Digital Commons Network^™

Winter Commencement: December 20, 2024, University Of North Dakota

UND Commencement Programs

UND Winter Commencement program from December 20, 2024.

Critical Review Of Loneliness Rates Among Undergraduates, Emily Schmitz

Psychology Student Publications

This study assesses loneliness rates among undergraduates from fall 2008 to spring 2019 through a secondary analysis of the National College Health Assessment II (NCHA II). The NCHA II, a comprehensive and nationally representative survey, covers a wide range of mental and physical health issues among U.S. college students. The survey consisted of questions which had students self-identify if they have felt very lonely within the last 2 weeks, 30 days, and 12 months. The study revealed that 54.90% to 67.40% of undergraduate students reported feeling very lonely during these survey periods. The results showed that most undergraduates experienced loneliness, …

Und Leads Implementation Team Meeting Agenda — December 17, 2024, University Of North Dakota

LEADS Implementation Documents

Agenda for the December 17, 2024 meeting of the UND LEADS Implementation Team. The agenda includes subgroup reports and review or discussion of Kelley Award nominees.

Science Communication: What Are The Psychological Effects Of Keeping Secrets?, Sydney Rygg

Psychology Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Self-Sabotage In Romantic Relationships: The Call Is Coming From Inside The House, Tayler Lorenz

Psychology Student Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Animals On Our Mental Health, Gracie Bowles

Psychology Student Publications

I analyzed different published journals on how animals affect our mental health. I put it into less scientific terms and made it more fun with adding in personal experiences.

Science Communication: Teen Vaping, Chloe Kwasiborski

Psychology Student Publications

What are the dangers of teenage vaping? Why do teens vape? This paper aims to explain scientific information in a clear and engaging manner for anyone to read and understand.

Political Polarization Will Not Ruin Your Love Life, Olivia Schlosser

Psychology Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Science Communications, Gabriella Nelson

Psychology Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Communicating Science – How Reading Impacts Infant’S Language Development, Kalyn Voightman

Psychology Student Publications

No abstract provided.

How Attachment Bonds Influence Human Behavior, Rhian Larocque

Psychology Student Publications

Attachment bonds form the essence of human behavior whether it's a feeling of dependability or safety within family members or the way we build romantic relationships. Attachment bonds help us cope with daily obstacles we face and may create the foundation for healthy relationships in peers or romantic partners.

How Media Representation Influences Disability Bias, Emilie Brend

Psychology Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Brain Function Related To Love, Brooklyn Morris

Psychology Student Publications

My paper serves to analyze the findings of various researchers regarding how love affects areas of the brain. I discuss romantic and parental love as well as altruism for strangers, all types of love that stimulate different areas in the brain.

Characterizing The Risk Of Meteorite Ejecta To Future Lunar Surface Operations, Jacob Yates

Theses and Dissertations

In-situ materials provided adequate shielding against the risk of meteorite ejecta for future lunar surface operations. Both regolith simulant and simulant-epoxy mixtures stopped simulated ejecta projectiles with velocities at or near lunar escape velocity. Those depth penetrations for those two in-situ related materials were shallow inside 3 cm and may prove to be influential in future mission planning of lunar surface operations. The lunar surface poses a potential risk from meteoroid ejecta for future lunar surface operations. The safety ramifications of long-term crewed missions for the Artemis program, NASA’s lunar program, are being investigated or reconsidered from the previous Apollo …

December 12, 2024, The Dakota Student

The Dakota Student

No abstract provided.

Preservation To Publisher: Flipping Textbooks Open Using The Und Scholarly Commons, Zeineb Yousif

Librarian Posters and Presentations

In 2017, the Chester Fritz Library launched our institutional repository, the UND Scholarly Commons. Our first publication was an open access edition of The History of North Dakota, a widely used state history book that we purchased the rights to publish digitally. After receiving scans of the print book from the publisher, we created PDF, EPUB, and MOBI versions of the book and disseminated it widely across OER indexing platforms.

We drew on this experience in 2023, when we partnered with North Dakota’s Department of Public Instruction to release digital editions of a series of textbooks about the culture and …

Und Leads Implementation Team Meeting Agenda — December 5, 2024, University Of North Dakota

LEADS Implementation Documents

Agenda for the December 5, 2024 meeting of the UND LEADS Implementation Team. The agenda includes subgroup reports, student outreach and marketing strategies in COMM 499, and discussion of the Kelley Award.

Understanding Ai Literacy: Implications For Practice, Sara Westall, Janet Anderson, Devon Olson

Librarian Publications

A presentation developed for the fall 2024 University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences Medical Curriculum Advance, exploring the connections between information literacy, artificial intelligence literacy, and algorithmic literacy and their relevance to health education from the perspective of research and instruction librarians.

Population Genetics Of Deer In The Northern Great Plains, Usa, Sarah Elizabeth Daman

Theses and Dissertations

Deer are currently under threat of chronic wasting disease (CWD) throughout North America. With CWD distribution increasing globally, understanding the spread of the disease is paramount for the effective management and conservation of deer populations. Conservation genomics has been shown as an effective method to study the behavior and movement of individuals on the landscape at a broad spatial scale. This approach allows for a multi-state evaluation of habitat and landscape features that may influence the dispersals and subsequent gene flow between populations. This study was designed to assess the genetic population structuring of deer within North Dakota and surrounding …

The Positivity Principle: Investigating A School Administrator Training Series Designed To Promote Systemic Positivity, Catherine Gillach

Theses and Dissertations

Education has historically been recognized as a stressful profession, yet the Covid-19 pandemic (2020) paired with intensified socio-political influences have exacerbated educator stress, anxiety, and negativity, prematurely pushing more career educators to leave the profession. Teacher and principal pre-service preparation programs largely neglect to train educators in strategies for personally managing negative stressors, and negativity mitigation strategies are often overlooked as a critical facet of school climate and culture. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation in practice was to examine the degree to which a school administrator training series could stimulate personal and systemic positivity within participants’ schools in a …

Directivity Improvement Of A Broad-Beam Patch Antenna By Means Of A Flat Metamaterial Lens, Tyler Midas

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis demonstrates the development of a flat metamaterial lens intended to enhance antenna directivity in RF applications. Development and evaluation was performed with ANSYS HFSS, where a theoretical convex lens model was developed and used as a basis for unit cell refractive indices of the metamaterial lens. The unit cell demonstrated in this study leverages the properties of a nested split-ring resonator merged with a center column. Adjusting the rings allow for refractive index optimization and effective beam focusing. The work presented also provides a 2x2 antenna array with a feed network, which enables the future work of bench …

Experimental Investigation Of Freezing Microdroplets For Understanding Chain Crystal Aggregates Observed In Atmospheric Clouds, Imteaz Osmani

Theses and Dissertations

Ice crystal aggregates are observed in upper stratospheric clouds. The crystal aggregates can form in different orientations, geometry, and shapes which are not well studied. These crystal aggregations are found in the clouds as crystal chains of various lengths and cause damage to hypersonic vehicles which include missiles, re-entry vehicles, and jet aircraft. The reasons behind such damage by atmospheric crystal chains to hypersonic bodies are unknown. That is why studying these ice crystals and their behavior in the hypersonic environment is necessary. Ice crystals form in the atmosphere in two different ways which are homogenous and heterogenous. Heterogenous freezing …

The Fcc 5-Year Deorbit Rule’S Impact On The Space Industry Including Non-Traditional Scientific And Environmental Stakeholders, Kristin Shahady

Theses and Dissertations

In pursuit of a safer and more sustainable space environment, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) introduced the 5-year deorbit rule, a regulatory mandate aimed at mitigating space debris by requiring satellite operators to remove their spacecraft from LEO within 5 years after their mission is complete. While the intent behind this rule is admirable in the desire to remediate and limit the generation of orbital debris, it raises questions whether it was crafted with consideration of all stakeholders, whether it will truly mitigate the creation of orbital debris, and whether it exhibits characteristics of arbitrariness and capriciousness. Agencies’ actions be …

Targeting World Language Learning In The Target Language: A Qualitative Inquiry Of The K–12 Foreign Language Teacher Experience, Igor Ljevaja

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the current practices of K–12 foreign language teachers (FLTs) in using the target language (TL) within an urban school district in the Midwest United States. Focusing on how FLTs engage in professional development (PD) to optimize their TL use in the classroom, the study investigates the strategies and knowledge FLTs employ to foster TL proficiency among students. Purposeful sampling was employed to recruit participants (n = 5) who represented full-time FLTs, taught between sixth and 12th grade, and had at least four years of teaching experience and valid state licenses. Semi-structured interviews with current FLTs provide …

Barriers To Faculty Adoption Of Assessment: A Case Study In Engineering, Melodie A. R. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This case study at an undergraduate teaching-focused engineering program in a small faith-based liberal arts university is designed to evaluate tools for assessing the engineering accreditor ABET’s Student Outcome Five – teamwork skills of engineering students. This evaluation would set the foundation for developing an assessment program that meets the needs of faculty, administrators, and accreditors. Activity theory is used as the theoretical framework for the study. A literature review lays the foundation for a novel conceptual framework asserting “faculty resistance” is actually “systemic friction.” The methodology is described, including data collection procedures, data analysis methods, and the approaches to …

Nanoparticles: Applications For Energy Innovation, Wen Sun

Theses and Dissertations

The work described in this dissertation will have three primary goals that are all essential for improving the energy demand using nanotechnology. The first goal is to comprehensively understand the application of SiO2-based nanoparticles (SiO2-based-NPs) in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and the challenges associated with their use. The second goal is to investigate the application of ruthenium-based nanoparticles using reduced graphene oxide as the matrix (Runano-based/rGO) for the electrochemical synthesis of ammonia under ambient conditions. The third goal is to develop binder-free 3D nanomaterials and assess their electrochemical properties for supercapacitor applications. To fulfill this goal, two different nanomaterials have …

Evaluating Uas As A Tool For Improving Elk Population Counts In A Suburban Forested Area Of North Central Colorado, Michael Wussow

Theses and Dissertations

For decades, wildlife researchers have taken advantage of an aerial perspective for performing population counts because of challenges associated with ground observations. Due to advances in aviation technology and regulations, unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) have become increasingly available for wildlife population monitoring in addition to manned aircraft, with success largely dependent on the species, their habitat, and UAS utilized. This study compares a currently accepted method of counting North American elk (ground/spotting scope counts) to a novel method (UAS) to evaluate if a commercial-off-the-shelf quadcopter (COTS) UAS equipped with zoom-capable RGB cameras would be an acceptable tool for counting elk …

Elementary Teacher Instructional Self-Efficacy In Leader In Me Lighthouse Schools, Lara Storm

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a secondary data comparative analysis using the Leader in Me Measurable Results Assessment (MRA) to examine whether teachers at Leader in Me Lighthouse certified schools have a greater degree of instructional self-efficacy than teachers at non-Lighthouse certified Leader in Me schools. Literature shows that students in classes with teachers that have a higher degree of instructional self-efficacy experience higher student achievement and a more supportive classroom climate. In addition, those teachers with higher efficacy experience lower levels of stress and burnout and are more engaged in professional development. The guiding notion of this investigation is that implementing …

Division I Female Business Student-Athletes And Career Readiness During Their Academic Careers At A 4-Year Institution, Brianna Black

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project is to explore female student-athletes within a business major and the transition from student-athlete into a professional career in a nonplaying sport capacity. This qualitative study examines eight female student-athletes who have selected a business major and their experiences with career readiness. Literature shows that student-athletes are behind in aspects of career readiness due to their focus on academic coursework and aspects of athletics with potential hopes of still becoming professional athletes. In addition, female student-athletes specifically business students are behind their counterparts due to the competitive nature of being a business student let alone …

An Indigenous Approach To Professional Development Program Evaluation For Pk–12 Educators, Erica Marie Denault

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I address the critical need for Indigenous approaches to program evaluation with an emphasis on cultural professional development (PD) programming.

I choose an Indigenous approach to program evaluation via the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) Indigenous Evaluation (IE) Framework that I modified to include educational and academic terminology to develop a cultural evaluation tool: the Cultural Competency Checklist. The Cultural Competency Checklist was embedded within cultural PD program design to illustrate a cultural learning process to produce IE. The Cultural Competency Checklist, utilized as a cultural evaluation tool shifts and reframes the westernized program evaluation process …