Digital Commons Network^™

The Dialectics Of Rock Music And Neoliberalism, Derek Block

Honors Theses

It has been argued that Rock music is one of the Modern West’s most important artistic achievements. It was, in some way, shape, or form, the most popular genre of music in the Western hemisphere for the last 60 years. The depth and relevancy of the genre still resonate through almost every level of society; a Bruce Springsteen song played at a political rally, a Beatles tune scoring a movie characters existential contemplation, the same six songs played at sporting events, and the list goes on. Rock music can be as personal as a stranger strumming a guitar in a …

Exploring Inmate Health In Prisons: Health Issues, Interventions, And Suggestions To Improve Care, Jenna Healy

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The United States has the highest number of prisoners per capita at 639 people per 100,0008. There has been a fivefold increase in the number of inmates in the United States prison systems since 197044, and this may be a major contributor to the corrections healthcare system having trouble keeping up with this growth compared to the general population of the United States. According to the World Health Organization, the United States has documented higher mortality rates than many other developed countries. Rates of conditions such as cardiovascular disease have decreased everywhere, but much less in the United States. In …

Teaching Accurate And Age-Appropriate History To Elementary Students: Teaching Third Graders About Historic Thanksgiving, Ashley Schepis

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This educational and historical research is based on teaching accurate and age-appropriate history to elementary students. Unfortunately, instead of true history elementary schoolers are often taught myths, to avoid teaching children about the embarrassing and gruesome parts of United States history. When history is not taught truthfully, it can perpetuate stereotypes and leave students confused when they reach secondary and higher education and discover that some of what they know is incorrect. The purpose of this project is to investigate what really happened at the 1621 Harvest Feast and its evolution into the holiday that is celebrated today, assess how …

Correlation Of Perceived Quality Of Program And Retention Among Online Non-Traditional Professional Management College Students, Rachel Axness

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Online learning for undergraduate college students has significantly grown in demand and allows for more diverse and nontraditional students (e.g., 24 years old or older, attend part-time, work fulltime, have dependents) to pursue a college education. Although research studies indicate that online education is just as effective and robust as traditional, face-to-face delivery, students in online courses have lower retention rates (Bawa, 2016). Understanding the students’ perceived quality of online programming, along with demographic variables, will provide insight to understand retention of undergraduate students within online programs. This post-positivists, correlational research study examined two research questions including the relationship between …

Making Sense Of Unofficial Deadly Force Data, Justin Nix

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Ferguson. Baltimore. Louisville. Minneapolis. Deadly police-civilian encounters over the past decade in these and other U.S. cities have launched presidential task forces and sparked protests, riots, and in some cases, retaliatory violence against officers (e.g., Dallas). Yet shockingly, there still isn’t a comprehensive, official dataset that tracks the use of deadly force by police officers. The absence of such a dataset seems absurd, given the widespread ability to track other information like current employment statistics or when a package will arrive at the recipient’s doorstep. The absence of such a dataset makes it too easy for people with large platforms …

Submission In Response To The Teacher Education Expert Panel Discussion Paper, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Shaping educational policy

This submission in response to the 2023 Teacher Education Expert Panel Discussion Paper argues that improving teacher quality requires a system-wide, career-long approach to teacher education rather than a narrow focus on initial teacher education (ITE) programs. While supporting rigorous ITE standards, evidence-based content, robust assessment, and consistent accreditation, ACER contends that teacher preparation must be understood within a broader continuum encompassing recruitment, induction, mentoring, professional learning, career progression, and retention. Drawing on Australian and international research, the submission highlights the importance of supportive workplace conditions, structured early-career support, and coherent professional pathways to strengthen teacher workforce sustainability and effectiveness. …

Rusk Named An American Constitution Society Next Generation Leader, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The American Constitution Society has selected nearly two-dozen young legal professionals—including a second-year Indiana University Maurer School of Law student—for its prestigious 2023 Next Generation Leaders Program. Laura J. Rusk, an Evansville, Ind. native, is one of 23 law students from across the country selected for their exceptional leadership in work with their respective ACS chapters. The program offers various opportunities that empower the students to further develop their leadership skills and make a long-lasting impact on their communities.

The Minutes Of The Marshall University Graduate Council Meeting, February 24, 2023,, Marshall University Graduate Council

Graduate Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

Confessions Of Crooks: An Analysis Of How Art Influences Society's View On Antiheroes And Redemption Through An Original Short Story Collection, Connor Thomas Wilkerson

Undergraduate Theses

The twenty-first century has successfully bred the notion that everyone who commits a morally reprehensible action is themselves a morally reprehensible individual with absolutely no redeeming factors. This notion, however, simply isn’t accurate as it is shown in not only some of the most popular media of the age but also some of the most famous crimes of the age that people who commit heinous actions aren’t always entirely heinous. With this thesis, I plan to make an argument that condemns judgement on the morality of individuals without knowing their full stories. Specifically, I plan to write a short story …

A Potential Role Of Gsk-3beta In The Development Of Pain Post-Spinal Cord Injury, Emily Ernst

Undergraduate Theses

Chronic neuropathic pain is a very common consequence following spinal cord injury (SCI) and poses significant clinical challenge. Current treatments are largely ineffective and as a result, patients are often left with debilitating pain at and below the level of the spinal cord injury. After spinal injury, a cascade of events occurs within the nervous system. One important aspect of this cascade for investigation is the anatomical changes that occur post-SCI. There is evidence of maladaptive sprouting/growth in sensory nerve fibers that is thought to play a role in the development and amplification of pain signals. Sprouting of primary afferents …

2023 April 21 - Board Of Trustees Agenda And Minutes, Board Of Trustees, East Tennessee State University

Board of Trustees Agendas and Minutes

No abstract provided.

The Traditional, Scriptural “Mary's” Characterization, Olivia Johnson

Undergraduate Theses

Women named “Mary” commonly appear in the Gospel accounts, and these stories of the “Marys,” namely the anointing Mary, Mary the sister of Martha, and Mary Magdalene, have been commonly associated with one another throughout Christian history. In researching the commentaries and interpretations produced within the patristic and medieval centuries (2nd-13th century), in conjunction with the biblical passages in which she appears, we can begin to understand how tradition has characterized the identity of “Mary.” This research explores the tradition surrounding this woman, particularly her key characteristics stemming from her posture as the “Woman at Jesus’ feet” and Jesus’ unique …

Pro-Life Vs. Pro-Choice: Eye-To-Eye, Kristen Via

Undergraduate Theses

This is a documentary focused on the topic of abortion that will stand as an archive of the events that have happened over the last year as well as an archive of the feelings of different people looking toward the future. This documentary is aimed to inform future generations more intimately of all the events that have transpired within the years 2022 and 2023 in addition to the feelings of many different people surrounding those events.

Image Inpainting Methods: Digital Image Reconstruction And Restoration, Haruka Kido

Electrical Engineering Student Publications

This report investigates the digital image processing of image inpainting methods, particularly for digital image reconstruction and restoration through the two computational tools grouped into: [1] MatLAB/Image Segmenter and [2] Anaconda/OpenCV/Python. The use cases explored in the project involve image reconstruction and restoration of celestial imageries for means of clear demonstration and subject-matter consistency but can extend to more artistic purposes involving the removal of unwanted objects within the backgrounds or foregrounds of images that can be “erased” or “hidden” by being replaced by neighboring pixels of similar characteristics for image reconstruction and the removal of damaged parts observed in …

Race, Gender And Rawls' "A Theory Of Justice.", Robert Carico

Honors Theses

Should we use the concepts developed by John Rawls in his A Theory of Justice to guide research questions relevant to issues concerning race and gender? This paper argues not only that the concepts from A Theory of Justice should not be used as the primary tool in any debate concerning race and gender, but it also challenges the abstract thinking of 21st Century Western Philosophers to develop a theory of justice that acknowledges the fact that people have their own interests and depending on what race and/or gender they identify with, might not have equal rights protected under the …

The Cut To The Heart Of The Matter: Justice, Morality, And Virtue Ethics In Intimate Relationships, Quinn Heiser

Honors Theses

Since the Enlightenment project to reconstruct morality using purely rational grounds failed, modern moral debate has been fragmented. Furthermore, intimate relationships, whether romantic or marital, are plagued with all kinds of injustices that have not been formally addressed in a philosophical investigation. The purpose of this thesis is to argue that the moral theory to restore interpersonal justice in intimate relationships is the notion of ‘practice’, founded by Alasdair MacIntyre under the Aristotelian virtue ethics tradition. What is meant by the notion of practice is any human activity with goods exclusive to its extent, as well as cooperative, objective, and …

The Importance Of The United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: A Study On Mali, The Democratic Republic Of Congo, And South Sudan, Tess Whitehurst

Honors Theses

This thesis presents the history of UN peacekeeping and how it has evolved over time to create more effective solutions to peacebuilding. This is done by providing a comparison of the backgrounds of three different peacekeeping missions, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), with a historical and demographical background on the host country in order to demonstrate the importance of peacekeeping on that country. Through critical research of peer reviewed sources and contextual information from …

Covid-19 As A Force Majeure On Joint Venture Agreements, Tannya Rebecca

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the legal and practical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on joint ventures, focusing on the impact of force majeure clauses and supplier-buyer relationships. Drawing on insights from real-world professionals, the study examines the evolving perspectives on whether COVID-19 constitutes a force majeure event that affects supplier-buyer relationships in joint ventures. While the majority of professionals initially regarded COVID-19 as a force majeure event that significantly impacted these relationships between 2020 and 2022, dissenting views have gained traction in 2023.

Examining the legal framework and precedents, the research reveals that courts interpret force majeure clauses based on the …

Reporting Factors Of Sexual Assault On College Campuses, Kia Mills

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual assault occurs when a sexual act is attempted against an individual’s will. A large concern regarding sexual assault on college campuses is the lack of reporting. The purpose of the current study is to focus on the different reporting factors of college campus sexual assault and to identify the factors that impact students’ disclosure of sexual assault incidents. The need for research on this topic is to provide more information to colleges and universities and their students on the many factors that are still persistent in preventing students from reporting campus sexual assault experiences. Additionally, the current study is …

A Series Of Financial Accounting Case Studies, Indu Nandula

Honors Theses

This thesis was completed during the 2021-2022 academic year consists of eleven accounting case studies. The topics from these cases cover a wide variety of topics both related and external to accounting. The first five pertain to topics such as 9/11, the impact of COVID-19 on Pfizer, an interview with a business professional, and an Excel certification course. One of the cases also pertains to the city we desire to start our career in.

Following case 5, myself and several other honors students worked together to complete the next six cases, which involved a multiple-week analysis of Goldman Sachs. Topics …

The Enigmatic Self: An Ongoing Exploration Of Literary Selfhood From The American Renaissance To Contemporary Young Adult Literature, Helene Leichter

Honors Theses

Assuming the near impossible task of sorting through and delineating various conceptions of the self in and throughout literary and civil history, literary critic Irving Howe adopts a highly perceptive and profoundly analytical approach to the enigmatic individual. In the article quoted above, "The Self in Literature," Howe consolidates what he believes to be the most promising attempts at coding and decoding abstractions of the self across numerous literary, philosophical, and sociological texts. The success of Howe’s analysis lies in his ability to simultaneously embrace and scrutinize seemingly incompatible notions of bodily and spiritual discourse. With the knowledge that such …

The Zircon, April 21, 2023 [Spoof Issue], Dordt College

Dordt Diamond

No abstract provided.

Cross-Dataset Single-Cell Analysis Identifies Temporal Alterations In Cell Populations Of Primary Pancreatic Tumor And Liver Metastasis, Daowei Yang, Rohan Moniruzzaman, Hua Wang, Huamin Wang, Yang Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a unique tumor microenvironment composed of various cell populations such as cancer cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), immune cells, and endothelial cells. Recently, single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (scRNA-seq) has systemically revealed the genomic profiles of these cell populations in PDAC. However, the direct comparison of cell population composition and genomic profile between primary tumors (at both early- and late-stage) and metastatic tumors of PDAC is still lacking. In this study, we combined and analyzed recent scRNA-seq datasets of transgenic KPC mouse models with autochthonous PDAC and matched liver metastasis, revealing the unique tumor ecosystem and cell composition …

Wastewater Surveillance Of Sars-Cov-2 Genomic Populations On A Country-Wide Scale Through Targeted Sequencing, Florencia Cancela, Natalia Ramos, Davida S. Smyth, Et Al.

All Faculty Scholarship (Archived)

SARS-CoV-2 surveillance of viral populations in wastewater samples is recognized as a useful tool for monitoring epidemic waves and boosting health preparedness. Next generation sequencing of viral RNA isolated from wastewater is a convenient and cost-effective strategy to understand the molecular epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and provide insights on the population dynamics of viral variants at the community level. However, in low- and middle-income countries, isolated groups have performed wastewater monitoring and data has not been extensively shared in the scientific community. Here we report the results of monitoring the co-circulation and abundance of variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2 in …

Exploring The Association Of Student-Teacher Relationships And Mathematics Teaching Styles With Star Renaissance Mathematics Scores In A Group Of Middle School Students At A Midwestern School., Sydney Lund

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study aimed to explore the relationship between middle school students’ perceived student-teacher relationships, students’ perceived mathematics teachers’ teaching styles, and middle school students’ Fall benchmark Star Renaissance mathematics assessment scores at a Midwest public school. The positivist paradigm served as a lens to formulate this cross-sectional correlational study. A Qualtrics questionnaire was developed and contained the Student Version of The Teacher-Student Relationship Inventory (S-TSRI), an adapted version of The Teaching Styles Inventory, and a selection of demographic variables (e.g., grade level, gender, family structure). The Star Renaissance mathematics assessment Fall 2022 benchmark was introduced to the database after …

Divergent Metabolic Changes In Rhizomes Of Lowland And Upland Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum) From Early Season Through Dormancy Onset, Nathan A. Palmer, Gautam Sarath, Michael J. Bowman, Aaron J. Saathoff, Serge J. Edmé, Robert B. Mitchell, Christian M. Tobias, Soundararajan Madhavan, Erin D. Scully, Scott E. Sattler

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

High-biomass-yielding southerly adapted switchgrasses (Panicum virgatum L.) frequently suffer from unpredictable winter hardiness at more northerly sites arising from damage to rhizomes that prevent effective spring regrowth. Previously, changes occurring over the growing season in rhizomes sampled from a cold-adapted tetraploid upland cultivar, Summer, demonstrated a role for abscisic acid (ABA), starch accumulation, and transcriptional reprogramming as drivers of dormancy onset and potential keys to rhizome health during winter dormancy. Here, rhizome metabolism of a high-yielding southerly adapted tetraploid switchgrass cultivar, Kanlow—which is a significant source of genetics for yield improvement—was studied over a growing season at a northern …

Contemporary Strategies In Marketing E-Resources Amongst Selected Technical University (Tu) Libraries In Ghana, Stephanie Owusu Ansah Mrs, Michael Oppong Mr., Maxwell Kwame Agbeli Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study examined Contemporary strategies in marketing e-resources amongst selected Technical Universities (TUs) in Ghana. 62 respondents were respectively drawn from all three selected Technical Universities ie Kumasi Technical University, Tamale Technical University, and Takoradi Technical University. Given that the population from the three TUs library staff was small, no sampling had to be done. The investigator sent out 62 questionnaires to the three TUs and received 39 responses representing 63 %. A descriptive survey design was employed to acquire data from the selected Technical University (TUs) libraries. Analysis of the data gathered was carried out using bar charts, pie …

Effectiveness Of A Question Formulation Rubric With Second-Year Medical Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Jonathan D. Eldredge, Melissa A. Schiff, Jens Langsjoen

Publications

OBJECTIVE: The FAC (Focus, Amplify, Compose) rubric for assessing medical students' question formulation skills normally accompanies our Evidence Based Practice (EBP) training. The combined training and assessment rubric have improved student scores significantly. How much does the rubric itself contribute to improved student scores? This study sought to measure student improvement using the rubric either with or without a linked 25-minute training session.

METHODS: Randomized Controlled Trial. The authors tested the hypothesis that a 25-minute training session combined with use of a rubric would lead to higher scores than a brief explanation of this rubric alone. All 72 participating second-year …

The Effectiveness Of Naturalistic Sign Language Training For Nonspeaking Individuals On The Autism Spectrum, Elizabeth Michael

Honors Projects

This study examined the impacts of sign language training on the communication of two adult brothers with level 3 autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A single-subject, multiple-baseline design was used. Sign language targets were selected based on a parent survey and the participants’ predicted motivation towards the target items. The baseline and intervention were conducted naturalistically in the home. Results indicated that the individual, environment, target signs, reinforcement, and motivation are all factors that play into sign language acquisition for nonspeaking individuals with ASD.

Synthetic Errα/Β/Γ Agonist Induces An Errα-Dependent Acute Aerobic Exercise Response And Enhances Exercise Capacity, Cyrielle Billon, Sadichha Sitaula, Subhashis Banerjee, Ryan Welch, Bahaa Elgendy, Lamees Hegazy, Tae Gyu Oh, Melissa Kazantzis, Arindam Chatterjee, John Chrivia, Matthew E Hayes, Weiyi Xu, Angelica Hamilton, Janice M Huss, Lilei Zhang, John K Walker, Michael Downes, Ronald M Evans, Thomas P Burris

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Repetitive physical exercise induces physiological adaptations in skeletal muscle that improves exercise performance and is effective for the prevention and treatment of several diseases. Genetic evidence indicates that the orphan nuclear receptors estrogen receptor-related receptors (ERRs) play an important role in skeletal muscle exercise capacity. Three ERR subtypes exist (ERRα, β, and γ), and although ERRβ/γ agonists have been designed, there have been significant difficulties in designing compounds with ERRα agonist activity. Additionally, there are limited synthetic agonists that can be used to target ERRs in vivo. Here, we report the …