Digital Commons Network^™

Moral Psychology And Political Campaigns, Joel Andrew Hanel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theories of moral psychology suggest that American partisans rely on different moral domains to inform their political decision making (Haidt 2012; Lakoff 1996). This project addresses the use of moral framing, language, and traits in American political campaigns. It first examines the language of campaigns to ascertain if Democratic and Republican candidates use moral language in line with moral theories and then attempts to understand if using this language can affect the public in a meaningful way. Overall, the research suggests that campaigns frequently use moral language, though it does not strictly conform to the predictions of existing moral theory …

Ask Your Doctor About Exposure Therapy!: Direct-To-Consumer Marketing Of Empirically Supported Psychological Treatments For Anxiety, Joshua C. Fulwiler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite efforts to disseminate Evidence-Based Psychological Interventions (EBPIS) to mental health practitioners, most individuals with psychological disorders do not receive any form of treatment, and many others who do seek treatment do not receive EBPIS. The success of the pharmaceutical industry in effectively marketing prescription drugs directly to consumers is considered as a model for advancing dissemination of EBPIS. Utilizing undergraduate students as participants, the current study examined how potential consumers of mental health services respond to internet-based marketing information about EBPIS. Participants vieinformation about anxiety disorders and a specific type of treatment (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapy) in both text and …

Stand Perfectly Still: Statues, Nudity, And The Pygmalion Myth In Victorian Theatre And Culture, Maggie Elizabeth Wallen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stephen Guy-Bray argues that though the story of Pygmalion has taken various forms in the nineteenth century, “it is often read as a story of artistic and sexual triumph” (447). But a sexual triumph for whom? My thesis addresses questions pertaining to how the nude female body is vieon the theatrical stage by focusing specifically on the myth of Pygmalion as presented in W. S. Gilbert’s Pygmalion and Galatea and George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. I argue that the image of the moving statue, especially in the melodramatic tradition of the pose plastique and tableau vivant, creates instability for the viewer …

Characterization Of Novel Borrelia Burgdorferi Transcripts Expressed During Tick And Mammalian Infection, Philip Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to characterize the transcriptome of Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi to discover novel transcripts, important for pathogenesis. As a spirochete and the etiological agent of Lyme disease, the foremost vector-borne bacterial infection in the world, B. burgdorferi fulfills a distinctive niche among bacterial pathogens. Persisting in the disparate environments of a tick vector and mammalian reservoirs, it is absolutely dependent on its hosts for transmission and nutrient acquisition. B. burgdorferi harbors a complex fragmented genome which is largely linear, unlike that of most prokaryotes, lacks an array of classically described metabolic genes, and contains an unusually …

Integrating Forgiveness Therapy And The Treatment Of Anger: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Michael Schaefer Ballard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the costs of uncontrolled anger are well-known, interventions for anger are less frequently studied and less effective than interventions for either depression or anxiety (NAMA, 2012). One hundred eighty-seven patients requesting anger management treatment at an outpatient counseling center in Denver participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: an experimental treatment integrating forgiveness therapy and anger management, or anger treatment as usual. Treatment consisted of twelve 90-minute sessions held once a week in small groups led by group facilitators. Participants in both treatment conditions reported clinically significant decreases in state anger and increases …

Plasticity Of Central And Peripheral Nervous System: Effects Of Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation (Ogd) And Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia (Cih), Jin Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transient receptor potential canonical 6 (TRPC6) channels are permeable to Na+ and Ca2+ and are widely expressed in the brain. In this study, we investigated the role of TRPC6 following ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) and oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). We found that TRPC6 expression was increased in wild type (WT) mice cortical neurons following I/R and in primary neurons with OGD, and that deletion of TRPC6 reduced the I/R-induced brain infarct in mice and the OGD- /neurotoxin-induced neuronal death. Using live-cell imaging to examine intracellular Ca2+ levels ([Ca2+]i), we found that OGD induced a significant higher increase in glutamate-evoked Ca2+ influx compared to …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Proof Of Concept And Analysis Of A Self-Powered Fontan Circulation, Marcus Ni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Fontan circulation is a result of the last (third stage) surgical procedure to correct a single ventricle congenital cardiac disorder in children. Although the Fontan circulation has been successfully established in surgeries over the years, it is flawed and can lead in certain cases to pre-mature death. The main cause of this failure is due to increased pulmonary vascular resistance due to loss pulse pressure and blood flow. In healthy circulations, the heart pumps directly to the lungs, where as "Single Ventricle" patients must use a single sided heart to supply blood to the rest of the body before …

Analysis Of Pedestrian Crash Characteristics And Contributing Causes In Central Florida, Zainb Bianco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the main reasons leading the State of Florida to be ranked among the worst states in terms of pedestrian safety with four metro areas considered the most dangerous for pedestrians among all the United States as reported in the Dangerous by Design report. The study analyzes the characteristics and contributing causes of pedestrian crashes that occurred in Central Florida over a 5 year-period (2011-2015) at intersections and along roadway segments at mid-block locations using the data obtained from the Signal 4 Analytics database. All pedestrian related crashes were compiled and all the 6,789 crash reports were studied …

High Performance Techniques For Face Recognition, Ahmed Aldhahab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The identification of individuals using face recognition techniques is a challenging task. This is due to the variations resulting from facial expressions, makeup, rotations, illuminations, gestures, etc. Also, facial images contain a great deal of redundant information, which negatively affects the performance of the recognition system. The dimensionality and the redundancy of the facial features have a direct effect on the face recognition accuracy. Not all the features in the feature vector space are useful. For example, non-discriminating features in the feature vector space not only degrade the recognition accuracy but also increase the computational complexity. In the field of …

Assessing Interactions Between Estuary Water Quality And Terrestrial Land Cover In Hurricane Events With Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing, Chandan Mostafiz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Estuaries are environmentally, ecologically and environmentally important places as they act as a meeting place for land, freshwater and marine ecosystems. They are also called nurseries of the sea as they often provide nesting and feeding habitats for many aquatic plants and animals. These estuaries also withstand the worst of some natural disasters, especially hurricanes. The estuaries as well as the harbored ecosystems undergo significant changes in terms of water quality, vegetation cover etc. and these components are interrelated. When hurricane makes landfall it is necessary to assess the damages as quickly as possible as restoration and recovery processes are …

A Framework For Measuring Return On Investment For Healthcare Simulation-Based Training, Hatim Bukhari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the healthcare sector, providing high-quality service in a safe environment for both patient and staff is an obvious and ultimate major objective. Training is an essential component for achieving this important objective. Most organizations acknowledge that employee simulation-based training programs are an important part of the human capital strategy, yet few have effectively succeeded in quantifying the real and precise ROI of this type of investment. Therefore, if the training is perceived as a waste of resources and its ROI is not clearly recognized, it will be the first option to cut when the budget cut is needed. The …

Outsourcing Our Memory 2.0: Using Walter Ong's Orality/Literacy Studies To Recognize Technologies Effects On Memory, Rishi Raj Bahl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the heart of media ecology is the principle that technology not only deeply influences society, but also controls most aspects of daily life. Additionally, media ecology investigates how media and communication processes profoundly affect human perception and understanding. The pervasive role that technology plays in modern life today has exacerbated the results of technology on human beings. Some of these outcomes are not desirable and may be a hindrance to the progress of our society. This dissertation takes particular interest in the multifaceted consequences that the overuse of technology imposes on our ability to fully utilize our memory.

In …

"Unorthodox Conduct": Re-Membering Queer Africa In Literature And Film, Matthew Patrick Durkin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"'Unorthodox Conduct'" explores positive representations of sexual and gender minorities in African literatures and film from the 1970s to 2010s that dismantle heterosexist notions of African sexuality and work towards what Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o calls "re-membering." I interrogate how literary and cinematic depictions of same-sex sexualities resist contemporary homophobic attitudes, particularly those espoused by government and spiritual leaders. Positive literary and cinematic representations of queer Africans, however, have only emerged in recent years. These literary and cinematic representations are routinely minimized or ignored in academia as valid avenues for the navigation of interpersonal relationships and socio-political strife in queer African …

Examining The Moderating Effects Of Racial Socialization On Teacher Discrimination For The Psychological Outcomes Of Black Middle School Girls, Kayla Nichols

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A hierarchical multiple regression was used to understand the 1) the predictive ability of teacher discrimination on racial identity, 2) the predictive ability of teacher discrimination and racial identity on the educational beliefs and psychological outcomes of early adolescent Black girls, and 3) if egalitarian messages of racial socialization moderate the risk of teacher discrimination on the psychological outcomes for early adolescent Black girls. Participants were 8th grade Black girls from Wave 3 of the MADICS dataset (Eccles, 2010). Results showed that teacher discrimination had a negative relationship and predicted 5% of the variance in connection to heritage, educational beliefs, …

The Salvation Of The Cosmos: Benedict Xvi's Eschatology And Its Relevance For The Current Ecological Crisis, Jeremiah Vallery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has elements of a cosmic eschatology embedded in his theological oeuvre that have not heretofore been extensively systematized. This dissertation fills this gap by contextualizing Benedict’s cosmic eschatology in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, examining his Logos theology and his view on the fate of the cosmos, exploring his cosmic liturgy, and evaluating his concept of human ecology and pneumatology. Benedict insufficiently links his cosmic eschatology to his papal teachings on the environment; however, his cosmic eschatology can be developed in fruitful ways. After providing a thorough articulation of Benedict’s cosmic eschatology, I offer my own …

Chaotification As A Means Of Broadband Vibration Energy Harvesting With Piezoelectric Materials, Daniel Geiyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Computing advances and component miniaturization in circuits coupled with stagnating battery technology have fueled growth in the development of high efficiency energy harvesters. Vibration-to-electricity energy harvesting techniques have been investigated extensively for use in sensors embedded in structures or in hard-to-reach locations like turbomachinery, surgical implants, and GPS animal trackers. Piezoelectric materials are commonly used in harvesters as they possess the ability to convert strain energy directly into electrical energy and can work concurrently as actuators for damping applications. The prototypical harvesting system places two piezoelectric patches on both sides of the location of maximum strain on a cantilever beam. …

Investigating Novel Water Treatment Methods And Monitoring Techniques For Sulfide-Laden Groundwater Supplies, Benjamin Yoakum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reports on research related to novel water treatment and monitoring techniques for sulfide-laden groundwater supplies. The dissertation is divided into several chapters with four core chapters focused on investigations studying a novel water treatment method or monitoring technique. The first investigation assessed the efficacy of multi-pass spray aeration treatment to remove trihalomethanes (THMs) and to reduce the total THM formation potential (TTHMFP) of an aerated water column post-aeration. A recirculating spray aeration pilot unit was constructed to make this assessment. To assess the effect of multi-pass spray aeration on the TTHMFP, water was recirculated through a fabricated spray …

The Spaces Between Us: A Queer<=>Intersectional Analysis Of The Narratives Of Black Gay International Students, Bryan S. Hubain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The experiences of international students along the lines of race and ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and nationality are virtually unknown. This study utilizes experience-centered narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of Black gay international students, and how they are racialized and sexualized in American higher education. Using a Queer and Intersectional framework, this study highlighted power structures and processes that continue to marginalize Black gay international students in the U.S. and in their home countries. Their narratives reflected significant moments or events that were important to them and how they understand their identities and realities. This study provides a strong foundation …

Indivim-Kara: An Exploration Of Ego And The Archetypes In Art, Jared Justice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this document is to demonstrate how I use my art making as an active meditation in order to temporarily subvert ego and create a new subjective reality in visual form. The results of my research will provide the reader with the ability to connect existing philosophies of the Yoga Sutras and Jungian Theory with new art works that explore active meditation, neurosis, and the archetypes of the collective psyche. My goal is to reconstruct these concepts into a visual medium that reshapes facts and theories into images of my own truth, giving free play to fantasy akin …

Pioneer Of Self: An Intimate Retrospective, Juliet Diienno

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reality is ever changing, and as we gain experience, our perceptions of it transform. Plato's allegory of the cave addresses the way one person's journey from darkness into daylight transforms his reality. My own body of work can be described through this extended metaphor, similarly benefiting from effects of education, self-reflection, and experience dramatically altering my perceptions of myself and my artwork. As projected by Plato, I was forced through an arduous confrontation with my lack of understanding of the human condition, reshaping my ideas to comprehend and adapt to the metaphorical daylight. With new understanding, I return to give …

Beyond Panels Interactive Storytelling: Developing A Framework For Highly Emotive Narrative Experiences On Mobile Devices, Michael Joseph Eakins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Balancing passive and interactive experiences within a narrative experience is an area of research that has broad applicability to the video game, cinematic, and comic book industries. Each of these media formats has attempted various experiments in interactive experience. The goal of this research was to better understand how to construct an interactive narrative experience that preserves the integrity of the author's story, but allows for inspired interaction by a willing audience. A study was designed to test three different conditions. The two control conditions were examples of passive narrative storytelling: the Comic Book Condition and the Cinematic Condition. The …

The Role Of The Y-Chromosome In The Evolution Of Autosomally Coded Traits, Ian Kutch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent work indicates that the Y-chromosome of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster can influence gene regulation on the autosomes and X chromosome. This newly discovered function of the Y has the potential to dramatically shape the regulatory evolution of numerous genes that reside throughout the genome; even for genes that code for both male and female traits. Given that the mechanism underlying the Y-linked influence on gene expression in D. melanogaster appears to exist in other independently evolved heterogametic sex chromosomes, the evolutionary implications of Y-linked regulatory variation (YRV) deserves to be explored. These implications include the potential for Y-chromosomes …

The Role Of Accounts And Apologies In Mitigating Blame Toward Human And Machine Agents, Kimberly Stowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Would you trust a machine to make life-or-death decisions about your health and safety? Machines today are capable of achieving much more than they could 30 years ago—and the same will be said for machines that exist 30 years from now. The rise of intelligence in machines has resulted in humans entrusting them with ever-increasing responsibility. With this has arisen the question of whether machines should be given equal responsibility to humans—or if humans will ever perceive machines as being accountable for such responsibility. For example, if an intelligent machine accidentally harms a person, should it be blamed for its …

Improving Survey Methodology To Monitor Rare Grassland Birds In South Dakota, Kassondra Hendricks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data for grassland bird species has shown the most rapid population decline of any other bird group. Current roadside survey techniques, however, may fall short of providing accurate numbers of rare grassland bird species such as chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus), lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys), Sprague’s pipit (Anthus spragueii), and Baird’s sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii). Trends resulting from roadside data for grassland birds are oftentimes determined to be statistically insignificant because many grassland bird species occur on too few routes, occur in low numbers per route, and show high annual fluctuations in number. It is possible roadside surveys …

Identification Of Candidate Cellulose Utilizing Bacteria From The Rumen Of Beef Cattle, Using Bacterial Community Profiling And Metagenomics, Lee Opdahl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ruminal microbiome allows ruminant animals to convert cellulosic biomass into food products. A majority of ruminal microorganisms remain uncharacterized due, in part, to the complexity of ruminal microbial communities. In order to gain further insight, selection-based batch culturing from bovine rumen fluid, in combination with metagenomics, was used to identify and characterize previously uncharacterized rumen bacteria capable of metabolizing cellulose, which was supplemented as a purified substrate. 16S rRNA-based population analysis was used to identify rumen bacteria enriched within 14 days of culturing. As a result of 4 independent experiments, seven different candidate cellulose-utilizing species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs) …

Human Dimensions Of Habitat Loss In The Plains And Prairie Potholes Ecoregion, Lily A. Sweikert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Plains and Prairie Potholes Ecoregion (PPPE), is located in the north-central contiguous United States and is one of the most imperiled grassland regions in the world. Most of the region is privately owned and used for the production of agricultural commodities. In addition to its direct benefits to humanity, the PPPE provides multiple ecosystem services including, soil and water quality improvements, carbon sequestration, weather amelioration, and wildlife habitat. Recent increases in expansion of row crop agriculture concerns conservation practitioners about the long-term integrity of the PPPE. Conservation practitioners are looking to improve their private landowner conservation initiatives in the …

Evaluation Of The Deadwood Bighorn Sheep Herd Translocation, Ty J. Werdel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From 2015-2017, we evaluated a newly established bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) herd in the Deadwood Region of the Black Hills, South Dakota. Our objectives were to 1a) determine annual survival rates, 1b) determine cause-specific mortality, 1c) estimate population size, 2a) assess genetic diversity, 2b) assess disease prevalence, 3) evaluate movement patterns post-release, 4a) evaluate 3rd-order habitat selection, and 4b) estimate herbaceous biomass at foraging sites post-release of translocated bighorn sheep. In February 2015, we captured and translocated 26 bighorn sheep from the Luscar Mine near Hinton, Alberta, Canada to the Deadwood Region of the Black Hills, South Dakota. Overall annual …

Modeling Streamflow And Water Quality Impacts Of Grassland Establishment, Conversion, And Management In Skunk Creek Watershed, Jiyeong Hong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Grassland is a valuable natural resource with many environmental benefits, which include erosion control, wildlife habitat promotion, water quality protection, and flood prevention. Conversion of grassland to cultivated cropland has been linked to environmental quality concerns. The goal of this study was to model the impacts of grassland establishment, depletion, and management on hydrology and water quality in Skunk Creek watershed in eastern South Dakota. The specific objectives are to quantify the impacts of grassland conversion and selected management regimes on streamflow and water quality, and explore the optimum grassland establishment location within a watershed to achieve water quality benefits. …

An Evaluation Of Nitrogen Supplementation And Processed Soy Fractions On The Performance Of Cultured Fishes, Brandon M. White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

World population growth has resulted in an increased demand for a sustainable food supply. This rapid growth coupled with an increased per capita consumption of seafood, has resulted in many of the world’s marine fisheries being over-exploited in an effort to meet the global demand for seafood. Aquaculture has attempted to fill the supply and demand gap created by the dwindling supply of fish in the world’s oceans. Fishmeal (FM) has traditionally been the primary protein ingredient in aquafeeds fed to farm-raised fish, however its unstable supply and increasing price have driven researchers to identify alternative protein sources. Soybean meal …

A Survey Of Non-Crop Plants As Alternative Hosts To Raspberries For Drosophila Suzukii (Spotted Wing Drosophila), Bennur Agbaba

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The spotted wing fruit fly (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is a pest of small fruit crops. Unlike most other Drosophila species, this insect can oviposit into ripe fruits, rendering them unmarketable. Drosophila suzukii is spreading quickly throughout the continental United States including South Dakota, and causing serious damage to horticultural crops, particularly those within the fruit industry. This study determines the D. suzukii host plant both commercial crops and native plants, and defines non-crop host plants by season in South Dakota. Further, it confirms the occurrence of the fly in southeastern South Dakota and identifies high-risk infestation areas …