Digital Commons Network^™

Racial Differences And Lived Experiences: Civil Rights Experiences And A Private, Religious, Predominantly White Institution, Anthony Brandon Bates

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This article explores the expressed thoughts and feelings of 24 research participants who processed and articulated their lived experiences. They each attended the same private, religious, historically, and predominantly White institution and participated in a three-credit course that covered the history of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and '60s, which culminated in an experience in Georgia and Alabama (Civil Rights experience). Methods: In this phenomenological study, the research participants all participated in a semi-structured interview with the same bank of questions. The questions were designed to examine their lived experiences, within the context of participating in the …

Marital Stability In Newlywed Remarried Couple Relationships: Positive Communication And Marital Interactions In Shared Moments Or Activities, Colette Hickman-Evans

Theses and Dissertations

Remarriages are more structurally diverse, last less time, are more vulnerable, and at greater risk for divorce than first marriages. The newlywed stage of marriage is a critical time when relationship patterns are established or reinforced that can impact a relationship for years to come, yet very few studies have examined remarried relationships in the newlywed stage. This study examined the association between marital interaction, positive communication, and marital instability in 348 newlywed remarried couple participants from a nationally representative sample. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) and actor-partner interdependence model with mediation (APIMeM), the findings indicated that positive communication was …

Latter-Day Saint Women And Leadership In Higher Education: An Intrinsic Case Study, Elizabeth J. Darger

Theses and Dissertations

There are few women in the highest levels of leadership in most industries, including higher education. This intrinsic case study provides insight into the leadership journeys of 15 female leaders at Brigham Young University, which is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Four prevalent themes emerged about their leadership journeys. First, a leadership role was not part of the participant's life plan. The remaining three themes related to acceptance of a leadership role. Participants reported feeling nudged to consider a leadership role, feeling a sense of relational responsibility in accepting a leadership role, and receiving a …

Refill Friction Stir Fastener Repair In Aa7050-T7451, Andrew John Curtis

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding (RFSSW) is used to join two materials together oriented in a lap joint configuration. In this study, RFSSW was investigated and tested using an unconventional configuration setup, a hole/plug insertion approach. RFSSW was tested as a means of repairing a cracked rivet hole due to excessive use conditions. This was done by inserting a plug into a hole and using the RFSSW process to bond the plug to the base material. Machine and tool limits were investigated to determine if a refilled plug repair was possible and if complete mixing between plug/hole …

The Effects On Self-Regulation And Productive English Proficiency Of The Application Of Mental Contrasting And Implementation Intention (Woop) In Esl Writing Classes, Ka Yue Chan

Theses and Dissertations

The present study looked at the effects of a self-regulatory goal setting framework (WOOP) implemented in writing classes that were developed by Oettingen (2018) using Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intentions (MCII). The study examined English learners' development on self-reported self-regulation and proficiency levels in an Intensive English Program (IEP) in the United States over the course of two 14-week semesters. A total of 238 English Language Learners participated in the study and took the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ) where the scores were analyzed to determine development over time. The analysis showed no statistically significant differences. However, experimental group participants' self-reported …

Pivotal Response Treatment To Decrease Challenging Behavior And Increase Functional Communication In Preschool Children With Developmental Delays, Kalie Alexandra Gilmour

Theses and Dissertations

After a review of the literature on Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) in young children with developmental delays, less was known on its effects on challenging behavior and functional communication in preschool age children receiving services in a traditional public school. A multiple baseline design across three participants was used to evaluate the effects of PRT on the functional communication of three preschool students with developmental delays. Based on a functional analysis, we also observed the effects of PRT on challenging behavior. A visual analysis of the data revealed a functional relation between PRT and functional communication and provided promising evidence …

Quantifying Speech Pause Durations In Typical English Speakers, John Hoffer

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines filled and unfilled pause durations between utterances in the speech of 60 people with no language disorder. It also evaluates the proportions of different pause lengths, examines the location of pauses within an isolated speech sample, and compares speech pause in male speakers and female speakers. Using speech samples gathered from a picture description task, Praat acoustic analysis software was used to segment C-units and measure pause duration between utterances (Boersma & Weenink, 2022; Öktem et al., 2021). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze these data, including pause duration mean and standard deviations. Pause mean durations ranged …

Accounting For Oral Language Skills In Children With Dyslexia: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Natalie Kay Olsen Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: In the present study, we conducted a systematic review to determine whether studies involving children with dyslexia include the assessment of oral language skills in their assessment batteries across various professional disciplines. Overlooking assessment of oral language in children with dyslexia may result in the misinterpretation of research findings and applications to children who present with both dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) or experience secondary oral language deficits. Method: According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched the Elsevier Scopus database and obtained and analyzed 764 articles, up to 40 articles …

The Performative History Of Tomboys In Anglophone Literature Prior To Little Women, Kimber Palmer

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the expansive history of literary tomboys in the century preceding Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (1868). Applying concepts from gender performativity theory, it explores earlier and previously overlooked portrayals of tomboys (or, alternatively, "hoydens" or "romps"), especially in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's A Trip to Scarborough (1777), Isaac Bickerstaffe's The Romp; A Comic Opera in Two Acts (1786), Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey (1817), and E.D.E.N. Southworth's The Hidden Hand (1859). Because the tomboy phenomenon emphasizes that gender roles must be learned and can be resisted, tomboy characters are …

Securing Wireless Communication Via Information-Theoretic Approaches: Innovative Schemes And Code Design Techniques, Morteza Shoushtari

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, wireless communication security solutions have heavily relied on computational methods, such as cryptographic algorithms implemented in the upper layers of the network stack. Although these methods have been effective, they may not always be sufficient to address all security threats. An alternative approach for achieving secure communication is the physical layer security approach, which utilizes the physical properties of the communication channel through appropriate coding and signal processing. The goal of this Ph.D. dissertation is to leverage the foundations of information-theoretic security to develop innovative and secure schemes, as well as code design techniques, that can enhance security and …

Exploration Of The Impact Of Gender-Affirming Care And Social Support On Executive Functioning And Mental Health In Gender-Diverse Autistic And Non-Autistic Adults, Karys Michaela Normansell-Mossa

Theses and Dissertations

Between 4.8% and 26% of adults presenting to gender dysphoria clinics have an autism diagnosis. Both autistic people and gender-diverse people have higher rates of mental health conditions including anxiety and depression and more difficulties with executive functioning, all of which impact quality of life. Some work suggests that gender affirmation leads to better mental health outcomes, including better executive functioning, but this has not been studied directly in autistic adults who identify as gender-diverse or transgender. As such, we elected to explore the relationships among these variables at this intersection of gender diversity and autism. In a sample of …

Nest Success By A Female Black-Chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus Alexandri) With Male-Like Plumage, Cooper M. Farr, John Middleton

Western North American Naturalist

Female-limited polymorphism, a phenomenon in which female animals can exhibit male-like coloration, is known to occur in approximately 25% of hummingbird species, but it has not previously been recognized in Black-chinned Hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri). Between May and July 2021, we documented a Black-chinned Humming­bird with male plumage features that built a nest, incubated eggs, and successfully fledged 2 chicks in Salt Lake City, Utah. The bird’s gorget feathers, including the chin and upper throat, were predominantly dark with a small number of white feathers interspersed. Because the bird participated in nest building, presumed egg production, and incubation—behaviors not …

First Line Acne Treatment: Comparison Of Cost And Efficacy, Michael P. Mcneil, Karlen E. Luthy, Christine R. Platt, Michael S. Robinson, Janelle L.B. Macintosh

Student Works

Acne vulgaris is a common skin concern that may cause permanent disfiguration and encumbering effects on self-esteem and mental health. Additionally, it is often associated with expensive treatment costs for patients. When selecting the most appropriate therapeutic approach, nurse practitioners must also consider the price of the medication. For the majority of mild to moderate cases of acne (both comedonal and inflammatory), effective first-line treatment recommendations include a combination of a topical retinoid, benzoyl peroxide, and a topical antibiotic such as clindamycin. Generic and compounded medications are typically more cost-effective for patients than brand name formulations.

Design & Development Project Report: Chem-105 Oer Textbook, Abigail Boekweg

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

A report on a project to design and develop an open textbook for the BYU course CHEM-105 General College Chemistry. The project had two primary goals: to streamline the organization of the textbook and to enhance students' access to it.

But What If It Was A Cartoon? Animated Instructional Videos For The California Debt And Investment Advisory Commission, Faith Jennings

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

A case study of designing an animated instructional video on municipal finance for elected officials in California.

Shortening Remediation Time In A University Excel Course Through Custom, Automated Feedback, Kainalu Barino

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

This project aimed to implement an automated feedback tool for students taking IS 110. Implementing a feedback tool was identified by a previous research group as one of the best ways to shorten remediation time (Colby, 2018, p. 1). They chose a design for their feedback tool that resulted in faster turn-around times and better scores on assignments, but their design did not improve test results by a significant margin. Our project redesigned the feedback tool in the hope that it not only maintains the benefits of the previous tool, but achieves long term learning results as well.

The Pioneering Efforts Of Ellen Larsen: The First Female Sports Information Director At Brigham Young University, Kiana Schlenker

Theses and Dissertations

Title IX began the change of integrating women's sports into universities, but it was up to each university's athletic administration, external media sources, and public relations practitioners to determine how female athletes and sports were supported and publicized. In 1976, Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah hired Ellen Larsen as its first female sports information director responsible for women's sports. Through her 19 years as a sports information director at BYU, Larsen was an advocate for her athletes and helped pave the way for future female athletic administration roles. While there is plenty of literature on male sports information directors, …

The Effects Of An Oral Narrative And Expository School-Age Language Intervention: A Low-Dosage Study, Giana H. Hunsaker

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This study is Phase One of a multi-phase research initiative. The purpose of this study was to examine how well a low-dose, dual oral narrative and expository language intervention delivered in a small group setting improved expressive and receptive oral narrative and expository language in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students who have been identified as having language disorder or emerging English academic language. Method: We administered a dynamic assessment of language to 325 kindergarten, first, and second grade students from two elementary schools in two school districts. The results of the dynamic assessment identified 61 students who …

Predictive Modeling The Impact Of Engineered Products In Dynamic Sociotechnical Systems: An Agent-Based Approach, Christopher S. Mabey

Theses and Dissertations

The impact of engineered products is a topic of increasing concern in society. The impact of a product can fall into the categories of economic, environmental, or social impact; the last category is defined as the effect of a product on the daily lives of people. Design teams lack sufficient tools to help improve the impact of products and understand the impact of products at scale in society. This dissertation aims to provide insight and methods for improving the social, environmental, and economic impact of engineered products. The majority of the research focuses on the prediction of product impacts on …

Affichage: Posters As A Powerful Tool Of Protest, Politics, And Propaganda In France, Brigit Cooper

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This article explores the importance of French political posters throughout history and how they reveal complex connections between the subjects of immigration, colonization, and racism in France. An overview of the history of immigration and colonization in France is offered, and the history of posters in France is covered briefly. Posters from World War I to the present day are then analyzed for their political content and social commentary. The specific case of the 1995 Ibrahim Ali murder committed by far-right National Front activists and the posters involved are also studied as a potent example of the power of posters …

Digital Habits Of Gen Z: A Qualitative Study On Why And How College Students Use Instagram, Josie Rackley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper explores twelve Gen Z college students' usage of Instagram. Analyses of semi-structured and verbal think-aloud observations identified why and how participants use Instagram. Four quadrants of usage grew from participants’ data: Community-driven Creators, socially motivated Gardeners, Digital Scrapbookers, and enlightenment-seeking Observers. These usage quadrants structured the paper. Each quadrant had unique habits and motivations, yet, some themes spanned across all quadrants, such as the themes of mindless usage and The Boredom Paradox. Results have applications for social media marketing research as they relate to studying the nature of Gen Z Instagram usage for understanding young people’s lived experiences …

Less Friction, More Business—Graphite Connect Onboarding, David Storey

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

Graphite recently experienced four times the growth in a single quarter as the company has experienced in an entire year. Future growth projections are even higher, and the need for more rapid and effective onboarding is abundantly clear—our growth will outpace our ability to train and hire new employees and therefore slow down business.

This project provided new employees with an onboarding program consisting of eight learning modules.

Know Better, Do Better?: Parental Financial Socialization's Indirect Association With Couple Financial Communication Through Financial Self-Efficacy, Rachel M. Okamoto

Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adults find themselves in a time of great transition, especially related to finances and relationships. This study used a sample of 1,950 U.S. emerging adults currently in romantic relationships to investigate the role that parent financial socialization plays in the financial communication for emerging adult couples. This study also investigated if financial self-efficacy, in part, explained this association. Parent financial socialization was found to be positively associated with couple financial communication. In addition, financial self-efficacy was found to partially mediate this relationship. Individuals whose parents taught them effectively regarding finances had higher levels of self-efficacy regarding finances and had …

Interpreting Communally: How Service Learning Impacts Interpreting Proficiency, Breanna Michele Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Experiential learning programs, such as service learning, help students in Spanish medical interpreting classes to increase their interpreting proficiency, which includes their cultural understanding, linguistic performance, and professionalization (Rudvin & Tomassini, 2011). Currently, the Spanish Medical Interpretation class at Brigham Young University uses a community service-learning project in which students volunteer six hours of their time interpreting within the community. While largely beneficial, not all community partners offer the same learning opportunities. Some include training and shadowing programs, while others do not. This thesis seeks to determine the impact that shadowing opportunities and community partnerships have on interpreting proficiency and …

Behavioral And Physiologic Relationships Between Sensory Processing, Attention, And Prediction In Autistic Children: An Eye Tracking Study, Courtney Hunter

Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence has risen to one out of every 36 children born in the United States being diagnosed. Many individuals diagnosed experience sensory processing difficulties that make life challenging for them and their caregivers. However, there is no clear consensus on why sensory processing issues occur. Previous research has linked attention function to atypical sensory processing. Our study aimed to understand potential underlying mechanisms and correlates of this relationship. We theorized that prediction is a key contributing factor to how attention and sensory processing interact. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between sensory …

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Motivational Speeches In Sports Films, Brenna Seeman

Theses and Dissertations

This paper applies Aristotle's historic modes of persuasion, namely ethos, logos, and pathos, to the motivational speeches found in 20 popular sports films. Through this analysis, major themes concerning how coaches utilized persuasive tactics were found and used to compile a list of important characteristics of motivational speeches. This initial analysis found pathos to be the most effective form of persuasion among motivational speeches in sports films. Because of this finding, a deeper analysis took place with five of the speeches, focusing specifically on how the visual, sound and other thematic elements contributed to the overall pathos of those rhetorical …

The Effects And Reversibility Of Combination Inhaled Corticosteroids On Phonation Threshold Pressure (Ptp) And Phonation Threshold Flow (Ptf) In Ex Vivo Rabbit Larynges, Melanie Elizabeth Blauer

Theses and Dissertations

Although combination inhaled corticosteroids (ICs) are known to cause voice disorders in otherwise vocally healthy individuals, it is unknown whether those adverse effects can be reversed by the cessation of treatment. Quantitative aerodynamic measures such as phonation threshold pressure (PTP) and phonation threshold flow (PTF) can be used to identify the development of, and recovery from, vocal pathologies. We examined the effects and reversibility of ICs on laryngeal aerodynamics. This study was a mid-project investigation as part of a larger ongoing project. The 18 larynges were from rabbits that received ICs, a control condition, or no treatment. Experimental group rabbits …

Emotion, Sensory Processing, And Prosody In Neurotypical And Autistic Young Adults, Annika Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

There is a paucity of research regarding autistic adults, yet as autistic individuals grow to adulthood, they are often met with several barriers because of their differences from the neurotypical (NT) population. Given the demands of adult social interaction, some of the social difficulties experienced by autistic adults are likely related to emotion processing and prosody function. With sensory processing differences added as a diagnostic criterion for autism within the last decade, an investigation into its relationship with emotional processing, another marked difficulty for this population, is warranted. There are logical connections between sensory processing, emotion, and prosody, such that …

Exploring Posttraumatic Growth In Aphasia: A Qualitative Investigation, Camille Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored posttraumatic growth (PTG) in people with aphasia and is the qualitative arm of a larger mixed-methods study. After an initial experimental session, 23 people with aphasia (PWA; 12 females and 11 males) completed a 60-minute semi-structured interview during which participants expanded on previously-given questionnaire responses and then answered five additional open-ended questions about communication in their daily life. Interviews were transcribed orthographically and coded using reflexive codebook analysis. A stakeholder with aphasia was consulted to gain insight from an insider's perspective about whether codes and themes captured the experiences of aphasia. Reflexive codebook analysis revealed two themes. …

Qosqo: A Documentary Approach To The Preservation Of Andean Culture, Emma Wheeler Volz

Student Works

This thesis and creative project aspire to follow the well-worn path of documentary filmmaking. The written portion of this thesis includes background information on Incan history and the Southern Andean language of Quechua that informed and developed into my film, Qosqo. The short documentary is a hybrid between traditional and experimental non-fiction filmmaking, exploring Cusco, Peru’s spirituality through the sage perspective of a native Cusqueñan woman, Norma Sanchez de Incaroca.

The film is a personal reflection of Norma’s experience with the Quechua language, a historically marginalized and currently endangered language. Her reflections are framed within the context of Cusco’s …