Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Information Disorder And The Need For News Literacy Education In The Digital Era, Lauren Brown-Hulme

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper serves as a comprehensive report on the need for and barriers to news literacy education in the United States. Current misinformation issues in the U.S. are introduced and the importance of news literacy among citizens of a democracy. Answers to these questions are sought: What are the current challenges regarding news literacy in the digital age and what are the implications? Further, can news literacy be taught? Based on measured practices, what are the best methods for news literacy education? Existing literature covers the topics of information disorder and news literacy, highlighting the importance of news literacy in …

Why Nebraska? An Analysis Of Unl's International Student Recruitment Touchpoints And Messages As Compared To Student Outcomes, Carolyn Willis

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

With decreasing budgets and increasing political tensions, universities in the United States are embracing broader and more creative efforts to reach prospective international students. For such universities, international students are a lucrative recruitment population because they bolster enrollment numbers and tuition revenue while diversifying student bodies. Previous studies have shown that much university marketing to international students is deficient and of little use in helping prospective students make informed decisions (Baldwin & James, 2000), yet information search is a key element of buyer decision models (Beatty & Smith, 1987) as students evaluate educational options. This study sought to see, then, …

Nebraska Business And Consumer Confidence Indexes: March 9, 2018, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

Nebraska consumer and business confidence fell during February 2018, dropping from the near-peak levels seen in January. The Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) fell to 101.6 in February from a value of 115.2 in January. The February value remains above the neutral level of 100.0. The Business Confidence Index – Nebraska (BCI-N) fell to 107.4 In February from 112.2 in January. Both monthly readings were well above the neutral value of 100.0 suggesting that business confidence remains strong. When asked about the most important issue facing their business, customer demand was mentioned by 38 percent of respondents. But, there …

Understanding Unconventional Methods Of Self-Disclosure In New Relationships, Brandon Lepard

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Previous literature on the subject of self-disclosure in new relationships has failed to go into depth about the reasons why negatively-valenced self-disclosure can draw people closer together. In this study, the impact of personality type on the relational success of unconventional methods of self-disclosure is explored. The participants of the study were eight male, caucasian college-aged students who were each individually interviewed. The results of the study show that that personality type can play a large role in the relational success of such unconventional disclosure techniques, as well as the relational trajectory. Extraverts were more likely to positively react to …

Price Volatility Transmission Between U.S. Biofuel, Corn, And Oil Markets, Cory Walters

Cornhusker Economics

Many factors have been suggested as sources of increased volatility (unexpected changes) in agricultural commodity prices in recent years. One of the most-stated causes is the increase in corn based ethanol production and the new food and ethanol linkages (Serra, 2013; Balcombe, 2011; Wright, 2011; Irwin and Good, 2009). The increased links between energy and agricultural markets raise concerns about whether new corn– ethanol links lead to volatility-spillover effects between prices of energy and agricultural commodities. Increased food-price volatility and its detrimental effects have profound economic implications, raising concerns among consumers, producers, and policy makers. High price volatility heightens food …

Why Gun Violence Continues Its Rampage Across America: A Comparison Of American And Australian Firearm Policies, Daniel Schaub

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis is a comparative case study between US and Australian firearm policies and gun culture. I ask, given the large number of injuries and mass shootings due to firearms, why has the United States not implemented stronger firearm regulations? I conduct a comprehensive literature review of American gun culture throughout history and modern firearm violence in both the United States and Australia. By utilizing the framework of historical institutionalism and the concept path dependency, I explain why and how institutions in the United States are unique and how they differ from similar institutions in Australia. I find that the …

A Drone By Any Other Name: Purposes, End-User Trustworthiness, And Framing, But Not Terminology, Affect Public Support For Drones, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Brittany Duncan, Sebastian Elbaum, Carrick Detweiler

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Projections indicate that, as an industry, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, commonly known as drones) could bring more than 100 000 jobs and $80 billion in economic growth to the U.S. by 2025 [1]. However, these promising projections do not account for how various publics may perceive such technologies. Understanding public perceptions is important because the attitudes of different groups can have large effects on the trajectory of a technology, strongly facilitating or hindering technology acceptance and uptake [2].

To advance understanding of U.S. public perceptions of UAV technologies, we conducted a nationwide survey of a convenience sample of 877 Americans …

2018 Updated Tables And Figures For Ec 845 Nebraska Cash Soybean Prices And Basis Patterns, Jessica J. Groskopf, Cory Walters

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

No abstract provided.

Lnk Market Community Conversations, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Usda Value Added Producer Grant Steering Committee

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

This report details the procedures and results from two public engagements conducted around the possibility of a year-round public market that might be situated in or near Lincoln’s downtown area. The purpose of these engagements was to uncover and explore the range of responses, hopes, concerns, and perceived benefits, barriers, and facilitators of a year-round Lincoln market.

A multi-pronged approach was used in which recruitment survey responses from about 135 persons was combined with pre-post surveys and in-depth conversations with 60 persons as shown in Figure 1.1.

The final report includes all three strands of information: from the recruitment surveys, …

“There’S Nothing Wrong With Fun”: Unpacking The Tensions And Challenges Of Human Centered Design For Learning With Pre-Service Teachers, Zoe Falls, Justin Olmanson

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Research into practices of making within formalized education has primarily focused on K12 settings, inservice teachers in professional development, and pre-service teachers facilitating a maker experience for K12 students. Less is known about the professionalizing impact making and human centered design can have on pre-service teachers, especially in relation to how or if the experience deepens their understanding of content, pedagogy and human centered design. This study traces a group of pre-service social science teachers’ development of a meme generator to support learning history. By studying their process from inception to conclusion, we found students were less inclined to engage …

Genomic Characterisation Of Human Monkeypox Virus In Nigeria, Ousmane Faye, Catherine B. Pratt, Martin Faye, Gamou Fall, Joseph A. Chitty, Moussa M. Diagne, Michael R. Wiley, Adesola F. Yinka-Ogunleye, Sola Aruna, Ebitimitula N. Etebu, Neni Aworabhi, Dimie Ogoina, Wari Numbere, Nwando Mba, Gustavo Palacios, Amadou A. Sall, Chikwe Ihekweazu

University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute: Publications

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Orthopox genus in the family Poxviridae. First identified in 1958, MPXV has caused sporadic human outbreaks in central and west Africa, with a mortality rate between 1% and 10%.1 Viral genomes from west Africa and the Congo Basin separate into two clades, the latter being more virulent.2 Recently, MPXV outbreaks have occurred in Sudan (2005), the Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo (2009), and the Central African Republic (2016).3 A suspected outbreak of human MPXV was reported to WHO on Sept 26, 2017, by …

Czech Immigrants In Nebraska: A Question Of Identity And Assimilation, Katharine Meegan

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis examines the dynamics of cultural and social assimilation through the experiences of Czech immigrants into Nebraska. The Czechs' long struggle to maintain their ethnic identity has shaped their experiences with assimilation. After a review of assimilation theory, I conclude that the Czech experience with assimilation follows a “straight-line” assimilation model, a progression of assimilation that is complete by the third generation. Their relatively small size, settlement in rural areas, and a strong desire to maintain ethnic identity, as reflected in the formation of Czech language benevolent associations, gymnastic societies, and Czech language newspapers, led to “social” and “structural” …

Coalitions Matter: Citizenship, Women, And Quota Adoption In Africa, Alice J. Kang, Aili Mari Tripp

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

We provide new theory and evidence of the role of domestic women’s coalitions in the adoption of gender quotas. Previous research has shown the importance of women’s movements to policy change. We show that specific types of mobilization, often multiethnic in character, are a more precise way of describing these influences. Using a new dataset of coalitions in 50 countries in Africa (1989–2014), we first examine where coalitions are likely to emerge. Controlling for factors that correlate with their formation, we find that when domestic women’s organizations form a coalition for quotas, governments are more likely to adopt them and …

Role Of Social Environmental Protective Factors On Anxiety And Depressive Symptoms Among Midwestern Homeless Youth, Kimberly A. Tyler, Rachel M. Schmitz, Colleen M. Ray

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We employ a social stress framework, which examines the influence of multiple stressors (e.g., physical abuse, foster care placement) on an individual’s ability to function (e.g., mental well-being), to longitudinally examine the effects of stressful life events on mental health and the role of the social environment in this process among 150 homeless youth. Results revealed that numerous stressors, such as physical abuse and running away from home more frequently, were associated with greater depressive symptoms and elevated anxiety. Having mentors and family and friends from home that youth can rely on resulted in more positive social support, which subsequently …

Lower Risk Of 10-Year Incident Cognitive Impairment For Mexican Americans Aged 75 And Older In 2004-05 Compared To 1993-94, Brian Downer, Marc A. Garcia, Mukaila Raji, Kyriakos S. Markides

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

There is growing evidence for a decline in the prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. These findings have been attributed to greater educational attainment, reduced incidenced of stroke, and better management of chronic health conditions. However, limited research has examined if the declining trend in dementia risk are also occurring in minority populations, especially Mexican Americans.

Methods: Data: This analysis used data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE) to examine differences in the 10-year risk of cognitive impairment for Mexican Americans aged 75 and older in 2004-05 compared to Mexican …

Predictors Of Return To Work After Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Evaluation For Prolonged Post-Concussion Symptoms, Michelle C. Capozzoli

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) comprise the majority of TBI’s sustained. For most individuals with mTBI, post-injury sequelae resolve within approximately three months after injury, yet a minority experience prolonged post-concussion symptoms (PCS) associated with poor long-term functioning, including inability to return to work (RTW). Research on RTW following mTBI has found moderate support for pre-injury and post-injury factors on employment outcomes, while injury factors have largely demonstrated a weak relationship. However, critical factors that may predict long-term outcome in mTBI are often not included in these studies, such as pre-morbid psychopathology, prior TBI, occupational decision-making latitude, litigation-seeking, and insurance …

Risk Factors For Forced, Incapacitated, And Coercive Sexual Victimization Among Sexual Minority And Heterosexual Male And Female College Students, Colleen M. Ray, Kimberly A. Tyler, Leslie Gordon Simons

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although college students are at high risk for sexual victimization, the majority of research has focused on heterosexual students and often does not differentiate by victimization type. Thus, little is known about prevalence rates and risk factors for sexual victimization among sexual minority college students and whether the interaction between gender and sexual orientation differs by victimization type. To address these gaps, we examine whether risk factors for three types of sexual victimization (i.e., forced, incapacitated, and coerced) differ by gender (n = 681 males; n = 732 females) and sexual orientation (n = 1,294 heterosexual; n = …

The Public Knowledge Project: Reflections And Directions After Two Decades, Juan Pablo Alperin, John Willinsky, Brian Owen, James Macgregor, Alec Smecher, Kevin Stranack

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

The Public Knowledge Project (PKP) is entering its third decade. Like any project that has been around this long, PKP is facing the substantial responsibilities of maturity, seeking ways that will enable it to best serve the thousands of people who utilize our software to operate and index the journals and presses with which they work. It is out of this sense of responsibility that PKP, in the fall of 2017, submitted a proposal to the Laura and John Arnold Foundation boldly entitled “Sustaining Open Access’ Most Widely Used Publishing Software.” With this planning grant, PKP contracted the consulting services …

Financially Successful Farms In Nebraska, What Matters?, Matthew C. Stockton, Robert Tigner

Cornhusker Economics

The 2012 record high cash receipts for corn brought much optimism among corn farmers and associated businesses. However, more recent years have fostered feelings of concern with many reflections about other challenging times, such as those experienced in the 1980’s. Among producers such feelings are usually negative, but when properly channeled can lead to positive business actions, such as cost reductions and increased efficiencies.

Nebraskans Who Support And Oppose "Religious Freedom" Laws Actually Share Many Of The Same Values, Emily Kazyak, Kelsy Burke

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Religious freedom legislation highlights political division in the U.S., pitting conservative Christians against LGBTQ people and their allies.

As sociologists who study sexuality and conservative Christianity in the U.S., we decided to investigate whether and why people support or oppose these religious freedom laws with our co-author, Mathew Stange. Our recent study asks specifically about laws that protect business owners who refuse to serve gays or lesbians. This is the focus of the ongoing Supreme Court case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The case will decide the legality of a wedding cake baker’s refusal to make a cake …

Interim Performance Report, Lg‐71‐16‐0152‐16, Extending Intelligent Computational Image Analysis For Archival Discovery, February 2018, Elizabeth Lorang, Leen-Kiat Soh, John O'Brien

CDRH Grant Reports

No abstract provided.

Pathways To Open Access, University Of California Libraries

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Pursuant to the University of California (UC) Council of University Librarian’s (CoUL)1 3 August 2017 charge, this Pathways to OA Working Group2 has identified the current universe of Open Access (OA) approaches, and has analyzed the suite of strategies available for effectuating those approaches. Each approach described within this Pathways document offers unique and, in some cases, overlapping challenges, opportunities, and room for experimentation. The strategies examined here create space and freedom for the campuses to pursue both individualized and connected paths toward a large-scale transition to OA—though as we highlight below, collective action on implementing the strategies is likely …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: February 21, 2018, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) 1 rose by 1.18% during January of 2018. The increase in the LEI-N, which is designed to predict economic activity six months into the future, suggests that the Nebraska economy will grow steadily through the summer of 2018. A falling U.S. dollar, which is positive for Nebraska exporters, was one primary reason for the improvement in the leading indicator. The other was business expectations. Respondents to the January Survey of Nebraska Business reported plans to increase sales and employment at their businesses over the next six months. In terms of negative components, there …

Livestock Air Emission Requirements Delayed For Now, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Summary. Federal environmental laws require the reporting of emergency releases of hazardous substances to federal, state and local emergency res-ponders. EPA has established a 2008 reporting exemption for livestock operations smaller than large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Environmental groups challenged the EPA livestock exemption. On April 11, 2017, the D. C. Court of Appeals invalidated the EPA livestock reporting exemption. Reporting requirements briefly went into effect November 15, 2017 but have now been postponed until May 1, 2018.

Unlocking The Potential In Your Workforce Data, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Communicating complex ideas to diverse stakeholders is central to reliable decision making. Stakeholders may vary greatly in their interest, familiarity, or expertise with data regarding a policy, program, or practice. Well-designed data visualizations provide a platform for engaging stakeholders in ways that are tailored to their interest, familiarity, and expertise. However, research indicates that visualizations are not always designed effectively to reliably motivate users to understand and ultimately use the data in their decision-making (Evergreen, 2011; Cawthon & Moere, 2007). Thoughtful and engaging visualizations demand the stakeholders’ attention and can facilitate the comprehension of findings (Hillstrom & Yantis, 1994; Treisman, …

Capital Budgeting By Cooperatives, Jeffrey S. Royer

Cornhusker Economics

In capital budgeting, a firm must decide whether or not to invest in a project, such as a new machine, plant, or product. Typically, the firm will invest in the project if the present value of the stream of cash flows the project is expected to generate exceeds the project’s cost. The discount rate used in the present value calculation usually is the weighted average cost of capital for the firm, i.e., the weighted average of the firm’s costs of equity and debt. For publicly traded firms, the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is the most commonly used means for …

The State Of Oa: A Large-Scale Analysis Of The Prevalence And Impact Of Open Access Articles, Heather Piwowar, Jason Priem, Vincent Larivière, Juan Pablo Alperin, Lisa Matthias, Bree Nordlander, Ashley Farley, Jevin West, Stephanie Haustein

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Despite growing interest in Open Access (OA) to scholarly literature, there is an unmet need for large-scale, up-to-date, and reproducible studies assessing the prevalence and characteristics of OA. We address this need using oaDOI, an open online service that determines OA status for 67 million articles. We use three samples, each of 100,000 articles, to investigateOAin three populations: (1) all journal articles assigned a Crossref DOI, (2) recent journal articles indexed in Web of Science, and (3) articles viewed by users of Unpaywall, an open-source browser extension that lets users find OA articles using oaDOI. We estimate that at least …

The Copyright Permissions Culture In Software Preservation And Its Implications For The Cultural Record, Patricia Aufderheide, Brandon Butler, Krista Cox, Peter Jaszi

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

This report summarizes results from research with the professionals who make up the software preservation community about how their understanding of copyright intersects with their preservation mission. Professionals typically face significant challenges from perceived copyright barriers. They tend to assume that a license or other express permission from a copyright holder is required before embarking on a wide variety of preservation activities, and typically find that such permissions are difficult or impossible to obtain. In the absence of reliable information to guide informed risk assessment, professionals act on the reasonable assumption that high levels of legal risk could be associated …

Does Gender Really Matter In Agriculture?, Marianna Khachaturyan, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

Agriculture comprises around 9.5 percent of GDP for all developing countries, 26.0 percent for the least developed, 17.6 percent in South Asia and 17.4 percent in Sub -Saharan Africa compared with only 1.1 percent in the United States (World Bank, 2018). Agriculture is the main source of employment and livelihood for many, especially in Asia and Africa where about 60 percent of workers (both men and women) are employed in the agricultural sector (Agarwal, 2015). Globally, about 43 percent of workers who are engaged in agricultural activities are women (Akter et al., 2017), and across Asian and African countries, about …

Nebraska Business And Consumer Confidence Indexes: February 2, 2018, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

Consumer and business confidence rebounded in Nebraska during January 2018. The Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) rose to 115.2, well above the neutral level of 100.0 and a value of 93.3 in December 2017. This is the highest level recorded for the CCI-N since it was first released in February of 2016. The Business Confidence Index – Nebraska (BCI-N) rose to 112.2 in January from 107.5 in December. Both monthly readings were well above the neutral value of 100.0. When asked about the most important issue facing their business, customer demand was mentioned by 40 percent of respondents. The …