Middle Tennessee State University
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Spring 2024 Areté
No full textA semiannual publication of the MTSU Honors College highlighting student, alumni, and faculty/staff accomplishments.A semiannual publication of the MTSU Honors College highlighting student, alumni, and faculty/staff accomplishments
ESSAYS ON HOW FIRM-LEVEL CLIMATE CHANGE EXPOSURE, FIRM-LEVEL POLITICAL RISK AND DEBT FINANCING AFFECT CORPORATE DECISIONS
No full textMy dissertation investigates the influence of firm-level climate change risk, political risk and debt finance on corporate decisions. It contains three chapters.
Chapter 1 investigates how climate change exposure affects extensive and intensive margins of corporate R&D investment. Using firm-level climate change exposure data, the empirical findings indicate that climate change exposure positively and significantly affects both intensive and extensive margin of corporate R&D investment. I show that carbon intensive firms significantly increase their extensive and intensive margins of corporate R&D in response to an increase in climate changes. As a plausible exogenous shock, I find that after the Paris Agreement and Renewable Portfolio standards adoption, firms increased their corporate intensive margins of R&D. The results are robust with other measures of climate change exposure and with the inclusion of industry and macroeconomic factors. Also, I find that firms in carbon intensive industries engage more in R&D than firms in green industries.
Chapter 2 examines the effects of political risk on firm labor decisions, revealing how firm-level political risk impact wages, employment growth, and labor productivity among U.S. Firms. This study reveals how firm-level political risk affects firm labor decisions. I empirically analyze how firms' labor decisions respond to firm political risk using a sample of 3,131 U.S. firms from 2002 to 2022. My analysis shows that a one standard deviation increase in firm-level political risk is associated with a 9.22 percentage point wage increase. Political risk affects wages significantly when interacted with competition, capital intensity and labor share. Moreover, my findings are consistent using various measures of firm-level political risk and wages. In addition, one standard deviation increase in firm political risk is associated with 8.94 and 30.48 percentage point decreases in employment growth and labor productivity, respectively. My study reveals that the reduction in employment growth and labor productivity is more evident when firm-level political risk is interacted with competition, capital intensity and labor share. My results remain robust after addressing the potential endogeneity issue using an instrumental variable approach.
Chapter 3 Debt financing is important for financing major investments in the biopharmaceutical industry. Debt financing allows companies to raise funds without giving up ownership or control through indenture of the company. In this study, I analyze the effects of debt financing decisions on profitability in the biopharmaceutical industry. I find that short-term debt, long-term debt and total debt negatively impacts return on assets (ROA) as a firm's profitability measure. A comparison is made between the US and Europe biopharmaceutical firms and the result shows the negative effects of short-term and long-term debt on profitability persist more for US biopharmaceutical firms than Europe firms. Short-term and long-term debt both impact profitability negatively with 10-year lagged R&D intensity and financial distress. Short-term debt's negative impact is stronger in post-Covid-19, indicating increased financial strain. Long-term debt consistently affects profitability negatively, with relative stable effects during the pre- and post-Covid-19.Ph.D
McQuinston and Quindlen: The Characterization of Lesbian Relationships in Young Adult Novels in the South
No full textThe project aims to explore aspects of sapphic young adult novels set in the southern United States, reflecting real LGBTQ+ experiences in the region. In my thesis, I analyze two novels that delve into crucial themes for queer youth in the southern U.S.: religious trauma, peer and adult relationships, and internalized homophobia. By examining how these elements are portrayed in the chosen novels, I demonstrate their reflection of actual LGBTQ+ experiences in the southern U.S. This representation is vital to combat the isolation felt by queer youth in the region and to cultivate empathy among cisgender heterosexual youth. I focus on I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston and Her Name in the Sky by Kelly Quindlen due to their authors' personal ties to the stories and their own upbringing in the southern U.S. This analysis underscores the importance of including minority voices, like those of the LGBTQ+ community, in public-school library collections, where they are often underrepresented
Minority Student Sense of Belonging: A Phenomenological Case Study on the Impact of Divisive Concepts Laws and Student Success
No full textThis phenomenological case study investigates the lived experiences of minority students attending a predominantly white institution (PWI) in the Southern United States, addressing the impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and recent legislative changes, particularly divisive concepts laws, on their sense of belonging and academic success. The research explores how these students navigate systemic barriers while contending with limited DEI efforts under legislative constraints. Grounded in Social Identity Theory (SIT), this study addresses a gap in the literature by examining how institutional and legislative factors influence minority students' social integration.
Data was collected through a focus group and semi-structured interviews with six minority students and analyzed using thematic analysis. Key findings reveal that legislative restrictions on DEI initiatives exacerbate feelings of isolation and marginalization. At the same time, peer support and faculty engagement were identified as critical factors in fostering a sense of belonging. Themes of tokenism, superficial DEI efforts, and the lack of institutional commitment were recurrent in participants' narratives.
This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on equity in higher education by providing insights into the unique challenges faced by minority students under restrictive legislative frameworks. The research highlights the need for more comprehensive and intersectional DEI strategies that prioritize the well-being of marginalized students. It also provides practical recommendations for policymakers and institutions to enhance inclusivity and support minority student success.Ed.D
Evolution of Color and Pattern in Etheostomatinae (Darter Fishes)
No full textOften directly related to non-random mating, kin recognition, predator avoidance, and other life strategies, diversification of coloration may be an important factor in evolutionary processes like speciation and adaptive radiation. Darters (Etheostomatinae) are a speciose clade of freshwater fishes belonging to family Percidae that show remarkable diversity in color and color pattern, including species with bold and complex patterns. Their high variation in coloration coupled with species richness makes Darters an excellent group for understanding the macroevolutionary and ecological factors driving the evolution of color. Using recent developments in color and pattern analysis such as recolorize in R Studio and adjacency analysis, we were able more objectively and accurately quantify darter color patterns than any prior study of this clade. Using multivariate approaches for understanding the variation in complex traits and their relationship to other factors (e.g., habitat) and phylogenetic comparative methods such as and evolutionary model fitting, we were able to quantitatively describe trends in color pattern and color diversification in this clade. Our data set was comprised of 107 species of darters and 352 photos from field sites and online databases. We found that almost 40% of color variation in Etheostomatinae can be described across the first four PC axes, which varied primarily in factors like the presence of conspicuous colors like red and blue, the complexity of color pattern, the presence of melanistic colors (blacks) and the strength of patch boundaries. Modern darter color diversity appears to have originated towards the present, rather than early in the radiation of darters. Color also seems to be evolving rapidly in younger clades such as Etheostoma and Nothonotus and is much slower in basal groups like Ammocrypta, Crystallaria, and Percina. Using canonical correspondence analysis we found trends of brighter, more conspicuous color and pattern were associated with shallow, upland streams and riffles, with more dull colors and patterns associated with lower elevation, soft substrates, large river and pool environments. Maximum likelihood model fitting also showed that small rivers and riffle environments were associated with broadly accelerated evolution in diverse color traits, with fast color evolution in large rivers being restricted to dark-light color characteristics. In addition to niche partitioning among different habitat environments (sand, rock, vegetation), color diversification could be the result of differing photic environments (light spectrum changes, water clarity, etc) and differing female preferences in sexual selection. Our results are consistent with natural selection on darter color in small river and shallow riffle environments, likely driven by changes in predator abundance and/or differences in photic conditions. Enhanced color diversification in some river habitats (streams and riffles) may indirectly contribute to reproductive isolation in darters through reinforcing sexual signaling in secondary contact between lineages. Further expansion of this data increase taxonomic coverage could help to further test for relationships between darter coloration and lineage diversification (speciation and extinction). Our work helps to understand the origins of the varied and brilliant coloration of darters and illustrates how new statistical toolkits can expand our evolutionary understanding of organismal color diversity.M.S
Oboe Reed-Making: An Analysis and Discussion of Current Practice, Limitations, and Technology Associated with Mass Production
No full textUnlike other instrumentalists, oboists are required to dedicate a portion of their
practice time to reed-making rather than music-making. Many developments in reedmaking
equipment and research have been advanced in the 21st century, but reed-making
is still an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. This thesis provides a synopsis of
current oboe reed-making technology, innovation, and research. To consolidate both the
artistic and practical nature of oboe reed-making, three interviews with leading oboe reedmakers
were conducted. This project serves as only a preliminary investigation into a
complex, multi-disciplinary topic; further research should investigate the unique qualities
of the oboe reed and its potential for optimization
The Use of Isotopes by Forensic Anthropologists and Archaeologists for the Analysis of Human Remains: An Exploratory Study
No full textStable isotope analysis, a common tool in ecology, was applied to bioarchaeology
shortly after its inception. In more recent years, stable isotope analysis has been used by
forensic anthropologists to help aid in missing persons cases by providing additional
leads. With more researchers utilizing this technique, the lack of consistency and
standards between the two fields as well as different laboratories have become prevalent.
This anonymous survey was designed to help determine those differences in practices to
aid in creating a set of standards. It was sent out to many types of researchers, seven of
whom responded, who were conducting stable isotope analysis in either archaeology or
forensic anthropology. Even with the small number of participants, there were clear
similarities and differences between each researcher. These differences help to highlight
the growing need for standards among practices in stable isotope analysis
Examining the Relationship between Food Environment, Food Choice, and Diet Quality in a Southeastern Metro County in the United States
No full textThere has been a vast array of research examining food environment and its related influential factors. This body of research encompasses studies examining how individuals interact and how diet and food choice are influenced by the food environment, various methods and procedures in measuring the food environment, and its relationship with other health-related factors, among other topics.
This current study contains an integrative literature review to explore the relationship between food environment, food choice, and diet. The Torraco checklist for integrative literature reviews was followed. The search for relevant literature was conducted using the search terms food environment, food choice, diet, and other relevant terms. Articles examining food environment and food choice, food environment and diet quality, and food choice and diet quality were reviewed. The review synthesizes findings from various studies and discusses challenges and variations in methodological practices. Prior literature has failed to explore the interconnection between food environment, food choice, and diet quality; warranting further inquiry.
The third part of this study aims to further explain the relationship between food environment, food choice, and diet quality. An adapted NEMS-P and NEMS-S/CS was utilized to assess and compare individuals perceived and observed food environment, along with Steptoe’s Food Choice questionnaire, and diet quality measures. A logistic regression and crosstabulation were utilized to examine the relationship between perceived food environment, food choice, and diet quality. Maps were created via ArcGIS for the observed food environment. It was found that there is a relationship between some food environment and food choice measures and diet quality.
The relationship between workplace and home food environment is also explored in the second part of this work. A questionnaire was used to measure the perceived food environment around the workplace and home and perceived diet quality. A logistic regression and crosstabulation were used to assess the relationship of workplace and home food environment on diet quality. Results revealed mixed findings, where fast-food outlets around the home but not the workplace were related to diet quality. These topics warrant further investigation by future research to better understand the relationship between food environment and related factors.Ph.D
Nena: Creating Genre-Blending and Innovative Music
No full textPopular (Pop) music in a modern-day context does not sound the same way it did
when the term was first introduced in the mid to late 19th century, or even the way it
sounded 5 or 10 years ago. This is because Pop music as a genre is ever evolving and
growing depending on what most people consume during a specific period. Pop in 2024
flaunts a variety of genres, languages, cultures, and messages. This is because United
States is and has been the dominant force in the music industry and the various influences
in the industry come from the fact that the U.S. is a melting pot of all kinds of people.
With this in mind, I created an Extended Play (EP) of 6 songs that reflect this idea of Pop
music being a hybrid music genre. I used a variety of genres in my songs such as Jazz,
Bossa Nova, Spanish, Pop, and Alternative and showed how various aspects of each
genre have influenced my work. My EP focuses on key elements of the songwriting
process to create a product influenced by various styles as represented in the pop music
industry–a homogenous blend of genres
Dipolar Cycloaddition of Aurones: Products and Photophysics
No full textAurones are naturally occurring molecules that have intriguing biological and photophysical properties and have become enticing synthetic precursors due to the reactivity of the exocyclic alkene. While several pyrazoles have been made through dipolar cycloaddition using that alkene, their photophysical properties have been poorly explored. To better understand these properties, a series of pyrazoles were prepared by the cycloaddition/ring opening of aurones with ethyl diazoacetate. Their absorption and emission behavior in solvents with a range of polarities and protic natures were examined, showing that the presence of an electron donating group substituent increases the fluorescence response as polarity of the solvent increases. This leads to a significant increase in water, a solvent that typically quenches fluorescent activity. Halogen substituents were also found to have a similar effect in halogenated solvents. Correlations between the structure of each pyrazole and its fluorescence in a variety of solvents have been noted, and a plausible rationale has been proposed.M.S