Digital Commons Network^™

Late Taino Occupation Of Jamaica: A Zooarchaeological Analysis Of Faunal Materials From The Bluefields Bay Site, Diana M. Azevedo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

My thesis seeks to answer the broad questions: can early foragers alter marine resources in island settings and can archaeological data provide insights into these changes. These questions highlight two important issues. The first issue reflects the common belief that small-scale societies did not affect their environments. The second issue centers on growing concern over the collapse of fisheries across the globe.

To answer these questions, I use fish bones recovered from an archaeological site located in Belmont, Jamaica near the Bluefields Bay marine sanctuary. The Bluefields Bay site dates to the late Taíno occupation of Jamaica. The name Taíno …

Organizational Adaptation In Local Stormwater Governance, Andrea Armstrong

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Much of the past research and policy analysis on issues of western water has focused on inter-basin river agreements, large infrastructure that captures and distributes water, and conflict between agricultural and urban water demands. My dissertation asks a set of different questions:

How is water governed and managed within communities of Utah?

How are the organizations that manage water responding to changes in population, water availability, and water quality policy?

The answers to these questions are essential for understanding the ways in which changes to water quantity and quality will be addressed in the present and coming years. To better …

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Humanities And Social Sciences, July 31, 2015, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The Sociology Graduate Program at Utah State University requests discontinuation of the Master of Arts (MA) degree in Sociology.

Food Security, Depression And Quality Of Life In Northern Plains Indians, Jacqueline S. Gray, Kevin Gonzaga, James G. Penland, Henry C. Lukaski, Patty Stensland

Journal of Indigenous Research

Major health disparities, high levels of poverty and food insecurity exist in many Native American and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) communities. Relatively little research has been done on these issues and possible relationships between them. A research program was designed with the objective of exploring the relationships between these various issues, if any existed, in one sub-group of AI/AN. In the study, the incidence of food insecurity was determined in a convenience sample of Northern Plains Indians (NPI) and correlated with measures of physical and mental health, body composition, quality of life, cultural identification and dietary intakes. Participants were 458 adult …

Utah's Water Future: Perspectives On Water Issues In Utah's Wasatch Range Metropolitan Area, Joanna Endter-Wada, Andrea Hall, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, Courtney Flint

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The iUTAH Household Survey was conducted in 2014 during a time when the State of Utah was initiating various activities aimed at charting a long-term strategy for securing Utah’s water future. Water is currently high on the state’s public policy agenda due to Utah’s rapid population growth and urbanization, future water supply uncertainties related to climate change, and the political challenges of allocating increasingly limited regional water supplies. In order to provide information relevant to water policy, planning and management, the survey focused on understanding residents’ water management practices, water experiences and concerns, as well as their support for various …

Huntsman Scholar Program - Alumni Achievements, Usu Jon M. Huntsman School Of Business

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business News Collection

We are excited to recognize the professional and personal achievements of Huntsman Scholar alumni. Please email Stephanie White any other updates [email protected].

The Huntsman Post, June 2015, Usu Jon M. Huntsman School Of Business

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Huntsman Post Issues Collection

Monthly newsletter for the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.

Undergraduate Latina/O Students: A Systematic Review Of Research Identifying Factors Contributing To Academic Success Outcomes, Gloria Crisp, Amanda Taggart, Amaury Nora

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

A systematic review was conducted to produce an up-to-date and comprehensive summary of qualitative and quantitative evidence specific to the factors related to undergraduate Latina/o student academic success outcomes during college. The purpose of the study was to make sense of and provide critique to this rapidly growing body of research, as well as to direct future research efforts. Findings indicate that a combination of (a) sociocultural characteristics; (b) academic self-confidence; (c) beliefs, ethnic/racial identity, and coping styles; (d) precollege academic experiences; (e) college experiences; (f) internal motivation and commitment; (g) interactions with supportive individuals; (h) perceptions of the campus …

Utah State University Commencement, 2015 – Main Campus, Utah State University

Commencement Programs

128^th Annual Commencement of Utah State University.

A Comparison Of Random Forest-Based Methods For Racial/Ethnic-Specific Classification Of Obesity, Sun Young Jeon

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

Obesity is typically defined using body mass index (BMI) and its established cut-off. However, some studies have highlighted the importance of developing racial/ethnic-specific classifications of obesity that reflect different body compositions and fat distributions. Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data and Random Forest classification, this paper attempts to identify important body measures and cut-offs for predicting obesity-related health risks among White, Hispanic and Black male populations in the U.S. In particular, this paper compares the performance of three Random Forest-based methods for dealing with class imbalance: weighted Random Forest (WRF), Random Forest with down-sampling (DS), and Random …

Centrality Measures Of Graphs Utilizing Continuous Walks In Hilbert Space, Jarod P. Benowitz

Physics Capstone Projects

Centrality is most commonly thought of as a measure in which we assign a ranking of the vertices from most important to least important. The importance of a vertex is relative to the underlying process being carried out on the network. This is why there is a diverse amount of centrality measures addressing many such processes. We propose a measure that assigns a ranking in which interference is a property of the underlying process being carried out on the network.

The Poverty Of Prefectures: A Reevaluation Of The Memoir Of Zhang Daye, Joshua Defriez

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Everything today's readers know about the man Zhang Daye comes from his memoir, The World of a Tiny Insect (Wei Chong Shijie, 微蟲世界). The manuscript was distributed locally after its completion in 1894, though it never achieved wide-scale circulation. Wang Yongyuan of Zhejiang Normal University donated the only complete copy to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the early 1950s where Harvard scholar Xiaofei Tian later discovered the manuscript. Since Tian's publication of an English translation in 2013, Zhang's writings have reached a wider audience than he likely ever imagined. As we read The World, Zhang's words …

Unwanted Sexual Experiences: Exploring Conservative Socialization As An Important Contextual Factor, Analise Barker

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This mixed methods study examined sexual assault experiences and interpretations within a conservative religious context. In study one, male and female undergraduates (n=234) responded to survey questions assessing religious dogmatism, sexist ideology, traditional gender roles, and rape myth acceptance. Religious fundamentalism was related to rape myth acceptance for women, but not men, and both benevolent sexism (e.g., chivalry) and traditional gender role adherence fully mediated the relationship between religious fundamentalism and rape myth acceptance for women. In study two, 14 women were interviewed about their unwanted sexual assault experiences (USE) and were asked to evaluate their experiences with reference to …

Meta-Analysis On Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Between Humans And Non-Human Primates, Madalyn R. Page

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Due to genetic similarity, non-human primates are often the focus of zoonotic infectious disease research. The objective of zoonotic disease research can vary depending upon whether the study is focusing on human health or the health of wild non-human primate populations. Research with non-human primates is often associated with their use in medical laboratories for the benefit of human health. However, other studies focus on both the health of wild non-human primate populations and human interactions. This study reviews zoonotic disease research published in three main primatology journals: American Journal of Primatology, International Journal of Primatology, and Primates. …

Looking A Gift Horse In The Mouth: 2014 Farm Bill Insect And Disease Restoration Provision -- True Gift Or False Hope?, Jamilee E. Holmstead

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Provisions in the 2014 Farm Bill were meant to increase the speed within which natural resource managers could treat insect and disease issues on National Forests. In order to use this new authority, each state was required to nominate acre portions of each National Forest with insect and disease risks.

The 35 nominations that were submitted differed substantially, from the amount of acreage nominated to the amount of effort that went into developing the nomination. The purpose of the research was to understand why there was such variation in the nominations. Several of the states that submitted nominations were contacted …

Understanding Westerners' Relationship With Public Lands And Federal Land Managers Through Attachment To Public Lands, Chris Sisneros

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The western United States contain large amounts of federal public lands, and those lands play an important role in both those states’ economies and the daily
lives of their residents. This study set out to understand how individuals interact with those public lands, how they become attached on a deeper level to those lands,
and whether or not that attachment has an effect on how they feel about the federal agencies that manage those lands. The term attachment to public lands is used to
describe how individuals can develop a bond towards public lands through both the recreational and economic …

Site-Based And Nonsite Archaeological Survey: A Comparison Of Two Survey Methods In The City Of Rocks, Idaho, Patrick Reed Mcdonald

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Archaeology in the western United States frequently employs pedestrian survey of the ground surface to locate and identify archaeological sites. Proponents of alternative survey techniques suggest that site-based survey may be inherently flawed and will not accurately detect, document, or account for artifacts located outside of site boundaries. Site-based survey identifies artifacts, and then searches the area more intensively in an attempt to identify a spatial break in artifact presence. Nonsite approaches utilize point plotting of all discovered artifacts in order to quantitatively identify relationships between artifacts. Quantitative analysis removes a level of researcher bias from the interpretation of past …

Spatial Patterns Of Rural And Exurban Residential Settlement And Agricultural Trends In The Intermountain West, Saleh Ahmed

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Population growth is often linked to negative impacts on agriculture. However, the effects of residential development likely depends on the spatial pattern of development, such as whether housing is clustered or dispersed, and whether it is located near or away from important farmland. For several decades, rural and urban planners have advocated policies to encourage consolidated forms of development as one strategy to protect agriculture and preserve open space. To date, relatively little empirical research has been conducted on the actual effects of different spatial patterns of residential settlement on agricultural. This study aims to fill that gap with a …

Propaganda Powers Social Reform: The Visual Rhetoric Of Lewis Hine, Dorothea Lange, And Norman Rockwell, Shelly Stock Halling

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The scope of this thesis is an examination of visual rhetoric and its societal impacts. The framework is an historical timeline from the end of the 19^th century to the middle of the 20^th century. The thesis is an interdisciplinary activity that embeds Art History in American Studies. It is beneficial to scholars in a variety of fields, including, but not limited to: English, American Studies, Art History, Photography, Sociology, Anthropology, and History. It braids together the theoretical perspectives of propaganda, visual rhetoric, and advocacy. The thesis is based on library research with no outside funding.

Concentrated Use Areas: Characteristics And Management Strategies On The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Zachary F. Maughan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Outdoor recreation management has become common practice on public lands over the past century. The United States Forest Service (USFS) has been a leader in the category of recreation management during that time period as well. One management niche associated specifically with national forest land is the field of dispersed recreation. Within the field of dispersed recreation management, USFS staff address recreation use in a variety of ways. One such method has been the development of Concentrated Use Areas (CUAs) in dispersed recreation settings. These areas are generally defined as undeveloped recreation areas that sustain resource impacts and require management …

Successful Paths To Becoming A Lean Organization In The Construction Industry, Robert D. Warcup

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lean construction is defined as the continuous process of eliminating waste, with the goal of increasing value on construction projects to the owner and to all stakeholders of a project. It has gained considerable momentum since the early 2000s because of its potential for problem-solving and increased productivity, especially as many construction firms still struggle to adapt to an ever-changing industry. This study was designed to assist construction companies, especially company executives and managers, to better understand the requirements of a lean transformation by describing the paths of three highly successful lean construction firms from the U.S.

Nine lean advocates, …

The Effectiveness Of An Intervention Designed To Increase The Positive To Negative Ratio Of Instructor Interactions During After-School Programming, Rikki K. Wheatley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of two interventions used to train instructors to increase PN ratios. The first intervention (workshop training) followed a didactic workshop-training model. The second intervention (coaching) included the components of the didactic workshop model with the addition of modeling, role-play, and performance feedback. In this study four instructors in an after-school program were randomly assigned to one of two groups to participate in training programs. These programs were designed to help them increase PN ratios when interacting with students during homework time in the after-school program. Group 1 received only the …

Representations Of Us Acts Of Extra-Territoriality As Illustrated In Pakistani-English Political Cartoons, Aina S. Niaz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The significance of Pakistan as an international state cannot be downplayed. Not only is Pakistan the first Islamic state to develop its nuclear power, but Pakistan has served as an important geostrategic state to the US on several occasions. The US-Pakistan geopolitical relationship was most vividly highlighted during the final years of the Cold War; and has reemerged again in the Global War on Terror. This thesis will examine Pakistani-English political cartoons to examine the way US extra-territoriality is represented visually. Approximately 2940 political cartoons are collected from four Pakistani-English newspapers: Dawn, The Express Tribune, The Nation, …

Who Cares? Developing A Pedagogy Of Caring In Higher Education, Andrew Shayne Larsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

When students are asked about their motivation to succeed in a course, about whether they enjoyed their instructor, and about their overall satisfaction with the class, answers can often be traced back to an educator who was perceived by the student as caring. Perceived caring occurs when a student feels that a teacher’s positive behaviors directed toward the student are motivated by good intentions and good will.

Research in the area of teacher care has almost exclusively focused on elementary and secondary classrooms, and has advanced the theory that caring teachers and caring classroom environments prompt many positive educational outcomes. …

Welfare State Context And Individual Health: The Role Of Decommodification In Shaping Self-Perceived Health, Karin M. Abel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

What happens in the political arena has important implications for individual lives. But, the form these implications take is not always clear. Hence, conducting research to uncover the impacts of the passage and subsequent implementation of various social policies is crucial. Also, understanding what drives various health outcomes is extremely important, as people’s well-being is tied to success (or failure) in so many aspects of their lives. My research seeks to uncover the link between the happenings in the political world and the health of individuals. If they understand the intricacies of this link, individuals will be better equipped to …

Gender Wage Gap And Education: Case In Dominican Republic, Adagel Grullón Navarro

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

In Latin America and the Caribbean women are paid less than men, although they have more years of education. This research analyzes the case of the Dominican Republic and presents evidences of the gender wage gap using regression analysis with data from the Central Bank of Dominican Republic. Results show that there exist the gender wage gap in the Dominican Republic and key determinants of wage are age, education, type of occupation, marital status and number of children. The probability of having higher wages is less for women in this country. Higher (college) education narrows the degree of the gender …

Color-Coded Media: Portrayals Of Race In Newspaper Coverage Of National Hockey League Athletes, Camille E. Anderson

Student Research Symposium

Previous research reveals differences in the language used to describe minority and non-minority football,basketball,and baseball athletes.The purpose of this study is to address the dearth of research regarding media portrayals of minority and non-minority athletes in the National Hockey League (NHL). This study utilized both qualitative and quantitative analyses to determine whether media coverage of professional hockey players is different based on race. Comments (n=1,487) from 18 of the highest circulation newspaper publications in the United States and Canada reporting on regular and post-season play for the 2013-2014 NHL season were coded using a modified version of the Biased Coverage …

Stewards Or Owners? The Influence Of Mormonism On Public Perspectives About Renewable Energy, Climate Change, And The Environment, Shawn Olson, Richard Krannich, Peter Robertson

Student Research Symposium

This research investigates the influence of different religious traditions, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints (LDS), on public support for renewable energy development and other environmental issues. We situate our study within the literature on religion and environment, and provide a contribution to the relatively limited amount of research that has been done examining the association between Mormonism and environmental concern. While some studies have found that members of the Mormon Church are significantly less likely to support environmental policy and behaviors, others have found that Mormons display higher levels of environmental concern than general U.S. population. …

Blindingly White: A Critical Look At The Claims Of Racial Intolerance Over A Name, Based On The Understandings Of White Privilege., Paul Veridian

Student Research Symposium

What makes something racist? In this presentaiton will look at the National Football League (NLF) team name 'The Washington Redskins' and the rhetorical choices to keep the name and deny the connotations of 'White Privilege' in modern America. I will do this by showing the different associations being made by those claiming the team's name is a racial slur and those being made by the Washington team's owner and the commissioner of the NFL. I will also cover parts of stasis theory that is the basis for the differing claims that shape much of the contention. By the end of …

#Genderroles: Modeling Gender Among Lds Students, Erica Hawvermale, Essa Temple, Mckayla Montierth

Student Research Symposium

Cultural consensus has emerged as an important way of teaching mixed ethnographic methods to future generations of anthropologists. A major strength of cultural consensus as a pedagogical tool is its intuitive logic and straight forward procedure. This paper demonstrates the use of this method as an entry point into anthropological fieldwork about religious gender roles. The collaborative efforts of Utah State University student-researchers show how junior researchers can use this approach to document the consensus and contestation of ideal gender roles of Mormon college students. Research methods included both semi-structured "free-list" interviews and pile-sorts to determine this cultural consensus model …