Digital Commons Network^™

Life In Sitcoms: Episodes In Love And Loss, Amy Kielmeyer

Theses and Dissertations

Sitcoms have been an enduring part of television history, but for as much as they have been an important part of the ways we’ve interacted with television, they have also been criticized over the years for being too the same, too unrealistic, for avoiding complexity, and minimizing the lived experiences of many people. These critiques are necessary, but they can also overlook some of the ways that these very critiques are part of what makes the sitcom a valuable vehicle for telling familiar stories. Using sitcoms, obituaries, and poetry, this collection of creative nonfiction offers ways of looking at sitcoms …

Numerical Simulation And Assessment Of Underground Blue Hydrogen Storage In Depleted Gas Reservoir, Abraham Kazala

Theses and Dissertations

Nowadays, the world needs more energy than ever before. This need emphasizes that the world also requires a sustainable system that can meet these growing demands while addressing the overall impact on the environment. For this reason, the international community, including all levels of environmental policymakers, have shown a great deal of concern about the tremendous negative effects of fossil fuels on the globe. The impact of carbon dioxide as a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) from burning fossil fuels on the ozone layer and what it entails in global warming and, therefore, climate change has motivated research on finding either alternatives …

Detection Of Apiary Sites From Remote Imagery, Ning Li

Theses and Dissertations

Honey bees are essential for honey production and pollination services, but their colonies have been declining despite increasing demand. This decline may be due to various factors, including habitat loss, altered land use, climate shifts, and pesticide exposure. In order to assess the quantity and quality of habitats for honey bees and determine their availability and suitability for supporting bee colonies, it is crucial to identify the spatial location of registered apiary sites being used. However, such data is not available, which makes it a challenge for researchers in the field to further advance honey bee-related investigations. In my study, …

Rational Design Of Engineered Soft Materials For Mineral Scale Control: Synthesis, Characterization, And Performance Evaluation, Nadhem Ismail

Theses and Dissertations

Inorganic crystallization, referred to as mineral scaling, have been posing tremendous operational challenges to water-based industries over the years. Multiple recent initiatives have focused on developing sustainable and highly effective antiscalants/scale inhibitors; however, most of the investigated antiscalants have demonstrated low scaling ion tolerance and unknown scale inhibitor-mineral crystal interaction. Engineered soft materials, particularly Quantum Dots (QDs) and biopolymer-based formulations, are among the most desirable solutions since they both solve critical environmental issues and offer insights into the inhibition mechanism. This dissertation reports on the development and performance evaluation of three distinct soft materials-based formulations; Carboxyl-Silicon Quantum Dots (CSiQDs), Carboxymethylcellulose …

The Reservoir Geomechanics And Production Effects On Permafrost Stability During Polymer Eor, Shane S. Namie

Theses and Dissertations

The North Slope of Alaska (ANS) contains an estimated 40 billion barrels of heavy oil in relatively shallow formations (984 to 1,969 ft / 304 to 600 m) within the Prudhoe Bay Unit (PBU), Milne Point Unit (MPU) and Kuparuk River Unit (KRU). Extracting this resource presents unique challenges, especially when hydrocarbon-bearing zones are near the permafrost. Research on tertiary recovery processes in these shallow zones is limited, with prior studies indicating minor permafrost thawing and subsidence over 30 to 40 years but lacking a numerical simulation model supported by laboratory data.This study investigates the feasibility of an enhanced oil …

Endolysosomal Mechanisms Of Sars-Cov-2 Spike-Induced Inflammatory Response And Senescence In Human Astrocytes, Wendie Ann Hasler

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread reports of prolonged neurological symptoms in individuals who have recovered from the acute phase of the infection. These persistent symptoms, collectively termed Neuro-PASC (Neurological Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection), range from cognitive impairments to mood disturbances and other neuroinflammatory issues. Pathological features of Neuro-PASC include vascular impairment, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration. One leading hypothesis for the development of Neuro-PASC is the persistent of SARS-CoV-2 viral factors. Post-mortem evidence indicates that the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is consistently found in the brains of individuals who died with COVID-19, indicating that viral components can interact with …

Outage Prediction And Detecting Influential Factors Under Extreme Weather Events Using Shap Analysis, Farishta Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

As electricity demands continue to grow and extreme weather events become more frequent, the need for resilient energy infrastructure is increasingly urgent. This thesis addresses three critical areas of power system resilience and monitoring. The first section of the thesis reviews the Texas power blackout in February 2021, which highlighted severe vulnerabilities in energy systems under extreme weather conditions. This analysis investigates the blackout event's causes, including generation capacity limitations and over-reliance on specific energy sources. The second section presents another weather event (ice storms) in North Dakota causing a multi-day blackout. Multiple machine learning approaches are deployed to predict …

Cyclical Musicians: Collegiate Music Students’ Experiences Of Instrumental Musicking Processes Across The Menstrual Cycle, Anne Marques Catarin

Theses and Dissertations

Instrumental music researchers tend to focus on non-sex-specific health topics, such as posture (e.g., Garnett et al., 2022; Rousseau et al., 2023), musculoskeletal health (e.g., Mizrahi, 2020; Pratt et al., 2020), or neurological movement disorders (e.g., Altenmüller & Jabusch, 2010; Frucht, 2009). Despite the considerable extent of topics covered in musician health, the role of menstrual health in instrumentalists is currently underdeveloped. Using a case study design (Stake, 1995; Yin, 2014), I explored the unspoken experiences of collegiate instrumental music majors who menstruate, in an investigation to better understand the role of menstrual cycles in their musicking. For four months, …

Analyzing The Effects Of Cloud Seeding On Hail Suppression During The North Dakota Cloud Modification Project, Lynnlee Storm Rosolino

Theses and Dissertations

This study assesses the effectiveness of cloud seeding for hail suppression as part of the North Dakota Cloud Modification Project. Using a radar-based hail size retrieval algorithm, storm data from 2016-2018 were analyzed to compare observed hail sizes with forecasted values from atmospheric models and indices. Algorithm output is compared with model proximity sounding analysis including two hail-centric indices, five severe weather indices, and HAILCAST output to determine the forecasted hail size. Results show that the majority of unseeded cases have matching forecasted and observed hailstone diameter. In contrast, in seeded storms, observed hail sizes were consistently smaller than forecasted. …

Structural Degradation Causing Silicone Sealant Failure: A Comprehensive Analysis Using Evolved Gas Analysis And Thermal Desorption-Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography, Eugene Agbor Oga

Theses and Dissertations

Silicone sealants are essential components in various applications, but their long-term performance can be compromised by aging and weathering. This study investigated the thermal degradation behavior of poly dimethyl silicone sealants to gain insights into the underlying mechanisms of failure. A combined approach using Evolved Gas Analysis (EGA) and Thermal Desorption-Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (TD-Pyr-GC-MS) was employed to analyze the degradation products and identify the factors influencing the degradation process.Aged and weathered sealants exhibited distinct thermal degradation profiles compared to fresh samples. The evolution of siloxane degradation products occurred at lower temperatures in aged sealants, indicating accelerated degradation. TD-Pyr-GC-MS analysis …

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 …

Risk Factor Patterns For Elder Abuse Among United States Indigenous Peoples: Native Elder Maltreatment Survey Secondary Data Analysis, Maylynn Riding In

Theses and Dissertations

Elder abuse is a significant public health issue, with findings indicating that 9% to 10% of older adults in the United States experience abuse. This figure is likely mirrored among Indigenous Peoples residing within tribal boundaries, although specific data is scarce. This study aims to fill the gap in understanding the prevalence and risk factors associated with elder abuse among United States Indigenous Peoples (USIP) through a secondary data analysis of the Native Elder Maltreatment Survey (NEMS). The NEMS employs two key instruments: the Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test (HS EAST), which is validated for community use, and the Native …

An Analysis Of Curricular Complexity Patterns In Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Programs Using Federally Reported Data, Shane Schellpfeffer

Theses and Dissertations

With the recent development of curricular analytics tools designed to quantify the structure of a curriculum (Heileman, Abdallah, et al., 2018), some institutions of higher education are examining their curricula to find ways that these pathways to graduation can be improved (McMurtrie, 2021). The tools used to analyze curricula were created to address an issue of importance in the field of undergraduate engineering, that issue being the decreasing enrollment trend over the past two decades. The decrease in undergraduate engineering graduates in programs across the United States led to conversations in both academia and industry regarding potential solutions for this …

Investigation Of The Existence Of Vertically Oriented Ice Crystals In Winter Storms, Kendra R. Sand

Theses and Dissertations

The existence of vertically oriented ice crystals is investigated in winter storms, as observed through remote sensing and analyzed during the NASA Earth Venture Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign field campaign. The primary objective was to determine if a preferred angle of ice crystal orientation could be identified in situ using contemporary airborne sampling instruments. Additionally, the study sought to explore potential correlations between the vertical orientation of ice crystals and electric field anomalies at cloud top, as well as the relationship between crystal orientation and particle concentration. To achieve these objectives, Two-Dimensional …

The Impact Of Land Use And Land Cover Change On Vegetation, Ecosystem Dynamics, And Conservation In The Northern Great Plains, Seth R. Fore

Theses and Dissertations

Land use and land cover change (LULCC) is one of the primary contributors to global biodiversity and habitat loss. Identifying sustainable development strategies requires understanding the social drivers of land use and conservation decisions as well as their impacts on ecological processes. These socio-ecological interconnections were explored in Northern Great Plains region. Results showed that common responses to socio-economic drivers have resulted in widespread loss of grassland areas throughout the region and that shifts in the functional characteristics of plant communities caused by LULCC have significantly altered key ecosystem functions linked to primary production, carbon/nutrient turnover, and water cycling. Expanding …

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 …

Observational Analyses Of Aerosol Radiative Impacts On Weather And Climate Scales, Blake Thomas Sorenson

Theses and Dissertations

With the enhanced Arctic warming and sea ice melting in recent decades, this study seeks to expand our understanding of how atmospheric aerosols affect the Arctic radiative budget, on both weather and climate scales. On climate scales, the study of the impact of atmospheric aerosols on Arctic radiative budget, through observation-based methods, remains challenging due to the complicated surface conditions including sea ice, open oceans, and land surfaces. Using satellite observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Cloud and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES), and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager / Sounder …

Investigating The Impact Of Urban Areas On Quasi-Linear Convective Systems, Claiborne Wooton

Theses and Dissertations

Urban areas absorb and radiate energy at a higher rate compared to surrounding rural areas due to several factors, including an urban area’s tendency to have sparse vegetation and tree canopies along with high incidences of pavement. Urban areas have been shown to impact both the environment in which thunderstorms form (by altering thermodynamic, microphysical, and wind flow patterns) and the thunderstorms themselves; however, most of this previous work focused on isolated thunderstorms amid weak environmental vertical wind shear. This thesis analyzes how the structure of observed quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs)—i.e., lines of thunderstorms—are altered as they pass over urban …

Handheld Multimodal Point Spectroscopy, Rgb Imaging, And Fusion Artificial Intelligence To Determine The Species And Freshness Of Fish Fillets, Mitchell Sueker

Theses and Dissertations

When fish species are mislabeled and the fish’s freshness is inaccurately represented, health, environmental, and economic problems can arise for both consumers and the fish industry. Fish are some of the easier foods to mislabel, as the processing of whole fish to fillets makes the visual identification of the species and freshness assessment more challenging. Due to the shortcomings of the current industry standards, confirmed by our interviews with over 20 professionals in all fish supply chain nodes, developing a system that can provide accurate and rapid on-site fraud detection is of necessity. In an attempt to meet these needs, …

Researching Chlorophyll-Α Levels In Freshwater Lakes To Understand The Environmental State Of The Turtle Mountains Using Ndci Through Remote Sensing Techniques, Elliot Quinn Peltier

Theses and Dissertations

Chlorophyll α is one of the main indicators of water quality. Increasing levels have various triggers such as agricultural runoff, wastewater from treatment plants, sewage, and humus. Addressing chlorophyll α is crucial since high concentrations are precursors to eutrophication and are hazardous to human health. The Turtle Mountains in North Dakota and Manitoba is an island forest laden with lakes and trees. However, the noticeable extent of agricultural surface on the United States side of the border has made obvious the disintegration of forested area. Also, a lack of information and studies do not allow anyone to comprehend the level …

Indigenous Innovation: Exploring Substance Use And Drone Applications In Indigenous Contexts Across Canada, Jacob Nelson Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

This is a dissertation in practice which addresses Indigenous health, substance use, dronetechnology, and ethical considerations of drone use. A dissertation in practice results in three products with practical application in community. Through development of a grant application, journal manuscript, and community toolkit for ethical drone use, this dissertation addresses a broader narrative about the empowerment of Indigenous communities in Canada.

In Chapter 2, a grant application has been designed for submission to Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addiction Program. The grant explores substance use among Indigenous Peoples working in the forest sector. The grant application addresses the need for …

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 …

Investigation Of Gas Injection Eor In Conventional And Unconventional Reservoirs Based On Laboratory Experiments And Field Pilot Tests, Jin Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, fossil fuels (including oil, natural gas, and coal) are still the dominant energy sources in the United States. However, their extraction and utilization generate a significant volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) and associated gases, such as methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), etc. Injecting these gases back into deep oil reservoirs offers a practical means to enhance oil recovery while reducing air pollution. The target formations are usually characterized by good porosity and permeability to ensure sufficient injectivity and storage capacity. However, recent unconventional reservoir development indicated that tight formations could also be potential targets for enhanced oil recovery …

Causes Of The Morphological Distinctiveness Of Ahuna Mons And Differences In Cryovolcanic Styles On Ceres And The Inner Uranian Satellites Miranda And Ariel, Caleb Strom

Theses and Dissertations

Ahuna Mons is one of the most distinctive features on the dwarf planet (1) Ceres and shows evidence of cryovolcanic activity on a main belt object in the geologically recent past. Ahuna Mons is unusual, however, in that it has a higher aspect ratio and sharper features than other candidate domes on Ceres. It also stands apart from cryovolcanic features identified on other suspected cryovolcanic worlds like Miranda and Ariel, where cryovolcanism is associated with double ridges and potential plume activity. In this work, dome age, based on crater counting, and aspect ratio are compared through correlative analysis to investigate …

Analysis Of Small-Scale Propeller Performance: Insights Into Rpm, Free Stream Velocity, And Efficiency, Ali Akber Mollick

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to experimentally investigate the performance of small-scale propellers at various angular and freestream velocities. The need for precise small-scale propeller performance data is critical in the ever-expanding world of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs). Small-diameter propellers (6 inches to 22 inches) operating at low Reynolds numbers (30,000 to 300,000) based on the propeller chord at the 75% propeller-blade station present intricate aerodynamic challenges, and their behavior at low advance ratios remains underexplored. In this research work, three APC thin electric propellers, APC 14x12E, 1712E, and 19x12E were tested. The propeller …

Development Of Fluorescent-Based Nanoparticles For Bioimaging, Gene Regulation Expression, And Photo-Induced Synergistic Cancer Therapy, Di Sun

Theses and Dissertations

Fluorescent-based nanoparticles have been applied to a broad range of biological applications, as discussed in this dissertation, including bioimaging, gene regulation expression, and photo-induced synergistic cancer therapy. Prior to applications, this dissertation first focused on the development and characterization of several fluorescent-based nanoparticles using different methods. These include 1) Streamlined synthesis of dual-emissive fluorescent-based silicon quantum dots (SiQDs). The SiQDs were generated as a promising, non-toxic labeling tool for bioimaging of a variety of cell types. both in visible and near-infrared (NIR) ranges. 2) Polymer-based nanoparticles - Polymer dots (Pdots) with a strong NIR fluorescence. The Pdots were functionalized as …

The Role Of Open Education And Faculty Gender In Shaping Student Perceptions, Virginia Clinton-Lisell, Alison E. Kelly

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications

Student perceptions of open education, both open educational resources (OER) and open pedagogy, are typically reported as positive in research studies. However, there is a need for controlled research to better understand the specific effects of open education. Furthermore, it is not understood how faculty gender, often noted to be influential in student perceptions of courses, interacts with open education. The current study addressed these issues in a controlled experiment in which college students (N = 413) were randomly assigned to read vignettes of course descriptions that varied based on textbook type (OER or commercial), pedagogy (open or closed), and …

Renewable Assignments: Comparing Faculty And Student Perceptions, Julie Lazzara, Matthew Bloom, Virginia Clinton-Lisell

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications

This study examined faculty and student perceptions of renewable assignments within an OER-enabled pedagogy framework. Building on Wiley and Hilton’s (2018) framework, this study focused on the subset of practices that result in renewable assignments. Renewable assignments leverage OER permissions (reuse, redistribute, retain, remix, revise) to produce student work with value beyond the classroom. The study compared college students’ (N = 24) perceptions of value, interest, motivation, and reward for renewable assignments versus those of the instructor (N = 1) in one online class. Students reported that the value, interest, motivation, and reward of the renewable assignment were somewhat better …

November 21, 2024, The Dakota Student

The Dakota Student

No abstract provided.

Love Medicine, Casey Fuller

Floodwall Magazine

I love words. Words are totally amazing. Words allude, cordon off, cordon in, exfoliate, and blossom. And words are just so strange. The meaning in words can change over, their footprints marking you with their history. And yet, one conclusion I’ve come to as an English PhD student at the University of North Dakota, as a person who lives and breathes and teaches words every day, is that words can’t express all of my feelings. It’s a sad notion for me—one that I’ve tried to deny. So, as an English PhD student who is far enough along in his studies …