Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Cross-Cultural Differences In Affect Valuation: Whites, East Asians, And Third Culture Kids, Joey Yamada

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores the cross-cultural differences in affect valuation, emotion regulation, and the relationship between affect valuation, emotion regulation and subjective well-being across White Americans, Asians, and Third Culture Kids (TCKs). Emotional experiences shape every facet of our lives, yet understanding the extent to which emotional experiences are universal is still poorly understood. This is particularly the case among individuals with diverse cultural experiences. In the current study, we look at TCK individuals, a group composed of White-identifying individuals who spent a significant time of their childhood in East Asian countries. Through a questionnaire that was distributed via email and …

Deepening The Relational Ecology Of Restorative Justice, Jennifer Llewellyn, Brenda Morrison

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

It is our pleasure to introduce and frame this Special Issue of The International Journal of Restorative Justice. This Special Issue seeks to advance and expand thinking, research and practice of a restorative approach at the level of institutions and social systems, from families to workplaces. The articles and notes from the field included here were developed out of the 2016 International Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that shared the title and focus of this issue. The conference was held to fulfil a commitment made by the parties involved in a restorative justice process at the Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie …

Edging Towards Principled Ocean Governance: Law Of The Sea And Beyond, David Vanderzwaag

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Elisabeth Mann Borgese is well known for her commitment to advancing the legal order for the improved regulation of the world’s oceans. Her advocacy with respect to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the subject of other essays in this volume. However, in the decades since 1982, legal principles, sometimes linked to provisions in treaties, have become critical in the global quest for sustainable seas and healthy coastal communities. Principles, such as precautionary and ecosystem approaches, have influenced the negotiation, implementation, and interpretation of international agreements. They may also guide national ocean law and …

Helene Stöcker, Weimar Germany And Prophylactics: An Investigation Into The Context And Effects Of The Reichsgesestz Zur Bekämpfung Geschlechtskrankheiten, Joshua Stern

Dissertations and Theses

This paper investigates German gender studies in the Weimar Era. It looks at a specific law, passed regarding contraceptive devices. It seeks to show how women were presented with a guise of freedom, while living in a truly paternalistic society.

"Do As I Say, Not As I Do": An Examination Of The Impact The United States Has On Nuclear Weapons Norms, Alex Kenchi Ohlendorf

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the reputation that the United States has for supporting and promoting three norms related to nuclear weapons: nonproliferation, non-use, and deterrence, while simultaneously examining the impact that United States actions can have on the saliency of the norms themselves. Ultimately, the United States has the ability to considerably impact the saliency of international nuclear norms, and has encouraged other states to accept and abide by them. However, there exists a disparity between the words and actions of the United States. In effect, the United States may “talk the talk” by expressing support and attempting to influence other …

A Link Between Gut Microbes & Depression: Microbial Activation Of The Human Kynurenine Pathway, Christina Cobb

CMC Senior Theses

Our gut microbiota is involved in human development, nutrition, and the pathogenesis of gut disorders, but has more recently been implicated as a possible mechanism in the pathophysiology of several brain disorders, including disorders of mood and affect, such as depression. Researchers have referred to this dynamic, bidirectional signaling pathway between the gut and the brain as the “gut-brain axis.” However, most research on this axis has been limited to rodent studies, and there has been little insight into the mechanism behind it. I propose that the kynurenine pathway, where tryptophan is converted to kynurenine, is a compelling mechanism mediating …

Do The Lifetime Prevalence And Prognosis Of Schizophrenia Differ Among World Regions?, Cheryl Lynn Smith

CMC Senior Theses

Much cross-cultural research has been done on the topic of schizophrenia, but few studies thus far have focused on lifetime prevalence and prognosis together, grouped by world region. Additionally, there has been severe bias in which countries and regions have been studied both historically and currently. Any study that had statistics on lifetime prevalence per 1000 people and/or DALYs, from a specified country or region, was included in this thesis. Results showed that lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia does not differ among WHO regions, but DALYs and thus prognosis do differ. Several major conclusions can be drawn from these results. One …

The Politics Of U.S. Food Policy, Evan Murphy

CMC Senior Theses

Throughout the 20th century, American farmlands, agricultural policy, and diets have seen dramatic transformations. The number of farms in America has decreased, but the average size of farms has increased. These larger farms are increasingly more industrialized and produce a short list of profitable, subsidized commodity crops. Similarly, changes in the American diet throughout the 20th and 21st centuries have reflected these shifts in the landscape of American farmland. Simultaneous to the evolution of American farms was an increase in federal involvement in American agriculture through policy that seems to encourage these trends. Although separating out the causes from the …

The Religious And Ideological Freedom Of Teachers In The English Legal Framework: Is The Balance Between Collective And Individual Rights Appropriate?, Javier Garcia Oliva, Diana Ginn

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

How does the current legal framework safeguard the rights of teachers to religious and ideological freedom, whilst at the same time protecting the collective rights of school communities to provide an educational context aligned to identified values and principles? How does the law seek to find a resolution or accommodation where there is a clear conflict?

Questions In The Book Of Mormon, Holt Zaugg

Faculty Publications

This article examines how questions are used in the Book of Mormon to teach concepts and principles.

Conclusions: The Value Of An Innovation Framework For International Law, Sara L. Seck, Alastair Neil Craik

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The concluding chapter to Global Environmental Change and Innovation in International Law provides an assessment of the value of an innovation framework for further scholarship in the field of international environmental law. The authors note that thinking more systematically about how international law structures innovation and how innovation within law arises has potential to generate new insights into the role of law in the development of sustainable transitions and may provoke greater attention to the sources and processes of legal transformations themselves. Identifying the constraints to legal innovation, particularly in the context of increasingly complex system demands, was identified as …

Single Olfactory Receptors Set Odor Detection Thresholds, Adam Dewan, Annika Cichy, Jingji Zhang, Kayla Miguel, Paul Feinstein, Dmitry Rinberg, Thomas Bozza

Publications and Research

In many species, survival depends on olfaction, yet the mechanisms that underlie olfactory sensitivity are not well understood. Here we examine how a conserved subset of olfactory receptors, the trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs), determine odor detection thresholds of mice to amines. We find that deleting all TAARs, or even single TAARs, results in significant odor detection deficits. This finding is not limited to TAARs, as the deletion of a canonical odorant receptor reduced behavioral sensitivity to its preferred ligand. Remarkably, behavioral threshold is set solely by the most sensitive receptor, with no contribution from other highly sensitive receptors. In addition, …

Contingency Holding By A Thread: Intersectionality In Selected Works By Ghada Amer, Sarah Eileen Sabo

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Ghada Amer is a diasporic, female, artist of color who creates canvases that wield the domestic as both medium and subject. Her fiber work, including an early formative series combined with her later pornography pieces, feature densely threaded surfaces where images of women working oscillate between representation and non-objectivity. This thesis intervenes with the existing discourse surrounding Amer’s oeuvre by utilizing the artist’s own words along with materialist and intersectional theoretical material to offer two novel interpretive approaches. Specifically, I argue that Amer uses a gendered formula that is reflected visually as a way of referencing the entirety of a …

Efficacy And Political Participation: How Can I Make A Difference?, Shadrick M. Mead

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

While there have been numerous empirical studies of the causal determinants of political participation, few have examined how separate efficacious attitudes affect the way in which an individual chooses to participate in the political system. This research examines the relationship between political participation and the efficacious attitudes of individuals in the US electorate. Specifically, it breaks down political efficacy into two forms, internal and external efficacy, as well as, placing various forms of political participation into a typology of direct and indirect participation, to determine the interplay of efficacious attitudes and the likelihood an individual participates in one form 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 …

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 …

Quantitation Without Calibration: Response Profile As An Indicator Of Target Amount, Mrittika Debnath

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Quantitative assessment of biomarkers is essential in numerous contexts from decision-making in clinical situations to food quality monitoring to the interpretation of life-science research findings. However, appropriate quantitation techniques are not as widely addressed as detection methods. One of the major challenges in biomarker’s quantitation is the need to have a calibration for correlating a measured signal to a target amount. The step complicates the methodologies and makes them less sustainable. In this work, we addressed the issue via a new strategy: relying on the position of response profile rather than absolute signal for assessment of a target nucleic acid’s …

It's A Dangerous World In There: Leadership Methods And Actions Of School Administrators During Emergency Situations And Times Of Crisis, James J. Drake

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Over the past twenty years, shootings and other violent incidents, acts of terrorism such as the attacks of September 11, 2001, and natural disaster events such as hurricanes or floods have occurred with increasing frequency. Situations like these pose significant challenges for school administrators when a normally-peaceful educational environment is quickly transformed by significant acts of aggression from within, or by external threats that impact the educational domain with little or no advance warning.

Contingency-based, situational leadership has proven to be effective when used in both educational and non-educational settings during normal, non-emergency periods. The purpose of this study is …

Surface Modification Of Titanium For Hard-Tissue Engineering Applications, Murali Krishna Duvvuru

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Titanium (Ti) and its alloys are widely used in dental and orthopedic applications due to their advantages such as biocompatibility, excellent corrosion resistance and mechanical properties like low Young’s modulus, low density and high strength as compared to other metallic implants. However, lack of interaction with host tissue (e.g. bioinertness), higher modulus of elasticity as compared to that of bone and resultant stress shielding cause fibrous tissue formation around the implant where the interaction with tissue is minimized. These will eventually cause the implant loosening and revision surgery is needed. Surface modification of Ti by increasing surface roughness and/or incorporation …

Well-Being Correlates Of Perceived Positivity Resonance: Evidence From Trait And Episode-Level Assessments, Brett C. Major, Khoa D. Le Nguyen, Kristjen B. Lundberg, Barbara L. Fredrickson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Positivity resonance is a type of interpersonal connection characterized by shared positivity, mutual care and concern, and behavioral and biological synchrony. Perceived positivity resonance is hypothesized to be associated with well-being. In three studies (N = 175; N = 120; N = 173), perceived positivity resonance was assessed at the trait level (Study 1) or the episode level, using the Day Reconstruction Method (Studies 2 and 3). Primary analyses reveal that perceived positivity resonance is associated with flourishing mental health, depressive symptoms, loneliness, and illness symptoms. These associations largely remain statistically significant when controlling for daily pleasant emotions or social …

Visualization Of Large Diverse Collections Of Scholarly Output, Bharat K. Kale

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Visualizing large real-world networks, such as social networks and scientific collaboration networks, is challenging not only because they contain large numbers of nodes and links but also due to their multivariate nature. Applications that analyze such datasets tend to focus on problems related to visualizing either multiple attributes on nodes or the topology of the network. Very few applications focus on both. This research explores a new approach to visualize such multivariate networks, using a glyph designed based on sunburst chart to encode attributes on the nodes and a combination of a treemap layout and a suitable graph layout to …

Witnessing Interparental Violence : Implications For Rejection Sensitivity And Psychological Abuse Perpetration, Mikhaella Angela Hodges

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Relationship violence not only affects individuals who are directly involved, it can also have an impact on children exposed to interparental conflict. Early exposure to interparental violence may be detrimental to one's development and may further shape the way one understands and approaches future intimate relationships. The current cross-sectional study examined the potential associations between exposure to interparental violence and perpetration of psychological abuse in a college undergraduate sample. Rejection sensitivity was hypothesized to explain the relationship between violence exposure and perpetration of psychological aggression in intimate relationships. Moreover, the role of maternal relationship quality and emotion regulation were examined …

The Role Of "Because" In Mechanistic And Teleological Explanations In Science, Lillian K.E. Asiala

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In science, mechanistic and teleological explanations differ in their account for why a phenomenon occurs. A mechanistic explanation presents events within the phenomenon’s causal history, while a teleological explanation presents the function or benefit of the phenomenon. These explanation types present two different types of causal coherence relations; a cause- consequence relation for mechanistic explanations, and an enabling relationship for teleological explanations. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the causal connective “because” in inference generation for the relations present in each explanation type. Two first experiments show that readers accept “because” as an appropriate causal …

The Validity Of Point-Of-Care Glucometers Referenced Against The Ysi 2300 Stat Plus During Aerobic Activity And An Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, Davoncie Granderson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis observes blood glucose and the dynamic changes that it undergoes within the human body. Blood glucose is carbohydrate located within the blood which is used for providing the body with energy in order to perform biological work. The level of carbohydrate in the blood will change dynamically depending on various factors such as exercising and fasting. Blood glucose is crucial to healthy metabolic function within the human body and it is important that it be monitored, especially in the case of diabetes. Various methods of measurement are used for reporting glucose levels ranging from the Yellow Spring Instruments …

Electroencephalogram Signal Processing For Hybrid Brain Computer Interface Systems, Md. Ali Haider

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to evaluate and compare three types of brain computer interface (BCI) systems, P300, steady state visually evoked potentials (SSVEP) and Hybrid as virtual spelling paradigms. Hybrid BCI is an innovative approach to combine the P300 and SSVEP. However, it is challenging to process the resulting hybrid signals to extract both information simultaneously and effectively. The major step executed toward the advancement to modern BCI system was to move the BCI techniques from traditional LED system to electronic LCD monitor. Such a transition allows not only to develop the graphics of interest but also to …

Assessment Of Blood Pressure Regulatory Controls To Detect Hypovolemia And Orthostatic Intolerance, Ajay Kumar Verma

Theses and Dissertations

Regulation of blood pressure is vital for maintaining organ perfusion and homeostasis. A significant decline in arterial blood pressure could lead to fainting and hypovolemic shock. In contrast to young and healthy, people with impaired autonomic control due to aging or disease find regulating blood pressure rather demanding during orthostatic challenge. This thesis performed an assessment of blood pressure regulatory controls during orthostatic challenge via traditional as well as novel approaches with two distinct applications 1) to design a robust automated system for early identification of hypovolemia and 2) to assess orthostatic tolerance in humans. In chapter 3, moderate intensity …

Effect Of Cisplatin On Metallothionein Expression In Urotsa Cells Malignantly Transformed With Arsenite Or Cadmium, Brooke Alexandra Freeberg

Theses and Dissertations

Heavy metals Arsenite (As3+) and Cadmium (Cd2+) are known human carcinogens and exposure to them occurs through cigarette smoking, industrialization, and contaminated water sources. Epidemiological studies have shown that prolonged exposure to these heavy metals are associated with several health issues, including bladder cancer. With survival rates directly correlated to detection age and tumor stage, the demand for early detection would effectively cut costs and improve the patient prognosis of human bladder cancer.

Metallothioneins (MT) play an essential role in metal regulation, heavy metal detoxification, and cellular redox chemistry in cellular biological systems and tissues. Previous studies in literature have …

Measuring The Influence Of Bedding On Soil Nitrogen Losses And Corn Crop Nitrogen Characteristics For Fall Applied Solid Beef Cattle Manure In Eastern South Dakota, Mukesh Mehata

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen (N) is a major component of chlorophyll which plays a key role in the photosynthesis process in crops. The N is one of the highest demanded nutrients by all plants for their growth and reproduction. Manure or inorganic fertilizer is often applied to fulfill the crops’ N demand. However, the applied N sources have the potential of N losses in different forms from the soil volume in many ways such as ammonia (NH₃) volatilization, aerial nitrous oxide (N₂O) loss, nitrate (NO₃ --N) leaching, and runoff and/or erosion. Soil fertility, crop yield, water quality, and …

Transcriptome Analysis Of Root Development In Wheat Triticum Aestivum Using High Throughtput Sequencing Technologies, Ghana Challa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Root provides plant water, nutrients and anchorage from soil. Most our knowledge of molecular mechanisms of root development is from the dicot model plant Arabidopsis, but very few studies have done in monocot crop systems like rice, maize, and wheat. We are studying very short root (VSR) phenotype in wheat, and lack of a sequenced reference genome in wheat prompted us to sequence and assemble the root transcriptome of the reference cultivar Chinese Spring (CS). A root transcriptome was assembled from the sequenced reads generated from root tip and the mature root tissues of CS. Approximately 169 million reads were …

Evaluating E. Coli Particle Attachment And The Impact On Transport During High Flows, Louis Amegbletor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fecal indicator bacteria, including E. coli, are the leading cause of water quality impairments within assessed waters in the United States. The source of E. coli includes WWTP, leaking sewers, animal manure, wildlife, livestock, and stream bed sediment. Storm events contribute to bacteria loading within waters through wash-in of land sources of bacteria and resuspension of bacteria within sediments. Bacteria introduced into the water column are either attached to particles or are unattached (or free-living). The goal of this study was to examine the attachment of E. coli to different particle sizes, including their impact on contributing to water …