Explanations for the Proliferation of Economic Development Corporations Across North Dakota and South Dakota

The rural areas of the United States have experienced a proliferation of quasi-governmental institutions over the past three decades. The formation of such institutions represents an important form of local boundary change. Local boundaries determine service delivery, economic development, and intergovernmental relationships. It remains unclear, though, how the process of boundary change unfolds. Using federal and state data, I examine the ability of four general explanations of boundary change to account for the proliferation of economic development corporations across North Dakota and South Dakota. I find that their creation is not driven by economic change or need, but is more associated with property taxes per capita

Consolidation and Elimination of North Dakota School Districts: A Research Note

In 1940, there were 2,272 school districts across North Dakota; by 1960, there were ‘only’ 1,351. This study examines the consolidation and elimination of school districts across North Dakota from 1950 to 1966. It finds that the decline in school district numbers was largely driven by the end of one-room schoolhouses as a means of providing public education, though school district taxes and county population density played a significant role as well

A Wedge Issue for the 21st Century: The Conditional Effect of Party Identification for Predicting Feelings Towards Immigrants and Refugees in a Higher Ed Setting

The issue of immigration played an important role in recent U.S. elections. How did the salience of immigration and refugees in the 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections play out amongst young voters? Did increased opportunities to interact with immigrants and refugees affect respondents’ feelings towards these groups, as social contact theory might predict? The analyses here focus on a sample of college students, given that the higher education experience presents conditions for social contact theory to play out. We find that party identification is a key piece of the puzzle – measures of social contact theory operate differently for Democratic and Republican students. These are important findings for those who wish to foster better intergroup relations in a higher ed setting and beyond

Home is Where the Vote Is: A Research Note on the Effects of Changes in North Dakota Voter Identification Laws on College Student Turnout in the 2014 Elections

A survey of undergraduate and graduate students across North Dakota found that 3.2 percent of respondents who attempted to vote in the 2014 midterm elections were unable to participate due to confusion over residency requirements. Many students were unaware that recent changes in the state’s voter identification laws meant they needed to update their addresses thirty days before the election if they wanted to vote in the precinct where they lived. Extrapolating the results of this survey to the student population indicates that 689 students were unable to vote due to residency issues. In addition, 1.5 percent of respondents who attempted to vote were unable to participate due to issues related to absentee ballots

Determination of the Attenuation Factor () in Hybrid Covalent/Non-Covalent Molecular Wires

We have established for the first time the molecular wire behaviour in a new set of hybrid covalent/supramolecular porphyrinfullerene structures, in which hydrogen-bond interactions and pphenylene oligomers of different length act as highly efficient molecular wires exhibiting a remarkably low attenuation factor ( = 0.07 ± 0.01 Å1 )

Modified bibenzimidazole ligands as spectator ligands in photoactive molecular functional Ru-polypyridine units? Implications from spectroscopy

The photophysical properties of Ruthenium-bipyridine complexes bearing a bibenzimidazole ligand were investigated. The nitrogens on the bibenzimidazole-ligand were protected, by adding either a phenylene group or a 1,2-ethandiyl group, to remove the photophysical dependence of the complex on the protonation state of the bibenzimidazole ligand. This protection results in the bibenzimidazole ligand contributing to the MLCT transition, which is experimentally evidenced by (resonance) Raman scattering in concert with DFT calculations for a detailed mode assignment in the (resonance) Raman spectra

Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study

A41 Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study In: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2017, 12(Suppl 1): A4

“Protest on the Red River” Oral History, 2015

Spiral bound collection of oral histories for people on the Red River who were involved in the formation and subsequent leadership of the MnDak Upstream Coalition