Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating The Relationship Between Elementary Students' Motivation To Read And Academic Achievement In Reading, Erin Sullivan Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have found that motivation has a significant positive effect on the success students experience in reading. A concern is that students are not finding reading pleasurable; and therefore, are not motivated to read. This, in turn, may be affecting their academic achievement in reading.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between a student’s motivation to read and their academic achievement in reading. First, the level of elementary students’ motivation to read, along with factors affecting this motivation were examined. Additionally, the relationship between a student’s motivation to read and their academic achievement in reading …

Reconceptualizing Privacy: An Examination Of The Developing Regulatory Regime For Facial Recognition Technology, David James Potter

Theses and Dissertations

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration have convened a series of meetings to create a voluntary code of conduct for the commercial use of facial recognition technology. This research asks and answers three questions related to the creation of the voluntary code of conduct: 1) How is the regulatory regime of FRT emerging in the U.S.? 2) What are the roles of the various stakeholders in shaping the commercial regulation of FRT? 3) How does FRT challenge our current conceptions of privacy? Data has been gathered to answer these questions using participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The data was analyzed …

Rut Performance Of In-Situ Warm Mix Asphalt Overlays In North Dakota, Mohammad Mahdi Rezapour Mashhadi

Theses and Dissertations

With the concept of sustainable pavement materials and construction gaining acceptance in recent years, Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) technology has been seen as a valid tool in realizing such sustainability. The low energy requirements and low emissions of WMA production and placement compared to Hot Mix Asphalts (HMA), synthesizes the sustainability appeal. As WMA pavements afford compaction at temperatures several dozen degrees lower than HMA, the rate of cooling drops dramatically allowing paving to continue into colder weather. North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) has used WMA technology in pavement construction in recent years hoping to extend the relatively short …

The Impact Of Macroeconomic Variables On A Vector-Autoregressive Forecast Of Small Ticket Equipment Lease And Loan Portfolio Performance, Brian Max Schonfeld

Theses and Dissertations

Equipment financing is a trillion dollar industry that covers small and medium sized businesses across the entire spectrum of business categories. These transactions are typically scored utilizing the owners’ personal credit, with business credit adding additional information to the credit decision. For this paper, the portfolio performance of a publically traded company that finances small ticket equipment leases and loans will be examined. Utilizing data points gathered from thousands of leases and loans over a four-year period, transactions were run through three different econometric models and forecasted for a subsequent two-month period. Macroeconomic variables were then introduced to the econometric …

Experimental Investigation Of Thermophysical Properties, Pressure Drop And Heat Transfer Of Non-Newtonian Silica Colloid Flow In Tubes, Md Tanveer Sharif

Theses and Dissertations

Thermophysical properties and rheological behavior of silica (SiO2) nanoparticle colloidal suspension with 9.58% volume concentration in water were analyzed. The laminar flow of the fluid through tubes of different diameter was studied to compare its pressure drop and heat transfer performance with those of water.

Thermal conductivity of the silica suspension was found to be 0.99% to 3.6% higher than the same property of water when measured from 7°C to 50°C. Within the temperature range, thermal conductivity of the silica suspension and water increased by 9.88% and 11.1% respectively, with increase in temperature.

It was observed that the colloidal dispersion …

Developing A Heterotypic Cell Culture Model To Determine Vegf Action Of Neural Stem Cell Fate Choice, Stephanie Snyder

Theses and Dissertations

Brain development requires tight cell and molecular regulation for proper neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation and differentiation. Increasing interest in NSCs has arisen due to the flexibility inherent within their proliferative capacity and their ability to generate multiple neuronal cell types. Our main focus is on the cortex, the primary integrator for higher order brain function. Cortical NSC proliferation and differentiation occur in concert with blood vessel ingression into the primitive cortex to vascularize the neuroepithelium. One potential influence derived from vascular cells is Vascular endothelial growth factor A (Vegf). Vegf has the ability to regulate both neurogenesis and angiogenesis …

The Effects Of An Active Study Break Intervention In College Students: An Observational Study, Kathryn Joann Southard

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sedentary lifestyles are a major public health concern. Research has shown that frequent active breaks are beneficial to productivity, mental and physical health, and may prevent obesity.

Purpose: This study examined the effectiveness of a signage intervention in a university library to promote the use of physically active (AB) compared to inactive (IB) study breaks.

Methods: College students were observed over three weeks: pre-intervention (PRE); signage intervention (SIGN); and post-intervention (POST). Each week of observation consisted of 12 hours, (6, 2-hour segments) on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (36 hours total). SIGN consisted of table tents and signs posted in …

Prevalence Of Haemoparasites And West Nile Virus Seropositivity In Song Birds (Passeriformes) From Northwest Mn And Behavioral Aspects Of Microfilariae, Chad Allan Stromlund

Theses and Dissertations

Mosquitoes transmit arboviruses, haemosporidian protozoa (e.g., malaria), and filarioid nematodes. Many of these mosquito-borne pathogens occur together and transmission cycles are occurring concurrently. Despite this, mosquito pathogen transmission cycles are largely studied independently of one another. Considering the large temporal and spatial overlap among these various transmission cycles, the question becomes, what kinds of interactions are occurring between parasite transmission cycles and arboviral transmission cycles? Also, some species of mosquito are incapable of transmitting some species of arbovirus. Therefore, there must be natural barriers to prevent arbovirus infection and transmission. These barriers include the midgut barrier and the salivary gland …

The Relationships Among Imagery Use, Imagery Ability And Mental Toughness In Adolescent Figure Skaters, Michele Marie Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations

Coaches and athletes have requested strategies that develop and maintain mental toughness because they find it to be an essential part of performance (Clough, Earle, & Sewell, 2002). Yet, little research has been conducted to examine psychological skills that contribute to gain and maintain mental toughness. This study examines imagery and mental toughness in adolescent figure skaters. Imagery use was assessed by the Sport Imagery Questionnaire- Children (Hall, Munroe-Chandler, & Fishburne, 2009) and imagery ability with the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Children (Martini, Carter, Yoxon, Cumming, & Ste-Marie, submitted December 2014). Mental toughness was assessed using the Mental Toughness Index (Gucciardi, Hanton, …

The Impact Of A Brief Mindfulness Exercise On Autobiographical Memory Specificity In Trauma-Exposed College Students, Katie Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

When comparing performance on the Autobiographical Memory Task (AMT) between individuals who have been exposed to traumatic events and those who have not, individuals exposed to traumatic events tend to provide autobiographical memories that are more often characterized as being overgeneral with relatively fewer memories that reference a particular date or time. Studies have found that post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) may be particularly responsible for this effect. Researchers have posited that this effect may be due to cognitive overload from avoiding negative memories, or from shallow retrieval of the memory in order to avoid further emotional discomfort. Mindfulness training, which …

Prediction Of Aircraft Fuselage Vibration, Rohan Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Modern unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are made of lightweight structures, owing to the demand for longer ranges and heavier payloads. These lightweight aircraft are more susceptible to vibrations caused by atmospheric turbulence transmitted to the fuselage from the wings. These vibrations, which can cause damage to the payload or on board avionics present a serious problem, since air turbulence is expected to increase over the next few decades, due to climate change.

The objective of this thesis is to predict the vibration of an aircraft fuselage by establishing a relationship between wing and fuselage vibration. A combination of ANSYS® and …

Influencing Unrealistic Optimism In Young Women’S Perceived Risk Of Skin Cancer, Karen Elizabeth Vanderzanden

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has shown that individuals have a strong tendency to believe that they are less likely than others to experience negative health outcomes (Weinstein, 1980). This tendency to be “unrealistically optimistic” can contribute to greater engagement in risky health behaviors, and in turn, greater actual risk of the negative health outcome. Within the current study, factors previously shown to influence unrealistically optimistic health perceptions (i.e., images of risky/protective health behavior, peer risk estimates, personal risk/protective factors) were directly manipulated to examine their effects on young women’s perceived risk of developing skin cancer. Participants were 363 Caucasian women between the …

An Investigation Of Six Poorly Described Close Visual Double Stars Using Speckle Interferometry, Daniel B. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Continued observation of double stars is necessary for confirmation of binarity and to provide updates to astrometric data used to compute accurate binary orbital parameters, thereby more accurately informing stellar mass estimations – the critical parameter from which stellar models are derived. In October of 2013, six double stars from the Washington Double Star (WDS) catalog exhibiting close separations, as well as significant deviations from previously published orbits, were observed and imaged using the speckle interferometric technique on the 2.1-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Arizona. The observations of the six double stars occurred as part of …

Marine Boundary Layer Cloud And Drizzle Properties Over Arm Azores Site, Peng Wu

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, a new method has been developed to retrieve the marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud microphysical properties, which provides a complete diurnal variation of MBL cloud properties for 19-month dataset at the Azores. All nighttime monthly means of cloud liquid water path (LWP) exceed their daytime counterparts with an annual mean LWP of 140 g m-2, which is ~30.9 g m-2 larger than the daytime mean. The seasonal and diurnal variations of cloud LWC and optical depth basically follow the variation of LWP. There are, however, no significant day-night differences and diurnal variations in cloud-droplet effective radius (re) …

Changing Bike Mode Share Between Time Periods For Suffolk County, Ma, David Wiosna

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis looks at the impact of new bikeways on the rate of bicycle commuting among census tracts in the city of Boston, MA. Data from 2000 and averages from 2009-2013 are compared. Bikeways are negligible in the year 2000, but many were built after implementation of new policy in 2007. Data for 2009-2013 is interpolated into a common zonal scheme using 2000 census tract boundaries. Regression analysis is performed on socio-demographic and new bikeway variables. Results indicate that new bikeways are likely not cause of greater bike mode share in city of Boston.

Two-Phase Flow Pressure Drop In Circular Small Channels With Abrupt Contraction And Expansion, Che-Hao Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Gas-liquid phase flow pressure drops occurred in circular channels with sudden contraction or expansion have been studied and investigated experimentally. Especially, water and nitrogen gas phases as experimental fluids were applied in this study. In this study, single phase, deionized water, and two phase, deionized water and nitrogen gas mixture, were under investigation and observation. The diameters of the test channels were 0.5, 0.375, 0.315, 0.19 and 0.14 inches. The setup of the contraction channels, 0.5 to 0.375 inches, 0.5 to 0.315 inches, 0.5 to 0.19 inches, and 0.5 to 0.14 inches were applied. For studying the expansion channels, the …

The Role Of Atg7 In The Host Defense Against Bacterial Infection, Yan Ye

Theses and Dissertations

Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) is a Gram-negative bacterium that can cause serious infections in humans. Autophagy-related gene 7 (Atg7) has been involved in certain bacterial infections; however, the role of Atg7 in macrophage-mediated immunity against Kp infection has not been elucidated. To gain a better understanding of Kp-host interaction which may provide insight into the design of novel and effective therapeutics for this infection, we set out to investigate the potential immune role for autophagy in Kp infection in vitro and in vivo. We found that Atg7 was significantly induced in murine alveolar macrophages (MH-S) upon Kp infection, indicating that Atg7 …

Powwow As Spaces Of Public: Circulated Meanings Of A Native Practice For Non-Natives, Joshua Eugene Young

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the status of the relationship between Natives and non-Natives utilizing powwow as the representative anecdote of the intercultural space of interaction between these two groups. Where most scholars ask how Native Americans use powwow to reclaim Native identity, I shift the focus to non-Natives, whose relationship to powwow has gone largely unexamined. I argue that powwow serves as a public space for staging diversity for non-Natives, a fact that has wide-ranging implications for Natives, too. Utilizing rhetorical theories of ritual communication and publicity as a way to interrogate this relationship, I argue that the publics attending to …

Disaggregating Tree And Grass Phenology In Tropical Savannas, Qiang Zhou

Theses and Dissertations

Savannas are mixed tree-grass systems and as one of the world’s largest biomes represent an important component of the Earth system affecting water and energy balances, carbon sequestration and biodiversity as well as supporting large human populations. Savanna vegetation structure and its distribution, however, may change because of major anthropogenic disturbances from climate change, wildfire, agriculture, and livestock production. The overstory and understory may have different water use strategies, different nutrient requirements and have different responses to fire and climate variation. The accurate measurement of the spatial distribution and structure of the overstory and understory are essential for understanding the …

Identifying Data Exchange Congestion Through Real-Time Monitoring Of Beowulf Cluster Infiniband Networks, Michael James Aguilar

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to gather data from many types of new information sources has grown quickly using new technologies. The ability to store and retrieve large quantities of data from these new sources has created a need for computing platforms that are able to process the data for information. High Performance Computing Cluster systems have been developed to fulfill a role required for fast processing of large amounts of data for many difficult types of computing applications.

Beowulf Clusters use many separate compute nodes to create a tightly coupled parallel HPCC system. The ability for a Beowulf Cluster HPCC system to …

Utopian Literature And Imperialism, Musab Adnan Bajaber

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues that the utopian literary genre is an imperial construct that is contingent upon its imperial discourse. I argue that imperialism and utopian literature are intertwined with each other not only because of the different themes related to imperialism present in utopian literature, but also because utopian literature can only speak through imperial tropes and language. This dissertation traces the relationship between utopian literature and imperialism through the 16th, 19th, and late 20th century. The texts it discusses are More’s Utopia, Bacon’s New Atlantis, Harrington’s Commonwealth of Oceana, Bulwer-Lytton’s The Coming Race, Bellamy’s Looking Backward, Morris’ News From …

Impact Of Fault Current Limiters And Demand Response On Electric Utility Asset Management Programs, Shayan Behzadirafi

Theses and Dissertations

Over-currents are known to be the dominant cause of power system component failures or deterioration from full functionality. Some of these effects may remain unknown and could later result in catastrophic failures of the entire or large portions of the system. There are plenty of devices/methods available to limit the undesirable consequences of the over-current events. These devices/methods have great impact on system reliability by reducing stress on power system components and increasing their useful lifetime. Due to the importance of the subject, there is tremendous need to analyze and compare these devices/methods in terms of reliability. However, few researches …

The Effect Of Skydiver Experience On High-Performance Landing Fatalities, Gregory Bodensteiner

Theses and Dissertations

Skydiving fatalities upon landing, especially during high-performance landings, have

overwhelmed the sport as one of the largest categories of fatalities. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of an experienced skydiver on high-performance landing fatalities since the introduction of high-performance canopies. In addition, the study determined if experts in the field see factors of experience as contributors to fatalities. The United States Parachute Association fatality database published online was used to analyze the effect between skydiver experience and high-performance landing fatalities. Five interviews were conducted with industry experts. No statistically significant result was found relating experience to …

The Growth And Metabolic Effects Of Pseudouridine Synthase Gene Deletion On Escherichia Coli Strain Bl21, Lisa Marie Burnette

Theses and Dissertations

During the process of ribosome assembly and maturation, the rRNA is heavily modified. The process of modification is ubiquitous throughout all kingdoms of life and includes cleavage by RNases, methylation and pseudouridylation of RNA species. Interestingly, while rRNA modification is ubiquitous and modification locations are frequently conserved, in many species the modification enzymes are dispensable for normal growth. This non-essentiality has made understanding the functions of RNA modification difficult.

Pseudouridines are one of the most common rRNA modifications and, in Escherichia coli, comprise nearly one third of the modifications found within the ribosome. Pseudouridylation is the post-transcriptional base isomerization of …

The Farmer-Labor Party In Minnesota Politics: 1918-1948, Philip Lloyd Darg

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of the Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota politics between 1918 and 1948. This movement represented an exceptional chapter in Minnesota history, since the Farmer-Labor Party was the only sustained successful third party movement in the state. This study focuses on the origins of the movement and the reasons for its emergence, its main figures, the goals of the party, its continued electoral success from 1922 through 1936, its decline beginning in 1938, its merger with the Democratic Party of Minnesota in 1944, and finally the subsequent battle for control of this newly-merged DFL (Democratic Farmer-Labor) Party …

Synthesis And Applications Of Cyclopalladated Complexes Containing An (Sp3)C‒Pd Bond, Gerard Chepnda Dickmu

Theses and Dissertations

Cyclopalladated complexes (CPCs) possess a number of important properties and have been used in various application studies. However, preparation and uses of optically active CPCs with an (sp3)C–Pd bond have not been thoroughly investigated.

In this dissertation, the synthesis and applications of new enantiopure CPCs derived from naturally occurring and optically active D-camphor and L-fenchone are described. The preparation of these CPCs, which contain an (sp3)C–Pd bond, was accomplished by cyclopalladation of D-camphor O-methyloxime, L-fenchone O-methyloxime, L-fenchone oxime and camphor N,N-dimethylhydrazone using Pd(II) salts such as Pd(OAc)2 and Pd(MeCN)2Cl2.

Phosphination reactions of CPCs derived from D-camphor O-methyloxime and L-fenchone O-methyloxime, …

Development Of A High Performance Mosaicing And Super-Resolution Algorithm, Debabrata Ghosh

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, a high-performance mosaicing and super-resolution algorithm is described. The scale invariant feature transform (SIFT)-based mosaicing algorithm builds an initial mosaic which is iteratively updated by the robust super resolution algorithm to achieve the final high-resolution mosaic. Two different types of datasets are used for testing: high altitude balloon data and unmanned aerial vehicle data. To evaluate our algorithm, five performance metrics are employed: mean square error, peak signal to noise ratio, singular value decomposition, slope of reciprocal singular value curve, and cumulative probability of blur detection. Extensive testing shows that the proposed algorithm is effective in improving …

Prevalence And Distribution Of Ranavirus, Chytrid Fungus, And Helminths In North Dakota Amphibians, Melanie Paige Firkins

Theses and Dissertations

Worldwide reports of population declines and extinctions of amphibians have continued for at least two decades. Factors frequently reported in association with these declines include habitat loss, infectious diseases, and environmental degradation. Three sources of disease have been a concern for amphibians: chytrid fungus, Ranavirus, and some helminth parasites. Much of the existing reporting on disease results from anecdotal accounts associated with localized outbreaks, but understanding the scope and dynamics of infectious agents in host populations requires a regional perspective. My objectives were to estimate geographic distribution and prevalence of Ranavirus, chytrid fungus, and helminths in amphibians across the state …

Study About Petrophysical And Geomechanical Properties Of Bakken Formation, Jun He

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this research are to measure the petrophysical and geomechanical properties of the Bakken Formation in North Dakota Williston Basin in to increase the success rate of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing so as to improve the ultimate recovery of this unconventional crude oil resource from the current 3% to a higher level.

Horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing is a required well completion technique for economic exploitation of crude oil from Bakken Formation in the North Dakota Williston Basin due to its low porosity and low permeability. The success of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing depends on knowing …

Tamworth Conservatism And The Repeal Of The Corn Laws: The Foundation Of Modern Conservative Political Discourse, Jonathan James Hedeen

Theses and Dissertations

In the early morning hours of May 16th, 1846 Parliament gathered for the final reading to repeal the Corn Laws. While the Corn Laws had been a highly contested topic within Britain for over two decades, it was at this juncture that the Conservative party of Sir Robert Peel fractured. As this study shall demonstrate, the Corn Law crisis of 1846 did not destroy Peel’s version of Conservativism as has often been argued, but rather put it into a state of suspended animation. The division of the party only twelve years after its formation has long been a topic of …