Digital Commons Network^™

The Persistence Of Orientalism And The Positive Portrayal Of The Gulen Movement In The New York Times And In The Wall Street Journal Between 1985 And 2016, Yonca Ipek Cubuk Uzundag

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that the positive portrayal of the Gulen (Hizmet) movement in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal is a direct result of persistent Orientalism in the American academia and news media. The evidence reveals that most of the articles published in the New York Times and in the Wall Street Journal Between 1985 and 2016 and the majority of academic works completely ignored the controversial nature of the Gulen movement. This favorable approach portrays Islam as monolithic and indicates the otherness of Muslims by subjecting them to a separate set of standards for “moderation.” This …

Glacial Lake Reflectance As A Proxy For Changing Glacial Conditions And Impacts On Streamflow, Lance Diangelis

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change continues to manifest itself through increased temperatures across the Western United States. Subsequently glaciers in the Wind River Range of Wyoming have been in decline since the end of the Little Ice Age and continue to lose mass during the annual ablation season. Understanding these changes is of paramount importance for water resource managers. This study uses data from Landsat 5, 7 and 8 over a 33-year period from 1984-2017 to determine the long-term change in water color for lakes in the range related to glacial flour discharge. Water color can be used to indicate changes in the …

A Mixed Method Study Of The Impact Of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, And Dual Enrollment Courses On College Transition And Success, Kazimir Bartley Gazdzik

Theses and Dissertations

In an educational environment that has limited resources, and greater pressures for increased academic standards, what is the best option to help prepare high school students for college academics? This research study: A Mixed Method Study of the Impact of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Dual Enrollment Courses on College Transition and Success attempted to investigate the impact of advanced courses on college transition.

The results of this research showed no statistical difference in academic success or transition to college between students who had taken advanced classes and those who had not. There were also no statistical differences between students …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Bioplastics By Innovative 3d Printing Approaches, Kathryn Marie Hall

Theses and Dissertations

This work describes the synthesis and characterization of novel bioplastic composites by using novel additive manufacturing (AM) approaches. As a background, global plastic consumption has become a problem with the accumulation of plastics in landfills and the ocean. Recently, bioplastics have emerged as a viable option to petrochemicals. Currently, there are some issues like biodegradability, property optimization with bioplastics etc. In thesis, novel methods and engineering of composition of bioplastics are being reported. In Chapter II, the addition of lignin to the PLA polymer matrix by using solvent mixing will be reported. During this study, liquid ink mixture was successfully …

Autonomous Localization Of A Uav In A 3d Cad Model, Akkas Haque

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a novel method of indoor localization and autonomous navigation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs) within a building, given a prebuilt Computer Aided Design(CAD) model of the building. The proposed system is novel in that it leverages the support of machine learning and traditional computer vision techniques to provide a robust method of localizing and navigating a drone autonomously in indoor and GPS denied environments leveraging preexisting knowledge of the environment. The goal of this work is to devise a method to enable a UAV to deduce its current pose within a CAD model that is fast and accurate …

International Freshmen Student Satisfaction With Campus Environments At U. S. Institutions Through The Lens Of The National Survey Of Student Engagement (Nsse), Ludmi Herath

Theses and Dissertations

International students’ enrollment has continuously increased over the past decade. According to the Open Doors Annual Report, published and distributed by Institute for International Education (IIE, 2016), more than one million international students studied in the United States from 2015-2016; according to the same report, international students generated more than $36 billion to the United Stated (U.S.) economy making international students the fourth largest import sector to the U.S. economy. As U.S. institutions more aggressively recruit and retain international students, it is critical to learn how to serve this growing population—to learn of their needs and offer corresponding tools, programs …

Smartphone Dependence: Relation To Text-Message Dependence, Personality, And Loneliness, Alex James Holte

Theses and Dissertations

Given the ubiquity of smartphones, research has examined its impact on human behavior. Through prior studies have examined smartphones through the addiction framework, resulting in controversy of if habitual smartphone use is an addiction disorder, prior works have not examined the framework of how reliant someone is to their smartphone in their daily life. Additionally, prior works have not examined how smartphone dependence is related to texting dependence, state anxiety, trait anxiety, depression, neuroticism, extroversion, and loneliness. The literature has also not examined the method of communication that an individual prefers and how that relates to loneliness. We had 237 …

Examining Cultural Identification And Alcohol Use Among College Students, Lynn Martell

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has found American Indians (AI) to demonstrate higher levels of alcohol use than Caucasians (CA); however, recent research has found that AI may be drinking at similar or lower rates than CA. Cultural identification (i.e., degree to which an individual associate with, and represents themselves as a member of a specific cultural group) may be a factor contributing to the level of alcohol use among AI. The current study examined cultural identification and alcohol use among University of North Dakota (UND) AI (n=56) and CA (n=88) college students. Results indicated non-significant differences in alcohol use between cultural identification …

Juror Perceptions Of Child Witness Testimonial Aids, Rachael Sophia Mickelson Hendrickson

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the present study is to assess the affect testimonial supports have on mock jurors’ perceptions of child witnesses in a sexual abuse case. In general jurors’ perceptions operate on a two-factor model. The two factors are child competency and honesty. Jurors perceive children’s competency and honesty differently based on the child’s age and the mock juror’s gender. Testimonial supports have been suggested as a way to relieve some of the stress that a trial brings on a child. However, this seems to exacerbate the negative perceptions jurors already hold of child witnesses. The current juror perceptions of …

Neural-Vascular Interactions In An In Vitro Model Of Cortical Forebrain Development, Kayla Michelson

Theses and Dissertations

Progressive restriction of neural stem and progenitor cell fates in the cortex has been linked to a clearly defined sequence of transcription factors that regulate neurogenesis and gliogenesis in the developing cortex. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms contributing to cell fate choice, largely focusing on intrinsic properties of the neural stem cells (NSCs), themselves, rather than microenvironmental influences such as vascular investment. To investigate the influence of vascular cells on cortical NSC fate choice, we developed a novel coculture system that utilizes Transwell® membranes and primary cultures that include an enriched NSC …

Wayward Girls, Amanda Susan Osgood Jonientz

Theses and Dissertations

Wayward Girls represents a culmination of my creative and critical work at the

University of North Dakota. The dissertation includes a critical introduction, a collection of short stories, and a pedagogical article. In my critical introduction, I explain ways in which I manipulate narrative and time, the decisions I make about levels of discourse, my use and experimentation with conventional forms of plot, and my work in the short-story cycle genre. My collection of six short stories includes works about women at crucial turning points in their lives. Set in the Pacific Northwest, the stories range in time period from …

Examination Of The Depositional History Of The Lower Tyler Formation (Pennsylvanian) And Source Rock Analysis In Mckenzie County, North Dakota, Dilyn Stevenson

Theses and Dissertations

Results from source rock analysis and sequence stratigraphy techniques suggest the lower Tyler Formation in McKenzie County, North Dakota is a deltaic dominated environmental system. There is a complex relationship between marine and terrestrial deposition. The source rock analysis performed on seven key wells showed a majority of the samples consist of type III terrestrial kerogen. Five of those wells also indicated a type II marine kerogen. The sequence stratigraphy techniques applied showed the three high gamma ray shales marked high stand system tracts. The two paleosol facies present in the lower Tyler Formation overlie marine shales suggesting rapid sea …

The Role Of A Principal In Establishing And Maintaining Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Pbis): An Ethnographic Case Study, Angela Wanzek

Theses and Dissertations

An ethnographic case study was used to examine roles of a principal in implementing and maintaining positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in one North Dakota elementary school. Observations, school documents, and semi-structured interviews were analyzed to identify the role of a principal. Skinner’s reinforcement theory and Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory served as

theoretical frameworks.

Research indicates a trend in the increase of PBIS in schools across the country. A

need remains to identify the role of elementary principals utilizing PBIS in North Dakota

elementary schools. Certified and classified staff were interviewed to examine their

perspectives on the role of …

"To Verify From The Records Every Statement Of Fact Given": The Story Of The Creation Of The Personal Memoirs Of Ulysses S. Grant: The Complete Annotated Edition, David S. Nolen, Louie P. Gallo

Publications

No abstract provided.

Virtual Collaboration With Mobile Social Media In Multiple-Organization Projects, Zhaojun Yang, Jun Sun, Yali Zhang, Ying Wang

Information Systems Faculty Publications

This study investigates the use of mobile social media as emerging collaboration tools by virtual teams. Based on the construal level theory, it develops a research model hypothesizes that collaboration tool effectiveness influence contextual performance and task performance through the mediation of procedure agreeability. In addition, geographic dispersion, team size and project duration serve as moderators as they reflect virtual collaboration complexity. Empirical findings support most hypothesized relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Pricing Of Games As A Service: An Analytical Model For Interactive Digital Services With Hedonic Properties, Tayfun Keskin

Information Systems Faculty Publications

This study explores optimal pricing strategies in games and other interactive digital goods under incomplete information, when bundling is an option. Drawing from research on the pricing of information goods, we propose a pattern of optimal pricing strategies in which hedonic characteristics affect the utility of interactive digital goods and services. This is a new approach to games, to treat them as a service to determine pricing strategies. Findings reveal that there is an optimal pricing solution for firms in the gaming industry. This finding holds both in bundling and non-bundling cases. Utilizing analytical modeling methodology, we propose pricing-inspired business …

Seventeenth-Century Foundations Of The Moral Economy Of The English Crowd, Ryan Hund

The Forum: Journal of History

The historian E.P Thompson famously described English peasant bread riots in the 18th century as based off of a shared ideal of an economy that obeyed moral rules. But where did this idea originate? I argue that conflicts over land enclosure in the seventeenth century led to peasants viewing the old nobility as defending them according to even older moral principles, a view which carried over into the later economic conflicts about which Thompson writes.

Rick, Morty, And Absurdism: The Millennial Allure Of Dark Humor, Kim Koltun

The Forum: Journal of History

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the millennial generation’s appeal to dark and absurdist forms of humor, using the show Rick and Morty as a primary example. I first establish my definition of Absurdism—based on Nagel and Camus—and how Rick and Morty qualifies as an Absurdist work. I then go on to outline the popularity of the show among millennial audiences and explore its allure. There are three important sociological contexts to this explanation: the contrast between upbringing and reality, expedited modernity, and rapidly changing information structures. These set the stage for a distinctive style of humor that …

Assessment Of Spatiotemporal Fusion Algorithms For Planet And Worldview Images, Chiman Kwan, Xiaolin Zhu, Feng Gao, Bryan Chou, Daniel Perez, Jinag Li, Yuzhong Shen, Krzysztof Koperski, Giovanni Marchisio

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Although Worldview-2 (WV) images (non-pansharpened) have 2-m resolution, the re-visit times for the same areas may be seven days or more. In contrast, Planet images are collected using small satellites that can cover the whole Earth almost daily. However, the resolution of Planet images is 3.125 m. It would be ideal to fuse these two satellites images to generate high spatial resolution (2 m) and high temporal resolution (1 or 2 days) images for applications such as damage assessment, border monitoring, etc. that require quick decisions. In this paper, we evaluate three approaches to fusing Worldview (WV) and Planet images. …

Manufacturing Applications Of The One-Dimensional Cutting Stock Problem As A Team Project, Hüseyin Sarper, Nebojsa I. Jaksic

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper explains the beneficial and practical impact of operations research in two real manufacturing settings. Two manufacturing examples used in student projects were (1) cutting rails (80‘ or 40‘) to manufacture railroad frogs of many sizes and (2) cutting round metal rolls (12‘ to 20‘) to meet customer demands for various lengths of cuts. Student teams in Engineering of Manufacturing Processes and Operations Research courses wrote computer programs. The program first identified all possible patterns that can be cut out of a given stock length. Next, the program created a mathematical model (a text file) as an output. This …

Core And Uncore Joint Frequency Scaling Strategy, Vaibhav Sundriyal, Masha Sosonkina, Bryce Westheimer, Mark Gordon

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Energy-proportional computing is one of the foremost constraints in the design of next generation exascale systems. These systems must have a very high FLOP-per-watt ratio to be sustainable, which requires tremendous improvements in power efficiency for modern computing systems. This paper focuses on the processor—as still the biggest contributor to the power usage—by considering both its core and uncore power subsystems. The uncore describes those processor functions that are not handled by the core, such as L3 cache and on-chip interconnect, and contributes significantly to the total system power. The uncore frequency scaling (UFS) capability has been available to the …

Reliquaires Pervertis. Inscriptions Du Deuil Chez Maupassant, Mirbeau Et Rodenbach, Elizabeth Emery

Department of World Languages and Cultures Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Dans cette étude il est question de la fascination pour les tombes, reliquaires et épitaphes à travers leur représentation dans des textes naturalistes et décadents de la fin du XIXe siècle. Alors qu’on commande de plus en plus de monuments funéraires, surtout dans les années 1880 et 1890, les écrivains tels que Maupassant, Mirbeau et Rodenbach se moquent de leurs inscriptions ; ils privilégient une vision moins historique (celle de l’Histoire, avec un grand H) et plus intime (celle de l’histoire, avec un petit h) de l’épitaphe, la dotant ainsi d’une fonction de moins en moins matérielle et de plus …

Forecasting Changes In Religiosity And Existential Security With An Agent-Based Model, Ross J. Gore, Carlos Lemos, F. Leron Shults, Wesley J. Wildman

VMASC Publications

We employ existing data sets and agent-based modeling to forecast changes in religiosity and existential security among a collective of individuals over time. Existential security reflects the extent of economic, socioeconomic and human development provided by society. Our model includes agents in social networks interacting with one another based on the education level of the agents, the religious practices of the agents, and each agent's existential security within their natural and social environments. The data used to inform the values and relationships among these variables is based on rigorous statistical analysis of the International Social Survey Programme Religion Module (ISSP) …

Towards Blockchain Empowered Trusted And Accountable Data Sharing And Collaboration In Mobile Healthcare Applications, Xueping Liang, Sachin Shetty, Deepak Tosh, Daniel Bowden, Laurent Njilla, Charles Kamhoua

VMASC Publications

Enabled by mobile and wearable technology, personal health data delivers immense and increasing value for healthcare, benefiting both care providers and medical research. The secure and convenient sharing of personal health data is crucial to the improvement of the interaction and collaboration of the healthcare industry. Faced with the potential privacy issues and vulnerabilities existing in current personal health data storage and sharing systems, as well as the blockchain integration concerns summarized in this paper, an innovative user-centric health data sharing solution by utilizing a decentralized but permissioned blockchain is proposed to protect privacy and enhance access management, with the …

Modeling Of A Dynamic Mckibben Style Muscle System Using Material Properties, Alexander G. Arcus

Theses

The McKibben style artificial muscle is a type of pneumatic artificial muscle. When the muscle is pressurized a length contraction and contractive force occur. Modeling a McKibben style muscle presents many challenges. The physical dynamics of the muscle are highly nonlinear, which makes accurate modeling difficult. Modeling using experimentally determined coefficients enables the creation of an equation that ignores the nonlinear nature of the system, but it can have a limited range or accuracy and cannot adjust for changing system properties. Modeling using the system properties requires the consideration of the nonlinear dynamics of the muscle; however, it provides the …

Compact Antenna With Artificial Magnetic Conductor For Noninvasive Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring, Meenakshy Iyer

Theses

A non-invasive technique for real-time continuous monitoring of blood glucose has been under development by Venkataraman’s research group in the ETA lab at RIT [16]-[18]. The methodology involves placing an antenna on the arm and monitoring changes in the resonant frequency, which is attributed to changes in the blood glucose level. This is because the blood’s permittivity depends on the glucose levels, and in turn, affects the antenna’s resonant frequency. In order to correlate the antenna’s resonant frequency shift with the real-time blood glucose change, glucose estimation was also modeled using the antenna’s input impedance. The antennas designed could successfully …

Countervisuality As Policy Feedback: A Critical Policy Study On The Symbolic Role Of Visual Culture In Contemporary Antiracist Resistance, Lindsay N. Plott-Buckner

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

This critical interpretive study explores the relationship between public policy and visual culture. Drawing from five areas of research literature on (1) policy feedback theory, (2) the spectacle, (3) art and visual culture, (4) Black feminist theory, (5) and critical philosophies of resistance, images of contemporary antiracist activism are conceptualized as a form of policy feedback. Photographs of Ieshia Evans, Bree Newsome, and a self-portrait by Nona Faustine are reverse searched through Google Images. Utilizing constructivist grounded theory, a collection of publicly available news articles, blogs, and social media content are analyzed to better understand how mass publics engage with …

Risk Of Unintended Pregnancy In Latina Young Adults: The Effect Of Gender Role Beliefs, Acculturation, And Depression, Jessica Block

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the effect of Latina gender role beliefs, or marianismo beliefs, on risk for unintended pregnancy by examining contraceptive method use in Latina young adults. Acculturation and depression were also examined as moderators of the association between marianismo and contraceptive method choice, as well as separately for their effects on contraceptive use. Unmarried, nulliparous Latina women aged 18-24 (N = 142) were recruited through online social media platforms. Data were collected in the United States in July 2017. Logistic regression analyses were performed to distinguish between women who utilized more effective v. less effective contraceptive methods in the …

Enhancing Employee Communication Behaviors For Sensemaking And Sensegiving In Crisis Situations: Strategic Management Approach For Effective Internal Crisis Communication, Young Kim

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the organizational effectiveness of internal crisis communication within the strategic management approach, whether it enhanced voluntary and positive employee communication behaviors (ECBs) for sensemaking and sensegiving. By doing so, this study provides meaningful insight into: new crisis communication theory development that takes a strategic management approach, emphasizing employees’ valuable assets from an organization, and effective crisis communication practice that reduces misalignment with employees and that enhances voluntary and positive ECBs for the organization during a crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a nationwide survey in the USA among full-time employees (n …

A Secret Police: The Lasting Impact Of The 1986 Foia Amendments, A.Jay Wagner

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The 1986 Freedom of Information Act amendments were passed as a last-minute rider to Reagan-era War on Drugs legislation. The three pieces – a broad restructuring of Exemption 7, the law enforcement exemption; the addition of exclusions for law enforcement and intelligence requests; and introduction of a new fee structure – have had a lasting impact on FOIA implementation and contribute to the contemporary inability to affect police transparency. Review of the 1986 FOIA amendments’ legislative history documents the White House’s determination to loosen law enforcement oversight and congressional appeals to exaggerated fears of illicit drug users. The study considers …