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Minding the Gaps: A Post-COVID-19 Analysis of Patient-Caregiver Dynamics in French and English-Speaking Rural Communities
No full textWith rapid advancements in medicine and the science field at large, recent debates have called into question the extent to which the public truly comprehends such advancements and topics. To understand the most novel of research breakthroughs, a reader is expected to have a sufficient level of scientific literacy, to be able to not only understand the material presented but also engage with the breakthroughs that are being posed. The question of literacy extends beyond academia, however. Health literacy is an emergent topic in scholarly and institutional debate, and it is generally defined as the degree to which individual patients understand diagnoses and procedures. It also represents the efforts enacted by organizations to ensure that said patients can actively seek and acquire understanding for decisions and changes regarding their health. Where science literacy can be occasionally written off as requiring more structured, sustained intervention for populations to fully grasp, health literacy is a fundamental requirement for all individuals, to make the most informed decisions for their health and the health of their loved ones. While progress has recently been made to begin addressing gaps in health literacy through the establishment of digestible methods of health information delivery, a fundamental gap may lie in language barriers and subsequent gaps in knowledge between patients and caregivers. This work seeks to analyze the extent to which spoken language impacts a patient’s understanding of the health information provided to them, and possible solutions to overcome any potential barriers and gaps in understanding through readily available online surveys of rural patient populations and interviews of caregivers in said populations
Wildfire and Decomposition: A Taphonomic Analysis of Thermal Alterations and Decomposition
Full text linkWithin the field of forensic anthropology, practitioners may be faced with remains that have been thermally altered by thermal alterations caused by wildfire. Within the field, very little research has been conducted examining how these thermal events impact rates of decomposition. While research has been conducted generally on the effects of thermal alteration on decomposition, these studies do not look through this lens and provide answers to the question of how do thermal alterations caused by wildfires affect rates of decomposition? This research examines the effects of thermal alteration caused by wildfire on the rate of decomposition. A decompositional study was conducted after a thermal event, mimicking wildfire, with a deceased Sus scrofa. The rate of decomposition was compared to another deceased pig as a control through linear regression modeling. The results were further tested for statistical significance through a two-sample T-test. The study found that the pig exposed to wildfire decomposed at a faster rate than the control pig yet, the difference was not deemed statistically significant. These results suggest that while there are differences between the rates, the differences could be deemed to be random. Further research must be conducted with larger sample sizes to determine the true impact. For those who are faced with cases that have been impacted by these events, consideration should be given to the appeared state of decomposition.
Advisor: William R. Belche
Lemonade: Mini-Case Study Report
Full text linkLemonade disrupts the traditional insurance industry through its innovative use of AI-driven underwriting and claims processing. By leveraging AI to replace traditional brokers, Lemonade positions itself as a technologically advanced and socially responsible alternative in a legacy-driven market. As a certified B-Corp, the company emphasizes its mission-driven approach, notably donating leftover premiums to nonprofit organizations selected by its customers. This case study examines the strategic challenges arising from Lemonade’s position in an evolving AI landscape. It explores how Lemonade can maintain its differentiation while navigating increasing competition, ethical considerations, and the diminishing sustainability of AI as a unique long-term competitive advantage
Navigating Farm Succession Without a Family Heir: The Question
Full text linkIn my work with agricultural families, I’m seeing a growing and difficult reality: many farms and ranches today don’t have a successor within the family. While this absence can simplify parts of estate planning, it often creates deeper, more emotional challenges—especially when legacy and identity are tied to the land.
This is the second installment in a series designed to support farm and ranch owners facing this crossroads. In the first article, I addressed the emotional side of succession without a related heir. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to go back—grief and uncertainty often block people from planning ahead.
Once you’re emotionally ready to begin planning, the most important question to ask yourself is: “What do I want to happen to my farm or ranch business when I die?
\u3cem\u3eUrinetown\u3c/em\u3e: The Technical Direction Process
Full text linkThe Nebraska Repertory Theatre, in partnership with the Johnny Carson School of Theatre, Film, and Emerging Media Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, chose to produce Urinetown: The Musical by Greg Kotis as the fourth and final show of the 2024-2025 season. The production was scheduled to be mounted on the Howell stage, a 300-seat proscenium theatre located in the Temple Building on the University’s downtown Lincoln campus. As technical director, I was responsible for budgeting materials and labor, drafting and engineering scenery, managing personnel, maintaining safety, installing and removing scenery from the stage, communicating and collaborating with other departments, and upholding the conceptual design of the scenic designer. This thesis will focus on my process and experience as the technical director for the production of Urinetown to demonstrate my proficiency in completing the previously mentioned tasks.
Advisor: Bryce Alle
Support, School Climate and Teacher Wellbeing in the Wake of COVID-19: A National Study Using NTSP Data
Full text linkResearch indicates a significant number of teachers planned to leave the profession following the COVID-19 pandemic, with national surveys in 2021 revealing about 25% considering departure. Stress, low pay, remote teaching demands, and lack of support contributed to attrition, impacting school climate, which influences productivity, collaboration, and job satisfaction, and is inversely related to turnover. The shift to remote learning also demanded new skills and exposed technological disparities. This quantitative study examined the pandemic\u27s impact on teachers\u27 perceptions of school climate, support, resources, job satisfaction, burnout, and intent to leave using the 2020–2021 National Teacher and Principal Survey. Factor analyses revealed two school climate constructs: administrative tasks/outcomes and shared belief systems. While a weak positive relationship existed between resources/support and school climate, organizational climate positively correlated with job satisfaction and negatively with burnout and intent to leave. Similarly, staff collaboration/cohesiveness negatively correlated with burnout/intent to leave and positively with job satisfaction. These findings emphasize the importance of positive administrative interactions, fair policies, and shared values in supporting teacher well-being and reducing turnover in the post-pandemic educational context.Advisor: Jiangang Xi
The Global Classroom: A Phenomenological Study of International Student Experiences in a Reimagined Intercultural Communication Course
Full text linkThis dissertation examines the experiences of multilingual international student participants who took part in a semester-long intercultural communication course that was purposefully designed and implemented with half enrollment each of domestic and international students at a Midwestern American university. Despite university efforts towards internationalization, they often fall short of the meaningful engagement needed truly promote intercultural and mutual understanding. International and domestic students share classroom and other spaces on campus, yet they remain overwhelmingly disconnected from one another. Using phenomenology and Baker’s (2011) model of Intercultural Awareness, this study analyzed the international students’ experience in this course to learn more about how universities, including content departments and Intensive English Programs, can better serve and connect their international and domestic students. Data were collected through course assignments, reflective journals, and interviews and analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). The findings reveal that creating courses and experiences that incorporate purposeful participation, sustained interaction, and intentional guidance and training in intercultural communication can more meaningfully and authentically connect international and domestic students. This research advances our understanding of international student engagement on campus, intercultural communication and awareness, and the role that more substantive, supported, and sustained relationships have on multilingual learners’ English language development.Advisor: Jenelle Reeve
Racial Powers
Full text linkThis dissertation will be divided into three papers that in some way considers the concept of racial powers. The concept of racial power is under-researched and presupposed in the Philosophy of Race literature. Many arguments in this field seem premature without a general understanding of racial powers. The first paper fills that gap by introducing and defending the view that racial powers are possessed in virtue of one’s race or perceived race.In the second paper, I consider Chike Jeffers’ cultural constructionist account of race. The nature of race is complex, requiring nuanced consideration. Chike Jeffers’ cultural constructionist may seem intuitive but, as I will show, it faces three critical issues: (1) it unnecessarily splits races, (2) it has a demarcation problem, and (3) it creates outliers who may become race-less or culture-less. I argue that cultural constructionism must be considered alongside sociopolitical constructionism to avoid these issues.In the third and final paper of the dissertation, I consider the key role hierarchies play in racial categories. Social constructionists argue that race would not exist without hierarchical arrangement. However, there is another hierarchy that is often overlooked. This paper examines the other hierarchy and explores whether race could disappear if all racial categories were hierarchically equal on all hierarchies.Advisor: Jennifer McKitric
Host Genetics Role in Viral Disease Susceptibility
Full text linkViruses and their hosts exist in an evolutionary arms race, with evolutionary promotion of host genetic-based defense mechanisms and evolution of virus genetic-based mechanisms to overcome host defenses. Viruses are capable of much more rapid evolution and adaptation than their hosts, often leading to the use of host cellular mechanisms to promote viral infection and replication. In this study, we describe the generation of a detection assay for atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV), designed to target the viral 5’ UTR, a region of the viral genome which sees less mutations than the protein coding regions. This assay was generated to be capable of detecting multiple global strains of APPV. Additionally, we describe an in vivo challenge of pigs from two distinct synaptogyrin 2 (SYNGR2) genotypes. These pigs were coinfected with porcine circovirus type 2b (PCV2b) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). We validated a previous study that showed a SYNGR2 genotype-dependent outcome of PCV2b infection, and showed that SYNGR2 genotype did not influence PRRSV replication over the course of the challenge period. Subsequently, we utilized an in vitro model of infection of WT and SYNGR2 KO MDBK and Vero cells for SYNGR2-dependent outcome of bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 (BVDV-1) and Lone Star virus (LSV), respectively. We determined that host cell SYNGR2 KO did not influence the replication of either BVDV-1 or LSV.Advisor: Daniel C. Cioban
Chasqui
Full text linkChasqui is a creative dissertation comprised of a thirteen-page critical introduction and a series of poems which consider varying forms of migration, including that of border crossings. The internalization of displacement through longing and alienation is examined in these poems. The author considers questions of inheritance through an exploration of personal, familial and sociopolitical bonds. Varying forms of violence, including colonial and gendered violence are reflected upon in the work.Advisor: Kwame Dawe