between romances and action/adventure films by applying Northrop Frye’s six phases of romance outlined in his Anatomy of Criticism to the traditional masculine adventure film Die Hard. Not only does this application highlight strong evidence of romantic elements in Die Hard, but also, the analysis reveals a major gender disparity when it comes to feminizing the Romance genre. Why this disparity …

Russian Language Use In The United States: Demographics And Implications, Julie Brock, Sadia Zoubir-Shaw

Posters-at-the-Capitol

As a large nation covering 1/9 of the Earth’s surface, Russia and its language necessarily draw linguistic attention. Between the time of the Russian Revolution (1917) until now, Russian speakers (both from Russia itself and former Soviet territories) immigrated to the United States in four or five waves. Russian is currently identified as one of the world’s Critical Languages, according to the U.S. State Department. U.S. Census data indicate that Russian language spoken in respondents’ homes increased by 393% between 1980-2010, with just under a million people speaking Russian in their homes in 2011. English language use among this population …

Longitudinal Relationships Between Parent Factors, Children’S Bullying, And Victimization Behaviors, Esther K. Malm, Christopher C. Henrich

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Longitudinal data from NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development tested direct, indirect and reciprocal effects of maternal depressive symptoms, stress/support factors on child bullying and peer victimization through mother–child relationship quality at grades 3, 5, 6. Data from 828 mother-child dyads indicated small significant effects of some hypothesized pathways, including a small direct effect of maternal depressive symptoms at grade 3 on peer victimization at grade 5, but not on bullying behaviors. Mother–child relationship quality at grade 5 negatively predicted bullying at grade 6, but not peer victimization. There were small effects of bullying behaviors at grade …

Teacher Candidates’ Emerging Perspectives On Trauma Informed Teaching, Mary S. Thomas, Penny B. Howell, Shantel Crosby, Elmedina Brkic, Kaleb Clemons, Lydia Mckinley, Sedekia Peter

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

A transdisciplinary team of candidates with teacher and social work educators describe their perspectives of trauma-informed teaching and intentions to use evidence-based practices in classrooms. We studied classroom management from a trauma-informed perspective in the first course in the program, then reflected back on these through a professional learning community created to intentionally focus on trauma informed teaching. We highlight findings around candidates’ perspectives and specific actions they attended to in order to incorporate those practices.

Music Therapy’S Role In The Education System, Madison Riley, Tori L. Colson, Moriah Smothers

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

Music therapy is a lesser-known and used related service, yet it provides significant benefits to students that have language, behavioral, and social needs. This article reviews the literature on music therapy, discusses its historical and theoretical roots, and examines its use in educational settings. Special attention is given to therapeutic practices that are geared toward students on the autism spectrum because their social and communication needs are often a good fit for music therapy practices. Recommendations on using music therapy in special and general education classrooms are also made. Additionally, recommendations for including music therapy content in teacher preparation programs …

Choice As An Antecedent Intervention Provided To Children With Emotional Disturbances, Alexandra J. Taylor, Amy Lein

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

Students with ED typically demonstrate social, behavioral, and academic deficiencies within the school setting. This article addresses the antecedent behavior interventions (ABI) of the provision of choice-making opportunities which are an effective practice within the PBIS framework. This study employed a single-subject multiple-baseline across-participants design to examine the effect of choice-making provided in social skills instruction on both academic (i.e., correct responses) and behavioral outcomes (i.e., task engagement, disruptions) for three elementary-aged students with ED.

Results demonstrated improved behaviors of three student participants. All participants showed an increase in task engagement and a decrease in number of disruptions from baseline …

2019-06-07, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Twenty Things: Archives And Development In Collaboration, Kim Fill, Caroline J. White

ALADN: Academic Library Advancement and Development Network 2019 Conference

Special collections librarians and archivists are committed to caring for their unique collections and making them accessible to users. Library development staff are equally dedicated to the library and its collections and services. Both may play roles in fostering relationships with donors and bringing in donations—but how and when do they need to really work together, and to do so effectively?

Kim Fill, Assistant Director of Development and Donor Relations, and Caroline White, Archives and Manuscript Librarian, both at UMass Amherst Libraries, have been colleagues for nearly seven years, and even they aren’t entirely sure what each other does. With …

Celebrating Our Donors And Showcasing Our Collections: Making An Annual Gala A Signature Event, Jason Lowery, Erin Horeni-Ogle

ALADN: Academic Library Advancement and Development Network 2019 Conference

While signature special events can be labor intensive, they can also be a key touch point for major donors as well as be instrumental in introducing new supporters to your library. Emory University's "12th Night Revel" is entering its 20th year. In this session, participants will learn the best practices for highlighting special collections, engaging key donors, and event promotion. The speakers will also explore how focusing on student involvement and added benefits for guests contribute to a successful event.

Mental Illness In Young Adult Literature: A Classroom Approach, Claire Ghent

Honors College Theses

As high school curriculum in the 21st century evolves, the need to increase exposure of diverse literature that reflects culture, gender, and ethnicity is growing. One crucial area often overlooked by educators, parents, and publishers is literature that provides attention to mental illness, in spite of the growing amount of adolescents who suffer from a mental illness. By increasing awareness of mental illness in the classrooms, teachers can reduce stigma and increase empathy in their students while still providing challenging and engaging literary interactions. One of the best vehicles to deliver mental illness and stigma education is young adult literature …

Twin Teachers: Advancing Understanding Among Secondary And Post-Secondary Composition Instructors Through Individual Connections, Zachary Garrett

Student Scholarship & Creative Works

This project relates research-based efforts to develop a context-sensitive collaborative plan for instructors of English composition at the high school and college levels, providing a model for professional development and cross-border conversations among writing educators. Adapted from the “twin towns” or “sister cities” arrangements forged between municipalities in different countries with the purpose of strengthening relationships and promoting cultural understanding, this plan targets the cultural differences between high school and college instructors as a step toward incremental improvement implemented by educators themselves. The literature review establishes the cultural divide, describing the divide through discourse and practice, identifies effective practices for …