Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Hellhounds And Helpful Ghost Dogs: Conflicting Perceptions Of “Man’S Best Friend” Encoded In Supernatural Narrative, Kiersten Carr

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

Black dogs are a type of spectral entity that, according to legend, have been haunting the British Isles for centuries. While the legends have many regional variations, the common feature remains a large black dog, often with eyes “large as saucers” or sometimes, flaming, who appears and then disappears, often without a trace. In many of the legends, the black dog is malevolent: assaulting travelers, frightening livestock to death, attacking other dogs, haunting graveyards and gibbets, and heralding death or disaster. In other versions, however, the black dog acts as a protector to those in need, warding off disaster with …

Financial Outcomes From Selection Of Insurance Intervals, Shana Anderson Stewart

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

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential value of enrolling in rainfall-index for pasture, rangeland, and forage insurance for Utah producers. A stochastic optimization model is used to identify the optimal selection of insurance intervals that will provide the maximum indemnity payments less premiums. Four Utah counties were selected for analysis. Results indicate that positive returns will occur greater than 60% of the time in all counties with the selected insurance intervals. The optimal months to insure varied in each county.

Lobbying Legislation And Cumulative Abnormal Returns, Brenan Stewart

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

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (Pub.L. 110-81, 121 Stat. 735, enacted September 14, 2007) was passed by the U.S. Congress in order “to strengthen public disclosure requirements concerning lobbying activity and funding. It placed more restrictions on gifts for members of Congress and their staff, and provides for mandatory disclosure of earmarks in expenditure bills.” Treating this event as a natural experiment, we examine how this legislation affected the Cumulative Abnormal Returns (CARs) of firms that lobbied in the year(s) leading up to the passing of the legislation. We find that companies that lobbied in the …

Renewable Portfolio Standards And Environmental Goals, Josh T. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are one of the most common state policies meant to encourage clean energy use. They require that utilities purchase electricity from certain qualifying electricity generators, usually with no reference to the cost of that electricity. AlthoughRPS are meant to clean up electricity generation through using clean energy sources instead of fossil fuels, they may not do so effectively. Further, some energy companies may lobby state legislators to include their energy sources regardless of their actual environmental benefit. The actual relationship between enacting an RPS and a state’s emissions from energy production is unclear. I explore RPS …

The Intergenerational Transmission Of Parental Practices That Influence The Educational Outcome Of Latinxs In The United States, Ana E. Kemple Reeves

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parental involvement practices in education have traditionally referred to overt forms of involvement such as attending school meetings, parent teacher conferences, and volunteering at the school. Research suggests that Latinx parents do not utilize these approaches as much as they do subtler practices. These practices are manifested in parents’ communication with their children, their parenting styles, and the academic expectations they place on their children. The current study intended to recognize the parental practices used by Latinx parents that contribute to educational attainment and combat fixed beliefs regarding their lack of involvement in their children’s education. The data collection was …

Efficacy Of Translocation As A Management Tool For Urban Mule Deer In Utah, Channing R. Howard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An increase in urbanization in the United States has led to an increase in human-wildlife interactions with deer (Odocoileus spp.) which have been able to adapt and thrive in these urban environments. In Utah, urbanization has occurred along the Wasatch Front which was once traditional mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) winter range habitat. This urban expansion coupled with an increasing use of these urban areas by mule deer, have led to increasing conflicts with deer. Overabundant urban deer have led to increased concerns over safety from deer-vehicle collisions, and damage to personal property including gardens and landscaping. …

Using Ecological Momentary Assessment To Clarify The Function Of Hoarding, Jennifer Krafft

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Experts have argued that hoarding disorder occurs in part because hoarding behaviors help individuals avoid distress and feel positive emotions in the moment. For example, when people who hoard choose to save something rather than discard it, they may avoid feelings of anxiety, and when people who hoard acquire something new, they may feel excited. However, no previous studies have examined whether or not these changes actually occur in the moment. These processes could also potentially be altered by how individuals respond to their emotions in the moment. For example, individuals who hoard may have stronger emotional reactions, distinguish less …

Identifying And Assessing Conflicts Between Future Development And Current Migratory Bird Habitat Around Farmington Bay, Utah, Aubin A. Douglas

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

Every year, the Great Salt Lake (GSL) and its associated wetlands provide critical habitat for over 250 migratory bird species from both the Pacific and Central Flyways. The GSL borders the Wasatch Front, which is the fastest growing and most populous region in Utah. To support the ever-increasing working population, the government of Utah aspires to increase the robust economic growth of the region through economic incentives and development of infrastructure. As this area continues to develop, greater pressure will be placed on the surrounding natural resources, including the GSL, its wetlands, and the open space and agricultural land that …

How Children Describe Negative Adoption Experiences, Mckenzie Paskett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Adoption faces stigmas from society which affects peoples' perceptions of adoptees, their birth parents, and adoptive parent s; one of the most prominent being that adoption is the "second best" route to getting children (Baxter, Norwood, Asbury, & Scharp , 2014). Adoption success is mixed with some adapting well, while others have negative experience s. Studying themes about how and why negative adoption experiences happen could be beneficial to preventing them in the future. There is a unique perspective between parents and children and so the central research question for this study is: how do children describe their negative adoption …

Corn Exports Extrication, Claire Hutchins

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

Annual corn exports, as a percentage of total use, exhibit a persistent, downward trend starting in the mid-1970s. Changes in government policy and domestic supply-demand dynamics are widely held as the determinants for corn price movement over the same period. However, significant disputes have emerged since 2013 which attribute the last five years of corn market underperformance to minor trade vicissitudes between the U.S. and China. This report estimates a corn price determination model which demonstrates that foreign exports play an insignificant role in the U.S. corn market between 1997 and 2018.

A Sociological Evaluation Of A Large Team Science Project: The Iutah Experience, K. Taylor Dean

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many contemporary scientific research projects are composed of large numbers of researchers working together to provide solutions to social issues that affect our society. In an attempt to understand and address these issues, projects have been implemented where researchers from a wide variety of disciplines come together and collaborate. As this research includes a variety researchers, it requires a unique approach. Questions such as how to make these projects as effective as possible, how to properly evaluate these projects, and how to gauge the quality and success of these projects need to be answered.

These are directly addressed in this …

Examining Market Channels For Local Produce: Consumer Affordability And Producer Profitability, Karli A. Salisbury

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examines the price differences of commonly consumed produce between farmers’ markets and grocery stores in Utah. Our first objective is to compare price differences of a basket of produce between farmers’ markets and grocery stores. We compare these price differences in terms of low-income consumer affordability and if an individual can afford a market basket of produce using a combination of Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) dollars and Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) incentive dollars. Our second objective for this study is to establish the price premiums of individual produce items based on where the produce was sold, …

Comparing The Predictive Power Of Executive Function Assessment Strategies On Preschool Mathematics Performance, Jacob A. Esplin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A child’s executive function (aspects: working memory, response inhibition, and set-shifting between sets of rules) capabilities have been found to strongly relate to their mathematics skills. However, while the relationship has been strongly supported by researchers, a consensus has not been reached regarding the specifics of the relationship between executive function and math skills, including which executive function aspect is most predictive of mathematical performance and the differences in said relationship that might be found when examining both numeracy, such as counting skills and basic operations, and geometry skills. The lack of consensus may be in part because researchers have …

To Be, Or Not To Be (Like My Sibling), That Is The Question: Examining Modeling And Differentiation Behaviors Among Siblings In Organized Youth Sport, Keith Vakafutu Osai

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Sibling relationships are typically the most enduring relationship in the family unit. A large body of research documents how sibling relationships occur in the context of the immediate family, how they impact behaviors such as risk-taking, how different cultures view siblings, and how similarities and differences among siblings can be attributed to genetics as well as shared and non-shared experiences. However, one relatively common family context in which sibling dynamics are less understood is organized youth sport. The present dissertation was designed to address multiplegaps in the present literature. This dissertation is comprised of two complementary studies. Study 1, guided …

The Relationship Of Gender-Based Microaggressions And Internalized Sexism On Mental Health Outcomes: A Mother-Daughter Study, Nicole D. Feigt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Subtle occurrences of discrimination, insults, and slights against gender can impact woman of all ages, although little research has been done on the mental health impacts of these events on adolescents or middle-aged women. Additionally, a person’s own views on sex roles and sexism may impact how these events affect them. The following study examined the relationship between mothers and daughters on variables related to ambivalent sexism, gender-based microaggressions, and anxiety and depression. One hundred two mothers and their adolescent daughters completed various online surveys through the use of a Qualtrics panel. The sample was fairly representative, with respondents varying …

Interest Groups And Supreme Court Commerce Clause Regulation, 1920-1937, Barrett L. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Did interest groups influence the Supreme Court’s interpretation of federal economic regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause leading up to the Supreme Court’s 1937 reversal? Recent scholarship has begun a renewed study of this tumultuous era seeking alternative explanations for the Court’s behavior beyond the conventional explanations concerning Roosevelt’s court packing plan. I build on this literature by extending the discussion to the influence that interest groups may have had on the Court. I propose that interest groups served as a supporting and influential audience for the Supreme Court as the justices’ institutional legitimacy became threatened by both the political …

Institutional Adaptation To Water Scarcity In Utah Irrigation Companies, Grant Patty

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A review of how water institutions in the American West have changed in response to arid conditions as a means of examining the possibility of further change as an adaptation to climate change induced water scarcity. Two institutions are examined, prior appropriation and shares.

While much of the American West operates under prior appropriation formally, irrigators have found Coasian methods of lowering transaction costs by forming irrigation companies. Irrigation companies own appropriative rights and redefine them, typically as shares. Lower transaction costs allow irrigators to trade more freely within companies, though trades between companies still face high transaction costs.

Using …

Effect Of Acceptance Versus Psychoeducation On Hoarding, Clarissa W. Ong

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hoarding disorder (HD) is a mental health condition characterized by difficulty letting go of possessions, resulting in clutter that prevents use of active living spaces. Consequences associated with hoarding include strained family relationships, distress for children in the home, and increased burden on social services. Currently, the most empirically supported treatment for HD is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which includes such components as education about the nature of hoarding, challenging unhelpful thoughts, and exposure to distressing stimuli. Despite its demonstrated effectiveness, CBT does not result in clinically significant improvement for at least 50% of individuals, indicating the need for alternative interventions …

Resource Competition Among The Uinta Basin Fremont, Elizabeth A. Hora-Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Archaeologists describe the Uinta Fremont (A.D. 0 – 1300) as a mixed foraging-farming society that underwent a dramatic social change from A.D. 700 – 1000. Researchers observe through different architectural styles and subsistence activity a change from large, aggregated settlements to more dispersed and defensively oriented villages and hamlets. The Ideal Free Distribution (IFD) model provides an explanatory framework through which to interpret these changes. IFD predicts the order in which people or animals will occupy habitats based on a habitat’s relative suitability and suggests hypothetical behaviors that people or animals might engage in to improve or maintain the relative …

Tanf Funding Allocation Differences In Red Vs. Blue States: Emphasis On Out-Of-Wedlock Births And Divorces, Camille Mindrum

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The 1996 welfare reforms were part of a bipartisan consensus led by Democratic President Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress about the downfalls of the existing United States welfare system. Under these reforms, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), which was an entitlement program that had been in effect since 1935. Similar to AFDC, TANF intended to serve as a safety net that provides cash assistance to needy families, but it also aimed to reduce government dependence by attempting to instill values in welfare recipients through stricter work requirements and eligibility criteria. …

Understanding A Therapist's Way Of Being: A Modified Delphi Study, Kaity Pearl Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research has indicated that there are certain ingredients that make therapy successful. One of these ingredients may be the actual therapist providing the therapy. The concept of a person’s way of being appears in some literature, but the concept of therapist way of being has not been well developed and explored. The purpose of this study was to form a definition of therapist way of being, to gain an understanding of how way of being influences a client’s change in therapy, and to describe and ways of being that are beneficial and detrimental to a client’s journey of change.

Data …

Insomnia And Use Of Sleep Medications In Predicting Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease In The Cache County Study, Elizabeth Kathleen Vernon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Over 71 million Americans will be over the age of 65 by the year 2030. With this rise in adults aged 65 years and older also comes an exponential rise in the estimated number of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD); this number is expected to exceed 24 million Americans by the year 2040. The number one risk factor for AD is older age; this factor is also associated with an increased risk in developing a sleep disturbance. Sleep disturbances have been associated with an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and decline in overall health. Recent research has examined the …

Maternal Depression In The United States: A Geographic Comparison Between Geographic Regions And Rurality, Samantha J. Patterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Health disparities exist between rural and urban areas but geographic comparisons of mental health are less studied and conclusive. Maternal depression has not been examined by region or rurality in the United States but might be influenced by geographic locations due to the variance of social support and healthcare available in some locations compared to others. The research focuses on (1) whether rurality increases a mother’s risk of experiencing depression and (2) if region impacts a mother’s risk of depression. I used the NESARC-III data that included three general depressive disorders: major depressive episode, major depressive disorder, and dysthymia. Regions …

Justice And The River: Community Connections To An Impaired Urban River In Salt Lake City, Taya L. Carothers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Local communities have the right to participate in decision-making about environmental resources near where they live. Local governments have tried to gather feedback from communities to help improve the decisions they make, but have not always done a good job getting feedback from minority or urban communities. This dissertation provides one step toward obtaining this kind of public input in a majority minority community surrounding the Jordan River in Salt Lake City. Children and adults participated in this research. I present findings from two surveys, from work with children, and from adult interviews to understand how this community relates to …

The Heat Is On! Perspectives And Practices Regarding Extreme Heat Risk, Emily D. Esplin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Remembering negative experiences with extreme heat may promote future protective actions and provide insight to improve heat risk awareness and communication practices. This two-part thesis found 1) that experiencing heat-related health symptoms predicted what Americans would do to protect themselves and others during subsequent heat waves; and 2) that Utah professionals regard heat-related experience as an important factor in how they responded to extreme heat events.

In the first study, a US national survey showed that personal experience with heat-related health symptoms was related to the tendency to say that one engaged in different protective behaviors, while other factors like …

The Power Law Distribution Of Agricultural Land Size, Lauren Chamberlain

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper demonstrates that the distribution of county level agricultural land size in the United States is best described by a power-law distribution, a distribution that displays extremely heavy tails. This indicates that the majority of farmland exists in the upper tail. Our analysis indicates that the top 5% of agricultural counties account for about 25% of agricultural land between 1997-2012. The power-law distribution of farm size has important implications for the design of more efficient regional and national agricultural policies as counties close to the mean account for little of the cumulative distribution of total agricultural land. This has …

Social Stability And Promotion In The Communist Party Of China, Siniša Mirić

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Communist Party of China CCP) controls all political, economic, and military issues in China. In the absence of elections, the only route of recruitment at higher levels of the political hierarchy in the Party is an official promotion. The scholarship on promotions offers two main explanations for advancement inside the Communist Party of China: (i) informal connections between high officials and candidates, and (ii) merit of candidates. This scholarship disregards, however, the importance of achievement of political targets by the candidates, specifically, their ability to deliver social stability.

Like every authoritarian regime, the CCP faces threats from the masses …

Why Do They Do That? Understanding Factors Influencing Visitor Spatial Behavior In Parks And Protected Areas, Abigail M. Sisneros-Kidd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Visitors to parks and protected areas within the United States and worldwide often visit these areas with a particular destination in mind, such as seeing Old Faithful erupt in Yellowstone National Park or standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. These visitor use destinations, and the pathways leading to them, such as trails and roadways, see high levels of use, and as a result, impacts to soil, vegetation, air, water, soundscapes, and night skies that result from this use. The field of recreation ecology studies these impacts to park and protected area resources resulting …

Putting Weight In Context: Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (Act) Guided Self-Help For Weight Self-Stigma, Sarah A. Potts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Obesity is a serious public health issue within the U.S. and minimal long-term success is found with standard behavioral weight-loss treatments. Typical weight-loss interventions do not acknowledge psychological factors, such as weight-related stigma, which may play a role in the development and maintenance of poor coping behaviors, such as unhealthy eating patterns. Individuals who are obese may often experience weight-related stigma present in society and are ultimately at risk for weight self-stigma, which is related to poor health behaviors and increased psychological distress. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), can be effective for treating numerous mental health presentations, might also be …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) And Positive And Negative Social Support As Components Of The Interpersonal Psychological Theory Of Suicide In The United States Military Veterans, Jordan M. Kugler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Veterans are at a greater risk for suicide compared to the general population. Suicide risk further increases for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS) states that a combination of higher perceived burden and lower thwarted belonging increases risk for suicidal ideation (SI), and when SI is present, higher acquired capability for suicide (ACFS) increases risk for suicide attempt. The IPTS is well supported in samples of the general population, but understudied in military samples. The current study tested the IPTS, using PTSD severity in place of perceived burden, and bothersomeness of negative social …