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2019 Utah State University Orientation Guide, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

A special supplemental magazine provided by The Utah Statesman to take a closer look at some of the services and departments available at Utah State University.

Explorations And Collaborations On Two Under-Recognized Native American Food Crops: Southwest Peach (Prunus Persica) And Navajo Spinach (Cleome Serrulata), Reagan C. Wytsalucy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Agricultural production among the Native American populations of the Southwest declined significantly during the twentieth century. Corn, beans and squash, the three most recognized traditional food crops, remains widespread, but knowledge regarding the traditional management of these crops was lost. The loss of traditional knowledge for Southwest Indigenous Nations was more pronounced for the Southwest peach (Prunus persica) and Navajo spinach (Cleome serrulata Pursh). The Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni Nations are all seeking to increase the availability of traditional crops for their original uses, such as for food and wool dye. In order to revitalize traditional agriculture …

Licentious Legends: A Folklore Podcast, Alexandra L. Haynes

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Licentious Legends was created out of a need to both understand and educate about sexual contemporary legends; not just what they are and what defines them, but the effect that they have on those who experience them. The purpose of this podcast is not to shame, but to take what has been found and educate about the joys and dangers of these legends. These legends range from the everyday (such as "The Hook"), to legends about a young man killing himself with a plunger. In an effort to gather as many examples as they could, Faye interviewed several of their …

Health Care Provider Recruitment And Retention In Millard County, Utah, Ronald T. Draper

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Millard County, Utah, rural and sparsely populated, continues to experience challenges in recruiting and retaining primary health care providers. My study addressed the lack of a rigorous and systemic analysis of this problem by collecting and analyzing data from a series of semi-structured interviews conducted between January and March 2019. These interviews were with nineteen of the twenty-four known health care providers who began practice in the county from the mid1980s to 2018, as well as with four administrators.

The study, taking advantage of this comprehensive analysis, provided a more extensive understanding of the root causes underlying the recruitment and …

A Geochemical Analysis Of Tosawihi Quarries Chert Using X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry, Bethany M. Wurster

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lithic source analysis, or “sourcing,” is a geochemical compositional analysis of lithic materials for both major and trace elements. Sourcing analysis assigns lithic sources to geochemical groups according to distinct geochemical compositions, where unique elemental signatures represent separate lithic sources. In archaeological research, sourcing informs upon mobility strategies, trade and exchange networks, and lithic conveyance studies. While obsidian sourcing is a relatively reliable and popular technique, chert sourcing is more difficult and historically less successful largely due to variability in chert formation processes. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) offers a possible sourcing technique, and is non-destructive, as well as time and …

Newspaper Representations Of Homelessness: A Temporal Comparative Analysis, Sarah Werman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research focuses on the ways in which homelessness is discussed in two newspapers in a major city in the intermountain United States. I analyzed newspaper articles with the goal of understanding public discourse in two ideologically distinct newspaper venues. I examined the news media portrayal of the homeless in 752 articles in these two newspapers during two distinct six­-month time periods, one during which the city was nationally recognized as a major advocate for “Housing First,” or “solving homelessness,” and a more recent period during which urban gentrification has challenged the location of homeless services. Specifically, I addressed the …

Thylacine Dreams: The Vernacular Resurrection Of An Extinct Marsupial, Daisy M. Ahlstone

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis explores the folk resurrection of the thylacine through artwork and symbolic interaction. The thylacine, better known as the Tasmanian tiger, is a marsupial that suffered a government-sanctioned massacre leading to its extinction in 1936. The thylacine’s status as a hidden animal has inspired what folklorists call “ostensive practice”; people not only actively seek out the thylacine in the wilderness of Tasmania today and share their sightings online, but they have also incorporated the thylacine as a symbol of hope and perseverance into various forms of folk art.

There have been upwards of five thousand documented sightings of the …

An Assessment Of Self-Determination Skills In Transition-Age Students With Disabilities Following Instruction Using The My Transition Portfolio Program, Eliza Jex

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The successful transition for students with disabilities into adult roles and activities post high-school, including employment, participation in postsecondary educational opportunities, and inclusion in social activities, continues to be a challenge for these individuals. Research has established that the development of certain skills earlier on can support students with disabilities in making a successful transition into these adult roles. The development of self-determination skills is one such practice. There is a need in the field of education to further research in programs that are available for teachers in providing instruction in self-determination skills. This study sought to establish research on …

Subsistence Strategy Tradeoffs In Long-Term Population Stability Over The Past 6,000 Years, Darcy A. Bird

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I conduct the first comparative analysis of long term human population stability in North America. Questions regarding population stability among animals and plants are fundamental to population ecology, yet no anthropological research has addressed human population stability. This is an important knowledge gap, because a species’ population stability can have implications for its risk of extinction and for the stability of the ecological community in which it lives. I use archaeological and paleoclimatological data to compare long term population stability with subsistence strategy and climate stability over 6,000 years. I conduct my analysis on a large scale to better understand …

Women In Agriculture: Living In A "Man's World", Ennea A. Fairchild

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Despite women’s involvement in agriculture, their contributions have been overlooked in society. Women make up at least a third of those involved in agriculture as farmers, landowners, and in agricultural faculty positions. These numbers do not appear to be decreasing. Although there are several agricultural roles, this study focuses primarily on those women who own agricultural land, but do not farm the land themselves. Rather, these women rent it out to a farmer who operates the land for them (women nonoperating landowners or WNOLs, in short). Previous research suggests these women may be facing considerable barriers as an agricultural landowner …

The Difference Denominations Made: Identifying The Black Church(Es) And Black Religious Choices Of The Early Republic, Kyle T. Bulthuis

History Faculty Publications

Scholars of African-American religious history have recently debated the significance of the black church in American history. Those that have, pro and con, have often considered the black church as a singular entity, despite the fact that African Americans affiliated with a number of different religious traditions under the umbrella of the black church. This article posits that it is useful to consider denominational and theological developments within different African-American churches. Doing so acknowledges plural creations and developments of black churches, rather than a singular black church, which better accounts for the historical experience of black religion. In this piece, …

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 3, Issue 1, Kim Hales

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full Spring 2019 issue (Volume 3, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence, Spring 2019

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? The Emergence Of Partitioned Land Use Among Human Foragers, Jacob Freeman, John M. Anderies, Raymond P. Mauldin, Robert J. Hard

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Taking inspiration from the archaeology of the Texas Coastal Plain (TCP), we develop an ecological theory of population distribution among mobile hunter-gatherers. This theory proposes that, due to the heterogeneity of resources in space and time, foragers create networks of habitats that they access through residential cycling and shared knowledge. The degree of cycling that individuals exhibit in creating networks of habitats, encoded through social relationships, depends on the relative scarcity of resources and fluctuations in those resources. Using a dynamic model of hunter-gatherer population distribution, we illustrate that increases in population density, coupled with shocks to a biophysical or …

Contributors To Wisconsin’S Persistent Black-White Gap In Life Expectancy, Max T. Roberts, Eric N. Reither, Sojung Lim

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Background

Although the black-white gap in life expectancy has narrowed in the U.S., there is considerable variability across states. In Wisconsin, the black-white gap exceeds 6 years, well above the national average. Reducing this disparity is an urgent public health priority, but there is limited understanding of what contributes to Wisconsin’s racial gap in longevity. Our investigation identifies causes of death that contribute most to Wisconsin’s black-white gap in life expectancy among males and females, and highlights specific ages where each cause of death contributes most to the gap.

Methods

Our study employs 1999–2016 restricted-use mortality data provided by the …

Associations Between Masculine Norms And Health-Care Utilization In Highly Religious, Heterosexual Men, Josh R. Novak, Terry Peak, Julie A. Gast, Melinda Arnell

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to use focus groups to explore married men’s avoidance of health-care utilization. Five focus groups of 8 to 10 married, heterosexual, male participants (N = 44) were conducted and analyzed using grounded theory methods. Several important themes emerged connected to how masculine norms were associated with health-care utilization at several domains including at the organizational level (perceptions of doctors), interpersonal level (past family context and current family context), and individual level (illness severity, money concerns). These themes were all connected with the societal theme of masculine norms …

Outreach In Archaeology With Agent-Based Modeling: Part 3 Of 3, Stefani Crabtree, Kathryn Harris, Benjamin Davies, Iza Romanowska

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

A major challenge facing archaeologists is communicating our research to the public. Thankfully, new computational tools have enabled the testing and visualization of complex ideas in an easily packageable format. In this article we illustrate not only how agent-based modeling provides a platform for communicating complex ideas, but also how these game-like computer models can be explored and manipulated by members of the public therefore increasing their engagement in archaeological explanations. We suggest that these new digital tools serve as an excellent aid for education on the importance of archaeological sites and artifacts. To illustrate the above we walk the …

Combining Geographic Information Systems And Agent-Based Models In Archaeology: Part 2 Of 3, Benjamin Davies, Iza Romanowska, Kathryn Harris, Stefani Crabtree

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Archaeologists are using spatial data in increasingly sophisticated analyses and invoking more explicit considerations of space in their interpretations. Geographic information systems (GIS) have become standard technology for professional archaeologists in the collection and management of spatial data. Many calls have been made to develop and adapt digital geospatial technologies for interpretation and understanding past social dynamics, but this has been limited to some extent by the static nature of map-oriented GIS approaches. Here, we illustrate how coupling GIS with agent-based modeling (ABM) can assist with more dynamic explorations of past uses of space and geospatial phenomena.

Multilevel Analysis Of Socio-Demographic Disparities In Adulthood Obesity Across The United States Geographic Regions, Baksun Sung, Amin Etemadifar

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

Objectives

The objective of this study was to examine the socio-demographic disparities in obesity among US adults across 130 metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas.

Methods

This study used data from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and Selected Metropolitan/Micropolitan Area Risk Trend of 159,827 US adults aged 18 years and older. Data were analyzed using the multilevel linear regression models.

Results

According to individual level analyses, socio-demographic disparities in obesity exist in the United States. Individuals with low socioeconomic status were associated with a higher body mass index. The participants from the Midwest United States tend to have higher …

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Agriculture And Applied Sciences, May 17, 2019, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Utah State University requests approval to establish the Career and Technical Education Division within in the School of Applied Science, Technology, and Education effective 07/01/2019.

Cultural Models Of Raça: The Calculus Of Brazilian Racial Identity Revisited, Henri J. François Dengah Ii, Jason A. Gilmore, Marcus Brasileiro, Anna S. Cohen, Elizabeth Bingham Thomas, Jenni Budge Blackburn, Mckayle Law, Jae Swainston, Richard Thomas

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Nearly 50 years ago, Marvin Harris published a seminal paper that examined how Brazilians create taxonomic categories of racial identity. In the intervening decades, new cognitive theories and analytical approaches have enabled researchers to investigate cultural domains with increased sophistication and nuance. In this paper, we revisit, replicate, and extend Harris’s research by utilizing modern cognitive anthropological approaches such as multidimensional scaling and cultural consensus analysis. Utilizing the same facial portraits as in the original study, we ask a contemporary sample of 34 Brazilians to identify and sort these images by racial identity. We then compare Harris’s original data, reanalyzed …

The Medicalization Of Sleeplessness: Results Of U.S. Office Visit Outcomes, 2008–2015, Mairead Eastin Moloney, Gabriele Circiurkaite, Robyn Lewis Brown

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Previous analysis of U.S. physician office visits (1993–2007) indicated that the medicalization of sleeplessness was on the rise and had potentially negative implications for population health. Our study asks if the medicalization of sleeplessness at the level of patient-physician interaction has persisted over time. Using the most recent years available (2008–2015) of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey we calculated nationally representative estimates for four sleeplessness-related outcomes of physician office visits: sleeplessness complaint, insomnia diagnosis, and prescription of benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine sedative-hypnotics (NBSH). To test for the significance of the linear trajectory, we ran a series of bivariate linear models. …

Altruism Or Self-Interest? Exploring The Motivations Of Open Access Authors, Robert Heaton, Dylan Burns, Becky Thoms

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

More than 250 authors at Utah State University published an Open Access (OA) article in 2016. Analysis of survey results and publication data from Scopus suggests that the following factors led authors to choose OA venues: ability to pay publishing charges, disciplinary colleagues’ positive attitudes toward OA, and personal feelings such as altruism and desire to reach a wide audience. Tenure status was not an apparent factor. This article adds to the body of literature on author motivations and can inform library outreach and marketing efforts, the creation of new publishing models, and the conversation about the larger scholarly publishing …

Utah State University Commencement, 2019 – Main Campus, Utah State University

Commencement Programs

132nd Annual Commencement of Utah State University.

"'The Grittiness Of Being Human' : Individualizing Sexual Expectations In Adichie's Novels", Madison Behrend Vaughn

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Critics of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novels identify her as a nationalist author, as representing the voices on the periphery, and as advocating for multiple voices and perspectives. Critics have also largely dismissed sexual experience as a factor in her representations and have regarded her graphic descriptions of intimacy as mere entertainment or as a means to provoke criticism. I will argue that Adichie does include many instances of sexual intimacy in her novels, not as an escape from the tough subjects that she details, but to express the effects of public problems on individuals. Ultimately, the complexity of sexual experience …

The Effect Of A Surfactant Seed Coating On The Germination And Growth Of Three Native Bulrushes, Anders Hart

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Great Salt Lake (GSL) wetlands provide vital ecosystem services, including habitat for migratory birds. Alkali bulrush (Bolboschoenus maritimus), hardstem bulrush (Schoenoplectus acutus), and three-square bulrush (Schoenoplectus americanus) play an important role in providing these services, but invasion by Phragmites australis has reduced the extent these species in GSL wetlands. Restoring these native bulrushes following Phragmites removal is a primary goal for GSL managers. However, climate change and increasing human water demands upstream may alter the hydropattem of GSL wetlands, leading to lower soil moisture availability and potentially inhibiting germination and establishment of these species. …

A Case Study Of The Driven 2 Teach Program: Site-Based Experiential Professional Development For History Teachers, Hadyn Bowen Call

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Driven 2 Teach is a privately funded program for history teachers in the state of Utah. The program emphasizes the importance of teacher travel to educate history teachers in the places where history happened. This study investigated the program’s influence on participant gains in learning about history and how to best teach about the past, social studies professional development, teacher beliefs, and changes in instructional practices. This study utilized a case study methodology, autoethnography, and six interconnected frameworks: Professional development, experiential education, site-based learning, pedagogical content knowledge, teacher beliefs, and professional learning communities. This study helps demonstrate the effectiveness of …

By Proxy: A Radiocarbon Perspective On Prehistoric Mobility Using Summed Probability Distributions And Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions In Wyoming And Montana, Anastasia M. Lugo Mendez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Stone circles are among the most common and understudied archaeological features in the Rocky Mountains and High Plains. Their widespread availability coupled with increased archaeological research accompanying oil and natural gas exploration in the region has expanded the availability and size of the region’s radiocarbon database. The dates as data approach uses radiocarbon ages as variables from a larger sample. This thesis compiles radiocarbon ages associated with tipi ring sites in Wyoming and Montana and creates a summed probability distribution from these ages to serve as a proxy for prehistoric mobility. The distribution is corrected for taphonomic bias, or data …

Optimal Foraging And Population Dynamics: An Archaeological Investigation At The Birch Creek Rockshelters, Idaho, Samuel H. M. Yeates

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis aims to integrate the study of population change with the expectations of foraging models, and to test whether expectations resulting from integrating these two bodies of theory have greater predictive power than foraging models alone. To compare these models, I monitored prey age, butchery practice, and prey desirability in five prehistoric occupations of the Birch Creek rockshelters of Idaho. I modeled hunting pressure with a human population density estimate based on radiocarbon dates from Idaho archaeological sites, and modeled prey abundance with a model of historic effective moisture. Both models predicted younger prey, lower average prey desirability, and …

Assessing Paleoenvironmental And Geomorphic Variability In Relationship To Paleoindian Site Burial; Centennial Valley, Montana, Hillary A. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wave action along the shores of Lima Reservoir in Centennial Valley, Montana is actively eroding the southern margins of three neighboring Paleoindian sites. Despite ostensible similarity among the sites, major site formation differences are apparent in exposed sediments. Shoreline cutbank exposures one-to-five meters high connect the sites and reveal a complicated geomorphic history. Although each site contains artifact evidence of terminal Pleistocene-early Holocene occupations, Paleoindian components at these three localities occur in very different contexts: one is buried, while the other two are apparent surface scatters. This raise the question of why sites of the same age are in both …

The Rise And Run Of Women Corporate Leaders, Alicia R. Ingersoll

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to understand the contexts that support the barriers to women’s advancement and to identify the conditions under which women leaders overcome the barriers to attain top corporate leadership positions. I have identified and discussed three distinct approaches for understanding how we can increase women’s representation and influence in the executive and director ranks within top U.S. corporations. The first approach investigates the complexities of leveraging the social and cultural capital attained through post-secondary education in order gain entry into the corporate elite. The second approach examines gendered stereotypes of risk-taking versus the organizational risk-taking …