Digital Commons Network^™

Status Of Storm Water Pollution In The United States, Lynne A. Urquhart

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the status of storm water pollution in the United States Air Force. This is important since most AF bases are now required to have applied for a NPDES storm water permit. The objectives of the study were to: evaluate the sampling rates used at AF bases; determine the pollutants tested for by the AF bases; compare the pollutant concentrations of the AF bases to an EPA water quality standard; and determine if there were any trends in sampling or pollutant concentrations due to seasonal changes or across AF Commands or EPA Regions. …

A Case Study Of The Base-Closure Community Initial Redevelopment Process, Stephen R. Cliatt, Gregory A. Stanley

Theses and Dissertations

In 1990, Public Law 101-510 created the independent, five-year Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission BRAC. This law provided for the Commission to meet in 1991, 1993, and 1995. The 1993 Commission recommended transfer of the Defense Electronic Supply Center DESC, a Defense Logistics Agency inventory control point, to Columbus, Ohio. This action resulted in an Air Force decision to close Gentile AFS, Kettering, Ohio. A case study of the closure and initial redevelopment of Gentile AFS was undertaken to construct a framework to be used by future redevelopment policy makers affected by a defense base closure. This framework covers …

A Delphi Study Of Performance Appraisal Practices Of Malcolm Baldrige Award Winning Organizations, Daniel J. Courtois, David L. Yockey

Theses and Dissertations

Total Quality (TQ) is a philosophy that is currently being incorporated by organizations throughout America. TQ philosophers maintain that Total Quality can be achieved only if organizations change their cultures, including the traditional view toward the role of the performance appraisal. Theses experts maintain that the traditional performance appraisal does not promote process improvement, empowerment and team building as TQ prescribes. This thesis is a Delphi study of the performance appraisal practices of Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winning companies. The study attempts to describe the performance appraisal practices of 10 companies who have successfully implemented TQ. The existence of …

An Evaluation Of The Educational Effectiveness Of A Relational Course Compared To Single Topic Courses Offered By The Management Department Of The United States Air Force, Kevin M. Kosefeski

Theses and Dissertations

This study compares the educational effectiveness of two different methods of teaching three senior-level management courses at the United States Air Force Academy. The first method, known as relational instruction, combined Management Information Systems MIS, Marketing, and Strategic Management into one three hour course worth nine credits. The team of instructors used a variety of delivery methods to present material. The second method of instruction employed single topic courses covering the same three topics as the relational course, taught by single instructors in one hour blocks using mostly lecture to deliver material. The literature review covered Blooms taxonomy of educational …

A Meta-Analytic Study Of Downsizing: Behaviors And Attitudes Prevalent Among Supervisors, Donald A. O'Hare, Carmine F. Vilardi

Theses and Dissertations

Current research into the effect of downsizing, restructuring, and force reduction on employees has approached the issue many possible vantage points it has focused on the victims, the survivors, and sometimes both. Researchers in management science and psychology explain responses we can expect from survivors of such a corporate upheaval. These effects are of particular interest to supervisors, because they will inevitably face a workforce, at least partially staffed with such survivors. To clarify possible attitudes and behaviors in tomorrow’s work environment, our study tied together, through meta- analysis, results of studies on survivors of a downsized organization. The completed …

Response To The Loss Of A Romantic Relationship: Differences By Time Since The Loss, Gender, And Attachment Style, Charles J. Dahlstrom

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

On Meaningful Assessment Of 'Motivation' : Steps Toward More Detailed Causal Modeling And Measurement, William J. Schmelzer

Theses and Dissertations

This study was a continuance of prior research and theory on the nature and assessment of motivation. The focus was on the academic performance situation. Existing empirical and theoretical work was utilized to formulate a complex causal model which identifies constituent elements related to motivation and performance, and which explicates their respective relationships. The theoretical model was employed to create an operational model for measurement and prediction of collegiate grade performance, a cumulative index of performance.

Three main fields of theory and inquiry were incorporated in the model: Attribution theory, self-system theory and metacognition theory. Literature dealing with pertinent knowledge …

Provisions Made By State Departments Of Education For Science Staff Development, Richard Ernest Smith

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Teachers, Students, And Parents Regarding Inter District Collaboration In A North Dakota School Consortium, Pam R. Carlson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gather the perceptions of students, parents, and teachers regarding the reorganization of their school districts into one school district Prior to 1990, enrollment erosion and cost pressures created concerns for the citizens of seven school districts in Nelson County, North Dakota. In 1990, the citizens of the Greater Nelson County Consortium of these seven independent school districts proposed that they be considered for supplemental pupil payments for collaborative activity as allowed under Section 15-27.6 in the North Dakota Century Code. Since 1990, Greater Nelson County schools have entered a variety of collaborative activities. …

Use Of Infrared Spectrometry To Determine The Effect Of Trichloroethylene Resident Time On Desorption Rates From Flint Clay, Peter T. Lapuma

Theses and Dissertations

This laboratory based thesis investigated the desorption rate of trichloroethylene (TCE) from flint clay while varying the resident time of TCE exposed to the clay. It is thought that in long contaminated soil, a majority of contaminant mass will become entrained within the interior of the soil particles to slowly desorb out of the soil over long periods of time. Recent studies suggest that the longer a contaminant is resident in soil, the longer the contaminant will take to desorb from the soil. To understand more about soil desorption, this experiment was developed using infrared spectroscopy to detect TCE vapor …

Modeling Of Ground Water Aquifer Remediation By Pulsed Pumping When Contaminant Transport Is Affected By Physical, Non-Equilibrium Sorption And Desorption, Jeffrey L. Caspers

Theses and Dissertations

This research postulates and demonstrates a modification incorporating rate-limited sorption effects in the USGS SUTRA code for cleanup of a hypothetical sandy aquifer by pump-and-treat remediation methods. Contaminant transport is assumed to be affected by advection, dispersion, and rate-limited sorption/desorption. Sorption is assumed to be either equilibrium or rate-limited, with the rate-limitation described by either a first-order law, or by Fickian diffusion of contaminant through a spherical immobile pore region. Solutions are arrived at by split operator methods for the transport and one-dimensional Galerkin solutions for the solute concentration equations. The resulting model is tested against an analytical Laplace transform …

Analysis Of The Air Force's Clean Water Act Notice Of Violations As A Managerial Tool In Achieving Compliance, Sandra J. Beneway

Theses and Dissertations

In 1988, the General Accounting Office released the report Water Pollution: Stronger Enforcement Needed to Improve Compliance at Federal Facilities. The report claimed Federal Facilities were in noncompliance of environmental statutes at twice the rate of nonfederal facilities. The Air Force chain of command, from Chief of Staff to Commander and Chief, emphasize environmental compliance is expected at all Air Force Facilities. To enhance the Air Force's Clean Water Compliance Program, past noncompliance violations were compiled and an analysis performed assessing the value of the past violation trends as managerial tools in achieving compliance. The database chosen for the analysis …

A Study Of The Grand Forks Public School District Interscholastic Athletic Programs, Grades 7-12, In The Area Of Participation , Interest, And Abilities, Jeffrey M. Schatz

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of An Anaerobic Training Program Utilizing A Skating Treadmill On Anaerobic Performance, Lactate, And Other Metabolic Parameters, Trini T. Vargas

Theses and Dissertations

The adaptive physiological responses resulting from exercise training appear to be influenced by the specific character of the training program, type of exercise, and protocol employed to evaluate change. The effect of a unique six week anaerobic training program utilizing a skating treadmill was investigated. The anaerobic training program involved intermittent high intensity exercise bouts, each 4-90 seconds in duration at various treadmill speeds and elevations. The skating treadmill was designed specifically to enhance anaerobic metabolic pathways and anaerobic performance of hockey players by allowing the athlete to skate indoors on a rotating polyurethane surface that has the same friction …

Changes In Nursing Students' Knowledge Of Bloodborne Pathogens And Perception Of Safety In Practice From Sophomore To Senior Years In School, Ellen J. O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

Bloodborne pathogens have received increasing attention since Acguired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) became known in the United States. Until that time, antibiotics, immunizations, and increasingly sophisticated infection control practices had markedly decreased health care workers' occupational risk for contraction of bloodborne and other infectious diseases. From a nursing education perspective, it was important to ascertain knowledge deficits students have related to caring for clients infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV).

Therefore, the purposes of this study were to compare sophomore and senior nursing students relative to: a) their knowledge of bloodborne pathogens (particularly HIV …

Differences In The Development And Expression Of A Sense Of Coherence Between Euro-Americans And Native Americans, Barbara J. Bowman

Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed the development and expression of Antonovsky's (1987) Sense of Coherence (SOC) in individual lives in a cross-cultural context. Two groups of subjects were examined using a survey format. One group was from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana and the other from UND. The psychological and physical health of these subjects, their family interaction patterns, and the coping strategies they use were examined to assist in increasing our understanding about how people from different cultures manage stress and stay healthy.

Both groups appear equally healthy, both mentally and physically, and scored equally well on measures of SOC. …

Stress And Its Correlates: An Empirical Investigation Among North Dakota Peace Officers, Eric Mark Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The mission of the present investigation was to expand the limited body of knowledge regarding stress among rural peace officers. While a number of studies have focused on large, easily sampled departments, the empirical literature evidences neglect toward officers serving rural populations. The present study seeks to ascertain how North Dakota officers compare with other, more urban populations, and what differences may exist between a stratified sample of North Dakota police, sheriffs and Highway Patrol officers.

A randomized sample of 311 North Dakota officers were selected to receive a 300 question anonymous survey questionnaire which assessed personal demographic information in …

Self-Reported Risk Behaviors And Sexual Behaviors In North Dakota High School Juniors And Seniors, Vicki Wessman Downey

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents engage in many risk-taking behaviors, and these behaviors have significant potential for adverse medical and social outcomes. Risk taking among adolescents may or may not be deliberate. One theory of problem behavior suggests that alcohol use, drug use, delinquency, and sexual intercourse constitute a syndrome of deviate behaviors preceded by a psychosocial pattern of conventional attitudes. Because adolescence is a period of life characterized by constant change, rapid physical growth, emotional turmoil, and parental conflict, there are tendencies to experiment, seek independence, and indulge in adult privileges without the responsibilities.

Research suggests a direc relationship between risktaking and sexual …

Gender Differences In Risk Factors Related To Suicidal Behavior Among Adolescents, Rachel A. Vannatta

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify gender differences in self- reported suicidal beh avior in relation to risk factors among seventh through twelfth grade students (N=3,461). Data were gathered from the Survey Instrument of Attitude/Behavior administered in a school district located in a medium size Midwest city. Factor analyses reduced the 100 item survey to fifteen independent factors: cigarette use, smokeless tobacco use, alcohol use, alcohol behavior, hard drug use, marijuana use, over-the-counter drug use, school misconduct, academic difficulties, home environment, miscommunication with parents, unfair/strict rules of parents, sexual activity, forcible sex, and violence. The dependent variables were …

Use Of Infrared Spectrometry To Determine The Effect Of Temperature On The Description Rates Of Trichloroethylene From Plastic Clay 98b, Abdellatif Fares

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated the influence of temperature on the desorption rated of trichloroethylene (TCE) from plastic clay. It was expected that an increase in temperature will cause an increase in both the desorption rates of TCE and in the desorbed quantity. Previous studies on other chemicals indicated a faster decrease in the remaining sorbed concentration with an increase in temperature. This research made use of the infrared optical absorption technique. IR spectroscopy was used to measure the concentration of the vapor TCE that desorbed from the soil. The soil was exposed to liquid TCE for 2 days then placed inside …

Analysis Of The Potential For Plant Uptake Of Trichloroethylene And An Assessment Of The Relative Risk From Different Crop Types, Roy-Alan C. Agustin

Theses and Dissertations

This research expands our limited knowledge on the influence of plants on the fate and effects of trichloroethylene (TCE), providing a screening tool on which to base decisions regarding the need for actual sampling of plants. First, physicochemical properties of TCE--vapor pressure, Henry's Law constant, water solubility, octanol-water partition coefficient, molecular weight, and half-life--were screened against relationships reported in literature to evaluate TCE plant uptake potential. This screening approach indicated TCE may be transferred to plants via retention by root surfaces, root uptake and translocation, and foliar uptake. Next, the PLANTX model developed by Trapp and others was applied to …

The Application Of Nepa Requirements To Cercla Remedial Actions, Connie L. Strobbe

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the application of National Environmental Policy Act NEPA requirements to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act CERCLA actions. Similarities in the documentation and public participation requirements of NEPA and CERCLA include identification and evaluation of alternatives and public participation. Differences include document contents and timing of public participation. This study presented four options for ensuring NEPA compliance at CERCLA sites. Option one included a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement PEIS with subsequent combined FSEIS report for each subunit. Option two eliminated the PEIS, but retained a stand-alone NEPA document for each CERCLA subunit. Option three included a …

The Relationship Between Receptive Language And The Sensory Measures Of Vision And Hearing, Nanette M. Spooner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between receptive language, cognition, and the sensory measures of audition and vision among primary elementary students. Thirty-two students between the ages of 6.3 and 9.9 years were placed into one of two groups. One group was identified to be language delayed through special service placement and formal test results in the area of receptive language.

The formal language test administered was the Test of Auditor/ Comprehension for Language-Revised (TACL-RV Cognitive status was assessed by administering the vocabulary portion of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised ( WISC-R). The relationship between …

An Incremental Approach To Revising National Housing Policy: An Analysis Of The Housing And Community Development Act Of 1992, Kathyrn R. Marschke

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Postmodernism And The Persian Golf Wat, Scot Stradley

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of The Professional Development Of Graduate Nursing Students Enrolled In Distance Education And On-Campus Courses At The University Of North Dakota, Lonna T. Milburn, Nancy L. Mosbaek

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the professional development of graduate nursing students enrolled in distance courses with those enrolled in on- campus courses. A census sample of distant graduate nursing students (n=18) and a random sample of on- campus graduate nursing students (n=28) responded to a demographic tool and Hall's Professional Inventory. A significant difference was noted between the distance students and on-campus students in belief in service to the public-Scale B, with distance students having a stronger belief in service to the public. A significant number of distance students belonged to the American Nurses Association, while …

The Relationship Between Maternal-Fetal Attachment And Mother-To-Infant Bonding, Sharon L. Tucker

Theses and Dissertations

Mother to infant bonding is thought to be an important health outcome of nursing care during the perinatal period. Maternal attachment to the fetus may play a role in development of the subsequent bonding of a mother for her infant. Health professionals can have an impact on how a mother views her role performance, and is able to form a bond of attachment to her fetus and, subsequently, with her infant. Few studies, however, have been done to evaluate the relationship between the way a woman attaches to her fetus, and the way a new mother bonds with her infant. …

Foster Care Training In North Dakota: A Foster Parents' Perspective, Todd L. Nordquist

Theses and Dissertations

The major purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of satisfaction with training as reported by foster care providers in North Dakota. A secondary purpose of this exploratory study was having foster providers identify their foster child care responsibilities and major benefits of training.

Providers of each of the two major types of foster care in North Dakota, general foster care and therapeutic foster care, evaluated training received. This was done separately due to the different training objectives and procedures of each. Half of the 884 foster care households in North Dakota were randomly included in this study. …

Training Needs Of Educators In Integration Of Students With Physical And Medical Disabilities Into The Regular Classroom., Peggy M. Mohr

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (a) determine training needs of regular educators regarding integration of students with physical or medical disabilities, (b) compare perceived needs of elementary educators with those of secondary educators, and (c) determine characteristics of physical or medical handicapping conditions perceived to influence students' abilities to benefit from educational experiences. A sample of 505 regular educators was surveyed. Resulting data were analyzed utilizing frequency distributions, mean rank tables, percentages, crosstabulations, and chi-square statistics.Educators indicated perceived needs for training regarding integration of students with physical or medical disabilities. Eight priority need items were identified as: (a) …

A Comparison Of Aphasic Adults' Scores On The Western Aphasia Battery And Ratings On The Functional Independence Measure, Carla Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine for aphasic adults the relationship between scores on the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and ratings of the Functional Independence Measure (FLM). Fourteen aphasic adults with a mean age of 71 years, participated in this study. Each subject was interviewed by the researcher. Their communication skills in the areas of verbal expression, written expression, auditory comprehension, and reading comprehension were then rated on the FIM. The researcher conducted interviews using the seven point ordinal scale of the FIM. with each subject’s speech-language pathologist and a family member about the subjects' communication skills. The …