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Phenology Of The Invasive Balsam Woolly Adelgid, Adelges Piceae (Ratz.) (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), On Subalpine Fir In Northern Utah, Elizabeth L. Rideout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Balsam woolly adelgid (BWA) is an invasive true fir pest in North America. Native to Europe, BWA was first discovered in Utah attacking subalpine fir in 2017. Recent BWA-caused subalpine fir mortality in northern Utah has prompted the need for baseline biological research to support pest management. Small-bodied and blending easily with its environment, BWA is a challenging pest to detect and study. Phenology, or the timing and characteristics of life stages through the year, of BWA varies depending on elevation and climate and is unstudied in Utah. This research focuses on defining aspects of BWA’s phenology, including the number …

The Time-Dependent Ionospheric Model Using A Tec-Driven Servo: An Investigation Of The Capabilities And Limitations, Jenny Rebecca Whiteley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere with a high density of electrons. These electrons affect the behavior of any electromagnetic wave that passes through the ionosphere. Communication and geolocation systems, such as traditional radio and Global Positioning Systems, depend on emitted electromagnetic signals being picked up by a receiver. The presence of the ionosphere affects the behavior of the signal and the quality of the service. Hence, the interactions between electromagnetic waves and the ionosphere provide a major motivation to understand, research, and successfully model and predict the ionosphere and its physical phenomena. This study focused on determining …

Estimating Seasonal Crop Water Consumption In Irrigated Lands Using Soil Moisture And Reference Evapotranspiration, Oliver Henry Hargreaves

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The increase in population and the megadrought that the American west has been experiencing for the past two decades and for the foreseeable future are the cause of great stress on the region’s water resources. In an effort to mitigate the worst effects of water shortages many public and private agencies have been pursuing ways to reduce water use while maintaining the current status quo of living standards, industrial productivity, and agricultural yield. This project aims to study water use in irrigated lands dedicated to agriculture with the objective of quantifying crop water use, often referred to as evapotranspiration (ET), …

Effects Of Imu Sensor Location And Number On The Validity Of Vertical Acceleration Time-Series Data In Countermovement Jumping, Dianne Althouse

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

Many devices are available for measuring the height of a CMJ. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) measures linear acceleration, orientation, and angular velocity. As an alternative to using IMU estimates of flight time, CMJ height could be estimated by integrating the IMU time-series signal for vertical acceleration to derive CMJ take-off velocity in order to track whole-body center of mass (WBCoM) movement, yet this approach would require valid IMU acceleration data. Thus, the purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of IMU sensor location and number on the validity of vertical acceleration estimation in CMJ. Thirty young adults …

Implications Of Malthus-Boserup Ratcheting For Interpreting The Archaeological Record, Gideon F. Maughan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Prehistoric populations across North America seem to grow exponentially, with some variation between regions. Archaeologists have explored the differences somewhat, but have not explained the differences or the sustained growth with any reference to what may be going on under the surface in a way that is relevant to all regions. I propose that environmental limits on population are shaped by what populations eat and how they acquire food, and that when populations are large enough to feel the scarcity in their environment, they change their way of life in a way that increases those limits. The model I propose …

Numerical Simulation Of Losses In Four-Way Pipe Junctions, Simon Barth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To design pipelines, engineers need to know how much energy the fluid in the pipe has at different locations in the pipe network. The energy the fluid has comes in the form of pressure, velocity, and elevation. As fluid travels through a pipe, it loses energy for many different reasons. Some of those reasons include friction between the fluid and the pipe wall, shear forces within the fluid, changes in flow direction, changes in elevation, or various pipe fittings like elbows, tee’s, valves, reducers, and expanders. Many of the causes of energy loss are well researched. One cause of energy …

Juxtaposition At 45 Km Of Temperatures From Rayleigh-Scatter Lidar And Reanalysis Models, David K. Moser

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Weather and climate forecasts are almost exclusively produced by computer models, which use atmospheric measurements as starting points. It is a well-known and joked-about fact that model predictions can be incorrect at times. One of the reasons this happens is due to gaps in our knowledge of atmospheric conditions in areas where measurements don’t often taken place, such as the mesosphere, which stretches from roughly 45-90 km altitude.

A lidar is a device that can shoot out short bursts of laser light to measure things such as atmospheric thickness at a distance. From this information one can then derive the …

A Model For Bioaugmented Anaerobic Granule, Amitesh Mahajan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study, we have created a simulation model which is concerned about digesting cellulose, as a major component of microalgae in a bioreactor. This model is designed to generate a computational model that simulates the process of granulation in anaerobic sludge and aims to investigate scenarios of possible granular bioaugmentation. Once a mature granule is formed, protein is used as an alternative substrate that will be supplied to a mature granule. Protein, being a main component of cyanobacteria, will promote growth and incorporation of a cell type that can degrade protein (selective pressure). The model developed in a cDynoMiCs …

To What Extent Might Beaver Dam Building Buffer Water Storage Losses Associated With A Declining Snowpack?, Konrad Hafen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dams built by North American Beaver create natural water storage and slow water as it moves through streams. In portions of streams with beaver dams, these effects have been observed to decrease the peak magnitude of floods and increase base flow during annual summer droughts. In the western United States changes to streamflow patterns have been observed in recent decades with large spring floods coming earlier in the year, causing annual summer droughts to start earlier and last longer. These changes are linked to decreasing snowpack which acts as the most significant natural water storage reservoir by holding onto precipitation …

An Automatic Algorithm For Textured Digital Elevation Model Formation Using Aerial Texel Swaths, Taylor C. Bybee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The process of creating a 3D terrain map of an area is a challenging, computationally intensive task. There are two main camps of established methods doing this, with varying degrees of accuracy and cost. Using the established methods, there is a trade-off between accuracy and cost. The first method involves using many aerial images to detect disparity between points in the images. This is a difficult task as it requires a lot of computer processing with varying degrees of reliability. In addition, this method does not make any direct distance measurements. Secondly, using high-precision and high-cost lasers and positioning equipment, …

Introducing Two New Weed Control Tools: A "Smart" Spray Wand And A Wildland Weed Treatment Time Model, Bryan E. Dayton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildland invasive weed treatment, a primary task of land managers, is expensive. Variables including weed canopy cover, slope, land cover, and weed visibility can affect treatment time and cost. A partnership was established with the Department of Plants, Soils, and Climate at Utah State University, Providia Management Group (PMG Environmental LLC) and Jardyne Technologies to develop a wildland weed treatment time model to better understand the effect of these variables on treatment time.

The “smart” spray wand (SSW) is a new precision tool used to develop this model. The SSW is a spray wand with an integrated GPS and a …

The Failed State: Can It Be Predicted? An Application Of Random Forest For Variable Model Selection, Beth Ann Stewart

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

Is it possible to identify the predictive characteristics for failed states using statistics? This research is an application of R1 and Random Forest2 with previously mined data3 as a means to approach this political science question.

Lifetime Modeling Of Deficient Bridges In New York, Levi Phippen

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

Given the importance of bridges to a state's economy and strength, and the costs involved in building and maintaining bridges, maximizing their service life is essential. In order to safely extend a bridge's utility as long as possible, an understanding of its lifetime processes is needed. This paper attempts to model the lifetime of a bridge in New York once it has become deficient. Lifetime is defined to be the length of time between deficiency classification and failure. A bridge is considered deficient when certain structural components receive a poor rating in the National Bridge Inventory, which is compiled annually …

Convex Model-Based Synthetic Aperture Radar Processing, Chad P. Knight

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The use of radar often conjures up images of small blobs on a screen. But current synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems are able to generate near-optical quality images with amazing benefits compared to optical sensors. These SAR sensors work in all weather conditions, day or night, and provide many advanced capabilities to detect and identify targets of interest.

These amazing abilities have made SAR sensors a work-horse in remote sensing, and military applications. SAR sensors are ranging instruments that operate in a 3D environment, but unfortunately the results and interpretation of SAR images have traditionally been done in 2D. Three-dimensional …

Unified Model Of Charge Transport In Insulating Polymeric Materials, Alec Sim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Charge transport, charging, and subsequent electrostatic discharge due to interactions with the space environment are primary concerns of spacecraft designers. Developing a physical understanding of the interactions of charge with the multitude of materials that spacecraft are composed of is a critical step in understanding and mitigating both short-term and long-term spacecraft degradation. In particular, the study of charge transport in highly insulating materials is critical as they store charge longer, with higher capacity, and with greater destructive capability than other materials.

The Utah State University Materials Physics Group, with the funding of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope project …

Development Of A Coupled Fluid And Colloidall Particle Transport Model, Scott Ripplinger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A colloidal system usually refers to when very small particles are suspended within a solution. The study of these systems encompasses a variety of cases including bacteria in ground water, blood cells and platelets in blood plasma, and river silt transport. Taking a look at these kinds of systems using computer simulation can provide a great deal of insight into how they work. Most approaches to date do not look at the details of the system, however, and are specific to given system. In this study a program called OpenFOAM is used as a basis to build a computer simulation …

Nutrient And Carbon-Dioxide Requirements For Large-Scale Microalgae Biofuel Production, Benjamin K. Shurtz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ever-increasing fuel prices and a limited supply of oil worldwide are threatening our economy and way of life in both the near and distant future. In order to reduce oil
dependence, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has established a goal that by the year 2030, 30% of the US transportation fuel will be renewable. The goal equates to
approximately 60 billion gallons per year of renewable fuel.

In an effort to reach the DOE renewable fuel goal, numerous types of plants are being studied, whose oil can be harvested and refined to serve as replacement fuel.
Among the various …

Live-Load Test And Finite-Element Model Analysis Of An Integral Abutment Concrete Girder Bridge, Robert W. Fausett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As part of the Long Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program, a single-span, prestressed, integral abutment concrete girder pilot bridge near Perry, Utah was instrumented with different sensors at various locations onto the bridge for long-term monitoring and periodic testing. One of the periodic tests conducted on this bridge was a live-load test. The live-load test included driving trucks across the bridge, as well as parking trucks along different lanes of the bridge, and measuring the deflection and strain. The data collected from these tests was used to create and calibrate a computer model of the bridge. The model was afforded …

Rapid Prototyping In Design Education: A Comparative Study Of Rapid Prototyping And Traditional Model Construction, Scott D. Greenhalgh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To evaluate the effectiveness of a rapid prototyping into a curriculum, a study was conducted requiring students to conceive a design and create a model. Students were randomly selected to be given access to the rapid prototype or to create the models by hand. The students' models were evaluated on scale, design, and craftsmanship. Students participated in a survey consisting of perceptions of design feedback and difficulties as well as interests and affective traits. The study utilized qualitative data investigating the instructors' perceptions prior to implementing rapid prototyping into the curriculum and its correlation to observed events.

The study found …

A Novel Authentication And Validation Mechanism For Analyzing Syslogs Forensically, Steena D.S. Monteiro

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research proposes a novel technique for authenticating and validating syslogs for forensic analysis. This technique uses a modification of the Needham Schroeder protocol, which uses nonces (numbers used only once) and public keys. Syslogs, which were developed from an event-logging perspective and not from an evidence-sustaining one, are system treasure maps that chart out and pinpoint attacks and attack attempts. Over the past few years, research on securing syslogs has yielded enhanced syslog protocols that focus on tamper prevention and detection. However, many of these protocols, though efficient from a security perspective, are inadequate when forensics comes into play. …

Family Leadership: Constructing And Testing A Theoretical Model Of Family Well-Being, Kevin A. Galbraith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Leadership in organizational contexts has received considerable attention through the years. Although much is known about what constitutes effective leadership in an organizational setting, little is known about leadership as it pertains to the family. To address this limitation, a theoretical model of family leadership was developed. This model draws on transformational leadership and proposes five areas in which leadership could be carried out to lead and strengthen the family unit. These five areas include (1) leading the family with a vision, (2) maintaining a task orientation, (3) fostering close familial relationships, (4) establishing cooperation and teamwork, and (5) building …

Evaluation Of A Collaborative Model Using A Case Study Analysis Of Watershed Planning In The Intermountain West, Gary Bentrup

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

Planning methods that involve collaboration are gaining popularity and currently being applied in a variety of resource management issues . Based on current planning theory, researchers have proposed a conceptual collaborative model for environmental planning and management . This thesis evaluates the usefulness of the model to describe the range of factors important for the establishment and operation of collaboration in environmental planning. This iterative model suggests that collaboration emerges from a series of antecedents and then proceeds sequentially through problem setting, direction setting, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation phases. The evaluation was based on three case studies of watershed-based …

Modeling Habitat Attributes Of Cavity-Nesting Birds In The Uinta Mountains, Utah: A Hierarchical Approach, Joshua J. Lawler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Birds may have the ability to view their environments at a wide range of spatial scales; accordingly, they may make habitat-selection decisions at multiple spatial scales. I investigated the implications of hierarchy theory and a landscape perspective on nest-site selection in cavity-nesting birds in the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah. I used three different approaches to address the concept of a multi-scaled nest-site selection process. First, I conducted an exploratory study in which I investigated nest-site selection at three spatial scales for Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis), Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), and …

Using Maslow's Needs Model To Assess Individuals' Attitudes Toward Money, Mark D. Oleson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Few things occupy as central a place in our lives as money. Although the study of money has a long history in the behavioral sciences, others have only recently begun examining this important topic. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between basic human need levels and money attitudes in a university-age cohort utilizing a theory of hierarchical needs. Needs theory, introduced by Abraham Maslow, suggests that as we interact with the environment we accumulate specific needs that motivate us to respond to life experiences.

Three hundred thirty-eight college students attending Utah State University satellite campuses responded …

A Model Of Freshman Use Of Microcomputers Related To Intellectual And Social Development, Daniel R. Judd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between freshmen's use of microcomputers and their social and intellectual development in a university environment. A review of related literature describes the theoretical foundation of this research and identifies questionnaire items for measuring the critical variables of microcomputer use and student development. To conduct the study, data obtained from 400 freshman students prior to entering Utah State University (USU) in the fall of 1996 were compared to data collected from the same students during Spring Quarter of 1997. Correlational analysis was used to study changes in freshman students' use of …

Use Of Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor As An Adjunct In Antifungal Chemotherapy In Various Animal Model Systems, Lindi Farrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The growing neutropenic patient population provides an ideal target for opportunistic fungal infections. Several effective antifungal drugs are toxic at high doses and contraindicated for long-term treatment. Recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) has been shown to increase neutrophilic numbers and functions, thus providing enhanced host defense. Improved efficacy by using rhG-CSF in conjunction with various antifungal agents was the primary focus of these studies. Use of rhG-CSF in a murine model of vaginal candidiasis did not reduce vaginal colony counts, or improve vaginal histophathology scores. Administration of rhG-CSF in a murine model of pulmonary aspergillosis improved survival, clinical …

Characterization Of A Dexamethasone-Immunosuppressed C57bl/6n Mouse Model For Chronic Cryptosporidiosis, Edward G. Martin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cryptosporidium parvum is a coccidian protozoan that colonizes epithelial cells lining respiratory and digestive tracts of animals and humans. Cryptosporidiosis is a well-recognized zoonotic disease infecting primarily neonates and immunocompromised hosts, including human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. Clinical disease is manifested as a chronic diarrheal illness that is self-limiting in immunocompetent hosts and prolonged and often life-threatening in hosts with compromised immune systems. The lack of a suitable small animal model for screening anti-cryptosporidial drugs and for examining the pathogenicity and immunobiology of chronic cryptosporidosis was the impetus for this research effort.

The objectives of the present study were three-fold: to …

Confucianism And Chinese Family Structure, Maren Watts

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Confucianism has dictated the structure of the family in Chinese society. The family is the foundation of the Chinese social structure. It has been the focal point of cultural and social issues for thousands of years. Various philosophers have contributed to the value system that places family life in such high esteem. Confucius, one of the major contributors, stressed the value of order in the family and the virtue of filial piety. Based upon his teachings, the practices and relationships existent in the ideal family, came to be known as the Confucian family model. This family structure, which defines the …

A Simple Model To Predict Optimal Harvest Time Of Alfalfa Using Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy, Environmental, Morphological, And Growth Parameters, Jody A. Gale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Knowledge of relationships between nutrient levels, yield, maturity, and environmental influences on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) are necessary to estimate when to harvest alfalfa to maximize quality and yield. Objectives were to document the change in nutrient content, yield, and growth stage of alfalfa grown in Utah as it matures and to develop a simple model to predict optimal harvest date. The study involved three locations in major alfalfa producing regions in Utah. Samples were collected from three commonly grown alfalfa varieties between 26 April and 26 September in 1987. Maximum and minimum levels of crude protein (CP) observed were …

A Test For Determining An Appropriate Model For Accelerated Life Data, Yuan-Who Chen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate a method for testing the appropriateness of accelerated life model. This method is based upon a polynomial approximation. The parameters are estimated and used for testing the appropriateness of the model.

An example illustrates the polynomial method. Real data are applied for this method. Comparison with another method demonstrates that the polynomial method is much simpler and has comparable accuracy.