Digital Commons Network^™

Tax Increment Financing: A History And Analysis Of Its Success And Failure, Justin Cederlof

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Tax increment financing (TIF) is used by cities and towns to subsidize projects within their jurisdictions. The name derives from the growth in the tax base that a (re)development is theoretically responsible for. The increase in tax revenue is directed to funds to pay for the project. TIF is used in 49 U.S. states and each state has unique legislation for its use of it, though there are large similarities between states on how it’s implemented. Research suggests mixed results with whether or not the increase in the tax base is enough to pay off how much money went toward …

Engineering Planktonic And Biofilm Microalgae Systems For Productivity, Power Requirements, Cost, And Scalability, Dallin Chugg

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Microalgae cultivation offers dual benefits as an effective wastewater treatment method and a sustainable source of valuable bioproducts, such as biofuels, bioplastics, and feedstocks. This approach supports sustainability by transforming waste into high-value products while minimizing environmental impact. However, scaling microalgae cultivation to industrial levels presents significant challenges, particularly in optimizing harvesting efficiency, reducing mixing and transport costs, and managing large water requirements.

This report compares the productivity, scalability, cost, and energy requirements of two primary cultivation systems: planktonic and biofilm. Planktonic systems, such as open raceway ponds (ORPs), excel in light distribution and nutrient uptake due to continuous mixing, …

Geometric Algebra For Field Theory In Curved Spacetime, Kevin Rhine

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Physics seeks to understand the universe by uncovering the fundamental laws that govern matter, energy, space, and time. At its heart lies the challenge of unification: finding a mathematical framework that consistently describes these interactions across all scales, from the subatomic to the cosmological.

This thesis explores geometric algebra, a mathematical language that unifies algebra and geometry, as a tool for advancing this understanding. By extending this framework to curved spacetimes, where gravity influences the structure of space and time, we investigate its ability to describe physical phenomena such as electromagnetism and general relativity. A notable contribution includes the geometric …

Aircraft Water And Waste Systems Curriculum Alignment For Updated Airmen Certificate Standards (Acs), Myles Miller

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The purpose of this project was to create a curriculum that aligns with the updated Airmen Certificate Standards (ACS) related to aircraft water and waste systems. The curriculum was designed to align with the FAA standards outlined in the ACS section II. Airframe Subject O. Water and Waste Systems. The curriculum includes components, operation, inspection, and servicing requirements for potable water and lavatory waste systems. The curriculum should equip students with the ability to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with lavatory waste systems, and the ability to locate and explain the procedures for servicing water and waste systems. The …

Aleci: An R Package For Non-Parametric Confidence Intervals On Accumulated Local Effects Plots, Matthew R. Lister

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Machine learning models can take a collection of inputs and craft an output. The mathematical formulas these models use to calculate their outputs easily become too complex or time consuming for a human to analyze. Collectively, we refer to these as black box models. Accumulated local effects plots (ALE) are a method for adding interpretability and visibility into the effects that individual variables contribute to the predictions made by black box models. The method designed by D.W. Apley calculates equally spaced point estimates of the response value to construct a graph across the range of the variable of interest. AleCI …

Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports Training For General Education Teachers, Amber Carter

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This project addresses the increasing need for effective classroom behavior management through professional development and coaching for general education teachers in the implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). Grounded in research, this literature review examines the gaps in teachers' understanding and application of behavior strategies, especially compared to special educators. The project includes two components: an assessment report detailing SW-PBIS initiatives and their impact, and a coaching program aimed at improving classroom-level practices. Using evidence-based methods, such as training, observation, and feedback, the study demonstrates how targeted support enhances teacher capacity, reduces challenging student behaviors, and fosters …

An Invitation To Language: Fostering Critical Language Awareness Through Assignment Design, Amrutha Smith

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

First-year composition (FYC) instructors are often required to teach institution-issued course outcomes alongside their personal values. The author proposes a pedagogy to identify how teachers can invite rhetorical and linguistic agency in student writers and teach toward institutional objectives. To do so, the author shares her approach for revising existing and creating new FYC assignments that invite students to use their multiple codes and languagings (ways of communicating) in their writing. The assignments are driven by translanguaging approaches in writing instruction, specifically code-meshing and Critical Language Awareness (CLA), a theoretical framework coined by Shapiro, and integrate three settings in which …

Designing And Modeling An Exoskeleton Mobility Device For Individuals With Paraplegia, Dan O'Crowley

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The objective of this project is to design and develop a lightweight mobility exoskeleton for individuals with paraplegia that enables transportation of the user in a standing position, supports the user during the sitting to standing transition, and can be loaded by the user into a vehicle. A device like this has the potential to mitigate many negative health impacts of seated mobility devices, reduce social barriers, increase job opportunities for the user, and improve independence, while providing cost savings for the users and the healthcare system.

The system consists of a 3-linkage inverted pendulum with motors at the knee …

Bomb Calorimeter As Proof Of Concept For Low-Cost Calorimeter To Measure Thermal Runaway In Pouch Cells To Facilitate Statistical Characterization, Mykell Johnson

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Transportation is becoming increasingly electrified, with the main energy storage system being lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries. Despite the widespread adoption of li-ion batteries, unique design abuse tolerance concerns need to be addressed, specifically regarding the catastrophic exothermic release of energy, called thermal runaway (TR). While TR is a major design consideration in all li-ion applications, it presents unique difficulties in the electric aviation industry. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) considers thermal runaway inevitable in a battery pack and requires containment of the event per DO311-A for certified aircraft. Due to the wide variability of TR, designing for this phenomenon can be …

"Death Is The Fifth [Season], And Master Of All": Necropolitical Violence And/As Environmental Violence In The Fifth Season, Mason T. Goodrich

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

While many scholars have already described N.K. Jemisin’s Hugo Award-winning speculative novel The Fifth Season as one that highlights intersections between race, settler-colonialism, neoliberalism, and, most frequently, climate change, I apply a necropolitical lens to The Fifth Season in order evaluate a relationship that exists between systemic violence and environmental degradation. The Fifth Season depicts a socially inscribed relationship between an othered race of humans, called orogenes, and the land, anthropomorphized as “Father” Earth. Orogenes have a paradoxical social status: they are simultaneously feared and revered for their ability to control the Earth. This paradox is the impetus for many …

Gravity Wave Breaking Over Northern Utah With An Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper And Sodium Lidar, Eric Davis

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Considerable progress has been made in recent decades in the understanding of gravity wave (GW) dynamics. However, there remain important aspects and effects that are poorly understood. In particular, the coupling and deposition of their energy and momentum into the mesosphere lower thermosphere (MLT) region and the interaction and instability dynamics that are directly associated with GW breaking. Using an Advanced Mesosphere Temperature Mapper (AMTM) several strong wave breaking events were observed in the summer of 2015 at USU’s BLO research station. These events have exhibited high momentum fluxes and associated strong wave breaking, prompting detailed data analyses. Rossby waves, …

“How Can I Make This Real Life?”: Realism, Politics, And Simulational Rhetoric In Video Games, Samuel Rowles

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Video games are becoming an increasingly relevant aspect of modern culture, both shaping discourse around topics of labor, play, and art, and being shaped by the society they are created within. Scholars have examined the link between video games and player behavior since the 1990s and found that there is little concrete proof that video games alter behavior on their own and are simply one part of a much larger context. But with video games increasing in complexity and accuracy, it becomes necessary to examine whether video games are capable of convincing players about truths of the real world through …

She: The Shadow Self, Mya Bethers

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This multimodal poetry thesis explores the Female Shadow, an adaptation of Carl Jung’s concept of the Shadow that focuses on women’s experiences, through the themes of silence, abuse, and generational trauma. Incorporating multimodal forms such as video poetry and visual poetry alongside traditional print poetry, the collection mirrors the fragmented nature of trauma and the instability of memory. This collection draws from feminist theorists like Hélène Cixous, bell hooks, and Trinh T. Minh-ha, as well as poets engaging with Jungian concepts such as Sylvia Plath, Robert Bly, and Châtillon Coque. This work examines repression, voice, and the unconscious. Formally, it …

Revelry, Karina R. Mago

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The work in this exhibition is entirely figural, each part crafted individually from clay and fired in a wood kiln. These figures are intentionally anonymous, with their only distinguishing features being the marks left by the passing flames. Certain aspects of the bodies represented have been abstracted, and lines have been carved to highlight the movement embodied by the forms. Each firing occurs over the course of two days, which is only achievable through the collective effort of multiple individuals. It took a community to bring all of these pieces together.

This body of work is a love letter to …

The Art Of Engagement: Personal Connections, Innovative Practices, And Goal-Driven Language Motivation, Margrit Staiger

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This portfolio includes the author’s personal experiences, practices, and perspectives for teaching languages, all refined and revitalized during her time in the Master of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University. The author’s teaching perspectives have been informed by her experiences teaching French to primary, secondary, and university students, as well as by courses taken throughout the program. The following consists of three main pieces: the author’s teaching philosophy, an overview of research and practical applications of Game-Based Learning, and finally, research on factors that influence continuation of Arabic, French, and German in a university program.

Tuning Out The Dark: Music As A Defense And Folk Solution, Melanie Kimball

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Music across cultures and throughout history is a tool for engaging with the supernatural. It shares similarities with apotropaic magic. Through research and ethnographic fieldwork, I argued that even in modern times, individuals use music as an apotropaic remedy for fear and negative emotions. These remedies reflect strategies identified by Jeannie Thomas, including companionship, magical substance, neutralization, and displacement. Modern apotropaic music regulates emotions, re-establishes personal relationships, creates safe environments, and provides a means of control.

Contributors used music to combat various negative feelings, selecting genres that matched their emotional needs. In the absence of family and friends, music reaffirmed …

Cultural Implications In Global Hospitality: New Orleans To Al-Balad, Madeleine C. Helgren

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

There is a growing trend in the hospitality industry toward a more accurate cultural representation within hotel properties. Cultural accuracy within hospitality not only allows for a more exciting and unique travel experience for guests, but helps to preserve and sustain local communities and traditions.

Building upon research gained through first hand observation, interviews, and academic sources, this thesis aims to explore the integration of global hospitality brands within regionally specific cultures. The resulting conceptual projects integrate a fictional hospitality brand named Josephine into boutique hotel experiences in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the old town of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Al-Balad. …

Observing Mesospheric Gravity Waves With Nasa's Awe Mission And Correlating To Gnss Tec Maps, Jaime Aguilar Guerrero, Björn Bergsson, Sehin Mesfin, Pavel Inchin, Matthew Zettergren, Ludger Scherliess, Yucheng Zhao, Dominique Pautet

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

The Atmosphere Waves Experiment (AWE) is a NASA mission launched on November 9, 2023, and installed on the International Space Station (ISS). Its primary goal is to detect and characterize atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) by measuring Earth’s mesospheric hydroxyl (OH) airglow with its key instrument, the Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM). Since its deployment, AWE has been quantifying the seasonal and regional variability of AGWs, investigating their occurrence and potential sources, and enabling the assessment of their broader impact on the atmosphere by comparing measurements at different altitudes by other instruments. AWE has collected extensive imagery and temperature data capturing …

Strategies For Increasing Methane Removal In Methanotroph Bench-Scale Systems For The Production Of Ectoine, Jaden Storrer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Anthropogenic methane emissions contribute to the greenhouse gas profile which is the chief cause of climate change. One significant source of methane emissions is biogas produced from bacteria in wastewater facilities and landfills. Methane rich biogas has the potential to be valorized into high value bioproducts by using methanotrophs (microbes that use methane as their primary carbon source). Methylotuvimicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z was selected for this study as it can generate ectoine when grown in highly saline environments. Ectoine has been proven to have many benefits such as it prevents protein denaturation, it has hydration properties, and is a UV protectant. …

Managing For Disturbance: Trade-Offs Associated With Population Resilience And Ecosystem Size, Ellie Wallace

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Populations can recover from and withstand disturbance through characteristics such as reproduction and maintaining large abundances. While these traits are beneficial to native species conservation, they can simultaneously challenge effective invasive species management. Effective invasive species control requires sufficient efforts to overcome a population's ability to recover from disturbance, such as harvest. My dissertation aimed to address how the size of an invasive population and its ability to recover from disturbance impact a suite of invasive species control methods, including those that (1) target mainly larger and older individuals (i.e., mechanical removal), (2) target all sizes of individuals (i.e., targeted …

Door - To - Door Summer Sales And Other Summer Employment: A Cost And Benefit Analysis, Jentrie Gilliland

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Door-to-door summer sales is heavily marketed to college students, especially on university campuses in Utah. These employment options are marketed as having high financial rewards while giving students the opportunity to develop their professional skills. In this study, I examine whether these expected rewards are delivered and if door-to-door summer sales is a viable position for college students in comparison to other summer employment. Specifically, I focus on the financial benefits and skills gained from both job types as well as determinants for students who participate in door-to-door summer sales versus other summer employment. My findings indicate that there is …

A Systematic Review Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy In Sub-Saharan Africa: Understanding The Cultural Adaptations, Miriam N. Mukasa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a type of therapy that helps people handle difficult thoughts and feelings by staying present, accepting what they cannot control, and focusing on what truly matters to them. Despite its growing global popularity, the implementation and effectiveness of ACT in sub-Saharan Africa remains underexplored.

We evaluated the current evidence on the application, effectiveness, and cultural adaptation of ACT in sub-Saharan Africa, identifying gaps and providing recommendations for future research.

18 unique studies that met the inclusion criteria were found. Studies on improving athletic performance were the most common, with ACT also being evaluated for …

A Voice For Unity: The 1947 Freedom Train And Collective Memory Of The American Revolution, Joseph Lewis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

One element of American Revolution memory is how united the colonists were during the Revolution. Many subsequent political groups, such as the American Heritage Foundation (AHF), utilized this idealistic collective memory to advocate for unity and legitimize their agendas. Through the 1947 Freedom Train, the AHF shaped and reinforced a unified, idealistic, national heritage to unite Americans against the perceived threats of communism, disloyalty, and disunity at home, partially by framing the American Revolution as a united endeavor. Some Utahns and Americans at large, while supporting the pro-capitalist message embedded in the train, applied its message to support the protection …

Lidar Scene Reconstruction Using Imagery And Frame Overlap From A Texel Camera, Blake Chamberlain

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

A small unmanned aerial vehicle (sUAV) can be used to reconstruct a large area of terrain by capturing 3D scans, consisting of LiDAR point clouds and an overlaid image, and combining the scans together. Forming a complete 3D scene using texel image data (fused LiDAR and digital image scans) from an entire flight can be computationally prohibitive on low-cost hardware, so combining registering scans is done using a streaming method which processes the scans in consecutive chunks. Depending on the flight pattern, matching points in the scene may be visible from scans which were not captured around the same time, …

A Laboratory Study On The Hydraulics Of Stepped Spillways: Effects Of Step Geometry And A Labyrinth Crest, Megh Raj K C

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Observed trends in extreme storms are affecting the safety of several embankment dams. Spillways are critical for safely conveying excess water in the reservoir over the dam and into the downstream river, yet many dams that were built over 40 years ago have undersized spillways to handle modern flood estimates requiring repairs and upgrades. Consequently, a unique spillway crest, the labyrinth weir, has been used as a cost-effective improvement for numerous projects to enhance discharge capacity of existing weirs. Another cost-effective option for overtopping protection due is to place a less expensive concrete, Roller-Compacted Concrete (RCC), over the dam to …

Forging Resilient Futures: The Role Of Community Organizations In Addressing Environmental Injustices Faced By Immigrants Along The Wasatch Front, Utah, Nowrin Fatema

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Utah’s Wasatch Front is an urban area with a growing population that faces looming environmental challenges, such as the desiccation of the Great Salt Lake, worsening air quality, water scarcity, and the impacts of urban sprawl. If not prevented, the lake’s desiccation or other environmental challenges could result in dangerous air pollution, biodiversity loss, and disruptions to local economies. Immigrant populations may be uniquely vulnerable to these environmental changes because of economic, social, and political marginalization. For example, 50% of Salt Lake City’s foreign-born residents live on the City’s westside—the area on the frontline of the lake’s toxic dust. My …

Gone With The Flow: Flow Reduction Coincides With Reduced Metabolism And Standing Stock Of Benthic Algae And Macroinvertebrates In Desert Rivers, Chloe E. Lyles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

River metabolism, the measure of energy flow in a river, is driven by hydrological and physicochemical regimes (e.g., temperature, turbidity, and nutrients). However, these regimes are increasingly altered by human water demand and climate change-driven drought. These stressors alter the magnitude, timing, and duration of critical spring-snowmelt floods with poorly understood consequences on ecosystem function, particularly in desert rivers. To investigate the linkages between flow reduction, river metabolism, and basal food resource productivity (i.e., algae and aquatic invertebrates), we measured metabolism and basal resource availability in seven desert tributaries with varying degrees of flow reduction during low-flow conditions in 2023 …

Understanding The Impact Of Colloidal Calcium Phosphate On The Ph Variation In Cheddar Cheese During Early Stages Of Aging, Rachel Lindstrom

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Cheddar cheese industry has recently observed variation in the pH of their cheese during the early stage of storage. This variation may be due to the addition of the faster acid producing thermophilic starter culture Streptococcus thermophilus which was recently introduced into the Cheddar cheese making process. This starter culture may impact the calcium buffering properties of the cheese due to more retention of the insoluble calcium (INSOL Ca) within the cheese. To investigate this problem, we studied how insoluble calcium affects cheeses with pH ranging from 4.8 to 6.6 and found that INSOL Ca was positively correlated with …

Component Analysis Of Interactive Computer Training To Teach Paraprofessionals To Deliver Behavioral Skills Training, Scott V. Page

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In education and Applied Behavior Analysis, there is growing demand for well-trained entry-level individuals to deliver behavior interventions. Interactive Computer Training allows trainees to access online instruction with video demonstrations, interactive tasks, and feedback, without a live instructor. This training approach could save valuable training time and money. Prior researchers demonstrated these types of training can teach trainees to correctly use behavior interventions. There are gaps in our understanding of Interactive Computer Trainings that limit its successful use. Few studies measured cost-effectiveness, identified the effective features of Interactive Computer Training (e.g., videos, quizzes, feedback), or trained users to deliver effective …

Talkin’ Bout A Revolution: A Comparative Analysis Between Hannah Arendt And Frantz Fanon, Nicholas Gleed

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

What is the role of freedom and violence in revolution? This thesis involves a comparative analysis of how two major political theorists – Hannah Arendt and Frantz Fanon – understood and conceptualized the role of violence and freedom in relation to revolution. Due to their differing theoretical frameworks and perspectives, they often come to different conclusions on these points of comparison. However, by placing these two thinkers in conversation with each other, we can better understand the core of their arguments on freedom, violence, and revolution and how they might be similar and different in various ways. For Arendt, violence …