Digital Commons Network^™

Phase Space Simulation Of Relativistic Twisted Electron Mott Scattering, John K. Madsen

Honors Theses

The question of how the spin of the proton and neutron arise from the angular momentum of the constituent partons is very pressing in the study of nuclear structure. As of yet, there has been no experimental method able to directly probe the angular momentum states of quarks. However, in recent years, several groups have shown that it is possible to produce coherent beams of electrons which carry definite, quantized units of Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM). These "twisted" electrons have the potential to be applied to nuclear scattering experiments, as using the twistedness as an experimental degree of freedom may …

The Canine Genome: Discoveries, Applications, And Future Potential, Rachael Lander

Honors Theses

A frequent question that educators often encounter is: what is the value of learning? Does knowledge have an inherent value, or should there be an economic benefit? The results of the collaborative efforts to determine the nucleotide sequence of the canine genome were used as a platform to assess these thesis statements. A literature review, practical experience in the laboratory, and interviews with several genome scientists of the contributions of the efforts to determine the genome sequence of the domestic dog, and the biomedical contributions that have been made to both canine and human health demonstrate the inherent value of …

"Romantic Realities": Sherlock Holmes And Urban Imagination, Samantha Vaughn Gates

Honors Theses

My thesis explores excerpts of the Sherlock Holmes canon through literary and historical lenses, and relies on close readings to investigate the representation of urbanity in the stories. For my work, I rely on the term "urban imagination" as I discuss the way that Arthur Conan Doyle places representations of real London places adjacent to fantasy urban locations of his own creation, and the effect that this has on the narratives and on Sherlock himself. Doyle uses urban imagination in his romanticization of city life, and his manifestation of a London particularly suited to Sherlock's needs. The kind of London …

A Comparative Environmental History Of America And China: "Nature" And Climate Change, Elaine Lac

Honors Theses

Environmental history is at the most basic level an exploration of changing relationships between people and the environment or nature. Additionally, environmental history observes the human reshaping of nature, which then translates into culture, philosophies, and policies, and vice versa. A close examination of the ecological themes of history uncovers patterns and long-term changes. According to environmental historian Louis S. Warren, "At the beginning of the twenty-first century, as concerns about global warming and other ominous threats trouble many, the discipline of environmental history provides key insights into environmental relations and problems of the past." Ultimately, these insights can lead …

Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Commercial Dna Swabs And Kits, Shelby L. Banks

Honors Theses

With the use of DNA becoming increasingly more important in the field of forensics, the analysis of DNA extraction kits and collection swabs is significant. This researches main objective was to find a protocol that extracts the highest quantity and quality amount of DNA from human buccal swabs. Three extraction kits (Zymo Research Quick – gDNA MiniPrep Capped Column DNA Kit, a Bioline Isolate II Genomic DNA Kit, and Invitrogen PureLink Genomic DNA Kit) were tested with three different swabs (standard cotton swabs, Puritan foam swabs, and Isohelix DNA buccal swabs). Following procedures outline by the DNA kits distributors, DNA …

How To Save A Life: The Effect Of Message Format And Strength On Persuasiveness In Public Safety Messages, Katherine A. Lauber

Honors Theses

Public Safety messages aim to get important messages out to the general public. This study seeks to examine how message format and content are interconnected and the role they play within persuasion. The study is a 2x2 design, with the tested variables being central message versus peripheral message and text format versus video format. Participants will self-report interest level in the topic of toxins in household products before viewing a message on the topic, then self-report after. Results concluded that those with high initial interest were less persuaded than those with low initial interest, but central cues were more persuasive …

Radical Feminism As Social Arrest: A Kinetic Analysis, Audrey Mcandrew Love

Honors Theses

In my study of radical feminism as social arrest, I apply a kinetic understanding of social struggle to the tactics and objectives of radical feminist organizing in the United States in the 1960's and 1970's. I observe that the radical feminists of the 1960's and 1970's sought to effect women's transition from self-objectification to active subjecthood via various forms of consciousness-raising. This alteration in subjecthood provided the platform upon which radical feminists sought to arrest the operation of patriarchal power in the context of everyday life, be it through spectacle, challenging social roles, or establishing separatist communities.

A Noble Dream: The Inter-American Studies Program At Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (1958-1985), Colin T. White

Honors Theses

This essay explores the rise and fall of the Inter-American studies program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The Inter-American Studies Program attempted to bridge two distinctive bodies of academic literature when Dr. Albert Bork first envisioned it. Unlike other programs founded in the 1950s, SIU’s Inter-American Studies program was an academic experiment challenging that emerging trend. Regardless of its failure, the program’s original idea was innovative.

Pterotocrinus Wing Plate Morphology In The Hombergian, Julie Driebergen

Honors Theses

This project is an extension of a Masters Degree thesis of a paleontology student, Tony Tobenski, who went to SIU (Tobenski, 2011). Tobenski (2011) examined the Menard Limestone of the Kinkaid Formation (Late Mississippian) to determine the function, morphology, evolution, and biostratigraphical usefulness of crinoid wing plates. I examined the Golconda and Glen Dean Formations of the Upper Mississippian Hombergian at the Golconda Marina (Type Section) in Illinois and in Western Kentucky near Cave-In-Rock, IL. Pterotocrinus is an extinct genus of crinoid (an echinoderm; related to starfish and sea urchins) and its wing plates are thought to be used for …

Overlook Of Sino-American Power Transition: With Special Considerations Of Cyber Warfare, Dalton E. Runyon

Honors Theses

Examination of the current posssible power transition between the Unoted States and China and how it relates to Power Transition Theory. then an overlook into how cyber warfare will play a part in a huge power transition, a topic that is not included in the antiquated PTT.

Innovation And Leadership Development For The Millennial Generation, Savannah L. Mccord

Honors Theses

Millennial college students’ leadership development is imperative for the future success of US society. If utilized consciously, the university can serve as a container of self-cultivation for the aspiring Millennial leader. Keys to leadership development are combining theory, practice, and mentoring. By utilizing the work of Joseph Campbell combined with other cutting-edge leadership development theories, this autoethnographic research shows the synthesis of theory and practice for a successful Millennial leader. This research is offered as a service to future Millennial college students and potential leaders.

Material Selection Analysis For The Development Of An Integrated Surface Vehicle System, Austin Pavlak

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Emotional Resistance In Kim Addonizio's "Jimmy & Rita": Representing The Negative Effects Of Baby-Boomer Values On Generation X, Raquel G. Olive

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Properties Of Acrylated Epoxidized Soybean Oil Copolymers And Their Composites With Natural Fillers, Andrew Jacob Fox

Honors Theses

As the global supply of petrochemicals diminishes, the polymer industry will need to incorporate renewable resources into the production process. Acrylated expoxidized soybean oil, a modified plant oil, is one possible candidate for use as a monomer in plastics. When polymerized alone, AESO creates a fairly unusable polymer, with poor physical and material properties. To improve the properties, the monomer can be copolymerized with styrene and other additives and can be incorporated into a composite to further increase the usability. By using biorenewable fillers, the overall use of nonrenewable materials in the composite can be further decreased. In this research, …

Pablo Escobar: Drug Lord As Heroic Archetype, Adem Ahmed

Honors Theses

On December 1, 1949, an influential figure in Colombian history, Pablo Escobar, was born. In his relatively short life he would accrue so much money that he would begin to burn it, struggling to find secure areas to bury it. He would also come to wield an incredible amount of power over the Colombian government and legislature, creating his own prison, practically destroying any credibility in the Medellín police force, and striking several deals for reduced sentences. How is it that the most wanted man in the world, head of the Colombian drug cartel¿who utilized kidnapping, fear, bribery, torture, death, …

Effective Lengths Of Web Members In Trusses - An Experimental Investigation Of Tension Effects, Allison Louise Partridge

Honors Theses

Throughout the truss and joist industry, research is constantly underway in an effort to determine ways to further minimize production costs and material use. In regard to structural stability, previous research has shown that the effective length factor, K, for web members may be overly conservative, leading to an overuse of material in the design. Currently, the top and bottom chords provide the only acknowledged flexural and torsional resistance for compression web members in trusses. This study presents an investigation into the restraining effects provided by tension members in trusses, which is in an effort to determine whether the tensioning …

Design Of Steel Structures By Advanced 2nd-Order Elastic Analysis-Background Studies, Erik Johannes Giesen Loo

Honors Theses

Design by advanced second-order elastic analysis (DEA) is based on the premise that reliance on approximate methods to account for parameters in design can be reduced by directly modeling them in the analysis. Current analysis methods often rely on equations based on effective buckling lengths to determine the axial capacity of beam-columns; however, complex systems may not possess clearly defined effective-lengths or the axial force may vary significantly within such lengths. By employing a rigorous second-order (geometric nonlinear) analysis that explicitly models system and member initial geometric imperfections and reduces member stiffness to account for partial yielding within the analysis, …

Eco-Spirituality: Case Studies On Hinduism And Environmentalism In Contemporary India, Vikram Vishnu Shenoy

Honors Theses

India, with its population of 1.3 billion people, is one of the world's fastest growing countries both in terms of population and economy. One consequence of such rapid growth is that India now has levels of environmental pollution that are unprecedented in scale. Hinduism, India's majority religion, is the primary focus of this research. Hinduism is a religious tradition whose roots lie in the ancient Sanskrit Vedas. The Vedas, along with the Upanishads and Puranas, hold teachings of nurturing, caring, and protecting all aspects of the natural world. The cultural dynamics of India have drastically changed over the past two …

Anxiety Break: A Smartphone Application Used To Examine The Mediating Effects Of Metacognition On Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Devon L. Ruhde

Honors Theses

Worry is the highlight characteristic of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). While worry is very common in anxiety disorders, it is important to note that worry is common in non-clinical populations as well. The current study focused on the metacognitive model of GAD (Wells, 2005). Various intervention types available for those with GAD have been examined. However, with the surge of technological advances being integrated into the field of psychology, it is important to examine technology-based treatments, more specifically smartphone application interventions. The purpose of the current study was to use a smartphone application (Anxiety Breaks; Habib, 2013) that targets worry …

Modeling Transport Phenomena In Solid-State Polymer Processing, Evan Vincent Miu

Honors Theses

Polymer processing techniques make and shape many of the products we use in our daily lives. Solid-state shear pulverization (SSSP) is a novel extrusion technique that has been shown to produce materials that have been historically difficult to manufacture, and has opened a new door to unique polymer products. The process employs cold temperatures and pulverizes solid plastics into fine powders, achieving morphological changes and physical property improvements via mechanochemical reactions. These reactions, along with concurrent solid-state interactions, generate a significant amount of heat. The interplay of this heat and cooling by the instrument formulates a unique heat transfer setting. …

Do Proterozoic Metamorphic Rocks In Northern New Mexico Record One Metamorphic Event At 1.4 Ga, Or Two Overprinting Events At 1.65 Ga And 1.4 Ga, Sara Vivienne Stotter

Honors Theses

In-situ LA-ICPMS U-Pb monazite geochronology was used to determine the timing of regional metamorphism in the Picuris Mountains and northern Taos range, New Mexico. Monazite ages from aluminous quartzite and sillimanite-kspar bearing gneisses in Cedro Canyon, northern Taos Range, yield intercept ages of ca. 1380 Ma. Subhedral to anhedral monazite range in size between 10 µm and 50 µm, are typically aligned parallel/sub-parallel to the foliation, and generally occur along mineral grain boundaries; a few grains occur as inclusions within Fe-Ti oxides. Backscatter electron imaging revealed zoning in several monazite grains, but little to no compositional zoning is exhibited in …

The Effects Of The Alexander Technique On The Performance Of Music Students, Heather Amos

Honors Theses

This honors thesis paper looks into the injuries commonly experienced by musicians and how the addition of the Alexander Technique affects both the injury and the performance of the musician. The purpose of this research was to attempt to find a solution to the pain musicians suffer from Repetitive Strain Injuries through either a treatment or prevention process of using the Alexander Technique. Throughout the research, the main questions that guided the findings were: what is causing the injuries many musicians seem to develop, what are the current uses of the Alexander Technique, has anyone experimented with using the Alexander …

Beginning Band Pedagogy: Starting Students On The Path To Success, Jordan Riddell

Honors Theses

Beginning Band Pedagogy: Starting Students on the Path to Success

Jordan Riddell

Dr. Karin Sehmann, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

This research-based thesis outlines data on beginning band in order to discover an optimal method to starting band students to guarantee success in the field of music. The basis of this research is a review of current research literature, educator interviews, and a survey sent to beginning band directors. Interview responses were analyzed for consistencies among answers, and this was then applied to preexisting information from literature on the subject. Survey results were collected and analyzed, …

Combating Religious Divisiveness With Cosmopolitanism, Patrick K. Carter

Honors Theses

This thesis examines cosmopolitanism as a potential means of preventing conflicts between religious groups. In order to effectively determine what cosmopolitanism might be capable of accomplishing in this regard, religious interactions are examined during two major historical events – the Crusades and World War II. This thesis studies both of these events with the intention of identifying cosmopolitan behaviors and non-cosmopolitan behaviors, and determining how these behaviors impacted the relationships between the religious groups involved. Later, obstacles that stand between religious groups and cosmopolitanism are acknowledged, and methods of overcoming those obstacles are discussed. This thesis finds that the proceedings …

Livesafe: Increasing Bystander Intervention At Eastern Kentucky University, Katie Victoria Scott

Honors Theses

This paper reviews the procurement and implementation of the LiveSafe safety application at Eastern Kentucky University and its impact on increasing bystander intervention for the campus community. LiveSafe was launched on February 1, 2016, and all data is based off the first ten weeks of availability (February 1^st to April 10^th). Metrics that will be reviewed and compared include “safe walks,” reported tips, and emergency messages. Because of the novelty of cellphone safety applications, there is little scholarship on the empirical impact of these application or the perception of students in regards to their safety on campuses …

Isolating Factors That Influence Grazing Patterns In Dairy Cattle, Julia N. Barney Mrs.

Honors Theses

Factors influencing grazing patterns were identified utilizing remote sensors on lactating Holstein and Brown Swiss dairy cattle in order to recommend efficient management techniques to dairy farmers. Over the course of three separate two week periods- one in the spring, summer and fall- data was collected on the dairy herd at Eastern Kentucky University’s Meadowbrook Farm. Approximately 18 cows were used each trial period; half being Brown Swiss and the other half being Holstein. Data was collected via CowManager ear tags, which tracked the five behavioral patterns of eating, ruminating, high, medium, and no activity. These activities served as dependent …

Breaking The Myth Of The Audiopile, Steven C. Campbell 5490829

Honors Theses

For years analog audio equipment has been deemed superior to its digital counterpart. Most musicians, casual listeners, and audiophiles agree that tube based amplifiers, PA systems, and other tube-based equipment produce better sound quality. This can also be seen in the price difference in solid-state equipment compared to valve technology. Tube amps are even more fragile that transistor based amps. At a first glance this older technology seems to be more of a hassle or trend, rather than based off a deeper understanding of physics. By exploring the innards of analog sound reproduction equipment, the science behind the difference between …

The Influence Of Task Specific Factors On Quantity Discrimination By Brown Capuchins (Cebus Apella) And Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri Sciureus), Alison Rose Billas

Honors Theses

Previous studies have revealed that non-human primates discriminate quantities. However, their performance is highly variable both within and between species. Discrepancies in performance may be the result of a variety of factors, including species-specific cognitive differences or task specific factors such as representational format of the choice stimuli, motivation to perform that task, or tolerance for task delays. Six brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and six squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) were presented with two numerical quantities in three different conditions, replicating Schmitt and Fischer's (2011) study with baboons and macaques. Primates were rewarded with a quantity of food corresponding in …

Knowledge And Attitudes Of Mothers On Neonatal Jaundice In Saravan, Iran, Allia Vaez

Honors Theses

The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes of mothers in Saravan, Iran on neonatal jaundice, whether or not herbal remedies were being used, and if these herbal remedies were harming the neonates. 59 participants answered questions from a questionnaire delivered orally and answers were recorded and entered into a spreadsheet for analysis. 72.88% of the neonates of the mothers questioned had neonatal jaundice within the first 28 days of birth. 58.67% of mothers knew that neonatal jaundice was a “sign of serious illness” and “could damage the brain.” 97.73% of neonates with jaundice within the …

Students Perceptions Of Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities And The Impact Of Inclusion, Marissa Visse

Honors Theses

The objective of this study is to determine if inclusion of people identified with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has an impact on their typically developing peers as well as determining the perceptions that college students at EKU have of people with IDD. A survey was conducted online through Surveymonkey.com and was sent out to EKU students through email. There were 82 respondents to the survey. The survey consisted of questions on age, gender, and status at EKU of each participant and asked them questions about the perceptions they have of those with IDD and if they have been involved …