Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Potential Weather Data Anomolies Within The Usda's Pasture Rangeland And Forage Insurance Program, Chad Steven Van Orden

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

The purpose of this study is to delve into the functionality of the PRF insurance program. The primary goal is to uncover any underlying anomalies which may inadvertently skew data within the program. Because the USDA uses NOAA’s weather stations regardless of location or timing of activation, it is consequential that the collected precipitation data may be inconsistent across both time and space. This phenomenon could have substantial and significant effects on the RMA’s PRF insurance program, resulting in producers being compensated inaccurately for their insurance claims.

Do Changing Resource Conditions Displace Anglers? A Study Of Contingent Travel Behaviors And Substitution Patterns On Minnesota’S North Shore, Adam Hestetune

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

Angling in Minnesota’s North Shore faces unique threats from the impacts of climate change. These impacts, such as changes in the presence and/or abundance of specific species, present management challenges which might also influence the demand for recreational angling throughout the region. Anglers’ adaptations to climate change in the North Shore region could shift densities, timing, and spatial use of the region’s fish populations, increasing the stress on ecological systems. Developing an empirically-grounded understanding of the contingent behaviors of anglers is imperative if the region’s fish populations are to be managed sustainably. Using a travel cost model, we measured the …

Called To Serve: Understanding The Role Of The Woman’S Mission Decision Narrative In Latter-Day Saint Culture And Belief, Rachel Ross

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

In my thesis I explore the role of mission decision narratives of women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before 2012, women could not serve missions until age 21. Once the minimum age was changed to 19 in October of 2012, many more women were able to serve on mission as the opportunity was less likely to disrupt their education or romantic relationships. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, missions are seen as a priesthood duty for men but a matter of choice for women. This ability to choose and the narrative that follows …

Metal Storytellers: Reflections Of War Culture In Silverplate B-29 Nose Art From The 509th Composite Group, Terri Wesemann

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

Most people are familiar with the Enola Gay—the B-29 that dropped Little Boy, the first atomic bomb, over the city of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Less known are the fifteen Silverplate B-29 airplanes that trained for the mission, that were named and later adorned with nose art. However, in recorded history, the atomic mission overshadowed the occupational folklore of this group. Because the abundance of planes were scrapped in the decade after World War II and most WWII veterans have passed on, all that remains of their occupational folklore are photographs, oral and written histories, some books, …

Modern Uses Of Assistance Animals In The Usa: Definitions, Access, And The Laws That Protect Them, Tina Reisner

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

One of the most arguable issues in our society, and within the field of modern disability policy and law is the epidemic surrounding the use of service animals. With several cases for and against the use of service animals in public entities, there is constant discussion of what is a legitimate service animal and who is able to utilize them. In this thesis, I establish the definition of disability and discuss the laws and policies that legitimized the use of service animals within the public sphere. Specifically, this work will draw upon genres such as policies and laws of disability, …

Understanding Taiwan Presidential Election: A Review Paper, Shida Zhong

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

This paper seeks to find a systematic understanding of the presidential election in Taiwan. Based on the Taiwanese national identity issue as the main social cleavage, I try to review the literature about Taiwan’s presidential election and find the factors that influence the result of presidential election. I try to sort the factors into three dimensions: issue voting, valence voting and social context. Meanwhile, this paper also contains a brief introduction of democratization in Taiwan as a history background and a short review on the past Taiwan presidential election. The purpose of paper is to shine a light on the …

Licentious Legends: A Folklore Podcast, Alexandra L. Haynes

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

Licentious Legends was created out of a need to both understand and educate about sexual contemporary legends; not just what they are and what defines them, but the effect that they have on those who experience them. The purpose of this podcast is not to shame, but to take what has been found and educate about the joys and dangers of these legends. These legends range from the everyday (such as "The Hook"), to legends about a young man killing himself with a plunger. In an effort to gather as many examples as they could, Faye interviewed several of their …

“Get Tough!”: A Case Study On The Development Of The Sport Ethic In Youth Lacrosse, Ross Budziszewski

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

While participation in youth sport is often linked with positive psychosocial and physical outcomes (Holt et al., 2017), this context can also cultivate ideals that lead to the development of unethical beliefs as well as unsafe sport practices (Al-Yaarbi & Kavussanu, 2017). The sport ethic is described as the deviant overconformity by an athlete to fit societal expectations of a sport’s high-performance culture (Hughes & Coakley, 1991). Strong beliefs in the sport ethic can lead to moral disengagement, antisocial behavior, and viewing sport like warfare (Shields, Funk, & Bredemeier, 2015). Although the sport ethic has been examined in competitive adult …

The Impact Of Immigration On Financial Markets, Jesse Baker

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

This paper studies the impact of immigration policy on financial markets. I estimate the cumulative abnormal returns surrounding two events the effective start date of the Immigration Act of 1990 and the implementation of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of Nicaragua and Honduras in 1999. Focusing on agriculture, construction, and manufacturing firms, I find that the CARs surrounding the events are indeed positive and significant, suggesting that the market anticipated growth among industries that are likely to hire Central American immigrants.

Alternative Futures For Dalton Wells, Mary Oliver

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

Visitation to the Moab region has increased significantly in recent years, causing campgrounds near town to be consistently full. The Dalton Wells area, a recreation area off Highway 191 just north of Moab, has become an especially popular place for dispersed camping, as it is free and in close proximity to town. Dalton Wells does not have the infrastructure or management necessary to support the current number of visitors, straining the site’s fragile desert ecosystem. The site also hosts a dinosaur quarry and the foundations of a historic CCC camp. These resources are unmaintained and at risk of pillaging and …

Firm Leverage And Performance, Zongbin Li

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

This paper examines the relationship between deviations from firm leverage and firm performance over time. Our results indicate that overlevered and underlevered firms both adversely affect corporate profitability. We use the 1987 tax cut as an event study, to reduce endogeneity concerns.

The Effects Of Demographic Changes On State Fiscal Balances In The U.S., Patrick Nartey

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

The share of the population that is 65 or older keeps on rising over the years in the U.S. According to the 2017 US population projection, the rate of growth of older population is much faster than other age groups. The growing aging population will affect the economy in many ways, especially in fiscal balance of regional governments. The main goal of the study is to examine the fiscal implication of increasing old-age population in U.S states. The old-age dependency ratio is used to measure aging population, which derived by diving the population 65 years and over by the 18 …

Minimum Quotation Size And Market Quality: Evidence From The Modern Otc Markets, Kemerey Thompson

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

I examine the effects of a change in the minimum quotation size on liquidity and volatility in the modern over-the-counter (OTC) markets. On November 12, 2012, the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (FINRA) introduced a pilot program to adjust the minimum quote sizes for securities transactions in the OTC markets. I find that an increase in the minimum quote size decreases OTC market quality as spreads widen and volatility increases. In contrast, I find that a decrease in the minimum quote size improves OTC market quality, but the results are sensitive to the price of the security. These results offer important …

Religion And Third Parties: The 2016 Presidential Election In Utah, Nathan Lee Osborne

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

Third parties in the United States face a litany of obstacles to electoral success. Duverger’s Law explains that single-member, plurality-based elections will favor a two party system. However, on rare occasion a third party candidate is able to do abnormally well, even winning elections on occasion. Evan McMullin presents a unique success story among third party campaigns. He is without the name recognition, strong financial backing, or political experience that most successful third party candidates have. Despite these challenges, he became the second most successful third party presidential candidate in the history of the state of Utah. Evan McMullin’s success …

Economic Base In Emerging Economies: Estimating Regional Multipliers In Ecuador, Justin Perry

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

When a subnational input-output matrix is unavailable, a non-governmental organization (NGO) may turn to a shortcut method in order to project its indirect economic impact in a region. The location quotient is the most common choice in developed nations, but has serious theoretical flaws in a developing-nation context. We explore the minimum requirements method as a cost-effective yet robust method to project the impact of an NGO in the Imbabura province of Ecuador. We find that every $1 of exogenous local spending stimulates between $1.32 and $1.62 of indirect economic impact in the region.

The Relationship Between Narrative Proficiency And Syntactic Complexity Of Spontaneously Generated Stories Elicited From Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder As Compared To Those Elicited From Children With Developmental Language Disorder, Samantha Winward

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

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a narrative intervention on narrative proficiency and the use of complex sentences for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

Method: Two multiple-baseline across participants studies were conducted. Five participants with ASD ages 8 to 12 and six participants with DLD ages 6;7 to 10;4 participated in each study. Narrative proficiency and syntactic complexity were examined during baseline, intervention, and follow-up periods.

Results: All of the children in the ASD increased in narrative and syntactic complexity by the end of the study. …