Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Socialization Of Social Media: Examining The Impact Of Social Media Use On Interpersonal Skills During Face-To-Face Interaction, Tenille Thomas

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has well established that the use of social networking sites (SNS) has increased accessibility and connectivity to people with limitless boundaries. SNS have progressively become the preferred source of communication. However, often overlooked is the impact SNS use has on face-to-face interactions, specifically on interpersonal skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between SNS use and face-to-face interaction. Specifically, this study examines the participant’s ability to recognize and interpret nonverbal cues with increased SNS use. This was a correlational study utilizing a quantitative design of self-reported questionnaires. A total of 178 participants, ranging in age …

A Monte Carlo Analysis Of Nonprobability Sampling & Post Hoc Corrections, Julia Hong

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Nonprobability samples are often used in place of probability samples because the former are less trouble and less expensive. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine how well a sample represents population parameters when using nonprobability samples. Researchers attempt to mitigate the disadvantages of nonprobability sampling by performing post hoc corrections, but this adjustment may not successfully undo the effects of nonprobability sampling. To examine these effects, a Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to create a pseudo-population from which samples were drawn. Forty-one conditions were replicated 10,000 times each, with each sample consisting of 100 observations. A post-stratification adjustment was made …

Simulating The Machine Translation Of Low-Resource Languages By Designing A Translator Between English And An Artificially Constructed Language, Michaela Snyder

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Natural language processing (NLP), or the use of computers to analyze natural language, is a field that relies heavily on syntax. It would seem intuitive that computers would thrive in this area due to their strict syntax requirements, but the syntax of natural languages leaves them unable to properly parse and generate sentences that seem normal to the average speaker. A subfield of NLP, machine translation, works mainly to computerize translation between different languages. Unfortunately, such translation is not without its weaknesses; language documentation is not created equal, and many low-resource languages—languages with relatively few kinds of documentation, most often …

Building Coleus Academy, Janessa Unseld

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Coleus Academy, a nonprofit e-learning platform, has been created to address the deficits left by the de-emphasis and, at times, outright omission of practical skill-centric education in American curriculums. There exists a gap between the degree of knowledge necessary to engage with adult life and the extent of that knowledge that is actually possessed by emerging adults. Prominent legislations are among the numerous efforts to address this issue. However, there is a deeply fractured market where resources are proving too expensive, too sparse, or hyper-specific to the point of limited usability. Compounded with disparities in when, where, and to whom …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 93, No. 1, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• The Great American Eclipse
• Kast, Monica. Timothy Caboni Talks Budget in Meeting with Editors
• DeLetter, Emily. Back Home – Timothy Caboni
• Collins, Emma. Campus Construction Continues with Completion of Restaurant – The Den
• Ziege, Nicole. Student Government Association President Signs Anti-discrimination Letter – Andi Dahmer
• Alvey, Rebekah. New Space Serves as Link to Downtown Businesses – Gordon Ford College of Business
• Henderson, Andrew. Hey, How Are Ya?
• Editorial Cartoon re: Eclipsse
• Huff, Taylor. Eclipse of Morality – U.S. Government
• Gabhart, Ebonee. Analyzing What Constitutes a …

An Integrated Gis & Flood Vulnerability Index Approach To Evaluating Risk & Environmental Equity In Urban Karst Communities, Chloe Cooper

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examines how the usage of an integrated GIS (Geographic Information Systems), flood vulnerability assessment, and management approaches can aid in hazard response planning in karst groundwater systems, particularly in urban environments. In order to also better understand the impacts of flood events on socially vulnerable groups, this research was focused on historically excluded communities. Additionally, place-based vulnerabilities were primarily assessed based upon three main factors in the vulnerability framework and how these components intersect: social, environmental conditions, and economic. By understanding which areas of the City of Bowling Green, an iconic urban karst area, are most vulnerable and …

A Monte Carlo Analysis Of Seven Dichotomous Variable Confidence Interval Equations, Morgan Juanita Dubose

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Department of Psychological Sciences Western Kentucky University There are two options to estimate a range of likely values for the population mean of a continuous variable: one for when the population standard deviation is known and another for when the population standard deviation is unknown. There are seven proposed equations to calculate the confidence interval for the population mean of a dichotomous variable: normal approximation interval, Wilson interval, Jeffreys interval, Clopper-Pearson, Agresti-Coull, arcsine transformation, and logit transformation. In this study, I compared the percent effectiveness of each equation using a Monte Carlo analysis and the interval range over a range …

An Adaptive Hazard Planning And Mitigation Framework For Responding To Urban Contamination In Karst Aquifer Systems, James Edward Troxell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Environmental hazards in karst regions are damaging and often go unnoticed until an issue has escalated to a point of affecting life or property. The field of emergency and environmental contamination response lacks planning or preparedness focused on remediating groundwater contamination in karst systems. A lack of preplanning before an incident can lead to confusion, delayed response, and the inability to remediate the contaminant. Due to the rapid movement of contaminants through urban karst groundwater aquifers, an efficient response plan that leverages localized data in a GIS should be developed and maintained in order to adequately respond. The objective of …

The Effect Of Environmental Context Upon Visual Distance Perception, Jessica M. Dukes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The ability of 16 younger adults to visually perceive distances in depth was evaluated within three environmental contexts (indoors in the dark, indoors in the light, and outdoors). The observers' task was to bisect an 8m distance interval in all contexts using both monocular and binocular vision. In the outdoor environment (a natural grassy field), the observers' judgments indicated perceptual compression of farther distances similar to that obtained in many previous studies. In the indoor lighted environment (a 10.2 x 9.6m laboratory room), the observers' judgments were consistent with perceptual expansion of farther distances. Finally, there was a beneficial effect …

Ua12/2/1 Housing Guide, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

Special magazine edition of the College Heights Herald, includes articles:

• Spainhoward, Emma. Editor’s Letter
• Secondhand Spruce-Up – Goodwill
• Harden, Olivia. Microwave Gourmet – Recipes
• Norvell, Abbey & Rylee McKee. Roommate Rules
• Crisp, Hannah. Desks with Major Personality
• Keeley, Josie. Troubleshooting Dorm Life
• Dees, Marshall. Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle
• Cleaning Playlist
• 5 Tips to Help the Planet & Your Utility Bill

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 15. Wallace's Many "Hats": What Should We Call Him?, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) has been referred to by name through the aid of a variety of labels – some thirty or more, in fact – that link him to his emphases of attention. How many of these labels are/were justifiable? The assessment here is that he is probably best remembered as a ‘naturalist,’ ‘geographer,’ ‘evolutionist,’ and ‘social critic.’

Studying The Relationship Between Financial Risk Aversion And Income With The Jeopardy! Daily Double, Miles Johnson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

It has long been up for debate as to whether there is a link between financial risk aversion and income. This study’s purpose is to, using data from the game show Jeopardy!, investigate this question through analytical research. This study made use of multiple regression analyses in order to examine the relationship between income and risk aversion in Jeopardy! contestants who appeared on the show between January 2019 and October 2020. Specifically, this study looked to isolate the potential impact a contestant’s estimated annual income had on their willingness to bet on the Jeopardy! Daily Double question. It was …

Pathways To Self-Governance And Success: An Exploratory Study Of Community Gardens In Louisville, Kentucky, Amanda Beavin

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Those involved in community gardens face multiple challenges to survival, including land tenure, lack of funding, lack of sustained interest, and poor infrastructure, but many successful, long-lasting gardens have found management style to be a key aspect of their success. This project investigated three community gardens in Louisville, Kentucky, in order to determine how self-governance, or internal management by gardeners, overlaps with other success indicators and what development processes lead to successful self-governance. Using qualitative, semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the researcher gathered and analyzed data relative to each garden site’s land tenure, community engagement, environmental design, resource mobilization, and …

Informing Sustainable Urban Forestry Policy With Carbon Sequestration Analysis, Ellen Danford

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Urban forestry is an environmental solution for an increasingly city-centered world. The ecosystem services that trees provide in natural settings, including carbon sequestration, oxygen production and aesthetic beauty, also apply in urban settings. Every tree in the Western Kentucky University (WKU) urban forest provides these services and each tree was measured to determine how much carbon they sequestered a year on average between 2015 and 2020. With an interactive map of the forest and its carbon sequestration, the condition of the forest and change over the five year period was analyzed. Comparing the welfare of the forest with the plans …

Answers In The East: An Examination Of China's Renewable Energy And Its Application To Central Appalachia, Lillian Hamm

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

While much of China’s electrification has depended on coal, recent decades illustrate the country is heavily investing in and implementing renewable energy as a power source. Even China’s coal-rich provinces, like the northeastern province of Shanxi, have been making the transition to renewable energy. The central Appalachian states comprised of eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, western Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee share many characteristics with China’s Shanxi province including economic resources, climate, and geography. Yet, central Appalachia has not been able to easily transition to renewable energy. However, there are various cultural, political, and technological differences between the two regions to explain …

Enhancing Wku Sustainable Food Systems Through Education And Local Agriculture Development, Chloe Cooper

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In an effort to increase the amount of locally sourced food utilized by dining services at WKU, the Office of Sustainability, WKU Restaurant Group, and the WKU Agriculture & Research Education Center have partnered to establish garden spaces on campus properties. This project developed a detailed plan for implementation of this effort. In addition, this project established a plan to educate students and the local community alike on the benefits of sustainable farming and locally-sourced food, while also creating profiles on local farmers from whom the university could buy crops in order to further supplement items for dining services. Using …

A Monte Carlo Analysis Of Ordinary Least Squares Versus Equal Weights, James Brewer Ayres

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Equal weights are an alternative weighting procedure to the optimal weights offered by ordinary least squares regression analysis. Also called units weights, equal weights are formed by standardizing scores on the predictor variables and averaging these standardized scores to create a composite score. Research is limited regarding the conditions under which equal weights result in cross-validated 𝑅𝑅2 values that meet or exceed optimal weights. In this study, I explored the effect of various predictor-criterion correlations, predictor intercorrelations, and sample sizes to determine the relative performance of equal and optimal weighting schemes upon cross-validation. Results indicated that optimally weighted predictors explained …

The Language Of Breathing, Brian Wallace Baker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Language of Breathing is an eclectic collection of 18 creative nonfiction essays that capture moments from the author’s life and attempt to give them meaning through narrative and metaphor. They deal with relationships, nature, faith, and often rely on background research to pair art, mythology, current events, and science with personal experience.

Hydrogeochemical Characterization And Speleogenesis Of Sistema Huautla In Oaxaca, Mexico, Fernando Hernandez

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Sierra Mazateca, Mexico is home to Sistema Huautla, the deepest cave in the Western hemisphere with 1,560 meters of depth and 90 kilometers of passage, including 26 entrances distributed in a high-relief, karstified terrain, within the Sistema Huautla Karst Groundwater Basin. Exploration of the cave has generated research questions about its evolution and geomorphology given the different vadose and phreatic zones impacted by tectonic and incision processes. Dye traces during this study of Cueva de La Peña Colorada confirmed it is a fossil resurgence of the cave system. An additional cave, Cueva Elysium, was connected hydrologically in 2019, expanding the …

Interdependence Across Foreign Exchange Rate Markets- A Mixed Copula Approach, Richard Adjei-Boateng

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to study the dependence structure of exchange rate pairs using a mixture of copula as opposed to a single copula approach. Mixed copula models have the ability to generate dependence structures that do not belong to existing copula families. The flexibility in choosing component copulas in this mixture model aids the construction of a system that is simultaneously parsimonious and flexible enough to generate most dependence patterns in exchange rate data. Furthermore, the method of mixture copulas facilitates the separation of both the structure and degree of dependence, concepts that are respectively embodied in …

A Monte Carlo Analysis Of Standard Error-Based Methods For Computing Confidence Intervals, Elayna Wichert

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The objective of this study is to empirically test existing techniques to calculate the likely range of values for a Classical Test Theory true score given an observed score. The traditional method for forming these confidence intervals has used the standard error of measurement (SEM) as the basis for this confidence interval. An alternate equation, the standard error of estimate (SEE), has been recommended in place of the SEM for this purpose, yet it remains overlooked in the field of psychometrics. It is important that the correct equation be used in various applications in personnel psychology. Monte Carlo analyses were …

The Enhancement Of Climate Change Science Communication And Understanding Through Glacier Tourism, Natalie Jean Kincheloe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The natural environment provides the opportunity for educators to teach the general public about scientific topics that are misunderstood. Arctic tourism has increased as accessibility to these regions has improved. Informal learning is a valuable yet extremely understudied phenomenon within the tourism industry. Iceland is a country that lies in the North Atlantic and has experienced a significant increase in foreign visitors over the past decade. Of the natural features in Iceland, glaciers have become a top attraction for visitors. Since thousands of visitors participate in guided glacier tours annually in Iceland, an opportunity to couple glacier tourism with informal …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 95, No. 18, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Lamb, Cassady. Posted Up: Local Apartment Complexes Are Suing the United States Post Office
• Williams, Matthew. WKU to be Evaluated by Higher Education Consulting Firm
• Collins, Michael. Strategic Sustainability Plan to be Developed
• Stack, Madalyn. Editorial Cartoon re: Racism
• Black History Month: Past & Present
• Warner, Casey. Kentucky Canabis Laws Are Behind the Times – Marijuana
• Dobbs, Jack. Bitter Sweet – Chocolate Festival, Hospice of Southern Kentucky
• Metcalf, Taylor. Fast Fashion
• Lowe, Julianna. Sustainable On-campus Bathroom Practices, In Public or Private
• Gaylord, Kaden. WKU Softball …

A Description Of A Humans Knowledge Using Artificial Intelligence, Dj Price

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

There currently does not exist a way to easily view the relationships between a collection of written items (e.g. sports articles, diary entries, research papers). In recent years, novel machine learning methods have been developed which are very good at extracting semantic relationships from large numbers of documents. One of them is the (unsupervised) machine learning model Doc2Vec which constructs vectors for documents. The research project detailed in this paper uses this and other already existing algorithms to analyze the relationship between pieces of text. We set forth a broader ambition for this project before discussing the use and need …

Bridging The Food Gap: Founding And Sustaining A Food Recovery Network Chapter At Wku, Elaine Losekamp

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Food waste is a pervasive global issue with many environmental and social repercussions. While about one-third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste, many people in the United States and the world are affected by food insecurity. Food recovery, the process of rescuing edible food that would otherwise go to waste and delivering to hungry people, is an effective solution for both food waste and food insecurity. The author of this capstone created a food recovery program at Western Kentucky University (WKU) in January 2019 and has grown the program’s scope and impact since that time. This …

The Economic Determinants Of American Professional Sports Franchise Valuations, Ryan Flora

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis seeks to analyze the impact of regional identities on American professional sports team valuations. Regional identities are classified as any name of a team that is not tied directly to the city that they reside in. For example, the Carolina Panthers have a regional identity because they are not based out of “Carolina”, they are based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Another example would be the Arizona Cardinals, whose name encompasses the whole state of Arizona rather than Phoenix, the city they are based out of. The leagues that will be involved in this study are the National …

The Effect Of Size Upon Haptic Shape Discrimination, Jessica Dukes

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Object shape perception is fundamentally important for daily life. It has been suggested (e.g., Gibson, 1962) that the visual and haptic modalities are equivalent with regards to the ability to perceive shape. Norman et al. (2012) showed that visual and haptic shape discrimination accuracies are indeed comparable. Craddock and Lawson (2009) found that haptic shape discrimination performance was adversely affected by a size change. However, this result was obtained for man-made objects (i.e., bathtubs and benches). The purpose of the current investigation was to determine whether size changes also reduce haptic shape discrimination accuracy for naturally-shaped objects. On any given …

Determining Atmospheric Boundary Layer Behavior Over Mountainous Terrain Using Aircraft Vertical Profiles From 2009-2018 Nasa Student Airborne Research Program Data, Dallas Mckinney

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) height separates turbulently mixed air and pollutants emitted at the ground from the free troposphere above and is an important parameter in numerical weather prediction and air pollution dispersion models. Discerning the ABL height over mountainous terrain has historically been difficult because of, for example, complex interactions with upper level winds, venting of humidity and aerosols into the free troposphere, and large spatiotemporal variability. ABL over mountainous terrain (MT) can closely follow the terrain, be flat, or be shallower than surrounding valleys depending on the time of day, synoptic conditions, and effects of the surrounding …

An Analysis Of The Success Of Farmers Markets In Kentucky Using Logistic Regression And Support Vector Machines, Jeron Russell

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The purpose of this research is to look at the relationship that market-specific, economic, and demographic variables have with the success of farmers markets in Kentucky. It additionally seeks to build a tool for predicting farmers market success that could be used by policy makers to aid in decision-making processes concerning farmers markets. Logistic regression and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are used on data acquired from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the American Community Survey in order to analyze the data in a traditional statistical approach as well as a machine learning approach. The results included an SVM model …

First Past The Poll: A Blog About Political Statistics, Bradley Wascher

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This Capstone Experience project details my efforts to become a political data journalist. I took the first major step in August 2018, starting First Past the Poll, my politics blog. For three semesters, this website was frequently updated with nonpartisan reports on the latest elections, deep dives on long-term polling trends, and commentary on political numbers more broadly. Hoping to buck the trend of the stodgy prose prevalent throughout politics, my stories combined academic rigor with accessible writing.

As I began to find my footing in the field, First Past the Poll put me in the position to become …