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Swimming Sucks, A Retrospect On Hard Work And Dedication, Braydon Ohrtman

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This is my take on the popular This I Believe media project that originated in the 1950's. They're around 500 words, and are supposed to explain a core belief of someone through a story of someone's life. My essay is about my experience swimming and how it gave me the ability to persevere, and how I applied my perseverance to my academic life.

Cancer Gets Extreme: How Extremophiles Can Improve Research And Therapy, Jason Malmgren

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Extremophiles are organisms that can survive in extreme environmental conditions, and their unique biological adaptations have gained attention for potential applications in cancer research. This paper explores how the molecular characteristics of extremophiles, such as enhanced DNA repair, resistance to oxidative stress, and structural stability, may be useful in improving cancer treatment strategies. A range of studies were examined to understand both direct and indirect roles of extremophile-derived compounds in oncology. Some research shows that compounds from organisms like Deinococcus radiodurans and extremophilic Streptomyces species can inhibit cancer cell growth, increase reactive oxygen species, and trigger apoptosis. Other studies highlight …

Rhodium On Alumina Catalyzed Hydrodechlorination Of Trichlorethylene, Amber Krueger, Gage Mueller

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Chlorinated ethylenes are common groundwater contaminants that persist in the environment and pose significant risks to human health such as damage to the nervous system, liver, kidneys, and even increased risk of cancer. Catalytic dehydrochlorination has emerged as a promising strategy for detoxifying compounds such as trichloroethylene (TCE). This study investigates whether rhodium on alumina (Rh/Al₂O₃) in the presence of hydrogen gas can completely degrade TCE to non-toxic products without the accumulation of harmful chlorinated intermediates. While palladium catalysts have been widely studied for dehydrochlorination, the activity and mechanism of rhodium supported on alumina in aqueous systems remains less characterized. …

Brick-By-Brick: Incorporating Lego Bricks To Increase Engagement In Managerial Accounting, Bonnie R. Albritton, Jennifer Bannister, Amy Foshee Holmes

School of Business Faculty Research

In this case study, students apply managerial accounting concepts through a business simulation as two friends use a LEGO competition to jumpstart their business. The real-world setting and kinesthetic learning increase engagement in managerial accounting as students create a unique LEGO product, estimate revenue and costs, conduct financial analyses, and prepare a presentation to pitch their business to potential investors. Implementing this project as a holistic overview to connect managerial concepts reinforces understanding and knowledge retention. Following the case study, students reported a perceived increase in engagement in the course and the ability to understand and think critically about the …

Spectacle And Survival: Tourism, Colonialism, And Indigenous Agency In Taiwan, A Case Study Of Alishan And The Tsou Indigenous Group, Ganga Corsaro

Standard Theses

This thesis examines tourism in Taiwan as a contemporary continuation of colonial processes through a case study of the Tsou people and the Alishan region. It traces how Tsou ancestral land was transformed into a national tourist landscape and analyzes how state tourism narratives frame Indigenous land and culture while obscuring histories of dispossession and political exclusion. At the same time, the thesis considers Indigenous tourism as a potential space for cultural continuity and self-representation when shaped by Indigenous authority and community priorities. By bringing together historical context, analysis of tourism materials, and scholarship on Indigenous tourism, this project argues …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Of Counter-Current Flow In Channels Separated By A Membrane, Akram Mashhour Riziq Abdullah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Counter current flow in channels separated by membrane were studied in several published studies. The present study aims to numerically and analytically simulate and physically describe the distribution of pressure, volume flow rate and velocity in counter current flow module. Numerical simulation Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was performed by solving Navier-Stokes (N–S) equations in the channels and membrane pores (vertical channels) to determine pressure and velocity fields. An analytical solution one-dimensional (1-D) model was developed to simulate the flow in the channels and membrane pores by solving the continuity and Darcy’s Law to obtain pressure and volume flow rate. Accordingly, …

Piloting A Pediatric Screener For Assessing Emergent Literacy With Preschool Children, Nafia Sarhadi

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Internalizing Diasporic Peoples: How Do We Keep Native Hawaiians Connected?, Kallie P. Kaaihue-Paopao

Whittier Scholars Program

In the attempt to better understand the grounds for the generation culture disconnect of identity in Native Hawaiians, I study the diaspora of my people. Diaspora is the dispersion of people from their native lands. I find interest in this aspect of my people because the most common studies blame our dispersion on socioeconomic status and as a Native Hawaiian that wishes to do more for her people, I want to express that while it plays a part that there is a disconnection between the social actions and reactions of Hawaiʻi’s people. Common questions that I find unanswered are, why …

Lipid Deposition In Beef Cattle, Kyra L. Elliott

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

Both the amount and types of lipid deposition in beef cattle are key determinants of carcass value and meat quality. Amounts of intramuscular, subcutaneous, and visceral fat influence carcass grading outcomes, palatability, and composition traits that are important to beef producers as well as consumers. The objectives of this thesis were to: 1) compare beef grading camera estimates of intramuscular fat to amounts of chemically extractable lipid, 2) characterize the lipidomes of beef intramuscular fat, subcutaneous fat, and lean muscle using shotgun lipidomics, and 3) identify and characterize a novel genetic variant in cattle that may have important implications for …

Characterization Of Activity Changes In Gilts During Estrus Using The NuTrack Livestock Monitoring System, Emily P. Aquino

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

Early and accurate detection of estrus in replacement gilts is essential for reproductive success and to ensure efficient production. The objective of this study was to evaluate activity changes occurring relative to first estrus of gilts and subsequent cycles. At ~ 110 days of age, 112 gilts were randomly assigned to 14 pens and placed under continuous video monitoring until the end of the trial at ~ 200 days of age. Daily boar exposure (~ 10 minutes per day) began at ~ 122 days of age. During this period, recorded observations included vulva scores (based on swelling and redness), mounting …

Evaluation Of Maternal Bovine Appeasing Substance Administration And Feed Access Time On Finishing Cattle Performance, Behavior, And Carcass Characteristics, Carsten L. Loseke

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

Novel products and bunk management techniques may significantly influence economically relevant performance metrics of feedlot cattle. The objective of the first experiment was to evaluate maternal Bovine Appeasing Substance (mBAS) administration on performance, carcass, health, and cortisol outcomes of yearling steers. Steers (n = 1,754, initial BW = 423 kg, SD = 25 kg) were received and assigned to pens for treatment allocation. Steers received either 10 mL of the mBAS or a mineral oil placebo at initial processing and reimplant. Hair samples were collected from a subset (n = 4 steers/pen) on d 0 and d 14. …

Tail Biting In The Nursery: Evaluating Postural, Spatial, And Behavioral Differences Between Tail Biter And Victim Pigs, Storey L. Forster

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

This study examined behavioral differences among pigs classified as tail biters, victims, or neutral during the nursery period. A total of 192 undocked nursery pigs were assigned to eight pens and monitored for 30 days using the NUtrack system. Tail biting events were identified from video observations, and pigs contributing to the top 25% of observed tail biting activity were classified as tail biters. Based on weekly tail scoring, pigs assigned a maximum tail injury score ≥ 2 were classified as victims. All other pigs were considered neutral. A total of 700 tail biting events were observed. Thirty-eight pigs …

Application Of High-Pressure Processing To Improve The Color Of Dark Beef, Kara Ann Reynolds

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

Deviation of beef from the bright cherry-red color preferred by consumers is often discounted or discarded at retail, resulting in substantial annual economic loss to the beef industry. One such deviation is dark cutting beef, which is characterized by a darker lean appearance that is undesirable to consumers and often rejected. Similarly, beef from mature cattle tends to exhibit a darker surface color, which can also reduce consumer acceptability. High-Pressure processing (HPP) has been investigated as a strategy to improve the color of dark cutting beef. Previous studies have focused on identifying pressure levels and holding times that optimize color …

Exploring Policy Change To Support Early Diagnosis Of Congenital Heart Disease (Chd) In New Mexico, Kelsey Carson Leibenhaut

Doctor of Nursing Practice Posters and Presentations

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is not a new or rare problem; it has likely always been a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality and clocks in today as the most frequently occurring birth defect, affecting an estimated 1 in 100 newborns (CDC, 2025). Prior to the middle of the 20th century, there was little to be done about CHD, as no treatments existed. Everything changed with the advancement of options for surgical repair of CHDs, significantly prolonging lifespans and improving quality of life for affected individuals. Despite these incredible advancements, babies are born with CHD every day, leading to …

Enhanced Near-Surface Soil Labile Carbon And Microbial Indicators Under Cover Crops And Crop Diversification In Long-Term No-Till Systems, Sainfort Vital, Sutie Xu, Namrata Ghmire, Peter Sexton, Jixiang Wu, Christopher Graham, Lan Xu, Mengistu Geza

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

No-till systems improve soil functions and are widely adopted in South Dakota cropping systems. However, these cropping systems have become increasingly simplified due to reduced small grain adoption, potentially reducing carbon inputs and microbial diversity. Therefore, this study aimed to (i) quantify the effects of crop rotations and cover cropping on soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and their labile fractions across the 0–80 cm soil profile, and (ii) assess how these management practices affect microbial properties in the topsoil (0–7.5 cm), using a long-term no-till (>30 years) field experiment in South Dakota. Main treatments included a corn …

The "Evil Forest" As Threshold: A Computational Eco-Feminist Study Of The Forest In Nigerian Fantasy, Cynthia O. Mbagwu

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examines the representation of the “evil forest” in Nnedi Okorafor’s Zahrah the Windseeker and Ukamaka Olisakwe’s Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name, arguing that the forest functions as a liminal threshold that catalyses female transformation. Combining close reading with computational tools like TF-IDF keyword extraction in Ruby and sentiment analysis using VADER, the project investigates how pre-colonial and colonial connotations of the “evil forest” are re-imagined in contemporary Nigerian fantasy fiction. By segmenting each narrative into pre-liminal, liminal, and post-liminal phases, the study tracks shifts in sentiment toward the forest and correlates them with thematic developments …

Cytoplasmic Shift Of Interferon Regulatory Factors Co‐Evolved With Jawed Vertebrate Innate Immunity, Vanessa M. Hubing

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The emergence of jaws in early vertebrates introduced a novel feeding apparatus and powerful oral defenses, but it also increased the risk of physical injury and pathogen exposure. Interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) play critical roles in orches-trating innate immunity and inflammation in response to invading microbes and tissue damage, with their subcellular local-ization being essential to some IRFs' function. Our results indicate that IRF members underwent independent expansion and diversification in two distinct vertebrate lineages: jawed and jawless vertebrates. The jawed vertebrate-specific factor, IRF5, has maintained conserved nuclear export sequences throughout evolution, while newly diversified IRF members in jawed verte-brates …

Piano Composition And The Role Of Women In Nineteenth Century Europe, Khang Nguyen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

In the nineteenth century, women underwent a social transition, slowly obtaining more employment and educational opportunities. The lives of women piano composers were similar, with their status as women affecting their compositional careers. This thesis explores the connection between piano composition and the role of women in the nineteenth century, with a focus on Western Europe. A brief history of Europe in the nineteenth century will be given, followed by an overview on how music and the music industry were gendered at the time. Then, the lives of Clara Schumann, Fanny Hensel, and Agathe Backer Grøndahl will be analyzed as …

Lewis Carroll’S Curious Creatures: Examining Carroll’S Use Of Animal Characters Within The Context Of His Life And Victorian Era England, Nima M. Faunce

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) has maintained a wide readership since its publication, but many aspects of Carroll’s original intentions and inspirations are lost on modern readers. By examining his animal characters through the lens of his personal life and Victorian England, a deeper understanding of his novel is uncovered. Some of his characters directly reflect individuals from his real life, such as the Liddell family, while other characters provide a window into Victorian beliefs and practices. This paper investigates each of Carroll’s animal characters in order of appearance and determines possible points of inspiration from his personal …

The Consumptive Female Ideal: The Case Study Of “Snow White”, Nayla G. Torres Ruiz

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Tuberculosis (TB), also known as “consumption” or “phthisis,” was one of the most pervasive and culturally significant diseases of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Despite its high mortality rate—claiming more lives than cholera and smallpox combined—TB was widely romanticized in art, literature, and popular culture, particularly as a feminine disease associated with beauty, purity, fragility, and moral virtue. The physical traits of consumption—pale skin, rosy cheeks, red lips, glassy eyes, and a slender, delicate frame—became an ideal of female beauty, one that many women sought to emulate through restrictive diets, toxic cosmetics, and evolving fashion trends, such as increasingly tight …

Ferrari N.V. Capstone Strategic Report, Isabel Pillaii

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This report explores the strategic position of Ferrari through Porter’s Five Forces, PESTEL, VRIO Analysis, Value Chain, and SWOT analysis. Then the report offers recommendations to the main tensions and strategic dilemmas before finally making remarks on the risks and limitations of this report. This report remarks on the strong strategic position of Ferrari due to branding, and its strong performance in Formula 1 racing and overall product specifications. It also remarks on Ferrari’s exposure to political, economic, and legal risk related to sustainability, supply chain stability, and exchange rate risk. This report recommends that Ferrari continues investing in electric …

Killing The Hot Vampire: Gender, Camp, And The Stakes Of Desire In Nineteenth-Century Vampire Fiction, Ella G. Kehr

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis examines the representation and destruction of the Hot Vampire in nineteenth-century vampire fiction, focusing on Dracula (1897), Carmilla (1872), and The Blood of the Vampire (1897). It argues that these texts construct the female vampire as a figure of excessive sexuality, independence, and deviance which causes both societal (patriarchal) and narrative disruption. In the male-authored texts, the construction of the Hot Vampire is exaggerated beyond the neat bounds of gothic excess and monster theory. The destruction of these vampires also follows this unbound extravagance. The Hot Vampire’s death becomes the ritualized restoration of patriarchal order, which is often …

Kroc Ipj Border Fellows Report 2024 — English, Rebeca Cázares Adame

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

The Kroc Border Fellows Program brings together change agents from academia, civil society, the public sector, and the private sector to build a more inclusive and peaceful Mexico-U.S. border region through action-oriented research and meaningful community partnerships.

The non-residential fellowship spans 10 months and provides financial and technical support for Fellow-designed and -implemented projects. This model reflects a core belief that those closest to border communities' challenges are best positioned to develop effective solutions — and that lasting change must be built on existing community assets and strengths.

Throughout the fellowship, cohort members meet regularly to foster collaboration, mutual learning, …

Perceived Fiscal Exchange And Tax Compliance: Evidence From Large Corporate Taxpayers In Tanzania, Susan Kiyenze, Mariam Nchimbi, Said Suluo

Business Management Review

This paper examines the relationship between perceived fiscal exchange (PFE) and Tax Compliance (TCO) among large corporate taxpayers in Tanzania while drawing on the Fiscal Exchange Theory (FET). The study on which this paper is based employed a quantitative research design and analysed data using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with a sample of 215 large corporate taxpayers in Tanzania. We find that the FET framework has modest explanatory and predictive power. Perceived Fiscal Exchange (PFE) has an insignificant effect on tax compliance of large corporate taxpayers. This suggests that perceptions of fiscal exchange do not necessarily drive …

The Push-Pull Model's Function In Understanding Public Sector Workers' Inter-Organisational Labour Mobility: The Views Of The Herzberg Two-Factor Theory, Rosemary Selestine Massae

Business Management Review

In the modern world, one of the challenges managers have in maintaining their talented staff is labour mobility. Inter-organisational labour mobility (ILM) has been found to be significantly influenced by co-worker relationships, work-family conflict, monetary compensation, and training and development. The pull-push paradigm was inspired by human migration. Since migration not only symbolises movement across physical locations but also encompasses other routine duties, theory is essential to comprehending ILM. However, to date, no existing study has tested the model under the influence of Herzberg’s Two-factor Theory, in explaining ILM uses the public sector as a major setting of the question …

Examining The Relationships Among Child Care Providers’ Knowledge Of Child Development, Burnout, Organizational Climate, And Expulsion Risk: A Brief Report, Juan Wang, Cheri Shapiro Ph.D., Tristan Collier, Jessica Sharp

Publications

Expulsion poses a significant barrier to high-quality and inclusive early care and education (ECE), leading to both immediate and long-term negative con-sequences for children and their families. This descriptive, exploratory study examined whether ECE providers’ knowledge of child development, burnout, and organizational climate was associated with their attitudes and perceptions related to expulsion risk. A total of 309 ECE providers in one state in the South-eastern region of the United States taking part in a program evaluation completed an online survey prior to program implementation. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to assess associations among providers’ knowledge of child development, …

Design Of A Nuclear Power System For A Lunar Base, Haleigh Wagner, Emma Sprague, Liam Donnelly, Anthony Nardolillo, Samantha Vallance, Alex Sawyer

Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Projects

This Senior Capstone project concerns the design and development of a compact fission reactor intended to provide continuous electrical power for a lunar base. The system needed to supply enough energy to support habitat life support systems, scientific operations, surface mobility, and resource processing equipment, while remaining highly reliable, minimally maintained, and easily integrated into a module’s lunar power grid. Early research was conducted into NASA’s Artemis program, prior fission surface concepts such as KRUSTY, and estimated power demands for lunar infrastructure resulted in the following design requirements:

1. 10 to 50 kWe of continuous power (31.2 kWe achieved)
2. Operational lifespace …

Constraint-Aware Metaheuristic Optimization For Experimental Design, Benjamin N. Fuller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Designing experiments becomes much more challenging when many variables and strict constraints are involved, as is common in modern science and engineering. This thesis introduces a new computational and mathematical framework that efficiently searches for optimal experiments in complex, high-dimensional spaces where traditional methods fail. By combining geometric techniques with flexible optimization algorithms like particle swarm optimization, our methods handle difficult constraints while scaling to real-world problems. Built in the high-performance Julia programming language and released as open-source software, this work bridges advanced theory with practical tools, offering researchers a powerful and accessible way to design better experiments under realistic …

Ionospheric Plasma Electron Density Measurement And Theory Using Impedance Probe Techniques, Justin Wellington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The ionosphere plays a critical role in how radio frequency (RF) signals, like those used in Global Position System (GPS) satellite communications, travel through space. Disturbances in the ionosphere, such as equatorial plasma bubbles (EPB), scatter these signals and cause communication dropouts or navigational errors. To study these conditions, spacecraft use instruments that measure the surrounding plasma directly. One of these instruments is an impedance probe, which applies a small electrical signal to a sensor and determines electron density from the measured impedance.

This thesis improves the modeling and interpretation of impedance probe measurements. A numerical method is developed that …

Understanding The Equestrian Learner: A Sociomaterial Analysis Of Equestrian Learners, Anna Lloyd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Limited research has been done on equestrian riders actively participating in training programs. To better understand these equestrians, this study examined how elements in their learning environments influenced their learning. Data was collected through interviews with two active, competing adult female members of the United States Hunter Jumper Association. Key findings from analyzing these equestrians’ relationships with different elements in their learning environment include the finding that equestrians shift between viewing horses as material objects or social partners, depending on the context. It was also seen that an equestrian’s skill is not dependent solely on the rider, but is influenced …