Digital Commons Network^™

Marijuana Consumption And The Perception Of Harm, David Ruggeri

Theses and Dissertations

Drug use is a public health issue with one-third of the United States population having reported consuming marijuana at some point in their lifetime. This paper examines how the perception of risk (both health and criminal sanctions) affects consumption behavior. This study examined marijuana consumption for the age ranges of 12-17, 18-25, and 26 and older during the years of 1999-2007.

Perceptions of health risk of marijuana vary from by age groups (12-17, 18-25, and 26 years of age and up). Persons age 26 and older perceive the health risks to be the greatest for occasional marijuana consumption, trailed by …

Improving Satellite Quantitative Precipitation Estimates By Incorporating Deep Convective Cloud Optical Depth, Ronald Stenz

Theses and Dissertations

As Deep Convective Systems (DCSs) are responsible for most severe weather events, increased understanding of these systems along with more accurate satellite precipitation estimates will improve NWS (National Weather Service) warnings and monitoring of hazardous weather conditions. A DCS can be classified into convective core (CC) regions (heavy rain), stratiform (SR) regions (moderate-light rain), and anvil (AC) regions (no rain). These regions share similar infrared (IR) brightness temperatures (BT), which can create large errors for many existing rain detection algorithms. This study assesses the performance of the National Mosaic and Multi-sensor Quantitative Precipitation Estimation System (NMQ) Q2, and a simplified …

Human Performance Profiles For Planetary Analog Extra-Vehicular Activities: 120 Day And 30 Day Analog Missions, Tiffany M. Swarmer

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding performance factors for future planetary missions is critical for ensuring safe and successful planetary extra-vehicular activities (EVAs). The goal of this study was to gain operational knowledge of analog EVAs and develop biometric profiles for specific EVA types. Data was collected for a 120 and 30 day analog planetary exploration simulation focusing on EVA type, pre and post EVA conditions, and performance ratings. From this five main types of EVAs were performed: maintenance, science, survey/exploratory, public relations, and emergency. Each EVA type has unique characteristics and performance ratings showing specific factors in chronological components, environmental conditions, and EVA systems …

Shifting The Fat-Tailed Distribution Of Blockbuster Punitive Damages Awards, W. Kip Viscusi, Benjamin J. Mcmichael

Articles

The distribution of blockbuster punitive damages awards has fat tails similar to the distributions of losses from natural disasters Extremely large awards occur more often and are more difficult to predict than if blockbuster awards were distributed normally The size and predictability of awards are important factors in the US Supreme Court's decisions on punitive damages This article examines the effect of the Court's decision in iState Farm v Campbelli on blockbuster punitive damages awards iState Farmi shifts the fat tail of the distribution of blockbuster awards down or "thins" the tail which is consistent with a restraining effect on …

Handing Off The Torch: Leadership Transitions Among The Boomer Generation In Early Childhood Education, Barb Arnold Tengesdal

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine how the career paths of eight Baby Boomer Generation early childhood education (ECE) professionals evolved over time to support their leadership roles in research, pedagogy and policy development. Data was collected through a two-stage interviewing process and common themes were discovered through the analysis of the transcribed interviews. These themes revealed the participants' lived experiences during the historically significant period of the Civil Rights Movement, had a profound impact on the participants' philosophies, values and senses of a mission-driven purpose during their careers. The adaptive leadership model served as the conceptual …

The Effect Of Non-Weight And Shape-Related Appearance Dissatisfaction On Eating Disordered Behaviors, Terra Towne

Theses and Dissertations

Studies have found that greater dissatisfaction with non-weight-related body parts is associated with drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction, suggesting that eating disorder behaviors may be compensatory mechanisms for less malleable aspects of appearance. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between non-weight and shape-related appearance dissatisfaction (NWSAD), perceived malleability, and eating disorder and appearance-related behaviors. Participants were students enrolled in undergraduate psychology courses at a mid-size midwestern university. All participants completed the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire, Drive for Muscularity Scale, Body Shape Questionnaire, visual analogue scales assessing NWSAD, appearance-related behaviors checklist, and a measure assessing …

North Dakota State Policy Effects On State Public K-12 Schools' Ability To Offer Effective Professional Development, Stephen Ryan Townsend

Theses and Dissertations

Through research I have identified eight constructs of effective professional development (collaborative, content focused, active practice, inclusive of technology, goal oriented, evaluated, sustained, increases self-efficacy). North Dakota state law requires two days of professional development that are defined by their length of time. The purpose of this quantitative study was twofold: (a) to identify if the eight constructs of effective professional development are embedded in North Dakota public schools' professional development opportunities and (b) whether or not the schools that offer professional development given the restraints of North Dakota state law are offering effective professional development. North Dakota public school …

Down By The Riverside: Recovery Efforts Of The Minot Community And School District After The Souris River Flood Of 2011, Mark Milton Vollmer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to evaluate the flood recovery process for the Minot Public School District after the devastating Souris River Flood of 2011, and to provide a definitive study of the recovery of a school district after a natural disaster. This study identified the school community's processes involved with financial, emotional, and social aspects of recovery, and identified key players in the recovery process.

The research consisted of nine focus groups; three groups of teachers, three groups of parents, and three groups of community members. Formal interviews were also conducted with community leaders and subject matter …

Fear Of An Undeterrable Other, Fredrick E. Vars

Articles

America is presently fighting a war on terror and a war on sex offenders. In each, the government openly detains hundreds of individuals not for what they have done, but for what they might do. Some warn that this greatest restriction on liberty may expand to other types of people. This Article examines the risk of such expansion by putting our current wars in historical perspective. The two main conclusions are: (1) some categories of people detained in prior periods are not being detained today; and (2) the risk of expansion is real but lower than previously suggested.

Group To Individual (G2i) Inference In Scientific Expert Testimony, David L. Faigman, John Monahan, Christopher Slobogin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Law And Neuroscience Recommendations Submitted To The President's Bioethics Commission, David L. Faigman, Jones D. Owen, Richard J. Bonnie, B.J. Casey

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Patent Trolling Why Bio & Pharmaceuticals Are At Risk, Robin Feldman, Nicholson W. Price Ii

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Transparency, Robin Feldman

Faculty Scholarship

The patent regime is a quintessential notice system. Implicit in its design is the concept that one attempting to license a patent can identify those who hold the requisite rights and the territory that the patent holders claim. The modern system, however, bears little resemblance to the idealized form. In the last decade, an entire Hobbit’s world has been created under the foliage with little information available to inform the market. To address the problem, this Article suggests borrowing from doctrines related to disclosure in the realm of corporate securities, molding those doctrines to particular patent concerns. As a government …

Patent Demands & Startup Companies The View From The Venture Capital Community, Robin Feldman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle And The Challenge Of Resisting - Or Engaging - Transnational Constitutional Law Book Review And Responses, Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

Essays, Reviews, and Shorter Works

No abstract provided.

A Unified Theory Of Insurance Risk, Leo P. Martinez

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Enforcement Discretion And Executive Duty, Zachary S. Price

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Radiation Hybrid Mapping Of Barley Chromosome 3h, Mona Mazaheri

Plant Sciences

Assembly of the barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genome requires high resolution maps for aligning contig-based physical maps along chromosomes. Genetic maps lack accurate information on the physical position of almost half of the barley genome located in recombination-poor regions. Radiation hybrid (RH) mapping is an alternative approach, which is based on radiation-induced chromosomal deletions. In this study, an RH population for barley chromosome 3H was developed. Genotyping 373 3H-RH lines with 113 markers resulted in an RH map with an average resolution of 2.22 Kb. Compared to an analogous genetic map, the 3H-RH map resolution was 9.53-X higher, reaching to …

Droplet Size Effect On Herbicide Used In Cereals To Control Dicotyledonous Weeds, Andrew Nathan Fillmore

Plant Sciences

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of droplet size on the efficacy of translocated and non-translocated herbicides. Translocated and non-translocated herbicides provided similar control when comparing droplet size effect on efficacy. Medium and very coarse droplet sizes gave the greatest visible injury whereas coarse-sized gave the lowest visible injury assessments for most species. However, droplet size generally did not affect contact herbicide efficacy. Overall, droplet size was not a strong factor contributing to herbicide efficacy and often, differences were only between herbicides. Non-ionic surfactant solutions measured by a Sympatec droplet analysis system gave the highest percent of volume in …

Genetic Dissection And Molecular Approaches Of Root Morphology Of Canola, Muhammad Arif Uz Zaman

Plant Sciences

The inheritance of root vigor and days to flowering were studied in the F2 populations derived from winter- and spring-type crosses and their reciprocal crosses. Root vigor was found to be controlled by three genes whereas, a single dominant gene was found to be responsible for days to flowering. Positive and significant correlation was found between seed yield and yield attributing traits, seed yield and root length, days to flowering and root length. Days to flowering was negatively correlated to seed yield. Linkage map was constructed with 262 SNP and 3 SSR markers. Two QTL for both root vigor and …

Phytoremediation Of Soils Contaminated By Oil And Gas Drilling And Production Operations Using Grass Species, Yang Gao

Plant Sciences

Soil contaminated by crude oil or drill cuttings poses a threat to ecosystem. The objective of this study was to test tolerance levels of grass species to drill cuttings and crude oil in seed germination and at the 5-leaf stage. Sixty five grass species were screened for their tolerance to crude oil and drill cuttings at the germination stage. Two species were grouped as tolerant, 18 species as moderately tolerant, 27 species as moderately sensitive, and 18 species as sensitive to drill cuttings. In the test with crude oil, 28 species were classified as tolerant, 29 species as moderately tolerant, …

Converting Benchslaps To Backslaps: Instilling Professional Accountability In New Legal Writers By Teaching And Reinforcing Context, Heidi K. Brown

Articles & Chapters

A search in published and unpublished court decisions for derivations of phrases like "poorly written brief" or "failure to follow court rules" yields an alarming multitude of case opinions in which judges admonish lawyers of all levels of experience for shoddy briefs or for flouting non-negotiable substantive and procedural rules. Legal bloggers have affectionately dubbed these public reprimands "benchslaps."

Section I of this article provides a contextual background that professors and practitioners can share with rookie legal writers, using judicial opinions to demonstrate the eight most-common ways that attorney work product falls short of judges' expectations and, more importantly, how …

Treatment Of Infectious Mastitis, Elizabeth Sandberg,

Theses and Dissertations

Mastitis is a complication of breast feeding encountered often by primary care providers. The goal of treating mastitis is not only resolution of the infection, but also the continuation of lactation so that both mother and child may continue to enjoy the innumerable health benefits of breastfeeding. The patient discussed in this case study is a first time mother who is exclusively breastfeeding, but whose planned change in feeding schedules places her at risk for developing mastitis as a result of engorgement or plugged milk ducts. This case report examines current recommendations and evidence for treatment of infectious mastitis. Attention …

Development Of A Management Algorithm For Post-Operative Pain (Mapp) After Total Knee And Total Hip Replacement: Study Rationale And Design, Mari Botti, Bridie Kent, Tracey Bucknall, Maxine Duke, Megan Jane Johnstone, Julie Considine, Bernice Redley, Susan Hunter, Steiger R De, Marlene Holcombe, Emma Cohen

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

Occupational Exposure To Anti-Cancer Drugs: A Review Of Effects Of New Technology., Nitin Vyas, Dennis Yiannakis, Andrew Turner, Graham J. Sewell

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Because anti-cancer drugs are non-selective, they affect both cancerous and non-cancerous cells. Being carcinogenic and mutagenic, many anticancer drugs therefore present a major health risk to healthcare staff working with them. This paper reviews the means by which exposure to anti-cancer drugs in the workplace may be monitored, assessed and reduced. Both biological monitoring, using non-selective methods or compound-selective methods, and environmental monitoring have provided information on the nature and degree of exposure in the workplace. Pharmaceutical isolators, used for the compounding of cytotoxic IV infusions and the preparation of injectable drugs, provide a physical barrier between pharmacists and cytotoxic …

What's In A Name? What Have Taxonomy And Systematics Ever Done For Us?, David T. Bilton

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

There is increasingly little doubt that we are in the midst of an anthropogenically driven extinction event which may end up rivalling the mass extinctions of the geological past (Barnosky et al., 2011). Increasingly the world’s natural and seminatural habitats are being irreversibly transformed by human populations, meaning that much of global biodiversity is under threat (see Caro et al., 2011 on remaining intact ecosystems). Given this “biodiversity crisis” and the fact that biodiversity is ultimately essential to human survival on this planet (e.g. Juniper, 2013) one might expect that the basic science underpinning the study of biodiversity would be …

Cadmium Contamination Of Agricultural Soils And Crops Resulting From Sphalerite Weathering., T. C. Robson, C. B. Braungardt, J. Rieuwerts, P. Worsfold

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The biogeochemistry and bioavailability of cadmium, released during sphalerite weathering in soils, were investigated under contrasting agricultural scenarios to assess health risks associated with sphalerite dust transport to productive soils from mining. Laboratory experiments (365 d) on temperate and sub-tropical soils amended with sphalerite (<63 μm, 0.92 wt.% Cd) showed continuous, slow dissolution (0.6-1.2% y(-1)). Wheat grown in spiked temperate soil accumulated ≈38% (29 μmol kg(-1)) of the liberated Cd, exceeding food safety limits. In contrast, rice grown in flooded sub-tropical soil accumulated far less Cd (0.60 μmol kg(-1)) due to neutral soil pH and Cd bioavailability was possibly also controlled by secondary sulfide formation. The results demonstrate long-term release of Cd to soil porewaters during sphalerite weathering. Under oxic conditions, Cd may be sufficiently bioavailable to contaminate crops destined for human consumption; however flooded rice production limits the impact of sphalerite contamination.

Self-Regulating Smoking And Snacking Through Physical Activity., Hwajung Oh, Adrian H. Taylor

Peninsula Medical School

OBJECTIVE: Emotional snacking contributes to weight gain after smoking cessation. Exercise acutely reduces cravings for cigarettes and snack food. This study examined if different exercise intensities acutely reduces snack and cigarette cravings and attentional bias (AB) to video clips of snacks and cigarettes among abstinent smokers. METHODS: Abstinent smokers (and snackers; N = 23) randomly did 15 mins of moderate and vigorous cycling and a passive control in a cross-over design. Visual initial AB (IAB) and maintained AB (MAB) were assessed pre- and after treatment while watching paired snacking/neutral or smoking/neutral video clips. Desire to snack and smoke were assessed …

Investigating Women's Experiences Of Asthma Care In Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study., Chervonne Chamberlain, Graham R. Williamson, Beatrice Knight, Mark Daly, David M.G. Halpin

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Background : Most asthmatic women have normal pregnancies and complications are infrequent when their asthma is well-controlled. Symptom control and medical treatment are concerning to pregnant asthma suffers, as is the impact that their illness and treatment might have on their unborn baby. The aim was to investigate in a qualitative study the thoughts and feelings of women's experiences of asthma in pregnancy. Twenty-two women with asthma who had a pregnancy within two years were asked to participate. Seven women were interviewed when data saturation was achieved. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using the 'Framework' Method, independently analysed by two …

Development Of Australian Clinical Practice Outcome Standards For Graduates Of Critical Care Nurse Education, F Gill, G Leslie, G Grech, D Boldy, J Latour

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.