Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluative Discourse As Community Identity Among Expatriates In Shenzhen, China, Karyn Harding

Theses and Dissertations

Expatriates are a modern-day community built by a rapid advance towards globalization. Expatriates are now likely to be self-initiated; that is, they chose to live in a foreign country rather than having been sent there by an employer, and they are changing the face of the global job market. However, their social interactions have not been the subject of much previous study. This paper delves into the ways that expatriates build and maintain their communities. In this case, participant observation and discourse analysis are used to study an expat community living in Shenzhen, China. As a group not defined by …

A Text-Based Exploration Of Topics In White Hmong Grammar, Katherine Ann Birnschein

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis traces the historical development of the understanding of White Hmong grammar, comparing, contrasting, and synthesizing the extant analyses. It then responds to these analyses, based exclusively on a corpus of interlinearized texts included as appendices. It proposes new elements in the grammar including an indefinite article, a potential prefix (the perfective aspect marker), and several aspect markers that have grammaticalized from adverbs. It resolves conflicting descriptions of the constituent order of the noun phrase. It clarifies a number of incomplete or inaccurate descriptions including the lexical and structural ambiguity of constructions involving the homophones of tau (a lexical …

Phonology And Morphology Of Bolgo, Katie Ann Tikka

Theses and Dissertations

Bolgo [bvo] is a language spoken in central Chad. It is a Bua language within the Adamawa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. This thesis provides an overview of the phonology and morphology of Bolgo, focusing on the underdocumented Bolgo Dugag dialect. The data on which the thesis is based consist of original research; approximately 600 nouns, 350 verbs, and 50 adjectives were elicited, as well as a number of phrases and sentences.

A significant aspect of Bolgo phonology is its ATR harmony system, which contains nine phonemic vowels. In this harmony system, words contain either the +ATR vowels /i/, …

Using Context To Communicate: Romanian Sign Language Learners And Their Communication Strategies, Rebecca Melville

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the communication strategies used by second language learners of Romanian Sign Language (LSR), including learners of different proficiency levels, and investigates whether the learner’s proficiency level affects the kinds or variety of communication strategies they use. Unlike previous studies of communication strategies by language learners, it focuses on learners of a signed rather than a spoken language.

The study consisted of two tasks—the first being a structured task where the learner was given a list of ten words to communicate to an interlocutor (a Deaf native signer). The second task was less structured and asked the …

Dialect Transfer For L2 Arabic Learners, Jozeca Lathrop

Theses and Dissertations

With rising numbers of Arabic language learners studying abroad, language programs face two challenges that are unlike many other commonly-studied languages. First, dialects of spoken Arabic vary significantly across the span of North Africa and the Middle East, so in choosing a location to study abroad, learners are also choosing a particular dialect of Arabic on which to focus their attention. Second, Arabic is diglossic, so written and spoken varieties are significantly different from each other. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is used for most written material, media, and some formal settings, while Colloquial Arabic (CA) is used for informal spoken …

Constituent Order And Participant Reference In Napo Quichua Narrative Discourse, Larinda Moffitt

Theses and Dissertations

Napo Quichua is a Quechuan language variety spoken along the Napo River in Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador. This thesis presents a description of the constituent order and participant reference system of oral narrative discourse. The primary data source for this study consists mostly of folk tales told by native speakers, with a few autobiographical accounts.

Napo Quichua is an SOV language with a relatively high degree of variation in constituent order. Constituent order variations are motivated by the guiding principles of information structure, including showing focus, highlighting information, and backgrounding information. Constituent order and participant reference also interact to …

The Effects Of A Sex Positive Sexual Violence Prevention Program On College Women, Natalie Marian Raymond

Theses and Dissertations

The development of effective sexual violence prevention programming has been an effort spanning several decades, while prevalence of such violence remains high. The present study describes the development and evaluation of a violence prevention program (Relationships, Sexuality, and Violence Prevention: RSVP) for women that draws from other types of interventions, and is grounded in Social Cognitive Theory and current research-generated recommendations.

The evaluation of the program measured change between treatment and control group college women on a number of relevant factors: (a) rape myth acceptance, (b) sexual double standards, (c) positive sexual self-understanding, (d) sexual communication, (e) sexual consent understanding, …

Understanding The Molecular And Cellular Functions Of Odd-Skipped Related 1 In Outflow Tract Development, Menglan Xiang

Theses and Dissertations

The cardiac outflow tract (OFT) is a transient conduit that connects the embryonic heart chambers to the vascular network. Transcription factor Osr1 promotes the proliferation and cell cycle progression of second heart field (SHF), an essential cell population that contribute to the developing OFT. In this study, we investigated the role of Osr1 in OFT development on cellular and molecular levels using a systems biology approach. We observed OFT rotation and elongation defects, as well as double-outlet right ventricle and overriding aorta as a result of SHF-specific deletion of Osr1. Using genetic inducible fate mapping, we showed that Osr1-expressing SHF …

The Prey Drive Model Of Sexual Violence, Tiffany Dawn Russell

Theses and Dissertations

The current project introduced prey drive theory, a new conceptualization of human violence perpetration adapted from canine training and breeding literature. As with canines, prey drive theory conceptualizes human aggression as a manifestation of genetically predisposed dominance and competitiveness. To evaluate the concept of human prey drive, the current study developed a prey drive model of sexual violence that was tested within a community sample of men (N = 662). Four latent trait clusters formed the foundation of the model: sexualized prey dominance, sexualized prey pursuit, antagonistic preparedness, and malevolent personality. A new scale, the Masculine Dominance Index, was …

Measuring Friendship Maintenance In Gay Men, Eliah Reding

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the existing friendship maintenance literature to develop a psychometrically sound scale for the measurement of friendship maintenance among gay men. Existing friendship maintenance research does not adequately capture the uniqueness of gay male friendship. Utilizing DeVellis’s (2016) steps of scale development, this dissertation constructs a new scale, the GayFABS, to assess the unique aspects of friendship maintenance in gay men. Unique in this dissertation is the use of a focus group to establish content validity rather than the traditional approach of expert review. An exploratory factor analysis is conducted to structure the scale and its component subscales. …

Evaluation Of Co2 Flooding In Tight Formation, Sai Wang

Theses and Dissertations

The low recovery of oil from the tight liquid-rich formations is still a main challenge for the tight reservoir. Thus, in order to break the chains and remove the obstacle such as the low recovery factor in the Bakken tight formation, even though the horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies were already well applied in this field, the supercritical CO2 flooding was proposed as an immense potential recovery method for the production improvement.

In this research, we conducted a series of CO2 flooding experiments under various injection pressure (2500psi, 2800psi, 3000psi, 3500psi), to investigate the recovery potential of the core …

Influences Of Nesting Behaviors In Common Eiders (Somateria Mollissima Sedentaria) In The Western Hudson Bay, Tanner John Stechmann

Theses and Dissertations

Reproductive decisions of birds are shaped by minimizing predation while meeting physiological needs of parents and offspring. As a result, birds must make decisions about investment in offspring that allows them to maximize their overall fitness. This often drives nesting behaviors and can provide insights into reproductive success. Common eiders (Somateria mollissima) are thought to have high nest attendance (time spent tending the nest) and use substantial energetic resources during breeding. However, the specific behaviors at the nest of these birds are not well studied, with even less known about the Hudson Bay common eider (S. m. sedentaria). The objectives …

The Influence Of Media Bias Perception On Space Publications, Benjamin Robert Raback-Schink

Theses and Dissertations

In an ideal world, scientific research and news would be published and reported through non-bias outlets and readers would view those sources favorably. However, that is an unrealistic expectation of our current society in which many believe that any publication will contain some bias. This thesis aimed to discover three factors on the topic. One was to see whether members of the space community view various news sources as biased, and to what degree they do if so. The second factor was to see how the general public viewed those same sources. These data were then used to compare the …

Corn, Wheat, And Switchgrass Biomass Production In The Northern Plains: Evaluating Opportunities And Tradeoffs, Rob Alan Proulx

Theses and Dissertations

The US government has mandated the annual usage of 61 GL of cellulosic biofuel by 2022. Cellulosic residues from annual crops, such as corn (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum) represent a potential source of cellulosic biomass. Another source is the production of cellulosic bioenergy crops. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) was identified as a model biomass crop by the US Department of Energy in 1992, features the most advanced agronomic development among herbaceous perennial bioenergy feedstock candidates, and is widely adapted across North America. In three interconnected studies considering a 99-county area of the eastern Dakotas …

Hunting And Fishing Attitudes, Behaviors And Ethics Related To Gender And Aggression, Victoria Williams

Theses and Dissertations

To date, no empirical studies have investigated the relationship between psychopathology (or other constructs) pertaining to hunting and fishing attitudes, behaviors and ethics relating to gender and aggression. Although experienced outdoorspeople assumedly adhere to, or are at least aware of, general hunting and fishing codes of ethics, many disregard them. This study investigates the differences between men and women on these variables by utilizing a newly developed measure of hunting and fishing attitudes and beliefs, the Sportsperson Attitude Scale (SAS) (McDonald, Williams, Sargent & McDonald 2017). This measure was created in order to better understand the potential motivators and reinforcers …

Development Of Dna-Based Biosensors And Antibacterial Additive, Yuqian Xing

Theses and Dissertations

In the first project, an ultrasensitive assay has been developed for the detection and determination of Hg2+(aq) based on single-particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (spICP-MS). In the presence of Hg2+(aq), AuNPs modified with a segment of single-stranded DNA can aggregate due to the formation of well-known thymine (T)-Hg2+-T complex. The spICP-MS can sensitively and quantitatively measure the degree of aggregation by the overall decrease in number of detected AuNPs or NP aggregates. Compared with most other Hg assays that use the same principle of aggregation-dispersion with DNA modified AuNPs, this spICP-MS-based method achieved a much lower detection limit of 0.031 …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Quasi-Two-Dimensional Chromium Sulfides, Furkan Muhammet Altincicek

Theses and Dissertations

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are atomically thin semiconductors of the type MX2 with M being a transition metal and X being a chalcogen atom. TMDs have recently attracted considerable attention because of their novel electronic and optical properties. Many TMDs have been studied except CrS2 because of the challenges in its synthesis. However, the most stable form of chromium sulfides, Cr2S3, chromium (III) sulfide, has been known to exhibit novel properties. For this reason, we studied the possibility of synthesizing thin Cr2S3 to mimic CrS2. We synthesized single phase Cr2S3 in vacuum sealed quartz tubes. The synthesis takes about 5 …

Effect Of In-Hospital Stroke Alert On Thrombolytic Therapy In Women, Renee Colsch

Theses and Dissertations

Background/Purpose. Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Women who have experienced a stroke have greater disability than men. Thrombolytic agents decrease adverse side effects of stroke by dissolving blood clots. Yet, women have 8% higher odds against being treated with a thrombolytic agent. Also, about 17% of stroke cases occur in-hospital. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects and associated variables of having an in-hospital stroke alert activation on outcomes in women admitted to the hospital for a separate condition.

Methods. Guided by the Model for Nursing Effectiveness Research, a retrospective …

Hysteretic Behavior Of Thin-Walled Steel Tubular Columns Under Constant Axial Force And Cyclic Lateral Loading, Qusay A. Al-Kaseasbeh

Theses and Dissertations

Thin-walled steel tubular bridge piers (column refers to “bridge pier” in the subsequent text) with either circular and square box cross sections are becoming an increasingly attractive choice as cantilever bridge piers in severe earthquake regions due to their architectural, structural and constructional advantages. However, thin-walled steel tubular columns are vulnerable to local buckling, global buckling or interaction between both under extreme loading events such as strong earthquakes. This buckling results in a significant strength and ductility degradation, which eventually leads to an early and full collapse of the thin-walled steel tubular columns. The work presented in this dissertation investigates …

Determination Of Maximum Scour Depth For Spur Dikes Based On A Validated Two-Dimensional Hec-Ras Model, Mathew Lee Cox

Theses and Dissertations

The introduction of spur dikes into a river flow field can have many far-reaching positive effects on the stability of a river channel. While the flow velocity directly at the spur dike tip or crest may increase, a large embayment area downstream of the spur dike will form with reduced flow velocities. Due to the increase in flow velocity at the spur dike, a scour hole will form. Scour is the leading cause of failure of hydraulic structures. In the past many hydraulic structures were tested by building scale prototype models, this method is very costly and hard to model …

United States Coast Guard Aviation Safety: Relationship Between The Safety Survey And The Extent Of Hazard Reporting, James Cooley

Theses and Dissertations

Aviation safety outcomes, such as mishaps, are a product of an aviation organization’s safety culture (Reason, 2008; Reiman & Pietikäinen, 2012). Safety cultures should be assessed in order to improve an organization’s state of safety (Adjekum et al., 2015; Cooper, Collins, Bernard, Schwann, & Knox, 2019; Wiegmann, Zhang, von Thaden, Sharma, & Gibbons, 2004). Questionnaires are one of the best ways of obtaining information about an organization’s safety culture (Wiegmann et al., 2004; Wald, Gray, & Eatough, 2018). Additionally, the extent to which aviation hazards are reported (hazreps) serve as an indicator of the health of an aviation Safety Management …

The Relationship Between Cell Phone Use And Motivation To Exercise In College Students, Ryan Eric Doree

Theses and Dissertations

Past research suggests that high cell phone usage is related to sedentary behavior, poor physical fitness, and poor mental health. College students cell phone usage has increased over previous years while physical activity levels have declined, but due to little research, this relationship is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between college student's smartphone usage, exercise motivation, and physical activity. College students completed an electronic survey (n=157; female = 135; age = 20.01±1.49; BMI = 24.39) that assessed exercise motivation, physical activity, smartphone usage, height and weight (to calculate BMI), depression, anxiety, stress and …

Factors And Experiences That Influence Physical Therapy Students' Considerations To Practice Pediatric Physical Therapy, Amy Joleen Elbert

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental research study was to explore the difference that life experiences, educational experiences, and clinical experiences made on physical therapy students’ considerations to practice pediatrics. There has been a lack of research regarding how different experiences with children integrated into the curriculum in pediatric physical therapy education positively influences students’ interests and considerations to practice pediatrics. This research study investigated the problem using the framework of adult learning theory and experiential learning. Physical therapy students from three Upper Midwestern physical therapy programs (Years 1 through 3) voluntarily participated in this survey research. A survey was …

The Time Of Imagery Use And Its' Effect On Performance And Self-Efficacy In College Baseball Players: An Intervention Study, Colton Jeffrey Haight

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined the interaction between the time of imagery use and performance and self-efficacy in college baseball players during a hitting task. Participants (n=24) were randomly assigned to one of 3 conditions: (a) before practice imagery group, (b) during practice imagery group, (c) after practice imagery group. A 3 (imagery group) × 2 (pretest and posttest) repeated measures ANOVA with performance and self-efficacy as the dependent variables was used. Results for performance main effects and interactions were not significant (p > .05); means were lower during posttest than pretest but weren’t considered significant changes. For self-efficacy, there was a significant …

Presence And Characterization Of Microplastics In Drinking (Tap/Bottled) Water And Soft Drinks, Mansurat Golden Abdulmalik Ali

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the presence of microplastics in human consumable products using 33 samples; Fifteen tap water samples, nine bottled water and nine soft drink samples, collected and purchased in Grand Forks, ND.

Tap water analysis confirm all samples contain microplastics, majority of which were fibres and fragments with 48.6% and 41.8% abundance. The average concentration was 182 mpp/L (range 66 mpp/L – 472 mpp/L) with 2.5 µm – 3 mm size range. Bottled water and soft drinks were also contaminated with microplastics with an average of 101 mpp/L (range 49 mpp/L – 166 mpp/L) and particle size ranging from …

Alpha1a-Adrenergic Receptor Modulation Of Epileptiform Activity And Seizures, Joseph Patrick Biggane

Theses and Dissertations

The research herein aimed to increase our understanding about potential roles of adrenergic receptor subtypes in epileptic seizures and seizure-like (epileptiform) phenomena. Previous observations in our laboratory led us to hypothesize that the alpha1A-adrenergic receptor is a critical component of the modulatory role of the alpha1-adrenergic receptor, and more broadly, norepinephrine, on epileptiform and seizure activity. We utilized a combination of genetic and pharmacological manipulation to elucidate specific effects of the alpha1A-adrenergic receptor subtype on altering hyperactivity in models of epilepsy, both in slice and in vivo. This research sought to address three main research questions: (1) What are the …

Preventing Internet-Based Juror Misconduct: Investigating The Efficacy Of Prohibitive Jury Instructions, Emily Marie Carstens Namie

Theses and Dissertations

To prevent the biasing influence of information obtained outside of the courtroom courts often issue instructions to jurors that limit or prohibit certain activities and the use of information during the trial and when making verdict decisions. (i.e., prohibitive instructions). However, research indicates that mock jurors tend to ignore such instructions. Additionally, advances in mobile technology give today’s jurors easier access to potentially biasing information obtained through the internet and digital communication (e.g., social media, blogs, email, and texting). This raises the question not yet addressed by extant research, whether jurors access this information during a case, even when judges …

Multi-Scale Organic Material Characterization Of The Bakken Source Rock, Arash Abarghani

Theses and Dissertations

The Bakken Shale samples were analyzed by utilizing several techniques including AFM-based Nano-IR spectroscopy, Rock-Eval 6, XRF, NMR spectroscopy, VRO, and organic petrography using reflected white light and UV light for understanding chemistry of organic matter (OM). Organic petrography showed that OM consists of various types of solid bitumen (SB), matrix bituminite, acanthomorphic acritarch, marine alginite, micrinite, and inertinite macerals. Liptinite fluorescence color was used to confirm the thermal maturity level. The results indicate that kerogen is mainly marine Type II. The original hydrogen index was restored using various mathematical/empirical methods. It was found that organofacies ‘B’ is the most …

Review Of Sex Determination In Fish And Reptiles And Estimation Of Sex Ratio Heritability In The Common Snapping Turtle, Kyle Hilliard

Theses and Dissertations

Sex-determining mechanisms in fish and reptiles are incredibly diverse. We first review sex-determination in these groups, including approaches that can be used to identify sex-determining genes and the large body of research showing genetic variation for sex ratio in species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). We then show that sex ratio variation among clutches is due to additive genetic effects in one TSD species, the common snapping turtle. This finding contradicts previous claims that non-genetic maternal factors such as yolk steroid hormones are driving sex determination in this species. Heritable variation for sex determination in the snapping turtle may allow …

Applications Of An Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle And Remote Cameras For Studying A Sub-Arctic Ecosystem, Andrew Barnas

Theses and Dissertations

The midcontinent population of lesser snow geese (Anser caerulescens caerulescens) has increased dramatically since the 1960’s due to changing agricultural practices in their southern wintering areas. The destructive foraging and continued population growth of lesser snow geese has resulted in cascading negative impacts on northern ecosystems. Studying remote sub-Arctic ecosystems is logistically challenging, but the advent of remote sensing technologies (such as drones and remote cameras) may assist ecologists in understanding snow goose ecology. Before these tools can be integrated into snow goose research programs, precursor “proof-of-concept” studies are required to validate tool use. The objectives of this study were …