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Spring 2025 Graduation Survey Responses
No full textSpring 2025 Graduation survey responses master file without identifiers
The Logic of Terrorist Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems, Enabling Factors, and Barriers to Exploitation: Rapid Review A
No full textDrones—also called unmanned aerial systems (UAS)—are increasingly attractive to terrorists because they open an inexpensive path to the air domain and can be adapted for surveillance, targeted strikes, logistics, and propaganda. This rapid review synthesizes academic and gray literature to map who is using UAS, how they are used, and why they are chosen over other tactics, and then assesses environmental factors that enable or constrain adoption. In a structured review of prior studies and reporting on organizations such as ISIS, the Houthis, and others, plus U.S. incident indicators, the researchers found that: (1) UAS provide precision and disruption more than mass-casualty effects to date; and (2) enabling factors (e.g., network ties, easy access, training, and a cost advantage over countermeasures) are outpacing barriers (e.g., operator exposure, retrofit skill, current lethality limits, and munition access). DHS and partners should expect broader, more frequent UAS-enabled activity and plan for scalable counter‑UAS (C‑UAS) responses
EARTH’S ORBITAL PRISON: CODIFYING CUSTOMARY LAW TO PREVENT ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE IN SPACE
No full textThis article argues that the accelerating proliferation of space debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) poses an existential threat to the sustainability of the orbital environment—one comparable in strategic gravity to nuclear deterrence during the Cold War. Drawing on liberal internationalist theory and the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), the paper asserts that deliberate satellite destruction through anti-satellite (ASAT) testing and negligent debris generation risk triggering a self-sustaining cascade of collisions known as the Kessler Syndrome. Existing treaties, including the Outer Space Treaty and the Artemis Accords, lack enforceable mechanisms to prevent such catastrophic harm. To fill this legal gap, Cook proposes codifying a new customary international law (CIL) norm that would prohibit kinetic actions in space that foreseeably cause “long-term, widespread, and severe” environmental damage—language rooted in humanitarian and environmental law, particularly Additional Protocol I and the ENMOD Convention. The article contends that customary law offers a flexible, politically feasible path to mitigate orbital degradation when new treaties are unlikely. By grounding this obligation in established legal principles and liberal cooperation, the author envisions a global framework of restraint and accountability capable of preventing Earth’s orbital environment from becoming an inaccessible “debris prison.
Longitudinal trapping reveals differences in small mammal diversity and community composition between agriculture and shortgrass prairie
No full textGrasslands in the Great Plains face threats such as agriculture conversion, yet the long-term impacts of this shift on small mammal communities remain underexplored. Using a decade of trapping data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), we compared small mammal diversity and community composition between a native shortgrass prairie site and an active agricultural site in Colorado, United States. We found no significant difference in species richness between the two habitats; however, the shortgrass prairie exhibited significantly higher diversity. Community composition diverged substantially between sites. The prairie site was characterized by species such as Perognathus flavus, Reithrodontomys megalotis, and Dipodomys ordii, while the agricultural site was dominated by generalists like Peromyscus maniculatus, Onychomys leucogaster, and the non-native Mus musculus. Indicator species analysis identified distinct species associated with each habitat, reinforcing these patterns. Additionally, small mammal communities at the prairie site showed greater temporal variability, whereas agricultural communities were more stable across years. These findings highlight the ecological consequences of agricultural conversion, particularly the reduction of small mammal diversity and the displacement of prairie specialists by generalists. Our study underscores the value of long-term monitoring in detecting persistent community changes and advocates for a focus on community composition—not just species richness—when assessing habitat quality and ecological impacts. This research has implications for conservation strategies in grassland systems threatened by continued agricultural expansion
Reopening the Past
No full textAccording to the Murder Accountability Project and Federal Bureau of Investigations, “nearly 340,000 homicides and non-negligent manslaughter cases went unsolved in the U.S. from the year of 1965 to 2021 alone” (FBI; 2021). Hidden in the corners of the Justice System are endless cases that go unsolved, untouched or just too long forgotten these crimes carry no answers, no justice, and no closure. For decades, many of these cold cases have been on a shelf collecting dust stalled by the limits of old outdated technology, limited resources, and insufficient evidence. A new era of forensic science is evolving every day, allowing these cases to seek light and potentially their killers fate to justice. Through advances like DNA profiling and the groundbreaking use of forensic genetic genealogy, investigators are finally able to bring resolution to cases once deemed impossible. This research examines how these technologies are transforming cold case investigations, focusing both on well-known national case and local examples from surrounding towns of Grand Island. This study is especially important because it reveals how access to these types of tools varies across jurisdiction, with smaller or under-resourced areas and the unique challenges that they face. Using case study analysis and a comprehensive literature review, this project explores evolving investigative methods, existing barriers to technology adoption, and the ethical questions raised using genetic databases. More than a study of technology, this paper is about delivering justice long delayed, offering hope and closure to victims’ families and reshaping trust in the justice system
Injury Prevention and Care Training Website
No full textInjury Prevention and Care is a University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) resource within Campus Recreation and Wellness. It serves a variety of students, staff, , and other membership holders with a variety of resources and treatments in caring for injuries and in seeking to prevent new or worsening of injuries. In facilitating the health and growth of this department and their staff, updating the current training resources, and making them more accessible was necessary. Moving forward, discussions of the importance of accessibility and providing various resources, both in IPC and across the UNO campus, were pivotal in the formation and updating of the IPC training website. Additionally, IPC follows the Campus Recreation and Wellness platform of the Eight Dimensions of Wellness, which detail eight different types of wellness. Provision of resources for each of these types of wellness is a potentially highly beneficial resource for both student workers and patients as wellness is far more expensive than simply physical. Based on these needs, the website documents were updated, transferred into a Canvas page format, and supplemented with a variety of other images, videos, flow charts, and other resources to give each IPC student worker the opportunity and tools to grow in their skills, and to adequately and confidently treat each patient within their abilities and scope of practice. The goal in completing this is that this training website would be a great resource for each student worker and that it would last as a great resource for years to come
EXPLORING EVALUATIONS OF AGGRESSION WITHIN MALEVOLENT CREATIVITY: THE INFLUENCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES ON THIS DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP
No full textMalevolent creativity is commonly defined as creativity that is intentionally used to cause harm on others, oneself, objects, or processes (Cropley et al., 2014). Malevolent creativity can manifest in various ways, for example, through the use of indirect aggression (e.g., social exclusion) and direct aggression (e.g., physical assault) (Baron & Richardson, 1994; Green et al., 1996). Despite its significance, there is limited research on how individuals evaluate the originality and harmfulness of aggressive ideas. The current research addresses this gap by examining how individuals perceive and evaluate the originality and harmfulness of ideas that exhibit direct and indirect aggression. In addition to this, existing research has examined how individual difference variables, such as gender and personality, impact malevolent creativity and idea evaluation (Lee & Dow, 2011; Silvia et al., 2011). However, there has been limited research examining how these individual difference variables interact and contribute to the formation of distinct profiles. Thus, it is proposed that different profiles of individual difference variables will influence how individuals evaluate indirect and directly aggressive malevolently creative solutions. To better understand the role that individual differences play in shaping evaluations of originality and harmfulness, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) identified distinct personality-based profiles that significantly influenced how participants evaluated these ideas. I conducted LPAs using the HEXACO traits, and another LPA with the Dark Triad traits, and across these analyses, various profiles emerged which were used to identify how certain combinations of traits might influence how one evaluates originality and harmfulness
Housing Refugees Amid Administrative Change: Local Agency Innovation
No full textOngoing affordable housing and housing supply challenges in the US are presenting significant challenges for refugees. According to the US Census Bureau, the average monthly cost of rent plus the cost of utilities and fuels adjusted for inflation grew faster annually (3.8%) than real median home values (1.8%) in 2023 for the first time in 10 years. This is the largest annual increase in rental costs since 2011 (US Census Bureau, 2024). Homelessness has also increased by 18% since 2023 (USDHUD, 2024, pg. 3). Even in this current reality, the federal policies for housing refugees haven’t changed in over a decade. Refugees are increasingly more vulnerable to unsafe and unaffordable housing options due to staffing capacities at local resettlement agencies (LRAs), a lack of required documentation, discrimination, and the fluctuation of administrative changes affecting stakeholder relationships and engagement. Between the Trump administration in 2016, to the Biden administration in 2020, and again back to the Trump administration in 2025, LRA’s street-level bureaucrats have adapted while decreasing and increasing their capacity to serve and house refugees. Adoptions of refugee housing models have emerged in response to administrations and the lack of policy changes in refugee housing. The intention of this research was to answer the question, “How have local refugee resettlement agencies responded to the housing crisis with changes in administrations?” and to highlight a sample size of four local resettlement agencies\u27 responses and adaptations of refugee housing models implemented in Trump’s first administration and the Biden administration, as well as assessing the future of those models with a change back to the Trump administration. Data was collected in February 2024 and again in March 2025 from surveys, focus groups, one- on-one interviews, and national housing data from The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2024 Gap report. Interviewees included Resettlement Directors, Reception and Placement (R&P) Program Managers, and dedicated housing staff from various LRAs across the Midwest, South, and East Coast regions. The research findings are supported in answering the research question by understanding the administrative environment of when they were implemented, what the response was to the environment, what services were provided, and what the housing outcomes were for refugees. Findings suggest responses to the housing crisis for LRAs vary by geographical location, services provided, responses to administration changes, and housing outcomes for refugees. Even though all LRAs had a designated housing staff member, they still expressed difficulty in securing affordable housing with rising rents and providing housing solutions for refugees. Different housing models have emerged and will likely continue to do so. Recommendations of continued housing models, collaborations, interagency partnerships, application reform, education, and increased support for fair housing expand support for refugee housing outcomes in evolving administrative landscapes. In January 2025, restrictive federal policies indefinitely suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), terminated contracts with both national and local resettlement 3 agencies, and withheld critical funding. These actions created major challenges for resettlement agencies, leading to thousands of staff layoffs nationwide. Although the four housing models were evaluated in March 2025, the long-term impact on refugee housing outcomes remains uncertain. Amid this evolving landscape, LRAs continue to demonstrate adaptability and resilience