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1st Place Contest Entry: Examining Students’ Perception Of & Experiences In Stem Course Office Hours, Gabriella Dauber

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Gabriella Dauber's submission for the 2024 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won first place. It contains their essay on using library resources, their bibliography, and a summary of their research project on students’ perception of and experiences in their STEM course office hours.

Gabriella is a fourth-year student at Chapman University, majoring in Biological Sciences. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Cassandra Zalman.

Exploration Of The Mental Health Impacts Of Drought On Rural Nebraskans Via Remembered Perceptions, Grace Schleining

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Drought is a sociological phenomenon. It is a well-known occurrence across the midwestern United States; the drying out of the soil, the failing of crops, and the constant dryness and heat... this is all drought. Inspired by my earliest memory of this climate phenomenon, my research question: Can we identify negative effects of drought on rural Nebraskan mental health and/or wellbeing? In this study, rural Nebraska community members, who are involved with the agricultural sector, were interviewed. They were asked questions regarding their perceptions and stories of drought using purposive sampling and snowball sampling methods. Themes throughout indicate negative mental …

Wooster Magazine: Spring 2024, Caitlin Paynich Stanowick

Wooster Magazine: 2021-2030

The Wooster magazine spring 2024 issue features alumni who translated campus exploration at The College of Wooster to empowered leadership in their next communities. Whether they are musicians performing as an ensemble, teammates on an athletic field, neighbors in the international house, study partners in the science labs, moot court team members, or otherwise connected, Wooster students find and create community on campus. Constructing these relationships and exploring all the opportunities that contribute to a Wooster education sends forward alumni with strengths that guide them as they serve their next communities around the world. The spring 2024 issue of Wooster …

Introduction To The Special Centennial Issue, Woodward S. Bousquet, Christopher Osgood

Virginia Journal of Science

This special issue of the Virginia Journal of Science (VJS) is dedicated to the 2023 Centennial of the Virginia Academy of Science (VAS). It includes congratulations from Commonwealth leaders, a proclamation by the Virginia General Assembly Senate, Academy members’ personal reflections, several historical papers and summaries, and portions of the program for the May 25-26, 2023 Annual Meeting in Williamsburg on the William & Mary campus.

Reflections About The Academy And Its Centennial, Marco Aldi, Woodward S. Bousquet

Virginia Journal of Science

Brief reflective essays from members of the Virginia Academy of Science were solicited as part of the Academy's centennial commemoration in 2023. The essays received demonstrate the many and varied ways in which the Academy has fostered collegiality, encouraged research, supported science education, and shaped the course of science in Virginia during the organization's 100-year history.

Historical Trends In The Astronomy, Math, And Physics Section Of The Virginia Academy Of Science, Joseph D. Rudmin

Virginia Journal of Science

A brief history of the Astronomy, Math, and Physics section of the Virginia Academy of Science is presented, noting trends in participation and content.

The Virginia Academy Of Science: A Scholarly Forum Over Decades For Students Of A Plant Ecologist, Stewart Ware

Virginia Journal of Science

As a newcomer to Virginia in 1968, I learned that annual meetings of the Virginia Academy of Science (VAS) were regarded as an excellent place for students to have their first experience giving a talk about their research to fellow scientists, and a place for faculty to get to know other Virginia scientists in their fields. Over the next four decades William and Mary students (undergraduate and graduate) and I were presenters or co-authors of 42 talks or posters at VAS annual meetings, 29 of them based on studies of plant ecology across Virginia. Two were talks by colleagues with …

Virginia Academy Of Science At 100: A Presentation Given To The Chemistry Section Of The Virginia Academy Of Science, Tom Devore

Virginia Journal of Science

While I have not been an active member of the Virginia Academy of Sciences (VAS) for all of its 100 years of existence, I have seen many changes in VAS during the more than 30 years that I have been an active member. This paper, delivered at the VAS Annual Meeting at the College of William and Mary on May 25, 2023, recalls some of the outstanding scientists in Virginia that I have had the privilege of knowing and who have led and lived out the goals of VAS. They inspired me to try to live up to the high …

Presidents Of The Virginia Academy Of Science, Woodward S. Bousquet

Virginia Journal of Science

A list of presidents of the Virginia Academy of Science from 1923-2024 is presented.

Naturalist Thomas Hardy's Inadvertent Support Of The Gospel Narrative When Portraying Sexual Abuse And Shame In Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Hannah Carmichael

Master of Arts in Classical Studies

In his novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the naturalist author Thomas Hardy attempts to critique the 19th-century Christian perspective on sexual abuse. Instead, he inadvertently critiques legalism, exposing it as the antithesis of true Christianity. Secular scholars believe that Hardy’s novel is blaming the Victorian era’s sexual ignorance for the stigma and shame surrounding sexual abuse. Christian scholars believe that Hardy’s naturalistic worldview simply lacks a moral standard. However, I believe that Hardy’s novel exposes an issue far deeper than sexual ignorance and lacks something far more substantive than a moral standard; his novel addresses the devastating consequences of …

Teacher Professional Education And Student Learning: A Secondary Analysis Of Nationwide Data, Aisha Naz Ansari, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta, Sohail Ahmad

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Professional qualification of teachers is widely recognised instrumental for enhancing students’ learning experiences and outcomes. Recently, the introduction of 4-year B.Ed Hons programme was introduced in Pakistan with the intention that it will help in preparing professionally qualified teachers who would not only demonstrate better classroom practices but also contribute to enhancing their students learning. This paper employed a secondary analysis of a nationwide dataset to compare students’ performance who are taught by teachers with B.Ed (Hons), B.Ed, and no professional qualifications. Furthermore, this study also present descriptive comparison of classroom teaching practices of these three types of teachers. The …

Investigating Sk-3-Based Spore Killing Through Dna Deletion In Neurospora Crassa, Sophie Krivograd

Senior Theses – Biological Sciences

Meiotic drive describes a process in which selfish alleles are recovered in more than half of a progeny generation. It is a type of gene drive and it has been discovered in strains of Neurospora, a filamentous fungus, through its spore killing mechanism. One of the most studied meiotic drive elements within N. crassa is Spore killer-3 (Sk-3). Previous studies have indicated that there is a genomic region within Sk-3 that encodes resistance to spore killing and another that encodes an element that is required for spore killing. Sk-3’s resistance gene, rsk, has been identified. However, …

Investigating The Role Of Dna Interval V377 In Spore Killing By Neurospora Crassa Sk-3, Carolina Okleiteris

Senior Theses – Biological Sciences

Neurospora crassa is a fungus that serves as a model organism for genetic research. N. crassa Spore killer-3 (Sk-3) is a genetic element transmitted to offspring through spore killing. Sk-3 is located on Chromosome III and it is thought to require two genes for spore killing. These two genes are the poison gene, for killing, and the antidote gene, for resistance to killing. While the Sk-3 resistance gene has been identified (rsk), the Sk-3 killer gene has not. The primary goal of this study is to help identify the killer gene by investigating the role of …

Protecting "Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs": Lessons From Mississippi Hb 1523, Lindsay Krout Roberts

MC Law Review

The United States Supreme Court's revolutionary ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which guaranteed marriage equality for homosexual couples in every state, gave life to a new challenge in the area of free exercise of religion: to what extent should persons with religious objections to same-sex marriages be forced to participate in them? Should a Christian baker be legally required to bake a wedding cake for a homosexual marriage to which he or she objects? Must a county clerk with religious objections to homosexual marriage sign a marriage license for a same-sex couple?

In an attempt to pre-empt these types of …

Investigating Essential Oils, Natural Compounds, And Marine Based Rumen Buffers As Feed Additives For Enteric Methane Mitigation And Improved Ruminant Productivity, Ian Hodge

Theses

Ruminant dietary additives were investigated for enteric methane (CH4) mitigation and their effects on rumen fermentation characteristics during both in vitro and in vivo supplementation trials. A meta-analysis of the peer reviewed published literature was initially performed to establish the state of the art in the field and allowed benchmarking of the performance of the dietary additives screened during the project. Investigated feed additives included garlic oil (GO), nitrate, Ascophyllum nodosum (AN), Asparagopsis (ASP), Lactobacillus plantarum (LAB), calcareous marine algae (CMA), chitosan (CHI), essential oils (EO) and 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP). The development of an in vitro screening method to evaluate the …

Exploration On Lysing Microalgae Using Pulsed Electric Fields, Fereshteh A. Bunk

Physics

With a dangerously and rapidly changing climate [1], people globally are desperate to reduce CO2 emissions and protect our environment as evidenced by global initiatives such as the United Nations’ Paris Agreement [2]. Traditional fossil fuel extraction and combustion was responsible for 74% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, which contributes to climate change, ocean acidification, extreme weather events, sea level rise, pollution, and health issues which contributed to 350,000 premature deaths in the U.S. in 2018 [3]. This motivates the search for alternative, more sustainable fuel production. There have been many new, more sustainable solutions to traditional fossil …

Periods Of Technological Change In Higher Education, Miguel Casillas Alvarado, Alberto Ramirez Martinell, Rosbenraver Lopez-Olivera Lopez

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Special Issue

From Cough To Crip: The Development Of Codeine From A Purely Medical Substance Into A Popular Recreational Drug, Rhett C. Vaughn

Senior Theses

The research that was conducted aimed to elicit the influence that pop culture has on recreational drug consumption. Specifically, the usage of the drug codeine has become very popular in social media among many influencers. The research focuses on the prevalence of this drug across several media platforms, alongside the growing rate of consumption globally. Research was conducted primarily through combining various databases at various organizations and this study aims to compile the data into one coherent paper regarding codeine in pop culture. While, it cannot be solely attributed to one specific outlet or influence, this study found that alongside …

Hilling As A Management Tactic And Tool For Understanding Soybean Gall Midge (Resseliella Maxima Gagné), Pragya Gupta

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soybean gall midge (Resseliella maxima Gagné, SGM) emerged as a new species in the United States Midwest in 2019, causing injury to soybean (Glycine max L.) Infestation of R. maxima starts with females laying eggs in the fissures or cracks that develop at the base of soybean during the V2-V3 growth stage. The emerged larvae feed on the stem internally, leading to wilting and death of the plants. With knowledge gaps in biology and behavior, management strategies for this pest are challenging. Hilling is a cultural practice causing soil to cover the base of stems and is …

Characterizing And Developing Chemistry Students’ Data Analysis And Interpretation Of Chemical Data, Stephanie A. Berg

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

All chemistry students must develop competency in analyzing and making sense of data. However, there are many difficulties that chemistry students may experience while analyzing data. Many students may not use relevant prior knowledge to aid in making sense of data, or they may not form conclusions using all the data provided. Additionally, prior knowledge seems to influence one’s data analysis, but little is known about how students use it to make sense of data. Thus, I interviewed undergraduate students as they analyzed graphical data for a task and characterized how they used their prior knowledge throughout. My findings suggest …

"It's Profound To Be Understood": Negotiations Of Household Labor In Trans Families, Eliza Thor

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

The gendered division of household labor has long been of interest to family scholars. For heterosexual couples, labor is often unequally divided, with women normatively taking on more labor than their partners. This inequality is often justified through time availability, resource dependency, and gender ideology. However, less studied is the division of household labor in relationships in which at least one partner is transgender or gender diverse (TGD). Drawing on the framework of “doing gender,” I explore how performing labor that aligns with traditional gender expectations affirms the gender identities of TGD individuals, making the division of labor in the …

Interacting Effects Of Nutrient Availability And Environmental Change On Grassland Plant Communities, George Robert Wheeler

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

The availability of nutrients plays an important role in shaping the composition, productivity and diversity of plant communities. Such effects are particularly well documented in grassland ecosystems, where both independent studies and collaborations such as the Nutrient Network consistently show increasing productivity and decreasing diversity with the addition of limiting nutrients. The specifics of this pattern, however, vary widely from site to site, and within a single site, they may shift with changes in environmental conditions and disturbance regimes.

My research at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (Minnesota, USA), documents such a pattern through resampling of a long-term experiment on …

Examining The Role Of Immersive Technologies In Preparing Preservice Elementary Teachers: Augmented Reality, Integrated Stem, Teaching Self-Efficacy, And Technology Self-Efficacy, Deef Allah Al Shorman

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

This dissertation, utilizing a mixed-methods approach within a design-based research (DBR) framework, investigated the impact of augmented reality (AR) technology on the self-efficacy of preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) in integrated STEM teaching and technology. Incorporating both a pilot study and a subsequent dissertation study, the research specifically focused on the effects of AR GeoGebra. The key results that emerged from the pilot and dissertation studies highlight AR's potential to significantly enhance PSTs' STEM teaching self-efficacy. In both studies, the treatment group that engaged with AR GeoGebra showed substantial improvements in integrated STEM teaching self-efficacy. Additionally, in both studies, participants from …

Novel Insights Into The Autoimmune Mechanisms In Coxsackievirus B Infections And Their Prevention By Vaccination, Mahima Theresa Rasquinha

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

Coxsackievirus Bs (CVBs) are RNA viruses of the genus Enterovirus belonging to the Picornaviridae family. CVBs commonly infect humans, and multiple CVB types can induce similar diseases such as myocarditis, pancreatitis, and type 1 diabetes (T1D). Although CVB infections can lead to the generation of autoantibodies, their role in disease is poorly defined, and vaccines are not available to prevent or minimize these infections. To fill these gaps, we first analyzed the autoantibody repertoire in mice infected with CVB3 by Phage ImmunoPrecipitation Sequencing (PhIP-Seq) and identified autoantibodies for several novel antigens not previously reported. The data were validated using enzyme-linked …

Demographic Consequences Of Off-River Nesting For Piping Plover (Charadrius Melodus) And Interior Least Tern (Sternula Antillarum Athalassos) In The Lower Platte River System, Nebraska, Elsa M. Forsberg

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Piping plovers (Charadrius melodus; hereafter, plovers) and interior least terns (Sternula antillarum athalassos; hereafter, terns) are two avian species that nest along the Lower Platte River system (LPRS) in Nebraska. In the LPRS, river sandbars provide natural nesting habitat, but off-river sites provide substantial nesting habitat especially when sandbar habitat is scarce. Although presumed to be important for the persistence of plovers and terns, off-river habitat is not self-sustaining and predicted to decline. Understanding the vital rates of plovers and terns in the LPRS will inform the role of off- river sites in the future conservation …

The Effect Of Sample Grinding On Color-Based Predictions Of Soil Organic Carbon, Mason Rutgers

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Measurements of soil color are widely accessible and can be used as indirect measures of soil organic carbon (SOC). Sensor-based soil color measurements, frequently used in quantitative studies to predict SOC, often use ground and sieved soil samples for color analysis. However, it is unknown whether the extra steps of drying, crushing, and sieving a sample improve the quantitative relationship between color and SOC. This study was conducted to evaluate color-based predictions of SOC using intact, sieved (<2 mm), and fine-ground soil samples from northwest Oklahoma. Moist soil color was measured using Munsell color charts (MCCs) and a Nix Mini 3™ portable color sensor (PCS). The color of the soil samples was measured before processing, after crushing to pass through a 2-mm sieve, and after mechanical grinding to less than 0.25-mm. Using Munsell value (from the MCC) and CIEL* (from the PCS) as predictor variables, regression analyses were conducted to develop SOC predictive functions for each physical state. The resulting coefficients of determination (R2) and root mean squared errors (RMSE) were used to assess model fits for predicting SOC. Model contrasts were calculated to evaluate significant differences between each predictive model. All models exhibited strong relationships (0.56 < R2 < 0.70, 0.20 < RMSE < 0.25) between soil lightness and predicted SOC. Models built using aggregated samples measured with both MCCs (R2= 0.70, RMSE= 0.20) and the PCS (R2= 0.69, RMSE= 0.21) produced the best results. Models built using intact samples measured using the PCS did perform significantly better on samples dark in color (CIEL* < 30). These results suggest that grinding soil samples does not improve color-based predictions of SOC using MCCs and the PCS.

Timing Vocabulary Instruction For English Language Learners: Evaluating The Impact Of Pre- Teaching Vs. Post-Teaching Approaches On Steam Comprehension, Askin Topal

MATL Action Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Growth Mindset And Self-Confidence In Math, Jacqueline Drew Wehe

MATL Action Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Hydrologic Impact Index For The Pinhoti Hiking Trail, Allie Field

Theses

Author note: The author of this thesis is also published under the name Allie Bobo.

This study aimed to identify flood-prone areas along the Pinhoti Trail and Chinnabee Silent Trail in the Talladega National Forest. Using the Hydrology Flood Index layer that was created using several essential data layers, the research aimed to provide campers, hikers, nature enthusiasts, and trail maintenance teams with information about areas at a higher risk of flash flooding. The Hydrology Flood Index layer rates the risk of flooding on a scale of 1 to 4, with level 1 indicating a low risk of flooding and …

A Comparison Of The Relative Magnitude Of Combinations Of Relapse Types In Rats, Mary Bridges

Theses

Applied behavior analysis uses scientifically derived methods to create treatments for socially significant behaviors. A threat to these successful treatments is the recurrence of previously reduced behavior (i.e., relapse). Relapse can be categorized into several types depending on the variables that induce relapse. Three types prevalent in clinical settings are reinstatement (i.e., induced by re-exposure to reinforcers or stimuli paired with the target behavior), renewal (i.e., induced by changes in context), and resurgence (i.e., induced by worsening of alternative reinforcement). Because relapse is harmful to long-term treatment maintenance, prior research has developed and tested mitigation strategies for these relapse types, …