Digital Commons Network^™

Conagra Brands Strategic Audit, Ashley R. Nierman

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The goal of this paper is to present a comprehensive strategic audit of Conagra Brands, Inc., a major company in the consumer-packaged foods industry. The audit evaluates the external environment of Conagra, including a PESTEL analysis and Porter’s Five Forces analysis. Various industry factors that affect Conagra’s operations are taken into consideration. It will also explain the internal environment of Conagra using tools such as a SWOT analysis, financial performance review, and strategy explanation. Key areas of focus include shifting demands, including consumers’ desire for more healthy and sustainable food options, recent political and economic factors, competitive advantages of Conagra, …

Sofi Technologies Incorporated Strategic Audit, Elena Eisaman

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

SoFi, a catchy abbreviation of Social Finance, is a digital bank as of 2022. The company seeks to offer better banking than traditional alternatives. SoFi, founded in 2011, has slowly developed financial offerings with the goal of dominating digital banking. The company is best known for helping customers manage student loans, but SoFi aims to provide customers with services for their every financial need. The platform boasts 10.9 million members, 33 billion in debt paid, and 117 billion in loans issued (SoFi). This report will explore SoFi’s origin, functions, and competitive environment. These investigations will inform recommendations for the company …

A Strategic Audit Of Cnh Industrial, Cassidy Hoffman, Derek Huss, Maren Tuell, Cami Chapin, Megan Berg

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This research examines CNH Industrial, a leading global agricultural machinery company, and its strategic approach to innovation, sustainability, and customer loyalty. Operating under brands like CASE IH and New Holland Agriculture, CNH focuses on integrating advanced technology into its products, such as precision agriculture tools, to enhance efficiency, optimize fuel savings, and support sustainable agricultural practices. The company’s comprehensive business model, which spans from product development to financing, fosters strong customer retention and brand loyalty.

Through a differentiation strategy, CNH maintains competitiveness in the face of intense market rivalry, particularly with industry leader John Deere. This study analyzes CNH’s ability …

A Strategic Audit: Eli Lilly & Company, Natalie Karrels, Ethan Heinemann, Jonathan Patton, Meg Williams

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This strategic audit assesses the external and internal forces impacting Eli Lilly & Company’s strategic decision-making strategies. All information has been gathered from industry reports and company reports, including reports for investors, analyst calls, financial statements, and news reports. The report highlights the quantitative, qualitative, performance, strategy, and leadership decisions that have allowed Eli Lilly & Company to succeed for the past 150 years.

Assessment Of Energy Efficiency Measures Recommended For Industrial Facilities: Environmental, Economic, And Life Cycle Perspectives, Dariush Jafari

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

This study assesses the economic, environmental, and life cycle impacts of more than 800 industrial Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) identified in manufacturing facilities across Nebraska. These EEMs are notable for their rapid implementation and minimal disruption to the facility’s building structure or core processes.

The research evaluates the financial viability of EEMs by analyzing utility savings, implementation costs, and payback periods. It also examines their cost-effectiveness in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including calculations of net cost and cost of mitigated CO₂-eq.

Key findings indicate that adding insulation to hot pipes and buildings, replacing personal fans with High-Volume, Low-Speed (HVLS) …

Mash Crashworthiness Of Work Zone Devices And Breakaway Luminaire Poles, Mohammadreza Rajaee

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

This thesis presents a study on the crashworthiness of two commonly-used roadside safety devices: Type II barricades and luminaire poles supported by TB1-17 transformer bases. The first part focuses on designing and evaluating a non-proprietary, Type II barricade that meets MASH criteria. A validated LS-DYNA model, based on a previously-tested Type III barricade, was used to guide the design. The proposed Type II system was evaluated through simulation and confirmed with full-scale crash testing. The second part of the study investigates luminaire poles supported by the TB1-17 transformer base. A previously-developed LS-DYNA model was updated and validated using test No. …

A Framework For Quantifying The Benefits Of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Development, Donya Negahbani

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

Under the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, a significant portion of benefits derived from federal clean transportation investments is required to be directed to disadvantaged communities. Meeting this mandate necessitates a transparent and reproducible approach that quantifies various dimensions of value and allocates them equitably. This dissertation presents a flexible framework specifically tailored for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Nebraska, effectively translating equity goals into rigorous spatial and economic analyses. The framework first identifies multiple distinct categories of benefit that reflect the societal value of charging access: energy savings, economic opportunities, environmental quality enhancements, and public health improvements. …

Development Of Timber Bridge Railing And Approach Guardrail Transition, Aaron Lechtenberger

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

Timber bridges with transverse and longitudinal bridge decks are increasingly utilized across the United States. However, limited research exists to develop bridge railing systems for high-service-level roadways that meet current vehicular impact safety standards. In response to this gap, the United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service -Forest Products Laboratory (USDA-FS-FPL), in collaboration with the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF), initiated a research program to develop, crash test, and evaluate higher-service-level bridge railings and approach guardrail transitions (AGTs) compliant with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH).

This study continued …

Addressing Structural Violence In Eastern Nebraska Through The Assessment Of Mortality Profiles, Victoria M. Pate

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Humanitarian forensics has recently expanded to include the examination of forensic casework demographics within the medicolegal community. Additionally, it is proposed that research and data collection should look beyond the individual case report to address public health, crime vulnerabilities, and marginalization at local and national levels to advocate for policy changes protecting against institutionalized violence. With the utilization of quantitative and qualitative methods, 294 case reports provided by Nebraska police departments, between the years of 2014-2024, were analyzed to conceptualize mortality vulnerabilities and the ways in which forensic anthropologists can aid in community action. Pearson’s Chi-Square and one-way Analysis of …

The Perry-Campbell Collection: An Analysis Of Byzantine And Roman Coins, Samuel A. Skokan

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

The Anthropology Collections of the Nebraska State Museum are home of the Gladys G. Perry Campbell and Iain Colin Gordon Campbell (I. C. G. Campbell) coin collection, which consists of an estimated 4,000 coins that date between the 1^st century BC to the 15th century AD. The collection consists of bronze coins (91%+) and billon (alloy) coins that represent low-denomination currency of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. There are approximately 3,200 Byzantine and 750 Roman coins. This study focused solely on the Byzantine coins of the Collection, to document their chronological range and research value. The collection can support …

Internalized Homophobia In Midwestern Sexual Minorities, Charissa Farr

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Research into internalized homophobia in sexual minorities has identified several factors that tend to lead to higher levels of internalized homophobia. These factors are parental acceptance or rejection, religion, urban versus rural environment, and societal attitudes. There are, however, few studies that have been done on these factors specifically in Midwestern sexual minorities. Twenty participants that identified as non-heterosexual were interviewed for this study. Participants completed a short quantitative survey on internalized homophobia before being interviewed with questions that looked at the known factors of internalized homophobia as well as what they thought needed to happen for future generations to …

A Semiotic Comparison Of Mayan And Egyptian Hieroglyphs In Relation To Cosmological Beliefs, Annmarie Vazquez

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Hieroglyphs, as a formal writing system, encode information reflective of a culture’s beliefs and worldviews and comprise inscriptions that represent objects (logograms), ideas (ideograms), or sounds (alphabetic or syllabic).  In this thesis, I employ semiotics, the study of how meanings are created by signs and symbols, to investigate Late Classic Maya (~250-990 CE) and Middle Period Egyptian (2240- 990 BCE) hieroglyphs that are associated with cosmological beliefs. In particular, I focus on Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs of birds and snakes as well as many other hieroglyphs of nature and celestial bodies. A semiotic approach provides new insights into the understanding …

Host Genetics Role In Viral Disease Susceptibility, Christian Willis Eaton

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

Viruses and their hosts exist in an evolutionary arms race, with evolutionary promotion of host genetic-based defense mechanisms and evolution of virus genetic-based mechanisms to overcome host defenses. Viruses are capable of much more rapid evolution and adaptation than their hosts, often leading to the use of host cellular mechanisms to promote viral infection and replication. In this study, we describe the generation of a detection assay for atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV), designed to target the viral 5’ UTR, a region of the viral genome which sees less mutations than the protein coding regions. This assay was generated to be …

Culture And Context: How Frames Of Teaching And Of Learning Mathematics Form And Change For Graduate Student Instructors, Johan Benedict Arroyo Cristobal

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

Why do instructors teach the way that they do? This question is key in understanding how and why asset-based or deficit-based practices are enacted in the classroom. In consequence, this question also gives insight into how the environment where students learn is shaped. Mathematics education research, in particular, has been concerned with how instructors respond to students’ contributions in the classroom and how these ways of responding can (dis)empower students.

One way to answer this question is to understand how instructors frame their own teaching and their students’ learning. Frames are mental constructs which help individuals filter details, interpret information, …

Understanding Pre-Harvest Hedging Behavior And Basis Forecasting: The Role Of Information In Grain Marketing, Iyore Eronmwon

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

This dissertation examines decision-making under risk in grain marketing, focusing on how information influences behavior, attitudes toward accessible information, and methods for forecasting commodity basis. Through three essays, it explores the impact of information on hedging decisions, the determinants of information-seeking behavior, the extent to which students can serve as proxies for farmers in risk experiments, and the effectiveness of different forecasting approaches for commodity basis.

The first essay examines the impact of information on pre-harvest grain marketing hedging decisions and grain marketing information-seeking behavior. Specifically, it evaluates two types of information hypothesized to influence decision-making: expected cost of production …

Towards Advancing Streamflow And Peak Flow Prediction With Machine Learning: Identifying Infrastructure At Risk, Sudan Pokharel

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

Due to climate change and its impact, the need for adaptive strategies for natural disaster mitigation and resource management has never been more urgent. Central to this is water resource management, which is essential for sustainable human activities, ecological balance, and the mitigation of natural hazards like floods. Streamflow is a crucial element of water resource management and plays a vital role in planning and building water infrastructure, implementing emergency response plans, supporting flood mitigation initiatives, and regulating agricultural and industrial use. However, accurate prediction of streamflow still remains a challenge due to the complex non-linear and non-stationary interaction between …

Educational Leadership In A Vuca World: The Crisis Management Experiences Of Rural School Superintendents, Lucas J. Grossnicklaus

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

The job of both urban and rural superintendents is challenging, but it is the rural school superintendency that comes with unique challenges that aren’t always faced by their urban and suburban counterparts. The COVID-19 Pandemic brought about a number of crises for school superintendents such as school closures, mask mandates, and navigating positions taken by governors, teachers unions, and school boards. While concerns about school closures and mask mandates has dissipated, conflict within school districts has only seemed to grow since the pandemic.

This multi-case study explored the lived experience of rural superintendents in the Midwest who have experienced a …

A Survey Of And Performance Guide To Representative Flute Music By Two Twentieth-Century Serbian Composers: Ljubica Marić And Enriko Josif, Sanda Mašić

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

Flute pieces by twentieth-century Serbian composers Ljubica Marić and Enriko Josif are little-known gems of modern repertoire that are almost completely unknown outside Serbia. Unique in their styles, these works illustrate the composers’ close relationship to the Serbian culture in which they lived and the religions they practiced. In addition, these works reflect the time they were created in, and are, therefore, modern with a distinctive sound. This document presents a study of seven selected flute works by these two important Serbian composers, places them in historical context, and reveals influences from both Serbian religious music (Orthodox and Jewish) and …

Robot-Integrated 4d Building Information Modeling (4d Bim): Framework For Planning Safe Autonomous Construction Operations In Dynamic Environments, Hafiz Oyedimeji Oyediran

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

In the construction industry, the use of autonomous robots is considered a solution to overcome the heavy reliance on human workers to perform repetitive, strenuous, and hazardous tasks. While these robots offer the advantage of autonomous operation, ensuring their safe and efficient integration within construction sites requires precise planning. Such planning must account for the varying project complexities such as scope, site layout, tasks, timelines, existence of human workers, and other spatiotemporal conditions of the construction site. Currently, there are no methods to safely plan autonomous robot operations considering these factors within the overarching construction planning process. Thus, autonomous robots …

Considerations And Techniques For Producing Urban Tree Canopy Maps Using Freely Available And Accessible Methods, Hugh Reed Ellerman

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

Urban forests are valued as green infrastructure for the variety of benefits they provide across ecological, social, public health, and economic domains. To understand the distribution of trees, maps are required. Many methods of mapping tree cover use expensive and data-intensive datasets such as hyperspectral and LiDAR imagery, making these methods inaccessible to municipal forest managers. Variations in the modelling approaches of existing, freely available methods are not addressed in sufficient enough detail to understand the trade-offs implicit in these variations. Further, characteristics of urban tree canopy mapping (high spatial resolution imagery, heterogeneous urban environments, the importance of the tree …

Analytical Perspectives For The Wind Band Conductor: Discovering The Musical Growth Of A Composition Through Focused Observation Using The Elements Of Shmrg From Jan Larue’S Guidelines For Style Analysis, Eric Elker

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

Productive score study and analysis is one of the most essential skills conductors need for preparing rehearsals and performances of repertoire. Musical conductors acquire score study skills and tools early in their educations. Much of their attention is given to achieving the composer’s intention by searching for and discovering significant musical moments created by several musical elements such as form, harmony, melody, rhythm, timbre, texture, and dynamics. This analytical approach is necessary for learning a piece of music, but conductors miss musical and creative opportunities if they confine themselves solely to their analytical observations for studying, rehearsing, and performing musical …

Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Ii And Its Receptor: Novel Regulators Of Semen Quality And Follicular Function In Swine, Caitlin Elizabeth Ross

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

Pigs are the only mammalian livestock species encoding functional proteins for the second form of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH-II) and its receptor (GnRHR-II). In the first study, GnRHR-II localized to developing germ cells and the connecting piece of ejaculated spermatozoa. Concurrently, GnRH-II was most abundantly produced in the testis compared with other reproductive tract organs and was present within seminal plasma. Moreover, treatment of extended semen with GnRHR-II analogues altered sperm motility, morphology, and kinematics. For remaining studies, we utilized a swine line with ubiquitous knockdown of GnRHR-II (GnRHR-II KD) developed in our laboratory. The second study demonstrated that circulating GnRH-II …

Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 In Interferon Gamma Receptor Signaling And Cancer Immunology, Zachary P. Guinn

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

Every year millions of people die from cancer throughout the world, and tens of millions of people are diagnosed with cancer worldwide. When surgery is not an option, treatment options commonly rely on the host immune system for optimal treatment efficacy. The expression of Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) by host immune cells is often associated with favorable antitumor immune responses. How IFN-γ is optimally induced in immune cells, and how IFN-γ promotes the transcription of genes downstream of the Interferon gamma receptor (IFNGR) is incompletely understood. Understanding how to induce immune cells to express optimal IFN-γ …

Older Groundwater Reservoirs In Nebraska, Marvin P. Carlson, Steven S. Sibray

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Sedimentary rocks below Nebraska's regional water table are saturated down to the crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age. The total thickness of these sedimentary rocks ranges from about 600 feet to over 10,000 feet. Nearly all current wells in Nebraska produce water from the near-surface, unconsolidated or partly consolidated rocks. Most studies to date -- interpretive reports, test drilling, inventory of wells, monitoring water levels, and water quality determinations -- have concentrated on these near-surface sources of groundwater.

Where Is Your Crop Insurance Agent? Understanding The Geographical Distribution Of Agents, Cory Walters, Nathan Delay

Cornhusker Economics

Following the modifications to the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) in 2010, there was limited understanding of the impact of policy changes on agent availability. Our objective is to construct a model of the equilibrium supply of crop insurance agents and to test hypotheses regarding the factors influencing agent concentration, such as commissions, competition, and risk. We developed a theoretical equilibrium model of the federal crop insurance market, which encompasses three tiers: insurance companies, agents, and farmers. The model incorporates key features of the federal program, including government-set premiums and the stipulation that agents cannot refuse coverage or modify premiums for …

Equipping Teachers To Support Comic Literacy: An Analysis Of The Educational Potential Of Toon Book, Kayla Whitlock, Jewel Yoder Kuhns, Sara Kersten-Parrish Dr.

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

Teachers frequently reach for leveled readers to help facilitate their guided reading groups; however, there can be limits in using these leveled readers. One such limit relates to enjoyment and engagement. An answer to this is using TOON books during guided reading time. TOON books are graphic novel leveled readers and were created in response to a need for high quality books for readers of all levels. However, in reading these books teachers need to be aware of the comics form and how those features impact the reading process. In this article, we outline the features common in graphic novels …

Efficiency’S Role In Irrigation And Nitrogen Use, Matt Stockton, Shannon Sand

Cornhusker Economics

Summary

The WNIPI is a purely physical measure of I and N efficiency and was developed to determine efficiency winners in several TAPS contests. DRIN is a powerful tool in measuring the effectiveness of the dollars spent on I and N. It is a ratio of dollars returned as revenue in terms of dollars spent. The third measure, NRIN, is an overall measure of economic gain. It is the difference in money spent on I and N versus the revenue taken in and measures the volume of net returns. Both DRIN and the NRIN measure dollar effectiveness dependent on the …

Restoring Exotic Cool-Season Grass Dominated Landscapes With Clethodim And Glyphosate, Eleanor J. Muzzy, Joshua D. Wiese, Abraham J. Kanz

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

A major threat to grasslands around the world is the spread of exotic cool-season grasses (ECSG). ECSG dominate vegetative communities and degrade critical habitats. One of the most common methods to treat ECSG is herbicide. To compare how the widely-used, non-specific herbicide glyphosate compared to the grass-specific herbicide clethodim, we conducted a fall spray in November 2023 at two different sites located in the Central Platte River Valley of Nebraska. The following June, we used a modified Daubenmire frame sampling method to gather data on relative cover, species richness, and community composition. After analysis, glyphosate appeared to be more effective …

Field Calibration Of A Time Domain Reflectometry Sensor For Water Content Measurement In Soils With Low Content Of Coarse Fragments, Rehnuma Maisha, Dean Steele, Aaron L. M. Daigh, Derek M. Heeren, Trenton E. Franz

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Comparison of soil water sensors for irrigation scheduling requires an accurate reference measurement. An Acclima TDR-310H soil water content sensor was calibrated and validated for sand, loamy sand, clay loam, sandy clay loam, and sandy loam soils. In 2021, sensor readings and soil samples were collected in the same sensor volume at depths of 15 and 46 cm at three irrigated field sites with five stations each. Gravimetric water content, bulk density, and volumetric water content (θv) were determined in the lab. The root mean square error was 0.032 cm³ cm⁻³, which was within acceptable limits. The …

Empowering Rural Communities: Unlocking Potential Through The Online Rural Economic & Community Vitality Graduate Certificate, Daniela Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

In today’s evolving economic landscape, rural Nebraska stands at a crossroads. While communities face challenges like population decline, job loss, and infrastructure needs, they also have enormous potential for growth, innovation, and resilience. The key to unlocking this potential lies in skilled, passionate leaders ready to shape the future.

The Rural Economic & Community Vitality (RECV) Graduate Certificate offered 100% online by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Department of Agricultural Economics, provides a powerful platform to do just that. This 12-credit, no-prerequisite program is designed for individuals eager to create real, lasting impact in rural communities—whether you're already working in …