Digital Commons Network^™

Advance Care Planning And Advance Directives: Implementing Online Education For Healthcare Providers, Hannah Murphy

Nursing

Advance directives (ADs) summarize goals or preferences for future care regarding life-sustaining treatment and designates a surrogate decision-maker in the event a patient is unable to make healthcare decisions. These legal documents are especially important for providing patient autonomy and allowing people to communicate their medical care preferences to family, friends, and healthcare professionals. Two thirds of Americans have not completed an advance directive and 70% of Americans (more than 1.7 million) die of chronic diseases. Benefits of ADs include: autonomy during end-of-life, honored preferences, enhanced quality of medical decisions, less emotional distress, and even a decrease in healthcare costs. …

The Impact Of A Gencyber Camp On In-Service Teachers’ Tpack, Kevin M. Thomas, Jessica Ivy, Kristin Cook, Robert R. Kelley

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a GenCyber camp curriculum on teachers’ technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK). The camp was designed to engage participants in developing the knowledge and skills to incorporate GenCyber Cybersecurity First Principles and GenCyber Cybersecurity Concepts (GenCyber, 2019) into their curriculums. Participants (37 middle and high school teachers from a variety of disciplines) attended one of two weeklong camps held at a Midwestern liberal arts university. Using the TPACK Self-Reflection and TPACK Self-Assessment Surveys, pre- and post-camp data were collected from participants. Findings indicate that participants demonstrated an increase in …

Screening For Noise Induced Hearing Loss In Agricultural Workers And Farmers, Erin Dewitz

Nursing

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health hearing loss is the third most prevalent condition after high blood pressure and arthritis in the United States (U.S.) (NIOSH, 2019). An estimated 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous noise, making noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) the second most self-reported occupational disease or injury. Although most industries are regulated by government organizations such as NIOSH and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, agriculture does not fall under regulations and policies enacted through these groups. The incidence of hearing loss is high in farmers and agricultural workers, reflecting an …

Skin Cancer Screening: Implementation Of Dermoscopy In Rural Primary Care, Mitchell Charles Lehn

Nursing

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and worldwide, and rates continue to rise (American Academy of Dermatology Association [AAD], 2020; Skin Cancer Foundation [SCF], 2020). Although there is disagreement about the reasons why, rural areas are more dramatically affected by skin cancer morbidity and mortality than their urban counterparts (Cunningham et al., 2019). Early detection of all skin cancers, especially melanoma, can improve morbidity and mortality rates (Hubner et al., 2018; Kricker et al., 2014). Secondary prevention strategies, such as naked eye skin examinations and dermsocopy, are critical in monitoring and identifying suspicious skin lesions. …

Barriers To Seeking Preventative Care For Men Living In Rural North Dakota, Stanley Johnson

Nursing

The purpose of this evidence-based practice improvement project (PIP) was to identify perceived barriers to seeking primary and preventative healthcare by males living in a rural North Dakota community. Research has shown that men in the United States live shorter lives and are more likely to die of many common causes of death than females. These facts may be partially explained by the idea that men are less likely than women to regularly see a healthcare provider. Health disparities also exist between rural and metropolitan communities as well. Individuals living in rural areas have been found to die more frequently …

A Narrative Inquiry Into Veterans In Engineering, Miracle David Solley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Much research has been conducted on student veterans, in general; however, research on student veterans in engineering majors is very sparse. There is national recognition of the importance of student veterans in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields as evidenced in the passage in 2020 of a bill investigating the lack of veteran students in these fields. This study adds to the literature by answering the following two research questions: What are the experiences of veteran engineering students? How has military service impacted those experiences? Twelve students and five professors from a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity in …

U.S.-Ukraine Relations And The Concept Of Strategic Partnership, Khrystyna Pelchar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A strategic partnership has become particularly relevant in the wake of the Russian war in Ukraine. Most studies focus on the historical perspective of particular special relations leaning toward the long-standing nature and stability of those relations. Others describe interstate partnerships as dynamic developments rather than static phenomena. Conventionally, strategic partnerships are multifaceted, including the spheres of economic cooperation, military assistance and partnership, and democracy promotion. Scholars also single out cultural proximity as an important factor facilitating mutual trust and feasibility of strategic partnership.

This thesis will discuss the historical background of the U.S.-Ukraine economic, socio-political, and military cooperation and …

Deep Radio Observations And The Role Of The Cosmic Web In Galaxy Evolution, Nicholas M. Luber

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A current open question in the evolution of galaxies, is what are the physical mechanisms that cut off galaxies from their primordial gas reservoirs, resulting in the end of their star-formation capabilities? Recent observational programs have shown that the properties of galaxies show dependencies on their placement within the large-scale structure (LSS) of the universe. These observations have motivated recent developments in theoretical work that have shown how a galaxy's interaction with the LSS may impact its connection to primordial gas supply, and ability to continue to accrete gas, the fundamental ingredient in star-formation.

In order to investigate the role …

Behaviors, Contextual Influences, And Consequences: Relationships That Affect Student Decision-Making Of Academic Misconduct In College, Justine A L Burnett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Academic misconduct on college campuses is not a new challenge for higher education institutions but an old problem that has changed considerably. Student demonstrations of academic misconduct behaviors have evolved, making it difficult for institutions to consistently keep well-informed on how students cheat to effectively respond to violations of academic integrity policies. This study investigates the relationships between misbehaviors, their associated consequences, and influences to prevent, respond to, and reduce academic misconduct at a large research-intensive university.

This quantitative study uses institutional academic misconduct reports between 2017 and 2020 and student surveys to examine significant relationships in the decision-making process …

Methodology For Enhanced Filtration And Dewatering Of Fine-Grain Amd Precipitate Using Geocomposites For Rare Earth Elements Recovery, Iuri Lira Santos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Research performed by the West Virginia Water Research Institute (WVWRI) in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) has identified that coal mining by-products contain significant amounts of Rare Earth Elements (REEs). REEs currently are in high demand, and extraction from coal mining reject presents a potential for commercialization if extraction is feasible. The coal mining reject include Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in the aqueous phase and sludge from AMD treatment. A novel two split selective precipitation method was implemented to remove gangue metals, increasing the concentration of REEs in the sludge.

This process presents a two-fold benefit: 1) treatment …

The Discover Model: A Prescriptive Method For Instructional Tool Selection And Use In Seeking To Boost Instructor Immediacy And Social Presence In Online Courses, Lee O. Silverman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Higher education faculty who teach online can face numerous challenges in providing optimal experiences for their students. Besides their potentially limited instructional design expertise and understanding of how to optimize technology to support learning, faculty may have difficulties in finding ways to make themselves be perceived as real people who are approachable, caring, and likeable due to online nature of the learning context. As a preliminary means to address these issues, the current study focused on the development of the DISCOVER Model, which was designed to provide higher education faculty with a framework to develop actionable plans in the creation …

Multifunctional Organoboron Compounds And Boralactonate Salts, Randika T. Abeysinghe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Organoboron compounds have gathered an important significance within the chemistry community on account of their wide range of applications in synthesis, catalysis, and medicinal chemistry. Even though the uses of boron compounds in drug discovery have been overlooked until the last several decades, boronic acid containing molecules have garnered increased attention due to the unique chemical properties of the boron center. Boron-functionalized ��-aryl propionic acid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug derivatives (bora-NSAIDs) can be accessed via copper(I)-catalyzed alkene boracarboxylation, using CO2 and B2pin2. To explore and expand the current synthetic and future medicinal chemistry applications of these bora-NSAIDs, methods …

Student Understanding Of The Definite Integral When Solving Calculus Volume Problems, Krista Bresock

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The concept of integration appears in many different scientific fields, and students’ understanding of and ability to use the definite integral in applications is important to success in their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classes. One of the first types of application problems that students encounter is finding the volume of a solid using the definite integral. How students approach these problems and how they use the definite integral to find volumes can have an impact on their future use and understanding of the definite integral.

This study involves a deep and thorough investigation of how ten students understand …

Characterization Of North Dakota Hard Red Spring Wheat For Stem And Stripe Rust Resistance, Yongjae Kim

Plant Pathology

Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) and Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) are causal agents of devastating wheat stem and stripe rust diseases, respectively. Both diseases sporadically occur in North Dakota (ND), and stripe rust incidence has been increasing in the Midwest of United States over the last decade. Complete information of rust resistance in ND hard red spring wheat (HRSW) germplasm is not well-established. This study focused on the phenotypic characterization of ND HRSW germplasm for stripe and stem rust resistance and the identification of existing and novel rust resistance genomic loci in this population through genome-wide association …

Equity Battles: Multicultural Leadership For English Language Learner Students, Alfredo Pargas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to increase teachers’ and school leaders’ capacity and awareness to be better multicultural leaders for English Language Learner (ELL) students. This study produced several recommendations to address this issue. During this study, I used improvement science as the methodology and included a variety of stakeholders as participants. The conceptual framework used to guide this study included community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge. Using both the voices of ELL families and the input of the school equity team, which includes teachers and a school leader, we collaboratively created a six-stage intervention program to increase …

Understanding The Role Of Home Community Environments In Shaping First-Generation Jamaican University Students’ Access And Persistence In Higher Education: Using Liming And Photovoice Methodologies, Shenhaye C. Ferguson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are 15 national outcomes as part of Jamaica’s strategic goals for Vision 2030. Among the 15, the second outcome focuses on world-class education and training, the fifth looks at security and safety, and the fifteenth addresses sustainable urban and rural development (Vision 2030, 2018). First-generation Jamaican students represent a fraction of the Vision 2030 discussion around increasing access to higher education, eliminating crime and violence, poverty, and creating safe community environments. Accordingly, in (post)colonial Jamaica, challenges faced by first-generation students are compounded (Roofe et al., 2022). While many first-generation students attend universities in Jamaica, local studies examining first-generation students …

Historias De Una Pandemia: Documenting Latina/O/X Stories During Covid-19 Through Performed Storytelling, Elena Foulis

Spanish Faculty Publications (Archived)

Using oral histories and narratives collected during the Covid-19 pandemic, a student-led performance invites consideration about the role of language, cultural, and social pluralities in creating a socially just world.

Privacy And Online Social Networks: A Systematic Literature Review Of Concerns, Preservation, And Policies, Damion Mitchell, Omar F. El-Gayar

Research & Publications

Background: Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities, but with it comes privacy concerns due to how personal data are handled by these social networking sites. Prior literature aimed at identifying users’ privacy concerns as well as user behavior associated with privacy mitigation strategies and policies. However, OSN users continue to divulge private information online and privacy remains an issue. Accordingly, this review aims to present extant research on this topic, and to highlight any potential research gaps. Method: The paper presents a systematic literature review for the period 2006 - 2021, in which 33 full …

Improving North Dakota's Arboreta: Utilizing Living Museums To Their Greatest Capacity, Stephen Lee Ahrenholz

Natural Resources Management

North Dakota has roughly 20 arboreta, though many of them are in decline. NDSU Extension developed an arboretum improvement project that included field visits, site inventories, and educational programming. North Dakota’s arboreta are a diverse group with over 70 genera and more than 500 tree and shrub species represented. Soil Conservation District (SCD) arboreta have an average of 31 species per arboretum while non-SCD arboreta average about 70. Labeling methods and accuracy, condition, and maintenance varied greatly. We conducted four educational workshops for arboretum managers, but attendance was relatively low: only 21 individuals attended. Attendees include SCD employees, Extension agents, …

The Link Between Gut Microbiota Metabolism And Host Gluconeogenesis By Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide, Razia Dawlaty

Microbiological Sciences

The gut microbiota (GM) plays a beneficial role in host metabolism. In mammals, the GM ferments dietary fiber into short chain fatty acids (SCFA), like propionate, that improves glucose metabolism. Rats fed a propionate diet increased intestinal gluconeogenic (IGN) gene expression, which was blocked by treatment with the neurotoxin, capsaicin, suggesting a neuronal-dependent mechanism. We hypothesized that the gut neuropeptide, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), links GM derived propionate to IGN expression. We fed VIP deficient mice a 5% propionate chow diet (n=60) for 2 weeks and measured mRNA levels for GN genes by dPCR. Basel intestinal and liver GN mRNA …

In The Pursuit Of Poultry: Β-Phenylethylamine And Ethyl Acetoacetate As Antimicrobials On Chicken, Erika Shay Hedrick Bauer

Microbiological Sciences

This research examines the effect of β-phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural trace amine commonly found in food, and ethyl acetoacetate (EAA), an FDA approved flavoring agent and food additive, as novel antimicrobials on store-bought chicken thighs in a 5-minute immersion. In the first part of this experiment, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% treatments of β-phenylethylamine and ethyl acetoacetate were compared to control H2O treatments utilized on chicken thighs. 10% treatments of PEA and EAA had significant reductions in counts of total aerobic bacteria and Pseudomonas spp. grown at 20°C by >1 log10 CFU/g of chicken meat. In the next experiments regarded 10% …

In Search Of The Public Interest, Jodi L. Short

Faculty Scholarship

“Public interest” standards in statutory delegations to agencies represent the greatest hopes and the darkest fears of the U.S. administrative state. On the one hand, the public interest standard provides a vessel for agencies to infuse policymaking with the moral and ethical commitments of the community. On the other hand, regulation in the public interest opens the door to the arbitrary exercise of tyrannical state power. Despite the lofty aspirations and ominous warnings about regulation in the public interest, little is known about how agencies actually decide what is in the public interest when charged by statute to do so. …

Privacy And Security Concerns Associated With Mhealth Technologies: A Computational Social Science Approach, Mitchell Damion, Omar El-Gayar

Research & Publications

No abstract provided.

Drivers And Challenges Of Wearable Devices Use: Content Analysis Of Online Users Reviews, Ahmed Elnoshokaty, Omar El-Gayar, Abdullah Wahbeh, Mohammad A. Al-Ramahi, Tareq Nasralah

Research & Publications

With recent advancements in wearable device technologies, there is still a need to investigate drivers and challenges associated with the use of these devices. Following a content analysis approach, this study leverages recent “found large-scale” data to better understand the drivers and challenges that affect the adoption and use of such devices. Analyzing a total of 16,717 online reviews about wearable devices, the findings emphasized the importance of various functionalities (perceived usefulness), appeal, and a number of device design features as the most prominent drivers, while concerns about quality, credibility, and perceived value as potential challenges to wearable adoption and …

Championing The Lives And Works Of American Women Artists: A Performance Guide To Libby Larsen’S Song Cycle Mary Cassatt (1844-1926): Seven Songs For Mezzo-Soprano, Solo Trombone, And Orchestra (With 15 Projections Of Cassatt’S Paintings) (1994), Catherine Tlusty

Music

Libby Larsen (b. 1950), one of America’s leading composers, has written in nearly every genre of classical music. Among her catalogue of vocal music are choral works, operas, art song, and song cycles. Larsen’s song cycles are known for their texts that portray strong women and are written by female writers. Larsen’s declamatory text settings, which are influence by her training in Gregorian chant, capture the struggles and triumphs of these strong female figures. Her recitative-like melodies bring to life these women such as the artist Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) in Larsen’s song cycle Mary Cassatt (1844-1926): Seven songs for mezzo-soprano, …

Political Activism Through Music For Piano: A Performer’S Guide To Interpreting The Ideology In Frederic Rzewski’S (1938-2021) North American Ballads (1979) And Cornelius Cardew’S (1936-1981) Thälmann Variations (1974), Michael Jorge Langer

Music

Political music is an emerging and relevant phenomenon. These works can pose challenges to performers in terms of understanding and interpreting their nuanced historical and political ideology. This dissertation is about the philosophical intersection of politics and works for solo piano. The primary works I examine are Thälmann Variations (1974) by English composer Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981) and North American Ballads (1979) by American composer Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021). I investigate the political ideology of each composer and connect it to their works. I explore the theoretical and philosophical implications of these works and offer my interpretive and programmatic recommendations to the …

Byod Security Issues: A Systematic Literature Review, Melva Ratchford, Yong Wang, Cherie Noteboom, Omar F. El-Gayar

Research & Publications

Organizations are exposed to new security risks when they allow employees’ personal mobile devices to access the network and the corporate data (a phenomenon called ‘Bring Your Own Device’ or BYOD). They are confronted with inherent security issues that need to be addressed in order to protect the organization and its information. What are the security issues and considerations associated with BYOD environments? With this in mind, the objective of this paper is to present a systematic literature review of scholarly literature (2010–2019) with respect to BYOD security, and to suggest a classification scheme that depicts a holistic approach to …

Understanding Water Quality, Vegetation Establishment, And Stakeholder Success For The Fargo Project: A Multi-Stakeholder Led Community-Based Green Infrastructure Project., Jesse Riley

Natural Resources Management

The Fargo Project is a dry detention basin that holds stormwater drained from urbanized and impervious areas that serves as a component of a greater stormwater infrastructure network. The project goals were to design a multi-use green infrastructure area that would invite neighboring residents into the basin. From its conception, the project has relied on partnerships between stakeholders. A survey was developed and deployed to all stakeholder groups that participated in the community-based project to access stakeholder success. The Fargo Project was viewed as a success by most stakeholders. Project partners felt that the basin’s main goal was to serve …

Sexual Dimorphisms In The Adipose Biology Of Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide Deficient Mice, Emma Hawley

Microbiological Sciences

Both VIP and PACAP deficient mice display impaired fat storage, but only the molecular adipose characteristics of PACAP KO mice are known. While mice deficient in these peptides are lean, supplementation could promote weight gain in livestock after establishing tissue distribution. We investigated both sides of this 'metabolic coin' by measuring serum metabolites, adipocyte area, and pscWAT gene expression in VIP deficient mice and screening 15 ruminant tissues for VIP, PACAP, and their receptors using RT-qPCR. We found male VIP deficient mice displayed hypertrophic adipocytes, low serum FFAs, and suppressed relative mRNA expression of TMEM26. In ruminants, VIP and PACAP …

Making The Most Of Program Evaluation Data: Understanding Human Services Professionals’ Well-Being Through Qualitative Secondary Analysis, Elizabeth Ann Deaton Wacker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) allows researchers to explore new research questions and ensure that participants’ voices are heard to the greatest extent possible, without the burdens of additional data collection. However, this approach is rarely used outside of the health sciences, and little guidance exists in the literature about how to conduct QSA. This study is a secondary analysis of qualitative program evaluation data related to the well-being of human services professionals from two fields: child welfare and early care and education (ECE). It explores these professionals’ well-being, as well as the methodological issues of how well-being has been addressed …