Digital Commons Network^™

Perspectives Of Campus Safety: Viewpoints Of Community College Faculty And Staff Members, David E. Dibelka Jr.

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is research available on campus safety perspectives and issues, but these studies are primarily from the student perspective. Of the few studies that show campus safety perspectives from the faculty and staff viewpoint, fewer of these studies reflect these perspectives as they occur on community college campuses. The purpose of the study was to examine the perspectives of faculty and staff members on campus safety. For the study, twenty faculty and staff members were interviewed about their perceptions of campus safety.

The results of the study were that although the participants generally felt safe on their campuses, they were …

Drone Technology: Is It Worth The Investment In Agriculture, Christopher Ross Wynn

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

From the earliest of times, the human race has sought to better understand this world and its surroundings. In the last century, aeronautical engineering and aerial imagery have evolved to allow a deeper understanding into how this world lives and breathes. Now more than ever, these two technological advancements are changing the way we view this world and how we are to sustain it for a brighter, healthier future.

Over time, the advances of these two technologies were combined and the birth of spectral sensing and drone technology arrived. In their earliest years, drones and spectral imaging were only available …

Science Communication In Agriculture: The Role Of The Trusted Adviser, Lee Galen Briese

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Agronomy is not simply the selling of agricultural products to farmers, nor is it the process of solving singular production problems. Agronomy is defined as the integrated, holistic perspective of agriculture (ASA, 2019) and “agronomists are specialists in crop and soil sciences, as well as ecology” (ASA, 2019). While scientific investigation and discovery are essential to understanding systems function, the tangible benefits from our knowledge stems from the application to solve problems. Clear communication is vital to successfully help stakeholders understand the importance of the science and help scientists understand the challenges stakeholders face. However, to successfully put science into …

Non/Human: (Re)Seeing The “Animal” In Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Matthew Guzman

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Non/human: (Re)seeing the “Animal” in Nineteenth-Century American Literature uses canonical literary texts as specific anchor points for charting the unstable relations between human and nonhuman animals throughout the century. I argue that throughout the nineteenth century, there are distinct shifts in the way(s) humans think about, discuss, and represent nonhuman animals, and understanding these shifts can change the way we interpret the literature and the culture(s). Moreover, I supplement and integrate those literary anchors, when appropriate, with texts from contemporaneous science, law, art, and other primary and secondary source materials. For example, the first chapter, “Cooper’s Animal Movements: Across Land, …

Characterization And Evaluation Of The Probiotic Properties Of The Sporeforming Bacteria, Bacillus Coagulans Unique Is-2, Amy Garrison

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Probiotics are live organisms, that when consumed in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit to the host. To achieve probiotic status, each potential strain’s functional properties and their safety to the consumer must be comprehensively evaluated. Probiotic effects have been observed to be strain specific, therefore each new strain of interest must be characterized according to their phenotypic and genetic characteristics. There is a list of characteristics that potential probiotic strains should have to be considered as a probiotic. Potential probiotic strains should be evaluated for their acid and bile salt resistance, antimicrobial activity and adherence and colonization to intestinal …

Population Dynamics Of The Freshwater Mussel Lampsilis Cardium Reintroduced In Nebraska, Lindsay M. Ohlman

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

The global decline of native freshwater mussels has accelerated conservation projects that preserve and restore populations, but the complex life histories among species challenges biologists in determining the most effective management strategies. This study details the conservation of plain pocketbook, a Tier I threatened mussel species in Nebraska that was artificially propagated and reintroduced into 13 sites from autumn 2016 to summer 2017. The objectives of this study were: 1) determine how handling influences mussels, and 2) evaluate mussel growth and survival following introductions.

We conducted a laboratory experiment with age-2 plain pocketbook to assess the effects of handling on …

Boy Scouts Of America Concept Site Master Plan And Improvements, Anna Cole, Jacob Chekal, William Seeger, Shanon Al-Brady, Nicholas Cowles

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Our team, G1 Engineering, has partnered with the Boy Scouts of America to provide an update to their master plan for the Outdoor Education Center site located at 600 S. 120^th Street, Lincoln, NE. Our work included providing transportation solutions; drainage evaluations; investigation of geotechnical conditions; environmental evaluation and determination of permitting requirements; preparation of concept design plans for bridges, drainage, utilities, and overall site plan; and evaluation of structural elements included in the project.

Two streams cross the property presenting site access issues. Our team provided pedestrian, UTV, and emergency vehicle access bridges to address these issues. With …

Science, Poetry, And Defining Life In The Romantic Era: “Life! What Is Life?”, Michelle E. Trantham

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

What defines humanity? Is it the soul? The body? In the early nineteenth century, these questions were not purely philosophical. Science, religion, politics, and literature were changing rapidly, and the question of “What is Life?” was central to the public and private pursuit of knowledge. One way to track the evolution of the question through the Romantic period is to look at the work of Dr. John Hunter, the originator of ‘vitalism’, which was the subject in the infamous the Lawrence-Abernethy debates. The question of life, and the nature of life, permeated the literary, scientific, and cultural spheres, influencing Romanticism …

Predictive Modeling Of Fate And Transport Of Three Prevalent Contaminants In Midwest Agroecosystem Surface Waters: Nitrate-N, Atrazine, And Escherichia Coli, Samuel Hansen

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The majority of streams and rivers in the United States (U.S.) are ecologically impaired, or threatened by anthropogenic stressors. Recent reports have found atrazine in drinking water to be associated with increased birth defects and incidences of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, with higher levels of significance from exposure to both atrazine and nitrate-N. In contrast, recent illnesses from E. coli contaminating vegetables that originated from irrigation water has increased awareness of identifying sources of E. coli entering irrigation reservoirs.

Methods to accurately predict atrazine and E. coli occurrence and potential sources in waterways continue to limit the identifying appropriate and effective prevention …

Uumanned Aerial Vehicle Data Analysis For High-Throughput Plant Phenotyping, Jiating Li

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The continuing population is placing unprecedented demands on worldwide crop yield production and quality. Improving genomic selection for breeding process is one essential aspect for solving this dilemma. Benefitted from the advances in high-throughput genotyping, researchers already gained better understanding of genetic traits. However, given the comparatively lower efficiency in current phenotyping technique, the significance of phenotypic traits has still not fully exploited in genomic selection. Therefore, improving HTPP efficiency has become an urgent task for researchers. As one of the platforms utilized for collecting HTPP data, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) allows high quality data to be collected within short …

A Defense Of The Resonating Role Account Of Meaning In Life, Gabriel Bruguier

Department of Philosophy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The primary contribution of this dissertation is the development and defense of a novel subjectivist account of meaning in life—the Resonating Role Account (RRA). I argue that ‘meaning in life’ is an evaluative phrase applied when a subject’s pursues a unique social and/or natural role well, when the role(s) resonate with her, and when they maintain a minimum balance of her attention.

A defense of subjectivism over its competitors—objectivism and hybrid theory— is the second main contribution of the dissertation. These two theories are rejected on the grounds that they are not responsive to a subject’s central concerns. The arguments …

Bio-Desalination Of Brackish And Seawater Using Halophytic Algae, Endalkachew Sahle-Demessie, Ashraf Aly Hassan, Amro El Badawy

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Global demand for water is rising. A sustainable and energy efficient approach is needed to desalinate brackish sources for agricultural and municipal water use. Genetic variation among two algae species, Scenedesmus species (S. sp.) and Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris), in their tolerance and uptake of salt (NaCl) was examined for potential bio-desalination of brackish water. Salt-tolerant hyper-accumulators were evaluated in a batch photobioreactors over salinity concentration ranging from 2 g/L to 20 g/L and different nutrient composition for their growth rate and salt-uptake. During algae growth phase, the doubling time varied between 0.63 and 1.81 days for S …

Evaluation Of Protein Utilization In Low And High Protein Forage Sources And The Economic Value Of Supplementing Field Peas (Pisum Sativum) To Growing Cattle Grazing Crested Wheatgrass Pastures, Braden C. Troyer

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Field peas are widely grown in the panhandle of Nebraska; however, markets quickly become saturated. A two year experiment was conducted comparing field peas to dry distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) as a protein supplement. The objective was to establish a price producers could pay for field peas relative to DDGS. There was a significant difference in ADG due to type of supplement (P = 0.02). Field pea supplemented heifers had 10% lower ADG compared to DDGS supplemented heifers. Economically, this means if DDGS is priced at or $124.58/ 909 kg DM a producer could pay $2.89/27 kg, for …

The Utilization Of Brown Midrib Corn Silage Hybrids And Kernel Processing To Improve Corn Silage Value And The Use Of High Protein Distillers' Grains To Evaluate Starch Digestion, Lauren A. Ovinge

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Three studies evaluated the effects of corn silage hybrid, inclusion level and kernel processing in growing and finishing diets. Two more studies were conducted on high protein dried distillers' grains and its effect in finishing diets. Experiment 1 and 2 evaluated three corn silage hybrids; standard (CON; hybrid-TMF2H708), brown midrib (bm3; hybrid-F15579S2) and Unified™ brown midrib with SilaSoft™ kernel technology with a floury endosperm (bm3-soft; hybrid-F15578XT) harvested with or without kernel processing on growth and metabolism. Experiment 3 evaluated a brown midrib hybrid (bm3; hybrid-F27F627; Mycogen® Seeds) or a control (CON; hybrid-TMF2H708) in the diet …

Selective Harvest Methods And Chemical Treatment Of Baled Corn Residue For Utilization In Growing Calf And Dry Cow Diets, Ashley C. Conway

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Three studies were conducted to evaluate baled corn residue using selective harvest method and anhydrous ammonia treatments to assess utility in growing calf and dry cow diets. Baled corn residue was harvested using conventional rake-and-bale (CONV) method, or harvested using the New Holland Cornrower in which either eight rows (8ROW), or two rows (2ROW) of corn stalks were chopped into the windrow with tailings. Bales were either not treated or ammoniated at 5.5% DM. When fed to wether lambs in a mixed ration (65% residue, 30% wet corn gluten feed) to determine digestibility, the 2ROW residue had greater apparent DM, …

Use Of Annual Forage Mixtures In Crop/Livestock Production Systems In Nebraska, Nathan Paul Pflueger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Success of integrating annual forages into crop and livestock systems throughout Nebraska may be variable depending on field location, field/forage crop management, and precipitation. There are many different warm- and cool-season annual forage species available for integrating crop and livestock systems at different times of the year. Mixtures of cereal species, such as oats (Avena sativa)) and spring peas (Pisum sativum)), are often used to optimize forage quantity and forage quality. Our two-year, three location study across Nebraska’s precipitation gradient suggested that forage quantity and quality may vary by location due to different precipitation amounts received …

Establishment Of Perennial Legumes With An Annual Warm-Season Grass As A Companion Crop, Martina N. La Vallie

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The yields of perennial forage legumes are often hindered during the establishment year due to slow germination rates and weed competition. This study was conducted to determine if sorghum-sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor x S. bicolor var. sudanese) is a compatible annual companion crop for increased forage production, weed suppression, and legume establishment. In 2016, sorghum-sudangrass was paired with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. ‘Ranger’), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), Illinois bundleflower [Desmanthus illinoensis (Michx.) MacMill. ex B.L. Rob. & Fernald], purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea Vent.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), and roundhead lespedeza (Lespedeza capitata Michx.). We studied effects of a …

Student Perception Of Industrial Agriculture: Effects On Migrant Workers And The Environment, Brigitta Bogue, Emma Sorensen

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Companies such as Tyson Foods and Costco are creating problems through their use of industrial farming practices in Nebraska, such as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and monocropping, to generate profit at the cost of humans and the environment. Those most affected are migrant farmworkers from Mexico. The environment is threatened because CAFOs generate greenhouse gases, and pollute nearby waterways with nitrogen. This paper addresses the following research questions: Are students’ perceptions of industrial agricultural companies, such as Costco and Tyson, positive or negative? Are students aware of these issues? How do these perceptions affect issues of sustainability and environmental …

Exploring How Animals Are Viewed In Society Over The Past 150 Years Within Classic Children's Literary Works, Ambrosia Keefe

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

No abstract provided.

How Do Non-Formal Environmental Education Experiences Shape Pro-Environmental Behavior, Megan Petsch

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This paper attempts to define what behaviors are, what motivates behavior, and how environmental education programs can shape pro-environmental behavior using three factors: social interaction, program structure, and various teaching methods. Data was gathered using a systematic literature review that looked at the purpose and objectives of the paper, methods used for collecting data such as demographics (age, race, gender, location, etc.), the papers focused areas of research, and results. A thematic analysis was also used to code collected data into the themes. The themes that emerged while analyzing the data include social interactions, program structure, and teaching methods. Results …

Biofiltration Of Volatile Organic Compounds Emitted At Ethanol Plants, Christopher Arthur Duerschner

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ethanol manufacturing is an important and growing sector in the biofuels marketplace. At ethanol plants, the control of volatile organic compound containing emissions from fermentation tanks and distillers dried grains with solubles driers is accomplished through the use of air scrubbers and regenerative thermal oxidizers. The operation of these control units imposes substantial operating costs for the ethanol plant. Biotrickling filters have the ability to replace scrubbers and regenerative thermal oxidizers resulting in significant economic and environmental benefits. Two biotrickling filters were operated in parallel under acetaldehyde loadings ranging from 4 to 136 gm^-3hr^-1. To examine …

Global Reach: Use Of The Nebraska Digital Commons In Developing Regions, Andrew Cano, Paul Royster

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Developing countries comprise 40 percent of international downloads and 25 percent of all downloads from University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s institutional repository. This presentation will summarize the use of the Nebraska Digital Commons by representative countries in South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa, the three regions where the most developing country downloads occurred in 2018. This summary includes the types of resources being downloaded and the types of organizations where the downloads occurred. Discussion will focus on how further research can be conducted on whether such use of the Nebraska Digital Commons by users in developing regions is …

The Antithesis: Challenging The Current Execution Of University Thesis Via The Exquisite Capriccio And Grand Tour, Joshua D. Puppe

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

This thesis challenges the current set of norms, definitions and execution of present university thesis via a speculative extension and practice of the grand tour and travel journal through a montaging of mediums, experiences, methods, and techniques.

The Experience Condition: Experiencing Alternate Futures, Holly R. Craig

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

A B S T R A C T I n t r o In The Human Condition, Hannah Arendt states that the human capacity for new beginnings is marked by the launch of the first satellite into space in 1957. Arendt recognizes this as an ‘event, second in importance to no other, not even to the splitting of the atom’. The minatory threat of technological enterprises, the advent of automation, virtual and cosmic colonization, climatic changes, and todestrieb or ‘death drive,’ belong to a scope of events that impel new forms of experiences. (1)(2)(3) Narrative Architecture will be used …

Unl-Cc Outdoor Education Center Master Plan, Marie Wagner

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The following report contains the work done by the group Griswold Engineering in completion of the Senior Design requirements for Civil Engineering and the Honors Requirements of the Project Manager. As the project manager, my job was to organize the project as a whole and to work alongside the Structural Engineer on the project. One of the main problems to overcome was the division of labor amongst the group. The project was originally conceived as a group project with one project manager and five other students to serve as the project engineers in each subdiscipline. Since this group only had …

From Lace To Chains. The Making Of A Print, Alison G. Stewart

Zea E-Books Collection

How have printed works of art changed over time? Do printmakers today work with the same materials and techniques that printmakers used centuries ago? And does printmaking involve the same motivations, concerns, or methods of distribution today as it did in the past?

These were questions asked by University of Nebraska–Lincoln students in a history of prints class in the School of Art, Art History & Design taught by Hixson-Lied Professor of Art History Alison Stewart during fall semester 2018. For this curatorial project, students selected one set of old master prints (pre-1850) and one modern (post-1850) print from Sheldon’s …

Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus Alters The Transcriptome Of Its Vector, Wheat Curl Mite (Aceria Tosichella Keifer), To Enhance Mite Development And Population Expansion, Adarsh K. Gupta, Erin D. Scully, Nathan A. Palmer, Scott M. Geib, Gautam Sarath, Gary L. Hein, Satyanarayana Tatineni

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV; genus Tritimovirus; family Potyviridae) is an economically important wheat virus that is transmitted by the wheat curl mite (WCM; Aceria tosichella Keifer) in a persistent manner. Virus–vector coevolution may potentially influence vector gene expression to prolong viral association and thus increase virus transmission efficiency and spread. To understand the transcriptomic responses of WCM to WSMV, RNA sequencing was performed to assemble and analyse transcriptomes of WSMV viruliferous and aviruliferous mites. Among 7291 de novo-assembled unigenes, 1020 were differentially expressed between viruliferous and aviruliferous WCMs using edgeR at a false discovery rate 0.05. Differentially expressed unigenes …

Habitat Characteristics And Selection By Ornate Box Turtles In The Sandhills Of South Dakota, Daniel W, Uresk, Alessandra Higa

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornata Agassiz) is a species of greatest conservation need in South Dakota. Habitat loss through agricultural development and fragmentation is the main threat to the species throughout its range, which extends from Wisconsin and northern Indiana through the central Great Plains, and from southern South Dakota to Arizona, northern Mexico, and the Gulf Coast of Texas. The objectives of this study were to determine the ornate box turtle’s preferred vegetation characteristics (microhabitat) compared to the available habitat (macrohabitat) on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota Sandhills region, during 2010–2011. In both years, using a modified …

Resistivity Arrays As An Early Warning System For Monitoring Runoff Holding Ponds, Bryan L. Woodbury, Roger A. Eigenberg, Trenton E. Franz

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Monitoring wells are installed to intercept contaminants inadvertently discharged from inground structures designed to retain salt-affected wastewaters; however, several difficulties with collection and data interpretation limit their effectiveness. Therefore, improved monitoring methods are needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of resistivity array technology as an early warning system to monitor for unintended basin discharge. Subsurface resistivity arrays were installed at two Nebraska sites: a beef cattle feedyard located at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Nebraska (FyA) and a commercial cattle feeding operation (FyB). Monitoring well data did not identify any unintended discharge …

Factors Influencing Ranchers’ Intentions To Manage For Vegetation Heterogeneity And Promote Cross-Boundary Management In The Northern Great Plains, Maggi S. Sliwinski, Mark E. Burbach, Larkin A. Powell, Walter H. Schacht

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Most private grasslands in the Great Plains are managed with the goal to optimize beef production, which tends to homogenize rangeland habitats. The subsequent loss of vegetation heterogeneity on private lands is detrimental to ecosystem function. However, conservation planners should understand the factors that lead to variation in management of rangelands. We used a mail survey targeted to ranchers in counties with intact rangeland in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska in 2016 to examine factors predicted to be related to attitudes about strategies leading to heterogeneity such as innovativeness and low risk aversion, and intended behaviors associated with creation …