Digital Commons Network^™

An Exploratory Study On The Impact Of Applied Ancestry On At-Risk Youth In A Wilderness Therapy Program Setting, Elisa M. Rancie

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Applied Ancestry program meets its objectives of assisting at-risk youth with regard to character development. The sample consisted of 40 youth (12-17 yrs) enrolled in the Anasazi Foundation Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare program. These teens were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 22) or treatment (n = 18) group. To measure the impact of Applied Ancestry on character development the VIA Signature Strengths Survey, developed by the VIA Institute, was used. A pre-post test comparison found no difference between the two groups, however the overall negative changes in survey …

Cedar Hollow, An Early Holocene Faunal Site From Whidbey Island, Washington, George E. Mustoe, C. Richard Harington, Richard E. Morlan

Western North American Naturalist

Coastal erosion at central Whidbey Island reveals a cross-section view of dune sands that contain the only known record of animals that inhabited the Pacific Northwest coast during the early Holocene. Mammal fossils include bones and teeth of deer, wolf, brown bear, and several species of rodents. A deer vertebra from basal beds yielded a ¹⁴C age of 8840 ± 50 yr BP. The faunal diversity suggests that the region was repopulated relatively quickly following the final retreat of the Cordilleran sheet. This paleofauna was quite different from that of the late Pleistocene, when the region was inhabited by …

Soil Impacts Of Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Longaeva) Tree Islands On Alpine Tundra, Charleston Peak, Nevada, Laura Weiss, Aaron B. Shiels, Lawrence R. Walker

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Real-Time Motion Transition By Example, Cameron Quinn Egbert

Theses and Dissertations

Motion transitioning is a common task in real-time applications such as games. While most character motions can be created a priori using motion capture or hand animation, transitions between these motions must be created by an animation system at runtime. Because of this requirement, it is often difficult to create a transition that preserves the feel that the actor or animator has put into the motion. An additional difficulty is that transitions must be created in real-time. This paper provides a method of creating motion transitions that is both computationally feasible for interactive speeds, and preserves the feel of the …

Modeling Distributions Of Test Scores With Mixtures Of Beta Distributions, Jingyu Feng

Theses and Dissertations

Test score distributions are used to make important instructional decisions about students. The test scores usually do not follow a normal distribution. In some cases, the scores appear to follow a bimodal distribution that can be modeled with a mixture of beta distributions. This bimodality may be due different levels of students' ability. The purpose of this study was to develop and apply statistical techniques for fitting beta mixtures and detecting bimodality in test score distributions. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods were used to estimate the five parameters of the beta mixture distribution for scores in four quizzes in a …

Percolation In Two-Dimensional Grain Boundary Structures And Polycrystal Property Closures, David T. Fullwood

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis addresses two topics in the study of material properties as determined by the microstructure. The first topic involves percolation as a tool in relating the grain boundary structure to global properties such as fracture and corrosion resistance. The second investigates optimization techniques in order to find the space of values that properties of a material can take, from consideration of the microstructure. In part I, the applicability of standard lattice percolation models to a random 2-D grain structure is explored. A random network based on the triangle lattice is proposed as a more appropriate model, and results in …

Book Review: Dr. Ernst W. Alther, Ahnentafel Van Burgern St.Gallischen Ursprungs Mit Ausliiufern Nach Genf, Nancy, Nurnberg, Ulm, Lucca Und Florenz, Mario Von Moos, Wolf Seelentag, Leo Schelbert

Swiss American Historical Society Review

To compile a pedigree chart of a few generations, and have it printed, might be considered a private and personal pleasure. However, if such a pedigree is set out to cover all ancestors as far back as the sources allow, the author has achieved something important not only for his family, but for his home town, the canton or even a larger part of the country. Swiss genealogists, especially Komad Schulthess, have started projects like this during the 1920's; in 1939 Eduard Riibel and Wilhelm H. Ruoff have set new standards with their Rubel-Blass genealogy, covering mainly Zurich and Bern …

Book Review: Jonathan Steinberg, Why Switzerland?, Jurg K. Siegenthaler

Swiss American Historical Society Review

"Any decent biography," a New York Times book reviewer recently remarked, "is a work of drama." Jonathan Steinberg's Why Switzerland? is truly a biography of Switzerland, and the story often has the substance of drama. Since the book has no subtitle, the author explains the three ways in which he is intending to answer the question "why." Why has a place such as Switzerland come about? Why should readers abroad care? And why should Switzerland continue to exist? "No country is more frequently visited but less known" (p. 4). What Steinberg manages to do very well is to provide answers …

Social Utility Functions-Part I: Theory, Wynn C. Stirling

Faculty Publications

The dominant approaches to utility-based multiagent decision theory rely on the premise of individual rationality-the doctrine that each individual is committed to achieving the best outcome for itself, regardless of the effect doing so has on others. This fundamentally asocial concept is the basis of conventional von Neumann-Morgenstern (vN-M) utilities but is inadequate to characterize truly cooperative artificial systems. Social utility functions differ from conventional vN-M utilities in that they are functions of multiple decision-maker preferences, rather than actions, and thus permit individuals to expand their spheres of interest beyond the self. A logical basis for coherent reasoning in multiagent …

Social Utility Functions-Part Ii: Applications, Wynn C. Stirling, Richard L. Frost

Faculty Publications

Social utilities account for agent preferences and, thus, can characterize complex interrelationships, such as cooperation, compromise, negotiation, and altruism, that can exist between agents. Satisficing game theory, which is based on social utilities, offers a framework within which to design sophisticated multiagent systems. Key features of this approach are: a) an N-agent system may be represented by a 2N-dimensional Bayesian network, called a praxeic network; b) the theory accommodates a notion of situational altruism (a willingness to defer to others in a controlled way if so doing would actually benefit others under the condition that others wish to take advantage …

On-Demand Tutoring In Distance Education: Intrinsically-Motivated, Scalable Interpersonal Interaction To Improve Achievement, Completion, And Satisfaction, Peter B. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to test an intrinsically-motivated interaction approach, designed to increase distance education support, for both content and motivation, in a cost-effective manner. The literature summarized shows that distance education students desire content and motivational support beyond course materials and are limited in their success without it. Further, while researchers explore increased interaction as a solution, professors usually do not have time for it and attempts to provide it are often restricted by institutions' limited resources. Very little has been published on the effects of distance education tutors and the need for more research in this …

Report On The Ncc's Japanese Publishers And Vendors Roundtable, Journal Of East Asian Libraries

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Europe: A Civilization On The Edge, Peter O'Brien

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

John E. Willis, Jr., 1688: A Global History, H. Loring

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Okolie Animba, Ed. Glimpses Of Igbo Culture And Civilization, Michael Andregg

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Peace In Unity: 19th Century Irenic Motivations In European Unification, Robert Taft Keele

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Hauptargumenten of politicians and citizens concerning the advantages and disadvantages of the EU are almost exclusively economic or political in nature: lower tariffs; loss of monetary instruments; immigration; disenfranchisement; etc. The object of my thesis is to remind everyone, amid the flurry of speculation and uncertainty prevalent in Europe since the French rejection of the EU constitution, that a major benefit of the European integration is peace, on a continent that has been ravaged by war for centuries. I prove that the establishment of peace was a major element in European unification by confirming links between peace movements and …

Constructing Saigyo: Poetry, Biography, And Medieval Reception, Jack C. Stoneman

Faculty Publications

The late Heian-period poet/monk Saigyō (西行1118-1190) has long been considered one of the most talented of Japan’s waka poets. His poetry and his legend have found their place in elite and popular culture, spanning social class as well as multiple fields of cultural production, such as poetry, travel literature, painting, woodblock prints, nō and kabuki, and Buddhist tales, to name a few. This study aims to present the reader with a critical analysis of Saigyō, his poetry, and his legend by answering several key questions. Who was the historical Saigyō that lived from 1118 to 1190? How did he become …

Migrating Latinas And The Grief Process, Daiana Anahir Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the migratory experience of immigrant Latina married women. It looks at their experience from both an individual and a systemic perspective. It compares their experience to that of grief due to bereavement using Parkes' theory of the grief process. This research also presents findings as to the effects of migration on the marital system. Analysis of interview data provided by 12 Latin American women who resided in the United States ranging from 2 years to 10 years, allowed a comparison between the experience of these women and the grief process theory. The findings of the study …

Structure Elucidation Of Bioactive Compounds Isolated From Endophytes Of Alstonia Scholaris And Acmena Graveolens, Nicholas James Hundley

Theses and Dissertations

Alstonia scholaris is an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia and Australia. It is commonly used as a medicinal plant throughout these regions. In the present study, an endophyte of the genus Xylaria was isolated from a stem of Alstonia scholaris, its mycelia and exudate extracted, and the extract assayed for growth inhibition of HeLa cancer cells in vitro. Several known compounds were isolated and identified based on NMR, infrared, and mass spectral data. The compounds identified are 19,20-epoxycytochalasin C; 19,20epoxycytochalasin D; and xylobovide. Two other compounds, fusaric acid and dehydrofusaric acid, were discovered in an endophyte of the Hypocreales …

Identifying Ancestral Haunts, Mary B. Ruvane

BYU Family Historian

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Naomi Schaefer Riley God On The Quad: How Religious Colleges And The Missionary Generation Are Changing America, Patrick Q. Mason

BYU Studies

Naomi Schaefer Riley. God on the Quad: How Religious Colleges and the Missionary Generation Are Changing America. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005

Byu-Hawaii: A Conversation With President Eric B. Shumway, Fred E. Woods

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Eric B. Shumway, an Area Seventy, is president of BYU-Hawaii.

Vol. 06 No. 3 Religious Educator, Religious Educator

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

Light Or Dark, Freedom Or Bondage: Enhancing Book Of Mormon Themes Through Contrasts, Blair G. Van-Dyke

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

The Principles Of The Proclamation: Ten Years Of Help, Richard G. Wilkins

BYU Studies

On September 23, 1995, while presiding at the first general Relief Society meeting held since he was sustained as prophet, seer, revelator, and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Gordon B. Hinckley read “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” The Proclamation was prefaced by these remarks:

With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and forewarn. In furtherance of this, we …

Byu–Hawaii: A Conversation With Eric B. Shumway, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

BYU–Hawaii: A Conversation with Eric B. Shumway Interview by Fred E. Woods, Eric B. Shumway is president of BYU–Hawaii. Fred E. Woods is a professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU, Provo campus.

Generation Of Biomarkers From Anthrax Spores By Catalysis And Analytical Pyrolysis, Phillip R. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Anthrax spores, in weaponized form, are dangerous biological warfare agents. Handheld technology for the rapid detection of anthrax is greatly needed to improve national security. Methods to detect anthrax spores are diverse, with most taking at least an hour for positive identification. A viable option for rapid detection is analytical pyrolysis (AP), which produces chemicals containing taxonomical information (biomarkers). AP methods are reviewed and critically analyzed to show that reproducible detection of anthrax spores in a rapid manner (< 5 min) with a handheld device is not currently possible. A promising alternative to AP is the use of a catalyst to produce biomarkers from anthrax spores with improved selectivity and reproducibility. Catalytic materials having promise for this include platinum, nickel, and superacids. Experiments evaluating several of these materials are described. A biomarker mass spectral library was created, based on information available in the scientific literature, to facilitate analysis and identification of the biomarkers produced experimentally. The RAMFAC algorithm was used to deconvolute chromatographic peaks to produce clean mass spectra and match them against entries in the biomarker library. While the library is not complete, its use with the RAMFAC algorithm enabled detection of many important biomarkers in experiments involving catalytic breakdown of anthrax spores. Experimental results from preliminary tests of several catalysts are presented and discussed. Addition of catalysts in the form of platinum nanoclusters and superacids to bacterial spores in a commercial pyrolyzer effected an increase in the amount of biomarkers produced at mild conditions over traditional pyrolysis methods. Electroformed nickel mesh, on the other hand, demonstrated low catalytic activity for the production of biomarkers, likely due to poor contact of the spores with the mesh. Biomarkers similar to those published in the literature were observed, including dipicolinic acid, picolinic acid, propionamide, acetamide, diketopiperazines, fatty acids, furfuryl alcohol, and DNA bases. A statistically designed factorial study was used to determine the importance of temperature, spore loading, and nanocluster loading on the production of three important biomarkers. The relative importance of these variables differs for each of the three important biomarkers, suggesting they are produced by different reaction mechanisms.

Characterization Of Recycled Concrete For Use As Pavement Base Material, Brandon J. Blankenagel

Theses and Dissertations

The use of recycled concrete material (RCM) as pavement base material is a promising but unproven technique for road rehabilitation and construction. A telephone survey conducted to investigate the state of the practice concerning RCM usage in Utah County revealed that RCM is infrequently used in this application due primarily to a lack of practical knowledge about the engineering properties of the material. Therefore, this research was aimed at evaluating the physical properties, strength parameters, and durability characteristics of both demolition and haul-back sources of RCM available in Utah County for use as pavement base material. The study included extensive …

Dynamic Dead Variable Analysis, Micah S. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic dead variable analysis (DDVA) extends traditional static dead variable analysis (SDVA) in the context of model checking through the use of run-time information. The analysis is run multiple times during the course of model checking to create a more precise set of dead variables. The DDVA is evaluated based on the amount of memory used to complete model checking relative to SDVA while considering the extra overhead required to implement DDVA. On several models with a complex control flow graph, DDVA reduces the amount of memory needed by 38-88MB compared to SDVA with a cost of 36 bytes of …