Digital Commons Network^™

Differential Susceptibility To Friendship Quality, Rebekah B. Clapham, Yuji Kim, Megan M. Davis, Haina H. Modi, Haley V. Skymba, Karen D. Rudolph

Psychology Faculty Publications

Friendships assume a salient role in well-being during mid-adolescence. This research examined (a) how friendship quality (stressful vs. supportive) is differentially associated with mid-adolescents’ social adjustment (engagement in antisocial vs. prosocial behavior); (b) the extent to which these associations are contingent on individual differences in the tendency to base one's self-worth on peer approval; and (c) whether these associations differ in boys and girls. Adolescents (N = 324; 179 girls; M_age = 14.87; SD = 1.22) completed questionnaires during a school-based assessment. For boys, friendship stress was associated with more antisocial behavior among adolescents with high levels of avoidance-oriented …

Insights Gained From Applying Molecular Techniques To Gray Triggerfish (Balistes Capriscus Gmelin, 1789) In The Mexican Caribbean, The Southern And Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Geaceli G. Orive

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on Balistes capriscus (Gray Triggerfish), a reef-associated species dependent on hard-bottom habitats in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Using mitochondrial DNA barcoding and phylogenetic analyses, genetic structure across four sites was assessed: Rio Grande Valley (RGV), Veracruz, Chinchorro Bank, and Xahuayxol. Samples from RGV and Veracruz exhibited limited haplotype diversity, minimal nucleotide divergence, and weak genetic differentiation-patterns consistent with recent population expansion and ongoing connectivity within the GOM. While the study centered on B. capriscus, all individuals from Chinchorro and Xahuayxol unexpectedly grouped with Canthidermis maculata (Spotted Oceanic Triggerfish), suggesting misidentification, cryptic diversity, or taxonomic uncertainty in …

Ferroelectricity And Multiferroicity In Ultrathin Films Of Unconventional Transition Metal Oxide, Xin Li

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ferroic orders of transition metal oxides, such as ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism, are determined by the intercoupling between spin, charge, lattice. Consequently, ferroic epitaxial thin films have attracted wide interest due to the profuse novel phenomena and the great application potentials for modern electronics. However, the mainstream of the study for transition metal oxides has focused on perovskite structure, limiting the understanding and discovery of novel phenomena associate with ferroic orders. In this thesis, the epitaxial films of hexagonal rare-earth ferrites (h-RFeO₃) and fluorite-structure hafnia oxide (HfO₂) are studied comprehensively, providing new experimental and theoretic …

Assessment Of Estuarine Respiration And Benthic Nutrient Fluxes In Mississippi Sound, Nur Pasha Sufian

Master's Theses

This study quantified seasonal and spatial variability of both water column and benthic respiration rates as well as benthic nutrient fluxes along the Mississippi Sound. Respiration was measured in recirculating incubation chambers using Firesting optical DO sensors (PyroScience GmbH), and changes in nutrient concentrations were assessed. Mean water column respiration rates ranged from 0.35 and 2.76 µM O₂ hr⁻¹, with the lowest rates in the winter and the highest in the summer while detectable nutrient concentrations (ammonium, (NH₄⁺), and soluble reactive phosphate (PO₄³⁻)) showed only slight decreases (< 1 µM) over all seasons. Sediment incubation chambers consistently had much greater oxygen declines than the water incubations and showed seasonal trends with the highest mean respiration rates measured in the summer and the lowest mean in the winter, with a range from 107.4 to 1514.9 µmol O₂ m⁻² hr⁻¹ (2.6 to 36.3 mmol O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹). Sediment incubations consistently showed increases in NH₄⁺ concentrations in the overlying water, resulting in calculated NH₄⁺ benthic flux rates of 0.73 to 379.01 µM N m⁻² hr⁻¹ with the lowest rates in the winter and highest rates in the summer. Although PO₄³⁻ concentrations were often below detection in cooler seasons, PO₄³⁻ flux also peaked during the summer (< 28.8 µmol P m⁻² hr⁻¹). In this study, temperature was a key regulator for estuarine respiration and benthic nutrient flux rates, and these rates were positively correlated with porewater nutrient concentrations and sedimentary organic matter. These findings illustrate that benthic respiration can contribute to water column hypoxia and that sediments serve as a source of nutrients to the water column. Overall, these findings provide us with valuable insight about the seasonal coupling of oxygen demand and nutrient flux in the Mississippi Sound and provide valuable baseline data for future biogeochemical modelling of hypoxia, eutrophication, and productivity.

Plant Nutrient Interactions In High-Yielding Soybean Environments, Victoria Inklman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Plant nutrient demands and limitations are usually studied individually by nutrient. Here, we investigated how nitrogen (N) limitation in high-yielding soybean environments affects the uptake, removal, and residual of other plant macro- and micronutrients. The objective of this study was to quantify the uptake, removal, and residual levels of soybean macro- and micronutrients under N-limited conditions and to identify nutrient priorities for high-yielding soybean systems. Aboveground plant samples at physiological maturity were collected in 19 high-yielding soybean fields with N limitation across the state of Nebraska. Reference plots with ample N supply were included within each field to compare macro- …

Hope Against Hope: Problems, Possibilities, Agency, And Survival, Erin Kay Chambers

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In response to a critique of hope put forth by queer theorist Jack Halberstam, this thesis is a reassessment of what makes us capable of response—to “stay with the trouble,” in the words of Donna Haraway—in the face of overwhelming collapse. If not hope, then what? This thesis explores a number of questions about hope and its absence, opposites, and various deployments: is hope always an effective tool for survival? Does hopelessness always spell doom? Are hope and its apparent opposites necessarily incompatible? And if there is no hope, how do we keep going?—how do we survive? I explore these …

Interpolation In Weighted Projective Spaces, Shahriyar Roshan Zamir

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

Over an algebraically closed field, the double point interpolation problem asks for the vector space dimension of the projective hypersurfaces of degree $d$ singular at a given set of points.

After being open for 90 years, a series of papers by J. Alexander and A. Hirschowitz in 1992–1995 settled this question in what is referred to as the Alexander-Hirschowitz theorem. In this thesis, we use commutative algebra to prove analogous statements in the weighted projective space, a natural generalization of the projective space.

A main contribution of this work is the careful adaption of several classical algebro-geometric techniques to the …

Don't Settle For Less: Incorporating Postcolonial And Settler Colonial Perspectives Into The Sociological Canon, Eli Xavier Ornelas

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

For decades now, post-/de-/settler-/ and anticolonial scholars have advanced the argument that sociology has largely failed to incorporate critical insights from theories of empire into the sociological canon. In this dissertation, I argue that introduction to sociology textbooks offer an important vantage point from which to assess conventional sociological knowledge as textbooks are often thought to be “reflections of the discipline.” I analyze the social theory and race chapters of 21 of the most often used introduction to sociology textbooks in the United States to investigate two chapters where insights from theories of empire would be present if indeed incorporated: …

Applications Of Preclinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging In The Treatment Of Traumatic Brain Injury And Understanding Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis, Evan Timothy Curtis

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

Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide the opportunity to investigate research questions that have been left unanswered. In the cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and carotid artery atherosclerosis, MRI is a resource for non-invasively viewing the phenomena taking place. Additionally, potential interventions and treatments can be observed without harm to the subject. This dissertation expands the understanding of two preclinical applications of MRI: traumatic brain injury and carotid artery atherosclerosis in mouse models.

TBI is a leading cause of death and disability for individuals between 15–45 years of age and effective pharmaceutical interventions for treating the secondary damage …

The Significance Of Snow In Hydrometeorological Extremes, Sinan Rasiya Koya

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

Snow is the largest natural reservoir on Earth. It accumulates water during the cold and dry months and releases it during warm and dry months. Societies, especially in the extratropical zone, heavily depend on snow as their freshwater resources, resulting in the massive economic value of snow. The recent changes in snowpacks and associated processes are concerning. We are susceptible to disruptions in snow processes, which can have disastrous implications. Yet the importance of snow is often not realized by a wider population. There are limited studies quantifying snow-related extremes, partly stemming from the limitations of existing methodologies.

This dissertation …

Mass Effects On Energy Transfer Paths In Nonlinear Vibrating Systems, Manal Mustafa

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

This dissertation examines the role of mass in nonlinear systems, uncovering its role in enabling passive energy redistribution and robust vibration control in both idealized and real-world structures. Focusing on a strongly nonlinear two-degree-of-freedom system, it investigates how changes in mass ratio influence the dynamics of energy transfer, nonlinear normal modes (NNMs), and dissipation behavior.

A number of significant contributions are introduced in this work beginning with the introduction of the frequency-energy-peaks (FE-pks) plot, a novel tool that visualizes how energy flows through the system, revealing transient resonance orbits, internal resonance effects, and effectively capturing the different nonlinear phenomena with …

Study Of Ai Applications In Biomedical Data Acquisition, Communication, And Analysis: Cest Mri Acceleration And Ecg Transmissions, Adarsha Bhattarai

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

This dissertation investigates the application of artificial intelligence in biomedical data acquisition, communication, and analysis to advance neurological research and to enable the early detection of cardiovascular conditions. Despite significant advances in imaging and physiological modalities, challenges persist. Imaging modalities, such as the chemical exchange saturation transfer magnetic resonance imaging (CEST MRI) technique are challenged by a prolonged data acquisition time and high operational costs. In addition, physiological modalities such as electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors face constraints in providing uninterrupted signal monitoring which is crucial for the timely detection of premature cardiac abnormalities. The primary goal of this work is to …

The Career Resilience Of Women Of Color Amidst Intersectional Racism-Sexism In The Us: A Consensual Qualitative Study, Hannah Ahmad Ridzuan

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

Women of color have historically and presently experienced both sexism and racism on interpersonal, institutional, and cultural levels (Sue et al., 2007). While discrimination based on racial-ethnic and gender identities has by far the most extensive literature base (Duffy et al., 2016), literature on the development of women of color career resilience is not as expansive. Informed by the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) (Blustein, 2006; Duffy et al., 2016), the intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, 1989; Collins et al., 2021), and critical consciousness (Freire, 1971; Quiñones-Rosado, 2020), this consensual qualitative research (CQR; Hill, 2006) explored how women of color in the …

On Kernels And Antiderivatives Of Nonlocal Derivatives, Alex John Heitzman

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

Nonlocal operators are mathematical operators taking functions to other functions f → Df , where to evaluate the operator Df at a point x, one must know the value of f in some region around x, and that region cannot be arbitrarily small. Nonlocal derivatives are like derivatives in that they measure the deviation of a function f(z) from f(x) when z is close to x. In this thesis, we will study nonlocal operators of the form

D_kf(x) = [integral]_Ω [f(x) …

Flooding: Risk Assessment And Its Interaction With Population & Environmental Health, Shivendra Srivastava

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

Flood events have significant implications for both population and environmental health. This dissertation aims to explore flood risk and its interaction with humans and the environment. The key questions addressed in this dissertation include improving the existing flood risk framework to better assess population vulnerability and associated risk. Additionally, it explores how interactions among risk components vary across spatial scales and regions, and how these variations influence overall flood risk. The dissertation also investigates how to design a vulnerability component specific to flooding within flood risk estimation. Finally, it answers whether flood-specific vulnerability differs for a population compared to vulnerability …

From Classroom To Content Creator: Leadership Practices And Identities Of Female Science Teachers On Tiktok, Rachel M. Benzoni

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

This qualitative multiple case study investigates how four secondary science teachers use TikTok to advocate for science education and how content creation shapes their professional identities as leaders. Using interviews and video content with a framework integrating constructivist leadership, Leader Identity Construction Theory (LICT), and the Social Change Model (SCM), findings show participants enacted leadership outside formal roles through distributed and relational practices leveraging social media's affordances. Five themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Reconceptualizing Teacher Leadership on Social Media, (2) Leadership Through Equity-Driven Practice, (3) Constructing and Leading in Online Professional Learning Communities, (4) Forming and Negotiating Identities in …

“Self-Compassion Has To Be The Heartbeat Of How I Move Through Life”: A Mixed Methods Study Of Family Caregiver Emotional Well-Being, Sarah O. Rasby

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

Often referred to as “hidden patients,” family caregivers endure numerous physical, emotional, psychological, and social hardships due to the demands of caregiving, which often results in their own needs going unmet. With the projected 61.3 million of the baby boomer generation entering the long-term care phase by 2029 along with a mass shortage of professional caregivers post-pandemic, more and more family members are expected to fill in for the role of care without sufficient access to support services (Pollard & Scommegna, 2014; Smith & Chang, 2016). An exploratory, mixed-methods study using a three-group intervention design was utilized to investigate the …

Honoring Childhood Agency In Developmental Research: Best Practices, Applications, And Insights, Amanda N. Howery, Olivia J. Lashley, Hanna R. Wright, Julia L. Williams, Olivia K. Nomura, Eline Lenne, Elizabeth K. Wood, Hanna C. Gustafsson, Elinor L. Sullivan

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pediatric research requires caregivers to provide informed consent on behalf of their children. While not a formal requirement for children under the age of seven, it is important to involve child participants in the assent and decision-making processes in developmentally appropriate ways. This is especially important in longitudinal research, where the extent to which a developing child understands study tasks evolves over time. Although there is consensus that assent procedures are important and necessary, limited resources synthesizing strategies for pediatric researchers to encourage positive and respectful research experiences for young children exist. We describe methods used in an ongoing longitudinal …

Visual Analog Of Temporal Envelope Benefits Speech Processing In Cochlear Implant Users: A Pilot Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study On The Associations Between Audiovisual Benefit, Listening Environment, And Peripheral Neural Health, Zi Gao, Yi Yuan, Christopher R. Mueller, Ross A. Aiello, Yingying Wang, Shuman He

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objectives: This study compared the benefit of visual analog of temporal envelope for speech processing across listening environments in postlingually deafened adult cochlear implant users. Associations between cortical activities and peripheral neural health were explored. Design: Speech perception was measured using Harvard/IEEE sentences in quiet and noise with a visually presented sphere whose size was synchronized with the temporal envelope of the sentences. Cortical activities were recorded concurrently using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Audiovisual benefit was evaluated using sentence scores, activation additivity, and functional connectivity. Peripheral neural health was measured using electrically evoked compound action potentials. Results: Behavioral results showed the …

Climate Drives Genetic Diversity Loss In American Pika (Ochotona Princeps) Populations In The Great Basin, Emily N. Kulig, Jane Van Gunst, Michael J. Hernandez, Yvonne Luong, Monica Villaseñor, Rachel S. Crowhurst, Clinton W. Epps, Jessica A.Castillo Vardaro

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

American pikas (Ochotona princeps) are small, thermally sensitive mammals that primarily live in montane and alpine environments. The Sierra Nevada lineage (O. p. schisticeps) has experienced numerous local extinctions, most of which occurred in hotter, drier regions such as the Great Basin. Few genetic studies have assessed these at-risk populations. This study aims to fill that gap by conducting fine-scale genetic analyses on populations in low-elevation Great Basin habitat in northwestern Nevada. Specifically, we: (i) quantified genetic diversity and structure among populations within O. p schisticeps, with particular focus on northwestern Nevada; and (ii) assessed the influence of primary productivity …

The Future Of Indigenous Food Sovereignty, Ted Hibbeler, Timothy Thielen, Gabriel Bruguier

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Executive Summary

This white paper examines the historical, ecological, and systemic challenges facing Indigenous food sovereignty, emphasizing the urgent need to center Indigenous Science—a holistic framework combining empirical observation with cultural wisdom passed down through millennia (Cajete and Williams, 2020). Indigenous Science represents the synthesis of two core components: the scientific, derived from thousands of years of observation and experimentation with the natural world, and the cultural, emerging from Creation stories and traditional practices that establish reciprocal relationships with the natural world (Grey and Patel, 2015).

Drawing on federal policies, Tribal-led initiatives, and academic research, we outline actionable pathways to …

How Developers Use Type-System Related Programming Language Features, Samuel W. Flint

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Optional type annotations are a popular feature of programming languages that allow developers to omit explicit type information in code while, in some cases, retaining many of the benefits of static typing, such as in-code documentation, improved detection of type errors, or enforcement of code properties. However, how developers use and understand optional type annotations is not clear. The focus of this dissertation is to understand the use and comprehension of optional type annotations.

Optional type annotations are examined through four lenses: first, by examining the evolution of usage in a statically typed programming language (Kotlin, the default language for …

The Earliest University Of Nebraska Graduate Degrees, 1886-1909, Mark A. Griep

Mark A. Griep Publications

This list of the earliest graduate degrees awarded by the University of Nebraska (NU) in Lincoln was assembled to learn about the university’s research activity that preceded its admission to the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU) in 1909.

Bulloch County National Register Of Historic Places Collection, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

Spanning 1970 to 1997, the collection contains materials regarding the application process for various Bulloch County properties to the National Register of Historic Places. Materials include official application paperwork, along with correspondence between various officials and property owners regarding processing, status updates, or requests for more information. Photographs of properties and supplemental documents such as genealogical records, newspaper clippings, and written narratives surrounding the development of the properties are also included.

Find this collection in the libraries' catalog.

Stabilization Of Cr³⁺ Using Iron Rich Slag-Derived Phosphate Cement: An Integrated Solution For Heavy Metals And Hazardous Solid Wastes, Ting Huang, Hongyan Ma, Zhongqiu Luo, Xintao Zhou, Zhengqing He, Peiwen Lv, Xiunan Cai, Pingyan Wang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A novel iron-based phosphate cement (IPC), derived from iron-rich smelting slag (ISS), was developed as a sustainable and efficient binder for the stabilization/solidification of trivalent chromium (Cr³⁺). The mechanical properties, hydration behavior, microstructure, leaching toxicity, chromium chemical forms, and environmental safety of chromium-stabilized iron phosphate cement (CIPC) were thoroughly evaluated. The results showed that, with a mass ratio of ISS to ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) of 2.0, and even with the addition of 20 % chromium nitrate nonahydrate (CN), the compressive strength of CIPC reached 4.2 MPa after curing for 28 d. Furthermore, chromium leaching was well below …

Localized Multivariate Statistical Assessment Of United States Construction Labor Shortages, Ahmed Shiha, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Craft labor shortage is a persistent challenge facing the construction industry across various markets. The historically low geographic mobility of construction labor exacerbates and localizes labor shortages. Several research efforts relied on subjective evaluations to quantify the existence of labor shortages on a national level. As such, there is a lack of empirical quantification of labor shortages at different geospatial levels. This paper fills this knowledge gap. To this end, the authors adopted a methodology that encompassed: (1) conducting a literature review to identify and collect national-level and subnational indicators that explain the changes in labor supply and demand; (2) …

Coupling Effect Of Abrasion And Erosion On Ultrahigh-Performance Seawater-Sea Sand Concrete, Dawei Ding, Wei Zhang, Lanqin Wang, Hongyan Ma, Biqin Dong, Song Han, Hongjian Xu, Dongshuai Hou

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Preparing ultrahigh-performance seawater-sea sand concrete (UHPSSC) to mitigate the scarcity of freshwater and river sand resources has generated considerable recent research interest. However, the deterioration mechanisms of UHPSSC under the effect of abrasion and erosion remain unstudied. In this paper, the underwater steel ball method was conducted to evaluate the impact of seawater, sea sand, steel fiber, and seawater abrasion on the abrasion resistance of UHPSSC. Then the stress erosion models of calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) were constructed to investigate the degradation mechanisms of UHPSSC under the effect of external stress and seawater erosion. The results show that the application of seawater …

The Impact Of Cultural Dimensions And Quality Of Life On Smartphone Addiction And Employee Performance: The Moderating Role Of Quality Of Life, Khaled A. Alshare, Murad Moqbel, Mohammad I. Merhi, Valerie Bertelt, Maliha Alam

Information Systems Faculty Publications

Smartphones, while ubiquitous and beneficial, can lead to problematic use. This study investigates the intricate interplay between cultural dimensions, smartphone addiction, and employee performance. Through the lens of distraction theory, attachment Theory, coping theory combined with Hofstede's cultural dimensions, and self-regulation theory and quality of life, we examine how collectivism, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity cultural dimensions influence smartphone addiction and its subsequent effect on employee performance. The findings, based on data collected from 233 employees at a major medical center in the Midwest region of the USA and employing structural equation modeling, reveal a significant cultural influence on smartphone …

Predicting Continuous Hand Pose From Wearable Emg Sensor Data Using Transformer-Based Deep-Learning Models, Jason Mcdowell

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis investigated Transformer-based deep-learning models for predicting continuous hand pose from electromyography (EMG) signals collected with a low-cost, eight-channel wearable armband. A modular software laboratory was developed to support data acquisition, synchronization, visualization, model training, and inference. A single-subject, three-hour dataset of synchronized EMG and hand-tracking data was collected, with hand pose represented both as 15-dimensional joint flexion angles and 84-dimensional finger-bone orientation quaternions in a hand-centered frame. Compared with a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)-based model, the Transformer-based model reduced whole-hand median prediction error from 3.6° to 3.3° for a joint angle model and from 17.4° to 15.1° for …

Influence Of A Summer Bridge Program On African American Students At East Tennessee State University, Carshonda Harris

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate if there was a significant difference of academic success between African American participants and non-participants of the B.U.C.S. Academy program, a summer bridge program, at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). Although African American students’ enrollment has increased for several years, this population remains underrepresented in comparison to majority groups regarding retention, grade point average, and attainment of bachelor’s degrees (East Tennessee State University, 2021). For the purpose of this study, academic success was defined as key metrics of fall-to-fall retention rate, grade point average, and four and six-year graduation rate. Through further …