Digital Commons Network^™

The Benefits, Challenges, And Implications Of Teleworking: A Literature Review, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Flexible work arrangements are becoming more important to entrepreneurs today. However, effective new business owners are taking more time to consider the pros and cons of these arrangements. The purpose of this review is to explore the literature related to telework and its benefits, challenges, and implications for individuals, work groups, and organizations. It investigates the possible implications of telework to management theory and practice. It lists a number of theories/models and discusses concerns about the lack of researched theoretical frameworks. Finally, after the benefits and challenges are reviewed, recommendations and contributions are presented.

Viewing Corporate Wellness Programs As Systems, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Although interest in corporate wellness continues to increase in workplaces in various countries, many businesses still consider employee wellness as unrelated to the organisation and its functions. Some continue to view wellness as having little or no financial impact on an organisation and, therefore, do not consider it to be part of the overall organisational system. This paper argues that wellness programming should be analysed as both a freestanding system and also a subsystem of the overall business. By viewing it through the general systems theoretical lens, the wellness system can find its place and be ultimately seen as integral …

Mediators As The Walrasian Auctioneers Of Exchange Theory, David Dickenson

Economic Research Institute Study Papers

This article opens up mediation to systematic economic analysis by considering mediators as analogous to the Walrasian auctioneers of exchange theory. By altering trade-off rates among bargaining issues, mediators facilitate a process leading towards Pareto efficient voluntary settlements.

A Widow's Tale: 1884-1896 Diary Of Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, Charles M. Hatch, Todd M. Compton

All USU Press Publications

Mormon culture has produced during its history an unusual number of historically valuable personal writings. Few such diaries, journals, and memoirs published have provided as rich and well rounded a window into their authors' lives and worlds as the diary of Helen Mar Kimball Whitney. Because it provides a rare account of the widely experienced situations and problems faced by widows, her record has relevance far beyond Mormon history though. As a teenager Helen Kimball had been a polygamous wife of Mormon founder Joseph Smith. She subsequently married Horace Whitney. Her children included the noted Mormon author, religious authority, and …

Of Corpse, Peter Narvaez

All USU Press Publications

Laughter, contemporary theory suggests, is often aggressive in some manner and may be prompted by a sudden perception of incongruity combined with memories of past emotional experience. Given this importance of the past to our recognition of the comic, it follows that some "traditions" dispose us to ludic responses. The studies in Of Corpse: Death and Humor in Folklore and Popular Culture examine specific interactions of text (jokes, poetry, epitaphs, iconography, film drama) and social context (wakes, festivals, disasters) that shape and generate laughter. Uniquely, however, the essays here peruse a remarkable paradox-the convergence of death and humor.

Two studies …

Landscape Of Desire: Identity And Nature In Utah's Canyon Country, Greg Gordon

All USU Press Publications

Landscape of Desire powerfully documents and celebrates a place and the evolutions that occur when human beings are intimately connected to their surroundings. Greg Gordon accomplishes this with a tapestry of writing that interweaves land use history, natural history, experiential education, and personal reflection. He tracks the geomorphology of southern Utah as well as the creatures and plants his student group encounters, the history lessons (planned and unplanned), the trials and joys of gathering so many individuals into a cohesive will, and his own personal epiphanies, restraints, insights, and disillusionments.

Expectations And Comparative Arbitration Institutions, David L. Dickinson

Economic Research Institute Study Papers

Arbitration is a growing method of resolving disputes in varied settings. While two specific arbitration rules dominate in practice, other procedures have been hypothesized to better promote voluntary settlement. Such hypotheses require theoretical assumptions of identical bargainer expectations even though divergent expectations or optimism is considered prevalent in naturally occurring negotiations. This article examines disputant behavior in a controlled laboratory setting where point-estimates of disputant expectations are captured, thus allowing one to test the "chilling effect" hypotheses of optimism on both dispute rates and final-offer divergence. The extent of the dual chilling effect is examined for both commonly used arbitration …

Mediation, Walrasian Tatonnement, And Negotiations As An Exchange Economy, David Dickenson

Economic Research Institute Study Papers

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures, such as mediation and arbitration, are becoming increasingly used to help resolve disputes in a variety of areas. Among ADR procedures, mediation is the most utilized yet least analyzed procedure. This article examines negotiations and dispute resolution using the tools of general equilibrium theory. Specifically, mediators function as the Walrasian auctioneers of exchange theory by altering trade-off rates among bargaining issues. In this way, mediators facilitate a process leading towards voluntary settlements. This idea of Walrasian mediation is supported by the literature on mediation and mediator techniques, and so this insight opens up mediation to …

A Structural Model Analysis Of The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Framework, S. Ghosh, R. B. Handfield, Vijay R. Kannan, K. C. Tan

Management Faculty Publications

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) has become a model for the deployment of quality programmes. While the framework underlying the award has been used extensively by organisations, both for award and self-assessment purposes, little empirical evidence exists regarding its validity as a predictor of organisational performance. This research presents a structural equation model that explicitly tests the relationships between strategic and operational quality planning implied by the framework, and their impact on performance. Results support the theory underlying the Baldrige award. Specifically, the strategic quality planning process, mediated by the effective use of information and analysis, is the …

Maternity's Wards: Investigations Of Sixteenth Century Patterns Of Maternal Gaurdianship, Liz Woolcott

History

Grants of wardship, by the time of the Tudor period in England, had evolved into an institution divorced from its feudal foundation but committed to maintaining a goal of economic profit. Mixed with a pronounced responsibility of the monarch to care for the unprotected children of deceased feudatories, this goal compromised the practice of wardship grants and created a bureaucracy whose sole policy was patronage. After the death of a man who held land as a tenant in chief, his heir was taken as a ward of the monarch, to be placed in the guardianship of anyone the monarch saw …

Maintain Hydraulic Control Using Deep Rooted Tree Systems, A. Ferro, M. Gefell, Roger Kjelgren, D. S. Lipson, N. Zollinger, S. Jackson

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Groundwater phytotechnology systems are currently being used to control the migration of contaminant plumes and remove groundwater that flows into containment areas. Trees in such systems function by reducing recharge and using groundwater via transpiration. A stand of deep-rooted trees can act as a biological "pump", removing a substantial amount of water from the saturated zone. Depth to groundwater compared to rooting depth is an important consideration Many useful tree species are not naturally deep-rooted, but various cultural practices can produce trees with roots that are deep enough to tap into the water table. Hydraulic control can be calculated or …

An Evaluation Of The Transtheoretical Model Of Individual Change And Its Implications For Human Resource Development, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Change is the basis for improving and expanding individual, group, and organizational effectiveness, performance, and learning. However, HRD has utilized and developed few empirically validated individual change models or theories. Because HRD is a multidisciplinary in nature, it is important for researchers and practitioners to consider what models or theories others have to offer. One influential model from the health and medical field that has promising utility in HRD is the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of individual change. The purpose of this article is to introduce this model and explore its application to HRD. This article uses Dubin’s criteria for theory-building …

The Incidence Of Mental And Behavioral Disturbances In Dementia: The Cache County Study, Martin Steinberg, Jeannie-Marie E. Sheppard, Joann T. Tschanz, Maria C. Norton, David C. Steffens, John C. S. Breitner, Constantine G.. Lyketsos

Psychology Faculty Publications

A population-based prevalence sample of 355 residents of Cache County, Utah, who were diagnosed with dementia, was rated on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Of the 355 residents, 119 had no neuropsychiatric symptoms at baseline and were, consequently, at risk for incident mental and behavioral disturbances. The NPI was readministered approximately 18 months later to 61 surviving participants. Sixty-nine percent developed at least one mental or behavioral symptom. Delusions were most common (28%), followed by apathy (21%), and aberrant motor behavior (21%). When this incidence rate of 69% was combined with a previously estimated prevalence rate of 61%, the cumulative 18-month …

Insights, Fall, 2002, Utah State University

Discovery Magazine

Bi-annual alumni newsletter for the College of Science of Utah State University in Logan.

Effect Of Processing Conditions On Microstructure Of Milk Fat Fraction/Sunflower Oil Blends., Silvana Martini, M. L. Herrera, R. W. Hartel

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

The effect of processing conditions on the crystallization of blends of a high-melting milk fat fraction and sunflower oil was investigated. Two cooling rates were selected for all studies: 0.1°C/min (slow rate) and 5.5°C/min (fast rate). Blends were crystallized in two conditions: (i) with agitation in an 80-mL crystallizer (dynamic), and (ii) on a microscope slide without agitation (static). The selected crystallization temperatures were 25, 30, and 35°C for both cooling rates. Photographs of the development of crystals with time were taken in both static and dynamic conditions, and the crystal size distribution was determined at the moment that the …

Empathy And Generalized Reciprocity In Compliance With Requests For Help, Kenneth Allsop, Kathryn Fifield, John S. Seiter

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study examined empathy and reciprocity as explanations for why people comply with requests for help. Participants (35 male and 62 female) imagined being asked for money by a person who had locked keys in a car and then reported how likely they would he to comply with such a request, whether they had previously locked their keys in their car (empathy), and, if so, whether they had been helped (reciprocity). In support of the explanation based on empathy, people who reported previously locking their keys in their cars indicated being more likely to comply.

Pulmonary Metaphor Design And Anesthesia Simulation Testing, S. Blake Wachter, James Agutter, Noah D. Syroid, Frank A. Drews, Robert Albers, David Strayer, Dwayne R. Westenskow

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Medical decision making is a crucial process to successfully treat a critical medical emergency. During an unexpected medical event, astronauts, like anesthesiologists, must react quickly in a complex environment. Tools, such as the pulmonary metaphor display, were created to aid the medical caregiver's decision making process. The pulmonary metaphor display is designed to help the caregiver collect and integrate pulmonary data to provide a more accurate, quicker diagnosis and treatment. The following outline anesthesiology simulation study will provide the data to prove that the pulmonary metaphor display is beneficial to medical decision making.

Evaluation Of A Graphical Anesthesia Drug Display For Space Travel, Robert W. Albert, Frank A. Drews, Noah D. Syroid, Dwayne R. Westenskow, David L. Strayer, James A. Agutter

Utah Space Grant Consortium

As the frequency and duration of space travel increase, the potential need for emergency medical care in space grows, and with it the need for patient monitoring devices supporting therapeutic treatment. Providing emergency care to an injured astronaut may necessitate immediate surgery. During such events, the timely administration of anesthetic agents will need to be performed by someone who is not a formally trained anesthesiologist. The availability of usable real-time displays of intravenous anesthetic concentrations and effects could significantly enhance intraoperative clinical decision-making both in space and on earth. The effectiveness of the real-time anesthesia display on the management of …

Chinese Culture And Postmodern Diplomacy, Jeremy C. Wooden

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The United States presently finds itself standing at a remarkable historical juncture. As the world's only "remaining superpower," it enjoys the benefit of military superiority, economic prosperity, and vast cultural influence. Yet despite its seeming superiority to other nations -or, perhaps, in spite of it- the future is not necessarily secured for the United States. While Americans may be able to take American power for granted, there is a general sense that the United States is either at or near the apex of its influence; that, as Samuel Huntington has argued, while the U.S. will remain strong, its strength …

Eating Trends In Childhood, Emily Willmore

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Children ages 6 through 11 years are progressing in many aspects of their life. Of interest, children are establishing eating patterns that will be carried throughout their lives. Some of these patterns can be considered problematic and need to be addressed, these include: overfeeding or obesity, adequacy of major minerals and establishing healthy eating patterns. We conclude that while some children's eating patterns are problematic, there are means to resolve these trends. They include counseling, family involvement, physical exercise and nutrition education in school at a young age.

The Efficient-Market Hypothesis During A Recession, Jill Marie Williams

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The phrase, "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" may make a portfolio manager shudder. I first learned about this theory while reading a book of the same name by Burton G. Malkiel. I saw the last four years crashing down around me as I read about the competition I would be facing upon graduation–a blindfolded chimpanzee.

The random walk theorizes that the stock market is so efficient that a blindfolded chimpanzee can throw darts at the Wall Street Journal to select a portfolio of stocks that will perform equally as well as those managed by the experts. Unfortunately for the …

Concurrent And Construct Validity Of Alternating Verbal Fluency As A Measure Of Executive Function, Gail A. Mason

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Alternating verbal fluency is a combination task that was designed to assess the cognitive constructs of verbal fluency and cognitive shifting, presumably for increased efficiency. Researchers and clinicians have hypothesized about the added diagnostic benefits and more sophisticated discriminability of alternating verbal fluency as compared with singular verbal fluency tasks.

To date there are no standardized forms of alternating verbal fluency tests, normed data, or a guide for differentiating patient populations. In addition, there are no published studies addressing the construct or concurrent validity of alternating verbal fluency with other tests of executive function. Thus, the purpose of the present …

Internalizing Symptoms In A Sample Of Native American Adolescents, Georgia Lee Matt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Internalizing disorders can have negative effects ranging from diminished self-esteem to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Native American children and adolescents often face pressures that put them at increased risk for the development of internalizing disorders, yet research within this population is almost nonexistent.

Given the serious implications of and the lack of research on internalizing disorders among this minority group, the present study was designed to provide information on the rate of internalizing symptoms in a sample of Native American adolescents, and provide normative data utilizing this sample for the Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Adolescents. Data were collected using the …

Binge Eating Disorder And Its Relationship To Bulimia Nervosa And Obesity, Lara Schultz Lacaille

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Recent research indicates that 2% to 4% of the population meet diagnostic criteria for the newly proposed binge eating disorder, and that it is much more common (30%) among the treatment-seeking obese. Although recognized as a significant problem, binge eating disorder is l1l not well understood, and there is debate about whether binge eating disorder is a distinct disorder. It has been argued that binge eating disorder is simply a variant or milder form of bulimia nervosa and not a separate and distinct disorder. Researchers have begun to study this population in greater depth in order to assess the characteristics …

Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Placement Time In People With Cystic Fibrosis, Sarah Gunnell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A retrospective chart review was conducted on pediatric patients at the Intermountain Cystic Fibrosis Center who had a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placed between 1993 and 1999. Height velocity improved significantly in the group of patients with a PEG placed; however, pulmonary function declined more significantly over time.

Questionnaires regarding attitude toward PEG placement were sent to patients enrolled in accredited cystic fibrosis centers in the mountain west region and to their parents. The overall response rate was 54.25% for the PEG questionnaire and 24% for the non-PEG questionnaire. Ninety-six percent of the patients with a PEG reported that weight …

Identifying Paths To Successful Marriage And Family Therapy Research: External Factors Within The Publications Of Three Eminent Marriage And Family Therapy Researchers, Sarah Rebecca Sancher Droubay

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In an attempt to identify a possible pathway to successful research in marriage and family therapy (MFT), publications of three eminent MFT researchers—James Alexander, John Gottman, and Howard Liddle—were content analyzed. These 208 journal articles, books, book chapters, and dissertations were examined for external factors and patterns across time.

Results supported the importance of doing clinical work, having a sustained research interest area, obtaining funding, and maximizing the utility of one's research samples. Implications and recommendations for future researchers, research training, career paths in clinical research, and further research are given.

The Transition To Parenthood: Predictors Of Father Involvement And Marital Satisfaction For First-Time Parents, Jerry L. Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined some of the factors that influence father involvement for first-time parents. These variables included: general or cultural attitudes of father involvement, personal expectations for father involvement, and level of satisfaction with the marriage. A secondary purpose was to examine factors that buffer the decline of marital satisfaction associated with the transition to parenthood. It was proposed that marital satisfaction was associated with having similar expectations for father involvement, having father involvement that met or exceeded personal expectations, and accurately perceiving spousal identity. A final purpose was to create a model of father involvement, originally represented by the …

"On Down The Road" An Intergenerational Fathering Experience, Jeffery G. Chapman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fathering has been studied with renewed interest by scholars seeking to understand the unique effects and contributions fathers have in the lives of children. Father involvement has been measured by tracking fathers· engagement with. accessibility to. and responsibility for their children during childhood and adolescence. Generative fathering theorists have proposed that fathering and fatherhood are better understood by expansion of the dimensions of father involvement. Generative fathering research has found that father-child relationships are imbued with meaning across the life cycle. The meaning of generative fathering was explored in this study across four generations of fathers. all from one extended …

Adopted Adolescents' Heterosexual Relationship Formation And Sexual Behaviors, Mathew Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adolescents' perceptions and behaviors about romantic heterosexual relationships and sexual intercourse were compared among adolescents living with adoptive, biological, and stepparents. Data come from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). In 1995, over 20,000 adolescents living throughout the United States completed a 90-minute in-home interview that asked numerous questions about romantic relationships and sexual behaviors. Add Health used a multi-stage cluster design to collect a random sample representative of adolescents attending U.S. schools.

Results showed that several demographic characteristics (gender, age, race/ethnicity, parent's education, and number of parents in the household) were associated with adolescents' perceptions and …

The Association Between Writing About Marital Experiences And Individual Distress And Marital Satisfaction, Brad Hess

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This exploratory project studied the association between positive and negative writing assignments on marital satisfaction and individual distress levels. The sample consisted of 110 individuals (30 couples in the positive writing group, 25 in the negative writing group). Individual distress was measured with the OQ -45 .2 and marital satisfaction was measured with the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS). MAN OVA was used to test differences between pre- and post-writing intervention scores on the OQ -45.2 and RDAS. When pairing time, gender, and group in the analysis, time was the only statistically significant factor for both measures. The change from …