Digital Commons Network^™

Site Selection Of Pyrococcus Horikoshi Rada Intein, Madison Paige White

Honors College Theses

Inteins are polypeptides translated within host proteins that undergo an autocatalytic protein splicing reaction to join the flanking sequences, termed N- and C- extiens. Long considered molecular parasites, recent work has demonstrated that protein splicing can be regulated by environmental signals, representing an exciting new form of post-translational regulation. A landmark example comes from the homologous recombinase RadA of the archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii, which splices in response to substrate single-stranded DNA. Interestingly, while the P. horikoshii RadA intein splices efficiently when inserted into foreign exteins under all conditions tested, splicing is inhibited in native exteins in absence of ssDNA. In …

Art 399 Portfolio, Christopher Gill

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Moving to Kentucky from a small Central American country has definitely shaken a lot about what I thought I knew of the world and painting is a sort of way to express what things are ‘shaking’ currently for me and how it continuously shakes me. My artwork reveals certain key points in a childhood experience unique to Belize. Imagery used and settings are strongly influenced by local art styles from the country. Strong themes of discrimination, marginalization, inner and outer dialogues about interpersonal ideas and society’s violently inflicted and delicately or sloppily treated wounds, all these ideas are set in …

Jasmine Groves Art 399 Portfolio, Jasmine Groves

Professional Practices (ART 399)

For most of us, the first space we identify ourselves with is the domestic sphere. This is where the objects and people that we have chosen (or had chosen for us) live, grow, and move about. We interact with everything differently in our domestic spaces, especially in private.

Both directly and indirectly, I have thought about this in my artwork, especially in my sculptural pieces. I am attracted to furniture, clothes, and jewelry that have been used or made to look used. I like to arrange these objects in a way that seems natural, or in a way that creates …

Nintendo’S Next Move, Skyler King, Ismail Karabas, Anthony Allred

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

In the 1980s and 1990s, Nintendo was dominating the video game industry with a market share of 90 per cent. Since that time, market share has dropped substantially with new competitors, new technology and changing consumer preferences. This case examines the history of Nintendo including its loss of market share in a rapidly changing industry.

What Am I Tipping You For? Customer Response To Tipping Requests At Limited-Service Restaurants, Ismail Karabas, Marissa Orlowski, Sarah Lefebvre

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Tipping within the foodservice industry has traditionally been reserved for full-service restaurants. However, there is a growing trend of tip requests at limited-service restaurants, where tipping occurs prior to consuming the product. This research aims to examine the effect of a point-of-sale tip request at limited-service restaurants on return intentions via customer irritation. It also aims to analyze the moderating effects of check amount and perceived deservingness.

Suited, Twinkle Bhojwani

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

Jennifer Morla, a contemporary designer, once said, “asking questions generates more ideas.” I am an external processor, I tend to think out loud in order to generate innovative ideas. When I create work, I do not only think about solving the problem, I also think about influencing the visual world around me, because being a designer gives me power. Design helps others to see the world through my vibrant lens.

Suited is about the confidence, character, and style that comes with the decision to be bold in both attitude and appearance. I want women who see the magazine to be …

Ian Gresham Art 399 Portfolio, Ian Gresham

Professional Practices (ART 399)

I am an artist who primarily, medium-wise, works digitally in Photoshop, using a Wacom Cintiq 16 so that I may draw directly on the screen - allowing me to be especially precise when creating my work. Working digitally is mess-free, and allows me more flexibility than traditional oils and acrylics - so that I can either get rid of mistakes hassle free, or experiment without having to worry about the paint drying or the experiment turning out to not work in the end. I also just find it plain fun to use, the software is always changing and being updated, …

A National Survey To Characterize Industrial Hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) Production Challenges Under Protected Cultivation, William G. Owen, Bridget Behe

Journal of Agricultural Hemp Research

A nationwide internet survey (n = 134) was conducted to establish the current status of industrial hemp (IH; Cannabis sativa L.) cultivation and characterize protected culture production challenges in the United States. Of the total participants, 65.7% (n = 88) of the subjects reported current production of IH. These participants were asked to identify all production systems and included growing IH indoors (e.g., shipping containers, buildings or warehouses; 15.9%), in greenhouses (29.5%), in hoop houses or high tunnels (15.9%), or in outdoor fields in-ground (62.5%). Of the respondents who identified as growing under protected culture (e.g., indoors, greenhouses, and hoop …

The Business Of Hemp In North Carolina: Where The Rubber Meets The Road, Obed Quaicoe, Fafanyo Asiseh, Omoanghe S. Isikhuemhen

Journal of Agricultural Hemp Research

Industrial hemp continues to receive a lot of attention in the United States of America with a projected annual revenue growth rate of 18.4 percent by 2022. The momentum industrial hemp has gathered in the past few years has made it the ‘new lucrative crop’ for people to grow. However, many farmers have jumped into hemp farming without first obtaining a realistic economic analysis of hemp farming. In this paper, we seek to review and explore the economic opportunities and challenges of hemp production as a useful guide for reducing risks and maintaining profitability for farmers in North Carolina. Our …

The Impact Of Review Valence And Awareness Of Deceptive Practices On Consumers’ Responses To Online Product Ratings And Reviews, Ismail Karabas, Ioannis Kareklas, T. J. Weber, Darrel D. Muehling

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Many online retailers and some manufacturers/service providers have recently been engaging in questionable practices, where product reviews are often fabricated and/or posted without sufficient clarity and objectivity. Across an exploratory study and two main studies, we empirically examine this phenomenon and observe a pattern of effects that suggests that review valence (i.e., the average number of rating-stars a product receives) influences product attitudes and intentions, but that these outcomes are significantly impacted by the extent to which consumers are aware of potentially deceptive online review practices. Awareness of deceptive practices was found to differentially influence attitudes and intentions, depending upon …

Determinants Of Compliance With Protectionist Policies For Human Trafficking Victims, Jodi Henon

Honors College Theses

The international community has joined together in an effort to combat human trafficking. Utilizing the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, commonly known as the Palermo Protocols, the focus of combatant efforts has been tailored to fit three categories: prosecution, prevention, and protection. Because the attention of several countries appears to be primarily devoted to prosecution, protection often falls victim to indifference, leaving victims without the care that they need to readjust to daily life. While the three components are supposedly equal in weight, this inequality is apparent in several countries through their …

Through My Eyes, Tia Whitaker

Professional Practices (ART 399)

As a young artist growing up, I was very influenced by my small dominantly African American town in Southern Illinois. My family has always made sure that I was aware of where I came from and what I represent. This would include not only my family, but also my culture and the way that society has historically viewed people of my skin color. My community, my family, and my culture were the first things that I had to look to for inspiration and remains my biggest inspiration in my work to this day.

When considering different ideas for a piece …

Emma Mitchell, Emma Mitchell

Professional Practices (ART 399)

The purest form of pleasure is found in simplicity; holding something meant to be held, touching a surface meant to be touched. My sculptural ceramic work focuses on embracing the childlike desire to reach out and touch. The textures visible on the sculptures heighten the viewer’s inclination to feel what they are seeing. Just as mugs are created to meet the lips of the drinker, my sculptures are built to meet the contours of the holder’s hands. This mirrors the effect of holding a child or caressing a loved one.

Many of my sculptures begin as a flat surface, created …

Ashley Reagan Portfolio Art399, Ashley Reagan

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Nature is filled with delicate yet very resilient organisms capable of withstanding immense adversity. I utilize imagery of particular plants that flourish after natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, drought, etc., as a means of representing themes of growth and progress of the self within an environment that is inherently detrimental. Through the adornment of handbuilt ceramic boxes with imagery of these plants I am to allude to the notion that one is able to grow through even the most devastating of circumstance. I allow this metaphor to speak to not only my own personal narrative of struggle, but also …

Uniting The Field: Using The Acrl Visual Literacy Competency Standards To Move Beyond The Definition Problem Of Visual Literacy, Dana Thompson, Stephanie Beene

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Visual literacy has evolved alongside information literacy and media literacy, reflecting social, technological, and cultural changes. Rapidly advancing technology, multimodal access to information and disinformation, and political rhetoric increasingly impact the perception, trust, and use of visual media. These broader technological and cultural shifts also change what it means to be a visually literate individual in the twenty-first century. Although much has been written about visual literacy, there is very little that reviews scholarship that uses the 2011 ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Through an analysis of 196 articles published from 2011 to 2019, this study …

Final Portfolio (Tudor), Samantha Tudor

Professional Practices (ART 399)

My desire to teach has been apparent since elementary school when I used to dress up as a teacher for career day. As I grew, my desire to teach art specifically became clear, and I enrolled at Murray State in order to get my Art Education Degree and Teaching Certification.

As an artist, my greatest motivation is the exploration and discovery of the processes related to different media. I am most satisfied when I am learning a new skill or material that will become part of my teaching tool kit. I feel lucky that this fits with my goal of …

Occurrence And Mass Loading Of Synthetic Opioids, Synthetic Cathinones, And Synthetic Cannabinoids In Wastewater Treatment Plants In Four U.S. Communities, Catherine O'Rourke, Bikram Subedi

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

A few new psychoactive substances (NPS) that mimic the effects of controlled neuropsychiatric and illicit drugs have been forensically identified in the U.S. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can provide a comprehensive and more cost- and time-effective method of determining the prevalence of NPSs in communities. In this study, an analytical method capable of simultaneous determination of trace-level 40 NPS residues (synthetic opioids, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, piperazines, indole, and amphetamine) in wastewater was developed and validated. The developed analytical method was utilized to determine the occurrence of NPSs in four rural communities in southern Illinois. Nine NPSs (carfentanil, furanyl fentanyl, methoxyacetyl …

New Journalism: Roots And Influence, Samantha Bainer

Liberal Arts Capstones

New Journalism is a genre of journalism that broadly falls under the feature story category in many newspapers and magazines. The form was pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s by Tom Wolfe of New York Magazine, and it strove to tell nonfiction stories in the style of a novel. New Journalists used elements of fiction such as point of view and dialogue to tell the stories of their subjects. Although they were works of nonfiction, these articles and books more closely resembled fiction in style and form. In this project, New Journalism is defined and characterized by its core …

The Whole Shabang, Yiyang Xie

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

Entertainment is an element that is relatively lacking in this metropolis. Especially for those who work hard at work. So, I decided to make two greeting cards. In one year of life, everyone must be looking forward to the holidays. The most important meaning of the festival to us is that it is totally immersed without thinking about its meaning. Humans invented the program for carnival, noise, gift-giving and laughter. Let yourself pull away from the busy, like a buffer zone, these are usually lacking. Only festivals can immerse everyone in this atmosphere and create the illusion of loneliness being …

The Whole Shabang, Yiyang Xie

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

I always want my works can deliver a positive and relax feeling to my audiences. I usually use the computer as my work tool. The form of my works is graphic design. I like using computer work and create my work. Using a computer, I can try different positions and combinations for my work also it is easy to change.

Whole Shabang, Aman Madan

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

Aman Madan

Spring 2020

Artist Statement

My work usually has something to do with balance. Being a Hindu, I have always believed in Karma, which is the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. The law of Karma ties along with balance in life. Therefore, I’ve been a firm believer in balance. I believe it exists everywhere and is essential for any sort of growth. The key to life is balance. Some of my recent sculptures were completely exploring the term balance in different ways.

As a …

Legends Between The Lakes, Colton Colglazier

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

My work explores the ways in which the viewer might use technology to interact with the exhibit around them. The exhibition space consists of 5 travel posters united by a common theme and intended to pique the viewer's interest. Through the use of an accompanying mobile website, the audience may further interact and delve deeper into the meaning behind the posters. By utilizing technology in this supplementary manner I intend to add greater depth to the objects that exist in the physical world.

The subject matter of the exhibition is the forgotten remains and stories of the people who once …

Our Rainbow And Butterfly World In Progress, Emma Wilson

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

I have always been an artist ever since I was a child. My mom was one of my influences to become an artist because she always made arts and crafts with me. My aunt, Janet Wilson, is a very skilled self-taught painter and was also a large influence on my artistic life. I thoroughly enjoy the art of photography. I often capture photographs in black and white. “When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls.” -Ted Grant

Tara Chisholm once quoted, “Photography is the beauty …

Holistic Lifestyle Counseling By Physical Therapists: Current Practice And Barriers To Improvement, Savannah Grogan

Honors College Theses

Context: Unhealthy lifestyle habits are a significant risk factor for chronic disease and death in the United States of America. The healthcare system is largely focused on symptom-management and disease treatment with seemingly little regard for prevention, but physical therapists are particularly well-placed to improve patients’ health through lifestyle counseling and modification. Objectives: To assess the current state of holistic health promotion among physical therapists and to identify barriers to improving these practices. Design: An electronic survey was completed by physical therapists in and around the state of Kentucky. Descriptive statistics were used to assess participant demographics and the state …

Introversion, Play, And Childhood: The Ideas Behind The Remnants, Sara Talwalkar, Sara R. Talwalkar

Honors College Theses

Closed and confined spaces provide my introverted personality a place to examine, explore, and unwind. Being an introvert has inspired this senior thesis exhibition, exploring the relationship between interior and exterior spaces and child-like play. Growing up I didn’t crave a social life outside of my nuclear family and home. I spent a majority of my time inside my bedroom, but curious about the lively atmosphere outside of my bedroom. The act of play with my siblings would break down my introverted tendencies and present me with new objects, toys, and materials to explore. Now, my dorm room has become …

Intersectionality And Exploitation The Commodification Of The Bodies Of Marginalized Women, Ocean Royalty

Honors College Theses

Using four historical case studies this paper attempts to examine the effects of marginalization and exploitation faced by women in a modern context. It opens with a broad analysis of modern trends of exploitation like sex trafficking and pedophilia and how they center around groups based on sex along with race, class, and age. It ends with detailed studies of the lives of women of color: Saartjie Baartman, Julia Pastrana, the patients of J. Marion Sims, and Henrietta Lacks.

Integrating An Action Plan Into The Standard Entrepreneurial Higher Education Curriculum, Blakely Broder

Honors College Theses

In these increasingly complex times, entrepreneurship has become a common tool for innovative, economic, and social growth. Its adaptability has made it a prime instrument for addressing market failures and facilitating innovation (as cited in McMullen & Cahoon, 1979). Due to entrepreneurship’s crucial role in our modern, innovation-based economy, there has been a particular interest in the efficacy of current entrepreneurial education curriculums and instruction methods.

Discussion has risen about how to design the most effective entrepreneurial higher education curriculum. An effective curriculum in this context would be defined as one that yields the most value creation (Bruyat & Julien …

Inclusive Ensembles: Differentiating For The Singer On The Autism Spectrum, Natalie Wilkins, Natalie A. Wilkins

Honors College Theses

Exceptional children belong in music classrooms. Music ensemble directors need to overcome complex challenges to meet the goal of inclusion, because ensembles often include a mixture of ages, grades, social and intellectual development stages, musical skills, and a wide variety of diverse learning needs. This study focuses on how a choral ensemble director may create an inclusive environment for students on the Autism Spectrum.

This study reviewed the current research on inclusive rehearsal environments. Analysis revealed varied methods for differentiation that allows students with special needs to thrive in a music classroom and also revealed that music can be a …

An Exploratory Study Of Generational Coffee Preferences, Lindsey Falkner

Honors College Theses

This research focuses on generational differences in preferences towards coffee-style beverages. The aim of this research is to provide recommendations to marketers within the saturated coffee industry. An online exploratory study was conducted with two-hundred and fifty-two participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results show that differences exist between the coffee preferences across all generations, especially when it comes to the current trends (e.g., premiumization, convenience, and sustainability). Further, the results reveal several factors that may cause these generational differences. Finally, the study explored several ways that marketers in the coffee industry can appeal to different generations’ preferences, especially utilizing …

Art399 Portfolio, Karli Steinbruegge

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Artist statement

My work is based around my personal beliefs, feelings, and experiences. This means that my work often displays a feminine perspective. It also means that I consider women’s issues when creating. I often dig into my roots for inspiration, this causes me to incorporate midwestern imagery into my pieces like nature and agriculture. My preferred medium is oil painting. I am drawn to the repetitive nature of layering. However, I also enjoy working with charcoal and sculpture.

Art has the ability to be expressive and create an experience for the viewer as well as the artist. By utilizing …