Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Neighborhood Cohesion On Homelessness In Cache Valley, Utah, Madison Elliott

Research on Capitol Hill

• The 2017 Utah Point in Time Count reported that 2,852 Utah residents were identified as being homeless (Utah Housing and Community Development Division, 2017).
• There is a large gap in research that explores one’s likelihood of becoming homeless and its relation to community integration and neighborhood cohesion. Community integration can be defined through the feelings of acceptance within one’s social network(s), sharing common norms and values with those around you. (Sayer, et al., 2011) Neighborhood cohesion is the sense of shared morals and trust within a neighborhood community.
• Current bodies of knowledge in social science literature discuss other causes of …

Close But No Cigar: How A Near-Miss Wildfire Event Influences The Risk Perceptions And Mitigation Behaviors Of Residents Who Experienced A Recent, Nearby Wildfire, Lauren Nicole Dupey, Jordan W. Smith

All Current Publications

This research used Protection Motivation Theory to examine if and how individuals who experience a near-miss wildfire event (i.e., a recent, proximal wildfire that did not harm these individuals or their properties) intend to protect themselves against future risks. We administered a drop-off pick-up survey to residents living in Durango, Colorado, a community heavily impacted by the 416 fire in the spring and summer of 2018. The survey, completed by 195 residents, solicited information about wildfire mitigation behaviors taken before and after the 416 fire. Data were also collected on four of the dimensions of Protection Motivation Theory which may …

Utah State University’S Cache Valley Latinx Voices Project: Social Justice In The Archives, Randy Williams, Eduardo Ortiz, Maria Luisa Spicer-Escalante

Journal of Western Archives

Northern Utah Speaks is an in-depth ethnographic effort by Utah State University Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives (SCA) to bring diverse voices of Northern Utah communities into the Archives. Since 2006, the focus is with social justice in mind as SCA endeavors to bring the voices of underrepresented and historically excluded people into the Archives. Calls to make archival records more inclusive stretch back fifty years, however for many archival institutions this work has moved forward in fits and starts, if at all, and most often without the input and assistance from the community to be studied, collected, and included. …

Voices From Drug Court: Partnering To Bring Historically Excluded Communities Into The Archives, Randy Williams, Jennifer Duncan

Journal of Western Archives

While many archivists have evolved their professional scope to bring diversity into their collections, we posit that much can still be done. One area for growth is greater work by archival professionals to partner with communities to help them tell and preserve their own stories, incorporating a community’s own perspective and goals. This article discusses the community-based project between the Cache Valley Utah Drug Court and Utah State University Library’s Special Collections & Archives. The project was conceived and co-managed by Andrew Dupree (name used with permission), a participant and now graduate of the Cache Valley Drug Court. Perhaps the …

The Cost Of Care And The Impact On The Archives Profession, Alexis Braun Marks, Rachael Dreyer, Jennifer Johnson, Michelle Sweetser

Journal of Western Archives

The archives profession has, in recent years, exerted considerable effort to become more welcoming and inclusive to diverse archival professionals. Many of these efforts have focused intensively on recruiting a diverse workforce. In this article, the authors propose a new approach through which to create and sustain inclusive archival work environments: caregiving. National research has shown that caregiving responsibilities affect women more than their male counterparts, and within these gender divides there are aspects of caregiving that impact individuals of different racial and cultural backgrounds unequally. The issue of navigating the demands of caregiving, work responsibilities, and professional engagement must …

The Importance Of Cognitive Diversity For Sustaining The Commons, Jacopo A. Baggio, Jacob Freeman, Thomas R. Coyle, Tam Nguyen, Dale Hancock, Karrie E. Elpers, Samantha Nabity, H.J. Francois Dengah Ii, David Pillow

Ecology Center Publications

Cognitive abilities underpin the capacity of individuals to build models of their environment and make decisions about how to govern resources. Here, we test the functional intelligences proposition that functionally diverse cognitive abilities within a group are critical to govern common pool resources. We assess the effect of two cognitive abilities, social and general intelligence, on group performance on a resource harvesting and management game involving either a negative or a positive disturbance to the resource base. Our results indicate that under improving conditions (positive disturbance) groups with higher general intelligence perform better. However, when conditions deteriorate (negative disturbance) groups …

The Utah Statesman, February 19, 2019, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

“We Weren’T Raised That Way”: Using Stigma Management Communication Theory To Understand How Families Manage The Stigma Of Substance Abuse, Sydney O'Shay-Wallace

Publications

While people who abuse substances experience widespread health and social consequences stemming from their substance use, these consequences also extend to their family through stigmatization. Such stigma has implications for families’ mental and physical health, as well as their overall quality of life. This study seeks to fill a gap in research surrounding the stigma experienced by families with a history of substance abuse by investigating how affected family members experience and communicatively manage stigma messages relating to their family member’s substance abuse. Fifteen people whose families include a person who uses substances (PWUS) participated in semi-structured interviews where they …

Panel-Based Exhibit Using Participatory Design Elements May Motivate Behavior Change, Lisa Lundgren, Kathryn A. Stofer, Betty A. Dunckel, Janice Krieger, Makenna Lange, Vaughan James

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Meaningful science engagement beyond one-way outreach is needed to encourage science-based decision making. This pilot study aimed to instigate dialogue and deliberation concerning climate change and public health. Feedback from science café participants was used to design a panel-based museum exhibit that asked visitors to make action plans concerning such issues. Using intercept interviews and visitor comment card data, we found that visitors developed general or highly individualistic action plans to address these issues. Results suggest that employing participatory design methods when developing controversial socio-scientific exhibits can aid engagement. We conclude by recommending participatory strategies for implementing two-way science communication.

Faculty Senate Agenda, February 4, 2019, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Monthly Report – January 10, 2019
• Academic Freedom and Tenure Annual Report
• Council on Teacher Education Annual Report
• 405.7.2 – External Reviewers
• Greenhouse Gas Resolution
• 403.3.1 – Standards of Conduct – Faculty Responsibilities to Students
• 403.3.2 – Standards of Conduct – Professional Obligations
• 405.2.1 – 405.3.2 – 405.5.1 – 405.10.1 Community Engagement Inclusion
• 407.1.1 – Non Punitive Measure
• 407.8.5(3) – Sexual Harassment
• 407.11.2(2) - Notification of Faculty Member
• 407.11.3(2) – Protection of Complainant and Others

Faculty Senate Minutes, February 4, 2019, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Academic Freedom and Tenure
• Council on Teacher Education
• Greenhouse Gas Resolution

Workplace Democracy And The Problem Of Equality, Jared Sterling Colton, Avery C. Edenfield, Steve Holmes

English Faculty Publications

Purpose: Professional communicators are becoming more invested in unique configurations of power in organizations, including non-hierarchical and democratic workplaces. While organizations dedicated to democratic processes may enact power differently than conventional organizations, they may fall short of practicing equality. This article explains the differences in non-hierarchical workplaces, considers businesses where democracy is a goal, and argues for considering equality as a habitual practice, particularly when writing regulatory documents.

Method: We conduct a review of the literature on non-hierarchical workplaces and organizational democracy, applying Jacques Rancière’s concept of equality to two examples (one using primary data collection and one using secondary …

The Birch Creek Canids And Dogs As Transport Labor In The Intermountain West, Martin H. Welker, David A. Byers

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Historically, domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) have been documented as central features of Intermountain West and Great Plains Native American camps. Some of these dogs were bred specifically for largeness and stamina to haul travois and to carry pannier-style packs. Ethnographic accounts frequently highlight the importance of dogs in moving through the Intermountain West and the plains, reporting loads as heavy as 45 kg (100 lbs). We calculated body mass from skeletal morphometric data and used these to estimate prehistoric and historic dog load capacities for travois and pannier-style packs in the Intermountain West, Great Plains, and Great Basin. Specimens of …

The Utah Statesman, January 29, 2019, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Challenges In Columbia River Fisheries Conservation: A Response To Duda Et Al., Brian K. Hand, Courtney G. Flint, Chris A. Frissell, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Shawn P. Devlin, Brian P. Kennedy, Robert L. Crabtree, W. Arthur Mckee, Gordon Luikart, Jack A. Stanford

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The salmonid fisheries of the Columbia River Basin (CRB) have enormous socioeconomic, cultural, and ecological importance to numerous diverse stakeholders (eg state, federal, tribal, nonprofit), and there are a wide array of opinions and perspectives on how these fisheries should be managed. Although we appreciate Duda et al.'s commentary, it offers only one perspective of many in this context. The objective of our paper (Hand et al. 2018) was to provide justification for “the importance of social–ecological perspectives when communicating conservation values and goals, and the role of independent science in guiding management policy and practice for …

The Utah Statesman, January 22, 2019, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes, January 22, 2019, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Academic Freedom and Tenure
• Council on Teacher Education
• Greenhouse Gas Resolution
• USUSA Annual Report
• Professional Responsibilities and Procedures Committee
• Scholarship Advisory Board
• USUSA Recommendations

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Humanities And Social Sciences, January 11, 2019 – I-System Institute For Transdisciplinary Studies, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The President and Provost recommend that the Board of Trustees approve the proposal to establish the I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology.

Front Matter

Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Imw Journal Of Religious Studies Volume 9 Number 1

Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Task Affect And Task Understanding In Engineering Problem Solving, Oenardi Lawanto, Angela L. Minichiello, Jacek Uziak, Andreas Febrian

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

Within the self-regulated learning literature, motivation is considered to be an essential feature of students’ self-regulatory processes. Additionally, task affect (i.e., personal objectives and task value) is thought to influence students’ self-regulatory processes; insufficient task affect may lead to failures to self-regulate effectively. In a school setting, task affect is a form of motivation for completing the course tasks in order to attain course-level goals that are inherently valued. In this study, motivation is operationalized as students’ personal objectives and task values, and self-regulation refers to students’ understanding of tasks (also called task interpretation skill) involved in a course. This …

"Mentoring Is Ethical, Right?": Women Graduate Students And Faculty In Science And Engineering Speak Out, Laura Gelles, Idalis Villanueva, Marialuisa Di Stefano

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

The relationship between graduate students and their research advisors within academia is pivotal to the development and success of the research enterprise. Graduate students rely on their faculty advisor to be a source of information, a departmental negotiator, and a role model to guide their professional and ethical behavior. However, if an advisor does not fully recognize a student’s best interest or they are unaware of how to be an “ethical mentor”, they may overlook the unique social capital of the graduate student (e.g., background, culture) and jeopardize the research relationship. This work aims to explore how women graduate students …

Newsletter 2019, Utah State University

Research

This is a newsletter from the 2018-2019 academic year at Utah State University. It explores the type of research being done, in addition to the changes in the past year regarding research, fellowships, and programs available to students.

Faculty Teaching And Librarian-Facilitated Assignment Design, Rachel Wishkoski, Kacy Lundstrom, Erin Davis

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

This qualitative study explores the impact of a workshop on collaborative research assignment design that brought together an interdisciplinary group of faculty in a librarian-facilitated community of practice. Faculty participants attended the workshop, revised and implemented their assignments, and completed a follow-up interview. Themes that emerged reflected shifts in faculty teaching practices, including increased scaffolding, clarity, modeling, student collaboration, and opportunities for authentic learning. Gaining insight into how faculty approach the work of teaching directly impacts library instruction and how librarians can contribute to communities of practice among teachers in the academy.

Entre Botas, Manteletas Y Vestidos: Los Objetos De Moda Como Significantes De La Clase Social En La Novela Tormento, De Benito Pérez Galdós, Jeannette Acevedo Rivera

Decimonónica

En su artículo “La reina Isabel,” publicado en el periódico El Liberal el 12 de abril de 1904, Benito Pérez Galdós describe sus varios encuentros en París con la exiliada reina Isabel II. Aquella cuyos destinos no habían sido los más dichosos estaba instalada en su Palacio de Castilla, en el exclusivo decimosexto distrito de la capital francesa, a pasos del Arco del Triunfo (nótese la ironía del detalle). El propósito de estas visitas era, según lo explica Galdós mismo, solicitarle a la reina que le contase “cosas y menudencias de su reinado,” para así construir la “historia que suena,” …

Connecting With Computer Science: Electronic Textile Portfolios As Ideational Identity Resources For High School Students, Mia S. Shaw, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

The development of student identities—their interests in computer science, perceptions of the discipline, and sense of belonging in the field—is critical for broadening participation of underrepresented groups in computing. This paper reports on the design of portfolios in which two classes of high school students reflected on the process of making electronic textile projects. We examine how students expressed self-authorship in relation to computer science and how the use of reflective portfolios shaped students’ perceptions of computer science. In the discussion we consider how reflective portfolios can serve as ideational resources for computer science identity construction.

Population Dynamics And Control Of Exotic South African Oryx In The Chihuahuan Desert, South-Central New Mexico, Louis Bender, Patrick Morrow, Mara Weisenberger, Bryce Krueger

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Introductions of exotic species can benefit certain publics but can also have many unanticipated consequences. South African oryx (Oryx gazella gazella) were introduced into the Chihuahuan Desert on White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico, USA to alleviate a perceived lack of large mammal hunting opportunities. Because of conflicts with oryx as the population increased, we modeled population growth and determined survival of radio-collared oryx to identify rates of population increase, limiting factors to population growth, and levels of harvest necessary to control population growth. Following introductions in 1969–1977, oryx significantly increased their range and showed a rate …

Efficacy Of An Online Native Snake Identification Search Engine For Public Use, Scott E. Henke, Samantha S. Kahl, David B. Wester, Gad Perry, David Britton

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Visual methods of species identification are used both in research and recreational contexts because they are inexpensive, non-invasive, and believed to be effective among uniquely identifiable individuals. We examined the ability of the general public to identify live snakes (Serpentes) that are native to the United States using an online snake identification search engine (SISE) produced by the North America Brown Tree Snake Control Team (NABTSCT) website, http://www.nabtsct.net. The SISE consisted of participants answering 7 descriptive questions concerning a snake and then reviewing photographs of snakes that matched that description. Using 3 species of snakes native to Texas, USA, 21% …

Wildlife Damage To Crops Adjacent To A Protected Area In Southeastern Mexico: Farmers’ Perceptions Versus Actual Impact, Gabriel Can-Hernández, Claudia Villanueva-García, Elías José Gordillo-Chávez, Coral Jazvel Pacheco-Figueroa, Elizabeth Pérez-Netzahual, Rodrigo García-Morales

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–wildlife conflicts occur when wildlife has an adverse effect on human activities (e.g., predation of livestock, crop raiding). These conflicts are increasing, particularly in areas surrounding natural protected areas, where villagers engage in subsistence agriculture. Crop damage may cause farmers to retaliate and harm wildlife species considered responsible for the damage. Among the factors that determine the intensity of the conflict are the frequency of the damage and the amount of biomass consumed relative to the perceptions, values, and cultural history of the farmers affected. To better understand the conflicts between farmers and wildlife, we compared farmer perceptions of wildlife …

Unclogging The Pipeline: Advancement To Full Professor In Academic Stem, Helga Van Miegroet, Christy Glass, Ronda R. Callister, Kimberly Sullivan

Ecology Center Publications

Purpose: Women remain underrepresented in academic STEM, especially at the highest ranks. While much attention has focused on early-career attrition, mid-career advancement is still largely understudied and undocumented. This paper analyzes gender differences in advancement to full professor within academic STEM at a mid-size public doctoral university in the western US, before and after the NSF-ADVANCE Program (2003-2007).

Methodology: Using faculty demographics and promotion data between 2008 and 2014, combined with faculty responses to two waves of a climate survey, the magnitude and longevity of the impact of ADVANCE on mid-career faculty advancement across gender is evaluated.

Findings: This study …