Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Preflight Inspection Practices In The Collegiate Training Environment, Seth Laws

Honors Theses

Preflight inspections are a crucial part of flight operations and are required by the Federal Aviation Administration prior to flight. A properly performed preflight by an educated and experienced pilot follows a standard procedure and permits detection of conditions that render an aircraft un-airworthy. A study at Western Michigan University was conducted to determine the effectiveness of this normal procedure in the collegiate training environment. Results indicate the standard procedures for preflight inspections and good supporting habits are in place, but some complacency and a lack of understanding of the standard procedure prevents it from being totally effective among less …

Corporate Social Reponsibility Reporting: Industry Comparisons, Yu Cao

Honors Theses

According to the shareholder theory, the sole social responsibility of a company is to increase its profits and shareholders’ value (Friedman, 1970). However, the stakeholder theory states that a company owes the social responsibility to a wider group of stakeholders (Donaldson & Preston, 1995). Stakeholders refer to any person or group which can affect or be affected by the actions of a business, such as employees, customers, suppliers, creditors, competitors and the wider community. Around the world, more and more firms are increasing their engagement in corporate social responsibility (hereafter, CSR) and exploit CSR as the center of their corporate …

Cicero And Epicureanism, Ryan Williams

Honors Theses

Over the course of the last ten years of his life, Cicero devoted much effort to exploring and evaluating the three major philosophical schools prevalent at Rome: Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism. His critique of Epicureanism in De re publica, Cicero's earliest philosophical investigation, is especially clear because in this work Cicero explicitly criticizes the political views of that particular school. What is less clear, however, is how the ending of the work, the so-called Somnium Scipionis, can be understood as a response to Epicureanism. In this thesis, I shall consider how the Somnium Scipionis falls into line with Cicero's anti-Epicurean …

The Effect Of Bedside Handoffs On Patients’ Perceived Fears, Maija Paldan

Honors Theses

Background and Significance: Fear, anxiety, and apprehension can have a profound effect upon patient outcomes, possibly leading to a worsened health condition or delay in recovery. Current literature finds that communication and social support by the nursing staff may foster patients’ understanding of their care and their experiences of feeling safe. The bedside handoff is one way of enhancing communication and providing support within nurse patient interactions. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of bedside handoffs on patients’ perceived fear, anxiety, and apprehension.

Methods: A secondary analysis was performed upon a larger quantitative data set from …

Characteristics Of Patients Who Experience Fear During Hospitalization, Marlena Vande Streek

Honors Theses

Purpose/Background The purpose of this study is to describe individuals likely to experience fear, apprehension, or anxiety during hospitalization. Supporting literature has much to say about intervening once these feelings occur, but little on the description or characteristics of patients exhibiting these feelings during hospitalization. The intent of this exploration is to allow nurses to identify these patients sooner and prevent unnecessary stress and delays in care.

Theoretical Framework When a patient experiences fear, they respond through the stress response cycle commonly observed as delays in wound healing and immunosuppression when feelings are prolonged. Identifying individuals likely to experience fear …

Relationship Between Ambulation And Position Changes During Labor And Hormonal Physiology Of Childbearing, Zoe Nokomis

Honors Theses

The birthing process for many women is a complex period of time that involves many changes in the mother’s body as well as the baby’s preparation to enter the world. Medical advances and technology have improved care for at-risk women but the increased number of unnecessary interventions during labor currently may actually hinder a healthy mother from having the best possible birth experience and outcomes for her and her child. Mothers can use many different, non-medical, non-pharmacological strategies to cope with the stress of labor. These strategies may include ambulating or position changes during the first stage of labor, massage …

The Barriers And Facilitators To Becoming A Baby-Friendly Hospital, Bohn Emily

Honors Theses

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a designation hospitals can achieve that states the facility encourages breastfeeding and mother-baby bonding. The Initiative involves changing over hospital protocols, employee training, and implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Although the designation is positive, there have been identified facilitators and barriers that influence the implementation process which can influence whether a hospital will choose to or not to achieve designation. A literature review was performed. Facilitators included: certificate as a marketing tool, project management involvement, the 4-D Pathway, and support. Barriers included: adherence, staffing insufficiencies, provider-level issues, and financial and facility support. Interviews …

Kentucky Wastewater Treatment Plants And The Prevalence Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes, Anthony Jeck

Honors Theses

Antibiotic resistance has been a growing problem in healthcare and agriculture for several decades. Antibiotic resistance has been evolving naturally for millions of years, but the process is also accelerated by human activities. Wastewater treatment plants have been studied as potential sources of antibiotic resistance genes in aquatic environments. In this study, several wastewater treatment plants in southern Kentucky were tested for the presence of blaSHV, blaCTX, and tet(B) using PCR and gel electrophoresis. Preliminary evidence suggests that the wastewater treatment plant at West Hickman may be a source of tet(B) and that the wastewater treatment plant at Silver Creek …

The Gold Standard: Understanding The Impact Of Perfectionism On Occupation, Mary E. Wagner

Honors Theses

Occupational Science seeks to understand human occupation, often grouping occupations into categories and considering external factors that influence what people do. The current literature in psychology includes several studies on perfectionism, but there are no studies within occupational science literature. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how perfectionism impacts the occupations of college students studying occupational science and provide a measurable and meaningful depiction of the interaction between these variables. Original research was conducted using a mixed methods approach. The Almost Perfect Scale, Revised (APS-R), developed by Slaney, Mobley, Trippi, Ashby, & Johnson (1996) was …

Chronicling The Developments Of The Double Reed, Jenna Sehmann

Honors Theses

This study examines scholarly articles in thirty-eight years of periodical journals, The Double Reed, published by the International Double Reed Society. Research articles were coded to fit into twelve prominent categories: career-related, composition, extended techniques/modern practices, health, historical, instrument, interview, pedagogy, performance practice, performer profile, reeds, and other. After an analysis of journal articles (N =935) from The Double Reed, results indicated historical articles, interviews, and composition-related articles were the most prominent categories. There was a fairly even dispersion between oboe and bassoon articles, while the majority of published material was generated from American authors. Additional trends are …

Shared Book Reading Practices In The Daycare Setting, Sarah Oliver

Honors Theses

This study reviews emergent literacy, instructional techniques (specifically dialogic reading), and how involved different professionals are with literacy instruction with young children. Because little research has been done regarding shared book reading practices in the daycare setting, a mixed methods research design was utilized in order to determine the scale dialogic reading prompts are used during shared book reading by daycare instructors and their beliefs about early literacy. Analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data collected revealed three key themes: narrow view of literacy, limited understanding of early literacy instruction, and value of literacy. In other words, the participants believe …

What’S The Buzz All About? Creating Understanding Of Colony Collapse Disorder, Kristen Marie Gosnell

Honors Theses

Honey bees are perhaps humanity’s most important pollinators. Although they influence an incredible number of plants that we consume every day, their contributions to mankind’s diet are often overlooked. However, this may soon cease to be the case; if honey bees continue their downward descent and disappear, the foods they pollinate will too, leaving an enormous void in their wake. One of the leading causes of honey bee loss is Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious phenomenon in which hives suddenly collapse, seemingly without cause. This thesis asks several questions: What is CCD? What causes it? How can it be prevented? …

Family Factors And School, Michael Pierce

Honors Theses

One of the most overwhelming issues at Eastern Kentucky University is academic retention. In 2013, Eastern had a four-year graduation rate of 23.5%. Each university has a goal to keep academic retention as high as possible. EKU has one of the highest rates of enrollment from students of the Appalachian region, an area of Kentucky that is diverse both ecologically and culturally than other regions of the state. EKU is also known among its students for being a “suitcase school,” a college or university that is active Monday through Friday, but is quiet on Saturday and Sunday due to students …

The Evolution Of The Scope And Political Ambition Of The State Attorneys General, Elizabeth A. Brumleve

Honors Theses

The state attorneys general (AGs) play a crucial role in government, on both a state and national level. They provide the legal voice of the state in matters ranging from the defense of state laws to consumer protection and, for some, criminal prosecution. The increase in the amount of multistate litigation undertaken by the attorneys general and their growing influence over policy reflect an expansion in the scope of this office. Furthermore, the AG’s office provides an effective record-building platform from which candidates can, and often do, establish campaigns for higher office. The 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), a …

E-Commerce’S Impact On Big-Box Retailers, Brian Bates

Honors Theses

The history of retail has been an evolutionary process of new innovations and transformations. Previous changes include: the development of catalogue based retail, and the recent innovation of super stores, known as big-box retailers. It is possible that we are dawning upon a new revolution of the retail environment as electronic commerce (e-commerce) continues to grow. This paper will analyze the impact of e-commerce on retail markets, specifically big-box stores (warehouse style retailers with over 750 million in sales). Using financial and real estate data from Bloomberg^TM, and e-commerce data from eMarketerTM and the US Census Bureau two …

“Instafamous” Women And The Question Of Empowerment: Feminist Reading Of Popular Constructions Of Female Bodies On Instagram, Sarah Spech

Honors Theses

Instagram has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years, catapulting some of its users into a new type of fame--"Instafame." Female users who achieve "Instafame" do so in large measure by carefully constructing an identity that articulates a popular ideal of the female body. Many commentators see this presentation of self as a new means of empowerment. But others argue that these "Instafamous" women are pressured to objectify themselves in order to accumulate thousands of “likes” to create and sustain their celebrity status. In this presentation, I analyze the images on some popular fitness Instagram accounts using the feminist …

Human Rights And Healthy Societies: Opening Social And Cultural Spaces For Peacebuilding, Margaret A. Maloney

Honors Theses

Exploring peace demands rethinking many of the assumptions that have driven the field of peacebuilding. Previously, scholars have investigated the content of peace agreements in relation to the promotion of sectors that include security, justice, and democracy. However, I hypothesize that by focusing narrowly on these areas, scholars and peacemakers overlook crucial ingredients that create stable post-conflict societies. This senior thesis examines the inclusion of social and cultural rights in peace agreements and aims to contribute to a more robust understanding of whether traditionally “soft” issues like education, art, and women’s participation may have significant impacts on the long-term health …

First Person Accounts Of The Proyecta 100,000 Program, Adolfo Diaz

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Love Of The Law: The Ethical Christology Of Southern Baptist Rhetoric And Language Concerning The Lgbtq Community, Alexander James Ward

Honors Theses

The connection between society and a group is a complex and often tangled relationship. The division between the two can be blurred in many cases and therefore the movement of individuals within a particular group within a larger society is something that cannot always be immediately apparent. However, group identity and personal identity play an integral role in understanding how movement and action occur by individuals as they attempt to make sense of culture and its connection to their personal identity. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and its members are no different. This Protestant denomination is one of the most …

Effects Of Body Weight Loading On Arch Height, Anastasia Bjelopetrovich

Honors Theses

Deformation of the medial longitudinal arch under body weight loading is often assessed using the Arch Height Index Measurement System. This system assesses change in arch height between sitting and standing, estimated to be 10 and 50% of body weight, respectively. However, body weight forces during ambulation exceed these loads, therefore limiting our understanding of arch deformation under ambulatory load ranges. Thus, the study aims were 1) to assess if sitting and standing arch height differed from that seen under 10 and 50% body weight using a force target-matching procedure, and 2) to characterize the relationship between arch deformation and …

Preachers, Politics And The Pulpit: The Influence Of Church Structure On How Clergy Approach Political Topics And How Congregations Receive Their Messages, Michael Bender

Honors Theses

Inspired by the Catholic Church’s nationwide resistance to President Obama’s contraceptive mandate in the summer of 2012, this honors thesis paper attempts to discover a link between church polity (or church structure) and whether political messages are more or less likely to be preached by clergy from the pulpit and accepted by their congregants. Given that churches are places where attendees are exposed to political messages, this paper hypothesizes that structurally centralized Christian denominations are more likely to have preached on the contraceptive mandate than decentralized denominations. Accordingly, it is assumed that Catholics are more likely to have heard about …

Effects Of A Peer Developed Nutrition Education Intervention On The Fruit And Vegetable Intake In Elementary School Children, Sydney Marie Antolini

Honors Theses

To promote consumption and decrease plate waste, it is important to find innovative ways to encourage fruit and vegetable intake in children. In this study, collaborating with and educating students on nutrition brought attention to the issue and raised awareness in the school system of the need for better nutrition education.

One Signal, Two Behaviors: Odor Discrimination In Unmated Versus Mated Female Green Bottle Flies, Lucilia Sericata, George Iannantuono

Honors Theses

The green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, is of critical importance in the field of forensic entomology since it is one of the first insects to arrive at a freshly deceased carcass. These flies use a highly tuned and selective olfactory system to identify and locate the carcass; response to the decomposition odor usually occurs within minutes. Male flies use the carcass for a small protein meal and for locating females while females use the carcass for feeding (unmated) and egg-laying (mated). This divergence in behavior to a common odor cue is the subject of this thesis proposal: do unmated …

Drosophila Models To Investigate The Role Of Regulation Of Cell Death In Development And Cancer, Anam Hussain

Honors Theses

Cell death is of key importance in maintaining health and normal development. In cancer, cell death is improperly controlled provoking uncontrolled proliferation of cells, which results in severe harm to the body. The Hippo pathway is an identified pathway in Drosophila melanogaster that is involved with regulating the different mechanisms of survival and proliferation within the cells. It is known to interact with a gene known as Dronc that is a key participant in the cell death pathway of apoptosis. Previous work has shown how the loss of certain caspases, which are cysteine proteases, is linked with cell survival. My …

Effects Of Combination Ice And Compression Socks On Resting Calf Blood Flow In Trained Male Athletes, Michael John Hudock Jr.

Honors Theses

Compression socks are common tools that are utilized in the realm of athletics. The purpose of the compression is to increase blood flow to the lower extremities, thereby increasing oxygen and energy sources needed for increased skeletal muscle function and/or recovery. Recently, a product has been marketed that combines the compression element with cryotherapy, the goal being increased blood flow to the lower extremities while reducing inflammation post-workout to quicken recovery. However, to our knowledge, direct measures of blood flow using this type of product have not been performed. Thus, this study looks at the effects of compression with and …

Biodiversity, Ecosystem Function And The Pollination Ecology Of Urban Gardens In Dayton, Ohio, Angela Nicole Giaquinto

Honors Theses

Urban agriculture is an ancient concept that is gaining momentum in the United States in connection with urban renewal projects and efforts to mediate urban food deserts. These agriculture efforts represent a potential habitat for pollinator communities within the urban hardscape. Pollinator communities are threatened by urban landscape transformation, and bee species, in particular, are in a state of global decline due to various stressors. Urban agriculture has the potential to sustain both human and ecological communities, and the pollinators that visit gardens may provide pollination to plant species in the surrounding area. We investigated the influence of urban land …

Examining The Protective Effects Of Self-Positivity On Information Avoidance, Amanda C. Ferrante

Honors Theses

Although information could provide insight, comfort, or opportunity, people are motivated to avoid information that challenges preexisting belief or cause unpleasant emotion. Previous research shows that affirming one’s self-worth can reduce information avoidance. The present study measures whether selfenhancement, or exaggerating qualities to maintain a positive sense of self, can also reduce information avoidance. Self-enhancement is associated with positive mental health and reducing physiological stress symptoms if the exaggeration is within the same domain as threatening information. Participants in the selfenhancement category were asked to give examples of how they are better at maintaining social relationships than the average college …

Model Behavior: An Assessment Of Role Model Attachment, Patrick C. Doyle

Honors Theses

Despite the term existing since the early part of the 20th century, little is known about role models and relationships that individuals develop with them. Using attachment theory, a cornerstone of interpersonal theory, relationships between individuals and their role models are compared to relationships between those individuals and their parents in the present study. While data did not support the hypothesis (those with anxious attachment to their parents will experience more secure attachment to their role model) promising opportunities for future research were suggested by the qualitative and quantitative data that were collected. For example, the experience of many participants …

Fall Risk Assessment Of Older Adults With Dementia Attending Goodwill Easter Seals Adult Day Services Programs, Jamie Wynk

Honors Theses

Background and Purpose: Elderly individuals, especially those with dementia, are at an increased risk for falls. These falls can result in extremely serious injuries. However, little is known as to what factors put an Alzheimer’s patient most at risk for falls. This study seeks to determine which known fall risk factors are experienced by adults with dementia who attend adult day services. By understanding what risk factors put an individual at an increased likelihood for falls, a specific intervention can be designed to prevent falls in this population.

Participants: To be included in this study, participants had to …

Can The Color Red Improve Men's Perceived Mate Value? Examining The Interactive Effects Of Facial Masculinity And Color On Female Evaluation Of Potential Mates, Alejandro Trujillo

Honors Theses

We manipulated facial masculinity (masculine-morph/feminine-morph) and color (red/white) through two independent studies—one in-lab at the University of Dayton and one online using Amazon’s MTurk—to examine its effect on social status and attractiveness for men when rated by women. We specifically aimed to see if the color red could serve a compensatory effect for feminine-faced men, who were least likely to be found attractive by women at peak fertility. When paired with red, women rated the masculine and feminine faces higher in social status. Through this increase in social status, the color red was also able to indirectly increase the physical …