Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating Gizzard Shad Dorosoma Cepedianum Populations In Two Kentucky Reservoirs Recently Invaded With Silver Carp Hypopthalmichthys Molitrix, Nathan Klein

Scholars Week

Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum are an ecologically important fish species found in many reservoirs throughout the southeastern United States such as Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. One current challenge that Gizzard Shad may face in these two reservoirs is competition with the invasive Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix. However, quantifying the impacts of this competition may be difficult because of limited baseline population data for Gizzard Shad in these two reservoirs. The objective of this study is to describe size structure, condition, age, growth, mortality, and spawning potential of these two populations. Gizzard Shad were collected by boat electrofishing and …

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 …

Temporal Changes And Possible Sources Of Dissolved Calcium Levels In Stream, River, And Lake Waters In Western Kentucky, Kelsie Meystedt

Scholars Week

ABSTRACT

Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are an exotic and invasive mollusk that spread extensively over various rivers and lakes in the United States. These mussels are known for being notorious in their “biofouling” capabilities, costing the U.S. government billions of dollars in removal operations. Recently, zebra mussel colonies were found in Kentucky Lake possibly due to human activities increasing the salinity of today’s freshwater resources. The increase in salinity from human activities may have adversely affected the ecosystems and water supplies. The Specific aim of this study was to determine the temporal trend of dissolved calcium in Kentucky Lake …

Effects Of Self-Efficacy And Motivation On Self-Disclosure Through Artwork, Abigail Emerson

Scholars Week

Art therapy provides a non-verbal method for individuals to express themselves and process their experiences (Luzzatto & Gabriel, 2000). Self-disclosure of emotional states and personal experiences through art and creative activity is important for clients to experience the full benefits of art therapy (Haeyen, Chakhssi, & Van Hooren, 2020). Self-disclosure occurs when individuals willingly reveal information about themselves and their experiences (Wheeless & Grotz, 1976), but some individuals may be reluctant to engage in this process. Clients may also experience differing levels of motivation for therapy, and although intrinsic motivation generally leads to the greater investment in any activity, many …

Understanding Mental Health Stigma, Lainie K. Krumenacker

Scholars Week

Understanding Mental Health Stigma

Lainie K. Krumenacker

Problem or Purpose

Mental illness affects nearly 1 in 5 adults according to the National Institute of Mental Health and yet discrimination against mental illness is not only relevant, but considered a risk factor as stigma can be responsible for treatment delay. Individuals suffering from mental illnesses may not seek treatment, as they may fear they will be regarded negatively which can lead to detrimental health outcomes (Shrivastava, et al., 2022). Where is the disconnect if so many adults are experiencing mental illness? Why isn’t it more widely researched with a solution focus, …

Communication Is Key, Stephanie Munsch, Bailey Ellingsworth

Scholars Week

Abstract

This paper is an evidence based look at the efficacy of ventilation communication in the intensive care unit (ICU) and the resources that we found to be useful in expanding said communication. This topic has become more prevalent today due to COVID-19 and the rising numbers of ICU admissions and ventilator use. We looked at various studies that found that patients on ventilators who lacked good communication with their nurses had negative mental and physical effects. Examples of this include increased rates of anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder among ICU survivors. The evidence also found that effective …

Assessing The Influence Of Urban Greening On Urban Arthropods, Brendon Lawrence

Scholars Week

Green Heart is an urban greening experiment in Louisville, KY seeking to create new urban green spaces to ultimately increase air quality and improve human health. Changes in biodiversity in response to urban greening may influence human health via multiple hypothesized pathways including reducing harm (e.g. medicine provisioning), restoring capacities (e.g. reductions in stress), building capacities (e.g. increasing activity outdoors), and causing harm (e.g. zoonotic diseases). Arthropods are one component of diversity that may influence human health via each of these pathways. However, few studies have assessed the influence of Arthropod diversity on human health. Thus, the objective of our …

Decreasing Alarm Fatigue Through Alarm Management Training, Leah Davis, Brittany Fleming

Scholars Week

Alarm fatigue is a notable problem in the hospital setting. Alarm fatigue can decrease nurse response time and desensitize nurses to alarms. When this occurs, patient outcomes begin to be negatively affected. To combat this, we researched multiple articles on alarm fatigue and alarm management programs. These programs would be implemented and nurses would learn how to troubleshoot alarm equipment, how to recognize alarm fatigue, how to prevent alarm fatigue, and many more. Based on research articles, alarm management programs decrease alarm fatigue in nurses and the amount of alarms.

Implementing Hourly Rounding, Kalyn Grice, Emma Durham

Scholars Week

It has been long known that nurses can be stretched thin during their 12 hour shifts. Whether they are running around passing medications, completing orders, or performing nursing interventions the world of nursing is always go, go, go. With this mindset and culture some patients who require less tasks and care may be overlooked and not seen for a few hours during a shift. This can lead to negative patient outcomes and safety problems. Throughout the day patient’s require assistance to meet many different needs, many of them being activities of daily living, like using the restroom, changing positions, brushing …

Improving Patient Medication Teaching With A “Meds-To-Beds” Program, Grace Phelps, Shanna Blocker

Scholars Week

Medication education is a vital part of a healthcare provider’s job. Nurses specifically often must take on the main role in medication education in collaboration with physicians and pharmacists. The current medication education at a certain hospital involves discharging patients with a list of medications, dosages, and instructions. The policy also includes the use of layman terms in discussion and handing the patient a sheet with the date/time of last administration by the nurse. Before discussing a change in policy, it is important to first clarify who must take on the responsibility of medication education . This is within the …

Too Loud: A Project For Sound Reduction In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Peyton Cadwell, Amy Krazl

Scholars Week

Sound levels in any intensive care unit environment are significantly higher than the recommended volume. The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is included in this aggregate that frequently exceeds advised levels. There are consequences associated with increased sound, such as slower language development and behavior issues. Not only are babies subjected to physiological effects, but there is potential for psychological detriment as well, such as behavioral issues (Bremmer, 2003). Many solutions for this issue have been proposed, including lowering phone volumes, putting rubber shoes on furniture and switching audio alarms to visual alarms. One specific intervention that may reduce the …

Iv Infection Control, Coleman White, Hannah Oswalt

Scholars Week

Infection is one of the most discussed topics in the nursing world, and one topic that is commonly overlooked is IV tubing related to infection. The current rules on CCU/PCU include labeling the tubing, changing the tubing every 72 hours, and cleaning the site with an alcohol swab before injecting medications. While these rules in place are evidenced based, and work properly, there is more research that has been conducted stating better practice to control infection related to IV tubing. Through utilization of theoretical framework along with several quasi-experimental research, we have evaluated infection control effectiveness through “Scrub the Hub” …

How To Control Healthcare Associated Infection, Yeojin Son, Jungyoon Hur

Scholars Week

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) are infections patients acquire while receiving care in hospital. The main reasons of occurring the infections are insufficient knowledge about infection control and decreased compliance with rules by hospital protocol. The purpose of this evidence-based presentation is to exemplify how to control HAI via motivating healthcare workers to comply with infection control policy.

Prevention Of Medical Device Related Pressure Injuries (Mdpris), Mauritzio Ramirez, Audrey M. Fulkerson, Mason L. Chandler

Scholars Week

Throughout our clinical rotations, we noticed many patients who had developed pressure ulcers caused by medical devices, which are often referred to as MDRPIs. We acknowledged this as a problem and decided to look into it further. We reviewed various articles to find the best practice when it comes to preventing/minimizing these injuries. We analyzed a meta-synthesis, a qualitative study, and an experimental study and used that as our research on the topic. After reviewing these articles, we will present our findings to a local hospital to make recommendations on how they can better prevent/minimize MDRPIs. In conclusion, MDRPIs are …

The Benefits Of Bedside Shift Report, Sarah Frank, Jordan Reed, Jordan Higgins

Scholars Week

The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of bedside shift report in the health care setting. This research will focus on an inpatient department, which is a 25-bed acute care unit with 4 special care beds. This department currently utilizes the SBAR method. However, this can improve when used in conjunction with bedside shift reports. The use of bedside shift report will improve communication and nurse-patient relationships, provide more patient privacy, and decrease time spent giving report. The use of bedside report may require a related intervention of patient teaching, so that the patient understands the purpose …

Benefits Of Increasing Patient Engagement In Plan Of Care, Madison Gillentine, Stephanie Phelps

Scholars Week

This presentation’s focus is implementing ways to engage patients in their own plan of care during hospitalization. Patient’s presenting their needs early on during a hospital stay has been shown to improve nurse-patient communication and overall engagement. When a patient has felt that his or her specific needs have been made aware to the nursing staff, one feels more like an individual rather than a bed number. The patient will become a more active member in his or her care which leads to better outcomes and satisfaction. The more comfortable and open a patient is with the nurse about his …

Mend The Gap: Behavioral Emergency Response Team., Taylor Rogers, Leah Bell, Bailey Cartwright

Scholars Week

Abstract

Bell, L., Cartwright, B., Rogers, T., Mend the Gap: Behavioral Emergency Response Team. 2022, April 2.

Behavioral escalation takes place without warning and is not confined to a specific unit. This problem has become more evident with the onset of COVID, behavioral health patients were admitted to floors that were not necessarily educated enough on de-escalation techniques. This is where our problem was identified. We found that the most beneficial implementation would be that of a behavioral emergency response team (BERT). This research study was founded on the grounded theory and Watson's Human Caring Theory. Our evidence came from …

Effective Communication In Dementia Patients, Morgan Loveless, Callie Hardesty

Scholars Week

Effective Communication with Dementia Patients - Abstract

Throughout every nurse’s career, one will have the experience of working with those with dementia. Patients who suffer with dementia require different approaches to communication and may have difficult interactions with healthcare workers. A barrier many nurses continue to endure is poor communication and relationships with dementia patients. Many nurses work at a very quick and stressful pace, putting a strain on many nurses’ relationships with dementia patients. Ineffective communication may lower the quality of care dementia patients receive as nurses may lack the extra time needed to effectively communicate. This can lead …

Reducing Pediatric Procedural Pain Using Virtual Reality, Emily Davis, Carmen Bandy

Scholars Week

Above all else, children require stability in their lives in order to develop a healthy perspective of the world. Feelings of instability can come from something as small as a change in schools. In the practice of pediatric medicine it is especially important to avoid these feelings of instability, which can lead children to develop healthcare-anxiety. Healthcare settings can be exceptionally emotionally taxing to children, because the children have a complete lack of control over their environment. This lack of control combined with fear and potentially pain can be incredibly distressing. While it is easy to disregard a child’s anxiety …

Stress Management In Nursing To Prevent Burnout And Employee Retention, Megan Mayo, Lauren R. Barto, Megan B. Trout

Scholars Week

This project was based on the fact that there is a severe nursing shortage happening in the United States. On average, nurses can have four to eight patients at one time which makes a twelve hour shift almost unbearable due to the stress of keeping all of the patients alive and satisfied with the care they are receiving. During the pandemic, staffing shortages have become one of the main issues faced by healthcare workers across the nation. Due to the staffing shortages and COVID-19 precautions, nurses have not only been taking on more patients but also have increased their workload …

Mathematical Model Of Devil Facial Tumor Disease (Dftd) Spread In Tasmanian Devils, Abigail Collins

Scholars Week

Applications of disease models can lead to insight on spread of diseases, population movements, and wildlife health safety. This exploration of mathematical models sought to determine the spread of wildlife disease, specifically devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). Tasmanian devil populations have been negatively affected by DFTD. The basic SIR disease model was modified to better fit the spread of DFTD, along with a network model to inspect the rate of infectivity. It was found that the population of Tasmanian devils will continue to decrease in size and multiple populations are connected to each other. Models of wildlife disease have the …

Navigating The Public Funding Landscape: Lessons From One Small, Isolated, Rural, Arts Organization, Elise L. Kieffer

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

This study follows the experience of one arts organization in an isolated, rural, Appalachian community of Kentucky, to explore the relationship between the NEA and the state arts agencies with which they partner. Using the case study of Burkesville Academy of Fine Arts as an inspiration, this question is explored: If BAFA had received necessary technical support from the KAC, is it likely that it might have been awarded funding by the NEA? The study compares BAFA to organizations in comparable communities who received NEA funding. Following findings, suggestions for policy and practice are provided.

Paige Small Art399 Portfolio, Paige Small

Professional Practices (ART 399)

As an artist I work by taking things from my personal life that hold a deep meaning to myself. Recently I have been working a lot with the idea of community and human interaction and what that looks like to me. Community is a place that helps one grow and feel supported and those interactions are vital as a human being. As a printmaker being able to create multiples of the work I am doing is also really important. As each piece may have a slight variation, making it unique, I am able to give back to those who support …

Fragile Foal Syndrome: Its Past, Present, And Future, Alena Martin, Alena M. Martin

Honors College Theses

Though Fragile Foal Syndrome (FFS) has been around for some time, the public interest in FFS is recent. The hype spread rapidly from a public media announcement that a stallion at a prominent North American stud farm was a carrier (Brooks, 2021). As with most genetic mutations, FFS likely arose due to the increased inbreeding that results from human selection (Orlando & Librado, 2019). Fragile Foal Syndrome affects the enzyme responsible for developing the connective tissues. Two recent case studies highlighted the devastating effect of FFS on every part of the equine body (Metzger, et al., 2020; Grillos, 2021). So …

Cross Berry Art399 Portfolio, Cross Berry

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Fear is something that every person experiences in their life. Ever since I was younger, this has been something that I’ve wanted to explore further. Since beginning studying at Murray State I have made this my main focus throughout mediums. When working in my primary medium, Woodworking, I aim to imbue zoomorphic aspects into the furniture that I build. With this, I am wanting to blur the line between what is real and what is unreal. I want my furniture to have an uncanny feeling when you look at it. In my 2D work, I am more drawn to narrative. …

2022-03-11, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Popcast: A Music Podcast With Unexpected Scholarly Angles. A Review And Highlighted Episode Selection, Arthur J. Boston

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Short review with episode highlights of the New York Times Music Popcast podcast. Written specifically for librarians with an interest in the similarities/disparities between popular digital media content models and scholarly digital media. This includes a short overview of the podcast, its general relation to scholarly communication, a highlight of seven episodes that relate to copyright, archiving, peer-review, vertical integration, metrics, open repositories, and piracy.

Less Light, Better Bite: How Ambient Lighting Influences Taste Perceptions, Sarah Lefebvre, Laura Boman, Jonathan Hasford

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Atmospheric factors within a retail environment provide efficient and effective methods for influencing customer behavior. Drawing on the concept of sensory compensation, this research investigates how ambient lighting influences taste perceptions. Three studies demonstrate that dim lighting enhances taste perceptions. The results of Studies 1a and 1b provide support that low lighting positively influences consumers' perceived taste of single taste dimension foods (e.g., sweet). Study 2 shows the number of taste dimensions (e.g., sweet vs. sweet and salty) stimulated serves as a boundary condition, attenuating the significant effect of dim lighting on taste perceptions.

Professional Blend Xii, Miranda Tynes

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Artist Statement

My name is Miranda Tynes and I am a multiple medium artist. I have enjoyed painting, ceramics, and woodworking so far. These disciplines are very different from each other, but it is nice to work a different part of the brain, eye, or hands to create in these different mediums. With painting I work my brain and eyes for color and composition, with ceramics my hands and eyes for form and movement, and with woodworking my brain and hands for the process, physical work and attention to detail. I also like experimenting with adding separate materials to each …

Comparative Analysis Of Gait Interventions For Pediatric Cerebral Palsy, Sydney Ross

Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Spastic cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability in childhood, affecting 1 in 345 children in the U.S. Functional gait training (FGT) has been used with and without electrical stimulation (ES) to improve gait.The purpose of this study is to evaluate existing research on the effectiveness of FGT with and without ES to improve gait speed and endurance, step length, and gross motor function in young children with spastic CP. The investigators evaluated 6 studies aimed at analyzing the effects of FGT with and without ES on gait function in children with spastic CP. Three of the studies …