Digital Commons Network^™

Revolutionary Applications Of Generative Ai In Higher Education Institutes (Heis) And Its Implications, Arvind Sahu, Atul Sahu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In recent decades, there has been a notable transformation in educational procedures due to technological breakthroughs, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI). In recent times, there has been a noteworthy advancement and acceptance of generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, specifically exemplified by the emergence of Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT). Within the overarching category of Generative AI, various AI tools and technologies facilitate the production of computer-generated text, images, and other forms of digitized media. This paper comprehensively analyzes the concepts and implications of the discourse surrounding Generative AI. By adopting a position that advocates for the acceptance rather than the opposition …

Sentinel Surveillance Of Sars-Cov-2 Rates And Equity Impacts Using Labor And Delivery Patients In Phoenix, Arizona, Caitlyn J. Linehan, Trisalyn Nelson, Celeste V. Bailey, Esma Gel, Dean V. Coonrod, Cheryl K. Roth

Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics: Faculty and Staff Publications

Proactive management of SARS-CoV-2 requires timely and complete population data to track the evolution of the virus and identify at risk populations. However, many cases are asymptomatic and are not easily discovered through traditional testing efforts. Sentinel surveillance can be used to estimate the prevalence of infections for geographical areas but requires identification of sentinels who are representative of the larger population. Our goal is to evaluate applicability of a population of labor and delivery patients for sentinel surveillance system for monitoring the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We tested 5307 labor and delivery patients from two hospitals in Phoenix, Arizona, …

Star-Based Reachability Analysis Of Binary Neural Networks On Continuous Input, Mykhailo Ivashchenko

Department of Computer Science and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have become a popular instrument for solving various real-world problems. DNNs’ sophisticated structure allows them to learn complex representations and features. However, architecture specifics and floating-point number usage result in increased computational operations complexity. For this reason, a more lightweight type of neural networks is widely used when it comes to edge devices, such as microcomputers or microcontrollers – Binary Neural Networks (BNNs). Like other DNNs, BNNs are vulnerable to adversarial attacks; even a small perturbation to the input set may lead to an errant output. Unfortunately, only a few approaches have been proposed for verifying …

Predicting The Future Of Myanmar’S Civil War: Can Half A Century Of Military Rule Be Defeated?, Nathan Ritterling

Honors Theses

In 2021, the military of Myanmar launched a coup in response to their overwhelming defeat in the 2020 elections, resulting in an end to the country’s tentative move towards democracy and in intense violence to suppress opposition to the coup. Anti-junta forces quickly formed in the aftermath to directly oppose the military and return the country to democratic rule, and began collaborating with long-standing ethnic militias in their efforts. This has led to a state of prolonged civil war, as the two sides fight for dominance over the nature of Myanmar’s future government. This paper investigated the potential outcome of …

A Manual On The Planning And Integration Of Archaeological Methods Into Outdoor Forensic Search Investigations, Jonathan Robert Garcia

Anthropology Department: Theses

As archaeology and its applications into forensic contexts develop into the growing discipline of forensic archaeology, an increasing amount of literature has resulted stemming from research on the integration of common archaeological methods. However, much of this literature is intended for professional archaeologists or forensic anthropologists who are well experienced in their respective disciplines. Emerging literature generally does not consider those who leads efforts at forensic scenes in the outdoors such as law enforcement officers who often lack a background in archaeology or forensic anthropology. This thesis seeks to resolve this dilemma by creating a new and accessible manual. The …

From Card Catalogs To Clicks: The Modern Library Website's Influence On Information Access, Somvir Rathee, Priti Sharma

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The research paper, "From Card Catalogs to Clicks: The Modern Library Website's Influence on Information Access," delves into the transformative impact of the internet on libraries and their transition from physical to digital information access. It explores the historical context of this evolution and underscores the pivotal role of library websites in providing efficient and user-friendly access to a wide range of digital resources, from books to scholarly articles and multimedia content.

This paper investigates the redefined features of library websites, emphasizing user-centered design, enhanced search capabilities, and interactive elements that have significantly improved the overall experience for library patrons. …

Tuning Out: Intersections Of Music And Literature In The Contemporary French-Language Novel, Alexander James Claussen

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The past thirty years have seen a shift in French-language novels as authors move from the self-reflexive formal experimentation of the nouveau roman and its successors toward a literature that is again concerned with plot, character, and above all, the problems of the contemporary world. This “retour au récit” is accompanied by a resurgence of interest in writing the self (through experiments in autofiction), the past (through explorations of collective memory and collective guilt), and the present (through novels that challenge existing social structures and seek to define and develop new collective or national identities).

This dissertation examines the (re)turn …

Native American Choral Music: Strategies For Celebrating And Incorporating Music Of Indigenous People, Mary Ruth Young

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

*Language usage is fluid and evolving, representing past and present people groups. During my discussions with my Indigenous composer colleagues, I've found that they hold varying preferences regarding how they wish to be addressed and the terminology they prefer. Because of this, I use the terms Native, Native American, First Nations, Indigenous, American Indian, and First Peoples interchangeably.*

This document will discuss the historical exclusion of Native American music in the Western art forms, specifically the choral tradition, and provide solutions to incorporate it in modern choral performances. Considering first the wars, disease, displacement, colonization, and missionization, it is no …

Coalitional Response(Ability) In Rhetoric And Composition, Zoe Nicole Mcdonald

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation considers the literacy practices of progressive coalitions as a provocative way to examine central responsibilities of rhetorical scholars, college writing instructors, and Writing Program Administrators. Through attention to case studies, this dissertation suggests opportunities to consider social differences as crucial assets for political advocacy, scholarly knowledge production, and teaching strategies.

Tuning Out: Intersections Of Music And Literature In The Contemporary French-Language Novel, Alexander Claussen

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The past thirty years have seen a shift in French-language novels as authors move from the self-reflexive formal experimentation of the nouveau roman and its successors toward a literature that is again concerned with plot, character, and above all, the problems of the contemporary world. This “retour au récit” is accompanied by a resurgence of interest in writing the self (through experiments in autofiction), the past (through explorations of collective memory and collective guilt), and the present (through novels that challenge existing social structures and seek to define and develop new collective or national identities). This dissertation examines the (re)turn …

Making Czech Art Song Accessible For Novice Singers, Rachel Jane Sweeney Green

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Czech art song is often overlooked by vocal instructors while assigning music for the novice singer. The repertoire of Czech art song is vast, yet seldom used in vocal studios in America. Though some consider the language difficult, when approached in the correct manner it is easy for a novice to sing in Czech. This document advocates for Czech art song to be assigned and selected for the novice singer. Each chapter serves as a tool to understand and navigate Czech repertoire. The last chapter provides five examples of Czech art song selected because they align with the guidelines of …

Constructing Refugee Identity: A Heuristic Inquiry Into Experiences Of Ukrainian Refugees, Deana Tsabak

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Besides the despicable atrocities and devastation, Russia’s war in Ukraine caused the emergence of a group of refugees previously unknown in the U.S. and the world. The phenomenon of “Ukrainian refugees” is new to the immigration and resettlement agencies, host communities, employers, and educators. This research explores how five Ukrainians who left their homeland after the beginning of Russia’s war construct their refugee identity in the United States. Furthermore, this study aims to discover in what ways learning English in the English Language Learning (ELL) program at a community college in Nebraska influences refugee identity construction in resettlement. This study …

Beyond The Looking Glass: Dreams And Somnial States And Spaces In Nineteenth-Century British Literature, Anne Nagel

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Poised between a waning magico-theological tradition of symbolic dream interpretation and the rising influence of scientific dream theories, which equated dreaming with disorder, the dream occupied a unique space in nineteenth-century Great Britain. Dreams were coming untethered from signification, as natural philosophers deemed their content indecipherable and chaotic. Yet vestiges of early modern beliefs could still lend supernatural power and polyphony to dreams. This was not simply a matter of making a binary choice between two ways of thinking about dreams but instead a site of collisions and coalescences. I contend that the ways in which dreams were conceptualized in …

Queer Literacies, World-Making, And Access In The Rural South, Keshia Mcclantoc

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation analyzes and digitally archives queer literacy narratives from participants across the rural South through the frameworks of literacy, world-making, and access. Through this analysis and archival work, the author expands present definitions of queer literacy by asking the following: What does queer literacy, queer world-making, and queer access look like for queer people in the rural South? How do their perspectives expand on Composition and Rhetoric’s understanding of queer literacy and the scholarly and pedagogical potentials it entails? Finally, how might we use these expansive understandings of queer becoming to posit more resourceful and imaginative futures for all …

Iraqi Education Past And Present: The Role Of Policymakers And Their Ideological Background, Hadi T. Pir

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The history of Iraqi education unmistakably illustrates how policymakers have consistently operated within the same worldview since 1920. Despite apparent differences among Iraqis in terms of race, religion, sect, geography, and social and tribal norms, a shared worldview has emerged, which I term the Traditional Iraqi Paradigm (TIP). This shared worldview comprises a set of interconnected postulates. The divergence among Iraqi groups lies not in the postulates themselves but in how they translate these postulates into actions and behaviors. These translations have become historical, institutional, and psychological aspects of reality contributing to the political, social, and educational differences, conflicts, and …

The Stigma Of Deaf: Managing A Stigmatized Identity And Well-Being, Renca Dunn

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The Deaf identity encompasses cultural, linguistic, and social dimensions that significantly influence the lives of Deaf individuals. The World Health Organization predicts that by 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide will be living with some degree of hearing loss (2021). While there may be a growing number of people who have some type of hearing loss, there is a distinct group who identify their hearing loss as part of a culture and community. The Deaf community has a rich history, culture, language, and linguistic heritage. The development of the Deaf identity is influenced by factors such as family, education, and …

Stories Of Motivation And Values Of Small-Scale Farmers In Jamaica And The United States, Raquel Taylor

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Small-scale farmers add to global and local food systems through various means such as connecting communities to local food and support economies. Small-scale farms can address issues related to food and nutritional security. However, farming can be a challenging career to engage in, especially for those who are small-scale farmers. Matters related to succession, higher paying off-farm employment, policies, and more can make it challenging to engage in farming. Leaving the question of what would motivate someone to engage in small-scale farming. Motivation can be viewed through multiple lenses; this study chose to use self-determination theory to understand the motivations …

Cultivating Academic Achievement: An Updated Social Psychological Explanation, Maika Malualelagi Tuala

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This study looks at how income differences affect children's social psychological development, which in turn shapes their academic achievement. Building on theories of social class, cultural capital, and self-concept formation, this dissertation offers a new social psychological model that connects parental SES, concerted cultivation, children's academic mindset and achievement. This new concept called “academic mindset” includes several key social-psychological factors that influence academic performance namely- self-esteem, locus of control, math and reading self-concepts, and educational expectations and values. The study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-1998 Kindergarten cohort and tests the model using multivariate regression analyses. Findings show …

Stealth Morph Intervention: A Single Case Mixed Methods Design, Kristen Elise Job

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Students who are considered “Stealth Dyslexics” may use their gifts and talents to mask their disability until the time comes when the rigor of academics peels away the mask and students are identified in middle or high school with dyslexia or reading difficulties. The primary aim of this mixed methods study was to investigate a reading fluency intervention, Stealth Morph, on identified twice exceptional (2E) students with stealth dyslexia. The intervention uses Greek and Latin roots as a morphemic approach to help students access the building blocks of academic words. The intervention consisting of 10 units to be used daily …

Talking About Writing: Scenes Of Writing Workshops In History And Practice, Erika Luckert

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation envisions the writing workshop as a space where we do essential political and social work—where we can reimagine writing, and the teaching of writing, in more interdependent and inclusive ways. This research responds to the work of BIPOC writers and scholars who have urged those of us in Writing Studies to address the homogeneity of the workshop’s history, and to revise its exclusionary logics. Drawing on interviews and observations of teachers in undergraduate creative writing and composition classrooms across the United States, the author examines what actually happens when students talk together about their in-progress writing. This dissertation …

Sun, Thunder, Daugava: Accessible Choral Music From The Latvian Choral Tradition, Paul Von Kampen

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

I have been fortunate enough to visit Latvia twice, once in 2009 and again in 2023. With connections made through the global outreach arm of the Lutheran Church Missouri–Synod, I was able to incorporate myself into Latvian culture in ways that may not have been possible had I been a standard tourist. I am grateful to have been invited into the homes of Latvian friends, to have studied in the Jāzeps Vītols Music Academy Library, and to have celebrated both the Jāņi midsummer festival in the Latvian countryside and my twenty-second birthday on the shores of the mighty Daugava River. …

3d Learning Spaces For Second Language Learning, Emma Olson

Honors Theses

Many language teaching techniques and approaches have been used and adapted to culminate in the development of Communicative Language Teaching, which focuses on developing functional proficiency and communicative competence. 3D learning spaces are becoming increasingly more popular for language learning as well, and more specifically, socially-based virtual worlds (or “metaverses”) make good educational tools for developing communicative competence, as they engage learners in situational and experiential learning through increasing authenticity, lowering anxiety levels (i.e., affective filters), and allowing for the development of tools that can support both structured and spontaneous speaking opportunities. After a brief literature review, this thesis therefore …

Families And Educators Co-Designing: Critical Education Research As Participatory Public Scholarship, Laura Hernández, University Neighborhood Partners, Salt Lake City, Ut, Gerardo R. López, Jennifer Mayer-Glenn, Leticia Alvarez Gutiérrez, Taeyeon Kim, Amadou Niang, Sonny Partola, Alma Yanagui

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

For the past six years, we—members of the Family-School Collaboration Design Research Project—have been working to understand and transform family-school relationships in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our group includes an evolving cast of scholars, family leaders, professional educators, graduate students, and organizers. We are trying to create spaces where culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families-families whose language and culture differ from the dominant school culture-have real voice in schools and can partner equitably with educators.

We are a part of a national network of scholars, practitioners, and family and community leaders called the Family Leadership Design Collaborative (FLDC). Since 2016, …

A Science Teacher’S Experiences When Fostering Intercultural Competence Among Students In Multilingual Classrooms: A Narrative Study, Uma Ganesan, Amanda R. Morales

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Increased globalization of the world economy, growth in human migration, and rapid devel-opments in science and technology have required people to develop intercultural commu-nication skills. Teachers play a crucial role in developing intercultural competence among students in our globalized, multilingual classrooms. The need for fostering collaborative discourse among students with diverse cultural and linguistic repertoires and building in-tercultural competence among students is a common blind spot in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics teacher praxis. This can inhibit efforts to cultivate safe and supportive learning environments for all students and can ultimately threaten multilingual student success. As part of a larger …

Discourses That Undermine Union Movements: A Multimodal Analysis Of Union-Busting Videos, Theresa A. Catalano, Julia Schleck

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Labor unions in the United States have experienced decades of decline, but recent years have seen a rebirth of union campaigns and successes. Because unions are once again becoming a threat to large companies, it is reasonable to assume that efforts to discourage organizing efforts will increase and become even more robust in the near future. Although traditionally, companies have worked to suspend union organizing through captive audience meetings in which unions were discussed via verbal or written modes, more recent means of reaching workers with anti-union messages incorporate a variety of communication strategies to get the message across. As …

Inka Khipus, Thread Wrappings And Subject Markers, Lucrezia Milillo

IX Jornadas Internacionales de Textiles Precolombinos y Amerindianos / 9th International Conference on Pre-Columbian and Amerindian Textiles, Museo delle Culture, Milan, 2022.

This work aims to contribute to our current understanding of how information was organized in khipus, Andean colourful knotted cords used as writing. If the idea that khipu signs could work as a flow chart was common in the last two decades, it is not until the notion of kayte as subject marker was elaborated by Sabine Hyland on the basis of Julio C. Tello's notes that the theory could be discussed on more empirical grounds. So far, the term “kayte” applied to needlework bundles, pompons or tufts attached to the beginning of the primary cord. In this work, the …

Seroprevalence, Blood Chemistry, And Patterns Of Canine Parvovirus, Distemper Virus, Plague, And Tularemia In Free-Ranging Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In Northern New Mexico, Usa, Leah M. White, Suzanne J. Gifford, Gail Kaufman, Eric M. Gese, Mark A. Peyton, Robert R. Parmenter, James W. Cain Iii

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife diseases have implications for ecology, conservation, human health, and health of domestic animals. They may impact wildlife health and population dynamics. Exposure rates of coyotes (Canis latrans) to pathogens such as Yersinia pestis, the cause of plague, may reflect prevalence rates in both rodent prey and human populations. We captured coyotes in north-central New Mexico during 2005–2008 and collected blood samples for serologic surveys. We tested for antibodies against canine distemper virus (CDV, Canine morbillivirus), canine parvovirus (CPV, Carnivore protoparvovirus), plague, tularemia (Francisella tularensis), and for canine heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) antigen. Serum …

Methodologizing Transnationality: Relational Writing As Collective Inquiry, Sun Young Lee, Minhye Son, Taeyeon Kim, Jin Kyeong Jung, Soo Bin Jang

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

How can we take transnationality as a space of in-betweenness to generate new possibilities, moving beyond geographically bounded spans between countries? This article presents five authors’ collective inquiry on transnational positionalities, which we practiced through the relational, transformative, and reflective writing of the self in a community space. We staged the collaborative writing into two processes: the emergent process of thematic writing and the relay writing. Interweaving “I” and “we” voices that cannot be captured through categorical thinking, our collaborative quest resists normative identity politics, proposing writing as a method of collective inquiry for the nuanced understanding of the transnationality …

Fashion Around The Francophone World: A 20-Unit Lesson Plan For Teaching Students 7-12 How To Discuss Clothing In French, Justin Solheim

Honors Theses

This paper is the directions for a high school French world language curriculum at the novice-low level. The curriculum covers 20 class periods, or four weeks, and it uses a variety of pedagogical techniques and technologies to help students quickly learn and retain French vocabulary and grammar. Each class period is 40 minutes. The lessons use a variety of assessments and feedback to help students improve and allow the teachers to monitor student achievement. The following lessons focus on forming basic sentences and practicing the basics of subject-verb agreement, while teaching the vocabulary for different types of clothing in the …

The Influence Of Invasive Species On Fishers’ Satisfactions, Caroline M. Laplante

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Invasives species are prevalent and widespread in North America. Outdoor recreational activities, such as fishing, introduce a point in which humans may interact with invasive species and have to adapt their own behaviors. Bigheaded carp in the Missouri River below Gavin’s Point Dam are a group of invasive fish species that were thought to be negatively relating to recreational fishers’ satisfactions. Using a content analysis and an importance-grid, we conclude that invasive species do not strongly relate to recreational paddlefish fishers’ satisfactions. Paddlefish fishers represent a small sub-set of recreational fishers in Nebraska and South Dakota. The content analysis revealed …