Digital Commons Network^™

Development And Demonstration Of An Apparatus For Assessing Frost-Heave Susceptibility Of Soil, Becca Apgar, W. S. Guthrie

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this research was to develop and demonstrate an apparatus for assessing the frost-heave susceptibility of soil in a laboratory setting. Development of the frost-heave testing apparatus required several components, including a freezing system, a heating system, temperature controllers, a metal frame, a water delivery system, and an insulated specimen container. For the freezing system, a chest freezer was selected to provide a test environment that can be maintained at an adjustable air temperature below 32 °F. For the heating system, thermostat-controlled heat tape was selected for positioning around the base of the specimen and along the water …

N-H Nhc Palladium Catalysts Derived From Unique 2-Phosphinoimidazole Precursors For C-C Cross Coupling Reactions And Application Of Slow Releasing Polymers Impregnated With Gibberellic Acid To Overcome Seed Dormancy For Land Reclamation, Alexandra Jean Setelin Larson

Theses and Dissertations

Organometallic chemistry is highly dependent upon the ligands which are employed on a metal's surface. These ligands control steric bulk and electronics of the metal center which can change the reactivity of the organometallic complex. Ligands that are standard in organometallic chemistry include phosphine ligands. These phosphine ligands have been utilized in the field since the 1960's and have shaped the development of many key organometallic catalysts. Phosphine ligands are easily functionalized and highly reactive. This increased reactivity, however, causes severe limitations as phosphine ligands are often unstable under standard benchtop conditions and must be handled both air and moisture …

Triumph Of Conviction: The Fall Of Communism In The Wake Of Helsinki's Human Rights, Michael Schroth

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

When the Final Act of the Helsinki Accords was signed by the nations of Europe and North America in 1975, the potential effect of the document was met with skepticism. Those who were a party to the act expected little. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, in uncaring fashion, said dismissively, "I don't care if they're written in Swahili. " Kissinger's counterpart, Andrei Gromyko, made sure Soviet authority was not questioned by stating, "We are masters in our own house." Nonetheless, the language contained in the Final Act definitely entitled all citizens of the signatory powers to specific human rights. These …

Anthropomorphism In Aesop's Fables, Nasih Alam

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

Generally, Aesop’s The Complete Fables is considered didactic for children. In my paper, I discuss how Aesop represents nonhumans in his fables and how they could negatively affect the psychology of children aged 7-12 if we as parents, teachers and legal guardians do not become conscious of its problematic didactic function. I show that most of the anthropomorphized animals in The Complete Fables have anthropocentric and provide environmentally harmful rhetorics. In order to keep the required length of paper in mind, I have limited myself to five tales from Aesop’s The Complete Fables, to show how and where the rhetoric …

School Psychologist's Tiered Social-Emotional Recommendations In Response To Data Gathered From Social-Emotional Screening, Audrey Anita Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

Universal school-wide social-emotional screeners identify at-risk students with social-emotional behavior problems (Romer et al., 2020). Identifying such students alone cannot prevent these social, emotional, and behavioral concerns from becoming problematic. However, data gathered from social-emotional screening can guide the development of strategies, supports, interventions, and progress monitoring students at risk across all tiers (Yates et al., 2008), leading to the prevention of social-emotional and behavioral problems from turning maladaptive (Humphrey & Wigelsworth, 2016; Walker et al., 2004). A school district in the Mountain West area of the United States developed a screening survey that addresses school climate, culture, and connectedness …

How Fundamental Epistemic Limitation Impacts My Human Experience, Matthew Mcnairy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

My thesis examines different ways that I am ignorant through a philosophical lens. Through examining my ignorance, I gain insight into myself and the world. However, the kinds of ignorance that interest and irk me the most are fundamental to life. I explore two major sources of ignorance and reference many more. The first source of ignorance is myself. Myself includes my body, my emotions, and my actions. I can partially control each of these, but they also are not fully understood by me. I explore who I am as a self and what my moral responsibility is in the …

Isothiocyanates In The Prevention Of Neural Tube Defects In Chick Embryos, Katrina Lantz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Neural tube defects (NTDs), including anencephaly and spina bifida, contribute significantly to neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite the widespread implementation of folic acid (FA) supplementation, its ineffectiveness in certain genetic populations, alongside the persistent prevalence of NTDs, underscores the need for alternative preventative strategies. This study investigates the potential of isopropyl isothiocyanate (IPI), a compound derived from Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera), in mitigating NTDs through the modulation of oxidative stress pathways. Using the chick embryo model, we aimed to determine whether IPI significantly reduces the incidence of chemically-induced NTDs by activating the Nrf2 cofactor, a key regulator of cellular …

Facebook Complaints On Dating By Gender, Whitley Williams

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With changes in technology, world events, and society in the last 20 years, dating has been both recreated and redefined. From the dating process itself to new technology, the way American youth see dating has changed from times past. By examining feedback on dating from both genders (collected via Facebook), it is possible to see how dating trends have changed and what is being complained about in each of those time periods. Although no exact causes within this study can be determined about how much technology and world events have influenced the changes in dating trends, the coincidences of both …

Using Lean Six Sigma Methodologies To Improve The Patient Experience At A Local Health Center, Marshall S. Butler

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Lean Six Sigma is a methodology originally designed for a manufacturing context but has process improvement applications that can be used in many fields including medical and business. These tools were applied to addressing issues at a local health center with the aim to help patients receive better medical treatment and have a more positive overall experience. Initial baseline data was collected to identify the core problems patients were experiencing with the health center. Adjustments were made in the survey process to capture more accurate results about the patient experience, which led to the creation of a patient-focused action plan …

Improving Human Recognition Of Deepfakes, Jeremy Mumford

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis is focused on deepfakes, a new term given to fake videos and images generated by deep learning algorithms and models. Deepfakes pose a considerable threat to society by raising the bar for quality in misinformation while also lowering the amount of skill and effort required. Deepfakes threaten to undermine democratic societies by swaying public opinion through misinformation. While many researchers are working hard to develop automated tools to combat deepfakes, this thesis used a 10-item IRB approved survey to examine whether two separate interventions could successfully improve an individual’s ability to recognize deepfakes. Demographic differences in recognizing deepfakes …

Guilty By Association: Race And Religion In George Romney's 1968 Presidential Campaign, Matthew K. Steen Iii

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 1966, Republican Governor George W. Romney of Michigan was considered by many in his party, and among Democrats, to be a front runner for the 1968 presidential election. By March 1968, however, Romney dropped out of the race due to a lack of popular support. Several factors contributed to his unsuccessful campaign. Foremost was his wavering position on U.S. involvement in Vietnam coupled with his general lack of knowledge of foreign affairs. To a lesser degree, Romney's membership in The Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave him a negative image in the press. Because the Church denied its …

Blue Moon: Exploring The Complexities Of Human Love Through A Werewolf Romance Novel, Kayla Lafroth

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Blue Moon is a werewolf romance novel that emphasizes the heartbreak and triumph of human love through a cast of non-human characters. This story is written to explore the complexities of love, acting as an intersection between werewolves and romantic tragedy. In Blue Moon, Luna’s perfect world comes crashing down when her soulmate, Aspen, rejects her as his mate, something unheard of in werewolf culture. In a desperate attempt to win his affection, Luna feigns a soulmate bond with Kodiak, an alpha werewolf who is looked down upon for having no mate. As the layers of Luna’s relationship with …

Gt-Ches And Dycon: Improved Classification For Human Evolutionary Systems, Joseph S. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to rethink the process of learning in human evolutionary systems. We take a sober look at how game theory, network theory, and chaos theory pertain specifically to the modeling, data, and training components of generalization in human systems. The value of our research is three-fold. First, our work is a direct approach to align machine learning generalization with core behavioral theories. We made our best effort to directly reconcile the axioms of these heretofore incompatible disciplines -- rather than moving from AI/ML towards the behavioral theories while building exclusively on AI/ML intuition. Second, this …

Rapid Discovery Of House-Keeping Genes In The Bacterium Kushneria, Using A Slalom-Library-Based Crispri Forward Genetic Screen, Andrew Jenkins

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Rising soil salinity levels worldwide have resulted in the loss of millions of hectares of viable cropland. Several solutions to this problem have been posited, including looking into the properties of salt-tolerant plants. Recent research into salttolerant plants in southern Utah has found a host of microorganisms isolated from the soil, plant surfaces, or plant tissues that stimulate salt tolerance in alfalfa. Leveraging a Mobile-CRISPRi system to repress a library of genes created through the recently developed sgRNA Library Assembly by Ligation onto Magnetic Beads (SLALOM) protocol, we induced genome-wide repression of genes in Kushneria spp. grown under optimal and …

Ecological Validity Of Simulated Ethical Situations In Therapy Part 2, Melissa Chavez

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Psychotherapy recipients seek optimal treatment, emphasizing the importance of therapists undergoing evidence-based training for effective outcomes. Deliberate practice (DP) is a proven method for systematic improvement. While still evolving, DP shows promise in various domains, including psychotherapy, with effective implementation requiring goal setting, feedback, and persistence.

This study introduces videos simulating ethical dilemmas in therapy. To assess the ecological validity of these videos, a survey examines participants' perceptions of realism, difficulty, and anticipated anxiety across 11 ethical scenarios. Participants include undergraduate and graduate students, as well as licensed professionals. This research aims to provide empirical evidence supporting the validity of …

Development Of N-H N-Heterocyclic Carbene Pd Catalysts For Cross-Coupling Reactions In Organic Synthesis, Rachel Nicole Owens

Theses and Dissertations

The use of N-H N heterocyclic carbene ligands (NHC's) in organometallic chemistry has become a field of interest due to their unique properties that lead to new and interesting reactivity. The hydrogen on the nitrogen of the NHC can be deprotonated, creating an anionic species, or it can participate in hydrogen-bonding with different substrates. In this work we will explore the unique reactivity of N-H NHC palladium complexes in different cross coupling reactions, including the Suzuki-Miyaura and Heck reactions. Our work demonstrates that N-H NHC complexes of palladium can be accessed from 2-phosphinoimidazole ligands via non-oxidative insertion of the palladium …

The Effects Of Diesel Exhaust Particle Exposure On Adipos Mitochondrial Bioenergetics And Inflammation, Cali Elizabeth Warren

Theses and Dissertations

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) constitutes a significant component of ambient air pollution that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Among PM2.5 constituents, diesel exhaust particles (DEP) are prevalent particulates that infiltrate the bloodstream to drive systemic pathologies. The purpose of this study was to characterize the metabolic response of adipose tissue to DEP. We aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding by exploring mitochondrial bioenergetics, characterizing the inflammatory marker profile, including adipokines, and conducting a detailed histological analysis of adipocytes to provide valuable insights to the evolving understanding of the intricate …

"To Disenfranchise Them Is To Stab Us": Wells's 1879 Visit To Washington And The Nwsa's Support Of Utah Suffrage, Marci Haskell

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 1879 Emmeline B. Wells stood before the National Woman's Suffrage Association (NWSA) and stated that "the right of franchise held by the women of her Territory should not be wrested from them." Wells, a polygamist wife, spoke at the NWSA conference in Washington, D.C., during a time of intense antipolygamy sentiment in America. Polygamy in Utah was viewed by many-including national suffragists-as an evil that degraded women. Paradoxically, national suffragists of the NWSA, who sought to further women's rights, supported a polygamist wife and the cause of woman suffrage in Utah.

The Partisan Press Of Illinois: Motivation, Rhetoric, And Aggression In Hancock County Newspapers, 1839-1844, Elizabeth Prete Bryner

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Much has been written about the pohtical origins of the Mormon conflicts in Nauvoo, Illinois, between 1839 and 1844, but relatively little scholarship has analyzed the role of the partisan press in that conflict. George Gayler and other historians claim that· Mormon political activity ... must be singled out as the chief source of irritation between [ the Mormons] and the Illinois citizens." However, Gayler limits his investigation of the press mostly to the anti-Mormon newspapers, the Nauvoo Expositor and the Warsaw Signal. Governor Thomas Fords History cf Illinois describes the sordid political battle between the Whigs and the …

Development Of Bifunctional Peptides As Scaffolds For Bifunctional Catalysis And A Novel Method Of Peptide Stapling Using Squaric Esters, Adam X. Wayment

Theses and Dissertations

Enzymes are some of nature's most powerful tools in chemical processes. However, their molecular complexity makes them difficult to synthesize and complicates their application in traditional organic synthesis. Peptides, a building block of enzymes, can be rapidly synthesized and have been used as a possible alternative in achieving enzyme-like catalysis. However, most peptide-based catalysts are limited in reaction-scope and are unable to incorporate traditional organic catalysts. We have designed a helical peptide scaffold capable of being functionalized with a wide variety of organocatalysts as well as transition-metal based catalysts. In order to understand how the peptide structure effects reactivity and …

Using Eye-Tracking To Examine How Chinese Foreign Language Learners Attend To Chinese Radicals, Yi Hsuan Lin

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized eye-tracking to investigate 63 intermediate-level university Chinese foreign language (CFL) learners' real-time radical preferences. Radicals are components of Chinese characters and give clues to the meanings and pronunciations of the character. This study aimed to answer the following research questions: (1) What type of radicals (semantic/phonetic) do CFL readers most rely on when reading characters? (2) Does reliance on one type of radical (semantic/phonetic) correlate with accuracy in character recognition? (3) Does awareness of semantic/phonetic radicals affect the accuracy of character recognition or reliance on radicals in real-time processing? The results found that participants demonstrated a phonetic …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Creation Of The Evil Empire: How American Newspapers Molded Perceptions Of The Soviet Union, Mary Dickson

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Feelings of apprehension and mistrust toward the Soviet Union were very familiar to those born during the cold war era. However, many baby-boomers were probably unaware that as recently as 1945, the Soviets were considered comrades-in-arms American allies. This drastic change in perception had several causes by a number of ingredients. Predominant among these were media voices that tended to encourage fear of Soviet aggression, promote certain policy positions, reinforce negative stereotypes, and influence consumers' purchases; a review of relevant events covered by the American newspaper media in different areas of the United States revealed the changing attitudes toward the …

Differences In Presenting Concerns Of Anxiety Amongst Students In College Counseling Centers Across The United States, Julia Brim

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders in the U.S. and is becoming increasingly common and problematic for college students across the country. Building on research conducted at single universities, we used a large national data set from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) and compared self-reported levels of anxiety amongst various groups of college students across the U.S., as well as the prevalence of comorbidity between anxiety reported on the generalized anxiety subscale of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS) and other mental health concerns. We found that a number of self-reported variables …

Racial/Ethnic Differences In The Effects Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors Among Youth, Lorres Wan Cheung Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have examined the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on various health, well-being, and life outcomes, including suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, considerably less studies have investigated whether the relationships between ACEs and suicidal thoughts and behaviors vary by race/ethnicity among adolescents. Therefore, this study's purpose is twofold: 1) Is there an association between ACEs and adolescent suicidal thoughts and behaviors? 2) If so, to what extent do these relationships vary across race/ethnicity? Utilizing the 2022 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey, methods of logistic regression modeling and categorical-categorical interactions were employed to answer these two questions. Results indicated …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

The Bomb In Political Cartoons Of The 1950s, Cory B. Stokes

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Cartoons are irresistible. No other printed medium conveys its message to a wider range of people. Hebert Block (Herblock) and other popular syndicated cartoonists provided a substantial slice of the cartoons Americans saw each evening as they opened their newspapers. Their themes represent discourse on a national level as opposed to regional or local cartoonists. Examining the intent and content of 1950s editorial cartoons sheds light on society's reaction to the nuclear threat and what part the opinion pages played in shaping the public perception of the nuclear weapons race. Herblock's cartoons emphasized the unknown and uncontrollable nature of atomic …

Tripping The Iron Feet Of Oppression: The Montgomery Bus Boycott As The Starting Point Of The Civil Rights Movement, Val J. Heyer

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Many historians hold that the landmark Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision was. the starting point of the modem Civil Rights movement, because it showed that blacks could legally protest segregation and win. However, as Edgar French stated, "history refutes any claim that this date marked the beginning of their struggle." Today, disproportionate emphasis on Brown is displayed in history textbooks. Historians Paul Escott and David Goldfield wrote that the Civil Rights movement was a "religious crusade" and that Martin Luther King,Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) were the epitomes of this crusade. They did not mention …

Understanding Student Perceptions Of A High School Wellness Center: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Qualitative Study, Devan Audrey Clayton

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents face many challenges at home and at school which impact various areas of their lives, including their academics. Schools have worked to ensure better student mental health outcomes by hiring school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers. School wellness centers can be an additional resource that students utilize to address mental health challenges during their school day. The purpose of this study is to understand adolescent perceptions of a school-based wellness center. Perceptions of populations who utilize the wellness center and those who do not utilize the wellness center were studied within one high school to understand how …

The Impact Of Applied Mental Health Classes On Eudaimonia, Gratitude, And Heart Rate Variability, Derek Charles Bartlett

Theses and Dissertations

Rates of depression, anxiety, and stress have been increasing and college students are especially at risk. College counseling centers often have long waitlists and have difficulty addressing the growing need for psychotherapy. Researchers have suggested that depression and anxiety may arise because of low levels of eudaimonia and self-compassion. Depression and anxiety not only have a toll on mental health but on physical health as well, as researchers have observed decreased HRV in individuals with depression and anxiety. To address the disparity between available resources and treatment need, applied mental health classes were developed to see if teaching psychotherapeutic principles …