Digital Commons Network^™

A Study On The Impact Of Patient Centered Medical Home (Pcmh) Implementation On Nursing Work Practice, Nikhil Vijay Shinde

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Primary care and nursing are important components of the U.S. healthcare system and are facing challenges of quality, access, cost, time spent and inefficiencies of clinical activities. Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a newly developed care model which has the potential to overcome these challenges. The present study uses a questionnaire approach to find the impact PCMH implementation may have on nursing practice and subsequently primary care. Analysis of the data collected from the questionnaire revealed some surprising results about the nursing practice. For example nurses spend less time on direct care and more time on indirect care and …

Parenting A Gender Nonconforming Child: Implications For Therapy, Susan Lee Johnson

Human Development and Family Science

Parents who are raising children who do not conform to societal gender norms are in need of support and advocacy, as they are not receiving enough in the current social climate. The focus of this single case study is on a parent's experiences raising her gender nonconforming child, and on her perception of the elements of the mental health field that are conducive to the well-being of her family. Interviews took place via online chat sessions. A queer feminist framework guided all aspects of this study. Results support current literature demonstrating that parents of gender nonconforming children are in need …

Rural Adolescents' Perceptions Of Alcohol Use: A Qualitative Study, Tamara A. Metzen

Human Development and Family Science

This qualitative study outlines rural adolescents' perceptions of the reasons they choose to use or not use alcohol. The social contextual factors that underlie their decisions are addressed. Twenty juniors and seniors from four rural schools in a North Dakota county were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that the reasons given are similar to reasons given by other rural and non- rural samples although rural communities similar in characteristics and in close proximity can have very different patterns of adolescent alcohol use. Insight into the meaning these adolescents had about their experiences with alcohol is provided.

Relationships Between Body Image And Religiosity Among Emerging Adult Women, Andrea Rose Freitag

Human Development and Family Science

Emerging adulthood is a time of identity exploration (Arnett, 2004), in which the areas of religiosity and sexuality may be especially impressionable (Arnett & Tanner, 2006). It is common for emerging adult women to experience negative body image (Gillen & Lefkowitz, 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine how religiosity, specifically attendance at religious services and prayer frequency, were connected to a woman’s general body image and her contextual body image, or body image experiences in sexual situations, during emerging adulthood. Participants for this study were 405 emerging adult women who completed an online survey. I hypothesized that …

Improvement Of Wind Forecasting Accuracy And Its Impacts On Bidding Strategy Optimization For Wind Generation Companies, Gong Li

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

One major issue of wind generation is its intermittence and uncertainty due to the highly volatile nature of wind resource, and it affects both the economy and the operation of the wind farms and the distribution networks. It is thus urgently needed to develop modeling methods for accurate and reliable forecasts on wind power generation. Meanwhile, along with the ongoing electricity market deregulation and liberalization, wind energy is expected to be directly auctioned in the wholesale market. This brings the wind generation companies another issue of particular importance, i.e., how to maximize the profits by optimizing the bids in the …

Students Beliefs About Same Sex Couples And Family Therapy, Kelly Kathleen Wysong

Human Development and Family Science

The purpose of this study was to analyze student therapist’s level of agreement with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy’s (AAMFT) formal statements concerning lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons and families; specifically, it examined student’s level of agreement with the AAMFT’s definition of Marriage/Couple and Family Therapy (CFT), and the AAMFT’s formal statement concerning same sex couples. This was explored via the participant’s qualitative and quantitative answers. The study used an existing data set consisting of 248 participants; 62.6% were enrolled in a masters program and 36.8% were enrolled in a PhD CFT program. Participant’s quantitative responses …

Transitioning A Living-Center: Resident Ability And Preference In Activity Programming, Lacie Silha

Human Development and Family Science

Gerontologists have noted the importance of physical fitness (McPhee, et al., 2004), socialization (Lang & Baltes, 1997), and cognitive maintenance (McDougall, 2000) to successful aging. Due to this, Assisted-Living Facility (ALF) Activity Departments serve an essential role in residents' lives, encouraging engagement and aiming to improve life satisfaction. Willowtree is an independent-living facility planning to transition into an ALF. This study sought to discover the existence of a relationship between Willowtree residents' activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL) functionality and their enjoyment levels with current activity programming. Residents' preferences with activity type, time of day, frequency, and …

Differences In Ground Reaction Forces Between Take-Offs That Are Out, On, Or Under In The Pole Vault, Shawn Michael Francis

Health Nutrition and Exercise Science

Aim. The take-off is regarded as the most important phase of the pole vault yet there is an insufficient amount of research on the ground reaction forces of the pole vault takeoff. At this time there is not any scientific research comparing force and time between takeoffs that are out, on and under. The purpose of this study is to compare the differences in ground reaction forces between pole vault take-offs that are out, on or under. Methods. Over five days, 15 male and female college pole vaulters completed 226 vaults on a (AMTI Accupower) force plate. The jumps were …

The Association Between The Consumer Nutrition Environments And Free And Reduced School Lunch Rates, Anthony Michael Randles

Human Development and Family Science

This study examined the relationships between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), measured by free and reduced school lunch rates, the nutrition environment. In the first part of this study trained surveyors used the Nutrition Environment Measure Survey-Stores (NEMS-S) to document availability of healthy food items in sixty retail food stores (96% of total community retail food stores) categorized as `ethnic grocery', `supermarkets', and `convenience'. Community neighborhoods were divided by elementary school district, allowing neighborhood SES to be determined by the percentage of free and reduced price lunch provided to students and are thus grouped as high or low SES neighborhoods. Surveyors …

Ad Libitum Fluid Intake And Plasma Responses Following Pickle Juice, Hypertonic Saline, And Deionized Water Ingestion, Scott Thomas Allen

Health Nutrition and Exercise Science

Some clinicians warn against pickle juice (PJ) ingestion due to its sodium. PJ drinking guidelines have been developed but never tested. The purpose of this study was to determine if drinking PJ, hypertonic saline (HS), or deionized water (DIW) affected ad libitum DIW ingestion, plasma variables, or perceptions of thirst, fullness, or nausea (perceptual indicators). On three days, subjects were dehydrated (~2%), given one of three treatment drinks, rated its palatability, and rehydrated with DIW ad libitum. Over 60 minutes of rehydration blood samples and perceptual indicators were collected. Subjects consumed more DIW ad libitum following HS and PJ than …

Family Business Contributions To The Community: A Comparison Of Copreneurs And Other Family Business Owners On Community Social Responsibility, Kara L. M. Welk

Human Development and Family Science

Copreneurs, defined as couples who jointly operate a business and share business-related responsibilities and decisions, represent a growing portion of family business (Fitzgerald & Muske; 2002; Marshack, 1993, 1994). However, knowledge of copreneurs remains limited in the research literature. The uniqueness of copreneurs may be particularly meaningful with respect to community social responsibility, referring to the contributions a business provides to the community beyond the products and services offered (Besser, 1999). This study explores the potential differences between the socially responsible behaviors of copreneurial and noncopreneurial businesses using the Sustainable Family Business Theory as a framework. Analysis focuses on the …

The Role Of Three Factors In Community Mobility For Rural Older Adults, Joanne Mary Powell

Human Development and Family Science

This paper will identify mobility options leading to quality of life for older adults who live in rural communities. This paper will create an assessment plan to determine the current status and needs for transportation and mobility of older adults in a rural community related to walkability, drivability, and public transportation. A sampling data collection plan for conducting the assessment will be developed based on review of existing community assessments. This paper will develop a plan for how the data will be analyzed and presented. Results of this case study will be used for future improvements in community livability as …

Physical Activity Of Preschool Aged Children During Childcare: Examination Of Seasonal Changes And An Evaluation Of A Dance-Based Intervention, John Micheal Schuna

Human Development and Family Science

The purpose of this dissertation was to prospectively track preschoolers' physical activity (PA) during childcare while investigating for seasonal differences in accelerometer measured PA between the fall and winter months in Fargo, North Dakota. This dissertation also evaluated the feasibility of a novel dance-based intervention for increasing PA and reducing sedentary (SED) time in childcare using short activity breaks (< 10 min) interspersed throughout the childcare day. Two studies were conducted as part of this dissertation. The first study (Paper 1) examined for seasonal differences in preschoolers' PA. The second study (Paper 2) evaluated the feasibility of a novel dance-based intervention for increasing PA and reducing SED time during childcare. Preschool aged children (3-5 years) were recruited from four childcare centers in Fargo, North Dakota, to participate in both studies. Children (N = 59) in study one wore an accelerometer during childcare for 5 days in October/November 2011 (fall) and for 5 days in January/February 2012 (winter). Significant decreases in all intensities of PA were observed from fall to winter. Levels of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) decreased by 17% (p < .01), while SED time increased by 3.2% (p < .01). Children averaged 6.1 min/hr of MVPA across the two assessment periods. Levels of MVPA among preschool children from this study fell within the range of estimates reported in the current literature. Findings from study one suggest that preschoolers' PA levels can substantially change across seasons. For study two, four childcare centers were randomly assigned (cluster randomized design) to take part in a novel dance-based PA intervention or to serve as a control site. Preschoolers (N = 61; intervention group [n = 30], control group [n = 31]) wore an accelerometer while at childcare for 5 days at baseline in January 2012 and for 5 days during the intervention in February 2012. No significant differences between groups in baseline to intervention period changes for MVPA or SED time were observed. Results from study two indicate that adding an additional 15-20 min of dance to preschoolers' childcare day did not significantly increase MVPA or reduce SED time.

Word Diffusion And Climate Science, R. A. Bentley, P. Garnett, Michael J. O'Brien, W. A. Brock

History Faculty Publications (Archived)

As public and political debates often demonstrate, a substantial disjoint can exist between the findings of science and the impact it has on the public. Using climate-change science as a case example, we reconsider the role of scientists in the information-dissemination process, our hypothesis being that important keywords used in climate science follow "boom and bust" fashion cycles in public usage. Representing this public usage through extraordinary new data on word frequencies in books published up to the year 2008, we show that a classic two-parameter social-diffusion model closely fits the comings and goings of many keywords over generational or …

Adult Learners In A Novel Environment Use Prestige-Biased Social Learning, C. Atkisson, Michael J. O'Brien, A. A. Mesoudi

History Faculty Publications (Archived)

Social learning (learning from others) is evolutionarily adaptive under a wide range of conditions and is a long-standing area of interest across the social and biological sciences. One social-learning mechanism derived from cultural evolutionary theory is prestige bias, which allows a learner in a novel environment to quickly and inexpensively gather information as to the potentially best teachers, thus maximizing his or her chances of acquiring adaptive behavior. Learners provide deference to high-status individuals in order to ingratiate themselves with, and gain extended exposure to, that individual. We examined prestige-biased social transmission in a laboratory experiment in which participants designed …

Stories From The Dark Side: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Stories Legally Blind And Totally Blind People Tell About Unplanned Encounters With The Sighted Community, Anneliese Devyldere

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Our Celebrities Our Selves: Reconstructing Ourselves As Online Personalities, Arne Baruca

Marketing Faculty Publications (Archived)

Celebrity influence on consumer behavior at the online macro level is the motivation for this study that addresses the nature of celebrity consumption and how consumers apply that consumption to develop their online self-presentation.

The sample for this study is limited to consumers with active accounts at online social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. Methodology is a three-part design. A multi-factor qualitative exploratory study (n=73) reveals four celebrity-consumer relationships whose proposed measurement scales are tested in a quantitative pilot study (n=85). Finally, a large sample study (n=593) is used to test the measurement model and to test the proposed …

Irrationalism: The Foundation Of Hate Propaganda, Robert Lanning

Journal of Hate Studies

This article proposes that hate propaganda be examined in terms of its basis in irrationalism as a philosophical orientation. In the first part of the paper, irrationalism is discussed from the perspectives of various 20th century philosophers engaged against the rise of fascism or responding to it. In the second part, selected examples of contemporary propaganda are discussed, demonstrating continuity in the use of irrationalism as a limitation to thought and analysis.

Italian Fascism’S Soviet Enemy And The Propaganda Of Hate, 1941-1943, Marla Stone

Journal of Hate Studies

In conjunction with the war against the Soviet Union which began in June 1941, the Italian Fascist regime promulgated a virulent brand of anti-communism and oversaw a campaign of hate-mongering propaganda targeted at its Soviet enemy. This propaganda produced to justify the war highlighted the Manichean struggle against the Soviet Union and the special horrors of the Soviet communist enemy. Using longstanding stereotypes about a Russian lack of civilization, 19th-century ideas about racially expressed biological difference, and more recent tropes about Bolshevik barbarism and immorality, official representations of Fascism’s historic enemy—the communist—put forward a racially degenerate, godless peril from the …

Defining Characteristics And Politicising Victims: A Legal Perspective, Jennifer Schweppe

Journal of Hate Studies

Legislatures worldwide experience the same problem in drafting or amending hate crimes statutes: How is it possible to discriminate between victim groups, and which groups are worthy of legislative protection? This article explores some of the experiences of legislatures, highlighting the political inconsistencies which go on to shape the legal system. It focusses on the experience of a number of common law jurisdictions, and seeks to establish a normative platform from which hate crimes statutes can be based, drawing on the legislative experiences of the United States. This platform draws on two other areas of law, particularly the criminal defence …

Combating Hate Through Young Adult Literature, Rachel Dean-Ruzicka

Journal of Hate Studies

Young adult literature can help readers look beyond tolerance toward a cosmopolitan ethics of difference as a more sophisticated position for combating hatred. In popular discourse, the ideal of tolerance is generally presented uncritically and deployed as the best response to a perceived difference in another. However, the ideal of tolerance presents many problems. Rather than discouraging hatred, tolerance merely asks us not to act upon related feelings. Additionally, tolerance is often deployed not only as an idealized set of behaviors, but also as a moral imperative. Thus tolerance encourages cultural relativism where we are expected to be tolerant of …

Book Reviews: Arthur Goldwag’S The New Hate: A History Of Fear And Loathing On The Populist Right & Thomas R. Pegram’S One Hundred Percent American: The Rebirth And Decline Of The Ku Klux Klan In The 1920s, Rebecca Barrett-Fox

Journal of Hate Studies

As reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the number of hate groups in the United States has continually risen since 2000 in response to three factors: the election of the nation’s first African American president, economic turmoil, and undocumented immigration (Potok, 2011). While these structural changes might feel painful for those native-born white Americans who view signs of increasing pluralism as worrisome and who believe that their economic losses are due to the gains of minority groups, they are not new challenges—nor are the hate-filled responses to them new. In both One Hundred Percent American: The Rebirth and …

Accounting Majors' Perceptions Of Future Career Skills: An Exploratory Analysis, Abbie Parham, Thomas G. Noland, Julia Ann Kelly

Accountancy: Faculty Publications

Business education is often criticized for its failure to develop lifelong skills. This study examines the opinions of 205 students to determine what skills they deem to be important for their future careers. The study then compares the opinions of accounting students against other business disciplines. The results of the study are mixed for the accounting profession. Many of the skills accounting majors ranked as important for their future were not surprising. However, there was some indication that accounting majors may be suffering from a silo effect and are not able to fully grasp how skills learned in other university …

Evaluation Of Group Medical Visits In Improvement Of Diabetes Self-Management., Victoria M. Dobbins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Diabetes is a chronic disease that has potential complications if left unmanaged that can lead to financial burden for all those who are involved along with life altering health impacts. Complications can be reduced with proper management of this chronic disease. Selfmanagement of diabetes has been linked to improved outcomes and therefore, decreased complications. Improvements of self-management of those patients with diabetes often require health care providers to look at unique approaches to the delivery of care. The use of group medical visit is one such approach that has been studied and linked to improvements of selfmanagement. However, there …

Exposure To Perfluoroalkyl Chemicals And Its Relation To Serum Lipids, Serum Uric Acid, And Blood Pressure Levels In Children., Sarah Dee Geiger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction: PFCs are manmade chemicals that are very pervasive in the US. They have been found to be present in the blood of more than 98% of Americans and have a long half-life. Studies have shown that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) have endocrine-disrupting properties and exposure is positively associated with serum lipids, serum uric acid, reproductive effects, low birth weight and cancers, among other negative health effects. Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide and risk factors include dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia, and hypertension. In this context, we examined the association between PFOA and PFOS and serum …

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Study Of The Ultraviolet Exposure Of Ballistic Resistant Polymer Matrix Composites, Drew Adam Pavlacky

Materials and Nanotechnology

This study examined the effect of ultraviolet radiation on ballistic resistant polymer matrix composites. Two composite systems studied included a phenolic matrix with either S2 Glass® or Kevlar® fiber laminates. These composites were weathered in ultraviolet conditions and the effects were quantified with multiple destructive and non-destructive testing. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used as a non-destructive evaluation method which is a commonly used experiment in the corrosion community. Circuit modeling the EIS spectra produced both resistive and capacitive characteristics inherent of the composite materials. Surface characterization was performed to determine if degradation was occurring at the composite surface. Techniques …

Lubrication And Wear At Metal/Hdpe Contacts, Aydar Akchurin

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

In the thesis lubrication and wear at metal/HDPE contacts was addressed. In particular this type of contact occurs in artificial joint replacements. Wear of HDPE was recognized as a major factor limiting device performance. In the thesis, fully implicit fully coupled numerical approach was developed to simulate lubrication and wear. Approach allows solving stationary and transient problems for rough surfaces in a wide range of parameters. Wear coefficients were estimated from experimental data. Wear particles formed in wear process were investigated. Particles were found to be approximately 100 nm in diameter and spherical in shape. Considering theoretical solutions, it was …

Drought, Depression, And Relief: The Agricultural Adjustment Wheat Reduction Program In North Dakota During The Great Depression, Brent Alan Gostanzik

History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the Agricultural Adjustment Wheat Reduction Program functioned in North Dakota from May of 1933 to January of 1936, why it ran so smoothly, and why it was such a success within the state. By using county Extension Agent reports that date from the time period this thesis uses an extensive number of primary sources that have not been used before. These reports, along with farmer journal accounts, newspaper articles, and Agricultural Adjustment Administration reports show that North Dakota wheat farmers openly embraced the policies of the Wheat Reduction Program and participated …

But The Roots Remain: The Wisconsin Progressives In The Great Depression And Post-War Era, Daniel David Mccollum

History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies

This work is concerned with the development of the Progressives, a political faction of the Republican Party which was active in Wisconsin during the first half of the 20th century, throughout the Great Depression, and the Post-War era. It was during this period that the Progressives broke with the Republican Party, formed the Progressive Party and gained control of the state from 1934 through 1938, before finally dissolving in 1946, with many members moving into the Democratic Party, where they rejuvenated that moribund state party. This work, furthermore, focuses on the those Progressive leaders who operated in Wisconsin’s northern counties, …

The Effect Of Title Ix At The University Of Nebraska At Omaha, Sarah Jean Sebranek

History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies

Title IX sought to end discrimination on the basis of gender in the realm of education and extra-curricular activities provided by academic institutions. This research examines the impact of Title IX at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and determines the success of the legislation. Title IX is a significant topic as it offered an equitable experience for females in an otherwise male dominated arena of athletics. The end result provides a case study on the effect of Title IX at a Midwestern public university, which begins in the 1920s and concludes in the early 2000s. Most importantly, the research …