Digital Commons Network^™

Developing And Validating Active Learning Engagement Strategies To Improve Students' Understanding Of Programming And Software Engineering Concepts, Tamaike Mariane Brown

Computer Science

Introductory computer programming course is one of the fundamental courses in computer science. Students enrolled in computer science courses at the college or university have been reported to lack motivation, and engagement when learning introductory programming (CS1). Traditional classrooms with lecture-based delivery of content do not meet the needs of the students that are being exposed to programming courses for the first time. Students enrolled in first year programming courses are better served with a platform that can provide them with a self-paced learning environment, quicker feedback, easier access to information and different level of learning content/assessment that can keep …

Vertical Data Structures And Computation Of Sliding Window Averages In Two-Dimensional Data, Adam Paul Helsene

Computer Science

A vertical-style data structure and operations on data in that structure are explored and tested in the domain of sliding window average algorithms for geographical information systems (GIS) data. The approach allows working with data of arbitrary precision, which is centrally important for very large GIS data sets. The novel data structure can be constructed from existing multi-channel image data, and data in the structure can be converted back to image data. While in the new structure, operations such as addition, division, and bit-level shifting can be performed in a parallelized manner. It is shown that the computation of averages …

On The Applicability Of Deep Metric Learning To Address Source Code Authorship Attribution Problem Under Simulated Real-World Constraints, Sarim Zafar

Computer Science

Source code authorship attribution is a widely studied research topic in the information security domain. In this dissertation, we develop and evaluate models that enable us to solve source code authorship attribution using deep metric learning. In particular, first, we simulate a real-world setting. Second, we use a number of loss functions from the deep metric learning domain to train neural network models. Thirdly, we evaluate these different models' performance on a benchmark and determine whether there is a quantifiable performance difference between these deep metric loss functions. Lastly, we demonstrate how we can extend our proposed methodology address the …

Credit Card Fraud Detection Predictive Modeling, Nishant Sharma

Computer Science

Finance fraud is a growing problem with consequences in the financial industry and data mining has been successfully applied to huge volume of complex financial datasets to automate and analyze credit card frauds in online transactions. Data Mining is challenging process due to two major reasons–first, profiles of normal and fraudulent behaviors change frequently and second, card fraud data sets are highly skewed. This paper investigates and checks the performance of Random Forest Classifier, AdaBoost Classifier, XGBoost Classifier and LightGBM Classifier on highly skewed credit card fraud data. Dataset of credit card transactions is sourced from European cardholders containing 284,786 …

Unsettling Settlements: Examining Police Misconduct Lawsuits In The City Of Chicago, Chloe Nichele Robinson

Criminal Justice and Political Science

There is limited empirical research related to lawsuits involving the police due in part to limited accessibility to relevant data sources. This study aims to examine the relationship between citizen, situational, and lawsuit factors and police misconduct litigation in the city of Chicago. Data were collected from two separate databases: The Chicago Reporter and The Invisible Institute. The analyses in this study demonstrate that there is a relationship between lawsuit payout amounts, lawsuit misconduct type and various situational factors. Policy implications are discussed.

Sustainable Convenience, Jessica Harter

Architecture Theses

Globally, society is on the cusp of substantial environmental changes. These changes start with insight into the current state of the environment, mindset changes that need to be made, then to the necessary lifestyle changes. Accordingly, this research began with asking why communities haven’t been able to start making these changes, questioning what is it that is holding them back? Convenience. Communities have drilled in the concept of “convenience for the consumer” whereas now, there’s a dire need to switch to “convenience for the environment”. The question then becomes: What is it about convenience that is holding people back from …

The Effects Of Estrus On Dry Matter Intake And Feeding Behavior In Beef Heifers Of Divergent Sizes, Sarah Rose Underdahl

Animal Sciences

The biological process of estrus in cattle is known to initiate behavioral responses as a result of fluctuations in hormones, which may alter time budgeted for feeding. The current study aimed to quantify these variations that may exist in feed intake and behaviors in the days pre and post estrus. For this study, 517 estrous cycles in crossbred beef heifers of divergent sizes were used to analyze the impact of estrus behavior on feeding behavior with or without the presence of a bull. There were few differences in estrus behavior among heifers of divergent sizes, however the presence of a …

Effects Of Feeding 60% Dried Corn Distillers Grains Plus Solubles On Yearling Bull Reproduction, Cierrah Jordan Kassetas

Animal Sciences

Thirty-six half-sibling Angus bulls were assigned one of three diets: 1) 60% corn-based (CON; S = 0.18%; n = 12); 2) 60% DDGS replacing corn (60DDGS; S = 0.55% DM; n = 12); 3) CON diet + equivalent sulfur of 60DDGS added as calcium sulfate (SULF; S = 0.54%; n = 12) to evaluate the effects of feeding diets containing DDGS or calcium sulfate on performance and semen characteristics. Bulls began the study at 9 months of age and gained 1.6 kg/day for 112 days. Treatment by day interactions (P < 0.05) were observed for glutathione peroxidase and trace mineral concentrations in seminal plasma. Effects of treatment (P < 0.05) were observed for semen kinematics and triiodothyronine in serum. Alterations observed when feeding 60% DDGS to developing bulls occurred in a manner that is not dependent on dietary sulfur; therefore, observed changes could be related to other components within DDGS.

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 …

Mathematical Modeling Of Epidemics: Parametric Heterogeneity And Pathogen Coexistence, Eric Sarfo Amponsah

Mathematics

No two species can indefinitely occupy the same ecological niche according to the competitive exclusion principle. When competing strains of the same pathogen invade a homogeneous population, the strain with the largest basic reproductive ratio R0 will force the other strains to extinction. However, over 51 pathogens are documented to have multiple strains [3] coexisting, contrary to the results from homogeneous models. In reality, the world is heterogeneous with the population varying in susceptibility. As such, the study of epidemiology, and hence the problem of pathogen coexistence should entail heterogeneity. Heterogeneous models tend to capture dynamics such as resistance to …

Genotype And Environmental Effects On Quality Traits Of Durum Wheat Grown In North Dakota, Sara Moayedi

Plant Sciences

Variation in grain, semolina, dough strength, and pasta quality traits were evaluated using the effect of genotype and weather factors (air temperature, rainfall, and relative humidity). In addition, size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) was applied to determine the correlation between quality traits and protein molecular weight distribution (MWD) with cooked firmness and cooked weight of fresh pasta made from four durum wheat genotypes. Results indicated that the environment was a great source of variation in the majority of quality traits such as test weight, 1000-kernel weight, grain protein content, vitreous kernel content, falling number, semolina protein content, semolina …

Butterfly Community And Behavioral Responses To Restored Disturbance Regimes, Brooke Karasch

Range Science

Grassland organisms evolved alongside the interaction of fire and grazing, but modern management often decouples these disturbances. In order to analyze the effects of reintroducing this interaction, we implemented four treatments. Two of these treatments were variations of patch-burn grazing, one was modified rest-rotation grazing, and one was season-long grazing. We chose to monitor the butterfly response to these treatments because butterflies have short generations, require a wide variety of resources, and are easily identifiable as adults. We quantified both the butterfly community and the behavioral time budgets of two species. We found that the butterfly community is more species-rich …

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, …

Study Of Organizational Transformation From Socio-Technical Perspective, Md Mahabubur Rahaman

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Organizations are constantly striving for effective and flexible means for managing challenges due to globalization and increasing customer expectations. Many in business community attempted to implement the Toyota Production System, or lean in their organizations to address the challenges. While the intent in many cases were to create a more flexible, effective and efficient organizations that meets the challenges of survival under external and internal pressures. However, the existing body of knowledge on lean is disperse and diverse in nature with respect to the application and implementation of lean tools and practices, making it difficult for researchers and practitioners to …

Optimization Of Regional Empty Container Supply Chains To Support Future Investment Decisions For Developing Inland Container Terminals, Satpal Singh Wadhwa

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Containerized grain shipping has been increasingly used as a shipment option by U.S. exporters. Continued evolution and investment decisions in optimizing multimodal operations is a key in continued growth for the container transportation alternative. Agriculture is a leading sector in the Midwest economy. Grain production is particularly important to the natural resource-based economy of the upper Midwest. These increasing volumes of grain are being shipped in containers because containers offer opportunities to lower logistics costs and to broaden marketing options. Exporters are put at a competitive disadvantage when they are unable to obtain containers at a reasonable cost. Consequently exporters …

Architectural Sign Language, Anna Danielson

Architecture Theses

American Sign Language is not transparent, one cannot understand it until ones learn is. It takes many years of study and interaction with people who use it to be able to properly learn a language. As a student who studies architecture, I have found the same to be true about the communication of our built environment. This thesis project titled, “Architectural Sign Language” explores the ideas of communication through the built environment. The goal will be to integrate the notion of sign language and architecture into a building that non-verbally communicates to tell a story and can be appreciated by …

The Psychological Impact Of Architectural Design, Jenna Bordwell

Architecture Theses

The theory of this thesis is to consider the relationship between the built environment and its psychological impact. The average person spends about 80-90% of their time indoors. Space, colors, aesthetics, materials, green design and acoustics are all engaging factors of design that play a significant role in providing the user with a psychological experience, and designers can enhance this experience. This thesis focuses on contextual factors, such as the understanding and analysis of the built environment as well as theoretical research which references the effect the built environment has on our psychological experience. The goal of this thesis is …

Further Characterization Of Pathogen Virulence And Genetic Mapping Of New Virulence Genes In Pyrenophora Tritici-Repentis, The Causal Agent Of Tan Spot Of Wheat, Jingwei Guo

Plant Sciences

The ascomycete Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Ptr) causes tan spot of wheat, a devastating foliar disease on both common wheat (Triticum aestivum L., 2n=6x=42, AABBDD) and durum (T. turgidum ssp. durum L., 2n=4x=28, AABB). Ptr is known to produce three necrotrophic effectors (NEs), namely Ptr ToxA, Ptr ToxB and Ptr ToxC, to cause disease by interacting with corresponding host sensitivity genes. However, many studies in the last twenty years have suggested that Ptr produces additional virulence factors. My Ph.D. research focused on further identification and genetic mapping of new virulence genes in Ptr. In Chapter 2, a bi-parental fungal population was developed …

Prevalence Of Depressive Symptoms In The Elderly Population Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Wendy C. Birmingham, Beata Dziedzic, Zofia Sienkiewicz, Anna Le ´Nczuk-Gruba, Ewa Kobos, Wieslaw Fidecki, Mariusz Wysokiski

Faculty Publications

Introduction: A sharp rise in the population of elderly people, who are more prone to somatic and mental diseases, combined with the high prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetes-associated complications in this age group, have an impact on the prevalence of depressive symptoms. Aim of the work: The work of the study was the evaluation of the prevalence of depressive symptoms in the elderly population diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and methods: The pilot study was conducted in 2019 among 200 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, aged 65 years and above, receiving treatment in …

In An Era Of Uncertainty: Impact Of Covid-19on Dental Education, Wendy C. Birmingham, Man Hung, Frank W. Licari, Eric S. Hon, Evelyn Lauren, Sharon Su, Lori L. Wadsworth, Jane H. Lassetter, Tyler C. Graff, William Harman, William B. Carroll, Martin S. Lipsky

Faculty Publications

Purpose/Objectives:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemicarguably represents the worst public health crisis of the 21stcentury. However,no empirical study currently exists in the literature that examines the impact ofthe COVID-19 pandemic on dental education. This study evaluated the impactof COVID-19 on dental education and dental students’ experience.Methods:An anonymous online survey was administrated to professionaldental students that focused on their experiences related to COVID-19. Thesurvey included questions about student demographics, protocols for schoolreopening and student perceptions of institutional responses, student concerns,and psychological impacts.Results:Among the 145 respondents, 92.4% were pre-doctoral dental studentsand 7.6% were orthodontic residents; 48.2% were female and 12.6% students livedalone …

Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault That Impacts Women And Child Welfare, Fnu Ahadujjaman

Sociology and Anthropology

Domestic violence is a global problem of immense proportions. At least one in every three women globally has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way; most often by someone she knows, including by her husband/wife or another male/female family member" (UNICEF; 2006. 14 p.). Domestic violence in America comes under many different names, including domestic violence, family violence, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. The paper's focus is to understand the individual-level experiences of domestic violence and the impacts on their personal and social life. I will start by examining Dorothy Smith's institutional ethnography …

Understanding Diversity – Perspectives From University Departments Hosting Large Percentages Of International Students, K. James Hartshorn, Maureen Snow Andrade, Norman W. Evans, Gwyneth Gates

Faculty Publications

The international student enrollment in some university departments has grown to the point that these students are the majority. This study sought to determine the extent to which departments hosting large numbers of international English as a second language (ESL) students demonstrate awareness and planning to address these learners’ needs. Analyses were conducted in reference to a framework designed to aid institutions in meeting international ESL students’ needs. Findings indicate some awareness of students’ needs and related strategies for linguistic and cultural development. They also demonstrate that the proposed framework could foster more intentional strategies to ensure international student success.

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 …

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 …

Three Essays On Urban Public Transit Systems In The U.S., Narendra Dhananjaya Kumara Malalgoda

Transportation Logistics and Finance

Public transportation is a critical component of urban communities and plays an important role in facilitating mobility which is integral to economic development and the quality of life of urban residents. In recent years, urban transportation has evolved rapidly with the emergence of transportation network companies (TNCs) and e-commerce that drastically transformed urban living. The availability of TNCs has given consumers more transportation options. However, the implications of TNCs on public transit ridership are unknown. In addition, the rising online shopping trend has drastically reduced the businesses of brick-and-mortar retailers, but does the shift in consumer shopping behavior reduce the …

Rubric Rating With Mfrm Versus Randomly Distributed Comparative Judgment: A Comparison Of Two Approaches To Second-Language Writing Assessment, Maureen E. Sims, Troy L. Cox, Grant T. Eckstein, K. James Hartshorn, Matthew P. Wilcox, Judson M. Hart

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to explore the reliability of a potentially more practical approach to direct writing assessment in the context of ESL writing. Traditional rubric rating (RR) is a common yet resource-intensive evaluation practice when performed reliably. This study compared the traditional rubric model of ESL writing assessment and many-facet Rasch modeling (MFRM) to comparative judgment (CJ), the new approach, which shows promising results in terms of reliability. We employed two groups of raters—novice and experienced—and used essays that had been previously double-rated, analyzed with MFRM, and selected with fit statistics. We compared the results of the …

Rethinking Leisure Time Use Metrics: Greater Diversity In Shared Sibling Leisure Is Associated With Higher Relationship Quality During Emerging Adulthood, Eric K. Layland, Camilla Hodge, Mikala Glaza, Jerrica O. Peets

Faculty Publications

Leisure diversity—the total number of unique leisure categories shared within a sibling dyad—may vary according to sibling characteristics (e.g., sibling gender, age difference) and predict sibling relationship quality. Using triangulated lists, brief narratives, and focus groups, we constructed a taxonomy of shared sibling leisure in emerging adulthood and then calculated individual leisure diversity scores. The sample (N ¼ 185) included college-attending emerging adults with an average age of 20.1 years (35.7% female). Taxonomic analysis suggested 19 categories of shared sibling leisure. Analyses of variance indicated differences by dyadic gender composition in endorsement rates of select leisure categories and average levels …

Overselling Winners And Losers: How Mutual Fund Managers' Trading Behavior Affects Asset Prices, Li An, Bronson Argyle

Faculty Publications

We link a seemingly biased trading behavior to equilibrium asset prices. U.S. equity mutual fund managers tend to sell both their big winners and big losers. This selling pressure pushes down current prices and leads to higher future returns; aggregating across funds, we find that securities for which investors have large unrealized gains and losses outperform in the subsequent month. Funds with larger turnover, shorter holding period, and higher expense ratios, are significantly more likely to manifest this trading pattern, and unrealized profits from such funds have stronger return predictability. This cross-sectional return predictability is difficult to reconcile with alternative …

Successful Moderation In Online Patient Communities: Inductive Case Study, Tanner Skousen, Hani Safadi, Colleen Young, Elena Karahanna, Sami Safadi, Fouad Chebib

Faculty Publications

Background: Online patient communities are becoming more prevalent as a resource to help patients take control of their health. However, online patient communities experience challenges that require active moderation.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the challenges of sustaining a thriving online patient community and the moderation practices employed to address the challenges and manage the online patient community successfully.

Methods: An inductive case study of Mayo Clinic Connect was analyzed using the grounded theory methodology. Insights for the analysis were obtained from semistructured interviews with community managers and community members. Secondary data sources, such as community management documents, observational …

Climate Refuge: Thermal Comfort In Urban Micro Climates, Nathaniel Horvath

Landscape Architecture Theses

This study addresses two major issues by responding to the significant decline in retail buildings including enclosed shopping malls and improving density, livability and human comfort in communities welcoming climate refugees. Future designs will become more responsive when involving suburban and urban infill landscape to enhance user experiences through thermal comfort. Studies show that Earth’s temperatures are on the rise causing large populations to be displaced by rising sea levels and contributing to extreme weather patterns in the colder hemispheres. Specifically, in the Midwest United States, this means colder temperatures, more snow, and longer months of winter (Cohen 2018). Analyzing …