Digital Commons Network^™

The Meaning Of Physical Activity In The Context Of Health Sciences: A Concept Analysis, Martín G. Farinola

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Physical activity has been defined in numerous ways. Thus, this study aimed to conduct a concept analysis of the existing physical activity definitions in the health sciences literature to evaluate its conceptual precision and assess the need for a revised or novel concept better suited for this domain. The concept analysis was accomplished using tools derived from philosophical semantics. The analysis identified six definitions that explicitly state what physical activity is with sufficient clarity to allow for conceptual examination. The findings indicated that these definitions frequently merge the concept of physical activity with its contextual attributes. To address these semantic …

The Cranial Morphology Of Large Wild Versus Captive Felids, Bryttin Boyde, Hannah Selvey

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Studies have shown that carnivores in captivity that are fed soft diets have more periodontal problems and that the morphology of their skeletons, skulls specifically, responds to environmental and behavior factors. Considering that captive diet affects teeth and gums, we have conducted research on Dr. Adam Hartstone-Rose’s hypothesis that variation will also be discernible through the examination of cranial morphology. We compared captive and wild lions Panthera leo and tigers Panthera tigris to see if differences were present, then analyzed data collected by a microscribe using a 3D morphometric analysis program. Next, Principal Component Analysis was completed to account for …

I Lost My Number, Can I Have Yours? Body Image Satisfaction With Sexually Dimorphic Traits Is Associated With Men's Dating Anxiety And Confidence, David A. Frederick, Tania A. Reynolds, Nikoline L. Smart, Justin R. Garcia, David A. Puts

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Evolutionary scientists posit that sexual selection processes caused males to develop sexually dimorphic traits to aid them during intrasexual competition and increase their likelihood of being chosen as mates. Evolutionary social sciences have extensively examined women's preferences for traits such as muscle mass and voice pitch, reasoning that these traits serve as cues of men's ability to provide direct benefits (e.g., resources) and indirect (genetic) benefits passed on to offspring. At the same time, body image researchers have extensively focused on the social causes and consequences of men's dissatisfaction with their muscularity and body fat. We connected these two research …

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Jung’S Active Imagination: A Review And Hypothesis, Charles R. Fox

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Active imagination is a key technique of Jungian analysis. Despite its centrality, and its potential importance beyond Jungian psychology to the area of systems neuroscience, psychology, and consciousness studies, there are no known neurological mechanisms underlying this psychological phenomenon. There is a history of using the types of mental imagery used in active imagination to explore consciousness. The development and use of active imagination is briefly reviewed, and a case is developed that the neurology underlying active imagination would be fruitfully explored by considering it a special case of mystical experience. Active imagination primarily uses the right hemisphere processing of …

Polydactyl Precursors: Insights Into Early Tetrapod Locomotion From Polydactyl American Alligators, Trevor P. Brewington

All Theses

Several of the earliest tetrapod lineages exhibited polydactyl limbs, with seven or eight digits per limb rather than the typical five or fewer seen in extant lineages. How these digit configurations might have been used during terrestrial locomotion is unclear, given the lack of living models in which their performance can be studied and limited evidence from fossil trackways. However, polydactyly occasionally appears in natural populations of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), animals with body plans that broadly resemble those of early tetrapods. To test how polydactyl limbs similar to those of early tetrapods might have functioned on land, …

Preserving The Past: Exploring The Last Frontier's Ecosystem Shifts And Biodiversity Of The Tallgrass Prairies, Gisell Maldonado, Amelia Villaseñor

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

In North America, grasslands are a cornerstone of the environment. Historically, the tallgrass prairie was expansive and reached from Manitoba in Canada to Texas. Today this unique ecosystem is highly fragmented and reduced, but it remains an important ecosystem for biodiversity and cattle management. While there are many complex ecological interactions in the prairie, recent research shows that large herbivores are vital in maintaining grasslands through grazing and other behaviors that reduce woody encroachment and support nutrient cycling. Here, we examine cow and bison dietary behaviors and connect these to the ecosystem services provided by these large herbivores. In the …

Conservation Wins And Woes: A Meta-Synthesis Of Ecotourism Impacts On Primates And Local Communities, Madison Lanie Mckinniss

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biodiversity assessments identify 612 extant species of primate, but ~50% of these species are at risk of extinction. Threats include agricultural and industrial production, urban development, and poaching. As concerns have grown regarding impacts on the environment, researchers have proposed ecotourism as a tool for conserving ecosystems while improving human welfare. Although conservation initiatives are pursued at these ecotourist sites, the presence of humans can cause additional influences on non-human primates (NHP). Primatologists have posed questions regarding implications of ecotourism on NHP, but research remains scarce. This study will investigate the practices executed at ecotourist sites where endemic NHPs reside. …

From Prairie To Practice: Forensic Taphonomy, Ethics, And Regional Ecology In Southeastern Nebraska, Jessica F. L. Gammage

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Forensic taphonomy examines the postmortem processes that affect human remains within specific environmental contexts and plays a critical role in medicolegal death investigation. Despite significant advances in decomposition research, experimental studies remain geographically and environmentally uneven, limiting the transferability of postmortem interval (PMI) estimation methods across regions. The Central Great Plains are underrepresented in forensic taphonomic research despite its distinct ecological and geomorphological characteristics.

This thesis evaluates southeastern Nebraska as a specific regional setting for forensic taphonomic research by integrating ecological, pedological, and geomorphological data with current forensic literature. Tallgrass prairie vegetation, loess-derived soils, seasonal moisture variability, and dynamic fluvial …

Understanding Roma Oppression In Europe Through Humantarian Forensic Analysis, Christal L. Quinn

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This thesis examines the marginalization of Roma people in Europe, and how humanitarian forensic practices may help Roma communities in their quest for justice and recognition. The study draws exclusively on secondary information to examine the social, political, and legal issues affecting the Roma communities, who have endured centuries of institutional discrimination, marginalization, and violence. This thesis identifies ways in which systematic oppression continues to limit Roma communities’ access to education, housing, healthcare, and legal protection through a review of relevant literature and applicable theoretical frameworks. The study also examines the relevance of forensic science, particularly its humanitarian applications, in …

Rehumanizing Anatomized Individuals: Using Osteobiographies As A Step Towards Reparative Justice, Lillie C. Turpin

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

In 1985, India banned the export of human remains. This ended the major trade route for primarily US and European anatomical supply companies. Until this point, companies like Carolina Biological Supply exploited and erased vulnerable people's identities, molding them into anonymous anatomical specimens. This study investigates the life and postmortem history of twenty-five individuals, previously used as anatomical specimens, housed at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Using an osteobiographical approach, this research reconstructs aspects of these individuals' lived experiences and examines how anatomical preparation practices reflect structural violence and apathy.

Skeletal analysis of twenty-five individuals revealed a range of biological profiles, …

Non-Destructive Automated Classification Of Human And Large Mammal Long Bone Fragments: A Deep Learning Approach Using Micro-Ct Histomorphology And Grad-Cam Interpretation, Kathleen Marie Kelley

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This study explores the development and validation of an automated, deep learning system designed to differentiate human from large mammal long bone fragments using micro-CT imagery. A comprehensive dataset of cross-sectional µCT images was assembled from human and animal skeletal material processed at the DPAA, Nebraska. A convolutional neural network (CNN) based on a ResNet-18 architecture, utilizing transfer learning from ImageNet weights, was trained to classify µCT images as human or animal. The model achieved a mean classification accuracy of 89.85% (± 8.27%) across five sample-level cross-validation folds, with a sensitivity of 96.21% and a 95% bootstrap confidence interval of …

2nd Place Research Paper: Shaping The Ape: Storytelling, Cultural Reflection, And Boundary Negotiation In Human-Ape Zoo Encounters, Abigail Bond Halling

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

The typical Western zoo functions as a unique environment in which animals are frequently positioned as subjects of education and entertainment through the medium of storytelling. In this sense, the zoological institution can also be read as an extension of popular Western constructions surrounding nonhuman animals, particularly those who are symbolically charged characters in our collective imaginary– the great apes. Given the morphological, behavioral, and psychological similarities between humans and other great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans), nonhuman great ape enclosures at the Western zoo become spaces where humans are most radically confronted with navigating the boundaries of the “human-animal …

Volume 17, Christian O’Neill, Kyara Greene, Savva Sidorov, Laura Bisaillon, Luke Clemmer, Hannah Gordon, Kitt Benson, Taylor Blount, Rachel Danzitz, Nicholas Duellman, Chase Gionis, Hima Fernando, Seth Franzyshen, Onyx Gonzalez, Bryan Lin, Samantha Start, Ysabel Wells, Maggie Duncan

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Amorette Barber, Director, Office of Student Research

From the Editor Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell

Cover Artist’s Statement Maggie Duncan

On Mentoring Dr. Yulia Uryadova

Ukrainian Resistance in the Face of Russification: Nestor Makhno and Anarchism

by Christian O’Neill

Life Vest by Kyara Greene

Isolation and 16S rRNA Identification of Bacteria from Fire Department Connection Pipe by Savva Sidorov

The Effectiveness of Planned Exercise in Reducing ADHD Symptoms in Children by Laura Bisaillon & Luke Clemmer

Linguistic Analysis on Confidence and Communication Strategies with Disparities Between Sign Fluency and Hearing Impairment by Hannah Gordon

Freedmen in Indian Territory by Kitt …

Feeding Ecology In Coastal Systems, Randi L. Cannon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are critical foundation species in estuaries, providing numerous ecological and economic benefits. However, oyster populations have diminished worldwide. Effective oyster restoration and aquaculture require a mechanistic understanding of the physiological and environmental factors that govern oyster feeding, growth, and resilience under changing coastal conditions. We investigated how oyster ploidy and environmental conditions influenced oyster feeding and investigated how changes in abiotic conditions affected behavioral performance of oyster drills (Stramonita spp.), a key oyster predator. To better understand feeding responses and behaviors of both predator and prey we 1) used in-situ filter feeding assays to determine if feeding …

Decomposition Study Using Pigs In Southeastern Nebraska During The Fall And Winter Seasons, Ryan Bodine

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

When an individual is found deceased, one of the tools used in the identification process is estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI). This estimate is used to determine how long an individual has been deceased once their remains are found. To estimate an accurate PMI, knowing how decomposition is affected by external factors is key. The transition period from fall to winter in southeastern Nebraska consists of fluctuating temperatures as the seasons transfer from fall to winter. This thesis investigates how decomposition is affected during this transition period while also looking at two different environments that are common in Nebraska, prairies …

Exploring The Biocultural Profile Of The Undocumented Populations Of The Sonoran Corridor: A Skeletal Assessment Of The Prevention Through Deterrence Strategy, Mary A. Vaughn

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Over the last thirty years the mortality rate of the undocumented population at the US-Mexico border has risen, requiring methods distinguishing US-born individuals from immigrants to improve the likelihood of identification and repatriation through foreign consulates. Forensic anthropologists with the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) have advocated for the use of the biocultural profile, combining the biological profile with factors including oral health, osteological stress, and personal effects. The biocultural profile serves two purposes, functioning both as a tool for identification and with which to document structural inequality within communities of origin.

This study examines changes in …

Volume 12 Full Text, Bjur Staff

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Exploring Gender As An Analytical Framework In The 2018-2019 Revolution And Ongoing Civil War: The Role Of Gendered Violence And Sudanese Women's Resistance, Ami John

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper will interrogate the intersection of gender, war, and political upheaval within Sudan while focusing on the role of women in both the 2019 resistance and the ongoing conflict and revolution. By the end of 2018, mass protests had called for the ousting of Omar al-Bashir, the long-standing Sudanese president. This event set off a chain reaction which led to events that fueled the long-standing rivalry between the two militant groups that were active in Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The tension caused by this rivalry created unforeseen circumstances for the local …

Front Matter And Table Of Contents, Bjur Staff

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Program And Proceedings, The Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2026: 146th Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Thirty-Sixth Annual Meeting

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program and abstracts of the proceedings for the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 136th annual meeting, 2025

Sessions

Aeronautics and Space Science

Anthropology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Earth Sciences

Ecology, Sustainability, and Environmental Science

Physics and Engineering

General Poster Session

2026 Maiben Lecture: Shifting Extremes: Understanding Nebraska’s Changing Climate and Preparing for What Lies Ahead, Deborah Bathke

2026 Friends of Science Awards: Julie Shaffer and Irina Filina

2026 C. Bertrand and Marian Othmer Schultz Colleaguate Schoalrship Award: Piper Ryschon and Bryce Reeson

In Memoriam: Paul Royster

Reday Program 2026, Bryant University

Bryant REDay (Research and Engagement Day)

Program for the 2026 Bryant REDay (Research and Engagement Day). Program includes schedule at a glance, descriptions for panels, workshops, and presentations, along with sign-up links for specific sessions in the electronic version of the program. Printed program was in color with double-sided printing on 8 1/2" x 11" paper stapled together in the upper left corner.

Not Just Static: Evolutionary Throughlines In The Female Voice, Maria Hand '26

Honor Scholar Theses

Vocal communication is essential for many forms of human interaction and discourse. As such, the human voice has been the subject of extensive scientific research in a variety of contexts, including that of potentially evolved characteristics. Researchers have long studied the various changes that occur in direct relation to hormonal shifts across the ovulatory cycle, but one particularly interesting facet of this research is the voice. There are numerous acoustic parameters that are highly socially salient, and thus an ideal means with which to study potential ovulatory cycle related changes. Studies of this subject additionally provide further insight into the …

Energy Management And Water Balance In Migrating Hummingbirds, Shayne R. Halter

Biology ETDs

Small body size and rapid metabolism make annual migrations challenging for North American hummingbirds. Many of these birds make annual journeys of over 10,000 km. During migrations, hummingbirds use stopover sites, where they remain for several days to accumulate body fat. At these stopovers, they often encounter uncertainties in food resources, competition, and weather. To save energy, hummingbirds sometimes enter nocturnal torpor. My dissertation uses respirometry data, lipid measurements from Quantitative Magnetic Resonance, and feather hydrogen stable isotopes to understand how energy levels, migration patterns, torpor use, and water balance interact in four species of migrating hummingbirds. I discovered lipid …

The Evolution Of Self-Awareness In Conscious Organisms, Robert A. Dielenberg

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Self-awareness in conscious organisms remains an enduring puzzle for philosophers and neuroscientists. This paper proposes a tripartite evolutionary model tracing its emergence through three sequential types: the sensory self (primitive egocentric, valence-tagged awareness of sensory states), the bodily self (external objectification of the body as a distinct entity, evidenced by mirror self-recognition in select species), and the cognitive self (internal objectification of the mind enabling recursive self-transformation). Adopting a monist framework, the model treats consciousness as the biological substrate of delayed neural apperception (the “Delayed Present”), within which selves emerge as increasingly sophisticated models. It distinguishes non-human metacognition—implicit, online regulation—from …

Water Sources And Livelihood Choices Among Pastoralist Households In Monduli District, Tanzania, Fredrick Alleni Mfinanga, Jacqueline Temba, Monica F. Timbuka

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper investigates the association between types of water sources for livestock and livelihood choices of pastoralist households in semi-arid areas of Monduli District, Tanzania. Specifically, it aims to examine the influence of the types of water sources for livestock on livelihood diversification of pastoralist households. Using a mixed research methods approach, the data were collected from 367 households through three methods: surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and counts, and inferential statistics, Chi-square tests and correlation, while the qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The findings revealed …

Analysis Of Traditional Wisdom For Ecological Sustainability In Tanzania: A Case Study Of Metaphorical Source Domains In Pangwa Ritual Texts, Winne Stephen Mtega, Angelus Mnenuka

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Campaigns for ecological sustainability have gained a great currency in the contemporary academic discourse. Nonetheless, from time immemorial, Africans have pushed the ecological sustainability agenda through cultural taboos and regulated resource harvesting. Many African societies have embedded ecological consciousness in daily life expressions, and have intricately expressed it through literary and ritual texts. This study focuses on ecological awareness in the ritual texts of the Pangwa community. It analyses how environmental domains—such as land, seeds, and fruits—serve as the basis for metaphors in the Pangwa community to prove the use of wisdom to promote and sustain ecological practices (ecocriticism). The …

The Sortee Guidelines For Data And Code Quality Control In Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, Joel L. Pick, Bethany J. Allen, Benedicte Bachelot, Kevin R. Bairos-Novak, Jack A. Brand, Barbara Class, Tad Dallas, Pietro B. D'Amelio, Erola Fenollosa, Esteban Fernández-Juricic, Dylan G. Gomes, Matthew J. Grainger, Thomas Guillemaud, John Christian, Ruby Krasnow, Malgorzata Lagisz, Sebastian Lequime, Daniel S. Maynard, Shinichi Nakagawa, Rose E. O'Dea, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

Open data and code are crucial to increasing transparency and reproducibility, and in building trust in scientific research. However, despite an increasing number of journals in ecology and evolutionary biology mandating for data and code to be archived alongside published articles, the amount and quality of archived data and code, and subsequent reproducibility of results, has remained worryingly low. As a result, a handful of journals have recruited dedicated data editors, whose role is to help authors increase the overall quality of archived data and code. There is, however, a general lack of consensus around what a data editor should …

Aging In The Shadows: Szekler Cemeteries And The Case For Recognizing Elderly Populations In Bioarchaeology, Katie M. Mcgrath

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study of aging in past populations lies at the intersection of bioarchaeology and paleodemography, offering insight into both biological processes and lived social experience. Despite this potential, older adults are often rendered “invisible” in skeletal assemblages due to methodological and cultural biases. This thesis addresses this gap through a rare, community-based study of aging among the Székely population of Transylvania. By integrating osteological analysis of individuals (11th–19th centuries) from the archaeological Papdomb church cemetery with demographic data derived from the modern cemetery headstones (ca.1850–present), this research examines patterns of aging, longevity, and elder visibility across a culturally and spatially …

Assessing Climate Adaptation Among Canada Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) Populations At The Trailing Edge, Tanya Lama, Blair P. Bentley, Warren E. Johnson, Lisa M. Komoroske, Stephen Destefano, Jennifer Vashon, Kaela Beaulerc, Jason M. Kamilar, Giulio Formenti, Andrea Batista, Andrew G. Spencer, Olivier Fedrigo, Erich D. Jarvis, Jeff S. Bowman, Paul Wilson, John F. Organ

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Species must acclimate, shift their distributions, or adapt in place in response to anthropogenic climate change. Populations at low-latitude trailing edges of species distributions typically experience thermal conditions closest to the upper limit of their thermoregulatory capacity. Landscape and functional genomic approaches provide quantitative measures of risk and adaptive capacity which can inform and prioritize conservation actions. Using low-coverage whole genomes from Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), we characterized population genomic structure and identified putatively adaptive loci using genotype-environment association analyses across the eastern extent of their distribution. We detected genetic breaks across two previously identified biogeographical barriers, the St. Lawrence …

What Goals? Which Point? Whose Purpose? A Critical Engagement With Sport Internalism, Francisco Javier Lopez Frias

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

In this article, I critique the dominance of internalism in sport philosophy and outline an alternative theoretical framework that integrates internal and external elements while striving to transcend the dichotomous language used to conceptualize sport. The analysis begins by claiming that internalism conflates three fundamental teleological aspects of sport: goals, point, and purposes. I argue that this conflation limits internalism’s ability to explain the complexity of sporting practices. By carefully distinguishing these elements, I illustrate their distinct roles in shaping sport and explore how they interact. I conclude by proposing that the alternative pluralist framework briefly sketched here enables a …