Digital Commons Network^™

Uv-A Light: A Novel Method For Food Dehydration, Mckade S. Roberts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Dehydration is one of the most prevalent forms of food preservation, with approximately 85% of food is hot air drying due to the simplicity of the process. The high temperatures employed in this method may also induce a loss in nutritional quality, which involves destruction of micronutrients (vitamins), and loss of color.

The aim of this work is to develop a low energy, non-thermal method of food dehydration that results in a high-quality product through the application of Ultraviolet light, within the UV-A range. UV light can be separated into its 3 categories based on the wavelength of light from …

Contrasting Nitrogen Sources Impact Nitrogen Use Efficiency And Soil Health Under Silage Corn Production In A Semi-Arid Environment, Phearen Kit Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Silage corn production challenges sustainable intensification and soil health in semi-arid environments because the entire aboveground biomass is harvested and removed from the field. An irrigated silage corn field study was conducted over a decade comparing nitrogen fertility sources using a complete randomized block design with four treatments: control with no nitrogen fertilizer (control), low ammonium sulfate at 112 kg N ha⁻¹ (AS100), high ammonium sulfate at 224 kg N ha⁻¹ (AS200), and steer manure compost at 224 kg total N ha⁻¹ (compost). Research focused on the impact of these contrasting nitrogen sources on silage corn production, …

Collective Teacher Efficacy And Effective Title I Eligible Schools: A Mixed Methods Approach, Donald R. Mendenhall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Students living in poverty have historically scored lower than more affluent peers. However, research suggests that collective teacher efficacy (CTE) may be more strongly associated with student academic success than socioeconomic background. Therefore, this study identifies successful Title I eligible schools that also have high levels of collective teacher efficacy to identify methods for increasing CTE in schools. A mixed methods research study model is used to explain how two successful Title I schools were able to achieve academic success and high levels of CTE. The study finds some of the perceptions of school staff, and the actions and processes …

Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Disease: Social And Environmental Drivers Of Movement, Connectivity, And Disease Transmission In Bighorn Sheep, Lauren E. Ricci

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Movement is a fundamental component of animal ecology. Animals move in order to access resources and avoid risk. Movement decisions aggregated across time determine how individuals use space, contact dynamics between individuals within a population, and connectivity across a species range. These patterns that emerge from movement decisions have downstream implications for many ecological processes and a mechanistic understanding of movement can help answer broader questions about ecology.

Disease dynamics are intrinsically tied to movement. Understanding the mechanisms that drive movement can elucidate how disease will spread and impact host populations. In this vein, I employed a suite of movement …

Spatial Ecology Of Mule Deer Migrations From Grand Teton National Park And The Teton Range, Justin K. Schwabedissen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem hosts several of the longest, fully intact ungulate migrations remaining in the continental United States. However, expanding development and an increasing human footprint continue to truncate migratory routes. While the endpoints are often a seasonal range on protected lands, these migration corridors frequently cross other jurisdictional boundaries, including large tracts of private or multiple-use lands, with varying levels of protection. Thus, it is critical resource managers understand the dynamics of migratory movements to define population-level corridors and prioritize appropriate conservation strategies. Mule deer in Wyoming have been documented traveling long distances between summer and winter ranges; …

Evaluating An Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math/Computational Thinking Professional Development Program For Elementary Level Paraprofessional Educators, Aubrey A. Rogowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

For my dissertation, I looked at a training program one Utah school district used to teach paraprofessional educators science, technology, engineering, math, and computational thinking. Specifically, the program taught them about what computational thinking is and how they could use it when teaching science, technology, engineering, and math to students from kindergarten to sixth grade. While reviewing this program, I evaluated 1) The experiences the paraprofessionals had with the program, 2) Whether the paraprofessionals understood computational thinking, and 3) Whether the program prepared them to teach computational thinking to K-6 students.

I worked with eight paraprofessionals who participated in this …

Developing A Methodology For Evaluating The Sensitivity Of Rock Imagery Sites To Vandalism In Washington County, Ut, Erin C. Haycock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study uses statistical analysis to examine the relationship between the characteristics of rock imagery (also known as rock art) sites and intentionally caused damages in Washington County, Utah. This project aims to create an index for public land managers to respond proactively to vandalism at rock imagery sites. Included here is an analysis of the severity and frequency of damage to the sites and an inventory of the types of site damage to determine the most common and destructive types of vandalism. Site attributes such as the number of figures in a panel, the type of images, and panel …

Exploring Farmers' Willingness To Accept Payment For Agricultural Conservation In Utah, Asif Ahmed Khan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In view of Utah’s drought situation and the need for conservation of water use, this thesis tries to calculate the compensation required for farmers to switch from cultivating alfalfa-which requires a lot of water, to less water-consuming crops like wheat, hay and even pasture. It proposes a new technique for this calculation using big data, including satellite images from National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), agricultural statistics from National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), climate data from Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) climate group and land use data from the state of Utah. These data are integrated into a …

Water Data Science: Data Driven Techniques, Training, And Tools For Improved Management Of High Frequency Water Resources Data, Amber Spackman Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Electronic sensors can measure water and climate conditions at high frequency and generate large quantities of observed data. This work addresses data management challenges associated with the volume and complexity of high frequency water data. We developed techniques for automatically reviewing data, created materials for training water data managers, and explored existing and emerging technologies for sensor data management.

Data collected by sensors often include errors due to sensor failure or environmental conditions that need to be removed, labeled, or corrected before the data can be used for analysis. Manual review and correction of these data can be tedious and …

Understanding Peer Interactions In Undergraduate Engineering Education, Jack C. Elliott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Whether they occur inside or outside the classroom, social interactions between undergraduate students play a key role in student success. As a result, engineering education researchers have sought to understand why students interact with certain peers, and which types of interactions relate to positive student outcomes. While existing studies show promising results for formal group assignments, most have been conducted in a single undergraduate course. Because important student interactions occur outside and inside courses, more research is needed to fully understand (a) why students choose to, or not to, interact with other students, and (b) how these interactions relate to …

Morphological And Physio-Biochemical Responses And Gene Expression Analyses Of Landscape Plants Under Salinity Stress, Asmita Paudel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Soil salinity is a significant global issue that adversely impacts the growth and development of landscape plants. One of the effective strategies to prevent salinity damage to landscape plants is to cultivate species that are tolerant to the prevailing salinity levels. Salinity tolerance varies among plant species and cultivars. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the salinity tolerance of nine landscape plants [Albizia julibrissin (mimosa tree), Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (kinnikinnick), Cercocarpus ledifolius (curl-leaf mountain mahogany), Cercocarpus montanus ‘Coy’ (alder-leaf mountain mahogany), Penstemon barbatus ‘Novapenblu’ (rock candy blue^® penstemon), Penstemon strictus ‘Rocky Mountain’ (rocky mountain beardtongue), Punica granatum ‘Wonderful’ (pomegranate), …

Inferring A Hierarchical Input Type For An Sql Query, Santosh Aryal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

SQL queries are a common method to retrieve information from databases, much like asking a detailed question and getting a precise answer. Plug-and-play queries simplify the process of querying. In a Plug-and-play SQL query a programmer sketches the shape of the input to the query as a hierarchy. But the programmer could make a mistake in specifying the hierarchy and it takes programmer time and effort to specify the hierarchy. A better solution is to automatically infer the hierarchy from a query. This thesis presents a system to infer a hierarchical input type for an SQL query. We consider two …

Dionysus The Barbarian, Deven Salisbury

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This thesis analyzes the changes in the way the Greeks depicted foreigners and Dionysus, the god of wine, over a period of approximately four hundred years in their art and literature. It argues that ways in which the god and foreigners (also known as "barbarians") are closely linked and that the changes made to Dionysus' character are closely analogous to those they made to the characterization of the barbarian.

A Content Analysis On Emotions Presented In Preschool Children's Television, Sarah Austin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Learning about emotions is an essential aspect of early childhood. Because of the increasing access to screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic, children have more resources in their environment to learn from. However, before more can be known about whether children are learning about emotions during their screen time, it is important to know how emotions are being presented to them in their online content. Therefore, this study sought to gather data regarding how four emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear) are portrayed verbally and nonverbally among three types of preschool television shows (entertainment, balanced, educational). A sample of 60 preschool …

Advancing Game Development And Ai Integration: An Extensible Game Engine With Integrated Ai Support For Real-World Deployment And Efficient Model Development, Ryan Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This thesis introduces Acacia, a game engine with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Acacia allows game developers to effortlessly incorporate Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms into their creations. By tagging game elements to convey information about the game state or rewards, developers gain precise control over how RL algorithms interact with their games, mirroring real player behavior or providing full knowledge of the game world.

To showcase Acacia’s versatility, the thesis presents three games across different genres, each demonstrating the engine’s AI plugin. The goal is to establish Acacia as a preferred resource for creating 2D games with RL support without …

Special Study: Vulnerability, Jacob Taylor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Special Study: Vulnerability is a collection of creative nonfiction essays engaged in recovering the stories of homeless individuals living in Salt Lake City, Utah. The recovery project is focused on the years 2017-2023, with special attention to the events of Operation Rio Grande (2017-2020). The essays seek to, among other things, provide a critique of public policy, increase public awareness of the issues facing the homeless population, and elicit empathy from readers.

On The Existence Of Periodic Traveling-Wave Solutions To Certain Systems Of Nonlinear, Dispersive Wave Equations, Jacob Daniels

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

A variety of physical phenomena can be modeled by systems of nonlinear, dispersive wave equations. Such examples include the propagation of a wave through a canal, deep ocean waves with small amplitude and long wavelength, and even the propagation of long-crested waves on the surface of lakes. An important task in the study of water wave equations is to determine whether a solution exists. This thesis aims to determine whether there exists solutions that both travel at a constant speed and are periodic for several systems of water wave equations. The work done in this thesis contributes to the subfields …

Conflict Within Wildlife Management On Western Landscapes Home On The Range, Trisha A. Hedin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Most of the public lands within the Intermountain West are administered under a multiple-use mandate which emphasizes striking a balance in land use planning among the potentially competing values of livestock grazing, timber production, water supply, extraction of valuable fossil fuels, wildlife, and wilderness. This research sought to dive into a few of these competing values that involve large herbivores that compete for limited forage resources such as livestock and wildlife, on public lands, but also touched upon wildlife on private lands. The first component of research looked specifically at the coexistence of wildlife and livestock on both public and …

Quantifying The Role Of Karst Groundwater On Mountain River Discharge, Devon Hill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

A primary objective of hydrological research is to anticipate the shifts in water supply due to climate change. These shifts are difficult to predict in karst areas like Logan Canyon because much of the water moves through large fractures and cave networks that transport groundwater quickly, but there are some groundwater fractions which move very slowly. Many studies in karst regions use spring dynamics to assess aquifer condition, but overlook other influences such as exchanges between a river and the underlying aquifer. In this study, we calculated the quantity and chemical makeup of these groundwater and surface water exchanges by …

Techniques To Overcome Energy Storage Limitations In Electric Vehicles, Matthew J. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular, battery limitations (cost, size, and weight) complicate electric vehicle adoption. While important research on battery development is ongoing, this dissertation discusses two main approaches to overcome those limitations within the existing battery technology paradigm. Those thrusts are: improving battery health through an optimal charging strategy and minimizing necessary battery size through dynamic wireless power transfer. In this dissertation, relevant literature is discussed, with opportunities for further development considered. Within the two thrusts, three objectives sharpen the focus of the research presented here. First, a planning tool is defined for a battery electric bus fleet. …

Assessing Extant Methods For Generating G-Optimal Designs And A Novel Methodology To Compute The G-Score Of A Candidate Design, Hyrum John Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Experimental designs are used by scientists to allocate treatments such that statistical inference is appropriate. Most traditional experimental designs have mathematical properties that make them desirable under certain conditions. Optimal experimental designs are those where the researcher can exercise total control over the treatment levels to maximize a chosen mathematical property. As is common in literature, the experimental design is represented as a matrix where each column represents a variable, and each row represents a trial. We define a function that takes as input the design matrix and outputs its score. We then algorithmically adjust each entry until a design …

A Comprehensive Uncertainty Quantification Methodology For Metrology Calibration And Method Comparison Problems Via Numeric Solutions To Maximum Likelihood Estimation And Parametric Bootstrapping, Aloka B. S. N. Dayarathne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In metrology, the science of measurements, straight line calibration models are frequently employed. These models help understand the instrumental response to an analyte, whose chemical constituents are unknown, and predict the analyte’s concentration in a sample. Techniques such as ordinary least squares and generalized least squares are commonly used to fit these calibration curves. However, these methods may yield biased estimates of slope and intercept when the calibrant, substance used to calibrate an analytical procedure with known chemical constituents (x-values), carries uncertainty. To address this, Ripley and Thompson (1987) proposed functional relationship estimation by maximum likelihood (FREML), which considers uncertainties …

Adhd Knowledge: Support For Current Measures And Connections To Stigma And Intervention, Megan E. Golson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Many children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be at-risk for social, educational, and daily functioning challenges. Identifying ADHD and beginning intervention as early as possible improves outcomes for children with ADHD. Research suggests that parents, teachers, and the general population have more favorable opinions about ADHD interventions the more they know about ADHD. While many measures of ADHD knowledge have been created to measure this, there is little research on the validity of these measures. Further, additional research is needed to better understand relation between ADHD knowledge and intervention favorability. The two studies in this dissertation aim to fill these …

Do Physical Activity, Diet And Sex Modify The Association Between Neurotrophin Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms And Insomnia?, Hector Leonardo Gonzalez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Sleep disturbance is common in older adults at prevalence rates ranging between 30 - 50% in the United States. Neurotrophins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), play a role in sleep (Bachmann et al., 2012) as do lifestyle factors such as physical activity (Dolezal et al., 2017) and diet. This study examined the associations of selected single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs related to BDNF or its receptors and lifestyle factors of physical activity and diet, as well as their interactions on the risk for sleep disturbance in older adult males and females. This thesis examined existing data from the Cache …

Across The Snake River Plain: Terminal Pleistocene, Early Holocene, And Early Middle Holocene Land-Use In Southeast Idaho, Jennifer Finn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The range of mobility demonstrated to overcome challenges with resource distribution is a hallmark of hunter-gatherer societies. Previous studies in southeast Idaho have investigated the possibility that precontact human movement was impacted by climatic differences. According to preliminary studies on regional obsidian toolstone conveyance, land use patterns were already changing throughout the early Holocene due to increased aridity. However, the geographical distribution of Northern Side-notched projectile points suggests a significant expansion in mobility at the early Holocene/middle Holocene transition. This thesis tests the hypothesis that precontact early middle Holocene human mobility in the study area was conditioned by environmental factors …

Vectors And Vector Borne Disease: Models For The Spread Of Curly Top Disease And Culex Mosquito Abundance, Rachel M. (Frantz) Georges

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Mathematical models are useful tools in managing infectious disease. When designed appropriately, these models can provide insight into disease incidence patterns and transmission rates. In this work, we present several models that provide information that is useful in monitoring diseases spread by insects.

In the first part of this dissertation, we present two models that predict disease incidence patterns for Curly Top disease (CT) in tomato crops. CT affects a wide variety of plants and is spread through the bite of the Beet Leafhopper. This disease is particularly devastating to tomato crops. When infected, tomato plants present with stunted growth …

Nonreligious Parents' Perceptions Of The Role Religious Differences And Religious Disaffiliation Play In Family Relationships, Heather H. Kelley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The number of nonreligious Americans has steadily increased in recent years, and researchers predict that this growth will continue. Despite this growth, limited research has explored the experiences of nonreligious parents and how religious differences impact their family relationships. As such, through a qualitative analysis of 33 interviews with nonreligious couples (N=66 individuals), the current study addresses how nonreligious adults perceive the influence of religious differences on their relationships with their family of origin (i.e., parents, siblings, and extended family members) and how these religious differences impact the intergenerational relationships between nonreligious parent's family of origin and their children. Additionally, …

Sustainable Fertilizer Management Practices For Container Nursery Production, Saroj Burlakoti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Growing nursery plants in containers requires a timely supply of mineral nutrients for optimum growth. However, there is a misconception among growers that the application of higher doses of fertilizers hastens plant growth; instead, it can lead to runoff and leaching loss of nutrients. Reducing fertilizer application while sustaining healthy plants can not only negate environmental consequences but also save fertilizer costs. For example, two ground covers, Lysimachia nummularia (creeping jenny, moneywort) and Vinca minor 'Bowles' (periwinkle), can be grown for three months by applying 6 mg/L of phosphorus (P) as reduction of P to single application of 6 mg/L …

Variations On Leitmotif: Firebird Rises, Virginia Beikmann

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This thesis begins with an introduction that discusses the various influences on the development of the creative novella portion. These influences include Russia literature and folklore, as well as the genres of alternative history and speculative fiction. The novella takes place in a re-imagining of Moscow, Russia during the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The novella portion is driven by a close focus on character, with emphasis on reactions to wartime pressures and interpersonal relationships forming the central conflict.

Place-Based Fiction: Tourist Town Stories, Keegan Waller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

I first conceived of the idea for this short story collection in my early 20's while working as a ski lift operator, bartender, construction worker, and window cleaner in Park City, Utah. At the same time, I was becoming interested in short fiction through the works of authors like Raymond Carver, Chuck Palahniuk, and Charles Bukowski, whose dirty realism has played a large role in the formulation of my thesis. I intend to write a story collection that moves their genre into a more modern setting. While this collection will not fit perfectly into the dirty realist box, the themes …