Digital Commons Network^™

Predicting Motivation, Exercise Behavior And The Reciprocal Relationship With Obesity Perceptions In College Students, Kylee Jo Heston

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is an increasing problem worldwide, often described as an epidemic. Approximately 70% of men and women nationwide are overweight and/or obese, with roughly 34% meeting criteria for obesity. Women are increasing obesity rates faster than men and more women than men are currently obese nationwide and worldwide. Obesity leads to numerous physical, psychological, and social consequences and often a poor quality of life. Women are at risk for increased health complications, and college in particular has been associated with weight gain. Improper energy balance is a significant contributor. Achieving adequate exercise each week has been proven effective in obesity …

The Association Between Autobiographical Memory Specificity And Memory Sharing In College Students, Nicola Herting

Theses and Dissertations

The way in which memories are stored and communicated makes the construction of autobiographical memories (AM) both an internal process and a social occurrence. Strong associations between reduced AM specificity and psychological adjustment have been found; however, the role significant others have in the socialization and co-construction of AM may have be overlooked. This study examines whether the process of sharing AMs and the perceived benefits of sharing these memories are associated with differences in specificity of AM, as well as explores methodological differences in how AMs are collected. Data from 177 participants was collected on the Most Important Memories …

Successful Reorganization Of Rural North Dakota Schools With Declining Enrollment, Steven Lewis Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of North Dakota leaders who had been involved in successfully reorganized school districts resulting from declining enrollments and reduced resources. All reorganized districts in this study were affected by serious declining enrollments in their respective rural communities. These successfully reorganized school districts developed reorganization plans and positive cultures within their communities that resulted in each plan being passed by a voting citizenship. The school districts studied laid the groundwork for reorganization with neighboring districts by forming cooperative agreements in athletics, shared staff, and shared special education services.

The researcher sought answers …

Generating A Characterization Method Utilizing The Visible (0.6-1.0 Μm) Peak Feature To Aid In Identification Of Ordinary Chondrite Parent Bodies, Cassandra Lynne Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Surveys in the visible to near infrared (VNIR) of main belt asteroids which cut off at the 1 micron wavelength prevent adequate characterization for approximately 2500 asteroids. This project aims at surveying spectral data from RELAB and Gaffey's meteorite datasets utilizing the peak feature located between charge transfer and Band I of 224 ordinary chondrite (OC) samples to analyze the peak position shifts with respect to subtypes H-, L- and LL- to generate a new characterization method. This method may make it possible to unite the datasets between the meteorites and asteroids to further constrain and characterize the OC parent …

X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis Of The Bakken And Three Forks Formations Of The Williston Basin, North Dakota And Well Logging Applications, Russell James Carr

Theses and Dissertations

This research analyzed nine core sections representing The Lower Bakken and Three Forks Formation of the Williston Basin in North Dakota using x-ray fluorescence. The Charlotte 1-22H core sequence from Continental Resources was also included to assess the elemental composition of the stratigraphic interval spanning the Lodgepole, Bakken, Pronghorn, and Three Forks Formations. Core samples were obtained from the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) Wilson B. Laird Core and Sample Library at the University of North Dakota. Core sections were exposed to x-ray at 15 keV and 45 keV excitation voltages to provide elemental spectra; count rate values were obtained …

Defining Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (Platanthera Praeclara) Habitat, Michael David Knudson

Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial orchids are at the forefront of the discussion about anthropogenically-driven extinction with more species threatened globally than any other plant family, mostly because of loss of habitat. The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (Platanthera praeclara) is a threatened species found on the Sheyenne National Grassland in southeast North Dakota, USA. This conservation area that is a vital refuge for this species is subject to management for multiple uses including livestock grazing and recreation. Orchids are subject to continuous monitoring, but knowledge of the relationship between landscape indicators and orchid locations is limited. Research is needed to provide a greater understanding …

Measuring The Effect Of Weighted Devices On Exercise Enjoyment, Nicholas Kruse

Theses and Dissertations

Physical activity provides an important health benefit for both males and females. Seven out of every ten U.S. deaths are from chronic disease and many of those deaths could have been preventable. With a lack of physical activity and poor diet, chronic illnesses such as obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type II diabetes were reported, (CDC, 2004). There is a steep decline in exercise from high school to college, which indicates that exercise adherence in college students is an issue. In this study, three conditions were examined with students at the University of North Dakota going through a plyometric protocol …

Deflating Rural North Dakota: Mechanization, Industrialization, And Depopulation In The Small Community, Alyson Leas

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis serves to examine the continued decline of population in rural North Dakota. In the face of a large oil boom in the state's western third, agricultural communities in the central third of the state continue to struggle. Through an examination of United States Department of Agriculture yearly agricultural censuses, experiment station notes, personal correspondence, local histories, and the United States decennial census from the first fifty years of the twentieth century, information regarding the rise and fall of communities in northern Towner County, North Dakota, has been tabulated. Results show that the better agriculture did in terms of …

Correctional Education Programs: Institutional Predictors Of Availability, Shamilya Marielle Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

Being a convicted felon can limit a person's life chances. Adding a lack of education and training to that felony conviction can further limit the ability to find stable employment and transition back into society. Correctional education programs can reduce recidivism rates, but there are a wide variety of programs and not every facility offers them. This study examines the institutional characteristics that predict the availability of vocational training and college course programs in correctional institutions. The data for this study come from the 2000 Census of State and Federal Adult Correctional Facilities. Data were collected from 84 federal correctional …

Reproductive Phase Determination In Male Meagre (Argyrosomus Regius, Sciaenidae): Testis Development And Histologic Corroboration Of A Gross Anatomical Scale, Nuno Prista, Leonel Gordo, Jose L. Costa, Maria J. Costa, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

Reproductive stage determination of male gonads has received sparse attention in fish biology literature with few studies detailing the building of gross anatomical-and histologic scales. The meagre (Argyrosomus regius) is one of the world's largest sciaenids and supports a significant regional fishery in European and North African waters whose reproductive patterns are yet to be fully investigated. In the present study, we derive a macroscopic grading system for meagre testis using semi-quantitative graphs that feature the testis variability along the species size range and time of the year. We then describe the histological stages and reproductive phases of …

Climate Change Detection And Attribution Using Gps Radio Occultation And Cmip5 Gcm Data, Sergey Molodtsov

Theses and Dissertations

General circulation models (GCMs) show a distinct anthropogenic fingerprint - the thermal expansion of Hadley Cell. This response to the increase of atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) is evident under a variety of forcing scenarios. However the investigation of the anthropogenic signal in the real climate system is challenging because anthropogenic signal is immersed in the natural variability and it requires highly quality data to separate signal from background variability. GPS Radio Occultation (GPS RO) technique becomes close to meeting all of the quality requirements, enabling it to become the benchmark for the climate data. The analysis was implemented …

New York Police Department Stop, Question, And Frisk Program: Experiences Across Race And Gender, Thomas Mrozla

Theses and Dissertations

There is an ongoing discussion on how race influences the likelihood of police contact. The findings of the existing literature on how race influences the likelihood of contact with the police is fairly mixed. Although much literature exists on race alone, we know little about how different policing strategies are experienced by males and females. This research explores the effect that a suspect's gender and race will have on the likelihood that a stop will result in the suspect being frisked, arrested, or have force used against them in the five boroughs of New York City. The data for this …

Attention, Please, Abbey Marie Numedahl

Theses and Dissertations

A thesis of short fiction that examines the lives of contemporary American women through five short stories.

Relational Maintenance Behaviors, Conflict Resolution Strategies, And Their Relation To Loneliness, Courtney O'Brien

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between levels of ineffective arguing and loneliness above and beyond levels of relational maintenance behaviors in 182 male and female adults. Correlations did not support a large inverse relationship between loneliness and relational maintenance behaviors for both Romantic Partner Group (RPG) and Friendship Group (FG). This study has shown that there was a moderate relationship between levels of loneliness and relational maintenance behaviors for both groups. As hypothesized, but only for the RPG, regression analyses revealed that ineffective arguing did predict experiences of loneliness above and beyond relational maintenance behaviors only, whereas this was …

Simon In Performance: The Analysis And Direction Of Rumors, Brett Olson

Theses and Dissertations

The direction of any theatrical production is fraught with challenges and opportunities for growth. In textual analysis and research of Neil Simon's Rumors and directing methods, skills were developed to better direct the University of North Dakota Theatre Department's 2014 production of Rumors. The project culminated in a well-received production of Rumors that challenged the student/actors of UND to learn a farcical style of acting and the director to stage, communicate style, and organize a fully mounted production.

Effects Of Generic Versus Personally Delivered Education And Self-Disclosure On Elementary School Children's Social Attitudes Towards A Peer With Tourette Syndrome, Erin Lynn Olufs

Theses and Dissertations

Children with tic disorders are at a higher risk for peer rejection and social withdrawn. Children who face peer rejection are at greater risk for internalizing, externalizing, and social problems, and often experience extreme loneliness and a lack of friendships. The impact of educational videos and self-disclosure have been examined in separate studies and have been shown to increase positive attitudes towards those with TS, but the two methods of education have not yet been directly compared to one another with a student population. In the current study, the differential effects of receiving professional TS education, self-disclosure TS education, and …

Progressing Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math (Stem) Education In North Dakota With Near-Space Ballooning, Marissa Elizabeth Saad

Theses and Dissertations

The United States must provide quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in order to maintain a leading role in the global economy. Numerous initiatives have been established across the United States that promote and encourage STEM education within the middle school curriculum. Integrating active learning pedagogy into instructors' lesson plans will prepare the students to think critically - a necessary skill for the twenty first century.

This study integrated a three-week long Near Space Balloon project into six eighth grade Earth Science classes from Valley Middle School in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was hypothesized that after the …

A Study Of Bench Scale, Pressurized, Continuous Flow Thermal Cracking Of Crop Oil, Blake Sander

Theses and Dissertations

This study builds upon previous research at UND which demonstrated that crop oils are a potential renewable alternative to select petroleum based products. The crop oils investigated for this study include soybean, canola, and jojoba oil. The processing method utilized was a non-catalytic cracking process.

The goal of this work was to build a new bench-scale continuous flow thermal cracking reactor system capable of being operated under high pressure, and also to use this reactor to explore the effects of pressure, temperature, and feed rate during non-catalytic cracking on the yield and composition of the liquid and gas products produced …

Neighborhood Perceptions In The Near South Side Neighborhood Of Grand Forks, Nd, Mikel Elizabeth Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Older neighborhoods across the country are at risk of collapse. In response, city governments are taking a renewed interest in their older inner-city districts. Urban Neighborhood Initiatives (UNI) is one way local governments are renewing and revitalizing these neighborhoods. This is happening in Grand Forks, ND. Consequently, this study's focus is on the perceptions of residents in the Near South Side neighborhood (NSS).

Data was collected through a questionnaire survey. A total of 203 replies were received from the pool of 740 surveys distributed in the Mayors Urban Neighborhood Initiative and the attached historic district. The four research questions focused …

A Comparison Of Food Accessibility From 2002 To 2012 In St. Paul, Minnesota, Brett Sergenian

Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the changes in the healthy food accessibility landscape of St. Paul from 2002 to 2012. Food deserts are areas of limited or no accessibility to healthy food options. Local food landscapes in the U.S. and Canada have changed significantly over the past 50 years as many supermarkets have relocated out of the inner cities and into the suburbs. As a result, many inner city neighborhoods no longer have adequate access to healthy food. Despite supermarkets relocating out of the inner city, small and mid-sized grocers could stock healthy food options. The research questions answered are: Where are …

Mapping Techniques For Soil Erosion: Modeling Stream Power Index In Eastern North Dakota, Rick Thalacker

Theses and Dissertations

Soil erosion is a worldwide problem that can negatively affect surface water through the introduction of sediment, nutrients (eg. nitrogen, phosphorus), pesticides, and other chemicals. Soil erosion is often exacerbated by agricultural and other types of land use. The objective of this study was to identify gully locations in agricultural fields adjacent to the Turtle and Forest rivers in eastern North Dakota that accumulate surface flow resulting in areas of critical surface erosion in a GIS using the Stream Power Index (SPI). A field survey was conducted to verify the accuracy of the terrain analysis at identifying 391 gully and …

Determinants Of Gold Returns: An Austrian Perspective, Justin Nicholas Theriot

Theses and Dissertations

In this article, I offer a comprehensive analysis on the factors that influence the gold market in relation to returns to demonstrate that gold moves as a currency. I employed a wide range of macroeconomic and commodity variables to investigate the underlying movements in the gold market. The methodology followed four simple steps; 1) correlation tests, 2) vector autoregression model of two lags, 3) auto-regressive integrated moving average model and 4) generalized autoregressive conditional heoteroskedasticity. This methodology enabled me to

convey that gold moves more as a currency and not as an investment. The main findings of this paper provided …

Application And Prospect Of Orthogonal On-Off Keying As An Error Control Coding In Laser Communication, Tasbirun Nahian Upal

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis work, a bandwidth efficient coded modulation technique has been proposed for LASER based communication. It offers reliable error correction and bandwidth optimization for free space connectivity. Laser communication has been emerging as a potential alternative of Radio Frequency (RF) communication for long-haul connectivity. It provides several advantages over RF systems. Some of specific advantages are its high speed data transfer, higher bandwidth, robust security, immunity to electromagnetic interference, lower implementation cost. However, as any other communication system, it requires an error control system that detects and corrects error in the data transmission. The proposed technique blends well …

The Structures, Mass Motions And Footpoints Of Solar Filaments, Aparna Venkataramanasastry

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on identifying the mechanism by which solar filaments acquire mass. Some of the speculations for how a filament gets its mass are 1) injection of mass from the chromosphere into the filament structure, and 2) condensation of mass from the corona into the region of the filament channel. Mass motion at the footpoints of the filaments is studied to detect mass entering and leaving the filament body. The magnetic properties of the footpoints of the filaments are also studied. Recommendations are drawn by comparing observational properties obtained in this study with the features used in some of …

Study Of The Suit Inflation Effect On Crew Safety During Landing Using A Full-Pressure Iva Suit For New-Generation Reentry Space Vehicles, Suzuki Wataru

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, manned space capsules have been recognized as beneficial and reasonable human space vehicles again. The Dragon capsule already achieved several significant successes. The Orion capsule is going to be sent to a high-apogee orbit without crews for experimental purposes in September 2014. For such human-rated space capsules, the study of acceleration impacts against the human body during splashdown is essential to ensure the safety of crews. Moreover, it is also known that wearing a full pressure rescue suit significantly increases safety of a crew, compared to wearing a partial pressure suit. This is mainly because it enables the use …

Novel Approaches Investigating Predisposition For Maternal Group B Streptococcus Colonization, Michelle Lynn Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Group B streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of infectious neonatal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Maternal GBS colonization is the primary risk factor associated with neonatal infection. However, maternal risk factors for GBS colonization are ambiguous. A conceptual framework of gene-environment interactions guided the approach for this study analyzing DNA methylation, serum cytokines, and vitamin D levels. The purpose of this study was to identify potential maternal biomarkers associated with GBS colonization. Descriptive statistics were conducted to depict sample characteristics (n=42 pregnant women) and identify potential confounding variables including, but not limited to: medical history, race, weight, …

Agricultural Drought Monitoring And Prediction Using Soil Moisture Deficit Index, Jiexia Wu

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study are: 1) to evaluate the performance of an agricultural drought index, Soil Moisture Deficit Index (SMDI) at continental scale; 2) to develop an agricultural drought prediction method based on precipitation, evapotranspiration and terrestrial water storage.

This study applied multiple linear regression (MLR) with the inputs of precipitation from Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM), evapotranspiration from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MOD 16 and terrestrial water storage (TWS) derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) to predict soil moisture and SMDI. The inputs of the MLR model were chosen based on the …

Panic Development Mechanisms And Preventive Methods Analysis, Inga Wuerges

Theses and Dissertations

Panic Development (PD) is one of the most important areas of Human Factors research due to its debilitating effects during high stress operating conditions in extreme environments. High levels of anxiety and panic evoke incidents that are a real threat to mission success and may result in fatalities. A delicate balance of crew selection, training, and systems' design is critical for mission success and human survival.

This research investigates possible panic development profiles and methods for preventing panic through realistic training. This research focuses on realistic training scenarios during the intense military flying exercise Red-Flag Alaska at Eielson AFB, AK. …

Promoting Self-Determined Motivation For Exercise In Stroke Rehabilitation: The Role Of Autonomy Support, Emmanuel Afawuah Akowuah

Theses and Dissertations

Rehabilitation Interventionists (RIs) usually spend a great deal of time and effort trying to improve the functional abilities of stroke patients. Stroke rehabilitation through current studies has been recognized as an important and effective modality in the treatment of stroke. Despite the known benefits of SR to stroke patients, a number of them drop out resulting in a decline the benefits from the program.

Objective: To examine the predictive relationship between perceived autonomy support provided by Stroke Rehabilitation Interventionists, and the participants' subsequent stroke rehabilitation program attendance rate. The study also examines the predictive relationship between participants' perceived autonomy support …

A Comparison Of Solar Prominence Data Between Hα And Euv (He Ii-304Å), Jonathan Schiralli

Theses and Dissertations

Two spectral lines are often used to observe solar prominences: Hα and He II 304 Å. Both emission lines capture the same prominence structure but at vastly different temperatures: Hα is visible at ~10,000K while He II 304 Å. at ~80,000K. The He II 304 Å images provide the ability to identify the relatively hotter outer region of a prominence, although they lack the details seen in the cooler lower regions. Hα conversely shows great detail in the cooler lower regions of a prominence but lack any detail in the hotter outer region of a prominence. Two prominences will be …