Digital Commons Network^™

Cultural Health Benefits And Challenges Of Food Preparation And Consumption: A Comparative Study Of The United States, Italy, And Norway, Natalie G. Link

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study aims to investigate the cultural health benefits and challenges associated with food preparation and consumption in the United States, Italy, and Norway, with a particular focus on citizens in lower socioeconomic levels. By examining the dietary habits, social structures, and health outcomes in these three countries, this research aims to uncover broader insights into the health status and well-being of their respective populations. The study will employ secondary data analysis approach examining existing research on cultural practices and social support systems. The findings of this research will contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between food …

How Individuals’ Perceptions Of Health-Related Content On Social Media Are Shaped: The Impact Of Information Sources And Message Characteristics, Grace Mclain Hensley

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and X, serve as major sources of health-related information. However, the credibility and accuracy of this information remain a critical concern. This study used a 2 x 3 between subject experiment design to examine the effects of two information sources (individual influencers, nonprofit organizations) and three message types (general message, message with statistics, message with testimony) on perceived credibility and engagement. Participants were recruited through two primary channels to ensure a diverse and engaged sample. First, an email invitation was distributed by the head of the Butler University Honors Program to all students within …

Preying For A Spot At The Table Examining Regulatory Policies And Solutions To Combat Predatory Microfinance Practices, Nicholas R. Brenner

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Microfinance involves financial services such as small loans, savings accounts, and insurance to low-income populations typically excluded from traditional financial markets. While the services it provides can encourage entrepreneurship and work to alleviate poverty, insufficient regulation can lead to borrower exploitation and continued cycles of debt. This thesis explores the regulations leading to successful microfinance outcomes. Particularly, the variance in outcomes between Ghana and Jordan will be examined as a case study. In Ghana’s Wa West District, effective policies and financial literacy programs have enabled microfinance to promote economic growth. In the country of Jordan, however, a lack of strict …

The Impact Of Bilingualism On Executive Functioning And Mathematical Abilities Throughout Development, Brenna Claire Mehringer

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Research suggests that a bilingual advantage is present for domain-general cognitive abilities, such as working memory (López, 2021), leaving it unclear whether an advantage exists for domain-specific abilities (e.g., mathematics abilities). Given the role of working memory and executive functioning in math achievement, this project explored the cognitive effects of bilingualism. It was hypothesized that participants who are bilingual, or who spoke a language other than English at home, would have enhanced performances on working memory and executive functioning tasks. It was further hypothesized that if an executive functioning bilingual advantage existed, then bilinguals would exhibit stronger math abilities. College …

Shakespeare, Storytelling, And Science: An Exploration Of The Relationship Between The Early Modern Scientific Movement And Shakespeare’S 17th-Century Works, Morgan Mead

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The 17th-century scientific movement generated a “death of the metaphor” that reverberated across the literary landscape. The creation of the Royal Society in 1660 shifted the ways in which literature and art were represented and respected in Western society. Shakespeare's works, believed to have been written from 1592-1615, show the growing relevance of the scientific and philosophical issues and queries that led to the formation of the Royal Society. A deep dive into Shakespearean metaphor and the scientific works that were causing shifts within Shakespeare’s world provides insight into the mind of an artist consumed and perturbed by matters of …

Shoule Québec Rename Its Language? A Diachronic Analysis Of Québécois French, Tessa C. Fackrell

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Canadian French has evolved away from metropolitan French in vocabulary, accent, slang, and even grammar structures since it was colonized in the 16th century. In analyzing the development of the Québécois language, this thesis aims to provide insights as to whether renaming Canadian French that is spoken in the province of Québec to Québécois would better represent the culture and people who use the language. This thesis includes an analysis of the history of Québec from its colonization by France, the legislation in place to protect the languages of French and Québécois, and an analysis of some of the linguistic …

Career Aspirations And Gender Norms: How Socialization Influences Women’S Professional Choices, Emily Rose Hunt

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

While legal frameworks grant women equal rights and opportunities to participate in any occupation, gender inequality continues in part due to the persistent gender segregation within the workforce. Gender socialization places women into roles that limit their occupational opportunities, so this study explores women’s understanding of their career options based upon the potential constraints that come from their identity as a woman. This study uses a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews conducted with students at Butler University to gather information on women’s personal perspectives on how their gender impacted their perceived career options. A sample of nine undergraduate women were …

The Identity Of “I’M Sorry”: Perceptions Of Apologies In False Confessions And The Influence Of Suspect Gender, Frances Anna Storgion

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Apologies serve as a mediator between victims and wrongdoers to promote forgiveness and enhance moral perceptions, while ostensibly reinforcing the guilt of the offender. These effects are further tempered by the gender of the apologizer. Paradoxically, content analyses show that apologies are not uncommon in false confessions and may reinforce false judgements of guilt. The current experiment aimed to elucidate the role that suspect gender and gender stereotypes of apologies play in shaping observer perceptions of coercion and guilt within confession contexts. This experiment conformed to a 2 (suspect gender: woman vs. man) x 3 (gender expectations of the apology: …

‘Dark Grandmothers,’ The Art Of The Individual Over The Craft Of The Collectives: A Case Study Of Klaas Rommelaere And His Madams, Rachel L. Burner

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

An examination of Belgian artist Klaas Rommelaere with a focus on his internationally renowned embroidered sculpture series, Dark Uncles (2020). Despite his role as the artist and the public face of the craft-based collaborative project, Rommelaere’s physical involvement is minimal when compared to “the madams,” the true executors of Rommelaere’s labor-intensive craftwork. This raises critical questions about authorship and reception in contemporary art, particularly the institutional reliance on the individual artist as a figurehead to promote collective craftsmanship. By analyzing Dark Uncles through a post-structural feminist lens and considering the liminality of craft production under capitalism, the paper highlights the …

The Interaction Between Phonological Reading Skills And Executive Functioning In Adults With Cochlear Implants, Tierney Marie Maurer

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Little research has been conducted concerning the interaction between phonological reading skills (the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds of language) and executive functioning (a set of processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior) in adults with hearing loss. The current study examined the potential association between phonological reading skills, hearing loss, and executive functioning in post-lingually deaf and hard of hearing adults who use cochlear implants. Two hypotheses were tested: 1) adult cochlear implant users have weaker executive functioning and phonological reading skills compared to their hearing peers; 2) adults with hearing loss who use …

Looking Green: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Greenwashing In Fossil Fuel Advertisements, Elizabeth Schohn Hein

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The world’s leading oil and gas companies knew the impact of fossil fuels on climate change as early as the late 1970s. Despite this knowledge, the fossil fuel industry proceeded to invest money in publicly denying the link between burning fossil fuels and climate change. There is increasing hindrance by American consumers towards fossil fuels as the consequences of their extraction and production become more glaring and evident in the environmental destruction and consequences of climate change across the globe. Growing environmental concerns about the impacts of fossil fuels, like oil and natural gas, from the general public resulted in …

Embodied Feminist Authorship In Stage And Screen Adaptations Of Mary Shelley’S Frankenstein, Abigail Marie Hoehn, Leah Grace Ollie

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Mary Shelley’s feminist ideals and lived experience have been illuminated by years of adaptation, retelling, and counter-discourse that have told her own story within that of her acclaimed novel Frankenstein. In this thesis project, we argue that through the process of reproducing the narrative of Frankenstein, such adaptations — on both stage and screen — have memorialized authorial identity on Shelley’s behalf, as well as highlighted her feminist outlooks on birth, motherhood, loneliness, and womanhood that live on in her creative works. By first surveying a selection of films that tell the story of both Frankenstein and its storied author, …

Reconstructing A Voice In The Diaspora: Language And Hegemony In Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's Dicteé, Ryann Bahnline

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

“Reconstructing a Voice in the Diaspora: Language and Hegemony in Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's Dicteé” is a close reading into the experimental work Dicteé by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. The text explores the interplay of language, identity, and cultural hegemony and primarily focuses on how Cha deconstructs language and narrative to critique colonialism, patriarchy, and the diasporic identity that generations feel after losing their voice. The fragmentation of the text mirrors the effects of diasporic trauma, specifically with symbolic violence and the fragmentation of the self. Pierre Bourdieu, Antonio Gramsci, and Victor Turner’s theories — symbolic violence, cultural hegemony, and …

Initiating Partnership With The Persecuted Church, Cristian Istrate

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A New Transition Metal Borate, Co6(B24O39(Oh)6(H2O) 6·2.21h2O, Synthesized Via A Mild Hydrothermal Synthesis, Alevtina Maksimova, Patrick Belt, Nilah Whitfield, Mark D. Smith, Gopabandhu Panigrahi, Gregory Morrison, Hans Conrad Zur Loye

Faculty Publications

A new transition metal borate hydrate, Co₆B₂₄O₃₉(OH)₆(H₂O)₆·2.21H₂O, was synthesized via a mild hydrothermal method using boric acid as the melt. The compound crystallizes in the trigonal space group P 3‾ with lattice parameters a = b = 13.17840(10) Å, c = 12.3287(2) Å, and a unit cell volume of 1854.27(4) ų (Z = 2). This borate hydrate crystallizes in a new structure type comprised of layers containing [BO3] trigonal planar units and [BO4] tetrahedra that are linked by CoO6 and Co(OH)2(H2O)4 octahedra via corner-sharing. The …

Implementing Online Evidence Based Educational Program In Diabetics., Michele Lynn Gervase

DNP Projects

Background: Educational online videos about diabetes can significantly improve patient outcomes by enhancing understanding and promoting effective self-management practices. These videos provided by the CDC provide a visually engaging and easily accessible content that simplifies complex medical information, making it more relatable for individuals living with diabetes. Online videos cater to various learning styles and can be watched multiple times to reinforce key diabetes management concepts and strategies. This awareness and competency improve adherence to treatment plans, creates a supportive community, and enhances health outcomes and quality of life.

Project Goals: To trial online evidence-based educational videos in patients with …

Routine, Twisty, And Queer: Pasts And Futures Of Games Programming Pedagogy With No And Low Code Tools, Daniel Cox, John Murray, Anastasia Salter

Faculty Publications – Creative Technologies

This paper traces a history of platforms targeting no-code and low-code audiences. It connects historical moments addressing accessibility challenges related to computer programming up through the more recent adoption of generative AI in game engines. Across these moments, this paper identifies communities that claimed authoring platforms, establishing their identity by rejecting other, potentially more efficient or expressive options. We argue these community dynamics have shaped the evolution of current game development platforms. By contextualizing current efforts in pedagogy as part of larger shifts in computer programming and game engine practice, we present a better understanding of the origins of platforms …

Unspoken Bonds, Atharva Tilwankar

All Theses

This thesis explores the art of non-verbal storytelling through 3D animation, focusing on a short narrative about the blossoming friendship between a young boy and girl. The story revolves around a boy who uses magical elements to attract the attention of a girl absorbed in her book, set in a simple environment featuring a single bench.

This project examines the unique challenges and opportunities presented by “Unspoken” 3D animation. It delves into the techniques of creating expressive characters and a compelling narrative arc without relying on spoken language. The study also explores how body language, facial expressions, posing, and composition …

Overharvesting: The Why Of Biodiversity Loss, Andrew W. Torrance, Bill Tomlinson

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Article examines the consequences of overharvesting biodiversity, focusing on its detrimental effects on biodiversity—on the biosphere, ecosystems, communities, populations, and individual organisms. It evaluates legal mechanisms designed to protect biodiversity from overharvesting and also considers legal mechanisms that lead to overharvesting to the detriment of biodiversity. The Article compares regulations and laws from multiple jurisdictions, including Europe, Oceania, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, and analyzes how these regulations and laws seek to curb overharvesting. Examples include the United States’s Endangered Species Act, Canada’s Wild Animal and Plant Protection Act, and the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive. International conventions …

Are You Really “Just A Girl?”: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Female Identity Construction On Tiktok, Gabriella R. Molseed

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper analyzes the use of the phrase “just a girl” on the social media platform TikTok through a feminist rhetorical lens to understand how female identity is being constructed and defined by the young women who use the phrase. By analyzing fourteen videos using the phrase “just a girl,” this paper identifies themes of incompetence, innovation, vanity, and overconsumption. The phrase functions similarly to the phrase “boys will be boys” by infantilizing the people being described while assigning specific behaviors to gender. Men are expected to be dangerous and violent, while women are expected to be incompetent and vapid. …

Successful Management Of Human Parainfluenza Virus-3 Outbreak In A Tertiary Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Nabiha A. Bouafia, Mohammed F. Qureshi, Reham Q. Alwetishi, Naoufel M. Kaabia, Dalal Bukhari, Mohammed A. Althomali, Souad M. Alateah, Fawaz T. Kashlan, Hania M. Farhan, Ziyad H. Alhaje

Saudi Medical Journal

ABSTRACT Objectives: To describe the role of infection control measures in controlling human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV-3) outbreaks in the neonatal intensive care unit of a tertiary military hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This single center, retrospective study collected clinical and diagnostic data from date to date. We collected nasopharyngeal swabs from symptomatic patients and processed using multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction assays to detect HPIV-3. Results: The HPIV-3 outbreak occurred between December 2022 and January 2023, and affected 22 patients (mean age: 13 months), among whom 18 had underlying chronic medical conditions. Most patients (n=18) presented with …

Assessing Student Satisfaction Using Courses Generated By Artificial Intelligence, Althaf Hussain Kallamadugu

All Theses

This research explores the effectiveness of using Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated voice-over presentations as an alternative to traditional human-narrated lectures in online education. The study focuses on students preparing for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 107 exam for Commercial small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUASs). By comparing AI-generated lectures with human-narrated content, the research aims to assess the impact of AI on student satisfaction, engagement, and performance. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative analysis of exam scores and survey data with qualitative insights from student interviews. The methodology includes the creation of AI-generated voice-over presentations, survey distribution to both control …

Countering The Traditional Feminine: The Abject In The Works Of Johanna Hamann, María Evelia Marmolejo, And Regina José Galindo, Sierra Myers

Theses

This thesis explores the ways in which Contemporary Latin American feminist artists have been able to subvert the Western constructed ideas of gender that work to locate the feminine Other as subordinate and inferior. Focusing on the installations and performances by Johanna Hamann, María Evelia Marmolejo, and Regina José Galindo, there is an emphasis on the role of the abject which is used to defamiliarize our established concepts of the traditional feminine in order to allow space for a redefinition and portrayal that excludes a detrimental modern semiology rooted in a zero point epistemology. By analyzing these artists' works in …

Examining The Impact Of Expert Testimony And/Or Mindfulness Training On Jurors’ Appraisals Of False Confessions, Izabela Rzaca

Student Theses

False confessions continue to be the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States, often because of coercive interrogation tactics (Kassin, 2008; Leo & Ofshe, 1998). Jurors frequently view confession evidence as highly persuasive, even when situations suggest it may be false (Kassin & Sukel, 1997). A confession becomes important when there are no other forms of evidence against the defendant, especially in cases where police detectives are pressured to decipher the crime (Gross, 2004). Additionally, confessions have shown to override other types of evidence when jurors make their decisions (Leo et al., 2013). To address this issue, the …

The Taliban’S ‘Gender Apartheid’: The Reality Of Women In Afghanistan, Hannah Litty

North Carolina Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

A History Of Security Rights In Personal Property From The Pledge To Bitcoin By Way Of Uncitral’S Universalization Of Principles, Henry Deeb Gabriel

North Carolina Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Unl Emeriti And Retirees Association Newsletter, May 2025

UNL Emeriti and Retirees Association: Newsletters and Other Materials

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Emeriti and Retirees Association Newsletter, May 2025

Expanding and enhancing the ERA President's message

Welcome to new members

ERA Board members

Wake up your well-being

Book review, Hello Beautiful

Service awards

A look ahead to programming

Recapping past programming

Memory moments

The Robert Burns Portraits Revisited, Patrick Scott

Faculty Publications

Illustrated lecture for the 2025 annual meeting of the Robert Burns Association of North America, in Atlanta, Georgia, on the major portraits of the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796), and on the dissemination of the well-known Nasmyth portrait through engravings, copies, and adaptations, charting the delayed emergence of the other portraits now generally recognized, surveying recurrent efforts to get other 'discoveries' accepted as depicting Burns, and suggesting possible dramatic further news likely to come later in the year.

Kindergarten Through Third-Grade Teachers’ Understanding Of Dyslexia And Their Preparedness To Teach Students With Potential Dyslexia, Including English Speakers Of Other Languages (Esol) Students, Carrie Madden

Curriculum and Instruction (Ed.D.) Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate kindergarten through third grade teachers’ understanding of dyslexia and their preparedness to teach students with potential dyslexia, including ESOL students in a city school district by using questionnaires and focus groups. This study yielded three main findings: (a) teachers define dyslexia using similar terms and wording, but do not use a formal definition; (b) continuous opportunities for targeted professional development is crucial to understanding potential dyslexia in students, including ESOL students; (c) tailored supports, interventions, and screenings are paramount to ensure preparation of teachers to have effective instructional practices for …

Implementation Of A Novice Charge Nurse Blended Learning Program In A Community Hospital, Asheley M. Davis

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Abstract

Background: Charge nurses have a broad range of responsibilities that require skills beyond patient care. Unfortunately, these skills are not usually taught in nursing school or as part of continuing education for staff nurses. As a result, many new charge nurses feel unprepared for their role. This is compounded by the fact that a significant percentage of nurses in the workforce are novice nurses. These novice nurses who may not yet have the necessary experience are now leading staff without the guidance and support of experienced nurses.

Local Problem: Newly appointed charge nurses at the academically affiliated community hospital …