Digital Commons Network^™

Increasing Fifth-Grade Students’ Motivation To Read Through The Use Of Thematic Units, Irina Anatolyevna Belikova Erickson

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

Elementary students’ motivation to read decreases as they advance to upper elementary grades. Reading motivation impacts students’ reading achievement. Only 31% of American fourth-grade students demonstrated proficiency on NAEP, the nation’s report card, in 2024. A need for research-based instructional strategies exists, as teachers can directly affect students’ motivation to read with carefully selected interventions. This action research study examined thematic units as an instructional intervention. In their instructional implementation of thematic units, teachers relied on the constructs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness originated from the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2017). Satisfying the basic …

The Examination Of Additional Creative Applications To Drum Set Method Books, Nathan Bjoin

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

The purpose of this document is to analyze how the concept of additional creative applications is approached and utilized by authors of drum set method books and how it can be practically applied for different skill and educational levels. This document will begin with an examination of a variety of drum set method books, outlining the technical (syncopation patterns, drum grooves, and four-limb independence) and musical improvements (personal musical exploration or repertoire) they aim to provide for the reader. Included within the examination is how creative additional applications are employed from each author in a variety of ways, including through …

Beyond Borders: Educator Identity Development Through Sustained Intercultural Engagement In Rotary Youth Exchange, Lisa L. Waechter-Cass

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

This qualitative study employed collaborative narrative inquiry, informed by autoethnographic reflection, to examine how sustained intercultural engagement through Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) shaped my evolving educator identity, self-efficacy, and enactment of globally responsive teaching within a rural elementary classroom. Guided by McAdams’ Narrative Identity Theory and supported by Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory, the study explored how long-term intercultural relationships and reflective dialogue influenced my understanding of teaching, learning, belonging, and global citizenship.

Data sources included reflexive journals, semi-structured interviews with former Rotary Youth Exchange students with whom I developed enduring family relationships through hosting experiences, and personal and educational artifacts …

First Peer Review Course Portfolio: Management 101: Introduction To Business, Shawntell Kroese

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Management 101: Introduction to Business is a foundational undergraduate course serving approximately 1,500 students annually across four sections. The course introduces students to management, marketing, accounting, economics, finance, supply chain management, and strategy through a highly experiential learning model. A signature component of the course is the Business Battle, a “real-life” consulting challenge where students solve authentic business problems presented by a Company (this year it was MotoAmerica). The course combines large-scale instruction with a peer coaching model, active learning exercises, recitations, industry speakers, and team-based projects. This portfolio examines course design, instructional methods, student learning outcomes, and future opportunities …

Statistical Methods In Research, Horahenage Dixon Vimalajeewa

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This course portfolio documents the design, delivery, assessment, student-learning evidence, and reflective evaluation of STAT 801A-700: Statistical Methods in Research, an online asynchronous service course designed to introduce students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to foundational statistical reasoning and applied data analysis. The course is a non-calculus-based introduction to statistical methods used to answer research questions, with emphasis on collecting, organizing, describing, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. The course also emphasizes applications relevant to biology, agriculture, and other research-oriented fields. This is an online distance course aimed to develop students’ understanding of basic probability and statistical concepts, recognize the importance …

First Course Portfolio For Plpt 803 Fundamentals Of Scientific Discovery, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

PLPT 803 Fundamentals of Scientific discovery is a new curse in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I designed and developed this course from the ground up. Initially, it was offered as a special topic (PLPT 892-014) for four years. PLPT 803 was approved by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources curriculum committee in September of 2025. PLPT 803 is unique within the University of Nebraska system and will be offered for the first time in the fall of 2027. The course is designed for students to learn fundamental scientific skills such as scrutinize, …

Performance Of Illustrations And Images As Language In Sarnath Banerjee’S All Quiet In Vikaspuri, Akanksha Barthwal Ms

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

Sarnath Banerjee’s All Quiet in Vikaspuri, fictionalizes but at the same time addresses water wars and political ideologies in the city of Delhi. By the means of eco-critical approach in the name of Vi-kas (development) Banerjee discuss the acts of slow violence subverted on nature in the name of progress (vikas). Through text/ images the author depicts chaos and challenges for the readers in more direct and obscene ways. The current paper attempts to look at Banerjee’s illustrations and images as new form of language emerged in modern Indian literature with the possibly that illustrations have more effect on …

Shared Language For Responsible Ai Integration, Asa B. Stone, Mark C. Stone, Alisha Bevins, Jean Claude Niyomugabo, Irene Magara, Jacob Abaare, Derek M. Heeren, Mubarak Abu Zouriq

PRAIRIE: Pioneering Responsible AI for Research, Innovation, and Education

As AI rapidly reshapes how we work and learn, employers increasingly seek graduates who can think before they prompt, exercising judgment under pressure rather than merely producing output. Yet students are praised for AI use in one course and penalized for it in the next, and faculty are left to lead responsibly on shifting ground, with no shared language to guide them.

This paper introduces the PRAIRIE Framework for AI Integration, a shift from reactive gatekeeping toward proactive stewardship. It emerged from a qualitative sentiment analysis of three communities (students, faculty, and industry partners) whose concerns converged on one need: …

Thermodynamic Modeling Of Ph Impacts On Subsurface Microbial Consortia, Jackfin K C

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

Underground hydrogen storage is affected by microbial consumption, and the different minerals present in the subsurface. However, most studies consider either biotic or abiotic factors in isolation and hence, the conditions that drive a self-sustaining storage remain poorly understood. This thesis uses a genome-informed thermodynamic model developed by Kharel et al. (2026) in which pH is the central variable coupling hydrogenotrophic microbial metabolism, inter-species competition, and carbonate mineral buffering. The model includes four hydrogen-consuming species: methanogen (Methanobacterium), acetogen (Acetoanaerobium), aerobic acetate oxidizer (Pseudomonas stutzeri), and sulfate reducer (Nitratidesulfovibrio) by conditioning each organism's …

Investigation Of Warfarin–Human Serum Albumin Binding By Ultrafast Affinity Extraction Using Single- And Dual-Column Affinity Microcolumn Systems, Samiul Alim

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examined the interaction of warfarin with human serum albumin (HSA) by using affinity chromatography, with particular emphasis on ultrafast affinity extraction (UAE) and affinity microcolumns. HSA affinity supports were prepared by immobilizing HSA onto diol-bonded silica via Schiff base chemistry and used to prepare affinity microcolumns for chromatographic studies under physiological-like conditions at pH 7.4 and 37.0 °C. UAE studies were performed to investigate the effects of residence time, flow rate, and column configuration on the measured apparent free fraction of warfarin and on the calculated apparent binding parameters. The results showed that the measured apparent free fraction …

Can Generative Ai Make Farming Decisions? Current Status And Future Pathways: A Case Study In Row Crop Production With Chatgpt, Nipuna Chamara, Yufeng Ge, Joe Luck, Yu Pan, Saleh Taghvaeian, Cory Walters, Christopher Proctor, Daran Rudnick, Daren Redfearn

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The agricultural decision-making process is experience-based, knowledge-dependent, time-sensitive, complex, and driven by historical data. Planting, fertilization, irrigation, and chemigation are key categories in farm decision-making, and currently there is no one-shot decision-support tool that covers all these activities. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) models are more advanced than traditional machine learning and deep learning models. These models have been trained on vast amounts of data from the internet, allowing them to accept unstructured data in various forms and generate human-like text, solutions to problems, and scenario predictions. Given this capability, we became interested in exploring the potential of generative AI in …

Gobbling Activity And Use Of Structural Habitat At Nest Sites By Wild Turkeys (Meleagris Gallopavo) In Western Nebraska, Robyn M. Dausener

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

Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations in Nebraska have declined substantially in recent years. Understanding gobbling chronology and its environmental drivers may inform spring hunting season structure and management actions. I used autonomous recording units (ARUs) in two ecologically distinct regions of Nebraska, the northwestern (NW) Pine Ridge landscape, and the southwestern (SW) agricultural landscape, to quantify gobbling activity from 2023-2025. I paired gobbling data with nesting chronology, cumulative daily hunting pressure, weather conditions, and moon phase using Bayesian generalized additive mixed models. Gobbling peaked during mid-to-late April in both regions, preceding peak nest initiation and incubation, with no …

Construction Project Administration: Course Portfolio, Andre Messner

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio presents a structured framework for the design and implementation of a construction project administration course within a Construction Management program. Emphasis is placed on aligning student learning objectives, instructional strategies, and assessment methods with current industry expectations and professional standards. The course is intentionally designed to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application by incorporating real-world scenarios, collaborative learning environments, and experiential activities that mirror industry practices.

In addition to outlining the course structure, this paper examines the pedagogical foundations that support student-centered learning, including constructivism, scaffolding, and project-based learning. These approaches are used to foster …

Increasing Students’ Self-Efficacy In Consuming, Conducting, And Disseminating Neuroimaging Research: Experiences From Teaching Edps 991: Social And Affective Neuroscience, Isabella Starling Alves

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Social and emotional factors are critical for learning, being core aspects of the educational  psychology curricula. Recently, neuroimaging has emerged as a powerful tool to  comprehend the neurobiological factors underlying these factors. Yet, many educational  psychologists have low familiarity with neuroscience research. The course EDPS 991:  Social and Affective Neuroscience, from the Department of Educational Psychology at the  University of Nebraska-Lincoln, emerges in this context, training educational psychology  graduate students to consume, conduct, and disseminate findings about how the brain  relates to socioemotional processes. One challenge related to the course is that many  students feel anxious about learning the neuroimaging …

Robert, Powers; Unl Chemistry; Nmr-Assisted Drug Discovery, Mark Griep, Robert Powers

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Interviews

Dr. Robert Powers became a chemistry professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2003 and is about to retire after 23 years. Prior to UNL, Bob was a drug discovery researcher for 11 years at American Cyanamid, which eventually became Wyeth and is now part of Pfizer. Bob was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. Something in his youth must have sparked an interest in chemistry because he earned a bachelor's in that subject from Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Then he traveled 1200 miles west to Purdue University in Indiana where he earned his doctorate. Next, he did postdoctoral …

Hope, Incorporated: Welborn Hope As B.A. Botkin's "Promising" Oklahoma Poet, Cullen Whisenhunt

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

In 1927, a letter by then-professor at the University of Oklahoma, Roy Temple House, was published in the Ada Evening News complimenting Ada, OK, poet Welborn Hope and suggesting Hope get in touch with folklorist and literary scholar BA Botkin, also an OU faculty member. That same year, Botkin published “Oklahoma Poets, Inc.,” in which he detailed what he believed to be the three stages of a state’s literary development: the pioneer stage, the popular rhymesters stage, and finally, the union of art and life (30-31). In 1935, Botkin presented a lecture in Tulsa in which he cited Hope among …

Akan Proverbs And Social Media Commentary: The Representation Of Women In Ghanaian Society, Richard Ayertey Lawer

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examines how gender ideologies embedded in Akan proverbs are reproduced, negotiated, and contested within contemporary Ghanaian digital discourse. Drawing on feminist rhetorical analysis and digital discourse studies, the research analyzes a purposive sample of 25 Akan proverbs and 36 social media posts and comments from Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok (2022–2025) focusing on women in public roles. The study demonstrates that Akan proverbs function as enduring ideological resources that construct women’s agency as conditional, subordinate, and morally regulated. These ideological patterns are recontextualized in digital spaces through both explicit citation and implicit proverbial reasoning, where users mobilize cultural logics …

Effect Of Accelerated Adaptation Programs On Feedlot Performance And Health Of Steers Drenched With Megasphaera Elsdenii And Quantifying And Partitioning Multi-Year Carbon Dioxide And Methane Fluxes In A Grazed Temperate Pasture, Rebecca Mcdermott

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

With strong consumer demand for beef and increasing concern about the environmental impacts of beef production, improving production efficiency and advancing the understanding of the environmental footprint are critical for the long-term sustainability of beef production systems. The first experiment evaluated the effect of accelerated adaptation strategies, using energy intake and cattle behavior, on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, and health of yearling steers drenched with exogenous Megasphaera elsdenii. Accelerated adaptation programs (0, 7, or 14 d transition to 100% finisher) were compared to a traditional 21-d adaptation. Dry matter intake responded quadratically across treatments, with the greatest intake observed in …

Sit-To-Stand: Smart Physical Therapy Device Design Project, Mollie Petersen, Evie Collier, Gracie Kniss, Lucas Sokolik, Jacob Zitek

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Mechanical engineering students in their last year are provided with the opportunity to form a small group and design a product. The specific project covered in this report is the creation of a smart attachment to a physical therapy device. A sit-to-stand piece of equipment is used to help patients recover or build the strength to move from a sitting to standing position after an injury or illness. Currently, there is not a way for physical therapists to collect numerical data while a patient is using the equipment. Much of their care plans are built off of personal perception and …

Interparental Relationship Quality Reduces Parental Stress And Subsequent Family Dysfunction Across Pregnancy And Early Childhood, Rachel Clara-Beth Beck

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

In this multiple paper dissertation, I found that a higher quality interparental relationship, characterized by more emotional intimacy, support, responsiveness and better conflict management skills, plays a key role in reducing stress and its subsequent impact on family dynamics. Aims and hypotheses were tested using longitudinal data collected from mixed-sex couples during the pregnancy-postpartum transition and into early childhood. In study #1, higher quality interparental support during pregnancy was associated with lower postpartum stress which, in turn, predicted fewer parent–infant bonding impairments. In study #2, a mutually responsive orientation in the couple relationship during pregnancy interacted with intrapersonal regulatory resources …

Online Legislation: Developments And Trends In Data Privacy And Software Development, Garrett J. Splinter

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The increasingly relevant interaction between the law and data privacy, as well as compliance requirements enforced by the United States, is currently in a state of transition. Various states, such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Nebraska, and many others, all have passed legislation with varied requirements and definitions that make for a challenging framework in which software developers operate, as the universal nature of the internet renders their compliance with current legislation a challenge. Enforcement also tends to be relatively relaxed in most modern examples, though it has escalated after 2020, and this trend may continue in the future, lending credence …

Practicing A Pedagogy Of Slow Resistance In The Writing Classroom, Kathleen Rose Dillon

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

Especially during and following the ‘lockdown era’ of the COVID-19 pandemic, college writing instructors have sought ways to mitigate the harms of neoliberal and capitalist practices in the academy and writing classroom. Incorporating elements of Slow Pedagogy, Disability Studies, Anti-Capitalist Composition, and Participatory Action Research methodology, this dissertation argues for practicing a Pedagogy of Slow Resistance, centering co-creation and relationship-building, to resist neoliberal and capitalist values, and promote student belonging and well-being. This dissertation highlights a classroom study in which two undergraduate students in the TRIO program, which serves students who are first in their family to go to college, …

Lightweight Attestation Techniques For The Industrial Internet Of Things, Syed Owais Athar

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

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has transformed critical infrastructure by integrating programmable logic controllers (PLCs) with connected sensors, actuators, and supervisory systems. While these advancements enhance operational efficiency, they also increase exposure to sophisticated cyber-physical threats, particularly through malicious modifications of PLC programs. Existing attestation methods either impose significant computational burdens by performing continuous verification or rely on detailed physical models that are often impractical to maintain across heterogeneous environments.

The first part of this thesis focuses on DuAtt, a dual-layer attestation scheme that integrates a physical process–based anomaly detection mechanism with a targeted attestation of the PLC program. …

The Value Of Difficulty In Engineering Education To Professional Work Experience Of Early Career Engineers: A Multiple Case Study, Nosakhare Iyobosa Idiaghe

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

Engineering education has long been characterized by rigor, intensity, and selective sorting, conditions often justified as necessary for producing capable engineers. Yet, despite the widespread assumption that academic hardship prepares students for professional practice, relatively little empirical work has examined how graduates themselves interpret the value of these difficult experiences once they enter the workforce. This dissertation addresses that gap by investigating how early-career engineers make sense of the difficulty encountered in their undergraduate education and how those experiences compare to the challenges of engineering practice.

Using a qualitative multiple‑case study design, the research draws on semi‑structured interviews with eight …

Examining Associations Between Cognitive Factors And Behavior To Promote Culturally Responsive Teaching In Middle School Math: A Conceptual Replication Study, Ashley Struebing

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

The purpose of this research was to examine the association of middle school math teachers’ cognitive processes on their use of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices to promote CRT in middle school math classrooms. Specifically, a quantitative, cross-sectional research design was used to conduct a conceptual replication of Comstock et al. (2023), and to extend their research by exploring the association between teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching math and their use of CRT practices. Participants in the current study were urban and rural middle school math teachers who may or may not have been involved in a CRT professional development program, …

Empowering Educators, Elevating Students: A Multifaceted Approach To Improving Student Academic Success, Amanda Huebner

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

This proposal examines the interrelationship between teacher professional development, collaborative planning time, and student academic achievement in rural middle schools. Drawing on data from a central Nebraska district, the study analyzes how targeted, job‑embedded professional learning and structured planning practices empower educators, reduce burnout, and increase engagement among seventh‑ and eighth‑grade students. Using an improvement‑science framework, the research seeks to inform systemic strategies that elevate both teacher efficacy and student outcomes.

An Overview Of Selected Works For Chamber Orchestra: Literature Insights For Conductors Leading Small Orchestra Programs, Ramon Araujo

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

This document presents a series of analytical program notes for six orchestral and chamber works spanning four centuries, examined through the intersecting lenses of conductor and educator. The works under consideration, Veracini's Concerto for Violin in D Major, Schubert's Overture to Rosamunde D. 644, Brahms' Serenade No. 2 in A Major Op. 16, Elgar's String Serenade in E Minor Op. 20, Piston's Divertimento for Nine Instruments, and the author's own Tresillos for Orchestra, are treated not merely as historical objects but as active performance problems whose solutions require the integration of scholarly analysis, historically informed practice, and …

A Pedagogy Of Connection: Potentials And Practices For The English Classroom, Alexandra Bissell

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

In a moment characterized by rapid technological advancement and sociopolitical volatility, the academy currently faces the need to redefine what a college education can offer students and reimagine how it delivers on that promise. This dissertation proposes a pedagogy centered on the process of connection as one way that English educators at the collegiate level might approach our teaching and respond to this call. Connection is relational, but also textual and conceptual, and I contend that establishing connection as the catalyst for our pedagogical practices is a powerful way to move forward and support our students’ intellectual growth as well …

Investigating Book Challenges: Reasons For Challenges, Changes In Public Opinion, And Removals In U.S. School Districts, Makena Nail

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

The American Library Association documented an increase in book challenges in the U.S. in recent years. These are attempts to censor or limit access to books on library and book store shelves and are mostly brought by organizations and elected officials. There is much more research on which particular books are challenged and the reasons for the challenges than on general public opinion about the need for limiting access to books (PBS, 2022; American Library Association, n.d.). Previous research demonstrates that when books are challenged, the underlying goal is protecting community values by limiting access to ideas that some believe …

Perception Of 3d Data Visualizations, Tyler Wiederich

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

Data visualizations are powerful tools for communicating complex data structures. They are typically presented in 2-dimensional formats, such as on paper or computer screens. In recent years, technological advancements have enabled traditional data visualizations to be fully rendered in physical environments through 3D printing, offering more natural interactions. However, this style of graphical rendering remains largely unexplored in empirical evaluations with traditional charts. In this research, we conducted two experiments to assess ratio estimations across 2D and 3D charts in digital and physical environments. The first study partially replicated Cleveland and McGill’s (1984) work in perceptual tasks and expanded to …