Digital Commons Network^™

Navigating Roadblocks In Utah's Path Towards Curbing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Emily K. Fletcher

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In places where discussions about climate change have become highly political and divided, community groups have attempted to connect rival political parties by focusing on improving air quality. This topic is often less politically charged. The effects of climate change have been disproportionately felt by marginalized communities around the world. In the west side of the Salt Lake Valley, many communities are more likely to experience the negative consequences of a drying lake, a problem that Utah and other regions are currently facing, compared to others in the valley. This research focuses on the individuals who have signed the Utah …

Subduing The Wolf: Utah Pioneer Identity And The War On Wolves Between 1852 And 2020., Mason Lytle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah has a unique history of pioneer settlement connected to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This history has become a source of pride that began with the first white settlers. I have come to call this the “deseret pioneer” identity, to differentiate from other western settlers. From the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, politicians and agriculturalists used this “deseret pioneer” identity to thwart federal protections for wolves and respond to wilderness policies that made Utah the only “rocky-mountain” state to not have wolves in the twenty-first century.

Covid-19, Politics, And Science In Utah: Executive Summary Of Research Findings, Jessica Ulrich-Schad, Jennifer E. Givens

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Daily life in the United States and Utah has changed considerably since the global outbreak of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. On March 6th, 2020, Gary R. Herbert, Governor of the State of Utah, declared a “State of Emergency” in response to pandemic. On March 27th the Governor then issued the “Stay Safe, Stay Home” Directive, which was much less strict than the shelter in place orders seen in other states as it simply urged residents to leave home infrequently, stay 6 feet away from others outside the home, and banned private gatherings larger than 20. At the end of April, …

The Status Of Women In Utah Politics: Congress, Statewide Executive Offices, And The State Legislature, Susan R. Madsen, D. Candice Pierucci

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

A host of national reports and media (e.g., Chu & Posner, 2013) in the past decade have ranked Utah last or near last in terms of women being in positions of decision making and leadership, and women in Utah politics is foundational to this issue. Raising awareness of the reasons why this is the case is critical to social change efforts focused on improving the representation of women in political roles within the state. Women serving in public office within the state of Utah have positive implications for women’s health. Research shows that when more women are involved in decision-making …

The Status Of Women In Utah Politics: Counties, Mayors, City Councils, And Boards Of Education, Susan R. Madsen, D. Candice Pierucci

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Several national reports earlier in the past decade ranked Utah last or near last in terms of women being in positions of decision making and leadership, including a 2013 Center for American Progress report titled “The State of Women in America: A 50-State Analysis of How Women Are Faring Across the Nation” (Chu & Posner, 2013). These and other rankings most often use the following four criteria: 1) gender wage gap, 2) educational attainment, 3) women in management roles, and 4) women serving in state legislatures. Research released through the Utah Women & Leadership Project and the Utah Women & …

Bad Behavior During Political Primaries, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

The new presidential election cycle brings with it both a sense of hope for the future and cause for frustration over bad behavior in an increasingly hostile political environment. As primary candidates emerge, it’s worth pausing for reflection on what appropriate behavior during the primary season and beyond looks like.

A Trump Administration Press Secretary Walks Into A Restaurant, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

On Friday, June 22nd, the Trump Administration’s Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, arrived and was seated at the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia. Sanders was one guest in a party arriving for a reservation for eight, booked in her husband’s name. When the wait staff realized that Sanders was with the party, they called the owner of the restaurant, Stephanie Wilkinson. Wilkinson dropped everything and rushed to the restaurant. She allowed her employees to vote on a course of action. They voted to ask Sanders to leave. Wilkinson approached Sanders and said, “I’m the owner. I’d like you to …

Thomas S. Monson And The Politics Of Obituaries, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, died on January 2 of this year. Monson led the LDS Church for almost a decade. On January 3, The New York Times published an obituary for Monson that was not well received by many members of the church. They felt that it was politically biased and did not paint the life and work of their much-loved leader in a positive light.

Carbon Pricing In The Private Sector: How Science, Politics, And Climate Change Influence Business Strategy, Hayden Hubbard, Mcklayne Marshall, Christopher Cottle

Research on Capitol Hill

The social cost of carbon (SCC) is defined as the monetized social (externality) cost of a metric ton of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere in a given year. Economist Michael Greenstone called it “The most important figure you’ve never heard of.”

Since 2009, the SCC has been a major factor in $1.2 trillion of legislation. No carbon tax exists in the U.S., but many private and public companies have started using internal carbon pricing in decision making.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has capitalized on this trend by creating a central depository for emissions reporting and sustainability. This was the …

The Gregory Peck Papers: It's Not Just Hollywood, Clare Denk

Journal of Western Archives

The Gregory Peck papers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences serve as a case study to demonstrate the value of a collection beyond its expected scope. In this case, four examples are used to highlight how the Peck papers move far beyond the confines of Hollywood by encompassing topics including Hawaii on the eve of its statehood, politics, international fan culture, and post-World War II Japan as seen through the lens of an American GI.

The Relevance Of Culture In Politics: The Application Of Cultural Studies Using The Strategic Culture Method, Elizabeth G. Wilson

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

American Studies scholars have long been aware that their interdisciplinary studies reach far beyond Americana. The fields of folklore, English, history, political science and anthropology have all been enveloped under the American Studies umbrella. Public perceptions tend to assume that scholars engaged in these fields are limited to work within academia.

Tarp Repayment, Lobbying And Political Connectivity, Ian Simmons

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

In their paper "Corporate Lobbying, Political Connections, and the Bailout of Banks," Blau, Brough, and Thomas (2012) present significant evidence that firms that engaged in lobbying and maintain political connection with the federal government were more likely to receive funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), received more funds on average, and received the funds earlier than those firms that did not lobby or maintain political connections. These results fit into a large body of work showing similar results showing that lobbying has positive economic benefits to lobbying firms (Chen and Yang, 2010; Cooper and Ovtchinnikov, 2010; Faccio, 2010; …

Seeds Of Change: Farm Organizations In Depression And Post-War Utah, Robert Parson, John W. Walters, Emily Gurr-Thompson

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

As Utah continues to move further and further away from its agricultural base, it is useful to look back on the state’s agricultural heritage and how an earlier generation of farmers sought to maximize its economic security through cooperation, government support, and adoption of new methods and tools made available through the nation’s land-grant colleges. Following World War II, two competing organizations, the Utah Farm Bureau and the Utah Farmer’s Union, emerged as champions of Utah farmers. Where Utah farmers and their organization had given strong support to Franklin Roosevelt and the Democratic Party’s New Deal during the 1930s, in …

The Evolution Of Congress: A Citizen's Ability To Influence Politics Today, Rebecca Ashley Nudd

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

-Constitution of the United States

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus and spurred a year long political bus boycott that helped later change the U.S. Constitution. A mother with a cause rallied a million other moms to march onto Capital Hill and …

The Politics Of Scale, Position, And Place In The Governance Of Water Resources In The Mekong Region, Louis Lebel, Po Garden, Masao Imamura

All UNF Research

The appropriate scales for science, management, and decision making cannot be unambiguously derived from physical characteristics of water resources. Scales are a joint product of social and biophysical processes. The politics-of-scale metaphor has been helpful in drawing attention to the ways in which scale choices are constrained overtly by politics, and more subtly by choices of technologies, institutional designs, and measurements. In doing so, however, the scale metaphor has been stretched to cover a lot of different spatial relationships. In this paper, we argue that there are benefits to understanding—and actions to distinguish—issues of scale from those of place and …

Political, Economic And Social Dominance Of Major Cities In East Asia During The Twentieth Century, Michael B. Toney, Chalon Keller

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

One of the greatest shift in human societies has been the change from dispersed settlement patterns toward a complex urban pattern. Prior to the industrialization there were only a few urban places scattered throughout the world and none could compare with numerous cities of today with respect to size and complexity. In recent decades the growth of cities in Asia has been particularly remarkable as there has been an increase in the number of medium sized cities and the growth of a number of mega cities. This urbanization of the worlds population has corresponded with other fundamental changes in human …

Letter From A. C. Matheson, A. C. Matheson

Reports of the Secretary to the President Student Affairs President’s Correspondence, 1900-1907

Letter concerning votes.