Gifted Education Commons^™

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Red Foxes And Coyotes Through Camera Traps And Citizen Science, Nadia Wojcik

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Wildlife may change their temporal activity patterns or spatial distribution in response to human activity in developed landscapes. Citizen science and camera trap approaches have both been used to study wildlife in urban areas, though both methods have their strengths and weaknesses. I studied the temporal activity and spatial occurrence of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and coyotes (Canis latrans) in Lincoln, Nebraska to test ecological and methodological hypotheses. Specifically, I compared camera trap detections of red foxes and coyotes to observations of red foxes made by residents of Lincoln. Using these two data streams, I evaluated temporal activity patterns and …

The Concentration Of Heavy Metals In Lincoln Nebraska's Tap Water, Evan Neuhaus

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Heavy metals are commonplace in nature, and are typically found in scarce quantities in all drinking sources. However, in high enough concentrations, they can have a myriad of negative health effects. This study seeks to find the concentrations of such metals in the Lincoln water supply utilizing the resources of the Water Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. To test for discrete concentrations of trace elements, a method of using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was implemented. ICP-MS uses plasma to ionize and atomize a sample which is then filtered into a series of cones into a …

The Perception Of Stigma As A Barrier To Help-Seeking Among Immigrant Populations, Zuha Qadeer

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Immigrants receive mental health services less than their U.S.-born counterparts, even after accounting for the lower rate of mental health difficulties often found among these populations. Stigma is one such barrier that is significant in reducing mental health service utilization among immigrant populations. This study explores how immigrants perceive stigma as a barrier to seeking help for trauma-related mental health concerns. Using qualitative data from a study on an adaptation of Written Exposure Therapy in Latinx immigrants (Andrews et. al, 2022), I examined the role of stigma in participants’ perceived barriers to care and their proposed strategies for reducing them. …

Midwest Roadside Safety Facility Expansion For Enhanced Research Capabilities, Joseph (Lj) Hajduch, Isaac Hansen, Jeff Schroeder, Hozhin Sleman, Ben Wortman

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

As Civil Engineering students, this group was tasked with designing and proposing an engineering solution to a real-world problem. In this case, the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility in Lincoln, Nebraska was looking for a planned proposal to add an additional building to their property for the purpose of additional research and office space. The group decided on the name Zana Engineering – Zana translating to “highly educated” in Kurmanji – to function as the organization responsible for creating this proposal and presentation. Zana Engineering designed this plan on several key factors, most significantly utility, affordability, safety, sustainability, functionality, longevity, and …

The Influence Of Complex Coastlines On The Sea Breeze And Convection Initiation In Coastal North Carolina, Logan Howard, Adam L. Houston

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The sea breeze is a common phenomenon in coastal regions around the world. Their development and propagation can be treated as a density current. It is well known that many factors influence density current propagation, including wind. Depending on the orientation, the wind speed and shear can enhance or inhibit the development of the sea breeze. In places like eastern North Carolina, complex coastal geography can create river and sound breezes that, upon collision, have the potential to initiate thunderstorms. Using Cloud Model 1, simulations were conducted to model the behavior of the sea breezes in eastern North Carolina and …

Nebraska Politics And The Environment: Framing Political Communication In The State Of Nebraska In Comparison To National Level Discourse, Samuel Taylor

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Environmental public policy has seen little change on the national level in recent decades due to Congressional gridlock. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have entrenched their opposing viewpoints, and their communication on the topic utilizes issue frames to help sway the public to see their side. On the Republican side, these issue frames take the form of the “scientific uncertainty” and “economic consequences” frames. This study, based on issue framing, surveys the communication of Nebraska’s Republican State Senators to determine if they utilize the same issue frames or if they diverge from their national counterparts. By analyzing recent …

High-Risk Sexual Behavior In Nebraska Adolescents; History, Risk Factors, And Mediation, Kiya Hudson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

High-risk sexual behavior is a public health crisis that impacts adolescents at staggering rates. In Nebraska, rates of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases have been on the rise over the last four years. The problem this paper addresses is the need to fill in the gaps in knowledge surrounding high-risk sexual behavior in Nebraska adolescents. It is important to address these gaps in knowledge because currently, we are failing our adolescents when it comes to providing them with all of the necessary skills, information, and tools to lead a healthy life. When we know how …

Male Hormonal Contraceptives: Associations Between Students’ Perception Of And Trust In Usage And Endorsement Of Gender Norms, Zoe Keese

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

As clinical trials continue to test the safety and efficacy of new male contraceptive options, evaluating attitudes towards them is critical in expanding access to reproductive healthcare. The present study sought to investigate the relationship of endorsement of traditional masculine and feminine gender norms with attitudes towards male hormonal contraceptive pills. Using a Qualtrics survey, 45 participants rated their attitudes towards different measures, including attitude towards the male contraceptive pill, willingness to use male hormonal contraception, and endorsement of traditional masculine and feminine gender norms. The results of the survey indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between endorsing …

Cell Volume As A Determinant Of Virus-Mediated Population Growth In Ciliates, Jace Miller, John Paul Delong Phd

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Many protists and other small aquatic organisms consume virus particles, a behavior known as virovory. Some species of protists, such as the ciliate Halteria grandinella, can grow and divide using viruses as their sole food source. Other ciliate species have previously been shown to consume large quantities of viral particles, but it is unclear if they are able to support population growth with viruses alone. Because large ciliates have a higher energy demand, we hypothesize that they will be unable to support population growth on a virus-only diet. We fed nine ciliate species a diet of chloroviruses and found …

Using Game Theory To Model Tripolar Deterrence And Escalation Dynamics, Grace Farson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The study investigated how game theory can been utilized to model multipolar escalation dynamics between Russia, China, and the United States. In addition, the study focused on analyzing various parameters that affected potential conflict outcomes to further new deterrence thought in a tripolar environment.

A preliminary game theoretic model was created to model and analyze escalation dynamics. The model was built upon framework presented by Zagare and Kilgour in their work ‘Perfect Deterrence’. The model is based on assumptions and rules set prior to game play. The model was then analyzed based upon these assumptions using a form of mathematical …

An Evidence-Based Design, Translation, And Implementation Of A Hypertension Health Education Pamphlet, Katie Patton

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Health equity is the opportunity for all to attain their highest level of health. This includes creating understandable educational resources that aid in reducing risk and controlling symptoms of disease. A singular piece of written education material will not be effective among all in a broad population due to the many different backgrounds in which people originate. While this may seem obvious, there is a wide gap between knowledge and action. This gap leads to health disparities, or differences in health status between people that are related to social or demographic factors such as race, gender, income, or geographic region …

Architecture And New Urbanism’S Relationship To Biomimicry And Floral Design, Alycia Timmerman

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The craft of floral design is classified as an art and a science. Similarly, architecture is rooted in the two disciplines. After conducting research and exploring biomimicry through the design process, it became evident that the process of design for architecture and floral design are similar. This relationship can also be extended into the field of planning and the New Urbanism movement. This study explores the integration of floral design and biomimicry with architecture and New Urbanism at the scale of the building and city block.

With Liberty And Justice For The Wealthy: The Criminalization Of The American Poor, Ashlyn Dickmeyer

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The last phrase of the Pledge of Allegiance states “with liberty and justice for all”. However, not everyone has access to this liberty and justice. Liberty and justice can be bought in this country for a price, and those who can’t afford to pay it are often left in the hands of those who can. One of the most prominent ways to see this is by analyzing the criminal justice system. Despite clauses in the Fourteenth Amendment and court cases like Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) establishing and upholding that the poor are entitled to equal treatment within the criminal justice …

Social Transmission Of Predator Information Through Referential Alarm Calls Within And Across Species, Carly Trebac

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Animals can encode information about a predator’s size, identity, or threat through alarm calls. This can provide referential information that can be used by individuals within and across species receiving the information. Referential alarm calls can encode information through changes in structure or rate of the call, and these variances in their call can elicit different responses, such as fleeing or mobbing, in conspecifics and heterospecifics. We aimed to investigate whether white-breasted nuthatch alarm calls can encode referential information and elicit different responses from conspecifics. Previous studies showed that a related species of nuthatch varies their call rate in the …

An Analysis Of The Episodic Writing Process, Megan Kanger

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Writing for an episodic series vastly differs from writing for a short film. This essay explores the major differences between writing a short film in contrast to writing an episodic series and how these differences impact the writing process. The essay examines the topic by breaking down my own experience writing an episodic series and the key findings I uncovered throughout that process. I describe my series, Scythe, and the central themes and characters that encompass the series. With a central theme of death, I describe how I worked to establish an emotional tonal balance between drama and humor within …

Project Avatar: Utilizing The Power Of Social-Media To Share Stories Of Hope, Elizabeth Cremins

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Addiction affects everyone and the stigma around addiction and its’ recovery makes it exponentially harder for individuals to heal. Today, adolescents are exposed to drugs, alcohol, and related substances from younger ages than ever before and the age of first consumption of these substances is continually decreasing. Further, social media makes it easier than ever for these young people to see substance-related content. Most teens and young adults today check their social media daily—if not hourly. Due to the young age of first exposure to substances coupled with the near-constant exposure that social media provides, addiction is an ever-present problem …

The Impact Of Parent Math Anxiety On Parent Homework Help Behaviors, Makenzie P. Starlin

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Math anxiety is commonly defined as negative feelings toward mathematics or solving mathematics problems (Dowker et al., 2016). Research indicates that math anxiety can influence parenting behaviors during homework interactions, which can involve behaviors that are autonomy supportive, or allow the child to initiate the homework task, or controlling, which does not allow the child to be actively engaged (Retanal et al., 2021) In particular, autonomy support behaviors allow children to work through homework on their own, whereas control behaviors do not allow children to work through the homework on their own and instead involve parents overseeing the homework help …

All Bark And No Byte: A Case Study On Nuclear Weapons' Role In Cyber Deterrence, Phuc Nguyen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

In what some scholars consider a marked departure from its traditional policy, the U.S.' 2018 Nuclear Deterrence Posture Review declared that the U.S. would consider the use of nuclear weapons in response to "significant, non-nuclear strategic attacks." However, despite real-world examples of the type of significant cyberattacks on U.S., allied, or partner civilian population or infrastructure alluded to in the Review, the factors that might trigger multidomain escalation remain underexplored, which creates a credibility gap in the U.S.' deterrence policy. This paper explores these factors by providing a case study of the North Korean WannaCry and Russian NotPetya cyberattacks and …

知源育利用のガイド, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

知源育を応用するための様々な角度からのヒントを学ぶことができるガイドです。実勢んをしながら、時々このガイドを参照することで、より高いレベルでの実践が可能になるでしょう。

Introduction To A Universal Performance Improvement Method (Chigen-Iku), Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

This brief article introduces a universal performance improvement method called Chigen-iku, which has been developed carefully and extensively over more than 25 years through more than 100 individual and group projects based on the principles that were selected through my doctorial study in the field of Instructional Psychology and Technology.

Abrunning: Beginner’S Guide To Running-Based Training Programs, Alexander Boerner

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis is used to introduce any level of runner to training program creation and give resources to allow the individual to create their own. This was done through a website that has information on warm up, cool down, strength and conditioning, running programs, nutrition, hydration, and running aids. The website gives readers insight on each of the topics while giving them resources on how to implement the information within their programs. The written portion of this thesis is used to detail the creation of said website and the thought process that went into each of its components from structure …

A Conceptual Exploration Of Anti-Fragility In The Context Of Confucian Heritage Culture Education, Alwyn Lau

Journal of Research Initiatives

It is a common but not unrealistic stereotype of Asian students that educational success is a matter of personal identity and status. As such, achieving distinctions in as many subjects as possible (the popular target of becoming a ‘straight A’ student) is usually a non-negotiable objective nurtured by both parents and educators. Such an obsessive pursuit of academic excellence produces both laudable outcomes (e.g. the tendency of Asian students to outperform their counterparts) as well as dangerous ones (e.g. worrying rates of mental health problems). This theoretical paper hopes to apply the concept of anti-fragility developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, …

Defining Twice Exceptional Learners: A Study Of Self-Concept, Alyssa D. Landau

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 2014, the first operational definition of twice exceptional (2e) learners was published in Gifted Child Quarterly to provide a clear and identifiable profile of the population (Reis, Baum, & Burke, 2014). The article defines 2e learners as, “students who demonstrate the potential for high achievement or creative productivity in one or more domains such as math, science, technology, the social arts, the visual, spatial, or performing arts or other areas of human productivity AND who manifest one or more disabilities as defined by federal or state eligibility criteria” (Reis et al., 2014, p. 222-223). Publishing an operational definition of …

Heaven Education: Utilizing Mixed Methods To Analyze Why Gifted Education Is Culturally Relevant For Chinese Americans, Julie M. Milner

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

This mixed methods study examined why gifted education is culturally relevant to Chinese Americans and why parents desire gifted education for their children. At a time when accelerated learning is at odds with equity ideals, parents from the communities comprising the Asian umbrella have mobilized to fight to keep these academic opportunities for their children. These parents have been labeled as ‘white adjacent’ in order to shut them down as ‘racists’ when they speak out. The large number of Asian students in accelerated education has led to the accusation of them being ‘resource hoarders’. Even gifted education scholars have used …

2023 Travel Study Catalog, Illinois Math And Science Academy

Intersession Catalogs

No abstract provided.

2023 Intersession Catalog, Illinois Math And Science Academy

Intersession Catalogs

No abstract provided.

2023 Intersession Catalog, Illinois Math And Science Academy

Intersession Catalogs

No abstract provided.

The Journey Box: Promoting Language Development While Exploring One’S Identity, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

A Journey Box allows students to explore and share their family’s historical narrative using primary sources like interviews and artifacts. Students explore different facets of their own family’s history and journey to America while engaging in a larger shared experience among classmates to understand different perspectives. The Journey Box develops oral and written language skills while supporting individual’s exploration of their culture and identity.

Building A Mathematics Intervention Program: One District’S Journey, Karise Mace, Karen Austin, Jodi Kirstein

Education Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Honors Liberal Arts For The 21st Century, John Carrell, Aliza S. Wong, Chad Cain, Carrie J. Preston, Muhammad H. Zaman

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

We argue that honors colleges can deploy the power of the liberal arts to emphasize diversity, equity, global citizenship, ethical leadership, and empowerment by combining liberal arts and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and medicine) fields in interdisciplinary approaches to global challenges, from climate change to the pandemic to forced displacement. As the honors colleges at Texas Tech and Boston University work to be at the forefront of pedagogical and curricular innovation, the twenty-first century has presented us with a student and faculty community becoming increasingly aware of historical, racial, gendered, and socioeconomic disparities, which were further exacerbated by the COVID …