Digital Commons Network^™

Rethinking The Rod Of Iron, T. J. Uriona

BYU Studies

Near its beginning, the Book of Mormon relates the dream of an Israelite father and visionary prophet named Lehi. About 600 BCE, Lehi and his family “tarried in the wilderness,” having fled Jerusalem for a promised land, guided by the Lord (1 Ne. 8:2). In this dream, Lehi saw a symbolic scene with multiple elements, including a tree with desirable fruit and a river running near the tree. “And,” he said, “I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree” (1 Ne. 8:19). Lehi observed how people made their …

Harry Redner. Beyond Civilization: Society, Culture And The Individual In The Age Of Globalization. Routledge, 2014., Mariana Tepfenhart

Comparative Civilizations Review

Harry Redner was a reader at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and a visiting professor at Yale University, University of California-Berkeley and Harvard University. His book has three parts: An Overview of History, The Present Predicament of History, and The Future Prospects of Civilization.

The book addresses two major issues affecting our society today. One of them is globalization and its effect on civilization. The topic is analyzed not only from a cultural perspective but also from a political and cognitive standpoint. The second issue is technology and its place in a global society. Redner argues Western civilization’s development of …

Lack Of Quality Civic Education In Public Schools In The United States, Sydney Ward

Ballard Brief

A lack of quality civic education affects nearly every K-12 student in the United States. The content and methods of civic education curriculum focus on memorization, lecture, and textbook learning, creating an ineffective learning method for students. Teachers are met with polarized classrooms and communities, creating hesitancy to approach political topics while inequity in funding between states and districts leaves schools without consistent resources or emphasis on civics. legislative policies and nonprofit organizations have dictated some of civic education's most recent standards and practices, though this federal approach has not been universally adopted in local classrooms. As a result of …

Abridging The Records Of The Zoramite Mission: Mormon As Historian, Steven L. Olsen

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Since the mid-twentieth century, scholarly studies of the literary craftsmanship of biblical texts have revealed considerable insights into the intended purposes of the authors of these scriptural narratives. The present study applies the analytical methods of these studies to Mormon’s abridgment of Alma’s records of the Zoramite mission (Alma 31–35), revealing intricate patterns of literary conventions ranging from the most specific (e.g., diction, syntax, and figures of speech) to the most general (e.g., rhetoric, tone, and structural logic). From this perspective, Alma 31 provides a framework to distinguish Nephite and Zoramite religious practices and structure the narrative of the entire …

"All The Litter As It Lay": Swift, Montagu, And Their Practice Of Thing Theory, Eli M. Phillips

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

In this article, I argue that, although "Thing Theory" was not so named until the 21st century, and has been mostly applied to prose of the 18th century and not its poetry, Jonathan Swift and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu engaged in a poetic thing theory of their own. For Swift, this meant examining the "thingness" of physical objects, leading to an uncertain conclusion about the poem as an object. For Montagu, the "thingness" of objects was instead downplayed, while the "thingness" of the genre of 18th-century satire, including its often ugly attitude toward women, was foregrounded, asking important questions about …

Book Review: Transformative Language Learning And Teaching, Benjamin Rifkin

Russian Language Journal

Leaver, Davidson, and Campbell’s Transformative Language Learning and Teachingis a groundbreaking volume on the theory and practice of transformative teaching in the language learning context. The volume consists of chapters on the transformative learning and teaching of world languages organized into seven thematic parts: theoretical framework, transformative learning and teaching applications in government programs, transformative language learning and teaching applications in university programs, transformative language learning and teaching programs in immersion programs, the learner, faculty development, and assessment. The volume also includes a comprehensive list of works cited that constitutes a tremendous resource for any scholar or practitioner interested …

Full Issue

Russian Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Empirically Determined Strategic Input And Gamification In Mastering Russian Word Forms, Laura A. Janda, Jan Ove Nikolai Almendingen, Linn Thea Kaldager Josefsen

Russian Language Journal

We propose two designs to gamify second language (L2) learning of Russian inflectional morphology: Treasure Hunt and Story Time. The goal of these designs is to focus learning on high-frequency word forms that are most strategic and effective for L2 acquisition in a way that stimulates engagement and builds lifelong learning skills.

Review: Elisa Eastwood Pulido. The Spiritual Evolution Of Margarito Bautista: Mexican Mormon Evangelizer, Polygamist Dissident, And Utopian Founder, 1878–1961. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020., Susie S. Porter

Mormon Studies Review

Margarito Bautista was born in 1878 in Atlautla, Mexico, a small farming community tucked into the folds of the Popocatépetl volcano in the state of Mexico. Even today, the community remains small, with fewer than thirty thousand people in 2010. Bautista’s father was a farmer and respected community member, serving at one time as municipal president. Elisa Eastwood Pulido provides no occupation for his mother, whom she describes as “pure Nahua” (50). Margarito Bautista converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1901, moved to the Mormon colonies in Northern Mexico, and became a volunteer evangelizer. His …

A Comparison Of The Book Of Mormon’S Subordinate That Usage, Stanford Carmack

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

This paper compares the Book of Mormon’s subordinate that usage with what is found in the King James Bible, pseudo-archaic writings, and the greater textual record. In this linguistic domain, the Book of Mormon manifests as thoroughly archaic, and it surpasses all known pseudo-archaic writings in breadth and depth of archaism. The implications of this set of linguistic data indicate that the translation as originally dictated by Joseph Smith cannot plausibly be explained as the result of Joseph’s own word choices, but it is consistent with the hypothesis that the wording was somehow provided to him.

Prophets, Pagans, And Papyri, Stephen O. Smoot, Kerry Muhlestein

BYU Studies

Egypt has a long history of exchange and contact with a variety of people. Ancient people of diverse ethnic backgrounds made their way into Egypt—whether as war captives, mercenaries, merchants, invading armies, members of diplomatic parties, refugees, or simple migrants—bringing with them their language and culture. One such group was the ancient Jews, whose enslavement at the hands of “a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph” (Ex. 1:8), and exodus under the prophetic leadership of Moses may be the best-remembered incident of a Hebrew presence in Egypt, but it was not the only one.

Constancy Amid Change, Michael Goodman, Daniel Frost

BYU Studies

Few issues are more sensitive and in need of serious study than gender and sexuality. Taylor Petrey’s book, Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Sexual Difference in Modern Mormonism, contributes much to that study. The book provides a nuanced view of Church leaders’ attempts to understand and teach the nature of gender and sexuality. Petrey shows that Latter-day Saint discourse on these issues has changed substantially, especially since World War II. Petrey has gathered a trove of material for scholars and others who seek to better understand how culture, tradition, and theology have shaped teachings about gender and sexuality. Though …

Shinehah, The Sun, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

One of the astronomical terms defined in the Book of Abraham is Shinehah, which is said to be the sun (Abr. 3:13). Earlier in the Book of Abraham, the “god of Shagreel” is identified as the sun as well (Abr. 1:9). The context of these passages suggests that Shagreel is a West Semitic name or word while hinehah is an Egyptian name or word, although this is not explicit in the text.1 We do not know how Joseph Smith intended the word Shinehah to be pronounced; whether, for instance, shine-hah or shi-ney-hah or some other way. However it is pronounced, …

The Divine Council, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

One thing that differentiates the Book of Abraham’s account of the Creation from the biblical account in Genesis is that the Book of Abraham mentions plural Gods as the agents carrying out the Creation. “And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth” (Abr. 4:1). These Gods are mentioned thirty-two times in Abraham 4 and sixteen times in Abraham 5. Significantly, these Gods are said to have taken “counsel” among themselves during the Creation (Abr. 4:26; 5:2–3, 5).

When Is Enough, Enough? An Examination Of Student Engagement When Watching Online Group Project Presentations, Manasvi Kumar, Joseph S. Valacich, Jeffrey L. Jenkins, David Kim

Faculty Publications

In traditional face-to-face classes, conventional wisdom suggests that delivering and watching group project presentations is a valuable learning experience. In this research, we examine the limits of student engagement and learning in an asynchronous online context. Specifically, 249 undergraduate students were assigned to perform peer evaluations of multiple ten-minute project presentations. The online learning platform collected objective viewing behavior for each student, allowing us to use viewing time as a proxy for engagement. We also collected self-reported attitudes towards the assignment, finding that while students value providing feedback, they do not consider it a valuable use of their time. Students …

Changing The Business Narrative: A Guide To Successful Experience Offerings, J. Robert Rossman, Mat D. Duerden

Faculty Publications

Purpose

Design/methodology/approach

Determinants Of Capital Structure: An Expanded Assessment, Toshinori Fukui, Todd Mitton, Robert Schonlau

Faculty Publications

Using a standardized methodology, we empirically evaluate 55 proposed determinants of capital structure in terms of statistical significance, economic significance, and identification. We find that robust and economically important determinants of debt ratios are relatively few in number. Nevertheless, because each determinant relates to one of five market imperfections—taxes, distress costs, information asymmetry, agency costs, or supply frictions—we draw conclusions from the evidence as a whole regarding the explanatory power of different capital structure theories. We find greater support for pecking order theory and supply-related theories, with less support for traditional tradeoff theory and agency theory.

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Heat Therapy And Exercise Training On Vascular Function During Passive And Active Exercise, Taysom Erica Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Recent evidence suggests that heat, a major byproduct of exercise, may be the mediator for many vascular adaptations that come from exercise. Thus, heat therapy that increases muscle temperature in a comparable way to exercise may be an advantageous alternative for enhancing cardiovascular health in individuals where treatment with exercise is either not possible or undesired. PURPOSE: Compare the effects of exercise and heat training on resistance artery function at rest and during exercise. METHODS: Thirty-five (18 female) healthy, untrained subjects completed a 6-week training program utilizing either high intensity knee extension (KE) exercise (40 min), localized heat therapy (pulsed …

The Last Nephite Scribes, Noel B. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

This paper leverages the insights of modern scholars on the scribal schools of the ancient near east to identify and track the Nephite scribal school across the ten centuries of the Nephite dispensation. Mormon tells us his abridgment only includes a hundredth part of the Nephite history available to him on the Large Plates of Nephi. That being the case, it is especially impressive that his abridgment tracks the responsibility for maintaining and preserving the Nephite record and other sacred objects—the responsibility of the scribes—across that millennium without gaps. Mormon and his son Moroni were themselves trained scribes who could …

Using Facies Analysis And Reservoir Characterization Of The Albian-Cenomanian Nanushuk Formation To Assist In Better Understanding Interactions Between Shoreface, Deltaic, And Fluvial Systems On The North Slope, Alaska, Andrea Smoot

Theses and Dissertations

The Albian-Cenomanian Nanushuk Formation located on the North Slope of Alaska is the result of fluvial, deltaic, and shoreface processes and has been the focus of recent petroleum exploration activity in the Colville Basin. The Nanushuk and underlying Torok formations together contain an estimated 8.7 billion barrels of oil and 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves within the resource-rich North Slope. The Nanushuk Formation is composed of sediment sourced from the Chukotka Peninsula to the west and deposited axially within the Colville Basin. High sedimentation rates led to rapid progradation of shoreface and deltaic systems, which effectively filled …

Blended Language Learning: The Decision-Making Process In Designing A Blended Portuguese Course, Camellia Hill

Theses and Dissertations

This study identifies how content specialists, instructors, and instructional designers made decisions about what content to teach in person and what to teach online for a second year Portuguese university course. Qualitative vignettes around three course design participants highlight emergent themes and course artifacts from their interviews that show how they made decisions about what learning opportunities to do online and what to leave in person. The blended language course involved Canvas learning management system with two additional main technology tools used in development: GoReact and H5P. The results are subdivided to reflect the views of the instructional designer, the …

Identifying And Evaluating Common Subgenres In Asymmetric Virtual Reality Games, Miah Dawes

Theses and Dissertations

Recent years have seen a significant growth in what designers and players call asymmetric virtual reality (AVR) games. This dissertation creates a framework that defines the relevant characteristics of AVR as a genre and describes five common genres of AVR games, including David(s) and Goliath, Hide and Seek, Perspective Puzzle, Order Simulation, and Lifeline. The core features of each subgenre are expounded. These subgenres are then evaluated using design workshops to observe novice game designs use these subgenres in their game design process. An analysis of the workshops found that the AVR subgenre framework may benefit novice game designers in …

North American Chinese Comfort Foods, Alyssa Anderson

Final Projects

This project encompasses several recipes from a North American Chinese family and examines the use of technology in the transmission of folklore

The Formation Of The Diminutive In Brazilian Portuguese, Cristina M. Newell

Theses and Dissertations

Although the Portuguese diminutive has been analyzed for centuries, there is a lack of descriptive experimental data regarding how native speakers form the diminutive including participants from each state in Brazil. For this study, 1,053 native speakers from each of the 26 states and the federal district of Brazil filled out an online survey, providing information about their age, gender, birth state, and current state of residence in Brazil. Participants selected the form(s) of the diminutive which they would use for 60 test words. Results indicate that the most influential factors in the formation of the diminutive are the age …

The Rusty Butler Archive: Revelations Of Cultural Repression During The Brazilian Military Dictatorship, Calla J. C. Knapp

Theses and Dissertations

The twenty-one years of military dictatorship in Brazil were marked by severe repression as government censors controlled every aspect of the media and artistic production. During these tense years from 1964 to 1985, many journalists, academics, writers, and artists struggled to voice their opposition to oppressive military control. In this same period, many playwrights turned to protest theater as a way to speak out against the dictatorship's abuses. Unsurprisingly, some of the plays produced at this time were heavily censored or shut down. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a young Brazilianist scholar, Ross "Rusty" Butler, befriended, interviewed, and …

Trademarks And Genericide: A Corpus And Experimental Approach To Understanding The Semantic Status Of Trademarks, Richard B. Bevan

Theses and Dissertations

Genericide is the process by which a trademarked term is used generically by the public and ultimately loses its legal trademark protections. The linguistic methods that courts have used to determine whether a given term is in the process of or has undergone genericide have historically relied on dictionaries. However, there has a been recent push to use corpus linguistics as a tool to aid in that determination for not only trademarks but word meaning in general (Hoopes, 2019; Lee & Mouritsen, 2018). In addition to corpus data, I argue that the use of experimental data via a linguistic questionnaire …

Witnessing "Story Truth" And The Narrative Of The Resurrection: Reintegration After Crisis In Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, Hayley E. Langton

Theses and Dissertations

Sarah Bachelard describes crisis as a turning point during which all previous frameworks collapse. The narrative structure of the resurrection reveals the influential role of narrative in reintegrating such crises back into a place of meaning and wholeness. Using the resurrection narrative as an interpretive framework for Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried reveals how "story truth" acknowledges the transcendent meaning that lies beyond all texts and circumstances, and so reintegrates crisis and redeems meaning for Tim and his fellow soldiers. The transcendent and transformative qualities of story truth illustrate the latter's innately spiritual nature, even within secular texts. Story …

The Development Of A Social And Emotional Well-Being Scale Using Esem And Cfa: Synergistic Stories In Complex Models, Christopher Hughes Busath

Theses and Dissertations

School districts face unique challenges as they implement social and emotional learning (SEL) initiatives, particularly when choosing or developing a high-quality scale to measure non-academic competencies. Like collaborations with the CORE school districts described by West, Buckley, et al. (2018) and the Washoe County School District described by Davidson et al. (2018), Alpine School District (ASD) partnered with Brigham Young University (BYU) to develop a scale (80 items) that reflected their Vision for Learning framework. In this pilot study, I describe the collaborative and iterative process used to develop a shortened version of the ASD Social and Emotional Well-Being Scale …

Cedar: A Dimensionally Adaptive Flow Solver For Cylindrical Combustors, Ty R. Hosler

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the application, evaluation, and extension of dimensionally adaptive meshing to the numerical solution of velocity and pressure fields inside cylindrical reactors. Due to the high length to diameter ratios of many cylindrical reactor vessels the flow field can become axisymmetric, allowing for simplification of the governing equations and significant reduction in computational time required for solution. A fully 3D solver is developed from existing computational tools at BYU and validated against theoretical velocity profiles for pipe flow at various Reynolds numbers, as well as with experimental data for an axial-fired center jet with recirculating flow. Dimensionally adaptive …

Racial/Ethnic Representation In Prominent Child/Adolescent Clinical Journals: A Content Analysis Of Literature (2000-2019), Jessica E. Diamond

Theses and Dissertations

A focus on racial and ethnic minority youth is crucial considering the projections of growth for these populations in the United States. The Journal of American Academy of Child/Adolescent Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America were coded for level of focus on minority youth group focus, article topic, and journal trends over time. Latinxs represented 3.2% of published articles (versus 17.8% of the U. S. population), African Americans 3.0% (versus 13.3%), Asian Americans 0.1% (versus 5.9%) and Native Americans 0.9% (versus 1.3%). The top research topics for all minority …