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A Family Sketchbook, Eva M. Johnson

The Bridge

Father, Otto Christensen, was born in 1875 on a farm

that lay on the edge of the North Sea in Jutland, Denmark.

When he was four his mother died and his father remarried.

He spent his childhood tending sheep and cattle and playing

in the sand dunes and heather along the sea. He must have

spent much time dreaming his dreams.

A Voice From The Fire: The Authority Of Experience, Colleen C. Bernhard

Theses and Dissertations

Over all, this thesis was written to be a "ramble" of its own around and through three issues that are central to the writing of the personal essay-voice, authority, and experience-and central to the emergence of this author's own sense of "self."
Drawing upon years of voluminous journals, this collection of six personal essays demonstrates what the scholarly introduction proposes: that the personal essay is both a valid genre and a magnificent bridge from informal life-writing to genuine literary accomplishment. Drawing on Phillip Lopate's differentiation of "memoiristic" essays from the more classic autobiographical form, this collection includes three of each …

Three-Dimensional Display Utilizing A Diffractive Optical Element And An Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Display, Gregory P. Nordin, M. W. Jones, S. T. Kowel, J. H. Kulick, R. G. Lindquist

Faculty Publications

We describe the design, construction, and performance of the first real-time autostereoscopic three-dimensional (3-D) display based on the partial pixel 3-D display architecture. The primary optical components of the 3-D display are an active-matrix liquid crystal display and a diffractive optical element (DOE). The display operates at video frame rates and is driven with a conventional VGA signal. Three-dimensional animations with horizontal motion parallax are readily viewable as sets of stereo images. Formation of the virtual viewing slits by diffraction from the partial pixel apertures is experimentally verified. The measured contrast and perceived brightness of the display are excellent, but …

Helminths Of The Southwestern Toad, Bufo Microscaphus, Woodhouse's Toad, Bufo Woodhousii (Bufonidae), And Their Hybrids From Central Arizona, Stephen R. Goldberg, Charles R. Bursey, Keith B. Malmos, Brian K. Sullivan, Hay Cheam

Great Basin Naturalist

The gastrointestinal tracts, lungs, and urinary bladders from 77 Bufo microscaphus, 61 Bufo woodhousii, and 8 of their hybrids were examined for helminths. One species of trematode (Glypthelmins quieta), 1 species of cestode (Distoichometra bufonis), and 5 species of nematodes (Aplectana incerta, A. itzocanensis, Rhabdias americanus, Physaloptera sp., and Physocephalus sp.) were found. The greatest prevalence (41%) and mean intensity (231.7) were recorded for Aplectana incerta in Bufo woodhousii. It appears hybrids harbor fewer parasites than either parent species.

Stem Growth And Longevity Dynamics For Salix Arizonica Dorn, Vicki L. Taylor, Kimball T. Harper, Leroy L. Mead

Great Basin Naturalist

Diameter-age relationships of Salix arizonica (Arizona willow) stems were investigated for 5 populations on the Markagunt, Paunsaugunt, and Sevier plateaus in southern and central Utah. Of the 430 stems studied, none exceeded 26 mm in diameter at ground level (estimated age of 19 yr). Equations developed for predicting age from stem diameters consistently accounted for over 90% of the observed variation. Slopes of predictive equations were homogenous across the 3 sites considered in detail. At 2 sites 46% and 38% of the stems exceeded 10 mm (~7 yr old) diameter at ground level. At a 3rd site, no stems survived …

Species-Environment Relationships Among Filter-Feeding Caddisflies (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) In Rocky Mountain Streams, Timothy B. Mihuc, G. Wayne Minshall, Janet R. Mihuc

Great Basin Naturalist

Species-environment relationships were determined for filter-feeding macroinvertebrates from 55 Rocky Mountain stream sites to establish species distribution patterns. Species abundance and 20 environmental variables were measured at each site with species-environment relationships determined using canonical correspondence analysis and stepwise multiple regression. Results suggest that the distribution of several taxa was strongly related to upstream-downstream environmental gradients. Arctopsyche grandis abundance increased with stream size (width and depth) and decreased with increasing turbulence (Reynolds number). Brachycentrus abundance also increased with stream size (depth). Hydropsyche abundance increased with increasing baseflow. Parapsyche elsis abundance also increased with stream size (depth). Hydropsyche abundance increased with …

Full Issue, Vol. 56 No. 4

Great Basin Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Bighorn Sheep Response To Ephemeral Habitat Fragmentation By Cattle, John A. Bissonette, Melanie J. Steinkamp

Great Basin Naturalist

We studied seasonal cattle grazing as an agent of ephemeral habitat fragmentation on a newly reintroduced population of California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Idaho, 1988–89. We evaluated the hypothesis that bighorn sheep avoid cattle. We documented sheep response to the proximity to cattle by direct observation. The core areas used by bighorn and distances to escape terrain generally decreased as cattle moved closer to sheep. Likewise, sheep moved from cattle as cattle approached them. Severity of response we observed is in marked contrast with that reported for established bighorn populations, suggesting that newly …

Book Review: The Germanic Warrior Clubs, H. Dwight Page

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Scholarship concerning the migrations of the Germanic tribes and their assimilation into the Roman Empire has been divided for centuries into essentially two schools of thought: the writings of medieval British, French and Italian authors and the historians of the French Enlightenment, such as Montesquieu and Voltaire, who perceived the Germanic migrations as destructive and malicious invasions of the Roman world; the writings of nineteenth and twentieth century German scholar-apologists, who have sought to justify the Germanic migrations by stressing that these movements were necessitated by the pressure exerted upon the Germanic tribes by the westward progressing Huns and by …

Exterior Symbolism Of The Salt Lake Temple: Reflecting The Faith That Called The Place Into Being, Richard G. Oman

BYU Studies

Exterior stonework on the Great Temple masterfully represents the Latter-day Saint understanding of the universe, time, the priesthood, and Jesus Christ and his gospel.

Procedurally Rational Decision-Making And Control, Richard L. Frost, Michael A. Goodrich, Wynn C. Stirling

Faculty Publications

Substantive rationality requires a decision-maker to be a utility maximizer; under this paradigm, the decision is paramount, and not dependent on the computational process used to obtain it. Procedural rationality is dependent on the method used to make the decision; reasonableness of the procedure is paramount. Well-formed problems are amenable to substantive rationality; ill-formed problems are not, but are amenable to procedural rationality. To qualify as being procedurally rational, a methodology must possess a sound epistemological basis, it must be amenable to a formal design synthesis procedure, and it must be consistent with substantive rationality. Epistemic utility theory forms the …

A Comprehensive Modeling Environment For The Simulation Of Groundwater Flow And Transport, S. J. Owen, Norman L. Jones, J. P. Holland

Faculty Publications

A comprehensive graphical modeling environment has been developed to address the needs of the computer simulation of groundwater flow and transport. The Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling Systems (GMS), developed at the Engineering Computer Graphics Laboratory at Brigham Young University, is part of a multi-year project funded through the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency. GMS is a graphically based software tool providing facility through all aspects of the groundwater flow and transport modeling process. Facilities include geometric modeling of hydrostratigraphy, two- and three-dimensional mesh generation, graphically based model input for specific flow and transport codes, …

Book Of Mormon Event Structure: The Ancient Near East, Robert F. Smith

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

The Book of Mormon annals open in an ancient Near Eastern context. The archaeological-historical context is carefully outlined here within a systematic chronology that is tied to fixed, absolute dates of recorded astronomical events—particularly those from cuneiform eponym calendars. The resultant matrix allows those early Book of Mormon events to be understood in a rational, familiar, and meaningful way—that is, in a biblical context. In addition, an excursus is devoted to understanding the Arabia of the Book of Mormon as the Lehite exiles must have known it. Throughout it is clear that the world depicted by the Book of Mormon …

Indicators Of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus) Abundance In The Whitebark Pine Zone, David J. Mattson, Daniel P. Reinhart

Great Basin Naturalist

We investigated occupied squirrel middens and squirrel sightings and vocalizations as indicators of red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) abundance in the high-elevation whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) zone. Data were collected 1984–1989 from line transects located on 2 study sites in the Yellowstone ecosystem. We evaluated the performance of each measure on the basis of precision and biological considerations. We concluded that, of the 3 measures, active middens were the best indicator of red squirrel abundance. We also observed that the density of active middens dropped by 48%–66% between 1987 and 1989, following a severe drought and extensive …

Snakes Of Utah By Douglas C. Cox And Wilmer W. Tanner, Andrew H. Barnum

Great Basin Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Utah Alfalfa Growers About Wildlife Damage To Their Hay Crops: Implications For Managing Wildlife On Private Land, Terry A. Messmer, Sue Schroeder

Great Basin Naturalist

We conducted a survey of Utah alfalfa (Medicago sativa) growers in 1993 to identify wildlife damage problems to bay crops. Such surveys can provide wildlife managers with important insights regarding landowners' wildlife damage management concerns and needs. Pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.) and mule deer (Odecoileus hemionus) were perceived by growers as causing the most damage. Respondents reported a total annual loss of $350,000 or $24.79/ha (2.8% of the total crop value) because of wildlife damage in alfalfa crops. Decreased hay quantity was the most frequently cited problem caused by wildlife. Compensation and incentive programs were …

Full Issue, Vol. 56 No. 3

Great Basin Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Dam-Forming Cacti And Nitrogen Enrichment In A Piñon-Juniper Woodland In Northwestern Arizona, Molly Thomas Hysell, Charles C. Grier

Great Basin Naturalist

In a piñon-juniper woodland in northwestern Arizona, connected basal cladodes of a prickly pear cactus (Opuntia littoralis var. martiniana) form check dams that cause deposition of N-rich detritus interspaces otherwise lacking litter. Seventy-eight percent of connected basal cladodes measured in transects grew at an angle (with respect to the slope contour) ≤ 45°—an orientation facilitating deposition of flood-borne debris.

Soil total N was significantly greater (P < 0.01) and organic C was greater, but not significantly, above cactus dams compared to below cactus dams. Soil total N and organic C both above and below cactus dams were significantly greater (P = 0.0001) compared to adjacent interspaces. Soil total N and organic C above cactus dams were equal to areas beneath canopies (tree and shrub combined). Net NO₃⁻ (0–5 …

Larger Ectoparasites Of The Idaho Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus Brunneus), Eric Yensen, Craig R. Baird, Paul W. Sherman

Great Basin Naturalist

We samp led both subspecies of the Idaho ground squirrel (Spermophilus brunneus) to document the larger ectoparasites of this rare endemic. S. b. brunneus was host (+ = new host record, * = new Idaho record) to 4 flea species (Neopsylla inopina+, Oropsylla idahoensis+, O. tuberculata, and Thrassis pandorae+), 1 tick (Ixodes sculptus+), and an eyeworm (Nematoda: Rhabditis orbitalis*+, also 1st records from Seiuridae); S. b. endemicus was host to a louse species (Neohaematopinus laeviusculus+), 5 flea taxa (Rhadinopsylla sp.+, O. t. tuberculata, Thrassis f. francisi+, …

Biogeographic Significance Of Low-Elevation Records For Neotoma Cinerea From The Northern Bonneville Basin, Utah, Donald K. Grayson, Stephanie D. Livingston, Eric Rickart, Monson W. Shaver Iii

Great Basin Naturalist

The existence of low-elevation populations of Neotoma cinera in the northern Bonneville Basin shows either that these mammals can survive thousands of years in xeric habitats or that they can move across xeric lowlands far more readily than has been appreciated, or both. Current models of Great Basin small mammal biogeography are far too static to encompass properly the interaction of the wide range of geographical and biological variability that has produced the modern distribution of those mammals that have, for several decades, been treated as "montane" within the Great Basin.

Variation In Bitterbrush (Purshia Tridentata Pursh) Crude Protein In Southwestern Montana, Carl L. Wambolt, W. Wyatt Fraas, Michael R. Frisina

Great Basin Naturalist

The objective of this study was to determine if crude protein varies significantly during late summer and midwinter among stands of bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata Pursh) in southwestern Montana. A secondary objective was to determine if leaves, when present, contribute significant additional protein in the region. Nine sites with different environmental conditions within a radius of 14.5 km were studied. Bitterbrush leaves and leaders collected in August 1990 and 1991 and February 1991 were used for crude protein and leaf-to-leader ratio determinations. Crude protein differed (P < 0.001) among sites for both leaves and leaders on individual collection dates. Crude protein in leaves was nearly twice the level found in leaders. Because few leaves were present in February, they increased crude protein in total foliage by only 0.3% over twigs alone. February crude protein levels averaged 6.8% for total foliage, which is below the estimated requirement for wintering deer.

The Masada Synagogue And Its Relationship To Jewish Worship During The Second Temple Period, E. Jan Wilson

BYU Studies

During the first season of excavations at Masada in 1963, Yigael Yadin and his crew discovered a strange structure adjoining the northwestern wall. The building was not like any other they had thus far excavated in the casemate wall. It contained clay-plastered benches along all the walls and two rows of pillars in the center of the main room. The inside dimensions were twenty-seven by thirty-six Roman feet (one Roman foot equals 0.2957 meters). A second, smaller room was on the western side and immediately adjacent to the casement wall. On the floor were coins of the period of the …

Loosing A Shoe Latchet: Sandals And Footwear In The First Century, Shane A. Baker

BYU Studies

During the 1964 season of excavations at Masada, archaeologists made a stunning and emotionally compelling discovery while working in the area of the elaborate palace complex built by Herod at the north end of the fortress. Located beneath a pile of heavy rubble covering the ruins of a small Roman-style bathhouse, excavators found the only physical remains of Masada's Jewish defenders discovered at the site itself. Sprawled upon the steps leading to the cold-water pool of the baths and on the ground nearby were the skeletal remains of three individuals—a young man in his twenties, a young woman about eighteen, …

Herod The Great's Building Program, Andrew Teasdale

BYU Studies

Herod the Great, although remembered principally in Christian circles for his slaughter of the infants as stated in Matthew's gospel, also left his mark on the world's memory as an ambitious builder. Herod finally consolidated power in 37 B.C. and immediately began an extensive building program—one perhaps unequaled in the history of ancient Israel. Ehud Netzer declares that "Herod the Great's building projects in W Palestine constitute the most prominent in the country, for any single specific period or personality." Herod's construction sites were located mainly in Western Palestine but also included places such as Antioch, Beirut, Damascus, and Rhodes. …

Legal And Social Perspectives On Robbers In First-Century Judea, John W. Welch

BYU Studies

Robbers, bandits, zealots, Sicarii, and other groups operating outside of normal legal channels were prominent features on the political landscape in and around the Roman province of Judea in the first century. To an extent, the Jewish insurgents who died at Masada can be viewed as robbers or bandits within the ancient meaning of those terms. Knowing something about the prevailing laws concerning robbery and the typical characteristics of social banditry helps modern people to understand these "outlaws" and to imagine how typical Roman rulers or average Jewish citizens in that day probably viewed both the group of dissidents who …

The Virgins' Lamps: Shine Beautiful! , Marti Lu Allen

BYU Studies

The light of Christ shines beautiful for all of us.

[Anonymous quote inscribed on a Palestinian lamp of the fourth-fifth century A.D.]

The Priestly Tithe In The First Century A.D., John A. Tvedtnes

BYU Studies

Among the artifacts uncovered during the archaeological excavation at Masada was a terra-cotta pot with these words written on it: ma^caser kôhēn, "priestly tithe." It is reminiscent of a Herodian-period stone vessel fragment unearthed near the temple mount in Jerusalem, inscribed with the word qorban, "sacrifice." The Herodian vessel fragment also depicts two birds, perhaps indicating that it was used to present doves or pigeons in sacrifice at the temple as specified in Leviticus 12:8. Mishnah Ma^caser Sheni 4.10-11 mentions vessels inscribed with qorban or its abbreviation, q, and notes that among the …

The Masada Fragments, The Qumran Scrolls, And The New Testament, David Rolph Seely

BYU Studies

During the last fifty years, the Judean Desert on the western shore of the Dead Sea has yielded a wealth of textual material from many locations, evidence that has illuminated our understanding of the history of Israel and Judaism in the two centuries preceding and the two centuries following Christ. All of these manuscripts are properly referred to as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

King Herod, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

BYU Studies

Herod visited Masada, a Hasmonean mountain stronghold situated near the Dead Sea, on at least two occasions before he began his remarkable career as king of the Jews. Popularly known today as Herod the Great, Herod eventually became connected with this site when he indelibly placed his architectural mark on its isolated rocky plateau. Standing at an elevation of about thirteen hundred feet above the level of the Dead Sea, the fortress, now called Horvot Mezada (Ruins of Masada), is extremely difficult to access because of its steep and sometimes vertical sides.

And They Cast Lots: Divination, Democracy, And Josephus, Eric D. Huntsman

BYU Studies

After the men had chosen by lot ten of their number who would be their butchers, and when they had laid down beside and thrown their arms around their wives and children who lay waiting, they offered themselves up for the slaughter. —Josephus, Jewish War 7.395 (author's translation)