Digital Commons Network^™

Cache Valley Resident Exposure To Pm2.5, Kristina Krepinski

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Air pollution poses one of the largest environmental risks to human health, and greatly contributes to increased mortality within populations. Of the different types of pollutants, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) has the most adverse health effects. Long-term exposure to PM_2.5 is known to have serious health outcomes; however, evidence has indicated that even short-term exposure to moderate concentrations of PM_2.5 is detrimental to human health. While PM_2.5 does contribute to various respiratory conditions by affecting lung function, it also significantly affects the cardiovascular system. Elevated PM_2.5 exposure increases risk for cardiovascular disease, congestive heart …

Caffeine And Acetaminophen Concentration And Other Water Quality Parameters Along The Middle To Lower Bear River, Autumn Slade

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Various water quality parameters were measured at seven sites along the Middle to Lower Bear River and compared across the sites, to past data and to set standards in Utah and Idaho. Much of the data was comparable to past data with most state standards being met. However, nitrate was above indicator level for half of the sites, and turbidity is a problem at the last two sites. Also, chloride and unionized ammonia are at high levels by the last site. Overall, the river tended to decrease in water quality as it moved downstream, with dams like at Cutler Reservoir …

The Impact Of High School Extracurriculars: Similarities And Differences In Sense Of Community Among Competitive, Performance, And Participatory Activities, Erica M. Hawvermale

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Extant research links high sense of community in adolescence to adaptive outcomes such as enhanced motivation, self-efficacy, and coping ability (Battistich, Solomon, Watson, & Schaps, 1997; Vieno, Perkins, Smith, & Santinello, 2005; Henry & Slater, 2007), as well as reduced stress, anxiety, and depression (Chipuer, Bramston, & Pretty, 2002). In light of these findings, the present study was designed to assess the relationship between high school students’ participation in extracurricular activities and their perceptions of sense of community, enjoyment, and commitment, as well as the aspects of these organizations that help to facilitate feelings of community. Study 1 participants (N= …

Relative Effects Of Sleep Hygiene Behavior And Physical Exercise On Sleep Quality, Austin Dopp

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Numerous studies have shown the relationship between sleep and overall health. A common measure of sleep is sleep quality which has been shown to be influenced by a variety of factors such as physical activity, diet, stress, social engagement, cognitive stimulating, and sleep hygiene behaviors. Data was analyzed from a previous study to determine whether trying to change one’s sleep would improve sleep quality and if this was more effective than physical exercise. A group of 104 individuals, randomized to the treatment group, were asked to log their daily activities, via smartphone app, within these six behavioral domains for six …

Perceived Entitlement Among Amillenials Versus Baby Boomers: A Cross-Generational Examination, Eliza Comer

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

As the Millennial workforce grows, understanding how Millennials are viewed- specifically in terms of entitlement-is an issue that merits attention, since perceived entitlement could negatively impact the extent to which an individual's contributions are valued in the workplace. While prior research suggests that Millennials are entitled (Allen 2015; Fisk 2010; Myers 2010), it neglects how perceptions of entitlement may differ across generations. We aim to address this gap by examining whether Baby Boomers and Millennials differ in their perceptions of what constitutes entitled behavior. Specifically, we test whether an individual's age, together with situational factors, may influence the extent to …

Dietary Supplementation With Tart Cherries For Prevention Of Inflammation-Associated Colorectal Cancer In Mice, Ashlie Hunter

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The cherry fruit is a nutrient-dense food with comparatively low caloric content and significant amounts of key nutrients and bioactive food chemicals. Much of the health benefit of cherries is attributed to their high amounts of anthocyanins, which have anti-oxidant and anticancer properties that contribute to changes in cell signaling pathways involved in inflammation, carcinogenesis and angiogenesis. In this project, we aimed to determine whether dietary supplementation with tart cherries prevents colon tumor development in mice consuming a Western diet compared to a prudent diet. Previously, our research team developed the Total Western Diet (TWD) for mice to emulate typical …

A Look Into Lookism: An Evaluation Of Discrimination Based On Physical Attractiveness, Cherea Hammer

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, national origin, religion, and other federally protected categories is well recognized as a social problem and anti-discrimination legislation works to limit the impact of discrimination on marginalized populations. However, most people do not consider discrimination based on physical appearance. “Lookism” captures the idea that an individual can be discriminated against based on their physical appearance or physical attractiveness and can also be called physical attractiveness discrimination. In recent years, the prevalence of the issue of physical attractiveness discrimination has been brought to the attention of professionals dealing with employment and has …

Telephone Polls And Pps Sampling: A Potential Boon To The Polling Industry, Jade Mckay Burt

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In the wake of the 2016 election, the polling industry has no shortage of critics. While these are difficult times for the industry as a whole, there are exciting innovations happening that will serve to benefit and revitalize the industry for years. One of these exciting innovations is Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) sampling. I will elaborate on what PPS sampling is and provide a mathematical foundation for its use in polling. I also discuss what some of the myriad of issues plaguing the polling industry are and then show how PPS sampling can be used to remedy many of …

A Deeper Look Into The Vastus Medialis: A Stabilizer For The Knee, Connie Nicole Barnes

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Anterior cruciate ligament tears are one of the most common injuries that occur, especially in female athletes. It requires surgery and months of physical therapy to get these athletes back in playing condition. The angle of women’s hips and lack of strength of inner quadriceps muscles enhances the risk of injuries to the knees. One specific muscle that is known for being a stabilizer of the knee and may help in preventing ACL tears is the vastus medialis. By understanding what exercises activate this muscle the most, conditioning plans and preventative workouts need to be created to help female athletes …

The Relationship Between Competitive State Anxiety And Imagery Ability In High School Track And Field Athletics, Bryson Thomas Grondel

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between imagery ability, subcomponents of competitive state anxiety, and performance outcomes in high school track and field athletes during the competitive season. Following IRB approval and parental consent, sixteen participants were recruited to participate in a four-week study using two thoroughly validated assessment tools: The Sport's Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ) and The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory #2 (CSAI-2). This study explored imagery ability by qualifying several aspects of imagery ability. Instead of focusing exclusively on frequency, (a commonly cited limitation to the applicability of the SIQ) the SIQ was modified to …

Teaching Social Studies Through Drama, Colin Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Educators and researchers have long discussed methods for improving student achievement in the social studies and history. Research on student attitudes reveals that the social studies suffers from a lack of interest among students. Common complaints among students are that the subject is tedious, does not relate to their lives, is not particularly useful for their future careers, is repetitive, or that it is simply boring (Schug et al., 1982). Even when students recognize the utilitarian value of skills they learn from social studies / history, they rarely express an interest in the subject (Chiodo, 2004). After reviewing the body …

Delay Discounting Mechanisms In Eating Disorders: A Call To Arms, Rowan Crowder

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Delay discounting, or temporal discounting, is a measure of impulsivity that describes the devaluation of a reinforcer as a function of its receipt in time. Several studies have shown that individuals diagnosed with a variety of behavioral maladies such as obesity/over-eating, substance abuse, cigarette smoking, heavy drinking, and problematic gambling exhibit greater discounting rates. To be specific, they are more impulsive and less willing to wait for delayed reinforcement than healthy controls. Several of these studies have found that obese women discount at a steeper rate than non-obese women, similar results have been shown in binge eating disorder. The relationship …

Pairing Of Anaerobic And Aerobic Treatment Of Petroleum Wastewater, Zachary Fica

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The objective of this project was to treat petroleum refinery wastewater using a combination of anaerobic and aerobic processes, namely an Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor paired with a Rotation Algae Biofilm Reactor (RABR), respectively, to produce a treated effluent. The treatment method developed needed to produce a cost-effective and efficient way to decrease nitrogen, phosphorous, total suspended solids (TSS), and COD concentrations to below State of Utah limitations. It was demonstrated that RABR treatment was capable of reducing effluent concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and TSS to State of Utah limitations. RABR treatment did not significantly reduce COD from …

Increasing Parenting Knowledge: A Pilot Study, Kandice Olson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Research shows that parenting interventions make a significant difference in the lives of children with behavioral and emotional problems (de Graaf et al., 2008a; de Graaf et al., 2008b; Phaneuf & McIntyre, 2011; Roberts et al., 2006; Whittingham, Sofronoff, Sheffield, & Sanders, 2009). However, not all parents need intensive interventions. There is little research that has evaluated the effectiveness of a brief parenting handout intervention on parenting knowledge. The goal of this study was to determine if a brief informational handout about parenting increased parenting knowledge in college students. Students were asked to complete the pre-intervention survey that measured their …

Electrospun Spiderskin Bandage For Epidermal Protection And Recovery, Michael David Paskett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Spider silk is one of nature's most promising biomaterial s for a variety of applications, however, due to the inability to farm spiders, transgenic hosts are required for large-scale production. With the unique combination of strength, elasticity, and biocompatibility, spider silk has an incredible potential for use in the human body. This study was conducted to merge two major applications of spider silk for the creation of a novel bandaging product. Electrospinning technology was utilized to create a spider silk/polymer bandage matrix to be applied with an aqueous spider silk skin adhesive.

In designing the bandaging matrix , the mechanical …

Fold: A Modern Lighting Line That Explores Ways To Meld Energy Efficiency And Health Benefits Into Essential Elements Of Interior Lighting., Megan Jane Cook Turner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Thesis Statement

Lighting plays an essential role in the modern world. Electrical lighting from fluorescent bulbs to LED fixtures greet humans from the moment they wake up until the moment they sleep at night. Light is essential to human life. As such, lighting has been and continues to be a prominent element of design from the grandiose chandeliers of the Rococo period to the minimal, modern lighting of the 21^st century.

Lighting continues to be researched, developed, and innovated and plays such an essential role in homes, offices, and the interior or exterior of any building. Lighting design has …

Regime Switching In Cointegrated Time Series, Bradley David Zynda Ii

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Volatile commodities and markets can often be difficult to model and forecast given significant breaks in trends through time. To account such breaks, regime switching methods allow for models to accommodate abrupt changes in behavior of the data. However, the difficulty often arises in beginning the process of choosing a model and its associated parameters with which to represent the data and the objects of interest. To improve model selection for these volatile markets, this research examines time series with regime switching components and argues that a synthesis of vector error correction models with regime switching models with ameliorate financial …

China: Avoiding Impediments To Successful Climate Change Mitigation, Molly Rose Van Engelenhoven

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper uses the Cultural Topography (CTOPs) methodology, an intelligence community standard which is used to avoid ethnocentric analysis and the dangerous practice of mirror imaging--projecting US culture on to another country rather than viewing the costs and benefits they face through their own cultural lens. CTOPs assess a country’s culture by examining four components of culture: identity, values, norms, and perceptual lens of an actor in conjunction with a specific issue of concern. This paper examines the internal culture of China, with the Chinese government as the key actor, to discover how to build effective policy to regulate air …

Fear And Media: An Examination Of Serial Killers In 19th Century America, Tatyanna Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This research is focused on two serial killers in the late 1800s and comparing the amount of media coverage for each case. They are H.H. Holmes who was killing in Chicago, Illinois and the Servant Girl Annihilator in Austin, Texas. Holmes was caught and convicted, while the Servant Girl Annihilator was not. This research shows that this was due, in majority, to the amount of media coverage for both cases. The Servant Girl Annihilator had minimal media coverage, mostly because of racial issues at the time, and he was never caught. In contrast, Holmes was convicted for insurance fraud and …

Has Society Created Social Injustice For Male Victims Of Domestic Violence?, Deborah Vernon

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

A contextual analysis was conducted of Utah domestic violence agency websites to determine if these agencies recognized and/or acknowledged male victims of domestic violence and if the provided similar services to male victims that are provided to female victims of domestic violence. A Google search was conducted to obtain a list of Utah domestic violence agencies and their web addresses. The search revealed sixteen (16) Utah domestic violence agencies across the state, however; only twelve (12) agencies had websites. All sixteen (16) agency names were used in the analysis to see if the agency(s) name itself implied exclusivity for a …