Middle Tennessee State University
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Digitalizing Deutschland
No full textGermany is a thriving nation with the fourth largest economy in the world, but it
has a significant issue-a lack of digitalization. Germany still prefers to do most of its
tasks with pen and paper rather than utilizing digital tools. This is in part due to cultural
perspectives based off Germany’s history as well as their values and traditions. It is also
in part due to the structure of their government. Germany has made attempts to digitalize
the country, but none have yet to be successful. This project explains how Germany is
behind digitally as a nation, investigates the reasons behind these digital delays, and why
it poses a massive problem for Germany. This project also evaluates what plans Germany
has made in the past to digitalize as well as future steps Germany should take in order to
catch it up digitally with other developed nations
AN ANALYISIS OF THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE LEVELS OF CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS ON CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES SPECIFIC TO MARIJUANA
No full textThe purpose of this study was to identify the current level of knowledge of aspiring professional pilots regarding controlled substances specific to marijuana. There has been a significant rise in the popularity of recreational and medical marijuana use. Although several states have moved to legalize both the medical and recreational use of marijuana, the Federal Aviation Administration maintains strict regulations forbidding marijuana use. Due to the rise in popularity of medical and recreational marijuana use, including cannabidiol (CBD), pilots must be aware of the regulations and risks regarding marijuana products. This study sought to identify a relationship between college graduation status and the current knowledge levels of Certified Flight Instructors (CFIs) at Middle Tennessee State University’s (MTSU) flight school regarding controlled substances specific to marijuana and CBD. A twenty-one question testing instrument was used to collect quantitative data from the CFI’s at MTSU’s flight school. Results of this study failed to prove statistical significance, but still indicated that CFI’s that have graduated from college have an increased knowledge level on controlled substances specific to marijuana than CFI’s that are still enrolled college.M.S
A Categorical Equivalence between Digraphs and Tripartite Posets
No full textIn this thesis we construct a categorical equivalence between the category of quivers and a the category whose objects consist of a subset of tripartite posets. This result takes ideas from Tucker Dowell’s thesis: The Category of Finite Incidence Posets[2] and applies them in a new arena.M.S
Coosa Cuisine: The Foodways of a Contact-Era Late-Mississippian Chiefdom
No full textIn 1540, Hernando De Soto crossed the Appalachians, and he entered one of the most fertile places of his entire expedition, in what is now east Tennessee. This area was the northern portion of the paramount chiefdom of Coosa, and it was an abundant land with much in common with Spain. The Spanish invaders recorded what they witnessed in Coosa and the foodways that they observed. This research looks at what the chroniclers wrote down and why. The abundance and similarity to their homeland left a lasting impression on the veterans of the De Soto expedition, and the De Luna expedition attempted to establish a colony there. However, the De Soto caused distress, disease, and unrest in the Southeast. The decline of Coosa in the twenty years after De Soto left the chiefdom a husk of what it had been, and colonization was abandoned. The discrepancy between the De Luna account of Coosa and the Pardo account shows that the northern portion of the chiefdom of Coosa was a more fertile and desirable region than the capital complex of “Little Egypt.” The Indigenous foodways of this fertile land had lasting impacts on the food culture of the American South that exist to this day.M.A
TRUTH AND ACCOUNTABILITY AT REGIONAL HISTORY MUSEUMS: NAVIGATING INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND NEEDS IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY APPALACHIA
No full textUnpacking difficult history has become an increasingly significant topic in public history over the last decade. Attempts to understand difficult historical topics have pushed museum professionals and public historians to create frameworks, processes, and guidelines to define and address interpretation and education surrounding difficult history. This dissertation addresses difficult historical topics in Appalachia such as enslavement and Indigenous removal, and seeks to analyze how small-to medium-sized history museums and institutions are interpreting such issues in the twenty-first century. Using three very different small-to medium-sized history museums in Appalachia as case studies, this dissertation explores institutional responsibilities and current interpretation practices of difficult history regionally. Throughout this dissertation, the question of “What’s so difficult about history in Appalachia” will be continually addressed as museum exhibitions, resources, and research are analyzed.Ph.D
Podcast for the Cause: Nonprofit Uses of Podcasting to Raise Awareness of Prostate Cancer Among African American Men
No full textProviding access to health-related information can be a challenge for social
entities such as nonprofit organizations whose missions are primarily based on increasing
awareness and engagement of their stakeholders. An accessible communication platform
is essential to maintain and effectively communicate relevant information, such as health
awareness. In collaboration with the Memphis Empowerment Initiative nonprofit
organization, this project involved creating a podcast as a communication platform to
bring prostate cancer awareness to African American men in Memphis and surrounding
areas. This creative research project examines previous studies involving podcasting and
nonprofit organizations and incorporates previous research related to health disparities.
This creative project examines podcasting as an adaptable, affordable, and accessible
digital media platform for nonprofit organizations to disseminate health-related
information to African American men. Based on the research and literature, podcasting
provides a suitable and cost-effective digital platform for nonprofit organizations to
disseminate health-related information to minority communities
A Baseline Study of the Impact of Faculty Awareness of Open Educational Resources on Faculty Perception of Open Educational Resources
No full textThe importance of textbooks and other materials to the educational process cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, the prices on these vital learning materials have continued to grow steadily year over year (Hanson, 2021). Open educational resources (OER), which are “teaching, learning, and research materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities” (Creative Commons, 2020) have been offered by some educational pundits as a potential means of addressing these skyrocketing prices (Parks et al., 2020; Wiley, 2007). This nonexperimental, baseline study sought to analyze the relationship between faculty awareness of OER and their perceptions of OER as a viable alternative for or supplement to the more traditional publisher textbooks and resources.
The survey instrument, created by Elder (2018) and administered by Elder et al. (2020), was used to collect demographic information, gauge current knowledge and awareness of OER, measure respondents’ awareness of the OER development support systems available to them, gauge interest in OER, assess familiarity with open licensing, and get a pulse on discipline-specific considerations from among the responding population. The researcher interpreted participants’ self-reported awareness and perception of OER through a primarily quantitative lens to maintain a narrow focus on these variables, though a fair amount of qualitative coding was required for various open-ended questions to allow for those parts to be included in the subsequent analysis in SPSS.
Via a chi-square test of independence, the researcher was forced to reject the research hypothesis and was unable to determine if a significant relation existed between faculty awareness of OER and faculty perceptions of OER. This inability to make a determination likely resulted from (1) a low response rate; (2) a plurality of respondents who were already well-versed in the topic; and (3) a tendency for possible respondents who were less than familiar with the topic to shy away from completing the survey for fear of negatively impacting the data (though this last possibility can only be linked anecdotally). It was determined that additional research is warranted to assess the degree to which the findings of this study are generalizable to the university teaching population as a whole; a follow-up study with minor tweaks in methodology could address the issues that occurred during this study. Nevertheless, the results of this study can serve as a starting point for further research and communications.Ed.D
Metamorphoses of Mothra in the Kaiju Genre
No full textKEYWORDS: Godzilla; King Ghidorah; Battra; Rodan; Shobijin; Ishiro Honda; Toho Studios; Japanese cinema; kaiju eiga; environmentalism in film; monster theor
Exploring the Relationship Between Creativity and Self-Talk Among Sculptors and Painters
No full textThis research explores the relationship between creativity and self-talk among sculptors and painters. Participants (N = 42) were recruited through the Visual Arts Department of Middle Tennessee State University and social media forums. Individuals involved in this study recently completed an artistic piece composed of clay, paint, or both. Creativity was measured based on artistic experience whether that was in the form of formal education or years of experience using either clay or paint. The participants completed an adapted version of the Self-Talk Scale (STS), which assessed the types and frequencies of self-talk that artists experienced when reflecting back on their most recent piece. Results from this study indicated that artists utilize various frequencies and types of self-talk when preparing, constructing, and presenting their art pieces. Specifically, more formal artistic classes correlated with less self-critical self-talk. This study found that self-managing self-talk occurred the most in the preparation stage, self-critical self-talk occurred the most in the construction stage, self-reinforcing self-talk occurred the most in the construction stage, and social-assessing self-talk occurred the most in the presentation stage. Implications for the significance of the relationship between self-talk and creativity are discussed in relation to the creative process and I provide recommendations for future research.M.A
Recording Drums in Modern Rhythm and Blues
No full textAs a drummer and an audio engineer, I have been interested in learning how
knowledge in separate disciplines inform each other. For example, when recording an
acoustic drum set, one must consider musical, technical, and architectural influences on
the results. Learning how these interact highlights the importance of each area and
benefits listeners who understand that music is a subjective art form as well as deliverable
medium. Objectively, producers’ technical choices during a recording like drum tuning
and microphone selection, affect the resultant sounds, which may vary between styles.
For this project, my primary focus was recording an acoustic drum set for modern
Rhythm and Blues, a pop music genre that combines elements of jazz, gospel, and blues.
For the audience to understand objective choices in music, it can be beneficial to compare
sonic differences between specific techniques. To accomplish this, I conducted an
experiment to showcase how instrument tuning, acoustic spaces, and microphone choices
affect the sound of studio recordings. Using these recordings, I illustrate the impact subtle
differences make in capturing sounds from an acoustic drum set in the context of a
modern rhythm and blues arrangement. One of my goals for this project was to gain
knowledge and experience and to become a better audio engineer, achieving sounds with
knowledge of how to capture compelling sounds consistently