Digital Commons Network^™

Extending The Season For Sustainability In Utah, Britney Hunter

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The importance of providing fresh produce on a local level is becoming a widespread consideration among people concerned with the character of their food. For regions without an opportune growing climate, extending the growing season can drastically advance productivity. High tunnels are one way to effectively and profitably extend the growing season in cold climates. The benefits of growing in a high tunnel go beyond raising the temperature. High tunnels contribute to higher quality small fruits and vegetables. The benefits of growing in high tunnels have been explored in other states and could be exploited by Utah growers. Utah's climate …

The Sleepy Hero: Romantic & Spiritual Sleep In The Gawain-Poet, Erin Kathleen Turner Hepner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This thesis examines two accepted styles of writing in the Middle Ages, the romance and religious genres, and what purpose they perform in the Gawain-poet’s religious poem, Patience, and his romance poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SGGK). One recently popular line of research among medieval scholars is examining the way medieval authors, such as the Gawain-poet, combine elements of romance and spiritual writings. By funneling the Gawain-poet’s intermingling of the medieval romance and religious genres through the specific lens of sleep, which is represented differently in medieval romance texts than in medieval religious …

Application Of The Transtheoretical Model Of Change To Saving Behaviors Of College Students, Benjamin Franklin Cummings

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Using the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of change (Prochaska & Di Clemente, 1982) as a guide to analyze financial behavior, college students were asked a variety of questions about their financial situations. Recruited from undergraduate classes at Utah State University, 112 students took the online survey. Surprisingly, 44.4% of participants reported being in the Maintenance stage of the TTM, and 71.2% reported contributing at least monthly to some sort of savings or investment account. In terms of Financial Planning Personality Type (Lown, 2007), 46.3% of respondents were Planners and 23.1% were Savers. Though the study displays limitations, it begs further investigation …

Rhyme And Reason In Language Acquisition: Incorporating Poetry Into The Esl Classroom, Kimberly Call Gleason

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Utah is seeing a rapid increase in K-12 students whose native language is not English. With this increase, teachers face the challenge of finding new and effective teaching methods to reach their ESL (English as a Second Language) students. This research explores the study of poetry as an instrument to improve ESL students' pronunciation of English. When read out loud, poetry can be an exercise in pronouncing consonant sounds (from alliteration), decoding vowel sounds (from rhyme), and acquiring the natural speech rhythm of the English language (from meter). Poetry was selected not only because of its exaggerated sound elements (alliteration, …

Lodging Analysis For Glimmerglass Opera Patrons, Andrea Busby

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Thousands of people travel to the small town of Cooperstown, New York each summer to see the Baseball Hall of Fame and Glimmerglass Opera. With so many visitors to this small town in New York’s Center Leather-stocking area, it is often difficult to find proper lodging. This paper presents the problems visitors face in locating lodging, discusses the process of determining what lodging options are available, and then describes a study undertaken to investigate opera patrons’ perceptions of lodgings while attending the festival. The paper concludes with results and marketing implications for Glimmerglass Opera.

The Relationship Between Childhood Bereavement And Adult Mental Health, Alicia Kimball

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Bereavement, due to the loss of family and friends, affects approximately 3.7 million children per year in the United States. These losses can have lasting effects such as changed dynamics within a family, decreased academic performance, and poor physical and mental health that not only inhibit a child's ability to function normally but if not dealt with sufficiently can persist into adulthood.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if individuals who experienced a loss in childhood exhibit more mental health problems in adulthood than those who did not. A survey was administered to 209 college students requesting …

Chamber Music Of The 20th-Century Russians, Nyle Takeo Matsuoka

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The goal of my project was to further enhance my abilities as a collaborative pianist and take an in-depth look at two composers (Prokofiev and Shostakovich) who are strong influences in my love of music. I found the challenge to be in balancing all of my individual practice time with all of the rehearsals between the three separate groups. Each group met at least once a week for a two-hour rehearsal in addition to having weekly coachings with members of the Fry Street Quartet. In the end, the recital was an immense success and the program notes turned out nice. …

Take Your Business Elsewhere: A Marketing Plan For The Usu College Of Business, Mckenzie Rae Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The College of Business study abroad program began in the summer of 2007. The study abroad program promises to be a strong point in the scholastic career of any student that chooses to participate, as well as a key strategy to the future success of the College of Business as a whole.

The success of this program comes from overall national growth in the interest of studying abroad, as well as the trend in business of globalization. While there seems to be some competition for the College of Business study abroad program, the specialized needs that the program addresses provides …

Infant Feeding Practices: History, Nutrient Needs, Assessment Of Nutriture, And Special Concerns, Katy Lynn Bodily

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Ideas regarding infant feeding practices have changed drastically over the past 100 years. Research discovered the composition of human milk, followed by the invention of human milk substitute (HMS). These discoveries lead to many changes in the way people feed infants. The macro and micronutrient needs of infants have been determined, and are used to develop ideal feeding practices for infants. There are many choices available for feeding infants including human milk, HMS, and solid foods. There are many guidelines available that provided suggestions on what to feed an infant, and at what age. Assessing the adequacy on infant feeding …

A Theatre Student's Guide To Writing, Heather S. Hurd

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

A very common delusion under which most Theatre students suffer is the idea that because their craft is primarily oral and/or visual that they will not need to worry about developing their writing skills. This is a fallacy. Writing is fundamental in articulating play reviews, analysis and opinons concerning written or visual works, journal articles, theatre history, resumes, grants and proposals. In fact, writing is probably the most important form of communication in the theatre because, without it, there is generally no play to perform. In that plays begin life as written compositions, writing is arguably a very important, in …

Why Sex Education, Elizabeth Marie Davis

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Both sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned/unwanted pregnancy are very serious problems faced by our society today. The United States ranks highest in teen pregnancy over other developed country. In order to combat these very serious societal problems it is important to educate our adolescents. Information concerning safer sexual practices and how/where to get protection and contraception are both important. This thesis is a rational for developmentally appropriate content inclusion and a description of curriculum implementation for adolescents in the United States.

Effects Of Ph On Human Cardiac And Neuronal Sodium Channels, William James Israelsen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Voltage-gated sodium channels are large transmembrane proteins that selectively allow the passage of sodium ions across the cell membrane in response to membrane depolarizations (Yu and Catterall, 2003). The resulting influx of positive charge further depolarizes the membrane and is responsible for the upstroke of the action potential. Voltage-gated sodium channels are vital to the initiation and propagation of action potentials in excitable cells such as neurons and myocytes. In vertebrates, there are many different tissue-specific sodium channel isoforms; these include the neuronal (Na_v1.2) and cardiac (Na_v1.5) isoforms. Although very closely related in structure and functional …

Child Sexual Abuse: Development Of Psychiatric Disorders And Interventions, Toshikazu Kuroda

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Child sexual abuse has become a serious social concern due to the recent report of its higher incidence rate than commonly believed. This form of child abuse has been proposed to bring about adverse effects on children's development since more than one century ago. However, research over past decades reveals that effects of sexual abuse are extremely complex and diverse. Particularly, there appear to be many unclear factors increasing the probability for the development of psychiatric disorders in sexually abused children. The present paper investigated how child sexual abuse creates diversity over the course of the victims' development from multiple …

Vivisection And Pastries: Examining The Social And Sexual Politics Of The Victorian Era Through The Confession Albums Of Jm Barrie And Willa Cather, Amanda Ashley Marinello

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

"Who is your favorite author?" "Do you believe in love at first sight?" "What is the mark of a true friend?" These questions are not mere conversation starters, but are representative of a literary genre - namely the confession album. While the original date of appearance for the confession album, also called autograph album or survey, is uncertain, they became extremely popular both in the United Kingdom and America during the mid-nineteenth century. The questions and form of the confession book evolved over the next century, but their popularity never died out. Even today, they exist in the form of …

Holding Onto Belief, Benny Nyikos

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

It seems that every major book of philosophy is composed of the author's personal views on the world. The philosopher presents his or her views not only to convince readers to take up his or her views but also to send the ideas in the book out for review and debate in order to test the reaction they receive. With this in mind, this paper will present ideas I have encountered in philosophy classes, read in books, and observed in the world at large. The focus will be on the claim that God is dead and what this means to …

Augustus Deified Or Denigrated: The Political Subtext Of Anchises' Speech In Aeneid Vi, Scott D. Davis

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In 27 B.C., Octavian became Augustus. The chaos of the civil wars had ended and an emperor was at last in Rome. As the princeps states in his Res Gestae, he had obtained all things "per consensum universorum" and upon achieving victory over his enemies, the doors of the temple of Janus were closed, peace was restored and the governance of Rome had ostensibly been returned to the Senate and the Roman people. Then, "quo pro merito," Octavian received the title of Augustus and the doors of his temple were adorned with the corona civica. A gold shield …

Can't, Shouldn't, And Love Juice: A Midsummer Night's Dream And The Phaedra-Hippolytus Myth, Katherine Shakespeare

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

One of the oldest recurring western mythical traditions finds its roots in the Ancient Near East. At the core of this abiding tale is a high-ranking woman, often married, who attempts to seduce a young man, who spurns her. The affronted woman then accuses the youth of assault and either he or both meet a violent end. Often at the heart of each tale lies something monstrous about the potential union of the two individuals.

In the Greek and Roman tradition, one example of this "spurned-woman" motif manifests itself in the Phaedra-Hippolytus myth. No fewer than three ancient playwrights-Sophocles, Euripides, …

Investigating The Role Of Transcription Factor Ap-2�� In Reproduction, Anne Rachelle Howlett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The proper formation of gametes is critical for the propagation of species and for the fertility of the individual. The molecular pathways involved in gamete formation remains elusive, therefore, identification of genes involved is an important prerequisite to further our understanding of reproduction. This research will improve infertility treatments and prevention methods in animals and humans. We created mutants that lacked AP-2�� transcription factor after the mouse had entered meiosis and initiated folliculogenesis. The AP-2�� mutants were still fertile and phenotypically similar to normal mice that expressed AP-2�� transcription factor. We also produced mutants that lacked AP-2�� transcription factor during …

Hezbollah - Terrorist Or Not?, Erin E. Forsberg

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Determining whether or not an organization such as Hezbollah is or is not a terrorist group is a rather arduous process, especially since the international community can not agree. However, due to the reasons why Hezbollah was first organized and the group's involvement in the Lebanese political system, along with its network of social services, Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization. In order to prove such a bold statement, the first step must undoubtedly be to come up with a workable and effective definition of terrorism that is hopefully free from moral implications. The second step would be to see …

What Do Families Want? Utah Families Respond To Current Early Intervention Practices, Amy Poole-Zisette

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This study surveyed Utah families who are currently enrolled in six different early intervention programs for their children 0-3 years of age with special needs. The purpose of this study was to examine how skills and qualities families felt were important in their early interventionists changed in order to determine what skills and qualities were most important to different demographics of families. Participating families filled out a questionnaire which rated the degree to which they found various skills and qualities important for an early intervention practitioner to possess, as well as the perceived frequency with which early interventionists used said …

The Integration Of Historical And Green Planning In Commercial Development, A Study For The Potential Use Of The Historical Canada Packers Site In Edmonton, Alberta, T. David Murray

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Canada Packers meat packing plant stood as a symbol of the agricultural heritage and formed part of the collective memory in the city of Edmonton throughout much of the twentieth century. Abandoned in 1994, the site has remained undeveloped and neglected for over a decade, while new development has expanded in every direction of the city. The development of the site is inevitable as property values skyrocket and the booming oil economy continues throughout Alberta. Currently the site is owned by RONA, a large Canadian home improvement store, and will be developed in the next few years. It is …

A Water-Efficient Landscape: Public Lands Center, Montrose, Co, Marcus Pulsipher

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The problem of water-wasting landscapes is prevalent throughout the western United States. For decades western settlers struggled to turn their arid lands into the more familiar settings of lush vegetation found in their native New England and Western Europe. This mind set has been passed down through generations and has transformed into the basis of the current western water crisis (Brundin and Pearson 2001). Only in the last few decades has this mentality been challenged and we've seen the emergence of several water-efficient landscape models. Through careful application of water-efficient landscape principles, western communities can greatly extend the life of …

Common Nutritional Deficiencies In The Three Richest Versus The Poorest Countries In The World: Why Are They Similar Or Different?, Ginger Ann Bailey

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Over one billion people suffer from nutritional deficiencies, and they reside in both the poorest and the richest countries in the world. What needs to be determined is if the deficiencies are similar or different, and most importantly why. By learning what nutritional deficits exist in these countries and why they occur, we are then able to create appropriate interventions in order to improve the nutritional status of populations worldwide.

Does Glutamine Supplementation Contribute To The Incidence Of Diarrhea In Ventaltor Dependent Patients?, Justin Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In this project we investigated the incidence of diarrhea and its possible causes in ventilator dependent patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) at McKay-Dee Hospital. Chronic diarrhea has been a long time problem in the ICU, but the etiology has never been fully explored. High dose antibiotic therapy has been thought to be a potential risk factor. Another proposed risk has been the use of glutamine, a conditionally essential amino acid contained in some enteral products. Glutamine is commonly used in feeding critically ill patients because of its immune enhancing properties.

Currently, we have not established a correlation between …

Enhanced Biological Control Of The Cereal Leaf Beetle, Melody Rose Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Many biological and environmental interactions can affect the biological control of the cereal leaf beetle (CLB; Oulema melanopus [L.]). We studied the biological control potential of predatory lady beetles and a parasitoid wasp in fall wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Lady beetles were surveyed in grain fields with high CLB density (up to 50 CLB larvae per 0.09m²). The effects of sugar applied to wheat as an additional food source for Tetrastichus julis (Walker) were also measured. The CLB population followed the typical pattern of high adult and egg numbers in May, peak larval numbers in late May, …

Efficacy Of Heart Health Claims Regarding Trans Fat, Unsaturated Fat, And Stanols/Sterols, Elaine Watkins

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In the United States, nearly 80 million people have some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This amounts to one in three adults, making it the number one cause of death each year for over a century. Because of the high prevalence of CVD, it is a priority in the U.S. to decrease its morbidity and mortality. Extensive research has been dedicated to pinpointing risk factors, determining preventive techniques, and developing treatments. A major focus in this research is the role of nutrition in the pathogenesis of CVD. Quality of diet is an important factor in health and disease progression. To …

Sustainable Materials In High-End Residential Interior Design, Sarah Platt

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Our most contemporary architecture is the biggest culprit contributing to global warming. We see the results globally, from one corner to the other affecting everything in between: Phillipine forests are clear-cut for plywood used to construct Japanese offices; homes in Southern California are framed with old-growth lumber from Washington and powered by burning coal strip-mined from Navajo sacred lands in Arizona. Point being, the destructive power of poor design isn't limited to the end-user, if affects everyone. Additionally, not only are these buildings forever altering the landscape they are placed upon and everywhere their resources were pulled from, but everything …

Interpersonal Distance In Social Relationships And Mental Health Outcomes In A Glbt Sample, Kristina Mcdougal

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Ample research has been conducted on how heterosexuals distance themselves from gays and lesbians through lack of emotional attachment, job discrimination, and lack of familial support, yet there has been little research on how people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (GLBT) view this distancing. To examine the distancing from the point of view of people in a GLBT sample we surveyed 200 GLBT people at the Annual Pride Not Prejudice celebration in Salt Lake City. Participants were asked how they viewed their relationship with their parents, and how they perceived their parents religiosity. Participants also completed the Beck …

Consumption, Time Preference, And The Life Cycle, Michael Charles Bailey

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper presents two life-cycle models of consumption implementing novel assumptions about time preference and subjective time. The goal of this paper is to investigate implications of the existence of subjective time to consumption decisions over the life cycle. The first model is a model of 'systematic impatience' and implements the assumption of increasing subjective time by specifying a time dependent rate of time preference upon which the rational consumers in this model maximize lifetime utility. The second model investigates consumer behavior in subjective time, or the subjective sense of the actual passage of time. Consumers in this model maximize …

Yankee, Go Home!: Translations And Poems With Critical Introduction, Devin Jay Hepner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper attempts to outline the various influences and similarities of my poetry to other poets and poetry of the twentieth-century. The critical introduction will cover those influences and the research I have done on the poets. It also contains individual poems that I feel have a connection with my own poetry and poetic translation. After the critical introduction, I include my poetry in stylistic order followed by Russian translations in chronological order. I will first describe how I came to write and read poetry and its value for me.