Browsing by Author "Nguyen, Anh"
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Item Consumer's Food Safety Knowledge, Perception, and Attitudes of Microgreens(2021-04-01) Nguyen, AnhWith the rising consumption of microgreens and CEA grown crops, there is still an insignificant amount of training and preventative control resources compared to conventionally-grown crops. Based on previous research, microgreens are complex and prone to contamination if not handled correctly. The limited data available microgreens' background level of bacteria is still higher than that of conventionally grown crops. This study utilizes a survey created on the Qualtrics platform to gather data from microgreen consumers on their perception, attitude, and knowledge of the crops.Item Integrated Process for Red Algae Culturing and Processing High Value Algal Products: EPS & CPS, B-PE and PUFAs(2022-04-14) Nguyen, AnhThe global demand for algae and algal products are increasing over years. However, the cost for current commercial processing and purifying of algae products for good biological activities is quite high. This project aims to develop an integrated process to increase the Exopolysaccharide (EPS) and Capsular polysaccharide (CPS) yield and produce other high value co-products (B-phycoerythrin(B-PE), and poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)) from red algae. The two-state culture process with white and green light is promising for high yield of EPS. The EPS is successful extracted by the acid precipitate method for commercial algae water. The enzyme-based extraction with the combination of alpha- and gluco-amylase enzyme yield much more B-PE compared to other reported methods. PUFA extraction by low-cost solvent helps reduce the production cost and promises for recycle of the water. This integrated process is not only promising to produce algal products at low cost but also recycle processing water for subsequent algae cultivation benefiting environment.Item Negotiations and Challenges in Creating a Digital Story: The Experience of Graduate Students(2011-05) Nguyen, Anh; Robin, Bernard R.; McNeil, Sara G.; Craig, Cheryl J.; White, Cameron S.; Day, Susan X.Digital Storytelling has been popular in various educational contexts as a powerful tool for cognitive and literacy development in the digital age. The creation of a digital story is a complex process in which the creator mobilizes different skills and literacies in order to produce a meaningful multimedia text. Learning occurs at different levels and dimensions when the digital story creator draws upon social cultural knowledge, life experience, and interacts with peers and instructors to work through this multi-staged project. Thus, this is also a process of negotiation. While deciding on the theme, the images, the language and other elements of the digital story, the creator needs to negotiate internal conflicts, relations with the social world and the different modes used to tell the story. Although the large majority of the scholarship on Digital Storytelling features Digital Storytelling as a deep reflective learning device, an effective means of self-representation and an original media genre, few studies have been dedicated to investigating the challenging aspect in creating a digital story (see Kulla-Abbott & Polman, 2008; Nelson & Hull, 2008). This dissertation is a narrative inquiry into the experience of creating a digital story with the concepts of negotiation and challenge at the center. As the digital story creator negotiates to make the choices which are going to be presented in the digital story, they may have to encounter challenges associated with these choices. This dissertation attempts to reconstruct the experience of creating a digital story at various levels. The first level is the analysis of the internal structure of the digital story as a multimodal text in order to learn how each narrative line (voice-over, imagery, music) works, and how the lines work together to create the effects of the story. The second level is the examination of the experience of negotiating for the choices presented in the story and coping with related challenges during the creative process. The third level is the researcher’s study of the themes and patterns of negotiations and challenges emerging from the experience of creating a digital story. This is also the reflection upon personal experience in an endeavor to search for the meaning of that experience in more general and profound dimensions. Finally, conclusions from the examination of the experience raise useful implications and propositions for teaching and evaluation when Digital Storytelling is incorporated into the classroom. Methodologically, the inquiry for this dissertation closely followed three graduate students in their digital story projects in the setting of two linked courses. One focuses on hands-on multimedia technology and the other on the methodology of using popular culture in the classroom. The data collected consist of field notes of class observation, teaching materials on Moodle–the learning managing system used for the linked courses, participants’ postings on the forum of Moodle, personal interviews, and the digital stories created by the participants. Among the primary concepts in the theoretical framework of this dissertation are the functions of narrative from socio cultural, constructivist, and narrative theory perspectives, Digital Storytelling as a means for self-representation and identity formation, narrative inquiry, the narrative version of knowledge, and knowledge community.Item Potential of using algae as fertilizers and plant-stimulants for an ecofriendly and sustainable agriculture(2023-12) Nguyen, Anh; Balan, Venkatesh; Khan, Abdul L.; Nuñez, Martin A.; Crawford, Kerri M.Algae are photosynthetic organisms that can utilize sunlight as an energy source to convert carbon dioxide and inorganic molecules like nitrates and phosphates into complex organic molecules and produce oxygen. Algae contain all the essential nutrients for plants, such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K), that can be used as fertilizers. They also contain growth hormones and other beneficial substances which can promote plant growth and soil health. Algae are considered organic, safe to use, and more environmentally friendly compared to chemical fertilizers. Moreover, algae can be mass-produced in wastewater, which is a good source of N, P, K, and other nutrients. This thesis attempts to study the benefits of using algal biomass generated in wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF) as a fertilizer supplement and stimulant to promote soil and plant health. First, we identified factors contributing to plant and soil health, the detrimental effects of synthetic fertilizer production, and their effect on the environment, especially greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water pollution. Second, we determined the composition of algal biomass for their NPK, heavy metals, and components such as crude protein, fat, fiber, ash, and phytohormones. Third, we evaluated the benefits of using algal biomass as a fertilizer while growing cotton plants in a growth chamber. Fourth, we evaluated gene expressions and antioxidant activities in cotton plants. Our results show that the cotton plants were healthy when algal biomass was combined with synthetic fertilizer. We hypothesize that the presence of NPK, essential minerals, and phytohormones in algal biomass are responsible for significantly boosting cotton plant growth. The use of algae pellets as a fertilizer offers a sustainable alternative, reducing the dependency on synthetic fertilizers, which can reduce GHG emissions and benefit our environment.