Digital Commons Network^™

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes, December 2, 2021, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of 4 November 2021 Minutes
• Program Proposals
• Semester Course Approval Reviews

Educational Policies Committee Minutes, December 2, 2021, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of 4 November 2021 Minutes
• Curriculum Subcommittee Report
• Academic Standards Subcommittee Report
• General Education Subcommittee Report
• Other Business

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, December 2, 2021, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee Report
• General Education Subcommittee Report

A Consortium Approach To Building A Recovery-Ready Community In Tooele County, Utah, Maren Wright Wright Voss, Gabriele Ciciurkaite, Erin F. Madden, Katie Zaman, Sandra H. Sulzer

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) remains a critical issue in rural and tribal populations of Utah. In response, we created a consortium of recovery programs, tribal partners, social scientists, substance use disorders counselors, and treatment specialists to target prevention, treatment and recovery programming efforts in Tooele County, Utah.

Perceived Family And Partner Support And The Work-Family Interface: A Meta-Analytic Review, Heather H. Kelley, Ashley Lebaron-Black, E. Jeffrey Hill, Diana Meter

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

This study employed meta-analytic techniques to elucidate the role of perceived partner and family support in four measures of the work-family interface. We extracted 183 effect sizes from 82 samples and a total of N = 36,226 individuals. We found perceived familial (partner and family) support was negatively associated with work-to-family conflict (r = -.099) and family-to-work conflict (r = -.178). It was positively associated with work-to-family enrichment (r = .173) and family-to-work enrichment (r = .378). Various sample-level moderators were investigated through meta regression and subgroup analyses, including whether the support measure was family or …

Utah State Engineer, Fall 2021, College Of Engineering

College of Engineering Magazines

Annual magazine for the College of Engineering at Utah State University.

Providing Pesticide License Holders Ceu Credits During The Covid 19 Pandemic, Michael Wierda, Cody Zesiger, Jacob Hadfield, Micheal Pace, Paige Wray

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

USU Extension and UDAF provide continuing education units (CEUs) for pesticide license renewal. However, in 2020, face-to-face meetings were canceled due to COVID-19. Workshop cancellation left CEU seekers with limited options. In response, programming was adapted and 2,992 CEU hours were provided via online sessions.

Comparative Metabolism Of Aflatoxin B1 In Two Quail Genera Coturnix Japonica And Callipepla Californica, Sean Moody

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

Avian species are highly susceptible to the hepatotoxic mycotoxin aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁). Domesticated turkeys are exquisitely sensitive, due to a combination of highly-efficient hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated bioactivation, and to dysfunctional alpha-class glutathione S-transferases (GSTAs) which typically detoxify the bioactivated electrophilic metabolite exo-AFB₁-8,9-epoxide (AFBO). Wild turkeys are relatively resistant to AFB₁ in large part due to expression of functional GSTAs. Quail, a related Galliforme, are slightly less sensitive in vivo to AFB₁, but whether this is related to the hepatic metabolic profiles of these two critical enzymes has not been rigorously evaluated. …

Buy Produce For Your Neighbor: Supporting Local Agriculture, Lacee Jimenez, Hiram Wigant, Casey Coombs, Heidi Leblanc

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

For Utahns experiencing food insecurity, eating adequate fruits and vegetables may be difficult due to limited access to fresh produce. Buy Produce for Your Neighbor is a healthy food drive that increases the amount of fresh produce in community food pantries and supports local agriculture.

Usu’S Health Extension: Advocacy, Research, & Teaching (Heart) Initiative Completes Three Years Of Impactful Programming, Ashley C. Yaugher, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, Verlina Adame, Gabriela Murza, Maren Wright Voss, Timothy Keady, Sadie Wilde

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

USU’s Health Extension: Advocacy, Research, & Teaching (HEART) Initiative addresses the opioid epidemic and other pressing public health issues in Utah. Data collected from HEART collaborations, acquired funding, and programming over the past three years demonstrates HEART’s collective impact on the state’s opioid epidemic.

On Predicting Omnidirectional Honey Bee Traffic Using Weather And Electromagnetic Radiation, Daniel G. Hornberger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Honey bees are responsible for pollinating many important crops in the United States. However, honey bee populations have declined significantly since 1961. While some causes of this decline are known, others are not. By utilizing electronic bee hive monitoring (EBM) systems, bee keepers and researchers have an added resource in determining the causes of these declines so that the issues can be remedied. For nearly five months (May through October) during the 2020 honey bee foraging season in Logan, Utah, USA, we collected on-site weather and electromagnetic radiation (EMR) readings and videos of the hive entrances of six bee hives …

Numerical Cognition And Autism Spectrum Traits In Adults, Benjamin Covington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evidence suggests that individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be particularly inclined toward math proficiency, especially in adulthood. There is also evidence, however, that many of those with an ASD struggle in math as children compared to their typically-developing peers. These ostensibly inconsistent findings may indicate that individuals with an ASD struggle with number sense, a precursor to formal math, rather than with formal math per se. This account is compatible with evidence of a specific form of neural dysregulation, excitatory/inhibitory imbalance, in ASD that results in reduced signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) for processes that occur in downstream …

Pottery Business Plan, Jessi Clark

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

BrickEarth Pottery sells quality homemade ceramic pieces. Specifically, we specialize in ceramics that have a simple, elegant, and functional design. The product line includes things like mugs, vases, tableware, pots for plants, berry bowls, nativity scenes among other things. A few things that set BrickEarth Pottery apart from other competitors include our commitment to sustainability, our fair prices, and our strong online presence. To explain these ideas a bit more at BrickEarth we value sustainability by working to keep minimal packaging when items are shipped and maintain this in mind when making our pieces, like always reusing clay and using …

Survey Of Ncaa Athletic Trainers’ Administration Of The National Wrestling Coaches Association Weight Certification Program, Samuel Konrath

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

Context: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) implemented a minimum weight certification program in 1997 to help protect wrestlers from dangerous weight loss practices. Despite nearly a quarter of a century of this program, there is no published research detailing the implementation of it.

Objective: Determine how the NCAA minimum weight certification is being implemented across Division I programs.

Design: Cross-sectional study

Setting: Survey

Patients or Other Participants: A total of 35 (45.5%) of 77 NCAA division I wrestling athletic trainers responded to the survey.

Main Outcome Measure(s): Survey data on how the NCAA minimum weight certification program was implemented …

Comparison Of Solutions To Reduce Air Quality Impacts To Environmental Justice Neighborhoods, Rebecca Merrell

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

Air quality is a complex problem with as many potential solutions. The objective of this thesis is to identify solutions that will create cleaner air for Environmental Justice Communities in Barstow, California. California is now requiring cities to create plans for air quality improvement and this thesis strives to try to evaluate the effectiveness of options cities may use. There are many solutions that claim they will improve air quality but few comparisons on the feasibility for a town to implement them.

This thesis explores the effectiveness of three types of vegetation solutions, three types of mechanical air filtering solutions, …

Transfer Effects Of A Multiple-Joint Isokinetic Eccentric Training Intervention To Nontraining-Specific Traditional Muscle Function Measures, Steven Spencer

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

The transfer effects of isokinetic, eccentric-only resistance training programs on non-specific measures of muscle function such as isometric peak force, isokinetic concentric peak force and dynamic constant external resistance 1-repetition maximal strength (DCER 1RM) have been researched extensively in a single joint context, yielding mixed results. However, investigations involving multiple-joint isokinetic eccentric-only training models have been sparse. The purpose of this study was to investigate the transfer effects of a short-term multiple-joint isokinetic eccentric leg press (Eccentron) training program on several measures of lower-body strength and performance. Fifteen participants performed Eccentron training three times/week for four weeks and were evaluated …

The Healing Landscapes Of Usu: Discovering Spaces Of Potential Mental Restorativeness: A Geospatial Analysis Of Usu Campus, Amelia H. Wilcken

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

This project focuses on understanding an alternative resource that can be intentionally improved upon to help address the mental health crisis on university campuses. With ample research showing how nature and being outside can help improve, or be restorative for, the mental state of individuals, this project developed an analytical method for understanding the restorative potential within the campus landscape as a whole and within districts. The analysis uses nine separate elements that make up the campus landscape: (1) trees, (2) landscape plantings (grass, planters, etc.), (3) art pieces, (4) benches, (5) water features, (6) sidewalks, (7) roads, (8) parking …

Soil Health Monitoring And Management In Corn And Soybean Agroecosystems Of The Midwestern U.S., Bradley S. Crookston

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soil health is a concept and condition of the soil where measurable soil properties represent the capacity of a soil fulfilling its intended use, such as producing crops, without constraint to its agro-ecological quality. Soil health assessments are used to estimate the health of a soil by assessing soil biological, chemical, and physical attributes, called soil health indicators, and scoring them on a scale, usually 0 to 100, to guide soil and crop management. However, there are few large-scale analyses of soil health assessment scores and their relationships with crop yield. Understanding how soil health assessments relate to crop yield …

The Effects Of Explicitly Teaching Summarization Skills On The Reading Comprehension Of Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Sherri Lay

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students with reading disabilities struggle with comprehending what they are reading and the necessary strategies to help them understand what they read. Summarizing what was read is a proven strategy for improving reading comprehension. This project examined one strategy for writing summaries called Generating Interactions between Schemata and Text or GIST. Participants included two 7^th grade students and one 8^th grade student who were in Special Education classroom for reading services. The results of this study were inconclusive. Participants showed growth in their summarizing skills, but the growth could not be adequately attributed to the GIST strategy.

Characterizing Relational Values To Inform Message-Framing At The Boa Ogoi Historical Site, Cole G. Stocker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In an increasingly polarized political climate–particularly in the U.S.– environmental issues such as climate change and its effects on the environment have become hot-button partisan talking points resulting in further division. This has led to research on ways to communicate science which does not further inflame political tensions, but rather reinforces and validates the audience’s values. Science communication research provides the foundation for my case study, which focuses on characterizing the environmental values and worldviews of land managers residing and working near the Boa Ogoi Historical Site in southern Idaho. The Northwest Band of Shoshone Nation (NWBSN) is in the …

Factors Associated With Financial Stressors, Financial Stress, And Financial Behaviors, Paula Andrea Lopez Alvarado

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As of the end of the first quarter of 2021, overall consumer debt reached $14.64 trillion. The more debt a family has, the higher the reported levels of financial stress the family reports. Using data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS), the purpose of this study was to examine the associations among financial stressors, financial stress, and positive and negative financial behaviors. The findings of this study suggested that Black individuals had the highest levels of financial stressors, financial stress, and negative and positive financial behaviors among four racial/ethnic groups. The findings also suggested that high financial stress …

Host Plant Use, Phenology, And Biological Control Of The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae; Halymorpha Halys) In Northern Utah, Mark Cody Holthouse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), has become a significant agricultural and urban nuisance pest in North America, causing millions of dollars of damage to specialty fruit and vegetable crops over the past two decades. This pest uses over 170 host plant species in North America and is difficult to control with most conventional insecticides. Following the establishment of H. halys in Utah in 2012, this dissertation explores the plant host species, seasonal development, and biological control agents found in the unique climate conditions of the Intermountain West. Chapter II documents important plant species utilized by each …

Predictive Models Of Post-Wildfire Debris Flow Volume And Grain Size Distribution In The Intermountain West, Sara Wall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Post-fire debris flows represent the most erosive and potentially hazardous consequence associated with increasing wildfire severity. While an abundance of research has explored where they are likely to occur and their potential magnitude, investigations into understanding how they impact downstream resources are limited. Recent advancements are seeking to link predictive models together to be able to predict how erosion after wildfire may impact reservoirs and aquatic habitat downstream. However, there are two key missing pieces into our ability to examine watershed-scale impacts of post-fire erosion. These include having accurate predictions of how much sediment is likely to be deposited by …

The Transition To Parenthood: Exploration Of Systemic Changes And Implications For Future Treatment, David B. Jenks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The transition to parenthood is change that alters the very structure of the family system. Families who engage in this transition are often in need of assistance as they navigate and attempt to manage the changes and challenges that arise. The biopsychosocial-spiritual model is a modality that helps providers more holistically examine the biological, psychological, social and spiritual realms of life’s experiences. This model provides a valuable way to look at the transition to parenthood and understand some of the interactions taking place that may contribute to the development of challenges such as mental health concerns. The present dissertation was …

Management Strategies For Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus In Utah Tomatoes, Benjamin Scow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Plant diseases are among the leading causes of tomato stand loss in the state of Utah. Viral plant diseases are often transferred from one plant to another by insect feeding. In Utah, one of the leading viruses that infects tomatoes is Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) which is spread by thrips. The objectives of this study were as follows.

1. Determine the impact from reflective mulch and row covers on thrips population numbers.
2. Determine the effects of row covers on the TSWV infection rate.
3. Compare varietal response to thrip populations.

This 2-year study focused on the use of two different types …

Managing Summer Camps: A Study Of Culture And Practices At Environmentally Conscious Camps, Landis Wenger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Supporting private landowners as they manage their land is essential to sustainability because sixty-one percent of land in the United States is privately owned and managed; therefore, it is crucial that we better understand the management practices implemented by private landowners and continue to development best management strategies. A significant portion of these land holders are summer camps. There are over 14,000 summer camps in America. Many summer camps already have cultures where they value their land and the ecosystems on their property; many have also sought to improve their land management practices as well. However, there is a lack …

A Qualitative Review Of A Culturally Responsive Education Program For Native American Youth, Tamara Ellington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research uses a qualitative case study approach and a culturally based framework to examine an educational program’s community for Native American youth. The purpose is to develop an in-depth understanding of an effective educational intervention’s community that increases graduation rates of Native American youth and how they incorporate culture. I use Tribal Critical Race Theory to describe the continuation of colonization and assimilation efforts Native youth face in education systems and to portray the indigenized efforts the Konaway program implements in educating from an Indigenous lens. The framework was constructed from the nine tenets of Tribal Critical Race Theory …

The Plant Growth Promoting Ability Of The Microbiome Of Ceanothus Velutinus From The Intermountain West Region, Jyothsna Ganesh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to the ever-changing climate and deterioration of the earth’s ecosystem, environmental stresses like abiotic (drought, salinity) and biotic stresses (pathogen infection) gravely affected plant growth. Native plants are a great way of improving these effects on the urban landscape. They can be used as ornamental plants in landscaping as they are accustomed to their natural environment. The Center for Water-Efficient Landscaping at Utah State University has released a list of plants to be used for low water use landscaping. One such native plant is Ceanothus velutinus (snowbrush ceanothus). They are evergreen plants that can grow in dry and harsh …

Control Of Three Invasive Annual Grasses In Utah Using Herbicides Including Indaziflam, Hailey L. Buell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Invasive grasses pose a threat to rangeland ecosystems in Utah. Three grasses in particular: downy brome, medusahead, and ventenata can push out native plants and prevent other vegetation from germinating. These grasses can also degrade grazing lands for cattle and act as kindling for wildfires. The use of herbicides is the most common way to rid a site of invasive plants. Herbicides that prevent germination for many years work well to keep annual grasses at bay while not harming the many long-living native plants that are already growing.

A study was designed on a site infested with downy brome to …

Substance Use Initiation Among Mexican Children: An Examination Of Individual And Ecological Factors, Alejandro L. Vázquez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mexico is experiencing increased rates of substance use among children and adolescents. This is concerning as early substance use is associated with an increased risk for developing mental and physical health problems during adulthood. These outcomes may be prevented through early identification and intervention before individuals encounter the negative consequences of substance use/abuse. The current dissertation sought to improve our knowledge regarding factors associated with substance use and intention for first time use among Mexican children. Three manuscripts examined child individual characteristics and aspects of their environment. The first manuscript examined demographic characteristics to determine whether particular groups of children …