Digital Commons Network^™

North Dakota Higher Education : A Political Analysis, Jason R. Bernhardt

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

The Image And Perception Of Nursing Through The Use Of Metaphors, Maria Elena Rosa

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Church Strategies To Compensate For Declining Congregational Enrollment In North Dakota, Jason Michael Pangiarella

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Inada Conditions And The Law Of Diminishing Returns, Daniel Primont, Rolf Fare

Economics Discussion Papers

Inada (1963) provided properties of the production function that are useful in the study of economic growth. Shephard (1970a) provided an axiomatic approach to the study of production theory. He applied these axioms to give a formal statement of the law of diminishing returns (Shephard, 1970b). In this paper we demonstrate that the Inada conditions and the law of diminishing returns, as articulated by Shephard, are fundamentally inconsistent. Thus one is forced to make a choice between the two models when studying productivity and growth.

Focus Group Evaluation For Web-Based Courses, James P. Turley, Meena Hussein, Doris L. Ross

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Dental Postgraduates Prefer Hypertutorial Statistics Lessons In Randomized Web Course Comparisons, Craig W. Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

The "Risky Business" Of Binge Drinking Among College Students: Using Risk Models For Psas And Anti-Drinking Campaigns, Joyce M. Wolburg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

To assist creators of public service announcements and anti-drinking campaigns, this study provides an in-depth examination of the risks of binge drinking from the perspective of college students. Using current risk models for guidance, key elements from the qualitative data in the study are addressed, including perceived risks and their severity, vulnerability to risks, self-efficacy, response efficacy, benefits from ritual functions, and other costs or benefits based on students' attitudes and beliefs. An integrated risk perception model is introduced. Student participants enumerated extensive risks; however, they generally felt invulnerable to the consequences. Most adopted a management style of “taking chances” …

"Just As Good As They Are": Voices Of Contemporary Women Involved In Farming And Ranching In North Dakota, Heidi L. Dyrstad

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the current experiences of women involved in farming and ranching in North Dakota. Specifically, women from across the state of North Dakota were interviewed to further our understanding of their lives as they experienced and reacted to the changing nature of agriculture. Interviewing was employed as the primary method of investigation to allow the women's voices to be conveyed directly to others.

Through analysis based in grounded theory methodology, three descriptive assertions emerged from the interview data, and they are as follows: (1) The women involved in farming and ranching in this …

The Comprehensibility Of Plain Language And Non Plain Language Minnesota Civil Jury Instructions, Kathryn J. Apostal

Theses and Dissertations

A substantial volume of research (e.g., Charrow & Charrow, 1979; Elwork, Sales & Alfini, 1977, 1982) suggests that jurors do not understand the often-convoluted language of standard jury instructions. Some states have recently simplified their instructions, but others continue to debate whether change is beneficial. This study was designed to investigate whether "plain language" jury instructions lead to improved comprehension. College students listened to either new, plain language Minnesota jury instructions or older Minnesota jury instructions addressing the same topics. Participants then took a written comprehension test covering legal rules contained in the instructions. Participants also completed a Nelson-Denny vocabulary …

Nonlinear Dynamics In Psychology, Stephen J. Guastello

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

This article provides a survey of the applications of nonlinear dynamical systems theory to substantive problems encountered in the full scope of psychological science. Applications are organized into three topical areas – cognitive science, social and organizational psychology, and personality and clinical psychology. Both theoretical and empirical studies are considered with an emphasis on works that capture the broadest scope of issues that are of substantive interest to psychological theory. A budding literature on the implications of NDS principles in professional practice is reported also.

Laboratory Denitrification Using Sediments From The Elk Valley Aquifer, Alison E. Kammer

Theses and Dissertations

An experiment was conducted to determine if a decrease in the content of sulfides related to denitrification could be measured in the laboratory using sediments of the Elk Valley Aquifer in eastern North Dakota. The experiment entailed analyzing sediments for sulfides and solid organic carbon and isolating them in sample containers with a nitrate solution to determine if a measurable decrease in these components could be observed.

Previous denitrification studies in the Elk Valley Aquifer showed an increase in sulfate in conjunction with a decrease in the concentration of nitrate. Sulfate is a by product of autotrophic denitrification where sulfide …

Lithospheric Flexure Of The Devils Lake Basin, North Dakota, Erica M. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Devils Lake is the largest lake in a chain of approximately 20 interconnected lakes in east central North Dakota. The Devils Lake drainage basin of approximately 8,600 km2, lies in a bowl sculpted by glaciation; thus it is closed and receives and loses water only through precipitation and evapotranspiration. Since 1940, the lake level has risen 14.4 m due to increased precipitation. Geological data show that in the past 10,000 years the lake has alternately dried up and filled due to climate fluctuations (Murphy et al., 1997). During this time it has reached its spill elevation of 444. 7 m …

"References" For Carnivore Conservation, John L. Gittleman, Stephan M. Funk, David Macdonald, Robert K. Wayne, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

119-page bibliography of works cited in in CARNIVORE CONSERVATION, edited by John L. Gittleman, Stephan M. Funk, David Macdonald, and Robert K. Wayne, Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Includes approximately 2,000 items.

Experimental Infection Of Nontarget Species Of Rodents And Birds With Brucella Abortus Strain Rb51 Vaccine, Matt C. Januszewski, Steven C. Olsen, Robert G. Mclean, Larry Clark, Jack C. Rhyan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The Brucella abortus vaccine strain RB51 (SRB51) is being considered for use in the management of brucellosis in wild bison (Bison bison) and elk (Cervus elaphus) populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area (USA). Evaluation of the vaccine’s safety in non-target species was considered necessary prior to field use. Between June 1998 and December 1999, ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii, n=21), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus, n=14), prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster, n=21), and ravens (Corvus corax, n=13) were orally inoculated with SRB51 or physiologic saline. Oral and …

Serological Responses Of Coyotes To Two Commercial Rabies Vaccines, Frederick F. Knowlton, Marianna Roetto, Deborah Briggs

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Between August 1993 and September 1994 we documented serological responses of coyotes (Canis latrans) vaccinated with two commercial rabies vaccines licensed for use in domestic dogs. Serologic responses were documented by testing for rabies virus neutralizing antibodies with the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) at 30, 90, 180, 270, and 365 days post-vaccination. All coyotes vaccinated with Imrab 3^® (Rhone-Merieux, Inc.), and 75% of those vaccinated with Dura-Rab 3^® (Immunovet, Inc.) seroconverted, as evidenced by the presence of antirabies antibody titers ≥1:5 in one or more of the five post-vaccination samples. The percent of coyotes …

Applying The Method Of Moments And The Partial Element Equivalent Circuit Modeling Techniques To A Special Challenge Problem Of A Pc Board With Long Wires Attached, Yun Ji, Bruce Archambeault, Todd H. Hubing

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates a canonical printed circuit board (PCB) problem using both a method of moments (MoM) and a partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) modeling technique. The problem consists of a PCB populated with three traces. One trace is a signal line and the other two are I/O lines that couple to the signal line and extend beyond the boundary of the board. Although the MoM code was a frequency domain code and the PEEC code was a time-domain code, good agreement was achieved in both the time-domain and the frequency-domain

Detection And Classification Of Impact-Induced Damage In Composite Plates Using Neural Networks, Rohit Dua, Steve Eugene Watkins, Donald C. Wunsch, K. Chandrashekhara, Farhad Akhavan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Artificial neutral networks (ANN) can be used as an online health monitoring systems (involving damage assessment, fatigue monitoring and delamination detection) for composite structures owing to their inherent fast computing speeds, parallel processing and ability to learn and adapt to the experimental data. The amount of impact-induced strain on a composite structure can be found using strain sensors attached to composite structures. Prior work has shown that strain-based ANN can characterize impact energy on composite plates and that strain signatures can be associated with damage types and severity. This paper reports the extension of this approach for damage classification using …

High-Power Microwave Wideband Random Signal Measurement And Narrowband Signal Detection Against The Noise Background, Marina Koledintseva, Alexander A. Kitaytsev, V. A. Konkin

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method of both measurement of power parameters of a microwave wideband intense random signal and detection of a narrow-band signal with unknown frequency and power against a background of this wideband signal is presented. This method is based on nonheterodyne frequency and power conversion using a gyromagnetic converter that operates in two regimes: resonance detection and cross-multiplication. The wideband spectrum envelope of a random signal is visualized, and by switching two regimes and using correspondent filtration of the converted RF signal, the narrowband signals can be detected and measured. The block-scheme and operation of a two-channel measuring device combining …

The Technologies Of Property Rights: Choice Among Alternative Solutions To Tragedies Of The Commons, Bruce Yandle, Andrew P. Morriss

Faculty Scholarship

Garrett Hardin's classic description of the tragedy of the commons tells us that all environmental problems require a property rights solution. The property solution or rule may call for the definition and enforcement of common, public, or private property rights, but any escape from the tragedy requires some rationing mechanism that allocates a form of property rights to some entity. These solutions fall into one of two broad traditions within economics: the Pigouvian, or regulatory tradition, and the Coasean, or market-based tradition. Any proposal for action in either tradition implies some definition of property rights. The difference lies in the …

Single-Pulse Characteristics Of The Millisecond Radio Pulsar Psr B1937 + 21 At 430 Mhz, F. A. Jenet, S. B. Anderson, T. A. Prince

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The single-pulse characteristics of the millisecond pulsar PSR B1937 + 21 are studied using the recently installed Caltech baseband recorder at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. This is the first such analysis of this object that includes both average intensity pulses as well as \"giant pulses.\" Pulse ensemble-averaging techniques are developed in order to study the characteristics of PSR B1937 + 21's single pulses since the high time resolution signal-to-noise ratio is less than unity. This analysis reveals that the non-giant pulse radio emission is extremely stable. All observed fluctuations are consistent with diffractive interstellar scattering. Such intrinsic …

Verification Of A Distortion In The Microstructure Of Gan Detected By Exafs Using Ab Initio Density Functional Theory Calculations, Nicholas Dimakis, Grant Bunker, M. Katsikini, E. C. Paloura

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements on a series of epitaxially grown GaN samples have shown a distortion in the microstructure of GaN. More specifically the central N atom is 4-fold coordinated but the four Ga atoms are not equidistant. It has been shown that 2.9 to 3.5 of them (depending on the growth conditions) are found in the expected from XRD distance of 1.94 A and the remaining are at a distance longer by approximately 15%. Second derivative calculation of the conformation energy using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) is used to investigate if the symmetric GaN cluster as …

Polymer Depletion Interaction Between Two Parallel Repulsive Walls, F. Schlesener, Andreas Hanke, R. Kimpel, S. Dietrich

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The depletion interaction between two parallel repulsive walls confining a dilute solution of long and flexible polymer chains is studied by field-theoretic methods. Special attention is paid to self-avoidance between chain monomers relevant for polymers in a good solvent. Our direct approach avoids the mapping of the actual polymer chains on effective hard or soft spheres. We compare our results with recent Monte Carlo simulations [A. Milchev and K. Binder, Eur. Phys. J. B 3, 477 (1998)] and with experimental results for the depletion interaction between a spherical colloidal particle and a planar wall in a dilute solution of nonionic …

Modified Critical Correlations Close To Modulated And Rough Surfaces, Andreas Hanke, Mehran Kardar

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Correlation functions are sensitive to the presence of a boundary. Surface modulations give rise to modified near surface correlations, which can be measured by scattering probes. To determine these correlations, we develop a perturbative calculation in deformations in height from a flat surface. The results, combined with a renormalization group around four dimensions, are also used to predict critical behavior near a self-affine rough surface. We find that a large enough roughness exponent can modify surface critical behavior.

Chemical Transferability Of Single- And Multiple-Scattering Exafs Debye-Waller Factors, Nicholas Dimakis, Grant Bunker

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Single- and multiple-scattering EXAFS Debye-Waller factors are amplitude reduction parameters that appear in the EXAFS x(k) equation accounting for the structural and thermal disorder of a given sample. These parameters must be known accurately in order to obtain quantitative agreement between theory and experiment. Since experimental data can only support a limited number of fitted parameters these factors must be known from another source. Although various approaches have been considered in the past with a variety of results, the self-consistent ab initio Density functional theory stands for the most accurate and reliable method regardless of molecular symmetry or other specific …

Apex Version 2.0: Latest Version Of The Cross-Platform Analysis Program For Exafs, Nicholas Dimakis, Grant Bunker

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

This report describes recent progress on APEX, a free, open source, cross platform set of EXAFS data analysis software. In a previous report we described APEX 1.0 (Dimakis, N. and Bunker, G., 1999), a free and open source code suite of basic X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) data analysis programs for classical data reduction and single scattering analysis. The first version of APEX was the only cross platform (linux/irix/windows/MacOS) EXAFS analysis program to our knowledge, but it lacked important features like multiple scattering fitting, generic format conversion from ASCII to University of Washington (UW) binary-type files, and user friendly interactive …

Probing The Strong Boundary Shape Dependence Of The Casimir Force, Thorsten Emig, Andreas Hanke, Ramin Golestanian, Mehran Kardar

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We study the geometry dependence of the Casimir energy for deformed metal plates by a path integral quantization of the electromagnetic field. For the first time, we give a complete analytical result for the deformation induced change in Casimir energy δE in an experimentally testable, nontrivial geometry, consisting of a flat and a corrugated plate. Our results show an interesting crossover for δE as a function of the ratio of the mean plate distance H, to the corrugation length λ: For λ≪H we find a slower decay ∼H−4, compared to the H−5 behavior predicted by the commonly used pairwise summation …

An Assessment Of The Role And Impact Of Non-Governmental Organizations (Ngos) In The Management And Sustainability Of Local Environmental Resources: A Case Study Of Nanun, Ghana, Iddrisu Adam

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

NGOs have been heralded as the vehicle of choice for aid delivery by international organizations lice the World Bank and the United Nations and also by western governments, especially in the last two decades. This is a tacit acceptance of their role as development agents in the South. However, no substantive research has been done to find out if these NGOs are indeed contributing to the better management of local environmental resources. This research sets out to examine the role and impact of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the management and sustainability of local environmental resources in rural Ghana. What makes …

Weathering Crust Processes On Melting Glacier Ice (Alberta, Canada), Corinne Joanne Schuster

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis examines the relationship between the energy balance and hydrology of a glacier at the ice surface interface during the melt season. Experimental sub-catchments were established on the ablation area of the Peyto Glacier, Alberta, Canada, during the summers of 1994, 1995 and 1997. These sub-catchments were equipped with meteorological and hydrological instrumentation to examine relationships in the surface layer. Specifically, the development of a phenomenon known as the weathering crust is followed by examining the ratio between potential surface lowering (calculated from energy available for melt) and actual surface lowering (as measured in the field). This enables an …

Granting Forgiveness Or Harboring Grudges: Implications For Emotion, Physiology, And Health, Charlotte Vanoyen-Witvliet, Thomas Ludwig, Kelly L. Vander Laan

Faculty Publications

Interpersonal offenses frequently mar relationships. Theorists have argued that the responses victims adopt toward their offenders have ramifications not only for their cognition, but also for their emotion, physiology, and health. This study examined the immediate emotional and physiological effects that occurred when participants (35 females, 36 males) rehearsed hurtful memories and nursed grudges (i.e., were unforgiving) compared with when they cultivated empathic perspective taking and imagined granting forgiveness (i.e., were forgiving) toward real-life offenders. Unforgiving thoughts prompted more aversive emotion, and significantly higher corrugator (brow) electromyogram (EMG), skin conductance, heart rate, and blood pressure changes from baseline. The EMG, …

Spatial Distribution Of Phosphorus In Fluvial Sediments From The James River Basin, Sw Missouri, Briain Fredrick

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Degraded ·water quality in the James River Arm of Table Rock Lake, southwest Missouri has raised concerns about sources and transport of nutrients, especially phosphorus, in the James River Basin. Sections of the James River Basin have been identified as having excessive nutrient problems on the Missouri Department of Natural Resources 303d list and ranked fifth in the state for water quality improvements. Understanding the sources and transport patterns of phosphorus in the James River is necessary to evaluate contamination problems and the effectiveness of management efforts to reduce phosphorus inputs to the lake. This study uses bed sediments to …