Digital Commons Network^™

Thaw: A Memoir, Diane Bush

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This collection of creative nonfiction essays is a hybrid text of visual and verbal narratives located broadly within the genres of memoir, research-based nonfiction, and history. Women's memoirs, including a number of non-traditional texts, historical narratives, and an archival collection of photographs, provided springboards for the exploration of and reflection on the emotional terrain of loss, the ache of remembrance, and the ultimate desire for peace.

Ultimately, this work is a search for solace amidst emotional upheaval, beginning in childhood, after the deaths of my father, mother, first husband, and beloved aunt. Unable to sit still with my grief, I …

Desert Solecisms: The Revitalization Of Self And Community Through Edward Abbey, The Cold War, And The Sacred Fire Circle, Lyra Hilliard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This creative thesis is a braided narrative in which I explore the promised lands of Utah through my travels in the summer of 2008, the Cold War defense industry, and the early career of writer Edward Abbey. America's domestic and foreign policy shifts in the first decade of the Cold War contributed to the rise of modern environmentalism and to the creation of countless new religious movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s. To illustrate the cataclysmic upheavals of this era, each chapter of this thesis has been organized according to anthropologist Anthony F. C. Wallace's schema of revitalization …

Relative Performance Comparison And Loss Estimation Of Seismically Isolated And Fixed-Based Buildings Using Pbee Approach, Prayag J. Sayani

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Current design codes generally use an equivalent linear approach for preliminary design of a seismic isolation system. The equivalent linear approach is based on effective parameters, rather than physical parameters of the system, and may not accurately account for the nonlinearity of the isolation system. The second chapter evaluates an alternative normalized strength characterization against the equivalent linear characterization. Following considerations for evaluation are included: (1) ability to effectively account for variations in ground motion intensity, (2) ability to effectively describe the energy dissipation capacity of the isolation system, and (3) conducive to developing design equations that can be implemented …

Methodology To Derive Resource Aware Context Adaptable Architectures For Field Programmable Gate Arrays, Harikrishna Samala

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The design of a common architecture that can support multiple data-flow patterns (or contexts) embedded in complex control flow structures, in applications like multimedia processing, is particularly challenging when the target platform is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) with a heterogeneous mixture of device primitives. This thesis presents scheduling and mapping algorithms that use a novel area cost metric to generate resource aware context adaptable architectures. Results of a rigorous analysis of the methodology on multiple test cases are presented. Results are compared against published techniques and show an area savings and execution time savings of 46% each.

The Question Concerning The Cooptation Of The Sundance Film Festival: An Analysis Of The Commodification Of Independent Cinema, Matt Dee Cottrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Sundance Film Festival has transformed from being a fringe festival to a leading showcase for independent cinema. This research shows that studios now descend upon the festival to acquire films for commercial distribution. The Sundance Film Festival seems to currently operate as a marketplace for films rather than an independent festival. This research seeks to examine how Hollywood studios have been able to infiltrate and commodify independent projects from the Sundance Film Festival and what the potential ramifications are for emerging independent filmmakers seeking to have their projects screened at the festival. In other words, have Hollywood studios coopted …

Investigating Methods To Reduce Black Bear (Ursus Americanus) Visitation To Anthropogenic Food Sources: Conditioned Taste Aversion And Food Removal, Kari D. Signor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Conflicts between humans and black bears (Ursus americanus) jeopardize the safety of both humans and bears, especially when bears become food-conditioned to anthropogenic food sources in areas such as campgrounds. Interest in using non-lethal techniques, such as aversive conditioning, to manage such conflicts is growing. I conducted a captive experiment at The Wildlife Science Center in Minnesota and two field experiments in the La Sal Mountains, Utah, to investigate the effects of taste aversion conditioning using thiabendazole (TBZ) with a novel flavor cue and food removal on black bear food consumption and visitation to human food sources. In …

Implementing Graphic Organizers In A General Education Earth Systems Classroom, Jennifer P. Slade

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous research has shown that implementing graphic organizers and giving the needed instruction to use and study content information increases academic gain of students with learning disabilities. In the present study students actively engaged in using graphic organizers, which helped them demonstrate their learning on multiple choice questions. On the multiple choice test, the overall mean gain for the experimental group was 45%. The control group's overall mean gain on the multiple choice test was 30%. While the posttest scores for students in the graphic organizer group were significantly higher than posttest scores of students in the control group, few …

The Effectiveness Of The Implementation Of The Early Reading First Initiative On Preschool Students With Disabilities, Jiselle Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Early Reading First Program emphasizes that preschool classrooms provide services to better prepare children entering kindergarten with the necessary language, cognitive, and literacy skills that can avert reading difficulties. This study investigated two questions. The first addressed the effectiveness of the ERF program on students identified with a disability within control and experimental groups. The second addressed the effectiveness of the ERF program on subpopulations of students within the ERF program categorized with a severe language delay or a mild/moderate language delay. To address the first question, results showed a statistically significant difference between the control sample and experimental …

Financing Home And Community-Based Long-Term Care: Adult Children Caregiver Perspectives, Patricia K. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Large numbers of baby boomers and a shift towards home-based long-term care designate a need for a greater understanding of caregiver attitudes surrounding the financing of long-term home-based care. This study examined more fully the types of home-based long-term care services that family caregivers were utilizing for their parents. In addition, the willingness and ability of caregivers to privately fund these services for aging parents were explored.

The study utilized a preexisting data set of qualitative interviews that were conducted with 30 family caregivers helping to provide long-term care for an elderly parent or older-generation relative. Participants in the sample …

Interim Access To The International Space Station, Tyson Karl Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis evaluates mission scenarios using the existing Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles for delivering the Crew Exploration Vehicle to the International Space Station. The Space Shuttle is scheduled to retire in the year 2011 and the Ares I is being developed to replace it. With its current schedule, the earliest that the Ares I will become fully operational is 2016. The configurations in this thesis are presented to narrow the gap in which the USA does not have direct access to the International Space Station. They also present "buy down" options for the USA human space operations, if the current …

A Comparison Of Soil Moisture And Hillslope-Stream Connectivity Between Aspen And Conifer-Dominated Hillslopes Of A First Order Catchment In Northern Utah, Amy R. Burke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mountain headwater catchments in the semi-arid Intermountain West are important sources of surface water because these high elevations receive more precipitation than neighboring lowlands. The hydrology of these mountain catchments is especially important as the region faces water shortages and conflicts. Conifer encroachment on aspen stands has been observed across the western US and can result in a decline in water yield. The overall objective of this study was to further our understanding of hillslope-stream connectivity in a headwater catchment of Northern Utah and any observable differences in this connection between aspen and conifer hillslopes. Hillslopes are the fundamental unit …

Parshall Flume Staff Gauge Location And Entrance Wingwall Discharge Calibration Corrections, Bryan J. Heiner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Utah Water Research Laboratory, in conjunction with the State of Utah, initiated a study to determine the accuracy of a wide variety of flow measurement devices in Utah. The project selected 70 sites with flow measurement devices throughout the state. During the assessment each device had its physical condition and flow measurement accuracy documented.

Although a wide variety of flow measurement devices were tested, the majority were Parshall flumes. Many of the assessed Parshall flumes were not measuring flow to the specified ±5 percent design accuracy. Problems in flow measurement were due to issues with the staff gauge location …

The Impact Of Knowledge, Attitudes, And Peer Influence On Adolescent Energy Drink Consumption, Alyson C. Ward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adolescents are labeled as sensitive to caffeine, though despite this predisposition, consumption is high among this population. Energy drinks are a current trend in soft-drink-like beverages and are marketed to 11-35 year olds. However, unlike soft drinks, energy drinks are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and therefore do not have to limit their caffeine content.

This cross-sectional, correlational study sought to identify the role that knowledge, attitudes, and peers play in adolescent energy drink consumption. Adolescents (n = 199), ages 18 to 21, at a university in the west were surveyed. Descriptive statistics revealed that 25% …

A Domain-Specific Design Tool For Verifying Spacecraft System Behavior, Sravanthi Venigalla

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this report we present a graphical tool, Behavioral Analysis of Spacecraft Systems (BASS), that can be used by spacecraft designers to perform system-level behavioral analysis of small satellites. The domain-specific spacecraft meta-model is created in the visual modeling tool Generic Modeling Environment (GME) such that spacecraft designs created using the meta-model appear familiar to the spacecraft designers. Users can model scenarios that are to be verified for the design in BASS. The graphical models are assigned formal semantics facilitating the creation of formally verifiable spacecraft models. The C++ application that translates the modeling objects to equivalent mathematical representation of …

Parallelization Of Performance Limiting Routines In The Computational Fluid Dynamics General Notation System Library, Kyle Horne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Computational Fluid Dynamics General Notation System provides a unified way in which computational fluid dynamics data can be stored, but does not support the parallel I/O capabilities now available from version five of the Hierarchical Data Format library which serves as a back end for he standard. To resolve this deficiency, a new parallel extension library has been written and benchmarked for this work which can write files compliant with the standard using parallel file access modes. When using this new library, the write performance shows an increase of four-fold in some cases when compared to the same hardware …

Alternative Sampling And Analysis Methods For Digital Soil Mapping In Southwestern Utah, Colby W. Brungard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Digital soil mapping (DSM) relies on quantitative relationships between easily measured environmental covariates and field and laboratory data. We applied innovative sampling and inference techniques to predict the distribution of soil properties, soil attributes, taxonomic classes, and dominant vegetation across a 30,000-ha complex Great Basin landscape in southwestern Utah. This arid rangeland was characterized by rugged topography, diverse vegetation, and intricate geology. Environmental covariates calculated from digital elevation models (DEM) and spectral satellite data were used to represent factors controlling soil development and distribution. We investigated optimal sample size and sampled the environmental covariates using conditioned Latin Hypercube Sampling (cLHS). …

Effects Of Coyote Removal On Pronghorn And Mule Deer Populations In Wyoming, Dylan Earl Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I studied the relationship between coyote (Canis latrans) removal and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) density and fawn:doe ratios in southwest Wyoming and northeast Utah in 2007 and 2008. Coyote removal variables studied included the number of coyotes removed, ground hours worked, total hours worked, coyotes removed/aerial gunning hour, coyotes removed/ground work hour, and coyotes removed/total effort hour. None of the variables explained changes observed in fawn:doe ratios of pronghorn or mule deer. The number of coyotes removed, ground hours worked, total hours worked, and coyotes removed/aerial gunning hour were positively …

Summer Home Range Fidelity In Adult Female Elk (Cervus Elaphus) In Northwestern Colorado, April M. Brough

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding the degree of spatial fidelity of individuals within a species increases our ability to manage appropriately. Elk (Cervus elaphus) is a highly managed species in the Intermountain West, but there is little research evaluating summer home range fidelity of individual elk. We evaluated fidelity of 72 adult female elk to individual summer-fall home ranges in the White River study area in northwestern Colorado during two consecutive summers. Based on individual kernel-estimated utilization distributions, we used (1) the Volume of Intersection (VI) statistic and (2) interannual distances between centers of mass to compare summer range overlap and distribution. …

Native Earth Electric Field Measurements Using Small Spacecraft In Low Earth Orbit, John A. Pratt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The use of small satellites to measure the native electric field of the earth has historically presented many problems as a result of the generally modest pointing capabilities of small satellites. In spite of this, the cost of small satellites makes them ideal for just such scientific missions. This thesis details many of the constraints of electric field measuring missions as well as the requirements on any spacecraft designed to accomplish such. The data from a small sounding rocket mission is then analyzed and its usefulness discussed. Possible other methods for use are also discussed.

The Influence Of Family Structure And The Role Of Siblings On Early Language Development Of Latino Preschool Children, Eduardo Aguiles Ortiz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between family structure including family size, number of parents at home, and presence of an older sibling at home, and the language development of young Latino children. I used data from the Head Start--Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) year 2000, which included information on 746 Latino preschool children and their families in different Head Start programs nationwide. A subgroup of 369 children were identified as English-language learners (ELL) because they were determined to be primarily Spanish speaking. Some of the findings indicate that more than two thirds of children …

Effects Of Starch Addition On Low Fat Rennet Curd Properties And Their Partitioning Between Curd And Whey, Kelly Marie Larsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study determined the impact of starches on the properties of low fat rennet curd as measured by microstructural and instrumental analysis. In experiment 1, 17 starches were initially screened for swelling power, impact of curd yield at 5 g/L and 10 g/L in milk, and settling in rennet-induced partially acidified low fat curd.

Starches examined were narrowed down to five in experiment 2; they included: modified waxy corn starch, waxy rice starch, instant tapioca starch, dextrin, and a modified tapioca starch. These starches were added to skim milk to make rennet-induced partially acidified milk gels. Gels were made by …

Covert Botnet Design And Defense Analysis, Brandon Lyle Shirley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Intrusion defense system (IDS) development has been largely reactionary in nature. This is especially troubling given that botnets are capable of compromising and controlling thousands of computers before security professionals develop a mitigation technique. As new exploits are created, new mitigation techniques are developed to detect infections and, where possible, remove them. This thesis breaks from this tradition of reacting to malware. Instead, it looks at possible malicious software models through analyzing existing defense systems for exploitable weaknesses.

First, this thesis presents a new specialized botnet that circumvents current network intrusion detection mechanisms. The proposed botnet coordinates external communication among …

A Pilot Study Examining The Use Of Technologically Assisted Psychotherapeutic Intervention In The Delivery Of Therapy To Women With Anxiety Residing In Rural Utah Communities, Benjamin K. Farmer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine change in symptoms of anxiety and satisfaction experienced by participants who received acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) by using technologically assisted psychotherapeutic interventions (TAPI). TAPI utilizes the internet as a medium to make mental health services available and accessible to people residing in rural communities. The participants in this study were women who were experiencing severe levels of anxiety and lived in a rural community. Measures were taken at three different points in the study (pretherapy, posttherapy, and 6-months posttherapy). Participants received therapy over the internet via Macromedia Breeze videoconferencing to reduce …

An Experimental Comparison Of Middle School Students' Motivation And Preference Toward Text- And Graphic-Based Programming, Stephen E. Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to compare seventh-grade students' motivation and preference toward text-based programming using Visual Basic, and graphics-based programming using Robolab. Motivation was defined by the My Class Activities questionnaire using the dimensions of interest, challenge, choice, and enjoyment. Preference was determined through team and individual student choice. This study was conducted with 122 students from three 6-week technology education classes. This study examined two hypotheses. First, middles school students will be more motivated when using a graphics-based programming language than text-based as measured by the My Class Activities survey. The second hypothesis for this study …

Self-Healing Cellular Automata To Correct Soft Errors In Defective Embedded Program Memories, Varun Voddi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) cells in ultra-low power Integrated Circuits (ICs) based on nanoscale Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) devices are likely to be the most vulnerable to large-scale soft errors. Conventional error correction circuits may not be able to handle the distributed nature of such errors and are susceptible to soft errors themselves. In this thesis, a distributed error correction circuit called Self-Healing Cellular Automata (SHCA) that can repair itself is presented. A possible way to deploy a SHCA in a system of SRAM-based embedded program memories (ePM) for one type of chip multi-processors is also discussed. The …

A Comparison Theorem For The Topological And Algebraic Classification Of Quaternionic Toric 8-Manifolds, Piotr Runge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to discuss topological properties of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds, we introduce the notion of an algebraic morphism in the category of toric spaces. We show that the classification of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds with respect to an algebraic isomorphism is finer than the oriented topological classification. We construct infinite families of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds in the same oriented homeomorphism type but algebraically distinct. To prove that the elements within each family are of the same oriented homeomorphism type, and that we have representatives of all such types of a quaternionic toric 8-manifold, we present and use a method of evaluating …

Age Effects On Iron-Based Pipes In Water Distribution Systems, Ryan T. Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pipes in water distribution systems may change as they age. The accumulation of corrosion byproducts and suspended particles on the inside wall of aged pipes can increase pipe roughness and reduce pipe diameter. To quantify the hydraulic effects of irregular accumulation on the pipe walls, eleven aged pipes ranging in diameter from 0.020-m (0.75-in) to 0.100-m (4-in) and with varying degrees of turberculation were located and subjected to laboratory testing. The laboratory test results were used to determine a relationship between pipe diameter reduction and Hazen-Williams C. This relationship, combined with a manipulation of the Hazen-Williams equation, provided a simple …

Salinity Inventory And Tolerance Screening In Utah Agriculture, Austin Mccoy Hawks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soil salinity, a yield-limiting condition, has plagued crop production for centuries by reducing crop productivity. Research has introduced methods for successfully managing soil salinity. This research discusses the adaptation of established management methods to create new soil salinity management techniques.

One adapted technique is an automated crop screening apparatus. A new design was created and successfully used in rapidly screening two strawberry cultivars to determine their tolerance to salinity. Screening crops and determining their tolerance to yield-limiting conditions are essential in managing soil salinity.

Another salinity management tool used in this research was electromagnetic induction (EMI). EMI was used to …

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Effects Of The Arizona Instrument To Measure Standards (Aims) Test On Arizona High School Math And English Curriculum And Instruction, Joseph Leland Heywood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This is a doctoral dissertation centered on a qualitative research case study on teachers' perceptions of the effects of a particular high-stakes test—the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) on high school English and math curriculum and instruction. Specifically, this case study involved three focus group interviews at three Arizona high schools. Participants were experienced English and math teachers at each school site. To broaden the perspective gained from the focus group interviews, the study included classroom observations and document analysis. Two of the high schools chosen are located on the Navajo Reservation and were specifically chosen to include an …

Cell Phone Use And Psychosocial Development Among Emerging Adults, Torrey B. Morrill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cell phone has rapidly become an integral, and, for some, an essential communication tool that is being used worldwide. With cell phone ownership becoming so widespread, especially among the younger generation, society is starting to see and question the impacts of cell phone use on adolescent development.

Relations between cell phone possession, cell phone use, and psychosocial and identity development were investigated using Erikson's Psychosocial Theory and Marcia's Adolescent Identity Paradigm. A sample of 705 college students, ages 18-24, completed a questionnaire that measured the amount and type of cell phone use, identity development (Extended Objective Measure of Ego …