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Und Today: December 2018, University Of North Dakota

UND Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Early Prediction Of Merged Code Changes To Prioritize Reviewing Tasks, Yuanrui Fan, Xin Xia, David Lo, Shanping Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Modern Code Review (MCR) has been widely used by open source and proprietary software projects. Inspecting code changes consumes reviewers much time and effort since they need to comprehend patches, and many reviewers are often assigned to review many code changes. Note that a code change might be eventually abandoned, which causes waste of time and effort. Thus, a tool that predicts early on whether a code change will be merged can help developers prioritize changes to inspect, accomplish more things given tight schedule, and not waste reviewing effort on low quality changes. In this paper, motivated by the above …

Applying Design Thinking To Student Outreach Projects: Experiences From An Information Systems School, Swapna Gottipati, Venky Shankararaman, Alan Megargel

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As countries turn into Smart Nations, Infocom Technology plays a key role in enhancing their competitiveness through high skilled workforces. Reaching to younger generations and attracting them to computing programs such as Information Systems (IS) and Computer Science (CS) is a key challenge faced by universities. Many high quality students from junior colleges either don’t choose IS programs or choose IS programs as their last option during the application process. A School of Information Systems (SIS) from a large metropolitan university decided to implement an innovative outreach program to attract high quality high school aka Junior College (JC) students. JC …

An Economic Analysis Of Incentivized Positive Reviews, Jianqing Chen, Zhiling Guo, Jian Huang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

It becomes increasingly popular that some large online retailers such as Amazon open their platforms to allow third-party retail competitors to sell on their own platforms. We develop an analytical model to examine this retailer marketplace model and its business impact. We assume that a leading retailer has both valuation advantage that may come from its reputation and information advantage that may come from its brand awareness. We find that the availability of relatively low-cost advertising through social media or search engine can effectively reduce the leading retailer's information advantage, and thus be an important driving force for its strategic …

Utilizing Computational Trust To Identify Rumor Spreaders On Twitter, Bhavtosh Rath, Wei Gao, Jing Ma, Jaideep Srivastava

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Ubiquitous use of social media such as microblogging platforms opens unprecedented chances for false information to diffuse online. Facing the challenges in such a so-called “post-fact” era, it is very important for intelligent systems to not only check the veracity of information but also verify the authenticity of the users who spread the information, especially in time-critical situations such as real-world emergencies, where urgent measures have to be taken for stopping the spread of fake information. In this work, we propose a novel machine-learning-based approach for automatic identification of the users who spread rumorous information on Twitter by leveraging computational …

Attention-Based Lstm-Cnns For Uncertainty Identification On Chinese Social Media Texts, Binyang Li, Kaiming Zhou, Wei Gao, Xu Han Han, Linna Zhou

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Uncertainty identification is an important semantic processing task, which is crucial to the quality of information in terms of factuality in many techniques, e.g. topic detection, question answering. Especially in social media, the texts are written informally which are widely used in many applications, so the factuality has become a premier concern. However, existing approaches that still rely on lexical cues suffer greatly from the casual or word-of-mouth peculiarity of social media, in which the cue phrases are often expressed in sub-standard form or even omitted from sentences. To tackle these problems, this paper proposes the attention-based LSTM-CNNs for the …

The Intersection Of Literacy And Digital Literacy: Incorporating Writing Standards With Computer Technology Standards, Grace Mcpherson

Honors Theses

This project aims to increase access to computer science/computer technology education by providing teachers resources to enable them to teach computer science/computer technology. A survey was taken to discover the interests and needs of teachers in Hamilton County, Tennessee. The project resulted in the creation of several lesson plans that integrate English and computer science through hands-on web development exercises, computational thinking opportunities, and critical thinking.

#Black Lives Matter? Analyzing The Effects Of Police-Caused Black Deaths On Media Coverage And Public Interest In The Movement, Francesca Bordonaro, Dale Willits

Journal of Criminal Justice and Law

Black Lives Matter is a social movement, created and maintained on social media networks; its formation was spurred in part by the number of Black men and women who have been killed by police officers in the United States. This research focuses on the relationship between police-caused deaths of Black men and women and media coverage of and public interest in Black Lives Matter. The primary goal of the research was to determine whether traditional news coverage of Black Lives Matter was linked to the killings of Black citizens by police. We found that Black citizen deaths did not result …

The Eric Garner Incident: Sentinel Calls For Greater Scholarly Support In Policymaking, Joe D. Mazza

Journal of Criminal Justice and Law

The Eric Garner incident serves as a sentinel event exposing weakness in our system of policing low-level offenses. The New York Police Department policy at the center of this encounter lacked a foundation of sound evidence. Administrative mandates forced officers to make a custodial arrest instead of releasing a low-level offender in the field. Combined, they created a condition ripe for tragic results. Custodial arrests should serve important public interests, but none are apparent here. This incident presents a call for greater scholarly partnerships with police and other stakeholders to provide studies with evidence on which better public policy can …

Characterization Of Microreactor And Analysis Of Carbonyl Compounds In Exhaled Breath., Qi Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Analysis of trace volatile organic compounds at parts per billion (ppbv) to parts per trillion (pptv) level has become an important research frontier because of the applicability for environmental monitoring and noninvasive diagnosis of diseases. The methods of preconcentration for detection of trace aldehydes and ketones both in ambient air and human exhaled breath have increased considerably over the last decade. However, the majority of these methods are not efficient. In this dissertation, we have improved an innovative microreactor that is suitable for quantitative analysis of volatile carbonyl compounds (VOCs) in ambient air as well as in human exhaled breath. …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Targeted Bar Encapsulated Polylactic-Co-Glycolic Acid Nanoparticles To Inhibit Porphyromonas Gingivalis Biofilm Formation., Ranjith Radha Krishnan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Periodontal disease is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases worldwide. Between 30-50% of the global adult population suffers from periodontal disease. Some form of periodontitis is present in 46% of American adults, corresponding to annual expenditures in excess of 14 billion dollars for treatment and prevention. Current treatments for periodontal diseases involve mechanical removal of plaque, correction of risk factors, gingival surgery and/or antibiotic therapy. To our knowledge there is no effective therapeutic approach that aims to limit pathogen colonization of the oral biofilm or re-colonization after treatment. Interaction of the pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis with oral streptococci is critical …

The Fundamental Characteristics And Unique Outcomes Of Christian Summer Camp Experiences, Jacob Sorenson

Journal of Youth Development

Very little research is available on the unique characteristics and outcomes of Christian summer camps, in spite of their prevalence in the industry. The Effective Camp Research Project is a mixed-methods study seeking to close the research gap. This article presents the major findings of the study, detailing the emergence of a distinct Christian camp model with 5 fundamental characteristics: relational, safe space, participatory, unplugged from home, and faith-centered. A multi-test survey of campers provides compelling evidence for outcomes that are immediate, subsequent, and lasting. Some of these outcomes are common to all camp types, though many are unique to …

Maine Sexual Assault Kit Study, Alison Grey, Erika Arthur, Viacheslav Tomenko, George Shaler Mph, Elisabeth Snell

Justice Policy

The Cutler Institute recently released the Maine Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Study Report. This report was produced for the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MECASA). In 2018 MECASA contracted with researchers at the Cutler Institute, with funding in part from a grant from the Office on Violence Against Women STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program, through the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Researchers employed a mixed-methods approach to gather comprehensive data about the current status of sexual assault kits in Maine; the challenges and successes of processing and storing kits in Maine; and nationally recognized best practices.

Findings from …

The Progress Of Tobacco Control Research In Sub-Saharan Africa In The Past 50 Years: A Systematic Review Of The Design And Methods Of The Studies, Hadii M. Mamudu, Pooja Subedi, Ali E. Alamin, Sreenivas P. Veeranki, Daniel Owusu, Amy Poole, Lazarous Mbulo, A. E. Ogwell Ouma, Adekunle Oke

ETSU Faculty Works

Over one billion of the world’s population are smokers, with increasing tobacco use in low-and middle-income countries. However, information about the methodology of studies on tobacco control is limited. We conducted a literature search to examine and evaluate the methodological designs of published tobacco research in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the past 50 years. The first phase was completed in 2015 using PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. An additional search was completed in February 2017 using PubMed. Only tobacco/smoking research in SSA countries with human subjects and published in English was selected. Out of 1796 …

Attitudes Toward Penile Transplantation Among Urologists And Health Professionals, Bobby Najari, Ryan Flannigan, Jackson Hobgood, Darius Paduch

ETSU Faculty Works

Introduction: Penile transplantation, in its infancy, has the potential to reestablish functional outcomes for men with penile loss and disfigurement. However, significant bioethical considerations are pertinent, and systematic discussions are necessary to safely progress implementation. Aim: To determine the attitude of health practitioners toward the penile transplant and identify the key aspects of concern pertinent to the operation and clinical care. Methods: Health care professionals from the United States responded to either email invitation, web link, or social media post on Facebook to complete a questionnaire investigating perceptions and attitudes toward penile transplantation. Main Outcome Measures: Respondents' attitude toward penile …

No Longer Private: On Human Rights And The Public Facet Of Social Network Sites, Noa Mor

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

2018-December-01-Next Olympic Hopeful, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY — Model railroaders are invited to a free clinic co-hosted by the Carter Railroad Museum at East Tennessee State University and the Mountain Empire Railroaders at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 18.

Shane Wilson, president of Scale Trains Inc., located in Benton, Tennessee, will lead the clinic held in Brown Hall, room 223, on the ETSU campus. In addition to discussing the production side of scale-model locomotives and train cars, he will take participants behind the scenes at ScaleTrains.com for an inside look at creating a model train company from scratch, as well as how model trains are …

A Phylogenetic Analysis Of Leptogorgia Virgulata And Leptogorgia Hebes In The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Samantha Silvestri

Theses and Dissertations

The use of genetics in recent years has brought to light the need to reevaluate the classification of many gorgonian octocorals. In 2017, Poliseno et al. conducted a comprehensive, phylogenetic study of the genus Leptogorgia and found that it, too, was in need of taxonomic revision. To expand on their study, 25 samples representing two Leptogorgia species—L virgulata and L. hebes —from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) were examined. Ten novel, complete mitochondrial genomes were sequenced using Next Generation sequencing and 24 novel mtMutS sequences were obtained from both species. The phylogenies reconstructed from these sequences indicate the …

Automation Of Post-Earthquake Civil Infrastructure Reconnaissance, Jack Bergquist

Architectural Engineering

Traditionally post-earthquake structural engineering reconnaissance consists of a team of experts who are deployed to the field to record and capture earthquake damage data, which is later uploaded into online repositories. Despite many advances to these data archives in recent years, the entries in online repositories often have limited metadata which make it difficult and time consuming to extract specific damage evidence that can be used for meaningful analysis. This report outlines the author’s contributions to overcoming these challenges via the development of a neural network that automatically filters and classifies post-earthquake civil infrastructure damage data after a seismic event. …

Understanding Environmental, Health And Economic Activity Interactions Following Transition Of Ownership In Gold Mining Areas In Tanzania: A Case Of Private To Public, Sophia Rhee, Elias Charles Nyanza, Madison Condon, Joshua Fisher, Theresia Maduka, Anja Benshaul-Tolonen

Faculty Scholarship

Mining is an important source of revenue for many developing countries, however, the social, environmental and economic impacts of mining are often poorly monitored. The recent transition of a gold mine in Western Tanzania—from large-scale gold mine under private, multinational ownership, to medium-scale public and national owned mine with limited life length offers a prime opportunity to understand the implications of changes in ownership and scale on the local economy and community well-being. We conducted 44 semi-structured interviews with community members in four villages adjacent to the mine site. We find that the local economy and public service provision contracted …

A Growth Curve Analysis Of Mandatory Student Athletics Fees, Willis A. Jones, Michael J. Rudolph, Michael Brown

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

This study used growth curve modeling to estimate the growth trajectory of mandatory student athletics fees at public NCAA Division I universities from 2004–2016. We specifically focused on three measures of athletics fees; total athletics fees, athletics fees per FTE, and athletics fees as a percentage of total student costs. We found that in general the growth trajectory of athletics fees was positive, but that the rate of growth has declined over the years. We also found that on average less than 5% of student costs are directly attributable to athletics fees and that the growth trajectory of athletics fees …

Christian Theistic Anthropology, Anthony T. Vento

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

At the present moment, which is prior to conducting any research, I am of the opinion that anthropology has been influenced by certain schools of thought, and each school’s definition establishes a trajectory which definitively determines the adherent’s worldview. The schools of anthropology which are prevalent in today’s world, in my estimation, are the evolutionist’s perspective, the hedonistic perspective, the rationalistic perspective, the dualistic perspective and the Christian perspective. I will seek to objectively and unbiasedly define each perspective’s understanding of man, then I will compare and contrast the main tenets of each school of thought, and finally, I will …

Mechanisms Of S1p-Induced Endothelial Barrier Enhancement, Natascha Guimarães Alves

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Excessive microvascular permeability is a serious complication involved in traumatic injury and inflammatory diseases. Alcohol intoxication can exacerbate the physiological derangements produced by microvascular endothelial barrier dysfunction in such disease conditions. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) has known endothelial barrier-protective properties, and has been shown to ameliorate microvascular leakage in a model of combined alcohol intoxication and hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation (HSR). However, whether the barrier-protective properties of S1P extend to endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is unclear. The mechanisms of S1P-induced barrier protection during alcohol intoxication or HSR are also unknown. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that …

Using The Engagedmd Multimedia Platform To Improve Informed Consent For Ovulation Induction, Intrauterine Insemination, And In Vitro Fertilization, Jody L. Madeira, Jennifer Rehbein, Mindy S. Christianson, Miryoung Lee, J. Preston Parry, Guido Pennings, Steven R. Lindheim Md

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Objective: To study patient and provider feedback on how a multimedia platform (EngagedMD) helps patients to understand the risks and consequences of in vitro fertilization (IVF), ovulation induction (OI), and intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatments and the impact of the informed consent process.

Design: Prospective survey study.

Setting: IVF units in the United States.

Patient(s): Six-thousand three-hundred and thirty-three patients who viewed the multimedia platform before IVF or OI-IUI treatment at 13 U.S. IVF centers and 128 providers.

Intervention(s): Quantitative survey with 17 questions.

Main Outcome Measure(s): Assessment of the impact of a multimedia platform on patient anxiety, comprehension, and satisfaction …

Wet Markets And Avian Influenza: Public Policy Decisions In Hong Kong, Shawn Smallman

International & Global Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

After the emergence of H5N1 avian influenza in 1997 Hong Kong implemented a sophisticated system to regulate live poultry markets. While this system is well implemented and thorough, it also has limitations. The rise of H7N9 avian influenza (which is typically acquired through contact with poultry, including in live markets) makes this an appropriate time to revisit the ethical and practical issues related to this trade. Based on data from field observations of live markets in Hong Kong, and interviews with experts in the field, this paper recommends that the government of Hong Kong create a committee to examine the …

Engaging Youth To Increase Their Transportation System Support, Understanding, And Use, Autumn Shafer, Jared Macary

TREC Final Reports

Little is known from research about how to motivate youth to choose non-car mobility, especially specific Portland-area youth. Understanding the current attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of youth in relation to non-car mobility contributes to the sustainability of a long-term transportation system. Transportation system-related beliefs and behaviors of youth are likely to influence their willingness to access and support transportation services as adults. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s riders, bikers, walkers, voters, and transportation planners. Thus, it is important to develop age-appropriate messaging strategies and tactics that promote youth non-car mobility.

This project seeks to build on the sparse national and non-Portland …

Environmental And Equity Scenarios For Alternative Fuel Vehicle Ownership And Use In The Portland Region, John Macarthur, Kelly Clifton, Joseph Broach, Baxter Shandobil

TREC Final Reports

The City of Portland has been looking to understand the mobility profiles and the associated carbon impacts of different communities in the region. In addition, the City is evaluating its electric vehicle strategy, including placement of charging infrastructure based on locations that will have the greatest impact on reducing carbon emissions and encouraging use of electric vehicles (EVs). To help in this effort, the project is looking to answer the following questions: 1) How are carbon impacts from the use of personal vehicles distributed among different neighborhoods in Portland and the Metro region? 2) Do low-income and minority communities have …

You Live Where? Maximizing O&M Services In Rural And Remote Areas Through Distance Consultation, Amy T. Parker, Mary J. Tellefson

Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The region served by Portland State University’s Orientation and Mobility (O&M) and Visually Impaired Learner (VIL) hybrid preparation program is geographically vast. The states of OR, WA, ID, MT, AK, and HI comprise 28% of the US's geography, covering more than 1,061,000 square miles. Because of regional personnel shortages, faculty must prepare candidates to serve geographically dispersed children and adults with visual impairment or deaf-blindness using technologies that support distance-based consultation.

As a part of a federally funded grant from the US Department of Education, faculty in the O&M program developed an online learning module for candidates to use as …

Examining The Role Of Summer Camps In Developing Academic And Workplace Readiness, Cait Wilson, Jim Sibthorp

Journal of Youth Development

Summer camps are an effective setting for youth to develop skills essential for academics and the workplace yet are often not recognized as such. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate learning outcomes from camp most applicable to academics and workplace readiness. As a secondary aim, the researchers sought to identify the mechanisms at camp that support this learning. Youths’ primary learning outcomes include relationship skills, teamwork, how to live with peers, self-confidence, organization, responsibility, independence, perseverance, career orientation, and emotion regulation. In general, mechanisms that supported participants’ learning of outcomes included experiential learning, camp as separate …

Diversity And Inclusion As Essential Elements Of 4-H Youth Development Programs, Rachel Sumner, Andy Turner, Anthony Burrow

Journal of Youth Development

Diversity and inclusion are essential elements of 4-H’s goals related to positive youth development, workforce development, and organizational sustainability. Previous research has examined Cooperative Extension professionals’ attitudes on this topic, demonstrating that most of them recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion in 4-H. Here we present results from a survey of adolescents participating in New York state 4-H programs assessing their endorsement of racial/ethnic diversity and inclusion in 4-H. Results revealed that, overall, youth felt positively toward this kind of diversity and inclusion in 4-H, and endorsement was most strongly predicted by a learning orientation that emphasizes acquiring new …