Digital Commons Network^™

Practical Guidelines For Development Of A University-Wide Faculty Mentorship Program Using A Multimodal Mentoring Network Model, Matthew G. Schwartz

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Formal faculty mentorship programs are a practical and effective pathway to enable faculty success in teaching, scholarship, and service and to enhance faculty satisfaction. Although informal mentoring relationships benefit some faculty, formal faculty mentorship programs ensure equitable access to mentorship for female faculty and faculty from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds. Formal faculty mentorship programs can utilize a variety of structures, each with their benefits and drawbacks. This article recommends a multimodal mentoring network model to harness the benefits of traditional dyadic mentoring, multiple-mentor mentorship, peer and near-peer mentorship, and topic- and affinity-based group mentorship and to confer the flexibility, adaptability, and …

A Mixed Methods Study Of Faculty Experiences In A Course Design Institute, Carie N. Cardamone, Heather Dwyer

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Remote teaching created a unique opportunity to study the experiences of faculty participating in a course design institute. Hundreds enrolled in our online institute, where technologies (e.g., Zoom, Canvas, Google Docs) facilitated interactions among participants and preserved their ideas and perspectives throughout the program. Using a grounded theory analysis approach attentive to the participants’ words, the authors uncovered participants’ experiences and their perspectives on the structures that shaped those experiences. The data ultimately revealed five themes (pedagogical knowledge, student perspective, community and connection, technology, and emotion) that relate to changes in participant attitudes, perceptions, and/or pedagogical approaches. Drawing on these …

Learning Communities Promote Pedagogical Metacognition In Higher Education Faculty, Audrey J. Tocco, Lauren A. Mehrhoff, Haley M. Osborn, Lyda F. Mccartin, Molly M. Jameson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Pedagogical metacognition, or the reflective and reflexive actions associated with teaching practice, strengthens the planning, monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment of teaching in higher education faculty. Learning communities are optimal environments to foster this active teaching reflection. This study incorporated pedagogical metacognition into a faculty learning community curriculum and explored its impacts on higher education instructors’ reflective and reflexive practices. Faculty participants completed monthly metacognitive reflections for one academic year, each corresponding to a research-based principle of learning. Qualitative analysis indicated that faculty learning community participants recognized their lack of pedagogical training, successfully reflected on their teaching strategies, identified areas for …

Purpose, Place, And People: How The Pandemic Helped Foster Open And Inclusive Course Design, Benjamin K. Haywood, Diane E. Boyd, John A. Mcarthur

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In the spring of 2020, many institutions of higher education rapidly adopted new models of course delivery to support the ongoing need for instructional flexibility in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This article discusses how the transition to a flexible instructional model at Furman University created space for faculty to consider the value of intentional learning environment design to meet students where they are both literally and figuratively. Reporting on a course planning framework focused on the alignment of learning outcomes, learning space, and considerations of student engagement and accessibility, this article reviews data from a faculty survey on pedagogical …

Managing For Agility In Constant Change: Hr Strategies For Teaching Center Leaders, Carolyn Hoessler, Donna E. Ellis, Bob Bayles

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) exist in dynamic contexts and need to be agile, with skilled, adaptable teams to prepare for and respond to changes. In this article, we provide CTL leaders with relevant and eminently practical strategies from the human resources (HR) literature, offering guidance in the four areas of organizational structure, direction-setting, capacity-building, and accountability. For each area, we address pivotal challenges with practical approaches grounded in existing research and theory to provide options for CTL leaders in their quest to have well-functioning, agile units. Examples focus on helping existing centers to adapt and refocus, as needed, …

Relationships Between Residence Characteristics And Nursing Home Compare Database Quality Measures, Brian J. Puckett, Erica E. Ryherd, Natalie Manley, Carey S. Ryan

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Objective: This study evaluated relationships between physical characteristics of nursing home residences and quality-of-care measures.

Design: This was a cross-sectional ecologic study. The dependent variables were 5 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home Compare database long-stay quality measures (QMs) during 2019: percentage of residents who displayed depressive symptoms, percentage of residents who were physically restrained, percentage of residents who experienced 1 or more falls resulting in injury, percentage of residents who received antipsychotic medication, and percentage of residents who received anti-anxiety medication. The independent variables were 4 residence characteristics: ownership type, size, occupancy, and region …

“Evolving Homes, Not Revolving Doors”: Examining Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Foster Parents’ Discursive Construction And Negotiation Of Identity Layers And Identity Gaps, Lucas Hackenburg

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The United States foster care system serves more than half a million children each year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHH], 2023). The purpose of this study was to examine how LGB foster parents discursively construct and navigate their identities in the fostering context. The researcher undertook in-depth interviews with 18 LGB people who were currently fostering or had previously fostered at least one child from the foster care system. The researcher analyzed the interview data using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis (2019).

Consistent with the Communication Theory of Identity (Hecht, 1993; 2015; Hecht & Phillips, 2022), …

Exploring Modern Trends And Prevention Strategies For Childhood Obesity: A Comprehensive Literature Review, Anya E. Bogen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This literature review seeks to provide an overview of the current research on childhood obesity. The study examines the prevalence and causes of childhood obesity, including genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors. The review also discusses the health consequences associated with childhood obesity, such as the increased risk for chronic diseases and psychological and social problems. Additionally, the review explores the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent childhood obesity, including individual lifestyle modifications, education from health practitioners and school programs, and global, national, and state programs to promote wellness. The literature review concludes that childhood obesity is a complex and multifactorial …

Food And Nutrition Education: A Tool To Help Combat Growing Food Insecurity, Sy Lim

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Food insecurity is an escalating issue often overlooked and stigmatized in the United States, affecting about 1 in 10 households. This issue is a threat that can increase stress and anxiety, which is believed to further negatively impact academic and daily performance. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln community is no exception. To combat local food insecurity, the Husker Pantry has served almost a third of the Husker community, aiming to assist by offering food items, school supplies, personal hygiene products, and additional services. This project was made in collaboration with the Husker Pantry, designed to further help combat the ever-growing issue …

Alec 805 Teaching Portfolio: Exploring Students' Teaching Effectiveness, Becky Haddad

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio explores students attainment on InTASC Standards 1 & 3 through ALEC 805: Advanced Teaching Strategies. Students completed an initial teaching roots reflection and a final education philosophy that served as the basis for analyzing growth in effective teaching. Overall, students had more statements discussing teaching methods and strategies in their final education philosophies than they did in their initial reflections, but used their own experience to substantiate these methods much less. This provides opportunities for additional synthesis and reflection through the course, as well as opportunities for future scholarship in the course focused on students' connection to their …

Exploring Stem Teaching Assistants’ Self-Efficacy And Its Relation To Approaches To Teaching, Cody R. Smith, Deepika Menon, Annette Wierzbicki, Jenny M. Dauer

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

Undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants (TAs) play large roles in introductory undergraduate education despite having little to no teaching experience or professional development (PD). Self-efficacy and teaching approach have each been studied as independent variables that impact teaching performance and student learning in the absence of practiced skill or developed knowledge. This study explored relationships between TAs’ teaching approaches and teaching self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was measured using the Graduate Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale (GTA-TSES), and teaching approach was measured using the Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI). The following research questions guided the study: What is the relationship between TAs’ approaches to teaching …

College Students' Relationship With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder And Learning Accommodations At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Brianna Danehey, Kim Hansen Dr., Chelsea Witt Dr.

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can provide many challenges for college students due to difficulties focusing, multi-tasking, and staying organized. Colleges are required to offer academic accommodations to students with disabilities in an attempt to provide students with an equitable learning environment. However, accommodations may be ineffective if they are highly unattainable, unused by the student once granted, or hindered by university faculty.

The objective of this study was to identify barriers to receiving effective and beneficial academic accommodations for individuals with ADHD at the University level and to provide insight into college students' knowledge and relationships relating to the …

Engagement In Water Governance Action Situations In The Lake Champlain Basin, Patrick Bitterman, Christopher Koliba

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Water quality governance encompasses multiple “wicked” interacting problems that manifest within social-ecological systems. Concerned governments, institutions, and actors concerned with addressing these issues must wrestle with complex systems that span time, space, and scale. This complexity of connected systems requires the participation of multiple actors across political boundaries, problem areas, and hydrologic domains. In Lake Champlain (US), frequent cyanobacteria blooms negatively affect property values, recreational activities, and public infrastructure, in addition to their impacts on the aquatic ecosystem. Through a survey of actors working on water quality in the Lake Champlain Basin, we analyze how actor participation in structured issue …

Early Childhood Teachers’ Emergent Literacy Data Practices, Rachel E. Schachter, Gloria Yeomans-Maldonado, Shayne B. Piasta

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Despite a growing focus on access to and use of emergent literacy assessment in early childhood, little is known about early childhood teachers’ data practices and their associations with children’s emergent literacy skills. A questionnaire was used to confirm and elaborate findings from prior qualitative work (Schachter & Piasta, 2022) investigating U.S. teachers’ emergent literacy data practices. We focused on how teachers gathered data (data gathering), what they learned from those data (data knowledge), and how they used those data in their practice (data use) along with associations between the practices and children’s emergent literacy skills. Overall, teachers reported engaging …

The Perception Of Stigma As A Barrier To Help-Seeking Among Immigrant Populations, Zuha Qadeer

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Immigrants receive mental health services less than their U.S.-born counterparts, even after accounting for the lower rate of mental health difficulties often found among these populations. Stigma is one such barrier that is significant in reducing mental health service utilization among immigrant populations. This study explores how immigrants perceive stigma as a barrier to seeking help for trauma-related mental health concerns. Using qualitative data from a study on an adaptation of Written Exposure Therapy in Latinx immigrants (Andrews et. al, 2022), I examined the role of stigma in participants’ perceived barriers to care and their proposed strategies for reducing them. …

Perspectives On Adaptive Functioning And Intellectual Functioning Measures For Intellectual Disabilities Behavioral Research, Laura J. Mattie, Susan J. Loveall, Marie Moore Channell, Derek B. Rodgers

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Intellectual disability (ID) is a significant limitation in both intellectual ability and adaptive functioning, but many studies of participants with ID only include a measure of overall intellectual functioning when describing their samples. The purpose of this perspective article was to provide a starting point for future research regarding the utility of including measures of both intellectual and adaptive functioning in research focused on ID. In this article, we discuss the differences and similarities between the constructs of intellectual and adaptive functioning, how they are measured, and the benefits of using both measures to describe participant abilities. Data …

Nebraska Politics And The Environment: Framing Political Communication In The State Of Nebraska In Comparison To National Level Discourse, Samuel Taylor

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Environmental public policy has seen little change on the national level in recent decades due to Congressional gridlock. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have entrenched their opposing viewpoints, and their communication on the topic utilizes issue frames to help sway the public to see their side. On the Republican side, these issue frames take the form of the “scientific uncertainty” and “economic consequences” frames. This study, based on issue framing, surveys the communication of Nebraska’s Republican State Senators to determine if they utilize the same issue frames or if they diverge from their national counterparts. By analyzing recent …

High-Risk Sexual Behavior In Nebraska Adolescents; History, Risk Factors, And Mediation, Kiya Hudson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

High-risk sexual behavior is a public health crisis that impacts adolescents at staggering rates. In Nebraska, rates of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases have been on the rise over the last four years. The problem this paper addresses is the need to fill in the gaps in knowledge surrounding high-risk sexual behavior in Nebraska adolescents. It is important to address these gaps in knowledge because currently, we are failing our adolescents when it comes to providing them with all of the necessary skills, information, and tools to lead a healthy life. When we know how …

What Would You Be Feeling? An Exploration Into The Relationship Between Emotions And Bystander Intervention To Reduce Sexual Assault, Alec Miller

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Bystander intervention is thought to be an important strategy to reduce sexual assault toward women, and identifying predictors of bystander intervention may be key to developing effective protocols to increase bystander intervention in sexual risk situations. The dominant theoretical models of bystander intervention in the field primarily focus on cognitive decision-making while there has been less focus on emotional reactions as predictors of bystander intervention. Yet emotions, especially negative emotions, can motivate behavior that may relieve the negative emotions that were provoked by witnessing sexual assault. Thus, the purpose of this study was to fill these critical gaps in the …

The Role Of Religious Contexts On Hate Crimes, 2003–2017, Shawn Ratcliff, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective: Combining insights from socio-criminological theories of (hate) crimes and the moral communities perspective, this article examines how the religious makeup of a county— evangelical Protestant, mainline Protestant, and Catholic adherence rates—affects county-level hate crime patterns.

Methods: Zero-inflated negative binomial regressions were conducted on a unique county-level data set that included reported hate crimes, religious adherence rates, and related correlates of hate crimes for three distinct temporal periods: 2003–2007, 2008–2012, and 2013–2017.

Results: Results demonstrate that a county’s total adherence rate, mainline Protestant rate and, to a lesser degree, Catholic adherence rate are associated with fewer hate …

Male Hormonal Contraceptives: Associations Between Students’ Perception Of And Trust In Usage And Endorsement Of Gender Norms, Zoe Keese

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

As clinical trials continue to test the safety and efficacy of new male contraceptive options, evaluating attitudes towards them is critical in expanding access to reproductive healthcare. The present study sought to investigate the relationship of endorsement of traditional masculine and feminine gender norms with attitudes towards male hormonal contraceptive pills. Using a Qualtrics survey, 45 participants rated their attitudes towards different measures, including attitude towards the male contraceptive pill, willingness to use male hormonal contraception, and endorsement of traditional masculine and feminine gender norms. The results of the survey indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between endorsing …

Disturbances In Primary Visual Processing As A Function Of Healthy Aging, Seth D. Springer, Tara D. Erker, Mikki Schantell, Hallie J. Johnson, Madelyn P. Willett, Hannah J. Okelberry, Maggie P. Rempe, Anthony Wilson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

For decades, visual entrainment paradigms have been widely used to investigate basic visual processing in healthy individuals and those with neurological disorders. While healthy aging is known to be associated with alterations in visual processing, whether this extends to visual entrainment responses and the precise cortical regions involved is not fully understood. Such knowledge is imperative given the recent surge in interest surrounding the use of flicker stimulation and entrainment in the context of identifying and treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the current study, we examined visual entrainment in eighty healthy aging adults using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and a 15 Hz …

Spectral Features Of Non-Nutritive Suck Dynamics In Extremely Preterm Infants, Steven M. Barlow, Chunxiao Liao, Jaehoon Lee, Seungman Kim, Jill L. Maron, Dongli Song, Priya Jegatheesan, Balaji Govindaswami, Bernard J. Wilson, Kushal Bhakta, John P. Cleary

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Non-nutritive suck (NNS) is used to promote ororhythmic patterning and assess oral feeding readiness in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). While time domain measures of NNS are available in real time at cribside, our understanding of suck pattern generation in the frequency domain is limited. The aim of this study is to model the development of NNS in the frequency domain using Fourier and machine learning (ML) techniques in extremely preterm infants (EPIs).

Methods: A total of 117 EPIs were randomized to a pulsed or sham orocutaneous intervention during tube feedings 3 times/day …

With Liberty And Justice For The Wealthy: The Criminalization Of The American Poor, Ashlyn Dickmeyer

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The last phrase of the Pledge of Allegiance states “with liberty and justice for all”. However, not everyone has access to this liberty and justice. Liberty and justice can be bought in this country for a price, and those who can’t afford to pay it are often left in the hands of those who can. One of the most prominent ways to see this is by analyzing the criminal justice system. Despite clauses in the Fourteenth Amendment and court cases like Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) establishing and upholding that the poor are entitled to equal treatment within the criminal justice …

Systematic Review Of Reflection Spectroscopy-Based Skin Carotenoid Assessment In Children, Saima Hasnin, Dipti Dev, Taren Swindle, Susan B. Sisson, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Tirna Purkait, Shari C. Clifton, Jocelyn Dixon, Virginia C. Stage

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Assessing children’s skin carotenoid score (SCS) using reflection spectroscopy (RS) is a non-invasive, widely used method to approximate fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC). The aims for the current review were to (1) identify distributions of SCS across demographic groups, (2) identify potential non-dietary correlates for RS-based SCS, (3) summarize the validity and reliability of RSbased SCS assessment, and (4) conduct meta-analyses of studies examining the correlation between RS-based SCS with FVC. A literature search in eight databases in June 2021 resulted in 4880 citations and peer-reviewed publications written in English that investigated children’s (2–10 years old) SCS using RS. We …

Social Science Researchers' Perceptions Of Inclusive Research Practices For Transgender And Gender Diverse Communities, Christen Seyl

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Social sciences research has historically excluded or marginalized of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people. Although TGD affirming research materials can help improve relationships with TGD communities, these sorts of materials are not standard practice. The present study aimed to determine what factors influence social science researchers’ (SSR) willingness to incorporate affirming practices into their research. We hypothesized that more culturally competent SSR will view TGD affirming research materials as more affirming and be more willing to use similar materials in their work. In this study, SSR (n = 32) viewed and rated affirmation and willingness to use five affirming …

Do Ceo Gratification Preferences Influence Accounting Choices Near Retirement?, Nicholas Wilson

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

CEOs near retirement are less motivated to act in shareholders' best interests than those planning to remain indefinitely; this is the horizon problem. Financial reporting that personifies the horizon problem includes an abrupt reduction in discretionary spending and an increase in current accounting earnings; this abrupt change in reporting is potentially detrimental to long-term gains. Gratification preference, defined by observable tendencies, is a personal characteristic reflecting one's prior life experiences and environments. This study offers an archival measure of these gratification preferences and examines whether these preferences mitigate or exacerbate the CEO horizon problem. The results suggest that discretionary accounting …

Virtual Training In Child Welfare, Penny Putnam Collins

QIC-Takes

Child welfare offices and training centers had to transition their classroom instructor-led training to virtual platforms when the pandemic hit. Some training systems were already using virtual platforms or asynchronous learning tools to deliver training content, but no agency was 100% virtual pre-pandemic. The transition was sudden and there was a steep learning curve for some trainers. Changes made when the pandemic hit may now be the new normal. This QICTake highlights what our QIC-WD sites and team members experienced as child welfare agencies shifted to, and are now embracing, virtual training. What We’re Seeing Finding the Right Tools for …

The Impact Of Sexual Violence On Women's Dating Lives: Understanding Enjoyment Of Sexualization Among Sexual Violence Survivors, Jaela Hardin

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This project seeks to understand the relationship between women’s former experiences of sexual violence and their present relationship with sex. Specifically, this study seeks to identify whether women with a history of sexual violence victimization now experience enjoyment of sexualization by others – most often men - in their daily life, as well as whether these same women also engage in self-objectification. Data from a community sample of single women aged 21-30 was collected online to record women’s responses on a variety of measures related to their sex and dating life. This project also explores whether women’s responses regarding enjoyment …

The Impact Of Parent Math Anxiety On Parent Homework Help Behaviors, Makenzie P. Starlin

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Math anxiety is commonly defined as negative feelings toward mathematics or solving mathematics problems (Dowker et al., 2016). Research indicates that math anxiety can influence parenting behaviors during homework interactions, which can involve behaviors that are autonomy supportive, or allow the child to initiate the homework task, or controlling, which does not allow the child to be actively engaged (Retanal et al., 2021) In particular, autonomy support behaviors allow children to work through homework on their own, whereas control behaviors do not allow children to work through the homework on their own and instead involve parents overseeing the homework help …