Digital Commons Network^™

Listening To Silence: A Rhetorical Examination Of Silence In The Tale Type The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers, Crystal Stephens

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Fairy tales are an integral part of our culture and have been for hundreds of years. Most of us grew up hearing certain stories, reading the Grimm brothers, watching Disney adaptations of classic tales, and passing these things on to the next generation. But even though we sometimes dismiss fairy tales as we get older as “stories for children,” that does not mean that fairy tales do not play an important role in our lives and cultures. Studying and understanding fairy tales can provide insight into our history, our cultures, and ourselves. As stated by Dan Ben-Amos, “The folktale has …

Teaching Communication: Helping Students To Learn And To Love A New Language, Jacob Fredrickson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio represents many hours spent in classrooms (as a student and as a teacher), in the library reading and writing, and spent in quiet contemplation. My views on teaching languages and on education in general have grown and changed. What a tragedy it would be to pass through a graduate program and not to have one’s views evolve and grow. Most importantly, this portfolio represents that growth and the ideal that, as an educator and as a human being, time on this earth ought to be spent growing, learning, and striving for something better.

Training Paraeducators To Use Behavior Management Strategies: Implementation And Evaluation Of A Brief Targeted Intervention, Aubrey Whiting

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Training paraprofessionals to be highly qualified providers of services to students with disabilities is a requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), although many special education paraprofessionals still lack the skills and knowledge to work with students with special education needs – particularly those who engage in disruptive behaviors. This project evaluated the use of one module of a 10-week online paraeducator inservice training (Morgan et al., 2004) that focused on behavioral interventions. Five paraprofessionals who currently work at a public school for students with significant behavior problems in a rural school district in the Western United …

Thoughts From An Unapologetically Honest Introvert, Amy Michelle Wilson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

My thesis exhibition, titled Thoughts From An Unapologetically Honest Introvert, highlighted our extrovert-centered society and provided introverts with new communication tools to change the social expectation.

Low-Impact Infrastructure: Development And Design Potential For Surface Application Alternatives For Subsurface Infrastructure In Yellowstone National Park's Upper Geyser Basin, Michael R. Pace

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In sensitive and iconic landscapes, such as Yellowstone National Park’s Upper Geyser Basin, construction and expansion of visitor services is hindered, and often blocked, by the potential for environmental damage that could occur during the installation of subsurface utilities. These utilities, crucial to the success of development, require an alternative method of installation when placed in locations requiring special consideration and protection.

Yellowstone, in particular, is faced with the responsibility of protecting limited hydrothermal resources while also providing access to the general public. Sub-surface utilities threaten this responsibility due to the unknown nature of much of the subsurface

geology in …

Implementation Of Effective Instructional Routines, Praise Statements, Response Opportunities, And Error Correction Through Professional Training, Coaching And Observation, Sallie Richardson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Professional development opportunities can range from a single workshop to long term ongoing training. Research shows that an inspiring and informed teacher is one of the most important school related factor influencing student achievement. The best professional development for new teachers is ongoing, experiential, and collaborative, while providing an opportunity for practice, reflecting and mentoring for successful development. Most professionals involved in professional development would agree that the goal of staff development is to produce a change in participant’s knowledge, behaviors, understanding, skills, values, and beliefs (Hord, S. & Monk, B. 1997). The purpose of this creative project was to …

Distance Collaboration: A Study Of Professional Conversations Between Isolated Church Education System Teachers, Zachary J. Cowan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This qualitative research reports on the experience of eight single person faculty seminary teachers as they participated in four collaborative structured discussions with a colleague, while using distance technology. The structure of each discussion consisted of discussion of a selected talk or article, the giving and receiving of feedback on a lesson plan, and the discussion of other ideas, concerns, problems, and questions. Data was also gathered in an exit interview. Constant-comparative analysis was used to discover patterns and themes from observations notes and the exit interview. There are several implications from the data. The reason articles were selected for …

The Relevance Of Culture In Politics: The Application Of Cultural Studies Using The Strategic Culture Method, Elizabeth G. Wilson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

American Studies scholars have long been aware that their interdisciplinary studies reach far beyond Americana. The fields of folklore, English, history, political science and anthropology have all been enveloped under the American Studies umbrella. Public perceptions tend to assume that scholars engaged in these fields are limited to work within academia.

A Secure Communication System For Early Childhood Collaboration System, Hao Kang

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Early Childhood collaboration System (ECCS) is a distributed health data system which provides coordinated, de-identified healthcare information to various types of data consumers. To satisfy this requirement, the ECCS needs a matcher that utilizes Personal Identifying Information (PII) to coordinate information from a wide range of data sources. Due to the sensitivity of PII, the ECCS also needs to guarantee that only matcher can access PII. This report describes a reusable subsystem, called Medical Records Secure Messaging (MRSecureMessaging), which utilizes a reliable cryptographic algorithm to encrypt PII and other confidential data so that matcher and data consumers cannot access …

Design And Testing Of A Nanosatellite Simulator Reaction Wheel Attitude Control System, Fredric William Long

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Attitude control of a satellite is required for the pointing of communications antennas and other instruments. For this reason, a control algorithm capable of precision pointing is important. Because the process of sending a satellite into space is time consuming and costly, ground-based methods of testing are paramount. A simulator is a low-cost, groundbased system made to mimic the conditions of a weightless satellite in space. The simulator used in this project controls attitude through applying torque to reaction wheels. The objective of this project is to derive and test a control algorithm for the attitude control of a satellite …

The Relationship Between Attachment, Couple Conflict, And Recovery From Conflict, Nathan C. Taylor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Advances in technology have opened the door for increased understanding to the physiological changes that influence and are influenced by conflict. The objective of this research was to use these advances in technology to better understand the relationship between attachment and physiological reactivity during conflict, as well as during recovery from couple conflict. Skin conductance equipment was used to measure 10 couples (n = 20) physiological arousal while discussing an area of conflict, and during a recovery section which included a relationship distraction task and discussion. Five multiple regressions were used to analyze physiological reactivity during and after conflict …

"Wires And Lights In A Box": Fahrenheit 451 As A Product Of Postwar Anxiety About Television, Christine V. Shell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This project discusses the ways in which Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 functions as an indictment of media culture. While many analyses of the novel focus on the text’s sweeping themes of literary censorship, this study instead centers on Bradbury’s depiction of media—particularly television—culture and the ways in which Bradbury feared it could be harmful. Although Bradbury wrote about a future society a century beyond his own, his novel serves as a remarkable reflection of his contemporaneous culture’s media consumption and gendered divisions; this thesis discusses Bradbury’s novel alongside such forces, considering the effects such influences may have had on …

The New Life Of Feathers, Madison Bradford O'Bagy

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

When a feather is no longer part of a living bird it is, in essence, dead. When I pick it, up it is reborn. My artwork records and constructs these new stories. The story may reflect where and when the feather was found, what I was doing at the time, my thoughts or feelings when I picked it up, or the character found in the feather itself.

To reveal these stories, I paint my three-dimensional feather collection into trompe l'oiel two-dimensional images using watercolors. The qualities of the paint lend themselves beautifully to the loose flowing lines and weightless quality …

Classroom Amplification: The Necessity Of Sound-Amplification In The Classroom, Kalley Ellis

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In a classroom, the optimal signal-to-noise ratio, as is recommended by the American Nation Standards Institute (ANSI), is 35 dBA, with the reverberation reaching a maximum of 0.6s (Lewis, 2008); yet, in classrooms today, the typical signal-to-noise ratio ranges from 40-73 dBA (Lewis, 2008). With at least 75% of the school day being spent in listening activities (e.g. reading, instructions, lecture, etc.), this noise level in the classroom has great impact on what a child hears and, thus, learns (Blazer, 2008). Unfortunately, with each new year, classroom sizes are increasing and creating an even more detrimental noise level and signal-to-noise …

Online Credibility Testing In Small Organizations: A Case Study Of The Global Village Gifts Website, Natalie Cheney Homan

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

A visitor's perception of the credibility of a website and the organization behind it is a matter of great importance to any business. A theory known as prominence-interpretation theory suggests that users make credibility judgments through a two-step process: "1. The user notices something (Prominence), and 2. The user makes a judgment about it (Interpretation)" (Fogg, et al., 2003). With this theory as a basis for support, Heidi Everett (2012) developed a credibility test for small businesses to assess the credibility of their website through a focus group.

Global Village Gifts (GVG) is a not-for-profit fair trade store in Logan, …

Barriers To Women In Economic Development, Rachel Ann Rawlings

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The focus of my research is on Ghana, because I completed a microfinance internship there. The methodology of this research is a combination of direct observation, interviews, and secondary research. Women in Ghana are limited from obtaining greater economic power by formal and informal barriers. Formal barriers are systematic exclusions from resources that prevent women from pursuing greater levels of power, specifically lack of access to capital and unstable political institutions. Informal barriers are perceived by individuals or societies but are not evidenced in the societal structure. Informal barriers that hinder women from progress include community restraints regarding the role …

Engaging Wisdom: A Comparison Of Cognitive And Interpersonal Interventions On Elderly Mental Health, Kade Downs

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In the United States the population of individuals over the age of 60 is large and expected to increase (Administration on Aging, 2009). Mental disorders (e.g., dementia) are especially prevalent in elderly populations (WHO, 2012). Considering the relatively small amount of research examining elderly populations in the United States, this prevalence highlights the potential and necessity for intervention research specifically designed for elderly individuals. This study examines the effectiveness of a cognitive as well as an interpersonal intervention on the mental health of a sample of individuals over the age of 60 at residential eldercare facilities. Results showed no significant …

Reforming The Performance Of Masculinity: Stephen Crane's Critiques Of Riis's And Roosevelt's Civic Militarism, Cambri Mcdonald Spear

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Progressive Era (1890-1920) marks a unique period of social change in American history not only because of reformists' muckraking attacks against political machines and other corrupt social practices, but also because gender permeated every aspect of reform. The doctrine of separate spheres, which had been such a mainstay of Industrial Revolution-era America, was blurring rapidly, as many reformists, like suffragists, pressed for greater gender equality. However, an extremely fascinating characteristic of this period that is often overlooked is the inevitable way in which the performance of gender became essential for reformists to be successful.

A Mixed Methods Analysis Of The Family Support Experiences Of Lgbtq Latter-Day Saints, Mckay Stevens Mattingly

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

A burgeoning vein of research assesses links between familial support and psychosocial health among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) individuals. This study is a cross-sectional, multi-method survey that examined these associations in highly religious families. Participants were 587 individuals who identified as LGBTQ, were affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), and were between the ages of 18 and 30. Reports of early support from families were significantly associated with various measures of psychosocial health, more consistently for men than women. In addition, participants provided written narratives in response to an …

A Portrait Of The New York City Lunatic Asylum On Blackwell's Island, Austin C. Labau

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Statement of Purpose

"Insanity is a subject which touches our civil rights at so many different points, that it may be said to have a place in every problem involving human responsibility." -John Ordronaux, New York State Commissioner in Lunacy, 1878.

Mental illness can reduce even the strongest person to a state of helplessness. The way in which a society treats individuals with mental illness provides a window into what that society most values - what behaviors it approves, what people it sees as most valuable, and how much society is willing to sacrifice to help those who may or …

Targeted Drug Delivery System For Kidney And/Or Liver Failure Patients Using Human Serum Albumin, Sean Bedingfield

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Compromised liver and/or kidney function reduces the acceptable dosage of a variety of medications that can be administered to patients. These patients still have a need for drugs such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antivirals, and antibiotics. The project goal is to provide a drug delivery system to accommodate these reduced dosage limits with added therapeutic benefits to address symptoms of liver or kidney failure. Localized drug delivery allows for a smaller, concentrated dose rather than inundating the patient's system with the drug of interest. Human serum albumin (HSA) is a researched candidate for drug delivery with therapeutic properties. HSA …

Visualizing And Forecasting Box-Office Revenues: A Case Study Of The James Bond Movie Series, Vahan Petrosyan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This Master's report deals with the visualization and forecasting of the box-office revenues and some related variables from the James Bond movie Series. Visualization techniques such as time series plots, scatterplot matrices, dotplots, boxplots, histograms, normal quantile plots, parallel coordinates plots, heatmaps, mosaic plots, association plots, and choropleth maps are used to provide some deeper insights into the given dataset. Additionally, the results from an article published in 1997 are reproduced and extended. This article modeled the box-office revenues of the James Bond movie series. Numerous statistical models were examined to obtain the models that are closest to the original …

Multi-Scale Modeling Of Microbial Defection In The Presence Of Antibiotics, Darshan Dilip Nahar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Limited environmental resources push life into competition. In terms of microbes, we assume that the only goal is to grow and competition means to grow faster than the peers. Organisms tend to adapt to their environmental conditions and improve their efficiency in using the common resources to grow faster. While different organisms compete they engage into various social behaviors like cooperation to work together towards a common goal, e.g., production of public goods that benefits the entire population. Hence a part of the resources at hand is dedicated to participate in cooperative activities if the cost-to-benefit ratio is less than …

An Exploration Of Object And Scientific Skills-Based Strategies For Teaching Archaeology In A Museum Setting, Candice L. Cravins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A pilot study conducted at the Utah State University Museum of Anthropology explores the most engaging strategies for teaching archaeology to children in a museum setting. During a week-long summer workshop event in June 2013, two styles or modes of teaching archaeology were contrasted and evaluated: object-based teaching and scientific-skills based teaching. The teaching styles are evaluated based on third and fourth grade students' level of excitement and engagement with various archaeology activities - which activities are the most interesting and engaging to children while they are in the museum? The first mode of teaching archaeology focuses on object-based learning. …

Pathway Pioneer: Heterogeneous Server Architecture For Scientific Visualization And Pathway Search In Metabolic Network Using Informed Search, Vipul Kantilal Oswal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

PathwayPioneer is a website to visualize the biological models. The complex metabolic models are hard to perceive when read through text format. It is even more difficult to understand the flow of network and different subsystem or pathways. PathwayPioneer organizes different subsystems into simple graphical representation. We simplify the complex network based on subsystem and compartment. Users can do computation (flux balance analysis) through the user interface and perceive the changed model visually. Our system is one of its kind to handle large model files with quick response time.

Biologists are often interested in knowing different alternative pathways targeting a …

A Study Of The Variability Versus The Assumed Constancy Of Manning's N, Tyler G. Allen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Culverts have traditionally been designed to a minimal size to pass a specific design flood. The traditional culvert designs may result in a localized increase in velocity which can result in a blockage of animal or fish movement across a barrier effectively changing the ecosystem surrounding a number of affected species. While hydraulic loss coefficients are relatively well defined for such traditional culverts, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) identified a need for further study of these coefficients for culverts more conducive to fish and animal passage.

A research team headed by Dr. Blake Tullis of Utah State University …

Cloning And Expression For The Future Characterization Of The Air2 Protein, Emily Sue Frampton

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Air2 is a eukaryotic protein involved in multiple biological processes including protein-protein interactions as well as RNA binding. Air2 plays a critical role in RNA quality control and also helps regulate post-translational modification of various proteins. Although previous studies have revealed information regarding Air2's roles within a cell, the molecular and structural basis for Air2 function is unclear. Using a codon-optimized version of the Air2 gene, various constructs were created that improved the expression and solubility of Air2. Additionally a co-expression complex of Air2 with a PRMTI mutant, K13S, was made to obtain the Air2 protein with a native binding …

Exploring The Possibilities Of A Cellular Automata In Minecraft, Stephen Saunders

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Complex systems are not always generated by complex individuals. Simple, cell-like individuals can produce sophisticated outcomes. Structures implementing this nature are called cellular automaton. In this paper, we discuss the difficulties associated with the creation of one such automaton in a pre-existing environment, in this case the game MineCraft. A subsequent study of the behavior of this automaton is presented, using an objective information measure called set complexity.

Assessment Of Morphosyntactic Development Of Preschool Children With Hearing Loss Using The Clinical Evaluation Of Language Fundamentals-Preschool Second Edition, Angela Anderson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

It is recommended that children with HL are assessed using standardized assessments normed on hearing peers (Houston & Caraway, 2009; Joint Commission on Infant Hearing (JCIH), 2007). However, as these assessments are more commonly administered to children with HL there is reason to further investigate the sensitivity of these assessments particularly in their ability to identify weaknesses specific to HL. The CELF-Preschool 2 (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals – Preschool (Wiig, Secord & Semel, 2004)) has been found to be a valid tool for diagnosing language impairment in normal hearing children (Spaulding, Plante, & Farinella, 2006). However, this assessment has …

Development And Preliminary Evaluation Of A Transition Planning Guide, Shalee Thompson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Transition planning for students with disabilities is often a difficult process for students, their families, and their teachers. Families are often unsure of how best to help their student and often feel unheard by the professionals with whom they are working (Defur, Todd-Allen & Getzel, 2001.) Teachers are also unsure of how to best implement transition planning strategies in the classroom (Thoma, Pannazzo, Fritton & Bartholomew, 2008). Transition planning is often poorly aligned with the desired end outcomes for students (Thompson, Fulk & Piercy, 2000) and parents and teachers lack systematic guidance in decision making for transition planning.

This project …