Digital Commons Network^™

2014-2015 Undergraduate Catalog, Morehead State University

Morehead State Catalog Archive

2014-2015 undergraduate catalog for Morehead State University.

A Different Kind Of Vision: The Critique Of Consumerism In Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood, Nicholas L. Eilts

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the tradition of Jon Lance Bacon and Steve Pinkerton, this work endeavors to show how Flannery O’Connor, along with her secular humanist contemporaries, voices a critique of modern American culture that depicts the conflicting elements of consumerism as detrimental to an individual’s personal and social well-being. This study will focus on Wise Blood, in particular, as it represents a consumerist way of life as antithetical to a religious way of life. By illustrating the emptiness of materialism and the nihilism of consumerism, O’Connor hopes to persuade her readers that Christianity is a preferable alternative. The body of this study …

The Effect Of Health And Human Performance Department (Hhp) Activity Classes At The University Of Montana On Students’ Levels Of Mindfulness, Perceived Stress, Self-Compassion, And Attention, Anna Russell Zielaski

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examined the effect of University of Montana, Health and Human Performance (HHP) Department sponsored activity classes on college students’ levels of mindfulness, perceived stress, self-compassion, and attention. Participants: 96 college students enrolled in a spring 2013 activity class started the study, however only 41 completed the post-test survey. Methods: At the beginning and end of the semester, participants completed an online survey through SurveyMonkey, which assessed students’ levels of mindfulness, perceived stress, self-compassion and attention. Results: Students who participated in the mindfulness based activity class, Yoga and Meditation experienced the greatest increases in overall mindfulness levels over the …

An Emprirical Test Of The Effectiveness Of An Indirect Management Tool In Increasing Optional Shuttle Use At Glacier National Park, Alex Benjamin Weinberg

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Glacier National Park instituted an optional, free shuttle system on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in 2007.It was recently discovered that the shuttle system was having an adverse impact on parking congestion at the Logan Pass parking lot. This was occurring because visitors were able to park at Logan Pass all day while they performed a looped hike from the Highline trailhead to the Loop trailhead. Upon completion of their hike, visitors would take the shuttle back to their vehicles. A variety of data suggests that the shuttle system may be inadvertently adding 40-60 day-long passenger vehicles to the Logan Pass parking …

The Missouri Compromised, Kate Casper Walker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Recreation versus navigation. Flood control versus wildlife. Agriculture versus water quality. Arguments over Missouri River management have been spinning for decades, literally trapped by the 1940s ideas and engineering that transformed the river. The Missouri Compromised is a 30-minute documentary that asks its audience to weigh the social and environmental tradeoffs when engineering a tremendously powerful natural system. Once a passage for tradesmen and settlers into the West, as well as a dynamic and rich ecosystem, the Missouri River today bears the marks of humanity’s control. The six main-stem dams on the upper Missouri, and the 750-mile bank-stabilized navigation channel …

Addressing The Challenges Of Monitoring A Rare And Elusive Seabird, Anne Louise Schaefer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Kittlitz’s murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) is a small alcid endemic to Alaska and eastern Russia. Due to its pelagic lifestyle, researchers lack information regarding environmental conditions experienced by Kittlitz’s murrelets throughout the year and how these conditions impact their physiology and vital rates. Further, unlike most seabirds, the Kittlitz’s murrelet is a dispersed nester; therefore, data are limited for this species even within the breeding season. The goal of this research was to evaluate and improve the monitoring methods for the Kittlitz’s murrelet throughout the year. I approached this goal from 2 different perspectives. First, I worked to clarify abundance …

Use Of Climatic Water Balance Metrics As Site Productivity Predictors, Matthew Dilsworth Perry

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Estimates of long-term forest site productivity are required to inform multiple forest management objectives including growth and yield assessments, silvicultural planning, and biomass/carbon projections. Estimates traditionally have been quantified in the form of site index by measuring the average height-age relationships of dominant and codominant trees or using regional site index equations. Site index implementation requires that trees are free from suppression and that height growth results from the integration of the biological determinants of growth. While useful in even-aged stands, early age height growth suppression is common in uneven-aged forest structures making existing site indices difficult to assess. Additionally, …

Women And Horses: Three Centuries Of Patriarchal Control In British And American Literature, Kaitlynn Hanna Hirst

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Both literary representations of horsewomen and critical responses to such characterizations have largely failed to expose the full complexity of the cultural constraints brought to bear on women’s interactions with horses. In this thesis therefore I will argue that in response to feminist activity to dispel stereotypes of any group of women, the long development of strong, capable representations of women on horseback spanning the nineteenth through the early twenty-first century prove to be little more than repetitive archetypal images which serve to reaffirm patriarchal controls in western culture. If only threaded together by the ways the literary figure of …

Commodity Or Dignity? Nurturing Managers' Courtesy Nurtures Workers' Productivity, Montana Rafferty Moss

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Dignity is the measure of people's worth determined through social interactions (Neal, 2012). As people must enjoy core capabilities to possess dignity (Ward & Syversen, 2009), work is one activity through which core capabilities provide a sense of worth (Venkatapuram, 2013). Workplace managers must enact dignity affirming discourse so their workers perceive ownership of core capabilities that afford a sense of worth and fulfillment. Dignity disaffirming (or violating) discourse obstructs core capabilities, leaving work unsatisfying and workers physiologically, psychologically, and emotionally damaged. Not only do such people suffer, but so do their organizations (Ghoshal, 2005). This study reveals that women …

Second-Dialect Acquisition In Southwestern Pennsylvania, Lisa Marie Sprowls

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis presents an analysis of second-dialect acquisition of Pittsburgh English phonological features. Pittsburgh English is the dialect spoken in southwestern Pennsylvania. There are two phonological features unique to the dialect: (i) the [ɔ] realization of the low-back vowel merger and (ii) monophthongal /aw/ (Johnstone et al. 2002). The current study is based on speech data collected from nine participants, native speakers of other dialects of English who now live in southwestern Pennsylvania. This analysis shows that these two phonological features can be acquired. This is the first study to examine Pittsburgh English as a second-dialect. Participants read a word …

Third Party Effects Of Affectionate Communication In Family Subsystems: Examining Influence On Affectionate Communication, Mental Well-Being, And Family Satisfaction, Timothy M. Curran

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examined the links between affectionate communication expressed within family dyads and affectionate communication expressed among other dyads, as well as individual reports of satisfaction with family life and mental well-being. Overall, the study showed that a child’s report of affectionate communication exchanged in the child/father subsystem is associated with mother’s satisfaction with family life. Additionally, mother reports of affectionate communication exchanged in the spousal relationships were positively associated with child reports of child/father affectionate communication exchanged. Finally, both perceptions of affectionate exchange in dyads outside and inside of one’s direct experience correlated with satisfaction with family life and …

An Alloy Of Steel And Information And Communication Technology (Ict): Does It Facilitate Trade?, Volodymyr Shemayev

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) over the last 20 years, particularly proliferation of the Internet, fixed-telephones, and mobile phones, have significantly reshaped the way modern firms do their business. The economic literature suggests that ICT could be a potential trade-enabler, given its ability to reduce costs of search and communication between trade partners. This research intends to examine whether ICT affects countries’ capabilities to export steel and its articles. To estimate the impacts of the Internet, mobile phones, and fixed-telephones on bilateral trade flows in the steel industry, I apply various gravity model specifications, including those capturing …

Juvenile Age Estimation Using Cranial Ratios, Rachel Lucille Fife

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Age estimation of juvenile crania can be accomplished with accuracy from dentition. In the absence of dentition there is not a sufficient substitute for reliably establishing age. I offer an alternative means of age estimation using cranial ratios, which are informative because of the differential growth rates of the orbits, facial bones, and cranial vault. I took 40 measurements from 76 crania and statistically analyzed ratio relationships among them to produce equations for age estimation. Accuracy of age estimation using cranial ratios increases with the number of measurements used. Ratios reduce the effect of size differences due to sex, but …

Public Power, Private Matters: The American Social Hygiene Association And The Policing Of Sexual Health In The Progressive Era, Kayla Blackman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 1914, a group of professionals chartered the American Social Hygiene Association (ASHA), a private reform agency dedicated to the eradication of venereal disease. Over the next several years, the ASHA formed partnerships with other reform organizations and championed education and legal reform. In 1917, during World War I, the ASHA partnered with the federal government to set standards of sexual health for all American citizens. Chapter One explores the origins of the ASHA, focusing on the organization’s attention to international issues surrounding prostitution as well as its organizational partnerships with like-minded domestic reform agencies. By placing itself in dialogue …

'This Disc Is Not For A Bird Bath, It's For My Tractor': Exploring Gender, Sustainable Agriculture, And Networks In Western Montana, Eva Kathryn Rocke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Women’s presence in agriculture as farmers, consumers, advocates, and activists has become ever more apparent over the last two decades as census data, popular media, and academic literature increasingly reflect their work. Many of the farmers in western Montana practicing sustainable agriculture are women and have built relationships with other women farmers in the region through existing agriculture-focused organizations like Homegrown and the Western Montana Growers’ Cooperative. Even with the strong presence of these organizations, some women farmers feel there is potential for the formalization of a women farmer network in western Montana that would increase the opportunities for socialization …

Aadej Comm 45 1&2 2014

AADEJ - The Communicator

The Communicator is the official journal of the American Association of Dental Editors and Journalists (AADEJ). It is published quarterly, distributed digitally via email to members, and posted on the Association's website, AADEJ.org. Each issue includes regular updates from the editorial team and AADEJ board, as well as feature articles on current issues in the field.

This is a combined issue for 2015, issue 1 and 2.

Aadej Comm 45 3&4 2014

AADEJ - The Communicator

The Communicator is the official journal of the American Association of Dental Editors and Journalists (AADEJ). It is published quarterly, distributed digitally via email to members, and posted on the Association's website, AADEJ.org. Each issue includes regular updates from the editorial team and AADEJ board, as well as feature articles on current issues in the field.

This is a combined issue for 2015, issues 3 and 4.

The Effects Of Estrogen In Atrazine-Mediated Foxp3 Induction And Inhibition Of Cd4+ T Effector Cells, Tiffany Emmons

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Atrazine (ATR) is a chlorotriazine herbicide that is heavily used in agricultural areas. Atrazine was banned in Europe in 2006 but it is still used in the United States. It is also the most common drinking water contaminant in the United States. Atrazine has been linked to adverse health effects and displays immunotoxicity. It is a potent phosphodiesterase inhibitor and has been shown to induce aromatase activity leading to elevated estrogen levels. Previous studies demonstrated that in vitro atrazine exposure inhibits CD4+ T cell activation and proliferation and increases the frequency of Foxp3+ CD4+ T cells with more severe phenotypes …

Interindividual Variability In The Cytochrome P450 3a4 Drug Metabolizing Enzyme: Effect Of The Cyp3a4*1g Genetic Variant, Kasse Jean Skagen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Researchers and clinicians are interested in how a patient’s individual genetic makeup could predict the appropriate medication and dose for that patient. One way to predict drug response, or efficacy, is by looking at enzymes within the liver that metabolize drugs. Many of these enzymes belong to a class called the Cytochrome P450s (CYPs). Specifically, two closely related enzymes, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5, are involved in metabolizing 50% of drugs currently on the market (eg: statins, antiepileptics, anticancer agents, and antidepressants). There can be differences in the genetic code of these enzymes that can causes changes in drug metabolism. We completed …

Restoration As Caring Practice: A Relational Perspective On Ecological Recovery, Daniel Avery Congdon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ecological restoration is defined by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) as “the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed” (9). In practice, restoration typically involves the removal of pollution, human-made structures (like dams or roads), invasive species, and other impediments to ecological health. Removing the sources of ecological impairment is coupled with the reintroduction of flora, fauna, and the physical structures that are necessary for healthy ecosystem function. The potential for restoration to dominate nature is a concern of environmental ethicists. In theory, domination might stem from the technology used in …

Downstream Spatial And Temporal Response To Dam Removal, White Salmon River, Wa, Erika J. Colaiacomo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Condit Dam breach on the White Salmon River (WSR) in Washington provided a unique opportunity to study how a bedrock-confined, gravel-bed river responds to a large influx of fine reservoir sediment. On October 26, 2011, a dynamite explosion breached a hole in the base of the 38 m tall dam, causing rapid reservoir erosion and downstream transport of fine sediment through the 5,300 m of channel separating the reservoir from the mouth of the WSR, where it flows into the Columbia River. In my research, I combined field data, aerial photographs, and LiDAR surveys to measure pre-breach and post-breach …

Modeling Northern Goshawk (Accipiter Gentilis) Nesting Habitat On The Lewis And Clark National Forest Using Eigenvector Filters To Account For Spatial Autocorrelation, Morganne Marie Lehr

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Habitat suitability modeling has become a valuable tool for wildlife managers to identify areas of suitable habitats for management and conservation needs. The Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) has been the focus of many modeling efforts, however, the current models guiding goshawk management on the Lewis and Clark National Forest may not fully capture the unique habitat characteristics that the goshawk is actually selecting for nesting habitat. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to explore the use of Maxent for modeling suitable goshawk nesting habitat on the Lewis and Clark National Forest in central Montana. However, goshawk territoriality and …

An Adaptive Hybrid Method For Link Prediction In Multi-Modal Directed Complex Networks Using The Graph Traversal Pattern, William Lyon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The paper examines the link prediction problem for directed multi-modal complex networks. Specically, a hybrid method combining collaborative filtering and Triadic Closeness methods is developed. The methods are applied to a sample of the GitHub network. Implementation details are discussed, with a focus on design of a scalable system for handilng large data sets. Finally, results of this new method are discussed with no significant improvement over current methods.

Developing Strategies To Initialize Landscape-Scale Vegetation Maps From Fia Data To Enhance Resolution Of Individual Species-Size Cohort Representation In The Landscape Disturbance Model, Simpplle, Jacob Muller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The ability of forest resource managers to understand and anticipate landscape-scale change in composition and structure relies upon an adequate characterization of the current forest composition and structure of various patches (or stands), along with the capacity of forest landscape models (FLMs) to predict patterns of growth, succession, and disturbance at multiple scales over time. Comprehensive vegetation maps, which classify patch polygons or raster cells into forest cover types, can be developed from available inventory data (e.g., FIA Grid) in combination with remotely sensed data, but a simple categorical forest type, even one incorporating average size, may not provide adequate …

Supplementing Society: A Sociocultural Analysis Of Recreational Drug Use And Supplement Consumption Within The American Collegiate Environment, Kelli M. Bradley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the United States, reports within the last decade indicate college students are using dietary supplements at rates well above those reported for adult populations. Despite this prevalence, however, there continues to be a dearth of information examining behaviors related to this health phenomenon. This is problematic for many reasons, but especially because some research has found associations between use of these products and use of recreational drugs among this population.

Employing an integrated theoretical approach utilizing concepts from critical-interpretive medical anthropology (CIMA) and emerging adulthood, this research examined the ways in which supplement use related to sociocultural factors present …

Understanding Traditions And Practices Of Medicinal Plant Use In Carhuamayo, Junin, Peru, Anastasia Orkwiszewski

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding and preserving Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Practices (TEKP) are essential for the continued resilience and cultural diversity of humanity. TEKP faces a multitude of threats from habitat loss, growth of the market economy, globalization, and acculturation. Medicinal plant use in the high Andean town of Carhuamayo, Junín, was studied to assess the vibrancy of that particular branch of TEKP in that area, in what parts of the population it was held, and what factors influence its loss or growth. Gender, age, migrant status, and acculturation levels were not found to be statistically significant in predicting medicinal plant knowledge. Analysis …

The Comet Mine: An Engendered Study Of Victorian Consumption Practices And Material Culture On A Small Mining Landscape, Ryan E. Wendel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Comet mine is an early 20th-century, largely undocumented mining

community that existed along the periphery of the Coloma Mining District in the Garnet Range of western Montana. During the summer of 2010, archaeological excavations occurred at multiple features at the site. Through an analysis of cultural material found in deposits at the Comet, this study interprets the way in which patterns of refuse can reveal information about consumption behavior and evolving gender roles in mining communities in Montana, during late Victorian era.

Regulation Of Silica-Induced Pulmonary Inflammation, Rupa Biswas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Inhalation of crystalline silica for an extended period of time results in inflammation in the lungs, which plays a pivotal role in the development of silicosis, a progressive, inflammatory and fibrotic pulmonary disease. Inhaled silica particles are encountered by alveolar macrophages (AM) in the lungs. Previous studies have indicated the role of scavenger receptors in binding of environmental particles and also demonstrated that AM recognize and bind silica particles through class A scavenger receptors (SRA) expressed on their surface. MARCO (Macrophage Receptor with Collagenous Structure) is a SRA family receptor and the predominant receptor for recognition and binding of silica …

Virtual Screening And Discovery Of Lead Compounds As Potential Dna Methyltransferase 1 Inhibitors And Anticancer Agents, Ogar Ofuka Ichire

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Epigenetic changes consist of DNA methylation, histone modification, micro RNA and genome imprinting. DNA methylation of the CpG islands is one of the main methods of epigenetic inactivation of genes and aberrant methylations at promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes can alter gene expression and play an important role in cancer development. DNA methyltransferase I (Dnmt1) is the enzyme responsible for maintaining methylation patterns during cell division and it is overexpressed in many cancers. Thus, Dnmt1 is a promising therapeutic target for development of novel anticancer agents and epigenetic modulators. We have developed two promising class of lead candidates, compounds …

A Study Of Hydroclimatic Dynamics In Mountain Landscapes, Nicholas Loren Silverman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The hydroclimatic regime of mountain landscapes in the Pacific Northwest, USA plays a large role in collecting, storing, and distributing water throughout the greater United States. The complexities of the landscape, vegetation, and anthropogenic impacts within this region form a dynamic web of interactions that create unique challenges when quantifying hydrologic variables. This dissertation focuses on these challenges and introduces a new way of deciphering the driving mechanism of streamflow trends. The first project examines the differences between modeling techniques in mountain terrain. In this project, we use a physically-based regional climate model to dynamically downscale global climate estimates for …