Digital Commons Network^™

"Unfair" Interactive Multimedia Cd-Rom, Adam Justin Creighton

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

My honors thesis project involved turning one of my short stories, "Unfair," into an interactive multimedia CD-ROM. In adapting the story to this new medium, I struggled with what could be included in the project (both original text and new, multimedia elements); what had to omitted; how the story was to be organized and other implications resulting from the shift in medium. My original goal for this project was to modify a traditional text story, creating a version that was enhanced; that is, better than the original. After dealing with the technical and conceptual issues inherent with a project like …

Distant Trails: A Multimedia Biography Of E. Dee Miller, Marty Ewer

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

My project is to author a multimedia presentation of my grandfather's biography. To undertake such a project as this requires a certain awareness of the task. Even as I sat down the first time to contemplate what I was trying to accomplish, I began to realize the implications of the overall project. I'm not just speaking of the research and labor required to put it all together but something that must precede that.

Managed Health Care And Its Effects On Health Care Access In Box Elder County Utah, Douglas Sean Linford

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Since 1994 the issue of how access is impacted by managed care in rural Utah has been the focus of State advisory groups, the Utah Health Policy Commission, and the legislature. The Health Systems Improvement Act (1995) formalized the concern with a request that the Utah Department of Health study this impact (Sinclair et. Al., #2, pg. 1). In focus meetings around the state, the perception that managed care can negatively impact access in rural communities is generally accepted without significant controversy. Such comments often assume that rural residents will be forced to travel further or will receive fewer services …

Terminal Emulation System, Chun-Fu Lee

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

Terminal emulation is a personal computer application software which emulates the terminal's behavior to communicate with the mainframe/host computer. It can show the terminal screen on a personal computer screen and make the mainframe/host computer interact with it as it would with a real terminal without any distinction.

Personal computers are increasingly more powerful and efficient today. Their mobility, compatibility, flexibility, and extendibility are definitely superior to the 'dumb' traditional terminals. Terminal emulation is therefore devised to take advantage of these personal computers' redemptions to offset the traditional terminal's drawbacks and inconveniences.

A terminal emulation is actually a very complex …

A Comparative Analysis Of Seven Published Self-Report Measures For Assessing Internalizing-Type Symptoms In Children And Adolescents, Kathryn E. Anderson

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

The broad domain of internalizing disorders encompasses a variety of symptoms that are specific to child and adolescent populations and generalizable to adult populations. Internalizing disorders, commonly referred to as " emotional problems," include such problems as depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, somatic complaints, and low self-esteem. The other side of this classification dichotomy is that of externalizing disorders (e.g., conduct disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), which involve overt behaviors considered as "undercontrolled". In contrast, internalizing problems involve behaviors that possess an "overcontrolled" quality. Such a covert nature leads to difficulty in identification and diagnosis, as they often go unnoticed by the …

Empirical Studies Of Ionospheric Electric Fields, Ludger Scherliess

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The first comprehensive study of equatorial- to mid-latitude ionospheric electric fields (plasma drifts) is presented, using extensive incoherent scatter radar measurements from Jicamarca, Arecibo, and Millstone Hill, and F-region ion drift meter data from the polar orbiting DE-2 satellite. Seasonal and solar cycle dependent empirical quiet-time electric field models from equatorial to mid latitudes are developed, which improve and extend existing climatological models. The signatures of electric field perturbations during geomagnetically disturbed periods, associated with changes in the high-latitude currents and the characteristics of storm-time dynamo electric fields driven by enhanced energy deposition into the high-latitude ionosphere, are studied. Analytical …

Wetland Delineation Of Camp Ripley In Minnesota, Richard A. Spencer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Department of Defense (DoD) maintains approximately 25 million acres of land that is used for military training in the continental United States. Currently, federal and state laws and regulations require that the DoD land be managed so that any activity, including training, will have a minimal effect on the natural environment.

An Assessment Of The Reliability And Validity Of Scores Obtained By Six Popular Learning Styles Instruments, Renee Snyder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Learning style refers to the cognitive, physiological, emotional, environmental, sociological, and perceptual manner in which people learn. In order to provide students with an optimal learning environment, it is necessary to match instruction with students' learning style. To do this, student learning style must be assessed by a learning style instrument.

Of the learning style instruments that are currently available, most do not have much evidence of reliability and validity. Additionally, evidence that does exist is weak. Therefore, more psychometric data are needed regarding these instruments. This study provided psychometric evidence for six popular learning styles instruments, including the Learning …

An Investigation Of Internalizing Social-Emotional Characteristics In A Sample Of Lakota Sioux Children, Michael Shawn Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It has only been recently that research in childhood psychopathology has focused on a group of disorders referred to as internalizing disorders. Internalizing disorders can include such problems as depression. anxiety, social withdrawal, and somatic complaints.

Even though research has begun to focus on internalizing disorders with majority children. there has been very little research conducted on ethnic minority children, Native American children in particular. The present study involved obtaining a Native American sample and determining their internalizing symptomology utilizing the Internalizing Symptom Scale for Children (ISSC), the Reynolds Child Depression Scale (RCDS), and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory for …

Geometric Aspects Of Second-Order Scalar Hyperbolic Partial Differential Equations In The Plane, Martin Jurás

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this dissertation is to address various geometric aspects of second-order scalar hyperbolic partial differential equations in two independent variables and one dependent variable

F(x, y, u, u_x, u_y, u_xx, u_xy, u_yy) = 0

We find a characterization of hyperbolic Darboux integrable equations at level k (1) in terms of the vanishing of the generalized Laplace invariants and provide an invariant characterization of various cases in the Goursat general classification of hyperbolic Darboux integrable equations (1). In particular we give a contact invariant characterization of equations integrable by …

A Slow-Release Nitrogen Fertilizer: Ammonium-Loaded Clinoptilolite, T. Scott Perrin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Crops grown in sandy soils require frequent irrigation. As a result, nitrogen (N) fertilizers. such as ammonium sulfate((NH₄)₂SO₄), are leached from the rooting zone of crops. This loss of N increases N fertilizer use and the potential for nitrate (NO₃^-) contamination of water. Ammonium-loaded clinoptilolite (NH₄⁺-Cp) may reduce this N leaching, increase N fertilizer use-efficiency, and prevent NO₃- contamination of water while sustaining normal crop growth.

The potential of NH₄⁺-Cp as a N fertilizer was assessed in three leaching experiments without plants and …

Effectiveness Of Grid Systems For Pheromone-Trapping Sparse Gypsy Moth Populations In Mountainous Terrain In The Intermountain West, Colleen Keyes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two field experiments determined an effective intertrap distance (ITD) for early detection and delimitation sparse gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae, Lymantria dispar L.) populations in mountainous terrain. This study found that current Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service trapping guidelines are not sufficient for early detection of small gypsy moth populations in mountainous terrain. Detection trapping in mountainous terrain should have an ITD of not more than 804 m. Delimiting trapping should use a grid design with an ITD of 152 m.

A related study determined natural adult male mortality in the climate of the intermountain West, which includes Utah, Nevada, …

Bark Beetle Activity In Douglas-Fir, Pseudotsuga Menziesii Var. Glauca Mirb. (Franco), Following The 1994 Beaver Mountain Fire, Catherine A. Cunningham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The 1994 Beaver Mountain fire ignited the canopies of subalpine fir, Abies lasiocarpa, and spread ground fire into adjacent Douglas-fir forests, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca. Despite shorter flight seasons due to lower annual temperatures and persistent snow, the Douglas-fir bark beetle, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins, attacked a range of moderately fire-injured host conifers. Logistic regression models illustrated that in 1995 associated bark beetles selected large diameter Douglas-fir with 60-80% bole char, 60-80% crown volume scorch, and 50-70% probability of mortality due to fire. In 1996 beetle preference shifted to smaller diameter trees with lighter fire injury. Tree size was …

The Cultural Perspective Of Albert Wendt's Novel Pouliuli, Fa'alafua L. Auva'a

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wendt's accomplishments as an artist of Polynesia and positions he held at different universities are presented in Chapter I. This marks the significant contributions he has made in different genres in which he has written, like novels, short stories, and poetry, that make him a major influence in the Pacific.

Chapter II analyzes the theoretical framework within the fa'a-Samoa in which a matai (chief) is presented, a revered office filled by respectable individuals. To make this point clear, I present the theoretical groundwork in Appendix A of how an individual becomes a matai.

Chapter III explores how Faleasa Osovae, …

An Investigation Of The Parenting Stress Index In The Context Of Generalizability Theory, Jim D. Sharpnack

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This present study examined the application of generalizability theory (GT) to the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) long and short forms for families having children with disabilities. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the dependability of parenting stress data scores gathered from families having children with disabilities. The data for the present study came from an extant data set collected by the Early Intervention Research Institute (EIRI; Contract #800-85-0173) at Utah State University. The EIRI studies represented attempts to assess the benefits and cost of conducting early intervention programs. The EIRI data were recoded at the item level for …

Nettest: An Integrated Web-Based Test Tools, Tzy-Tao Yang

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

This report presents the design and implementation of NetTest; a Java program that can be run within a Java enabled Web browser. NetTest is a Web-based test tool, which allows instructors to create or edit tests and students to take tests using a Java-enabled Web-browser. It also allows managers to perform their tasks using similar tools.

NetTest is a server/client program, which is located on the server. While using the NetTest system, the Web browser will automatically download the program and execute it on the client machine. In other words, NetTest can be run on any kind of network …

Demographic Influences On Attitudes Toward Adolescent Sexuality In A Rural Wyoming County, Michael J. Dalton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A countywide survey in Uinta County, Wyoming, was conducted from December 1992 through March 1993. A stratified random sampling method was used in which 647 surveys were distributed with an overall response rate of 59.5%. This study employed analysis of variance (ANOVA) to address four research questions contending that the independent variables o f education, socioeconomic status, employment, and family stat us would differentially account for variation in the dependent variables, which were responses to survey items indicating the "appropriate age" to teach children about human reproduction, consequences of sexual activity, birth control methods, HIV/AIDS prevention, and sexually transmitted diseases. …

Superior/Subordinate Communication In An Effective Organization, Jim Sawdey

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

This thesis documents the communication climate of a Fortune 500 business to determine if it contains key components essential for effective communication. A model developed to identify components of an ideal managerial climate for effective communication between superiors and subordinates was used. The model was published in 1972 by Dr. W. Charles Redding of Purdue and applied to a rocket manufacturing plant's communication climate that existed from 1991 to 1996. The findings contain evidence that validates Redding's model 25 years after it was first published and provides a framework for improving communication effectiveness at the plant.

Channel Narrowing Of The Green River Near Green River, Utah: History, Rates, And Processes Of Narrowing, Tyler M. Allread

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous scientific research has documented channel narrowing on the Green River near Green River, Utah, but the exact timing, rates, and causal mechanisms of that narrowing have been the source of disagreement in the scientific literature. This thesis demonstrates that the Green River has narrowed in two separate periods during the last 100 years. The narrowing is driven primarily by changes in the hydrologic regime and not by the invasion of saltcedar. The channel narrowed between 1930 and 1938, when a shift from wetter than normal conditions to a period of draught led to a reduction in river discharge. Channel …

Modelling Vegetation Cover Types Using Multiseasonal Remotely Sensed Data To Compare Ecotones At Multiple Spatial And Spectral Resolutions, Kimberly Patraw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Army National Guard Bureau has implemented a cooperative project with Utah State University to help with the use, display, and evaluation of environmental data for maintaining land condition. Camp Grayling, Michigan, is comprised of deciduous and evergreen forest types. Use of remote sensing for classification has been limited in this region due to the difficulty of species-level classification using single-date remote-sensing techniques. Also, remote sensing has traditionally focused on mapping homogenous zones rather than vegetation boundaries, while one of the concerns for land managers is the nature of vegetation edges (ecotones).

This study analyzed each season and band from …

The Economic Role Of Range Livestock Production In Kasungu Agricultural Development Division (Kadd), Malawi, Phillip H. W. Phiri

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted to determine the effects of season and auction and produce marketing systems on prices received by farmers for livestock sales and the effect of price on cattle numbers sold in KADD. Livestock population, carrying capacity, and stocking rate were estimated. Data were analyzed using pie charts, regression methods, and analysis of variance.

There was no significant difference (P=.06) between cattle prices per kilogram during the wet season and after harvest. During the wet season, significantly more cattle were sold than after harvest (P< .001) to purchase food and farm inputs, and pay school fees and medical bills. Market price was only a secondary factor.

Carrying capacity and stocking rate were estimated at 15.00 kg …

Geomorphology Of The Green River In Dinosaur National Monument, Paul E. Grams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Longitudinal profile, channel cross-section geometry, and depositional patterns of the Green River in its course through the eastern Uinta Mountains are each strongly influenced by river-level geology and tributary sediment delivery processes. We surveyed channel cross sections at 1-km intervals, mapped surficial geology, and measured size and characteristics of bed material in order to evaluate the geomorphic organization of the 70- km study reach. Canyon reaches that are of high gradient and narrow channel geometry are associated with the most resistant lithologies exposed at river level and the most frequent occurrences of tributary debris fans. Meandering reaches that are characterized …

Merits Of Using Tranquilizer Trap Devices On Leg-Hold Traps Used To Capture Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus), Duane P. Sahr

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Gray wolves (Canis lupus) are frequently captured with leg-hold traps for reintroduction, relocation to reduce depredations on livestock, or as subjects for research projects. Wolves captured with leg-hold traps often sustain injuries to their feet, legs, and teeth during struggles to escape. Other studies have shown that the use of tranquilizer devices on leg-hold traps reduces such injuries to coyotes. This study (1) assessed whether use of tranquilizer trap devices (TTDs) on leg-hold traps reduced the severity of injuries sustained by captured wolves, and (2) examined the effects TTDs have on nontarget species caught during wolf capture operations. Data were …

The Geomorphic Basis Of Colorado Squawfish Nursery Habitat In The Green River Near Ouray, Utah, Cynthia L. Rakowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nursery habitat availability is considered a bottleneck to successful recruitment of Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus Lucius). Detailed geomorphic studies were conducted in a 1.5-km reach to examine channel response to flows and the geomorphic setting of nursery habitats during a 2-year period. Videography was used to extend relationships in the 1.5-km reach to a longer 10-km reach.

Nursery habitat availability varied yearly with little persistence in location or geomorphic setting of individual habitats for the 2 years of this study. A small number of habitats provided most of the area of high-quality (i.e., deep) habitat, and most of the …

Quaternary Bear River Paleohydrogeography Reconstructed From The 87sr/86sr Composition Of Lacustrine Fossils, David P. Bouchard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Diverted from its former course to the Pacific Ocean by basalt flows in Gem Valley, Idaho, the Bear River presently flows south into the Bonneville Basin. Constraining the timing of the river's diversion is pivotal to understanding the hydrologic budgets, and thus the climatological implications of the Bonneville Basin lakes. This study employs strontium (Sr) isotopes in mollusc fossils as a tracer of the Bear River water that entered Lake Thatcher, a small, closed-basin lake into which the redirected river flowed en route to the Bonneville Basin. The Sr ratios, combined with the temporal control afforded by amino acid geochronology …

An Investigation Of Social Skills And Antisocial Behaviors Of At-Risk Youth: Construct Validation Of The Home And Community Social Behavior Scales, Paul Caldarella

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The major purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the construct validity of a new parent rating scale, the Home and Community Social Behavior Scales (HCSBS), that was used to measure the social skills and antisocial behaviors of at-risk youth in Northern Utah. The results indicate that the HCSBS possesses strong internal consistency with high alphas. Convergent validity with both teacher ratings and student self-ratings of social competence and antisocial behavior appeared slight. Discriminant validity was indicated by the near zero correlations between the HCSBS and the KTEA. The instrument appeared able to detect group differences as indicated by the …

The Efficacy Of Guided Imagery For Recovery From Anterior Cruciate Ligament (Acl) Replacement, Deborah D. Durso-Cupal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As an exploratory, developmental injury intervention study, this research investigated the efficacy of providing psychological intervention in the form of relaxation and guided imagery to a group of orthopedic patients recovering from major knee surgery. Utilizing a prospective, experimental research design with 30 subjects randomly assigned to either an intervention, placebo, or control group, this study employed physiological as well as psychological outcome measures. Intervention consisted of 10 individual mental practice sessions for intervention group members as an adjunct to physical therapy. Content of these sessions was intentionally designed to facilitate physiotherapy goals. Imagery protocols with which to deliver these …

Preliminary Development And Content Validation Of A Rating Scale For Assessing Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder In Children, Melissa Lea Holland

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is currently one of the most frequent problems for which children are referred to mental health clinics in this country, affecting approximately 3-5% of the childhood population. Although adequate assessment and identification of this disorder is imperative, most of the currently existing measures to assess for ADHD in children are inadequate . The present research study involved the development and content validation of a new behavior rating scale prototype for assessing ADHD in the school-age (K-12) population.

This research was conducted in five distinct steps: (a) item development; (b) development of the prototype; (c) content validation …

The Other Side Of Distance Education: Learner Interaction At Remote Sites, Beth Walden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation describes the observations of the interaction of adult learners at remote distance education sites. The researcher audited 11 complete courses at four receive sites during two academic terms. The observations were done in the Com-Net, audio-graphic system provided by Utah State University. The courses were provided for university credit to adults around the state.

The research was designed to answer three research questions:

1. What interactions do learners at a distance exhibit in their educational setting?

2. What observable events appear to prompt the beginning and ending of the learners' interactions?

3. What observable outcomes result from the …

The Job Task Model As A Means For Understanding Computer Usage In The Work Place, Vicki S. Napper

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A qualitative study of a workplace was conducted through the use of interviews and observation of ten participants working in hardware and software engineering. The study arose from a lack of information on computer usage in workplace settings and a lack of identified functional needs for skills-based training.

There were three primary guiding questions and areas of findings in this study:

l. Does the job task model define the areas of computer literacy for the individual worker?

The job task model proved to be an effective method for analyzing tasks, tools, and the environment for usage of computer technologies in …