Digital Commons Network^™

Avian Influenza And The Approach To Designing An H5n1 Vaccine, Lauren N. Hickey

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The Avian influenza virus (AIV) H5N1 has been responsible for the culling and deaths of millions of birds since 2022 with concern for wildlife, livestock, and human infections occurring as well. With eggs flying off the shelves in grocery stores, even individuals not involved in the agricultural industry have seen the drastic effects of this disease first-hand. For chickens, this virus works quickly and overpowers the innate immune system before the adaptive immune system has time to properly respond. Therefore, a safe and effective vaccine could reduce the number of poultry deaths and prevent the continuous spread of the infection. …

Evaluating The Impact Of Research Equipment Availability On Scientific Rigor, Reproducibility, And Innovation Across Stem Disciplines, Lyndi G. Hraban

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Research infrastructure plays a central role in shaping the quality and innovative capacity of scientific research. This study evaluates how the availability of research equipment influences scientific rigor, reproducibility, and innovation across STEM disciplines. Drawing on literature from science-to-science research, policy studies, and discipline-specific analyses, this project synthesizes existing scholarship to explore the relationship between access to infrastructure and key research outcomes. Findings across the literature indicate that access to advanced and well-maintained equipment can strengthen scientific rigor by enabling more precise measurements, improved experimental control, and the implementation of standardized research protocols. Shared and centralized facilities are also associated …

Review Of The Book Blinders: Annals Of Vandalism At The British Library: A Necrology, By John Clute, Janet Brennan Croft

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Review of The Book Blinders: Annals of Vandalism at the British Library: A Necrology, by John Clute. The book discusses the British Library's policy of discarding dust-jackets, with examples of the sort of information lost when these important paratexts are destroyed.

How To Publish Open Access For Little To No Cost, Sue Ann Gardner, Melissa Gomis

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Slides of a presentation about how to publish your scholarly works for little to no cost. Part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Open Access Week training series for 2026.

How to Publish Open Access for Little to No Cost, Thursday, October 22, 2026, 12:00-1:00 pm, Online

Increase the visibility and impact of your research without paying high publication fees. Open access publishing helps your scholarship reach readers around the world, but article processing charges (APCs) can be costly. The University Libraries can help you take advantage of publisher agreements and other resources that may cover most—or even all—of your publishing …

The Life Of A Showgirl As A Cultural Artifact: What's Hidden By The Lipstick And Lace?, Crystal F. Haryanto

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This paper develops a collage-based framework to holistically assess Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated first release after the Eras Tour concluded. The Life of a Showgirl, with sparkling promotional materials leading up to its October 2025 drop and polarizing critical reception following it, represents an entertainer’s lifestyle while still concealing what was alluded to behind the Eras Tour curtain. Rather than engage in a direct response to Showgirl, I critically evaluate positive and negative commentary from listeners regarding the album, and I thematically analyze lyrical concepts throughout Swift’s discography to contextualize Showgirl within the arc of her work. I …

Buffeted By Change, Researchers Seek Continuity And Investment: Results From The Ithaka S+R Us Researcher Survey, Chelsea Mccracken, Dylan Ruediger, Ruby Macdougall

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Executive summary

The research enterprise in the United States, established after the second world war, is experiencing massive disruption. US colleges and universities are grappling with federal and state disinvestment and intervention at a time when AI and other technologies are reshaping how research is conducted and its findings are communicated. As a result, researchers at US higher education institutions are operating in an unstable environment. Against this backdrop, the findings from our survey of 4,003 researchers, fielded in late 2025, demonstrate that they remain committed to carrying out essential work and that they are doing so in innovative ways—through …

Oh No, Don't Let The Rain Come Down..., Mervyn Bennun

Nebraska Journal on Advancing Justice

No abstract provided.

Unauthorized Practice Of Law Reform And Domestic Violence Advocacy: Advocate Perspectives On Legal Training, Cayley Balser, Stacy Jane

Nebraska Journal on Advancing Justice

No abstract provided.

Disney And Critical Global Citizenship: Border Politics And Linguistic Decolonization In The Lion Guard, Gordana Lazić

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

In this essay, I analyze the Disney television series The Lion Guard as a site of public pedagogy and argue that the show fosters a form of critical global citizenship among young viewers. It does this, I further maintain, in two primary ways: the progressive treatment of and careful attention to immigration and border politics, and disruption of the hegemony of the English language. Through age-appropriate plot development and dialogue, The Lion Guard actively participates in public pedagogy urging future policy and decision-makers to develop critical global consciousness.

Historical Chaos Among Tetrabothriideans (Eucestoda) Of Odontocetes (Artiodactyla)—Revising Generic Taxonomy And Species Diversity For Cestodes Among Oceanic Dolphins, Eric P. Hoberg, Kaylen Marie Soudachanh, Robert L. Rausch

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Explorations over the past 150 years that have defined the diversity and structure of the tetrabothriidean cestode fauna among Odontocete cetaceans (Artiodactyla) are summarized and reviewed. Persistent errors in interpretation of comparative morphological characters, inconsistent taxonomic decisions, and an understanding of generic-level and species diversity are addressed. We outline a revision of the Tetrabothriidea, which now encompasses 8 genera. Prosthecocotyle is resurrected from synonymy with Tetrabothrius, and Cetaceobothridius n. gen is proposed. A clear basis is outlined for differentiation of generic and species diversity among Cetaceobothridius, Priapocephalus, Prosthecocotyle, Strobilocephalus, Tetrabothrius, and Trigonocotyle that constitute the tetrabothriidean fauna of odontocetes; species …

Norman H. Cromwell, Unl Chemistry; Nu System Dean; Eppley Cancer Center Director, Norman H. Cromwell, Pete Boughn, Mark A. Griep

UNL ORCA Interview Series

This 1980 interview of Normal Cromwell was done by Pete Boughn at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He asked about Cromwell’s history but mostly about his time as director of the Eppley Cancer Center. The interview is reproduced with permission from the UNMC McGoogan Library.

Cromwell was born in 1913 in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1935, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in his hometown. In 1939, three things happened: he earned a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota, he got married, and he was hired …

From Prairie To Practice: Environmental Controls And A Forensic Taphonomic Framework In Southeastern Nebraska, Jessica F. L. Gammage

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Forensic taphonomy examines the postmortem processes that affect human remains, but much of the existing research has been developed in environments that differ significantly from those encountered in the Central Great Plains. This creates limitations when applying established models to regions like southeastern Nebraska, where decomposition is shaped by tallgrass prairie ecosystems, loess-derived soils, and strong seasonal variability. Addressing this gap is important for improving the accuracy and reliability of medicolegal interpretations.

This study evaluates how environmental conditions influence decomposition in southeastern Nebraska and proposes a regionally grounded framework for forensic taphonomic research. Drawing on existing literature, regional ecological data, …

The Use Of Chitosan-G-Poly (Acrylic Acid-Co-Acrylamide) In The Delivery Of Imatinib In The Small Intestine, Dawson Ohrt, Clint Everard

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

The use of hydrogels as drug delivery systems is the future of biotechnology, hydrogels can offer a new way of controlled delivery to specific areas of the body. Hydrogel also create new possibilities for treatments of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). There are many different types of hydrogels that can be used in drug delivery. Hydrogels offer customizability in regard to the release of drugs in specific environments. The chemical properties of hydrogels allow for them to be manipulated for specific functions such as release at a specific pH . The hydrogel being used in the study is Chitosan-G-Poly (Acrylic Acid …

Age Reassignment Using Luminescence Dating For The Mammoth Site, Black Hills, South Dakota, Usa, Shannon A. Mahan, Jim I. Mead, P.R. Hanson, Emma T. Krolczyk, Christopher N. Jass

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Mammoth Site (MS) at Hot Springs, South Dakota, provides a unique opportunity to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions on the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Previous radiocarbon analyses of mammoth bone apatite suggested the MS sinkhole was deposited ∼42–23 cal ka BP. However, two U-series ages and one thermoluminescence (TL) age ranged between 150 and 101 ka, suggesting the bones were considerably older. We analyzed six samples from the bone bed using infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) on feldspars, because the quartz luminescence was saturated; the ages ranged from approximately 232 to 160 ka, showing better agreement with previous U-series and …

How Philip K. Dick Used The Unreliable Narrator To Transport Unwitting Acolytes, Michael Barros, Jordi Smith

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This essay examines the use of the unreliable narrator to transport the reader into narrative worlds, specifically in Philip K. Dick's fiction. By exploring the phenomenon of narrative transportation and the role of emotions in engagement with fiction, we argue that Dick's use of the unreliable narrator significantly engages and transports readers into his narrative worlds. Subsequently, we contend that his belief in the fundamental reality of those worlds is effectively positioning himself as a gatekeeper and mediator between the narrative world and the real world, which sets him, in his mind, as a prophet, using fiction as a tool …

Odyssey To The Extraordinary: Living Our Land Grant Mission And Beyond, Jeffrey P. Gold, Katherine S. Ankerson, Tiffany Heng-Moss

Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources: Institute Publications

Presents a strategy intended to guide future directions for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's (UNL) Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) including issues related to governance, funding, organizational structure, and strategic alignment within UNL and the University of Nebraska system.

Evaluating The Motivations Of Participants In Online Equine Extension Courses, Sarah Vos

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

Traditional program evaluations emphasize participant demographics, knowledge gain, behavior change, and program impact. However, evaluating participant motivation can provide addition insight into why participants enroll in extension programs and help explain participant engagement and persistence throughout a program. The purpose of this study was to evaluate participant motivation in two online equine extension courses and examine potential relationships between motivation, demographics, and course delivery method, and describe participant engagement in Virtual Horse Judging Camp (VHJC). This cross-sectional study utilized convenience sampling of participants in two online equine extension courses, Horse Adult Leader Training and Educational Resource (HALTER) and VHJC. The …

Evolution Of Propagator Wakes On The Kolbeinsey Ridge From An Integrated Geophysical Perspective, Ethan Stowell

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Oceanic lithosphere is formed following the extension and rifting of a continent, with new material generated at mid-ocean ridges. While ridges generally spread in the direction of extension, individual spreading centers are offset by perpendicular transform faults that break the ridges into individual segments. Ridge propagation, in which one ridge segment grows at the expense of another’s shortening, has been identified in global investigations as a poorly understood component of axial reorganization. This process leaves propagator wake structures composed of faults and pseudofaults visible as lows in Earth’s gravitational field, and transferred lithosphere with a distorted magnetic signature. This study …

High Biochar Rate Improves Water Retention In Some Environmentally Sensitive Soils, Samundra Sigdel

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

Improving water retention and other hydraulic properties is key to managing soil water and sustaining crop production under fluctuating and extreme weather events. We assessed how wood biochar (836 g C kg^-1) applied at 0, 6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50 Mg ha^-1 affected: i) soil hydraulic properties after 5 years and ii) corn and soybean yield, and biomass production of cereal rye cover crop (CC) and CC mix (cereal rye, radish, and winter pea) in sandy, sloping, and semi-arid soils in the central U.S. Great Plains over 6 years. Biochar affected field saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_{sat …}

Review Of Supernatural: A History Of Television’S Unearthly Road Trip By Erin Giannini, Duane Ebesu

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

No abstract (book review)

Eschatological Echoes: Reading The Bible And The Harry Potter Series, Athira Mohan Dr

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Death has been a major topic in children’s and adolescent literature , which has invited scholarly discourse over different ages. While death was very commonly featured in the puritanical texts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was also deemed to be a subject too sensitive for the genre of children’s literature in the early twentieth century(Aries 1975), due to a combination of factors such as lowered child mortality rate and heightened concern for childhood as a special social category. However, contemporary children’s and adolescent literature focuses on death as an important part of human life, and invites discussions on …

Precious Pattern: The Dotted-Diamond Motif In Indigenous American Textiles, Explorations In Mesoamerica, The American Southwest, And The Andes, Billie J. A. Follensbee, Lois Martin

Zea E-Books Collection

No abstract provided.

Navigating Queer Identities In Rural Communities: The Role Of Social Support In Shaping Lgbq+ Adolescents’ Identity Development, Michaela Elaine Pierson

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

Adolescents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ+) develop their identities within complex social contexts. In rural settings, limited access to affirming resources and greater exposure to stigma may further shape identity development. Guided by social ecological and minority stress theories, this study examined whether perceived family and friend support predict identity affirmation and internalized homonegativity among rural LGBQ+ adolescents. Participants included 53 adolescents ages 13 to 18 drawn from a larger dataset. Group differences across demographic variables were examined, and regression analyses were used to evaluate the predictive role of family and friend support. No significant group …

Fred Luthans, Unl Business Management, Positive Organizational Behavior, Mark Griep, Fred Luthans

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Fred Luthans was awarded the ORCA in 2008. He was born in Clinton, Iowa in 1939. He earned three degrees from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, located only a few miles from Clinton. His bachelor's was in mathematics in 1961, a Master’s of Business Administration in ‘62, PhD in Management and Psychology in 1965. After serving two years as a captain in the Army at West Point, where he taught psychology and leadership, he joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an Associate Professor of Management. He's had a remarkable career, but I'll only mention three major distinctions. His …

Exploring The Role Of Community Leaders In Building Community Resilience Against Climate Disasters: A Case Study Of A Rural Climate Vulnerable Community, Daniel Tinyogtaa Adama

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

Community resilience is widely recognized as a participatory approach to managing climate disasters. However, limited empirical research specifically examines how community leaders carry out the work of building that resilience in rural, climate-vulnerable communities. This qualitative case study addressed that issue by exploring the role of community leaders in building resilience against climate disasters in a rural, climate-vulnerable Midwestern community with a history of such events. Guided by three research questions, the study investigated how leaders identified and leveraged local assets and social networks, the strategies they used to promote collaboration, communication, and shared decision-making, and how their roles and …

Operator Theoretic Methods For Coupled Pde In General Geometries, Yuhao Mu

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

This thesis develops and applies operator theoretic methods applied to coupled PDE analysis in general geometries, in which the coupling involves interchange across a boundary. The general geometries refer to domains with merely Lipschitz continuous boundaries (e.g. any non-convex polygon), as opposed to those with any further smoothness conditions on the boundary. The key results include a new pressure elimination method for coupled fluid–structure interaction (FSI) PDEs with boundary interchange, which allows an explicit semigroup representation of the PDE in terms of just the fluid and structure variables. This novel technique, valid over arbitrary bounded Lipschitz domains, leads to a …

Beyond The Cycle: How Menstruation Influences Gender Identity And Well-Being In Binary And Non-Binary Adults, Rin Nguyen

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

Approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide menstruate, including transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people, yet their experiences remain underrepresented in research. Given that menstruation can affect gender alignment and psychological well-being, understanding its impact on TGD people is critical. Gender congruence, or alignment between one’s gender identity and expression, is a key factor influencing well-being, with research linking it to reduced depression and anxiety. Furthermore, emerging research on gender euphoria, the joy experienced when gender congruence is experienced, suggests it may serve as a protective factor for mental health and well-being. Gender euphoria has been associated with reduced psychological distress and increased …

“I Never Really Thought That Would Be Something To Talk About With My Doctor”: Developing A Theory-Led Decision Aid For College Students’ Substance Use Disclosure In Healthcare, Hayley Stahl

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

College students who use drugs face compounding barriers to disclosing substance use to healthcare providers, including uncertainty about health consequences and stigma-driven identity concerns. Existing disclosure tools address neither barrier in an integrated fashion. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined how constructs from the Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM; Afifi & Weiner, 2004) and Stigma Management Communication (SMC; Meisenbach, 2010) theory suggest factors influencing substance use disclosure among college students and shape their lived disclosure experiences. In Study 1, simultaneous-entry multiple regression analyses revealed that communication efficacy was associated with information seeking, perceived benefits of disclosure were linked to …

Crustal Structure Of The Vøring Plateau And Vøring Spur From Joint Refraction And Reflection Travel-Time Tomography, Anika Nawar Mayeesha

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Crustal architecture of the Vøring Plateau and Vøring Spur in the mid-Norwegian continental margin remains debated because the geophysical data in the area do not uniquely constrain whether the crust is continental, oceanic, or transitional. This study reanalyzes wide-angle ocean-bottom seismometer data from Profile 11-03 across the Vøring passive continental margin using joint travel-time tomography of crustal refractions and Moho reflections. A total of 6,760 first-arrival picks and 542 PmP picks from sixteen instruments were inverted for P-wave velocity and reflector depth. Three starting models were inverted independently to test sensitivity to the initial crustal configuration. The first two used …

Observing System Simulation Experiments To Investigate Impacts Of Deep-Tropospheric Uas Flights On Forecasts, Kenneth Alexander Swan

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Uncrewed aircraft systems have emerged as a promising option to address meteorological gaps in observations in the lower troposphere. With recent advancements, UAS may be able to address gaps aloft in areas that lack coverage from radiosondes and commercial aircraft. UAS have shown the potential to significantly benefit NWP forecasts from profiles in the lowest 2 km AGL, but the impact of UAS profiles to the tropopause has yet to be quantified. Additionally, the impacts of hazardous flying conditions that UAS would encounter need to be addressed to guide future UAS capabilities. To address these questions, we designed an observing …