Nýsa, The NKU Journal of Student Research
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Item Pen Chromaticity’s Effect on the Recall of Details Following Lecture Annotation(Northern Kentucky University) Raines, JessicaWhen you think of failure, what color comes to mind? If you thought red, you are not alone. Previous studies have indicated that the color red, when seen on exam booklets, worsens academic performance. Nonetheless, some studies find no evidence that red worsens performance, or that its effects depend on the gender of the test taker. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of pen color used while taking notes during a lecture on subsequent test scores, perceptions of test difficulty, and note-taking behavior. The data were analyzed using 2 (pen color) x 2 (participant gender) ANOVAs. The results were partially consistent with the hypothesis: we found that use of a red pen resulted in worsened performance compared to use of a blue pen, but only among males. Among females, use of a red pen enhanced performance relative to a blue pen. We found this pattern of results on questions measuring recall but not recognition. We discuss the implications of pen color choice for studying and grading. If students are more aware of the effect of color on academic performance, they may be able to retain and recall more information simply by changing their pen color.Item Use of Qualified Medical Interpreters in Health Care: Barriers for Health Care Professionals(Northern Kentucky University) Alza-Rodriguez, AnaAccess to language services has become a fundamental component of care for patients who are not proficient in the English language. Patients who cannot effectively communicate in their preferred language require qualified bilingual support to ensure they receive equal access to health care. Despite the understood need for quality bilingual services, many health care professionals may be reluctant to use or provide qualified medical interpreters. A review of the literature is provided regarding barriers, which prevent or negatively influence health care professionals’ decision to use a qualified medical interpreter, thus disregarding policies regarding language laws. The purpose of this literature review is to increase understanding of the benefits of interpreter utilization, which acknowledges the rights of Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients, and maximizes the use of collaboration among health care professionals.Item Using High School Financial Literacy Education to Predict Future Income: A Story of Selection Bias(Northern Kentucky University) Kent, TylerI use data from the National Financial Capabilities Study for 2009 to 2015 to analyze the effect high school financial literacy education has on future income levels. I use Ordinary Least Squared regression to measure this relationship. Finding evidence of selection bias with a negative coefficient on the education participants, I control for it with a Heckman 2-step model. After adjusting for selection bias, I find participation in high school literacy education has no effect on future levels of income and is driven by confidence. Lower levels of confidence are correlated with higher participation in financial literacy education and lower levels of confidence are associated with lower incomes.Item Barrier to Democracy: Corruption in Former Soviet Eastern Europe(Northern Kentucky University) Schubarth, LydiaOne of the difficulties that a country faces when working toward democratization is the corruption that may run rampant in their government. This paper will analyze corruption in government and how it affects democracy, particularly in four of the former Soviet Union countries that are located in Eastern Europe: Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, and Georgia. Qualitative and quantitative analysis is provided regarding each of the four former Soviet Union countries listed. By using the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scores given by Transparency International, the countries are compared and contrasted in order to examine how their corruption has changed over time and how their situations and governments have affected their level of corruption. Scores given to each of the countries by Freedom House are also used to compare democracy. CPI and Freedom House scores are used in conjunction to analyze the relationship between corruption and democracy and to locate a correlation between the two. After analysis of the democracy and levels of corruption in each country in the study and seeing the correlation, it is clear that democracy and corruption affect each other.Item Effects of Reading Speed and Retrieval Practice on Reading Comprehension(Northern Kentucky University) Weimer, CarrieAlthough research suggests that speed reading is ineffective, it remains a popular strategy among students. We investigated the impact of an effective strategy (engaging in self-test practice, also known as retrieval practice) on speed reading. Would retrieval practice improve the efficacy of speed reading? We had participants read two passages (one at a regular rate and one at an accelerated rate) and they were given quizzes over the material either before or after reading the passages (except for the control group, which never received a quiz). Participants then completed a final comprehension test over the material. We predicted that receiving a quiz before reading would most benefit speed reading, whereas a quiz after reading would most benefit normal reading. The results did not support our hypothesis. Results indicated that regular reading was always the superior strategy regardless of quiz placement. These results suggest that speed reading is detrimental to comprehension, even when paired with retrieval practice. Limitations and future directions are discussed.Item Mnemonics, testing, and creativity : creative thinking and effectiveness of learning method(Northern Kentucky University) Krull, Sarah R. A.Much research has been done on various techniques for increasing learning, and both testing and mnemonics such as the keyword method have been proven effective. We addressed whether people high and low in creativity benefit more or less from test practice as compared to a mnemonic strategy. We had participants study twenty Lithuanian-English word pairs. Then participants either restudied the words, received test practice by being given the cue and attempting to recall the target, generated a mnemonic linking the cue to the target, or received no extra practice with the words. After a final test over all twenty words, participants completed Remote Association Triad (RAT) problems (Bowden and Jung-Beeman, 2003) which required participants to find the relationship between three words (e.g., “Cold” is related to “Sore, Shoulder, Sweat”), and yields an index of creativity. Our hypothesis that the effectiveness of different study methods would differ across groups failed to achieve significance, and, surprisingly, so did the expected testing effect. One interesting finding did emerge: higher creativity, as measured by RAT performance, benefited participants regardless of the method employed in studying.Item Cognitive performance and sounds: the effects of lyrical music and pink noise on performance(Northern Kentucky University) Chitwood, Marissa R.Given that a large percentage of students listen to music while studying, we investigated whether external noise could impair learning. In the current experiment, participants were tested on their performance in reading comprehension while listening to different types of sound. Undergraduate students (N = 70) were asked to read a passage while listening to either pink noise (equivalent to the spectrum of natural sound), pop music (genre of popular music), or read in silence. After reading an informative passage and completing a brief distractor task, participants completed a final test to assess their performance. Afterwards, participants answered questions on their personal study habits. We hypothesized that listening to pink noise while studying would improve cognitive performance compared to listening to pop music or studying in silence. In addition, we predicted that listening to pop music while studying would impair performance relative to pink noise and studying in silence. Results indicated no difference for the different types of sound on performance, suggesting that studying with sound has a minimal impact on learning.Item Prevalence of self-objectification among Northern Kentucky students(Northern Kentucky University) Spjut, NicholePast research indicates self-objectification – viewing oneself as an object or collection of body parts – can lead to depression, body-shaming, and eating disorders. This study identifies the prevalence of self-objectification among Northern Kentucky University (NKU) students and student awareness of engaging in self-objectifying behaviors. One hundred twenty surveys were administered to NKU students on campus. Students answered questions designed to measure awareness of self-objectification and actual engagement in self-objectifying behaviors. Prevalence of self-objectification among students was found to be high, while awareness was found to be low. Female students had significantly higher rates of self-objectification (96.6%) compared with male students (77.8%). Female students were also more likely to engage in body or body-part comparison (86.2%) compared to male students (59.3%). Understanding the prevalence of self-objectification can offer insight into reasons behind record-high rates of depression among college students and can lead to more effective treatment interventions. Findings can also help to inform future research and policy.Item Dye Trace Study of Karst Groundwater Flow at Mystery Spring and Wildcat Culvert in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentuciy(Northern Kentucky University) Martin, Daniel P.; Brown, Constance M.; Currens, Benjamin J.The main purpose of this study was to test connectivity from a sinkhole by William T. Young Library on the University of Kentucky’s campus to Mystery Spring (1.5 miles away) near RJ Corman Railroad in Town Branch, and measure groundwater velocity thereto. A secondary aspect of the study was to measure travel time from a storm drain at the bottom of the aforementioned campus sinkhole to “Wildcat Culvert” which discharges into Town Branch (100 meters downstream of Mystery Spring), and to observe if the two were connected. A map of the groundwater flow patterns in the area was published in 1996 based on mostly unpublished dye trace research. The last known work on Mystery Spring was conducted in 1989 by James Currens at Kentucky Geological Survey. In 1994, the William T. Young Library was built near the subject sinkhole that involved the construction of over 200 concrete and steel pylons, potentially disrupting the previous groundwater flow. In order to determine whether the construction affected karst conduits in the area, we conducted a second dye trace study in July of 2018 recreating, in many ways, the unpublished study from 1989. 90 grams of dye was injected into the two locations noted near the library (the sinkhole and a storm drain at the bottom of the razed sinkhole) and charcoal receptors, as well as an infrared probe, were placed at the predicted outflow points. Probe results at Mystery Spring were inconclusive but dye appeared in the charcoal receptors within 14 hours after injection at concentrations of 2.1 ppb. Eosine dye began appearing in visible quantities within 2 hours of the injection (6:00 p.m. on July 6th) at the outflow, “Wildcat Culvert,” which is connected to the storm drain. No connection was observed between the sinkhole and the storm drain.Item Electoral System Dysfunction: The Arab Republic of Egypt(Northern Kentucky University) Lopez, JarettElections are the cornerstone of democratic systems, but the form they take and their overall quality varies widely. In this paper, electoral systems and their formulae for deciding a victor are analyzed using the Arab Republic of Egypt as a case study. This manuscript explores how the differences in electoral formulae influence voting behavior and governmental longevity. An analysis is done through a qualitative and quantitative study of Egyptian elections, beginning with Anwar Al-Sadat in 1970 and ending with Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in 2018. We find that the Egyptian majoritarian system has not provided increased legitimacy, as suggested by the literature for a variety of reasons. This leads to further questions about the electoral formula in Egypt as well as the role of other institutions in the Egyptian political system.