Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Of Renewable Energy Deployment And Empirical Studies Of United States Wind Energy, Serife Elif Can Sener

All Dissertations

Considered essential for countries' development, energy demand is growing worldwide. Unlike conventional sources, the use of renewable energy sources has multiple benefits, including increased energy security, sustainable economic growth, and pollution reduction, in particular greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, there is a considerable difference in the share of renewable energy sources in national energy portfolios. This dissertation contains a series of studies to provide an outlook on the existing renewable energy deployment literature and empirically identify the factors of wind energy generation capacity and wind energy policy diffusion in the U.S. The dissertation begins with a systematic literature review to identify …

Whole Body Irradiation And Degradation Of Structural And Functional Properties Of Mouse Bone: X-Rays, Protons, And Heavy Ions, Laura Christine Bowman

All Dissertations

Bone loss has been identified as a characteristic response to radiation exposure in both clinical and space settings. One of the known long-term consequences of radiation treatment for cancer is increased risk of fracture due to declined bone health. Astronauts are also at risk, although the sources and total doses are much different than that of radiotherapy patients. The development of radiation protection countermeasures for long-term space missions requires a thorough understanding of the radiation's biological effects and the mechanisms behind them. The main objective of these studies is to further our understanding of the effect spaceflight relevant radiation has …

A New Multiscale Modeling Framework For Lithium-Ion Battery Dynamics: Theory, Experiments, And Comparative Study With The Doyle-Fuller-Newman Model, Harikesh Arunachalam

All Dissertations

Technological advancements and globalization in recent decades have largely been responsible for the ever-increasing energy and power demands across different industrial sectors. This has led to an extensive use of fossil fuel based resources such as gasoline and diesel, especially in the transportation industry [1]. The consequences of this utilization are excessive emission of greenhouse gases and degradation of air quality, which have raised significant environmental concerns. Added to this, concerns over the eventual depletion of fossil fuels has accelerated the exploration and development of new energy sources. At the same time, increasingly stringent regulations have been imposed to enhance …

Biology And Behavior Of The Asian Needle Ant, Brachyponera Chinensis , Hamilton Ross Allen

All Dissertations

Ants are among the most successful invasive organisms in the world. To curb the spread of invasive ants in non-native environments, their ecological, biological, and behavioral characteristics must be identified. The Asian needle ant, Brachyponera (= Pachycondyla ) chinensis (Emery) is an emerging invasive pest in urban areas and forests in the southeastern United States. However, general basic biological information on B. chinensis and subsequent management options are deficient. This work contributes to the standing biological information on B. chinensis by examining the seasonal life cycle, social nesting habits, and transport behaviors of B. chinensis colonies. To determine the seasonal …

The Influence Of Corporate Social Responsibility On The Decision-Making Process Of Music Festival-Goers: Findings From A Survey-Embedded Experiment, Yahya A. Alzghoul

All Dissertations

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received pronounced interest at both the academic and industry levels, associated with the recognition that businesses have responsibilities towards society beyond profit making (Othman & Othman, 2014). The tourism industry relies heavily on environmental and cultural resources within tourist destinations (Sheldon & Park, 2011), requiring businesses to actively engage with social and environmental issues (Henderson, 2007). While there is an increased interest in CSR in the tourism sector at both the academia and business levels, CSR tourism research is underdeveloped (Coles, Fenclova, & Dinan, 2013; Sheldon & Park, 2011; Wells, Smith, Taheri, …

Essays On Insurance Regulation, Ghanshyam Sharma

All Dissertations

Insurance industry is an important component of the US economy. In 2013, the industry sold policies worth $ 1.8 trillion and employed 2 million people. Most of the US population has exposure to different kinds of insurance like automobile, health, life etc. which makes the sector politically sensitive. The incentives that various stakeholders face will be critical for the sector. Hence, I use my dissertation as an opportunity to explore how the political and regulatory processes affect the policy outcomes.

In the first chapter, I examine how two different selection systems for state insurance regulators, election and appointment, affect policy …

Innovative Control And Modulation Methods Exploiting Logic-Equations For Novel Multilevel Converter Topologies, Vahid Dargahi

All Dissertations

An unremitting and persistent research for developing advanced multilevel converter topologies with improved characteristics, performance, modulation methods, and control techniques still goes on. The multilevel converters are well-suited for power conversion areas demanding more power density, reliablity, efficiency, and power quality. The emergence of new power conversion areas such as grid integration of large-scale renewable energy sources and large-capacity energy storage necessitate the evolution of the classic multilevel converters.

This dissertation proposes innovative logic-equation-based modulation techniques and control methods for new multilevel converter topologies. Chapter I reviews the classic multilevel converter configurations. Chapter II proposes an enhanced topology for the …

The Evolutionary Diversity Of Uracil Dna Glycosylase Superfamily, Jing Li

All Dissertations

Uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) is a crucial member in the base excision (BER) pathway that is able to specially recognize and cleave the deaminated DNA bases, including uracil (U), hypoxanthine (inosine, I), xanthine (X) and oxanine (O). Currently, based on the sequence similarity of 3 functional motifs, the UDG superfamily is divided into 6 families. Each family has evolved distinct substrate specificity and properties. In this thesis, I broadened the UDG superfamily by characterization of three new groups of enzymes. In chapter 2, we identified a new subgroup of enzyme in family 3 SMUG1 from Listeria Innocua. This newly found …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, July-December 2017, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Understanding Intracellular Redox Regulation In Methanogens: Characterization Of The Components And Targets Of The Nadph-Dependent Thioredoxin System From Methanosarcina Acetivorans, Addison Clark Mccarver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

All cells have a reduced intracellular environment. In the presence of oxygen, the non-specific oxidation of intracellular components leads to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within cells leading to oxidative stress. During oxidative stress labile cofactors (e.g. Fe-S clusters) are lost and deleterious disulfide bonds are formed within proteins. Intracellular redox maintenance systems are used to direct reducing equivalents towards the repair of oxidatively-damaged proteins. The thioredoxin system is the ubiquitous intracellular redox system, found in virtually all species. The canonical thioredoxin system is comprised of a NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) that functions to reduced thioredoxin (Trx). Although …

Promoting Biliteracy And Biculturalism In Bilingual-Maintenance Secondary Classes: A Key Measure In The Creation Of A Gateway To Post-Secondary Education For First And 1.5 Generation Latino Students In Northwest Arkansas Public Schools, Jeanette A. Arnhart

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the context of the Northwest Arkansas (NWA) regional setting, this study examines the effects of the Spanish for Heritage and Native Speakers (SHNS) model from multiple vantage points. Educational capital and biculturation approaches are employed to help theoretically frame post-secondary educational success and ethnic identity, respectively.

Study methods are briefly described and paired with a description of the NWA region as an ideal southern Latino emerging community in which to conduct research on educational outcomes. The manuscript then turns to an ethnographic examination of how and the extent to which curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular aspects of a Spanish for …

Small Rna-Dependent Gene Silencing In The Green Alga Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii: Functions And Mechanisms, Eun Jeong Kim

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Small RNAs (sRNAs), ~20-30 nucleotides in length, are non-coding RNAs that play essential roles in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes. They lead to inactivation of cognate sequences at the post-transcriptional level via a variety of mechanisms involved in translation inhibition and/or RNA degradation.

In the Chlorophyta Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, however, the molecular machinery responsible for sRNA-mediated translational repression remains unclear. To address the mechanisms of translation inhibition by sRNA, we have isolated an RNAi defective mutant (Mut26), which contains a deletion of the gene encoding the homolog of CCR4 in Chlamydomonas. We investigated the expression …

Resource Allocation For Acorn Production: A Comparison Across Species Pairs Of Oaks With Contrasting Acorn Production Patterns And Water Use Strategies, Kyle A. Funk

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mast seeding, or masting, is a phenomenon where inter-annual seed production by individuals is synchronized across a population of plants. Masting is hypothesized to confer a selective advantage to plants by increasing rates of pollination or by decreasing rates of seed predation. Masting can also play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning as fluctuations in annual seed crops correspond with fluctuations in seed predator populations, which in turn have consequences that ripple throughout food webs. The mechanism(s) that causes masting is unresolved, but the high variability in seed production of masting plants is hypothesized to be caused, in part, by …

Community Engagement And Social Activism In Legal, Aliza Organick

Faculty Scholarship

Organick encourages new law faculty to reach out to the clinicians on your faculty for support, potential collaborative projects. This benefits students, and lays the foundation for meaningful friendships.

The Impact Of Private Sector Credit On Economic Growth In Nigeria, Ganiyu B.A. Amoo, Matthew I. Eboreime, Yusuf Adamu, Maximillian C. Belonwu

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

The paper determines empirically the local conditions and policy environment that influence the absorptive capacity of credit in the Nigerian economy for the period 1993:Q1 to 2013:Q4 using fully modified least squares. Findings show that credit is growth-enhancing, even when trade openness, monetary policy, investment climate and infrastructure are low. Also, the composite local condition index analysis revealed that private sector credit increased economic growth when domestic or local conditions were favourable and the absorptive capacity of the domestic economy for credit was estimated at 29% of the GDP in 2013. These results suggest that there is ample room for …

Forecasting The Volatilities Of The Nigeria Stock Market Prices, Sikiru O. Ibrahim

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

The objective of this work is to assess and forecast the volatilities of prices on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. The ARCH family (ARCH, GARCH, TGARCH, EGARCH and PGARCH) and ARIMA models are used to assess and forecast volatilities in prices on the Nigeria stock market. The EGARCH model is found to be the most efficient for forecasting volatilities and has the capability to show the asymmetric effect. The assessment of volatilities in prices for 1985 to 2014 shows clustering, over the years. The forecasting performance shows the volatility in the Nigeria stock market to be on the increase for the …

Determinants Of Fdi And Fpi Volatility: An E-Garch Approach, Philip I. Nwosa, Omolade Adeleke

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

This study examined the determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) volatility in Nigeria. The study used annual data covering the periods 1986 to 2016 and the EGARCH approach was employed. The study observed that trade openness and world GDP were the significant determinants of FDI volatility, while domestic interest rate and stock market capitalization were significant determinants of FPI volatility in Nigeria. Other variables were insignificant in influencing volatility in FDI and FPI. Consequently, the study recommends the need for the prudent management of these determinants (with particular reference to indigenous variables) to ensure reduced …

Determinants Of Financial Inclusion In Sub-Saharan Africa Countries: Does Institutional Infrastructure Matter?, Kazeem B. Ajide

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

The paper examines the determinants of financial inclusion by specially accounting for the role of institutions in a panel of eighteen (18) subSaharan Africa (SSA) countries using a dynamic system of Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM). The emanated findings consistently stress the importance of institutions together with other control variables like GDP per capita, inflation, bank concentration and z-score as key drivers of FI. In the final analysis, the paper emphasizes the importance of using dimension by dimension indicators of governance as well as a composite governance index instead of relying solely on the latter as a basis of informing …

On The Properties Of The Weibull-Burr Iii Distribution And Its Application To Uncensored And Censored Survival Data, Aliyu Yakubu, Sani I. Doguwa

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

Twelve different families of cumulative distributions that are used to model real life data were introduced by Burr (1942). Burr III distribution is among these families of cumulative distributions. In this work, a four-parameter distribution is introduced to model real life scenarios called Weibull-Burr III distribution. The limiting behavior of the proposed distribution, hazard function, moments, skewness, kurtosis and quantile function is investigated; order statistics and entropy are also derived. The method of Maximum Likelihood Estimation technique was used in estimating the parameters of the proposed distribution. To prove the flexibility and performance of the distribution and Weibull-G family of …

The Consumption-Oriented Capital Asset Pricing Model In The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Abidemi C. Adegboye

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

In this study, the Consumption-oriented Capital Asset Pricing Model (CCAPM) is tested for Nigeria by considering returns on investments in the Nigerian Stock Exchange market and other financial assets for the period 1993: Q1 to 2016:Q4. Three tests are conducted. The first test examines forecast performance of excess returns for the selected portfolios in predicting future consumption; the second test estimates the consumption betas for the set of assets using two alternative formulations of the CCAPM; and the third test included consumption growth variable in a multifactor risk analysis to compare with the basic CAPM formulations. The empirical results indicates …

An Assessment Of The Impact Of Banking Reforms On Economic Growth And Bank Performance In Nigeria, Matthew O. Gidigbi

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

This study assesses the impact of banking reforms on banks’ performance and economic growth for the period 1981 to 2015 by fitting an ANOVA model into Stepwise Regression. Using dummy variables to isolate reform periods, results show that banking reforms contribute positively to economic growth, especially in the period 1999 to 2004. Also, banking reforms are found to contribute negatively to banks’ performance, following the 1993 reforms. The study confirms that banking system reforms in Nigeria have dual impact on the economy and banks’ performance. The banking reforms are capable of promoting growth in the economy. Thus, the study recommends …

The Social Justice Role Of School Librarians, Stephanie A. Burdic

Student Work

This study builds on Rioux’s 2010 social justice metatheory in the library sciences as it looks at the practices of school librarians in the areas of collection development, policies, and instructional practices. The mixed methods study demonstrates that school librarians act as agents of social justice in the collection of materials based on diversity, inclusion, vantage points, and international viewpoints. The policies of unrestricted access to library materials, access to digital and print formats, critical reflection, school library as a safe haven, advocating for the freedom to read, and facilitating students to read a variety of materials were also examined. …

Middle School Common Grading Expectations And Teacher Perceptions Of Grading Pedagogy, Jennifer Carson

Student Work

Grades in schools can be subjective in nature. Yet, grading remains a key piece in the American education system. Beliefs around grading practices are deeply held and can vary from teacher to teacher. This study aims to explore how teachers arrive at their own grading practices and to analyze teachers’ perceptions of implementing common grading expectations at one middle school in the Midwest. The implementation was grounded in research surrounding ethical change leadership. In year two of implementation, certified staff responded to a survey of Likert scale and open-ended questions providing feedback on implementing common grading expectations. The medians of …

Factors That Influence Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Willingness To Collaborate With School Librarians, Stephanie L. Schnabel

Student Work

Collaboration between school libraries and classroom teachers can have a powerful impact on student learning. School librarians routinely collaborate with English language arts and social studies curriculum and less frequently with areas in STEM education. This research examines middle school mathematics teachers’ extent of or willingness to collaborate with the school librarian in one large urban Midwestern school district. This quantitative descriptive study sought to answer the question “What factors influence middle school mathematics teachers’ extent or willingness to collaborate with school librarian?” This research looks at, from the middle school mathematics teacher’s perception, the roles and responsibilities of the …

A Complete Coverage Algorithm For 3d Structural Inspection Using An Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Venkat Ramana Reddy Garlapati

Student Work

This thesis presents a novel algorithm for complete coverage of three-dimensional structures to address the problem of autonomous structural inspection using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The proposed approach uses a technique of cellular decomposition based on Morse decomposition to decompose the 3D target structure into 2D coverable faces that are subsequently connected using a graph-based representation. We then use graph traversal techniques such as the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) to generate a flight coverage path through the decomposed faces for a UAV to completely cover the target structure, while reducing the coverage time and distance. To test the validity …

The Prairie Naturalist: The Journal Of The Great Plains Natural Science Society

The Prairie Naturalist

TABLE OF CONTENTS

45 EDITOR’S NOTE

RESEARCH ARTICLES

48 Avian Diversity, Abundance, and Nest Success among Managed Prairies and Agricultural Plots in Oklahoma and Texas Phillip J. Leonard, Douglas R. Wood, and Wayne E. Meyer

57 Severe Drought Impacts Female Pheasant Physiology in Southwest Nebraska Jessica A. Laskowski, Gwen C. Bachman, and Joseph J. Fontaine

66 Field Discrimination of Prairie Deer Mice and White-footed Mice using Morphological Characteristics Jacob L. Berl, Kelton M. Verble, Elizabeth A. Flaherty, and Robert K. Swihart

NOTES

72 Range Extension of the Virgina Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) in North Dakota Lisa L. Walsh

76 Prairie Falcon …

Book Reviews: Raptors Of Mexico And Central America. William S. Clark And N. John Schmitt., Jack Jack Eitniear

The Prairie Naturalist

Whether a raptor is cryptically perched in the shadows or is viewed only as a silhouette soaring in the clouds below the glaring midday sun, raptor identification can be challenging. If you are observing raptors in the North Temperate Zone, several guides (e.g., Clark and Wheeler 2001 Dunne et al.2012) will aid you with such identifications, but few resources exist for visitors south of this zone. So, if you are interested in identifying the 69 species of diurnal raptors found in Mexico and Central America, the recently released Raptors of Mexico and Central America by William S. Clark and N. …

The Great Plains Natural Science Society

The Prairie Naturalist

The Great Plains Natural Science Society, formerly the North Dakota Natural Science Society, was founded in 1967 and seeks to promote interest in and understanding of natural history in the Great Plains, to encourage the conservation of natural resources, and to provide communication among individuals, institutions, and organizations of like interests. The GPNSS actively promotes the study of natural history of the Great Plains region, including geology, plants, birds, mammals, fish, insects, and other forms of life. Together with local, state, and national conservation organizations, the GPNSS fosters natural resource conservation and preservation of outstanding natural areas. The GPNSS publishes …

Prairie Falcon Depredation Attempts On A Greater Prairie-Chicken Lek In South-Central Nebraska, Andrew J. Caven, Joshua D. Wiese, William R. Wallauer

The Prairie Naturalist

Little information exists concerning Prairie falcons’ (Falco mexicanus; PRFA) seasonal movements, habitat use, and diet outside of the breeding season; this is especially true in the eastern portion of its wintering and migratory range (Steenhof 1998, Sharpe et al. 2001, Steenhof et al. 2005). Prairie falcons prey on ground squirrels (Spermophilus spp.), prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), wood rats (Neotoma spp.), and other rodents during the breeding season (Bond 1936, 1942, MacLaren et al. 1988, Steenhof 1998, Steenhof et al. 1999, Johnsgard 2013). They utilize avian prey regionally as well, including western meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta …

Evaluation Of Current Emergency Department Fall Risk Assessment Tools: Is An Emergency Department Specific Fall Risk Assessment Tool Needed?, Carrie A. Brown

Nursing Masters

Problem: The ability to accurately and quickly identify patients at high risk for falls at the point of entry into the emergency department is the most important step in fall prevention and avoiding harm. Using an inpatient falls risk assessment tool is not adequately identifying patients at risk in the emergency department setting. Multiple factors contribute to falls and are not included in the risk assessment tool. The purpose of the study was to determine if the false risk assessment tool used in the Emergency Department (ED) adequately identifies a patient at risk for falling.

Methods: This study …