Digital Commons Network^™

Quality Assurance For North Dakota Youth Correctional Treatment Programs : A Three-Year Study Of Students And Their Treatment Program Outcomes, Ross A. Munns

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Implementation And Analysis Of The Ip Measurement Protocol (Ipmp), Steven Michael Carter

Theses and Dissertations

The increased size and complexity of the Internet necessitates a more substantial measurement protocol than is currently available. This work explores the IP Measurement Protocol, providing background information, covering the development of a reference implementation, and finally comparing its accuracy, overhead, and ease of implementation to the current generation of protocols used in network measurement. Vmware, a hardware simulation application, was used to simulate a network on which to test IPMP, as well as compare it to current generation tools. Ipmp_ping, a tool written to test IPMP, was pitted against ping and traceroute in order to attain round trip time, …

A Transport Study Of Sodium Phosphate Dodecahydrate Pipeline Plugging Mechanisms, Vijay Kumar Raju

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis investigates pipeline plugging mechanisms that have occurred during interim stabilization transfers at Hanford. A laboratory-scale saltwell pumping test loop was designed to evaluate a surrogate of Hanford Tank 241-SX-104 supernate. The effect of surrogate flow rate, cooling water flow rate and phosphate concentrations on plugging mechanisms was investigated. Critical parameters like particle and agglomerate size, velocity and bed growth rate were determined. Theoretical models were used to compare the experimental pressure rise and temperature drop of the surrogate in the channel. An operating region in which a plug would not form was developed, based on the experimental results. …

Evaluation Of An Attached Growth Organic Media Bioreactor For Swine Waste Treatment And Odor Abatement, Allison Paige Kirkpatrick

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine if an organic media attached growth bioreactor could effectively be used as a means of odor control for swine waste. The pilot-scale attached growth bioreactor system was evaluated against a standard pit recharge system, which served as the control. Performance was based on water quality testing, odor assessments by a human sensory panel, and air phase measurements of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. The affect of aeration on the system was also evaluated, along with various types of organic media (kenaf, hardwood mulch, and corncobs). Overall, the bioreactor systems were effective in reducing …

The Informed Imagination: Researching And Building A Character’S Identity, Jeremy William Hilgert

Theses and Dissertations

An actor’s duty to the play is to present the most fully formed and vivid interpretation of the character. To do so, the actor must have an understanding of how that particular character developed their own sense of identity. This should be constructed not from the actor’s personal experience but from an informed imaginative experience founded on research and analysis. As pedagogues we are challenged with attempting to give young actors the skills for such an analysis. I have developed a formula to aid the actor in creating the foundations for such an interpretation founded upon the sociological understanding of …

Synthesis, Characterization And Electrochemical Studies Of A New Class Of Ligand For Modeling The Bioredox Chemistry Of Copper: A Novel Sensor For Organic Contaminants In Water., Richard Jon Jaeger

Theses and Dissertations

In part I of this dissertation, a new set of sulfur containing pendant arm copper(II/I) macrocycles were synthesized to determine the effects of steric constraint on induced structural rearrangement. These new ligands have an N3S3 coordination sphere with nitrogens in a macrocyclic ring and pendant arms containing thiaether groups with varying terminal aliphatic groups. The complexes of these ligands with Cu(II) were characterized using Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, electronic spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction analysis. UV-Vis and ESR spectroscopy provided insight into different solution geometries of the copper complexes with respect to solvent and temperature. In general, as the …

The Effect Of Cultural Affiliations On Attitudes, Beliefs, And Reactions To The Fighting Sioux Nickname Issue Between Northern Plains American Indian And Majority Culture College Students, Angela Larocque

Theses and Dissertations

The main puqjo.sc of this study was to compare the effect of cultural affiliation on altitudes, beliefs, and reactions to the Fighting Sioux Nickname and logo issue for 60 Nonhem Plains American Indian college students and 61 non-Indian college students at the University of North Dakota. Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire and the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux Nickname Attitudes, Beliefs, and Reactions (UNDFSNABR) survey. In addition, American Indian subjects completed the Nonhem Plains Bicuhuralism Inventory (NPBI), Using the Northern Plains Biculluralisin Inventory (NPBI) to identify cultural identification among American Indian participants, the hypotheses of the current study were;: …

A Framework For Multilingual Information Processing, Steven Edward Atkin

Theses and Dissertations

Recent and (continuing) rapid increases in computing power now enable more of humankind's written communication to be represented as digital data. The most recent and obvious changes in multilingual information processing have been the introduction of larger character sets encompassing more writing systems. Yet the very richness of larger collections of characters has made the interpretation and processing of text more difficult. The many competing motivations (satisfying the needs of linguists, computer scientists, and typographers) for standardizing character sets threaten the purpose of information processing: accurate and facile manipulation of data. Existing character sets are constructed without a consistent strategy …

A Comparison Of Intellectual Test Performance Across Native American And European American Children, Austin P. Keith

Theses and Dissertations

Differential scoring across Native American and European .American groups on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children - Third Edition (WISC-IIi) was examined while controlling for Full Scale IQ and age. Comparisons were made across the groups on Verbal IQ and Performance IQ, individual subtests, individual subtest items and two composite index scores. Results indicated no significant scorino differences between the two groups on Performance IQ or, on the Perceptual Organization Index, Significant scoring differences were also not evident on the Coding, Picture Arrangement, Arithmetic, Block Design, Vocabulary-, Object Assembly and Comprehension subtests. Significant scoring differences were found across the groups …

The Analysis Of Selective Information Processing And Neuropsychological Functioning In Individuals At-Risk For Eating Disorders: The Use Of A Pictorial Adaptation To The Stroop Paradigm, Using Print Media Advertisements, Kristine L. Lokken

Theses and Dissertations

There is evidence that women with bulimic symptoms are characteristically impulsive and have difficulty inhibiting various behaviors. Neuropsychological profiles of women with bulimic symptoms show patterns of impulsivity, inefficient problem solving ability, and an inability to inhibit irrelevant information. Women with bulimic symptoms also express substantially greater acceptance and internalization of sociocultural mores of thinness, and are more vulnerable to negative influence from laboratory exposure to stimuli representing “thin ideal” stereotypes. The present study examined a possible common link between the characterological and neuropsychological features of women with bulimic symptoms and their susceptibility to negative influence from mass media representations …

Modeling And Analysis Of Social Networks, Robert S. Renfro Ii

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops new methods for the modeling and analysis of social networks. Social networks describe the complex relationships of individuals and groups in multiple overlapping contexts. Influence in a social network impacts behavior and decision making in every setting in which individuals participate. This study defines a methodology for modeling and analyzing this complex behavior using a Flow-Model representation. Multiple objectives in an influencing effort targeted at a social network are modeled using Goal Programming. Value Focused Thinking is applied to model influence and predict decisions based on the reaction of the psychological state of individuals to environmental stimuli. …

Ay Carumba!: The Simpsons. A Transnational Text To A Transnational Audience, Anita C. Ramdharry

Theses and Dissertations

This paper discusses the popular U.S. cartoon-sitcom The Simpsons and the vast global audience the show has reached in its 12 years on air. First, it clarifies the message the creator, Matt Groening, and the writers are conveying: a left wing American ideology. This message is sent to a variety of communities around the globe. To understand the relationship between the show as a media text and its audience, it needs to be studied in terms of transnational interpretive communities. Studying the audience as transnational, allows all communities, on a large and a small-scale, to be analyzed. By using the …

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus Envelope Protein Gp120: Effects On The Hepatic Growth Hormone-Insulin-Like Growth Factor Axis., Zachery Thomas Resch

Theses and Dissertations

A significant number of individuals diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) develop AIDS wasting syndrome (AWS). In these individuals, weight loss and endocrine dysfunction has been described. We previously developed a rat model for the study of a minor subset of the AWS population described as having an apparent growth hormone (GH) deficiency (Type I AWS) using the human immunodeficiency virus (HTV) envelope protein. gpl20, as the mediator. My goal was to develop a rat model for the study of the far more common form of AWS (Type II), which is characterized by a GHresistant state. Cultured, primary hepatocytes …

Health Conditions Associated With The Greater Grand Forks 1997 Flood Disaster: Pre- To Post-Flood Seasonal And Trend Analysis With Age And Gender Effects., Julie Waxvik Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes, are often considered uncontrollable environmental events and have been linked with mild to severe physical and psychological effects. By all accounts, natural disasters are traumatic events to those experiencing them and often have widespread and devastating impacts on health and stability. The degree that people are affected by a natural disaster has been difficult to capture. Massive flooding that occurred in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and East Grand Forks, Minnesota (spring 1997), caused evacuation of almost the entire population of both communities. Because a single health care system served both cities, a …

Analysis And Numerical Solution Of An Integral Equation Method For Electromagnetic Scattering From A Cavity In A Ground Plane, Eric T. Howe

Theses and Dissertations

In this research the electromagnetic scattering of a plane wave from a two-dimensional cavity embedded in an infinite, perfectly conducting ground plane is investigated. The plane wave is assumed to be under transverse electric (TE) polarization with respect to the x-axis. The cavity may be empty or filled with an arbitrary homogeneous, lossy material. A coupled set of scalar integral equations that govern the electromagnetic scattering is implemented. An approximate solution to the scalar integral equations is found via a Method of Moments (MoM) algorithm. The algorithm is implemented in a computer code, and approximations to the total magnetic field …

Impact Of A Historical Translocation On Populations Of White-Tailed Deer Odocoileus Virginianus, Nathan Kendall Boddie

Theses and Dissertations

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to study the impact of a historical translocation event on populations of white-tailed deer in Georgia. The technique may also serve as a model by which management practices for other rare species can be studied. Populations from an original translocation source in Wisconsin, another Wisconsin population, and three populations in Georgia were sampled during management hunts. RAPD PCR was used to produce a genetic fingerprint for individuals of each population. Resulting band data were analyzed using PHYLIP genetic analysis software. A consensus tree of 100 bootstrapped replicates showed significant similarity between Georgia …

Socially Defined "Pms", Lora J. Bertelsen

Theses and Dissertations

No agreed upon definition for “PMS” exists. This study was designed to explore the conceptualizations of the expression “PMS” held by college students. It was hoped that results would inform not only assessment and treatment of premenstrual disorders, but also the debate regarding inclusion in future diagnostic and statistical manuals of the American Psychiatric Association.

Participants included 47 college students recruited from Freshman English classes at a small university in the Midwestern United States. Thirty female and 17 male participants were primarily Caucasian (43), single (36), and heterosexual (45). Each participant completed an in-class essay, an adjective checklist, and a …

Media Rape: Press Coverage Of Sexual Assault Cases, Megan M. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

In 1989, a female jogger was raped, beaten and left for dead in New York City’s Central Park. Two years later, a woman was attacked on a beach in Palm Beach, Florida. She reported to police that she had been raped. Both cases were covered extensively by the media, but the press treated the victims very differently. Throughout their analysis, reporters painted the Central Park jogger as an innocent victim, while the woman who accused Smith of rape was depicted as a deserving tramp.

Assuming a primarily qualitative approach, this research used frame analysis to examine The New York Times …

"Our Barbed Wire Ivory Tower": Republican And Irish Republican Army Prison Writing, 1973-1999, Lachlan E. Whalen

Theses and Dissertations

A critique of the notion that both prisons and prison literature are monolithic entities, this dissertation demonstrates the shaping power of individual historical moment and physical conditions of confinement upon the literary production of political incarceration in the North of Ireland. Though the writings of political prisoners like Gerry Adams, Roseleen Walsh, and Bobby Sands are separated only by a matter of a few years, the marked difference in their works is testament to the impact of place and individual prison regime upon each author. The material is approached in an eclectic fashion, with attention paid to the Hegelian dialectic …

The Design And Analysis Of A Wireless Lan Relayed Frame Protocol Extension, Jody A. Grassel

Theses and Dissertations

Computing stations networked on wireless LANs (wLANs) typically have a limited range of mobility: the station must always be within an access point’s coverage area. If a station moves outside of that area, and if it is unable to locate another base station within its range to perform a handover of communication connectivity responsibility, then it will ex perience a disruption in network services until it migrates into the coverage area of another wLAN. Typical causes for such losses of service include station migration to outside of the wLAN’s coverage area, changing environmental conditions, and “holes” within the cumu lative …

Predicting The Effects Of Dimensional And Material Property Variations In Micro Compliant Mechanisms, Jonathan W. Wittwer

Theses and Dissertations

Surface micromachining of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), like all other fabrication processes, has inherent variation that leads to uncertain material and dimensional parameters. To obtain accurate and reliable predictions of mechanism behavior, the effects of these variations need to be analyzed. This thesis expands already existing tolerance and uncertainty analysis methods to apply to micro compliant mechanisms. For simple compliant members, explicit equations can be used in uncertainty analysis. However, for a nonlinear implicit system of equations, the direct linearization method may be used to obtain sensitivities of output parameters to small changes in known variables. This is done by including …

Effects Of Institutionalization On Romanian Adoptees, Diane Castano

Theses and Dissertations

The overall health and well-being of Romanian adoptees has deteriorated significantly as a result of the deficient living conditions of Romanian orphanages. Several of the effects of institutionalized children include; developmental delays in speech, gross and fine motor areas, and emotional and behavioral impediments. Moreover, these children may develop mental and/or physical disabilities and an overabundance of health problems. This study reports findings from a survey completed by 38 American families with adopted children from Romania. The results of this study reflect; parents perceptions of their child's health at the time of adoption and current health status, the child's behavioral …

Contributions From Mafic Alkaline Magmas To The Bingham Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo Deposit, Utah, U.S.A., Daniel T. Maughan

Theses and Dissertations

The Bingham porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, Utah, may only be world-class because of substantial contributions of sulfur and metals from mafic alkaline magma to an otherwise unremarkable calc-alkaline system. Volcanic mafic alkaline rocks in the district are enriched in Cr, Ni, and Ba as well as ore-related constituents of Cu, Au, platinum group elements (PGE) and S. The bulk of the volcanic section that is comagmatic with ore-related porphyries is dacitic to trachytic in composition, but has inherited the geochemical signature of high Cr, Ni, and Ba from magma mixing with the mafic alkaline rocks. The volcanic section that most closely …

An Analysis Of Rowan University Fund Raising And Communication Practices, Karen D. Dunnington

Theses and Dissertations

Public colleges and universities need more income than government can provide. States now typically provide less than half the funding for public universities, like Rowan University. Alumni fund raising and other gifts bridge this gap. This study describes variables that affect donor motivation in other schools, and measures those variables among Rowan University subjects. The author applied a 16-question protocol to a purposive sample of 31. The sample was comprised of key fund raising personnel and target study subjects from students to college presidents in seven groups. Extensive individual commentary supplements the sample's small size. The major findings clearly support …

Study Of Small Businesses’ Need For, And Interest In, A Course On How To Produce Effective Publications, Lori Wagoner

Theses and Dissertations

With the advent of PageMaker and other user-friendly publications programs almost anyone can create publications, with or without an understanding of typography or layout and design. These publications represent the organization and affect its image, as well as its bottom line.

These software programs allow an organization to produce its own publications and handle its own publicity. This is a great advantage for small entrepreneurial businesses that may not be able to hire a professional to produce brochures, flyers or newsletters. The problem, however, is that unless the person has an understanding of typography and layout and design, the publication …

Effects Of A Student Book Club On Third Graders' Literacy Attitudes And Performance, Kirsten M. Bellamy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify a method of improving the reading attitudes of elementary students. A book club program was chosen as the treatment because it incorporates sociocultural perspectives in learning and opportunities to put previously learned skills to use. An experimental and control group of third grade students, with 28 children in each group, were administered the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS), an instrument that tests attitudes toward recreational and academic reading. After determining beginning attitudes, the experimental group participated in a book club, which utilized small group reading sessions followed by whole class discussions of …

The Effect Of Participatory Instruction On The Motivation Of Third Grade Students, Jessica L. Deck

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect differing instructional techniques has on students' motivation in terms of their attitude towards school. Students were pretested using the Inventory to Measure Attitude Towards School and reading (IMATSR). After the pretest, the reading class was conducted in a lecture format with the entire class reading the same novel. Students read a portion of the book and then answered comprehensive questions on a worksheet, prior to discussion. When the book was completed, a comprehensive exam and IMATSR posttest were given. Next, the teacher introduced five books to the class. Each student …

Amusement Park Crisis Management, Joe Costal

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis attempts to establish a benchmark for amusement park crisis management through the careful examination of two contrasting crisis response case studies.

The first study, a deadly fire at Six Flags Great Adventure, in Jackson Township, New Jersey, exemplifies the causes, components and effects of improper crisis planning. Analysis of the study closely examines all events leading to and resulting from the fire, with most content coming from the memories of professionals directly involved in the tragedy. Designations of the Six Flags case provided the basis of every amusement crisis plan written since.

The second study, a deadly boat …

Solid Phase Microextraction/Thickness-Shear Mode Resonator Determinations Of Petroleum Hydrocarbons In Water., Michelle Applebee

Theses and Dissertations

Investigations leading to the determination of petroleum hydrocarbons in water have been driven by the need to monitor components with known or suspected health risks. Compounds such as benzene and toluene, abundant in fuels, are known to be carcinogenic and genotoxic. While the effects fuels have on endocrine systems are still unknown, there is a great concern on the effects of long-term exposure to both humans and animals. Mature laboratory methods exist for the low-level determination of petroleum hydrocarbons. However, these methods require expensive instrumentation. In this project, an inexpensive, readily field portable sensor using a thickness shear mode resonator …

Examining The Effects Of A Self-Esteem Program On African American Girls, Andrea Alston-Brundage

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the self-concept of African American girls, ages 10-15 and to implement the Zola Circle program in an attempt to enhance their self-esteem.

Two groups of girls attended the Zola Circle workshops. Both groups attended the workshops for five weeks. The girls were given the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory Test before attending the workshop and at the conclusion of the workshop. A follow-up test was given to group one five weeks after the completion of the workshop.

The Analysis of Variance test (ANOVA) was computed to assess pretest differences between the two groups participating. …