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Tibetan-Mongolian Glossary Donated

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Recently FARMS received a 16th-century glossary of Tibetan religious terms from Malan Jackson, director of the Center for International Studies at Utah Valley State College. The glossary, which translates many Tibetan words into Mongolian, was originally compiled to assist Mongolian Buddhist monks who chanted Tibetan scriptures but did not know the original meanings. The unbound glossary is wrapped in a worn, brown cloth and measures two feet long, four inches wide, and one inch thick. Each page contains three rows of Tibetan and Mongolian characters finely penned in red and black ink.

Farms Web Site Sports New Look And Services

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

FARMS has redesigned its Web site in an attempt to better serve its members and visitors to the site. New graphics and navigational features make it easier to find, access, and view information. A considerable amount of new content has been added.

Farms Through The Years, Part 3: A Conversation With Daniel Peterson And Daniel Oswald

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

When did you first become involved with FARMS? Peterson: In the late 1970s and early 80s, Stephen Ricks and I and, a little bit later, Bill Hamblin and I began to talk about the need for an organization like FARMS. We didn't realize that Jack Welch was already launching the Foundation. My actual involvement with FARMS began on a very low level while I was a doctoral student in California, and then accelerated rapidly when I became a member of the BYU faculty in the fall of 1985.

New Book Continues Series On Temples

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

FARMS's recent publication of The Temple in Time and Eternity ends a long wait for those who enjoyed the 1994 book Temples of the Ancient World, the inaugural volume of the "Temples through the Ages" series.

Coming And Going To Zion: Conceptualizing Emigrant Motives Of British Latter-Day Saints, 1840-60, Samuel Benson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the push- and pull-factors that caused Latter-day Saint converts to emigrate from the U.K. between 1840 and 1860. A close reading of firsthand accounts written by 50 emigrants suggests that temporal and spiritual motives are deeply intertwined in the minds of early Mormon emigrants, and distinguishing between the nature of these factors is difficult. Several patterns emerge in the study of these accounts: first, economic factors were intertwined with millenarian belief; second, the allure of charismatic authority (prophets) or communication with God was influential; third, the doctrine of “gathering” was central to their decision-making, though the focus …

Creating Habitat Suitability Models For Restoration Of Sesbania Tomentosa And Chenopodium Oahuense On Molokai, Hawaii, Bronwyn Meldrum

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hawaii is home to incredible diversity in both plant and animal life. Nearly 90% of Hawaii’s 1,400 plant taxa are found nowhere else in the world, and in an ecosystem threatened by invasive species and terrain alteration, this puts them at risk of extinction. As pressures on global biodiversity intensify, conservation efforts and restoration of endangered species are of the utmost importance. The Molokai Land Trust is actively working to eradicate invasive kiawe (Prosopis pallida) forests and to restore endemic species and other native vegetation on the Mokio Preserve. These vital efforts are made more difficult because the …

Cognitive Effects Of Grammatical Gender In L2 Spanish Acquisition: A Study Among Latter-Day Saint Returned Missionaries, Hannah Cagle

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The current study aims to explore the cognitive effects of L2 Spanish acquisition and the role that spending time in the target language country has on L2 learners’ categorization of inanimate objects. Three groups of participants were analyzed: monolingual English speakers, L2 Spanish speakers that learned their Spanish while serving missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) abroad, and L2 Spanish speakers that learned their Spanish while serving LDS missions in the United States. Using a Qualtrics survey, participants were tasked with pairing a list of adjectives stereotypically associated with males or females (Williams & Bennett, …

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Hakimas And “Enlightened” British Men: Female Medical Professionals In Midcentury Great Britain And Egypt, Izzy Maire

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson’s pursuit of a medical education and career in Great Britain in the 1860s sharply contrasts with the rise of a class of female medical practitioners or “hakimas,” in Egypt in the 1830s. The two stories are especially noteworthy when examined together since Great Britain colonized Egypt in the 1880s, severely limiting opportunities for women in medicine in the now-occupied nation. Elizabeth and women in Egypt, were both negatively impacted by British attitudes toward women, despite Great Britain’s image of itself as a modern, enlightened nation. Drawing on a range of primary sources, including the personal correspondence of …

Identifying And Knocking Out Deep Brain Photoreceptors In The Larval Zebrafish Optic Tectum, Allison Pickens

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Deep brain photoreceptors (DBPs) are light sensing neurons present in mammals and non-mammalian vertebrates. In non-mammalian vertebrates, studies have shown DBP involvement in various time and light dependent behaviors including circadian rhythm, phototaxis, and seasonal reproduction. In adult teleosts, DBPs are present throughout the brain, including the optic tectum (OT), a multilaminated midbrain structure responsible for multisensory integration. While their approximate location in teleosts is known, little is known about DBP’s functionality. In this study, we focused on DBPs present in the larval zebrafish OT. Single-cell RNA sequencing of the larval zebrafish OT showed the presence of several opsins. We …

Analyzing Online Media Platforms For Hacktivist Group Organization And Proliferation, Quincy Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The anonymity and lack of censorship online provides the perfect environment for hacker activists to pursue social change. The expansive reach and democratic access to social media has empowered groups to organize and develop messaging to specifically fit an online audience. As social media become ubiquitous, the reputation and use of messaging application have become mainstream. Due to a self-professed focus on privacy, platforms like Telegram have become the norm for hosting the hacktivist communities. The purpose of this research was to understand the features in Telegram messages that correlate with the most engagement from their audience. As expected, the …

Utah's Inland Port: The Future Of Logistics In The Intermountain Region Or Gambling With Taxpayer Money, Austin Simonson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the last 20 years, US imports and consumer demand have been steadily growing with no clear end in sight. Despite this, approximately 40% of all our containerized imports are processed through only two ports – the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles. In 2021, these two locations alone moved over 10 million import containers. In order to help ease the strain on our nationwide supply chain – an issue that came clearly into view during the COVID-19 pandemic – in 2016, the University of Utah submitted an assessment regarding a possible inland port in the …

Simulations Of Morphology Control Of Self-Assembled Amphiphilic Surfactants, Qinyu Zhu, Douglas R. Tree

Faculty Publications

One of the grand challenges of amphiphilic self-assembly is the design of ordered structures whose morphology or shape can be explicitly and dynamically controlled by adjusting the properties of the amphiphiles or their surroundings. Such a capacity would enable researchers to create synthetic systems with functionality that meets or exceeds biological cells, and provide a robust platform for a broad range of engineering applications such as artificial tissues, drug delivery, and separation membranes. Despite significant progress, important fundamental questions remain unanswered, due in part to the limited resolution and the restricted parameter spaces that are readily accessible in experiments. Computational …

Control Education For Societal-Scale Challenges: A Community Roadmap, John Anthony Rossiter, Christos G. Cassandras, João Hespanha, Sebastian Dormido, Luis De La Torre, Gireeja Ranade, Antonio Visioli, John Hedengren, Richard M. Murray, Panos Antsaklis, Francoise Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue, Thomas Parisini

Faculty Publications

This article focuses on extending, disseminating and interpreting the findings of an IEEE Control Systems Society working group looking at the role of control theory and engineering in solving some of the many current and future societal challenges. The findings are interpreted in a manner designed to give focus and direction to both future education and research work in the general control theory and engineering arena, interpreted in the broadest sense. The paper is intended to promote discussion in the community and also provide a useful starting point for colleagues wishing to re-imagine the design and delivery of control-related topics …

Simulations Of Morphology Control Of Self-Assembled Amphiphilic Surfactants, Qinyu Zhu, Douglas R. Tree

Faculty Publications

One of the grand challenges of amphiphilic self-assembly is the design of ordered structures whose morphology or shape can be explicitly and dynamically controlled by adjusting the properties of the amphiphiles or their surroundings. Such a capacity would enable researchers to create synthetic systems with functionality that meets or exceeds biological cells, and provide a robust platform for a broad range of engineering applications such as artificial tissues, drug delivery, and separation membranes. Despite significant progress, important fundamental questions remain unanswered, due in part to the limited resolution and the restricted parameter spaces that are readily accessible in experiments. Computational …

Korean Pop Idols: The Dark Side Of The Limelight, Ashley Chase

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Korean pop music has risen to an international consciousness during the surge of the cultural Korean wave. However, many are still unaware of the struggles that idols face when pursuing a career in this industry. Many artists in the industry struggle with their physical and emotional health due to rigorous schedules in training and as a performing group, high expectations of performance and appearance, and restrictive contracts known as “slave contracts” that limit their personal freedoms and financial resources. These factors lead to the industry being highly damaging to the stars that participate in it.

In this documentary, I take …

An Evaluation Of Epa Communication On Climate Change From 1997 To 2022, Adam Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Because the United States is responsible for such a large percent of the world’s emissions, its actions to combat climate change is especially significant. As the main speaker for the U.S. on climate change, it is important the EPA uses effective communication strategies. In this paper we evaluated the effectiveness of the EPA’s communication. To do so, we evaluated publicly available press releases from the EPA from 1997 to 2022. To measure effectiveness, we incorporated a range of factors that climate communication experts have identified as particularly important. Our analysis found that the EPA effectively communicates in light of some …

Effects Of The Ketogenic Diet On Spatial Memory And Long-Term Potentiation In The Ca1 Region Of The Hippocampus In Young Rodents, Jed Christensen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The ketogenic diet (KD) originated as a treatment for epilepsy nearly a century ago, though its neurological effects are not completely understood. In recent years the diet has resurged as a weight loss aid, reinvigorating research investigating its effects on the nervous system. Notably, the KD alters the concentration of glucose and ketones in the brain, and recent research suggests that the elevated ketone concentration, in the form of beta-hydroxybutyrate, induced by the diet enhances recognition memory and mitochondrial efficiency in the hippocampus. To further explore the effects of the KD, we examined its cognitive effects on spatial memory and …

Creating A Homophone-Based Chinese Language Censorship Evasion Tool, Emily Quan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As the scope of Chinese language censorship expands, individuals will seek to bypass such censorship efforts. One of the most prevalent techniques in such censorship is automated keyword filtering. This research focuses on building a command-line tool that can bypass automated keyword filters for both traditional and simplified Chinese characters using a two-part approach. The first part involves detecting sensitive words in user-inputted text by using phrase matching techniques to identify character strings that have been censored in the past. The second part centers around generating possible obfuscated homonym alternatives. The tool relies on a compiled list of banned and …

Turn Towards Each Other: Emotional Connection As A Catalyst For Marital Satisfaction, Especially During Times Of Conflict, Brooke W. Williams

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores research-based factors that contribute to a healthy relationship and the benefits of creating and enhancing emotional connection in marriage, primarily from John Gottman and Sue Johnson. One outcome of improved emotional connection between spouses is that when conflict occurs – and it will – the couple will be better equipped to behave in mature, respectful, and effective ways. A healthy marriage looks different for individual couples yet all have defining characteristics that turn spouses towards one another and build their marital friendship. Examples include the following: avoiding the four horsemen of the apocalypse (criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and …

Trapped By The Past: A History And Translation Of An Equatoguinean Poet, Paul A. Guajardo

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Atrapado por el pasado (Trapped by the Past in English) is a collection of Spanish-language poetry and prose by the Equatoguinean poet Zankús Mázé Menemádjimol. Menemádjimol’s work has never received an English translation, and this thesis provides a poetic rendition of three of his poems. It also offers a brief historical introduction, literary overview, and commentary on the poems. While the main goal of this project is artistic and creative, it also aims to introduce readers to an oft-overlooked culture. Equatorial Guinea and the poet’s home island of Annobón are frequently ignored in the fields of both literature and history. …

Christianity On Homebrew: Alessandro Valignano, Indigenization, And Japan's Hidden Christians, Brayden Lane

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the historiographical connections between Alessandro Valignano and the localized tradition of Christianity that produced the hidden Christian communities of Japan in the seventeenth century. Valignano, as overseer of Jesuit missions in Asia in the late sixteenth century, implemented policy changes designed to bolster the number and quality of laymen clergy assisting the Westerners with missionary duties. Valignano faced criticism for his overestimation of the time needed for training and for his methodology, but his efforts to train and support laymen clergy contributed to a rising trend of Christianity as a unifying tradition for local communities. The laymen …

Mujeres Latinas En Acción: Pragmatic Feminism And The Longevity Of Grassroots Organizations, Lindsey Meza

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 1973, Mujeres Latinas en Acción was formed in the midst of the Chicano Movement. Simultaneously, Chicana feminists were working in and breaking from Chicano organizations to fight for egalitarian gains. Pilsen, a neighborhood in Chicago and the home of Mujeres Latinas en Acción, was a hotbed for Chicano and Latino activism during this period. The women who founded MLEA saw similar disparities in social services offered to women in Pilsen that Chicanas around the country were noting. The ways in which Chicanas were approaching these feminist ventures varied. Based upon my studies of Mujeres Latinas en Acción, I argue …

Concentrating E. Coli At Initial Low Concentrations By Centrifugation With Phosphate Buffered Saline, Plasma, And Simulated Blood Suspensions, Sarah Williams

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The rapid diagnosis of blood stream infections (BSIs) is limited by the low concentration of bacteria in the blood. Currently, culturing of blood samples is used to increase the concentration of bacteria before the type of bacteria and the best antibiotic to treat the infection can be identified. However, the culturing of blood samples takes tens of hours, and therefore concentrating the bacteria from blood without growth will allow for quicker analysis and is crucial to saving lives. This thesis explored the means of concentrating E. coli suspensions in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), plasma, and simulated blood by centrifuging the …

A Catholic Reads The Book Of Mormon: Folk Carvings Of Roman Śledź, Candace Brown

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A Catholic Reads the Book of Mormon: Folk Carvings of Roman Śledź presents thirteen never-before-shown wooden sculptures from the private collection of Dr. Walter Whipple to expand Book of Mormon visual culture and foster an interfaith appreciation for its universal story of faith. Śledź, a renowned Polish folk artist, and Whipple, a former associate professor of Polish at Brigham Young University, were first introduced in the 1990s when Whipple served as the first mission president for the Poland Warsaw Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For years, Whipple commissioned carvings from this faithful sculptor. Eventually, Śledź …

Investigations Into U'-Band Photometry Of The Haumea System, Seneca Heilesen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The dwarf planet Haumea orbits near the edge of the Solar System in the Kuiper Belt. As it rotates, different parts of the object can be seen from Earth, so observing Haumea as it rotates allows us to see whether the surface is uniform or varied. Previous work has shown that one part of Haumea has a reddish dark spot, as opposed to the bright gray surface, and that Haumea has two nearby moons, the larger of which is called Hi’iaka. To better understand Haumea’s surface and Hi’iaka, we gathered new observations using BYU time at the Astronomical Research Consortium …

Elevating The Silicon Slopes, Joseph Evans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

From Utah’s humble beginnings in agriculture and mining, Utah has become an economic powerhouse in the United States, largely due to the rise of Silicon Slopes. Despite the successes of Silicon Slopes, there are still significant shortcomings related to diversity and inclusion in Silicon Slopes that must be remediated if it intends to achieve its economic aspirations and ensure its economic benefits flow to people of all types and backgrounds. This work outlines both the rise of Silicon Slopes as well as existing and potential private- and state-ordered solutions that may be implemented to overcome Silicon Slopes’ existing diversity and …

Repertoire For A Graduate Tenor Trombone Audition, An Annotated List Of Trombone Solos For A Master's Program Audition, Ashley Rands

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Students in the field of trombone performance may find preparation difficult for graduate auditions due to the diversity of required selections and lack of standard repertoire. While not always explicitly available, many graduate programs have a list of required or recommended solos. This brief study is the result of preparations for graduate school auditions, including the challenge of deciding what solos to perform. After looking at application requirements for fifteen strong trombone programs, I created a list of the most frequently required/recommended solos. The study of the pieces provided insight into specific difficulties and performance notes for each solo. Included …

Political Propaganda In Young Adult Fiction, Jordan Spriggs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Critical Introduction and Creative Work explore the effect of the use of Political Philosophies and Systems as plot and worldbuilding in Young Adult Fiction. This is explored through the lens of partisan antipathy and political polarization along with reception theory. By analyzing the current trends of politics as a plot and worldbuilding device in Dystopian Young Adult Fiction, I conclude that most popular fiction has a bias toward western political philosophy. This then leads to concerns over potential echo chambers and polarization. As a recommendation, I demonstrate how diverse political theories can be used in Young Adult fiction.

Large Deflection Analysis Of General Beams In Contact-Aided Compliant Mechanisms Using Chained Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model, Mohui Jin, Collin Ynchausti, Xianmin Zhang, Zhou Yang, Benliang Zhu, Larry L. Howell

Faculty Publications

The nonlinear analysis and design of contact-aided compliant mechanisms (CCMs) are challenging. This paper presents a nonlinear method for analyzing the deformation of general beams that contact rigid surfaces in CCMs. The large deflection of the general beam is modeled by using the chained pseudo-rigid-body model. A geometry constraint from the contact surface is developed to constrain the beam’s deformed configuration. The contact analysis problem is formulated based on the principle of minimum potential energy and solved using an optimization algorithm. Besides, a novel technique based on the principle of work and energy is proposed calculate the reaction force/moment of …

Developable Mechanisms On Regular Cylindrical Surfaces, Jacob R. Greenwood, Spencer P. Magleby, Larry L. Howell

Faculty Publications

Developable mechanisms can provide high functionality and compact stowability. This paper presents engineering models to aid in the design of cylindrical developable mechanisms. These models take into account the added spatial restrictions imposed by the developable surface. Equations are provided for the kinematic analysis of cylindrical developable mechanisms. A new classification for developable mechanisms is also presented (intramobile, extramobile, and transmobile) and two graphical methods are provided for determining this clas sification for single-DOF planar cylindrical developable mechanisms. Characteristics specific to four-bar cylindrical developable mechanisms are also discussed.