Nineteenth-Century Literary Magazines As Short Story Anthologies, Kelsey J. Brazil

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

This project undertakes an inter-generic study of nineteenth-century literary magazines and classroom anthologies. Based on the workings of genre theory by Julia Kristeva, this inter-generic study argues that the form, ideologemic function, and intertextuality of the literary magazine and anthology are generically similar. This notion has the potential to greatly change the reading of periodical literature from a simple reflection of Victorian times or as a mere container of collected (but isolated) literary pieces into one of cohesive, multi-genre significance. The resulting argument is that a nineteenth-century literary magazine can be a reasonable substitute for a textbook anthology in the …

A Content Analysis Of Media Framing Regarding Name, Image, And Likeness And The Transfer Portal In Men’S College Basketball, Ethan Alexander

Honors College Theses

This study investigates media framing as it relates to name, image, and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal in men’s college basketball. This study serves as an introductory point for future framing research surrounding NIL and the transfer portal, two topics that have not been thoroughly researched up to this point. While the analysis does reveal previously unrecorded frames, the data and study as a whole serve as foundational tools for future research and are not conclusive regarding these specific topics and their usage within framing research. Through the deductive coding of articles published by ESPN throughout the last five …

The Politics Of Sustainability: Corporate Environmental Responsibility And Policy Implications, Andy Tuholski

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

This literature review aims to examine how political factors influence corporate environmental responsibility (CER) initiatives and the subsequent policy implications for environmental sustainability. By synthesizing existing research, it will (a) provide a comprehensive overview of the political dynamics that shape CER and highlight the role of policy in promoting sustainable corporate practices; and (b) offer information for policymakers, corporate leaders, and environmental advocates on fostering sustainable corporate practices through informed policymaking.

The Pam-1 Aminopeptidase Does Not Protect Against Ptl-1 Mediated Neurodegeneration In C. Elegans., Ethan E. Schuff

Honors College Theses

Debilitating neurodegenerative conditions are increasingly prevalent in our aging population, yet treatment options remain limited. Though neurodegenerative diseases vary in pathophysiology and clinical manifestations, these diseases are related to one another in that many involve misfolded proteins. Tau is a member of the microtubule-stabilizing MAPT/MAP2/MAP4 family, and misfolded tau proteins form the neurotoxic aggregates called neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Designing a study to elucidate the neurotoxic role of tau is difficult because other MAPs may have compensatory mechanisms which confound study data. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) …

When The States Lost Their Senate: The Seventeenth Amendment, Katelyn King

Honors College Theses

To what extent has the Seventeenth Amendment impacted American federalism? The Seventeenth Amendment changed the way United States Senators are chosen from state legislature appointment to popular direct election. However, the framers of the U.S. Constitution established the original method for selecting U.S. Senators to safeguard an important principle in America’s government: federalism. If the Seventeenth Amendment decreased direct state influence in the federal government, it could have weakened federalism in America; consequently, the amendment may have altered how the American system of government is supposed to function. The U.S. Senate’s selection process was not only a safeguard for federalism …

President João Goulart And The Breakdown Of U.S.-Brazilian Relations, Jake Hall

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

The 1950s and 1960s were a tumultuous time for relations between the United States and Brazil. Following the Cuban Revolution and the rise of Castro in 1959, the United States felt vulnerable and feared that the Cuban Revolution would spread communism to other countries in Latin America. Meanwhile, Brazil was experiencing an economic crisis as former President Juscelino Kubitschek had engaged in expensive policies intended to grow Brazil’s economy and spur industrial development. These policies left the country with rampant inflation and an untenable amount of debt, which Brazil had no hope of paying off. President John F. Kennedy’s Alliance …

Bare-Knuckled Public Service: Donald Rumsfeld’S Political Ideology Before The War On Terror, Chris Paskewich

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Abstract Donald Rumsfeld (1932-2021) is perhaps most well known for being Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush. However, he had a nearly fifty-year career in public and private sector work at the highest levels. Research into his political ideology, especially prior to his time under Bush, has never been undertaken. This article outlines Rumsfeld’s ideology for the first time, and shows it is a distinct strain of limited-government conservatism that I term “managerial conservatism.” Managerial conservatism aims to manage public resources well, maximize the gains from the public’s tax dollars, and make sure the federal government is only …

Kentucky Probation And Parole: Recognizing The Need For A Larger Workforce, Brent T. Burgess

Integrated Studies

Abstract

Kentucky’s Department of Probation and Parole needs additional officers. While officers are being added, caseloads continue to rise and officers in Kentucky are feeling exhausted. This research project focuses on examining some of the main issues behind the cause and effects that probation and parole officers are facing in Kentucky. The research lists the different aspects of both probation and parole and the dissentions between state and federal probation, since parole was abolished by the federal system 1987. The project includes new legislative reform movements taking place in attempts to reduce the high populations of Kentucky’s jails and prisons …

The Kawa Model Of Occupational Therapy And Disability, Benjamin A. Siress

Integrated Studies

The Kawa Model of occupational therapy offers a culturally responsive, holistic framework for OT that benefits individuals within the disabled community profoundly. By integrating the individuals’ relationship with their environment and social context, the Kawa model challenges Western, task-oriented approaches and promotes better inclusion, resilience, and meaningful participation by aligning individualized therapy with each person’s life experiences and cultural identity.

Keywords: Kawa Model, occupational therapy, disability, cultural responsiveness, holistic care, client-centered care, social context, inclusion, meaningful participation, rehabilitation

The Benefits And Challenges Of Digital Technology In Smes, Amanda Rux

Integrated Studies

Small organizations play a vital role in global economic stability. While their continued growth is essential, the majority fail within the first few years of operation. These organizations face multiple challenges that are difficult to overcome but can be mitigated by digitalizing their processes. The digitalization process also comes with its own set of challenges, and many of these organizations' attempts to digitalize fail. This paper will describe the types of technology these organizations may use to achieve their digitalization goals, the challenges and benefits that come with these technologies, and how organizational culture can affect their digitalization efforts. The …

A Review Of The Effect The Kentucky Center For School Safety Has On Kentucky School District’S Safe Schools Data, Patricia Greer

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The study examines the impact of the Kentucky Center for School Safety on safety data from Kentucky Schools. The data consisted of behavior events reported in the Safe Schools Data collected from the student information system, Infinite Campus. The analysis was conducted using interaction data from the Kentucky Center for School Safety and behavioral data from Kentucky Public Schools.

The Impact Of Rti On Ninth Grade Reading Success, James Dailey

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Graduation rates are an important component of a school’s progress report card, published by the state’s department of education.  Ensuring that students have the resources and supports that they need in order to be successful is paramount to a school’s ability to provide quality educational services for their students.  Research published by the Center for High School Success (2020) indicates that students entering their freshman year of high school are twice as likely to drop out of school for being academically behind compared to their peers. For students to receive the support that they need to help them close their …

Classifying Surfaces With Handle Decomposition, Elizabeth Sipes

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Among topological spaces, manifolds draw a lot of interest. An
n-manifold is a space that is locally like R^n. Manifolds of dimension 2
are called surfaces. Using handle decomposition, we decompose surfaces
into k-handles, where 0< =k< =2. Techniques such as handle sliding and
handle cancellation allow us to get a more favorable representation of
our surface. We use these tools and calculation of the fundamental group
to classify all compact surfaces.

Don’T Give The Fae Your Name: Focus Of Attention And Victim Blaming, Entropy Cramer

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Victim-blaming is thought to be a result of the fundamental attributional error, where people over-emphasize internal attributions about the victim. Despite this, there is little literature on manipulating the focus of attention and the result for victim-blaming. People who are high in rape myth acceptance tend to visually focus on the victims longer (Süssenbach et al., 2015). Rempala and Bernieri (2005) found that adding irrelevant information, such as height and weight, to the trial about the victim increased victim-blaming compared to when it was absent. The current study investigated if relevant information about the victim and perpetrator changed the amount …

Comprehensive Postsecondary Transition Planning For Students With Intellectual Disability In Florida, Sonia Y. Clark-Rosier

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the impact of early transition planning on parents’ postsecondary expectations for their child with an intellectual disability and to examine the benefits of planning, particularly when considering higher education opportunities. This study also probed the factors that contribute to the development of self-efficacy in special education teachers facilitating comprehensive transition planning. Schlossberg’s transition theory, with its four S’s—situation, support, self, and strategies—served as the theoretical framework. The data collection methods were document analysis, focus groups with special education teachers, high school teachers, and parents, and researcher observations. Seven themes emerged to …

International Teacher Attrition: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis Through The Job Demands-Resources Framework, Lakeysha Rena Joseph Toliver

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Teacher attrition has emerged as a persistent crisis for workforce sustainability across international education systems. This crisis is threatening instructional continuity and deepening inequities that extend across the P-20 continuum. A substantial amount of research has been conducted on teacher attrition in individual countries worldwide. Isolated national studies rarely shed light on the structural patterns driving educators out of the profession, leaving policymakers without a clear cross-contextual understanding of why teachers leave. This qualitative meta-synthesis examined how the interaction between occupational demands and institutional supports shapes teacher attrition across international education contexts, using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework to …

An Analysis Of Systemic And Contact Herbicide Usage Trends In Illinois Corn Production Systems, Paige E. Mckittrick

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Herbicide use is central to weed management in Illinois corn production; however, long-term changes in the balance between systemic and contact herbicides have not been well quantified at the statewide scale. This study analyzes herbicide trends in Illinois corn from 1982 to 2016 using secondary data from the USDA Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, paired with climate, regulatory, and herbicide resistance information. Herbicide active ingredients were classified into systemic and contact functional categories and grouped according to Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) mode-of-action (MOA) codes. For each survey year, total herbicide load (lb a.i./acre), functional proportions, MOA-specific contributions, and a …

Maximal Independent Set Algorithms Within Procedural Planar Maps: A Large-Scale Evaluation, Chaucer Ihrig

Honors College Theses

Analysis of a childhood game has led us to the problem of maximum independent sets in planar graphs. We wrote a graph creation utility using R to generate a random planar map and its dual graph. This utility then finds a graph’s maximal independent set using a variety of six algorithms. We investigate statistical connections between graph structure, colorability, and the maximal independent sets found using these algorithms over an incredibly large and procedurally generated dataset. We find one can always win the coloring game if the resultant graph is two-colorable. The algorithms perform statistically and practically significantly better on …

Koxinga: The Catalyst Of Taiwan's Current Geopolitical Conflict, Lauren Masterson

Honors College Theses

Taiwan, strategically located in the South China Sea, has long faced challenges in asserting its sovereignty. While much of the existing scholarship focuses on the 20th-century conflict between the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and the Chinese Communist Party, this study turns to the mid-17^th century to trace the roots of the island’s contested status. It centers on Zheng Chenggong (1624–1662), also known as Koxinga, who established the Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan (1661–1683) following the fall of the Ming dynasty. By examining Koxinga’s actions and the legacy he left behind, this research draws parallels between his retreat …

Mortgage Default Classification Modeling For Variable Analysis, Brendan R. Goggins

Honors College Theses

The financial crisis of the early 2000’s is a prime example of the severe consequences that mortgage default and borrower insolvency can have on economies at large. Mortgage default specifically is a prime case with the popularization of mortgage backed securities and the commonality of this loan structure. Multiple hypotheses and models have been formed to understand the reasons, causes, and consequences of mortgage default. This paper uses both machine learning and statistical classification models to inform an understanding of the variables most significant and impactful to the default outcome of mortgages. Consideration is given to both loan-level microeconomic variables …

The Way To A Mother’S Heart: A Risk Assessment Tool For The Early Detection Of Peripartum Cardiomyopathies, Leighton Terrell

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Abstract

Background

Peripartum cardiomyopathies are a rare, but deadly occurrence among pregnant and postpartum women. Maternal mortality rates have risen over the last few years proving a large problem with the focus on maternal health.

Objective

The objective of this intervention was to aid providers in diagnosing peripartum cardiomyopathies early before detrimental damage could be done to the hearts of these women.

Methods

In this quality improvement project, the need for a peripartum cardiomyopathy risk assessment survey among patients in small, rural area of Western Kentucky was determined.

Results

Using the 22 surveys that were collected, 36.4% of patients were …

A Likely Story: The Differing Narratives Between The Anglican And Catholic Presentation Of The Reformation, Cecilia Broxon

Scholars Week

The story of the Anglican reformation is often simplified to the result of King Henry VIII's desire for a divorce; however, this paper argues that it was a complex and prolonged process marked by differing Anglican and Catholic narratives. By exploring primary sources, including letters and interviews, as well as secondary analyses, this paper discusses misconceptions surrounding the Reformation, such as its speed and primary motivations. It further examines the formation of early Anglican doctrine and the contrasting presentations of the Reformation, revealing instances of resistance, the destruction of Catholic art, and the mistreatment of churches, which are frequently downplayed …

The Way To A Mother’S Heart: A Risk Assessment Tool For The Early Detection Of Maternal Peripartum Cardiomyopathies, Leighton Terrell

Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Abstract

Background

Peripartum cardiomyopathies are a rare, but deadly occurrence among pregnant and postpartum women. Maternal mortality rates have risen over the last few years proving a large problem with the focus on maternal health.

Objective

The objective of this intervention was to aid providers in diagnosing peripartum cardiomyopathies early before detrimental damage could be done to the hearts of these women.

Methods

In this quality improvement project, the need for a peripartum cardiomyopathy risk assessment survey among patients in small, rural area of Western Kentucky was determined.

Results

Using the 22 surveys that were collected, 36.4% of patients were …

“I Don’T Remember One Thing About Civic Education”: Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives On Civic Learning And Civic Engagement, Daniela Kruel Digiacomo, Laura H. Darolia, Carly Muetterties, Stephanie Mobley

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

In this study, we examined elementary pre-service teachers’ perspectives on civic education and information and media literacy. We designed an intervention in an elementary social studies methods course to examine if pre-service teachers’ learning experiences shifted attitudes toward and imaginations about their future practice as teachers. Initial findings, based on interview transcripts and classroom artifacts, confirm the importance of bringing civic education and information and media literacy to young learners and offer insights into the kinds of support pre-service teachers may need to do so.

2025-01-10, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Intersectionality Of Women's Rights Advocacy: Resource Equity, Protection From Violence, And Legal Equality, Erin Hunt

Integrated Studies

Placing a frame of intersectionality on women’s rights advocacy changes not only the way the movement is viewed, but it also strengthens the actions taken and the future processes as well. There are many intricate issues within the context of women’s rights advocacy. However, examining the intersectional issues and aspects of resource equity, protection from violence, and legal equality can attest to the fundamental concerns continually being faced. In exploring the current difficulties along with the past outcomes from an intersectional standpoint, there is a more significant possibility for affirmative change moving forward. Intersectionality within women’s rights shows the overlapping …

Military Spouses And Family Support: A Human Services Perspective, Hannah L. Prewitt

Integrated Studies

Abstract

Mental health problems among service members and veterans continue to be one of the many challenges that service members encounter. Clearly, the cultural, structural, and institutional barriers that exacerbate these concerns need to be urgently identified. Extensive interventions include resiliency training, policies assuring confidentiality, and awareness campaigns; however, stigma is a powerful reason why service members avoid mental health treatment. The paper reviews the development of military mental health awareness throughout history, the multidimensional construct of stigma, public, self, and structural forms, and the role of perceived career risk in modulating help-seeking behavior. Social identity theory and labeling theory …

An Examination Of Middle School Enrollment And Participation In The National Ffa Organization, Melanie Dorminey

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Middle school agricultural education programs and opportunities for middle school students to be members of the National FFA Organization were first made available in 1988. The Perkins V Act of 2018 provided the first federal funding to support middle school career and technical education programs. In conjunction with the federal funding provided by the Perkins V Act of 2018, the National FFA Organization adopted a national middle school membership affiliation program where middle school FFA chapters could pay a flat fee for all students enrolled in middle school agricultural education courses over the traditional membership of paying per individual student. …

The Link Between Poor Student Reading Proficiency And College And Career Readiness, James D. Kirkland Iii

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The ability to read proficiently is a skill often considered necessary for the success of an individual while in school and after graduating from high school. Although reading proficiency plays a large role in an individual's success, many students in our nation’s schools struggle to read and comprehend the texts they are presented with in their academic courses. The purpose of this research study was to determine whether a link existed between the reading proficiency and college and career readiness of high school agriculture students. The study used a mixed methods approach that collected both qualitative and quantitative data to …

Out Of The Circle: Exploring Religious Ostracism In Cyberball, Ralph D. Stewart Iii

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological effects of social ostracism in group settings, particularly in relation to social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and the need to belong (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Collective self-esteem, hostility, and belonging were examined to see if they changed significantly with the implementation of ostracism through the Cyberball paradigm (Williams, 2000). The relationship between ostracism, hostility, and religious fundamentalism was also explored. Though insignificant results from subsequent analysis were obtained, these results suggest weaker ostracism effects for interpersonal measures rather than intrapersonal measures consistent with findings by Hartgerink et al. …