Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Effect Of Friends' Drug Treatment On One's Drug Use: Investigating Positive Peer Influence In The National Longitudinal Study Of Adolescent To Adult Health, Dallin C. Everett

Theses and Dissertations

Peer influence is a well-studied and established phenomenon in the social sciences with much research focusing on peers influencing one another in negative ways. However, peers have also been shown to provide a positive influence. Research on substance treatment programs indicates that one's social network can influence one to enter treatment as well as help maintain abstinence following the completion of the program. However, little is known about the influence that peer's drug treatment can have on the substance levels of an individual. I use the peer nomination data and Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of …

State Requirements For Childhood Vaccination Exemption Forms In The United States, Katherine Elizabeth Hill

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, children must be vaccinated in order to attend school, although parents also have the right to request a vaccine exemption. The type of vaccine exemption varies by state but can include exemption for religious, philosophical, medical, and temporary medical reasons. The purpose of this research was to identify the use of provider signature requirements and fees in states during the vaccine exemption process. A questionnaire was sent to immunization managers in the 50 United States, District of Columbia, the United States Indian Health Service, and eight United States territories. The managers were asked if their states …

For The Love Of A Game: The Effects Of Pathological Video Game Use On Romantic Relationship Satisfaction, Hailey Elizabeth Holmgren

Theses and Dissertations

Media use may have the potential to influence romantic relationships, depending on the context of media use. For example, pathological media use, which includes symptoms of addiction such as relapse, withdrawal, and conflict with family and friends over media use, may be particularly damaging to romantic relationships. Additionally, research shows that pathological video game use can negatively influence factors of mental health, including depression. The current study includes 183 heterosexual couples from the Eastern United States. Both members of each couple completed online surveys answering questions regarding pathological media use, depression, and relationship satisfaction. Results showed that male pathological video …

An Examination Of The Psychometric Properties Of The Trauma Inventory For Partners Of Sex Addicts (Tipsa), Steven Scott Stokes

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Trauma Inventory for Partners of Sex Addicts (TIPSA). Using the Nominal Response Model (NRM), I examined several aspects of item and option functioning including discrimination, empirical category ordering, and information. Category Boundary Discrimination (CBD) parameters were calculated to determine the extent to which respondents distinguished between adjacent categories. Indistinguishable categories were collapsed through recoding. Empirically disordered response categories were also collapsed through recoding. Findings revealed that recoding solved some technical functioning issues in some items, and also revealed items (and perhaps option anchors) that were probably poorly conceived initially. In addition, nuisance …

Praying A Mission Into Existence: Frantiska “Mamousek” Vesela Brodilova, Mary Jane Woodger, Tyler Smith, Kiersten Robertson

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

After hearing about the death of Frantiska “Mamousek” Brodilova, President John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “Sister Brodil was a really marvelous woman. Her story must be preserved in Church history.” This paper preserves the memory of a woman whose faith and devotion to the truth and whose love for the Lord opened the door for an entire nation to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. She was “a woman who prayed a mission into existence.”

The Effects Of Income And Ethnicity On Health Outcomes Of Mexican Immigrant And Anglo Women, Andrea M. Debarros

Theses and Dissertations

The Hispanic Paradox is the finding that Hispanic immigrants living in the United States have better health than Anglo Americans despite being socioeconomically disadvantaged (Crespo et al., 1996; Stern et al., 1999; Sundquist et al., 1999; Dixon et al, 2000; Lariscy et al., 2015; Overton et al., 2015; Thomson et al., 2013). The literature surrounding the Hispanic Paradox has studied these effects primarily in Mexican-American Immigrant populations (Sundquist et al., 1999; Dixon et al, 2000; Lariscy et al.); however, additional research has found similar findings for various other Hispanic countries such as Cuba and Puerto Rico (Abraido-Lanza, A F. et …

Development Of An Early Expository Text Comprehension Assessment: A Pilot Study, Stacey Christianson

Theses and Dissertations

Literature supporting the use of informational texts with preschool children has increased in recent years. However, many preschool classrooms still focus on narrative text, and teachers are often unsure how to provide support for children's comprehension of informational texts. An assessment addressing preschool children's informational text comprehension will help teachers understand what children can do with informational texts and point out demands or tasks that children should be able to handle. A comprehension assessment for preschool children focusing on text purpose, text features, text retell, and comprehension of text structures has not been available. To fit this need, recent effort …

Current Patterns Of Ownership And Usage Of Mobile Technology In Older Adults, Karen E. Cottle

Theses and Dissertations

The older generation is growing at a rate surpassed only by the speed at which mobile technology is advancing. Technology has become so ubiquitous in daily life, that most older people have done their best to adopt it. The purpose of this study was to explore the older adult (>50 yrs.) learner's everyday approach to and regard for mobile technology. Paper surveys were distributed by hand to four geographically diverse audiences. Each audience was composed of a minimum of 20 adult learners of each gender across three age groups, accounting for 160 individual older adults in all. Returned survey …

The Ability Of Five Children With Language Impairment To Describe Mental State In Story Narratives In Spontaneous And Prompted Conditions: Does It Help To Ask?, Naomi Asai

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have shown that children identified with Language Impairment (LI) have marked difficulty with producing story narratives compared to their typically developing peers. One particular area of weakness seen in the narratives of children with LI is their ability to incorporate internal states, specifically internal response, internal plan, and emotion words. The current study examines five children with LI and their descriptions of mental and emotional states of characters in story narratives under spontaneous and prompted conditions. Participants produced story retells based on a series of wordless picture books taken from the Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument. Story retells were …

Bacterial Community Ecology Of The Colon In Mus Musculus, Rachel Marie Nettles

Theses and Dissertations

The gut microbiome is a community of closely interacting microbes living in the gastrointestinal tract. Its structure has direct relevance to health. Disturbances to the microbiome, such as due to antibiotic use, have been implicated in various diseases. The goal of this study was to determine how the gut microbiome reacts to and recovers from disturbance caused by antibiotics. Because diet also influences the microbiome, this study included the interaction between diet and antibiotics. Half of the mice in each diet treatment were given antibiotics to disturb their microbiomes. After cessation of antibiotics, mice were paired in combinations within diets …

Modulation Of Synaptic Plasticity: Endocannabinoids And Novel G-Protein Coupled Receptors Expression And Translational Effects In Interneurons, Katrina M. Hurst

Theses and Dissertations

Learning and memory are important processes that occur in the brain. The brain is comprised of neurons that make connections with each other known as synapses. Synaptic plasticity is widely believed to be the physiologic mechanism by which learning and memory occur. Synapses can either be strengthened through a process known as long-term potentiation (LTP) or weakened through long-term depression (LTD). The area of the brain that is most studied for its role in learning and memory is the hippocampus, which has been shown to be involved in memory consolidation. The detection of endocannabinoids and their receptors has opened a …

Associations Between Parent-Child Relationship Quality, Parent Feeding Practices, And Child Weight Status In Preadolescent Children, Kristina Marie Duncombe

Theses and Dissertations

The present study evaluated associations between parent-child connectedness and communication, parent perceptions of child weight, parent feeding behaviors (restriction, pressure to eat, and monitoring), and child body mass index percentile among a sample of children aged 8-12 years. To evaluate these associations, this study used a cross-sectional design and maximum likelihood (ML) structural equation modeling to examine a mediation model with parental feeding behaviors mediating the associations between parent-child relationship quality and child body mass index. Furthermore, because of the known associations between parental perceptions of child weight and parent feeding practices, models examining the mediating effects of parent feeding …

Critical Care Nurses’ Suggestions To Improve End-Of-Life Care Obstacles: Minimal Change Over 17 Years, Renea L. Beckstrand, Kacie Hart Hadley, Karlen E. Luthy, Janelle L. B. Macintosh

Faculty Publications

Background: Critical-care nurses (CCNs) provide end-of-life (EOL) care on a daily basis as 1 in 5 patients dies while in intensive care units. Critical-care nurses overcome many obstacles to perform quality EOL care for dying patients.

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to collect CCNs’ current suggestions for improving EOL care and determine if EOL care obstacles have changed by comparing results to data gathered in 1998.

Methods: A 72-item questionnaire regarding EOL care perceptions was mailed to a national, geographically dispersed, random sample of 2000 members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. One of 3 qualitative questions …

Mentoring Nursing Students In A Refugee And Immigrant Public And Global Health Course, Debra Edmunds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The following excerpt from a student’s reflective journal illustrates that academic objectives were met (used with permission): “I have learned a lot from this population and this knowledge has allowed my attitudes to develop and mature in understanding of this high-risk population. Refugees are a misunderstood and, many times, forgotten population that have experienced extensive trauma. I worked with many people on my mission that came from these backgrounds but I never had the opportunity to help them in this type of a setting. I have come to realize that for many people, their story will never be truly known …

Assessing Genetic And Environmental Predictors Of Infant Reflexive Attention, Rebecca Lundwall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My students and I have been very productive during the two funding years of this grant. Together, we have published three peer-reviewed papers (one in an undergraduate research journal) and submitted six papers that are now under review (one in an undergraduate research journal). In addition, I have mentored student submissions of eight poster presentations at local, regional, and national conferences. These papers and presentations have involved 25 students as co-authors.

Nursing Student Experiences Regarding Safe Use Of Electronic Health Records: A Pilot Study Of The Safer Guides, Karen Whitt, Katreena Merrill, Lacey Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to mentor undergraduate nursing students through the entire research process while they worked on a study to evaluate undergraduate and graduate nursing students’ and practicing nurse practitioners’ clinical experience and awareness of safe electronic health record (EHR) practices utilizing the SAFER guide checklists. This project provided multiple mentoring and learning opportunities for the undergraduate students who worked on this project. We exceeded the original objectives of the study and included more opportunities for student research mentoring than were listed in the original proposal. The students had the opportunity for hands-on experience with all aspects …

Validation Of Four Activity Trackers And Their Influence On Activity Level In Adolescents And Young Adults, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Objectives:

1. Validate activity trackers including FitBit Surge, Basis Peak, and Apple Watch, against the validated ActiGraph GT3X+.
2. Use quantitative and qualitative means to determine the influence on these commercial exercise trackers on changing sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) behavior.

Effects Of Sleep Duration On Neural Responses To Food Stimuli In Adolescents, Chad D. Jensen, Brock Kirwan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Pediatric Obesity represents a significant public health concern, with estimates of prevalence indicating that over 30 percent of adolescents meet criteria for overweight or obesity (Ogden et al., 2014). Recent research has highlighted the role of sleep behavior in the development of obesity. This study examined differences in neural responses to visual food stimuli under habitual and sleep-deprived conditions using a within-subjects experimentally manipulated sleep duration modification paradigm.

The Determinants And Dynamics Of National Identity And Ethno-Regional Identity Salience, Joel Selway

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The project had a general aim to understand the competing national and ethnic identities in Northern Thailand, one of Thailand’s four regions. The North is inhabited by the Lanna ethnic group, an ethnic cousin of the majority Siamese, whose former independent kingdom was annexed to the country as late as 1899. Lanna is a crucial region to understand in contemporary Thai politics because the last four democratically-elected prime ministers (since 2001) that Northerners voted for were removed from office by non-democratic means. Two of those four were themselves prominent Northerners. A political crisis now envelops the country, which is currently …

Getting To Know Veterans Through The Utah Honor Flight, Kent Blad, Ron Ulberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of the MEG proposal were met and exceeded. Specifically, students were able to serve as individual guardians for a WWII or Korea War Veteran on an Honor Flight to Washington DC to allow those Veterans to visit those sites that are in place to honor their service to our country. For most of the 25 Veterans that were sponsored by BYU College of Nursing, this was their last visit to these sites before they pass on. Examples of these sites were WWII Memorial, Korea War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Navy Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Marine / Iwo …

Wic Clients And Immunizations: A Community-Wide Educational Project, Karlen E. Luthy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although most well-known for formula and food vouchers, the WIC Program also excels with their education programs. In fact, every three months WIC parents are required to complete authorized on-line educational modules or attend approved educational classes prior to obtaining their food vouchers for the subsequent quarter.

Improving Immunization Rates Among Pregnant Women: A Mentored Experience, Lacey M. Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this MEG to mentor nursing students through the process of implementing an education program for pregnant women regarding the importance of Tdap immunization during pregnancy, and to assist Utah County obstetric offices in improving Tdap immunization rates among their patients. Additionally, this project provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to educate the public and utilize health information-technology to empower the patient to be proactive about their care and the protection of their unborn child.

Validation Of Four Activity Trackers And Their Influence On Activity Level In Adolescents And Young Adults, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Objectives:

1. Validate activity trackers including FitBit Surge, Basis Peak, and Apple Watch, against the validated ActiGraph GT3X+.
2. Use quantitative and qualitative means to determine the influence on these commercial exercise trackers on changing sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) behavior.

Getting To Know Veterans Through The Utah Honor Flight, Kent Blad, Ron Ulberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of the MEG proposal were met and exceeded. Specifically, students were able to serve as individual guardians for a WWII or Korea War Veteran on an Honor Flight to Washington DC to allow those Veterans to visit those sites that are in place to honor their service to our country. For most of the 25 Veterans that were sponsored by BYU College of Nursing, this was their last visit to these sites before they pass on. Examples of these sites were WWII Memorial, Korea War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Navy Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Marine / Iwo …

Wic Clients And Immunizations: A Community-Wide Educational Project, Karlen E. Luthy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although most well-known for formula and food vouchers, the WIC Program also excels with their education programs. In fact, every three months WIC parents are required to complete authorized on-line educational modules or attend approved educational classes prior to obtaining their food vouchers for the subsequent quarter.

In Utah, WIC clients establish their eligibility for program services at the WIC location within their county of residence. The WIC Program in Utah County is one of the largest in the state, providing services for approximately 8,000 women. During 2013-2014, a troublesome trend emerged among WIC clients in Utah County – a …

Nursing Student Experiences Regarding Safe Use Of Electronic Health Records: A Pilot Study Of The Safer Guides, Karen Whitt, Katreena Merrill, Lacey Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to mentor undergraduate nursing students through the entire research process while they worked on a study to evaluate undergraduate and graduate nursing students’ and practicing nurse practitioners’ clinical experience and awareness of safe electronic health record (EHR) practices utilizing the SAFER guide checklists. This project provided multiple mentoring and learning opportunities for the undergraduate students who worked on this project. We exceeded the original objectives of the study and included more opportunities for student research mentoring than were listed in the original proposal. The students had the opportunity for hands-on experience with all aspects …

Mentoring Nursing Students In A Refugee And Immigrant Public And Global Health Course, Debra Edmunds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The following excerpt from a student’s reflective journal illustrates that academic objectives were met (used with permission): “I have learned a lot from this population and this knowledge has allowed my attitudes to develop and mature in understanding of this high-risk population. Refugees are a misunderstood and, many times, forgotten population that have experienced extensive trauma. I worked with many people on my mission that came from these backgrounds but I never had the opportunity to help them in this type of a setting. I have come to realize that for many people, their story will never be truly known …

Improving Immunization Rates Among Pregnant Women: A Mentored Experience, Lacey M. Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this MEG to mentor nursing students through the process of implementing an education program for pregnant women regarding the importance of Tdap immunization during pregnancy, and to assist Utah County obstetric offices in improving Tdap immunization rates among their patients. Additionally, this project provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to educate the public and utilize health information-technology to empower the patient to be proactive about their care and the protection of their unborn child.

The MEG funding was successfully utilized for its intended purpose (production of a mobile application to educate and remind pregnant women about needed …

Chronic Intermittent Ethanol To Establish Dependence, David Matthews, Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Excessive alcohol consumption in the United States is costing hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States alone. Addiction is a corrosive disease whose impact spreads across a broad spectrum including monetary damages, social disruption, health concerns, and life-ending decisions. Trailing a path of 88,000 alcohol-related deaths annually, government studies in 2006 reported that costs of excessive alcohol consumption reached $223.5 billion (Bouchery et al., 2011). In addition to monetary cost of alcohol abuse, the impact of this addiction can be devastating to personal and family life. Furthermore, addiction alters neural circuitry and becomes a self-absorbed behavior that robs …

The Effect Of East Asian Religions On Feminism And Post-Materialist Values In Modern Japan, Charlene Humpherys, Greg Wilkinson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Japan is known worldwide for its rich and complex history and culture as well as its rankings as a global frontrunner in the fields of economics, globalization, education, technology, entrepreneurship, quality of life, and cultural influence.¹ Fascinating to many political theorists is how socioeconomic prosperity within thriving countries changes their societal principles and policies. Renowned political scientist Dr. Ronald Inglehart crafted the economic theory of postmaterialism, which states that because of their increased physical and financial security, Western states adapted to social values that emphasized autonomy and individualism.² In my Orca proposal I outlined my plan to study …