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Tumor-Targeted Ph-Sensitive Manganese Oxide Nanoparticle For Enhanced Detection Of Breast Cancer Using Mri, Celia Martinez De La Torre

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the United States, approximately 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed, and over 43,000 women will die because of it in 2022. Currently, mammography is the gold standard for breast cancer surveillance. Although this detection technique is relatively cheap and fast, it misses about 1 in 5 breast cancers in younger women with dense breast tissue, causing a delay in treatment. Compared to mammography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has superior soft-tissue contrast that elucidates structural differences within soft tissue to detect more breast cancers. However, MRI still misses

NEMO particles were produced by synthesizing manganese oxide …

Fantasies Of Race And Place: White Nationalist And Alt-Right Undercurrents In Fantasy Roleplaying Games, Mark Hines

Theses and Dissertations--English

Representations of fantasy settings in roleplaying games often draw upon understandings of the medieval and early Renaissance world. This dynamic often extends to racial politics in such worlds. For the contemporary roleplaying game, this often means that game mechanics are built around race, species, or gender. Often, players interpret such mechanics as a means of bioessentializing race or practicing stereotypes rooted in Eurocentric morality and values.

This thesis examines the underlying rhetoric and implicit stakes by which race in fantasy worlds overlaps with the rhetoric and proposed stakes of White Nationalist and Alt-right actors. As fantasy roleplaying games, and especially …

Twenty-First Century Adaptations Of Early Twentieth Century American Protest Literature, Kathryn J. Mcclain

Theses and Dissertations--English

Twenty-First Century Adaptations of Early Twentieth Century American Protest Literature examines the resurgence of didactic political literature in the United States during the 21st century, specifically adaptations of early 20th century American leftist protest works by authors such as Upton Sinclair, Jack London, and Richard Wright. While the most political aspects of these writers’ fiction are often either criticized as too politically overt – such as Sinclair’s The Jungle and Wright’s Native Son – or forgotten in favor of an author’s perceived literary merit – London’s The Iron Heel in comparison to his other works like Call of the Wild …

The Z Factor: Generation Z And The Perspectives Of Recruitment Professionals On Sustaining Small Private Liberal Arts Institutions During A Decade Of Expected Decline In Higher Education Enrollment, Shawn Adkins

Theses and Dissertations

The increased competitive nature of higher education institutions has caused many small private liberal arts colleges/universities to struggle economically. The cost of keeping such institutions viable is high. Many institutions have had to raise tuitions rates, which resulted in decreased enrollment numbers. As a result, many institutions have been struggling; some even closing. The influences and interferences of college choice among current college-aged students (known as Generation Z) were reviewed with recruitment professionals from a handful of such institutions for this qualitative, constructivist grounded theory study. Data was collected by reviewing relevant research literature and conducting interviews with participants from …

They May Not Believe You Remembered That Nose: Juror Perceptions Of Eyewitness' Featural Justifications, Mary Cops

Theses and Dissertations

The featural justification effect occurs when an eyewitness provides a confidence statement at the time of lineup identification that includes reference to a facial feature or component that aided them in their identification (Dodson & Dobolyi, 2015, 2017, 2018; Slane & Dodson, 2019). The result of the effect, found across several manipulations, is that jurors tend to discredit the confidence of an eyewitness that references a facial feature (such as eyes, nose, chin) in the identification statement. The current studies examined featural justification, along with eyewitness viewing conditions and legal safeguards. Participants were presented with either expert testimony (study 1) …

Traditional And Technology-Enhanced Learning: Faculty Perspectives And Student Experiences And Satisfaction In An Art & Design Program During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cynthia Margaret Boehm

Theses and Dissertations

Digital skills are essential in today’s digital age, which means that students require technology-enhanced skills in higher education to succeed in their future careers. In this study, faculty and students in an Art & Design (A&D) program at a Midwestern university were surveyed regarding their perspectives and experiences. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this university changed its teaching and learning strategy by offering courses online during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, where quarantine was mandatory. Still, the A&D program did not provide all courses online. This study included online surveys based on three constructs of quality of studio learning, …

Fostering Emerging Online Learner Persistence In Teacher Candidates: The Role Of Online Discussions, Staci Ann Gilpin

Theses and Dissertations

As the popularity of online learning continues to grow, so do concerns about online student success. This study aims to contribute to the continuous improvement of online learning and improve outcomes for a distinct group of online learners. Utilizing social presence, the expectancy-value theory of motivation, and capitalizing on innovative technologies, I advance a new framework that expands online discussions for emerging online learners, undergraduates enrolled in online and on-campus courses, and the predominant consumer of online courses. The emerging online learners in this study were also prospective teachers (n=80) enrolled in a teacher preparation course at a small midwestern …

Ranked Choice Voting In Mayoral Elections, Bryan Mccannon

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Numerous cities across the U.S. have recently switched to ranked choice voting in their local mayoral elections. Proponents argue that, by allowing voters to fully express their preferences over the candidates, voter satisfaction and, ultimately, turnout will improve. Opponents are concerned over the number of candidates who enter the race, as it increases the chances of someone only supported by a minority taking office. To date, there has not been an empirical analysis of ranked choice voting’s effects. First, using the Synthetic Control Method on three large U.S. cities who switched relatively recently, I explore the voting rule’s causal impact. …

Do Elections Encourage Public Actors To Be More Responsive?, Bryan Mccannon, Corey Williams

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In the U.S. many public services are provided by individuals who are selected in local elections. We ask whether elections encourage public actors to be responsive to citizens. We design a novel field experiment where we send an information request to a random sample of prosecutor offices. Whether someone replies to the request is our measurement of responsiveness. We show that offices whose head is up for re-election are more likely to respond. We also show that offices in states that appoint their local prosecutors are substantially less likely to respond than a matched set of offices with elected leadership.

Three Golden Balls: Pawn Shops And Crime, Bryan Mccannon, Zachary Rodriguez, Zachary Porreca

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We ask what the relationship is between pawn shops and crime. The dominant narrative is that pawn shops reduce the transaction costs of crime and, consequently, promote it. We explore the alternative where pawn shops address the financial distress of those in need, which reduces the incentive to engage in crime. We exploit two distinct policies affecting access to pawn shops − severe licensing fees implemented in London in the early 1800s and state variation in the classification of pawn shops as essential businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020. For each, employing a difference-in-difference identification strategy, we provide …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between The Use Of Modern Digital Technologies, Language Learning Strategies, And Development Of Second Language Skills, Volodymyr Lazar

Theses and Dissertations

Like many other areas of human knowledge, the field of language learning has undergone changes as a consequence of the application of digital technologies. Extensive exposure and anytime and anywhere access availability to data in a second or foreign language (L2) bring almost unlimited learning opportunities for digital age students, which affects their learning behaviors also known as language learning strategies (LLS). The purpose of the present study is to define preferred LLS patterns of digitally native L2 learners and to establish relationships between types of existing digital technologies, learners’ demographic characteristics, and the use of learning strategies to support …

Engaging Undergraduate Students In Classroom Discussion: Exploring Impacts On Reflective Judgment Skills, Aubrey Mae Madler

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education institutions are to teach advanced thinking skills that help students process information, make judgments, and justify associated beliefs. Such skills are necessary for reflective judgment according to the reflective judgment model (RJM). The purpose of this study was to explore whether engaging undergraduate students in classroom discussion surrounding ill-structured problems impacted these advanced thinking skills. It implemented a quasi-experimental, posttest-only control-group design using the validated semi-structured Reflective Judgment Interview (RJI) protocol to score reflective judgment skills of sixteen undergraduate students. The RJM and its RJI protocol, developed by King and Kitchener (1994) categorizes thinking into three main areas: …

Prioritizing Gifted Pedagogy In Middle School Honors: A Delphi Study, Bailey Nafziger

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the perceptions of gifted specialists and middle school honors teachers to determine which elements from gifted pedagogy can be used to motivate gifted adolescents in an honors classroom setting. In addition, the priorities of gifted specialists and honors classroom teachers were compared to highlight key patterns. The Delphi approach was used to facilitate three rounds of anonymous collaboration between the two expert groups. Three priorities emerged through the collaboration: 1) critical thinking, 2) acceleration, and 3) goals of the class and curriculum. While social emotional issues were priorities in initial rounds, no social emotional priorities were selected …

Behavioral Responses Of Breeding Ducks To Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Surveys And Best Practices For Breeding Waterfowl Surveys Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Mason Ryckman

Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a popular wildlife survey tool. As such, biologists are exploring the use of UAVs for surveying waterfowl. The most cited benefit of using UAVs over traditional methods is the idea of reduced disturbance, but this has had limited formal evaluation across species. We conducted UAV surveys with associated behavioral observations of ducks on wetlands and on nests during the 2019 – 2020 breeding seasons. We found species-specific behaviors among blue-winged teal (Spatula discors), northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata), and gadwall (Mareca strepera) including ducks noticing the aircraft, but reactions were generally less than traditional ground …

Multinomial Logistic And Negative Binomial Regressions Of Campus Instructional Modes, Institutional Characteristics, And Covid-19 Case Counts In Fall 2020 In The Midwest, Katherine Marian Tyler

Theses and Dissertations

In spring of 2020, a global pandemic shifted American institutions of higher education into a crisis with unprecedented unknown information, guidelines that changed continuously, and impacted the personal and professional lives of students, faculty and staff. This study examined the relationships (1) between campus size, geographic setting, locus of control in Midwest and Mountain American higher educational institutions and their instructional mode in fall 2020, and (2) between those institutional characteristics and the number of reported campus COVID-19 cases in the fall of 2020. Using a multinomial logistic regression and a negative binomial regression with an estimated parameter dispersion, the …

Ice Hockey Goaltender Performance: Examining The Role Of Basic Psychological Needs And Self-Determined Motivation, Nathan Dean Speidel

Theses and Dissertations

Ice hockey goaltending is a physically and mentally challenging task within a complex sport. Although goaltending has been shown to contribute more to team success outcomes than any other ice hockey position, goalies are often misunderstood and either under or improperly coached. As a result, goaltenders, coaches, parents, and hockey organizations alike express a need for deeper understanding of the position, especially its mental aspects. Motivation has long been considered a foundational factor for athletic success and continues to be recognized as essential for athlete performance and overall well-being. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze fundamental psychosocial …

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Journeys Curriculum Series Longitudinal Effects On Grade 4 Student Reading Scores, Daniel Warcken

Theses and Dissertations

Within the last 100 years, the number of school districts in America has dropped by as much as 90% (Murdock, 2012), from 117,108 in 1939 to 13,452 in 2019 (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2020). Funding and how to provide educational equity, equality, and justice for all is a critical conversation. According to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) (2018), 1.94% of the state’s $1.448 billion cumulative K-12 expenditures are associated with instructional media related to academic aids such as textbooks.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify if the major educational publishing company Houghton …

Helping Students From Refugee Backgrounds Succeed In Higher Education Through Support Systems, Arinola Adebayo

Theses and Dissertations

Like every student enrolled in a higher education institution, students from refugee backgrounds are not only concerned about how to get into college, but how to connect with the support systems available to them on campus. The purpose of this research was to examine the social support systems available to college students from refugee backgrounds while on campus, the resources these students engaged in to keep them connected to college, and how they tapped into available resources to be successful in achieving their higher educational career and goals. Using qualitative methods, this research used an intrinsic-embedded, single-case design case study. …

The Impact Of Stress Dependent Permeability Alteration On Gas Based Eor In The Bakken Formation, Ailin Assady

Theses and Dissertations

Effective stress exerted on porous rocks can change and alter reservoir permeability accordingly during reservoir development. The permeability evolution under different reservoir statues will impact oil production and EOR design in the Bakken shale porous media. An accurate permeability model can improve capturing the fluid transport mechanism and create a reliable long-term dynamic fluid forecast via reservoir simulation. This research is focused on studying permeability alteration behavior under different pressure circumstances. The reservoir gradually loses its original pore pressure during production, increasing reservoir net effective stress. Therefore, a reduction in reservoir properties such as permeability or porosity can occur in …

Thermal Stability And Decomposition Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) Using Granular Activated Carbon And Other Porous Materials, Pavankumar Challa Sasi

Theses and Dissertations

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic chemicals that have been produced for decades as either processing aids or individual ingredients in many industrial and commercial products, including aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs), non-stick cookware, and fast-food packaging. PFOA and PFOS have been reported in >95% of blood samples collected during multiple U.S. national surveys at concentrations that are a risk to human health. Thermal treatment is routinely used to reactivate the spent granular activated carbon (GAC) from water purification facilities. The aims of this study were: (1) to improve our understanding of the thermal stability of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; …

Development Of The Share Your Story Program: Understanding How Self-Stigma And Mental Health Storytelling Influence Mental Health Experiences On College Campuses, Kyle Cromer Elliott

Theses and Dissertations

Mental health is a growing concern faced by college administrators. Self-stigma is a major barrier preventing mental health utilization and recovery on college campuses. The purpose of this research study is to understand how self-stigma influences the mental health experiences of college students.

The research study builds upon narrative inquiry—Honest, Open, Proud (HOP)—and the author’s lived experiences with mental health conditions to answer the research question: “How does self-stigma influence students’ mental health experiences on college campuses?”

Findings indicate that self-stigma and self-acceptance impacted if, how, and with whom research study participants shared their mental health conditions. Findings also show …

Evaluating Virtual Reality And Artificial Intelligence As Solutions For Delayed Flight Progress In Aviation Pilot Training, Ryan Paul Guthridge

Theses and Dissertations

Three studies in this dissertation examined a topic centered around delayed flight progress in aviation pilot training. Study one explored the impact of nonconcurrent flight laboratory training on the academic outcomes of collegiate aviation students, while studies two and three explored virtual reality and artificial intelligence as potential solutions to help alleviate the strain of delayed flight progress on the flight training organization. In the first study (n = 144), it was found that concurrent enrollment in an aviation classroom ground course and flight training laboratory positively impacts the mean academic block exam scores of students. In study two (n …

The Effect Of Mineral Composition On Elastic Properties Of The Bakken Formation In The Williston Basin, North Dakota, John Albert Harju

Theses and Dissertations

Hydrocarbon production from tight oil and/or shale plays requires drilling horizontal wells with very long laterals and hydraulic fracturing operations to stimulate the reservoirs which have generally very low porosity and permeability. A great amount of experience has been accumulated over the past two decades in the North America from production of these types of reservoirs. The Bakken formation in North Dakota, is one of the largest tight oil producers in the U.S.A. and currently ranks as the second largest producer of oil in the nation. The Bakken formation is divided into the upper and lower shale members, which are …

Instructional Coach Professional Learning: Developing Reflective Practices, Cultural Competence, And Self-Efficacy In An Asynchronous Course, Mena Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Effective instructional coaching programs have the potential to promote the development of reflective practices, cultural competence, and self-efficacy of educators, but require intentional professional development for coaches. This research inquiry examines instructional coach participants’ reflective practices, cultural competence, and self-efficacy after participating in an eight-week asynchronous Coach-Teacher Partnership Toolkit (CTPT) professional development course and the effects of the CTPT course on their coaching practices (Hill, 2021c). This study also examines teacher perceptions of cultural competence and reflective practice development as related to organizational and instructional coaching supports.

Results of the study indicate instructional coaches desire ongoing and purposeful professional development …

Incorporating Worker Protections In Collective Bargaining Agreements As A Facilitator For Self-Reporting, Todd Heyne

Theses and Dissertations

The US airline industry relies on the willing participation of frontline employees to self-report safety hazards as part of an effective reporting culture. Current literature suggests fear of punitive actions as a barrier to self-reporting. Using a quantitative method, this study evaluated how employee protections from punitive actions incorporated into collective bargaining agreements (CBA) of Part 121 airline employees facilitates self-reporting. An Exploratory Factor Analysis suggests that Enhanced Reporting, Employee Protections, Roles and Responsibility, and Employee Engagement undergird self-reporting culture. All the factors had acceptable reliabilities and were significantly related to each other. Regression analysis suggested that Employee Protection was …

Small Mammal Community Ecology In A Northern Grassland, Lynda Lafond

Theses and Dissertations

I studied grassland small mammal community ecology at UND’s Oakville Prairie, in Grand Forks County, North Dakota summers 2018-2021. Specifically, I was interested in small mammal richness and abundance, investigating their habitat associations, investigating their phenotypic variation, and understanding their diets. I trapped small mammals for five consecutive nights at the end of June to early July 2018 – 2021. I also measured plant community composition and structure metrics. Over the four years, I captured 985 individuals from 11 species. Species richness and abundance varied spatially and temporally across the site. I most frequently captured meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), mice …

Rural States’ Use Of Federal Government Terminology Related To Federal Student Aid And Postsecondary Accreditation: A Toolkit To Support Information Access And Use For Rural Students, Valerie Lefor

Theses and Dissertations

The nature of understanding both federal financial aid and accreditation processes may be complex. Both approaches involve complicated terminology that is not easily understood. In the United States, state governments have responsibility for education oversight, but their work is informed by the federal government. It is essential for students to understand federal aid and accreditation, especially for those who wish to consider options following high school that may lead to a college pathway. Research has shown that students who reside in rural areas may not have the same access to information as their peers in other locations. This Dissertation in …

The Lived Experience Of Chinese International Students Seeking Internships During Optional Practical Training (Opt) Program, Yue Lyu

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of Chinese international students currently in search of internship positions during their Optional Practical Training (OPT) program after completing their degrees in the United States. Specifically, this study employed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) for exploring participants’ experiences during the internship-seeking process—encompassing aspects such as their perceived employment barriers, the impacts of this experience on their mental and physical well-being, as well as their resources, and coping strategies. A total of four (4) superordinate themes emerged from the results. Participants described their perceived external and internal barriers that led to adverse impacts on …

The Impact Of Traumatic Experiences On Women's Mental Health: The Moderating Effect Of Violent Media Consumption, Erika Meierding

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Prior research informs us that negative mental health outcomes are associated with childhood trauma (Chapman et al., 2004; Widom, 1999) and with exposure to violence in the media (Hopwood & Schutte, 2017). Given the prevalence of violence against women (VAW) both in the media and in society in general, it is important to understand how VAW in the media may uniquely impact the mental health of women who have previous experiences of childhood trauma. Objective: Drawing from cultivation theory and the diathesis stress model of mental health, this study examined the moderating role of exposure to VAW in the …

A Face Recognition Method Using Deep Learning To Identify Mask And Unmask Objects, Saroj Mishra

Theses and Dissertations

At the present, the use of face masks is growing day by day and it is mandated in most places across the world. People are encouraged to cover their faces when in public areas to avoid the spread of infection which can minimize the transmission of Covid-19 by 65 percent (according to the public health officials). So, it is important to detect people not wearing face masks. Additionally, face recognition has been applied to a wide area for security verification purposes since its performance, accuracy, and reliability [15] are better than any other traditional techniques like fingerprints, passwords, PINs, and …