Digital Commons Network^™

Herbivores At The Highest Risk Of Extinction Among Mammals, Birds, And Reptiles, Trisha B. Atwood, Shaley A. Valentine, Edd Hammill, Douglas J. Mccauley, Elizabeth M. P. Madin, Karen H. Beard, William D. Pearse

Ecology Center Publications

As a result of their extensive home ranges and slow population growth rates, predators have often been perceived to suffer higher risks of extinction than other trophic groups. Our study challenges this extinction-risk paradigm by quantitatively comparing patterns of extinction risk across different trophic groups of mammals, birds, and reptiles. We found that trophic level and body size were significant factors that influenced extinction risk in all taxa. At multiple spatial and temporal scales, herbivores, especially herbivorous reptiles and large-bodied herbivores, consistently have the highest proportions of threatened species. This observed elevated extinction risk for herbivores is ecologically consequential, given …

Design Drivers For A Viable Commercial Remote Sensing Space Architecture, Walter S. Scott, Neal Anderson, Aaron Q. Rogers

Small Satellite Conference

Private sector investment into new commercial remote sensing constellations over the past five years has exceeded $1B. The capabilities of these systems—many still in development or at pre-initial operational capability (IOC) thresholds—are intended to address a combination of new or underserved global markets. Additionally, the combination of ever-increasing technical collection requirements with static programmatic resources, has now driven historically traditional space system operators to embrace hybrid architectures that leverage commercially-sourced data into their service baselines. While enticing to many new entrants, many considerations must be practically addressed to field an enduring, commercially viable space architecture solution. Foremost it must deliver …

The Sacred Circle: Ostension In Native American Hoop Dancing, Emma George

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

This thesis examines the role of the semiotic concept ostension in folk dance, specifically in Native American hoop dance. Although the discipline of folklore is well-versed in ostension, folk dance has not been examined through this lens. I argue that dance is a form of ostension, of demonstrating a narrative, and this is especially apparent within Native American hoop dancing. I begin with a brief history of Native Americans in North America before discussing the origins of powwows, intertribal culture, and hoop dance. I then look at both the sacred nature and material culture of the modern hoop dance before …

Teaching The Engineering Design Process To High School Students By Implementing A Non-Traditional Engineering Capstone Course, Joseph Woodard

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

This plan B project is to showcase the implementation of an engineering design capstone course at a remote, rural public high school, in a non-traditional (after-school) format with a small group of students. The project documents successful strategies along with challenges that were learned from such an implementation of this course. Three high school students were supported in learning to solve an extended design challenge, in this case creating an augmented reality (AR) sandbox. The project shows how a capstone course can be utilized in teaching students to solve complex, ill-structured problems.

In this project, a manuscript was prepared for …

Exploring The Impact Of Musical Mnemonic Strategies On Student Achievement And Engagement In Inclusive Science Classes, Zinna Eaton

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

Students with disabilities often struggle with comprehending material and performing at grade level, and teachers often find new ways to help their students comprehend the curriculum. A common challenge for special education teachers is incorporating different learning styles and various instructional strategies to better assist their students. One teaching strategy and resource that many teachers incorporate is the use of music in their instruction. This research project examines how incorporating music teaching strategies into daily instruction impacts the level of engagement and the academic achievement level of sixth-grade students with and without mild/moderate disabilities within inclusive science classrooms. The study …

Straight Men Come Out: Queer Eye And The Path To A More Mindful Masculinity, Eli M. Roush

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

My thesis explores the culture surrounding the 2018 reboot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in relation to contemporary arguments in masculinity studies about the costs of hegemonic masculinity, performance, and identity. This paper examines how Queer Eye carefully creates space where heteronormative men can safely express emotional vulnerability and embody a more functional masculinity that expands beyond the bounds of hegemonic performance. The bulk of the analysis involves close readings of specific episodes and scenes from Queer Eye that introduce and examine the strategies the Fab Five use to redefine their subject's engagement with masculinity, explore the effectiveness …

Visualizing Effects Of Changing Base Level On Tributary Resources In Lake Powell Reservoir, Madeline Friend

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

Lake Powell reservoir is the second-largest reservoir in the United States. As climate change reduces watershed runoff in the Colorado River Basin, questions arise about the management and even existence of Lake Powell. If lake levels continue to drop, what will the emerging canyon look like and what value will we assign it? Lake Powell traps all incoming fine sediment from the Colorado River, the San Juan River, and many smaller tributaries. What is the fate of this sediment under falling reservoir levels and how will it influence other resources? To support a robust public discourse, we provide an immersive …

Advancing Water Resources Systems Modeling Cyberinfrastructure To Enable Systematic Data Analysis, Modeling, And Comparisons, Adel Mohammad Kheir Abdallah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water resources systems models aid in managing water resources holistically considering water, economic, energy, and environmental needs, among others. Developing such models require data that represent a water system’s physical and operational characteristics such as inflows, demands, reservoir storage, and release rules. However, such data is stored and described in different formats, metadata, and terminology. Therefore, Existing tools to store, query, and visualize modeling data are model, location, and dataset-specific, and developing such tools is time-consuming and requires programming experience. This dissertation presents an architecture and three software tools to enable researchers to more readily and consistently prepare and reuse …

Boron In The Pariette Wetlands, Uinta Basin, Ut, Palak Vasudeva

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Boron is a naturally occurring mineral in shale and coal beds formed in marine environments, as found in the Uinta Basin. Mining activity and the application of excess irrigation water on agricultural lands in the Pariette watershed lead to mobilization of B via surface run off. Water quality monitoring records from 2006- 2009 reported violations of Utah B standard for irrigation water 43-100% of the time, for water flowing through the Pariette Wetlands. This study aims to determine B distribution in abiotic (water, sediments) and biotic samples (macroinvertebrates, aquatic vegetation, fish, bird eggs), and to establish correlations between B concentrations …

Development Of A High-Resolution Land Cover Dataset To Support Integrated Water Resources Planning And Management In Northern Utah, Ellie Irene Leydsman Mcginty

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Integrated planning and management approaches, including bioregional planning and integrated water resources planning, are comprehensive strategies that strive to balance the sustainability of natural resources and the integrity of ecosystem processes with human development and activities. Implementation of integrated plans and programs remains complicated. However, geospatial technologies, such as geographic information systems and remote sensing, can significantly enhance planning and management processes.

Through a United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 Wetland Program Development Grant, a high-resolution land cover dataset, with a primary emphasis on mapping and quantifying impervious surfaces, was developed for three watershed sub-basins in northern Utah - …

Protecting Crops From Abiotic Stress: Copper Oxide Nanoparticle Effects On Wheat And A Beneficial Rhizobacterium, Matthew Potter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nanoparticles (NPs) are defined as particles less than 100 nm in at least one dimension. CuO NPs have possible applications in agriculture as micronutrient sources, pesticides, and enhancers of crop stress tolerance. Here, three aspects of CuO NP agricultural applications are studied: 1) the potential of CuO NPs to prevent wheat lodging-when crops irreversibly fall over; 2) CuO NP-induced drought tolerance in wheat seedlings; and 3) the effects of CuO NPs on outer membrane vesicle (OMV) production by Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6 (PcO6), a plant-health promoting bacterium.

Wheat grown 7 d exposed to CuO NPs in the growth matrix …

Try The Wine: Food As An Expression Of Cultural Identity In Roman Britain, Molly Reininger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research surrounding cultural identity and food customs throughout history are published often, but any research that attempts to combine the two are often based in more recent history. Few combinations of the two are available, and fewer explore the implications within ancient colonization and expansion.

The research for this thesis was conducted with three viewpoints in mind: the colonization of Britannia from Romans within the new colony, the colonization from the native Briton's perspective, and the Roman citizens within Britannia at the end of Rome's military involvement with the colony. This method was chosen because in the early years of …

Rome, Robes, And Rivers: Land, Water, And Power In The Aniene Valley, Jonah R. Bibo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rome, Robes, and Rivers is a multi-century environmental history that shows how different occupants in the Italian Aniene river valley help power through the exploitation and control of its land and water resources. It ranges from the classical to late medieval eras, focusing on the Roman empire alongside later Benedictine monastic societies, who each used different tactics to maintain control over the land. Roman aqueducts brought water to the city, while Benedictine monks taxed peasant laborers to maintain control of the land. Each occupant shaped the land their own needs and left their mark on the landscape in ways that …

Developing And Validating Stealth Assessments For An Educational Game To Assess Young Dual Language Immersion Learners' Reading Comprehension, Frederick J. Poole

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this multiple-paper dissertation is to design a digital game and stealth assessments within the game to assess young second language learners' Chinese reading proficiency. In Chapter 2 (Paper 1), I describe the game designed for this dissertation and how it was implemented in a dual language immersion classroom. This study found that the digital game and in-class implementation led to significant vocabulary and reading comprehension gains. Further, seven types of support that students needed while playing the game were identified. In Chapter 3 (Paper 2), I describe how educational data mining approaches, and more specifically, how data-driven …

Kudos And K.O.M.'S: The Effect Of Strava Use On Evaluations Of Social And Managerial Conditions, Perceptions Of Ecological Impacts, And Mountain Bike Spatial Behavior, Noah E. Creany

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Smartphone based self-tracking fitness applications (apps) like Strava are increasingly becoming a part of recreation experiences in parks and protected areas (PPAs). Recreation research has employed smartphone GPS tracking (SGT) and volunteered geographic information (VGI) to study visitor behavior in PPAs, but little is understood about how smartphones or fitness apps affect visitor perceptions and behavior during their experience.

The first chapter of this thesis is a literature review of recreation survey and behavior research, social-psychology and technology use theory, gamification, and mountain bike social science and recreation-ecology research. The second chapter is formatted for submission to the Journal of …

Usma Space Cadets: The First Class, Chalie L. Galliand, Alex L. Kedrowitsch, Diana C. Loucks

Small Satellite Conference

The United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point has been developing leaders of character since 1802. This year’s graduating class, the Class of 2020, includes West Point’s first Space Science majors. The United States Army has officially had space professionals in its ranks since 1997 with the inception Space Operations Officer career field, also known as Functional Area 40 (FA40). It is only recently that the Army has shifted its focus to building the FA40 ranks from officer accessions programs (USMA, ROTC, and OCS). The establishment of the Space and Missile Defense Program under USMA’s Physics and Nuclear Engineering …

Merging Diverse Architecture For Multi-Mission Support, Kyle Colton, Joseph Breu, Bryan Klofas, Sydney Marler, Chad Norgan, Matthew Waldram

Small Satellite Conference

Planet Labs Inc. (“Planet”) currently operates the world’s largest commercial earth observation constellation with over 150 active on-orbit satellites collecting daily medium resolution imagery of the whole earth, and high resolution imagery of targeted areas of interest. In 2017, Planet combined the SkySat high-resolution satellite constellation with its own existing medium resolution Dove constellation to expand its ability to make global change visible, accessible, and actionable. While the two satellite designs use largely similar ground station architectures, nuances in implementation caused early operations to focus on maintaining separate, siloed ground station networks with unique software and hardware.

As Planet looks …

Using Disaster Outcomes To Validate Components Of Social Vulnerability To Floods: Flood Deaths And Property Damage Across The Usa, Beth Tellman, Cody Schank, Bessie Schwarz, Peter D. Howe, Alex De Sherbinin

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Social vulnerability indicators seek to identify populations susceptible to hazards based on aggregated sociodemographic data. Vulnerability indices are rarely validated with disaster outcome data at broad spatial scales, making it difficult to develop effective national scale strategies to mitigate loss for vulnerable populations. This paper validates social vulnerability indicators using two flood outcomes: death and damage. Regression models identify sociodemographic factors associated with variation in outcomes from 11,629 non-coastal flood events in the USA (2008–2012), controlling for flood intensity using stream gauge data. We compare models with (i) socioeconomic variables, (ii) the composite social vulnerability index (SoVI), and (iii) flood …

Pan-Arctic Analysis Of Cultural Ecosystem Services Using Social Media And Automated Content Analysis, Claire A. Runge, Vera Helene Hausner, Remi M. Daigle, Christopher Monz

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

In the Arctic, as in many parts of the world, interactions with the natural world are an important part of people's experience and are often recorded in photographs. Emerging methods for automated content analysis of social media data offers opportunities to discover information on cultural ecosystem services from photographs across large samples of people and countries. We analysed over 800,000 Flickr photographs using Google's Cloud Vision algorithm to identify the components of the natural environment most photographed and to map how and where different people interact with nature across eight Arctic countries. Almost all (91.1%) of users took one or …

No More “Social Distancing” But Practice Physical Separation, Debasree Das Gupta, David W. S. Wong

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

Though not a new term, “social distancing” exploded onto the global stage as an expression to publicize the only means currently available to control the transmission of COVID-19. This term is increasingly being adopted and translated into the vernacular to inform and guide public behavior in most, if not all, countries around the world. However, any effective global response requires direct and unambiguous communication and sharing of ideas across communities with different cultural backgrounds as well as between researchers and responders across the disciplinary spectrum. Unfortunately, social distancing is a misnomer. The current use of social distancing – separating ourselves …

Compensatory Recruitment, Dynamic Habitat, And Selective Gear Present Challenges To Large-Scale Invasive Species Control, Timothy E. Walsworth, Kevin Landom, Jereme Gaeta

Ecology Center Publications

Control of long‐established invasive species to aid threatened native species presents major logistic and economic challenges. Invasive common carp (Cyprinus carpio ) recently accounted for over 90% of the fish biomass in Utah Lake (Utah, USA), driving many undesired changes to ecosystem structure. Carp control efforts have removed >12,000 tons of carp from the system over 10 yr. However, the impact of recent removal efforts on carp population structure and dynamics remains unclear. We develop an integrated age‐structured population model incorporating carp harvest data with independent standardized monitoring data to evaluate population‐level consequences of the removal effort and evaluate …

Measuring Channel Planform Change From Image Time Series: A Generalizable, Spatially Distributed, Probabilistic Method For Quantifying Uncertainty, Christina M. Leonard, Carl J. Legleiter, Devin M. Lea, John C. Schmidt

Watershed Sciences Student Research

Abstract

Channels change in response to natural or anthropogenic fluctuations in streamflow and/or sediment supply and measurements of channel change are critical to many river management applications. Whereas repeated field surveys are costly and time‐consuming, remote sensing can be used to detect channel change at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Repeat images have been widely used to measure long‐term channel change, but these measurements are only significant if the magnitude of change exceeds the uncertainty. Existing methods for characterizing uncertainty have two important limitations. First, while the use of a spatially variable image co‐registration error avoids the assumption that errors …

How Many Tree Species Of Birch Are In Alaska? Implications For Wetland Designations, Carol A. Rowe, Robert W. Lichvar, Paul G. Wolf

Biology Faculty Publications

Wetland areas are critical habitats, especially in northern regions of North America. Wetland classifications are based on several factors, including the presence of certain plant species and assemblages of species, of which trees play a significant role. Here we examined wetland species of birch (Betula) in North America, with a focus on Alaska, and the use of birche tree species in wetland delineation. We sampled over 200 trees from sites, including Alaska, Alberta, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. We used genetic data from over 3000 loci detected by restriction site associated DNA analysis. We used an indirect estimate of …

How “Dependent” Are We? A Spatiotemporal Analysis Of The Young And The Older Adult Populations In The Us, Debasree Das Gupta, David W. S. Wong

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

The shifting of a country’s age structure has far-reaching socioeconomic and policy implications. In the US, the changing age structure at the sub-national level has received little research attention. To address this gap, we examine age dependencies across states in the US between 1990 and 2010 using decennial census data. We find that dependency changes have been gradual with a distinct graying of states during this period. Within this overarching trend, the sources of states’ dependencies follow complicated trajectories without clear spatiotemporal patterns. Nevertheless, changes in states’ old-age dependency contributions to respective total dependencies are geographically clustered and the inverse …

Importance Of Adding Objective Data To Stakeholder Data In Needs Assessments, Jonathan J. Swinton, Tasha Killian, Paige Wray

Extension Research

When completing a needs assessment, Extension professionals should include both objective county data and stakeholder input data. Specifically, Extension professionals should identify potential areas of need, source available objective data, source data from relevant county stakeholders, and analyze similarities and differences in objective and stakeholder data. Needs assessments should be conducted in this manner to confirm the needs of a county; address risk of data skewed by subjective stakeholder opinion, particularly in small counties; and identify areas of greatest need. This method has been shown to be effective through implementation in a target rural county.

Migratory Behavior And Winter Geography Drive Differential Range Shifts Of Eastern Birds In Response To Recent Climate Change, Clark S. Rushing, J. Andrew Royle, David J. Ziolkowski Jr, Keith L. Pardieck

Ecology Center Publications

Over the past half century, migratory birds in North America have shown divergent population trends relative to resident species, with the former declining rapidly and the latter increasing. The role that climate change has played in these observed trends is not well understood, despite significant warming over this period. We used 43 y of monitoring data to fit dynamic species distribution models and quantify the rate of latitudinal range shifts in 32 species of birds native to eastern North America. Since the early 1970s, species that remain in North America throughout the year, including both resident and migratory species, appear …

To What Extent Does The Eddy Covariance Footprint Cutoff Influence The Estimation Of Surface Energy Fluxes Using Two Source Energy Balance Model And High-Resolution Imagery In Commercial Vineyards?, Ayman Nassar, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, William Kustas, Héctor Nieto, Mac Mckee, Lawrence Hipps, Joseph Alfieri, John H. Prueger, Maria Mar Alsina, Lynn Mckee, Calvin Coopmans, Louis Sanchez, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Validation of surface energy fluxes from remote sensing sources is performed using instantaneous field measurements obtained from eddy covariance (EC) instrumentation. An eddy covariance measurement is characterized by a footprint function / weighted area function that describes the mathematical relationship between the spatial distribution of surface flux sources and their corresponding magnitude. The orientation and size of each flux footprint / source area depends on the micro-meteorological conditions at the site as measured by the EC towers, including turbulence fluxes, friction velocity (u_star), and wind speed, all of which influence the dimensions and orientation of the footprint. The …

Audiologic Clinical Practice Patterns: Infant Assessment, Ursula M. Findlen, Nicole D. Schuller

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The purpose of the present study was to report the current clinical practice patterns for assessment of infants after a referred newborn hearing screening within the context of available guidelines and to examine how the advent of newer stimuli, technology, and/or instrumentation has changed clinical practice patterns for audiologic infant assessment. A mixed-method survey that included both quantitative and qualitative questions was disseminated to pediatric audiologists in 2017. Quantitative data were analyzed via descriptive statistics while qualitative questions were analyzed via content analysis and combined with associated quantitative data. Lastly, infant assessment test battery categorization was completed to ascertain the …

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome And Infant Hearing Assessment: A Kids’ Inpatient Database Review, Liza Creel, Adam Van Horn, Alex Hines, Matthew L. Bush

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Objective: Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) has become an epidemic. This study assesses documented rates of failed newborn hearing screening (NBHS) or hearing loss diagnosis (HL) in NAS infants, and sociodemographic factors associated with abnormal inpatient hearing results.

Methods: The 2016 HCUP/KID national database was used to identify a weighted sample of infants with failed NBHS/HL during birth hospitalization. Independent variables included diagnoses of NAS/in-utero opioid exposure, HL risk factor presence and sociodemographic data. Univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine associations between NAS and abnormal hearing assessment.

Results:NAS infants had lower odds ratio (OR) of documented …

Rural Transportation Conference Participants’ Opinions And Concerns Pertaining To Transit For Older Adults, James W. Mjelde, Rebekka M. Dudensing, Geoffrey Battista, Jonathan Brooks, Maria Carrillo, Blane Counsil, Anil Giri, Man-Keun Kim, V. Dimitra Pyrialakou

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

Mobility remains a vital part of the well-being of rural-living, older adults and transportation disadvantaged persons. This study seeks to identify research and policy needs related to rural transit for older people and the transportation disadvantaged. To obtain this goal, the multidisciplinary study team conducted two activities as part of a 2016 rural transportation conference: a survey of conference attendees and open discussion to elicit additional information. Results suggest the attendees felt the need for rural transit for older adults would continue to increase with public and private funding being critical issues. Respondents had similar opinions about challenges and opportunities …