Digital Commons Network^™

Animal-Assisted With Nursing Home Residents, Kierstyn Stevens

Scholars Week

This study was conducted to evaluate the use of animal-assisted therapy in nursing home residents, particularly a Nursing and Rehabilitation center in Paducah, KY. Residents of long term care facilities, like a nursing home, face many challenges due to physical and mental changes. Factors contributing to these changes may include financial changes, loss of autonomy, mobility changes, etc. Various articles concerning animal-assisted therapy in elders, residents of hospitals, and residents of long-term care facilities were gathered to examine potential benefits. Findings indicated significant improvement in variables found often in elders, such as anxiety, depression, aggression, and loneliness. Many of these …

Implementing Music As A Distraction To Reduce Pain And Anxiety In Pediatrics, Marcanah Frye

Scholars Week

Music therapy is a safe and inexpensive intervention that can be used to reduce pain and anxiety in pediatric patients. There are several research articles that have proven that music therapy can positively affect patients. Various factors, like pain and anxiety scores, heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation levels were observed throughout the study to help base the decision on whether or not music therapy was effective at reducing pain and anxiety. This therapy can be based upon the nursing theory of comfort by Katharine Kolcaba. Her goal for this theory of comfort was to put comfort …

Stat-Lock Stabilization, Michelle Hicks

Scholars Week

NUR 412 EBP Project Presentation- Stat-Lock Stabilization

Educating Nurses On Therapeutic Discussion Of Code Status, Alanna Wathen

Scholars Week

My presentation outlines the best ways according to current evidence on how nurses should discuss code status therapeutically with patients.

Requiring That Information On Umbilical Cord Blood Banking Options Be Provided Prior To Admission To The L&D Unit, Leighton Terrell

Scholars Week

This research project covers the topic of educating expectant mothers on the options for umbilical cord blood banking or donation. Through the research, it was determined exactly what umbilical cord blood banking was and the types of banking available. Umbilical cord blood banking has many benefits and has been proven to help treat various diseases. Transplantation of umbilical cord blood stem cells rather than bone marrow has improved the cure rates and survival rates of many treatments. Since the first transplantation in 1988, multiple lives have been changed, some even saved, by using blood that has been taken from an …

Incel Rhetoric: Origins Of Digital Misogyny, Virginia Sisemore

Honors College Theses

In this paper I outline the basic ideological beliefs of incels, which provide insight into the community’s violent tendencies. In addition, because I believe incel communities are more directly to blame for digital misogyny than a larger and more broad group of men, I examine posts from within their community and comments under Anita Sarkeesian’s video “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games” in order to demonstrate that the rhetoric in both online locations is from the same source. Finally, I discuss actions that can be taken to mitigate the online violence perpetrated by the incel community, which will, in turn, …

The Spread Of Medical Information Through Social Media Platforms, Emma Durham

Honors College Theses

Social media has exploded in the past decade making it hard to find a teenager or adult without a smartphone or tablet in their possession at all times. Social media makes it easy for people to access information and friends at the click of a button. Information is easier to spread today than it ever has been; however, with this widespread social media usage comes a rapid spread of information with little fact checking. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a surge of medical information being posted online, and not all of it has been completely accurate. The purpose of …

Preparation (Mis)Perception: Effects Of Involvement On Food Attributes And Desirability, Sarah Lefebvre, Marissa Orlowski

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of involvement in food preparation on estimated calorie content, perception of portion size, and desirability of the food item.

Design/Methodology/Approach: To test the hypotheses, three between-subjects experiments (one online, two in a laboratory setting) were conducted. Across the three experiments, participants were presented with a food item either ready for consumption (low involvement) or with the individual ingredients in need of assembly prior to consumption (high involvement).

Findings: Results showed that when a consumer is involved in the preparation of their food, they perceive the food to be lower …

Recruitment And Retention Of Agriculture Teachers In The Southeast: An Empirical Analysis Of The Star Program., Kristie Guffey, Jeffrey Young

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

This article describes the collaborative efforts of various state and national agencies working together to recruit and retain agriculture teachers in the states of Kentucky, South Carolina, and Ohio. We contrast multiple measures of recruitment and retention in these states with those from the comparator states of Arkansas, West Virginia, and Alabama. The strategies outlined market to new agriculture teachers and maintain current teachers in the profession targeting work-life balance, emotional, physical and social health. These have been a focal point in the federal State Teach Ag Results (STAR) program, but the effects of participation in STAR on recruitment and …

Effective Instruction For Students With Dyslexia And Related Learning Struggles, Susan Keesey

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

Dyslexia has received increased emphasis with recent legislation requiring universal screening, added dyslexia training in educator preparation programs, and professional development specifically addressing dyslexia. In addition, KY created the Dyslexia Toolkit to inform and support teachers. This article discusses how Structured Literacy and High-Leverage Practices can support learning for students with dyslexia and related reading struggles.

Is Turkey Backsliding On Global Competitiveness And Democracy Amid Its Eu Bid In Limbo?, John Taskinsoy, Cemil Kuzey

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Turks have been around for thousands of years, who have established many states and empires in the “land of Turks” referring to Anatolia (Asia Minor) and the Eastern Thrace. The life of Turks, previously in the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia, commenced in the interior of Asia Minor when Seljuqs defeated the Byzantines at Manzikert in 1071 (Malazgirt in Turkish), which also meant the start of Turkification of Asia Minor. After the six century long reign of the Ottoman Empire (1299-1922), Turks were introduced to democracy when Mustafa Kemal abolished the Ottoman Empire in November 1922 by overthrowing Sultan Mehmet …

Effects Of Using Hemp Hearts As A Feed Additive In Broiler Chicks, Brian Parr, Cheyenne Hooks, Mallorie Snider, Huichang Chae, Tony Brannon

Journal of Agricultural Hemp Research

In this experiment, hemp hearts of differing percentages were fed to broiler chicks for 49 days. The experiment, which was initiated to identify the potential of hemp hearts as a feed source, consisted of four experimental groups and one control group. Each experimental group received a diet containing: 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% hemp hearts; the control group did not contain hemp hearts, but contained soybean meal. As a result, broilers fed a diet containing 20% hemp hearts gained the most weight, t(16) = 2.12, p < 0.05 and feed conversion was also the lowest t(18) = 2.10, p < 0.01. These results indicate the feed efficiency of broilers using 20% hemp hearts was the lowest numerically, but the most efficient qualitatively. The diets consisting of higher percentages of hemp hearts demonstrate a need for additional supplementation.

2020-08-28, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

2020-08-27, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Low Income And Access To Healthy Food: The Case Of Milk, Jeffrey Young, James K. Binkley

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Even with abundant dietary research and knowledge about healthy eating, there is still a considerable shortfall in dietary quality of low-income households in the US. Chen et al. (2012) proposed that this problem is at least in part due to low-income individuals’ having less expected future earnings and thus, reduced incentive to pursue longevity by means of healthy eating. We further their analysis, offering improvement by controlling for access to low-fat milk. We find that even when allegedly crucial factors such as cost and access are not issues, relative purchasing of low-fat milk is still linked to higher income.

Characterization Of Horse Use In Therapeutic Horseback Riding Programs In The United States: A Pilot Survey, Emily Watston, Amanda Davis, Rebecca K. Splan, C.A. Shea Porr

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

With increasing public scrutiny on animal welfare, it behooves those involved in the equine industry to revisit best management practices to ensure these support healthy horses. There is little published research on how horses are used in the equine industry, particularly in therapeutic horseback riding (THR) programs. Although there is a large amount of information on the benefits of THR programs to the participants, there is little published information available about the horses. Therefore, the objective of this survey was to gather data regarding horse use and care in Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.)–affiliated THR programs in …

2020-06-05, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

What Am I Tipping You For? Customer Response To Tipping Requests At Limited-Service Restaurants, Ismail Karabas, Marissa Orlowski, Sarah Lefebvre

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Tipping within the foodservice industry has traditionally been reserved for full-service restaurants. However, there is a growing trend of tip requests at limited-service restaurants, where tipping occurs prior to consuming the product. This research aims to examine the effect of a point-of-sale tip request at limited-service restaurants on return intentions via customer irritation. It also aims to analyze the moderating effects of check amount and perceived deservingness.

A National Survey To Characterize Industrial Hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) Production Challenges Under Protected Cultivation, William G. Owen, Bridget Behe

Journal of Agricultural Hemp Research

A nationwide internet survey (n = 134) was conducted to establish the current status of industrial hemp (IH; Cannabis sativa L.) cultivation and characterize protected culture production challenges in the United States. Of the total participants, 65.7% (n = 88) of the subjects reported current production of IH. These participants were asked to identify all production systems and included growing IH indoors (e.g., shipping containers, buildings or warehouses; 15.9%), in greenhouses (29.5%), in hoop houses or high tunnels (15.9%), or in outdoor fields in-ground (62.5%). Of the respondents who identified as growing under protected culture (e.g., indoors, greenhouses, and hoop …

Uniting The Field: Using The Acrl Visual Literacy Competency Standards To Move Beyond The Definition Problem Of Visual Literacy, Dana Thompson, Stephanie Beene

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Visual literacy has evolved alongside information literacy and media literacy, reflecting social, technological, and cultural changes. Rapidly advancing technology, multimodal access to information and disinformation, and political rhetoric increasingly impact the perception, trust, and use of visual media. These broader technological and cultural shifts also change what it means to be a visually literate individual in the twenty-first century. Although much has been written about visual literacy, there is very little that reviews scholarship that uses the 2011 ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Through an analysis of 196 articles published from 2011 to 2019, this study …

Occurrence And Mass Loading Of Synthetic Opioids, Synthetic Cathinones, And Synthetic Cannabinoids In Wastewater Treatment Plants In Four U.S. Communities, Catherine O'Rourke, Bikram Subedi

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

A few new psychoactive substances (NPS) that mimic the effects of controlled neuropsychiatric and illicit drugs have been forensically identified in the U.S. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can provide a comprehensive and more cost- and time-effective method of determining the prevalence of NPSs in communities. In this study, an analytical method capable of simultaneous determination of trace-level 40 NPS residues (synthetic opioids, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, piperazines, indole, and amphetamine) in wastewater was developed and validated. The developed analytical method was utilized to determine the occurrence of NPSs in four rural communities in southern Illinois. Nine NPSs (carfentanil, furanyl fentanyl, methoxyacetyl …

Reversible Inhibition Of Mycobacterial Dnab Protein Splicing By Zinc, Gabrielle Hardison

Honors College Theses

Inteins are emerging as post-translational regulatory elements, undergoing conditional protein splicing in response to a variety of environmental cues. Inteins are seamlessly removed by self-splicing from exteins, or flanking portions of the host protein, which they interrupt. DnaB of Mycobacterium smegmatis, a helicase essential for replication, harbors two inteins known as DnaBi1 and DnaBi2, each with discrete structural characteristics and insertion positions. DnaBi1 was used here to design a reporter system which links splicing with resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin. We built a construct that strictly requires catalytically active DnaBi1 for survival in the presence of kanamycin and used …

Holistic Lifestyle Counseling By Physical Therapists: Current Practice And Barriers To Improvement, Savannah Grogan

Honors College Theses

Context: Unhealthy lifestyle habits are a significant risk factor for chronic disease and death in the United States of America. The healthcare system is largely focused on symptom-management and disease treatment with seemingly little regard for prevention, but physical therapists are particularly well-placed to improve patients’ health through lifestyle counseling and modification. Objectives: To assess the current state of holistic health promotion among physical therapists and to identify barriers to improving these practices. Design: An electronic survey was completed by physical therapists in and around the state of Kentucky. Descriptive statistics were used to assess participant demographics and the state …

Intersectionality And Exploitation The Commodification Of The Bodies Of Marginalized Women, Ocean Royalty

Honors College Theses

Using four historical case studies this paper attempts to examine the effects of marginalization and exploitation faced by women in a modern context. It opens with a broad analysis of modern trends of exploitation like sex trafficking and pedophilia and how they center around groups based on sex along with race, class, and age. It ends with detailed studies of the lives of women of color: Saartjie Baartman, Julia Pastrana, the patients of J. Marion Sims, and Henrietta Lacks.

An Exploratory Study Of Generational Coffee Preferences, Lindsey Falkner

Honors College Theses

This research focuses on generational differences in preferences towards coffee-style beverages. The aim of this research is to provide recommendations to marketers within the saturated coffee industry. An online exploratory study was conducted with two-hundred and fifty-two participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results show that differences exist between the coffee preferences across all generations, especially when it comes to the current trends (e.g., premiumization, convenience, and sustainability). Further, the results reveal several factors that may cause these generational differences. Finally, the study explored several ways that marketers in the coffee industry can appeal to different generations’ preferences, especially utilizing …

Inclusive Ensembles: Differentiating For The Singer On The Autism Spectrum, Natalie Wilkins, Natalie A. Wilkins

Honors College Theses

Exceptional children belong in music classrooms. Music ensemble directors need to overcome complex challenges to meet the goal of inclusion, because ensembles often include a mixture of ages, grades, social and intellectual development stages, musical skills, and a wide variety of diverse learning needs. This study focuses on how a choral ensemble director may create an inclusive environment for students on the Autism Spectrum.

This study reviewed the current research on inclusive rehearsal environments. Analysis revealed varied methods for differentiation that allows students with special needs to thrive in a music classroom and also revealed that music can be a …

Barkedin Bs Graphic Design Exhibition, Katlyn Hall

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

Katlyn Hall

BS/BFA Group Exhibition

April 28th, 2020

Barkedin Animal Rescue

My design project is based on local animal rescues. I am inspired by communities that volunteer time and money into the welfare of animals. The animal rescue brand is called Barkedin. This is a made up rescue as a case study for my exhibition. The name Barkedin is a play on from the word Linkedin as a way to connect veiwers of the purpouse of the rescue.To connect with potential adopters and find homes for strays and animals that are on the euthanasia list in shelters due to overcrowding. …

First Trimester Prenatal Screening: Parent Education, Madison Vandiver

Honors College Theses

The healthcare field is constantly evolving, and consequently the ways that medical procedures are done is always changing. Advancements in medicine have made it possible to screen for chromosomal abnormalities earlier and for the screening to be done more accurately than ever before. This is accomplished through a first trimester screening performed between 11- 13 weeks gestation of the pregnancy. With this screening becoming more integrated into routine prenatal care and being offered to various women with a range of risk factors, it is important to offer many educational opportunities about the screening procedure. Provision of education to patients interested …

2020-04-24, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Invisible, Talitha Cunningham

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

I have explored a number of ideas and media since starting my journey to become an art educator. One theme that I find myself returning to are issues related to mental illness. This interest derives from my own personal experience as well as those of people in my life who also deal with mental health problems. My exhibition, titled ‘Invisible’, seeks to illustrate the hidden aspects of mental illness.

I have chosen to use furniture as the main structures within my show because of the implication of human form, even in the absence of people. Furniture can be individualized and …