Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Access To Healthcare For Limited English Proficient Patients, Hannah Bergamini

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Patients with limited English skills often face additional struggles when accessing medical care. These patients, referred to as limited English proficient (LEP) patients, are unable to communicate directly with their physician. This lack of direct communication typically results in unique challenges for the patient and provider. Due to these challenges, LEP patients often have poorer health statuses and experience poorer health outcomes. However, when provided with access to qualified medical interpreters, many of these challenges facing LEP patients can be ameliorated. Therefore, using qualified interpreters is an important component in improving the access to healthcare for LEP patients. To determine …

Infant Temperament And Cardiac Physiology As Predictors Of Infant Locomotion, Mequeil Howard

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Infant locomotion is a major milestone that occurs during the first year of an infant’s life, and the onset of crawling is associated with various developmental changes. Previous work has focused on changes in infant temperament, specifically anger, during the onset of crawling. Other work has focused on changes in infant cardiac physiology in association with temperament development. Little research has examined both temperament and cardiac physiology (e.g., respiratory sinus arrythmia, RSA) as predictors of infant locomotion. Examining both factors in the same study could further explain variability in infant motor development. The current longitudinal study examined infant temperament (anger, …

Scotchwhisky101.Com: A User-Friendly, Persona-Driven Website, William Dillon Miller

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Within the realm of web design and marketing, it is easy for the designer to get caught up in what he/she thinks the site needs to look like. The problem is that web users are trying to accomplish specific tasks, and websites need to be tailored towards these users, not towards the designer. To work on this problem, I chose to make a website entitled “scotchwhisky101.com.” Most websites about single malts are too information-heavy and/or outdated. I used this problem to learn methods of user-oriented web design. To achieve this end, I gathered data through a survey. I then took …

Creating A Social Communication Module For Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Erin Walton

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Research (Hales, Carroll, Fryar, & Ogden, 2017) shows that those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience poorer physical health and fewer opportunities for social interactions than typically developing peers. As the prevalence of ASD increases, it is essential to consider effective interventions that target multiple skill areas for individuals seeking therapy. Youth ages 9 to 17 with ASD may experience physical health and social communication benefits from the implementation of a social communication curriculum module that could potentially be incorporated with Bingocize®, an online application that incorporates bingo with physical exercise, as well as educational content. Social communication educational …

Bridging The Music Education Gap: Designing A Curriculum For Students With Autism To Be Taught By Pre-Service Teachers, Josie Schultz

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This paper contains 20 music lessons written and designed for the elementary students enrolled in the Kelly Autism Program at Western Kentucky University. The Kelly Autism Program serves local students diagnosed with autism and offering educational support and after school services. The program in previous years had music classes however, because the staff had no formal training in music, these lessons were forgotten about when staff members resigned, and new staff were hired. These lessons were also limited in content, the lessons in this thesis have been designed to be taught by teachers with little musical training. Each lesson has …

Impact Of Geographic Location And Social Determinants Of Health On Lung Cancer Incidence And Mortality Rates, Katherine Ashley

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This paper studies the effect of geographic location and socioeconomic status, specifically level of education and income, on rates of incidence and mortality of lung and bronchus cancer. While some prior studies have focused on socioeconomic status’ and global geographic location’s impact on these rates, few have focused on the impact in Appalachian Kentucky and non-Appalachian Kentucky. In this paper, level of education and income are controlled for using four variables: median household income, percentage of persons in poverty, percentage of high school graduates or higher who are at least 25, and percentage of persons with a bachelor’s degree or …

A Vocation In Preservation: An Ethnographic Study Of Historic Preservation And Allied Trades, Ginny Willoughby

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This research examines younger generational interest in historic preservation (HP) and the preservation trades (PT). Utilizing an ethnographic approach, industry professionals were interviewed about their knowledge and perspectives on issues facing their respective fields (HP and PT). Historic preservation and the preservation trades were both identified to be experiencing a decline in interest and participation from younger individuals, thus negatively impacting incoming supply of future labor. Given the intensive nature of the field, traditionally the preservation trades have required a larger number of specialists. Currently, both fields are facing workforce shortages. High school level career and technical education was examined …

The Secret Houses: A Study In Theatrical Translation From Spanish To English, Rebecca Willenbrink

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Theatrical works are distinguished from the rest of literature as a result of their unique context and intention. Drama is intended to be experienced live, not simply read, and is unique in that it calls for a specific space in which to be consumed. In the field of literary translation and adaptation, this poses an issue because even if the translated play is linguistically faithful to the original text on the page, this does not necessarily mean it will produce the same experience onstage for the viewing audience, due to inevitable cultural differences in reception. With data collected from immersion …

A Comparative Analysis Of Institutional Trust, Traditional Social Values, And Partisanship In East And Southeast Asia, Lucas Knight

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

What factors drive an individual to trust, or not trust, their government? Over the past two decades, an extensive literature has developed that seeks to identify the sources and determinants of institutional trust in East and Southeast Asia. While this literature has solidified around several factors, for example, positive evaluations of economic performance or anti-corruption efforts, there is still significant debate on the importance of others. This study seeks to contribute to this ongoing debate by testing the role of traditionalism or traditional social values and partisanship. Utilizing data on 13 countries from Wave 4 of the Asian Barometer Survey …

Mentor And Mentee Ratings: Are They The Same Or Different?, Brooke Zarotny

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Mentoring is the pairing of two people where the mentor is meant to be a role model and companion for the mentee in the mentee’s area of struggle or deficit. These relationships are meant to be support systems that encourage positive outcomes in youth through frequent meetings between youth and older volunteers. Participants in this project were undergraduate students (i.e., mentors) and middle-school students (i.e., mentees) attending an alternative school in the east south-central region of the United States. The purpose of this school-based case study was to examine the experiences of five mentor and mentee pairs through weekly survey …

Wku Greeks Go Green: Mobilizing Community For A Cause, Claire Kaelin

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Sustainability, or meeting the needs of current generations without sacrificing the needs of future generations, has become an increasingly pressing issue as more and more people realize that humanity is living far beyond its means. Greeks Go Green was a new competition on campus seeking to address this issue, by harnessing the power of the Greek competitive spirit and pitting organizations against each other to have the most sustainable chapter. Its goal was to not only have a tangible impact as a community, but to also show members of the Greek community how easy it is to make a difference …

The Bird, The Oak, And The Stories That Build Us, Alicyn Newman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This is a project combining creative writing and oral history research surrounding the life of my late grandfather, Kenneth Wesley Newman. In its pages, I delve into memory, history, and storytelling, seeking to identify which stories have held meaning for my family over time, and why. I have written my way chronologically through my grandfather’s life and interwoven his narrative with what I know now, what I remember, and the stories we continue to tell as a family. The interdisciplinary nature of this project led to a combination of creating writing and research, which included reading war-era letters, watching home …

A Study Of Kindergarten Language Screening Performance Across Schools With Variable Demographic Compositions, Baylee Lackey

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The Quick Interactive Language Screener (QUILS) for language impairment was designed and normed for children of diverse backgrounds. This study examined the utility of the QUILS in a diverse school district by comparing failure rates across five elementary schools. Schools varied in racial composition (non-White range: 20.45 – 80%) and socioeconomic status (free/reduced lunch qualified range: 35.35 – 100%). Among 321 currently-enrolled kindergartners, 272 completed the QUILS. Using author recommendations for kindergarten-aged cutoff scores, the district-wide screening failure rate for primarily monolingual English speakers (n = 212; via parent questionnaire) was 16.51% (range: 7.69 – 34.29% per school). Failure rates …

Landscape Genetics Of Salamander Populations At Mammoth Cave National Park, Jackson Resser

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Habitat connectivity affects the distribution of genetic diversity among populations by influencing the movements of individuals and the resulting pattern of gene flow across landscapes. It has become evident that amphibians are experiencing a period of worldwide population declines brought about by environmental change. An understanding of the effects of habitat structure on landscape connectivity is important for developing effective amphibian conservation strategies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of landscape characteristics on gene flow and population structure of the marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) in Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA. Salamander larvae were …

First Past The Poll: A Blog About Political Statistics, Bradley Wascher

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This Capstone Experience project details my efforts to become a political data journalist. I took the first major step in August 2018, starting First Past the Poll, my politics blog. For three semesters, this website was frequently updated with nonpartisan reports on the latest elections, deep dives on long-term polling trends, and commentary on political numbers more broadly. Hoping to buck the trend of the stodgy prose prevalent throughout politics, my stories combined academic rigor with accessible writing.

As I began to find my footing in the field, First Past the Poll put me in the position to become …

Geographic And Partisan Patterns Of Support For Electoral Reforms, Aubrey Kelley

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Electoral reform has become a hotly debated issue, and it has recently been in the news at federal and state levels. On the federal level, the House of Representatives recently passed an electoral reform bill to expand early voting and allow for same-day voter registration. On the state level, Kentucky has become one of the most recent states to implement photo identification requirements. Georgia’s strict voter registration system became a subject of deep controversy during the most recent gubernatorial election. Throughout the past couple of decades, electoral reform has been tackled in a variety of different ways; some states have …

Factors Contributing To Continuing Democratic Victories In Some Southern House Districts, 1994–2008, Dillon Mccormick

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The American South went through a period of political transition in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This transition reached its climax after the 1994 elections, after which Democrats ceased to hold the majority of House seats in the South, never to regain that strength. However, Democrats continued to win a decent share of House seats in the South after 1994, with about 40% of Southern House seats being won by Democrats until the 2010 elections, after which Democrats shrunk to a much smaller minority.

This paper analyzes the factors that allowed some Democrats to continue to be elected …

Rodent Seed Preference Trials Of Ecologically Important Plants In Kentucky, Katelyn Thomason

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Seed predation is an important ecological process that can affect the success of individual plants and plant populations as a whole. However, seed preferences of herbivores have received little detailed attention in comparison to seedling predation studies (Hulme, 1994). In this project I researched how rodents, specifically their seed preferences, affect the recruitment and survival of ecologically important native plants in Western Kentucky. I used traps to catch Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mice). Once caught, each mouse was placed in a trial arena with seeds from Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant), Baptisia australis (blue false indigo), Silphium lanciniatum (compass plant), and the …

The Role Of Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier 1 (Mpc1) In Heart Failure And Its Implications For Cardiac Recovery, Obadiah Issachar Kirk

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Heart failure (HF) is a complex syndrome with high mortality rates around the world. HF also has diverse etiology as many things contribute such as hypertension, obesity, coronary artery disease, inflammation, and cardiac arrhythmias. Studies have shown that unloading of a failing heart with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) can lead to cardiac recovery in a subpopulation of individuals with advanced HF. RNA-sequencing and protein expression analysis of myocardial tissue from HF patients who underwent the LVAD implant and heart transplant indicated that subpopulation of HF patients who responded to LVAD unloading had significantly lower levels of mitochondrial pyruvate …

Female Cartographers: Historical Obstacles And Successes, Eva Llamas-Owens

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

For much of history, women have lived in male-dominated societies, which has limited their participation in society. The field of cartography has been largely populated by men, but despite cultural obstacles, there are records of women significantly contributing over the past 1,000 years. Historically, women have faced coverture, stereotypes, lack of opportunities, and lack of recognition for their accomplishments. Their involvement in cartography is often a result of education or valuable experiences, availability of resources, a supportive community or mentor, hard work, and luck regardless of when and where they lived.

This research divides women before and after the turn …

Listening Back: A Podcast About Encouraging Social Change Through Theatre Of The Past, Madison Rose

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This CE/T explores the nature of theatre as a tool to encourage social change. Theatre is an important art form that can influence audiences into considering contemporary societal concerns and taking action. This capstone specifically addresses theatre prior to the 2000s as effective commentary on modern issues in America, such as police brutality, discrimination, reproductive rights, and religious hypocrisy. I have created a podcast as a resource for young dramaturgs and activists about existing and accessible plays that can be used to address important societal issues. This project is a culmination of my interest in theatre, history, communication and social …

Identifying Essential Viral Genes Through Genomic Engineering, Amber Carroll

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Bacteria developed resistance to penicillin a mere four years after the groundbreaking antibiotic was first mass produced (Casadevall, 2010). Since then, the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has steadily risen, causing millions of difficult to treat infections annually. The challenge is to identify ways to combat these menacing microbes. Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and can potentially be used to eliminate deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The number of sequenced bacteriophage genomes has increased tremendously over the past 10 years, but little is known about the function of most bacteriophage genes. The purpose of this study was to expand our understanding of …

Nice Food: A Nonprofit Food Truck, Nathan Brooks

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This document is a snapshot of Nice Food, a nonprofit food truck. The truck uses a pay-what-you-can model so that anyone may eat there, regardless of their ability to pay. The chief goal of Nice Food is to lower food insecurity in its community, which will initially be Louisville, KY. The company will be an addition to the strong effort against hunger in Louisville, bringing the additional strength of mobility to the fight.

This document exists to map out the path of a startup for a student, as well as to provide a clear picture of what Nice Food is …

Ototoxicity Of Cisplatin, Pyriplatin, And Phenathriplatin In The Auditory Hybridoma Cell Line, Hei-Oc1, Alexandra Johnston

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Cisplatin is an anti-cancer drug which is effective against several cancers, but also causes harmful side-effects, including ototoxicity and hearing loss. While cisplatin is a bifunctional compound that forms coordinate covalent bonds with both strands of DNA, recently investigated monofunctional platinum(II) compounds bind to only one DNA strand, and may activate different cell-death mechanisms. As several monofunctional platinum(II) compounds have anti-cancer properties, but could target different cell-death pathways, they could potentially have different and reduced side-effects. In this study, the HEI-OC1 auditory hybridoma cell line was used to investigate the ototoxicity of cisplatin and two monofunctional platinum(II) compounds, phenanthriplatin and …

Mathematical Modeling Of Diabetic Foot Ulcers Using Optimal Design And Mixed-Modeling Techniques, Michael Belcher

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A mathematical model for the healing response of diabetic foot ulcers was developed using averaged data (Krishna et al., 2015). The model contains four major factors in the healing of wounds using four separate differential equations with 12 parameters. The four differential equations describe the interactions between matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-1), tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP-1), the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the skin, and the fibroblasts, which produce these proteins. Recently, our research group obtained the individual patient data that comprised the averaged data. The research group has since taken several approaches to analyze the model with the individual …

Morphological Correlates Of Auditory Sensitivity In The Inner Ear Of Two Species Of Invasive Carp, Tyler Patty

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Silver (Hypopthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead (H. nobilis) carp, are invasive species that have negative impacts upon ecosystems. H. molitrix is known to jump completely out of the water in response to broadband sounds, however, this is not observed in H. nobilis. Preliminary experiments reveal that sounds can be used to modify the behavior of carps. Thus, understanding the hearing abilities of these species is important in order to design appropriate acoustical deterrents. Fish heads were preserved in 4% paraformaldehyde and the inner ears dissected and photographed under a light microscope in order to describe the …

Side Effects And Efficacy Of Isotretinoin In College Students, Brittany Smith

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Acne vulgaris is a serious disease that can have serious consequences for the person who has the condition. Acne can occur on the face, chest, back, and among other locations on the body. Its pathogenesis is complex and has many factors. Ahmad (2015), states acne involves abnormal keratinization, hormonal dysfunction and immune hypersensitivity. This condition can range from mild, moderate, or severe. Acne can be debilitating to the person who is struggling with it. Acne can occur at any age, but it is seen more often in adolescents. According to Marron, Tomas-Aragones, and Boira (2013), acne is prevalent in up …

Zephyrus, Western Kentucky University

Student Creative Writing

The fine arts magazine of Western Kentucky University at Bowling Green.

Ua25 Memoranda, Wku Strategy, Operations & Finance

WKU Administration Documents

Memoranda issued by WKU Strategy, Operations & Finance to faculty & staff via email.

• Bookstore
• Staff Excellence Awards
• Campus Update

Ua12/4 Student Affairs Health Services, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by Health Services.