Digital Commons Network^™

Interspecific Differences In Stressor Tolerance Drive Community-Level Changes In A Small Aquatic Ecosystem, Jennifer M. Weathered

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The global human population is expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050 and an increase in food yield will be needed to provide for the future generations. Insects are among the biggest threats to food production and are therefore the subject of intense chemical control through the application of pesticides. The ability of insects to evolve resistance to pesticides after repeated use has been documented. However, how evolved responses affect individuals’ behaviors, their interactions with others, and how these factors impact overall patterns in distribution remains relatively unexplored in the bromeliad.

The aquatic insect communities housed in water-holding tropical plants …

Eclipsed By Culture, Andrea Diamond

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

The purpose of this thesis is to explore through poetry my conflicted relationship with an abusive, narcissistic father, a father who passed down to me the after-effects of generations of inherited trauma and traditions of patriarchy. In a narrative arc unfolding through domestic scenes and deepened with metaphor, I offer readers the story of my struggle to accept the personal and psychological damage I experienced as a child, to forgive, and to achieve a measure of healing so that my experience might benefit others. Using poetry enabled me to distill elements of my circumstances that, in my lived experience, were …

Using Motivation To Teach Portuguese As A New Global Language, Aline Allen

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

This portfolio is written to show how Portuguese was a global language in the past, as a result of Portuguese exploration, settlement, and colonization, and is once again a world language that is becoming increasingly important on a global scale, especially as a result of the economic and political emergence of Brazil on the international scene. This portfolio also covers the important topic of motivation and its key role in learning Portuguese or any second or foreign language. Music is also addressed as an invaluable medium that plays an integral role in teaching a second or foreign language, Portuguese in …

Comparison Of Locational Beamforming Algorithms For Audio Targeting, Thomas Lewis Bradshaw

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In many applications it is desirable to focus on the direction a signal is coming from to isolate the signal from interfering noise coming from other directions. This is often done by focusing the receiver on a given direction. One method to accomplish this focusing is to use an array of receivers and a signal processing algorithm called beamforming. This algorithm attenuates signals coming from all other directions besides the direction of interest, which can be viewed pictorially as a beam. However, it would also benefit many applications to be able to focus on a location rather than just a …

Characterization Of Rhodopseudomonas Palustris Strains For The Production Of Fixed Nitrogen Fertilizer For Mars, Andrew James Walters

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to characterize the potential of various strains of purple non-sulfur bacteria for the production of fixed nitrogen fertilizers for the manned Mars missions. Six strains of Rhodopseudomonas palustris (CGA009, CGA010, TIE-1, NifA*, and PB23) were all investigated. Through initial growth trial experiments, R. palustris NifA* and PB23 were selected for their engineered nitrogen fixation and rapid growth respectively. Growth curves and ammonium concentrations were collected over time in pilot scale batch photobioreactors (200 mL). Biomass production was then scaled up to benchtop photobioreactors (1.5 L). Fourteen liters of both NifA* and PB23 were then …

An Investigation Of Pictography And Verbal Rehearsal On College Students’ Recall Of Expository Texts, Joshua Woodruff

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

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of pictography with and without verbal rehearsal on informational recall of two types of expository texts. This study is part of a research program to further develop a treatment for younger students with language impairment called Sketch-and-Speak.

Procedure: 66 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 40 were tested on recall of concrete versus abstract expository texts in a randomized group experiment across three conditions: pictography with and without verbal rehearsal versus re-reading. Participants were trained on the assigned testing condition and then proceeded to the experimental procedure. In the experimental procedure, …

Examining The Use Of A Gamified Transcription Task To Support Perceptual Learning Of Dysarthric Speech, Samantha Budge

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

Purpose: The primary aim of the current study investigated whether a lexical transcription task during perceptual training with dysarthric speech improves listener perception of the degraded speech signal. A secondary aim investigated whether adding a gamified component to the training task would further increase intelligibility gains.

Method: Following an intelligibility pretest using stimuli provided by a speaker with ataxic dysarthria, 59 participants completed a perceptual training phase dependent on their assigned condition (lexical transcription of healthy speech & feedback [control], lexical transcription of dysarthric speech & feedback [LT], or lexical transcription of dysarthric speech & gamified feedback [LTG]). Participants then …

A Case Study Comparing The Life Skills Development And Knowledge In Youth Participants Of Horseless And Traditional Horse Programs In Utah, Haley M. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Traditional horse 4-H programs develop life skills and knowledge in youth. Horseless horse programs lack evaluation for the same benefits. This study evaluated and compared four horseless and seven traditional horse participants from Washington County 4-H in Utah for gains in horse knowledge and development of 10 life skills that are commonly found in 4-H curriculum today: leadership, teamwork, self-responsibility, personal safety, problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, goal setting, communication, and concern for others.

The researcher conducted interviews to learn about life skill experiences of the horse program participants and discover what barriers prevented horseless youth from participating in …

Pollution Prevention And Water Reuse At Utah Department Of Transportation Facilities, Amanda Stoudt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As stormwater flows over roads, sidewalks, and other impervious surfaces, it picks up pollutants that are deposited on these surfaces. One common pollutant transported by stormwater is road salt. While the application of road salt is crucial for wintertime public safety, road salt has a host of negative environmental impacts. Road salt has been linked to increasing levels of dissolved solids in groundwater, vegetation damage, and behavioral changes in aquatic organisms. Studies have shown that these impacts are concentrated around salt storage facilities. As a result, the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued many state departments of transportation municipal separate …

Rural Sustainability In The Intermountain West, Mary L. Oliver

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Assessing the sustainability of communities is important for planners and citizens alike. Sustainability plays a central role in forming healthy, successful communities and in planning for responsible growth and development. Most current sustainability evaluations favor urban environments due to their high densities and resulting efficiencies, leaving rural areas labeled “unsustainable” because of their decentralized growth patterns. Characterized as “not urban,” they fall short of urban sustainability benchmarks (Isserman, 2005). The importance of rural sustainability to both small communities and regions leads to the question: how can rural sustainability be characterized and assessed?

This study applies a comparative assessment model to …

Implementing Option Pricing Model, Zhao Ming

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

In this paper I replicate Clewlow and Strickland's control variates methods based on Greek letters method to test if it can improve the simulation efficiency. First, I use Black Scholes Merton formula for option pricing as a benchmark, to compare with the European call option price from Monte Carlo methods. Then I use Greek letters as control variates to reduce sample standard deviation and improve the efficiency of the Monte Carlo simulation. The whole process is programming in C++. C++ is a compiled language which can generate machine code from source code and provide a shorter running time. This paper …

Bookscapes: A Study In The Interconnectivity Of Landscape And Narrative Visualization And Communication In Landscape Architecture, Tonya Randall

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

The fields of landscape architecture and literacy have the potential to be linked through a simulated environment. Through this connection, opportunity for education arises. This thesis creates and describes a program called Bookscapes, which presents a narrative inside a simulated landscape for the purpose of communicating landscape architecture/urban planning principles.

Bookscapes is a stand-alone computer program designed using theories in education and guidelines for virtual and restorative environments (including Huang’s elements, Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory for restorative environments, constructivist theory of situational learning) and the revolving design process in landscape architecture’s communication to clients through 3D modeling.

This thesis first …

New Perspectives On Promoting Efl Teaching And Learning In Oman, Jihan Sulaiman Al Naabi

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

This portfolio is an accumulation of work that the author accomplished during her study in the program of Master of Second Language Teaching at Utah State University. It is an outcome of the author’s personal teaching experiences, insights gained from her master’s study, and several class observations as well.

The portfolio comprises three primary portions: (1) teaching perspectives, (2) research perspectives, and (3) an annotated bibliography. The teaching perspectives revolve around the author’s beliefs on the role of both teachers and students in L2 classrooms, the communicative teaching of grammar, and the value of a positive learning environment. The research …

Meeting The Needs Of Students In A Communicative Classroom, Rachel J. Singer

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

This portfolio is a compilation of written pieces which highlight what the author believes to be key issues and perspectives in the field of second language teaching. The content of the portfolio is centered in second language acquisition theory and is framed by the author’s diverse teaching experiences as a university Arabic instructor, ESL aide, and middle school Spanish teacher.

The portfolio contains three sections: (1) teaching perspectives, (2) research perspectives, and (3) an annotated bibliography. The teaching perspectives section contains the author’s teaching philosophy statement which emphasizes communicative language teaching, target language use in the classroom, and the role …

Harmonizing Music And Language Acquisition: Learning Language With The Arts, Samantha Ontiveros

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

This portfolio consists of select work the author completed during the Master of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University. Throughout the portfolio, the author shares her personal ideas, opinions, teaching observations, and personal teaching examples utilizing song; all these were found to support the research presented in this portfolio.

This portfolio contains three main sections: (1) teaching perspectives, (2) research perspectives, and (3) an annotated bibliography. The focus of this portfolio is to find new ways to teach language using artistic and creative outlets, such as multimodality, technology, and most importantly, music. The portfolio contains effective ways to …

Student-Centered, Interaction-Based, Community-Driven Language Teaching, Sharon Lyman

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

This portfolio is a compilation that highlights some of the author’s accomplished work while in the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University (USU). Organized into sections that reflect the author’s teaching and research perspectives as a MSLT graduate student and instructor, who taught intensive English reading, writing, and conversation courses for the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI).

In the first section, teaching perspectives, the author describes her desired professional environment, shares her personal teaching philosophy statement, and accounts for her professional development through classroom observations. In the second section, research perspectives, two research papers and …

Flash Lab: A High-Speed Imaging Laboratory, Cody D. Hatch

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

To help students become better acquainted with high-speed instrumentation and measurement techniques, a high-speed imaging laboratory for the College of Engineering is equipped with a high-speed camera and schlieren imaging device. The laboratory will be used for labs in classes, such as Instrumentation, Thermal/Fluids Lab, Experimental Solids, and Mechanical Experiments. In addition, graduate students will use it for research purposes. The laboratory also has the potential to have a course associated with it that would include the image processing techniques for a variety of applications (e.g., a course on high-speed imaging). The scope of this project will be to create …

Applications Of Machine Learning In High-Frequency Trade Direction Classification, Jared E. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The correct assignment of trades as buyer-initiated or seller-initiated is paramount in many quantitative finance studies. Simple decision rule methods have been used for signing trades since many data sets available to researchers do not include the sign of each trade executed. By utilizing these decision rule methods, as well as engineering new variables from available data, we have demonstrated that machine learning models outperform prior methods for accurately signing trades as buys and sells, achieving state-of-the-art results. The best model developed was 4.5 percentage points more accurate than older methods when predicting onto unseen data. Since finance and economics …

Teacher Questions In The Classroom: The Effects Of Using A Low- To High-Level Questioning Sequence On The Text-Based Reading Comprehension Outcomes Of Low-Performing Students, Shannon Harris Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Teacher questioning may be an effective instructional procedure for building students’ reading comprehension. Strategically asking questions at two different levels, low-level (text explicit) and high-level (text implicit), may be needed to assist students to engage in higher order thinking skills.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a low- to high-level questioning sequence without or with linking prompts on the text-based reading comprehension outcomes of fifth-grade students who evidenced poor reading comprehension. A secondary analysis was used to determine whether the questioning sequence was effective regardless of students’ interest in the narrative …

Improvement Of Ultraviolet Digital Image Correlation (Uv-Dic) At Extreme Temperatures, Thinh Quang Thai

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Extreme temperature has increasingly played an essential role in design and operation of various engineering applications including spacecraft re-entry, hypersonic flight, next-generation nuclear reactors, and hot-fire rocket testing. To protect instruments against the harsh environments, it is preferable to use non-contacting measurements when monitoring the integrity of those mechanical structures. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is a popular method which uses digital cameras in order to track motion thanks to images acquired before and after deformation. Displacements and strains are plotted over a full-field region which is conducive to identify highly risky zones. At high temperature, objects emit light which interferes …

Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Using A Multi-Objective Optimization Tool For Best Management Practices Selection And Spatial Placement In The Lower Bear River Watershed, Utah, Ali A. Salha

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation presents a set of approaches to help address water quality problems related to total phosphorus loads in water bodies. Water quality degradation is caused by many nonpoint sources such as agricultural runoff, fertilizers applications, and bank erosion. Three studies present methodologies for water quality protection from degradation in watersheds. The first study demonstrates the application of a watershed simulation tool that can quantify flows in the watershed, the amount of released pollutants and identify the areas contributing to the pollutants’ release in the watershed. The second study presents a simple combination tool that can pair potential management practices …

'Lmshapemaker': Utilizing The 'Rmapshaper' R Package To Modify Shapefiles For Use In Linked Micromap Plots, Braden D. Probst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to effectively create map-based visualizations, some map modifications need to be conducted to ensure the map is readable and interpretable. There are several issues that need to be addressed to achieve this. The boundaries of a country may be overly complex which is particularly true with coastal areas of countries. Regions may be small and not seen in the final plot, as is the case with many capital cities in the world’s countries such as Washington D.C. and the Federal District of Mexico City. In other countries, regions may geographically lie far away from the rest of the …

An Analysis Of Degree Completion Among Female Students At Utah Valley University: A Demonstration Case For An Individualized Analysis Model In Higher Education, Tara S. Ivie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Higher education institutions are facing low degree completion rates on an epidemic scale. The role of a bachelor degree completion in the well-being and future life of college students is of paramount importance, impacting physical and mental health, financial stability, relationship satisfaction and duration, safety, and community engagement.

Institutions must be critical of and act to address barriers to degree completion. In addition to an intrinsic investment in the success of their students, institutions may be
motivated by institutional improvement, performance-based funding, and the ethical ambition to create an educated society. Understanding when and why students drop and stop out …

Utah County Level Drought Effect On Cattle Inventories 1981-2016, Fred Openshaw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Utah cattle industry generates 20.6% of sales value for the agricultural sector. As well, this industry encompasses about 34.4% of Utah farms. Besides these figures, Utah cattle ranchers depend heavily upon both public and private lands for grazing as a primary source of feed for their herds. The soil moisture levels of pasturelands impacts the forage yield for a particular year. As a result, the primary purpose of this research is to determine if drought impacts Utah county cattle inventory numbers and what the magnitude of the impact is by analyzing data from 1981 to 2016. A secondary purpose …

Model-Based Properties Of Earth's Protective Shield: Relating Ut-Based Dependencies Of The Open/Closed Boundary, Cutoff Latitude, And L-Shell Parameter With Polar Cap Absorption Events, David A. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

High frequency radio continues to be an important communications medium. For example, commercial airlines use high frequency radios as their primary communications mode during transpolar crossings. It has been estimated that over 7000 transpolar flights occur each year. Unfortunately, during geomagnetic storms high frequency communications can become unreliable, especially near Earth's Polar Regions.

Space weather forecasters are burdened with the responsibility of predicting how radio signals might be affected during geomagnetic storms and passing that important information on to commercial airlines, allowing them to adjust flight plans accordingly. Such adjustments can be costly, but are necessary to ensure safety of …

System-Level Analysis Of Autonomous Uav Landing Sensitivities In Gps-Denied Environments, Terran R. Gerratt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper presents an analysis of the navigation accuracy of an fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) landing on a aircraft carrier. The UAV is equipped with typical sensors used in landing scenarios. Data from the Office of Naval Research is used to accurately capture the behavior of the aircraft carrier. Through simulation, the position and orientation of both the UAV and carrier are estimated. The quality of the UAV’s sensors are varied to determine the sensitivity of these estimates to sensor accuracy. The system’s sensitivity to GPS signals and visual markers on the carrier is also analyzed. These results allow …

Practical Optical Survey Strategies For Near Geostationary Orbital Debris, Akhter Mahmud Nafi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Uncontrolled space objects, more commonly known as space debris, consist of dead satellites, satellite deployment packages, and lost elements of these systems such as insulation blankets. These uncontrolled objects represent hazards to our nation’s most valuable space assets which include communication satellites, weather satellites, Earth monitoring systems, and military assets. To help mitigate this problem, this research proposes using the known astrodynamics of the near geosynchronous orbit (GEO) along with the known concentration of the uncontrolled GEO objects and observation constraints to design ground-based optical surveys that will detect uncatalogued debris. Furthermore, a scoring metric is developed to evaluate the …

Exploring Park Quality In Urban Setting With Environmental Justice, Alternative Measurements, And Social Interaction, Shuolei Chen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With rapid urbanization, urban green resources, such as parks have become important assets for quality of life in urban settings. Parks provide urban residents with both physical and psychological health benefits through various mechanisms such as physical activity and social interaction. Quality is an important non-spatial dimension of urban parks and has started to gain attention among researchers. To better understand park quality in an urban setting, additional knowledge should be explored. This dissertation studies the quality of urban parks from three different perspectives: 1) the equal distribution of park quality resources and its relationship to environmental justice issues, 2) …

Forest Grouse Ecology And Management In The Bear River Range Northern Utah, Skyler Y. Farnsworth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To better manage dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), hereafter forest grouse, managers require better information on forest grouse population status and habitat selection. To address this need, from 2015-2017, I conducted research on a sympatric populations inhabiting the Bear River Range of northern Utah to develop a breeding survey protocol, assess habitat selection, evaluate dusky grouse response to livestock grazing, and determine hunter harvest rates.

The breeding census protocol that I developed compared listening intervals with and without electronic playback calls at designated survey stop locations. Using digital mapping software, I plotted …

The Utility Of Environmental Dna And Species Distribution Models In Assessing The Habitat Requirements Of Twelve Fish Species In Alaskan North Slope Rivers, James B. Eddings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Subsistence fishing is a vital component of Alaska’s North Slope borough economy and culture that is being threatened by human disturbance. These threats mean the fish must be protected, but the size of the region makes conservation planning difficult. Fortunately, advances in species distribution models (SDMs), environmental DNA (eDNA), and remote sensing technologies provide potential to better understand species’ needs and guide management. The objectives of my study were to: (1) map the current habitat suitability for twelve fish species, occurring in Alaska’s North Slope, (2) determine if SDMs based on eDNA data performed similarly to, or improved, models based …