Recollections And Voices: An Appalachian Community Revisited, Kristina M. Hash, Christine E. Rittenour, Catherine Gouge, Tamba M'Bayo, Lori Hostuttler, Tyler Redding

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Scott’s Run has a rich history as a tight-knit, coal-built community in the heart of rural Appalachia. To learn more about the lives of the community members during the Depression Era, an interdisciplinary research team from five departments at a major university in the state conducted an oral history project focused on historical photos of the community. Individuals who grew up in the area reviewed photographs taken early in the 20^th century and provided information and shared stories related to the time and place of the images for context. The interviews uncovered key themes that told a much more …

A Comparison Of The Rey Complex Figure And The Wechsler Scales, Amanda M. Brantley

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine the correlation among the Wechsler Intelligence Scales and the Rey Complex Figure Test, a measure of visual memory, in a clinical sample. The purpose was to determine the point at which a difference between cognitive ability scores (at the overall ability level or at the index level) and visual memory scores would be statistically meaningful. Participants in this study were selected from clinical client folders with completed variables of interest. The mean age of the 64 participants was 21 years (SD = 12.6). Statistically significant correlations were found among three of the four …

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

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Gray, Eric, A People So Different from Themselves: British Attitudes Towards India and the Power Dynamics of the East India Company. Master of Arts (History), April, 2019, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky.

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 …

Masculine And Feminine Personality Profiles And Their Relationship With Athletic Identity, Scott York

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Athletes represent a unique population of people with unique personality traits. It has been well documented the trait differences between males and females and how these manifest. There has been substantial work done on the personality of athletes and the sex differences that exist therein. This study aims to examine the athletic identity of college students and their personality traits to determine if the sex differences classically defined as masculine and feminine by the five-factor model (FFM) manifest in people who simply identify as athletes.

If You Think It You Can Achieve It: The Relationship Between Goal Specificity And Magical Thinking, Brianna Jones

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has found a connection between the type of goals that individuals set and psychopathology, specifically depression (Dickson & Moberly, 2013). Magical thinking is the belief that a person’s thoughts are connected to their actions or to future outcomes (Markle, 2010). Magical thinking has been found to be a primary feature in many psychological disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (Shihata et al., 2014). The present study is the first of the literature to examine the relationships between goal setting and magical thinking as well as magical thinking and various psychological disorders such as depression. The current study examined the …

A Survey On Horse Use And Management In Horse Clubs In China: A Pilot Study, Zhen Li, Zhen Li

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

During the past three decades, significant development of the Chinese equine industry has resulted in a rapid increase in the number of horses in the country. At the same time, many horse clubs face shortages of trained management personnel or specialists in equine science and technology. The objective of this survey was to document and evaluate horse management and use in Chinese horse clubs. A 29-question survey was developed using SurveyMonkey© and tested on a small pilot group before being revised and released to a general pool of participants. The questionnaire link was distributed through WeChat to specific personnel in …

Flexibility In The Brain And Muscles: Examining Psychological Flexibility, Athletic Identity, And Stigma Within Sport Culture, Brighton Claire Hollingsworth

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Interventions designed to increase psychological flexibility have been shown to reduce mental health stigma, and such interventions have shown to be effective in athletic populations. The current study assessed the relationship between athletic identity and mental health stigma while also observing the moderating effects of psychological flexibility within that relationship. An exploratory analysis was also conducted to observe the moderating effect of psychological flexibility on the relationship between athletic identity and barriers to care. Participants (N = 176) from online sport-themed communities completed measures to assess mental health stigma, barriers to care, athletic identity, current symptoms of distress, …

A Concurrent Validity Study Of The Missouri Adaptive Ability Scale And The Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition—Teacher Form, Lindsey Hansen

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This study utilizes correlational data to demonstrate the construct validity of the Missouri Adaptive Ability Scale (MAAS) by comparing it to Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition (ABAS-3) Teacher Form, a thoroughly researched and validated measure of independent living and adaptive functioning. The purpose was designed to extend research conducted to achieve construct validity of the MAAS. Twenty-six high school students with low incidence handicapping conditions (M = 17 years old) were included in this study. The ABAS-3 Teacher Form was obtained from archives and the MAAS was administered directly to the participants by the author. Pearson correlations revealed strong …

The Impact Of Gender Normed Scoring Of The Brief Symptom Inventory On Trans* Individuals, Ashley Megan Bieze Wilson

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the significance of the choice of gender normed scoring on the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) (Derogatis, 1993) when assessing cisgender and trans* or gender non-conforming individuals. This study compared two groups, cisgender and trans* individuals, on male and female gender normed scoring for the BSI. Each participant’s responses on the BSI were scored using both male and female norms and the number of clinically significant elevations (T-score ≥ 63) was counted. Results indicated that regardless of gender identity or sex-assigned-at-birth (SAAB), a higher mean number of elevations was found when using male …

An Evaluation Of The Racer Academy Of Agriculture And Its Effectiveness, Caleb Brannon

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Through this thesis research study, an evaluation of the Racer Academy of Agriculture (RAA) is performed to get a better understanding of how well it is doing in several key areas. One of the focus areas for the RAA as well as most other dual credit programs includes allowing high school students to attain college credit through participation in a class that counts both towards high school and collegiate degree completion. Other key objectives for these programs include aiding in the recruitment of students to the participating university, preparing the students to succeed at a higher rate once becoming full-time …

Internships And Post-Graduation Employment, Camilla Kaye Mears

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Internships help prepare college students to be work-ready upon graduation while affecting primary stakeholders in the internship experience to include not only the college student but also the higher education institution (HEI) and employer. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between college internship participation and post-graduation employment. If a relationship existed, then does that conclude that internships should be mandatory at HEIs? This study utilized a historical dataset of the May 2018 graduating class from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. SPSS software was used to analyze two categorical variables of …

Teaching Music Literacy In Beginning Band: A Review Of Method Books And A Proposed Alternative Method, Haley Caroline Harrington

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to review current band methodologies, specifically for the beginning band, and identify the current process of teaching music literacy. For beginning bands, music literacy instruction is a powerful tool music students use to be successful at sight-reading. It cannot be assumed that simply because students perform music on instruments, they also will achieve high ratings at sight-reading. Brain-compatible learning may offer a solution in addressing the issue with how beginning band students are taught to read music. Therefore, this study will propose a more effective method, applying the Music Learning Theory of Edwin Gordon …

Quality Enhancement Plans At Community Colleges: Caring Attitudes, Intentional Advising, And Open Communication, Anthony Strawn

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

In 2004 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – Commission on Colleges, (SACSCOC) started requiring a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of the decennial reaffirmation process. Since 2004, over one billion dollars have been spent by the 794 accredited SACSCOC institutions completing their QEPs. Fifth-Year Impact Reports must be completed by the institution at the end of the QEP as part of the Fifth-Year Compliance Report. Once that report is accepted by SACSCOC, no additional reporting on the QEP is required. This study looked at six Track A, Level I institutions in five states that started a QEP …

Barriers To Change For Augmentative And Alternative Communication, Lauren E. Brown

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of counseling training on speech language pathologists’ (SLPs) perceived competency to address Attitude Barriers within the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) assessment process as presented by Beukelman and Mirenda (2005). Counseling techniques, such as the use of the Readiness to Change© tool, are within the scope of practice for SLPs. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research on how to apply these tools and techniques with individuals who use AAC .

A training seminar was conducted to educate participants in the use of the Readiness to Change© tool. Data was …

Social Networking Sites And Physical Activity: The Role Of Framed Health Messages, Cassie Gonzalez

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes are the current leading causes of death in the United States, where most of these diseases are caused by a few specific risk behaviors including tobacco use, poor nutrition, and lack of physical activity (Rutledge, Lane, Merlo, & Elmi, 2018). Healthcare professional are being encouraged to educate patients and the community about the risks associated with health behaviors and lifestyle choices. I explore aspect of these health messages in the context of gain- vs loss-framed messages presented through two social networking sites, Twitter and Instagram, on subsequent health behavior changes. Whereas existing literature have explored …

Nucleophilic Phosphine Addition: Exploration Of Novel Alkyne Transformations, Brett Pierce

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Nucleophilic phosphine catalysis has demonstrated its value in synthetic chemistry by allowing for mild carbon-carbon bond formation. Many phosphine-catalyzed reactions with electron-deficient alkynes have been reported in recent years, leading to an array of valuable products. Stemming from this field of study, phosphines can also be utilized as mild chemoselective reductants for alkynes, resulting in the corresponding alkenes. Herein, a mild, stereoselective, phosphine-mediated partial reduction of alkynes to (E)- and (Z)-alkenes is described. Specifically, a general method for the partial reduction of ynoates to the corresponding (E)- and (Z)-enoate, …

Assessing A Mid-Sized University With He-Tpack, Randall Joyce

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation research project has the goal of looking at a mid-sized regional university and assessing the faculty in the college of education and human services to see how faculty members self-assess themselves with the higher education technological pedagogical and content knowledge (HE-TPACK) instrument while attempting to determine whether or not there is a difference between digital immigrant faculty and digital native faculty. The study also looks at the self-perception of what digital group faculty members think they belong in. The study examined (n=13) faculty members, including digital immigrants 9 and digital natives 4. According to the findings, there was …

The Impact Of Content Mastery On Sequential Standards, Michael Newman, Michael Newman

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Mastery of P-12 academic standards is based on a learning process that is sequential and that can be broken into key components for varying students. Key ideas need to be learned before others can be mastered and it is important to know which key ideas are needed before others can be presented. The common problem for students in mathematics is that the content scaffolds and for the teacher, it can be a difficult decision of when to proceed and when not to. Yet, high stakes testing mandates a fast pace of instruction which leaves many students chronically behind. The purpose …

An Analysis Of Success In Rural Economic Development: The Case Of Daviess County, Kentucky, Timothy Roy

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Over the last half-century, numerous factors have resulted in a significant economic downturn in American manufacturing, with particularly negative impacts on rural regions throughout the country. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine one rural Kentucky community’s attempts to bolster its industrial relevance, as well as the region’s overall economy, by employing an economic development strategy known as Kentucky’s Work Ready Communities (WRC). This initiative, introduced by the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board in 2012, aims to attract new or expanding industry to communities or regions by demonstrating a strong infrastructure and a sustainable workforce that is prepared …

The Concurrent Validity Of The Missouri Adaptive Ability Scale, Amber Pendergraft

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to determine the concurrent validity of the Missouri Adaptive Ability Scale (MAAS), a new measure of independent functioning and learning, by correlating it with the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—Third Edition (VABS-III). Thirty participants (M = 11.0 years; SD = 4.1 years) were administered the MAAS and VABS-III. Kendall-Tau tests yielded moderate-to-strong correlations across all aspects of the MAAS, indicating good concurrent validity. The implications and limitations are discussed.

The Perceived Relationship Of Student Engagement: An Analysis Of Underrepresented Student Achievement At A Predominantly White Land Grant Institution, Antomia Farrell

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of centuries, agriculture has carried a negative connotation for those who identify as an underrepresented minority. The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE), Office of Diversity (OOD) has worked strategically over the course of the last twenty years, in enhancing recruitment and retention mechanisms to increase the enrollment of underrepresented minority (URM) students and to change the face of agriculture within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The purpose of this study is to identify and examine the student engagement and academic achievement of underrepresented students who are juniors and seniors at the University of …

2018-12-14, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Incarcerated Parenting: How Family Relationships Can Be Beneficial, Bailey Porter

Liberal Arts Capstones

The United States maintains one of the highest incarceration rates in the entire world. The disturbing reality of these mass incarcerations is that they do not exclusively impact the offender, but the friends, family, and most importantly, the children of these incarcerated individuals. A startling number of children in the United States are separated from their biological parents through incarcerations. The effects of separation are rarely considered in legislation.

In the past few years, there has been a rise in programs designed to help maintain relationships between families and incarcerated individuals. One of the goals of these family programs is …

2018-12-07, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

2018-11-28 Student Forum, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Roger Ebert Vs. John Doe: An Examination Of The Difference In Media Reviews, Meredith Mullins

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The purpose of this research is to examine the variation in critic and audience reviews of films and determine the cause of this variation. When reviewing a film, the ratings of critics and audience members often differ, regardless of whether they are positive or negative. This difference may arise from the unique role critics possess in this market as agents and the incentives they face. As agents of the film industry, critics have expert knowledge concerning films that audience members do not possess and therefore, they review films with a different evaluative framework than audience members. Critics may look at …

Determinants Of Parking Fees On College Campuses, Hannah Huckeby

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The price of parking has recently been a hot topic around the Murray area, especially among the college students. Due to the drastic increase in parking pass prices there has been an abundant amount of discussion surrounding this idea of parking being a public good. Many individuals have been outraged which has brought up the questions of why there is a price tag on something that many people consider a public good. With that being said, this paper is going to take a deeper look into parking specifically pertaining to college campuses but also in the cities surrounding these institutions. …

Elevated Calcium Levels In Kentucky Lake: A Possible Emerging Problem With An Invasive Species, Adam T. Martin

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are an exotic and invasive mollusk that have spread extensively through various rivers and lakes in the United States. These mussels are notorious for their “biofouling” capabilities costing billions of dollars in their removal from industrial, public, and power plant water supply lines. While having been present in the Tennessee River drainage with occasional small reproducing populations since the early 1990s, zebra mussels were never abundant or widespread. In 2017, high densities were found on structures and solid substrates throughout the lower portion of Kentucky Lake. Calcium is one of the essential elements that contributes …

Prediction Of Metal Sample Failure From Scanning Electron Microscope Images Using Deep Learning Neural Network, Lawrence Madriaga, Ivan Novikov, Morteza Nurcheshmeh

Posters-at-the-Capitol

We present the preliminary results on using a deep learning neural network to predict a metal sample failure based on a set of images obtained with a Scanning Electron Microscope.

Various metal alloy samples were prepared according to ASTM E8/E8M-11 standards for a tensile test. Each sample was prepared for circle grid analysis and then stressed on a tensile machine. Stress and strain values were obtained for each position along the sample by measuring dimensions of each elongated circle. Increasing stress and strain values were found closer to the breakage of the sample with low values found at the holding …

Consumption Profiles Of Illicit And Neuropsychiatric Drugs In Urban And Rural Communities In Kentucky Using Sewage Epidemiology, Tara Croft, Katelyn Foppe, Rhiannon Huffines, Bikram Subedi

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The drug overdose deaths in the USA increased by ~20% from 2015 to 2016 to the total >63,600 drug overdose deaths in 2016. Kentucky is among the highest rate of drug overdose death states in the USA. The current estimates of the prevalence of substance abuse are based on the self-reported surveys, overdose/toxicological reports, and drug-related crime statistics. Survey-based conventional approaches are not only cost and time-intensive but also underestimate the actual consumption of drugs. As “wastewater never lie,” the drug residues in raw wastewater collected from the centralized wastewater treatment plants were utilized to determine the consumption rate of …