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Sexual Health Education In Kentucky's Public High Schools, Marjorie Stanek

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation seeks to enhance the understanding of sexual health education efforts, as they currently exist in Kentucky’s public high schools. It will include an examination of the factors that influence the provision of sexual health education in Kentucky schools, including relevant legislation, directives from the Kentucky Department of Education, and the presence of site-based councils within the Commonwealth. Additionally, the suggested curriculum elements from the Kentucky Department of Education’s Academic Standards, which were implemented during the 2019-2020 school year, will be compared to those established within the National Sexuality Education Standards (NSES), which serve as a gold standard …

Can Less Be More? Study Load And Its Effect On Science Achievement Among Chinese Eighth-Grade Students, Xian Wu

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The present study addressed a core research question of “Can less be more?” concerning study load, which has become increasingly worrisome and controversial around the world. This idea reflects the philosophy of pursuing efficiency and effectiveness on learning, namely that a lighter study load may result in more successful academic achievement. The study adopted the IPO (input-process-output) model to address five interrelated research questions: 1) What are the structural characteristics of study load? 2) Is there any individual difference in study load? 3) What are the characteristics of teachers and schools under which students tend to have a heavier study …

Leading Well: Anesthesiology Program Directors As Servant Leaders And Their Development Of Resident Wellness Programs, Amy Noel Dilorenzo

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Anesthesiology residents are at significant risk of developing serious issues during training including burnout, depression, and substance abuse. Recent accreditation requirements mandate that these well-being issues be addressed by residency training programs. Program directors, as the leaders of residency programs, are charged with protecting the wellness of residents and leading wellness initiatives. The program director role can be well-described in a servant leadership construct because they are charged with caring for the individual needs of their residents.

This dissertation is a report of a mixed-methods study that explores anesthesiology program directors’ self-perceptions as servant leaders and their efforts to lead …

A Comparative Study Of Leadership Styles In International Special And General Education Schools In The United Arab Emirates, Kaitlin M. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This study attempted to identify leadership styles of school leaders in international special and general education schools in the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, this study sought to explore the influence of various demographic factors on perceived leadership styles. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio & Bass, 2004) was given to teachers across eight schools for the purpose of obtaining their perceived rating for leadership behaviors of school leaders at equivalent levels. Descriptive statistics were examined to identify prevalent leadership styles and trends in the demographics of survey respondents. Hierarchical linear models were conducted to determine the statistical significance of leadership style …

The Agricorps Experience: A Phenomenology Of International Agricultural Educators, Kendall Mallory Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

With the growing world population, agricultural education may play a role in increasing the production of agricultural products and services in developing nations by improving knowledge and participation in the agricultural field, specifically with regard to the nations’ youth. Few researchers have sought to understand how the experience of teaching agriculture abroad impacts the agricultural educator. The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the essence of an international agricultural educator experience. In this phenomenological study, I interviewed past AgriCorps fellows to examine the lived experiences of fellows, how the fellows were impacted personally and professionally, and the transformative learning …

A Case Study Of A Stem Specialist Co-Teaching Model, Kristen Lynn Witt

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This research is focused on elementary science teaching and learning with support of a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) specialist because science tends to be nearly absent from self-contained classrooms in the primary grades. Research has established STEM education needs to increase, however, a key question for researchers remains who should teach science and how we can improve teacher efficacy for science education. The purpose of this study is to discover the impacts of a STEM specialist’s role on an elementary school’s daily science instruction. “Impact” refers to teachers, administrators, and student’s value in science education, teacher’s confidence in …

Improving Retention And Degree Attainment For Underrepresented Students In Stem: Is Experiential Learning The Solution?, Cori Henderson

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Experiential learning opportunities, such as undergraduate research, are found to be useful in promoting retention and graduation in STEM majors, and specifically for underrepresented student populations. These opportunities are being implemented throughout the United Stated as a means to improve student learning and persistence. In Kentucky’s strategic plan, experiential learning activities are seen as an avenue to help students persist in college and are key components in helping the commonwealth reach their goal of sixty-percent of adult Kentuckians earning a college credential by 2030.

Mirroring the commonwealth’s strategic plan, Northern Kentucky University (NKU) emphasized the importance for experiential learning opportunities …

What Does It Mean To Be White: Investigating White Culture, White Privilege And Allyship Through The Lens Of Aspiring White Allies, Brett Kirkpatrick

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

In 2017, prominent counseling psychologists stressed the need to make Whiteness and allyship a focus of future research. In particular, they noted that a comprehensive definition of what it means to be White was missing from the extant literature within counseling psychology. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), the present study recruited 10 White individuals, who self-identified as an ally, and asked them to describe how they experienced being White and an ally in their everyday lives. Findings revealed that White culture and White privilege have components that are visible and invisible to White individuals. The more visible component of White …

Reviving The Rules, Roles, And Rituals Of Resiliency, Don Offutt

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This descriptive case study of a historical period in education in the Commonwealth of Kentucky identifies the resiliency factors utilized by the first class to desegregate the Bowling Green, Kentucky, public school system. The participants in the study were members of the first African-American class to integrate the Bowling Green school system in 1965.

Critical Race Theory provided the tenets undergirding the research study. The qualitative research methods included conducting semi-structured interviews with participants; studying documents and artifacts from the era; having conversations with community members and educators; and collecting, archiving, and housing Bowling Green African-American education documents, artifacts, and …

Assessing Learning Efficiency In Narrative Simulation Delivered Through Interactive Multimedia, Christopher Shannon Daniel

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This study evaluated the effects of Narrative Simulation (NS) on learning and cognitive load. Specifically, it measured the potential differences in observed instructional efficiency when comparing a self-paced expository multimedia lesson to a NS lesson which involves a character-focused story with multiple decision inputs at key points.

This ex post facto design observed 119 participants consisting of preservice teachers from a large public university in the southeastern United States. They were divided into two sequence groups: (a) Expository Lesson Group; and (b) Narrative Simulation group. The Expository group received Expository Lesson One first, then Expository Lesson Two, and then Narrative …

A Performer’S Guide To Norman Bolter’S Morning Walk For Trombone And Piano, Justin Croushore

Theses and Dissertations--Music

For the past 45 years, Norman Bolter has been one of the most prolific and important composers, performers, and educators for the trombone. Born in Minnesota in 1955, Bolter held the position of Second Trombone of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Principal Trombone of the Boston Pops from 1975 until 2009. He has taught at leading conservatories, universities, and festivals around the world and continues to teach as trombone faculty at the New England Conservatory and the Boston Conservatory today. His compositional output is large and wide-ranged, including works for solo trombone, trombone and piano, trombone ensemble, chamber ensemble, band, …

Songs In The Heart: The Cornet Solos Written For Derek Smith, Jeffrey Barrington

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Derek Smith stands as one of the most talented cornet soloists of his generation. From the 1940s to the early 1970s, Smith wowed audiences all over the world with the ease of his technique and the simple vibrato of his beautiful expressive sound. While much has been documented regarding Smith’s later years as the conductor of The Salvation Army’s New York Staff Band, there is a gap in written biographical knowledge concerning his career as a cornet soloist. During his influential career, there were several solos written specifically for him. The purpose of this research is two‐fold. First, it is …

Training Music Therapists And Music Therapy Students To Provide Trauma-Informed Care: Training Development And Pilot Feasibility Study, Mckenna B. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Adverse childhood experiences are considered a serious public health problem and can lead to complex trauma. Due to the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in the general population, it is likely music therapists frequently treat clients who have experienced trauma; however, there appears to be no published research on music therapy training and education regarding validated trauma-informed approaches. This study examined the impact of a three-hour educational training on music therapists’ knowledge of trauma-informed care and perceptions of preparedness to practice trauma-informed music therapy. Seven training attendees chose to participate and completed a pre-test and post-test covering demographic information, knowledge, …

Zappa’S Remembrance Of A Forgotten Style: The Relationship Between Frank Zappa And Doo-Wop As Illustrated In Cruising With Ruben & The Jets, Benjamin Adamo

Theses and Dissertations--Music

One of Zappa’s many cherished styles of music was the doo-wop of the mid-1950s through the early 1960s. His love for the style culminated in 1968 with a poor-selling and often forgotten doo-wop record, Cruising with Ruben & The Jets. While the record earned little praise from critics and fans, Zappa considered it as a landmark of his early career, as evidenced in his autobiography. This thesis investigates Zappa’s relationship to doo-wop and “perversion” of the style as it culminated in Cruising.

As revealed through autobiographical entries and interviews with Zappa, Ray Collins, and other collaborators, Zappa devised …

Waking Sleep: The Uncanny In Modernist Literary Aesthetics, Delmar R. Reffett Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--English

With the dawning of the twentieth century, writers and critics found themselves facing a social world undergoing massive change, the forces of capitalist modernity leaving the individual increasingly disaffected and disconnected from her surroundings. This social world, rent as it was by alienation, offered a hostile environment for the sort of coherence that had traditionally been prized by Western aesthetics since the Enlightenment. How could a literary work attain a degree of coherence while reflecting a deeply dissonant modernity? Navigating this contradiction between literature’s inherited values and literature’s possibilities in alienated society can be seen as central to the project …

Wholeness And Belonging In Nikky Finney's Head Off & Split: An Eco-Politics Of Resilience And Resistance, Mary Rudolph

Theses and Dissertations--English

Nikky Finney’s Head Off & Split illuminates an urgent and radical eco-political project: the creation of whole, resilient, co-species communities capable of surviving interlocking political, social, and ecological crises. Finney foregrounds the strategic practice of belonging as a method of survival within contexts of systemic oppression and climate chaos. “Belonging,” in these terms, is not a “natural” ontological state, but a mode of co-being that is continually (re)created and (re)enacted through daily world-making practices: foodways, spatial habitation, migration and movement. Belonging is a collection of reciprocal, adaptive, situated praxes that make and sustain beings and worlds. They rely on and …

Curious Natures: Constructing Queer Ecologies In Early America, Richard Lee Parmer Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--English

This dissertation argues that early American writers often constructed queer ecologies in order to naturalize Anglo-American civilization and justify its expansion into Native American territories. Since there is so little textual evidence on the subject, the major challenge to studying sexuality in early America is approaching sexuality studies creatively—to broaden both our understanding of what counts as sexual discourse and our frameworks for analyzing it. My dissertation addresses this challenge through what many ecocritical scholars of sexuality call queer ecology. In their groundbreaking anthology on the topic, Catriona Mortimer-Sandilands and Bruce Erikson remind us that, historically and in the present, …

Is Secondhand Discrimination Harmful For The Mental Health Of Black Americans? Findings From A Community Epidemiological Study, Myles Moody

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about not only the deleterious health effects of direct experiences of racism, but also how individuals are affected by others’ experiences of racism. It has been firmly established that direct exposure to discrimination can negatively impact the mental health of Black Americans and other minorities. But there is a dearth of empirical evidence that may answer the question of how indirect experiences of racism affects health. The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to examine the social distribution of personal and vicarious experiences of discrimination among Black adults, 2) to …

Thrown Together: Credit Union And Commercial Bank Regulation And Competition In The Consumer Finance Industry, 1960-2015, Grace Cale

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This project seeks to assess whether there are meaningful differences between the stability of the Credit Union and Consumer Banking industries before the 1980s, and how both industries’ stability had been affected by subsequent political-economic changes. I also sought to assess if deregulation would make credit union behave at risk levels similar to banks. I initially observed that there was a strong inverse correlation between credit union size and failures, which I argue could be explained by regulatory change. This claim was strengthened by the observation that credit unions had benefitted from certain key forms of deregulation, they were still …

Help Seeking After Campus Sexual Assault: From Policy To Victims, Kathleen Ratajczak

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Help seeking after an experience of campus sexual assault is an important link for many survivors towards processing and healing. College campuses have a plethora of resources available, from free counseling, health clinics, advocates, and reporting options all right on their doorstep. Yet many students do not seek help from these offices. This study sought to find out why by looking beyond the victim, and examining the relationship between Title IX policy, professionals who provide resources, and victims. Through both policy analysis and in-depth interviews with both professionals and victims, this study found that Title IX policy codify the social …

“We Had Become Trailer People”: Stigma, Social Boundary Making, And The Story Of The American Mobile Home Park, Katie M. Founds

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Mobile homes and mobile home parks—still most often called trailer parks in common vernacular—occupy a particularly stigmatized position in American culture. A symbolic stand-in for a host of social ills, from bad hygiene and broken families to drug use and loose morals, mobile homes offer affordable housing at a social cost, branding their residents as likewise deficient. This piece of material culture did not come into being with such negative meanings attached. The process of becoming a symbol of stigma is an historical one, a story of meaning making in the midst of cultural shifts and changing norms. Since appearing …

Inhibition Of Fusarium Oxysporum F. Sp. Nicotianae Growth By Phenylpropanoid Pathway Intermediates, Timothy E. Shull, Jasmina Kurepa, Robert D. Miller, Natalia Martinez-Ochoa, Jan A. Smalle

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Fusarium wilt in tobacco caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. nicotianae is a disease‑management challenge worldwide, as there are few effective and environmentally benign chemical agents for its control. This challenge results in substantial losses in both the quality and yield of tobacco products. Based on an in vitro analysis of the effects of different phenylpropanoid intermediates, we found that the early intermediates trans‑cinnamic acid and para‑coumaric acid effectively inhibit the mycelial growth of F. oxysporum f. sp. nicotianae strain FW316F, whereas the downstream intermediates quercetin and caffeic acid exhibit no fungicidal properties. Therefore, our in …

Pneumovirus Infections: Understanding Rsv And Hmpv Entry, Replication, And Spread, Jonathan T. Kinder

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Pneumoviruses including human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are significant causes of respiratory tract infections globally. Children, elderly, and immunocompromised patients are at the greatest risk for developing severe infections, which can have devastating outcomes. Although these viruses are ubiquitous with significant impacts on human health, there are no antivirals or vaccines available. The only FDA approved therapy is a monoclonal antibody for RSV, given prophylactically during the infectious season, and this treatment is only available for high risk infants. The work presented in this thesis aims to increase our understanding of how these viruses enter, replicate, and …

"No One Can Make That Choice For You": Exploring Power In The Sexual Narratives Of Black Collegians, Candice Hargons, Della V. Mosley, Carolyn Meiller, Jardin Dogan, Jennifer Stuck, Chesmore Montique, Natalie Malone, Joseph Oluokun, Carrie Bohmer, Queen-Ayanna Sullivan, Anyoliny Sanchez, Danelle Stevens-Watkins

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Power is enacted to oppress others, pursue wellness, or resist oppression. For Black people, societal and relational oppression influences racialized and gendered expressions of power within sexual encounters. The current study analyzed power dynamics within Black university students' first and most recent sexual encounters. Using narrative inquiry within a critical paradigm, five narrative strategies were identified within participants' interviews: 1) Offering a Peek into Powerlessness, 2) Detailing Disempowerment, 3) Privileging Stereotypical Power, 4) Reclaiming Power, and 5) Emphasizing Empowered Sex. Racialized, gendered sexual socialization among Black students is discussed. Counseling considerations to increase sexual wellness for Black people are explored.

Epigenetic Implications In Inorganic Arsenic-Mediated Carcinogenesis, Meredith Eckstein

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Chronic, low dose exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a public health concern throughout the world, contributing to the development of many diseases, including lung cancer. Several mechanisms for iAs-mediated carcinogenesis have been proposed, of which the production of reactive oxygen species and formation of chromosomal aberrations are the most studied. Another equally important, yet less studied mechanism is dysregulation of epigenetic marks. “Epigenetics” refers to changes that occur on the DNA and chromatin that do not alter base pair identity, but alter compaction, expression, and regulation of specific DNA sequences. There are several types of epigenetic marks including histone …

Elucidating The Role Of Light-Induced Circadian Disruption On Atherosclerosis In Apolipoproteine-Deficient Mice, Jeffrey Chalfant

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Circadian rhythms are approximately 24-hour oscillations of nearly every biological process in the body. The circadian system coordinates these rhythms of physiology and behavior with environmental cycles such as the light-dark cycle. Shift workers, who experience irregular exposure to the light-dark cycle, have chronically disrupted circadian rhythms and increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but the mechanisms are unknown. Our studies investigated the effects of light-induced circadian disruption on atherosclerosis in ApolipoproteinE-deficient (ApoE^-/-) mice. We found that male ApoE^-/- mice housed in constant light for 12 weeks, which results in severe disruption of circadian rhythms …

Arthropod Resistant Tomatoes: Screening Tools, Yield And Nutritional Quality Of Interspecific Hybrids, Mohammad Hasan Salman Ali Dawood

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most economically important vegetable crops grown around globe but is a host for numerous pests and pathogens. In the future, tomato breeders will have to focus on increasing fruit quantity and on enhancing pest resistance. Many accessions of the wild relative of tomato, S. habrochaites display high levels of resistance towards arthropods such as spider mites. The presence of the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon, 7-epi-zingiberene, found in S. habrochaites type IV trichomes has been associated with arthropod resistance. However, the presence of other compounds in its trichome secretions may also be related …

Soil Carbon Dynamics And Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Conservation Tillage Systems At Multiple Scales, Yawen Huang

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Conservation tillage practices like no-tillage and reduced tillage have been widely implemented worldwide, with expectations they would provide multiple benefits (e.g., yield enhancement and soil carbon sequestration) for food security and climate adaptation and mitigation. However, the adoption of conservation tillage faces both opportunities and challenges. A knowledge gap still exists regarding the effects of conservation tillage on the carbon cycle in agroecosystems. This dissertation reflects a comprehensive evaluation of conservation tillage at multiple scales using an integrated systems approach, a combination of data synthesis, the agriculture ecosystem model, and field observations and measurements. I first conducted a meta-analysis to …

Integration Of Large Pv Power Plants And Batteries In The Electric Power System, Oluwaseun M. Akeyo

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

The declining cost of renewables, the need for cleaner sources of energy, and environmental protection policies have led to the growing penetration of inverter-based resources such as solar photovoltaics (PV), wind, and battery energy storage systems (BESS) into the electric power system. The intermittent nature of these resources poses multiple challenges to the power grid and substantial changes in the conventional generation and electrical power delivery practices will be required to accommodate the large penetration of these renewable power plants. The impact of large solar PV penetration on both generation and transmission systems, and the use of BESS to mitigate …

Improving Compliance With The Vitalgo Total Lift Bed To Improve Patient Outcomes: A Quality Improvement Study, Brittany Kellum

DNP Projects

Background: Immobilization is frequently encountered in critically ill adult patients within the intensive care unit (ICU) leading to numerous, detrimental effects including increased hospital and ICU length of stay, increased ventilator days, and increased mortality. One measure to increase early mobility of critically ill patients at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center (UKMC) is implementing the VitalGo Total Lift Bed (TLB). The TLB vertically tilts a secured patient upright from zero to 82 degrees, allowing immobile patients to benefit from early weight bearing therapy and early, progressive mobility in the confines of the bed. Despite implementation of the TLB, …