Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An Automatic Framework for Embryonic Localization Using Edges in a Scale Space

Zachary Bessinger — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:16:13 PDT

Localization of Drosophila embryos in images is a fundamental step in an automatic computational system for the exploration of gene-gene interaction on Drosophila. Contour extraction of embryonic images is challenging due to many variations in embryonic images. In the thesis work, we develop a localization framework based on the analysis of connected components of edge pixels in a scale space. We propose criteria to select optimal scales for embryonic localization. Furthermore, we propose a scale mapping strategy to compress the range of a scale space in order to improve the efficiency of the localization framework. The effectiveness of the proposed framework and the scale mapping strategy are validated in our experiments.

Effect of Coconut Oil on Ulcerative Colitis in the Mouse Model

Pranav Chandra Alok — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:15:10 PDT

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic disease of the colon or large intestine that causes inflammation and ulceration of the inner lining of the colon and rectum. In patients with ulcerative colitis, the body’s immune system overreacts and the body mistakes food, bacteria or other internal materials in the colon for an invading substance. The immune system attacks the material, thus irritating the colon. Limited knowledge of inflammatory conditions coupled with a narrow range of therapeutic options necessitates investigating the role of natural products. This study describes the effect of natural coconut oil on chemically-induced acute and chronic disease in mice. Ulcerative colitis was induced in four groups (5 mice per group) of 10-week-old female C57BL/6 mice by exposing them to 2.5-3% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 5 and 29 days in the acute and chronic models, respectively. Coconut oil treatment was given via food containing 5% coconut oil to three diseased groups in three different regimens: one, preventive group receiving treatment prior to disease induction (14 d in acute; 28 d in chronic); two, simultaneous group receiving treatment simultaneous to disease induction; and three, regular treatment group receiving treatment after the disease induction –until termination of the experiment (14 d in acute; 60 d in chronic). Coconut food was replaced by the regular chow in the disease and water control groups. Clinical symptoms (diarrhea, occult blood, anal bleeding and body weight change) and the size of the isolated colon were recorded for comparison between experimental and control groups. Groups receiving coconut food displayed remissions in clinical markers of the disease. Improvements in clinical symptoms, histopathology, as well as cytokine activities were observed in both models, but the effects were more significant on the basis of standard error in the chronic model.

Star Spangled Saints: Ritual Practices that Legitimate War and Violence in the American Church

Terry Dewayne Shoemaker — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:14:50 PDT

The objective of this research is to analyze the ways in which the conservative,
American church has been ideologically and ritualistically shaped by an imperial culture enamored with war, the military, and violence; and how those positions and practices, in effect, legitimate war and the military. While many authors have surveyed historical Christian positions regarding war and the current nationalistic tendencies of conservative Christians, little research has been conducted to assess the effects of violence, nationalism, patriotism, and military enchantment on Christian rituals, practices, and ethos. Within this research, I argue that contemporary, conservative Christians have surpassed previously held nuanced positions of pacifism, just-war, and Christian Realism into a confluence of conservative Christian theology and American nationalism because of the American culture in which it is embedded. I refer to this typology as “church militant.” In addition, ritual practices which indirectly legitimate war and violence, influenced by an adopted position of church militant, are investigated. In order to accomplish this task, I have provided a brief survey of historical Christian typologies as they pertain to attitudes toward war and violence, while paying particular attention to the social context for each of these positions. Second, a typology of Christian hyper-religious patriotism, referred to as “church militant,” will be introduced by locating my argument within personal fieldnotes recorded during multiple visits to three Christian megachurches and current literature pertaining to Christian attitudes and participation in military and war efforts. After establishing the Christian typology toward war and violence, the subsequent sections of the paper detail specific practices of the contemporary, conservative church which serve to justify American military endeavors. Although much more could be stated regarding the militaristic cultural influence on ritual practices of conservative, American Christians, I focus on ritual songs and symbols of protection, a liturgy for religious warriors, and a practice of elevating soldiers as the Christian ideal which all legitimate United States war efforts. My objective is not to defend or attack the religious institutions which were studied; but, rather to augment the growing literature regarding conservative, American Christians vis-à-vis nationalism, patriotism, and militarism by identifying and interpreting the various ways that these ideas have shaped the conservative Christian culture.

When God Dies: Deconversion from Theism as Analogous to the Experience of Death

William David Simpson — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:41:04 PDT

In this thesis, I explore the psychological and experiential aspects of the shift from a supernatural theistic worldview (specifically born-again Christianity) to a
philosophically naturalistic and atheistic worldview in the context of the religious
landscape in the U.S. I posit that certain features of this transition, which is known as "deconversion,” can be thought of as potentially analogous, both psychologically and subjectively, to the experience of another's death as an objective environmental change. I provide anthropological and psychological evidence that believers often experience the God of born-again Christianity as an independently existing and active agent in the world. The similarities between human relationships and God relationships provide the foundation for the claim that loss of these relationships potentially constitute similar experiences, respectively. Both shifts (deconversion and death) share a number of similarities. For example, they both feature a reduction in the number of entities that are believed perceived as having minds (i.e., theory of mind determinations). Also, both shifts require a re-understanding of purpose and meaning in the world (i.e., teleological reasoning). I explore each of these shifts in detail. Finally, I show that the interpretation of the deconversion experience as analogous to the experience of death has implications for the public dialogue between Christians and atheists.

Not Quite Out on the Streets: Examining Protective and Risk Factors for Housing Insecurity among Low-Income Urban Fathers

Colleen E. Wynn — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:06:16 PDT

It has long been acknowledged that housing is essential for access to employment, social services, healthcare, and other forms of assistance that help move people out of poverty. Through identifying dimensions of housing insecurity, policymakers, as well as researchers, will have a better understanding of the protective factors that make families more secure and the risk factors that raise their level of insecurity. These analyses use resident and non-resident, low-income, urban fathers’ responses to the five publicly available waves of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing (n = 4378) dataset to examine the relationship between protective and risk factors and housing insecurity. As access to protective factors increases, fathers’ risk of housing semi-insecurity and insecurity decreases, and as fathers are more exposed to risk factors, both their housing semi-insecurity and insecurity risks increase.

Influence of Transplanter Modification and Previous Crop on the Production of No-Till Dark Tobacco

William Frazier Penick — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:44:59 PDT

Dark tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) has historically been produced using
conventional tillage practices. Soil is cultivated multiple times throughout a growing season leading to an increased incidence of soil erosion. No-till systems have been growing in popularity with the advent of new technology that has enabled the practice to be performed effectively and efficiently. With the recent expansion of no-till practices throughout the agricultural community, many crops have had success in producing comparable yields while reducing input costs and saving soil resources. For this experiment, a traditional tobacco transplanter was modified for use in a no-till environment. All modifications were fabricated without using specialty tools and made possible to be removed if desired or necessary. Frame extensions were designed and built to accommodate row cleaners and coulters. Tillage shanks were also added to aid in optimal furrow formation. Double-disc opening shoes replaced the original round point shoes and the curved edges of the rear drive wheels were removed, creating a flat surface to increase soil contact. Experimental no-till plots in fescue sod and soybean chaff residues were conducted alongside conventional tillage plots at the Western Kentucky University Agricultural Research and Education Complex in summer 2011. Five treatments, one conventionally tilled (Conv) and four no-till, were replicated three times within a randomized complete block design and used to determine the efficacy of transplanter modifications (consistency of depth, furrow closure, observed plant damage), survival of the transplants, and the amount of residue displacement. The four no-till treatments utilized different combinations including: coulter, row cleaner and shank (CRS), row cleaner and shank (RS), coulter and shank (CS), and shank only (S). These treatments demonstrated the functionality of each combination in comparison to conventional treatments. No treatment performed equally well in both residue locations. Plots in fescue residue utilizing a combination of coulter, row cleaner, shank (CRS), exhibited the lowest amount of root exposure, highest survival rate, and comparable cured weight when compared to conventionally tilled treatments. In soybean residue plots, the treatment operating with row cleaners and shanks (RS) had equivalent amounts of furrow closure to conventionally tilled plots. Pairing specific modification combinations with previous crop residue can provide furrow closure, transplant survival, and cured yield equivalent to conventionally tilled dark tobacco.

Effects of Cisplatin Analog Size on the Reaction with DNA Bases

Swathi Nandala — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:09:38 PDT

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Cisplatin is one of the well-known anti-cancer agents used to treat testicular and ovarian cancers. It mainly binds to the DNA bases, which leads to cell death. The cytotoxic activity of the cisplatin analogs is due to the interaction of platinum with nucleotides like adenine at N₇ or N₁ position and guanine at N₇ position. Guanine is the primary target for cisplatin analogs whereas adenine is the secondary target. Cisplatin analogs, [Pt(Me₅dien)(D₂O)]²⁺[Me₅dien = N,N,N’,N’,N’’-pentamethyl diethylene triamine] and [Pt(dien)(D₂O)]²⁺[dien=diethylene triamine] were synthesized and their effects on AMP and GMP were studied using NMR spectroscopy. The experiments were conducted to examine the effects of bulk on 5’-GMP and 5’-AMP. The results suggest that bulk slows down the reaction with AMP more than with that of GMP. The order of reactivity is Pt(dien)(GMP)> Pt(dien)(AMP) > Pt(Me₅dien)(GMP) > Pt(Me₅dien)(AMP). The reaction of the [Pt(Me₅dien)(D₂O)]²⁺ complex with AMP leads to multiple products, some of which appear to be due to coordination at N₁ instead of N₇.

Fused Arenes-Based Molecular and Polymeric Materials for Organic Field Effect Transistors

Harista Irugulapati — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:31:50 PDT

In the past decade, tremendous progress has been made in organic field effect
transistors. Fused oligothiophenes and anthracene molecules are fascinating
macromolecules having unique optoelectronic properties. These compounds are successfully employed as active components in optoelectronic devices including field effect transistors. Our goal is to design and synthesize conjugated molecular materials, which are highly functionalized through structural modifications in order to enhance their electronic, photonic, and morphological properties. The main desire is to synthesize novel organic fused-arenes having efficient charge carrier mobilities, as well as to optimize optical properties for organic field effect transistors (OFETs). Novel series of fused arene molecules of 9,10-di(thiophen-3-yl)anthracene (1), trans-2,5-(dianthracene-9- vinyl)thiophene (2), trans-5,5’-(dianthracene-9-yl)vinyl)- 2,2’-bithiophene (3), 5,5’-di(2 thiophene)-2,2’-bithiophene (4) , 9,10-(divinyl)anthracene core with 1- phenylcarboxypyrene (6) and polymers of poly(anthracene-co-bithiophene) (5) and poly(anthracene) (7) have been synthesized as promising materials for organic field effect transistors (OFETs). These compounds were confirmed and characterized by 1H-NMR, FT-IR, and elemental analysis. Their optical, thermal, and electronic properties were investigated using UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis respectively. Future studies will focus on evaluating OFETs performance of these material.

The Effects of Gender and Implicit Theories on Science Achievement and Interest in Elementary-Aged Students

Savannah Benningfield — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:41:01 PDT

The current study set out to determine the relationship between student grade
level, implicit views of science ability, science achievement and science interest.
Differences by grade level were also explored. The study also considered the differences in male and female implicit theories of science ability, science interest, and science achievement. Participants in the current study consisted of a total of 1910 students from six elementary schools from one south-central Kentucky district that participate in Project GEMS (Gifted Education in Math and Science). Data were analyzed by means of analysis of variance and Pearson correlations. Younger students evidenced lower scores on the implicit theories measure. No gender differences were observed in implicit theories of science ability or science interest. Females did evidence lower achievement in science than males. Implicit theories of science ability were significantly and positively correlated with science achievement. Conversely, no such relationship existed between implicit theories of science ability and interest. Limitations of the current study are discussed and possible future directions are offered. Findings from the current study underscore the importance of considering domain-specific views of ability when addressing poor science performance and when considering gender gaps in science achievement.

Karst Hydrogeology of the Haney Limestone, South-Central Kentucky

Sarah Marie Arpin — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:50:52 PDT

South-central Kentucky has one of the world’s most intensively studied karst
areas, with most work focusing on the Mammoth Cave System and related caves and aquifers. However, slightly higher in the stratigraphic section than Mammoth Cave, the Haney Limestone is a locally important but less well studied carbonate aquifer. This research provides the most comprehensive synthesis to date of the karst hydrogeology of the Haney Limestone of south-central Kentucky, focusing on the distribution and controls on cave and karst features developed within. In contrast to drainage systems within the major limestones below, joints are the most dominant control on passage development in the Haney Limestone within the study area and the orientation of these joints is consistent with that of regional joint sets. Bedding planes and the presence of insoluble rock at the base of the Haney also exert control on conduit development in the Haney Limestone. Most of the caves of the study area developed in the Haney Limestone are singleconduit caves that receive water through direct, allogenic sources. Cave entrances are frequently perennial spring resurgences and the presence of active streams suggests that the caves function within the contemporary landscape, acting as drains for localized recharge areas. The hydrology of the Haney Limestone plays an important, if localized, role in the regional hydrology of south-central Kentucky, integrated into the current system of surface and subsurface drainage of the regional karst landscape. Evidence supports the idea that caves of the Haney Limestone are, geologically, relatively recent phenomena. A majority of the cave passages in the study area are hydrologically active, the water resurging from the sampled springs is typically undersaturated with respect to limestone, and the caves in some case appear to be developed along potential stress release fractures associated with small, apparently young valleys. This suggests that caves in the Haney Limestone were not directly influenced by the incision of the Green River over vast periods, like Mammoth Cave, but that cave development is a largely contemporary process.

Reactions of Platinum(II) Compounds with Selenium Containing Amino Acids

Stephanie Robey — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:51:41 PDT

Platinum(II) anticancer medications essentially react with DNA forming kinks in
the double helix of DNA and causing apoptosis. It has also been noted that these
anticancer medications react with methionine and cysteine in the body. With the new discoveries of selenium containing amino acids including selenomethionine and selenocysteine, new research is ongoing to see what types of products can be formed from these amino acids. Our research reacts [Pt(Met-S,N)Cl₂] ²⁺ with selenomethionine to determine what types of products are produced. Monochelates including [Pt(SeMet-Se,N)Cl₂] ²⁺ have formed two isomers, as well as other products that insinuate both selenomethionine and methionine binding with the platinum to form various [Pt(SeMet- Se,N)(Met-S,N)]²⁺ products. When initially reacting 6 mM [Pt(Met-S,N)Cl₂] ²⁺ with 3 mM SeMet, the monochelates of both are produced without forming any free methionine which would suggest that there is free platinum in our solution creating the SeMet monochelate. When adding additional SeMet to the solution the same products are formed that are created when reacting 6 mM [Pt(Met-S,N)Cl₂]²⁺ and 6 mM SeMet. The ¹H NMR spectrum for these products imply a product of [Pt(SeMet-Se,N)(Met-S,N)] ²⁺. Also, reactions with [Pt(en)(ox)]²⁺ and SeMet were conducted and produced various products at two different pH’s. A [Pt(SeMet-Se,N₂] ²⁺ product was formed at lower pH and produced free ethylenediamine, however at a higher pH only [Pt(en)(SeMet-Se,N)]²⁺ was produced.

Efficient Architectures for Retrieving Mixed Data with Rest Architecture Style and HTML5 Support

Koushik Maddipudi — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:20:16 PDT

Software as a service is an emerging but important aspect of the web. Web
Services play a vital role in providing it. Web Services are commonly provided in one of two architectural styles: a "REpresentational State Transfer" (REST), or using the "Simple Object Access Protocol" (SOAP.) Originally most web content was text and small images. But more recent services involve complex data structures including text, images, audio, and video. The task of optimizing data to provide delivery of these structures is a complex one, involving both theoretical and practical aspects. In this thesis work, I have considered two architectures developed in the REST architectural style and tested them on mixes of data types (plain text, image, audio) being retrieved from a file system or database. The payload which carries the actual content of a data transmission process can either be in Extensible Markup Language (XML) or JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). Both of these language notations are widely used. The two architectures used in this thesis work are titled as Scenario 1 and Scenario 2. Scenario 1 proposes two different cases for storing, retrieving and presenting the data via a REST web service. We investigate the question of what is the best way to provide different data types (image, audio) via REST Web Service. Payload size for JSON and XML are compared. Scenario 2 proposes an enhanced and optimized architecture which is derived from the pros of the first two cases in Scenario 1. The proposed architecture is best suited for retrieving and serving non-homogeneous data as a service in a homogenous environment. This thesis is composed of theoretical and practical parts. The theory part contains the design and principles of REST architecture. The practical part has a Web Service provider and consumer model developed in Java. The practical part is developed using the Spring MVC framework and Apache CXF, which provides an implementation using JAX-RS, the Java API for RESTful services. A glossary of acronyms used in this thesis appears in the appendix on page 101.

A Hybrid Recommendation System Based on Association Rules

Ahmed Alsalama — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:08:05 PDT

Recommendation systems are widely used in e-commerce applications. The
engine of a current recommendation system recommends items to a particular user based on user preferences and previous high ratings. Various recommendation schemes such as collaborative filtering and content-based approaches are used to build a recommendation system. Most of current recommendation systems were developed to fit a certain domain such as books, articles, and movies. We propose a hybrid framework recommendation system to be applied on two dimensional spaces (User × Item) with a large number of users and a small number of items. Moreover, our proposed framework makes use of both favorite and non-favorite items of a particular user. The proposed framework is built upon the integration of association rules mining and the content-based approach. The results of experiments show that our proposed framework can provide accurate recommendations to users.

Food Defense Among Meat Processing and Food Service Establishments in Kentucky

Morgan Webb-Yeates — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:45:40 PDT

Agroterrorism is the deliberate introduction of a plant or animal disease with the
goal of causing fear, economic instability, illness, or death. After the 2002 terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center, the security of the food supply is of increasing
concern to the United States. A major incidence of agroterrorism or food tampering would have far reaching impacts on the economy and public health. The first objective of this project was to determine knowledge and concern of agroterrorism in meat processing facilities in Kentucky, and to determine knowledge and concern of food tampering and food defense in food service establishments in Warren County, Kentucky. The second objective was to determine security strategies that were being implemented by these facilities. Two separate surveys, one for meat processors and the other for food service establishments, were designed to meet these objectives. An observational study was conducted for meat processing facilities. It was found that these facilities were generally unconcerned with agroterrorism, although a reasonable amount of security implementations were in place at these facilities. A statistical comparison between restaurants and non-restaurant food service establishments, such as schools, hospitals, and hotels, was performed. Both types of food service establishments expressed little concern about a food tampering event. Non- restaurant food service establishments were slightly more concerned than restaurants about both food tampering and food defense.

The Influence of Children's Affective Ties on the Goal Clarification Step of Social Information Processing

Amanda C. Thorn — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:49:39 PDT

Previous studies have shown that children’s social goals are influenced by
emotion and that emotions can be manipulated using relationships. The present study combines these previous findings by examining the effect of children’s relationships on social goals. Social goals were examined in second and fifth grade children using hypothetical ambiguous provocation situations in which the relationship between the participant and the provocateur was manipulated by inserting the name of a friend, enemy, or a neutral peer into the story. After each situation, children rated the importance of four different social goals, indicating which of the four would be the most important to accomplish. Results indicated that within each goal type, importance ratings varied depending on the nature of the relationship. Social relational goals were rated as much more important when the provocateur was a friend versus an enemy or neutral peer, instrumental goals, however, were rated as more important when the provocateur was an enemy or a neutral peer, and avoidant and revenge goals were rated as more important when the provocateur was an enemy. Goal hierarchy was also found to vary across relationships; social relational goals were the most important when the provocateur was a friend, yet instrumental goals became equally important when the provocateur was a neutral peer and were rated as most important when the provocateur was an enemy.

Ikriya: Simulating Software Quality Enhancement With Selected Replacement Policies

Sindhu Dharani Murthy — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:53:15 PDT

The quality of information systems in any organization helps to determine the
efficiency of the organization. Many organizations maintain a custom software portfolio, whose quality is important to the organization. Management would like to optimize the portfolio’s quality. Decisions about software replacement or enhancement are made based on organizational needs and priorities. The development resources allocated help in determining the quality of new software, and should be put to optimal use. Enhancing existing software might sound cheap and easy but it is not always efficient. This thesis proposes a simulation model - iKriya - for this problem. It explores the consequences of various development and maintenance policies which might be applied.These depend on the state of existing software portfolio, the queue and properties of proposed projects, and the resources available. Optimal decisions are made by the simulator by taking the above mentioned factors into consideration.

Minimizing Travel Time Through Multiple Media With Various Borders

Tonja Miick — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:17:07 PDT

This thesis consists of two main chapters along with an introduction and
conclusion. In the introduction, we address the inspiration for the thesis, which
originates in a common calculus problem wherein travel time is minimized across two media separated by a single, straight boundary line. We then discuss the correlation of this problem with physics via Snells Law. The first core chapter takes this idea and develops it to include the concept of two media with a circular border. To make the problem easier to discuss, we talk about it in terms of running and swimming speeds. We first address the case where the starting and ending points for the passage are both on the boundary. We find the possible optimal paths, and also determine the conditions under which we travel along each path. Next we move the starting point to a location outside the boundary. While we are not able to determine the exact optimal path, we do arrive at some conclusions about what does not constitute the optimal path. In the second chapter, we alter this problem to address a rectangular enclosed boundary, which we refer to as a swimming pool. The variations in this scenario prove complex enough that we focus on the case where both starting and ending points are on the boundary. We start by considering starting and ending points on adjacent sides of the rectangle. We identify three possibilities for the fastest path, and are able to identify the conditions that will make each path optimal. We then address the case where the points are on opposite sides of the pool. We identify the possible paths for a minimum time and once again ascertain the conditions that make each path optimal. We conclude by briefly designating some other scenarios that we began to investigate, but were not able to explore in depth. They promise insightful results, and we hope to be able to address them in the future.

Ages of Engagement in Risk Taking and Self-Harm: An Investigation of the Dual Systems Model of Adolescent Risk Taking

Brittany Dykstra — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:34:36 PDT

Risk taking (RT) and self-harm (SH) are clinically, conceptually, and empirically
related, yet separate constructs, which occur most frequently during adolescence. The current study utilized retrospective reports of college students to determine reported ages of engagement in RT and SH behaviors. Reported ages were compared with predictions for ages of high frequency engagement in RT based on the Dual Systems Model of Adolescent Risk Taking (DSMART; Steinberg, 2010). The sample consisted of 228 college students, ranging in age from 18 to 48 years (mean 22.8), who completed a survey of commonly investigated RT (12 items) and SH (18 items) behaviors. A positive correlation between the RT and SH scales supported a relationship between RT and SH, as predicted. The mean ages of engagement reported for both RT and SH behaviors were significantly higher than the ages predicted by the DSMART. However, the mean ages of engagement varied significantly by behavior grouping (RT, SH), and by subgroups within each behavior group. The NSSI subgroup of SH and the Situational subgroup of RT were noted to have the lowest mean age of high frequency engagement at the subgroup and behavior item level. A relationship between RT and SH was supported and information regarding ages of engagement in RT relative to ages of engagement in SH in the sample provided a further basis for understanding the emergence of these behaviors. The findings are discussed with regard to the DSMART and the relationship between RT and SH behaviors

Hybrid Methods for Feature Selection

Iunniang Cheng — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:44:07 PDT

Feature selection is one of the important data preprocessing steps in data mining. The feature selection problem involves finding a feature subset such that a classification model built only with this subset would have better predictive accuracy than model built with a complete set of features. In this study, we propose two hybrid methods for feature selection. The best features are selected through either the hybrid methods or existing feature selection methods. Next, the reduced dataset is used to build classification models using five classifiers. The classification accuracy was evaluated in terms of the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) performance metric. The proposed methods have been shown empirically to improve the performance of existing feature selection methods.

Went off to the Shakers: The First Converts of South Union

William R. Black — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:07:00 PDT

In 1807 the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (Shakers)
established a society near the Gasper River in Logan County, Kentucky. The society was soon named South Union, and it lasted until 1922, the longest-lasting Shaker community west of the Appalachians. Most of the first Shaker converts in Logan County had only a few years beforehand participated in a series of evangelical Presbyterian camp meetings known collectively as the Kentucky Revival, the Revival of 1800, or the Great Revival.Though Presbyterian revivalism and Shakerism shared certain characteristics (particularl millennialism and enthusiastic forms of worship), there were many differences between them as well; Shakerism was not necessarily a logical continuation of the Great Revival. So why did so many Scots-Irish Presbyterians in south-central Kentucky convert to Shakerism? How did conversion make sense to them? And how was Shaker conversion understood by those who did not convert? Through a close reading of primary sources, this thesis attempts to answer these questions. Shaker conversion is better understood as an interaction within a community rather than as a transaction between an individual and God. The decade or so preceding the establishment of South Union—the disestablishment of state churches, the mass migration to the trans-Appalachian west, the burgeoning market economy—was, for many Scots-Irish Presbyterians, a period of social disorder. This was especially true in south-central Kentucky, where the local Presbyterian establishment was riven by schism. The Great Revival was a brief but ultimately disappointing creation of an alternate community, a way of escape from the surrounding chaos. Shakerism offered the apotheosis of that alternate community. South Union was a camp meeting that never ended. However, the denizens of south-central Kentucky who did not convert to Shakerism were quite hostile to the new sect. They understood conversion as a form of betrayal, a renunciation of a community which they still identified with. This understanding became especially clear during a divorce case involving William and Sally Boler, in which William Boler’s rights as a man and a citizen became circumspect because of his conversion to Shakerism. Since the mid-nineteenth century, Shaker conversion has become less threatening to the outside world. Indeed, the popular imagination has co-opted South Union as quintessentially American. By reclaiming the Shakers from the margins of society, popular memory has effectively erased conversion from the Shaker story. After all, Shaker conversion was never as much about belief or even practice as it was about a distinct and separate community.