Digital Commons Network^™

Muscle Mass And Immune Function In The Senior Horse, Alisa Christina Herbst

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Senior horses (≥ 15 years) represent up to one-third of the global equine population, and the proportion of old horses (≥ 20 years) in the U.S. has been steadily increasing. Aging is associated with a loss of skeletal muscle mass in horses, and while age-related muscle loss is comparingly well characterized in humans, little is currently known concerning underlying mechanisms, adverse outcomes, or the prevalence of low muscle mass in senior horses. One factor proposed to play a role in the development of age-related muscle atrophy in humans is inflamm-aging, a low-grade inflammation that affects elderly people and that has …

Extraction Of Micro- And Nano-Plastic Particles From Water Using Hydrophobic Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents, Jameson R. Hunter

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

The production of plastic and the amount of waste plastic that enters the environment increases every year. Synthetic polymers will gradually break down into particles on the micro- and nano-scale. The micro- and nano-plastics pose a significant ecological harm by transporting toxic chemicals and causing inflammation and cellular damage when ingested. Two common plastics are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Polystyrene (PS), and a newer bioplastic polylactic acid (PLA) that has become a popular alternative. Deep eutectic solvents are a recently discovered solvent composed of a hydrogen bond donor and hydrogen bond acceptor and have been proposed as a cheaper alternative …

Comparing Beopt (Energyplus) Energy Predictions To Measured Circuit Level Energy Consumption Of 12 Similar Small Energy-Efficient Single-Family Residences, Braydi Mcpherson-Hathaway

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Residential energy usage patterns change as a result of new building codes, renewable technologies, household electronics, and changes in occupancy habits. Building simulations have used end-use energy studies to inform occupancy profiles and overall usage characteristics for the building simulations. Building simulations allow designers, engineers, policymakers, code developers, and building owners to model proposed designs to new and existing buildings, thus it is imperative that the energy profiles used in the models are accurate. In this study, the building simulation engine BEopt is used to model energy-efficient homes recently constructed in Southern Kentucky. The homes have well defined building characteristics …

Spiritual Mentoring During Emerging Adulthood: A Dyadic Perspective, Jeffrey L. Reed

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Mentoring relationships have long been identified as a valuable means for supporting identity development in young adults and assisting these individuals in navigating life transitions. The guidance and stability afforded by mentoring relationships can be particularly beneficial to individuals undergoing transitions in their personal or professional lives, or both, and are thus well-suited to play a meaningful role in the lives of emerging adults. Emerging adults are also in a unique developmental stage in which they experience increased freedom and opportunity for exploration away from parents and guardians. While this freedom often results in increased risky behavior, it also allows …

The Lived Experience Of Hope In The Midst Of Recovery From A Substance Use Disorder: A Phenomenology, Mary Katherine Lance

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Substance use disorder (SUD) is difficult to treat, as evidenced by its high prevalence and relapse rates. Research shows, however, that hope may have the potential to create effective and efficient change in the way we prevent and treat SUD. In order to utilize hope in this way, we must have a good understanding of what hope is. This phenomenological study aims to explore and describe the essence of hope through the lived experience of individuals in recovery from a SUD. Through interviews with 20 informants to generate data and an iterative interpretative process to identify shared meanings, hope emerged …

A Qualitative Examination Of The Agency Of Women In Their 30s And 40s Who Use Dating Applications, Tera Buerkle

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The use of dating applications (apps) to find romantic and sexual partners is widespread across age groups, however, there is a paucity of research on dating apps with those in middle adulthood. Sexual script theory suggests that women’s agency (i.e. the ability to act in one’s own best interest) may be impacted by expectations from an inherently sexualized context, such as dating apps. Feminist theory contends that women’s agency is complicated by gender socialization due to the imbalance of power in society that greatly favors men. In this study seventeen women aged 30 to 49 completed in-depth semi-structured interviews, and …

Exploring The Effects Of Colorism On Relationship Quality, Kara Burns

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Many scholars have suggested that the division of enslaved Black people based on skin tone was one of the biggest factors that influence current intraracial tension and biases, referred to as colorism. The present study examined how colorism can affect romantic relationships through aspects of colorism, skin tone satisfaction, social comparison, racial awareness, and couples satisfaction. The present study used individual data from 46 middle income Black individuals residing in the South, who self-reported on colorism, racial identity, and relationship quality via online survey. Correlations between the key variables were examined. Correlations between colorism and skin tone satisfaction, a negative …

Sexual Expression And Self-Confidence In Long-Distance Relationships, Morgann Kidwell

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Little is known about the impact of distance on sexual expression and self-confidence in long-distance relationships, especially as mediated by technology. The purpose of the present study is to investigate how sexual expression and self-confidence vary in romantic relationships between those in long- versus short-distance relationships. Data from 327 participants—156 in long-distance relationships and 171 in short-distance relationships—were collected via Amazon MTurk. Results indicate that forms of technology-mediated sexual expression are widely used in long-distance relationships. Technology-mediated sexual expression is positively associated with sexual satisfaction in both long- and short-distance relationships; however, technology-mediated sexual expression was not statistically associated with …

Psychological Distress And Relationship Satisfaction Among Survivors Of Sexual Violence, Alyssa Campbell

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The World Health Organization (WHO; 2002) has indicated that sexual violence is a serious public health concern, and both the WHO and the United Nations (UN) have declared that violence against women, in particular, is a profound violation of human rights (UN General Assembly, 1993; WHO, 2017). Although the systemic and negative impact of trauma on family and intimate relationships have been well documented, the empirical literature regarding the effects of adult sexual trauma on relationship satisfaction is less robust. These studies are designed to address this gap and will do so with analyses centered on an understudied population: the …

Accumbens Cholinergic Interneurons Mediate Cue-Induced Nicotine Seeking And Associated Glutamatergic Plasticity, Jonna M. Leyrer-Jackson, Michael Holter, Paula F. Overby, Jason M. Newbern, Michael D. Scofield, M. Foster Olive, Cassandra D. Gipson

Family and Community Medicine Faculty Publications

Nicotine, the primary addictive substance in tobacco, is widely abused. Relapse to cues associated with nicotine results in increased glutamate release within nucleus accumbens core (NAcore), modifying synaptic plasticity of medium spiny neurons (MSNs), which contributes to reinstatement of nicotine seeking. However, the role of cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) within the NAcore in mediating these neurobehavioral processes is unknown. ChIs represent less than 1% of the accumbens neuronal population and are activated during drug seeking and reward-predicting events. Thus, we hypothesized that ChIs may play a significant role in mediating glutamatergic plasticity that underlies nicotine-seeking behavior. Using chemogenetics in transgenic rats …

The Fiscal Impact Of Covid-19: A Study Of Five States, Jacob Jansen

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on states’ coffers due to declining revenues and in response state budget authorities have taken action to adjust budgets in order to maintain proper financial balance. At the end of fiscal year 2020 on June 30, 2020, budget authorities in 46 states likely found themselves straining to make sure their state’s bottom line was not grossly negative. That strain has since continued into fiscal year 2021, which started the day after. As revenues appear to be on the rise again and the financial hardships lessened, an evaluation of the responses to the pandemic’s …

The State Of Woodford County’S Assistance Network, Katherine Connair

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study seeks to determine what the overall picture of assistance network serving the Woodford County region is. The goal was to determine if there are any observable gaps in the network and to have a clear understanding of what the assistance network is. Gaps were identified by studying the existing network, surveying network members, and examining publicly available resources. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis was conducted to analysis the whole network. Assistance for this study refers to programs/organizations that provide cash or in-kind benefits/services to people (U.S. Census Bureau). The assistance network is all of the …

The Effect Of Veteran Status On Economic Reintegration, Amanda Buck

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Veteran unemployment rates are often understated in reports due to the generalization of the individuals that make up the veteran population. While veterans overall suffer a larger penalty than non-veterans in the civilian labor market, different demographics of veterans deal with diverse consequences of service. Specifically looking at Gulf War Era-II veterans compared with their similarly aged civilian peers, two linear regressions are used with main effects and differential effects to show the different probabilities of unemployment for distinct groups. Veterans’ probability of unemployment is 0.66 percent higher than their non-veteran peers. However, I find that Black veterans have a …

The Impact Of Decentralization Of Public Service Organizations: A Study Of Korea Coast Guard’S “Rescue Hub Substation”, Chongin Lee

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In recent decades, many countries have implemented decentralization of national administrative functions to make public service delivery more effective and efficient. However, debate continues over whether decentralization is actually effective, and there has not been much research on the impact of decentralization of public administration in East Asia. This study analyzed the effectiveness of establishing a Rescue Hub Substation implemented by the Korea Coast Guard as part of its administrative decentralization policy to respond quickly to maritime accidents and reduce casualties.

The analysis method compared and analyzed the average response time of marine accidents before and after the establishment of …

Convenience Voting Methods And Effects On Voter Turnout: 2004-2018, Robert Fenton

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This project seeks to examine the potential effects on voter turnout of changes in the laws and policies governing convenience voting methods: the different ways for citizens to cast a ballot anywhere or anytime besides an official polling location on Election Day itself. Specifically, convenience voting methods include absentee voting, early voting, and vote-by-mail, often coming with restrictions such as requiring a valid excuse in order to make use of them. As the US Constitution and relevant federal laws leave election administration almost entirely to the individual states, there is often significant variation in the availability of convenience voting methods …

Lost And Found: Reuniting Missing Participants And Lost Pensions, Kathryn L. Moore

Law Faculty Books and Chapters

In the United States, the problem of missing participants and lost pensions is huge. Although there is no precise estimate of the size of the problem, the PBGC reports that more than 80,000 workers have unclaimed pensions worth more than $300 million and Terry Dunne of Millennium Trust Company has made “an educated guess based on government and industry data that more than 900,000 workers lose track of 401k-style, defined-contribution plans each year.” Anecdotally, Kyle Garrett posted on July 8, 2020, that in his 15 years at the Pension Rights Center, the most frequent question he has received from callers …

Fluid Dynamics: Representations Of Water In Music, James E. Evans

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Water has remained a subject of all kinds of musical works since at least the middle ages. These musical works lack the concrete representational capacity of paintings, photographs, and films, relying instead on more abstract metaphorical constructs to convey water imagery. Current scholarship on water music typically centers on Romantic and Impressionist works and does not examine the process of signification by which musical signs portray water. The principal goal of this study is to determine how musical devices convey specific aspects of bodies of water and how such devices interact and contribute to musical depictions of streams, rivers, lakes, …

Perspectives On Cultivating A Positive Collegiate Clarinet Studio Environment: A Survey Of Students And Professors, Katherine Nichole Breeden

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Data was analyzed from a survey of collegiate clarinet students and professors concerning student and faculty preferences and perceptions concerning the cultivation of a positive collegiate clarinet studio environment. Over two hundred respondents indicated preferences for the structure of individual lessons and studio class.

The data indicated it is essential that the professor adapt their teaching to individual students during lesson instruction. Goals should be recorded, a verbal agreement alone is insufficient. Contact information for all studio colleagues should be available, and the professor should be accessible should the need arise. Large ensemble concert attendance should be encouraged, and recital …

Efficacy And Mechanism Of Acs811 In Tomato Immune Responses, Layne Ellen Harris

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Biologicals are increasingly becoming an important part of sustainable integrated pest management in agricultural crop production and encompass a wide variety of products with varying degrees of efficacy and available research data. As biologicals become more integrated into commercial production systems, it is critical to rigorously evaluate biological product efficacy and mode(s) of action in crops. The better that biologicals are understood in terms of effective application, integration into commercial programs, and their specific mechanisms in crop growth and protection, then the greater the opportunity for increasing yields and food security.

ACS811 is a microbial fermentation-based biological product from Alltech …

A Constructive Approach To Managing Faculty Conflict: An Action Research Study, Natasha L. Davis

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Research indicates colleges and universities are faced with an excess of challenges and issues, and one of these issues is dealing with conflict. The purpose of this mixed methods action research study was to implement a conflict management strategies workshop on the campus of Morehead State University as an intervention to address the problem of conflict between faculty and administrators. Data collected and analyzed from an exploratory pilot study included interviews of current faculty and administrators regarding situations of conflict. As a result, the following information was discovered: conflict does exist on the campus of Morehead State University between faculty …

Parents’ Awareness And Perspective Of School Choice Scales: Development, Revision, And Validation Using The Rasch Model, Katherine Leung Robershaw

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Parents want the best for their children. But for those who also believe in equal educational opportunity, they struggle with the moral dilemmas raised by school choice. To investigate where parents stand in this dilemma, this study is devoted to the creation of the Parents’ Awareness and Perspective of School Choice (PAPSC) scales, a survey instrument capturing a continuum of conversations surrounding parental school choice, from parents’ awareness of school choice policies or programs to debates surrounding parental freedom of school choice. This study also emphasized the use of well-developed, validated survey tools in educational policy and school choice …

Personality And Emotion For Virtual Characters In Strong-Story Narrative Planning, Alireza Shirvani

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Interactive virtual worlds provide an immersive and effective environment for training, education, and entertainment purposes. Virtual characters are an essential part of every interactive narrative. The interaction of rich virtual characters can produce interesting narratives and enhance user experience in virtual environments. I propose models of personality and emotion that are highly domain independent and integrate those models into multi-agent strong-story narrative planning systems. I demonstrate the value of the strong-story properties of the model by generating story conflicts intelligently. My models of emotion and personality enable the narrative generation system to create more opportunities for players to resolve conflicts …

Captivating State: Youthful Dreams And Uncertain Futures In Kurdistan, Diana Hatchett

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation examines how Kurdistani young people experience contests of values in a state shaped by sectarian political cultures during a time of trial and transition for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The dissertation is based on approximately 20 months of ethnographic fieldwork (September 2015 - June 2017) spent among Kurdistani youth, broadly defined as 12 to 30 years old, in secondary schools and fitness centers. The ethnography presents interlocutors as co-theorists in conceptualizing the society and state in which they live, incorporating descriptive vignettes, transcripts of discussions, and lengthy interview quotes. Kurdistani interlocutors describe the push and pull …

Toward Improving Physician/Patient Communication Regarding Invisible Chronic Illness (Ici): The Potential Of Mhealth Technology In Instructional Communication, Jami Leigh Warren, Karen Clancy, Christy F. Brady, Kendall Rump, Tayla New-Oglesby

Health and Clinical Sciences Faculty Publications

Patients that suffer from invisible chronic illness (ICI) such as autoimmune conditions, neurological conditions, and gastrointestinal problems often struggle to obtain a proper medical diagnosis due to a lack of objective indicators to help health-care providers diagnose patients with ICIs. Thus, researchers conducted interviews with 21 participants with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) to determine what messages they received from health-care providers as they pursued a diagnosis, how they interpreted those messages, and what role mHealth technology may play in improving patient/provider communication and effective diagnosis/treatment of ICIs. Several themes regarding potential instructional communication intervention content emerged from the interview …

Effects Of Covid-19 On Sports Program Offerings At Ncaa Division I Institutions, Jason Schlafer

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

COVID-19 on Sports Program Offerings at NCAA Division I Institutions 2 Executive Summary In the past 40 years, the cost of operating a competitive college athletics department that competes for an institution within a Power Five conference the highest level of intercollegiate competition- has risen drastically. Concurrently, opportunities to compete at the highest level have expanded, especially for women who now outnumber men in Division I athletics competition. As COVID-19 constrained revenue, five institutions from Power Five conferences have discontinued 23 sports programs to date. This paper addresses how decision makers determine which sports programs to eliminate and offers recommendations …

Developing Best Practices For Successful Public-Private Partnerships, Farishta Mccourt

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Many states and cities find themselves facing several serious long‐term public infrastructure challenges due to rising maintenance costs. Infrastructure funding gaps arose from an inefficient approach to public infrastructure development and operation. States and local governments were faced with unfunded pension obligations and as a solution, they diverted tax revenues away from the maintenance and growth of infrastructure. The 2008 economic recession occurred and compounded these problems. Budget studies indicated that states needed new policies and strategies to slow down the pace of spending on infrastructure maintenance as the recession started to subside, further exacerbating the infrastructure funding gap.1 This …

Funding For Postsecondary Education Impacts Kentucky’S Undergraduate Enrollment Trends, Michaela Mineer

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, public universities have consistently seen their state funding decrease over the past several years. Using data from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and Kentucky Office of State Budget Director, this paper analyzes the relationship among postsecondary education state and federal funding and full-time undergraduate student enrollment in Kentucky’s 4-year public universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. According to the Courier Journal, in 2019 “Kentucky was 1 of only 5 states to cut money for higher education” (Watkins). With the fluctuation of higher education funding in Kentucky, the concern is how universities …

Communication Strategies’ Impact On Finances At Kentucky Higher Education Institutions During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jacob Most

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky public higher education institutions faced a financial cliff with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Capilouto, 2021 Jan.). Campuses across the state closed in spring 2020, with the list of unknowns outnumbering the knowns by a significant margin (Monday, E., Blanton, J., and Kiser, K., 2021). In the face of an unknown future, administrations at Kentucky institutes of higher education relied upon communication strategies more than ever to outline Universities’ plans for reopening, reinvented operational plans, outlining contingencies, and fulfilling an invaluable role in efforts to test, contact trace and eventually vaccinate campus and broader community populations. This project …

Special Taxing Districts: An Analysis Of States’ Oversight & Accountability Practices And How Kentucky Could Adopt Best Practices For More Accountability, Kelly Dockter

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Special districts are forms of government that were initially developed from the need to provide specialized services to a growing population with limited tax abilities. Local governments were faced with increasing populations and increasing needs such as health and human services, conservation, sanitation and water, and fire protection to name a few. With the states’ limitations on the tax rate changes, local governments were finding it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of the taxpayers. In many states, legislators recognized this issue and allowed single purpose government-like entities to be created and if they qualified, gave them taxing power. Despite …

Understanding Middle School Students’ Enrollment Choice For A Fully Online Educational Environment During The Fall Of 2020 Covid-19 National Health Emergency: A Mixed Methods Study, Wendy Maltais Duvall

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

Students’ choice in enrolling in a distance learning environment was examined in a mixed methods study in the fall of 2020 during the COVID-19 national health emergency of that same year. After state mandated school closures in the spring 2020, students statewide were forced into a fully online learning situation until the end of that semester. In the fall, the district that was the study site offered families the choice of either hybrid or fully distance learning environments where students could attend school during the national health crisis that had persisted. That choice would be in force for the full …