Digital Commons Network^™

Determining Whether A Spot Urine Sample Is An Accurate Indication Of A Person's Hydration Status, Hannah Glidewell

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine what technique would be an accurate measurement of an individual’s hydration status. According to current research on hydration assessment, the “gold standard” to assess the hydration of an individual is by measuring their total body water (Armstrong, Lawrence 2007). This is the most accurate measurement in a laboratory setting, but finding a measurement that works during a real time setting has been a challenge. It was proposed that a spot urine sample would provide more accurate results than a first- morning urine sample when compared to a 24-hour urine sample set as …

Cardiology Student Nurse Internship, Chimdera Nzelu

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This past summer and into my final semester in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, I became a student nurse intern at Washington Regional Medical Center in the Cardiology department. Heart disease and other heart-related morbidities are on the rise within our population, especially as the baby-boomer generation continues to age – and healthcare must follow suit. The Cardiology department combined with the Walker Heart Institute of Washington Regional is a champion within Northwest Arkansas for the best care related to the heart, and I had the incredible opportunity to serve and learn from their talented healthcare team. Through my …

Willow Creek Women's Hospital Internship, Destinee Ross

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

While the use of midwifery is proven to improve outcomes for low-risk mothers and infants, many healthcare providers, nurses, and patients in Northwest Arkansas continue to be skeptical about utilizing midwifery care. During my internship, I worked directly with labor and delivery nurses, physicians, and a midwife at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital and provided high-quality care to women during their birthing process. This hospital focuses entirely on women and infant care and provides gynecological, obstetric, and newborn services. Willow Creek Women’s Hospital is also one of the few hospitals in Arkansas to implement a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) and has two …

Machismo And Consequential Aphrodisiac Consumption In Oaxaca, Mexico, Brianna M. Harguth

Honors Thesis

Aphrodisiacs have been used in many cultures around the world, including, but not limited to those of Greece, Egypt, Rome, and pre-Columbian societies. Aphrodisiacs are substances consumed to increase sex drive, sexual desire, and sexual performance. In Oaxaca, Mexico males are the primary people who consume aphrodisiacs, particularly Olive ridley sea turtles eggs, which are on the brink of extinction. One of the main reasons males consume these so-called aphrodisiacs is to combat erectile dysfunction, which impedes sexual performance. Many of the men who consume the Olive ridley sea turtle eggs possess traits associated with machismo, a form of masculinity …

Mal-Who? Mal-What? Mal-Where? The Future Cyber-Threat Of A Non-Fiction Neuromancer: Legally Un-Attributable, Cyberspace-Bound, Decentralized Autonomous Entities, Jonathan A. Schnader

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

For decades, science fiction writers have tackled philosophical and existential questions arising from the creation of artificial intelligence (“AI”) by human beings. AI, however, is no longer a fictional concept, but rather an evolving part of modern society. How will AI systems impact United States’ national security interests? Considering the increased national security threat coming from actors in cyberspace, policymakers should consider the cybersecurity risk of AI systems that operate entirely in cyberspace. This article opines that a serious threat to national security will arise from a cyberspace-bound, decentralized autonomous entity (“CyDAE”) because of the “unexplainability” of current AI system …

The Influencers: Facebook's Libra, Public Blockchains, And The Ethical Considerations Of Centralization, Michele Benedetto Neitz

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

The theoretical promise of blockchain technology is truly extraordinary: a peer-to-peer distributed immutable ledger that could revolutionize economies, societies, and even our daily lives. But what if blockchain technology is not as decentralized as people think? What are the ramifications if, in reality, a blockchain’s core decisions are actually influenced by small groups of people or corporations?

This short article seeks to answer that question, by demonstrating that decentralized public blockchains are only as immutable as the decentralization of their governance. Moreover, the announcement of Libra, Facebook’s new permissioned blockchain, shows a growing trend of centralized control around decentralized technologies. …

From Amazon's Domination Of E-Commerce To Its Foray Into Patent Litigation: Will Amazon Succeed As "The District Of Amazon Federal Court"?, Kaity Y. Emerson

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

Modern-day consumers often expect instant gratification. Instead of shopping via printed catalogues and retail stores, consumers flock to the convenience of online shopping platforms, like Amazon. On these platforms, consumers have instant access to items they need, anytime, and anywhere. The popularity of these platforms to both consumers and sellers of items has also ushered in a wave of counterfeit products to these platforms. Technology giant Amazon has a pervasive counterfeit problem that has been harming the legitimacy of its retail operation for some time. Amazon had previously employed a hands-off approach to counterfeits and left sellers to resolve disputes …

Temporal Equal Protection, David A. Super

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Characterizing Dryland Ecosystems Using Remote Sensing And Dynamic Global Vegetation Modeling, Abdolhamid Dashtiahangar

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Drylands include all terrestrial regions where the production of crops, forage, wood and other ecosystem services are limited by water. These ecosystems cover approximately 40% of the earth terrestrial surface and accommodate more than 2 billion people (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). Moreover, the interannual variability of the global carbon budget is strongly regulated by vegetation dynamics in drylands. Understanding the dynamics of such ecosystems is significant for assessing the potential for and impacts of natural or anthropogenic disturbances and mitigation planning, and a necessary step toward enhancing the economic and social well-being of dryland communities in a sustainable manner (Global …

Geomorphology And Geochronology Of Sand Ramps Adjoining The Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Kane County, Utah, Kerri E. Spuller

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Projected climate change is expected to have widespread impacts on arid regions of the world. Inland, continental dune fields are sensitive to changes in climate and the surrounding environment and are an important source for understanding interactions between Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and biosphere in drylands. Reconstructing past periods of aeolian activity from dune fields can provide insights into how landscapes have responded to previous changes in climate. However, the nature of aeolian systems to recycle older deposits leads to a preservation bias towards only the youngest deposits. Targeting geomorphic settings that are conducive to preserving older records is critical to …

Structure And Bioactivity Of A Rationally Designed Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Antagonist Targeting The Alpha-3 Beta-2 Subtype, Leanna Marquart

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The work presented in this thesis contributes to ongoing development of an efficient workflow for identification of lead compounds, based on the molecular scaffold of α-conotoxin MII, for drug therapies targeting nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are pentameric, ligand-gated ion channels with distribution throughout the central nervous system and are implicated in a variety of neurological diseases including schizophrenia, nicotine addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. However, ligand effect on nAChR function is not well understood. Consequently, drug therapies for neurological diseases either do not exist, or have short-lasting efficacy and/or severe side effects. Barriers to the comprehension …

Perceived Impact Of Virtual Scenario-Based Branching Simulations Among Radiology Program Students, Kimberly Lynn Onstott

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The influx of medical technology and medical knowledge creates challenges for healthcare providers in maintaining up to date knowledge and skills for their practice. Healthcare educators are further challenged in that the goal is to encourage learners to become competent healthcare providers who are knowledgeable and skilled, self-directed, and who will think critically and ethically when faced with challenging situations. Advancing imaging technologies and new complex procedures in radiology increase the risk of harm for patients and providers as advanced imaging is often learned outside of a primary degree in radiology with real patients through on the job training. Online …

The Expatriate And Transnational Distance Student Phenomenon: A Series Of Investigations, William H. Stewart Iii

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The scale and scope of distance education has changed significantly over the last 250 years. Technology, from the early days of correspondence courses to radio, television and satellite broadcasting, has continually increased the scope, scale, and access potential to education. Distance courses and programs, however, were typically serving local, regional, or national communities. The Internet, by contrast, has transformed distance education by enabling access to education by virtually anyone, anywhere in the world. Students are no longer limited or constrained by geography or residency, yet how such potential has been conceptualized, identified, and subsequently researched has been limited by homogenous …

The Spatial Distribution Of Elevated Uranium In The Treasure Valley Aquifer System, Southwest Idaho, Lloyd A. Womeldorph

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The Treasure Valley Aquifer System (TVAS) in southwestern Idaho contains well-documented uranium concentrations over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level of 30 µg/L. With a population in the Treasure Valley projected to reach 1.6 million by 2065, in-depth horizontal and vertical spatial knowledge of the contaminant is needed. This study evaluates the horizontal and vertical spatial nature of uranium in the TVAS and interprets those observations to provide both a conceptual model of uranium behavior, and recommendations for water resource management. A large water quality dataset was compiled, and supplemented by data collected during a field sampling campaign, …

Informing Field Management Decisions To Enhance Alfalfa Seed Production Using Remote Sensing, Thomas V. Van Der Weide

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The development rate of alfalfa seed crop depends on both environmental conditions and management decisions. Crop management decisions, such as determining when to release pollinators to optimize pollination, can be informed by the identification of plant development stages from remote sensing data. I first identify what electromagnetic wavelengths are sensitive to alfalfa plant development stages using hyperspectral data. A Random Forest regression is used to determine the best Vegetation Index (VI) to monitor how much of the plant is covered in flower. The results indicate that Blue, Green, and Near-Infrared are the important electromagnetic wavelengths for the VI. Imagery collected …

Ideological Misalignment In The Discourse(S) Of Higher Education: Comparing University Mission Statements With Texts From Commercial Learning Analytics Providers, Leif A. Nelson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes, interprets, and compares texts from different educational discourses. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis method, I reveal how texts from university mission statements and from commercial learning analytics providers communicate and construct different ideologies. To support this analysis, I explore literature strands related to public higher education in America and the emerging field of study and practice called learning analytics. Learning analytics is the administrative, research, and instructional use of large sets of digital data that are associated with and generated by students. The data in question may be generated by incidental online activity, and it may be …

Demand-Side Load Management Using Single-Phase Residential Static Var Compensators, Muhammad Kamran Latif

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Distribution systems are going through a structural transformation from being radially-operated simple systems to becoming more complex networks to operate in the presence of the distributed energy resources (DERs) with significant levels of penetration. It is predicted that the share of electricity generation from DERs will keep increasing as the world is moving away from the power generation involving carbon-emission and towards cleaner energy sources such as solar, wind, and biofuels. However, the unstable behavior of the renewables resources presents challenges to the already existing distribution systems. One such problem is when the distribution feeder experience variable power supply due …

A Tale Of Two Schools And Their One Journey To Improvement, Catherine M. Jarnot

Dissertations

In accordance with the accountability measures required for public education by the United States Federal Government, the State of Colorado has developed a system for ranking school performance based on academic achievement, academic growth, and postsecondary and workforce readiness (Colorado Department of Education, 2016b). Schools are rated as Turnaround, Priority Improvement, Improvement, or Performance status (Colorado Department of Education, 2016b). Schools in Turnaround or Priority Improvement status must move to Improvement or Performance status in less than five years (Colorado Department of Education, 2016e). The focus of the study was on the leadership skills and behaviors of principals in schools …

Mindfulness Intervention To Support School Engagement With At-Risk Students At An Urban Charter High School, Sarah Groark

Dissertations

Every year, more than 500,000 students drop out of school, often after years of growing disinterest and disengagement. As a result, models of school engagement are commonly used as a framework to guide interventions. Unfortunately, some students may experience high levels of dysregulation and poor executive functioning which interfere with their ability to engage in school. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a school-based mindfulness intervention would support school engagement behaviors with adolescents at an urban charter school. It was hypothesized that mindfulness would support students’ executive functioning in the areas of attention, cognitive flexibility, and emotion …

Increasing Undergraduate Student Engagement In Academics: An Ecological Momentary Intervention, Kerry Douglas Duck

Dissertations

As students enter the university environment, they are presented with various commitments that may or may not impede academic performance. With the issues of student attrition and retention, there is a need to provide further tools for students to use to monitor their performance. As students’ progress to higher level coursework, expectations and time commitments increase, and self-regulation of learning becomes even more important. Researchers may be able to deliver information to help students with self-regulation of learning by leveraging new affordances in technology in students’ daily lives. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the feasibility and associated …

The Relationship Between State College Readiness Policy And Student Outcomes: A Multilevel Growth Model, Rachel Christeson

Dissertations

This study examined whether policies related to college readiness have a relationship with student outcomes of college-going, student retention rates, and graduation rates for the overall state population as well as the rates specifically for European American and non-European American students. Specifically, a multilevel modeling approach was employed to determine whether significant relationships exist between the presence of state college readiness policies and change in student outcomes over time when controlling for state- and institutional-level factors. Several policies were considered, including: (a) the existence of a college-readiness definition, (b) a requirement for students to take college-prepatory courses in order to …

Liminal Space In Higher Education: Lived Experiences In The Space Between At-Risk Academics And Big-Time Athletics In Division I Power Five, Lainey J. Brottem

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, interpretivist phenomenological study was to understand and provide a transferable, informed, and learned perspective of the daily experience of working in the liminal space between two powerful, ostensibly cooperative but often competing interests: major university undergraduate academics and big-time Division I athletics. Nine learning specialists from Division I Power Five institutions participated in phenomenological interviews. Findings indicated that the phenomenon constituted a liminal space between the opposing forces of academics and athletics, with student-athletes, faculty, colleagues, and coaches having influence on the liminality. Unit directors diminished the sense of liminality while faculty contributed very little …

Using Online Communities To Prepare Teachers To Operate As Transformative Intellectuals, Zachary Morgan Clancy

Dissertations

Online communities have the potential to help teacher education programs inform and prepare future teachers to teach children equitably and confront social injustices. Online communities of scholars, activists, and artists can be used as a resource for teacher educators to prepare teacher-candidates and in-service teachers to participate in teacher inquiry and practitioner research. In turn, the research that they generate can be used by preservice and in-service teachers in the future. Online communities can also be used by classroom teachers as a form of professional development. My study included six participants – undergraduate college students, classroom teachers, and teacher-educators – …

Monocyte Phenotype And Whole Blood Immune Response In Physically Active Chronic Cannabis Users And Non-Users, Jonathon K. Lisano

Dissertations

Some physically active individuals are now advocating for the use of cannabis with exercise for its potential to optimize the immune response. Yet, it remains to be seen whether the chronic use of cannabis products is linked to alterations in immune characteristics, such as monocyte phenotype and function in physically active individuals. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to assess resting concentrations of c-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte phenotype and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated production of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) following pre-treated with synthetic cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptor agonist and antagonist in physically active individuals using cannabis products at least …

A Comparison Between A Modified And A Traditional Expressive Writing Intervention And Their Effect On Alexithymia And Emotional Expressivity, John Tzanos

Dissertations

The current study examined the effect of a modified expressive writing intervention compared to a traditional intervention and their effect on alexithymia and emotional expressivity while controlling for attachment style and social desirability among 150 undergraduate and graduate college students. The survey was administered online using a Qualtrics online survey tool. Participants were randomly divided into six groups: (a) low alexithymia/traditional intervention, (b) moderate alexithymia/traditional invention, (c) high alexithymia/traditional intervention, (d) low alexithymia/modified intervention, (e) moderate alexithymia/ modified intervention, and (f) high alexithymia/ modified intervention. The three groupings of levels of alexithymia—low (61) alexithymia—were based on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 …

University President Discourse After An On-Campus Crisis, Andrea Decosmo

Dissertations

The presidents of higher education institutions (HEIs) may, at some point during their tenure, be faced with managing a crisis such as a natural disaster, an individual or group intending to harm the campus community, or a large-scale accident or student protest. While leadership can take on many forms in daily life, leadership after crisis requires communication with stakeholders and the media, and may help or hinder crisis recovery (Hincker, 2014). Understanding the elements included in HEI president post-crisis discourse may help presidents and crisis managers formulate a comprehensive crisis communication strategy, moreover, it provides the higher education community the …

Ai Goes To School—Implications For School District Liability, Harold J. Krent, John Etchingham, Alec Kraus, Katharine Pancewicz

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Urgent Need For Legal Scholarship On Firearm Policy, Dru Stevenson

Buffalo Law Review

Restrictions on federal funding for research pertaining to firearm policy have stymied academic inquiry by social science and public health researchers for over two decades. As a result, most researchers agree that our public discourse about this urgent issue is woefully under-informed, or even ill-informed, on both sides of the debate. Legal academia, which does not operate under the same grant-writing regime as most other disciplines, can and should help fill this gap in researching and theorizing the unresolved questions related to firearm policy. In fact, theoretical development and clarification from the legal academy is often a necessary antecedent for …

Abandoning Realization And The Transition Tax: Toward A Comprehensive Tax Base, Henry Ordower

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Buffalo Law Review

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.