Digital Commons Network^™

The Unintended Effects Of Tamper-Evident Food Closures, Marissa Orlowski, Sarah Lefebvre, Laura Boman

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Restaurant-to-consumer food delivery has experienced disruption with the growth of third-party services such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. However, this platform-to-consumer delivery method introduces increased opportunities for food tampering and contamination due to additional touchpoints in the delivery process. To mitigate these concerns, more restaurants are implementing tamper-evident closures such as seals attached to the food containers used for delivery items. Drawing on signaling theory, we examine the effect of tamper-evident closures in the third-party delivery context through two experimental studies and a focus group. Our results revealed a negative effect of tamper-evident seals on willingness to pay through lowered …

Thinking Outside The Bottle: Effects Of Alternative Wine Packaging, Marissa Orlowski, Sarah Lefebvre, Robin M. Back

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Packaging communicates intrinsic product attributes to consumers, which can influence consumer response and decision-making; however, little is known about the impact of non-traditional packaging formats. The current research aims to bridge this gap. Across five studies, we demonstrate that non-traditional packaging negatively influenced purchase intention of a complex product, wine, through product appeal and taste perceptions (Study 1A)/expectations (Studies 1B–4). We also demonstrate that the consumer response to non-traditional packaging is a function of individual differences (desire for unique products) and label attributes (eco-friendly labels).

Exploring The Self-Care Practices And Needs Of Entry-Level Nursing Students: A Pilot Project, Nancy Armstrong, Kristin M. Reid, Dana Todd

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Self-care is often lacking in nursing students worldwide. The objectives for this study were to discover the current self-care practices of one group of entry level undergraduate nursing students, the students’ understanding of self-care, and the students’ preferences for self-care interventions aimed at improving self-care. Quantitative and quantitative measures were used to measure the students’ current self-care practices, needs, and recommendations for interventions to be used in future semesters to improve nursing student self-care. The students were found to generally be deficient in areas related to nutrition, obtaining healthcare information or guidance, pacing themselves to avoid exhaustion, and performing relaxation …

2022-08-11, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Using Theory To Guide Exploratory Network Analyses, Duncan Jordan, Alisson N. S. Lass, E. Samuel Winer

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

The use of exploratory network analysis has increased in psychopathology research over the past decade. A benefit of exploratory network analysis is the wealth of information it can provide; however, a single analysis may generate more inferences than what can be discussed in one manuscript (e.g., centrality indices of each node). This necessitates that authors choose which results to discuss in further detail and which to omit. Without a guide for this process, the likelihood of a biased interpretation is high. We propose that the integration of theory throughout the research process makes the interpretation of exploratory networks more manageable …

De Bono's Six Hats Thinking Strategy For All Content Areas, Jamie Mahoney, Lynn Patterson, Carol Hall

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

Problem-solving and collaboration require people to compromise, negotiate, and brainstorm to understand, create, manage, judge, and be intuitive and remain positive and calm while working as a team to address problems. Teachers can teach students to collaborate and problem-solve in any content area using de Bono's Six Thinking Hats Strategy. Using de Bono's strategy, university students in this study explored learning hats and ways to apply learning hat properties to collaborate and problem solve in group activities. Researchers employed a mixed-method study enlisting both general education and special education pre-service undergraduate and in-service graduate teachers to discover personal thinking hat …

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions And Knowledge Of Response To Intervention/Multitiered Systems Of Support, Alexandra J. Taylor, Tommy Wells, Amy E. Lein

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

There has been considerable research that establishes the need to improve teachers’ knowledge of and ability to effectively implement response to intervention (RtI)/multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and there is a scarcity of research examining interventions addressing these concerns. In a mixed methods study, we examined the perceptions and knowledge of the RtI/MTSS frameworks of undergraduate preservice teaching candidates enrolled in a dual certification program at a small, private Catholic university in Kentucky, before and after participating in a semester-long, experiential learning project. The project involved monitoring both the reading and mathematics progress of struggling elementary or middle school-aged students …

Teacher Perspectives Of Professional Development Needs On Trauma-Informed Practices, Tommy Wells, Madeline Chimka, Vanessa Gee

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

Trauma-informed approaches and practices are becoming increasingly more common in schools. The lack of standardized content of trauma-informed practices presents challenges for schools and school districts on deciding both what content to provide and how to provide it. This study reviews the Culturally Responsive, Trauma-informed Educator Identity framework, as well as a framework for effective professional development, by surveying in-service teachers enrolled in a master’s program on trauma-informed practices who describe their professional development needs.

2022-06-03, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

2022-05-26, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Does Tax Curriculum Or Vita Participation Correlate With Improved Reg Section Cpa Exam Scores?, Sunshine Coombs, Sunshine Coombs

Honors College Theses

Abstract

Students who graduate with an accounting degree often take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam to increase their earning potential and gain prestige within the accounting profession. The Regulation (REG) section of this exam exemplifies a student's knowledge in the United States’ tax filing system and makes up a quarter of the total exam. Accounting students often participate in Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs which may provide an avenue of preparation for the REG section of the CPA exam. This research aims to identify if there is a connection between universities that offer a VITA program and their …

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 …

Hipersexualización E Infrarrepresentación: La Representación De Las Latinas En Jane The Virgin Y Modern Family, Laura Zarate

Honors College Theses

The Latinx community is one of the fastest growing groups in the United States and accounted for half of the total population growth from 2010-2019. Despite the increasing numbers, the statistics for Latinx representation in the media continue to be low. Numbers for Latinx writers, producers, and actors are significantly lower than their non-Latinx counterparts and Latinas, in specific, are one of the most underrepresented groups on television and often being portrayed as hypersexual in comparison to other groups of the same gender. While this underrepresentation has been researched in relation to women, there is limited discussion regarding the lack …

Blue Zones: Unlocking Key Themes In The Centenarian's Life, Grace Beer, Grace O. Beer

Honors College Theses

Longevity has been sought after in certain areas of the world, and there are specific regions where this has been achieved. There is an American average life expectancy of 72 years old, but individuals in “Blue Zones” here in America and other areas of the world are expected to and have proven to live well beyond 100. The areas of Okinawa, Sardinia, Nicoya, Ikaria, and Loma Linda are classified as Blue Zones, and there could be more of an understanding of how these people live the way they do to have such healthy physical outcomes. To deeply understand the strategy …

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.

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 …

The Use Of Hallucinogens In The Treatment Of Mental Health Disorders, Brianna Gagen

Honors College Theses

The percent of people with mental health disorders in the United States have skyrocketed over the past decade. With stigma surrounding the discussion of mental health and the symptoms associated with it, often those that are suffering do not receive sufficient treatment, as they might with a physical illness. The current, common treatment options for common psychological disorders, like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, are sometimes not effective in patients, due to resistance or poor response outcomes. Consequently, in order to research alternative therapeutic approaches for mental health disorders, scientists are researching the effects of several hallucinogenic drugs in …

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 …

Proceed With Caution: Safety, Peace, And Collective Responsibility, Rebecca Potts

Honors College Theses

Throughout my childhood, my parents often took me out into nature to go hiking, camping, and just explore. Now when I am in nature, I am reminded of my childhood and reflect on the memories of safety and comfort that I experienced, but through the lens of the person that I am today. As I have learned about and engaged with people in my community, I realized that their experiences and views of being outdoors and in the environments that I grew up feeling comfortable in are much different than mine. These different experiences are based on factors such as …

The Contradiction Of The Welfare Dictatorship: The Stasi’S Role In Preserving And Undermining East German Human Rights, Mallory Wooldridge

Honors College Theses

Constructed four years after WWII in a kind of pendulum swing response to the Third Reich, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was an experiment in socialism. Under the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (The Socialist Unity Party of Germany, SED) no East German was to go hungry, unemployment would be eradicated, housing guaranteed, women treated as equals, and human rights interwoven into the fabric of this socialist society. However, SED socialism in practice did not conform to this original vision and would eventually represent the disillusionment with the socialist project as a whole.

This project seeks to understand human rights in the …

Children’S Advertisements In The Youth’S Companion From 1890 To 1910, Maya Noonan

Honors College Theses

This paper shall demonstrate that at the turn of the 19th century, the advertising strategies used in children's advertisements published in The Youth’s Companion reflected the rise of childhood consumerism and formation of the ideology of childhood innocence. The years 1890 to 1910 were characterized as years of reform and the period is most often recognized for its role in the rise of consumerism in part due to the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution worked as a catalyst to force children into a new role in society. The mass availability of disposable income led to a decrease in the need …

The Political Pandemic: The Relationship Between Political Leanings, Covid-19, And The Economy In 2020, Garrett Clark

Honors College Theses

The effect of political leanings on the pandemic outcomes, both in terms of the COVID-19 cases and death totals and the extent that the pandemic affected the economy, is the analysis of interest. The literature indicates a relationship between political leanings and the COVID-19 response. Data is gathered from a variety of sources, and a series of regressions are performed to analyze several control variables and determine their significance. The results indicate a relationship between political leanings and COVID-19 outcomes. However, results regarding the effects of politics on the economy are less clear. Possible explanations are provided for the results.

Celebrity Memes, Audioshop, And Participatory Fan Culture: A Case Study On Keanu Reeves Memes, Danielle Nielsen, Diane Sabenacio Nititham

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Contemporary meme culture keeps Keanu Reeves’ image at the forefront of our imagination. Numerous Keanu-related memes circulate on the internet, featuring images of him from on and off screen. In this article, we argue that the rise of user-generated content, such as memes and social media, requires us to reconsider how audiences and fans consume, adapt, and circulate Keanu’s stardom. Specifically, we contend that memes and their attending participatory culture make Keanu familiar by placing him in knowable spaces and perpetuating his extraordinary ordinariness. To do so, we examine the 2019 ‘Keanu Reeves Walking in Slow Motion’ video clip from …

The Connection Between Body Modification And Personality, Taylor Shoemaker

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Previous research has been inconsistent in its findings regarding the associations between body modifications (e.g., piercings, tattoos, augmentation, scarification, split tongue) and the Big Five personality traits (i.e., openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism). All traits have been found to be significantly correlated with body modification in at least one study, but their significance differed from study to study. The purpose of the current study was to examine the associations between body modification and each domain of personality concurrently to add to the literature surrounding differences between modified and unmodified individuals. To participate in this study, participants were asked …

Memories From The Great War: An Analysis Of Jackson Purchase Veterans' Changes In Perspective Since 1914, David Wallace

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

The First World War affected the lives of millions, creating collective memories of hardships, uncertainty, political tension, and animosity toward foreign enemies. In the United States, World War I was a turning point in the nation’s growth and development, but on a smaller scale it was a critical historical moment in the individual lives of the veterans who served. This research project showcases the experiences of the Jackson Purchase’s WWI veterans with an emphasis on their perceptions during the war, their reasons for enlisting, the countless once-in-a-lifetime experiences they had along the way, the hardships they faced, and the remarkable …

Using Modern Portfolio Theory To Create Efficient Portfolios From The S&P Index, Dylan Rhoads

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) serves as a proxy for the U.S. equity market and is among the most widely cited financial instruments in the world. Its risk and return can be accepted as the market’s, leading it to be the benchmark for performance in many investment settings. Modern portfolio theory helps to quantify performance by explaining the relationship between risk and return. Every portfolio has its own return and risk level, with the optimal allocations falling on the “Efficient Frontier”, that is the line on a graph that connects the portfolios that have the maximum return …

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 …

School Violence And Its Impact On Student Academic Achievement, Kewanis Kennedy

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

This study explores the occurrence of school violence and its impact on academic success and attendance. This study will encompass K-12 academic institutions in the state of Kentucky during the 2018-2019 academic school year, with an in-depth analysis of data submitted to the Kentucky Department of Education by the 171 participating school districts. The participating schools shared data in the form of disciplinary actions, attendance, graduation rates, academic achievement, and other relevant demographics. The collected data was analyzed to determine if there was a statistically significant difference among attendance rate, graduation rate, math ACT benchmark scores, and English ACT benchmark …

Letter From The Editor, Caroline Winnenberg

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Welcome to Volume 5, issue 2 of Steeplechase. We're very excited to present the hard work of our students to you all. I hope you enjoy.

National Politics Forged Through International Competition, Benjamin Underwood

Scholars Week

The Olympics, being arguably the largest stage for athletics in the world, invites much crosswise country competition and national pride. Politicians may use the monumental stage for recreation to craft their own politically charged statements about their country as a whole. For my project, I examine Mexico’s history of performance in the Olympics, then observe political statements and speeches from specifically three Mexican presidents during significant political, social, economic or Olympic performance years. These political statements are recorded in academic articles, political news articles, and some YouTube videos about Mexican Olympic performance. There are three significant years in which I …