Digital Commons Network^™

“Getting Noticed”: Middle Childhood Incross-Cultural Perspective, David F. Lancy, M. Annette Grove

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Although rarely named, the majority of societies in the ethnographic record demarcate a period between early childhood and adolescence. Prominent signs of demarcation are: for the first time, pronounced gender separation in fact and in role definition; increased freedom of movement for boys while girls may be bound more tightly to their mothers; and heightened expectations for socially responsible behavior. But, above all, middle childhood is about coming out of the shadows of community life and assuming a distinct, lifetime character. Naming and other rites of passage sometimes acknowledge this transition, but it is, reliably, marked by the assumption or …

“Like The Hajis Of Meccah And Jerusalem”: Orientalism And The Mormon Experience, Richard V. Francaviglia

Arrington Annual Lecture

Richard V. Francaviglia is a historian and geographer who has studied the peoples and landscapes of the American West for more than forty years. He is past president of the Society for the History of Discoveries and former director of the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies and the History of Cartography at the University of Texas at Arlington. As Professor Emeritus, he now lives in Salem, Oregon, where he conducts research and teaches occasional courses in Religious Studies at Willamette University. His many publications include Go East, Young Man: Imagining the American West as the Orient; Believing in Place: A …

Gis Ordination Approach To Model Distribution Of Shrub Species In Northern Utah, Samuel Rivera, Leila Shultz, Alexander J. Hernandez, R. Doug Ramsey

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Anthropogenic and natural disturbances represent a serious threat to natural ecosystems dominated by big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Conservation efforts aim to restore original species composition and prevent the invasion of undesirable species. In order to restore the historic plant communities, we need a clear understanding of how species compositions are distributed along environmental gradients. Species ordination is a process of placing plant species along environmental gradients. This study was conducted in Rich County, Utah, where substantial changes in species composition have been documented in recent years. Field data, literature review, multivariate analyzes, GIS and remote sensing techniques, and expert knowledge …

Great Plains Flora? Plant Geography Of Eastern Montana's Lower Elevation Shrub-Grass Dominated Vegetation, Matt Lavin, Catherine Seibert

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Montana plant geography at elevations below montane forests broadly includes open shrub-grass or ponderosa pine dominated dry sites and riparian-wetland systems. In contrast to conventional wisdom, the floristic composition of these settings in eastern Montana does not reflect a strong Great Plains influence. State and county geographical distribution patterns suggestive of an influence of the Great Plains flora on that of eastern Montana involve only 52 species of mostly uncommon and narrowly distributed species of dicot forbs that do not compose a common type of characteristic Great Plains plant community in the state. In addition, the floristic similarity of the …

Land-Use Legacies Of Cultivation In Shrublands: Ghosts In The Ecosystem, Lesley R. Morris

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Shrublands across the West are currently threatened by land uses such as urban sprawl, energy development, and agricultural development which impact ecosystem function through altered fire cycles, expansion of invasive species, modified hydrology, and intensified soil erosion. Historically, shrubland ecosystems have already been impacted by many of these same disturbances. Unlike our forested ecosystems, much of the land-use history in our shrublands has been forgotten or ignored. But our human endeavor can leave lasting changes on the landscape, referred to as “land-use legacies”, for decades to centuries. Looking for land-use legacies does not equate with looking for someone to blame. …

Potential Impacts Of Energy Development On Shrublands In Western North America, Amy Pocewicz, Holly Copeland, Joseph Kiesecker

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Impending rapid development of the abundant energy resources found in western North America may have dramatic consequences for its terrestrial ecosystems. We used lease and license data to provide an approximate estimate of direct and indirect potential impacts from renewable and non-renewable energy development on each of five major terrestrial ecosystems and completed more detailed analyses for shrubland ecosystems. We found that energy development could impact up to 21 percent (96 million ha) of the five major ecosystems in western North America. The highest overall predicted impacts as a percent of the ecosystem type are to boreal forest (23-32 percent), …

Valera’S Morsamor As Anti-Orientalist Fiction, Thomas R. Franz

Decimonónica

A recent study of Morsamor (1899) maintains that Valera’s last novel is anti-Muslim, anti- African, and anti-Hindu and contains a large quantity of trendy, negative “Orientalismo” calculated to justify a resurgence of Spanish imperialism over African and Eastern peoples (Torres-Pou 21–31). According to this interpretation, Morsamor is a “regenerationist” text intended to inspire a restoration of national pride through depiction of Spain’s military prowess during the Ages of Conquest and Exploration and the proposition that European cultural “superiority” was due to the alleged Hegelian-type accumulation of possibilities inherent, but lamentably truncated, in its Oriental origins (22–23). Thus Morsamor (Miguel de …

Canada Goose Crop Damage Abatement In South Dakota, Troy M. Radtke, Charles D. Dieter

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Canada geese (Branta canadensis) can cause considerable damage to crops during summer when geese are flightless. We evaluated the effectiveness of a program designed to alleviate crop damage on soybeans by Canada geese in South Dakota, USA. The applications of electric fences, feeding stations, and propane cannons reduced the area of crop damage by 90% in 2006 and 80% in 2007, but the timing was important. Fields where abatement practices were applied early in the growing season had less damage than fields where they were applied later. Abatement practices that were properly applied as soon as damage started …

The Politics And Culture Of Climate Change: Us Actors And Global Implications, Charles Waugh

English Faculty Publications

Despite the scientific consensus on global warming, many people in the USA,—both ordinary citizens and elected leaders alike—remain skeptical of the need to act, and in fact remain skeptical of the idea that humans are contributing to global warming at all. Thus, environmental justice arguments based on United States carbon emissions and the disproportionate impact of rising temperatures and rising sea levels on tropical developing nations such as Vietnam frequently fall on deaf ears. This chapter explores the political and cultural construction of this deafness, seeking a better understanding of how and why so many Americans refuse to act to …

Effects Of Prescribed Fires On Young Valley Oak Trees At A Research Restoration Site In The Central Valley Of California, K. A. Holmes, Kari E. Veblen, T. P. Young, A. M. Berry

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Woodland restoration sites planted with Quercus lobata (valley oak) often have serious invasions of nonnative annual grasses and thistles. Although prescribed fire can effectively control these exotics, restoration managers may be reluctant to use fire if it causes substantial mortality of recently planted saplings. We studied the effects of prescribed fires on the survival and subsequent growth of 5- and 6-year-old valley oak saplings at a research field near Davis, California. One set of blocks was burned in summer 2003 at a time that would control yellow star thistle, a second set of blocks was burned in spring 2004 at …

Relative Changes In Krillabundance Inferred From Antarctic Fur Seal, T. Huang, L. Sun, John M. Stark, Y. Wang, Z. Cheng, Q. Yang, S. Sun

Biology Faculty Publications

Antarctic krill Euphausia superba is a predominant species in the Southern Ocean, it is very sensitive to climate change, and it supports large stocks of fishes, seabirds, seals and whales in Antarctic marine ecosystems. Modern krill stocks have been estimated directly by net hauls and acoustic surveys; the historical krill density especially the long-term one in the Southern Ocean, however, is unknown. Here we inferred the relative krill population changes along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) over the 20th century from the trophic level change of Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella using stable carbon (d13C) and nitrogen (d15N) isotopes of …

Best Management Practices Monitoring Guide For Stream Systems, Nancy Mesner

All Current Publications

Best Management Practices Monitoring Guide for Stream Systems provides guidance on establishing a water quality monitoring program that will demonstrate the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce nonpoint source pollution in stream systems.

Assessing Linkages Among Landscape Characteristics, Stream Habitat, And Macroinvertebrate Communities In The Idaho Batholith Ecoregion, Andrew C. Hill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding the composition of lotic communities and the landscape processes and habitat characteristics that shape them is one of the main challenges confronting stream ecologists. In order to better understand the linkages among landscape processes, stream habitat, and biological communities and to understand how accurately our measurements represent important factors influencing biological communities, it is important to test explicit hypotheses regarding these linkages. Increasing our understanding of aquatic communities in a hierarchical context and recognizing how well our measurements represent factors structuring aquatic communities will help managers better evaluate the influence of land management practices on aquatic ecosystems, direct conservation …

Just "Helling Around": Prohibition In Cache Valley, Utah, Kara Lyn Parker

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Busy dance halls, exploding bottles, back room exchanges, and car chases: the Prohibition Era was doused with excitement. In rural Cache County, Utah, in the thick of prohibition years, a thirsty customer cautiously entered the rural residence of a known illegal brewer. The seller firmly shook his client’s hand and calmly took his order. When the customer ordered some simple beer, the brewer sent his son to fetch some bottles. The son, after heading upstairs, poked his head back down, and asked his father, “Dad…do you want me to get the beer out of the crock that the cat got …

A Social Norms Approach To College Alcohol Use: Drinking In A Low-Use Environment, Jared M. Cox

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Social norms interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing problematic alcohol use on college campuses. However, not all interventions have been successful, and the campus environment may be responsible for the variable reactions that students have to these interventions. The following three articles investigate the nature and utility of social norms interventions in an environment where alcohol use is relatively low. The first article details an online social norms intervention implemented on a low-use campus. Results suggest that if adapted to the campus culture, a social norms approach to reducing alcohol use could be successful in this unique …

Pervasive Thermal Consequences Of Stream-Lake Interactions In Small Rocky Mountain Watersheds, Usa, Jessica D. Garrett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Limnologists and stream ecologists acknowledge the fundamental importance of temperature for regulating many ecological, biological, chemical, and physical processes. I investigated how water temperatures were affected by hydrologic linkages between streams and lakes at various positions along surface water networks throughout several headwater basins in the Sawtooth and White Cloud Mountains of Idaho (USA). Temperatures of streams and lakes were measured for up to 27 months in seven 6 – 41 km² watersheds, with a range of lake influence. When they were ice-free, warming in lakes resulted in dramatically warmer temperatures at lake outflows compared to inflow streams (midsummer …

Spatial Epidemiology Of Birth Defects In The United States And The State Of Utah Using Geographic Information Systems And Spatial Statistics, Samson Y. Gebreab

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Oral clefts are the most common form of birth defects in the United States (US) and the State of Utah has among the highest prevalence of oral clefts in the nation. The overall objective of this dissertation was to examine the spatial distribution of oral clefts and their linkage with a broad range of demographic, behavioral, social, economic, and environmental risk factors through the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial statistics. Using innovative linked micromaps plots, we investigated the geographic patterns of oral clefts occurrence from 1998 to 2002 and their relationships with maternal smoking rates and proportion …

Historical Biogeography Of Velvet Ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) In The North American Deserts And Arid Lands, Joseph S. Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For centuries, scientists have been intrigued by the high amount of biodiversity that is found in the deserts of North America. Recently, several studies have investigated the causes of the high diversity found in desert-dwelling mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. These studies have found that many of these organisms seem to have diversified in response to the same historical events. Little work has been done, however, on diverse desert-dwelling insect groups. In this dissertation, I investigate the patterns of genetic diversity in four groups of nocturnal wasps called velvet ants. I compare the patterns of genetic diversity to the historical events …

Novel Approaches To Image Segmentation Based On Neutrosophic Logic, Ming Zhang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Neutrosophy studies the origin, nature, scope of neutralities, and their interactions with different ideational spectra. It is a new philosophy that extends fuzzy logic and is the basis of neutrosophic logic, neutrosophic probability, neutrosophic set theory, and neutrosophic statistics.

Because the world is full of indeterminacy, the imperfection of knowledge that a human receives/observes from the external world also causes imprecision. Neutrosophy introduces a new concept , which is the representation of indeterminacy. However, this theory is mostly discussed in physiology and mathematics. Thus, applications to prove this theory can solve real problems are needed.

Image segmentation is the first …

The Utah Statesman, November 29, 2010, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Faculty Senate Agenda, October 4, 2010, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Educational Policies Committee Report
• Honors Program Report
• Library Advisory Council Report
• Parking Committee Report
• EPC Items
• ADVS's Proposal for a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree
• Summer School Calendar
• PRPC Section 402.3 - 402.9 The Faculty Senate and Its Committees

Different Treatment Options For Russian Olive, Ron Patterson, Dennis Worwood

All Current Publications

Russian olive is a thorny, small, sometimes shrubby tree that thrives in Utah’s arid climate. This extremely hardy and adaptable plant originated in southern Europe and Western Asia.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, September 20, 2010, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Education Policies Committee Report
• Honors Program Report
• Library Advisory Council Report
• Parking Committee Report
• EPC Items
• PRPC Section 402.4 - 402.13 and 405.11.4
• Draft of Summer Enrollment Committee Report 2010: Strategies for Increasing Summer Enrollment on the Utah State University

The Arizona Summit: Tough Times In A Tough Land, Linda A. Whitaker, Melanie I. Sturgeon

Journal of Western Archives

Western repositories have much to gain and little to lose from statewide initiatives that promote cooperative collection management policies. The region's topography, demographics, boom-bust cycles, and flood of new residents threaten their missions and their very existence. Add competition, backlogs, duplication, and fragmented collections to this volatile mix and it renders the collecting environment untenable.

The Utah Statesman, September 10, 2010, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Understanding Future Mission Needs, Captain Paul Werner, Chris Mccormick, Joseph Dezio, Arturo Guerrero

Small Satellite Conference

An exciting and interactive forum for discussion of the broad mission capabilities and utility that are enabled by emerging small satellite system architectures, component technologies, design methodologies, and concepts of operation. The panel will also explore markets that are currently under-served, applications and services needed by government, business, commercial operators and consumers, and what obstacles currently prevent their full realization. Panel members will be challenged to provide candid views and insight on these topics based upon their varied interests and unique roles as both small satellite developers and users. This year’s panel will be interactive, with realtime audience participation. Panel …

The Temple Recommend: A Solution To The Free-Rider Problem, Austin Bowles

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Temple worship and geographical boundaries are unique features of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Our research uses economic theory to understand how the organizational benefits of the temple recommend system and the geographical ward boundaries may solve the market failures associated with religious organizations. These features of the LDS Church will be used to create a framework for understanding how the church limits free-riding and sub-optimal participation, which would result in increased efficiency and production of large religious benefits. Because the market failures faced by the church are the same as those faced by other …

Do Psychology Researchers Tell It Like It Is? A Microgenetic Analysis Of Research Strategies And Self-Report Accuracy, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Acquiring research skills is considered to be a highly challenging aspect of developing expertise in the social sciences. Because instruction and mentoring in these skills are typically grounded in the self-report of researchers, difficulties in learning the material may be due to the content and accuracy of these explanations. Using a mixed-method, microgenetic design, this study examines the explanations of problem-solving processes by researchers along a continuum of expertise during simulated experiment design and subsequent data analysis. Findings indicate that participants’ self-explanations are largely inaccurate. Further, frequency of inaccurate statements is positively associated with the frequency of abstract cognitive processes, …

Tilting At Windmills: Reflections On The Establishment Of The Journal Of Western Archives, J. Gordon Daines Iii

Journal of Western Archives

This article discusses how associations form professional identities and reflects on the establishment of the Journal of Western Archives. It highlights the ways in which the establishment of the journal is a manifestation of the development of a Western regional archival identity and underscores the role that individuals play in the creation of associational identities.

Biosecurity Principles: Protecting The Utah Turkey Industry, David Frame

All Current Publications

This publication lists the diseases that are potentially a threat to the Utah turkey industry and how these diseases can best be avoided.