Digital Commons Network^™

Antennas And Wave Propagation In Wireless Body Area Networks: Design And Evaluation Techniques, Ala Alemaryeen

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, fabrication of miniature electronic devices that can be used for wireless connectivity becomes of great interest in many applications. This has resulted in many small and compact wireless devices that are either implantable or wearable. As these devices are small, the space for the antenna is limited. An antenna is the part of the wireless device that receives and transmits a wireless signal. Implantable and wearable antennas are very susceptible to harmful performance degradation caused by the human body and very difficult to integrate, if not designed properly. A designer need to minimize unwanted radiation absorption by the human …

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 …

Fast Charging Technique For Lithium-Ion Cell, Shabaz Khan

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a big concern among the people. Day by day people are trying to increase the use of the sustainable energy in every sector of their life. Like other sectors, transportation sector manufacturers are beginning to shifting from fossil fuels based models to electric models. Manufacturers are trying to introduce electrified models from bicycles to cars. For energy storage, these electrified models are highly dependent on the battery. Lithium-ion cells have a high energy density, no memory effect, long cycle life and low self discharge quality, and are therefor highly used from portable electronics to electric vehicles everywhere. …

Potentials Of Physiological Signals To Implement A Wearable Drowsiness Detection And Warning System For Pilots, Shubha Majumder

Theses and Dissertations

Drowsiness is a transitional psychophysiological state from alertness towards sleep, which decreases concentration and increases response time. Drowsiness during duty hours is common for in-flight pilots due to frequent travel across different time zones, extended duty hours as well as circadian rhythm disruption. Hence, drowsy flying is one of the leading reasons for increased risk of accidents, especially in commercial aviation. Mainly three approaches (i.e., vehicle-based, behavioral, and physiological signal based) are used for onboard drowsiness detection. Among them, physiological signal-based approach is advantageous for early detection of drowsiness with reasonable accuracy due to the strong relationship among some of …

Performance Analysis Of Machine Learning Algorithms In Detecting Cyber Attacks Targeting Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (Ads-B) Systems, Mohsen Riahi Manesh

Theses and Dissertations

In order to support air traffic control services, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated the use of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) in aircraft in certain classes of airspace by January 2020. This system aims to replace the legacy approaches, such as primary and secondary radars, by employing global navigation satellite systems for its operation to generate a precise air picture for air traffic management. The major downside of this system is its security as it broadcasts information of an aircraft such as its position and velocity over an unencrypted datalink. This lack of security makes the ADS-B vulnerable …

Assessment Of Observed Weather Impacts On Small Unmanned Aircraft (Ua) Operations, Nicole Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned Aircraft (UA) are being used more frequently and for an increased variety of purposes, from military use to medical deliveries, disaster and building infrastructure imagery, and agriculture. While the interest in and usage of UA grows, little is known about how often UA flight operations are impacted by different meteorological phenomenon. In this study, a 30-year climatology of surface stations and sounding observations are used to determine the likelihood of UA operations without weather-driven restrictions or grounding at five locations. The locations of Bismarck, ND, Riverton, WY, Oakland, CA, Albuquerque, NM, and Miami, FL are selected to represent different …

On Satyrs: Brutes, Monsters, And Demons: Of Their Nature And Worship: François Hédelin's Des Satyres As A Defense Of God And Humankind, Danielle Skjelver

Theses and Dissertations

Best known for his 1657 La Pratique du Theatre, François Hédelin was a cleric with a keen interest in the stage. As the abbé d’Aubignac, he wrangled in debate with the most respected scholars of his day, and Hédelin’s contacts extended to the crown itself. His Des Satyres, brutes, monstres et démons is an attempt to do with a species what he did with the stage - to bring disorder and immorality to heel.

This dissertation provides historical context, analysis, and translation of François Hédelin’s 1627 Des Satyres, brutes, monstres et démons. De leur nature et adoration Contre l'opinion de …

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 …

A Neoclassical Realist’S Analysis Of Sino-U.S. Space Policy, Christopher David Fabian

Theses and Dissertations

During the Cold War, the United States focused its collective policy acumen on forming a competitive, actor-specific strategy to gain advantage over the Soviet Union. The fragmentation of the Soviet Union resulted in a multi-polar geopolitical environment lacking a near-peer rival for the United States. Overwhelming soft and hard power advantages allowed American policy makers to peruse a general, non-actor specific strategy to maintain its hegemonic position. However, the meteoric rise of China as a near-peer competitor in East Asia has challenged this paradigm. In order to maintain its competitive advantage, or at the very least ensure the safety of …

Principals' Perceptions Of Implementation Levels Of Innovative Education In North Dakota Schools, Timothy Godfrey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to bring awareness to education policy makers and educators in North Dakota (ND) regarding the process of implementing innovative education after the enactment of North Dakota’s Senate Bill 2186 (SB 2186) in 2017. For the purpose of this study, innovative education is defined as instruction that incorporates any or all of the 4Cs: communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. This study analyzed ND principals’ perceived levels of implementation of 4Cs instruction, perceived roadblocks and supports to 4Cs implementation, differences in implementation of 4Cs instruction dependent on enrollment, and differences in implementation of 4Cs …

Decision Analytics Using Permissioned Blockchain “Commledger”, Atif Farid Mohammad

Theses and Dissertations

The advent of Blockchain has introduced a paradigm shift in the area of Scientific Computing. The decision analytics embodiment in current technology fabric has introduced a need of incorporating Blockchain with industrial technology ecosystem. The utilization of Blockchain has introduced gaps in terms of standard business processes, while the data is being processed using the concept of traditional RDBMS and NoSQL data formats. The lag of permissioned and permissionless Blockchain is the problem area which is dealt with in this doctoral dissertation to provide a Proof of Permission (PoP) protocol for any organization or entity to tailor according to their …

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 …

Welcome To The Neighborhood: Communities Of Practice And Identity Development Of Athletic Training Students, Alicia Dionne Champagne

Theses and Dissertations

Clinical education is a large component of athletic training education and is centered on social learning. Students learn how an athletic trainer functions through exposure to a community of practice. As students transition towards full participants in the clinical environment, they get to practice their skills and begin developing their professional identity. As the profession prepares to transition to solely entry-level master’s degrees in 2022, many athletic training programs will need to alter and re-evaluate the clinical experiences available for students. This phenomenological study explored social learning within the clinical environment with an emphasis on how interactions within these communities …

Disparity Between The Real And The Ideal: How Do Different Health Profession Students View Effective Clinical Preceptors?, Steven Bradley Westereng

Theses and Dissertations

Preceptors overseeing health care students during clinical education are critical to the overall learning experience of the student. Although research has been conducted surrounding the characteristics of effective clinical preceptors from the students’ perspective within specific professions, little research has been done across health care disciplines. Research across health care professions is important because of the increased attention by academic programs on interprofessional education. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a difference amongst health care education students’ perceptions as to the characteristics of effective clinical preceptors. This study included participants from six different health …

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 …

Examining Self-Regulation Of Learning Among Community College Students In Developmental Mathematics Courses, Katrina M. Eberhart

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to self-regulate one’s learning is crucial to the success of all college students, but is particularly important to those who are considered to be underprepared; it puts students on a path towards successful course completion, subsequent course enrollment, and eventual graduation from a postsecondary institution. Those enrolled in remedial coursework are a large portion of students labeled as underprepared. Remedial education is a contentious topic in higher education. Thus, it is critical to investigate the use of classroom strategies to foster a self-regulated environment to support student success in these early classes and move onto the classes needed …

Writing The Body: Embodied Forms And Animal Spirits, Andrew Harnish

Theses and Dissertations

“Writing the Body: Embodied Forms and Animals Spirits” is comprised of a critical introduction and a novel. The critical introduction, “Embodied Forms: One Writer’s Journey from an Ableist Aesthetic to Disability Consciousness” is a literacy narrative that traces my longstanding internalization of ableist norms and their expression in my fiction, and my gradual embrace of the value of disability as an identity and aesthetic sensibility. In so doing, the introduction argues that dominant notions of “normalcy,” “perfection,” and “beauty” are deeply damaging to the disabled writers who internalize them because they encourage the creation of art that erases disability, both …

Impacts Of Cold Region Hydroclimatic Variability On Phosphorus Exports: Insights From Concentrations - Discharge Relationships, Tyson Lee Jeannotte

Theses and Dissertations

In Devils Lake ND, a terminal lake in the Northern Great Plains, algae blooms are of great concern due to the recent increase of streamflow and subsequent elevated concentrations of nutrients, particularly phosphorus. To date, very few studies explore P concentration to streamflow relationship in cold region agricultural basins, specially the headwater catchments of the Devils Lake basin. This study gains a better understanding of the impacts of hydroclimatic variation on concentration to streamflow relationships between two headwater catchments (Mauvais Coulee: 1032 km2 and Tributary 3: 160 km2) draining to Devils Lake during the 2016-2018 period. This study presents high-resolution …

Narrative Portraiture Of American Indian Men Who Persist To Completion Of Doctoral Degrees, Shawn F. Holz

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of American Indian men who have completed their doctoral degrees through the positive exploration of portraiture methodology. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with subject-actors being asked to share stories from their earliest childhood memories and educational experiences through high school and through to completion of their doctoral degrees. Using narrative analysis and transculturation theory as the framework, subject-actors stories are examined to identify emergent themes of common experiences and characteristics. These create a composite portrait of a male American Indian student who persists to completion of their doctoral degree.

Inflammation Is A Common Factor Between Central And Peripheral Neurodegeneration, Brett Anthony Mcgregor

Theses and Dissertations

The studies in this dissertation investigate neurodegenerative conditions of the central and peripheral nervous system utilizing bioinformatics and systems biology approaches. Various neurodegenerative conditions are associated with neuroinflammation or the inflammation of nervous tissue. We utilized Parkinson’s disease as our system for neuroinflammation in the central nervous system and diabetic peripheral neuropathy for the peripheral nervous system. Parkinson’s disease is associated with loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and consequent loss of dopamine signaling in the striatum of the central nervous system. Characteristics of Parkinson’s Disease include symptoms such as shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, difficulty walking, dementia, …

Examining The Perceptions Of Bullying Between Certified And Non-Certified School Personnel, Shanna Morlock

Theses and Dissertations

Bullying has been a widely researched topic. However, many areas are yet to be researched in regards to school personnels’ perceptions. This dissertation was focused around several of these missing research areas, as well as included non-certified staff. Non-certified staff have been left out of the vast majority of studies involving school personnel and bullying. That, or their perceptions have not been explored as a separate group of school personnel. This is problematic as non-certified staff are often part of supervisory roles in settings where bullying often occurs. This study addressed differences among school personnel perceptions in regards to bullying …

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. …

A Presidential Leadership Process For Higher Education In Small, Rural Institutions And Settings, Teresa Caplinger Spaeth

Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative research study was conducted to explore leadership competencies of presidents of public universities with enrollments of less than 7,000, located in small rural communities and distant locations in the Upper Midwest. The context of higher education is constantly evolving. Internal pressures from faculty and students, as well as external factors such as finances, new technologies, and stakeholder demands play a role in determining the future of academic institutions and the success of their leadership.

Much literature has been written regarding higher education leadership, best practices for success, and future changes that should be made to maintain sustainable institutions, …

Photography Methods To Understand Rural Resilience And Environmental Literacy: The Example Of Fracking In The Bakken, Bruce Evan Farnsworth

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the social and environmental impacts of fracking through deep ethnographic interviews and observations with farmers and ranchers living and leasing on the Bakken and Three Forks shale oil formations of western North Dakota, currently the second largest oil-producing region in the United States. This study investigates how photographic methods such as photo elicitation, repeat photography, and aerial photographs/maps elicit local knowledge and testify to the resilience of ranchers and farmers challenged by oil development and the alteration of their environment. Motivated by heritage, political marginalization and the pervasive loss of ruralness, the participants express several roles, among …

The Effects Of Psychotropic Medications On Developing Brains, Abass Jafuneh

Nursing Capstones

No abstract provided.

Treatment Challenges Of Delusional Disorders, Amanda Mikhaeil

Nursing Capstones

No abstract provided.

No More “Magic Aprons”: Longitudinal Assessment And Continuous Improvement Of Customer Service At The University Of North Dakota Libraries, Karlene T. Clark, Stephanie R. Walker

Librarian Publications

The University of North Dakota (UND) Libraries have developed a multi-award winning Customer Service Program (CSP) involving longitudinal assessment and continuous improvement. The CSP consists of iterative training modules; constant reinforcement of Customer Service Principles with multiple communication strategies and tools, and incentives that boost morale and foster not only compliance, but initiative-taking and innovation. The CSP became a widely adopted part of campus-wide assessment, beyond the libraries. Subsequent presentations at conferences led to multiple requests and implementation at other libraries.

Winter Commencement: December 13-14, 2018, University Of North Dakota

UND Commencement Programs

UND Winter Commencement program from December 13-14, 2018.

Tardive Dyskinesia, Joseph J. Gossman

Nursing Capstones

No abstract provided.

December 6, 2018, University Of North Dakota

University Senate Meeting Minutes

Minutes from the December 6, 2018, meeting of the University Senate. 3 pages