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How Developers Read Bugzilla Reports To Summarize APIs: An Eye Tracking Study
No full textDevelopers rely on detailed bug reports from websites like Bugzilla to understand, reproduce, and remedy software defects, yet the cognitive processes underlying how they read and summarize these reports remain underexplored. This thesis presents an empirical eye-tracking study with 30 participants—including industry professionals and students—who read real Bugzilla bug reports and produced concise written summaries. We capture fixations on key report elements (questions, answers, attachments) and compute gaze metrics (fixation counts, dwell times), linking these to summary correctness and the proportion of content used from pages via SBERT-based cosine similarity. Results show that participants allocate over 50 of fixations to answer sections, and longer dwell times on answers significantly predict fully correct summaries (U=2140, p=0.001), whereas raw quantity of cited content does not distinguish accuracy. Clustering reveals two effective reading–summarization strategies—shallow–quick and deep–verbose—yielding comparable accuracy, and task-level analysis across eight bug-report classes uncovers heterogeneity in engagement and accuracy not explained by gaze or structural metrics. Our findings inform the design of gaze-aware summarization tools, bug-tracker interfaces, and developer training by emphasizing selective attention to solution-relevant content. This work bridges eye-tracking research and bug-report summarization, offering novel insights into developer comprehension and guidance for automated support systems
Hunting Lease Comparisons for Wild Game Across Nebraska in 2025
No full textThe Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey and Report 2024-2025 provides insight into recent trends in the market value of land and cash rental across the state. Each year, the special feature section covers topics on new or emerging issues related to the agricultural land industry in Nebraska. These topics reflect the interest expressed by panel members and readership of the Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights Reports. The special feature section in 2025 focuses on hunting rental arrangements in Nebraska, including the types of wild game commonly hunted and the value associated with leasing these rights.
Landowners seeking to make additional income off their property outside of the traditional agricultural use or rental arrangements (where the hunting rights have not been granted to the tenant) may choose to lease the right to exclusively hunt certain types of wild game to a third party (Ferrell, et al. 2023). Table 1 summarizes comparisons of hunting leases for wild game in Nebraska as part of the 2025 contractual agreements for each district. Panel members were asked to estimate the percentage of hunting leases for antelope or deer, pheasants or quail, turkey, waterfowl, and other game within their district across the state. The other game category included hunting leases for any species outside of the other identified categories
Functional Dissection of Ferulate-5-hydroxylase in the Monolignol Biosynthesis Pathway: Implications for Sorghum Defense against Sugarcane Aphids
No full textAlthough sugarcane aphids (SCA; Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner)) have been present in the United States (U.S.) since the 1970s, they did not emerge as a significant pest until 2013, when they began infesting sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). Since then, SCAs have spread to all sorghum-growing states in the U.S., causing significant yield losses. Previous studies have shown that modifying monolignol synthesis can alter sorghum’s resistance to SCA, offering potential targets for developing innately SCA-resistant sorghum plants and reducing reliance on chemical insecticides. Ferulate-5-hydroxylase (F5H), a key gene in monolignol biosynthesis, modifies lignin composition and provides substrates for Brown midrib 12 (Bmr12), a gene whose mutation has been linked to enhanced SCA resistance through elevated levels of the auxin conjugate indole-3-acetic acid–aspartate (IAA-Asp). In this study, we investigated the role of F5H in regulating sorghum defense against SCA by using F5H-overexpressed (F5H-OE) lines in comparison to RTx430 (wild-type) plants. No-choice and choice bioassays showed significantly greater SCA colonization and settling on F5H-OE plants compared to RTx430 plants. Electrical Penetration Graph (EPG) analysis further revealed that the SCA spent more time feeding from the sieve elements of F5H-OE plants than from RTx430 plants, indicating a dampened phloem-based defense. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that F5H-OE plants had comparable basal levels of total lignin but reduced basal flavonoid levels than RTx430 plants. To understand the molecular basis of this susceptibility, we examined the expression of the regulatory gene SbMyb60 and other monolignol genes located upstream and downstream of F5H. Interestingly, exogenous application of IAA–Asp restored SCA resistance in F5H-OE plants to RTx430 levels. We also examined the interaction between F5H-OE and the bmr12 mutation through a no-choice bioassay. While bmr12 showed strong resistance to the SCA, the combination of F5H-OE with bmr12 (bmr12-F5H-OE1) significantly attenuated this resistance. Overall, these findings identify F5H as a negative regulator of sorghum defense and demonstrate that its overexpression enhances SCA susceptibility in sorghum.
Advisor: Joe Loui
Paying the Education Debt: How Community Colleges Can Lead in Restoring Higher Education Access in U.S. Prisons
No full textDiscusses paying education debt with respect to how community colleges can lead in restoring higher education access in United States prisons.
The question is no longer can we provide higher education in prison, it’s will we. For those of us already engaged in this work, the answer is clear. I invite you to join us
Envisioning Honors as Complex Problem Solving
No full textHonors education can maximize student well-being and career-life readiness by integrating a range of wicked problems and design thinking. This approach fosters interdisciplinary learning, critical thinking, and the development of innovative problem solvers. The authors introduce student choice and design thinking throughout the first three courses of an honors interdisciplinary minor at a large, public R1 university and consider its pedagogical implications
Assessment as an Act of Service: Connecting Data and Experiential Learning
No full textUtilizing the experience of teaching and learning in a graduate-level assessment course, authors present a service learning course for undergraduate honors students. Using campus and community as touchstones, students are tasked with developing, implementing, and analyzing an assessment measure based on specific needs to engage in the entire life cycle of assessment. The authors identify non-profits as a unifying client population because they emphasize the community element of service learning and accommodate a variety of student backgrounds and interests. Classroom work is oriented around discussion and collaboration. Identification of outcomes, data collection and analysis, and dissemination of results are presented in oral and written formats
Exudation Entomology
No full textMy master\u27s project is exudation entomology. I propose a new area of entomology that will renew and reshape the science, answer questions that have been explored, and open new questions that have yet to be asked.
Exudation entomology is the study of exudates from arthropods. This includes (but is not limited to) honey, saliva, silk, secretions, venom, pheromones, paper, wax, and more. Other properties, such as bioluminescence, sounds, and odors, are also included. Exudation entomology will explore the chemical makeup of exudates, the anatomical mechanisms for how the arthropod produces the exudate, why the exudate is essential for arthropods and humans, and the biology of several arthropods.
This project aims to provide an entry-level survey of exudation entomology by introducing exudates, their producers, their uses for arthropods and humans, and possible future uses of exudates
Cover Crop Influence on Arthropod Biodiversity and Soil–Water Dynamics in a Semi-arid Maize–Soybean Sequence of the Nebraska High Plains
No full textWith the expansion of cover crop (CC) use in semi-arid regions, producers in the Nebraska High Plains are increasingly interested in understanding how CCs influence both beneficial arthropods and soil-water within maize-soybean (Zea mays L., Glycine max [L.] Merr.) rotations. Integrating CCs in these systems can enhance soil water availability and beneficial insect activity, but potential trade-offs include higher early-season water use by CCs and the risk of increasing potential pest populations. This thesis addresses these questions through two complementary studies conducted under field conditions near Brule, Nebraska. The first study evaluated the effects of a multi-species CC mixture on epigeal and aerial arthropod communities, revealing that even limited CC biomass in this semi-arid system was sufficient to alter arthropod community structure. The CC increased potential pest abundance in both aerial and epigeal communities, while natural enemy responses were modest and inconsistent. Seasonal dynamics were the primary drivers of arthropod abundance, with activity peaking at critical crop stages such as flowering, indicating a key biological window that warrants further investigation. Crop yields remained largely unaffected by CC. The second study examined how CCs influence soil-water dynamics under different levels of water regimes. Soil moisture was monitored using neutron probe readings at multiple depths to assess treatment effects on soil-water storage and availability during the growing season. The CC had minimal influence on soil moisture before soybeans but reduced early-season soil-water storage before maize under limited-water conditions, contributing to lower maize yields when following rye. Water regime was the dominant driver of soil-water availability and soybean productivity, with CC effects secondary to irrigation in this semi-arid system. Overall, this work provides an insight into ecological and hydrological implications of CC adoption in semi-arid cropping systems. The findings aim to inform sustainable management strategies that balance productivity, biodiversity conservation, and soil-water dynamics in the Nebraska High Plains region.
Advisor: Nicolas Cafaro La Menz
Post-fire Soil Health Assessment of the Grasslands and Woodlands in the Semi-arid Nebraska Sandhills
No full textGrasslands in the Nebraska Sandhills are shaped by natural wildfires, which help maintain the structure and function of native grasslands. In recent decades, afforestation with ponderosa pine and eastern redcedar has introduced new woodlands that altered the region’s fire dynamics and raised important questions about the effects of wildfire on different vegetation types. As wildfires become more frequent, understanding their impacts on soil health in grasslands and woodlands becomes increasingly important. This study examines the short-term effects of the 2022 Bovee Fire on physical, chemical, and biological soil properties in native grasslands and ponderosa pine and eastern redcedar afforested woodlands. Soil samples were collected at two depths (0–10 and 10–25 cm) across burned and unburned sites over five sampling times spanning 8 to 32 months post-fire. The objectives were to: (1) assess how vegetation type and fire affect soil physical properties, (2) evaluate changes in soil fertility and carbon fractions, (3) investigate microbial community composition and enzyme activities as indicators of soil biological function, and (4) integrate all these metrics into a comprehensive Soil Health Index (SHI). The results revealed that unburned grassland had the highest SHI scores, followed by pine, with the lowest scores in redcedar areas. Fire caused the most significant declines in soil health in grasslands and pine woodlands, while sandy soils with low organic matter were most vulnerable to post-fire impacts. These findings demonstrate that vegetation type, whether natural or hand-planted, plays a critical role in soil response to fire, underscoring the value of a soil health index for tracking ecosystem resilience and informing management in the Nebraska Sandhills.
Advisor: S. Carolina Córdov
The Impact of Relative Bridge Width on Highway Crashes in Nebraska
No full textThis research examines how bridge width relative to the approach roadway affects crash occurrence on Nebraska highways. The Nebraska Department of Transportation-(NDOT) Bridge Design Manual sets minimum bridge widths based on roadway classification, traffic projections, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) criteria. While these guidelines ensure structural and functional adequacy, they do not incorporate safety performance analyses based on crash data. This leaves an important gap in understanding how bridge and approach roadway width decisions influence safety outcomes.
This research has four objectives: (1) evaluate crash frequency across different bridge width intervals; (2) identify variables including roadway and approach roadway widths that relate to higher crash frequencies; (3) compare bridge crash attribution results from accident report’s based “bridge switch” with those from a GIS‑based spatial matching approach; and (4) develop statistical models that account for geometric, traffic, and temporal factors in Nebraska bridge related crashes.
The study tested the hypotheses on whether narrower or wider bridges are associated with higher crash rates, and whether GIS-based methods identify more bridge-related crashes than current reporting practices. Count-based regression models were used for crash frequency analysis using three datasets that were based on how bridge related crashes were identified. The analysis was supported by additional statistical tests for comparative analyses. Narrow bridges consistently exhibited the highest crash rates in all datasets, while wide bridges maintained the lowest. GIS-based methods identified more bridge-related crashes than the current reporting practices. Analysis of the three datasets showed that bridges wider than their approaching roadways tended to experience fewer crashes. Limitations of the research include limited geographic and temporal coverage of the crash and bridge data and the non-consideration of crash severity in the analyses. However, findings from this research should be helpful to NDOT in integrating empirical safety evidence into bridge and approach roadway width decisions for new construction and rehabilitation of roadways and bridges.
Advisor: Aemal J. Khatta