Digital Commons Network^™

Persistence Of Engineering Undergraduates At A Public Research University, Matthew Meyer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This mixed-methodological study determined which factors contributed to undergraduate student attrition, and evaluated reasons ten undergraduate engineering students failed to complete their engineering degree at a major western research university. Institutional data were collected on engineering students over a multi-year period. These data were separated into groups of engineering students who persisted to the Junior year of their undergraduate engineering program (persisters), and those students who left their engineering program before their Junior year (nonpersisters). A quantitative analysis comparing these two groups of students uncovered significant predictors of persistence/nonpersistence in the engineering program. Qualitative inquiry was used to identify factors …

The Academic Preparation And Background Of Public Secondary Mathematics Teachers In Utah 1966-1967, Charles Martin Crittenden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A random survey was conducted to determine the academic preparation and background of the public secondary mathematics teachers in the state of Utah.

The survey indicated that there is a wide variance in the teacher mathematics preparation between the three types of public secondary schools. The class B high schools have a smaller percentage of well prepared mathematics teachers than either the class A high schools or the junior high schools.

The following facts were discovered: (1) 22.03 percent of all the surveyed mathematics teachers had between 1 and 15 quarter hours of college mathematics preparation, (2) 5.22 percent had …

The 3 Creeks Grazing Allotment: A Study Of Livestock Grazing Management Across Public And Privately Owned Land, Taylor M. Payne

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

Livestock ranching is the most common use of public rangeland in the western United States (Gates, personal communication). The newly formed 3 Creeks Grazing Allotment which consists of 136,000 acres and has 29 permittees serves as an example of scientifically based public land management using grazing livestock as a management tool. It is believed that livestock grazing is the most underutilized tool in natural resource management (Hopkin, personal communication). The newly formed allotment will consolidate nine separate allotments into one management unit. This unit is holistically developed to sustain grazing livestock and rural economies while benefitting the range resources including …

Returns To Public Agricultural Expenditure Under Uncertainty, Sanjeev Misra

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A vast literature has investigated the returns to investment in agriculture research and generally found extremely high rates of return. These results suggest policymakers would do well to maintain or increase resource allocation to public agricultural research. Remarkably little attention has been paid, however, to the issue of how best to allocate public agricultural research funding between competing research areas and organizations. This paper considers the relative returns to alternative uses of public agricultural research funds committed to the agricultural experiment stations of 10 western states of the United States over the years 1967-91. A model of expected utility maximization …

Essays On Scale Economies And Efficiency In Public Education, Kalyan Chakraborty

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Efficiency in public education is a significant issue in the United States. Nationwide, real expenditure per student increased 8% per year between 1960 and 1993, but output as measured by standardized test scores has not increased and in some cases (i.e., the verbal SAT [Scholastic Achievement Test] score) has declined. One explanation is that resources are not being utilized efficiently either in the technical or allocative sense. Also, the issue is important because substantial savings are possible by consolidation of schools and/or districts.

This dissertation explores efficiency by measuring technical efficiency at the school district level from four perspectives. The …

Public Announcement Of Analyst Recommendations And The Impact On The Common Stock Market, Kenneth Allen Zerbe

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Between 1985 and 1987, R. Foster Winans, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, received convictions for violating section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities and Exchange Act as well as engaging in mail fraud.¹

Economic Impacts Of Public Grazing Reductions In The Livestock Industry With Emphasis On Utah, Deevon Bailey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this paper was to determine the immediate impact of reductions in public grazing on livestock production in the United States. This was accomplished by the use of linear programming techniques. Different grazing reduction simulations were utilized to determine the short and long run effects of across-the-board reductions in public grazing.

The United States was divided into 13 regions. The 11 western states were considered as individual regions. Special emphasis was placed on the effects of grazing reduction on Utah. The availability and utilization of feed and livestock products during a "normal year", 1978, were considered in this …

Taxpayer Satisfaction With Public Urban Services In Salt Lake County, Lea J. Cottam

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although citizens do not generally consider themselves consumers of public services in the same Sense they consider themselves consumers in the retail marketplace, their demand for public services clearly affects what local government units provide. Citizens are involved daily with the consumption of public urban services; yet most consumer education textbooks and teaching materials ignore tax supported services.

The purpose of this study was to measure the satisfaction of consumers with certain public urban services, public officials, and several units of government.

Satisfaction was found to be correlated with age, length of residence in the community and the respondents' attitudes …

An Analysis Of Selected Factors Related To Job Satisfaction As Determined By A Survey Of Business Teachers Employed In Utah Public High Schools, Patricia Dianne O'Reagan

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

Origin and nature of the problem

Work is an important aspect of the total life experience. It has been estimated that man spends a total of one-third of his waking hours each week engaged in some type of work.

As an important aspect of life in our culture, satisfying work contributes to man's sense of general well-being and feeling of personal worth. Work that is not personally satisfying tends to have the opposite effects. (25, p. 329)

The above quote, taken from Siegel's Industrial Psychology, discusses an important problem in this age of technology--job satisfaction.

Several personal characteristics have been …

The Supply Of Public School Teachers In The United States: A Study In Human Capital Theory, Andrew W. Bacdayan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study uses the principles of human capital theory to develop and test a theory of a supply of a class of educated manpower services with special reference to school teachers.

In the theory formulation, the determinants of the existing stock of teacher education capital are first identified. These are: (a) the price per man-year of teaching service, WTS, (b) the rate of interest, r, (c) the price of the human capital already embodied in the individual working for a college degree in teacher education, WCS, and (d) private costs of education such as foregone earnings and tuition fees, FERTN. …

Transportation And Public Service Costs For Rural Communities Of Various Sizes, Thomas L. Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lower real incomes in the agricultural sector compared with other sectors of the economy have led to continued migration of rural people to urban areas. Despite this movement of surplus people from farm areas, incomes in the rural sector have failed to keep pace with those in urban areas. Fewer social amenities and other conveniences have also contributed to rural-urban migration.

This reduction in rural population and the consequent reduction in the economic bases of many rural communities has raised some interesting questions about city and rural government consolidation. What sizes of cities should be encouraged in the rural areas, …

The Public And Private Business Profile Of Cache County, Reed E. Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Economic development that increases per capita income and creates additional jobs through expansion of present businesses and/or introduction of new businesses and business income is the goal of planners in Cache, Rich , and Box Elder Counties . To help with this goal a Northern Utah study group was organized to gather data on quality, quantity, and use of human, social, physical, and economic resources. This thesis is part of the main study and only includes Cache County.

Input-output models are effective predicting tools. These tools are used in this analysis . To predict different output changes in the economy, …

The Economic Value Of Forage For Livestock On Public And Private Ranges In Utah, Mardell D. Topham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The United States Government controls about 359 million acres of land in the 11 Western States. This vast acreage produces recreation for vacationers, timber for lumbermen, water for city and rural consumption, forage for livestock and wildlife, and minerals for miners. In many cases, the users of these products are competing and are clamoring for a large share of this land. Consequently, land use is continually changing. Since 1941, the amount of timber cut has tripled, recreation has doubled, watersheds now yield a better quality of water (Clawson, 1957), forage for wildlife has increased but forage for livestock use has …

Income Adjustments From Fee And Permit Changes On Utah Cattle Ranches Using Public Ranges Yearlong, C. Kerry Gee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Within the boundaries of Utah are approximately 52.7 million acres of land. About 41 million acres are rangeland, of which 73 percent is federally owned and 5 percent state owned (6).¹ The portion owned by the Federal government is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service. Most of this land is either arid or mountainous and has been used mainly for grazing in the past. IT has other uses, however, such as mining, forestry, recreation, and watersheds. Due to recent increases in population, personal income, shorter work weeks, and improved transportation facilities, these alternatives …