Digital Commons Network^™

Comparison Of Backscatter Coefficients For Airborne Cloud Probes, Shawn Wendell Wagner

Theses and Dissertations

A major aviation hazard is power loss caused by ice particle accumulation within jet engines. High-altitude cirrus clouds are especially dangerous since pilots are often unaware when the aircraft is flying in high ice particle conditions. The commercial aerospace industry is currently investigating several approaches to mitigate the risks posed by high-concentration ice crystal conditions. One such approach uses specially-designed airborne lidar systems to quantify high concentrations of ice crystals, which enables pilots, or engine control systems, to enact appropriate counter-measures. A key component in developing a high ice crystal concentration mitigation system is reference measurements of ice crystal size …

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 …

Design Of A Controlled Descent Lifting Body Glider For High Altitude Payload Recovery, Nanette Valentour

Theses and Dissertations

A lifting body scaled glider to be used as a recovery method for high altitude ballooning payloads has been developed at the University of North Dakota. Current recovery techniques for balloon payloads consist of monitoring and chasing the payload signal until it can be recovered. It is expected that a lifting body glider can reduce the distance for payload recovery and in some cases effectively return the payload back to the Ground Station. A preliminary subsonic aerodynamic model has been developed using MATLAB and the Vortex Lattice Method (VLM). Traditional evaluation techniques typical for calculation of the aerodynamic coefficients are …

Risk-Taking Behaviors As Predicted By (Mal)Adaptive Functioning In College Students: A Look Into Emotional Adjustment, Hillary Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Risk-taking behaviors emerge, increase, and peak during adolescence and have shown to continue into late adolescence. Research has begun to explore how some forms of risk-taking may be normative and adaptive. The aim of this study is to look at how social, academic, and occupational functioning are related to risk-behaviors, as measured by risk-favorability and reported risk-taking history, and emotional adjustment in a college sample (N=314). Risk was assessed using self-report and an implicit task, both of which were moderately correlated. Both risk measures were negatively correlated with self-report measures of adaptive functioning and emotional adjustment.A series of mediation analyses …

Experiencing Foundational Literacy: A Phenomenological Study Of Preservice Teachers' Preparation To Teach Literacy, Allison Izzo

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of nine elementary preservice teachers who took an early foundational literacy course. This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted at a teacher education program at a mid-sized Midwestern university. The results of this study indicate that the long-term impact the foundational literacy course had on preservice teachers’ subsequent literacy methods coursework and student teaching was minimal. Interviews, course reflection papers, and teaching artifacts support the implication that without opportunities for preservice teachers to integrate foundational literacy in their literacy methods courses and to observe teachers explicitly using foundational literacy knowledge …

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 …

Spectral Variations Of D-Type Asteroids At Different Heliocentric Distances, Gordon M. Gartrelle

Theses and Dissertations

D-type asteroids represent a complex mystery related to the history, compositional chemistry, and dynamical migration of Outer Solar System objects. These spectrally featureless bodies have revealed few clues while raising many questions over four decades. This investigation focused on the VNIR (0.7-2.45 μm) spectral distinctions of D-types based on heliocentric location, the surface composition of D-types, and a parent body search for ungrouped chondrites Tagish Lake (TLM) and WIS 91600 long suspected as D-type analogs. Twenty-five newly acquired spectra from NASA/IRTF plus sixty-one IRTF VNIR spectra from the literature were combined into a single database and extensively analyzed.

Correlation, simple …

Effects Of Locomotion Methods Under Simulated Reduced Gravity Conditions On Muscles And Joints Of The Leg, Sophie Orr

Theses and Dissertations

Past research efforts have focused on the energy difference between altered locomotion methods in fractional gravity at different speeds, suggesting that skipping is energetically more efficient than walking and running in these environments. While skipping may be more beneficial from an energy standpoint, the full range of reasons behind the gait transition and locomotion selection have not been researched. This includes damage to the muscles of the leg, which is partially prevented by a transition from walking to running. In a space environment, these factors will play a role in astronaut health and injury prevention. For this study, participants walked, …

Monte Carlo Methods And Inductor-Capacitor Network Models In Two Dimensional Superconducting And Magnetic Systems, Pragalv Karki

Theses and Dissertations

The first chapter of this book provides a brief history of the important developments in superconductivity. After a general introduction, the superconductor-insulator transition is discussed in regards to open questions in the field and some of the questions tackled in this dissertation. Also, a brief introduction to ferromagnetism and phase transition in ferromagnetic systems is presented.

In the second chapter, the results of simulations of three types of random inductor-capacitor (LC) networks on square lattices are presented [1,2]. The dynamical conductivity was calculated using an equation-of-motion method. The critical exponent was extracted at low frequencies. The results suggest that there …

Determination Of Sorption Characteristics Of Wood Using A New Non-Fickian Empirical Model, Joshua Troy Hatton

Theses and Dissertations

Wood is a versatile and cost-effective building material found in everyday life. However, it has a disadvantage of readily absorbing both water vapor from the surrounding air and liquid water when in direct contact. The absorption of water increases the rate of the wood decaying and can also affect the physical properties, such as warping and swelling. Previous research has looked into defining the rate of absorption by modeling it based on Fick’s second law. Fick’s second law bases the rate of absorption on a diffusion coefficient; a constant that changes with time. Herein, a new empirical model is proposed …

Fine Scale Characterization Of Organic Matter Using Analytical Methods: Raman And Nmr Spectroscopies, Seyedalireza Khatibi

Theses and Dissertations

In order to assess a source rock for economical exploitation purposes, many parameters should be considered. Regarding the geochemical aspects, the most important ones are amount of organic matter (OM) and its quality. Quality refers to thermal maturity level and the nature of the OM from which it was formed that affect the ability of oil and gas generation. Vitrinite reflectance and programed pyrolysis such as Rock-Eval (RE) are common methods for such analysis.

However, vitrinite is not always present in sediments and RE is providing bulk properties. Moreover, the increase in exploration and production of unconventional reservoirs and their …

Classification Of Rotating Machinery Fault Using Vibration Signal, Santosh Paudyal

Theses and Dissertations

Rotating machinery are critical instruments in the manufacturing sectors that are continually operated to fulfill their productivity objective. To reduce the risk of catastrophic failure and unwanted breakdown, it is crucial to ensure that these machines operate within their quality standards. Waste is undesirable to such sectors that directly affect manufacturing price. Maintenance intervention must be efficient, else it is deemed as waste. It is estimated that businesses are losing billions of dollars worldwide due to inadequate maintenance and poor management. It is, therefore, crucial to carry out effective maintenance actions. Since condition-based monitoring method recommends maintenance only when necessary, …

The Relationship Between Trauma History, Ptsd Symptomology, And Intimate Partner Abuse Threat Perception, Alexandra Rehovsky

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent issue for women worldwide. Commonly, women who experience IPV will develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the high rates of reabuse experienced by the population of women who develop PTSD, this study aimed to explore how PTSD symptomology may contribute to women’s vulnerability to reabuse. The current study investigated whether PTSD and IPV history predicted threat perception hindrance—theorizing that dampened threat perception may contribute to reabuse vulnerability. Participants each read five vignettes representing five levels of threat severity within a relationship interaction to create a within-subjects design to test their threat …

Temporal Trends In The Standing Broad Jump Test Performance Of United States Children And Adolescents, Bridget Kate Pinoniemi

Theses and Dissertations

Muscular fitness is a very important indicator of health. Using a systematic review strategy, the aim of this study was to estimate the temporal trends in broad jump performance of United States youth. Broad jump data on apparently healthy United States youth (aged 10–17 years) were located through a systematic electronic database search and by pearling reference lists, topical systematic reviews and personal libraries. Sample-weighted temporal trends (expressed as percent and standardized trends) were estimated for separate age-sex groups using best-fitting regression models relating the year of testing to mean jump performance. Mean trends standardized to the year 1985 were …

Petrophysical Characterization Of Reservoir And Oil Properties As A Tool For Choosing Optimal Enhanced Oil Recovery Methods: Case Study Of Dawson Bay Formation, Divide County, North Dakota, United States, Kayode James Olatunji

Theses and Dissertations

In unconventional reservoirs, i.e., shaly or tight sand formations, with low porosity and very low permeability, the oil recovery factor is low hence enhanced oil recovery is important. In the conventional reservoirs, once the primary and secondary stages of recovery are exhausted, about two-thirds of the original oil in place is left behind. Enhanced Oil Recovery aims to recover the remaining oil (Green and Wilhite, 1998). These makes the enhanced oil recovery to be of great importance. Efforts are always in place to see how the system can be improved.

The study was carried out to describe the overview of …

Priming Learning To Improve Applicability Of Motivational Interviewing For Child Welfare Workers, Todd E. Sage

Theses and Dissertations

This research explored the use of a cognition primer to increase the perception of applicability of Motivational Interviewing for child welfare workers. Andragogy informed the need for cognition priming as a way to increase participants’ receptiveness to training by making it more applicable to their direct practice. The theory of implementation science was used to inform how organizational supports impede or enhance the likelihood of child welfare workers using Motivational Interviewing in their practice.

A cross-sectional quasi-experimental mixed modal nonequivalent group design was used with a convenience sample of 41 front line child welfare workers from one Midwest urban county …

Melnet: A Deep Learning Based Model For Melanoma Detection, Shudipto Sekhar Roy

Theses and Dissertations

Melanoma is identified as the deadliest in the skin cancer category. However, early-stage detection may enhance the treatment result. In this research, a deep learning-based model, named “melNET”, has been developed to detect melanoma in both dermoscopic and digital images. melNET uses the Inception-v3 architecture to handle the deep learning part. To ensure quality optimization, the architectural aspects of Inception-v3 were designed using the Hebbian principle as well as taking the intuition of multi-scale processing. This architecture takes advantage of parallel computing across multiple GPUs to employ RMSprop as the optimizer. While going through the training phase, melNET uses the …

Enhancement Of Retention Of Heavy Metals By Storm Water Structural Best Management Practices, Nicholas Reid Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Batch and column experiments were performed on wide range of adsorbent materials for the adsorption of copper (II) ion from aqueous solution. The objective of this research was to determine a suitable material to be applied in urban stormwater control measures such as low impact developments that will increase the pollutant reduction efficiency of the structure, specifically increase heavy metal retention. Materials analyzed in this research are wood chips, tree leaves, rice husk, biochar, modified iron-coated sand and flocculated alum particles. Batch experiments determine the maximum adsorption capacity of each material under a range of metal and adsorbent dosages. Column …

Characterizing The Contribution Of Groudwater In The Water Budgets Of Wetlands Using Gis Groundwater Modeling And The Field Measurement Of Water Quality, Brianna Fuller Speldrich

Theses and Dissertations

Wetlands provide many benefits to society, including flood attenuation, groundwater recharge, water quality improvement, and habitat for wildlife. Because their structure and function are sensitive to changes in hydrology, characterizing the water budgets of wetlands is crucial to effective management and conservation. The groundwater component of a budget, which often controls resiliency and water quality, is particularly difficult to estimate and can be costly, time-consuming, and invasive. This study used a GIS approach using a digital elevation model (DEM) and the elevations of lakes, wetlands, streams, and hydric soils to produce a water-table surface raster for a portion of the …

Precipitation Evaluation Of The North Dakota Cloud Modification Project (Ndcmp) Using Rain Gauge Observations, Matthew Erik Tuftedal

Theses and Dissertations

North Dakota farmers’ interest in using weather modification to increase precipitation and reduce hail damage resulted in a managed cost-sharing program, the North Dakota Cloud Modification Project (NDCMP), being started in 1976. The goal of this research is to determine the effectiveness of NDCMP at increasing precipitation by using the rain gauge observations of National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) and North Dakota Atmospheric Resource Board Cooperative Observer Network (NDARBCON). The rain gauge analysis uses target and control regions. Target regions are selected from counties in District I and II that have participated in all 41 years of …

Effects Of A Confidence-Based, Individualized Remediation Strategy On Student Learning And Final Grades In A Multi-Campus Human Anatomy Curriculum, Ethan Snow

Theses and Dissertations

Reliable measurement of student learning and delivery of comparable education across distributed campus sites are two significant challenges facing institutions across the country. Evidence-based practices for learning objective (LO) development and use can help overcome comparability challenges, but widely-used correctness-only assessment methods contribute to these challenges since they are only able to interpret correct answers as displays of complete knowledge and incorrect answers as displays of absent knowledge. Assessment instruments that measure correctness alone are not able to distinguish guesswork (i.e., when a student lacks knowledge but randomly chooses the correct answer), partial knowledge (i.e., when a student has learned …

Reducing Polypharmacy, Gladys A. Ndege

Nursing Capstones

No abstract provided.

Treatment Challenges Of Delusional Disorders, Amanda Mikhaeil

Nursing Capstones

No abstract provided.

New Treatment Options For Tardive Dyskinesia, Haron N. Manwa

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.

Understanding The Reminiscence Bump: A Systematic Review, Khadeeja Munawar, Sara K. Kuhn, Shamsul Haque

Librarian Publications

One of the most consistently observed phenomena in autobiographical memory research is the reminiscence bump: a tendency for middle-aged and elderly people to access more personal memories from approximately 10–30 years of age. This systematic review (PROSPERO 2017:CRD42017076695) aimed to synthesize peer-reviewed literature pertaining to the reminiscence bump. The researchers conducted searches in nine databases for studies published between the date of inception of each database and the year 2017. Keywords used included: reminiscence, bump, peak, surge, blip, reminiscence effect, and reminiscence component. Sixty-eight quantitative studies, out of 523, met the inclusion criteria. The researchers implemented a thematic analytic technique …

Dextromethorphan/Quinidine (Nuedexta) Treatment Implications For Impulsivity And Aggression In A Patient With Antisocial Personality Disorder And Major Depression: Case Study, Jacqueline M. Grinnell

Nursing Capstones

No abstract provided.

Implementing Standardized Test Results In The Classroom, Nicole Barthel

Essential Studies UNDergraduate Showcase

Students take multiple standardized tests throughout the year, which can have a tremendous impact on the school and students in positive and negative ways. Since this topic is controversial, this study will be exploring both the positive and negative impacts that standardized testing could have on schools and students. The basis of the research will be focusing on two 7th grade students at Valley Middle School in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The study will evaluate and analyze the two student’s progress using various representations obtained from the results of the standardized tests. This data will be used to observe first-hand …

Equations Of Motion In A Rotating Noninertial Reference Frame, Nicholas L. Sponsel

Essential Studies UNDergraduate Showcase

Measurement is an essential part of empirical research. As such, understanding whether the frame of reference in which a measurement occurs is inertial is essential for accurate data. As a rotating sphere, Earth is a non-inertial frame of reference and gives rise to fictitious forces. These forces are derived through vector algebra and further solved through matrix differential equations. The final solution for how velocity evolves over time results in sinusoidal functions with a period of 24 hours for Earth. To test the equations further, rational scenarios are proposed for different locations on the surface of Earth involving different initial …

Exploring Large Pore Size Alumina And Silica-Alumina Based Catalysts For Decomposition Of Lignin, Sara Pourjafar, Jasmine Kreft, Honza Bilek, Evguenii Kozliak, Wayne Seames

Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

Evaluation of copper doped silica-alumina and γ-alumina catalysts for lignin decomposition was conducted using a suite of chemical analysis protocols that enabled a comprehensive characterization of the reaction product. X-ray diffraction analysis was used to verify the concentration of doped copper on catalyst supports. Then, batch experiments were performed to study the significance of catalyst support type, catalyst dopant concentration, lignin concentration, catalyst-to-lignin ratio, reactor stirring rate and reaction time. Aqueous products were extracted with dichloromethane and analyzed using a detailed gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry analytical protocol, allowing for quantification of over 20 compounds. Solid residues were analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis …