Digital Commons Network^™

The Untapped Potential Of Bourbon Tourism: Regulatory Effects On Kentucky’S Agritourism Industry, Andrew Bocanumenth

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Plugging Problems: How States In The Ohio River Basin Can Address Orphan Oil And Gas Wells, Connor Hicks

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Proposal: Protecting U.S. Agricultural Workers Utilizing Existing Legal Structures And Augments To The U.S. Farm Bill, Alexia M. Kulwiec

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Planting The Seed: A Proposal For A Farm Operation Test Under The Fsma Produce Safety Rule, Sophia Kruszewski, Samuel Ingraham

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

What The Brita Won’T Purify: Why Kentucky Is In Need Of Strict Pharmaceutical Disposal Regulations, Caroline K. Mitchell

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Taking Care Of The Caretakers: An Argument For A Cross-Sectoral Approach To Mental Health Resources For Farmers, Ranchers, And Agricultural Workers, Mary Dallas

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

The Rise And Fall Of Unions In The Coal Industry: How The New Era Of Labor Union Resurgence Can Protect The Miners That Remain, Emily Allender

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Opioid Litigation, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Popular Media

The use of opioids to treat a variety of common medical conditions began in the late 1990s. Unfortunately, opioid abuse has become a serious problem in many areas of the country. Beginning around 2000, individual opioid users began to bring personal injury lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies. State and local governments also sued during this period, but they usually settled for modest amounts. At this point no one knows how the current opioid litigation will end.

Why Is There So Much Pre-Retirement Liquidity In The U.S. Pension System?, Kathryn L. Moore, John Turner

Law Faculty Books and Chapters

Some analysts argue that there is a retirement savings crisis in the United States. While the extent of the crisis is contested, most analysts agree that retirement savings in this nation is inadequate. Although the reasons for the retirement savings shortfall are many and complex, this paper focuses on one factor that leads to inadequate retirement savings in the United States: pre-retirement liquidity or leakage.

Pre-retirement liquidity or leakage refers to the ability of individuals to withdraw money from their retirement savings account prior to retirement and use that money for nonretirement purposes. The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) writes, …

Communication Of Professional Readiness In Dietetics And Human Nutrition Undergraduates: A Pilot Study, Heather Norman-Burgdolf, Emily M. Dewitt, Nathan L. Vanderford, Julie Plasencia

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

Learning experiences within the dietetics and human nutrition undergraduate curricula develop knowledge and skills pertinent to student career goals. Core competency requirements are extensively assessed in these programs, yet the communication of transferable skills gained and student professional readiness are rarely examined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate undergraduate students' perceived professional readiness following six professional development workshops on transferable skills and career preparedness communicated through resumes and personal statements. In this pilot study, twelve upper-level dietetics and human nutrition students self-assessed their resumes and personal statements with rubrics and completed surveys before and after the intervention. Following …

Defying The Odds: Exploring The Ways First-Generation College Students Enact Resilience, Paris Lauren Nelson

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This thesis examined the experiences of first-generation college students in the context of higher education. This thesis was framed by the communication theory of resilience to discover how first-generation college students enact five processes of resilience: crafting normalcy, affirming identity anchors, maintaining and using communication networks, employing alternate logics, and foregrounding productive action. First-generation college students face academic preparation, financial, social capital, personal, and college completion adversities that may necessitate engagement in resilience processes. Participants (N = 8) participated in focus groups and interviews where they discussed messages from family, peers, and university faculty and staff involving reactive and proactive …

Conversation Goals, Communication Satisfaction, And Relational Dynamics While Navigating Alzheimer’S Disease: A Pre- And Post-Diagnosis Dyadic Examination Of Family Communication, Elizabeth A. Spencer

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Currently there are more than 16 million unpaid Alzheimer’s disease and dementia caregivers in the United States. These caregivers are often family members of the person living with dementia, and as they navigate the process of giving care to the patient, they must also maintain relationships with each other. Families enter the dementia experience with a history of their relational experiences, and their relational experiences potentially change as they navigate family experiences after the dementia diagnosis. Much existing scholarship examining family communication in the context of progressive Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias has focused on the perspectives of one …

Recipes For Anger Appeals: A Systematic Review, Tianen Chen

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Although there is an increasing use of anger appeals in communication research, scholars have yet to fully explore the causes of anger. Anger is elicited in situations where individuals perceive that their desired goals are blocked or needs are not fulfilled (Harmon-Jones & Harmon-Jones, 2016). Using Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs model (Maslow, 1943), the current study aims to systematically review communication studies on anger appeals to synthesize and categorize the violations of goals/needs that have been studied or utilized to elicit anger. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in eight relevant databases: ProQuest Dissertation & Thesis Global, Web of …

Boundaries And Infomediaries: A Qualitative Study Of The Information Practices Of Community Health Workers, Robert M. Shapiro Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Despite successful efforts to treat and manage diseases, public health officials have recently begun a campaign to refocus efforts toward initiatives to alleviate the pressures that are often referred to as social determinants of health. In eastern Kentucky, and in other geographical regions labeled as health professional shortage areas or medically underserved areas, issues stemming from social determinants are compounded with health care systems that are often lacking the human resources to meet basic medical needs. One strategy has been to utilize volunteers and paraprofessionals such as community health workers to lessen the burden on the primary care and hospital …

Encouraging Healthy Eating Among Older Adults Using The Transtheoretical Model: An Evaluation Of A Pilot Intervention, Lauren Brinkman Roberson

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Older adults, defined as those age 60 and above, are at an increased risk for many health-related complications that are directly related to nutrition (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). This study highlights the lack of nutrition education material developed for older adults in Kentucky. Such material has great potential to influence the health of older adults (Chernoff, 2001). This study evaluated an intervention developed, by means of formative research, to teach older adults nutrition basics. Both direct and indirect measures related to stages of change for healthy eating behaviors were collected six weeks pre-intervention and then immediately post-intervention. …

Analysis Of Information Value Chains For Gout Self-Care Management, Maranda Russell

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This value chain analysis study sought to identify information needed by gout patients to successfully manage their disease, leading to a model for information extraction from patient health records. A scoping review was conducted to identify the types of information needed by gout patients. The findings of each included study were divided and analyzed according to the stages of the care delivery value chain. The results of the review were then used to create a gout information value chain as criteria for annotating the information deemed important for gout patients contained in publicly available patient education materials according to the …

Quantifying And Typifying Image Use In Television News Coverage Of Mass Shootings, Ellie Catherine Hudd

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Increasing research supports the presence of a contagion effect among mass shootings, wherein extensive media coverage of mass shootings may inspire future mass shooters, many of whom view this coverage as a form of reward. Furthermore, two awareness campaigns–one from the private sector and one from law enforcement–have advocated against naming and depicting the shooter in media coverage of mass shootings. This study is theoretically grounded in second-level agenda-setting as the basis for a content analysis of three days of television news coverage of two mass shootings in the United States (one in El Paso, Texas and one in Pittsburgh, …

Occupational Opioid Surveillance And Intervention Evaluation: A Mixed Methods Collaborative Project Among Southeast First Responders, Robin Thompson

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Introduction: This capstone assessed and addressed the issue of occupational opioid exposure among first responders working in the southeastern United States from 2017-2019. The first study aimed to assess the emerging issue of occupational opioid exposure as well as current knowledge and training practices among first responders of the following southeastern states: Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, and Virginia. The second study aimed to address this emerging issue through formative research followed by evaluation of the impact of an educational video and associated knowledge gained with a group of Kentucky-based first responders.

Methods: The analysis drew from three primary datasets: (1) self-reported …

Farm To Food Desert: A Look At How The Agriculture And Nutrition Act Of 2018 Affects Food Insecurity And Access To Fresh Fruits And Vegetables, Lexington Souers

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Different Fat Sources And Vitamin E Isoforms/ Levels On Carcass Characteristics, Meat Quality, And Belly/Bacon Characteristics Of Pigs Grown To Heavy Slaughter Weights (>150kg), Marlee Kelley

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Two separate studies were conducted to evaluate the potential interaction of fat sources and vitamin E (VE) on heavy slaughter weights. In Study 1, a total of 64 individually-fed pigs (28.41 ± 0.83 kg) were randomly assigned to 8 dietary treatments in a 4×2 factorial arrangement. Fat treatments included cornstarch (CS), tallow (TW), corn oil (CO), and coconut-oil (CN). VE treatments were dietary alpha-tocopheryl-acetate (ATA) at 11 and 200 ppm. In Study 2, a total of 72 individually fed pigs (28.55 ± 1.16 kg) were randomly assigned to 12 dietary treatments in a 2 × 6 factorial arrangement. Fat treatments …

Optimizing Animal Welfare In Commercial Laying Hens Through Novel Management Practices And Farm Manager Evaluation, John R. Brunnquell

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

The commercial production of pasture and free-range eggs in the United States is expanding rapidly. According to the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Management Assistance, in May of 2019 there were 2.6M pasture hens and 4.5M free-range hens representing 1.9% of the nation’s laying flock. There is little industry and/or academic experience with this style of production in the United States. Programs such as the European Layer Training Initiative (ELTI), which emerged in 2019, have tried to fill this void but participation from the US was low. The principal sources for guidance of commercial free-range egg production in the …

Impact Of Ergot Alkaloid And Estradiol 17b On Whole-Body Protein Turnover And Expression Of Mtor Pathway Proteins In Muscle Of Cattle, Taylor Dawn Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Beef cattle consuming endophyte infected tall fescue typically exhibit reduced performance in terms of both decreased dry matter intake (DMI) and growth rates. It has been suggested that lower concentrations of circulating IGF-1 (an important stimulator of the mTOR pathway and ultimately protein synthesis), as observed with consumption of ergot alkaloids, contribute to reduced growth rates. The objective of the current study was to determine if fescue-derived alkaloids decrease muscle protein synthesis though inhibitory action on the mTOR pathway via a direct effect on signal proteins, and if these negative effects can be alleviated by implantation with anabolic agents. Thirty-two …

Aging Induces B Cell Defects And Decreased Antibody Responses To Influenza Infection And Vaccination, Daniela Frasca, Bonnie B. Blomberg

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Background: Aging is characterized by a progressive decline in the capacity of the immune system to fight influenza virus infection and to respond to vaccination. Among the several factors involved, in addition to increased frailty and high-risk conditions, the age-associated decrease in cellular and humoral immune responses plays a relevant role. This is in large part due to inflammaging, the chronic low-grade inflammatory status of the elderly, associated with intrinsic inflammation of the immune cells and decreased immune function.

Results: Aging is usually associated with reduced influenza virus-specific and influenza vaccine-specific antibody responses but some elderly individuals with higher pre-exposure …

Move Or Improve? Place, Policy, And Educator Labor Markets, Cory Curl

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

What is the role of place and policy in shaping educator labor markets during the decade following the Great Recession of 2008? This research leverages data on Kentucky students, educators, schools, and school districts from 2009 to 2018, with a focus on the rural, isolated Appalachian region. Many counties in the region have long struggled with poverty, low rates of labor force participation, lower educational attainment, and dependence on public transfers (Ziliak, 2019). Despite these challenges, the people of Appalachia demonstrate a strong attachment to the region. With this research, I enhance understanding of contexts and conditions, such as unique …

Evidence-Based Approach To Drug Crisis, Jiebing Wen

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

I am devoted to health policy research, especially tackling the opioid crisis, and evaluating marijuana laws and newly emerging issues associated with legal recreational drugs. Opioid overdose in the United States continues to jeopardize public health. Meanwhile, the majority of states have legalized medical marijuana and one third of them further liberalized recreational marijuana. Marijuana liberalization, although originally independent of the growing opioid crisis, may be a harm reduction approach to the crisis because marijuana may be a substitute for opioids in pain management at a relatively lower risk. However, marijuana liberalization may also lead to marijuana-related harms, such as …

Reconciling The Civics Test With Inquiry-Based Instruction: Making The Best Of What Seems Like Just One More Thing, Jennifer Leeanna Fraker

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This dissertation consists of three articles that focus on teaching, learning, and testing in civic education. Each article provides insights into how instructional practices in teaching and learning intersect with a state-mandated civics test.

Article One, “Is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Test Worthy of Being Included as a High School Graduation Requirement? A Closer Look at Implications for Kentucky,” is mixed methods sequential explanatory study on the implementation of the civics test requirement within two specific Kentucky school districts using student-level assessment data. Findings indicate that opportunities not only to learn civic content, but also learn it …

Communication Technology Intention To Use And Use By Cognitively Intact Long-Term Nursing Home Residents, Amy M. Schuster

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

The goal of this dissertation was to gain an in depth understanding of intention to use and use of communication technology (CT) by long-term cognitively intact nursing home residents. This study also explored the value of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as a framework for investigating the CT use of long-term cognitively intact nursing home residents. A convergent mixed methods design was used to gather data through semi-structured interviews, a nursing home resident communication technology checklist, a modified UTAUT questionnaire, the UCLA loneliness scale 10 item version, and the self-rated health scale. Participants (n …

The Disappearing Act: How To Prevent The Decline Of Black Farmers In The United States, Jordan M. Jennings

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of E-Cigarette Taxes On E-Cigarette Prices And Tobacco Product Sales: Evidence From Retail Panel Data, Chad Cotti, Charles J. Courtemanche, Joanna Catherine Maclean, Erik Nesson, Michael F. Pesko, Nathan Tefft

Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Working Papers

We explore the effect of e-cigarette taxes enacted through 2017 in eight states and two large counties on e-cigarette prices, e-cigarette sales, and sales of other tobacco products. We use the Nielsen Retail Scanner data for the years 2011 to 2017, comprising approximately 35,000 retailers nationally. We calculate a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index of 0.251 for retail-based purchases of e-cigarettes, indicating high market concentration. We estimate a tax-to-price pass-through of 1.55 (p < 0.01) and an e-cigarette own-price elasticity of -2.6 (p < 0.01) for the average e-cigarette tax. We also estimate a positive cross-price elasticity of demand for e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes of roughly 1.1 for the average tax, suggesting that e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes are economic substitutes. Our results suggest that higher e-cigarette taxes would increase e-cigarette prices and reduce e-cigarette sales, with an unintended effect of increasing traditional cigarette sales. We simulate that for every one standard e-cigarette pod (a device that contains liquid nicotine in e-cigarettes) of 0.7 ml no longer purchased as a result of an e-cigarette tax, the same tax increases traditional cigarettes purchased by 6.2 extra packs.

Ethanol Induced Neurotoxicity Through Dysregulation Of Ampk In A Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Model, Jessica Gebhardt

Theses and Dissertations--Medical Sciences

Ethanol consumption during pregnancy is rising in the U.S., including the rate of binge drinking. It is reported around 1 in 27 women engage in binge drinking activities while pregnant. The third trimester is a sensitive period of neuronal growth in which ethanol induced neurotoxicity can cause many harmful effects including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. It has been shown that ethanol decreases the activity of AMPK through increasing lipid peroxidation, both of which are correlated to neurotoxicity. AICAR is a synthetic analog of AMP which significantly increases AMPK activity and may have beneficial effects in an organotypic hippocampal model of …