Digital Commons Network^™

Buckets Of Fun: Impacts Of Fraction Ball Activities On Students' Math-Related Emotions, Siling Guo, Drew H. Bailey, Katherine Rhodes, Kreshnik Nasi Begolli, Vanessa N. Bermudez, Luettamae Lawrence, Daniela Alvarez-Vargas, Lourdes M. Acevedo-Farag, June Ahn, Andres S. Bustamante, Lindsey E. Richland

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Rational number learning can cause frustration and negative emotions for elementary school students. Fraction Ball, a play-based math intervention, allows students to actively learn rational numbers through engaging and interactive activities. Based on a cluster-randomized trial with 16 teachers and 360 students, our pre-registered analyses showed moderate positive impacts of Fraction Ball on overall students' self-reported math-related emotions. Exploratory analyses indicated that students with higher negative emotions at pretest showed larger experimental impacts on decreasing negative emotions at posttest. Finally, we found that Fraction Ball evidenced no trade-off between rational number learning and emotional outcomes at the classroom block level, …

Birkhoff Summation Of Irrational Rotations: A Surprising Result For The Golden Mean, Heather Moore

University Honors Theses

This thesis presents a surprising result that the difference in certain sums of constant rotations by the golden mean approaches exactly 1/5. Specifically, we focus on the Birkhoff sums of these rotations, with the number of terms equal to squared Fibonacci numbers. The proof relies on the properties of continued fraction approximants, Vajda's identity and the explicit formula for the Fibonacci numbers.

Addressing Chaplain Care And Resiliency As Protective Factors To Burnout In Community Chaplaincy, Robin Jonell Ratcliff

Masters Theses

This paper will address Chaplain Care and Resiliency as Protective Factors to Burnout in Community Chaplaincy. There will be a problem stated, literature review covered on the subject, the results of the assessments, scales, and screening used to address burnout. Then the author discusses training and interventions and shows analysis of said training and interventions.

Science Opportunities For Imap-Lo Observations Of Interstellar Neutral Hydrogen And Deuterium During A Maximum Of Solar Activity, M A. Kubiak, M Bzowski, E Möbius, Nathan A. Schwadron

Faculty Publications

Direct-sampling observations of interstellar neutral gas, including hydrogen and deuterium, have been performed for more than one cycle of solar activity by IBEX. The IBEX viewing is restricted to directions perpendicular to the spacecraft–Sun line, which limits the observations to several months each year. This restriction is removed in the forthcoming mission called Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe. The IMAP-Lo instrument will have the capability of adjusting the angle of its boresight with the spacecraft rotation axis. We continue a series of studies of the resulting science opportunities. We adopt the schedule of adjusting the boresight angle suggested by Kubiak …

In The Dark: State V. Alaska Legislative Council And Public-School Funding In The Face Of The Dedicated Funds Clause, Joe Perry

Alaska Law Review

In the past several years, Alaska has faced many challenges in its public education system. These challenges gave rise to an intense political debate, significant new legislation, and a protracted battle over the future of funding for public education. Governor Mike Dunleavy and the state legislature publicly clashed over the implementation of H.B. 287, a 2018 state law designed to provide financial stability to ailing schools and curtail teacher layoffs. In 2022, the Supreme Court of Alaska resolved the dispute in favor of the governor and found a contentious piece of state legislation unconstitutional under the states "Dedicated Funds Clause." …

Sustainable Mining Challenges: Alaska Water Permitting And The United States Green Energy Transition, Morgan Pettit

Alaska Law Review

This Note addresses the myriad of legal and regulatory barriers new mining projects face in Alaska at present. These barriers have become increasingly important at a time when the United States has sought to bolster its domestic mineral supply chain. With over 100 newly located critical mineral deposits, Alaska may be the best place in the United States to establish further domestic sources of critical minerals. By streamlining the regulatory process at both the federal and state level, Alaska can better (1) protect domestic supply chains from global disruptions; (2) maximize the economic benefits of meeting increased global demand for …

Among The Rarest: Saving The Eastern North Pacific Right Whale, Elza Bouhassira

Alaska Law Review

The North Pacific Right Whale (NPRW) is perhaps the rarest, most endangered large whale species in the world. Only about thirty surviving individuals make up the eastern population, which lives in waters around Alaska. This note aims to highlight the crisis facing eastern NPRWs and the steps that can be taken to support the recovery of this rare whale. The paper first presents information on the history of the species and its importance. It next examines existing international and domestic U.S. legal regimes as well as a pending petition to revise NPRW critical habitat off of Alaska. Finally, it advances …

Preliminary Reactions For Do3mbn Ester Design Of Experiments With A Separation Procedure For Do2mbn Ester And Do3mbn Ester Ligand, Cerys A. Easton

University Honors Theses

The ratio of products resulting from a reaction of cyclen (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane) and benzyl (S)-2-bromopropanoate substituent arm is analyzed in three polar aprotic solvents at varying concentrations of cyclen and temperatures. This is for a future design of experiments procedure to determine the optimal experimental conditions for selective DO3MBn ester production without the use of a protecting group. It was found that the reaction completion time is less than 24 hours at reaction temperatures at or above 50 °C and less than 3 days for reaction temperatures at 30 °C regardless of the cyclen concentrations or equivalents of substituent …

Spectroscopic End Point Detection With An Electron Beam Evaporator, Ryan Mcgraw

University Honors Theses

Spectroscopic end point detection is a common tool used for measuring slope changes in wavelength intensity. Using algorithms able to apply this concept, coatings will be able to be dynamically measured in real time and stopped at the appropriate level to ensure process uniformity. It is currently applied to reductive processes such as etching, where the surface will start to be eaten away, creating a plasma. When the entire amount of a material on a substrate has been eaten away, the plasma will change color as it is beginning to etch a different material. Using a spectrometer, this point where …

The Impact Of Data Preparation And Model Complexity On The Natural Language Classification Of Chinese News Headlines, Torrey J. Wagner, Dennis Guhl, Brent T. Langhals

Faculty Publications

Given the emergence of China as a political and economic power in the 21st century, there is increased interest in analyzing Chinese news articles to better understand developing trends in China. Because of the volume of the material, automating the categorization of Chinese-language news articles by headline text or titles can be an effective way to sort the articles into categories for efficient review. A 383,000-headline dataset labeled with 15 categories from the Toutiao website was evaluated via natural language processing to predict topic categories. The influence of six data preparation variations on the predictive accuracy of four algorithms was …

Icolc Statement On Ai In Licensing, International Coalition Of Library Consortia

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) statement on artifical intelligence in licensing.

Family Obligation, School Climate, And The Academic Achievement Of Latinx Youth Living In One- And Two-Parent Households, Elizabeth Martinez Charleston

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Latinx youth are achieving lower levels of educational attainment when compared to their ethnic or racial peers from other backgrounds. Addressing these academic disparities is imperative, with the Latinx population in the U.S. experiencing substantial growth. Guided by the Positive Youth Development Model and the Integrative Model of Child Development, this study explored family obligation and school climate as factors associated with academic achievement. Participants included 268 Latinx youth, including 101 (37.7%) in one-parent households. Participants were 5th through 7th-grade students (56.7% female; M_age = 11.4), mainly 2nd generation (US-born with foreign-born parents; 77.2%), and primarily identified as Mexican …

Friendship, Fne, And Confronting A Racist Remark, Kaelan J. Vazquez

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The current research attempted to link misattribution of arousal with intergroup anxiety. Specifically, we linked the presence of (i.e., or lack thereof) of sound– a clear misattribute participants can blame their intergroup anxiety on– to anticipating intergroup contact by manipulating the randomly assigned interaction partner and misattribution of arousal sound condition participants were in. Participants viewed a confederate’s name and picture on a screen and anticipated an interaction. Participants’ intercultural interaction comfort was measured as well as their anxiety levels and Stroop task performance. A two-way ANOVA revealed that there was not a statistically significant interaction between the effects of …

Peer Status And Cultural Value Considerations For Mental Health And Behavioral Outcomes Of Victimized Chinese Adolescents, Lily Lu

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Peer victimization is an issue that affects adolescents globally (Chudal et al., 2021). While there is considerable research investigating the negative impact of victimization on mental health and behavioral changes among Western youth, there is significantly less research that focuses on Chinese adolescents (e.g., Reijntjes et al., 2010). Influenced by collectivistic values, Chinese adolescents are typically less aggressive and more prosocial compared to American adolescents (Li et al., 2010; Zhang & Han, 2021). However, victimization and aggression do occur, thus it is important to examine the mental health and behavioral outcomes of victimized Chinese adolescents. Additionally, there is little understanding …

Assay Optimization To Capture Herpesvirus Entry Protein Interactions, Angelina Consalvo

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

A sequence of protein-protein interactions between four glycoproteins (gB, gD, gH, and gL) are sufficient and necessary for entry of herpes simplex virus (HSV) into a host cell. The mechanism for entry is conserved across all herpesviruses, specifically gH/gL and gB (Connolly et al., 2011), therefore studying HSV-1 entry can give insight into other herpesviruses. Co-immunoprecipitation (coIP) is an appealing technique for studying protein interactions required for entry in HSV-1. coIP is a promising method because wild-type protein complexes remain intact, and cells can be transfected with multiple combinations of proteins for isolation. coIP can be challenging because the interactions …

Uncovering The Lifeworlds Of College Students Who Are Food Insecure: An Interpretive Phenomenological Inquiry, Amber L. Kolesar

Dissertations

Food insecurity (FI) is a concern for many college students, and contributes to significant physical, mental, and academic stressors. Experts have described the need for qualitative research. A better understanding of the experience of FI among college students may help to inform future research and interventions to support students on their educational journey. This study sought to interpret the lived experience of FI, with specific focus on the sociocultural context in which students experience FI, and its' contributing factors. Incorporating the philosophical perspective of Merleau-Ponty, the researcher utilized interpretive phenomenological analysis to uncover the life-worlds of food-insecure college students.

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Grove Gulch Sedimentation Bay 100% Remedial Design, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

The Quest For A Sensitive And Accurate Flash Radiation Model: Whole Abdominal Irradiation And Real Time Dosimetry, Noah J G Daniel

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the US, and more than 50% of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy (RT), often in combination with surgery, chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy. However, the fundamental limit on radiotherapy treatment efficacy is normal tissue tolerance. One potential way to overcome this limitation is through ultra-high dose rate radiation (FLASH RT). Compared to conventional radiotherapy (CONV RT), FLASH RT has been shown to be just as damaging to cancerous tissue but far more sparing of healthy tissue.

However, clinical translation of FLASH research has been obstructed by the failure of many labs to …

Ascophyllum Nodosum Swe Enhances Root Anatomy, But Not Pod Activity In Both A Salt-Tolerant And Salt-Sensitive Soybean (Glycine Max) Variety Exposed To Salt Stress, Elena Hoang, Paul Stephenson

Faculty Publications

There is growing evidence that seaweed extracts (SWE) may be a solution for mitigating the negative effects of salt stress on crop yield and quality, as they introduce bioactive ingredients able to regulate the expression of growth-inducing and stress-responsive genes. We demonstrate that SWE slightly ameliorated the negative physical growth effects of salt stress, especially in the root anatomy of the salt-sensitive (Clark) variety. The SWE did not stimulate or enhance peroxidase (POD) activity in either the salt-sensitive (Clark) or salt-tolerant variety (Manokin). However, a complete assessment of other antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX) involved in the ROS detoxification process …

The Nature Of Beauty And Its Objective Manifestation Serve As Evidence Of The God Described In The Bible, Michael S. Libby

Masters Theses

In exploring the concept of objective beauty in nature, a strong argument emerges for the existence of a divine creator as described in the Bible. This thesis, titled “The Nature of Beauty and its Objective Manifestation Serve as Evidence of the God Described in the Bible,” proposes that the intricate design and objective manifestation of beauty in the world are indicative of a higher transcendent being, prompting us to contemplate the profound mysteries of creation and the interconnectedness of aesthetics and spirituality. Through this lens of beauty, we are challenged to engage in a thought-provoking discourse that encompasses apologetics, philosophy, …

Commodifying The American Funeral: Impacts On Our Rituals, Grief And Values, Reilly Card

Theses and Dissertations

COMMODIFYING THE AMERICAN FUNERAL: IMPACTS ON OUR RITUALS, GRIEF, AND VALUES

REILLY CARD

63 Pages

Death is a universal experience. Everyone will die. With death comes the need to care for the deceased, and the modern solution to caring for the dead is to outsource the work. Today in America the dead are cared for by funeral homes and funeral directors. This study looks at the role commodification plays in the American funeral experiences and, in turn, how that process of commodification impacts the cultural values of the funeral. This study first examines the literature around funerals, rituals, grief and …

Digital Twins For Health: A Scoping Review, Richard Fletcher, Jinwei Liu, Luke Achenie, Hongfang Liu, Pamela Jackson, Ying Xiao, Tanveer Syeda-Mahmood, Richard Tuli, Jun Deng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The use of digital twins (DTs) has proliferated across various fields and industries, with a recent surge in the healthcare sector. The concept of digital twin for health (DT4H) holds great promise to revolutionize the entire healthcare system, including management and delivery, disease treatment and prevention, and health well-being maintenance, ultimately improving human life. The rapid growth of big data and continuous advancement in data science (DS) and artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to significantly expedite DT research and development by providing scientific expertise, essential data, and robust cybertechnology infrastructure. Although various DT initiatives have been underway in the …

Physical Science Research Needed To Evaluate The Viability And Risks Of Marine Cloud Brightening, Graham Feingold, Virendra P. Ghate, Lynn M. Russell, Peter Blossey, Will Cantrell, Matthew W. Christensen, Raymond Shaw, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

Marine cloud brightening (MCB) is the deliberate injection of aerosol particles into shallow marine clouds to increase their reflection of solar radiation and reduce the amount of energy absorbed by the climate system. From the physical science perspective, the consensus of a broad international group of scientists is that the viability of MCB will ultimately depend on whether observations and models can robustly assess the scale-up of local-to-global brightening in today's climate and identify strategies that will ensure an equitable geographical distribution of the benefits and risks associated with projected regional changes in temperature and precipitation. To address the physical …

My Name Is Pamela Jean: Impacting The Culture Of Life Through Storytelling, Debra D. Watkins

Masters Theses

The research completed for this study provides the opportunity to compare and contrast the views of pro-life and pro-choice storytellers who seek to impact the culture of life relating to abortion and abortion rights through the genres of movies and screenwriting. The Critical Essay section explores the debate on abortion and the sanctity of life as viewed through the literary framework of feminism and opposing worldviews. The Craft Element is an original screenplay submitted to enhance the understanding of how movies can impact moviegoers regarding abortion and the sanctity of life. The screenplay seeks to provide a strong pro-life message …

Three Years With Buffalo Bill, Russell Storman

Masters Theses

John Muir is the father of modern creative nonfiction in the outdoor adventure/nature genre. His passion inspired generations of Christian writers, especially within the genre, to draw connections between the God of their faith and His hand that they see in the natural world. Set in a forty-two-mile hike through northwest Wyoming’s Buffalo Bill State Park and continuing in the example set by Muir, the manuscript Three Years with Buffalo Bill establishes that faith is an essential element of modern life.

Understanding The Learning Experiences And Attitudes Related To The Academic Performance And Success Of High School Students With Disabilities: A Phenomenological Study, Delavar Basha

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the academic performance and progress of students with disabilities at a high school in the Northeastern United States. The theory guiding this study was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs since it captures the benefits of meeting all learners’ fundamental and unique set of needs to motivate them to self-actualize or realize their full potential. A transcendental phenomenology method was used for this study. Twelve students with disabilities served as participants, and data were collected through interviews, a focus group, and an open-ended questionnaire. The study utilized qualitative data analysis techniques to gain …

From Covenants To Classrooms: Uncovering The Impact Of Racial Segregation On Education In St. Paul, Minneapolis, And Duluth, Alexis C. Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Minnesota's history contains a narrative of segregation that not only shaped the physical landscape of its cities but also entrenched disparities in education and fractured communities. The racial covenants that first emerged in 1910 built the bedrock of housing segregation that led to segregated neighborhoods. The consequences of this systemic segregation extended beyond residential boundaries and infiltrated the corridors of education, where the harsh realities of racial imbalance often betrayed the promise of equal opportunity. By examining the interconnectedness of housing policies, school integration efforts, and community development, this study uncovers the roots of inequality and proves how Minnesota failed …

Recreational Use Of Protected Areas: Spatiotemporal Insights From The Wikiloc Mobile App, Jorge Costa, Alberto Gomes, Martin Stokes, Miguel Saraiva

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Managing the rising number of visitors to protected areas (PAs) without compromising their environmental goals is a critical challenge that requires a complete understanding of how and when visitors use these spaces. Georeferenced data from fitness-tracking apps can provide detailed information about the visitor’s spatiotemporal behaviour inside PAs, but its potential is still underexplored. This study uses georeferenced data, from Wikiloc, to analyse the visitors’ spatiotemporal behaviour in Alvão Natural Park, Portugal. Our findings show that: 52% of the visitors’ use is concentrated around the Fisgas de Ermelo Waterfall; photos’ hotspots coincide with the waterfalls and viewpoints facing them; 2% …

Parent And Teacher Perspectives On Attachment/Relationships And Children's Self-Regulation, Elaina Arnold

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parent-child attachment and teacher-child relationships had individually shown an impact on children’s self-regulation. There has been little research, however, showing the impact of the parents’ and teachers’ attachment/relationship on children’s self-regulation at both home and school. This qualitative descriptive study examined the relationship between both the parent and teacher attachment/relationship with self-regulation in children 1-4 years old. Participants included 6 parents (mothers and fathers) with a child in childcare and 5 teachers of these children. Participants took part in a 30–40-minute semi-structured interview that was transcribed. The parents’ and teachers’ descriptions and perceptions of their relationship/attachment with the child, the …

Military Veterans And Yoga Teacher Training: A Phenomenological Review, Stephen L. Rego

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This transcendental phenomenological study aimed to discover the experiences of military veteran graduates of two Veterans Yoga Project (VYP) cohorts. The theory guiding this study was phenomenological inquiry, founded by Husserl and expanded by Hegel, Heidegger, and van Manen, as it explored the lived experiences and potential intersection of wellness in military veterans. The candidates for participation were recruited from the VYP MRYTT yoga training program 2021 Cohort 1, providing 16 graduates, and 2022 Cohort 2, providing 23 graduates. This study discovered 1) the lived experiences of yoga teacher training (YTT) in military veterans, 2) a conceptualization of military veterans’ …