Digital Commons Network^™

An Integration Setup If The In-Situ Mass And Spectroscopic Analysis For Volatile Liquids Or Solids, Kolton K. Jones

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

To help address the growing need for more and better sensors, an attempt was made to produce an in-situ mass and spectroscopic analysis of liquid and solid samples, to characterize samples and sensors. Spectroscopic analysis consisted of Raman and FTIR where mass measurements were carried out. The sample or sensor’s holder would allow for spectroscopic analysis as well as expose the sample to high temperatures and various chemicals. While Raman and FTIR were successful in producing reliable and consistent data, the constructed watt balance was not. This failure was a result of eliminate vibrational noise.

Policy Communication And The Influence Of Agricultural Communities On Karst Landscapes: A Case Study In Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Vietnam, Elizabeth Willenbrink

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst landscapes are vulnerable to human influence, especially agricultural practices. The interconnectedness between surface activities and subsurface environments make karst landscapes particularly susceptible to soil erosion and water contamination. The likelihood of these two phenomena happening increases when agricultural intensification, irrigation, or fertilizer application occurs. This situation arises frequently in Vietnam, where 18% of the country is karst terrain and 60% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods (Farming First 2009). In order to mitigate the negative consequences of agriculture on karst landscapes, effective implementation of policy to regulate human activities and increased communication of these policies to …

Diversity, Identification, And Rhetoric In Tech: On The Analysis Of Satirical Conference Talks, Bryan Knowles

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis, I examine the rhetorical strategies in Jenn Schiffer’s satirical conference talks in which she comments upon her own tech community. In part, I consider her arguments under the theoretical lenses of Burke, Epicurus, and Camus, theories placed alongside the reflective writing of Ullman as a queer woman in that selfsame community. I also discuss the pedagogical opportunities of such an analysis–of tech conference talks in general–to the modern student in our technologically-connected age. Finally, in the long term, I plan to connect the outcomes of this project to a larger project in partial fulfillment of a doctorate …

The Impact Of Invasive Lionfish On The Feeding Performance Of Endemic Spotted Scorpionfish, Nathaniel Zbasnik

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Invasive species, such as the red lionfish, Pterois volitans, are damaging many ecosystems around the world by out-competing native species. However, little work has been done to determine if P. volitans have a direct influence on the feeding performance of native species with which they compete. This study examines the feeding performance in terms of suction pressure, kinematic timing, and excursion distances of spotted scorpionfish, Scorpaena plumieri. Through multiple trials it was examined how S. plumieri modulate their kinematic behavior in response to P. volitans and a conspecific. The creation of a smaller buccal cavity and a decrease in time …

An Examination Of Factors That Affect Male Body Image In College Students, Jennifer Elise Van Meter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study is to determine whether viewing photos of muscular men or viewing photos of toned men produces greater body dissatisfaction scores for male college students. Prior to receiving the intervention, participants completed a pretest measuring their body satisfaction. The intervention was administered in a group setting and took approximately 30 minutes to administer. After receiving the intervention, participants completed the same assessment measures as the pre-test, but in a post-test form. Results indicate that there was a significant difference between pre-test and posttest body satisfaction ratings for men who viewed muscle photos and mend who viewed …

Investigating The Apoptotic Effects Of Platinum(Ii) Amine Complexes With Only One Leaving Ligand On Zebrafish Auditory End Organs, Joshua Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The FDA-approved platinum compound, cisplatin, is commonly used as a chemotherapy drug to treat many forms of cancer. However, this compound also has several associated side-effects, including ototoxicity. This has made the development of novel platinum compounds that reduce cancer cell viability, while causing fewer and milder side-effects, an area of significant research interest. In the present study, we examined the apoptotic effects that four monofunctional platinum compounds, pyriplatin, phenanthriplatin, Pt(diethylenetriamine)Cl, and Pt(N,Ndiethyldiethylenetriamine) Cl, had on zebrafish inner ear auditory epithelial cells. We then compared the apoptotic effects of these compounds to those of cisplatin, which is a bifunctional platinum …

Carbon Flux And Weathering Processes In Icelandic Glacial-Fed Rivers, Allison Quiroga

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An investigation into the carbon dynamics and weathering processes occurring in Icelandic glacial-fed streams was conducted during the spring to summer seasonal transition in June of 2017. Four major outlet rives were sampled from the glaciers of Gígjökull, Steinsholtsjökull, Sólheimajökull, and Falljökull. Markarfljót, the major river that Gígjökull, Steinsholtsjökull, and many other glaciers drain into, was also sampled. Longitudinal sampling occurred at all sites to capture downstream trends in the hydrogeochemistry and carbon dynamics. Distinct differences in geochemistry between glacier surface meltwater, sub-glacial waters, pro-glacial lake water, and post-mixed downstream samples were evident in the data. Glacier surface streams were …

Relationship Between Male Athletic Identity And Romantic Relationship Satisfaction, Mark Alan Logan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study is to determine if male athletic identity plays a role on romantic relationship satisfaction, so that it can be implemented into couples counseling and work to decrease the divorce rate. Participants completed two measures, the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS; Hendrick, 1988) and the Athlete Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS; Brewer & Cornelius, 2001), administered via a Qualtrics survey. The survey was accessed by Amazon Mechanical Turk participants and it took approximately 10 minutes to administer. Results indicate that there was not a significant difference in relationship satisfaction ratings between low, medium, and high groupings of athletic …

The Effects Of Violence In Video Games On Individual Levels Of Hostility In Young Adults, Grant Jones

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

For a while, video games have been the target of scrutiny with regards to their perceived potential to adversely affect younger individuals. In particular, it is often argued that these video games, particularly those of violent nature, may increase hostility to an extent that it manifests itself in violent behavior. This thesis aims to denote what effects these video games have on young adults, particularly in relation to the respondents’ indicated extent of adverse childhood experiences, trait anger, and competitiveness, all three of which were assumed to have a positive relationship with hostility. A survey was distributed to students attending …

Portion Control: An Examination Of Organizational Control And Male Athlete Eating Disorders, Katie Lever

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Eating disorders (EDs) are strikingly common among American adults. Past research has indicated that athletes in general are particularly vulnerable to developing EDs due to media pressure, athletic drive, and the population’s proclivity to perfectionism. Most ED research, both in athletic and non-athletic populations, is female-focused, as women are more likely to develop EDs. However, men are still susceptible to develop EDs and are understudied.

Links between lack of autonomy and EDs exist in familial settings, but have yet to be applied in organizational settings. This quantitative thesis sought to bridge a research gap by assessing ED levels in male …

Iterative Methods To Solve Systems Of Nonlinear Algebraic Equations, Md Shafiful Alam

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Iterative methods have been a very important area of study in numerical analysis since the inception of computational science. Their use ranges from solving algebraic equations to systems of differential equations and many more. In this thesis, we discuss several iterative methods, however our main focus is Newton's method. We present a detailed study of Newton's method, its order of convergence and the asymptotic error constant when solving problems of various types as well as analyze several pitfalls, which can affect convergence. We also pose some necessary and sufficient conditions on the function f for higher order of convergence. Different …

Finding The Right College For You, Lauren Hagan, Jessica Lancaster

Counseling Concepts and Applications for Student Affairs Professionals (CNS 577)

With over 5,300 colleges and universities in the U.S. alone, finding a higher education institution that fits your strengths, preferences, and goals becomes an ever more daunting task bringing confusion, uncertainty, and stress into the lives of high schoolers. This video, targeted to high school sophomores and juniors, will review some major factors that could influence post-high school educational plans. Topics discussed include size, public and private, in-state and out-of-state, types of programs, educational goals, and “nontraditional” options. After viewing this video, our hope is that the student will be able to make more informed choices about which institutions to …

Biomimetic Studies Of Oxidation Reactions By Metalloporphyrins Through Ligand Effect And Kinetic Studies Of Photo-Generated Porphyrin-Iron(Iv)- Oxocompound Ii Models, Dharmesh J. Patel

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

High-valent iron(IV)-oxo porphyrins are the central oxidizing species in hemecontaining enzymes and synthetic oxidation catalysts. Many transition metal complexes have been extensively studied as models of the ubiquitous cytochrome P450 enzymes to probe the sophisticated oxygen atom transfer (OAT) mechanism as well as to invent enzyme-like oxidation catalysts. In this work, two metalloporphyrin complexes have been successfully synthesized, and spectroscopically characterized. A new photochemical entry to porphyrin-iron(IV)-oxo derivatives, commonly referred to as compound II models, was also investigated in two porphyrin ligands that differ in electronic and steric environments. As determined by their distinct UV-vis spectra and kinetic behaviors, iron(IV)-oxo …

The Relationship Between Financial Literacy, Financial Status, And Academic Success In College Students, Brian Douglas Brausch

Dissertations

As the cost of college continues to rise, an increasing number of students are relying on loans and credit cards to fund their postsecondary education. In an effort to curb student debt and increase retention and graduation rates, many universities have begun to offer financial literacy initiatives to stimulate financial knowledge and promote positive money management behaviors.

This study examines the relationship between a for-credit personal financial literacy course and student academic success and economic status. Students who took a personal finance course during their first or second year of college are compared to a random sampling of students who …

African-American College And University Presidents Perceptions Of Effective Leadership Attributes, Sidney Glenn Carthell

Dissertations

This study examined how socio-demographic factors of gender, age, institution location, institutional Carnegie Classification, degree of residential students, and size of enrollment relate to the perceptions that African-American college and university presidents had relative to effective leadership attributes. The research was a quantitative study that employed a descriptive survey with correlational design. No statistically significant differences were found between the perceptions of successful leadership attributes in the study based on gender, education, position prior to the presidency, years of experience, school type, or location. Leadership attributes of Energetic with Stamina and Ideological Beliefs were found to be statistically significant at …

Emotional Intelligence And Leader Development: Measuring Trait Emotional Intelligence Scores Of Mid- Career Commissioned U.S. Army Officers, Stephan Lorentz Walters

Dissertations

The United States Army is preparing for the ambiguous and consistently changing realities of the modern world by developing leaders who are adaptive, mentally agile, and open to change. However, without instruments or tools that purposefully measure adaptability within each individual leader, it is challenging to determine the U.S. Army’s effectiveness at the strategic goal to develop adaptive and self-aware leaders.

The dependent variables of interest are the trait emotional intelligence scores of commissioned U.S. Army leaders who have at least 10 years of military experience. This quantitative survey based study samples (N = 28) mid-career U.S. Army Majors using …

Acquisition Of Word Spellings And Meanings During Reading In Nonnative Chinese Speakers, Yang Liu

Dissertations

This dissertation explored the acquisition of word spellings (orthographic learning) and word meanings (incidental word learning) during reading in adult nonnative Chinese speakers. Two studies were designed for this dissertation. In Study One, 45 Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) learners at intermediate and advanced proficiency levels participated and completed a character learning experiment in a self-teaching paradigm. Results indicate that CFL learners were able to use the phonetic regularity and semantic transparency of radicals to learn the spellings and pronunciations of new characters after limited exposures to the characters in a story context. In Study Two, 72 CFL learners …

Eng 100: Society's Negative Perception Of Feminism, Kyah Stewart

English 100-200-300 Conference

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Of Autism Education In Accredited Dental Hygiene Programs, Stephanie M. Riehn

Dissertations

The increase in the prevalence of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased dramatically over the last few decades, causing an increase in the exposure of dental professionals to patients with the disorder in a clinical setting.

The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of the licensed dental hygienists’ professional attitude towards treating a patient with ASD, and the level of accommodations provided to patients with ASD during a routine dental visit, based on the amount of knowledge provided about the disorder during an accredited dental hygiene program. Survey data were collected from 78 registered …

Eng 200: Protection Vs. Slavery In The Tempest, Emily Caldwell

English 100-200-300 Conference

No abstract provided.

Eng 200: Marriage, Masculinity, And The Memsahib, Rachel Thomas

English 100-200-300 Conference

No abstract provided.

Do Faculty In-Class Incivility Behaviors Predict Type Of Out-Of-Class Interactions Between Faculty And Students?, Trudy-Ann Crossbourne

Dissertations

The present study explored relationships between two larger streams of research—faculty-student interactions and destructive leadership embodied in faculty incivility towards students. While interactions with faculty outside of class offer tremendous benefits for students’ intellectual and socio-emotional development, avoidance is one of the demonstrated outcomes of destructive leadership on followers and of faculty incivility on students. The theoretical basis for this study was the premise that faculty incivility displayed in class, as perceived by students, could predict the frequency and type of interactions in which students engage with professors outside of the classroom. To test this conjecture, a sample of 785 …

The Relationship Between The Metabolic Responsiveness To A High-Fat Meal And An Acute Bout Of Moderateintensity Exercise Among Postpartum Women, Apoorva Tadakaluru

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Background: There has been very little research regarding the metabolic health of women during the postpartum period. Metabolic flexibility is the physiological ability to alter substrate oxidation in response to substrate availability and is a good indicator of overall metabolic health. Metabolic flexibility can be assessed by placing metabolic demands on the body and observing metabolic responsiveness- two examples of such metabolic stressors are lipid oxidation rates in response to a high-fat meal and as well as exercise. However, it is unknown whether postpartum women will respond similarly to these two different types of metabolic stressors. This information will allow …

Correlation Between Female Athlete Screening Tool (Fast) Scores And Biomarkers To Identify Female Athlete Triad Among Collegiate Athletes And To Evaluate The Validity Of The Instrument, Lindsey Elise Hinken

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if the Female Athlete Screening Tool (FAST) is a valid indicator of the three physical components of Female Athlete Triad (FAT), malnutrition, amenorrhea, and low bone mineral density, and if administration of the FAST can be used as a time- and cost-effective way to identify FAT. Participants completed the FAST, the Menstrual Status Questionnaire, and had a blood sample drawn. Interpretation of the total FAST score placed participants in one of three conditions: normal, subclinical disordered eating, or clinical eating disorder. The presence of the three biomarkers of FAT was determined by …

Impact Of Leadership Styles On Employee Job Satisfaction And Organizational Commitment – A Study In The Construction Sector In India, Akhila Nidadhavolu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Leadership plays a vital role in any industry. Therefore, a positive relationship between the management and the employees is very crucial for any organization to get better turnover and recognition. The current study discusses the leadership styles used in the Construction Industry in India. The development of construction industry in India requires suitable leadership approaches of the management. In the condition of such requirement, this research paper has three-fold objectives: first, to study the leadership styles used by the higher-management levels of Indian construction companies, and second, to examine the impact of leadership styles on job satisfaction, and third, to …

Caverns: Kentucky Middle School Poetry (Volume 1, 2018), Roxanne M. Spencer Editor, Peggy Otto, Associate Editor, Amy Jo Gibson, Associate Editor, Kerry Hancock, Associate Editor, Dr. Erin Margarella, Associate Editor, James Margarella, Associate Editor, Laura S. Crafton, Associate Editor

CAVERNS

The editors of CAVERNS: Kentucky Middle School Poetry, volume 1, 2018, are extremely grateful to the talented students, dedicated teachers, and proud parents who made this first volume possible. Poems were solicited from classroom teachers during National Poetry Month, April 2017. The poems were selected for publication after extensive editorial board review, using a rubric adapted from Christine Lewy (2001). Only poems with signed parental/guardian permission letters were published. Students or parents decided whether to publish the poet’s full name or first name and last initial only. The poems were divided roughly into sections by topic: start-and-stop poems, homage, …

Ua35/8 Reveille, Vol. 26, Issue 1, Wku Veterans Upward Bound

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about WKU Veterans Upward Bound.

Ua12/2/2 2018 Talisman: Grit, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

2018 Talisman yearbook.

• Gibson, Helen. Grit
• Zambrano, Max. Cash Cows – Chaney’s Dairy Barn
• Holt, Delaney. A Quarry Story – White Stone Quarry, Caden Quarry
• McKee, Rylee. Beautiful Grit – BellaMoxi, Dance
• Voorhees, Jessica. Digging Deep – Jean-Luc Houle, Anthropology
• Lucas, Kaley. Black Mountain
• Edwards, Aly. Roots of Stigma – McKenna Vierstra, Jordan Frodge, Max Williams, Robin Farrell
• Eastham, Lillie. Grab ‘Em by the Ballot – Time’s Up Movement
• McCarthy, Hannah. Flesh Memories
• Barritt, Brooklyn. Making a Place at the Table – Dungeons & Dragons
• Gary, Summer. For Adoption: Unwanted Mutt
• Waters, Adrianna. For the Love of Creation – Art …

Ua19/16/1 Hilltopper Football 2018 Spring Guide, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

WKU football media guide for spring 2018.

Developmental Readers, New Literacies, And The Impact Of Direct Instruction, Kristine Elizabeth Wilson,

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many students enter college underprepared for the rigors of college-level reading, and these students are often placed in developmental courses. Furthermore, many students, with and without the developmental label, face challenges when reading online and in print, and research shows that these reading processes are not exactly the same. Research into new literacies finds that online reading comprehension gaps exist that are different from print reading. Varying reading strategies as well as metacognitive strategies can help assist students in successfully comprehending texts at the college level. This study investigated how explicit instruction in new literacy strategies impacts a reader’s ability …