Middle Tennessee State University
JEWLScholar @MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University)Not a member yet
7964 research outputs found
Sort by
THE EFFECT OF REPORTED SYMPTOMS AND OTHER FACTORS ON WHETHER HIGH-SCHOOL ATHLETES EXPERIENCE A TYPICAL OR PROLONGED RECOVERY TIME FROM SPORT-RELATED CONCUSSION
No full textThis dissertation consisted of two studies designed to evaluate the symptomology and other factors present at the time of injury and their effects on recovery time of high school athletes who experience sport-related concussion. The first study examined the effect of the number of symptoms reported at the time of sport-related concussion injury on whether high school athletes experience a typical or prolonged recovery time. Within the first study, the total number of symptoms was represented by the number of symptoms that an athlete experienced at the time of injury. Athletes were designated as having a typical recovery time if they experienced symptom recovery within seven days. The prolonged recovery designation was reserved for athletes who took longer than seven days to recover but not more than 28 days to recover. A total of 1,313 cases of high school athletes from over 20 different sports that were included within the study. The average number of symptoms reported at the time of injury was 5.1 ± 2.79. The number of symptoms reported at the time of injury was found to be a significant predictor of a prolonged recovery period (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.21 – 1.32, p < 0.001). These findings indicate that for each additional symptom that an athlete reports at the time of injury, the chances of experiencing a prolonged recovery increases by approximately 26%.
The second study aimed to determine if there were any symptoms or factors present at the time of injury that would predict a prolonged recovery time from sport-related concussion. Athletes were designated as having a typical or prolonged recovery based on the parameters mentioned above. A total of 1,313 cases of sport-related concussions from over 20 different high school sports were included in the study. A total of six symptoms and one other factor were found to be significant predictors of a prolonged recovery period in this high school population. Sex, specifically females, were found to be more likely to experience a prolonged recovery period (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.57 – 0.97, p = 0.03). The six symptoms found to be significant predictors of a prolonged recovery period were: balance issues (OR 1.48, CI 1.14 – 1.93, p = 0.003), difficulty concentrating (OR 1.74, CI 1.35 – 2.24, p <0.001), headache (OR 2.20, CI 1.03 – 4.71, p = 0.042), insomnia (OR 1.42, CI 1.07 – 1.89, p = 0.015), sensitivity to light (OR 1.35, CI 1.02 – 1.80, p = 0.039), and sensitivity to noise (OR 1.81, CI 1.35 – 2.42, p = <0.001). These findings indicate that high school athletes who report any of these symptoms or who are female may be at an increased risk of experiencing a prolonged recovery period from sport-related concussion. Overall, the findings from each study have implications into the clinical practice of healthcare practitioners who evaluate and care for high school athletes who experience sport-related concussions.Ph.D
The Effect of Collectivistic and Individualistic Orientation on Support for COVID-19 Safety Practices
No full textAmericans are known for their sense of self, and their fight for individual rights, but could this cause more harm than good during a global pandemic. Statistics provided by WHO and the CDC suggest that the United States was not handling the pandemic well compared to other developed nations. Using the ATP Wave 69 dataset provided by the Pew Research Center, this study examined the effects of collectivist/individualist orientation on the likelihood of complying with pandemic safety practices such as masking, social distancing, and quarantining. Using an OLS regression, this study found that individuals who showed high concern for others (collectivist motivation) were more likely to support safe pandemic practices than those who showed low concern. Individuals who showed high concern for themselves (individualist motivation) were also more likely to support safe pandemic practices than those who showed low concern. Those who were high in concern for self and for others showed the strongest support for safety practices. This study also found that individualist motivation had a stronger effect than collectivist motivation, suggesting that a sense of self-preservation was more important than a concern for others as a motivation for supporting COVID-19 safety practices.M.A
STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION LEVELS IN COLLEGIATE AEROSPACE STUDENTS: A STUDY COMPARING TRADITIONAL AND AEROSPACE STUDENTS AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
No full textThis paper investigates and compares stress, anxiety, and depression levels among a sample of 574 undergraduate students in the Aerospace Professional Pilot concentration, Aerospace majors in concentrations other than Professional Pilot, and Non-Aerospace students at Middle Tennessee State University. This study sought to determine if Aerospace students exhibited higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. The participants of this study completed the DASS-21, a survey instrument that measures three separate constructs, depression, anxiety, and stress. The scores from this survey were used to compare depression, anxiety, and stress levels between the three groups of students using ANOVA and a Tukey HSD posthoc. The results of this study found that Aerospace students did not exhibit higher levels of depression, anxiety, or stress and that non-Aerospace students scored higher in all three categories.M.S
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL ASSESSMENT OF POINT SOURCE RESPIRABLE ALPHA QUARTZ IN NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS, U.S.A.
No full textRespirable α-quartz fugitive aerosols produced from aggregate production operations (APOs) within limestone bedrock strata have been associated with increased adverse health effects in workers and surrounding populations. Efforts to monitor silicate mineral constituents sourced from these lithologic units have increased to better characterize the significant amount of α-quartz dust present. This study aims to speciate and relatively quantify the α-quartz content present in 36 ambient dust samples collected within the perimeter of a major APO in New Braunfels, Texas, using Fourier Transformation Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX). While FTIR and SEM-EDX have been used to estimate quantities of emissions from a single potential point source, few studies compare results between the methods. Understanding the chemical properties of the observed species is essential to understanding the effect on air quality across the region and the potential effects it has on population health. While both methods contained uncertainties, concentrations for multiple samples were on average 2.5 times higher than permissible exposure limits. Further action should be taken to capture fugitive dust to prevent these high levels from affecting the health of workers and citizens.M.S
Historic Family Farms: New Approaches to Their Preservation and Interpretation
No full textThis dissertation explores issues in rural historic preservation by examining existing scholarship, issues, and approaches while also evaluating and suggesting new approaches to the preservation of rural history and landscapes. Rural areas and family farms are under increasing development pressure and threatened by urban sprawl. Without these resources, we are perilously close to losing key parts of American rural history. The dissertation focuses on Tennessee since it has one of the oldest historic family farm preservation efforts in the nation in the form of its Tennessee Century Farms Program, which was established in 1975. The files gathered from this program form the backbone of the dissertation. This dissertation focuses on twenty-first century challenges facing rural landscapes in Tennessee and articulates potential solutions to these preservation and conservation issues. The dissertation makes extensive use of case studies, as well as information from the Tennessee Century Farms Program, to blend agricultural history with landscape conservation and public history best practice to draw conclusions on how public historians and historic preservationists can contribute to the preservation of family farms and rural landscapes. The geographic scope of the dissertation covers all three grand divisions of Tennessee. In doing so, the dissertation can compare and contrast preservation approaches for rural resources across the state.Ph.D
A Way Back: Educator Perceptions of Restorative Practices and Its Effect on the Learning Environment
No full textOver the last decade, restorative practices have emerged as an alternate form of school discipline as a result of the negative effects of exclusionary discipline practices. Restorative practices seeks to limit exclusionary practices and keep more students in the classroom while focusing on student accountability and relationship building. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to explore the perceptions of school staff on the implementation of restorative practices and their effect on the learning environment in order to answer the following research questions: (1) How do teachers and administrators perceive and experience the discipline process in schools where restorative practices are emphasized? (2) How do teachers and administrators perceive the effect student behavior has on the learning environment in schools that emphasize restorative discipline practices?
An urban Tennessee middle school that had been implementing restorative practices school-wide for four years, was chosen as the case for this study. Four school staff members were chosen utilizing purposeful sampling techniques to participate in individual semi-structured interviews. To provide context to interview data, the researcher also collected and examined four consecutive years of student achievement data, student discipline data, and student attendance data. Interview data was analyzed using first and second cycle coding methods. This study found mixed results for the utilization of restorative practices. All participants perceive restorative practices as having a positive effect on school culture and believed their use resulted in fewer behavior incidents. Positive effects reported included a focus on building relationships, more caring classroom communities, and conflict mediation strategies that helps to teach students how to successfully deal with conflict. However, participants still expressed reservations that the amount of time dedicated to the RP could take away from instructional time. Participants also reported serious concerns about how students who do not seem to respond positively to restorative strategies affect the learning environment.Ed.D
Determining the impact of WDR5 on the ability of N-MYC to bind chromatin
No full textNeuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer of the nervous system, and high-risk patients are known to have poor prognoses. N-MYC is an oncoprotein transcription factor that is commonly overexpressed through gene amplification in high-risk pediatric neuroblastoma cases. In order for N-MYC to drive oncogenesis, it must first bind chromatin to regulate expression of target genes linked to cancer functions. The chromatin regulator WDR5 has been shown to directly bind the c-MYC family member and facilitate recruitment of MYC to chromatin at genes involved in cancer-regulated functions such as protein synthesis, cell cycle progression, proliferation, and apoptosis. However, whether this is true for N-MYC in neuroblastoma remains unknown. During my thesis work, we identified a conserved core set of binding sites known to be bound by both N-MYC and WDR5. Then, to investigate the impact of WDR5 on the ability of N-MYC to bind chromatin, multiple approaches to interrupt the N-MYC-WDR5 interaction, such as a dTAG-directed degradation system and a Tet-on inducible genetic system, were used in the engineered neuroblastoma cell lines. Results demonstrate that when N-MYC was unable interact with WDR5, N-MYC binding to chromatin was specifically decreased at sites co-bound by N-MYC and WDR5. Our findings have implications for high-risk neuroblastomas and pave the way for novel treatment avenues involving inhibition of the N-MYC-WDR5 interaction as a new approach to block N-MYC function.M.S
Testing the Predictive Validity of Working Memory Capacity for Job Performance
No full textThis study tests whether working memory, short-term memory, and attentional control predict job performance and compares these measures to traditional intelligence and general mental ability (g) testing used for selection purposes. Researchers sought to present a viable alternative to tests of intelligence and g, which are often used for selection purposes despite evidence for differential validity and mean score differences in racial subgroups. The current paper seeks to address these issues by exploring viable alternatives to g: working memory, short-term memory, and attentional control. Results indicated that general mental ability, working memory, and attentional control were not predictive of performance, but short-term memory was found to have a significant relationship with structured interview performance. Short-term memory also contained no significant subgroup score differences between White and Non-White applicants, suggesting it may be a more culture-fair method of cognitive ability assessment than traditional measures of g.M.A
The Impact of Reward Sensitivity on the Relationship between Hedonic Hunger and Loss of Control Over Eating
No full textThe current study investigates whether individual differences in reward sensitivity impact the well-established relationship between hedonic hunger and loss of control over eating (LOC) to better understand factors that influence eating behavior in the current obesogenic environment. One-hundred and twelve participants were administered surveys measuring select demographic information, hedonic hunger, reward responsivity (RR), and LOC. Exploratory analyses also were conducted to determine whether patterns of responding were impacted by sex differences. Results indicated that there was a positive correlation between hedonic hunger and LOC as well as between hedonic hunger and RR. No correlation was found between RR and LOC, and, in the tested mediation model, RR did not mediate the relationship between hedonic hunger and LOC as hypothesized. These results offer evidence that dispositional motivation toward reward does not necessarily mediate the relationship between hedonic hunger and loss of control over eating. Implications and future directions are discussed.M.A
Discipline in the United States Marine Corps, 1914-1941
No full textOn the eve of World War I, United States Marines retained four basic assumptions about combat that underpinned their approach to training and discipline. Specifically, they relied heavily on military drill and appearance norms to instill blind obedience and subordination among Marines. However, combat in World War I and various small wars proved these assumptions outdated. The 1920s and ‘30s witnessed varied debates among Marines about the relevance of their doctrine, tactics, and discipline. Despite their harsh lessons that signaled the need for a different approach to discipline, Marines continued to uphold their four basic assumptions about combat. This resulted in Marine Corps doctrine, tactics, and discipline on the eve of World War II that still resembled those of World War I.M.A