Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing Metacommunity Models With Statistical Variance Partitioning: A Review And Meta-Analysis, Kevin Vieira Lamb

Theses and Dissertations

The relative importance of deterministic processes versus chance is one of the most important questions in science. We analyze the success of variance partitioning methods used to explain variation in β-diversity and partition it into environmental, spatial, and spatially structured environmental components. We test the hypotheses that 1) the number of environmental descriptors in a study would be positively correlated with the percentage of β-diversity explained by the environment, and that the environment would explain more variation in β-diversity than spatial or shared factors in VP analyses, 2) increasing the complexity of environmental descriptors would help account for more of …

Patterns Of Provision Of One On One Aides In Due Process Hearings: A National Sample, Joel K. Perkins, Michael Owens, Scott Ferrin, Gordon Gibb, Vance Randall

BYU Education & Law Journal

In decisions regarding services for a student classified with a

disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement

Act (IDEIA), one of the most impactful choices for an IEP

team or local education agency is whether a student should receive a

one-on-one aide to enhance the least restrictive environment. Many

parents seek such services for their children, while many education

agencies resist, claiming that that one-on-one aides are not appropriate

for a particular student and in fact may not actually provide

the least restrictive environment for the student as established under

the IDEA.

This study examined patterns of legal provision …

Sexual Education As A Form Of Sexual Assault Prevention: A Survey Of Sexual Education Among States With The Highest And Lowest Rates Of Rape, Brittney Herman

BYU Education & Law Journal

Our Nation overwhelmingly supports sexual education in public

schools. A study by Siecus found that 98% of people surveyed support

sexual education in public high schools and 89% in public middle

schools. Unfortunately for some students, they will receive no sexual

education of very limited, ineffective sexual education, simply because

of where they live. Even if a student is fortunate to live in an

area which has or requires sexual education, this education may be

insufficient.

There have been countless advocates for sexual education.

With the rise of each new sexual education concern, advocates emerge

as if in waves. Most …

Mechanical Stimulation Device For The Treatment Of Opioid Use Disorders, Jonathan Blotter

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Dopamine is involved in the rewarding feelings from natural behaviors such as eating, drinking, and sex. Dopamine is also implicated in the habit-forming actions of several addictive drugs.

Community Health In Utah, Alisha H. Redelfs

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Health disparities, Latino health, Obesity, Biomarkers of fruit & vegetable intake, Physical activity, Schools as intervention sites

Administering Medical Marijuana At School In Colorado: A Legal Analysis, Spencer C. Weiler, Philip Westbrook

BYU Education & Law Journal

The topic of this legal analysis is the administration of medical

marijuana to students attending Colorado K-12 public schools.

Colorado has been a pioneer in legalizing the use of marijuana. Beginning

in the year 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20

legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. This law specifically

allows minors to receive a prescription for medical marijuana

under certain conditions. An unintended consequence of this law

is that minors meeting its requirements are requesting, along with

their caregivers and physicians, to have marijuana-based medication

administered to them at schools. The purpose of this legal analysis

is to …

Being A Good College Student: The History Of Good Moral Character Rules In State Financial Aid Programs, 1850 To Now, Bradley Custer

BYU Education & Law Journal

Federal and state governments regulate the character of

their residents as a condition of immigration, employment, social

services, and beyond. At the state level, “good moral character”

rules have been analyzed in depth for decades, mostly as they pertain

to admission to the bar and other licensed professions. Character

requirements also affect the ability of college students to get

state-funded financial aid, but these policies have received no scholarly

analysis. According to this study’s findings, there have been at

least 50 state financial aid grant programs with character rules,

which begs the question: what does it mean to be a …

Mental Health Services And Implementation Science, Cole Hooley

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Scaling up mental health services, dissemination and implementation science, systems science (system dynamics, social network analysis, agent-based modeling, etc.)

Provider Contributions To Disparities In Mental Health Care, Scott A. Baldwin, Kritzia Merced, Zac E. Imel, Heidi Fischer, Tae Yoon, Christine Stewart, Greg Simon, Brian Ahmedani, Arne Beck, Yihe Daida, Sam Hubley, Rebecca Rossom, Beth Waitzfelder, John E. Zeber, Karen J. Coleman

Faculty Publications

Objective: Disparities in diagnosis of mental health problems and in access to treatment among racial-ethnic groups are apparent across different behavioral conditions, particularly in the quality of treatment for depression. This study aimed to determine how much disparities differ across providers.

Methods: Bayesian mixed-effects models were used to estimate whether disparities in patient adherence to antidepressant medication (N=331,776) or psychotherapy (N=275,095) were associated with specific providers. Models also tested whether providers who achieved greater adherence to treatment, on average, among non-Hispanic white patients than among patients from racial-ethnic minority groups attained lower disparities and whether the percentage of patients from …

Change In Implicit Alcohol Associations Over Time: Moderation By Drinking History And Gender, Scott A. Baldwin, Kristen P. Lindgren, Kirsten P. Peterson, Reinout W. Wiers, Bethany A. Teachman

Faculty Publications

Implicit measures of alcohol-related associations or implicit alcohol associations are associated with drinking outcomes over time and can be understood as vulnerability markers for problem drinking. Longitudinal research remains rare, leaving open questions about how implicit alcohol associations themselves change over time and what factors moderate that change. We examined these questions with data from a larger study of first and second year U.S. college students. We investigated how these implicit alcohol associations change over time and potential moderators of those changes (gender, lifetime drinking history, family history of problem drinking, and class standing). A sample of 506 students (57% …

The Invisible Message, Andrew S. Gibbons Iii, Elizabeth Boling

Faculty Publications

The number and variety of messages conveyed by an instructional experience is astonishing, but most designers are unaware of their number, subtlety, and impact. Many of those messages they would not choose to send if they recognized their existence in practice. The design of invisible and abstract message structures receives less attention from designers today than those parts of the design given to more vivid, colorful, and showy surface structures. Invisible message structures work behind the scenes to produce the smooth surface performances in front of the curtain; they are seldom seen directly, but their power is indisputable. The purpose …

Clarque: Chatbot Recognizing Ambiguity In The Conversation And Asking Clarifying Questions, Shreeya Himanshu Mody

Theses and Dissertations

Recognizing when we need more information and asking clarifying questions are integral to communication in our day to day life. It helps us complete our mental model of the world and eliminate confusion. Chatbots need this technique to meaningfully collaborate with humans. We have investigated a process to generate an automated system that mimics human communication behavior using knowledge graphs, weights, an ambiguity test, and a response generator. It can take input dialog text and based on the chatbot's knowledge about the world and the user it can decide if it has enough information or if it requires more. Based …

A Comprehensive Comparison Of Teratogenic Compounds Known To Induce Neural Tube Defects In The Chicken Embryo, Micah Marie Ross

Theses and Dissertations

One of the first embryonic structures generated during early human development is the neural tube. The embryonic process of neurulation, including neural tube closure, is necessary for proper brain and spinal cord development, whereas improper closure leads to neural tube defects including anencephaly, spina bifida, and craniorachischisis. The mechanism by which these defects occur is unknown, but some evidence suggest that redox disruption may play a role. Cellular redox state is important in regulating key processes during neural tube closure, including differentiation, proliferation, gene expression, and apoptosis. This study aims to determine whether redox potential shifts and these key processes …

Activity, Stability, And Binding Capacity Of Β-Galactosidase Immobilized On Electrospun Nylon-6 Fiber Membrane, Deborah Ann Hutchins

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores various immobilized enzyme support materials, including the novel nylon-6 fiber membrane (NFM), observing the increase of surface area and what effect that has on enzyme binding potential. This study also manipulates incubation and reaction conditions and observes what affect that has on activity and stability of β-galactosidase comparing various solid support materials and free enzyme. Nylon-6 fiber membranes were created using the process of electrospinning and were compared with other materials as solid support materials for enzyme binding. The other materials included polyvinylidene fluoride 5 kD nanofiltration dairy membranes, nylon-6 pellets, silica glass beads, and free—dissolved—enzyme. Scanning …

Improving The Detection Of Rheumatic Heart Disease In Children Residing In Samoa, Shay Harding

Student Works

Improving the Detection of Rheumatic Heart Disease in

Children Residing in Samoa

Shay Harding

College of Nursing, BYU

Master of Science

Rheumatic Heart disease (RHD) is the most common cause of heart related illness in individuals under 25 years of age and is a major health concern on the Pacific Islands of Samoa (Saxena et al., 2017). RHD related mortality among Samoan children is disproportionally high relative to the rest of the world; it is estimated to impact 10 out of every 1000 children there (Allen et al., 2017). The health care system in Samoa is limited in its resources, …

An Exploration Of Mental Contrasting And Social Networks Of English Language Learners, Adam T. Pinkston

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on how applying MCII, a wish-fulfillment and goal-setting method researched by Gabriele Oettingen, benefits the quantity and quality of English language learners' (ELLs) social networks while participating in a study abroad program in the United States. This is done by instructing participants in the use of MCII, giving them weekly reminders on that instruction and the goals they set, and by measuring change from beginning to end. Analyzing the social networks of 36 English language learners at an intensive English program (IEP) after 14 weeks of instruction shows that the ELLs displayed growth in the number of …

Representation Of U.S. Minority Groups In The Marriage And Family Therapy Literature Over An 18-Year Period: A Content Analysis, Kensington Osmond

Theses and Dissertations

Research relevant to the unique needs and experiences of racial/ethnic/cultural (REC) minority groups in social science literature is essential to the work of policymakers and clinical practitioners. However, the social sciences have traditionally failed to publish a sufficient number of articles that address these needs and experiences or even adequately report the racial and ethnic makeup of their samples. The purpose of this study is to provide an updated look at Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) literature and how often sample participants’ ethnicity is reported, how frequently studies focus on ethnic issues or specific REC minority groups, which REC minority …

Heterogenity In Brain Injury: An Investigation Of The Efficacy Of Qualitative Comparative Analysis In Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Cooper Benton Hodges

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its associated neural and cognitive sequelae are of increasing interest in military populations. Blast-related TBI is becoming more commonplace in military Service Members and Veterans since Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation New Dawn and their following conflicts. It is currently unclear whether blast-related injuries cause unique neural and cognitive deficits. The present investigation, in Study 1, aims to investigate the differences in blast-related and non-blast related TBI using traditional statistical techniques. In Study 2, this study will demonstrate the use of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in diffusion tensor imaging data. QCA is a relatively new …

Longitudinal Links Between Parents’ Mental Health, Parenting, And Adolescents’ Mental Health: Moderation By Adolescent Sex, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Hannah B. Apsley

Faculty Publications

This study explored mothering and fathering as possible mediators of the relationship between parent and adolescent mental health concerns and considered the adolescents’ biological sex as a potential moderator. Using structural equation modeling, the longitudinal links between parents’ mental health, parental psychological control, parent-adolescent connectedness, and adolescent mental health in 500 families— including 338 fathers and 500 mothers—were explored over the course of 5 years. The mean age of the adolescents (51.8% female, 69.6% European American) at Time 1 was 13.3 years. Mothers’ symptoms of anxiety directly predicted girls’ depression 5 years later. This relation was not mediated by parenting …

Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions To Lower Test Anxiety, Asena Cakmakci

Theses and Dissertations

Learning a language can induce anxiety among students. In addition, students can feel anxious when it comes to being tested on their language skills. Studies of goal attainment among health patients, students, and others have shown that self regulation through the model of Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII) can help participants reach their goals. In the current study, we sought to determine whether MCII could help learners better cope with anxiety when being orally examined in a second language. Specifically, we examined whether practicing MCII would lead to reductions in language test taking anxiety over time. We compared the …

Childhood Trauma And Attachment Theory: Estimating A Growth Curve Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And The Therapeutic Alliance, Connor C. Barham

Theses and Dissertations

The therapeutic alliance is a core element of successful treatment in therapy. Recent literature has explored variables that predict the alliance at various time points during therapy, but few studies have explored how the alliance develops over time and the factors that influence its rate of change. The current study addresses these questions by estimating latent growth-curve models to analyze how male and female partners' alliance scores develop over time and how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) impact the development of the alliance during the first six sessions of therapy. Results from these analyses show that neither men nor women's ACEs …

Acute Muscle Responses To Blood Flow Restriction Exercises In Post Bariatric Surgery Patients, Victoria Ann Violette

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) determine if muscle activation was greater in a BFR exercise condition compared to non-BFR exercise condition using MRI T2 mapping, and (2) determine if the muscle activation for both BFR and non-BFR exercise conditions differs between postbariatric surgery individuals and individuals in 2 control groups. Methods: Three groups participated: (1) a normal-BMI group, (2) a postbariatric surgery group, and (3) a matched group for the surgery individuals. Ultrasound imaging was used to find the optimal BFR pressure for each participant. All participants participated in both BFR and non-BFR exercises. Using a …

A Fmri Of Fear Conditioning And Auditory Looming In Autism Spectrum Disorder, David Nicholas Top Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Many autistic adults experience debilitating anxiety that interferes with their daily functioning. Atypical sensory processing and intolerance of uncertainty are cognitive processes linked to atypical limbic system functioning and impaired fear conditioning as potential mediators of anxiety in autism. A previous fear conditioning study using fMRI found atypical amygdala functioning in autism when the threat stimulus was only partially reinforced. The first aim of this dissertation is a multimethod examination of brain and psychophysiological response in autistic and in neurotypical adults during a fear conditioning/extinction task with the threat stimulus reinforced 100% percent of the time. We were also interested …

The Effects Of Exercise On The Fasting Ketone Production Curve: A Randomized Crossover Study, Landon S. Deru

Theses and Dissertations

Elevated ketone production and utilization results in a host of health benefits. The aim of this study was to assess the rate of ketone production during a prolonged fast and to evaluate how an initial bout of exercise influences this production. Mood and hunger, along with plasma insulin and glucagon, were also assessed. In this crossover study, 20 adult subjects (11 Male, 9 Female) completed two 36-hour fasts, with one protocol requiring the subject to complete an intense treadmill exercise session at the beginning of the fast. Ketone levels were assessed via blood ketone meter and recorded every two hours. …

The Walking Dead: Rhetorical Manipulations Of Death In Early Modern Performance, Chelsea Megan Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Death's presence on the Renaissance stage, and in Renaissance life, has been noticed and remarked upon by scholars in the past. The role of death in the early modern period was in flux due to major changes in religious and social life. During this time, the relationship between the living and dead was put into question, and the way the culture handled preparing for death began to change in significant, if subtle, ways. Renaissance drama became a stage for exploring and confronting the presence of death in life. King Lear and Hamlet remain two of Shakespeare's most enduring meditations on …

An In-Depth Exploration Of Clinical Patterns Within Spiritually Integrated Therapy, Russell Neilend Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

The last 3 decades have seen a dramatic increase in the creation and effective use of spiritually integrated therapy (SIT) for a wide variety of client populations and clinical issues. The outcome research on SIT has increased and improved dramatically, yet process research on SIT has lagged somewhat. While valuable, prior process-oriented studies on SIT have used retrospective survey methods and asked about generalized usage rates of predetermined spiritual interventions. Rather than relying on retrospective reports of SIT with clients, there is great value and likely greater accuracy in examining session-by-session usage of SIT with clients and identifying correlational patterns …

At Ages 1-2, Will Tv Impact If I Help You? Prosocial Media, Joint Media Engagement, And Infant Prosocial Development During The Second Year, Sara Catherine Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Prosocial behavior typically emerges during an infant's second year. Because it is posited to be continuous from infancy to adulthood, and past research has identified numerous positive outcomes associated with prosocial behavior, it is important to understand the mechanisms involved in early prosocial behavior, such as prosocial media. Past research has examined the relation between prosocial media and prosocial behavior in preschool children, but no studies have explored this association with infants. The current study includes 60 infants and their primary caregivers. Data about media use, parent-infant media interactions, and infant prosocial helping was collected through survey and observational measures. …

Domestic Bliss, Or Technological Diss? Problematic Media Use, Attachment, And Relationship Outcomes, Mccall A. Booth

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how problematic media use (technoference, internet gaming disorder symptoms, and pornography use) predicted later partner relationship outcomes, operating through the mediator of attachment behaviors. Participants (N = 1039) were from Waves II–IV of the Couple Relationships and Transition Experiences (CREATE) study, a nationally representative quantitative study on marriage relationships across the United States. Both spouses completed surveys reporting problematic media use, attachment behaviors, and relationship outcomes at three separate time points each spaced a year apart. In order to test the hypotheses, three longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models with indirect paths were estimated, …

Effect Of Dilution On Sedimentational Separation Of Bacteria From Blood, Clifton M. Anderson, William G. Pitt

Faculty Publications

Bacteria must be separated from septic whole blood in preparation for rapid antibiotic susceptibility tests. This work improves upon past work isolating bacteria from whole blood by exploring an important experimental factor: Whole blood dilution. Herein, we use the continuity equation to model red blood cell sedimentation and show that overall spinning time decreases as the blood is diluted. We found that the bacteria can also be captured more efficiently from diluted blood, up to approximately 68 ± 8% recovery (95% confidence interval). However, diluting blood both requires and creates extra fluid that end users must handle; an optimal dilution, …

Ethical Branding, Lane Gibbons

Marriott Student Review

In this article, BYU senior Lane Gibbons outlines the details of ethical branding and emphasizes the importance of corporate social responsibility in the modern era.