Digital Commons Network^™

Farming Democracy: American Agricultural Policy From The Great War To The Great Society, Amanda Belle Biles

History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies

In the days of the early republic, agriculture provided more than just an economic foundation; it shaped the country socially, and politically, too. Thomas Jefferson and others wrote at length of the role farming played in the American moral and political order, but by the turn of the twentieth century, agriculture’s share of the overall economy had declined, even as it became enmeshed in the emerging class question that was convulsing US politics. Farm policy followed that shift. While many historians of agricultural policy in the twentieth century limited their studies to the so-called farm bills and thus saw only …

Improving Low Health Literacy In Poststroke Patients By Educating The Health Care Staff, Marthilde Brzycki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Lack of health literacy in the poststroke patient population is a serious issue; with the addition of the homeless population to that group, the result may be devastating. According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA, 2016), stroke is considered the primary cause of death and one of the chief reasons for disability in the United States, and nearly75% of strokes occur in those who are 65 years of age or older. Nurse practitioners are vital, providing necessary training and stroke education to the nursing and other health care staff. This DNP project was initiated to …

Balancing Conscience: A Response To Fernandes & Ecret, Ian D. Wolfe, Maryam Guiahi

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

There are many lessons that bioethics can learn from the Holocaust. Forefront are the lessons from the Nuremberg trials and the formation of research ethics. An often-overlooked lesson is how the Nazi regime was able to construct a hierarchy in such a way that influenced people to act in horrendous ways. Fernandes & Ecret, writing in Conatus – Journal of Philosophy 4, no. 2 (2019), highlight the influence of hierarchy on the moral silence of nurses and physicians within the Nazi regime. While we greatly enjoyed the paper, and think it is an important contribution, we find several misrepresentations of …

Excited State Dynamics In 1d Thermoelectric Materials, Kevin Victor Gima

Physics

Here, nonadiabatic computations are used to study the thermoelectric effect and evaluate electron relaxation rates in lead telluride nanowires. κ_e = 1/τ_el is defined as the electron relaxation rate. It is directly connected to the thermoelectric figure of merit in a material. This work provides computational evidence in support of the proceeding hypothesis. The hypothesis is the electron relaxation rates will comply with the following band gap law: Ke = Aexp(-αΔE), where Ke is the electronic relaxation rate, A and α are constants, and ΔE is the energy difference between the initial and final states. This work reports results on …

A Density Functional Theory And Many Body Perturbation Theory Based Study Of Photo-Excited Charge Separation In Doped Silicon Nanowires With Gold Leads: Toy Models For The Photovoltaic Effect, Nathan Thomas Walker

Physics

We analyze a toy model for p-n junction photovoltaic devices by simulating photoexcited state dynamics in silicon nanowires. One nanowire is approximately circular in cross section with a diameter of d = 1.17 nm. The other has an approximately rhombic cross-section with d1 = 1.16 nm and d2 = 1.71 nm. Both nanowires have been doped with aluminum and phosphorus atoms and capped with gold leads. We use Boltzmann transport equation (BE) that includes phonon emission, carrier multiplication (CM), and exciton transfer. BE rates are computed using non-equilibrium finite-temperature many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulations, …

Inspection Of Excited State Properties In Defected Carbon Nanotubes From Multiple Exciton Generation To Defect-Defect Interactions, Braden Michael Weight

Physics

Covalent SP3-hybridization defects in single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been prevalent in recent experimental and theoretical studies for their interesting photophysical properties. These systems are able to act as excellent sources of single, infrared photons, even at room temperature, making them marketable for applications to sensing, telecommunications, and quantum information. This work was motivated by recent experimental studies on controllable defect placement and concentration as well as investigating carrier multiplication (CM) using DFT-based many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) methods to describe excitonic relaxation processes. We find that pristine CNTs do not yield appreciable MEG at the minimum threshold of twice the …

Three Essays On Shared Micromobility, Ali Rahim-Taleqani

Transportation Logistics and Finance

Shared micromobility defines as the shared use of light and low-speed vehicles such as bike and scooter in which users have short-term access on an as-needed basis. As shared micromobility, as one of the most viable and sustainable modes of transportation, has emerged in the U.S. over the last decade., understanding different aspects of these modes of transportation help decision-makers and stakeholders to have better insights into the problems related to these transportation options. Designing efficient and effective shared micromobility programs improves overall system performance, enhances accessibility, and is essential to increase ridership and benefit commuters. This dissertation aims to …

Linear Modeling Of Election Results For U.S. House Of Representatives Candidates And State Executive Offices For Iowa, Minnesota, And North Dakota, Christopher Mcewen

Statistics

Better understanding the relationship between the results for the U.S. House of Representatives and for state executive offices could potentially be useful in predicting outcomes if a significant relationship is present and if one has more information about either the election for the U.S. House of Representatives candidate or the state executive office candidate. To better understand this relationship, election results were analyzed using regression models for three upper Midwest states - Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota - to compare the outcomes of the state executive office elections and the U.S. House of Representative elections. Additionally, median income was included …

Lithic Organization, Mobility, And Place-Making At The Frog Bay Site: A Community-Based Approach, Elizabeth Louise Cheli

Sociology and Anthropology

The Frog Bay site (47BA60) has been excavated for three field seasons. Excavations in 1979 located the site and continued in 2018 – 2019 by the Geté Anishinaabe Izhichigéwin community archaeological field school. This program commenced from a sovereignty initiative surrounding the creation of the Frog Bay Tribal National Park directed by the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Within the park, the Frog Bay site represents a multicomponent shorebased camp that was occupied numerous times during the Archaic and Woodland stages (ca. 3000 BC – AD 900). Structured through a community-based Indigenous theoretical framework, lithic analysis and community …

Stable, Affordable Housing And Its Effects On Human Capital (Wealth, Health, And Education), Marisa Sauceda

Sociology and Anthropology

This paper was written with the intent to inform or persuade policymakers and state and local officials on the topic of affordable housing. The guiding question in the below research asks what the effect stable, affordable housing has on three categories of human capital; Health, Wealth, and Education. The introduction reviews the history of housing including housing policy, the housing market, and the housing gap minorities face in America. Following the introduction is a literature review detailing the effects stable, affordable housing, or lack thereof, has on a household financial stability and wealth, physical and mental health, and education. Housing …

Parents Of Children With Autism: The Stigma And Emotion Work Associated With Navigating, Advocating, And Managing Autism, Paige Deana Stark

Sociology and Anthropology

This study analyzes the experiences of stigmatization and emotion work through the interview responses of eight parents of children with autism. Developing from Goffman’s theories of direct stigma and associative stigma this research integrates Hochschild’s emotion work as a way that parents respond to the stigmatization that they encounter. The results of this study indicate that some parents of children with autism perform suppressive emotion work in the way they respond to stigmatization and obstacles that occur when raising a child with special needs. In addition, stigma occurs in interactions with close friends and family members, creating issues of boundary-crossing. …

Survival Analysis Of Treatment Effect For Brain Cancer Based On The Surveillance, Epidemiology, And End Results Database, Madison Jane Mathiason

Statistics

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data from the National Cancer Institute is a population based cancer registry, which geographically covers 34.6% of the US population. The SEER database was used to model surivial time for 21,524 patients with primary malignant brain tumors. The Kaplan-Meier surivial curves and the logrank test were used to compare the effect of treatment in each grade. The Cox Proportional Hazard Model was used to show the simultaneous effect of treatment, sex, and age on the risk of death for patients …

Nonparametric Test For Nondecreasing Order Alternatives In Randomized Complete Block And Balanced Incomplete Block Mixed Design, Mamfe Osafo

Statistics

Nonparametric tests are used to test hypotheses when the data at hand violate one or more of the assumptions for parametric tests procedures. The test is an ordered alternative (nondecreasing) when there is prior information about the data. It assumes that the underlying distributions are of the same type and therefore differ in location. For example, in dose-response studies, animals are assigned to k groups corresponding to k doses of an experimental drug. The effect of the drug on the animals is likely to increase or decrease with increasing doses. In this case, the ordered alternative is appropriate for the …

Delivering Psychological Services To Military Members, Karen C. Kalmbach, Bret A. Moore

Psychology Faculty Publications (Archived)

Since 2001, less than half of one percent of the American public have volunteered to serve in the United States Armed Forces. With high-tempo repeated deployments and unconventional warfare, the Post 9/11 military has been exposed to unique trauma and stressors during an unprecedented two-decade long conflict. In voluntarily taking on this role, members are immersed in the total institution of military culture and required to make countless personal sacrifices, often experiencing trauma or other stressors that most in a civilian population will never face. Prevalence rates of mental health problems in active duty as well as veteran populations suggest …

Skin Cancer Screening With The Use Of Dermoscopy In Primary Care, Gretchen Anne Peters

Nursing

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS) (2018), skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. Though rare, melanoma is the skin cancer linked with the highest mortality rate (The Skin Cancer Foundation, 2019). However, skin cancer screenings fall well below levels of other routine cancer screenings and over half of patients who were referred to a dermatologist for a suspicious lesion were eventually diagnosed with skin cancer in a location other than the referral site (Bruner & Schaffer, 2012; Kownacki, 2014). Compared to naked eye examinations, dermoscopy has led to earlier detection of melanoma …

Lung Cancer Screening: Identification Of High-Risk Patients And Shared Decision-Making, Teresa Dianna Formo

Nursing

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Prevention and early detection of lung cancer are imperative in decreasing lung cancer mortality. Screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) decreases lung cancer by 20%. Several organizations introduced lung cancer screening (LCS) guidelines in 2013, including Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and the United States Preventive Services Task Force. However, LCS participation for eligible patients remains low, due in part to the complexity of the LCS process. The goal of this practice improvement project was to increase the knowledge of rural primary …

You Shall Not Pass: How Facial Variability And Feedback Affect The Detection Of Low-Prevalence Fake Ids, Dawn R. Weatherford, William B. Erickson, Jasmyne Thomas, Mary E. Walker, Barret Schein

Psychology Faculty Publications (Archived)

In many real-world settings, individuals rarely present another person’s ID, which increases the likelihood that a screener will fail to detect it. Three experiments examined how within-person variability (i.e., differences between two images of the same person) and feedback may have influenced criterion shifting, thought to be one of the sources of the low-prevalence effect (LPE). Participants made identity judgments of a target face and an ID under either high, medium, or low mismatch prevalence. Feedback appeared after every trial, only error trials, or no trials. Experiment 1 used two controlled images taken on the same day. Experiment 2 used …

Implementation Of A Diabetes-Related Distress Scale In A Primary Care Clinic, Lisa Michelle Vaca

Nursing

Individuals with diabetes face many multifaceted issues when integrating their plan of care into their daily lives, which can become burdensome and lead to inadequate diabetes control. Due to the persistent demands of diabetes management, screening for psychosocial factors that can impact control, such as depression, anxiety, and diabetes-related distress (DRD) should occur routinely (American Diabetes Association [ADA], 2017). DRD is distinctly different from depression in that the focus is on the burden experienced due to the rigorous treatment regimen associated with diabetes. DRD focuses on the self-management demands, complications, comorbidities, and lack of perceived social support (ADA, 2019). DRD …

Opioids: Implementation Of Opioid Prescribing Education And Policy In A Primary Care Center, Jaclin Dee Seeberg

Nursing

Many healthcare providers report not feeling confident when prescribing opioids, which represents an educational gap in the clinical setting that must be addressed to improve patient care and outcomes (Dowell, Haegerich, & Chou, 2016b). Healthcare providers attribute this lack of confidence in opioid prescribing to insufficient training on the tools provided to them to ensure safe prescribing habits. Thus, healthcare providers do not feel confident in managing patients’ chronic pain. A healthcare provider’s time spent with their patient is limited and therefore, needs to be utilized efficiently. In order to achieve effective time management, healthcare providers need to be experts …

Gdom: Granulometry For The Detection Of Obfuscated Malware, John A. Aruta, N. Paul Schembari

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

We describe the results of a master's thesis in malware detection and discuss the connection to the learning goals of the project. As part of the thesis, we studied obfuscation of malware, conversion of files into images, image processing, and machine learning, a process of benefit to both the student and faculty.

Malware detection becomes significantly more difficult when the malicious specimen is obfuscated or transformed in an attempt to avoid detection. However, computer files have been shown to exhibit evidence of structure when converted into images, so with image processing filters such as granulometry, it is possible to generate …

Improving The Diagnosis And Management Of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo In A Rural Healthcare Setting, Liya Rodovskaya

Nursing

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a condition characterized by brief spinning episodes that occur with a rapid change in head position. Although considered benign, BPPV can have many personal, social, health, and financial implications. Yet, providers in a variety of settings are frequently mismanaging the condition leading to incomplete resolution of symptoms, decreased quality of life, reduced productivity, and increased healthcare spending. This study sought to better understand why providers fail to follow current evidence-based BPPV guidelines and the impact BPPV-specific education could have on improving their practices. Questionnaires assessing BPPV-specific knowledge as well as inquiring about provider barriers …

Evidence Of Memory From Brain Data, Emily R. Murphy, Jesse Rissman

Faculty Scholarship

Much courtroom evidence relies on assessing witness memory. Recent advances in brain imaging analysis techniques offer new information about the nature of autobiographical memory and introduce the potential for brain-based memory detection. In particular, the use of powerful machine- learning algorithms reveals the limits of technological capacities to detect true memories and contributes to existing psychological understanding that all memory is potentially flawed. This article first provides the conceptual foundation for brain-based memory detection as evidence. It then com- prehensively reviews the state of the art in brain-based memory detection research before establishing a framework for admissibility of brain-based memory …

The Theory Of Planned Behavior And Sleep Opportunity: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Intra-Individual Variability, Michael Phillip Mead

Psychology

Insufficient sleep duration is associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes, and many Americans report that they are not meeting sleep duration recommendations. Many individuals choose to restrict their own sleep, yet little is known about the source of this sleep deficit. Recent research efforts have used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict sleep health behavior. However, this research is limited in that it fails to measure volitional sleep behavior and focuses exclusively on between-person differences. This study addressed these limitations by using an intensive longitudinal design to test how constructs of the TPB relate to nightly …

Investigating The Mechanism Driving Near-Tool Visual Biases, Robert Ryan Mcmanus

Psychology

Previous research has shown that when observers hold a tool, they experience action-oriented visual biases in the area around this tool that are similar to visual biases that exist around the hands. Some researchers have theorized this effect is due to the tool being incorporated into the body schema following active tool use, while others argue that this effect may simply be due to the tool’s visual salience. The goal of the present study was to test these competing explanations of near-tool visual biases. In the first experiment, participants completed a target detection task under one of three conditions: 1) …

Psychological Stress, Stress Reactivity And Blood Glucose Metabolization During Pregnancy, Anna Marie Strahm

Psychology

Gestational diabetes mellitus impacts between 3-10% of pregnancies, and increases the risk of pregnancy complications and lifelong health effects for mother and child (Bellamy, Casas, Hingorani, & Williams, 2009; Ross, 2006; Ryser Rüetschi et al., 2016). About half of cases occur without an evident risk factor (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 1994; Dode & Santos, 2009). The present study was designed to examine possible psychophysiological connections linking psychological stress and stress reactivity, the magnitude of an individual’s response to stress, to blood sugar metabolization during mid-pregnancy between 24-28 weeks gestation. Participants were recruited from Sanford Health in Fargo, …

Understanding Escherichia Coli And Water Quality In Stormwater Retention Ponds And Detention Basins In Fargo As Part Of The Red River Watershed, Erika Leigh Olson

Natural Resources Management

Little is known about the spatial and temporal changes in water quality and E. coli throughout stormwater systems. The objectives of this study are to: 1) assess surface water within detention basins and retention ponds and adjacent groundwater to determine E. coli movement within the system; 2) determine how precipitation events impact water quality and E. coli; and 3) genetically source track E. coli and pathogens to better understand the impact on humans. Methods of this study include sampling surface water during major storm events, followed by sampling of groundwater and surface water one week later. Additional samples were taken …

Characterizing Humidity, Sex, And B-Cell Gene Regulation In Fungal Allergic Asthma, Emma Claire Kusick

Microbiological Sciences

Asthma is a debilitating lung disease that affects nearly 300 million people worldwide. Environments with high humidity and subsequent mold exposure often trigger allergic asthma. Sex differences have been reported in the incidence, prevalence, and severity of asthma. B-lymphocytes are recruited in high numbers to the allergic lung in response to the inhalation of Aspergillus fumigatus mold spores (conidia). In this work, we used a mouse model of allergic fungal asthma to assess environmental humidity, sex, and B-lymphocytes in an inhalational model of allergic fungal asthma. Our results showed that animals sensitized in low humidity conditions had no airway hyperresponsiveness …

Experimental Studies Of Pulsatile Flow Passing Side Wall Biological Cavities And Flow Enhancement Using Hydrophobic Surfaces, Benjamin Kirk Eichholz

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Understanding the hemodynamics of the cardiovascular system and associated diseases is important for mitigating health risks. We applied flow diagnostic techniques to investigate pulsatile flow characteristics past sidewall cavities, which have implications to two biomedical problems in the cardiovascular system: sidewall aneurysms and the left atrial appendage. Superhydrophobically-coated mesh diverters and synthetic slippery surfaces were studied for their effects on flow diversion and cavity flow enhancements. The study of pulsatile flow over a coated mesh diverter showed that the formation of the primary vortex was prevented which prevents flow stagnation and downwash flow in the cavity. The second study indicates …

Generation And Analysis Of Streamwise Vortices From Vortex Tube Apparatus, Bailey Mckay Carlson

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

A pressurized vortex tube is used to generate streamwise vortices in a wind tunnel and the resulting flow behavior is analyzed. The apparatus is intended to verify computational data from the AFRL by offering a method of conducting real-world counterpart experiments. The apparatus design process and other considered approaches are discussed. The vortex tube is operated at pressures of 20, 30 and 40 psi while the wind tunnel is operated at 3, 5, 10 and 20% capacity. Flow measurements are performed using particle image velocimetry to observe vortices and freestream interactions from which velocity and vorticity data is comparatively analyzed. …

#Science: The Potential And The Challenges Of Utilizing Social Media And Other Electronic Communication Platforms In Health Care., Violette Gijsen, Michele H. Maddux, Adam Lavertu, Graciela Gonzalez-Hernandez, Nilam Ram, Byron Reeves, Thomas Robinson, Victoria Ziesenitz, Valentina Shakhnovich, Russ Altman

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Electronic communication is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, as evidenced by its widespread and rapidly growing use. In medicine, however, it remains a novel approach to reach out to patients. Yet, they have the potential for further improving current health care. Electronic platforms could support therapy adherence and communication between physicians and patients. The power of social media as well as other electronic devices can improve adherence as evidenced by the development of the app bant. Additionally, systemic analysis of social media content by Screenome can identify health events not always captured by regular health care. By better identifying these healthcare …