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Improving Health Literacy In Diagnostic Imaging For Indigenous Populations: Evaluating Practices, Integrating Policy, And Bridging Gaps, Kimberly Harn

Theses and Dissertations

Indigenous populations in the United States and internationally experience persistent disparities in healthcare access, patient communication, and health outcomes, including disproportionate cancer mortality rates and inequitable engagement with diagnostic imaging services. Communication barriers, limited health literacy, historical trauma, cultural incongruence, and structural inequities reduce meaningful participation in imaging-related care and contribute to delayed diagnosis and poorer outcomes. Despite the critical role of diagnostic imaging in disease detection and clinical management, the intersection of Indigenous health, health literacy, patient communication, and cultural safety within diagnostic imaging contexts remains substantially understudied.

This applied dissertation addresses that gap through three integrated scholarly products …

Understanding Health Literacy In Confinement: Intersectional Perspectives And Criminal Justice Implications, Laura Mishne Heller

Theses and Dissertations

Health literacy, defined as the ability to access, understand, evaluate, and apply health information, is a critical determinant of health and health equity. Although national public health initiatives emphasize improving health literacy, incarcerated populations remain largely overlooked in health literacy research despite experiencing disproportionately high rates of chronic illness, infectious disease, mental health conditions, and substance use disorders. Using data from the 2014 U.S. Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Prison Study, this dissertation examined health literacy among incarcerated adults through three sequential analyses. First, literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving measures were evaluated as proxy indicators of health …

Effects Of A Rear-Flank Storm Interaction On Supercell Behavior And Tornado-Like Vortex Development In Idealized Simulations, Kyle Joseph Gillett

Theses and Dissertations

Observationally, storm interactions have been associated with changes in severe convective storm behavior and evolution, including the development and maintenance of tornadoes. In particular, the interaction of neighboring convection in or near the rear flank of a supercell thunderstorm has frequently been associated with tornadogenesis. Although statistical relationships associated with these behavioral changes have been established, the physical mechanisms governing their evolution remain poorly understood. Presented are two sets of numerical experiments, each consisting of five idealized model simulations. One experiment set simulates a discrete “parent” supercell thunderstorm, while the other simulates the same “parent” subjected to a rear-flank interaction …

A Descriptive Mixed Methods Case Study: A Culturally Responsive Approach To Contact Tracing By The White Mountain Apache Tribe, Kamellia Kellywood

Theses and Dissertations

American Indian and Alaska Native communities experienced disproportionate impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the need to better understand effective public health response strategies in tribal settings. The purpose of this convergent mixed methods case study was to examine the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT), COVID-19 response by exploring the perceived strengths and limitations of the WMAT contact tracing program and describing temporal patterns of COVID-19 transmission in relation to tribal mitigation mandates. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 11 key informants involved in contact tracing and COVID-19 response efforts. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Quantitative …

Impact Of Active Learning On Student Performance In An Introductory Atmospheric Science Laboratory Course, Kassidy Danae Kjos

Theses and Dissertations

Little investigation into pedagogy in atmospheric sciences has been conducted. While numerous studies across STEM disciplines have examined and demonstrate active learning (AL) is beneficial to student performance, fewer than fifty explored atmospheric sciences specifically. This study expands upon these few existing studies by evaluating a diverse set of AL strategies implemented into introductory meteorology laboratories. Five AL techniques (Think-Pair-Share, Game-Based, Role-Playing, Diagramming, and Gallery Walks) were implemented between two semesters across multiple laboratory sections. Student performance is analyzed using the laboratory and its accompanying lecture curriculum assessments, as well as through pre- and post-tests. Results indicate students exposed to …

Bridging Relational And Institutional Accountability: A Mixed Methods Study Of Implementing Sámi Ethical Research Guidelines In Finland’S Public Health Sector, Anna Charlotta Kihlstrom

Theses and Dissertations

The Ethical Guidelines for Research Involving Sámi People in Finland represent a critical step toward ethical Indigenous research; however, a gap remains between these principles and their implementation. This study responds to a research priority identified by the Sámi Social Affairs and Health Committee and examines how ethical research guidelines can be operationalized in the collaboration between the Sámi Parliament and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was employed, grounded in an Indigenous research paradigm and relational accountability. Extensive community engagement was carried out as a foundational part of the research methodology. …

He AliʻI Ka ʻĀina; He Kauwā Ke Kanaka (The Land Is Chief; Man Is Its Servant): A Qualitative Study Investigating The Importance Of Sacred Spaces And Native Land In The Health Of Native Hawaiians, Natalie Lai Jun Liz Makalapuaikekehau Lau

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This qualitative study aimed to understand Native Hawaiian perceptions on the relationship between land, sacred spaces, and overall health. The research sought to understand how impacts, changes, land access, desecration, and land loss impacts the health of Native Hawaiians across multiple areas. Background: Native Hawaiians have a deep connection with their land as they believe it to be a relative and an ancestor. Native Hawaiians experience several different health disparities, and these disparities could be caused by several different factors including but not limited to loss of land, sacred spaces, historical trauma, racism, and environmental injustices. Method: Three virtual …

Gender Perceptions Of Occupational Therapy Students And The Impact On Academic Experience, John Brian Leclerc

Theses and Dissertations

Since its inception in 1917, the field of occupational therapy has maintained a pronounced gender imbalance, with females comprising the vast majority of practitioners despite major historical shifts in healthcare delivery. This dissertation examines how occupational therapist (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students perceive gender and how these perceptions influence their academic experiences and future professional roles.

Using a multi-study design, this dissertation integrates qualitative and quantitative approaches across three articles. In article 1, focus groups were employed with doctoral OT students (N=30) and revealed five central themes: the value of gender diversity for learning, a nurturing and supportive …

Deep Learning For Lithium-Ion Battery Status Monitoring: Robust State-Of-Charge And Trustworthy State-Of-Health Estimation, Mingwei Lei

Theses and Dissertations

In electric vehicle and energy storage applications, the reliable operation of safety-critical battery management systems (BMS) relies on accurate, real-time estimation of the state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH). Although data-driven methods show great potential, their practical application is primarily constrained by two major challenges. First, battery operation under real-world conditions involves continuously varying factors—such as temperature, aging stages, and dynamic cell characteristics—making it impossible to exhaustively cover all scenarios during laboratory data collection. This discrepancy often leads to a significant decline in estimation performance due to the domain shift problem. Second, engineering practice requires a balance …

Qualitative Exploration Of Understanding Gluten Intolerance: Knowledge, Experiences, And Perceptions Among American Indian Adults Living On The Mandan, Hidatsa, And Arikara Nation, Roselle M. Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Background: This dissertation examines gluten intolerance, particularly celiac disease (CD), within American Indian communities. Although CD has been traditionally considered more common among people of European descent, emerging evidence suggests increasing rates among American Indian populations as dietary patterns have shifted from traditional, naturally gluten-free foods to diets containing higher levels of gluten. These dietary changes, along with possible genetic factors and historical underdiagnosis, highlight the importance of understanding how gluten-related health concerns are recognized and discussed within American Indian communities. Lower rates of diagnosis may reflect limited awareness of symptoms and challenges in communicating gluten-related health experiences rather than …

Intragroup Marginalization, Multiracial Identity Development, And Subjective Well-Being: A Qualitative Analysis, Anna Kim Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

To date, there is little research on the relationship between multiracial identity, marginalization, and well-being, particularly research investigating whether identity can have a positive impact on well-being. The current study used live, semi-structured interviews and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to aggregate the narratives of nine multiracial participants to explore their lived experiences of intragroup marginalization, multiracial identity development and integration, and well-being. Within the frames of the Intersectional Model of Multiracial Identity and Social Identity Model, five superordinate themes emerged across participants: (1) early racial meaning-making and internalized tension; (2) developing and negotiating a multiracial identity; (3) seeking and constructing …

Molecular And Cellular Mechanisms Of Neuromodulators In The Regulation Of Neural Activities And Memories In The Hippocampal Formation, Chidiebele Sharon Oraegbuna

Theses and Dissertations

The dentate gyrus (DG) and medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) are critical regions of the limbic system involved in spatial navigation, pattern separation, neurogenesis, learning and memory, and mood regulation. Alterations within the DG circuitry have been implicated in cognitive impairments in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and temporal lobe epilepsy. Disruption in the MEC is associated with the onset of AD pathology, temporal lobe epilepsy and schizophrenia. The roles of the DG and MEC in health and disease are mediated by their precise cellular activity. The main neurons of the DG are the glutamatergic granule cells (GCs) and …

Body-Scanning, Mindset, And Mindfulness: An Investigation And Augmentation Of A Relaxation Practice, Nathaniel Joseph Pagel

Theses and Dissertations

Meditation-related practices impact a variety of psychological outcomes. However, as new methods emerge, investigations of novel practices are crucial to promoting effective interventions. This study centrally tests the potential for non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) to improve scores on measures related to anxiety and cognitive performance, and the potential augmentation of NSDR through unilateral cathodal tDCS of the left-DLPFC (i.e., F3). A preregistered design was used to test if NSDR improves scores on measures related to cognitive performance, mediation states, anxiety, if scores from the Learned Helplessness Scale and the Growth Mindset Scale moderate the relationship between the experimental condition and …

Dual Credit In North Dakota: High School Administrators’ Perceptions And Experiences, Kayla Marie O'Toole

Theses and Dissertations

Dual credit opportunities continue to expand across North Dakota, providing high school students with opportunities to earn college credit while completing high school coursework. Despite this growth, participation in dual credit varies among high schools across the state. The purpose of this study was to examine high school administrators’ perceptions and experiences regarding dual credit programming in North Dakota. The study was guided by the following research question: What perceptions about dual credit exist among high school administrators, and what are their experiences?This study used a survey-based research approach to collect data from high school administrators throughout North Dakota. It …

Understanding The Mmiw/Mmip Crisis: Jurisdictional Gaps, Institutional Failure, And Public Perception, Taylor Julia Pesch

Theses and Dissertations

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Crisis/Missing and MurderedIndigenous People (MMIP) crisis calls attention to the ongoing issues with underreporting and violence against Indigenous people. As years have gone by, the rates of violence and disappearances have increased. The Women’s Wilderness webpage reports that in 2016, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) recorded around 5,712 cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women and children; however, the database in the U.S. Department of Justice has only recorded 116 cases, highlighting a significant issue in MMIW reporting (Native Women’s Wilderness, n.d.). This study explores how jurisdictional barriers and reporting gaps can …

Cultural Identification And Preferences In Treatment For American Indian Adults With Substance Use Disorder, Megan Kay Saboo

Theses and Dissertations

Substance use disorders occur at a disproportionately higher rate for American Indian adults in the United States, yet there is a limited understanding of how those in the recovery process perceive their American Indian culture as a meaningful component of their treatment. This study intended to address this gap in the research and to assist with tribal efforts in treating substance use disorder among a small sample of American Indian adults enrolled in a Northern Plains tribe by assessing cultural identification and the importance, contribution, and incorporation of cultural traditions, practices, and ways of living into the recovery process. Results …

Public Good, Politics, And Public Goods: The Social Construction Of Educators In Progressive Era North Dakota, Kevin Joel Read

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines education reforms in North Dakota’s early Nonpartisan League period (circa 1916-1920) by focusing on three policy vignettes located in the local, state, and higher education domains. Together, this dissertation investigates the tensions and nuances of modernizing education in the state including the conditions which created a moment for rapid policy implementation, and the factors which led to that moment ending. The local vignette focuses on housing policy for educators, and the state’s consolidation of education governance into a Board of Administration is explored in the state and higher education chapters. Additionally, the role educators in the state …

Hidden In Plain Sight: A Single-Case Study Analysis Of An Established Employee Well-Being Department In Higher Education, Andria Spaeth

Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the perceptions and experiences of student-facing staff within the Divisionof Student Affairs at the University of North Dakota to understand how they currently have their holistic well-being needs met through the Work Well department and the support they receive from the senior administration. A detailed review of the relevant literature is included. A qualitative single-case study research methodology is used alongside the Social Cognitive Theory framework to examine the current perceived support student-facing staff have.

The case study follows a bounded system approach with the Work Well department serving as the site selection as the worksite wellness …

Attachment Security And Sexual Compliance: Implications For Mental Health And Relationship Outcomes, Kimberly Tom

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual compliance is defined as consenting to sexual acts despite not wanting to have sex. Even though sexual compliance behavior has been associated with a multitude of adverse outcomes, it remains an understudied sexual behavior. Previous research has suggested people with insecure attachment (i.e., avoidant, anxious, and disorganized attachment styles) may be more likely to engage in sexual compliance than their securely attached counterparts. Results from the current study found attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance, significantly predicted sexual compliance behavior. Gender and generalized anxiety symptoms also emerged as significant predictors of sexual compliance behavior. This study also sought to …

Emotional And Physical Neglect As Predictors Of Mcmi-Iv Personality Scales, Jenna Wolff

Theses and Dissertations

Theodore Millon (2011) proposed that specific developmental experiences and childhood adversities contribute to personality pathology, although these hypotheses have received limited empirical investigation. Participants (N = 490) completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-IV (MCMI-IV) and self-report measures of childhood adversity. Hierarchical ordinal regression analyses examined whether childhood adversities predicted elevations across MCMI-IV personality scales after controlling for age, gender, and co-occurring abuse. Although neglect was the primary focus of the study, childhood physical and emotional abuse emerged as the most consistent predictors across models. Both forms of abuse significantly predicted elevated masochistic, borderline, and schizotypal personality scores. Emotional abuse uniquely …

Nurse Manager Perceptions Of Strategies To Overcome The Underutilization Of Nonpharmacological Pain Control Methods In Adult Acute Care, Landen M. Bonnell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A basic patient right is to have pain adequately managed. However, research consistently indicates that many adult patients in acute care experience inadequately managed pain, which may contribute to adverse patient outcomes. Studies have shown that nonpharmacological pain management can lead to increased patient satisfaction, shorter hospital stays, and better patient outcomes. However, many barriers exist to nurses providing effective nonpharmacological pain control therapy, primarily including heavy workload and a lack of education and support. Currently, there is insufficient research on how to overcome these barriers. Four nurse managers with experience in nursing leadership were interviewed using a qualitative descriptive …

The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention's Healthy Tribes Program: Uncertainty Around Executive Orders During 2025 - A Qualitative Study, Gem Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Programs that center culture as prevention are required for promoting holistic health and well-being in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, however limited research demonstrates how these programs are affected by federal policy instability. Securing and sustaining funding for culturally centered initiatives is essential not only for reducing health inequities, but also for upholding Tribal self-determination and the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations.

This qualitative study examines the impact of federal funding uncertainty related to executive orders issued in 2025 on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Healthy Tribes program.

This Tribally driven study employed Knowledge Sharing Sessions, …

A Global Climatology Of Tropical Cyclone Integrated Kinetic Energy Utilizing Best Track And Synthetic Aperture Radar Data, Sydney Walters-Vangorden

Theses and Dissertations

Tropical cyclone (TC) intensity has traditionally been quantified based on the maximum sustained wind speed, a single-point metric that does not capture the full destructive potential of the TC. To account for the strength, size, and spatial distribution of the wind field, integrated kinetic energy (IKE) has recently been proposed. IKE is traditionally calculated as the total kinetic energy of the TC’s wind field inside its radius of tropical storm-force winds. This work presents the first global climatology of IKE using best track observations from 2004-2024 of 34-, 50-, and 64-kt wind radii from the National Hurricane Center and Joint …

Funding Traditional Best Practices: Exploring The Impacts Of Multidimensional Funding Through The Centers Of Disease Control And Prevention's (Cdc) Healthy Tribes Project, Hannah Lorraine Youngdeer

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the experiences of Health Tribes recipients managing or participatingin more than one funding opportunity provided through the CDC Healthy Tribes program; offering an opportunity to share successes and challenges in multidimensional funding management, program implementation, and impacts, as well as recommendations for funders and other American Indian and Alaska Native communities. This qualitative study used document analysis and a focus group, with data analyzed using deductive thematic analysis to identify patterns and develop themes.

The findings highlight methods of funding management and factors, such as organizational structures, that drive the organization of funding management. The findings also …

Edge-Native Multi-Agent System For Latency-Critical Anomaly Detection And Qos Optimization In 6g Smart Manufacturing, Ndidi Nzeako Anyakora

All Dissertations

The increasing reliance on wireless connectivity in smart manufacturing places stringent demands on network latency, reliability, and adaptability that exceed the capabilities of static or threshold-based quality-of-service (QoS) control mechanisms. While 5G standalone networks support industrial deployments, emerging 6G environments are expected to introduce greater variability, tighter latency constraints, and increased performance degradation, necessitating autonomous, learning-driven control strategies.

This dissertation proposed an intelligent multi-agent framework for real-time anomaly detection and QoS optimization in industrial wireless networks by integrating edge-based monitoring, unsupervised anomaly detection, and reinforcement learning-driven control. Network telemetry collected from a Firecell 5G standalone testbed served as an empirical …

The Role Of Non-Symmetric Weights In Hermite–Hadamard Inequalities For Coordinated Ga-Convex And Ga-Quasi-Convex Functions, Muhammad Amer Latif, Ayesha Shabbir

Publications and Research

This paper establishes new Fejér and Hermite–Hadamard-type inequalities for functions of two variables whose mixed second-order partial derivatives satisfy coordinated GA-convexity or coordinated GA-quasi-convexity on a rectangle in the positive quadrant. Our main results are formulated for non-negative continuous weight functions that are not necessarily symmetric with respect to the geometric means of the interval endpoints, thereby extending the classical framework to genuinely asymmetric weights. However, to obtain explicit and sharp integral bounds in certain cases, we also employ a technical lemma that assumes a special symmetric setting where the weight function is symmetric on each coordinate with respect to …

Understanding The Impact Of Parenting, Self-Determination Theory, And Adverse Childhood Experiences On College Students, Melanie D. Prater

Dissertations

College students are at high risk for experiencing psychological distress which impacts their academic, mental, and physical well-being (Eskin et al., 2016; Reed‑Fitzke & Lucier‑Greer, 2020; Sharp & Theiler, 2018). The Self Determination Theory (SDT) serves as a suitable framework for investigating the impact of parental autonomy support (PAS) and parental psychological control (PPC) on college students’ well-being and distress. According to SDT, the satisfaction of three foundational needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) supports well-being, while thwarting of these needs may be associated with psychological distress and resilience (Costa et al., 2016; Lera & Abualkibash, 2022; Reed‑Fitzke & Lucier‑Greer, 2020; …

Land Condition Standards For The Western Australian Nullarbor Pastoral Region, Peter-Jon A. Waddell, Wayne J. Fletcher

Natural resources published reports

This report outlines the quantitative land condition standards that define acceptable pastoral land condition for the Western Australian part of the Nullarbor, to meet the regulatory requirements of the Land Administration Act 1997 and the Soil and Land Conservation Act 1945.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is developing regional-level pastoral land condition standards for Western Australia as a critical component of the Framework for sustainable pastoral management – revised edition (Fletcher 2022), the purpose of which is to address the Office of the Auditor General’s recommendations to improve the management of pastoral lands in WA …

Dragon Heart, Elizabeth Brown

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A young adult fantasy novel centered around dragons and dragon hunters that takes place in a fantasy version of our modern world. The novel follows three narrators on different sides of the conflict as they navigate a world full of prejudice and war.

A Verification And Validation Framework For Model-Based Systems Engineering Using Executable Architecture Models And Integrated Simulation, Michael O. Cruz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) reaches its full value when architecture does more than describe a system. It should help engineers carry stakeholder need and system intent into executable analysis, preserve the configuration and criteria used, and return evidence that can be reviewed in the same architecture context. This dissertation develops and evaluates a seven phase, architecture-driven verification and validation framework for that purpose. The framework defines the responsibilities that connect SysML architecture, controlled execution, domain simulation, configuration management, persistent data, analytics, and accountable engineering review. A reusable Cameo/SysML digital test environment plugin provides the reference implementation for orchestration and model …