Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Western Kentucky University

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 11611 - 11640 of 43095

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

A Way Forward: An Alternative Way For Understanding What The Bible Is And How It Is Understood, Joshua Scott May 2015

A Way Forward: An Alternative Way For Understanding What The Bible Is And How It Is Understood, Joshua Scott

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Christianity in America is in decline. Millennials are leaving the evangelical churches of their youth in droves, but they aren’t leaving the idea of God or spirituality. Statistics show that the theology of the fundamentalist/conservative evangelical church is contributing to this exodus of Millennials, particularly when it comes to issues of environment, sexuality, and violence. This thesis explores the roots of fundamentalist theology—particularly their understanding of what the Bible is, and how it is to be understood—and how this theology is practically worked out in their approach to the three issues mentioned above. Finally, I offer an alternative framework for …


Facets Of Narcissism In Relation To Muscle Dysmorphia And Eating Disorder Symptomotology, Chanceton K. Littrell May 2015

Facets Of Narcissism In Relation To Muscle Dysmorphia And Eating Disorder Symptomotology, Chanceton K. Littrell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research exploring the relationship between muscle dysmorphia, drive for muscularity, and disordered eating behaviors in relation to personality characteristics, particularly narcissism, has yielded interesting, though often conflictual, results. The current study attempts to further explore these relationships through assessing muscle dysmorphia, drive for muscularity, and disordered eating in relation different facets of narcissism: grandiose and hypersensitive. Participants for the current study included 173 male students that were recruited via departmental Study Board. Participants completed demographic information, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory-40, the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, the Muscle Dysmorphia Questionnaire, the Drive for Muscularity Scale, and the Eating Attitudes Test-26. Results …


Transcriptomic Insights Into The Morphological Variation Present In Bromeliaceae, Victoria A. Gilkison May 2015

Transcriptomic Insights Into The Morphological Variation Present In Bromeliaceae, Victoria A. Gilkison

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Bromeliaceae family utilizes a wide range of adaptations to inhabit a variety of environments including dry ones. Many attribute the large adaptive radiation of Bromeliaceae throughout the Neotropics to three main features: absorptive trichomes, tank reservoirs, and CAM photosynthesis. Based on leaf morphology and arrangement, root type, and nutrient acquisition, Pittendrigh (1948) conservatively separated bromeliads into four main classes. These four main classes are designated Type I bromeliads, Type II bromeliads, Type III bromeliads and Type IV bromeliads. We used RNA-sequencing of leaf mRNA to investigate similarities and differences in gene expression which can be related back to the …


Babel, Anais Dorian Norman May 2015

Babel, Anais Dorian Norman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

babel is a collection of nonfiction essays in which I explore a female twenty-something’s crossdimensional dilemma of spirituality, racism, art, and love in the wake of Bible-belt hipsterdom. I board the train that is human pride, that great metal snake by which we essayists craft our lives, and measure out my stories by cities and coffeespoons—dotted with dark roast, preferably. The train of my collection glides through the first ‘burg and its Godlike aspirations, Babel; travels a ways to Virginia, specifically Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University and Prince Edward County, which was the hotbed of the Civil Rights in Education Movement; …


Swearingen, Joseph (Lg 296), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2015

Swearingen, Joseph (Lg 296), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Land Grant 296. Original land grant, 1787, February 7, by which Edmund Randolph, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, granted to Joseph Swearingen, 1000 acres on Muddy Creek.


Swearingen, Joseph (Lg 298), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2015

Swearingen, Joseph (Lg 298), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Land Grant 298. Original land grant, 1787, February 7, by which Edmund Randolph, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, granted to Joseph Swearingen, 1147 acres on Muddy Creek branch of Green River.


Rowsay, William (Lg 299), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2015

Rowsay, William (Lg 299), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Land Grant 299. Original land grant, 1787, June 8, by which Beverly Randolph, Lt. Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, granted to William Rowsay, assignee of Ludwick Brodie, 1200 acres on Cumberland River (Surveyed June 3, 1785).


Dabney, Charles (Lg 294), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2015

Dabney, Charles (Lg 294), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Land Grant 294. Original land grant, 1786, September 20, by which Patrick Henry, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, granted to Charles Dabney, 1000 acres on Green River.


Bethell, Larkin, 1775-1835 (Lg 292), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2015

Bethell, Larkin, 1775-1835 (Lg 292), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Land Grant 292. Original land grant, 1827, July 26, by which William Carroll, Governor of the State of Tennessee, granted to Larkin Bethell, 100 acres in Marion County, Tennessee.


College Basketball In Kentucky, Religion, And Distinguishing Between The Two: Concerns And Cautions For The Conversation On The Religiosity Of Sports, Matthew A. Sheffield May 2015

College Basketball In Kentucky, Religion, And Distinguishing Between The Two: Concerns And Cautions For The Conversation On The Religiosity Of Sports, Matthew A. Sheffield

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Academic analysis of sport and religion is still in an early and formative phase. Only in the past fifty years has the conversation of sport and religion substantially been revealed as subject matter for serious academic work. This thesis includes literature from various scholars interested in religion and sport, contemplation on the religious nature of college basketball in the state of Kentucky, and challenges for leading scholars arguing over the notion of sport as a form of religion. The first half of the thesis presents the narrative of the increasingly growing academic debate over considering sport a religious phenomenon. The …


Counting Convex Sets On Products Of Totally Ordered Sets, Brandy Amanda Barnette May 2015

Counting Convex Sets On Products Of Totally Ordered Sets, Brandy Amanda Barnette

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The main purpose of this thesis is to find the number of convex sets on a product of two totally ordered spaces. We will give formulas to find this number for specific cases and describe a process to obtain this number for all such spaces. In the first chapter we briefly discuss the motivation behind the work presented in this thesis. Also, the definitions and notation used throughout the paper are introduced here The second chapter starts with examining the product spaces of the form {1; 2; : : : ;n} × {1; 2}. That is, we begin by analyzing …


Application Of A Numerical Method And Optimal Control Theory To A Partial Differential Equation Model For A Bacterial Infection In A Chronic Wound, Stephen Guffey May 2015

Application Of A Numerical Method And Optimal Control Theory To A Partial Differential Equation Model For A Bacterial Infection In A Chronic Wound, Stephen Guffey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this work, we study the application both of optimal control techniques and a numerical method to a system of partial differential equations arising from a problem in wound healing. Optimal control theory is a generalization of calculus of variations, as well as the method of Lagrange Multipliers. Both of these techniques have seen prevalent use in the modern theories of Physics, Economics, as well as in the study of Partial Differential Equations. The numerical method we consider is the method of lines, a prominent method for solving partial differential equations. This method uses finite difference schemes to discretize the …


A Quasi-Experimental Study Of Teaching Intercultural Sensitivity On Foreign Language Learning Motivation, Chunling Niu May 2015

A Quasi-Experimental Study Of Teaching Intercultural Sensitivity On Foreign Language Learning Motivation, Chunling Niu

Dissertations

Through an experimental intervention of a four-week cultural project based on the intergroup contact theory, this study sought to (a) explore the possible pedagogical effects on participants’ levels of Intercultural Sensitivity; and (b) investigate the complex interactions between learners’ Intercultural Sensitivity, Foreign Language Motivation, and their Language and Cultural Backgrounds. Sixty-eight Chinese learning students from a southcentral American university initially participated in the study, whereas only 43 participants completed the required activities and were pretested and posttested on Intercultural Sensitivity and Foreign Language Motivation. The 21 experimental group participants were instructed to complete four cultural assignments during February 2014, namely, …


Perceptions Of Incivility In Nursing Education: A Survey Of Associate And Baccalaureate Program Nursing Students, Kim Elaine Young Vickous May 2015

Perceptions Of Incivility In Nursing Education: A Survey Of Associate And Baccalaureate Program Nursing Students, Kim Elaine Young Vickous

Dissertations

This study explored differences of nursing students’ perceptions of student and faculty incivility, measured using the Incivility in Nursing Education survey, across semesters and between Associate and Baccalaureate of Science nursing students. A sample of 262 Associate and Baccalaureate of Science nursing program students enrolled in second, third, and fourth semesters from a state university located in the mid-south participated in the study. Descriptive statistics, Analysis of Variance, and Independent t-tests were conducted to examine the research questions. These questions explored what student and faculty behaviors were perceived as uncivil and most frequently occurring (disruptive and threatening) uncivil behavior in …


The Great Divide: The Perceptions And Dynamics Of The Faculty And Staff Professional Relationship, Meredith L. Skaggs May 2015

The Great Divide: The Perceptions And Dynamics Of The Faculty And Staff Professional Relationship, Meredith L. Skaggs

Dissertations

The college community is built with several necessary components. When considering the faces of a college campus one visualizes the administration, faculty, staff, and students. Through these roles, each serves a function impacting the mission of the institution. Utilizing qualitative methods of interviews, observations, and document analysis this study examined the dynamics and interactions of two roles on a community college campus. The research sought to understand the perceptions of faculty and staff regarding one another and the ultimate impact on the community college campus culture. The data revealed a gap not only exists in the available literature on the …


Money Changes Everything: The Relationship Between Financial Factors And Persistence For Financially Independent Undergraduate Students At A Kentucky Four-Year Public Institution, Ladonna Hunton May 2015

Money Changes Everything: The Relationship Between Financial Factors And Persistence For Financially Independent Undergraduate Students At A Kentucky Four-Year Public Institution, Ladonna Hunton

Dissertations

Research on factors related to persistence suggest that re-enrollment decisions are based upon an evaluation of the returns on investment in education. If students perceive that the costs of a college education outweigh the benefits, they will discontinue their involvement by choosing not to re-enroll. As a result, students’ choices to maintain their enrollment in postsecondary education can be an effective indicator of affordability. This study examined the degree to which financially independent undergraduate students’ persistence decisions are related to financial factors, including unmet need, total financial aid received, and type of financial aid received. The data examined in this …


Assessment Of Cultural Awareness In Communication Sciences And Disorders Students, Kimberly Green May 2015

Assessment Of Cultural Awareness In Communication Sciences And Disorders Students, Kimberly Green

Dissertations

As defined by Clinton (1996), cultural awareness is achieved when an individual becomes aware of the fact that culture can contribute to attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Cultural awareness (CA) is dependent upon an individual’s awareness of one’s own culture to the same degree as the awareness of outside cultures. It can be viewed as a prerequisite to a more complex understanding of this somewhat ambiguous concept. The topic of this quantitative study involves an examination of the level of cultural awareness among students in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) programs in the state of Kentucky. This dissertation threads literature and …


Habituation To Auditory Stimuli By Captive African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Sarah Elizabeth Goodyear May 2015

Habituation To Auditory Stimuli By Captive African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Sarah Elizabeth Goodyear

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Elephants are cognitive species that exhibit many types of learning. Associative, social, and insight learning have been investigated with elephants, but one of the simplest forms, habituation, has not. As an individual learns that a stimulus is neither harmful nor beneficial, it will decrease its response to the stimulus through the process of habituation. Elephants possess a well-developed sensory system and may habituate to stimuli that could be used for enrichment and/or management. The aim of this study was to examine the habituation process of elephants in response to repeated presentations of two auditory stimuli –buzzing by a disturbed beehive …


Epiphytic Diatom Community Structure In A Karst Riverine System, Gregory John Barren May 2015

Epiphytic Diatom Community Structure In A Karst Riverine System, Gregory John Barren

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of this study was to assess the epiphytic diatom community structure of two host species along a karst gradient in the upper Green River, Kentucky to a gain a better understanding of the role of diatoms in the food web. The host species studied were Podostemum ceratophyllum and Cladophora. Percent cover of P. ceratophyllum and Cladophora were quantified in the four study reaches. The host species were sampled near-shore and mid-channel in each reach in September and October of 2013. After diatoms were extracted from the host and enumerated the density and diversity were quantified. Twelve genera were …


Between Two Worlds, Stephanie Tillman May 2015

Between Two Worlds, Stephanie Tillman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

“Original Sin”—evocative and powerful words, but what if they were applied to one of the world’s most popular fairy tales? This thesis explores Snow White in the context of the Seven Deadly Sins and the grand fall of Adam and Eve. The forbidden fruit manifests itself in different ways, pulling the prim and proper princess into places she never could have imagined. But what of the Wicked Queen, here known as Lilith? She too feels the bite of the world’s sick sense of humor, exacting revenge on those who have wronged her. Are these poems about them? Or are they …


The Influence Of Social Interactions With American Students On Intercultural Sensitivity Of International Students In Higher Education Institutions, Shahbaz Munawar May 2015

The Influence Of Social Interactions With American Students On Intercultural Sensitivity Of International Students In Higher Education Institutions, Shahbaz Munawar

Dissertations

International student enrollment in the United States has seen a steady growth in the last decade. A problem exists that although higher education institutions are able to meet the academic needs of international students, they are not properly equipped to address the cultural challenges these international student populations face. This study focused on the importance of universities introducing initiatives that consider international students’ lives and cultural learning when at U.S. campuses. The purpose of the study was to measure the intercultural sensitivity of international students based on social factors such as social interaction with Americans and their living choice. Data …


Acceptance Of Change: Exploring The Relationship Among Psychometric Constructs And Employee Resistance, Brian Dunican May 2015

Acceptance Of Change: Exploring The Relationship Among Psychometric Constructs And Employee Resistance, Brian Dunican

Dissertations

Change is inevitable and can influence numerous events inside and outside an organization. The contrasting attitudes of acceptance and resistance to change are an increasingly interesting topic in today’s global, ever-changing, and competitive environment. Discovering the behavioral origins of employees’ reactions to change is an integral part of understanding the way in which individual mindset may play a role in coping with organizational change and resistance. This body of knowledge may give organizations insight for creating a competitive advantage over their counterparts. Conceivably, it can be argued that some researchers view change as a process of gradual adaptation that is …


Croghan, William, 1754-1822 (Lg 288), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2015

Croghan, William, 1754-1822 (Lg 288), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Land Grant 288. Original land grant, 1792, May 24, by which Henry Lee, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, granted to William Croghan, assignee of William Hessler, 200 acres on Russell’s Creek.


Swearingen, Joseph (Lg 297), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2015

Swearingen, Joseph (Lg 297), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Land Grant 297. Original land grant, 1787, February 7, by which Edmund Randolph, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, granted to Joseph Swearingen, 1200 acres on Little Mud Creek.


Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 91, No. 2), Kentucky Library Research Collections May 2015

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 91, No. 2), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.


Ross, David (Lg 295), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2015

Ross, David (Lg 295), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Land Grant 295. Original land grant, 1786, June 15, by which Patrick Henry, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, granted to David Ross, 1000 acres on Highland Creek.


Chhs May 2015 E-Newsletter,, Dr. John Bonaguro, Dean, Vashon S. Wells, Editor, Wku College Of Health & Human Services May 2015

Chhs May 2015 E-Newsletter,, Dr. John Bonaguro, Dean, Vashon S. Wells, Editor, Wku College Of Health & Human Services

College of Health & Human Services Publications

No abstract provided.


Estimation Of The Squared Population Cross-Validity Under Conditions Of Predictor Selection, Andrew J. Kircher May 2015

Estimation Of The Squared Population Cross-Validity Under Conditions Of Predictor Selection, Andrew J. Kircher

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study employed a Monte Carlo design to examine whether samplebased and formula-based estimates of cross-validated R2 differ in accuracy when predictor selection is and is not performed. Analyses were conducted on three datasets with 5, 10, or 15 predictors and different predictor-criterion relationships. Results demonstrated that, in most cases, a formula-based estimate of the cross-validated R2 was as accurate as a sample-based estimate. The one exception was the five predictor case wherein the formula-based estimate exhibited substantially greater bias than the estimate from a sample-based cross validation study. Thus, formula-based estimates, which have an enormous practical advantage over …


The Happy Secret To Better Work: Ted Talk Annotated Resource List, Logan Secrest May 2015

The Happy Secret To Better Work: Ted Talk Annotated Resource List, Logan Secrest

Undergraduate Research Award

No abstract provided.


The Effect Of Forewarning On Suggestibility: Does It Depend On Working Memory Capacity?, William Barrett Corley May 2015

The Effect Of Forewarning On Suggestibility: Does It Depend On Working Memory Capacity?, William Barrett Corley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Suggestibility occurs when inaccurate information is incorporated into currently existing memories. The present study examined the effect of forewarning on suggestibility, including the influence of working memory capacity (WMC). The main hypotheses are that forewarnings will reduce suggestibility compared to the control group and that high-WMC will yield lower suggestibility compared to medium- and low-WMC. The final hypothesis is that WMC and forewarning will interact such that low-WMC individuals will benefit more than high-WMC individuals from the forewarning. A sample of 123 college students was recruited. Participants watched a clip of the TV-show 24. WMC was then assessed followed by …