Digital Commons Network^™

Full Issue: Joni March 2025, Partnerships And Collaboration, Angie Holzer

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Accountability And Transparency In Nonprofit Organizations: Examining The Impact Of Limited Regulatory Oversight In Africa Sub-Saharan Africa, Barnabas Iwia Suva

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Nonprofit organizations continue to positively impact society by playing a vital role in addressing social, economic, and humanitarian challenges worldwide. Governments in sub-Saharan Africa attract nonprofits by having less strict regulatory requirements. One of the unintended outcomes of operating in a less stringent regulatory framework is that transparency and accountability standards may be compromised. Inadvertently, having less stringent regulatory requirements may create governance gaps, information asymmetry, mission drift, donor mistrust, and sustainability challenges. Accountability and transparency are essential for fostering trust, continuous improvement, measuring impact, gaining stakeholder confidence, and achieving sustainable impact even with the scarcity of resources. Transparency can …

Poor Cancer Prevention And Detection In Zimbabwe, Kenyon C. Chipman

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Abstract

In the aftermath of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Zimbabwe, has witnessed a surge in noncommunicable diseases such as cancer. Despite the decline in HIV/AIDS and other cancer-associated illnesses like HPV, these diseases have set the stage for a growing cancer epidemic. Key contributing factors to this rise include a lack of knowledge about cancer among both patients and health professionals, the prevalence of cancer-associated communicable diseases, and limited accessibility to early detection and prevention services and resources. These factors have led to late diagnoses, increased burden on the healthcare system, and adverse effects on individuals and families. …

Becoming A Network Of Networks: G20 Interfaith Forum, Marianna Richardson

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Comparing The Effects Of Square, 4-7-8, And 6 Breaths-Per-Minute Breathing Conditions On Heart Rate Variability, Co2 Levels, And Mood, Joshua Marchant

Theses and Dissertations

Background and Hypotheses: Square and 4-7-8 breathing are popularly promoted by psychotherapists but have little empirical support. We hypothesized that breathing at 6 breaths per minute (bpm) would improve HRV, reduce blood pressure, and improve mood more than either square or 4-7-8 breathing. We also hypothesized square and 4-7-8 breathing would increase end-tidal CO2 (PETCO2). Methods: Eighty-four college students (60% female) had HRV measured at baseline and during 1) square breathing, 2) 4-7-8 breathing, 3) 6 bpm with a 4:6 inhale-to-exhale ratio, and 4) 6 bpm with a 5:5 ratio. We used a 3-lead electrocardiogram to measure HRV and a …

"Very Important Stuff For The Ladies": Examining Gender Differences In Celebrity Journalism, Payton E. Pingree

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores gender differences in celebrity journalism by analyzing 44 YouTube video interviews from the Oscars red carpet between 2014 and 2024. Using framing theory and feminist theory, the study examines how interviewers interact with male and female celebrities, focusing on four key behaviors: infantilizing, ambivalence, sexualization, and heteronormativity. Through qualitative thematic analysis of interview transcripts, the research reveals that female celebrities are often sexualized through questions about their appearance and subjected to heteronormative expectations when discussing their fashion choices and familial roles. These patterns suggest persistent sexism in celebrity journalism, potentially influencing public perceptions of women in the …

Characterizing The Effects Of Rage Upregulation In Lung Development, Derek Michael Clarke

Theses and Dissertations

The Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE) is a transmembrane, multi-ligand cell surface receptor highly expressed in pulmonary tissue, where it plays a critical role in mediating inflammatory responses. Under chronic toxicant exposure, often associated with cigarette, e-cigarette, and diesel particulate, RAGE transitions from a protective to a deleterious state, contributing to pathological processes. In adult models, RAGE's role in the development of lung disease has been well studied, yet in the context of lung development RAGE has not been well studied with a small number of clinical papers finding increased levels of RAGE in bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD) and respiratory distress …

Imu-Mechanized Discrete Error-State Kalman Filtering With Lie-Group Pose Representations, Daniel P. Koch

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates methodologies for consistent Kalman filtering with Lie-group based representations of the vehicle pose. Early results are centered around the relative navigation framework, which maintains filter observability and consistency by only tracking the state relative to the latest keyframe of an odometry system such as visual odometry or laser scan matching. A detailed derivation of a relative multiplicative extended Kalman filter, using a quaternion parameterization of the attitude state, is presented for application to multirotor vehicles. The remainder of the dissertation focuses on Kalman filtering using a Lie-group SE(3) pose representation, which improves filter consistency by correctly modeling …

Transgenerational Impacts Of Covid-19: Exploring The Epigenetic Impacts Of Sars-Cov-2 Infection On Parental Reproductive Health And Offspring Development, Isaac Mckay Stirland

Theses and Dissertations

The mechanisms and consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including clinical manifestations, immune response, pathogenicity, long-term sequelae, etc., have been studied in detail following the 2019 pandemic however, very little has been done to explore the interplay between SARS-CoV-2 and host DNA methylation. Given the role of DNA methylation in genetic regulation, genomic imprinting, and induction of transgenerational effects, an understanding of viral interaction(s) with the host methylome is imperative in promoting reproductive and developmental health. Numerous reports describe infections with similar pathogenicity to SARS-CoV-2 and their correlation to altered host tissues at the epigenetic, physiologic, and macroscopic level. These reported epigenetic …

The Effectiveness Of Dialogic Reading Workshops For Parents Of Children With Developmental Disabilities, Jessica Driskill

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of dialogic reading workshops in improving at-home reading behaviors of both parents and their preschool-aged children. A focus of the study is to understand the dialogic reading experiences of parents with children who have developmental disabilities. Thirteen parents of children at a local preschool participated in one or more phases of the study. Phases included completing a pre-survey, attending the workshop, completing a post-survey, and participating in an interview. Five parents of typically developing children and four parents of children with developmental disabilities participated in the interviews. Participants noted an …

The Confidence Trap In Pr Academia: Barriers And Solutions For Female Professors, Kailey R. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the career barriers female public relations professors face through the lens of Brubaker et al.'s (2025) theoretical model of "The Confidence Trap." While existing research has explored gender disparities in the PR industry, limited scholarship has investigated the challenges faced by women in PR academia. This qualitative study utilizes in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 22 female public relations professors currently on the tenure track or who have earned tenure at R1 and R2 research institutions in the United States. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts revealed that traditional barriers--such as the glass ceiling, sticky floors, maternal walls, and sexism--manifest …

Data-Driven Fusion Of Earth Observation And Hydrologic Data To Forecast Flood Extents At Regional To Continental Scales, Kel N. Markert

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate and timely flood inundation forecasts are crucial for mitigating the devastating impacts of floods, which affect 1.47 billion people globally and cause significant economic losses. While traditional flood forecasting methods, such as hydrologic and hydrodynamic models, have limitations in providing comprehensive and spatially explicit inundation information, recent research has focused on leveraging Earth observation data and machine learning for enhanced flood prediction. This dissertation advances the state-of-the-art in data-driven flood inundation forecasting by exploring the capabilities and scalability of the Forecasting Inundation Extents using Rotated Empirical Orthogonal Function (FIER) framework. This dissertation focuses on investigating different aspects of FIER …

A Century Of Depicting Characters With Disabilities In Newbery Award And Honor Books, Merna Kay Raines

Theses and Dissertations

A Century of Depicting Characters With Disabilities in Newbery Award and Honor Books Merna Kay Raines Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, BYU Educational Specialist Between 1922 and 2021, 426 books received the Newbery Award, with 64 books featuring characters with disabilities. However, it was not until 1931 that the Newbery Honor Award was given to recognize the author of a book featuring a character with disabilities. Newbery Award-winning books are considered quality literature and are found in most libraries and classrooms. Understanding the portrayal of characters with disabilities is important because students easily access these books. This content …

Do Esgs Do Any Good? The Problem Of Aggregation In Corporate Social Responsibility Literature, Gloriana Guillermo

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings are used to evaluate corporate social responsibility performance for years. This review is looking to see if ESG ratings’ “do any good” meaning have an impact beyond the financials. This review investigates the impacts and effects of ESG ratings by evaluating literature based on the level of aggregation used in each study as aggregation can hide differences in the data. I evaluated these papers and sorted them based on a theoretical framework into four distinct positions based on the level of aggregation used for the ESG rating and the dependent variable. I also looked …

Measuring The Growth Of A Bacteria Encapsulated Within A Droplet Of Growth Media Suspended In Oil For Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Tests In Microfluidic Devices, Parker Johns

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study is part of an ongoing project to develop a rapid antibiotic susceptibility test using 3D-printed microfluidic devices to reduce the wait-time for patients with blood infections to receive treatment. My goal was to reduce the cytotoxicity of 3D-printed poly(ethylene) glycol diacrylate microfluidic devices and select an oil suitable for bacterial growth and droplet generation for encapsulation of bacteria in a rapid antibiotic susceptibility test. I tested the growth of Escherichia coli containing a plasmid coding for green fluorescent protein in different environments to assess what factors most affected its growth in microfluidic devices. I found that a 12-hour …

The Efficient Judges Hypothesis: Testing The Role Of Public Sentiment In Alj Decisions, James Hamilton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Administrative law judges (ALJs) play a significant role in the appeal process of the United States Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. This paper tests whether ALJ decisions are ”efficient” - based solely on case characteristics - or influenced by other factors, such as public review. Leveraging the random assignment of cases to ALJs within hearing offices, I analyze variation in ALJ award rates over time. The results show that while case characteristics influence ALJ decisions, they do not fully explain the decisions, suggesting the presence of additional explanatory factors.

I explore the impact of public review on ALJ decisions …

Seeing The Storm: Leveraging Multimodal Llms For Disaster Social Media Video Filtering, Holden Clark

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Emergency management relies on the rapid triage of information to respond appropriately to disaster events. Social media platforms can provide emergency managers with ground-level insights, and videos, in particular, offer an immersive medium for understanding public responses and on-the-ground conditions. However, the overwhelming volume of irrelevant or redundant videos complicates their use for emergency response. This paper investigates the use of multimodal large language models (MLLMs)–specifically the Gemini 1.5 flash model–to automate the identification of relevant videos shared on X (formerly Twitter) during hurricanes. We develop and evaluate a framework to test the accuracy of different prompting styles and question …

Connecther: Connecting Women In The Byu Marriott School To The Workplace And To Each Other’S Success (With A Ten-Step Job Search Guide), Hope Detweiler

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis addresses two research questions: 1) Given the existence of gender bias in the broader culture, what particular challenges do women in business face in the job search process? 2) How can female business students (or young professionals) specifically address these challenges? This document provides actionable guidance and timely instructions in the form of presentations and lists. Accordingly, it adheres to the “creative works” format for honors theses. Specifically, this paper focuses on women in the BYU Marriott School of Business who are majoring in or graduating from any of the business majors and seeking employment in professional services …

Supporting Student Mothers: A Study Of Well-Being, Challenges, And Resource Accessibility At Brigham Young University, Sophia Claire Cranney

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Student mothers may face unique challenges in balancing their educational and parental responsibilities, yet their experiences remain underexplored in academic research. This study examines the well-being, challenges, and resource accessibility of student mothers at Brigham Young University (BYU). Using survey data from 20 student mothers, this research evaluates their perceived school support, mental well-being, and awareness of available campus resources. Participants reported moderate levels of perceived school support and overall mental well-being, with lower scores on measures of relaxation, social connectedness, and energy levels. While no significant correlation was found between resource availability and well-being, qualitative responses revealed critical gaps …

Measuring Support For Democracy Through Public Understanding: A Conjoint Survey Approach, Kendra Pinegar

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore how individuals conceptualize democracy and whether their support is based on democratic principles or its outcomes. Using a conjoint experiment in Chile and Peru, I examine how respondents define democracy, assess governance, and adjust their support based on institutional attributes. My findings show that citizens struggle to distinguish between democracy’s core institutions and the broader social and economic conditions they associate with it. Their support is often tied to government performance rather than democratic principles. Moreover, they favor their own definition of democracy over an objective, institutional one, revealing a disconnect between public perception and …

Adjudicating Utah Public Records Requests: A Textual Analysis Of Relevant Appellate And Supreme Court Decisions, Zoe Cook

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis project is to identify the boundaries that have been established by the Utah courts between disclosure and non-disclosure of government records. This analysis focused on the legal theory of balancing public interest in disclosure vs. the rationale for some government records being retained as confidential.

Lgbtq+ Identity Development And Individual Vs Group Psychotherapy Experience: A Consensual Qualitative Analysis, Aileen Marie Rands

Theses and Dissertations

Multicultural topics, such as LGBTQ+ experience, have accrued predominance within the field of psychology. It has become clear that better understanding minority experience is of utmost importance. Pervasive stigma, discrimination, and mistreatment culminate into minority stress; thus LGBTQ+ individuals face greater risk for poor mental health and seek out psychotherapy at higher rates. Despite this reality, limited psychotherapy research exists in this area generally and essentially no research has looking into the experience of LGBTQ+ individuals in group therapy. The current study investigated experiences of LGBTQ+ clients who have participated in both individual and group psychotherapy. Eleven participants were interviewed …

Enhancing Mucus Flow And Clearance By Grafting Zwitterionic Hydrogel Films To Luminal Surfaces, Ryan Horne, Caleb Escudero, Morgan Ellerman, C. Allan Guymon, Marlan Hansen

Faculty Publications

Objective

To determine the effects of zwitterionic hydrogel films on mucus contact angles, flow, and stasis with respect to medical polymer surfaces, both flat and tubular.

Methods

A zwitterionic hydrogel thin film was photografted onto medical rubber surfaces and compared against non-zwitterionic hydrogel thin films and untreated surfaces to determine its impact on mucus contact angles, mucus flow on sheets and tubes, and mucus plugging.

Results

Zwitterionic and conventional hydrogel films significantly reduce the mucus contact angles and the tilt required to initiate mucus flow on sheets and in tubular systems. Preliminary experiments show that these films may also shorten …

Sustainable Well-Being For Young Adults: An Online Course To Build Ecological And Psychological Flourishing In A Changing Climate, Jeremy Stanley Bekker

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable well-being is "happiness that contributes to individual, community and/or global well-being without exploiting other people, the environment or future generations" (O'Brien, 2010, p. 2). Sustainable well-being education may encourage environmentally sustainable behavior while also teaching people how to live meaningful lives. However, there is currently a lack of research-based disseminable courses for teaching sustainable well-being. We hypothesized that taking the course would result in lower eco-anxiety and higher well-being, as well as increased pro-environmental self-efficacy and pro-environmental values. We used a randomized crossover repeated measures research design to assess pre and post effects. Quantitative results indicated that participating in …

What Counselors Say Matters For Supporting High School Newcomer Multilingual Learners As They Work Toward Graduation, Sonia Lucrecia Molina Openshaw

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how high school (HS) counselors describe their work with newcomer multilingual learners (MLs). Using the lens of Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework to identify asset perspectives in their work with these students. They suggest specific supports and barriers impacting these students' academic and social success in school. Findings reveal that counselors often focus on addressing the immediate needs of HS newcomer MLs, such as language acquisition and academic readiness, but less frequently recognize the cultural, linguistic, and social assets students bring to their educational journey. Counselors highlight the importance of systemic supports, including onboarding processes, …

Post-Irradiation Fault Injection For Complex Fpga Designs, Nathan G. Baker

Theses and Dissertations

Fault injection is a common technique for estimating the impact of single-event upsets (SEUs) within the configuration memory (CRAM) of an FPGA design. Fault injection is typically conducted prior to a radiation test to evaluate the effectiveness of SEU mitigation techniques, estimate the FPGA design's behavior at the radiation test, and prepare the radiation test infrastructure. This thesis explores how fault injection can be used after radiation testing to reveal additional insight into an FPGA's behavior during a radiation test. A unique methodology, referred to as post-irradiation fault injection (PIRFI), was developed in which the locations and timestamps of CRAM …

A Multi-Model And Multi-Agency Approach To Expand The Flood Inundation Mapping Capacity Of The Us National Water Center, Samuel Jay Oldham

Theses and Dissertations

The most accurate numerical model for simulating flood extents of rivers has long been a subject of debate. While specialized models exist for specific hydraulic features, we advocate for the principle that the best model is the one the user is familiar with, has adequate data to support input requirements and limitations, and will consistently employ. To support this approach, we have developed a database schema optimized to store riverine flood inundation model output files. This schema is designed to assist U.S. cities, counties, states, and other flood management agencies in leveraging their existing model-generated flood maps, regardless of the …

Peer Mentor Circle Program Student Feedback Summary, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

This is a brief summary of students' positive experiences in Mentor Circle that can lead to their transformational personal growth.

Materiality In The Csr-Investor Reaction Relationship: A Replication And Extension Of Flammer (2013), Steven D. Kofford, Myles Melancon, Ben W. Lewis

Faculty Publications

We replicate and extend Flammer’s (2013) event study of investor reaction to environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR). Flammer found that investors reacted positively to eco-friendly events and negatively to eco-harmful events from 1980-2009 and that reaction to positive events decreased while reaction to negative events increased over time. We find similar results for Flamer’s original sample and an expanded sample including the same type of firms (U.S.-listed public firms) from 1980-2019. We then extend Flammer’s results by examining how materiality affects investor reaction over time. We find that investors only react to material events and that positive reaction to material …

Microfabrication Of Sic Using Femtosecond Lasers, Jared Eldon Payne

Theses and Dissertations

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a desirable material in a wide variety of semiconductor fields. The impressive thermal, chemical, and mechanical properties that make SiC an attractive material also make it very difficult to machine. New fabrication techniques are required to take full advantage of the potential of SiC. First, a new 3-dimensional (3D) non-line-of-sight (NLOS) fabrication technique using two-photon absorption is demonstrated in SiC. NLOS microchannels are shown with aspect ratios higher than 100:1. The process is the only method known, at this time, that can create truly 3D subsurface structures in SiC without direct line of sight to the …