Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Brigham Young University

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 5581 - 5610 of 10256

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Seasonal Habitat Selection By Greater Sage Grouse In Strawberry Valley Utah, Riley D. Peck Dec 2011

Seasonal Habitat Selection By Greater Sage Grouse In Strawberry Valley Utah, Riley D. Peck

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined winter habitat use and nesting ecology of greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Strawberry Valley (SV), Utah located in the north-central part of the state. We monitored sage grouse with the aid of radio telemetry throughout the year, but specifically used information from the winter and nesting periods for this study. Our study provided evidence that sage grouse show fidelity to nesting areas in subsequent years regardless of nest success. We found only 57% of our nests located within the 3 km distance from an active lek typically used to delineate critical nesting habitat. We …

Go to article

Stable Isotope Diet Reconstruction Of Feral Horses (Equus Caballas) On The Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, Usa, Megan Kathleen Nordquist Dec 2011

Stable Isotope Diet Reconstruction Of Feral Horses (Equus Caballas) On The Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, Usa, Megan Kathleen Nordquist

Theses and Dissertations

Feral horse management has become a subject of significant controversy in the United States. This is because of differing opinions and minimal recent empirical data on feral horses. In recent years, numbers of feral horses have increased due to governmental horse removal restrictions (specifically the Wild Horse and Burro act of 1971). With increasing numbers of feral horses on rangelands, land managers are challenged with identifying the appropriate course of action for satisfying groups with differing opinions. The purpose of this study is to characterize diet consumption through the use of stable isotope dietary analysis (δ15N and δ13C). We did …

Go to article

Educating Mexico In Emilio Fernández's Río Escondido And Rosario Castellanos's Balún Canán, David Scott Dalton Dec 2011

Educating Mexico In Emilio Fernández's Río Escondido And Rosario Castellanos's Balún Canán, David Scott Dalton

Theses and Dissertations

Following the bloody Revolution of 1910-1917, Mexican leaders took a great interest in rebuilding their devastated, war-torn country. In an attempt to further national unity, the post-Revolutionary regime sought to construct a unified, national identity. Many officials, such as José Vasconcelos, Mexico's first Secretario de Educación, viewed education as one of the keys to redeeming the nation. These government officials, empowered by their ideals and their sense of civic duty, worked to extend educational benefits to even the most overlooked segments of Mexican society. This thesis will examine two fictional texts that consider these efforts to transform and unify …

Go to article

Geochemical Analysis Of Ancient Activities At Two Plazas In Cobá, Mexico, Eric G. Coronel Dec 2011

Geochemical Analysis Of Ancient Activities At Two Plazas In Cobá, Mexico, Eric G. Coronel

Theses and Dissertations

Two plazas at Cobá, Mexico, may have been the place of market activity during the classic Maya period. The intense decomposition in the warm, moist soils of the Yucatan Peninsula precludes the identification of organic artifacts in archaeological contexts, but phosphorus and trace elements accumulation in soils may provide evidence of marketing activities. The spatial patterns of P and trace element concentrations were used to elucidate the types of ancient Maya activities that took place in those plazas. Phosphorus concentrations are highly correlated (p-value <0.01) with Fe, Mn, and Zn levels in both Plaza B and D. Although the soil geochemistry of Plaza B does not show a marketplace pattern in comparison with previous studies, the elemental concentrations and distributions within Plaza D join other lines of evidence to support the premise that marketplace activities took place at that location. Soil samples were analyzed using DTPA extraction, Mehlich II, Olsen, and Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (PXRF). Experiments were performed to study the suitability of PXRF for field studies. Aspects that were studied include granule size, soil moisture content, protective plastic films that could interfere with the X-Ray signal when placing the samples on top of the analyzer, and a comparison of certified soil standards to the PXRF elemental concentration readings. The results suggest that a field laboratory could be set up to air-dry and sieve soil samples to a minimum mesh size of #10 (> 2 mm).

Go to article

Traces Of Existence, Jayna Brown Quinn Dec 2011

Traces Of Existence, Jayna Brown Quinn

Theses and Dissertations

This project report accounts for my final MFA project, Traces of Existence. This body of work began as an exploration, partially borne of the love of genealogical research translated into visual art by exploring the things my ancestors touched, be it ephemera, the soil they lived on, or artifacts they left behind, and partly as a pathway through which I could learn to understand more about my own identity, all the while finding beauty in the mundane. Although the works are personal, it is my hope that the viewer will respond to them in his/her own way, and that …

Go to article

Gains In Fluency Measures During Study Abroad In China, Jeongwoon Kim Dec 2011

Gains In Fluency Measures During Study Abroad In China, Jeongwoon Kim

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis study investigates gains in the speaking of China study abroad (SA) students from Brigham Young University. Pre-and post-program Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) tasks were used to generate multiple fluency measures, such as native judges' subjective fluency ratings, word count, number of unique words, number of filler words, mean pause length, tonal accuracy, etc. The study results display significant differences between pre- and post-tests for all fluency measures. In other words, China SA students were perceived to be more fluent in their speech by native judges after SA; their speech samples show more word (token and type) production, …

Go to article

Giants, Dragons, And The Confrontation With "Den Schrecklichen Mystischen Naturkomplexen" – Apocalyptic Intertextuality In Alfred Döblin's Berge Meere Und Giganten, Nathan J. Bates Dec 2011

Giants, Dragons, And The Confrontation With "Den Schrecklichen Mystischen Naturkomplexen" – Apocalyptic Intertextuality In Alfred Döblin's Berge Meere Und Giganten, Nathan J. Bates

Theses and Dissertations

Berge Meere und Giganten (BMG) by Alfred Döblin is a fictional account of future events in which humanity brings about the ruin of western civilization by its own technological hubris. Although BMG has been examined considerably for its literary merit in light of the Döblin corpus, few scholars have identified Döblin's work as an apocalyptic text especially after the Judeo-Christian tradition. The apocalyptic nature of BMG implies a profound religious experience on the part of the author, which in my view offers at least one plausible explanation for Döblin's repeated fixation with BMG. In my thesis, I explicate the …

Go to article

Using Design Layers Model To Develop Computer-Based Training For The Center For Teaching And Learning's Usability Center, Matthew B. Guinn Dec 2011

Using Design Layers Model To Develop Computer-Based Training For The Center For Teaching And Learning's Usability Center, Matthew B. Guinn

Theses and Dissertations

The Usability Center training course is an instructional resource for BYU faculty, employees, and students to prepare them to effectively use the BYU Usability Center. This document describes the process and results of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating the Usability Center training course. By taking this course, participants learn the basics of planning, piloting, executing, and reporting their usability activities and the skills prerequisite to using BYU's Usability Center.

Go to article

The Portable Art Gallery: Facilitating Student Autonomy And Ownership Through Exhibiting Artwork, Jethro D. Gillespie Dec 2011

The Portable Art Gallery: Facilitating Student Autonomy And Ownership Through Exhibiting Artwork, Jethro D. Gillespie

Theses and Dissertations

In an attempt to help a class of high school AP Studio Art students find a more authentic sense of autonomy and ownership with their own art projects, the author has constructed a portable art gallery space designated for the exhibition of student artwork. Through a theoretical framework of post-structuralism, as well as a hybrid methodological approach, including tenets of both action research and grounded theory, he was able to explore how de-centralizing traditional, pedagogical notions of power in the classroom and utilizing contemporary art education practices affected AP Studio Art students' experience in the art classroom. By placing an …

Go to article

Coming To Terms: The Challenge Of Creating Christian Vocabulary In A Non-Christian Land, Van C. Gessel Dec 2011

Coming To Terms: The Challenge Of Creating Christian Vocabulary In A Non-Christian Land, Van C. Gessel

BYU Studies

Because words, in any language, are not actual concrete objects but simply "sounds," "symbols," or "signifiers" that at best can only be a shadowy approximation of reality and truth, we must regard language as one of the slipperiest of the slippery treasures of mortality. If language itself produces, at best, a shadowy approximation of reality and truth, then translating that shadowy approximation from one language to another significantly compounds the slipperiness. The difficulty increases when translating Christian terms into a historically non-Christian language and culture such as Japanese. Thus, as Christian translators have attempted to borrow words from other languages …

Go to article

Religious Metaphor And Cross-Cultural Communication: Transforming National And International Identities, Joseph E. Richardson Dec 2011

Religious Metaphor And Cross-Cultural Communication: Transforming National And International Identities, Joseph E. Richardson

BYU Studies

The challenges of intercultural communication multiply in religious discourse, with its objective of translating abstract ideas into cultures and languages with sufficient power to transform individual, ethnic, and regional identities and to build cohesive communities of faith. Metaphor plays a primary role in this transformative communication. A powerful tool to abbreviate and facilitate communication, metaphor enables individuals to transmit abstract ideas quickly, efficiently, and memorably. Metaphor is not just a tool for efficient communication; it also guides thought, extends ideas, and influences behavior. Daily language is full of metaphor, which affects our beliefs and faith and, consequently, our actions. As …

Go to article

Fast Spheroidal Weathering With Colluvium Deposition, Mckay T. Farley Nov 2011

Fast Spheroidal Weathering With Colluvium Deposition, Mckay T. Farley

Theses and Dissertations

It can be difficult to quickly and easily create realistic sandstone terrain. Film makers often need to generate realistic terrain for establishing the setting of their film. Many methods have been created which address terrain generation. One such method is using heightmaps which encode height as a gray-value in a 2d image. Most terrain generation techniques don't admit concavities such as overhangs and arches. We present an algorithm that operates on a voxel grid for creating 3d terrain. Our algorithm uses curvature estimation to weather away the terrain. We speed up our method using a caching mechanism that stores the …

Go to article

Improved Stereo Vision Methods For Fpga-Based Computing Platforms, Wade S. Fife Nov 2011

Improved Stereo Vision Methods For Fpga-Based Computing Platforms, Wade S. Fife

Theses and Dissertations

Stereo vision is a very useful, yet challenging technology for a wide variety of applications. One of the greatest challenges is meeting the computational demands of stereo vision applications that require real-time performance. The FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a readily-available technology that allows many stereo vision methods to be implemented while meeting the strict real-time performance requirements of some applications. Some of the best results have been obtained using non-parametric stereo correlation methods, such as the rank and census transform. Yet relatively little work has been done to study these methods or to propose new algorithms based on …

Go to article

Carry And Expand: A New Nomadic Interaction Paradigm, Richard B. Arthur Nov 2011

Carry And Expand: A New Nomadic Interaction Paradigm, Richard B. Arthur

Theses and Dissertations

People are nomadic; traveling from place to place. As a user travels, he may need access to his digital information, including his data, applications, and settings. A convenient way to supply this access is to have the user carry that digital information in a portable computer such as a laptop or smart phone. As Moore's Law continues to operate, devices such as smart phones can easily perform the computing necessary for a user's work. Unfortunately, the amount of data a human can receive and convey through such devices is limited. To receive more information humans require more screen real estate. …

Go to article

Bearing-Only Cooperative-Localization And Path-Planning Of Ground And Aerial Robots, Rajnikant Sharma Nov 2011

Bearing-Only Cooperative-Localization And Path-Planning Of Ground And Aerial Robots, Rajnikant Sharma

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we focus on two fundamental problems related to the navigation of ground robots and small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs): cooperative localization and path planning. The theme running through in all of the work is the use of bearing only sensors, with a focus on monocular video cameras mounted on ground robots and UAVs. To begin with, we derive the conditions for the complete observability of the bearing-only cooperative localization problem. The key element of this analysis is the Relative Position Measurement Graph (RPMG). The nodes of an RPMG represent vehicle states and the edges represent bearing measurements …

Go to article

The Effect Of Sexblindness And Sexawareness On Workplace Related Gender Bias, Katie Nichol Nov 2011

The Effect Of Sexblindness And Sexawareness On Workplace Related Gender Bias, Katie Nichol

Theses and Dissertations

The present study was an adaptation of Richeson and Nussbaum's (2004) study of racism to gender bias. Two different gender ideologies were theoretically analyzed, then the influence of these ideologies on implicit and explicit forms of gender bias was examined. Psychology undergraduates were presented with a prompt promoting either a sexblind or sexaware approach to reducing gender bias. Participants then completed a measure of implicit (IAT Gender/Career) and explicit (MAWWWS) bias. Results suggested that, relative to the sexaware perspective, the sexblind perspective generated less implicit gender bias. There was no difference between ideological groups on the explicit measure. The findings …

Go to article

Effect Of Experimentally-Induced Anterior Knee Pain On Postural Control, Emily Elizabeth Falk Nov 2011

Effect Of Experimentally-Induced Anterior Knee Pain On Postural Control, Emily Elizabeth Falk

Theses and Dissertations

Context: Knee pain is experienced by many people. Because of this, authors have started researching the effects of pain on lower extremity mechanics and also on static and dynamic postural control. However, the effects of pain are difficult to study due to associated confounding variables. Objective: We asked: (1) Will experimentally-induced anterior knee pain alter perceived pain using the visual analogue scale? ; (2) will perceived pain affect postural control as measured by center-of-pressure during static and dynamic movement? Design: Crossover. Setting: Biomechanics laboratory. Participants: Fifteen healthy subjects. Intervention: Each subject participated in single leg quiet stance, landing, and walking …

Go to article

Indigenismo In The Mexican Photographs Of Tina Modotti: The Revolutionary And The Indigenista, Shannon Dame Nov 2011

Indigenismo In The Mexican Photographs Of Tina Modotti: The Revolutionary And The Indigenista, Shannon Dame

Theses and Dissertations

During Tina Modotti's time in Mexico in the 1920s, much of her photography and political activities focused on and fought for the rights of those who had been previously overlooked and marginalized, namely the indigenous people of Mexico. Many government officials, artists and intellectuals at the time believed that it was through the indigenous culture that Mexico could redeem itself and create its own national identity. Indigenismo, the philosophy that supported this claim, was of interest to Modotti and was a recurring theme throughout her photography. Following the Mexican Revolution of 1910, indigenismo appeared to be the solution to …

Go to article

Maternal, Neonatal And Feeding Type Factors Associated With Severity Of Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Cheryl Ann Miner Nov 2011

Maternal, Neonatal And Feeding Type Factors Associated With Severity Of Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Cheryl Ann Miner

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To identify statistical associations with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) severity as dichotomized into cases with Bell stage II and III disease.
Study Design: We conducted a retrospective study using eight consecutive years of data from a multihospital healthcare system analyzed NEC severity (Bell stage II vs. III).
Results: We identified 220 neonates with stage ≥ II who had 225 separate episodes of NEC (157 stage II and 68 stage III). Those with stage III were born at earlier gestational age (P<0.0001) and lower birth weight (P<0.0001). Diagnosis of NEC occurred on about the same day of life in stage II and stage III cases. Those who developed stage III had significantly higher C-reactive protein (P<0.0001), I/T ratio (P= 0.0005), mean platelet volume (MPV) (P= 0.0001) and lower pH (P<0.0001) and platelet counts (P<0.0001). Transfusions were more common to those who progressed to stage III (P<0.0001). Regression analysis indicated higher odds of stage III in relationship to the volume of RBC transfusions (OR 2.41, {CI 1.85 to 3.11}, P<0.0001) and pasteurized human milk (PHM) (OR 1.32, {CI 1.07 to 1.62}, P = 0.0089). In contrast, feeding early mother's own milk (colostrum) for five days reduced the odds for stage III (OR 0.802, {CI 0.67 to 0.96}, P=0.0170). Those with small bowel resection were less likely to have received mother's own milk before NEC (OR 0.94, {CI 0.89 to 0.99}, P = 0.019) and factors predicting death from NEC were a low pH (OR 2.21, {CI 1.27 to 3.85}, P = 0.0005) and less colostrum (OR 0.96, {CI 0.94 to 0.99}, P = 0.003).
Conclusions: RBC transfusions and PHM increased the odds for stage III NEC, whereas early mother's own milk five days …

Go to article

Adventures In North America Based On My Own Experiences: My Trip To California, Andreas Hanselmann, Ch. H. Im Bundt, Richard Blatter, Translator, Leo Schelbert, Editor Nov 2011

Adventures In North America Based On My Own Experiences: My Trip To California, Andreas Hanselmann, Ch. H. Im Bundt, Richard Blatter, Translator, Leo Schelbert, Editor

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Now that the war was finished, I had to look for a job. I decided to go first to New York. I didn't take along the many and large mattresses on which I had rested during four years, nor could the "guards" that used to jump in the grass follow me, and they probably have not escaped their certain death. So I came to New York. It was twelve at night. We could leave the boat only the next morning because all inns were closed. Thus I headed to town in the early morning hours and saw a sign that …

Go to article

Using Expert Knowledge To Satisfy Data Needs: Mapping Invasive Plant Distributions In The Western United States, Bethany A. Bradley, David C. Marvin Oct 2011

Using Expert Knowledge To Satisfy Data Needs: Mapping Invasive Plant Distributions In The Western United States, Bethany A. Bradley, David C. Marvin

Western North American Naturalist

Lack of knowledge about the distributions of plant and animal species can severely hamper management efforts. For invasive plants, distribution and abundance data can inform early detection and rapid response (EDRR) programs aimed at treating initial infestations. These data can be used to create invasion risk models at landscape and regional scales. Further, regional maps of invasive plant abundance are useful for communicating the scope of the invasive species problem to the public and policymakers. Here, we present a set of regional distribution maps for 10 problematic invasive plants in the western United States, created from the expert knowledge of …

Go to article

Distribution And Diet Of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) In The Lower Boise River, Idaho, Camrin D. Braun, Christoph A. Walser Oct 2011

Distribution And Diet Of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) In The Lower Boise River, Idaho, Camrin D. Braun, Christoph A. Walser

Western North American Naturalist

Where introduced, largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) are known to have negative effects on aquatic ecosystems. In this study, we used historical museum collection records (1942–2006) and contemporary (2009) collections to assess changes in the distribution of largemouth bass in the lower Boise River (southwestern Idaho). We also examined the stomach contents of largemouth bass collected during the contemporary survey to determine diet. Seventy-four largemouth bass (45–137 mm TL) were represented in 13 historical collections from 5 lower Boise River locations. During autumn 2009, we sampled 8 sites in the lower Boise River for largemouth bass. Sixty-one largemouth bass …

Go to article

Sheep Bedding In The Centennial Mountains Of Montana And Idaho: Effects On Vegetation, Steven S. Seefeldt, April B. Leytem Oct 2011

Sheep Bedding In The Centennial Mountains Of Montana And Idaho: Effects On Vegetation, Steven S. Seefeldt, April B. Leytem

Western North American Naturalist

In summer, bands of sheep are grazed in western North American mountains. At night the sheep are concentrated into bedding areas. In the study area, each bedding area is only utilized by sheep for one night a year for 2 out of 3 years. Vegetation in the bedding areas was compared to vegetation outside these areas. Both perennial forb cover and total perennial cover were greater outside (48% and 61%, respectively) than inside (29% and 36%, respectively) the bedding areas. Annual forb cover one year after sheep grazing was greater inside (17%) bedding areas than outside (5%). Immediately after sheep …

Go to article

An Assessment Of The Lethal Thermal Maxima For Mountain Sucker, Luke D. Schultz, Katie N. Bertrand Oct 2011

An Assessment Of The Lethal Thermal Maxima For Mountain Sucker, Luke D. Schultz, Katie N. Bertrand

Western North American Naturalist

Temperature is a critical factor in the distribution of stream fishes. From laboratory studies of thermal tolerance, fish ecologists can assess whether species distributions are constrained by tolerable thermal habitat availability. The objective of this study was to use lethal thermal maxima (LTM) methodology to assess the upper thermal tolerance for mountain sucker Catostomus platyrhynchus, a species of greatest conservation need in the state of South Dakota. Adult fish were captured from wild populations in the Black Hills of South Dakota and acclimated to 20, 22.5, and 25 °C. Four endpoints (3 sublethal, 1 lethal) were recorded, with death being …

Go to article

The Ocelot (Leopardus Pardalis In Northern Texas, With Comments On Its Northern Biogeography, Frederick B. Stangl Jr., John H. Young Oct 2011

The Ocelot (Leopardus Pardalis In Northern Texas, With Comments On Its Northern Biogeography, Frederick B. Stangl Jr., John H. Young

Western North American Naturalist

A road-killed specimen of a large male ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) was salvaged on March 2010 from Palo Pinto County in north central Texas. Our review of the northern biogeography of the species indicates that the specimen is not out of historical context. The possibility that the animal represents a broader range of sparsely distributed individuals within the elusive cat’s known historical range deserves consideration.


Un ocelote (Leopardus pardalis) muerto de sexo masculino y de tamaño grande fue recuperado en una carretera del Condado Palo Pinto en el centro-norte de Texas en Marzo del año 2010. Una …

Go to article

Influence Of Domestic Livestock Grazing On American Pika (Ochotona Princeps) Haypiling Behavior In The Eastern Sierra Nevada And Great Basin, Constance I. Millar Oct 2011

Influence Of Domestic Livestock Grazing On American Pika (Ochotona Princeps) Haypiling Behavior In The Eastern Sierra Nevada And Great Basin, Constance I. Millar

Western North American Naturalist

In a pilot study, I observed a relationship between domestic livestock grazing and location of American pika (Ochotona princeps) haypiles in the eastern Sierra Nevada and several Great Basin mountain ranges. Where vegetation communities adjacent to talus bases (forefields) were grazed, mean distance from the talus borders to the closest fresh haypiles was 30.1 m (SD = 18.9 m, n = 27), and haypiles were found only high in the talus. In ungrazed forefields, mean distance was 1.8 m (SD = 0.9 m, n = 57), and haypiles were found along the low-elevation talus–vegetation border. Where grazing was …

Go to article

Natural History Of Maguire Primrose, Primula Cusickiana Var. Maguirei (Primulaceae), Jacob B. Davidson, Paul G. Wolf Oct 2011

Natural History Of Maguire Primrose, Primula Cusickiana Var. Maguirei (Primulaceae), Jacob B. Davidson, Paul G. Wolf

Western North American Naturalist

Natural history information for rare plants can help land managers better understand the threats to extinction that a taxon may face. Our focus is on the natural history of Maguire primrose (Primula cusickiana var. maguirei, Primulaceae), an endemic, threatened plant found along a narrow corridor within a single canyon in northern Utah. We examined floral morphology, air temperature, relative humidity during flowering, dichogamy, blooming period, and visits from flying insects. As with most Primula,Maguire primrose displays distinct floral distyly. Within the distylous flowers, 17% of our samples had a timing difference in the maturation of anthers and stigmas, …

Go to article

Activity Patterns Of Black Bears In Relation To Sex, Season, And Daily Movement Rates, Jesse S. Lewis, Janet L. Rachlow Oct 2011

Activity Patterns Of Black Bears In Relation To Sex, Season, And Daily Movement Rates, Jesse S. Lewis, Janet L. Rachlow

Western North American Naturalist

Activity patterns of animals can vary depending on both endogenous and environmental factors. Although black bears exhibit substantial variation in activity across the year, relatively little is known about how daily activity patterns and associated movement rates differ among sex and age classes across seasons. We used fine-scale movement data from black bears fitted with GPS collars to evaluate movement and activity patterns across sex and age classes for daily and seasonal time periods in relation to mating and foraging behavior. Black bears were most active during crepuscular time periods, moderately active during the day, and least active at night, …

Go to article

Huff, Toby E., Intellectual Curiosity And The Scientific Revolution - A Global Perspective., Laina Farhat-Holzman Oct 2011

Huff, Toby E., Intellectual Curiosity And The Scientific Revolution - A Global Perspective., Laina Farhat-Holzman

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Islamic Civilization And (Western) Modernity, Peter O'Brien Oct 2011

Islamic Civilization And (Western) Modernity, Peter O'Brien

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Go to article

First Prev Next Last