Gifted Education Commons^™

Playful Progress: A Parent's Guide To Growth And Development, Gabriella N. Lawrey

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis presents a creative project aimed at empowering parents to recognize developmental achievements, as well as address potential developmental delays in their children. Grounded in the principles of child development, this project focuses on creating age-appropriate activities that facilitate the identification of developmental milestones. By utilizing foundational resources in the field of child development, this toolkit of engaging activities has been curated to support parental understanding and observation. The primary objective of this applied knowledge project is to better equip parents with the vocabulary and tools to facilitate their child’s development. Throughout these activities, parents are encouraged to engage …

From Affordable To Equitable: An Analysis Of Affordable Housing As A Solution In A National Shortage, Machelle Cooper

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Amid a national shortage of housing, the United States needs housing solutions that both remedy infrastructural concerns imposed by outdated standards of urban development and address a widespread lack of equity across several urban areas. Conventional approaches to public housing have proven ineffective in promoting equitable change within underdeveloped contexts. These areas desire innovative, intentional interventions that adequately address all aspects of their social, economic, and environmental needs that existing patterns of development have neglected for decades. Public and state sentiments regarding areas of concentrated poverty and segregation in urban space must change for a future of equitable housing to …

Adolescent Algorithm Addiction, Canyon Skare

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

There’s no question that online Social Networking Sites have contributed to the sharp decline in mental health among adolescents. This thesis explores a number of Addictive Online Behaviors that have contributed to negative mental health outcomes, namely examining at total screentime, level of engagement, and total number of accounts one has in relation to phone addiction and social media addiction. It was found that total screentime and total number of accounts were more strongly correlated with social media addiction than phone addiction. Additionally, differences in app usage among gender was explored, finding that boys favored YouTube and Discord while Girls …

Familismo And Familial Support On The Psychological Effects Of Traumatic Event Exposure In Latinx Populations In The Midwest, Elizabeth Miller

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Embedded within Latinx culture is Familismo, which serves as a source of strength and support for family members, while also shedding light on how familial support influences mental health. This study explores how Familismo and familial support impact the psychological effects of traumatic event exposure among Latinx populations in the Midwest. Analyzing data from 80 Latinx residents, I examined the relationship between familial support, traumatic event exposure, and mental health outcomes, focusing on depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Results indicated a negative association between familial support and PTSD symptoms, indicating that higher support levels correlated with reduced PTSD …

Doordash, Inc. Strategic Audit, Brenna Paul, Nihaela Ponnatha, Pyper Haarala, Summer Liu, Abigail Mathiasen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This case study analyzes DoorDash, an innovator of online delivery in the software publishing industry. We conducted a strategic audit using principles from prominent strategic management to guide our process. Our research is based on publicly available information, including IBIS World reports, industry reports, DoorDash’s SEC filings and website, academic articles, and news articles. This case study aims to collect data from a prominent business and analyze it through strategic management to evaluate the firm’s potential for competitive advantage.

Our research includes firm analysis, industry analysis, external analysis, internal analysis, performance analysis, competitive dynamics, business level strategy, corporate level strategy, …

Music And Perceived Stress: An Investigation Into The Effects Of Music On Chemistry Students' Perceived Stress Levels, Alice Young, Eric Malina

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Music has long been a prevalent intervention when trying to lower stress in certain populations (Thoma et al., 2013). This study aimed to explore the possible usefulness of music as an intervention for students experiencing stress in the chemistry laboratory setting. Students in general chemistry laboratories were surveyed regarding their stress at the ends of periods in which music was or was not played in their laboratory classes. While the results were not statistically significant, mean stress scores did lower in those groups where music was played. Further research into this topic should focus on type of music, the effects …

United Express Strategic Audit, Ryan Hakim

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

United Express is the regional brand of United Airlines, a worldwide airline from the United States. United Express provides excellent domestic and international service from smaller airports to United Airlines hubs. With a volatile and solid industry of vast competition and operational styles, this report seeks to give an industry analysis of the regional airline industry with relation to United Express’ position. It surveys the industry using a PESTLE analysis along with Michael E. Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model. United Express has many resources and competitive advantages which headline the advantages it boasts to be a regional airline industry leader. …

Psychological Effects Of Immigration: A Comprehensive Review Exploring Social Identity, Acculturation And The Effects Of Cultural Attitudes And Systemic Factors On The Well-Being Of Immigrants, Huda Abu Nasab

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Immigration is a life-altering experience that can greatly affect an individual's identity, sense of belongingness, and well-being. The United States is known as a nation of immigrants; however, many immigrants have faced challenges related to assimilation and the development of their social identities in a new society. For example, immigration challenges often include adapting to a new culture, learning a different language, and navigating unfamiliar healthcare and educational systems. There are many factors that influence how immigrants adjust in their host country, such as acculturation challenges, cultural attitudes towards immigrants, and the availability of essential resources. This literature review aims …

Off The Rails: Cinematic Trains As Technological Controls Of The Natural World, Trinity Thompson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Short train rail lines across the United States are seeing increased national funding to reduce toxic chemical spills caused by train derailments, the most notable of which happened in February 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. A year prior, the film White Noise (2022) featured a similar toxic train derailment incident, taking place, too, in Eastern Ohio, and featuring actors from the town of East Palestine. In considering other films featuring trains, I identified a pattern of environmental conflict, leading me to question the relationship between trains and the natural environment as portrayed in popular cinema. To conduct my research, I …

Mattel Strategic Audit, Ellie Anderson, Samuel Gertner, Logan Connealy, Julia Michner, Chris Payant

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This case study focuses on Mattel, Inc., a prominent company in the toy industry. To complete the case study, we conducted a strategic audit utilizing different theories and principles used in management. We conducted significant research using publicly available information, including the company’s website, SEC filings, news articles, industry analysis, and more. The goal of the report is to analyze data and use a real-world company to apply management concepts.

We looked at many factors for Mattel, including industry analysis, external analysis, internal analysis, performance analysis, competitive dynamics, business level strategy, and corporate level strategy to complete the case study. …

General Electric Renewable Energy Strategic Audit, Jarod Fox

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

General Electric (GE) is a large multinational conglomerate in various industrial machinery industries. Currently, GE operates through four main sectors - Aviation, Power, Healthcare, and Renewable Energy. This report specifically focuses on the Renewable Energy sector and analyzes General Electric’s ability to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in this complex industry. The paper provides a background on GE, information on the industry and rivals within the industry, and how GE has a competitive advantage. To demonstrate this sustainable competitive advantage, an external and internal analysis has been created through the frameworks of Porter’s Five Forces and PESTEL Analysis. Additionally, strategic …

Equine Nutrition: Pasture Planning In Nebraska, Emma Vazquez

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper describes the rationale behind four infographics on equine nutrition and pasture planning. These infographics are intended to provide Nebraskan horse owners with general advice on setting up and maintaining their pastures. The first three infographics cover pasture basics when building, pasture care, and ideal grass types. These grass types are further broken down between Western and Eastern Nebraska. Additionally, the fourth infographic gives some insight into why forage is a staple in the equine diet based on the digestive system.

All four infographics have been posted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Horse Program social media pages in an …

Applications Of Financial Mathematics: An Analysis Of Consumer Financial Decision Making, Alyssa Betterton

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Students always ask, “How can this be applied to the real world?” Mortgages, car loans, and credit card bills are things that almost everyone will have to make decisions about at some point in their lives. This research discusses the many different financial choices that consumers have to make. Consumers can use this information to understand how interest rates, the length of the loan, and the initial amount being borrowed affects the amount that is paid back to the companies. The intent of this thesis is to present the mathematical theory of interest. A web-based application has been built based …

Union Pacific Railroad Company Strategic Audit, Alison Steger

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Union Pacific Railroad Company (Union Pacific, UP, UPRR) is a freight railroad based in Omaha, Nebraska, servicing 23 states in America, with additional ports and country interchanges. The 160-year history of this railroad began with Abraham Lincoln and continues into 2023, with the recent announcement of CEO Lance Fritz’s departure. A PESTEL analysis provides an in-depth look at UP's external operating environment, and Porter’s Five Forces industry analysis assesses the industry's competitive environment. Analyses of Union Pacific's competitive advantages, essential resources, and projected roadblocks are followed by strategic recommendations for UP to remain a Class I freight railroad industry leader.

Contryman Associates, P.C. Strategic Audit, Macy Baldwin

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Contryman Associates, P.C., is a small accounting firm located in central and western Nebraska. After its founding in 1939, the firm has expanded to seven locations servicing accounting, auditing, tax, business advising, and financial planning needs. A PESTEL analysis was done to analyze the external environment. Porter’s Five Forces analysis guided the analysis industry forces. Current strategy, competitive advantages, resources of Contryman Associates, and any major issues of the firm are also discussed. This information recommends Contryman Associates to keep working to expand if possible while passing industry knowledge to future generations.

Audio-Technica Strategic Audit, Caleb Druckemiller

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Audio-Technica is a multinational audio equipment design and manufacturing company specializing in the production of headphones, microphones, and turntables. The company has been a gold standard for professional use since its inception and has recently ventured into consumer markets. Using both internal and external analysis tools, this audit aims to evaluate how Audio-Technica has established itself in the highly competitive audio equipment industry. Specific techniques include Porter’s Five Forces and PESTEL analyses. After conducting this examination of Audio-Techinca and its industry environment, strategic recommendations will be made to best position the company moving forward.

A Comparative Study On The Design Typology Of Dense, High-Rise Housing, Nikita Mansinghani

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The three case studies are multi-unit residential buildings located in three vastly different European cities and designed in different times periods of architectural transformations and technology help us understand the value and development of these units and the significance of them in the future design typologies. The understanding of housing complex has been occupied with the exercise of control as a design tool for demarcating variation to further the purpose of housing and shift in approaches from typical architecture to non-standard creative practices, this article focuses on three precedents: the Unite de habitation, VM houses and The Whale. The three …

Modern Practices For Responsive Web Design And Web Accessibility, Keyaun Washington

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Responsive web design and web accessibility play crucial roles in ensuring an optimal user experience on the web. By designing websites with responsiveness and accessibility in mind, more opportunities are opened up for a wider audience to access and interact with our content. Through modern practices, responsive web design allows websites to reach several different devices ranging from compact smartwatches to expansive television screens. Designing for accessibility provides accommodations for individuals with impairments while also providing benefits for individuals without impairments. However, designing for responsiveness and accessibility can present challenges; a poor attempt at providing accessibility features can worsen a …

Stump Grinder Project, Wyatt Hopper

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This project covers the analysis of a Portable Stump Grinder device sponsored by private investors known as Gary and Carol Sherman, two farmers out of Lincoln, Nebraska. The ultimate goal of this project, in terms of the work we were assigned, was to provide the foundation work for future engineering teams to design and build the stump grinder for Gary and Carol Sherman.

Columbus, Nebraska: Southern Housing Development Design Proposal, Ryan Weyers, Caiden Dynek, Alex Papa, Brexton Robertson, Kaden Perala

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The following paper proposes the design and creation of a new housing development in the city of Columbus, Nebraska in a lot to the south of the city and directly north of the Columbus wastewater treatment plant. The goal of this proposal is to provide readers with confidence that our company is the most qualified to complete the project and will create the safest, most comfortable, most efficient, and most cost-effective final design. This proposal seeks to offer a solution to the lack of affordable housing for the growing workforce in Columbus. In order to arrive at this solution, each …

Leadership And Project Management In Engineering: Baja Tube Bender, Maysyn Tm Sorensen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Typical coursework for Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering students does not deeply focus on project management and leadership. Detailed in the following documentation is review of my Mechanical Engineering Senior Design capstone project as well as analysis of final presentations of other capstone projects. The Senior Design capstone projects spanned both semesters of the ‘22-’23 academic school year. After the first semester of my project I produced a post-mortem report to analyze the project’s progress and suggest improvements for the project, design, and team interaction. These improvements were compiled into an action plan and implemented in the spring semester. When the project …

Airbnb Strategic Audit Overview, Andrea Curnes, Audrey Kreun, Tyler Royal, Jacob Zadalis, Cody Hohn, Jason Dirks

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This study provides an overview of Airbnb, an online marketplace for short-term rentals and experiences. It highlights the company's history, business strategies, value chain, acquisitions, code of ethical conduct, and organizational structure. With a Blue Ocean strategy combining differentiation and cost leadership, Airbnb has achieved remarkable success, boasting a valuation of over $67B and generating annual revenue exceeding $1.5B. The company's unique business model involves participating in all parts of the value chain, and it has expanded geographically through acquisitions and product market expansion. Airbnb's code of ethics reflects its core values, and its organizational structure fosters flexibility and remote …

A Strategic Audit Of Tesla Inc., Jayden Boesch

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This research paper examines Tesla's competitive advantages and challenges, as well as its strategy and objectives in the electric vehicle industry. The paper begins by providing an overview of the electric vehicle market and Tesla's position within it. It then discusses Tesla's business model, strategy, and objectives, as well as its competitive advantages over other firms in the industry. The paper also highlights key resources that Tesla needs to maintain its sustainable competitive advantage in the future, such as research and development, charging infrastructure, and top engineering talent. Finally, the paper identifies challenges that Tesla may face in the future, …

Nebraska’S Medico-Legal System: A Death Investigation Analysis, Ashley Novak

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

A large part of the founding of the United States of America focused on the idea of state control over their internal affairs. For this reason, the United States is home to a largely decentralized medico-legal system. The State of Nebraska hosts a coroner-based death investigation system as is written into their legislation regarding the establishment of their medico-legal system. By studying legislation, federal and state reports, as well as publications by academics within the field, merits and weaknesses of the Nebraskan coroner system can be uncovered. Additional considerations and understandings that are needed to be understood include: understanding what …

Nintendo Strategic Audit, Stephanie Herridge

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Nintendo is a Japanese-based multinational company that is one of the primary competitors in the video game industry. It has smaller headquarters located in North America and Europe and continues to pursue new markets and customers. Having remained successful for over a century, Nintendo pursues unique forms of strategy to maintain relevance for current generations of consumers. This strategic audit seeks to dissect Nintendo’s long-term profitability by analyzing the company’s history, competitive resources and advantages, and the current challenges and trends in the video game industry as a whole. The tools used to explore the industry include Porter’s Five Forces …

Magnetic Properties Of Polycrystalline Spinel Oxides From Solid State Reaction, Camden Olds

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Spinel crystal materials of nickel, cobalt, and iron oxides have seen abundant research for their strong conductivity, ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties, and their catalytic uses. These can be synthesized by a number of means. This project explores the use of the solid state synthesis method, which benefits from simplicity, of this family of materials, looking for interesting phase shift lines in the triangle between of varying compositions of these three metals.

Nickel cobaltite and other related spinels were synthesized from two different solid state approaches and characterized using XRD and SQUID magnetometry. The range 0.5-0.6 of molar ratios of nickel …

The Importance Of Mood And Motivation Of An Individual In The Success Of Physical Therapy, Spencer Wagner

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Physical therapy is a health profession that helps people improve their movement and range of motion in certain body areas. Since the time it was founded, physical therapists have mainly focused on the physical health of the patient. While that is their job, they may not have been as successful because they neglected the mental health of the patient. The mindset of an individual, particularly their mood and motivation, can influence how they progress through physical therapy and how successful they are in regaining functionality in their affected body area. The purpose of this study is to determine how the …

The Presence Of Childhood Obesity In Nebraska And The Physiological Repercussions Of The Disease, Madison R. Bezousek

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Childhood Obesity can cause lifelong repercussions in children and adults. There has been stigma around the causes of obesity and its relation to lifestyle choices, without consideration of the genetic and syndromic causes. In this literature review the causes of obesity were investigated, along with the effect on the physiological systems and the enviornmental factors that are continuing the obesity epidemic. Preventing and treating lifestyle obesity is something that is seen to have the greatest effect on youth, especially with intergenerational obesity. Nebraska schools have implemented programs to encourage healthy living, and ongoing research is being implemented to reduce the …

Extranodal Tumors And Chromosomal Abnormalities Associated With Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma In T(14;18)-Positive Patients, Alexis Finch

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Nebraska is mostly an agricultural state with a non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) incidence rate of 20.1 per 100,000 individuals, which is greater than the US incidence rate of 19 per 100,000 individuals. It is possible that the higher incidence rate in Nebraska is due to an increase in pesticide usage. Pesticide exposure is linked to t(14;18), a genetic translocation involving the BCL2 gene that regulates apoptosis. The dysregulation of apoptosis could contribute to the proliferation of NHL. This exploratory study utilized the Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group, which consists of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, or some other neoplastic hematologic disorder …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of Strict Photo Id Laws On Election Turnout: Do They Discriminate Against Minority Voters?, Josh Gromowsky

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Over the last 20 years, states across the nation have passed photo ID laws requiring potential voters to provide a form of identification before they can cast their ballots. These laws have generated great controversy, with opponents of the laws accusing them of being racially discriminatory. Studies attempting to analyze their effects on turnout have resulted in differing results due to different methodologies, and no consensus has been reached in the academic literature regarding this topic. Recognizing that laws do not exist in isolation and that people can react to their implementation in different ways, this paper examines the effects …