Digital Commons Network^™

Mapping Fetch And Diel Movements Of Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix Within Kentucky Lake And Lake Barkley With Gis, Levi Umland

Scholars Week

Title: Mapping Silver Carp movements, relative exposure, and fetch within inland reservoirs using Geographic Information Systems.

Author: Levi G Umland

Invasive species across our country have continued to threaten our native species, compete for habitat via interspecific competition, and have caused economic impacts. Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), commonly referred to as Asian Carp, have remained in the invasive species spotlight throughout the southern and mid-western states as they have continued to spread. Silver Carp have successfully spread through our rivers and reservoirs, but little is known about Silver Carp movement rates/behavior within reservoirs due to their lower abundance within …

The Role Of Stem-Based Sustainability In Business And Management Curricula: Exploring Cognitive And Affective Outcomes In University Students, Christopher Craig, Elizabeth L. Petrun Sayers, Susan Gilbertz, Rita Karam, Song Feng

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

To address deficiencies in STEM and sustainability in business management and intra-university curricula, we developed and implemented an interdisciplinary STEM-based sustainability curriculum at a university in the Western United States. Six classes participated in curricular efforts including in-person and online sections of a business management course, in-person and online sections of a general elective STEM course, and a matched control course for each (n = 214). We systematically designed, developed, and implemented curricular interventions—multi-week STEM-based business sustainability modules—using the case teaching method. A comprehensive evaluation with pre- and post-tests was conducted to assess student sustainability cognition and affect. Significant results …

Construction Of An Apartment Building And Parking Garage, Kirsten Wilson, Kirsten R. Wilson

Honors College Theses

Construction projects are known far and wide to all people. Buildings we need for daily survival would not exist if it were not for the construction industry. Our homes, healthcare facilities, groceries, and other necessary amenities would be gone if it were not for the structures they are housed in. This project aims to simulate the lifespan of a construction job from the design phase to the preconstruction phase and stops at the final presentation before an agreement to start construction.

To create the simulation for the students, a fake RFP, or request for proposal, was created and given to …

Intein Inhibitors As Novel Antimicrobials: Protein Splicing In Human Pathogens, Screening Methods, And Off-Target Considerations, Diana A. Wall, Chunyu Wang, Kenneth Mills, Christopher W. Lennon

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Protein splicing is a post-translational process by which an intervening polypeptide, or intein, catalyzes its own removal from the flanking polypeptides, or exteins, concomitant with extein ligation. Although inteins are highly abundant in the microbial world, including within several human pathogens, they are absent in the genomes of metazoans. As protein splicing is required to permit function of essential proteins within pathogens, inteins represent attractive antimicrobial targets. Here we review key proteins interrupted by inteins in pathogenic mycobacteria and fungi, exciting discoveries that provide proof of concept that intein activity can be inhibited and that this inhibition has an effect …

The Effect Of Ewom From Identity And Non-Identity Social Media On Movie Sales., Ismail Karabas, Nik Nikolov, Brittany Wood

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Social media platforms differ in the extent to which users reveal their identities, as well as users' ability to detect others' identities, both of which could lead to differential effects of social media generated word-of-mouth (eWOM) on actual consumer behavioral responses. Based on prior research on social identification, and relationship orientation of social networks in marketing, the authors examine whether eWOM on identity-focused (e.g., Facebook) and non-identity-focused (e.g., Youtube) platforms impact an objective consumer response variable: motion pictures box office sales. Using social media posts data for 58 randomly selected movie releases across all platforms during the period November 2014 …

Closer Together Or Further Apart? Values Of Hero Generations Y And Z During Crisis, Shabnam Azimi, Yana Andonova, Charles Shewe

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Purpose Drawing upon cohort theory, the age-period-cohort framework and the portrait value system, this paper aims to examine differences in basic human values between generations Y and Z as they are shaped by recent major events (most importantly the COVID-19 pandemic).

Design/methodology/approach Hypothesized differences between values of generation Y and Z were tested using a content analysis of recent articles (Study 1) and an online survey through a prolific crowdsourcing website (Study 2).

Findings This research finds that while both generations value universalism and benevolence, Generation Y is more likely to conform and follow traditions while Generation Z values stimulation, …

Reactive Chlorine Species Reversibly Inhibit Dnab Protein Splicing In Mycobacteria, Christopher Lennon Dr, Daniel Wahl, J. R. Goetz, Joel Weinberger Ii

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Intervening proteins, or inteins, are mobile genetic elements that are translated within host polypeptides and removed at the protein level by splicing. In protein splicing, a self-mediated reaction removes the intein, leaving a peptide bond in place. While protein splicing can proceed in the absence of external cofactors, several examples of conditional protein splicing (CPS) have emerged. In CPS, the rate and accuracy of splicing are highly dependent on environmental conditions. Because the activity of the intein-containing host protein is compromised prior to splicing and inteins are highly abundant in the microbial world, CPS represents an emerging form of posttranslational …

2021-09-02, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Monitoring Protein Splicing Using In-Gel Fluorescence Immediately Following Sds-Page, Joel Weinberger Ii, Christopher W. Lennon

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Inteins garner significant interest from both basic and applied researchers due to their unique catalytic abilities. Herein, we describe a protocol for accurately monitoring protein splicing without purification using in-gel fluorescence immediately following Tris-Glycine SDS-PAGE. Following expression in Escherichia coli, cells are lysed by sonication, cell supernatants are separated using Tris- Glycine SDS-PAGE, and superfolder GFP (sfGFP) fluorescence is directly visualized within gels. This method is rapid, with sfGFP immediately imaged following SDS-PAGE without staining. Further, sfGFP can be specifically detected in complex samples such as E. coli cell supernatants, proteins run at expected masses, and all steps can be …

Celebrating The Msu Faculty: Faculty Awards, Murray State University

Reports

Program celebrating Faculty Awards from 2020 and 2021, distributed at the Murray State University's Welcome Back Luncheon, held under the portico of Waterfield Library on Friday, August 13, 2021.

Ceo Power And R&D Investment, Christine Naaman, Li Sun

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Purpose

This study aims to examine whether and how the power of a chief executive officer (CEO) relates to firm-level research and development (R&D) investment.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use clustered standard errors ordinary least squares regression using a large sample of US firms from 1994 to 2017.

Findings

The authors find a significant negative relation between CEO power and R&D investment, suggesting that firms with more powerful CEOs are less likely to invest in R&D activities. Besides, the study finds that this significant negative relation is largely driven by firms with weaker corporate governance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the …

Growing Capacity In Gifted And Talented Education Through Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, And Mathematics (Steam), Sheron Mark, Chin-Wen Jean Lee, Peter A. Azmani

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

A graduate-level gifted and talented education (GTE) course for in-service teachers was revised aiming to prepare teachers to integrate science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education into existing curricula to create challenging learning experiences for students identified as gifted and talented. Two university-based teacher educators in science education and GTE, respectively, engaged in action research in order to develop and refine a semester-long STEAM project in the GTE course to accomplish this goal. In all, two elementary, one Music, and one World History teacher participated. Case study analysis explored the teachers’ approaches to developing STEAM-based lessons to expand their …

Eartharxiv: Today And Tomorrow, Tom Narock, Rochelle Taylor, Evan Goldstein, Arthur J. Boston, Dasapta Erwin Irawan

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

EarthArXiv is a preprint service for the Earth sciences — a web-based system that enables open access publishing of non peer-reviewed scholarly manuscripts before publication in a peer-reviewed journal. In this presentation, we provide analytics on the usage of EarthArXiv across a number of sub-disciplines of Earth science. Data indicate that the service in general is growing, but with submission rates varying amongst discipline. The trend of the preprint-to-postprint ratio for each discipline also provides insight into how the various Earth science communities are using the service. We investigate were preprints are published after submission to EarthArXiv and examine how …

Linking Remotely Sensed Carbon And Water Use Efficiencies With In Situ Soil Properties, Bassil El Masri, Gary Stinchcomb, Haluk Cetin, Benedict Ferguson, Sora L. Kim, Jingfeng Xiao, Joshua B. Fisher

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

The capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2 ) from the atmosphere is expected to be altered by climate change and CO2 fertilization, but this projection is limited by our understanding of how the soil system interacts with plants. Understanding the soil–vegetation interactions is essential to assess the magnitude and response of terrestrial ecosystems to the changing climate. Here, we used soil profile and satellite data to explore the role that soil properties play in regulating water and carbon use by plants. Data obtained for 19 terrestrial ecosystem sites in a warm temperate and humid climate were used …

2021-06-04, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

We Speak English Here: An Exploratory Study Of Language Barrier Effects In Agriculture, Camryn Clift

Honors College Theses

This thesis investigates the effects of the language barrier between English-speaking H-2A managers and their Spanish-speaking H-2A employees on Kentucky farms with special attention to the insights that can be gleaned from farm managers concerning the intersection of communication, language barriers, and the unique social and cultural environment created by the microcosm of the H-2A program. The project includes a literature review evaluating the currently documented effects of language barriers in various industries as they relate to the language barriers found within agriculture. IRB-approved interviews with farm managers provide original data to evaluate these potential effects, whether positive or negative. …

Gracilou Ackerman Undergrad Photography Collection, Gracilou Ackerman, Gracilou Ackerman

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Days go by, rain comes and goes; buildings are built, occupied and abandoned. Walls that were once so vibrant with life are eventually silent. Generations upon generations witness the same subject with different eyes, perspective, and time. Minds are stimulated with excitement through the curiosity of our senses. Restoration and revitalization are a necessity to honor the enchantment that has once taken place. Constructing an infinite memory out of a perennial location is the goal to be achieved throughout the artwork.

I use photography, collage, and audio recordings to remember the industrial infrastructures that once held such importance. The now …

Structure Determination Of Pd2sin (N = 1 - 9) Clusters, Ryan Carlin

Honors College Theses

The geometry and relative stability of small Pd2Sin (n = 1 - 9) clusters are determined using the B3LYP hybrid density functional theory method. Candidate structures are identified by the utilization of unbiased global optimization procedures. From the lowest energy geometries, binding energy, fragmentation energy, second-order energy difference, and frontier orbital gap energy are calculated to determine cluster stability. Pd2Sin (n = 8 and 9) adapts new lowest energy geometric configurations that have previously not been considered. Pd2Si5 is determined to have a high relative stability of the clusters within this size range.

Automated Bottling Station - Packaging System, Lauren Nicole Zinzilieta

Honors College Theses

This report focuses on the packaging system used at the end of the FESTO bottling station that is located in EP 2355. The system will be made up of an x-y 300 mm x 300 mm gantry system, an Arduino, two micro-stepping stepper drivers, and two 152.4 mm (6 in) single acting cylinders with a 3D printed bracket attached to both. The gantry system will be located at the end of the conveyor belt and will be programmed to pick up three bottles at a time and then will move a specified number of steps in both the x and …

Investigating Media Influence On Canine Breed Popularity And Increasing Prevalence Of Genetic Linked Disorders, Callie Anderson

Honors College Theses

This study is focused on influence of social media on dog breed popularity, and if an increase in popularity leads to an increase in the prevalence of genetic-linked disorders observed in specified breeds in a clinical setting. This study was conducted by comparing an in-depth analysis of past research investigating the influence of popular culture on the trends of dog breed popularity as it relates to trends in media and fashion, with the results of a survey of clinical observations by veterinarians practicing in the area surrounding Murray, Kentucky. The results of the literary analysis revealed that humans are greatly …

Snore: An Intuitive Algorithm For Accurately Simulating N-Body Orbits, Connor L. Nance

Honors College Theses

We present SnOrE (Simple n-body Orbital Engine), a Python package which aims to simulate n-body orbital systems while simultaneously overcoming early educational barriers of computational astrodynamics for undergraduate physics students. SnOrE exploits rudimentary syntax and commonly-understood Python libraries to accurately simulate orbits of systems, given initial position and momentum conditions of each body in the system. As the n-body problem is as of yet unsolvable theoretically for n ≥ 3, having a numerical perspective on complicated orbits is of great importance to potentially understanding the processes of star and planet formation. Especially significant examples of this research …

Sustainable Water Treatment Systems: A Direct Potable Proposal, Kayla Alsup, Kayla E. Alsup

Honors College Theses

A common need among all people is water—we cannot survive without it. And yet, all around the world, achieving a high quality of drinking water is a constant struggle. This water crisis is brought on by many different factors. Some are natural, such as droughts and flooding, but as the effects of climate change continue to reveal themselves, some areas are becoming drier, while other areas are experiencing less predictable and harsher weather patterns.

Our current approach towards water is not sustainable, and we are starting to see that in both under-developed and developed countries alike. Indiscriminate use of water …

Mental Health Among Nursing Students Amid The Coronavirus Pandemic, Cheydan Crump

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the current pandemic on the mental health of nursing students at a rural university. This study examined various risk factors and potential indicators for mental health, such as changes in physical activity, sleep behaviors, and differing perceptions of support they have received from the nursing program and the participating university, throughout the spread of COVID-19. This study was a non-experimental, analytical study conducted in a rural university in the southern region of the United States. This convenience sample consisted of 21 students, all of which were enrolled in the …

The Effects Of Arra Funding On Broadband Availability And Adoption, Anna K. Waide

Honors College Theses

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), passed in 2009, provided funds to help the American economy recover from the 2008 economic crisis. More than $7 billion was designated to the advancement of broadband services, and critically, improvement in broadband infrastructure and adoption in underserved areas. This thesis sought to discover if there is a significant causal relationship between the amount of ARRA funding given to a U.S. state and its increase of broadband availability/adoption rates between 2010 (when all ARRA projects were announced), 2013, and 2016 (after all projects were completed). After running various regressions, I found that there …

Notations, Notations

Student Scholarship & Creative Works

NOTATIONS: THE UNDERGRADUATE LITERARY MAGAZINE OF MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY

SPRING 2021

It is our great pleasure to present the 2021 edition of Notations, a journal of undergraduate poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction produced by students in the Department of English and Philosophy at Murray State University. After a brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are excited to share this edition with you.

Editing Staff

Jenna Carnes, Creative Nonfiction Editor Torrey Diniz, Creative Nonfiction Editor

Pam Goodwin, Fiction Editor Gabby Sullivan, Fiction Editor

Makenna Crowley, Poetry Editor Kaylan Hall, Poetry Editor

Dr. Carrie Jerrell, Faculty Advisor

Table of Contents …

Designing Ionic Liquid-Derived Polymer Composites From Poly(Ionic Liquid)–Ionene Semi-Interpenetrating Networks, Kathryn E. O'Harra, George E. Timmerman, Jason E. Barra, Kevin Miller

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

While the solvating power of ionic liquids (ILs) for a variety of solute types including polymers is well-known, the use of ILs as solvents for ionenes—charged polymers with cationic moieties within the backbone—has only recently begun to be explored. IL–ionene combinations offer vast possibilities to make iongels and perhaps even use ILs to exert control over ionene organization (i.e., coil or rod). If the IL solvent is also polymerizable, then poly(IL)–ionene semi-interpenetrating networks (semi-IPNs) can be achieved. This study reports, for the first time, examples of poly(IL)–ionene semi-IPNs formed by dissolving an ionene in a vinyl-functionalized imidazolium IL followed by …

Influence Of Counteranion And Humidity On The Thermal, Mechanical And Conductive Properties Of Covalently Crosslinked Ionenes, Nicholas C. Bontrager, Samantha Radomski, Samantha P. Daymon, R. Daniel Johnson, Kevin M. Miller

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Thiol-ene photopolymerization was used to generate a series of covalently crosslinked, imidazolium-containing ionene networks. A variety of counteranions were chosen so as to investigate the influence of size and basicity on the thermal, mechanical and conductive properties of the resulting networks. Anhydrous conductivities at 20 °C were found to be on the order of 10−6 to 10−10 S/cm and correlated to some degree with Tg; however, Tg-normalization of the curves indicated that this relationship between polymer structure and conductivity was more complex. VFT fitting, along with free ion concentration and ion mobility data, were investigated in order to …

Covid-19, Camping, And Construal Level Theory, Christopher Craig, Siyao Ma, Ismail Karabas

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on travelers’ future recreational vehicle, cabin, and tent camping decisions extending the Construal Level Theory. Findings suggest that camping consideration due to COVID-19 is significantly related to understanding about time and distance of travel and dependent on pandemic scale.

Riding The Subscription Box Wave: Understanding The Landscape, Challenges, And Critical Success Factors Of The Subscription Box Industry, Yana Andonova, Nwamaka A. Anaza, Delancy H.S. Bennett

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

The subscription box e-commerce industry has experienced tremendous growth over the last 5 years. Given the growing size of the industry, this business model warrants the close attention of firms currently offering subscription services as well as companies considering entering this industry. This article presents a detailed overview of the subscription box industry and proposes a framework—the four Cs—for understanding subscription offerings. It identifies challenges and opportunities facing this industry, and it provides managers with guidance in the form of five tenets on how to navigate the subscription box economy.

A Survey Of Horse Use And Management In Horse Clubs In China: A Pilot Study, Zhen Li Ph.D., Msc, Shea Porr Phd

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Rapid development of the Chinese equine industry in the last two decades has resulted in an increased equine population without trained personnel to support industry growth. The purpose of this study was to understand the present profile of horse use in horse clubs in China from the perspective of horse welfare. The survey was distributed to specific personnel in selected Chinese horse clubs, and snowball sampling techniques were used to increase response rates. Of 20 respondents, the oldest club was established in 2002 and the newest in 2018. Fourteen clubs were membership-based, providing services for 40-1000 members and up to …