Digital Commons Network^™

The Experience Of Saudi Students Writing Academic English In Sex-Separated Classrooms, Rana Alsaadi

Theses and Dissertations

This is a qualitative research that investigates the experiences of undergraduate Saudi female and male students majoring in English at Taif University, Saudi Arabia. These students were part of different sections of a course that teaches academic English writing and research in an English as a Foreign Language context. These Saudi female and male students draw on their perceptions of three main points; First, how they experienced the academic English writing course in sex-separated classrooms. Second, how the current sex-separated classrooms influence their learning of English and how if this hypothetically change to mixed-sex classrooms their experiences in learning English …

An Exploratory Analysis Of A Time Synchronization Protocol For Uas, Marcos Fernandez-Tous

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation provides a numerical analysis of a Receiver Only Synchronization (ROS) protocol which is proposed for use by Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. The use of ROS protocols could reinforce current technologies that enable transmission over 5G cell networks, decreasing latency issues and enabling the incorporation of an increased number of UAS to the network, without loss of accuracy. A minimum squared error (MSE)-based accuracy of clock offset and clock skew estimations was obtained using the number of iterations and number of observations as independent parameters. Although the model converged after only …

Traditional And Technology-Enhanced Learning: Faculty Perspectives And Student Experiences And Satisfaction In An Art & Design Program During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cynthia Margaret Boehm

Theses and Dissertations

Digital skills are essential in today’s digital age, which means that students require technology-enhanced skills in higher education to succeed in their future careers. In this study, faculty and students in an Art & Design (A&D) program at a Midwestern university were surveyed regarding their perspectives and experiences. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this university changed its teaching and learning strategy by offering courses online during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, where quarantine was mandatory. Still, the A&D program did not provide all courses online. This study included online surveys based on three constructs of quality of studio learning, …

Machine Learning Based Specular Highlight Detection Techniques To Enhanced Uav Indoor Navigation Through Slam, Ramtin Kardan

Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned aerial vehicle technology is advancing to the point where it has a lot of potential for use in various applications. While global navigation satellite systems (GPS) enable autonomous flight in outdoor contexts, dedicated, accurate wireless localization is a prospective contender for enabling indoor navigation and associated applications. This thesis represents ongoing research in Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) to improve mapping solely through a camera to remove map noises resulting from glass reflections. This research aims to investigate Machine Learning (ML) approaches that detect glass specularity in direct and two-step approaches. We used YOLOv4, YOLOv4-tiny, and Deeplabv3 to detect …

Analysis Of The Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, Skills Survey – Healthcare Edition, Jessa Hulteng

Theses and Dissertations

Cultural competence has been identified as one of the methods needed to reduce health disparities for over the last 40 years. Despite being largely accepted method in reducing health disparities, there has been limited progress to increase cultural competence of the healthcare workforce. One of the issues identified that limits progress is inconsistent means of measuring cultural competence. Based on this issue, this study investigated the construct validity of the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey – Healthcare Edition (MAKSS-HC) using exploratory factor analysis methodology, specifically Principle Axis Factoring using oblique rotation. Results were interpreted using the Multicultural counseling competence …

An Evaluation Of The Relationships Between Resilient Safety Culture, Safety Risk Parameters, And Mindfulness In The International Air Show Community, Emmanouil "Manolis" Karachalios

Theses and Dissertations

A convergent mixed-methods approach with data triangulation was utilized to assess the strength of relationships between operational risk factors, hazardous attitude, and resilient safety culture when mediated by mindfulness in the international air show community. An anonymous online survey of respondents’ perceptions, semi-structured interviews of air show experts, focus-group on air show performers, field observation at an air show, and a documentary analysis of air show safety event data was used to collect data. The quantitative findings suggest a good fit of a hypothesized structural model showing the relationships between study variables using structural equation modeling (SEM). Mindfulness (MF) significantly …

Multi-Wavelength Analysis Of Star Formation In Galaxy Clusters, Gihan Lakmal Gamage

Theses and Dissertations

Galaxy clusters are one of the most massive structures in the Universe, consisting of hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity. They are important laboratories for the study of the formation and evolution of galaxies over the age of the Universe. The high-density cluster environment affects the physical and morphological properties of cluster galaxies. The main goal of this dissertation is to study the effect of the cluster environment on galaxy evolution using the star-formation rate (SFR) of cluster galaxies. Multi-wavelength data at ultraviolet, u-band, and infrared wavelengths for a sample of 74 low-redshift (0.022 < z < 0.184 ) galaxy clusters were used for the analysis of this study. WIYN 0.9m+HDI telescope/detector at the Kitt Peak National Observatory was used to obtain u-band measurements of 14 galaxy clusters. This dataset was supplemented by 18 clusters from the study of Barkhouse et al. (2007), 10 clusters from Omizzolo et al. (2014), 13 clusters from Rude et al. (2020), and 19 clusters from Valentinuzzi et al. (2011). Archival data from the GALaxy Evolution EXplorer (GALEX) and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellites were used for ultraviolet and IR analysis, respectively. Redshifts of galaxies were obtained from SDSS spectroscopy data and were used to select cluster galaxies. The dispersion of the background-corrected red-sequence was used to separate cluster galaxies based on color into red and blue systems. A dynamical radius, r200, was calculated for each cluster using the cluster velocity dispersion, and used as a normalization factor to compare cluster characteristics. For each passband, the radial dependence (0.0 < r/r200 < 1.0) of the SFR was measured for all cluster galaxies. Evidence for the quenching of star formation towards the cluster center was found for both red and blue galaxies, with the blue galaxy SFR decreasing more than for the red galaxies. The cluster galaxy sample was divided into giant (high-mass) and dwarf (low-mass) galaxies using their absolute r-band magnitude. It was found that dwarfs are more susceptible to environmental effects compared to giant systems. These results are consistent for all multi-wavelength data used in this study. While ram pressure stripping plays a more important role in quenching star formation towards the cluster core, other mechanisms, such as galaxy harassment and starvation, were found to be more effective in the cluster outskirts.

Behavioral Responses Of Breeding Ducks To Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Surveys And Best Practices For Breeding Waterfowl Surveys Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Mason Ryckman

Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a popular wildlife survey tool. As such, biologists are exploring the use of UAVs for surveying waterfowl. The most cited benefit of using UAVs over traditional methods is the idea of reduced disturbance, but this has had limited formal evaluation across species. We conducted UAV surveys with associated behavioral observations of ducks on wetlands and on nests during the 2019 – 2020 breeding seasons. We found species-specific behaviors among blue-winged teal (Spatula discors), northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata), and gadwall (Mareca strepera) including ducks noticing the aircraft, but reactions were generally less than traditional ground …

Genetic Breed Association And Contraceptive Response Gwas Of The Feral Horses (Equus Caballus) Of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Melissa Amy Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) is home to a herd of feral horses (Equus caballus) which were present on the landscape prior to the establishment of the park and are now maintained as a living history demonstration herd. I used genomic analyses to investigate the TRNP horses’ relatedness to other breeds and the genetic basis for variation in response to a contraceptive vaccine. DNA from 118 horses was genotyped for 70k SNPs spread evenly across the genome. To clarify the relationship of this herd with other horses, I used population genomic analyses to compare the TRNP genotypes to a dataset …

The Relationship Between Growth Mindset, Perceptions Of Academic Stress, And Substance Use In First-Year Law Students, Bradley Parrish

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental correlational study was to examine the relationship between growth mindset, perceptions of academic stress, alcohol use, and drug use in first-year law students during their first semester of study. Previous researchers found law students reported levels of mental distress during the first semester of law school that were significantly higher than those reported before starting law school. Some commentators have theorized that the stressful nature of law school contributes to – if not creates – this mental distress. This study sought to explore that relationship. Among its 205 participants, this study found a significant positive …

Multinomial Logistic And Negative Binomial Regressions Of Campus Instructional Modes, Institutional Characteristics, And Covid-19 Case Counts In Fall 2020 In The Midwest, Katherine Marian Tyler

Theses and Dissertations

In spring of 2020, a global pandemic shifted American institutions of higher education into a crisis with unprecedented unknown information, guidelines that changed continuously, and impacted the personal and professional lives of students, faculty and staff. This study examined the relationships (1) between campus size, geographic setting, locus of control in Midwest and Mountain American higher educational institutions and their instructional mode in fall 2020, and (2) between those institutional characteristics and the number of reported campus COVID-19 cases in the fall of 2020. Using a multinomial logistic regression and a negative binomial regression with an estimated parameter dispersion, the …

Protecting Against Pain And Stress In The Nicu: An Evidence-Based Eye Examination Guideline, Heather Jo Bowman

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to create an evidence-based Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) eye examination guideline and associated resources that supported use of non-pharmacological interventions and emphasized the importance of parent education and involvement from both an interdisciplinary and occupational therapy perspective.

Literature Review: Although medically necessary, researchers and practitioners in the NICU interdisciplinary field have discussed pain and stress associated with preterm infant eye examinations (American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP], 2016; Fierson, 2018; Francis, 2016; Pollaci et al., 2020; Samra & McGrath, 2009). Pain and stress likely impact sensory and overall brain development (AAP, 2016; Brummelte …

Strategies For Campers With Sensory Challenges, Rachel Jessica Lindemann

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The OTS partnered with a summer camp agency to understand their needs for camp programming. The executive director informed the OTS that this camp would benefit from programming recommendations as they would like to be more inclusive toward campers of all abilities. Pfeiffer, Clark, and Arbesman (2018) explain that sensory challenges can exist in children/adolescents with or without an existing diagnosis. Children and adolescents who have difficulty regulating and responding to sensory input impedes their ability to participate in meaningful occupations. The OTS decided to provide the agency with programming recommendations to serve campers with sensory challenges in order to …

Accessibility In Rural America, Ashley Osbjornson

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Introduction: Individuals with disabilities are often faced with barriers when trying to access public spaces out in the community, which results in lack of inclusion (Chibaya et al., 2021; Sandwood, 2019). This is an ongoing barrier that if addressed, may expand inclusion for those with disabilities (CDC, 2020a). The purpose of this scholarly project was to increase accessibility and usability for rural shoppers. Thus, a manual was created for Minnesota stores to use as a guide when assessing accessibility and usability. In addition, this manual was created to help store owners understand disability and its impact and identify strategies store …

The “Nature” Of Growth: A Virtual Education Platform For Caregivers Of Children With Trauma, Katelyn Rose Mclellan

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Title: The “Nature” of Growth: A Virtual Education Platform for Caregivers of Children with Trauma

Background: More than two thirds of all children report having been exposed to at least one traumatic event prior to the age of 16 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2021). These children are considered at risk due to the previous trauma that they have been exposed to (Ryan, Jane, & Powers, 2017). Children exposed to trauma face significant barriers to engagement in meaningful tasks, delays in development, longterm health issues, and unpredictable emotions (Forkey et al., 2021). Caregivers of these children have …

Creating A Sensory Friendly Classroom, Kaitlynn Stearns

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: Children’s primary occupations are centered around engagement in their education through interaction with their learning environment and academic pursuits. In the school season months, children in Minnesota are spending roughly 935 hours at school annually (MARSS, 2020). The student’s environment in school provides a number of sensory experiences that can either support or inhibit a student’s ability to succeed in school. Many research studies have shown that children who have sensory needs that go unmet can display disruptive behaviors and will typically withdraw from engagement in their education (Dean et al., 2017). The purpose of creating the Sensory Friendly …

Upper Extremity Evaluation & Intervention Through The Utilization Of Occupation-Based Activities Within The Model Of Human Occupation Perspective, Richard J. Seaman

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Title: Upper Extremity Evaluation & Intervention Through the Utilization of Occupation-based Activities within the Model of Human Occupation Perspective.

Background: The importance of upper extremity rehabilitation is vital for clients to be able to reengage in their valued occupations that were affected due to a recent injury, illness, or surgery. Upper extremity fractures make up approximately 590,000 fractures annually in the USA (Napora et al., 2020). Clients with these types of conditions seek therapy to help improve their ability to gain back function within their body and daily lives. Through this process, clients are asked to perform various exercises that …

Helping Students From Refugee Backgrounds Succeed In Higher Education Through Support Systems, Arinola Adebayo

Theses and Dissertations

Like every student enrolled in a higher education institution, students from refugee backgrounds are not only concerned about how to get into college, but how to connect with the support systems available to them on campus. The purpose of this research was to examine the social support systems available to college students from refugee backgrounds while on campus, the resources these students engaged in to keep them connected to college, and how they tapped into available resources to be successful in achieving their higher educational career and goals. Using qualitative methods, this research used an intrinsic-embedded, single-case design case study. …

Synthesis And Properties Of Cyclobutane-1,2-Dicarboylic Acids And Their Derivatives From Substituted Cinnamic Acids, Houssein Saeid Amjaour

Theses and Dissertations

Dicarboxylic acids have extensive applications in many different fields such as polymers, metal–organic materials (MOMs), and pharmaceuticals. However, many of the dicarboxylic acids currently in use are derived from nonrenewable petroleum. Recently, cyclobutane-containing dicarboxylic acids CBDAs have shown promise as biomass-derived alternatives to these petroleum-based diacids. They can be readily prepared from a number of commercially available bio-based starting materials using clean, efficient [2+2] photocycloaddition. One group of chemicals which may be utilized in producing CBDAs are the derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acid; these compounds currently have applications ranging from polymers to pharmaceuticals to cosmetics to food additives. They can be …

The Impact Of Stress Dependent Permeability Alteration On Gas Based Eor In The Bakken Formation, Ailin Assady

Theses and Dissertations

Effective stress exerted on porous rocks can change and alter reservoir permeability accordingly during reservoir development. The permeability evolution under different reservoir statues will impact oil production and EOR design in the Bakken shale porous media. An accurate permeability model can improve capturing the fluid transport mechanism and create a reliable long-term dynamic fluid forecast via reservoir simulation. This research is focused on studying permeability alteration behavior under different pressure circumstances. The reservoir gradually loses its original pore pressure during production, increasing reservoir net effective stress. Therefore, a reduction in reservoir properties such as permeability or porosity can occur in …

Performance Of The Shortened Liquid Cooling Warming Garment During Simulated Emergency Eva, Sophie Marie Bielawski

Theses and Dissertations

Surface temperatures during extravehicular activity (EVA) in low Earth orbit range from -157°C to 121° C. Although spacesuits shield astronauts from such inhospitable extremes, metabolic heat production due to physical exertion is trapped within the garment, leading to increased internal temperature. Cooling garments are utilized to maintain human thermal equilibrium. NASA’s Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG) has been in use for decades. Koscheyev, Leon, and colleagues developed a physiologically designed Shortened Liquid Cooling Warming Garment (SLCWG) at the University of Minnesota, focused on increasing the efficiency of the garment to support thermal balance. The current study assessed the thermoregulatory …

Campus Climate For Lgbtqia+/Two Spirits At A Midwestern Tribal College, Bridget G. Brooks

Theses and Dissertations

Very little is known regarding campus climate for LGBTQIA+/Two Spirits at Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). The first aim of this dissertation research study was to ascertain if there was a population of LGBTQIA+/Two Spirits at one Midwestern Tribal and Community College. The second aim was to uncover if the campus climate for LGBTQIA+/Two Spirits was warm or chilly. Once the campus climate was discovered, the third and final aim of the study was to determine if there was a significant difference between individual perceptions of campus climate for LGBTQIA+/Two Spirits verses the perceptions of heterosexuals.An online survey was sent …

Meta-Analysis For Comparing Effect Between Game-Based Learning Versus Gamification Utilized In Nutrition Education, Chia-Lin Chang

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of obesity tripled from 1975 to 2016 and was declared as a global epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1997 (Haththotuwa et al., 2020; "Controlling the global obesity epidemic," 2022). Nutrition education that involves knowledge and behavioral change is one major component addressing the problem ("Controlling the global obesity epidemic," 2022). Therefore, the effectiveness of each learning session is essential (Sharifirad et al., 2013). Thus, many nutrition educators have used gamified nutrition education to improve teaching effectiveness to increase healthy behavior or knowledge (Chow et al., 2020.; Munguba et al., 2008; Azevedo et al., 2019). Two …

Examining Relationships Between Wellness And Student Success: Recommendations For Integration Of Wellness At A Community College, Heather Dewaard-Flickinger

Theses and Dissertations

Wellness, persistence, and retention in higher education have a common goal of student success. Colleges and universities explore various methods to help students succeed and continue towards degree completion. Most of the research has focused on traditional predictors (e.g., high school GPA, ACT/SAT scores) of persistence and success. There is limited research regarding the relationship among student persistence, retention, academic achievement, and a holistic approach to wellness. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between student wellness and student success outcomes at a community college. Wellness is a multidimensional and active behavioral process that includes personal choices …

An Introduction To Numerical Relativity And Simulations Of Binary Neutron Stars, Hayden Dale Drown

Theses and Dissertations

The theory of general relativity is currently the best description of gravity. However, the equations in general relativity are highly nonlinear and only the simplest of cases can hope to be solved analytically. As a result, the field of numerical relativity was created to solve some of these issues and to model more complicated dynamical situations. This thesis sets out to give the reader a basic understanding of general relativity, numerical relativity, as well as an understanding of some of the programs that are used in numerical relativity research such as Lorene and the Einstein Toolkit and concludes with a …

A Development Of A General Heat Transfer Correlation For Boiling Two-Phase Flow Of Pure Ethanol Based On Experimental Datasets And Correlations, Mohamed Elfaham

Theses and Dissertations

Two-phase flow heat transfer has gained an extensive focus over the past decades in many industrial applications and thermal systems. Flow involving phase change due to boiling or condensation exhibits much higher heat transfer coefficient compared to single-phase flow when it is only sensible heat transfer involved. The knowledge of heat transfer coefficients and their parametric behaviors can be utilized to improve the accuracy of models used for designing and optimizing heat transfer equipment for more effective thermal management applications.In two-phase flow boiling heat transfer, the working fluid can a single pure fluid or a binary fluid mixture. In present …

Evaluating Virtual Reality And Artificial Intelligence As Solutions For Delayed Flight Progress In Aviation Pilot Training, Ryan Paul Guthridge

Theses and Dissertations

Three studies in this dissertation examined a topic centered around delayed flight progress in aviation pilot training. Study one explored the impact of nonconcurrent flight laboratory training on the academic outcomes of collegiate aviation students, while studies two and three explored virtual reality and artificial intelligence as potential solutions to help alleviate the strain of delayed flight progress on the flight training organization. In the first study (n = 144), it was found that concurrent enrollment in an aviation classroom ground course and flight training laboratory positively impacts the mean academic block exam scores of students. In study two (n …

Impact Of Eyewitness Gender On Juror Perceptions Of Credibility, Shannon Hardy

Theses and Dissertations

While the influence of expert witness gender on juror perceptions of credibility has been widely researched, the effect of eyewitness gender has only begun to be investigated. Expert witness gender has been shown to have an impact on the perception of the credibility of testimony given, such that male expert witnesses are typically seen as more credible than female eyewitness. However, in some situations, such as a case that is considered feminine domain like child welfare, women may be seen as more credible. The purpose of the current study is to expand upon the existing literature on the impact of …

The Effect Of Mineral Composition On Elastic Properties Of The Bakken Formation In The Williston Basin, North Dakota, John Albert Harju

Theses and Dissertations

Hydrocarbon production from tight oil and/or shale plays requires drilling horizontal wells with very long laterals and hydraulic fracturing operations to stimulate the reservoirs which have generally very low porosity and permeability. A great amount of experience has been accumulated over the past two decades in the North America from production of these types of reservoirs. The Bakken formation in North Dakota, is one of the largest tight oil producers in the U.S.A. and currently ranks as the second largest producer of oil in the nation. The Bakken formation is divided into the upper and lower shale members, which are …

Instructional Coach Professional Learning: Developing Reflective Practices, Cultural Competence, And Self-Efficacy In An Asynchronous Course, Mena Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Effective instructional coaching programs have the potential to promote the development of reflective practices, cultural competence, and self-efficacy of educators, but require intentional professional development for coaches. This research inquiry examines instructional coach participants’ reflective practices, cultural competence, and self-efficacy after participating in an eight-week asynchronous Coach-Teacher Partnership Toolkit (CTPT) professional development course and the effects of the CTPT course on their coaching practices (Hill, 2021c). This study also examines teacher perceptions of cultural competence and reflective practice development as related to organizational and instructional coaching supports.

Results of the study indicate instructional coaches desire ongoing and purposeful professional development …