Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Parent Mentoring And Participation In First Robotics On Middle And High School Age Female Perceptions Of Engineering Careers, Kirsten Olson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Female presence within engineering careers has been a growing concern for decades, as females continue to major in engineering at a far lesser rate than males. Females may be affected by many different environmental factors, from parental influence, early engineering experiences, negative stereotypes present in male dominated careers, and male dominant culture in content classes and the workplace. Researchers have explored ways in which the gender gap within engineering can be closed, such as heightening females’ self-efficacy and providing early STEM experiences. Early engineering experiences include the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Programs, where students are …

Cultural Practices And The Transmission Of Ebola In Sierra Leone: Lessons Learned From A Medical Anthropology Perspective, Abubakarr Jalloh

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The link between culture and infectious diseases has long been established. This is primarily due to the notion that culture shapes and influences people’s beliefs, actions, and ways of life. Such beliefs and their accompanying actions ultimately contribute to people’s risk of contracting an infectious disease. As such, there is a need for a cultural perspective in understanding infectious diseases because human behavior plays a significant role in the emergent, transmission, and spread of such diseases. This study explores the cultural practices that may have contributed to the transmission of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Sierra Leone during the 2013-2016 …

Women's Occupational Health And Safety In The Informal Economy: Maternal Market Traders In Accra, Ghana, Joyceline Amoako

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Improving maternal health and women’s health is necessary, especially in countries with high maternal and child mortality rates. Most research on maternal health focuses on women’s reproductive health and, as a result, very little is known about the impact of occupation on maternal health (World Health Organization, 2006). It is also interesting to know that “Occupational Health Research” has been heavily criticized for the general absence of a gender standpoint, usually resulting in the exclusion of women and their concerns at the workplace (World Health Organization, 2006). In Ghana, an open-air market is an integral place of work for women. …

Empowering Children's Social Ecology: Reenvisioning Postconflict Reconstruction And Education In Rural Liberia, Kristen N. Mcnutt

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Despite the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement calling the end to Liberia’s back-to-back civil wars in 2003, Liberia’s peace remains fragile with a high number of out of school children, especially in rural communities. As an indicator of state fragility, rural education needs to be a priority in post-conflict reconstruction. This thesis emerged to support the nongovernmental organization, Supporting Programs in Community Empowerment (SPICE), an emerging Liberian-based nongovernmental organization.

The methodologies for this action research project was a needs assessment, which resulted in the development of the Needs Assessment Report: Paving the Way for the Future of Liberian Children. Through …

Morphological And Morphometric Analysis Of Nekemias Arborea And Ampelopsis Aconitifolia (Vitaceae), Sally Rose Gray

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Leaf morphology in angiosperms is not constrained by the leaf’s important function of providing energy through photosynthetic reactions. In just one family, Vitaceae, it is easy to observe among it’s over 900 species, various leaf shapes and sizes even among closely related species as well as within individual species. Observation of these leaf forms within species can be used to determine, for example where a vine transitions from the juvenile state to the adult state as well as their relationship to the spatial and temporal patterning of inflorescence initiation. Analysis of two species within the Ampelopsis clade, one that retained …

Analysis Of A Fragmented Mitochondrial Genome In A Chewing Louse, Geomydoecus Aurei, Alexandra Cleone Place

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

A typical animal mitochondrial genome consists of a single circular chromosome with 37 genes (Shao et al. 2015). Atypical mitochondrial genomic arrangements have been found in some lice species, including some species with minichromosomes with only a single protein-coding or ribosomal RNA gene (Cameron et al. 2011). Mitochondrial genome data from two species of chewing lice from pocket gophers have been reported to date. For both species, Geomydoecus aurei and Thomomydoecus minor (order Phthiraptera, suborder Ischnocera, family Trichodectidae), the cox1 gene occurs on a small (less than 2,000 base-pair [bp]) minichromosome (Pietan et al. 2016).

Eight additional mitochondrial chromosomes of …

Germination Rates Of Carex Spp. Seed After Long-Term Storage, Jonathan N. Nzombo, Kate Sinnott, Laura E. Fischer Walter

Undergraduate Student Work

This study explores the germination rates of Carex spp. seed that has been in storage for five to ten years. The genus Carex is a group of ecologically important grass-like species that constitute up to 25% of the aboveground biomass in tallgrass prairies. In the early 2000s, seed production plots of 18 Carex species were established from remnant prairie seed at the Tallgrass Prairie Center in Cedar Falls, IA. Seed harvested from the Carex plots from 2009 to 2014 was made available for release to the native seed industry for commercial production, with the remainder stored in an onsite …

Genetic Analysis Of A Parasite Contact Zone In The Southwestern United States, Tanner Storbeck

Honors Program Theses

Studies of cophylogeny (the mirroring of the evolutionary histories of two independent species) lies at the interface of ecology and evolution and therefore is inherently interesting to biologists. The actual mechanisms that lead to patterns cophylogeny are poorly understood. Chewing lice (Trichodectidae) and pocket gophers (Geomyidae) are a model system for the study of cophylogeny. The question to be addressed in this study centers around the fine-scale interactions between pocket gophers and chewing lice in the Southwest United States and whether different louse species actually hybridize within a zone of potential contact. DNA microsatellite techniques, DNA sequencing, PCR, and gel …

Construction Of Crispr/Cas9 Vectors For Directed Mutagenesis Of Fusarium Graminearum, Rebekah Akers

Honors Program Theses

Fusarium graminearum causes the fungal disease known as scab or head blight in cereals, including barley. There is no known resistance in barley against scab disease. Generating mutations in the fungus is a promising strategy to reduce infection. Research has shown that CRISPR/Cas9 is a very powerful tool for gene mutation. In this study, CRISPR/Cas9 vectors containing guide RNA sequences were constructed to mutate one visual marker gene (AUR1) and two genes essential for infection in F. graminearum (Tri5 and MGV1). Plasmids pFC332 and pFC334 were used to create vectors with the target genes using the …

A Feasibility Study On Utilizing Data Science As An Advanced Lean Manufacturing Tool In The Biopharma Manufacturing Sector, Tanya Heerts

Graduate Research Papers

The critical understanding, on which all else hinges in the biopharmaceutical industry, is that value is only added when a drug or a biologic is produced as a safe, efficacious first-pass product, in an efficient and effective manner. Every other activity is an expense and a cost to the company. In a tightly regulated industry that is facing turbulent times, the need to reconcile rising costs while still maintaining quality within the processes and products is imperative within the biopharma manufacturing sector. Current literature suggests that data science will have major implications in the future of biopharmaceutical manufacturing, however this …

The Effect Of Cold Stratification And Perigynia Removal On The Germination Of Three Prairie Carex Species, Christina M. Boeck Crew

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Sedges (Carex spp. Linneaus. [Cyperaceae]) are a major component of Midwestern U.S. tallgrass prairie and prairie wetland plant communities, yet they are often lacking in restoration projects because they can be difficult to germinate. Cold-wet stratification and perigynia removal have been shown to increase germination in some Carex species. The germination response of 3 native species, plains oval or shortbeak sedge (C. brevior (Dewey) Mack.), field oval or troublesome sedge (C. molesta Mack.), and prairie or Bicknell’s sedge (C. bicknellii Britton.), was tested to cold-wet stratification (28d) and perigynia removal in stored seed (10 months). Seed treatments …

University Of Northern Iowa Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, December 10, 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Faculty Senate.

Documents - Faculty Senate

Meeting minutes from the Faculty Senate of the University of Northern Iowa.

Stem Stories, December 2018, #2, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Program Spotlight - UNI REAP Program

Ecosystem Shake Up: An Environmental Change Adaptation Project, Hannah E. Morgan, Dana Atwood-Blaine, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This practical article reports an intriguing diorama project for third grade elementary students (ages 8-9 years). Students worked as partners to create dioramas of given ecosystems made in pizza boxes. Then, students rolled a die to determine a change in some environmental factor that affected the ecosystem. The students discussed how this change affected the ecosystem and made a second part of their diorama showing the ecosystem after the change. Finally, students made class presentations concerning their dioramas and ideas. A rubric for assessing the projects is included. Results of this science project indicate that students became deeply engrossed in …

Uni Grad Student News, V17n2, December 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Graduate College.

UNI Grad Student News

Inside this Issue:

--Graduate College Events
--Alumni Profile
--Student Profile
--Faculty Profile
--Conferences
--Spring Challenge
--Thesis and Dissertation Reviewer and Digital Publications Coordinator Announced
--Graduate Council Student Representatives
--Alumni Association Benefits
--Student Accolades

The Characterization Of Leather Wwii Artifacts Using Gc/Ms And Raman Spectroscopy, Brice Houser

Fall 2018 - Chemical Analysis Class Projects

Many museums face the challenge of protecting artifacts from deterioration. This process is often hampered by the history of the artifact, which can introduce factors that start or speed up the process of deterioration. An example of this is the method used during WW II to preserve leather. Mink oil or other fatty substances are used to help preserve and soften leather. A major component of mink oil is palmitic acid.

1 This fatty acid may have reacted with the brass in the same way that the oils from the hand react with coins to make that distinctive metallic smell, …

Quantification Of Trigonellinefrom Coffee Beans And Its Correlation With The Ph, Kashif A. Shaikh, Jaspreet K. Rishi, Joshua Sebree

Fall 2018 - Chemical Analysis Class Projects

This project analyzed the amount of trigonelline preseent in coffee beans at various stages of the roasting process.

Stem Stories, November 2018, #1, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Student Profile - Nina Jocic

Stem Stories, October 2018, Special Edition, Elise Leasure, Sabine Martin, Katherine Mauss

STEM Stories

Special Edition - Cedar Falls Fights Drinking Water Nitrates Battle

University Of Northern Iowa Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, October 22, 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Faculty Senate.

Documents - Faculty Senate

Meeting minutes from the Faculty Senate of the University of Northern Iowa.

Minutes Of Graduate College Committee On Curricula, October 8, 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Graduate College Curriculum Committee.

Minutes - Graduate Curriculum Committee

Minutes of the committee that oversees the development of the curriculum of the University of Northern Iowa Graduate College.

Uni Schedule Of Classes, Fall 2018, University Of Northern Iowa

UNI Schedule of Classes

A listing and schedule of the courses being taught as well as policies and procedures concerning attending classes at the University of Northern Iowa.

Stem Stories, October 2018, #1, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Alumni Profile - Sarah Huebner

Rod Library: Notes For The Stalled, V11n03, October 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Rod Library.

Rod Library newsletter: Notes for the Stalled

Contents:

-- UNI Museum Speaker Series
-- International Games Week
-- Flu Shot
-- Aldo Leopold Lecture Series
-- Skin and Bones
-- Upcoming Events

Uprising, Issue 6, Fall 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Northern Iowa Student Government.

Uprising

Contents:

Women Power --- 6
YE is in the Building --- 10
The Last Straw --- 12
Playing Doubles --- 14
White Noise --- 16
October --- 19
Artist to Watch For --- 20
Player One --- 22
Better Off Without You --- 29
Humanize My Hoodie --- 30
Remember --- 34
Untitled --- 36
Speak Up: A World Women Fear --- 37
Unappreciated --- 41
Cloud Nine --- 42
Doll Face --- 43
Addicted --- 46

Tallgrass Prairie Center Newsletter, Fall 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Tallgrass Prairie Center.

Tallgrass Prairie Center Newsletter

Inside This Issue:
--Irvine Prairie
--2018 Prairie on Farms Field Day
--IRVM Seed Pick Up
--Dr. Doug Tallamy
--New Staff at the TPC
--Save the Date

Csbs Kudos, Fall 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. College Of Social And Behavioral Sciences.

CSBS Kudos

Contents:

--Faculty Accolades
--Student Spotlight
--Departmental News
--New Faculty and Staff
--Alumni Highlights

Communiqué: College Of Humanities, Arts & Sciences Alumni Magazine, Volume 7, Fall 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. College Of Humanities, Arts, And Sciences.

Communiqué: College of Humanities, Arts & Sciences Alumni Magazine

Contents:

EVERY ISSUE
--4 Message from the Dean
--5 Donor Feature
--34 CHAS Briefs
--42 New Faculty
--44 Class Notes
FEATURES
--6 Printmaking Awards
--10 Micro-CT
--14 YWCA Partnership
--22 Science in the Media
STORIES
--18 Mastodon Tusk
--20 Documentary Film Clips
--21 Tom Hockey’s Asteroid
--26 Conference Table
--28 Lake Michigan Ozone Study
--30 Strong Estate Marketing
--32 Wetland Restoration
--36 Alumni at NASA
--37 Theatre CR Artistic Director
--38 Human Rights Fight
--40 Summer Undergraduate Research Program

University Of Northern Iowa Faculty Senate Meeting Agenda, September 10, 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Faculty Senate.

Documents - Faculty Senate

Meeting agenda from the Faculty Senate of the University of Northern Iowa.

University Of Northern Iowa Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, September 10, 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Faculty Senate.

Documents - Faculty Senate

Meeting minutes from the Faculty Senate of the University of Northern Iowa.