Digital Commons Network^™

Autonomous Control And Signal Acquisition System, Rion Cadell Krampe

Honors College Theses

Our goal is to continue a previous teams project to build a NDE autonomous control and signal acquisition system that is more precise, more customizable with both code and mechanical parts, and cheaper than a similar system bought by the school. This goal has two stages to it. First, to repair the system from considerable damage it received during transportation. Secondly, to continue designing and developing the system to make considerable progress towards the goal of a fully functional NDE system. Along with making progress we must consider the team after us and create an easy stepping off point for …

Minimizing Musculoskeletal Injury Risk In Health Care Professionals With Education On Safe Patient Handling, Aubrey Graves

Honors College Theses

Introduction: Nursing is a high-risk occupation for musculoskeletal injuries due to the strenuous activity of patient handling. These tasks include, assisting a patient in bed, moving a patient from the bed to a wheelchair, and assisting with walking. These work-related tasks can create a large amount of stress on the body, especially the back if proper technique is not utilized and/or if excessive loads are applied. The purpose of this study is to examine if teaching proper body mechanics and the dangers of not performing the tasks properly is an effective way of reducing musculoskeletal injuries.

Methods: The NUR 202 …

“A Change Is Gonna Come”: Music And Its Role In The Civil Rights Movement, Nathanial Humphrey

Honors College Theses

This thesis paper will provide thorough research and analysis regarding the role of music during the Civil Rights Movement. It would be the goal of this paper to answer the questions of whether or not music had an impact on the Civil Rights Movement, and if so, then in what ways and how was this conveyed through the music.This paper aims to discuss different genres of music, including but not limited to; jazz, rock, pop, blues, etc. In order to answer these questions, this paper will be analyzing songs written by artists during the movement, looking for forms of rhetoric …

Art399 Portfolio, Eric Abarbanell

Professional Practices (ART 399)

My two dimensional art has a lot of sharply contrasting values and a sense of humor (and dark humor) to it. My three dimensional work follows the same lines but I also incorporate as much light and shadow as I possibly can.

My influences are mostly based in my childhood and pop culture. Early cyberpunk works like William Gibson and Max Headroom; lowbrow and outsider art like Frank Kozick, the artists of Heavy Metal Magazine, and independent comics; and dark surreal art such as HR Giger, Masahiro Ito, and Heronimous Bosch.

I try to first find art and references that …

2021-12-03, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Gretchen Ruth Art399 Portfolio, Gretchen Ruth

Professional Practices (ART 399)

My work comes from a place of tension between trying to understand the world and being understood. My current focus is making work that has more centralized and serious concepts. Despite some naturalistic elements that are often seen throughout my works,

I intentionally combine these elements along with imagery that brings the viewer to a made-up or dream-like reality . One of the most important aspects to these types of works, especially more recently, is my use of color. Throughout a lot of my work, I utilize form and proportion as well as color to emphasize the ambience of the …

Camping, Weather, And Disasters: Extending The Construal Level Theory, Christopher Craig, Siyao Ma, Ismail Karabas, Song Feng

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Camping is an outdoor accommodation and type of recreation that is susceptible to weather and climate change. Camping—in addition to the relationships camping shares with weather— remains understudied despite the subsectors’ salient economic impact and high participation rate. The observable effects of non-meteorological/climatological (e.g., pandemic) is also a topic that has received limited attention. Accordingly, we introduce the Camping-Weather-Disaster (CWD) framework to examine the concurrent impact of weather and the COVID-19 disaster on post-disaster camping trip plans among leisure travelers in the 48 contiguous United States (n=2,442). Extending the Construal Level Theory, the CWD framework considers traveler construal (i.e., understanding) …

Litigation, Legislation, And Love: The Comparative Efficacy Of Litigation And Legislation For The Expansion Of Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Civil Rights, Mallory Harrington

Honors College Theses

This research examines the comparative efficacy of federal appellate court decisions and federal legislation with regards to the furtherance of civil rights on the basis of sexual orientation. The research examines efficacy based upon the number of measures which have been implemented as well as the content of each measure. The research examines federal appellate and Supreme Court decisions, as well as adopted pieces of federal legislation since 1950. It also examines the likely causes of the disparities in efficacy that are indicated in this analysis. The findings of this research indicate that litigation has been much more effective at …

Senior Nursing Students’ Confidence In Communicating And Providing Patient Teaching, Carmen Bandy

Honors College Theses

In the field of nursing, effective nurse-patient communication and teaching are among the most important indicators of patient satisfaction. Research shows that improved communication can result in more favorable patient outcomes and compliance with treatment. Additionally, improved communication with other members of the healthcare team can create a better work environment and result in increased patient outcomes, as well as decreased errors. The aim of this thesis is to assess the confidence of seniors in the Murray State University Nursing program in communicating with patients and other healthcare professionals and in providing thorough, accurate teaching to patients. Strategies to improve …

Amplifying The "A" In Steam Education, Grace Floerke

Honors College Theses

This paper discusses the importance of teachers implementing STEAM education in the classroom. Previously, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (abbreviated as STEM) education was used as a tool to prepare students to excel in career fields that are projected to grow in the near future. However, recently the acronym was changed to STEAM to add “the arts” to the original acronym. It is imperative that the arts are seen as an equal to STEM, as they can complement and enhance the goals STEM is trying to reach. Since not all students possess the same interest, ways of learning, or abilities, …

How Community Engagement And The Power Nine Impact Health, Lindsey Shelton, Lindsey V. Shelton

Honors College Theses

The Blue Zones are five different places around the world where people are proven to live healthier and longer lives. In these places, they all share 9 unique habits that are attributed to helping achieve these healthier lives called the Power Nine. In Calloway County, a barrier survey was conducted by five different Murray State departments to see what stopped the residents from achieving their healthiest lives. Community engagement was found to be an important aspect of the Power Nine and was analyzed to see how it can impact one's health.

The Lens Of Suicide, Chad Reeder

Professional Practices (ART 399)

I have been shaped by loss. My art is deeply personal and is directly informed by the effects of suicide. I make art as a way to confront the reality of losing many loved ones and as a way to reconnect to the world by seeking friendships through conversations about suicide. Through photography and video my work challenges the stigma of suicide in order to save lives. I do this formally through different perspectives of light, pattern, shape and form. Additionally I print on larger format so that the viewer is overwhelmed as I have been with dealing with so …

The Effectiveness Of An Act App In Promoting Wellbeing And Psychological Flexibility, Brooke Short

Honors College Theses

While mental health apps could potentially increase access to mental health resources, only 3.05% of depression and anxiety apps on the Apple App store had published research support as of 2018 (Marshall et al., 2019). The present study aims to evaluate an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) mental health app. ACT aims to cultivate psychological flexibility, the ability to fully experience and accept one’s present context while engaging in behavior that aligns with one’s values (Hayes et al., 2006). Gloster et al. (2020) reviewed ACT metanalyses and found it to be efficacious for a range of conditions. Past research has …

Murder She Sang: How Contemporary Country Murder Ballads Alleviate Blame, Alyssa Hubbard

Honors College Theses

Murder ballads, or narrative songs centered on a murder and/or its aftermath, were historically used as a tool to emphasize a criminal’s guilt, cruelty, and inhumanity. Ballads centered on women in particular underlined the idea that women are naturally inclined to sin and easily corrupted, and because they were often written by men in an imitation of the woman’s voice, any regret or repentance within them is falsified or exaggerated, intended to warn other women away from committing similar transgressions.

In contrast, contemporary murder ballads, such as those sung by country music artists like Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, and The …

Kerrie Pullen Art 399 Digital Commons, Kerrie Pullen

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Paper is a material that is all around us and has been telling stories for centuries, blurring the line between dimensional planes. I began using paper for its obvious function – to draw upon and express thoughts and ideas. Communicating is a vital part of the art process, and the more I drew the more the images and ideas created took on a new function, a new language. I’ve come to realize that drawing is a highly fluid process that resists categorization. I cut and layer paper, drawings, mixed media materials, and 3D elements within my large-scale works, maneuvering multiple …

Implementing Antiracism In Technical Services, Leslie Engelson, Brinna Michael, Caitlin Soma

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

It is a sad reality that racist bias is inherent in cataloging standards and collection development practices. Whether racism in cataloging and collection development practices is intentional or not, Technical Service librarians can be intentional about combatting it. This article presents three antiracist projects implemented to address racism in collection development and classification. Leslie Engelson discusses the results of an effort initiated by the music faculty to determine the representation of BIPOC in the music score collection at Waterfield Library. Brinna Michael demonstrates how racist language is represented in the Library of Congress Classification schedule and her efforts at Pitts …

Ransomware Education: Availability, Accessibility, And Ease Of Use, Judson Gager, Judson Gager

Honors College Theses

With cybersecurity constantly in the media outlets with breaches, cybercrime, and cyberwarfare, it has become a significant concern for all. One of the most recent breaches in the summer of 2021 was the Colonial Pipeline breach, which has proven the country's reliance on these industrial control systems and networking. The systems were taken for ransom by a new type of ransomware written in a different programming language. Although the Colonial Pipeline breach was quickly addressed, the impact of the gas shortage and the response time were alarming at triaging the breach. However, this attack showed the public how dangerous ransomware …

Using Modern Portfolio Theory To Create Efficient Portfolios From The S&P500, Dylan Rhoads

Honors College Theses

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 …

Revisiting The Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary In Western Kentucky, Usa, Jarred Asselta

Scholars Week

This study revisits a Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) sedimentary section in western Kentucky to determine the nature of this boundary and the depositional environments. Although previous pollen work identified the boundary over four decades ago, to our knowledge no work has been carried out at this important K-Pg boundary site. A combination of stratigraphy and sedimentology were used to characterize the section in detail. Bulk and oriented samples were collected for grain-size, geochemical, and petrographic analysis. We relocated the site and measured 1.5m of section that includes the K-Pg boundary. Four distinct units were identified and from base to top of section …

Mapping Of Non-Native Invasive Plant Species Using Remote Sensing And Gis: Assessment Of Human Impact On Kudzu (Pueraria Montana) Spread, Harshitkumar Godhasara

Scholars Week

Remote sensing methods provide tools to identify and map non-native plants. Biophysical characteristics of plants can be utilized to recognize and distinguish non-native invasive plants from other native plant species. Kudzu is an invasive plant, which causes economic loss and decreases biodiversity. Moreover, kudzu doubles emission of nitric oxide and increases ozone pollution. The impact of human activities on the spread of noxious plant species like kudzu can be assessed utilizing remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) tools. Kudzu spread in the USA was mapped using in situ data including the actual coordinates of kudzu sites. Geographic distribution of …

Relationships Between Different Management Practices And Selected Soil Health Indicators, Erika Lambert, Jack Howard, Sammuel Tapp

Scholars Week

Relationships Between Different Management Practices and Selected Soil Health Indicators

Jack Howard, Erika Lambert, Samuel Tapp, Corey Hale, Mallorie Snider, Dr. Brian Parr, and Dr. Iin Handayani

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University

Abstract

Soil health is essential for growing crops productively. Healthy soils help to reduce erosion, improve nutrient cycling, and lower input cost. Understanding how crop rotations and tillage systems affect soil is key to preserving soil while also improving agricultural income and efficiency. This study was conducted in Calloway County, Kentucky to observe the effects of different management practices over nine sites of management on the …

Lingering Space, Makayla Tapp

B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499)

Lingering Space

Since I was young, I have had a fascination with childhood memories that I should have been too young to remember.. Over the years, these memories have changed and warped, yet the strongest memories that have remained the same are those of my parents, and the spaces they inhabited. As my memories of my parents fade, I begin to lose details, such as the way their voices sounded, the way they smiled, the way they laughed. But the pieces that linger are the spaces I remember them being in, the homes they lived in, the places where we …

21st Century Revival- Ba/Bs Senior Show, Kirsten Moore

B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499)

Growing up in Kentucky, I had no choice but to acknowledge that I was smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt, where culture is in many ways defined by Christianity and there is a church on every corner. These deep southern and Christian roots have defined who I am and how I view the world, inspiring me to examine the roles these two factors play in my life as well as the lives of others through my art. 21st Century Revival takes a dive into this specific culture, questioning how southern Christianity has impacted the lives of those …

Nos Vamos Mañana, Karen Colorado

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Growing up, I always hated moving. Every moment leading up to that move is a celebration, then a goodbye, then a memory. We wonder what we will do with the things we take with us, as well as what will happen to the spaces we leave behind. The first time I moved I didn’t know any of these things, nor did I think it would change my life completely.

My work is a reflection on my experiences from moving to America and what I have learned. I strive to challenge people to think about what makes a house a home …

Rule, Kendra Lobb

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

I struggle with the need for control. I feel this was due to being raised in a broken home, where all important decisions were dictated by others. The feeling of being trapped in situations that I did not choose pushed me to find a place where I got to make the decisions and rules. I have found this in my art practice. The process of creating art allows me to make a controlled world that has order and to share it with others. I want to give my audience choices in how they interact with my work, giving them the …

The Protectors, Keimya Harris

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Many black people like myself loved seeing someone that looked like us in the media and print. It was rare and few to see shows and media that embraced black culture no matter how big or small the role was. As a child in order to cope with the minimal amount of black media and print I decided to create my own stories and make black characters the forefront within my stories.

When creating The Protectors it allowed me to create a new narrative that challenges having a white person as the main character and eliminates the trope of a …

Fight Or Flight, Kiley R. Cox

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Content Warning: Trauma

Birds are beautiful, fragile, yet strong species that defy the laws of gravity. Birds have been used as symbols throughout history, and have been a huge influence within my work. To me, birds are the most relatable and enviable animals to humans. We long to adopt their risk taking behaviors, their romantic way of mating with one another for life, or even just their ability to fly and go wherever they wish. To be a bird and not care about anything in the world would be liberating. People as a whole are a lot like birds; we …

Life Isn't Fare, Eric Abarbanell

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Born too late for the space age, too poor for space tourism, and too early to explore the galaxy, I’ve turned my obsession with sci-fi pop culture into a design career. A steady diet of bad films and cheesy sci-fi left me feeling like the world lacked something. It lacked pageantry and fun. We all share pop culture, and it gives us a sense of a world that’s more fun than the one we live in now. The movies, toys, and games of my youth helped shape my sense of what the world could be, a world that could be …

The Effects Of Covid-19 On The Service Delivery Of Speech And Language Therapy: A Literature Review, Hanna Hill

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the effects of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the service delivery of speech and language therapy services in schools, early intervention, and outpatient settings. This analysis examined various service delivery settings in the realm of speech-language therapy that were affected by COVID-19. Per guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), worldwide governing legislatures, and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), many measures were put into place throughout the spread of COVID-19. Quarantine, the use of various protective tools, and social distancing interrupted face-to-face services that are essential to …

Autonomous Control And Signal Acquisition System, Rion Krampe

Scholars Week

Dr. Bunget has an autonomous control and signal acquisition system that he wants to be repaired and improved upon. This requires that we identify the current issues with the system and repair them as well as make innovations to the system to meet customer needs. The position control needs to be autonomous, and the acquisition of the oscilloscope signal and the transducer position needs to be synchronous. The user should be able to control the position, speed, and how often the signals are captured. The waveform of the scan should be appended into a spreadsheet. The system code also needs …