Digital Commons Network^™

Whose Data Is It Anyway? Lessons In Data Management And Sharing From Resurrecting And Repurposing Lidar Data For Archaeology Research In Honduras, Juan C. Fernandez-Diaz, Anna S. Cohen

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

As a response to Hurricane Mitch and the resulting widespread loss of life and destruction of Honduran infrastructure in 1998, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted the first wide-area airborne lidar topographic mapping project in Central America. The survey was executed by the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin (BEG) in 2000, and it was intended to cover 240 square kilometers distributed among 15 flood-prone communities throughout Honduras. The original data processing produced basic digital elevation models at 1.5-meter grid spacing which were used as inputs for hydrological modeling. The USGS published the results …

Ethics In Archaeological Lidar, Anna S. Cohen, Sarah Klassen, Damian Evans

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Airborne laser scanning or lidar has now been used by archaeologists for twenty years, with many of the first applications relying on data acquired by public agencies seeking to establish baseline elevation maps, mainly in Europe and North America. More recently, several wide-area acquisitions have been designed and commissioned by archaeologists, the most extensive of which cover tropical forest environments in the Americas and Southeast Asia. In these regions, the ability of lidar to map microtopographic relief and reveal anthropogenic traces on the Earth’s surface, even beneath dense vegetation, has been welcomed by many as a transformational breakthrough in our …

Branding The Writing Center, Courtney Akagi

Tutor's Column

Brand identity affects student’s perceptions of the writing center. Referencing an article on the seven key elements of brand identity design, this article goes through a step-by-step analysis of how writing centers can create a brand to establish trust between students and tutors.

Questioning Our Questions, Makenzie Vance

Tutor's Column

A tutor’s effectiveness relies heavily on the questions they ask. Being able to properly address a student’s concerns is almost exclusively done through effective questioning. Looking into how folklorists interview provides a wealth of tactics commonly used to gather information from informants. Transitioning these tactics into tutoring can help tutors ask questions more intentionally.

Wasabi In The Garden, Andrea Clemsen, Dan Drost

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, April 13, 2020, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

Call to Order

• Approval of Minutes - March 16, 2020

University Business

Information

• EPC Monthly Report - April 2, 2020

Reports

• Committee on Committees Annual Report
• Calendar Committee Annual Report
• Recruitment & Retention Annual Report

Old Business

• 404 Student Involvement in Faculty Searches

New Business

• Faculty Senate President Elect

Librarians As Informal Learning Designers: A Framework For Facilitating Stem-Rich Making In The School Library, Aubrey Rogowski

Student Research Symposium

This presentation presents a framework for characterizing how school librarians facilitate STEM-rich Making informal programming in their libraries. This framework is an extension of a framework used in teacher education research accounting for how teachers using the same curriculum have varying enactments in their individual classrooms. A case study of three middle school librarians is presented to examine how each librarian used STEM-rich Making instructional materials to facilitate informal STEM-rich Making activities for the students in their libraries and how their various program facilitation approaches helped to inform our extended framework.

“They Aren’T Even Old Enough To Get A Driver’S License”: Variations Among Age Of Consent And Romeo And Juliet Laws, Yocheved Ramirez

Student Research Symposium

American culture is concerned about sex among teenagers, especially with the continuing rise in use of social media and fears of a growing "hookup culture". Sex outside of marriage appears to be relatively common, and there is a lot of concern about teenage pregnancies, teenagers in "relationships" with adults, and minors engaging in sex in general given how emotionally immature adolescents can be. Because of these concerns about sexual behavior among teenagers, every state in the United States of America has implemented a law about age of consent, and some have gone further to define what acceptable age differences between …

Assessing & Protecting Dark Night Skies In El Morro National Monument, Leslie Kobinsky

Student Research Symposium

Light pollution is causing the disappearance of dark night skies around the world. In the United States alone, 1/3 of people are unable to see the Milky Way where they live (Ramlagan, 2016). National Park Service sites contain some of the darkest skies in the country. Here at El Morro National Monument, these dark skies are a beautiful and healthy benefit to people in the local community and visitors traveling from afar. El Morroês current park legislation does not include specific measures of protection for the night sky. This capstone project will create a baseline data set of night sky …

Equality In Education For Latina Women, Megan Warburton

Student Research Symposium

Latina women in the United States face various educational, social, and familial pressures while striving to obtain a valuable education and break boundaries created by stereotypes in the country. Stereotypes of Latinas in the media have created false beliefs regarding their characters and abilities, in turn causing negative repercussions in communities and social environments. They often face unfair and biased treatment in schools and don’t receive adequate help from teachers or counselors to excel in high school and prepare for college. Much of this inequality inhibits their ability to feel confident in their future of education. Not only must Latina …

"Talking To Clouds" An Original Musical, Elizabeth Bohannon

Student Research Symposium

"Talking to Clouds" is an original musical written for young audiences. A team of students from USU, want to see how interdisciplinary collaboration works on a brand new musical. The team is also conducting research on community engagement towards an original musical. Rehearsals are currently underway and the show will be performed at the end of March. At the Research Symposium, we hope to share a performance of a song from the show along with information on how the show was received by cast, crew and audience members.

Narrative Hijacking: Mothman And The Silver Bridge Collapse, Jack Daly

Student Research Symposium

This paper examines the commemoration and folklorization of the events surrounding the Silver Bridge collapse which occurred in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1967 that have become associated with the legendary cryptid Mothman. On December 15, 1967, 46 people died as the bridge that connected Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Gallipolis, Ohio collapsed. During that time, the area around Point Pleasant was being inundated with sightings of a large bird-like creature that came to be known as 'Mothman.' An examination of the narratives surrounding Mothman and the Silver Bridge collapse, which include songs, literature, and film show an intriguing interplay …

Learning Frameworks, Nobel Prizes, And World Peace, Nathan Justis

Student Research Symposium

In this presentation, I apply a working definition of new literacies, which are comprised of "new technical stuff" and "new ethos stuff," to conduct an analysis of three academic papers that each describe a framework for learning. The papers of interest include one on personalized learning (Halverson et al., 2015), one on participatory culture (Jenkins et al., 2006), and one on connected learning (Ito et al., 2013). Concept coding was used to identify instances of new technical stuff and new ethos stuff, as well as other themes across these three papers. Multiple examples were found within the papers to support …

Usu And Community Join To Provide Protective Health Care Equipment, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

April 8, 2020 — The College of Engineering and the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University are collaborating to provide medical grade personal protective equipment to health care workers in northern Utah. Now they are asking businesses and individuals to join them.

Reu Site: Engineering Education Research On Undergraduate Engineering Students' Problem Solving Capacity, Oenardi Lawanto

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Three Key Principles For Improving Discussion-Based Learning In College Classrooms, Christopher E. Garrett

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Discussion-Based Learning (DBL) can be an effective pedagogical tool for student engagement and developing higher-order thinking skills. However, DBL can be a challenging endeavor for college teachers for various reasons. The purposes of this article are to identify those challenges, present three key principles, and share several practical ideas that will help improve discussions in college classrooms.

Student Success: A Literature Review Of Faculty To Student Mentoring, David D. Law, Kim Hales, Don Busenbark

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

This review summarizes the literature on university faculty to student mentoring programs. There has been a proliferation of mentoring programs because of the perceived benefit to student persistence and retention. While mentoring programs have become common, the research on these programs has not kept pace. Shortcomings identified thirty years ago such as lack of theoretical guidance, lack of operational definition of mentoring, and poor design continue to plague mentoring research. Recommendations to address these shortcomings and improve internal and external validity are examined. As universities continue to have increasingly constrained resources, and pressure to demonstrate strategies to help students be …

Successful Strategies For Content Creation And Design Of Online Classes, Antje R. H. Graul

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Given the increasing demand for an education that is compatible with a students’ professional or private life, there is a growing need for higher-educational bodies to launch high-quality online classes that allow students to pursue their education while fitting it around their individual commitments. Thus, more than ever, guidance is needed on how to design an online class successfully. Drawing on the design of an asynchronous Digital Marketing online class, this article discusses strategic decisions regarding content creation, personalization, assignments, and assessment ideas that may hold the potential to increase students’ engagement in an online class. The insights provided may …

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 4, Issue 1

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full Spring 2020 issue (Volume 4, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence.

The Belgrade Paleoblitz: A Pilot Project To Engage Amateur Paleontologists, Victor J. Perez, Ronny M. Leder, Lisa Lundgren, Shari Ellis, Betty A. Dunckel, Kent J. Crippen

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Paleontology is an interdisciplinary field that attracts a range of individuals, from hobbyists to professionals. A primary goal of the NSF-funded FOSSIL Project is to establish a unified community of paleontologists and promote best practices in the field of paleontology. The Belgrade PaleoBlitz was a pilot effort to meet these goals by guiding participants through the museum curation process via a rapid two-day immersion. The objectives of the PaleoBlitz event were to: 1) educate participants in best practices associated with the museum curation process, and 2) catalog specimens collected from the Belgrade Quarry into the Florida Museum of Natural History …

Microbial Lag Phase Can Be Indicative Of, Or Independent From, Cellular Stress, Philip G. Hamill, Andrew Stevenson, Phillip E. Mcmullan, James P. Williams, Abiann D. R. Lewis, Sudharsan S., Kath E. Stevenson, Keith D. Farnsworth, Galina Khroustalyova, Jon Y. Takemoto, John P. Quinn, Alexander Rapoport, John E. Hallsworth

Biology Faculty Publications

Measures of microbial growth, used as indicators of cellular stress, are sometimes quantified at a single time-point. In reality, these measurements are compound representations of length of lag, exponential growth-rate, and other factors. Here, we investigate whether length of lag phase can act as a proxy for stress, using a number of model systems (Aspergillus penicillioides; Bacillus subtilis; Escherichia coli; Eurotium amstelodami, E. echinulatum, E. halophilicum, and E. repens; Mrakia frigida; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Xerochrysium xerophilum; Xeromyces bisporus) exposed to mechanistically distinct types of cellular stress including low water activity, …

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, April 2, 2020, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Approval of 27 February 2020 Minutes

Program Proposals

College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

• Create three emphasis areas within the Outdoor Product Design and Development Program

College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

• Offer a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Technology
• Create a Certificate
• Change degree name to Masters of Environmental Planning
• Change degree name to PhD in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

• Create a Certificate

S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources

• Offer a Certificate

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Other Business

• Caine College of the Arts CIP Codes
• Appoint committee chair for …

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes, April 2, 2020, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Approval of 27 February 2020 Minutes

Program Proposals

College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

• Create three emphasis areas within the Outdoor Product Design and Development Program

College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

• Offer a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Technology
• Create a Certificate
• Change degree name to Masters of Environmental Planning
• Change degree name to PhD in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

• Create a Certificate

S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources

• Offer a Certificate

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Other Business

• Caine College of the Arts CIP Codes
• Appoint committee chair for …

A Chronology Of Medieval Historical Narratives, János M. Bak, Ivan Jurković, Justin Lake

All Complete Monographs

This chronological guide intends to offer a first orientation in the historiography and hagiography of the Middle Ages, from ca. 500 a.d. to ca. 1500 a.d. Its specialty is that—in contrast to most other reference works—it is not organized alphabetically by author and/or title, but chronologically, by centuries. We attempted to list texts written later—or even much later—than the period covered, but containing relevant information on it; however, we do not claim completeness for these long-term titles. In other words: if one wants to know, which chronicles (in the widest sense) and saints’ lives contain a narrative for a given …

Women And Finances: What Utahns Need To Know, Robbyn T. Scribner, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Throughout much of history, women have been seen as an extension of their male relatives when it comes to finances; American women were not allowed to own property in their names until the mid-1800s, overt pay discrimination was legal until 1963, and women could not access credit on their own until 1974. Hence, it is only in the last half century or so that women in the US have been able to participate fully in the financial matters that affect their everyday lives. This holds true in Utah as well, yet Utah women’s lives in the 21st century look dramatically …

Utah State Magazine, Spring 2020, Utah State University

Utah State Magazine

The quarterly magazine for friends and alumni of Utah State University.

Rethinking Behavior - Spring 2020, Midwest Symposium For Leadership In Behavior Disorders

ReThinking Behavior Magazine

A magazine for professionals serving children and youth with behavioral needs.

Spring 2020, Volume 3, Issue 3

Extension Needs Outreach Innovation Free From The Harms Of Social Media, Jonathan J. Swinton

Extension Research

Despite the outreach-building benefits of social media for Extension, it is time for Extension professionals to find new innovative ways to reach out that do not involve social media. An increasing body of research has demonstrated the harms social media use imparts on the health and well-being of those in our communities. Our future use of social media as a primary method of outreach may perpetuate these harms, requiring our best efforts to develop new methods of outreach that do not negatively affect those we serve.

The Utah Statesman, March 31, 2020, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Faculty Senate Minutes, March 30, 2020, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

Call to Order - Patrick Belmont

• Approval of Minutes

University Business

• Shelter in Place Orders
• Pass/Fail
• IDEA Evaluations
• Collect Data

Information

• EPC Monthly Report

Reports

• Budget and Faculty Welfare
• Parking and Transportation & GHG

Old Business

• Major Revisions
• Professional Responsibility

New Business

• Student Involvement