Digital Commons Network^™

First Record Of Jaguar (Panthera Onca) And Potential Prey Species In Sierra De Quila, Jalisco, Mexico, Efrén Moreno-Arzate, Luis Ignacio Iñiguez-Dávalos, Jorge Servín, María Magdalena Ramírez-Martínez, Milton Cezar Ribeiro, Rafael Sevilla

Western North American Naturalist

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is considered a keystone species for neotropical ecosystems. Jaguar records in natural protected areas (NPAs) are important to manage and maintain the long-term occupancy of the species in a region. The objectives of this study are to report the first jaguar records in the Sierra de Quila, Jalisco, Mexico, and to report observations of potential prey items. Between February 2018 and January 2019, 24 camera traps were placed for 180 days during 3 seasons, with a total capture effort of 3216 trap nights. Four hundred and two independent records were obtained from 17 species …

Hybrid Suspension Tissue Engineering Of A 3d Alveolar Model For Lung And Vascular Disease Modeling, Jonard Corpuz Valdoz

Theses and Dissertations

Tissue engineering is a dichotomy of scaffold-based and scaffold-free cultures. Scaffold-based cultures form highly organotypic structures but with low uniformity and throughput. Conversely, scaffold-free cultures create consistently sized and shaped cell aggregates with limited spheroid-like structure and function, thus restricting their use for accurate disease modeling. We hypothesized that combining aspects of each culturing format, we would produce highly organotypic structures of consistent size and shape for use in pulmonary modeling. First, to improve on culture consistency and output, we created a novel easily scalable, minimalistic design for a micropatterned hydrogel dish that increases reliability and efficiency in 3D cell …

Maternal Depression Moderated By Family Resources When Children Have Developmental Disabilities., Timothy B. Smith, Terisa P. Gabrielsen

Faculty Publications

Children with developmental disabilities require extensive parental involvement in intervention, but parents with depression may be less able to intervene effectively. We examined prevalence of depression symptoms and predictors among 131 mothers of children with disabilities enrolled in early childhood special education. Participants completed several self-report measures of depression and child and family functioning. Children were directly evaluated using the Battelle Developmental Inventory. One year later, 68 mothers repeated self-report measures. Participants (30%) reported elevated depression symptoms across time. Depression scores were correlated with parental stress and family resources. An interaction between higher maternal depression and higher child functioning with …

Cryptids And The Uncanny Valley, Megan Petty, Caroline Dale

Final Projects

About cryptids and their relationship to the uncanny valley.

Cattle Branding: Epitomizing Ranch Culture, Cassidy Crosby

Final Projects

Customs surrounding cattle branding on the Crosby Family Ranch in Northern Wyoming. This paper highlights how branding reflects family ethics and how those ethics are transmitted to the next generation of ranchers.

The Culture Of Authority In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Sara Grundvig

Final Projects

Stories about Latter-day Saint general authorities sharing questionable, out of line, or personally offensive teachings.

The Tehachapi Savage: Apostate Missionary Stories, Ellen Lloyd

Final Projects

Stories about Latter-Day Saint missionaries who form cults in the field and regularly break mission rules.

Wish-Making As Folklore, Kate Ashman

Final Projects

About the folklore surrounding wishes.

Ted Bundy Tales, Jalen Fairchild

Final Projects

About the folklore surrounding Ted Bundy. Includes interviews about legend and personal narratives about encountering the infamous Ted Bundy.

Constitutional Cautions Post-Covid-19: A Proposal For 5th Amendment Protection From Police Power Overreach, Ethan Finster, Jessica Dofelmire, Editor

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

The invocation of police powers by state governments throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to restrict business activity created a legal protection around government action that prevents 5th Amendment claims. This protection persists whether or not those actions fit within precedential criteria for takings. While police powers are certainly an important aspect of governance in times of crisis, the infringement of individuals’ constitutional rights that accompanied their utilization must be addressed. Moreover, their use during the pandemic set a potentially dangerous precedent for their use in future emergencies. Considering the growing concern surrounding the adequacy of Takings Clause precedent for preventing government …

Ambiguity In Legal Non-Conforming Use Statuses, Zeke Peters

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Legal nonconforming uses have similar definitions and codes throughout the United States. However, certain restrictions and rules can vary so much that ambiguity makes the truth harder to see. Many nonconforming uses are limited in their “expansion” or “enlargement.” However, what defines these terms is unclear in various codes across state lines. This paper proposes a framework for cities to adopt to have a more uniform definition with some exemptions of these terms. While planning and land use code should vary based on the specific needs of each municipality, this framework definition can help create a more concrete definition for …

Adult Conservatorship In The United States: Flaws And Proposed Solutions To The Legal System, Margaret Sheffield, Alex Stevens

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Despite attempts to protect incapacitated adults in the United States, financial exploitation of the elderly and disabled remains a serious problem. Adult conservatorships are often established to offer incapacitated adults protection. However, many cases of adult conservatorships lead to increased abuse due to lack of accountability from conservators. This paper provides a brief overview of abuse towards incapacitated adults and proposes a solution in the form of a federal office entitled the Office of Adult Conservatorship and Guardianship Enforcement (OACE) which would be established under the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Modernizing The Birds And The Bees: New Standards For Sexual Education, Ashley Whetten, Katie Whitehead

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Conversations surrounding sexual education usually revolve around comprehensive sexual education curricula and abstinence-only until marriage curricula. These conversations and the federal funding budgets that developed from these programs prevent innovation and modernization of sexual education programs. Furthermore, research has demonstrated major flaws in both curricula. This paper does not argue for one approach to sexual education over another; instead, the proposals in this paper aim to bridge long-standing disputes on sexual education by creating a new standard of sexual education that also addresses the major downfalls of both current curricula. In order to qualify for funding the program would require …

The Shadow Docket: What Is Happening And What Should Be Done, Collin Mitchell

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

In light of recent emergency decisions made by the Court ranging from issues addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, religious freedom, abortion rights, and polarized redistricting plans, the Supreme Courts use of the shadow docket has come under renewed scrutiny. This paper argues that the Court's use of the shadow docket, while permissible in the past, is threatening the legitimacy of the Supreme Court and unduly burdening the American Judicial System at large. Due to these effects, this paper advocates to reduce the Supreme Court's use of the shadow docket through the creation of a new specialized court system to handle emergency …

Making The Case For Paid Parental Leave In The United States, Jane Johnson, Sarah Calvert

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Despite being one of the most influential countries in the world, the United States is still one of only three developed countries that does not mandate paid parental leave on a federal level. Although some federal legislation does offer unpaid leave, these laws are insufficient to meet the needs of working parents. This paper examines existing parental leave laws to highlight the duration of leave and methods of funding used by some U.S. states and other countries worldwide. We also review multiple studies that demonstrate benefits of paid parental leave for both parents and children. This paper ends with a …

Crossing Borders: The Overlap And Conflict Of International And Domestic Laws Regarding Refugees And Asylum Seekers, Yunha Hwang, Belle De La Rosa, Editor

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

The policies of the United States regarding refugees and asylum seekers within the past decade have consistently conflicted with international standards, in regards to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the following 1967 Protocol. Especially in recent years, the United States has been producing a line of increasingly exclusive policies and caps that hinder the resettlement process and as a result, has been causing increased violations against the principles listed in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The paper analyzes the discrepancy and overlap between international laws and domestic laws in the United States. Especially at a …

The Constitutionality Of The Title Ix Religious Exemption, Madelyn Jacobsen, Rebecca Batty, Editor

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Petitioners in Hunter v. Department of Education questioned the constitutionality of the Title IX religious exemption as the basis of their 2021 class-action lawsuit. They claimed that more than 30 religious schools maintained discriminatory policies against LGBTQ students under the exemption. The religious exemption, often painted as unconstitutional discrimination, permits religious schools' adherence to sincerely held religious beliefs—and promotes a distinctive religious education that secular schools lack. This paper examines legal precedents relevant to religious freedom, higher education, and discrimination that demand the Title IX religious exemption remains in effect.

Full Issue

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

No abstract provided.

Ghosts’ Stories: Addictive Behaviors And Complicated Grief In George Saunders’ Lincoln In The Bardo, Jc Leishman

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

When experiencing the natural motions of the grieving process, some individuals encounter an inability to pass this process by a phenomenon known as complicated grief. To deal with the cyclical trauma this causes, the human mind seeks to engage in addictive behaviors (both substantive and behavioral) that work to artificially and momentarily circumvent grief. This process, as it appears in George Saunders' experimental novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, reveals a depth of commentary on human attachments and grieving processes through the lives and narratives of ghosts found in the bardo.

To Put Her In Her Place: An Interrogation Of Death And Gender In Shakespearean Tragedy, Isabella A. Zentner

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

This analysis investigates the gendered implications of Shakespearean heroines' deaths. Using Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and Titus Andronicus as case studies, evidence is drawn from the text. This evidence is then supported by extensive historical research and reference to external critical studies of these tragedies. By identifying the gendered aspects of these heroines’ deaths, one can gain a greater understanding of Shakespeare’s view of female autonomy and power. The deaths Shakespeare inflicts often act as a punishment for the heroines' betrayal of traditional gender roles and forcibly return the heroines to the feminine sphere.

A Balancing Act: Overcoming Incommensurability In Rights Adjudication, Samantha Knutson Jex

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

The Supreme Court's current system for rights adjudication is insufficient in cases where both sides feel that a fundamental right has been violated, such as Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. To overcome this insufficiency, I argue that the Court should implement a new test that is a modified combination of the Supreme Court's strict scrutiny and the test used internationally for rights adjudication--the proportionality test. I call this new test the "Incommensurability Test" and explain how it works and why it is beneficial for rights adjudication in the United States. Applying the "Incommensurability Test" would enable the Court …

Medical Accreditation For Foreign-Educated Refugees: An Undue Burden, Katherine Jolley, Alex Hansen

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Historically, the United States has maintained a policy of robust assistance to refugees that enter the country. Refugee relief includes short-term health coverage and employment services. Unfortunately, many international medical graduates who come as refugees face excessive barriers to join the healthcare industry when they arrive. In light of emergency adjustments to the accreditation processes during the COVID-19 pandemic, this article proposes that the accreditation process for foreign-educated healthcare workers poses an undue burden on refugees.

Full Issue

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

No abstract provided.

The Walls That Define Us, Kaitlyn C. Nielson

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

Herman Melville’s short story “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street” tells the story of Bartleby, a man living in the lower-class of nineteenth century New York City, who secures a job copying legal documents. Unlike the other employees’ eagerness to work, Bartleby remains behind his “green screen” that demarcates his office space and repeatedly responds “I would prefer not to” when asked to complete a task.

Most readers and critics alike interpret Bartleby’s behavior as a mode of passive resistance against his boss and the larger institutions of Wall Street and capitalism. However, through close reading, I instead …

Angel Babies Ascending To Heaven A Family Saga Of Death Across Cultures, Heidi Riboldi

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis is a microhistory focused on infant death and burial practices in Spain and Argentina at the turn of the twentieth century. The study uses primary sources from biographical journal pages, vital records, and notarial documents. The biographical journal pages are eleven loose pages written by Pablo Montaña that provide information about his family's births, marriages, and deaths, for four generations. Vital records for birth, marriage, and death events were found in the local parish and municipal archives in Cañizo, Spain, and the Catholic Diocese Archive in Zamora, Spain, Archivo Histórico Diocesano de Zamora. Notarial records like wills …

How Gender Affects Writing: Jackson’S And Fitzgerald’S Portrayals Of Mental Illness, Cryslin A. Ledbetter

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

Cryslin Ledbetter's essay, "How Gender Affects Writing: Jackson’s and Fitzgerald’s Portrayals of Mental Illness" examines the similarities and differences between Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. Through a careful comparison of male and female writers, the author analyzes defining factors that effect the final product of each novel.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: Crucial For Organizational Learning And Health Equity, Bret Lyman, Joy Parchment, Kaitlyn C. George

Faculty Publications

Achieving health equity requires a diversity of perspectives, values, and insights, yet the composition of the United States’ nursing workforce does not reflect the communities where they practice. Nurse leaders can advance health equity and exemplary clinical outcomes by creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive health care teams. Such teams are well-equipped for organizational learning, a crucial process for advancing health equity. Nurse leaders advance health equity by fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and thus organizational learning in the workplace.

Be With Me: Well-Being And Singling Contact; The Moderating Role Of Autistic Traits, Michelle Lupien Lieber

Theses and Dissertations

Sibling contact (synchronous or asynchronous) in young adulthood may have implications for individual well-being (health, life satisfaction & depressive symptoms). This link may be moderated by each individuals' traits, specifically autistic characteristics. Current literature has examined sibling contact, mediums of contact, autism relationships, but has yet to consider sibling contact moderated by autistic traits. This study analyzed data from 390 young adults 61% female, mean age = 25.65) who gave self-reports over two collection waves. Structural Equation Models found that regardless of autistic traits, synchronous contact was linked with increased life satisfaction as well as lower depressive symptoms, and asynchronous …

"A Crash Of Worlds": How Red Dead Redemption Ii Creates A World Where Players Experience Empathy Through Character Performance, Heather Rose Moser

Theses and Dissertations

Players of an open-world video game are more than merely audience members watching a narrative play out--they actively participate and perform in the world. Drawing from scholars like Edmund Husserl, Konstantin Stanislavski, Ossy Wulansari, and PJ Manney, this paper explores principles of performance, phenomenology, and empathy to examine how open-world role-playing games, specifically Red Dead Redemption II, help players experience empathy. Constructing this experience through character attachment, length of play, and identification in a safe experimental space, these games become a bridge leading to greater empathy for people who are different from the player. The immersive nature of these games …

Accessibility Of Mental Health Services Within The American Deaf Community, Hali E. Hartman

Student Works

The prolonged state of silence in which members of the American Deaf community dwell daily may be causing them to experience elevated levels of adverse mental health effects (Gryglewicz et al., 2017). To increase the accessibility of mental health services for suffering deaf individuals, anti-discrimination laws have been enacted throughout history (“Americans With Disabilities Act,” 2022; Horton et al., 2012; Schniedewind et al., 2020; Vernon, 2006). Despite such strides, more should be done to improve existing resources. Increasing the number of deaf professionals working in mental healthcare settings and educating hearing providers on the language and culture of the Deaf …