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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

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 …

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 …

Proper Acoustics Create Better Learning Environments In The Classroom, Brian Harris

Student Research Symposium

The acoustics of a classroom can greatly help or hinder the learning process for many students. Studies have found that speech intelligibility can be affected by poor acoustics and this can lower the student’s comprehension scores. When correct acoustic tools are implemented, student success can be augmented.

The Salinity Of The Great Salt Lake And Its Deep Brine Layer, Madeline F. Merck, David G. Tarboton

Publications

The Great Salt Lake is a highly saline terminal lake with considerable fluctuations in water surface elevation and salinity. The lake is divided into two arms by a railroad causeway. River inflows enter the larger south arm, while the north arm only receives minimal surface runoff. Evaporation from both arms and limited exchange of water and salt through causeway openings result in complex water and salinity processes in the lake. The north arm is typically homogeneous and close to saturation. The south arm is typically stratified with periodic occurrences of a deep brine layer. This paper analyzes the lake’s long-term …

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, April 6, 2023, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes – March 2, 2023
• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee (Chad Simon)
• Academic Standards Subcommittee (Renee Galliher)
• General Education Subcommittee (Matt Sanders)
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 3:00 pm

The Impact Of Usu Extension On Agricultural Productivity, Justen Smith

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah has over 18,000 farms and ranches spanning 11 million acres, which generate more than $21 billion in total economic output (after adjusting for the multiplier effect). While it is true that Utah becomes more urbanized each year, it is also true that agriculture continues to play a vital part in our state. As the population of Utah and the United States continues to grow, food production is more important than ever before. Utah State University (USU) Extension has led the way for 105 years in providing non-biased, research-based technical assistance to producers and the Utah agricultural industry.

Introduction To The Special Issue On The Acbs Taskforce Report, Michael P. Twohig, Joanna J. Arch, Ian Stewart

Psychology Faculty Publications

In 2021, the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science (JCBS) published a white paper titled “Report of the ACBS Task Force on the strategies and tactics of contextual behavioral science research.” The focus of this report was to guide research done by members of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science. This report offered 33 specific recommendations under five themes. This paper is the introduction to a special issue of JCBS that includes eight commentaries written by leaders in their respective fields on the taskforce report. These commentaries offer praise and suggestions based on the ACBS report.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (Pah) Contamination In Urban Soils: Testing And Management, Melissa Chilinski, Paul Grossl, Melanie Stock

All Current Publications

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large class of chemicals and common environmental pollutants. Understanding which PAHs and soil test levels may impact human health is an important aspect of gardening and micro-farming, particularly in urban environments that are at increased risk of soil contamination. Land use histories, such as sites associated with vehicle and industrial emissions, burning, and dumping, can elevate concentrations of PAHs in soils. This fact sheet provides instructions on assessing your site for PAHs that may present health risks to humans, testing the soil, and first steps for interpretation and management.

The Impact Of Family Support And Rejection On Suicide Ideation And Attempt Among Transgender Adults In The U.S., Guadalupe Marquez-Velarde, Gabe H. Miller, Jesse Ezra Shircliff, Mario Itzel Suárez

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

We evaluate the association of familial factors and suicidality among transgender adults in the U.S. by estimating the odds of lifetime suicide ideation and attempt using the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Predictors include family support, family rejection, and specific experiences related to both. About 79% of sample respondents have experienced suicidal ideation and nearly 43% have made a suicide attempt. The predicted probability of suicide attempt is 0.35 for those with no family rejection experiences, 0.75 for those who have had all five experiences in our models. Rejection predicts both outcomes and experiences of rejection have a cumulative impact.

Less Fuel For The Next Fire? Short-Interval Fire Delays Forest Recovery And Interacting Drivers Amplify Effects, Kristin H. Braziunas, Nathan G. Kiel, Monica G. Turner

Aspen Bibliography

As 21st-century climate and disturbance dynamics depart from historic baselines, ecosystem resilience is uncertain. Multiple drivers are changing simultaneously, and interactions among drivers could amplify ecosystem vulnerability to change. Subalpine forests in Greater Yellowstone (Northern Rocky Mountains, USA) were historically resilient to infrequent (100–300 year), severe fire. We sampled paired short-interval (<30-year) and long-interval (>125-year) post-fire plots most recently burned between 1988 and 2018 to address two questions: (1) How do short-interval fire, climate, topography, and distance to unburned live forest edge interact to affect post-fire forest regeneration? (2) How do forest biomass and fuels vary following short-interval versus long-interval severe fires? …

Faculty Senate Agenda, April 3, 2023, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes - March 13, 2023
• University Business
• Faculty Senate Presidency Business
• Information
• Educational Policies Committee - March 2, 2023
• Reports
• Budget and Faculty Welfare Committee Annual Report
• Sustainability Council Annual Report
• Old Business
• Changes to SNAC
• Code 404
• New Business
• Resolution: Amendments to the USU Student Code of Conduct
• Faculty Senate President Elect
• Faculty Senate Executive Committee Membership
• Adjourn

Asparagus Breeding: Future Research Needs For Sustainable Production, Daniel Drost

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Productivity in asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is determined in part by (1) the selection of superior, adaptive genetics, (2) matching the selected genetics to the production environment, and (3) managing the crop production system in ways to maximize harvest potential that are sustainable, profitable, and efficient. Over the last 100 years, a considerable effort by asparagus researchers has gone into breeding superior genetic lines, testing those in numerous locations, and studying how asparagus responds to a multitude of inputs (fertilizers, irrigation, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides). Farmers worldwide have benefited from all of these improvements. However, as we look to the …

Make No Apologies: Fear Of Negative Evaluation, Depressive Symptoms, And The Mediating Role Of Accounting For Covid-Safe Behavior Amongst People At High-Risk For Severe Illness, John S. Seiter, Timothy Curran, Rebecca E. Elwood

Communication Studies and Philosophy Faculty Publications

With the goal of understanding unique and important threats to the mental health of people who are especially vulnerable to severe illness as a result of COVID-19, this study investigated associations between such individuals' fear of negative evaluation, tendency to "account for" practicing COVID-safe behaviors, and depressive symptoms. Grounded in perspectives on self-presentation, normative influence, and cognitive dissonance, we hypothesized that fear of negative evaluation would relate positively to accounting for COVID-safe behaviors, which, in turn, would associate positively with increased depressive symptoms. The results showed that increased fear of negative evaluation predicted an increased use of apologies and excuses, …

Pasture Pig Basics, Jacob Hadfield, Jessie Hadfield, Joshua Dallin, Lorie Millward

All Current Publications

With an increasing push for more sustainable agriculture practices, raising pigs on pasture has gained much attention over recent years. Although it is possible to raise pigs on pasture, and this production method may support some sustainability goals, there are some important considerations. This fact sheet provides insight and answers to aspiring pig farmers so that they can make better-informed decisions before purchasing their pigs.

The Utah Statesman, March 20, 2023, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Outdoor Recreation Across The Western United States: A Comparative Analysis Focused On State Agencies, Policies, Programs, And Resources, Casey Trout, Jordan W. Smith

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

In recent years, state governments in the contiguous western U.S. (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) have been increasing investment in outdoor recreation to ensure continued and expanded access to outdoor recreation opportunities and to enhance the outdoor recreation economy in their respective states. This report provides an inventory and comparison of how states across the Western U.S. fund, manage, and support outdoor recreation. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations tailored to state legislatures and state government entities regarding how outdoor recreation management may be improved and how additional funding could be …

Compressive Sensing Via Variational Bayesian Inference Under Two Widely Used Priors: Modeling, Comparison And Discussion, Mohammad Shekaramiz, Todd K. Moon

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Compressive sensing is a sub-Nyquist sampling technique for efficient signal acquisition and reconstruction of sparse or compressible signals. In order to account for the sparsity of the underlying signal of interest, it is common to use sparsifying priors such as Bernoulli-Gaussian-inverse Gamma (BGiG) and Gaussian-inverse Gamma (GiG) priors on the compounds of the signal. With the introduction of variational Bayesian inference, the sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) methods for solving the inverse problem of compressive sensing have received significant interest as the SBL methods become more efficient in terms of execution time. In this paper, we consider the sparse signal recovery …

Soil Sampling Guide For Crops, Matt Yost, Grant Cardon, Megan Baker, Jody Gale, Earl Creech, Michael Pace, Kalen Taylor, Cody Zesiger, Tiffany Evans, Rhonda Miller

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides updated guidelines for soil sampling of various soil properties and includes why, how, what, and where to sample. It is a part of a series of updated sampling guidelines. Water, forage, plant tissue, and manure/compost will be forthcoming.

Basal Diet Fed To Recipient Mice Was The Driving Factor For Colitis And Colon Tumorigenesis, Despite Fecal Microbiota Transfer From Mice With Severe Or Mild Disease, Daphne Michelle Rodriguez Jimenez, Korry J. Hintze, Giovanni Rompato, Eliza C. Stewart, Abbey H. Barton, Emily Mortensen-Curtis, Porter A. Green, Arnaud J. Van Wettere, Aaron J. Thomas, Abby D. Benninghoff

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Consumption of the total Western diet (TWD) in mice has been shown to increase gut inflammation, promote colon tumorigenesis, and alter fecal microbiome composition when compared to mice fed a healthy diet, i.e., AIN93G (AIN). However, it is unclear whether the gut microbiome contributes directly to colitis-associated CRC in this model. The objective of this study was to determine whether dynamic fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) from donor mice fed either the AIN basal diet or the TWD would alter colitis symptoms or colitis-associated CRC in recipient mice, which were fed either the AIN diet or the TWD, using a 2 …

Accurate Estimation Of Time-On-Task While Programming, Kaden Hart, Christopher M. Warren, John Edwards

Computer Science Student Research

In a recent study, students were periodically prompted to self-report engagement while working on computer programming assignments in a CS1 course. A regression model predicting time-on-task was proposed. While it was a significant improvement over ad-hoc estimation techniques, the study nevertheless suffered from lack of error analysis, lack of comparison with existing methods, subtle complications in prompting students, and small sample size. In this paper we report results from a study with an increased number of student participants and modified prompting scheme intended to better capture natural student behavior. Furthermore, we perform a cross-validation analysis on our refined regression model …

Which Factors Influence Consumer Organic Specialty Bakery Product Taste Ratings?, Tatiana Drugova, Kynda R. Curtis

All Current Publications

In this fact sheet, we compare consumer taste ratings for organic and conventional specialty bakery products and analyze what factors explain the differences. These products are typically consumed for pleasure and are more expensive than mainstream baked goods. However, consumers have high quality expectations, including taste, which may be an issue if not satisfactory. Understanding factors that impact consumer taste rating for organic specialty bakery products can help identify what might be done to improve taste perceptions/expectations and the success of organic specialty bakery/pastry products.

The Utah Statesman, February 27, 2023, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Self-Guided Online Acceptance And Commitment Therapy As A Transdiagnostic Self-Help Intervention, Korena S. Klimczak, Guadalupe G. San Miguel, Miriam N. Mukasa, Michael P. Twohig, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Student Research

Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) interventions use websites and smartphone apps to deliver ACT exercises and skills. The present meta-analysis provides a comprehensive review of online ACT self-help interventions, characterizing the programs that have been studied (e.g. platform, length, content) and analyzing their efficacy. A transdiagnostic approach was taken, including studies that addressed a range of targeted problems and populations. Multi-level meta-analyses were used to nest multiple measures of a single construct within their respective studies. A total of 53 randomized controlled trials were included (n = 10,730). Online ACT produced significantly greater outcomes than waitlist controls at …

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, March 2, 2023, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - February 2, 2023
• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee (Chad Simon)
• Academic Standards Subcommittee (Renee Galliher)
• Minutes - February 9, 2023
• General Education Subcommittee (Matt Sanders)
• Minutes - February 21, 2023
• Other Business
• Adjourn

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, March 2, 2023, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - February 2, 2023
• Program Proposals
• Semester Course Approval Reviews
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 3:00 pm

Designing Hybrid Human-Ai Orchestration Tools For Individual And Collaborative Activities: A Technology Probe Study, Vanessa Echeverria, Kexin Yang, Luettamae Lawrence, Nikol Rummel, Vincent Aleven

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Combining individual and collaborative learning is common, but dynamic combinations (which happen as-the-need arises, rather than in pre-planned ways, and may happen on an individual basis) are rare. This work reports findings from a technology probe study exploring alternative designs for classroom co-orchestration support for dynamically transitioning between individual and collaborative learning. The study involved 1) a technology-probe classroom study in an authentic, AI-supported classroom to understand teachers' and students' needs for co-orchestration support over dynamic transitions; and 2) workshops and interviews with students and teachers to get informed feedback about their lived experiences. 118 students and three teachers from …

Relevancy Of Pulsed Electroacoustic Measurements For Investigating Spacecraft Charging, Zachary Gibson, J. R. Dennison

Journal Articles

The magnitude and spatial distribution of charge embedded in dielectric materials and the evolution of the charge distributions with time are paramount for the understanding and mitigation of spacecraft charging. Spacecraft materials are charged primarily by incident fluxes of low-energy electrons, with electron fluxes in the 10–50 keV range often responsible for the most deleterious arcing effects. While the pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method can provide sensitive nondestructive measurements of the internal charge distribution in insulating materials, it has often been limited for spacecraft charging applications by typical spatial resolutions of ≤ 10 μm , with a 10- μm …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Women And Work: Career Advancement Challenges, Sara Mcphee Lafkas, Marin Christensen, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic upended countless lives all over the world. Considerable research has shown that women’s career progression has been more negatively impacted by the pandemic than men’s, especially in the wake of school closures and increased childcare responsibilities. In order to understand more deeply the impact of the pandemic on women’s careers, a large mixed-method survey was conducted in Idaho, a western state in the United States. This article reports on the responses of 2564 respondents to one of three open-ended questions taken from the overall survey, namely: “How has the pandemic impacted your career advancement experiences and opportunities …

Cultural Humility And Cultural Brokering In Professional Training: Insights From People Of Color (Poc) And Persons With Disabilities (Pwd), Victoria Filingeri, Heather M. Mendez, Alisa Ssu Yu Lin, Gyasi Burks-Abbott, Amy Szarkowski, Jason Fogler

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This conceptual paper reflects the collaborative work of LEND trainees and faculty exploring the need to shift from “cultural competencies” to “cultural humility” in training programs. The authors draw on their lived experiences as members of racially/ethnically marginalized groups, members of the disability community, and advocates for equity in accessibility. Collectively, the authors highlight some of the challenges and opportunities in supporting diverse trainees in professional- and discipline-specific training programs. and in the provision of services the trainees provide to care-recipients across a variety of fields. This paper includes a series of case vignettes in order to: examine individual authors’ …