Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Under Discussion: Free Speech, Cancel Culture, And Compassion, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

In July, 2020, Harper’s Magazine published a letter signed by 153 prominent authors and thinkers. Signatories included figures such as Noam Chomsky, Gloria Steinem, and J.K. Rowling. Their main contention was that an “illiberal left” has emerged in recent political discourse — a left that allows no room for divergent points of view and that deals with “wrongdoers” swiftly and mercilessly.

Evaluation Of Topics In Utah's One‐Hour Divorce Education Program, Olena Kopystynska, Joshua Turner, David G. Schramm, Brian Higginbotham

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

Divorce education programs are mandatory in most states. Despite the ongoing debate in the field regarding the appropriate duration of these programs, the goal of the current study was to identify the following five content areas in divorce education that may be most relevant for predicting favorable outcomes: (1) impact of divorce on children, (2) impact of divorce on family relationships, (3) financial responsibilities of divorcing parents for children, (4) benefits of positive coparenting, and (5) impact of domestic violence on children and family relationships. Using divorcing parents' self‐reported data (N = 3,275) from a one‐hour online divorce education …

Are Financing Constraints Binding For Investment? Evidence From A Natural Experiment, Katarzyna Anna Bilicka

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

This paper shows that the availability of cash flows dominates the effects of cost of capital for investment at the firm level. Using an exogenous tax reform in Canada as a quasi-natural experiment, I find that a temporary and unexpected increase in the cost of capital for firms with low availability of retained earnings has no effect on investment of those firms. A subsequent direct increase in the availability of cash flows has large effects on investment. This suggests that internal financing constraints are binding for firms, as they prefer to use low cost retained earnings to finance their investment.

Information Search And Financial Markets Under Covid-19, Behzod B. Ahundjanov, Sherzod Akhundjanov, Botir B. Okhunjanov

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

The discovery and sudden spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) exposed individuals to a great uncertainty about the potential health and economic ramifications of the virus, which triggered a surge in demand for information about COVID-19. To understand financial market implications of individuals’ behavior upon such uncertainty, we explore the relationship between Google search queries related to COVID-19—information search that reflects one’s level of concern or risk perception—and the performance of major financial indices. The empirical analysis based on the Bayesian inference of a structural vector autoregressive model shows that one unit increase in the popularity of COVID-19-related global search …

The Moral Challenges Of Opening Up Schools During The Pandemic, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

As we inch ever closer to August, the question of if and how schools will open in the fall is increasingly pressing on everyone’s minds. Many decisions related to COVID-19 are presented as morally controversial when they really shouldn’t be. The issue of opening the schools, on the other hand, is complex. No matter what decision is made, some individuals and groups will experience significant hardship.

Finding A Fit: Biological Science Doctoral Students’ Selection Of A Principal Investigator And Research Laboratory, Michelle A. Maher, Annie M. Wofford, Josipa Roksa, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

In the laboratory-based disciplines, selection of a principal investigator (PI) and research laboratory (lab) indelibly shapes doctoral students’ experiences and educational outcomes. Framed by the theoretical concept of person–environment fit from within a socialization model, we use an inductive, qualitative approach to explore how a sample of 42 early-stage doctoral students enrolled in biological sciences programs made decisions about fitting with a PI and within a lab. Results illuminated a complex array of factors that students considered in selecting a PI, including PI relationship, mentoring style, and professional stability. Further, with regard to students’ lab selection, peers and research projects …

Contested Dam Development In Iran: A Case Study Of The Exercise Of State Power Over Local People, Elham Hoominfar, Claudia Radel

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

In this article, we address the interaction of the Iranian State, an agent of power, with affected village residents, as four dam projects are planned and implemented. Dams, recently positioned as a green energy source, are a central component to Iran’s national development strategies; yet historically their construction has been a source of significant conflict and resistance around the world. We focus on ten villages facing displacement or partial loss of lands at the time of the research, and we answer the question: During dam building and resettlement processes, how have residents experienced their role in decision making and the …

A Landscape Perspective On Climate-Driven Risks To Food Security: Exploring The Relationship Between Climate And Social Transformation In The Prehispanic U.S. Southwest, Colleen Strawhacker, Grant Snitker, Matthew A. Peeples, Ann P. Kinzig, Keith W. Kintigh, Kyle Bocinsky, Brad Butterfield, Jacob Freeman, Sarah Oas, Margaret C. Nelson, Jonathan A. Sandor, Katherine A. Spielmann

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Spatially and temporally unpredictable rainfall patterns presented food production challenges to small-scale agricultural communities, requiring multiple risk-mitigating strategies to increase food security. Although site-based investigations of the relationship between climate and agricultural production offer insights into how individual communities may have created long-term adaptations to manage risk, the inherent spatial variability of climate-driven risk makes a landscape-scale perspective valuable. In this article, we model risk by evaluating how the spatial structure of ancient climate conditions may have affected the reliability of three major strategies used to reduce risk: drawing upon social networks in time of need, hunting and gathering of …

The Plurality Of Farmers’ Views On Soil Management Calls For A Policy Mix, Michael Braito, Heidi Leonhardt, Marianne Penker, Elisabeth Schauppenlehner-Kloyber, Georg Thaler, Courtney G. Flint

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

While soil degradation is continuing to threaten the global agricultural production system, a common understanding of how to encourage sustainable soil management is missing. With this study, we aim to provide new insights on targeted policies that address the heterogeneity of farmers. We scrutinized the plurality of views on soil management among arable farmers in the Austrian (and European) policy context. To do so, we applied Q methodology, a method that identifies different perspectives on a topic present in a population and analyzes this subjectivity statistically. We interviewed 34 arable land farmers who varied in their farming backgrounds. The results …

Pan-Arctic Analysis Of Cultural Ecosystem Services Using Social Media And Automated Content Analysis, Claire A. Runge, Vera Helene Hausner, Remi M. Daigle, Christopher Monz

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

In the Arctic, as in many parts of the world, interactions with the natural world are an important part of people's experience and are often recorded in photographs. Emerging methods for automated content analysis of social media data offers opportunities to discover information on cultural ecosystem services from photographs across large samples of people and countries. We analysed over 800,000 Flickr photographs using Google's Cloud Vision algorithm to identify the components of the natural environment most photographed and to map how and where different people interact with nature across eight Arctic countries. Almost all (91.1%) of users took one or …

Covid-19 And Systemic Racism, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

As more information about COVID-19 and its effects comes to light, it is clear that the impacts of the disease are not the same everywhere or for everyone. Some communities are hit harder than others. In many cases, COVID-19 hot spots highlight systemic problems that existed before “coronavirus” was a household word. The public action that a society takes when things get rough reflects its values, in this case, its judgments about who and what is really important. Unsurprisingly, the circumstances of marginalized groups are not sufficiently taken into account in the construction of social programs and systems. When these …

Utah State University: English Composition Library Instruction Program – A Program Within Programs, Katie Strand, Dory Rosenberg, Mckenzie Hyde

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

This case study book chapter presents missions, allocation of resources and labor, supervisory structures, prioritization approaches, and other processes and structures required to make the English Composition Library Instruction Program work. The program consists of an integration with Utah State University’s English 1010 and English 2010 courses. Both of these courses have their own separate objectives and learning outcomes, and the overall goal is that once students finish (or test out of) both courses, they will have developed foundational research and writing skills related to rhetorical argumentation. Our goal in describing our program is to showcase an example of an …

Recognition And Stigma Of Prescription Drug Abuse Disorder: Personal And Community Determinants, Robert Shupp, Scott Loveridge, Mark Skidmore, Brandn Green, Don Albrecht

Extension Research

Background

Prescription drug abuse (PDA) disorders continue to contribute to the current American opioid crisis. Within this context, our study seeks to improve understanding about stigma associated with, and symptom recognition of, prescription drug abuse.

Aims

Model the stigma and symptom recognition of PDA in the general population.

Methods

A randomized, nation-wide, online, vignette-focused survey of the general public (N = 631) was implemented with an oversample for rural counties. Logit estimation was used for analysis, with regional and county-level sociodemographic variables as controls.

Results

Individual respondents that self-identify as having or having had “a prescription drug abuse issue” were …

Towards The Effective Implementation Of Collaborative Problem Solving In Undergraduate Engineering Classrooms: Co-Designing Guidelines For Teaching Assistants, Saadeddine Shehab, Luettamae Lawrence, Emma Mercier, Anthony Salvatore Margotta, Elizabeth Renee Livingston, Mariana Silva, Taylor Tucker

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Typically, in higher education STEM classes, teaching assistants (TAs) perform teaching duties such as leading and running discussion sections where students apply concepts they have encountered in lectures. Nevertheless, research studies show that TAs struggle to effectively implement collaborative problem solving activities. One contributing factor is the lack of actual guidelines that can help TAs translate the theoretical ideas about implementing collaborative problem solving into concrete actions. This paper presents guidelines that can be used by TAs to implement collaborative problem solving activities in undergraduate engineering classrooms. Three researchers and two engineering teaching assistants participated in two, two-hour long workshops …

“How Well Does Your Structural Equation Model Fit Your Data?”: Is Marcoulides And Yuan’S Equivalence Test The Answer?, James Peugh, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Structural equation modeling is an ideal data analytical tool for testing complex relationships among many analytical variables. It can simultaneously test multiple mediating and moderating relationships, estimate latent variables on the basis of related measures, and address practical issues such as nonnormality and missing data. To test the extent to which a hypothesized model provides an appropriate characterization of the collective relationships among its variables, researchers must assess the “fit” between the model and the sample’s data. However, interpreting estimates of model fit is a problematic process. The traditional inferential test of model fit, the chi-square test, is biased due …

The Moral Pitfalls Of Color-Coded Coronavirus Warning Systems, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

As states around the country ease lockdown restrictions, some are putting into place systems advising people about threat levels. In some states, these are color-coded systems that strongly resemble the Homeland Security Advisory system, put into place by George W. Bush to inform people about the risk of threats from terrorism after the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Importance Of Adding Objective Data To Stakeholder Data In Needs Assessments, Jonathan J. Swinton, Tasha Killian, Paige Wray

Extension Research

When completing a needs assessment, Extension professionals should include both objective county data and stakeholder input data. Specifically, Extension professionals should identify potential areas of need, source available objective data, source data from relevant county stakeholders, and analyze similarities and differences in objective and stakeholder data. Needs assessments should be conducted in this manner to confirm the needs of a county; address risk of data skewed by subjective stakeholder opinion, particularly in small counties; and identify areas of greatest need. This method has been shown to be effective through implementation in a target rural county.

Mwdl Training Resources Task Force Committee Report, Andrea Payant

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

A summary of the activities and outputs of the MWDL Training Resources Task Force for 2019-2020. The presentation includes information about the many training resources that have been made available through the MWDL portal on the Library Workflow Exchange platform, which were contributed and compiled by MWDL partners to improve quality of service.

Gender Difference In Longitudinal Social And Personal Factors Related To Frequency Of Alcohol Consumption Of South Korean Adults: A Fixed-Effects Model, Baksun Sung

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal social and personal factors related to frequency of alcohol consumption by South Korean adults focused on comparisons between the men and women. Data came from the 2005-2016 Korea Welfare Panel Study. A fixed-effects model was used to examine the longitudinal correlations between dependent and independent variables. According to the present results, first, life satisfaction except for health satisfaction and marital status were not associated with alcohol consumption patterns by men. On the other hand, higher frequency of alcohol consumption by women is negatively associated with various life satisfaction variables and …

Reviewing Family Communication Scholarship: Toward A Framework For Conceptualizing A Communicative Perspective On Family Identity, Kaitlin E. Phillips, Jordan Soliz

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

In this manuscript we review multiple approaches to family communication research, and provide directions for future research as they relate to family culture. Specifically, we review family communication research that is either explicitly or implicitly tied to family culture. Given the importance of families and understanding the first social group that individuals often belong to, it is necessary to synthesize programs of research related to family culture. Thus, in order to further the progression of family research we provide an overview of where current research on family communication converges, present additional factors for family scholars to include in their work, …

The Quandary Of Contact Tracing Tech, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

All over the country, states are re-opening their economies. This is happening in defiance of recommendations from experts in infectious disease, which suggest that states only re-open after they have seen a fourteen-day decline in cases, have capacities to contact trace, have sufficient personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, and have sufficient testing capabilities to identify hotspots and deal with problems when they arise.

Rural Transportation Conference Participants’ Opinions And Concerns Pertaining To Transit For Older Adults, James W. Mjelde, Rebekka M. Dudensing, Geoffrey Battista, Jonathan Brooks, Maria Carrillo, Blane Counsil, Anil Giri, Man-Keun Kim, V. Dimitra Pyrialakou

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

Mobility remains a vital part of the well-being of rural-living, older adults and transportation disadvantaged persons. This study seeks to identify research and policy needs related to rural transit for older people and the transportation disadvantaged. To obtain this goal, the multidisciplinary study team conducted two activities as part of a 2016 rural transportation conference: a survey of conference attendees and open discussion to elicit additional information. Results suggest the attendees felt the need for rural transit for older adults would continue to increase with public and private funding being critical issues. Respondents had similar opinions about challenges and opportunities …

Stories Of Vulnerability:Coivd-19 In Slaughterhouses, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Cases of famous people who have contracted COVID-19 have made headlines. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson tested positive and later recovered. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wound up in intensive care. Many professional athletes have contracted the disease. More often than not, however, when we zoom in on coronavirus hotspots, we find that stories about vulnerability come into focus. Many of these stories go unheard unless they cause hardship or inconvenience for groups with more power.

Steam Maker Education: Conceal/Reveal Of Personal, Artistic And Computational Dimensions In High School Student Projects, Lindsay Lindberg, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Much of maker education’s expansion has focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) learning, leaving out equally promising opportunities for integrating arts learning. In this paper we share findings from a project in which high school students created electronic-textiles-based art representing features of a community important to them as a part of an elective high school computer science class. We addressed the following research questions: (1) What kinds of personal and community meanings did students convey through their maker projects? (2) How did students engage with artistic dimensions in their projects? (3) How did coding interactive features support students’ artwork? …

The Reciprocal Involvement Of Family Business Owners And Communities In Business Success, Jennifer Johnson Jorgensen, Diane Masuo, Linda Manikowske, Yoon Lee

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

It is believed that highly involved business owners and community members will yield benefits to ensure business and community sustainability over time. However, little research has delved into understanding the role of business owners’ involvement and the community’s involvement in business outcomes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the reciprocal involvement of family business owners and the community. To investigate this phenomenon, this study utilized survey data from a rare group of business owners who currently operate long-standing businesses. Results indicate that more involved business owners perceived higher levels of business success. When seeking a profit, business …

Prehistoric Irrigation In Central Utah: Chronology, Agricultural Economics, And Implications, Steven R. Simms, Tammy M. Rittenour, Chimalis Kuehn, Molly Boeka Cannon

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

In 1928, Noel Morss was shown “irrigation ditches” along Pleasant Creek on the Dixie National Forest near Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, by a local guide who contended they were ancient. We relocated the site and mapped the route of an unusual mountain irrigation canal. We conducted excavations and employed OSL and AMS 14C showing historic irrigation, and an earlier event between AD 1460 and 1636. Geomorphic evidence indicates that the canal existed prior to this time, but we cannot date its original construction. The canal is 7.2 km long, originating at 2,450 m asl and terminating at 2,170 m …

Mental Health And Weather Extremes In A Southeastern U.S. City: Exploring Group Differences By Race, Lisa Reyes Mason, Bonita B. Sharma, Jayme E. Walters, Christine C. Ekenga

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The connection between mental health and weather extremes is a public health concern, but less studied to date than physical health. This exploratory study examines the mental health impacts of two kinds of weather extremes increasingly linked to climate change—summer heat waves and extreme winter weather—in a low-to middle-income population in the Southeastern U.S. The distribution of mental health impacts, and potential pathways to them, are examined with a focus on race. Data are from a random-sample survey of 426 participants and are analyzed with bivariate statistics and path analysis. Self-reported mental health impacts, in both seasons, were common in …

Disconnect Within Agriculture And Ecosystem Climate Effects, Adaptations And Policy, Anastasia W. Thayer, Aurora M. Vargas, Thomas E. Lacher, Bruce A. Mccarl

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

Frequently, agriculture and ecosystems (AE) are seen as separate entities, causing entity specific solutions in response to threats. Anthropogenic climate change simultaneously stresses both agriculture and ecosystems along with their interactions. Induced increasing surface temperatures [1], altered precipitation [2], drought intensification [3], altered ground and surface water quantity/quality [4,5], and diminished soil moisture [6] force adaptations for AE, but these adaptations fail to be efficient when interdependencies are not considered. Additional adaptations will be necessary, as future projections anticipate even greater climate change [1].

The Two Types Of Society: Computationally Revealing Recurrent Social Formations And Their Evolutionary Trajectories, Lux Miranda, Jacob Freeman

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Comparative social science has a long history of attempts to classify societies and cultures in terms of shared characteristics. However, only recently has it become feasible to conduct quantitative analysis of large historical datasets to mathematically approach the study of social complexity and classify shared societal characteristics. Such methods have the potential to identify recurrent social formations in human societies and contribute to social evolutionary theory. However, in order to achieve this potential, repeated studies are needed to assess the robustness of results to changing methods and data sets. Using an improved derivative of the Seshat: Global History Databank, …

Marginalia No. 44, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University

Marginalia

• Dear Friends, page 1
• Katie Strand | First-Year Experience Librarian, page 3
• Warding Against Water Damage, page 4
• Women's Suffrage: Voting Rights in Cache County, page 5
• Utah Women Making History, page 6
• Colors of Life: Paintings by Pilar Pobil, page 7
• Datapalooza 2020, page 8
• Help the Friends of the Merrill-Cazier Library Support Open Educational Resources (OER)!, page 9
• Building Muscle Memory, page 10