Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Plas 439: Organic Farming And Food Systems Faculty-Led Inquiry Into Reflective Scholarly Teaching Benchmark Portfolio, Christian Stephenson

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Organic Farming and Food Systems is a senior and graduate level course for students in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. This course was previously offered but has been significantly modified as I have taken on responsibility for the course. Goals for the course include student comprehension of the methods of organic and regenerative farming and the impacts of those methods on economic, environmental, and social sustainability. An additional goal is to build student competency in the evaluation of primary, secondary, and tertiary information resources and critical thinking surrounding issues in food production. Assessment for the course was through diverse …

Making The Most Of Artificial Intelligence And Large Language Models: A Novel Approach For Book Recommendation And Discovery In Medical Libraries, Ivan Portillo, David Carson

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

This poster presentation evaluates the use of Artificial Intelligence and large language models (LLMs) to assist health science libraries in recommending and discovering book titles as part of their collection development. Using pre-determined prompts, the researchers evaluated ChatGPT 4.0, Bing Chat, and Google Bard as recommender systems for book discovery and ranking existing titles.

Using Student Interests To Explore Inclusion In Undergraduate Chemistry, Sonja Hoversten

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

For students who are not chemistry majors, but who are on a career track requiring four chemistry courses, taking the final reactivity chemistry course (CHEM 251) for pre-health students can be daunting. For this reason, this research is focused on the CHEM 251 course at The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University (CSBSJU) which is one of the four required chemistry courses for pre-medicine and some pre-physician assistant students, and all chemistry and biochemistry majors. Student perception of inclusion in the course increased through the implementation of group assignments including prompts for individual application of the material. The …

Ethical Imperatives And Challenges: Review Of The Use Of Machine Learning For Predictive Analytics In Higher Education, Emily Barnes, James Hutson, Karriem Perry

Faculty Scholarship

The escalating integration of machine learning (ML) in higher education necessitates a critical examination of its ethical implications. This article conducts a comprehensive review of the application of ML for predictive analytics within higher education institutions (HEIs), emphasizing the technology's potential to enhance student outcomes and operational efficiency. The study identifies significant ethical concerns, such as data privacy, informed consent, transparency, and accountability, that arise from the use of ML. Through a detailed analysis of current practices, this review underscores the need for HEIs to develop robust ethical frameworks and technological infrastructures to navigate these challenges effectively. The findings reveal …

Optimizing Adult Learner Success: Applying Random Forest Classifier In Higher Education Predictive Analytics, Emily Barnes, James Hutson, Karriem Perry

Faculty Scholarship

This study examines the application of the Random Forest Classifier (RF) model in predicting academic success among adult learners in higher education. It focuses on evaluating the model's effectiveness using key statistical measures like accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score across a comprehensive dataset from 2013–14 to 2021–22, which includes variables such as age, ethnicity, gender, Pell Grant eligibility, and academic performance metrics. The research highlights the RF model's capability to handle large datasets with varying data types and demonstrates its superiority over traditional regression models in predictive accuracy. Through an iterative process, the study refines the RF model to …

A Survey Of Current Perceptions And Actual Use By Students And Faculty Of Generative Artificial Intelligence In Higher Education, Cameron Hasselbaum

Honors College

Generative AI as an emerging new technology may have large-scale impacts on how business is conducted and how schools teach students. OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in November of 2022. Two similar surveys were conducted one year after ChatGPT was released in December 2023 to measure the perceptions of generative AI and changes in behavior in the academic space among students and faculty at the University of Maine. The survey findings were that student respondents have been quicker to adopt and find utility in the new technology. Still, it has yet to be readily adopted for use as widely …

Classifying Facial Expressions Of Students Being Tutored In A Gateway College Math Course, Kriss Gabourel

Doctoral Dissertations

When it comes to tutoring, computers have not quite been able to achieve the success that humans have in helping students improve learning outcomes. This research sought to address one aspect of what makes human tutors more effective, the ability to identify and to interpret facial expressions. When a student is feeling anxious, confused, distracted or frustrated, or when a student has an ‘aha’ moment, human tutors can identify the student’s facial expressions and adjust their tutoring approach as necessary. This study sought to determine if, in the context of a gateway college math course, these particular learning-centered affects could …

“Don’T Call On Me!”: Mediating Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Mathematics Anxiety In A Problem-Based Classroom, Christina Koehne, Wenyen Huang, Nataly Chesky

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

This study aims to understand the ways in which problem-based teaching in a mathematics content course can alleviate pre-service elementary school teachers' mathematics anxiety. The significance of this work is to help increase the content and pedagogical knowledge of mathematics education, as outlined in STEM policies. Using a mixed method approach, the teachers-researchers explore what methods, procedures, and other perhaps unknown variables, helped pre-service elementary teachers decrease their mathematics anxiety during two mathematics content courses. The findings illuminate five major themes the authors discuss, which are illustrated by rich descriptions of students’ narratives and interviews. Given the importance of mathematics …

Building A Strategic Framework With A Sustainability Lens At Wcu, Stefanie Schwalm

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Dr. Stefanie Schwalm, WCU Associate Provost for Accreditation, SRPS Spring '24 4/17: "Building a Strategic Framework with a Sustainability Lens at WCU."

What Students Have To Say On Data Privacy For Educational Technology, Stephanie Choi

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

The literature on data privacy in terms of educational technology is a growing area of study. The perspective of educators has been captured extensively. However, the literature on students’ perspectives is missing, which is what we explore in this paper. We use a pragmatic qualitative approach with an experiential lens to capture students’ attitudes towards data privacy in terms of educational technology. We identified preliminary, common themes that appeared in the survey responses. The paper concludes by calling for more research on how students perceive data privacy in terms of educational technology.

Computational Modeling Of Retinal Damage Thresholds, Payton Hoffman, Eos Shapland, Alan Enriquez

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

The Scalable Effects Simulation Environment(SESE), is the computational Biophysics software contracted by Nanohmics we used for our research. The goal was to find the minimum energy necessary to damage the retina from 2 laser sources, a 532 nm He-Ne source, and Supercontinuum Laser(SCL) source at 400-1400nm. We needed a 10 times damage ratio for significance. Our data did not show this trend.

Glacial Resource Analysis – Castner Glacier, Alaska, Logan Erichsen

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Glaciers cover much of the 49th U.S. state of Alaska. While many of these are deep blues, just as many are “rock” glaciers which means the glacier is covered in sediment. This sediment can be transported many miles through the mountain ranges. With the current climate melting these glaciers they are receding. Sediment and rock samples can now be safely collected from different locations where glaciers have released sediment that was locked in the ice for an untold number of years. Much of the USGS data comes from the 1940’s through 1960’s due to the size and remoteness of Alaska. …

Volcanic Ash In Lincoln County, Kansas, Logan Erichsen

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

This report outlines the analysis of Pearlette volcanic ash in Lincoln County Kansas. Both field and lab methods were used to compile this report. Fort Hays State University alumni Dr. Ron Whitmer allowed use of his property on which the ash is found. Auguring was utilized as the main form of field work which allowed mapping of the subsurface ash layer. The ash was analyzed by UMKC using their scanning electron microscope (SEM). At Fort Hays, the SEM reports were compared to thin sections of the ash using plane and cross polarized light in petrographic microscopes. The ash is comprised …

Climatology Of Tornadoes In Kansas, John P. Wasinger, Todd Moore

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Recent studies report changes to the climatology of tornadoes in the United States (US). Changes with the most supporting evidence include an increase in the intra- and inter-annual variability, increased concentration of tornadoes in bigger outbreaks, and a geographic shift of the densest tornado activity away from Tornado Alley in the Great Plains and toward the Great Lakes and Southeast regions of the US. Broad, national-level changes are valuable, but they can mask changes occurring at the state and sub-state levels where mitigation efforts are most effective. Kansas is of interest due to its reputation as a hotbed of tornado …

Kinetic Controlled-Growth Synthesis Of Cadmium Selenide Nanocrystal Quantum Dots, Aiden Gideon, Maverick Flax

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

A kinetic controlled growth method has been used to synthesize cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanocrystals. Nanocrystal structures are consistent with that of a quantum dot. Ligand passivation on the surface of the micelle is best carried out using trioctylphosphine (TOP). This allows one to tune the particle surface chemistry. Quantum dots intersperse as colloids within the 1-octadecene solvent matrix. The color gradient observed among the samples is indicative of its dependence on particle size which is consistent with the “particle-in-a-box” model theory. Results also indicate that the particle size of these nanocrystals is dependent on reaction time and maybe dependent on …

Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee!, Kobe D. Rome

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

By injecting an electron into the empty pie* molecular orbital (LUMO) of Amino Acids in gas phase, we measure the Vertical Attachment Energies (VAEs) for the formation of short-lived anion states of these species using electron transmission spectroscopy (ETS). Our ETS study, a first of its kind to measure the VAE for the simplest of proteins, Glycine-Glycine (Gly-Gly), is currently in progress. Based on our previous measurements for several Amino Acids including Glycine, we expect a common range of attachment energy (1.50 – 2.00 eV) for Gly-Gly.

Software Based Approach To Realtime Sports Graphics, Honesty Beaton

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

My research presents a software-based approach to real-time sports graphics, leveraging Unity, C#, and OpenCV. We aimed to enhance viewer engagement by providing dynamic and interactive graphics during sports broadcasts. My method involves real-time analysis of video feeds to cut out players, place them onto a virtual court, and underlay immersive visuals, giving the appearance that virtual visuals physically exist beneath a player. Evaluation of this approach demonstrates the effectiveness of utilizing a software-based approach for real-time sports graphics, akin to traditional hardware-based solutions

Simulating Continuous Gravitational Waves, Ivan Mihael Villalba Moran

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Using a table-top Michelson Interferometer to replicate Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) arrangement, we use sound waves to simulate Continuous Gravitational Waves (CWs). Using the NumPy package in Python programming, we recover the frequency of the injected sinusoidal signal using the mathematics of the Fourier Transform. Currently, we are trying to implement the Hidden Markov Model along with the Viterbi Algorithm as a method to detect Wandering Continuous Gravitational Waves.

Artificial Intelligence: Integration In Higher-Level Accounting Teaching And Learning Practices, Sarah Rahim

Honours Bachelor of Business Administration

This literature review examines the issues related to the integration of artificial intelligence in accounting education within the Ontario college context. A review of current scholarly literature reveals important benefits including improved teaching and learning practices. However, the research also cautions about some of the disadvantages including bias and academic integrity breaches. Stakeholder perceptions to artificial intelligence are also explored, including those of educators, students, employers, governments, advocacy groups, and developers. The literature revealed that artificial intelligence can be effectively integrated into classrooms and teaching/learning practices via course design, grading, intelligent tutoring, and planning. However, it also cautioned about the …

Game 'Make 24', Seunghyeok Jang

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

• Basic numerical skills are a must-have in today’s world. However, children are not picking up the four basic numerical skills adequately.

• To improve their mathematical skills, they need a way to learn the numerical skills easily.

• "Make 24" is a game for young children who are having a difficult time with basic numerical operations. The game helps children improve their numerical skills by playing this game.

Igniting Passion:​ A Detailed Journey Through Rocketry Course Activities, Krish M. Patel, Hannah Caycedo, Joshua Gage, Josi Maness, Kevin Park, Mufeng Shen

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

This course is a semester-long adventure in rocketry, led by Dr. Paul Adams. It covers everything about building and flying rockets, starting from the basics to more advanced rocketry. Students learn how to build rockets and use equipment used I payload systems like and altimeter and a GPS. We also learned about the importance of safety involved with building and launching rockets.

A Systematic Review: Mirror Neurons & Schizophrenia, Yashesvi Sharma, Surajit Dey

Annual Research Symposium

This research project establishes a link between Mirror Neuron System (MNS) activity and this information's implications in treating and understanding schizophrenia, specifically, schizophrenic patients with negative symptoms.

Teaching Software Development For Real-World Problems Using A Microservice-Based Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach, Yi Meng Lau, Christian Michael Koh, Lingxiao Jiang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Experienced and skillful software developers are needed in organizations to develop software products effective for their business with shortened time-to-market. Such developers will not only need to code but also be able to work in teams and collaboratively solve real-world problems that organizations arefacing. It is challenging for educators to nurture students to become such developers with strong technical, social, and cognitive skills. Towards addressing the challenge, this study presents a Collaborative Software Development Project Framework for a course that focuses on learning microservices architectures anddeveloping a software application for a real-world business. Students get to work in teams to …

Performance Outcomes In Introductory Statistics: R Vs. Spss Usage At A Community College, Venessa Singhroy Ph.D., Bianca Sosnovski

Publications and Research

This dataset corresponds to a study investigating the performance outcomes of students enrolled in two sections of an introductory statistics course at a community college in New York. The study, titled "Examining Differences in Performance Outcomes between Statistics Classes using High-coding vs. Low-coding Statistical Software Packages," explores the impact of utilizing different statistical software packages (R and SPSS) on student performance and motivation. The dataset comprises assessments administered to participants, including the Mathematics Motivation Questionnaire, Reading Comprehension Assessment, Algebra Assessment, Statistics Assessment, and Coding Assessment. Participants were divided into two sections: one utilizing R and the other utilizing SPSS for …

Subsurface Mapping Of Intra-Arbuckle Shale In North-West Kansas Using Well Log Data, Cole M. Denny

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

The aim of this research was to enhance knowledge of Intra-Arbuckle Shale (IAS) distribution and structure through new maps, cross sections, and well log correlations. Understanding the shale(s) ultimately advances the discernment of complex Arbuckle reservoirs that are critical to the Kansas petroleum industry. IAS has been intercepted by oil wells throughout Kansas, but this study focuses on their presence in portions of Ellis, Rooks, Graham, and Trego counties. To study the distribution and structure of IAS, data from micro-resistivity and gamma ray well logs were collected from more than three hundred Arbuckle oil and gas wells. On each well …

Survey Of The Performance Of 5 Nm Goldnanoparticles Within An Ssdna-Stabilizedbiosensor For The Detection Of Hg2+, Madalyn J. Zagajowski

ELAIA

The formation of a fluorescent biosensor complex consisting of 5 nm diameter gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) was conducted using a low-cost, efficient binding method. The analytical potential for the complex to detect mercuric ions (Hg2+) in an aqueous solution was assessed through the collection of UV-vis and fluorescence spectrometry data for the AuNP-ssDNA complex. The researcher aimed to investigate this potential in case the nanoparticles formed utilizing this method were too small to result in detectable fluorescence. To eliminate this possibility, the complex synthesized from this specific method was qualitatively evaluated to determine if it consistently and …

Preprocessing Of Astronomical Images From The Neowise Survey For Near-Earth Asteroid Detection With Machine Learning, Rachel Meyer

ELAIA

Asteroid detection is a common field in astronomy for planetary defense, requiring observations from survey telescopes to detect and classify different objects. The amount of data collected each night is continually increasing as new and better-designed telescopes begin collecting information each year. This amount of data is quickly becoming unmanageable, and researchers are looking for ways to better process this data. The most feasible current solution is to implement computer algorithms to automatically detect these sources and then use machine learning to create a more efficient and accurate method of classification. Implementation of such methods has previously focused on larger …

Analysis Of Botulinum Toxin A And Interacting Proteins In Skeletal Muscle Cells: An Investigation Into The Mechanisms Of Botulinum Toxin A As A Treatment For Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome, Lauren R. Kee

ELAIA

Background Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) is a condition in which muscle tissue expands against the surrounding fascia during activity and is compressed along with the nerves and blood vessels within the muscle compartment, leading to abnormally high intracompartmental pressure (ICP) and debilitating pain. Treatment typically includes fasciotomy, which results in significant levels of CECS recurrence; however, botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injection has recently been seen to decrease both ICP and pain through an unknown mechanism with little to no recurrence. Methods In this study, PyRosetta was used to model the probability of docking interaction between BoNT-A light or heavy …

University Of Johannesburg Institutional Repository Cybersecurity Output: 2015-2021 Interdisciplinary Study, Mancha J. Sekgololo

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

This study examines cybersecurity awareness in universities by analyzing related research output across different disciplines at the University of Johannesburg. The diffusion of innovation theory is used in this study as a theoretical framework to explain how cybersecurity awareness diffuses across disciplines. The University of Johannesburg Institutional Repository database was the data source for this study. Variations in cybersecurity keyword searches and topic modeling techniques were used to identify the frequency and distribution of research output across different disciplines. The study reveals that cybersecurity awareness has diffused across various disciplines, including non-computer science disciplines such as business, accounting, and social …

Research Experiences Via Integrating Simulations And Experiments (Revise): A Model Collaborative Research Project For Undergraduate Students In Co2 Sorbent Design, Anthony Griffin, Neziah Smith, Mark Robertson, Bianca Nunez, Jacob Mccraw, Haoyuan Chen, Zhe Qiang

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Undergraduate research experiences are an instrumental component of student development, increasing conceptual understanding, promoting inquiry-based learning, and guiding potential career aspirations. Moving one step further, as research continues to become more interdisciplinary, there exists potential to accelerate student growth by granting additional perspectives through collaborative research. This study demonstrates the utilization of a model collaborative research project, specifically investigating the development of sorbent technologies for efficient CO2 capture, which is an important research area for improving environmental sustainability. A model CO2 sorbent system of heteroatom-doped porous carbon is utilized to enable students to gain knowledge of adsorption processes, through combined …