Digital Commons Network^™

Courtship Behavior, Communication, And Copulation In Tigrosa Annexa, Samuel White

Scholars Week

The evolution of multimodal communication, where signalers use multiple signal components in multiple sensory modalities, has become the subject of investigation by many researchers. Signaling puts males at risk of predation, so why do males of some species evolve extra signals that may increase this risk? In some wolf spider species, males incorporate many visual and vibrational signals into a display that they use to attract a female for mating. Female spiders are often aggressive toward courting males and so the male display also functions to decrease the odds of cannibalism. Female wandering spiders deposit silk containing pheromones that communicate …

Early Childhood Stressors And Negative Personality Behaviors, Kyler Joachim

Scholars Week

Early Childhood Stressors and Negative Personality Behaviors

Research is moving away from static to contextual models of understanding personality development, making it imperative to consider daily occurrences, not just biology or significant traumatic events, in personality formation. Temperament has long been considered the innate source of behaviors that later solidify into personality, but behaviors themselves and the conditions that produce and reinforce them are shaped by the daily environment. This behavior-environment interaction is especially important for children experiencing childhood stressors like poverty, food insecurity, and parental aggravation. Non-clinical personality related behaviors may arise from these stressors, which can lead to …

Head Start And Internalizing/Externalizing Behaviors, Camila Ferreira

Scholars Week

Children who attend Head Start program are impacted in externalizing/internalizing behaviors, and many other areas. The abstract explains how the study analyzes these impacts, and how temperament and parental involvement also play a role in behaviors.

College Concerns And Coping, Olivia Brice

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Electrocortical Responses During Script-Driven Emotional Imagery, Nicholas Best, Cassandra Gonzalez, David Herring Ph.D.

Scholars Week

Emotional imagery is a common induction technique used in the laboratory and also employed in various exposure therapy treatments across the anxiety spectrum (e.g., specific and social phobias). Despite its clinical uses, there is a surprising dearth of literature regarding the basic central neural processes underlying emotional imagery, though other peripheral physiological processes have been investigated extensively using heart rate, skin conductance, and startle-blink responses. One imagery study that used a central nervous system psychophysiological measure -event specific brainwave or the event-related potential (ERP) technique- suggests the late positive potential (LPP) of the ERP is larger for unpleasant versus neutral …

Parenting During Childhood On Adolescent Social Engagement, Cassie Gonzalez

Scholars Week

Healthy social skills development prepares children and adolescents for a future of healthy interactions, effective communication, and meaningful relationships. Parental involvement and aggravation in parenting contribute differently to the development of social skills. Literature suggests higher levels of parental involvement is related to higher levels of child social skills ratings, while decreased ratings of aggravation in parenting are associated with higher ratings of maternal involvement and child social skills. Whereas existing literature have explored the impact of non-resident father involvement, academic consequences, and dual-parent homes on the development of child social skills, few studies examine the effects of aggravation in …

Groundwater Contamination At Coal Ash Deposit Sites In Kentucky, Brandon Rose

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Flood And Flash Flood Comparison Of 1996 And 2017 Using Gis, Harrison Kelly

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley And Prometheus In The Role Of Creator., Victoria Walker

Scholars Week

This paper tries to compare and contrast the fictional characters Victor Frankenstein, Prometheus, and the writer Mary Shelley and their role of creator.

Victor’S Dual Diagnosis: An Exploration Of Mental Illness In Frankensteinian Times, Elizabeth Tretter

Scholars Week

Victor’s Dual Diagnosis: An Exploration of Mental Illness in Frankensteinian Times

Before the advances of modern psychology, treatment of the mentally insane consisted of cruel and torturous methods that involved beating, starving, or bleeding patients often until the point of death. It was not until the late eighteenth century that a revolutionary kind of moral treatment was introduced by William Tuke, an English Quaker and founder of The Friends’ Retreat. Founded in 1879, the small retreat in York set the precedent for future asylums with their meticulous record keeping that included their own standardized diagnoses and symptoms of mental illnesses. …

Barriers To Change For Augmentative And Alternative Communication Use, Lauren E. Brown

Scholars Week

Title: BARRIERS TO CHANGE FOR AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION USE

Keywords: speech language pathology, augmentative and alternative communication, counseling, readiness to change, self-efficacy

In recent literature, there has been a marked increase in importance placed upon understanding what factors both positively and negatively impact the progress made by a client and that client’s family in response to speech and language therapy. Today, clinicians prioritize evidence based practice (EBP) when making clinical decisions, focusing on not only clinical expertise and best evidence, but also client and caregiver perspectives, or preferences (ASHA, 2018). In consideration of EBP for augmentative and alternative communication …

Evaluating The Effects Of Handmade Cards On Hospitalized Patients’ Health, Abigail Prins

Scholars Week

Social support has a major influence on the health of patients. However, many hospitalized patients receive little or no visits from friends or family. The absence of social support may have negative effects on patients’ health. The knowledge of health benefits from social support are growing, however, there is little research on interventions offering support. The purpose of this research project is to evaluate the intervention of giving handmade cards to patients in the hospital setting on psychological and physiological health. The design will indicate if gifting handmade cards elicits effects of social support. The investigator used a convenience sample …

Determining The Frequency For Chronic Foley Catheter Cleaning And Changing, Jeral Mack

Scholars Week

The title of this research project is “Determining the Frequency for Chronic Foley Catheter Cleaning and Changing”. The project was conducted by Jeral Mack, a senior Murray State University School of Nursing student. The initial investigation for the topic of this research was to determine defined guidelines for chronic foley cleaning and changing for a hospital-specific policy. In this paper, an analysis of four published research articles was conducted to define the best practice for the prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) as it relates to chronic Foley catheter cleaning and changing in healthcare settings. In nursing, using the …

Measuring Environmental & Genetic Effects On Cell Differentiation Kinetics In Yeast, Tiara Johnson

Scholars Week

The MAPKinase pathway is commonly involved in cell differentiation and growth processes. To study the kinetics of this pathway in regards to the effects of several genetic and environmental factors, we have chosen the popular model of pheromone response in yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our data showed significant differences based on strain that seem to match previous data. Surprisingly, there were no measurable trends based on concentration, but results indicate that temperature may be positively correlated with response rate and may vary between strains. Future experiments will be aimed towards statistically defining the effects of each variable and creating a mathematical …

Enhancing Student Ability To Transfer Energy Concepts In Postsecondary Science Education Through Explicit Instruction Of Concepts, Student Self-Reflection, And Guided Practice In Knowledge Transfer, Jim Harmon, Lauren Gray

Scholars Week

While concepts of energy and matter apply across science disciplines, students have difficulty transferring their knowledge of energy concepts from one science discipline to another. Traditionally, instruction of physical sciences, chemistry, and life sciences are presented independently of one another; with energy concepts introduced in isolated contexts and with differing emphases. Two instructional strategies have been shown to improve student transfer of knowledge: metacognitive student reflection, and explicit framing of concepts. This study integrates these instructional strategies into an introductory physics course for non-science majors as a series of instructional interventions, measuring student ability to transfer knowledge of energy concepts …

Family Experiences Related To Early Hearing Intervention Guidelines In Washington State, Rachel Tennant, Douglas P. Sladen

Scholars Week

Undiagnosed hearing loss can have an especially devastating effect on young children. Without proper assessment, a child may have limited access to language and auditory input, and their speech and language skills may be negatively impacted. Research has shown that early intervention is related to positive developmental outcomes in children with hearing loss. Therefore, it is beneficial for these children and their families to receive support as early as possible. The present study has two main goals. Firstly, this study seeks to examine the implementation of three major national goals of early hearing intervention in Washington State, focusing primarily on …

Gender Discrepancy In Asexual Identity:The Effect Of Hegemonic Gender Norms On Asexual Identification, Tori Bianchi

Scholars Week

How do gender roles and expectations affect individuals identifying as asexual? Why do more women and genderqueer people identify as asexual? What about masculine stereotypes dissuades individuals from identifying as asexual? In this study I investigate how the cultural and societal expectations of different genders, both assigned and actualized, affect the perception and performance of an individual’s sexual identity. In particular I examine ideals of prescribed and hegemonic masculinity and femininity and how those ideals are upheld or broken by an asexual identity, and how those holding diverse gender identities feel their gender identity interacts with their asexual orientation.

Advocating For Gender Equality In A "Conservative Christian" Nation: An Exploration Of The Bahama's 2016 Referendum, Melinda Andrews

Scholars Week

Gender expectation plays a significant role in a variety of human interactions, but this is perhaps seen best in the interactions between men and women. This study seeks to understand the way that the effect of gender expectation plays out in the youth of The Bahamas, particularly in the way these expectations affect teenagers understanding of their roles within a sexual or romantic relationship. One way this study seeks to explore this topic is through the examination of the broader religious and cultural history of The Bahamas providing context for its current understanding of gender roles.

Coverage Of The #Metoo & Time’S Up Movement: Examining Who Is Quoted And What Terminology Is Used In Msnbc, Fox News And The Bbc’S Coverage Of The #Metoo And Time’S Up Movements, Stella Harvey

Scholars Week

The widespread conversation on sexual assault and harassment that has been growing since October 2017 has impacted many industries, including journalism. Movements such as #MeToo and Time’s Up aim to raise awareness about the prevalence of these issues and stop the cycle of abuse. Within these movements, many celebrities have spoken publicly about their experiences, resulting in extensive media coverage on an issue that has historically been swept under the rug. The terminology that is used when it comes to issues of sex crimes and allegations is incredibly important because there is a great amount of nuance between terms. It …

Student Perceptions Of A White University Mascot, Ellen Carroll

Scholars Week

In November 2015, Western Washington University cancelled classes when a debate over changing the school’s mascot—an identifiably White Viking—resulted in hate speech and threats toward students of color. While some students held that the mascot could be offensive to non-White students who are unrepresented by the symbol of a White male, others felt the debate to be trivial. This event raises the question of how the university’s White mascot impacts its students. Scholars have recently begun to study views regarding Native American mascots, however there is an empirical gap concerning how mascots of other identifiable racial/ethnic groups are perceived. This …

The Little Klansman: A Symbol Of American Infantilism Amidst Racial Tensions, Lucia Gruber

Scholars Week

During December of 1865, a string of violence was unleashed as the United States witnessed the birth of its most infamous hate group, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). In the decades following its conception, the influence of the KKK has waxed and waned, but membership has always been a family affair. A photograph that exemplifies this phenomenon is one of a young boy identified as Josh, which was captured at a KKK rally in Gainesville, Georgia over Labor Day weekend in 1992. I argue that the photograph of The Little Klansman serves as an example of metonymy because it represents …

#Me Too: An Analysis On Whose Sexual Assault Stories The New York Times Publishes, Alyssa Evans

Scholars Week

Source representation in media impacts the public’s perception of social issues and groups represented. This study examines the extent to which coverage by The New York Times of the #MeToo movement includes a diverse background of victims of sexual assault and harassment. An extension of research is added to scholarly discourse on framing of sexual assault victims and the inclusivity of the Times’ reporting on sexual assault. Human sources most often sourced in #MeToo-related stories analyzed were white female victims who held jobs in the entertainment industry or politics. The second most often represented source was found to be white …

Locate And Mitigate The State Of Nitrate: Assessing Potential Sources Of Nutrients In Tributaries To The Nooksack River, Alyssa Peter, Melanie Roy

Scholars Week

Anthropogenic activities greatly increase the amount of nitrogen entering our environment. While this allows for increased agriculture production, excess nitrogen raises health concerns for humans and ecosystems. Understanding the sources of excess nutrients is necessary for effective efforts to reduce them. We aimed to understand nutrient fluxes through tributaries to the Nooksack River, in particular, to what extent are excess nutrients arriving to northern Whatcom County from Canada via both surface and ground water. We collected water samples from three creeks fed by the central portion of the Sumas-Blaine aquifer (Kamm, Fishtrap, and Bertrand), two situated at the southern edge …

Diversity Climate Assessment Of The Communication Studies Department, Annapurna Beavon

Scholars Week

This study is a mixed-method assessment combining survey questionnaire and qualitative interviews in assessing and understanding student experiences in the communication studies department at Western Washington University. The purpose of the study is twofold: (a) to examine students’ perception of the diversity climate in communication classes and the department in general; and (b) to understand communication patterns that silence marginalized voices in the classroom. Aside from studies published in educational journals, Halualani (2010) is the first published study in the communication discipline that investigates diversity climate assessment at a multiracial university on the U.S. West Coast. Therefore, the findings of …

Understanding What Influences Transfer Between Scientific Disciplines, Shaye Fowler

Scholars Week

Transfer, the ability to apply a learned concept to a new context, is an assumed outcome of most undergraduate curricula. This is particularly true in the case of energy as a concept applied across science disciplines. Chemistry courses, for example, expect students to understand and apply energy-related arguments when learning about atomic structure and bonding, presumably relying on energy-related ideas learned first in physics. However, students are often introduced to energy ideas with discipline-specific vocabulary and problem-solving tasks, obscuring the fact that energy ideas translate across the disciplines. Consequently, students may develop compartmentalized, surface-level understandings. We are investigating student transfer …

How Low Can You Go (And Live): Determining The Sub-Lethal Exposure Time To Desiccation In Snowberry Maggot Flies (Rhagoletis Zephyria), Alison Klimke, Anna Marie Yanny

Scholars Week

The fruit infesting snowberry maggot (Rhagoletis zephyria) inhabits a broad range of habitats across the northern United States, including the humid and arid parts of Washington State. Pupating snowberry maggots (the most vulnerable life stage) exhibit local adaptation, with flies being more desiccation resistant east than west of the Cascades. Previous experiments have measured this difference at eight days after the larvae leave the fruit. However, desiccation impacts on survival may occur much earlier. To better understand the mechanism(s) by which flies protect themselves from desiccation we need to study flies at a sub-lethal level of stress, as dying flies …

The Fake Account For The Real Self, Miranda Abrashi

Scholars Week

Fake Instagrams, or more commonly known as "finstas" have increased in popularity over the past few years. This study's goal is centered around finding patterns of behavior that explain the desire to use finstagram as a platform. I observed the culture surrounding finstas by engaging directly by creating and posting my own content while interacting with others' content as well. I created and used my finsta for three months, during which I observed and conducted interviews to expand on my own knowledge and understanding of this particular culture. I discovered three main findings through my research that supported individuals' need …

Modeling And Forecasting Crime Patterns In Bellingham, Washington, Zachary Domingo, Eric Shoner

Scholars Week

Our purpose is to use time series analysis to model and forecast the underlying dynamics behind crime in Bellingham, Washington. Using recent monthly data from the Bellingham Police Department, we considered singular spectrum analysis and autoregressive moving average modelling techniques to estimate significant deterministic patterns in the data. After examining the multitude of data provided, we narrowed down to two categories of crime: alcohol offenses and domestic violence. We created two time series models for each category and compared them to each other. The better performing model was used to forecast the number of crime incidents for ten months and …

St. Vincent’S “Equal-Opportunity” Guitar, Lexi Foldenauer

Scholars Week

This research paper applied semiotics to examine the ways in which Ernie Ball Music Man's PR campaign for the release of St. Vincent's customized guitar utilized a third-wave feminist framework.

Short-Term Volatility Curve Predictions Using Singular Spectrum Analysis, Nick Odell

Scholars Week

This project aims to produce accurate volatility forecasts, using high-frequency financial time series data. The primary mathematical methods used are Functional Data Analysis, time series analysis techniques such as Autoregressive Models and a comparison between Multi-variate and Uni-variate Singular Spectrum Analysis. These results aim to be useful for financial risk quantification.