Gifted Education Commons^™

Radio Fingerprinting Of Uavs: An Exploration Of Zigbee Data Collection, Arielle Monson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Radio fingerprinting creates a way to uniquely identify devices based on slight variations in the signal they transmit. These variations occur due to fluctuations in the manufacturing processes of wireless hardware. Prior work in this area has focused on IoT devices to determine the best way to translate this practice into a network security context. Here, we extend this prior work to utilize radio fingerprinting to identify signals from UAV devices. We used a UAV device with a Zigbee antenna to collect data, which supports the possibility of identifying these devices through radio fingerprinting. This paper should serve as a …

John Deere Construction Equipment - Strategic Audit, Michael Pallesen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

John Deere construction equipment is an operating segment of the equipment manufacturing giant John Deere Corporation. The company is considered the second largest construction equipment manufacturer in the world. This report seeks to understand the operating environment of John Deere’s construction equipment manufacturing segment, its resources, its competitive advantages, and its future challenges. This analysis uses both PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces analyses to evaluate the external environment. Additionally, strategic recommendations and explanations are offered into how John Deere can effectively navigate the challenges facing the construction equipment manufacturing industry in the near future.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. Backhaul Strategic Audit, Hadley Hiatt

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (Lululemon) is an athletic apparel company headquartered in Canada. Lululemon targets consumers who strive to live a healthy, active lifestyle. Its business model is based on the “Power of Three x 2” focusing on three strategic pillars, product innovation, guest experience, and international expansion. This analysis seeks to understand Lululemon’s face paced growth and unique business strategy through the use of a PESTEL analysis of macro environment, Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the competitive environment of the industry, analyzing the company’s strategy, major strategic objectives, competitive advantages, resources that may lead to a sustainable competitive advantage, and …

Lululemon Athletica Strategic Audit, Nolan T. Rinn

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (Lululemon) is principally a designer, distributor, and retailer of technical athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories with a vision to create transformative products and experiences that build meaningful connections, unlocking greater possibility and wellbeing for all (Lululemon). This paper will examine Lululemon to understand its market position and competitiveness within the athletic apparel industry. The analysis uses PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces analyses to evaluate the changing external environment and industry Lululemon operates in.

Diageo Strategic Audit: A Deep Dive Into The Management Strategies Of Diageo, Hailey Hoogers, Maria Alessandro, Joel Myers, Abigail Grimm, Harrison Gates

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Diageo is a multinational premium drink producer and supplier with over 200 brands and sales in over 180 countries. A conglomerate since its founding, Diageo controls and operates some of the world’s well-known and loved drinks, like Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Bailey’s, Captain Morgan, and Crown Royal. The firm is an industry leader in consumer insight, innovation and creativity, and sustainability efforts. Diageo believes pursuing sustainability, efficiency, and positive drinking allows them to compete, now and in the future. This audit analyzes the history, leadership, business model, mission, external environment, internal environment, core competencies, recent performance, competitive dynamics, business level …

The Rise And Fall Of Daca: An Audio Series, Dulce Garcia

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The history of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, commonly known as DACA, is a tumultuous one. In 2012, when President Obama created DACA through an executive order it gave relief to hundreds of thousands of people who were brought to the United States as children without their knowledge, giving them a range of benefits like never before including a work permit, a social security number, protection from deportation, and others. Yet, these last ten years the program has stood on shaky grounds with constant court battles canceling, reinstating or partially rolling the program. This audio series will give a deep …

The Twice Exceptional Learner Making The Classroom More Engaging For All, Josy Goodwin

Masters Projects

Around the world there is a population of our student bodies that are often missed within the educational world. These students are incredibly bright and could qualify as being labeled as gifted. However, these students often have a disability that impedes their gifts. This is the twice-exceptional or 2e population. As more research is being conducted to learn more about these students, it is time to begin exploring ways that teachers can help this student population through communication tools, student case studies, and project examples. All with the goal of providing a more inclusive, rigorous, and positive learning environment for …

Building Before: Community Resiliency As Emergency Management, Alexandria Rinne

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This project seeks to address gaps in emergency preparedness education related to tornado response. Through an examination of current research about best practices for tornado emergency management response and an examination of the needs of FEMA Regions 7 and 8, the author has identified key strategies and stakeholders to increase positive outcome through building community engagement and resiliency. Three presentations were created for delivery to key community stakeholders—local government officials; non-governmental organizations, social networks, and associations; and individual private citizens. The project offers an overview of background research and provides presentation slide decks, scripts, and discussion guides, all created with …

2023 Imsaloquium, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

Welcome to IMSAloquium 2023. This is IMSA’s 36 th year of leading in educational
innovation, and the 35th year of the IMSA Student Inquiry and Research (SIR) Program.

Activities Of The Mind And Soul: Eudaimonia, Identity, And Implicit Theories Of Giftedness In Secondary Gifted Students, Megan Roegner

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experience of secondary gifted students, more specifically their implicit theories of giftedness, how they incorporate giftedness into their sense of identity, and their eudaimonic development. The following four research questions guided the study: (a) What do the narratives of secondary gifted students reveal about their eudaimonic well-being? (b) What do the narratives of secondary gifted students reveal about their implicit theories of giftedness? (c) What do the narratives of secondary gifted students reveal about the extent to which giftedness is a part of their identities? (d) What are the relationships …

Healthcare Service Use, Help-Seeking Behaviors, And Health And Wellbeing In Attenuated Psychosis, Jasmine Ranjbari-Sisan, William D. Spaulding, Tierney K. Lorenz

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Persons with serious mental illness (SMI) receive poorer-than-standard healthcare, contributing to a 20-year reduction in the average life expectancy of persons with SMI. While extant literature describes the health disparities experienced by persons with SMI, little research examines the relationship between attenuated psychotic symptoms, healthcare service use, and help-seeking behaviors that may contribute to the disparities in this vulnerable population. This study explores the relationships between attenuated psychotic symptoms, physical health symptoms and related distress, healthcare service use, and help-seeking intentions to better understand health disparities in vulnerable and marginalized populations, such as individuals with SMI. Only a portion of …

Wakara's Waterscapes: Storytelling, Cartography, And Rhetorical Sovereignty On The Shores Of The Green River, Abbey O'Brien

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

In the mid nineteenth-century, Wakara, a prominent Ute leader, witnessed the invasion of his homeland by Mormon settlers and mountain-men. He met the scouts and explorers who were sent out to examine the land and waterscapes, and who drew maps along their way. It was those same maps which were eventually used as tools to justify colonial expansion all across the Utah territories, Wakara’s home. But Wakara resisted. Employing his understandings of the roles that cartography and the written word played in Mormon and settler discourse, Wakara created his own maps in order to assert his Indigenous authority over the …

Extraction And Analytical Method For N-Nitrosoatrazine Using Liquid Chromatography Paired With Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Carolyn Billings

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Atrazine is an herbicide used in the United States to control weeds. When combined with nitrite, atrazine can be nitrosated to form N-nitrosoatrazine (NNAT) in vivo and in vitro under acidic conditions. Atrazine can also be metabolized to atrazine mercapturate, deethylatrazine (DEA), didealkylatrazine (DDA), and deisopropylatrazine (DIA). Atrazine is monitored in drinking water due to its possible carcinogenicity. The objective of this study was to develop extraction and analytical methods for NNAT, atrazine, and atrazine metabolites. An instrument detection limit, extraction methods comparison, and extraction method detection limit were determined. To compare methods, Fischer 344 rat tissue samples were …

Exploring Modern Trends And Prevention Strategies For Childhood Obesity: A Comprehensive Literature Review, Anya E. Bogen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This literature review seeks to provide an overview of the current research on childhood obesity. The study examines the prevalence and causes of childhood obesity, including genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors. The review also discusses the health consequences associated with childhood obesity, such as the increased risk for chronic diseases and psychological and social problems. Additionally, the review explores the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent childhood obesity, including individual lifestyle modifications, education from health practitioners and school programs, and global, national, and state programs to promote wellness. The literature review concludes that childhood obesity is a complex and multifactorial …

A Look Into The Physiological Impacts Of Childhood Cancers And Modeling Of Tumor Growth Rate, Erica Steiner, Kimberly Hansen, Marissa Stanton

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases present in the world. Children have different reactions to diseases and treatments; thus, it is important to study those reactions specifically in children. Knowing how children are impacted by these factors can be helpful in diagnosis and treatment of cancer. I performed this study by researching the different types of cancer I was interested in and using MATLAB to code for and simulate a growth curve of a brain tumor. I found that there are many different physiological impacts of different cancers in children. As for the modeling, I was able to get …

A Device For Measuring Acoustic Output Intensity Of Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound Transducers For Comparison With Fda Regulations, Sarah Altman, Gregory Bashford, Benjamin Hage

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography (TCD) is a non-invasive methodology which can evaluate cerebral blood flow velocity in real time. Single-element focused circular transducers placed on the scalp produce ultrasound waves capable of penetrating the skull with minimal aberration, enabling measurement of the Doppler shift. As such, TCD can measure blood flow velocity in the internal carotid and vertebral arteries, as well as the arteries of the Circle of Willis: the Anterior Cerebral (ACA), Posterior Cerebral (PCA), and Middle Cerebral Arteries (MCA). Intracranial aneurysm and ischemic stroke are serious conditions in which ballooning or occlusion of cerebral vessels cause insufficient perfusion, leading …

The Use Of Film To Motivate Interest In Students With Learning Differences Through Imagination And Diverse Thinking In Higher Education, Edward Cromarty, Mary Alice Young, Simone Elias

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article examined the use of film in higher education to inspire imagination and motivate learning in students with learning differences. It highlighted the benefits of film in enhancing education and fostering imagination and diverse, critical thinking. The findings demonstrated that film is a pedagogical instrument that may assist students with learning differences to access the curriculum better, provide alternative forms of creative and meaningful expression, and develop self-awareness, empathy, and social justice.

A Middle-Class Mother's Journey On Navigating The Educational System: The Impact Of Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, And Class In Schools, Amy A. Hunter

Dissertations

This is a qualitative autoethnographic study of a Black mother in the Midwest region as she navigates the educational system for her children. This is a research document that informs the reader of the impact of racism and the intersectional identity of race, gender, and motherhood. The importance of intersectionality is highlighted in this research, and so it is that the mother is middle-class to articulate that poverty, access to resources, or the educational attainment of the mother are not necessarily mitigating factors for the treatment she receives within the educational setting. Moreover, is serves as a guide for other …

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.