Digital Commons Network^™

Helping Cob Students Use Their Business Degree To Get Into Law School, Jon Jeffery Carlston

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Getting into law school these days has become ultra-competitive. GPA's and LSAT scores that worked just a few years ago will not get a law school applicant into the same schools they will today. The economy as well as the attractiveness of a law degree (J.D.) have lead to record increases in the number of students applying for law school. Law schools have been forced to "raise the bar" in order to deal with the demand. Because this is the case, undergraduate students must find ways to distinguish themselves among applicants, stay on top of the application process, and achieve …

Kula And The Trobriand Islands: The Meaning And Power Of Objects, Becky Tomlinson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Just as a word in a foreign language must be interpreted for one who does not speak the language, a cultural artifact alone holds no significance or meaning for an outsider. Thus, for an object to be understood it cannot stand alone, but must be placed in context though time and space, and various layers of cultural meaning must be expounded. The word lagim, from the Kiriwina language, may be roughly translated as meaning "the splashboard of a Kula canoe". This translation may give the proper words from English that denote the object, but it still leaves much to …

Finite Element Studies In Metal Cutting, Suhail Ahmed

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

AdvantEdge is a finite element software package that integrates advanced dynamics, thermo-mechanically coupled finite element numerics and material modelling appropriate for machining processes. AdvantEdge allows users to specify the workpiece material, tool geometry and cutting conditions. It then provides accurate estimates of thermo-mechanical properties of machining processes such as cutting forces, chip morphology, machined surface residual stresses and temperature behavior of the tool and the workpiece. We will use AdvantEclge to investigate two areas of interest in metal cutting: process clamping via crushing of workpiece material and drilling of metal stacks.

Test Suite For Multiobjective Optimization And Results Using Normal Boundary Intersection (Nbi) In Design Explorer, Siva Kumar Natarajan

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

Several methods have been developed to solve multiobjective optimization problems (MOP's). One of these, Normal Boundary Intersection (NBI), is a method developed by John Dennis and Indraneel Das. NBI is used at The Boeing Company as a tool to solve MOP's. This report presents a test suite of MOP's that I developed for Boeing during me internship in summer 2003.

The problems in the test suite were chosen to represent the different types of multiobjective optimization problems that could arise in practice and the complexities involved in solving them. These problems range from those that have nice convex Pareto surfaces …

Beyond The Statistics: Indian Experiences In The Indian Student Placement Program, Jenny M. Smith

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

These papers discuss how education is used as a tool by the dominate society to assimilate Native Americans. They discuss the events that led to the creation and later abandonment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) church's Indian Student Placement Program (ISPP) circa 1947-1990. Participants took advantage of the opportunities granted them while in the program incorporating values they deemed worthwhile and adapted others to fit existing spiritual or cultural belief systems. Despite the church's efforts however, this study finds that the ISPP failed to assimilate its participants. This study illuminates the void in the literature …

The Garr Family Saga The Connecting Power Of Oral Narrative, Margaret Garr Jaggi

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

When I was a child, my mother often told me a "true" story about a beautiful Shoshone maiden who married a handsome American cowboy. The setting was the 1850s in the fertile valley of Cache County, Utah. The man's name was John Turner Garr and the woman was called Susie. This young couple was my paternal great-great grandparents. Together they lived a life that defied their disparate cultures. I envisioned them, young, wild, and free; he, dressed in buckskin leggings, riding among the Shoshone men; she, in soft doeskin supporting a papoose on her back. The idyllic life of my …

A Personal Journey Through Instructional Technology: A Vision Of Excellence Approached From A System Of Magnanimity, Virginia Ellen Gilbert

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

This paper is a summary of what I have learned through my studies and observations in the eclectic field of Instructional Technology. In order to provide a comprehensive narrative, I desire to take the reader on a phenomenological journey into some personal insights acquired from my academic studies in Instructional Technology as well as my past and present experiences, my teaching, medical and musical background and my beliefs. Throughout this journey, I will endeavour to substantiate the need for Instructional Technologists and all educators to design and implement tools and methods that address all aspects of the human intelligence and …

Computer Simulation And Homogenization In Heating Design Optimization, Daniel K. Balls

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

The ability to ensure uniformity of temperature within a given finite physical region is an essential element in the success of many scientific processes, especially those that involve extreme fluctuation in temperature. Such a process is performed in an instrument called the LightTyper developed by Idaho Technology, Inc. of Salt Lake City Utah. This paper details the development and results of a scheme intended to obtain a heating design that ensures a high degree of temperature uniformity within the Idaho Technology instrument. Due to the experiments performed during this project, we were able to answer many questions that concerned finding …

Maternal Involvement In Preschoolers' Sexuality Education: A Comparison Of Single And Married Mothers, Ginger S. Sandweg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the responses to a sexuality education questionnaire completed by 30 single mothers and 43 married mothers with preschool-aged children. Chi-square analyses were used to examine differences between married mothers and single mothers; mothers of males and mothers of females; and married mothers of males, married mothers of females, single mothers of males and single mothers of females. Age at which their preschool children first exhibited behaviors, frequency of that behavior, and comfort level of mothers' responses to those behaviors were addressed for each topic: male-female differences, reproduction and birth, privacy or modesty, taboo or obscene words, genital …

Beacon In The Night: Contested Space And Regional Culture On The Central Oregon Coast, Melissa Román

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Regional identity and contested space were explored through the lens of four central Oregon Coast lighthouses. These beacons offered a look into the settlement of the Pacific Northwest and the complexity of contested space. Not only did the sentinels sit at the edge of a human battle with nature, but the keepers and their families lived in problematic conditions as well (both domestic and environmental). The living quarters and outbuildings provided by the U.S. Lighthouse Board illustrated the cultural tastes of the period and the distillation of those tastes throughout the country as the nation expanded into and throughout the …

Short-Term Water Use Dynamics In Drainage Lysimeters, Musa V. Dlamini

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Turfgrass water use (seasonal turfET) and crop coefficients were determined and a mathematical soil-water balance model for non-weighing drainage lysimetcrs, which simulates the occurrence (timing and amount) of drainage, was developed. Pairs of non-weighing drainage lysimeters were used to determine crop coefficients for turfgrass in four locations in the state of Utah: Logan Golf and Country Club, Murray Golf Course, Brigham Young University (Spanish Fork) Experiment Farm, and Sunbrook Golf Course (St. George).

Daily weather data including air temperature, relative humidity, average wind travel, total solar radiation, precipitation, and average soil temperature were collected with an electronic weather station at …

Marital Happiness: Undergraduate University Students Assess Their Parents' Marriage Regarding Communication, Power, Education, And Religiosity, Margaret F. Oak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to investigate undergraduate university students' appraisals of their parents' marital happiness, and how those views affect respondents' current attitudes toward marriage. The sample included 1,437 undergraduate students between the years 1970 and 1999. The dependent variable was perceived marital happiness in the family of origin. The independent variables were perceived communication quality, perceived level of egalitarianism, level of education, and perceived religious activity of the respondents' parents as reported by the respondents. Respondents' desire to have a communication situation in their own marriage similar to that of the parents' marriage, and desire to have a power …

Student And Parent Views On School And Community Strengths And Concerns, Tricia Hill Danielson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Lincoln Elementary School needs assessment surveyed students in the third through fifth grades and their parents in order to identify strengths and concerns in their school and community. It also investigated whether or not participants considered family counseling skills as a concern or a strength. The results showed that the concerns and strengths identified by participants fell into three categories: family, community, and school. Parents' primary concern was children watching TV, while children's primary concern was getting enough sleep. Group differences were identified by ethnicity, gender, and marital status. These differences included English/Spanish skills, children showing respect for authority, …

Adolescent Peer Perceptions Reflected In The Yearbooks Of Mormon Homosexual And Heterosexual Men, David C. Pruden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study explored the peer perceptions of adolescent heterosexual males and their homosexual counterparts who had not disclosed their feelings of erotic same-sex attraction to their classmates. The study focused on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a conservative Christian denomination with clear doctrinal prohibitions against homosexual behavior. The handwritten messages from peers found in the senior high school yearbooks of 30 heterosexual and 30 same-sex attracted adolescent men were content analyzed to examine similarities and differences in the themes that emerged from the data.

The results indicated that there is a difference in the kind …

Effectiveness Of Utah Level Six Treatment Programs For Juvenile Males Who Offend Sexually: The Client Perspective, Darren B. Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined treatment effectiveness from the perspective of former clients of Utah level six treatment programs for juvenile males who offend sexually. Employing an anonymous, self-reported instrument, this study identified a high level of sexual recidivism (44%). In obtaining client perceptions of treatment effectiveness, this study also differentiated between the various components of level six treatment. Individual therapy was rated highest by the clients in helping them in their subsequent efforts not to recidivate. Drug and alcohol treatment received the lowest overall score, while remaining very important in the eyes of a few subjects. This suggests that clients benefit …

The Case Of Youth Gangs In The Mormon Cultural Region A Synthetic, Dialectical Theory Of Social Problems: Bridging Social Constructionism And Objectivism, Ramona Avis Linville Higley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation uses the case of youth gangs in the Mormon Cultural Region to present a synthetic, dialectical theory of social problems, bridging the perspectives of social constructionism and objectivism. The primary assertion of this dissertation is that communities use social problems as tools to establish and maintain social boundaries and to protect the core values and beliefs of the established communal order.

The case of youth gangs in Utah, core of the Mormon Cultural Region, demonstrates that both social problems and the organizations involved with social problems follow a natural-history cycle similar to that reported in social movement literature. …

Community Factors That Correlate With Middle-Adolescent Antisocial Behavior, Olga Kamenchuk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many adolescents nowadays display antisocial behavior. A large number of theories explaining origin of antisocial behavior have been developed in the last several centuries. The current study utilizes the "ecological" theoretical framework that allows the researcher to consider multiple ecological systems in which individuals operate and to focus on the community factors influencing antisocial behavior.

The researcher used part of the Prevention Needs Assessment survey to identify which community risk and protective factors correlate with middle-adolescent antisocial behavior. Analysis included intercluster, cluster-item correlations, and partial correlations. Results indicated correlations between antisocial behavior and a number of community risk factors, and …

Rapid Detection Of Listeria Monocytogenes, Wim Lippens

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodbome pathogen that can cause severe illness and even death. It is found in dairy and meat products. The focus is on rapid detection since conventional methods are time consuming (4-5 days). Pre-enrichment steps, as part of those methods, are time consuming. Our objective was to develop a detection system without a pre-enrichment step, giving a final result within 2 to 4 h.

In the concept of "the need for speed," a detection system with an antibody-based capture technique, followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), was developed. Glass beads coated with a Listeria polyclonal antibody were …

Amenity Migration And Social Change: Expanding The Concept Of Community Attachment And Its Relationship To Dimensions Of Well-Being In The Rural West, Joan M. Brehm

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Most sociological analyses of community attachment have focused on the strength of attachment, with little concern for the qualities or attributes of a place to which people become attached. In cases where dimensions of attachment are the focus of analysis, the literature is rather narrowly focused on social dimensions, referring most often to connections with family, friends, and other social networks and largely ignoring the realm of natural environment factors. Two primary premises motivated this study. First, sociological understandings of community attachment would benefit from an expanded analytic framework that incorporates more complex arrays of both social and natural environment …

Determining The Factors That Control Respiration And Carbon Use Efficiency In Crop Plants, Jonathan M. Frantz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the literature on plant respiration, there are two viewpoints concerning the source of respiratory control: supply (photosynthate availability) or demand (temperature dependent) limitations. While different studies indicate the primary dependency for respiration is either the supply or demand side, the two paradigms cannot both be true. The relative importance of each paradigm may depend on a number of factors including period of time during which respiration is measured, phase of plant development, environmental conditions, and species.

Studies were performed using continuous CO₂ gas-exchange instrumentation to monitor short- and long-term changes in whole canopies of lettuce, tomato, soybean, and …

Exploring Gifted Education Programs, Services, And Practices In Islamic Schools In The United States, Fatma Anwer Khamis Al-Lawati

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study explored the state of gifted education in Islamic schools in the United States, focusing on school organization and elementary school teachers' practices in planning and implementing instructional and curricular experiences for gifted students and average students. The study utilized mixed methods, combining quantitative and qualitative data. Surveys addressed teacher practices and obtained information about resources available for gifted students in Islamic schools. A focus group method was employed to understand better teachers' practices with gifted students.

The study involved 32 principals and 157 teachers. Five schools participated in the focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics were used to report …

Phylogenetic Position Of Pterocommatinae And Cavariella, And Implications For The Origins Of Host Alternation In Aphids, Carol A. Rowe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Aphids are morphologically simple. Their numerous hypothesized convergent reductions, such as reduced siphunculi length in association with ant attendance, have made it difficult to define morphological synapomorphies that are necessary for phylogenetic studies. Thus, I used molecular characters both to reexamine the phylogenetic relationships of Cavariella and Pterocommatinae within Aphididae, and to further map host associations and life cycles onto these phylogenies to better understand the evolutionary lability of host alternation within Aphididae. Independent and combined analyses were performed under unweighted parsimony and maximum likelihood criteria for sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II plus tRNA-Leucine plus partial cytochrome oxidase I …

The Journey Of Education: Characteristics Of Shoshone-Bannock High School And Community Members On The Fort Hall Indian Reservation, Ed Galindo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation examined personal, cultural, school, and family factors that contribute to the decision of Native American students to remain in school until graduation or to drop out. One hundred eighty-one participants who had either graduated or dropped out of school completed a 140-item questionnaire. Participants lived on the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Reservation located at Fort Hall, Idaho.

Factors examined in the survey instrument included substance abuse by self or family members, peer pressure, trouble with the law, self-esteem, teen pregnancy, family structure, socioeconomic status, parents education, academic achievement, teacher attitudes and expectations, school attendance, tribal self-identity and pride, and bilingualism. …

Understanding Utah's Native Plant Market: Coordinating Public And Private Interest, Virginia Harding Hooper

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes in Lone Peak Conservation Nursery customer profiles cause state nursery leaders to question what their products are being used for and how trends in native plant use are changing the market for Utah native plants. The Utah native plant market is changing as interest in native plants is expanding to meet new conservation objectives, oftentimes in urban settings. This newer demand for native plants appears to be motivated by current changes in urban conservation behavior, continued population growth in the arid West, scarcity of water resources, the increasing appreciation for indigenous plant aesthetics, and concern for bio-diversity. A survey …

The Meaning Of "Being Single" For Mormon College-Age Single Adults, Jana Darrington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study researched the meaning of being single among 24 college-age adults of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (i.e., Mormons). It examined influences on the construction of meanings of singlehood, gender patterns regarding the meaning of singlehood, and pressures on L.D.S. singles to date and marry.

The most important finding was that positive attitudes toward singlehood are more prevalent than negative or ambivalent attitudes. Families, as gate-keepers and transmitters of cultural information about singlehood and marriage, and the L.D.S. religion were the strongest influences on the development of meanings of singlehood. Families and religion mutually influence one …

Planning For The Future Of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities, Dianna L. Payne Broadbent

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This descriptive study examined the current status of future planning preparation by caregivers for individuals with developmental disabilities, including mental retardation (DD/MR) in the State of Utah. Other descriptive variables identified areas of planning in which the caregivers required assistance, perceived barriers to future planning, and preferences regarding conveyance of planning information.

Persons with developmental disabilities were identified by the state computer system as either on the waiting list for or currently receiving services through the Division of Services for People with Disabilities. The targeted sample was narrowed to persons with developmental disabilities over the age of 20 years who …

An Assessment Of Marital Satisfaction, Marital Adjustment, And Problematic Areas During The First Few Months Of Marriage Among A Sample Of Newlyweds In Utah, David G. Schramm

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A self-selected sample of 232 newlywed husbands and wives in Utah was surveyed to assess marital satisfaction, marital adjustment, and problematic areas during the first few months of marriage. The study utilized the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMSS) and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS), in addition to a list of30 potential problematic areas created by Creighton University to measure these constructs.

Although the majority of the newlyweds in this sample were fairly satisfied and well adjusted, 11% of both husbands and wives scored in the distressed range on the RDAS, signaling that the first few months of marriage can …

Recreational Use Of Montane Streams Of The Puerto Rican Rainforest, Summer Kartchner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

As the population of the small island of Puerto Rico increases, so do the number of recreationists in natural areas. With increasing pressure on finite resources, managers must understand how humans are using these resources in order to conserve without limiting visitor satisfaction.

Electronic Editing: A Case Study At The Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center, Leonora Tanner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Editors have always played an essential role in the document production process. That process has drastically changed with the introduction of technology like desktop computers and word processing programs such as Microsoft Word. However, the editing segment of the process has remained very much the same as it was 20 years ago because of a lack of knowledge about and reluctance to use the editing technologies that has been developed recently.

Predicting Social And Psychological Adjustment From The Importance And Restrictiveness Of Religion In Late Adolescence, Lisa Diane Lucas

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In working with Renee Galliher, I had the opportunity to administer a questionnaire to 118 college students. This questionnaire included the Personal and Relationships Profile (Strauss & Mouradian, 1999), as well as questions assessing religious attitudes and activities. From these questionnaires, a data set was compiled and I presented this research at the recent conference of the Society for Research on Child Development.