Digital Commons Network^™

The Last Five Years: An Innovative Theatre Project, Bailee Miner, Grave Garner

Student Research Symposium

The purpose of this project is to gain further knowledge in theatrical production of a full-length musical. We will work creatively as an artistic team of two Actors and a Director, building our own personal craft to contribute to the show as an entirety. Then, as a group, we will experience the financial side of producing Theatre. We will learn the business side of production; applying and paying for rights, cooperating with house management, ticket sales and proceeds, and management of volunteer recruitment.We have chosen to produce the musical, The Last Five Years written by Jason Robert Brown. This musical …

Bullying In Sport Harms Athletes Mentally And Physically And Impairs Their Performance, Jessica Hamilton

Student Research Symposium

While bullying in sporting contexts is thought to be highly prevalent (Parent & Fortier, 2018), it is understudied and not well-defined within the sport psychology literature. Bullying is defined in the general peer aggression literature as repeated, intentional harm of a person across an interpersonal relationship with an asymmetric power balance (Olweus, 1994) and often occurs across peers. Furthermore, the literature highlights how bullying in academic settings is associated with detrimental outcomes, such as depression, anxiety, suicidality, and substance abuse (Armitage, 2021), so the effects that bullying in sport might have on victims and perpetrators are of particular interest. The …

Evaluating Sex Differences In Behavioral Responses To Social Scents In Coyotes, Kodie Jenkins

Student Research Symposium

Understanding the importance of social dynamics and how olfaction in coyotes (Canis latrans) is used as the primary form of communication between individuals, this communication is often regulated by the diversity of personality types that occurs between individuals. We exposed four adult pairs of captive coyotes (2 males, 2 females) at the USDA National Wildlife Research Center’s Predator Research Facility in Millville, Utah to coyote odor attractants (1 mL urine) from siblings, pair mates, and strangers. One pair contained individuals born in 2016, and the other contained individuals born in 2022. Each coyote was placed in a separate …

The Role Of Extracellular Vesicles In Immunomodulation During Bovine Pregnancy, Amber Thornton

Student Research Symposium

During pregnancy, the maternal immune system must be altered to allow the tolerance of a semi-allogeneic fetus. Our previous studies show a strong inflammatory response in the uterus of cows carrying somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) pregnancies due to dysregulation in the proteins expressed by trophoblast cells. Between 30 and 90 days the rate of pregnancy loss is 50-100% for SCNT compared to 2-10% for artificial insemination (AI) pregnancies. Abnormal immunological crosstalk during placentation is a major cause of this loss in SCNT pregnancies. The trafficking of extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane-bound cargo carriers, potentially represents a key form of crosstalk …

An Evaluation Of U.S. Horseback Riding Instruction Certifications: Availability, Acquisition, Barriers, And Industry Need, Makenna Osborne

Student Research Symposium

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to analyze the U.S. equine industry’s availability of riding instruction certification options, describe the relationship between professional certification and the self-efficacy of horseback riding instructors in the U.S., and explore the expectations that consumers have of instructors and instructor selection criteria. Four research objectives related to instruction were addressed: identifying the competencies and the process for obtaining skill-based horseback riding instructor certifications of the five most popular third-party certifying organizations that are currently available in the U.S., describing the attitudes towards certification in the U.S., and describing the self-perception of currently certified and …

Delayed Autism Diagnosis In Girls Due To Social Masking, Madeline Abram-Moyle

Student Research Symposium

Objective: To determine if camouflaging social and linguistic skills delays autism diagnosis in girls ages 6-18 years old compared to boys of the same age.

Methods: A rapid review from PubMed database to review relevant evidence.

Results: Evidence that social and linguistic camouflaging lead to delayed diagnosis in autistic girls compared to autistic boys is strong, but evidence is lacking that these forms of camouflaging lead to poor mental health in autistic girls ages 6-18.

Conclusion: Diagnostic criteria for autism should be updated to include female behavior and language patterns.

High Frequency Radio Communication, Tyler Larsen

Student Research Symposium

This research focuses on high frequency radio communication and its link to space weather. It examines a signal from beacon networks across the globe and analyzes that signal as it arrives to the antennae here at USU. By linking that data to space weather data we can more accurately see how the signal is being affected.

Social Network Analysis Shows Equal Numbers Of Public, Educators, And Scientists Within An Online Social World, Man Zhang

Student Research Symposium

Characterizing who participates in and contributes to conversations with online social worlds can help extend our understanding of the science education ecosystem, including giving insight into what kinds of communication works for whom and under what conditions. We describe methods for characterizing an online, scientific affinity space using three science-based hashtags: #ScienceTwitter, #AcademicTwitter, and #SciComm. Researchers applied an established framework to describe a subset of users who interacted with these hashtags (n = 1000) and analyzed the structure of the network during a one-month period. Social network analysis showed a highly dispersed network, but equal numbers of scientists, members of …

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, April 17, 2023, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• 3:30 Call to Order, Approval of Minutes – March 20, 2023
• 3:35 University Business
• 3:50 Faculty Senate Presidency Business
• 4:00 Information, Educational Policies Committee – April 6, 2023
• 4:05 Reports, Committee on Committees Annual Report, Calendar Committee Annual Report, Recruitment and Retention Annual Report
• 4:20 Old Business
• 4:25 New Business, Faculty Code 405 original | track changes | final (1st Reading). Faculty Senate President Elect, Format and Responsibilities for 2023-2024 Faculty Senate Meetings, Faculty Senate Executive Committee Membership.
• 5:00 Adjourn

Perceptions Of Disabilities Among Native Americans Within The State Of Utah, Erica Ficklin, Melissa Tehee, Sherry Marx, Eduardo Ortiz, Megan E. Golson, Tyus Roanhorse

Psychology Student Research

Currently, little research exists on disabilities among Native American communities and no research exists on how Native Americans perceive disabilities, services currently available, and unmet needs. Understanding these key areas is essential to providing efficacious and culturally relevant care. To address this gap in the literature, we used Indigenous research methodology through sharing circles throughout the state of Utah to listen and amplify the voices of the Native communities. Participants shared how they conceptualize "disability," what they thought of current services, and how they thought the needs of Native persons with disabilities should be addressed. Four major themes emerged in …

Speech Intelligibility Assessment: Predicting "Noncompliant" Listener Behavior, Briggs Kroff

Student Research Symposium

Purpose: When researching speech intelligibility among people with dysarthria, convenience sampling has typically been used to recruit listeners. A new alternative online crowdsourcing method, Mechanical Turk (MTurk), results in ecologically valid results, but outlier results are often removed from the analysis and considered 'noncompliant'. This study aims to examine whether or not there is a relationship between age, gender, speech/language/hearing impairment, and whether someone is 'noncompliant'.Methods: Sixteen speakers, both with and without dysarthria, were recorded while they read prewritten sentences. Research participants found through MTurk then listened to the sentences and transcribed them. They also were asked questions including their …

Social Isolation And Third Place, Katelyn Bauer

Student Research Symposium

Social isolation and human connection are key to human quality of life. This research was undertaken to understand what spaces could help to foster social interaction and connection. Third places, the place between home and work, were found to have significant positive impact on both individuals and communities. The presentation discusses the criteria of third place, examples, benefits, and some causes of loss of third place in modern society.

The Family Place Utah Princess & Prince Party: Who Attends And Which Activities Did They Enjoy?, Ann Peterson, Clara Alder

Student Research Symposium

Attending community events can have significant benefits for the families who attend. Some of these benefits include providing an opportunity for socialization and strengthen family relationships (Liu, 2022). The Family Place Utah hosts a community event called the Princess and Prince Party. The Princess and Prince Party is an event where families can attend and meet some of their favorite Princesses and Princes. At the event, data was gathered from participants using Qualtrics. The results indicated that majority of the children in attendance were ages 3-5 and families attending because their children enjoy interacting with the characters.

Exploring Female, Non-Binary, Or Genderqueer Scientists' Intersections Of Experience When Engaging In Science Communication, Emily Slater

Student Research Symposium

Our USU research team worked with the Cosplay for Science non-profit who are dedicated to reducing barriers to science and scientists through their events and initiatives. As a part of this collaboration, we observed how scientists interacted with comicon attendees at a pop-up museum booth. We are interested in finding out how scientists shift norms and assumptions about who participates in science. We collected one-on-one in-depth interview data from nine scientists from a variety of education and work fields who identify as female, non-binary or gender queer after their involvement with the pop-up museum booth. Our findings indicate that scientist …

Ketamine Clinics: Designing For Better Patient Outcomes, Erica Evans

Student Research Symposium

Bright Mind Wellness is a state-of-the-art ketamine clinic that offers a spa-like experience for patients seeking treatment for mental health disorders. The clinic's main patient demographic includes individuals suffering from major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety, PTSD, and/or chronic pain. Ketamine has been shown to be an effective treatment for these conditions, and the clinic's design is centered around creating a safe and calming environment for patients to receive their treatments.This presentation aims to explore the therapeutic benefits of ketamine and how it can be used to aid in the treatment of mental health disorders. We will delve into the science …

The Effect Of Video Narratives On Hearing Aid Wear Times In Adults: Preliminary Results, Vanessa Snow

Student Research Symposium

Despite the benefits associated with hearing aid (HA) use, only 17% of the population that needs HAs uses them (World Health Organization, 2021). HA users often have no direct experiences with hearing loss (HL) and HAs due to low incidence (World Health Organization, 2021), which we hypothesized leads to the unrealistic expectations in new HA users and minimal HA use (Bille & Parving, 2003). To test this hypothesis, we designed a between-subjects experimental study that explored the effect of video narratives on HA wear times. Before they were fit with their first HAs, 16 adults with HL and no previous …

Autism, Light, And Rna - A Story In Three Parts, Ethan Dayley

Student Research Symposium

Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference present in about 1 in 36 people. Autistics tend to have differences in social communication, interests, and the ways they process the world around them. Autism is an important research area because many autistics suffer from poor mental health and can have difficulties with obtaining education and maintaining employment. By better understanding how autism works at every level we may be able to help autistics have better outcomes in future. This research is a follow-up to a study published by Freeman et al. in 2018. That study demonstrated differences in oxytocin receptor binding in the …

Promoting And Providing Oral Healthcare For Francophone Africa, Mckay Lund

Student Research Symposium

Oral health is key to overall health. Many people in francophone African countries face challenges in oral health including: lack of access to healthcare, cost of healthcare, lack of dentists and oral surgeons, lack of funding, and lack of effective oral health public health education or ad campaigns in French or other languages they speak.

Shifting The Paradigm With Wednesday Addams: Why Nuanced, Intersectional Portrayals Of Autistic People Matter, Camille Bassett

Student Research Symposium

For decades, Autistic people have been portrayed in the media through dehumanizing stereotypes such as the robot, the superhuman savant, and the empty shell. Through these stereotypes, Autistic people are construed as non-human, above-human, and sub-human but never as human beings with complexity, authenticity, and dignity. In addition to being stereotypical, depictions of Autistic people have historically featured white and male characters, a longstanding pattern that erases Autistic women and people of color, among others. In 2022, however, Netflix’s spinoff series of The Addams Family, Wednesday, brought to the screen one of the very first autistic-coded women of color—its titular …

Grounded In Reality: An Exploration Of Acceptance In Relational Conflict, Audrey Johansen

Student Research Symposium

Acceptance work encompasses “the processes that allow us to be fully grounded in reality” (Canfield, 2023). It allows individuals to embrace what truly is, both the good and the bad. It enables them to be at peace with what they can’t control, so that they can put their energy into changing what is within their power. This project explores how acceptance work connects with other aspects of conflict process, including grieving, emotional regulation, and other concepts. Research was conducted by studying materials on communication and conflict processes, and by applying the materials to the author’s life. Throughout the course of …

A Classification Of Spacetimes, Guillermo Frausto

Student Research Symposium

Symmetry reduction is an important tool for simplifying physical problems. But in some cases, symmetry reducing the Lagrangian may lead to incorrect equations. When this issue occurs, a symmetry is said to violate the principle of symmetric criticality (PSC). It’s known that for PSC to hold in a local field theory, two conditions must be true (the Palais and Lie conditions), but for most spacetime symmetries, the validity of PSC has not been established. In this project, we provide a classification of spacetime symmetries based upon the validity of PSC for gravitational field theory. Using the DifferentialGeometry package in Maple, …

The Effectiveness Of Translation Apps And Understanding The Flaws Of Language Learning In Classroom Settings, Mia Knight

Student Research Symposium

There are over 7,000 languages spoken around the world. In the past twenty years alone, the internet has digitized and improved much - including translation apps. With apps specific to particular languages and topics and with the ability to access so much information at the touch of a finger, it is easy for individuals to engage themselves in communicating with those who speak different languages. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2022, language learning in the United States was at its lowest point in twenty years.2 Conversely, translation app use has increased. Although these mobile translation apps, e.g., Google …

Applying A Health-Risk Model To Climate Change Communication: The Benefits And Barriers Of The Eppm For Inciting Carbon Footprint Reductions, Mikenna Debruin

Student Research Symposium

Whereas over 99% of the scientific community believes in the concept of anthropogenic climate change, lay support is still lagging behind. I suggest three key factors to lagging lay support: 1) complexity, 2) manufactured scientific controversy, and 3) doom-and-gloom framing. Because of these factors, individuals are less willing believe in the prevalence of human-induced climate change, nonetheless do something about it. The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), however, presents a model to assuage eco-anxiety and counter psychological distance from the problem. The EPPM, proposed by Kim Witte in the 1990s, combines appeals to threat and appeals to efficacy to contextualize …

Behind The Scenes: An Educational Theatre Model, Mckenna Finley, Rachel Tillotson

Student Research Symposium

To replicate and revise a previous educational model, Rachel, along with McKenna Finley, a Spring 2023 bachelor’s graduate, will create a summer camp designed for students 12-18 to encourage involvement in theatre and theatre programs. I intend to replicate and improve upon an educational model that was devised over the 2022 Spring and Summer semesters: The Behind the Scenes Summer Camp. During the 2021-2022 school year, two undergraduate students were tasked with devising and running a summer camp that was intended to recruit students to the Caine College Department of Theatre Arts and to provide an accessible form of summer …

Analyzing State Reactions To Panserbjørne Coup: A Case Study In Realism, Athena Dupont, Lyra Belacqua Silvertongue

Student Research Symposium

In a global climate of instability and increasingly volatile political shifts in both election-based and non-election-based governments, it is critical to understand how states react to sudden changes in leadership in other nations. While there are numerous theories that try to account for the decision-making processes on an international scale, few of them withstand application to historical case studies. One such study, the 1990s overthrow of Svalbard's King Iofur Raknison by the disgraced former king Iorek Byrnison, offers unique insight into the reactions of other nations. While the Panserbjørne nation is not generally considered a world power, its regional hegemony …

Trauma-Informed Design, Annie Canfield

Student Research Symposium

Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection is a non-profit organization in Cache valley that serves refugees and immigrants from over 36 countries. The mission of CRIC is to, “promote integration, economic self-sufficiency, and positive connections among refugees, immigrants, and the wider community through two-way education, improved access to existing services, and development of new services.” To help them best serve their clients, this project is an exploration of how the 6 PRINCIPLES OF TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE can reach beyond human communication into the physical built environment.

Níksókowaawák As Axiom: The Indispensability Of Comprehensive Relational Animacy In Blackfoot Ways Of Knowing, Being, And Doing, Sandra Bartlett Atwood, Ninna Piiksii (Chief Bird) Mike Bruised Head, Mark W. Brunson, Aahsaopi (State Of Being) Laverne First Rider, Tim Frandy, James Maffie, Aakaomo'tsstaki (Many Victories) Michelle Provost, Miiniipokaa (Berry Child) Peter Weasel Moccasin, Itsiipootsikimskai

Environment and Society Student Research

This paper outlines a proposal, based on Blackfoot worldview, for a collective method to stand alongside Western qualitative and quantitative methods and highlights the value of collective methods in collaborative social-ecological research. Neither qualitative nor quantitative methods are adequate to disclose a world where all things are alive, where “objects” are subjects—agentive beings in their own right. Most Indigenous cultures understand and experience the world as a network of living beings, a collective, with whom they are interrelated/connected and therefore, any efforts to collaborate with Indigenous peoples must acknowledge comprehensive relational animacy. Applying coproduction principles in concert with Blackfoot ways …

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes, April 6, 2023, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes – March 2, 2023
• Program Proposals
• Semester Course Approval Reviews
• College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences
• Caine College of the Arts
• Jon M. Huntsman School of Business
• Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
• College of Engineering
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources
• College of Science
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 2:30 pm

The Utah Statesman, April 10, 2023, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Review Of Managing Business Archives, Erin M. Louthen

Journal of Western Archives

Business archivists need to be flexible, adaptable, and creative so that they can easily pivots to meet their companies' changing priorities and needs. With insightful examples and practical discussions, Managing Business Archives provides direction for archivists making decisions in a dynamic business climate, as well as archivists in all fields.