Digital Commons Network^™

Artificial Intelligence Can Help Detect Ada Accessibility Assets And Compliance, Camille Tischner

Research on Capitol Hill

Asset management is expensive. Computer vision makes collecting data efficient and saleable.

Usu Students And Faculty Think More Should Be Done About Climate Change, Cristina Chirvasa, Rivkah Haubner

Research on Capitol Hill

67% of Utahns are concerned about climate change. Support for decarbonization strategies is growing, including ways to both reduce and capture carbon.

Computer Models Can Help Us Learn More About How Eye Diseases Progress, Cassandra Corry

Research on Capitol Hill

Eye diseases are difficult to study because taking samples from living eyes can be challenging and uncomfortable. We need a model that mimics the human eye; running computer simulations seems like a promising way to conduct this research.

Solid State Transformers Are Critical For A Smarter, More Efficient Electrical Grid, Jaron Bono

Research on Capitol Hill

Solid State Transformers are power converters that mimic conventional low frequency transformers for alternating current (AC) electric power distribution. Adopting these transformers will allow us to modernize the electrical power infrastructure for a sustainable and resilient energy future. Compared to conventional transformers, they are:

• Lighter and more compact 
• More efficient 
• Easier to repair 
• Protected against overvoltage 
• Easier to produce at large quantities 
• Compatible with smart electric grids 
• Interfaceable with both alternating and direct current distribution systems and devices 

The Court System Needs To Change To Meet The Asylum Needs Of Deserving Immigrants, Kallin Kelley

Research on Capitol Hill

Immigrants have always been fundamental to the United States’ success. Mia Love, a former U.S. congresswoman, once stated, “behind closed doors, every legislator will tell you that immigration is a good thing.” Immigration is vital to the success of the country and ensuring that our systems are capable of adequately and fairly managing immigration is vital. Immigration courts, however, are ill-equipped to do so.

The Online Social Movement #Metoo Influenced Real-Life Change, Tori Dehlin

Research on Capitol Hill

The Twitter/X hashtag trend #metoo began in 2017. By 2018, users worldwide were using #metoo to share personal stories of sexual violence, call out or identify people or groups that perpetrated sexual violence, and voice their opinions about the movement or perpetrators of sexual violence.

Water Efficient Landscaping At Utah State University Could Save 8 Million Gallons Of Water A Year, Mary Claire Jennings

Research on Capitol Hill

Utah has persistent drought conditions. Many discussions about land use revolve around water. As state institutions look at strategies to lower water usage, replacing turf with low water use plants is an attractive way to save significant volumes of water.

Persistent Voluntary Vaping In Rats Supports Biological Basis For Electronic Cigarette Use, Kiernan T. Callister, Mariah E. Willis-Moore

Research on Capitol Hill

Nicotine vaping, or e-cigarette use, is a pervasive health concern among adolescents and young adults that has many harmful impacts, such as permanent changes in brain development. 

Rats have shared neurobiology with humans and can therefore be used to examine phenomena that are difficult to experimentally study in humans. 

Our study seeks to develop and validate a new system of nicotine vaping in rats.

Smart And Efficient Power Converters Are Required For Today’S Electricity Needs, Luke Andersen

Research on Capitol Hill

The electric grid grows in complexity as it integrates various electrical systems:  

• Renewable energy sources 
• Heavy and light-duty electric vehicles (EVs) 
• EV charging systems 
• Data centers  
• Battery systems 

Delaying Rewards Lowers Impulsivity: Rats Choose To Wait For A Larger Reward Over A Smaller Immediate One, Hayden Dreis, Joshua Jones

Research on Capitol Hill

Impulsive choices produce small benefits now but often come at the cost of better outcomes later.

Amalga, Utah Was Settled For Sugar Beet Farming But Couldn’T Support Itself, Beau Jenson

Research on Capitol Hill

When Wilford Woodruff became the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1889, he told church leadership that “the Lord would like the great business of manufacturing sugar established in our midst.” 

The Less Food Security You Have, The More Likely You Are To Face Discrimination Based On Your Weight, B. Sky Jones

Research on Capitol Hill

20% of US households were food insecure in 2020. One outcome of food insecurity is weight discrimination.

The Best Way To Manage Performance Anxiety Is By Doing Activities That Take Care Of Your Body, Abigail Tilton, Adam Bowen, Valerie Mcgeean, Audry Ricks

Research on Capitol Hill

Performance anxiety is the most common stated fear and can be the primary limiting factor for success in the careers of performers. Our research aimed to uncover strategies for managing this ‘stage fright’ on the day of a performance.

Colloidal Calcium Phosphate (Ccp) Causes Problematic Acid Variation In Cheddar Cheese, Sakshi Singh

Research on Capitol Hill

pH variation in cheese during the early ripening stages causes changes in the texture, body, and flavor of cheese. The dairy industry, encompassing over 50,000 dairy farms nationwide and several regional dairy farmers and companies in Utah, suffers substantial financial loss as cheese with varying pH is rendered mostly useless.

The Key To Breeding Drought Adapted Spring Wheat In Utah May Be Below The Soil, Kylie Hansen

Research on Capitol Hill

Drought conditions reduce yield and quality and are unavoidable in rainfed farms across the globe; we need to breed drought tolerant wheat lines to meet this challenge. The key may lie in how these plants grow prior to emerging from the ground.

Can Algorithms And Urban Greening Repair Historic Injustice?, E. Paige Sargeant

Research on Capitol Hill

In Baltimore, a vacancy crisis and continuing impacts of historical ‘redlining’ that discouraged investment in minority neighborhoods prompted city officials to use an algorithm generated Housing Market Typology (HMT) map to guide municipal service distribution. The current strategy channels maintenance to wealthier areas and prioritizes tree-planting and demolitions in struggling areas.

Electric Fields In The Atmosphere Might Help Snow Crystals Form, Joseph Cooney

Research on Capitol Hill

Orographic clouds generally form over mountains when valleys are sunny. The unstable atmosphere can trigger clouds over the mountains, which can be convective. When this happens, the cloud particles (water droplets and ice particles) become charged, ultimately creating ice crystals. I wanted to evaluate the impact of electricity on the formation of ice crystals and built a computer simulation to do so.

The Evolution Of Feminist Art And The Now!, Eliza Bell, Aislinn Baker

Research on Capitol Hill

The Guerilla Girls are a feminist-identifying activist group founded in 1985. The main goal of the group is to draw attention to marginalized groups, such as women and people of color, and show how underrepresented their art is. Through humor and slogans, the Guerilla Girls seek to call out inequalities in the art industry—and in the world beyond.

A.I. May Be Able To Measure The Capacity Of Used Electric Vehicle Batteries, Paul Bradford

Research on Capitol Hill

EV batteries reach the end of their useful lifetime in vehicles around 70-80% of initial capacity. However, many of these batteries can still hold large amounts of energy and can be particularly useful for stationary applications.

Deficit Irrigation Of Pastures, Matt Yost, Clara Anderson, Niel Allen, Burdette Barker, Melanie Heaton, Justin Wyatt Clawson, Earl Creech

All Current Publications

Deficit irrigation is any irrigation level that does not meet the crop’s full evapotranspiration (ET) demand, meaning evaporation from plant and soil surface and transpiration through plant growth. This strategy is often a last resort for optimizing water use as opposed to those that will not limit production. However, deficit irrigation is often necessary in parts of Utah due to drought or inadequate water supplies. This was especially true in 2021–2022 due to record droughts. Deficit irrigation strategies for pastures have been developed, but they have yet to be compared and evaluated in Utah. This fact sheet summarizes 6 years …

Child Sexual Abuse: Research Summary, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

During the fall of 2023, Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) researchers conducted a statewide study to establish a baseline for public perceptions related to the awareness, understanding, and attitudes about challenges that Utah women and girls face (see Background & Methods for details). The goal of the study was to support the work of 18 areas of focus (spokes) within the movement called A Bolder Way Forward, which is dedicated to helping more Utah girls and women thrive. One of the 18 areas of focus is child sexual abuse, and this summary shares findings that illuminate present circumstances and …

Background & Methods: Research Summary, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

During the fall of 2023, Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) researchers conducted a statewide study to establish a baseline of public perceptions related to the awareness, understanding, and attitudes around challenges that Utah women and girls face. It focused on the following areas: education (finance, higher education attainment, and K-12 initiatives); community engagement (political representation, boards and commissions, and civic engagement/advocacy); safety and security (child sexual abuse, domestic violence, poverty and homelessness, sexual assault, and sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination); health and wellbeing (health across the lifespan and home and family); and workplace (childcare/pre-K programs, entrepreneurship, gender pay gap, …

Childcare & Pre-K Programs: Research Summary, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

During the fall of 2023, Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) researchers conducted a statewide study to establish a baseline for public perceptions related to the awareness, understanding, and attitudes about challenges that Utah women and girls face (see Background & Methods for details). The study was created to support the work of 18 areas of focus (spokes) within the movement called A Bolder Way Forward, which is dedicated to helping more Utah girls and women thrive. One of the 18 areas of focus is childcare, and this research summary shares findings that illuminate present circumstances and establishes a …

Gender Pay Gap: Research Summary, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

During the fall of 2023, Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) researchers conducted a statewide study to establish a baseline for public perceptions related to the awareness, understanding, and attitudes about challenges that Utah women and girls face (see Background & Methods for details). The study was created to support the work of 18 areas of focus (spokes) within the movement called A Bolder Way Forward, which is dedicated to helping more Utah girls and women thrive. One of the 18 areas of focus is the gender pay gap, and this summary shares findings that illuminate present perspectives and establishes …

The Utah Statesman, January 15, 2024, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Implications And Hydrographs For Two Pre-Bonneville Pluvial Lakes And Double Geosols From 14 Osl-Irsl Ages In Cache Valley, Ne Bonneville Basin, Robert Q. Oaks Jr., Susanne Jänecke, Tammy Rittenour, Thad Erickson, Michelle Nelson

Geosciences Faculty Publications

In the northeastern Great Basin, USA, thirteen new optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages and one infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) age show that two deep pluvial lakes preceded the Bonneville lake cycle in Cache Valley during marine oxygen-isotope stages (MIS) 6 (213-191 ka) and 4 (56-71 ka), respectively. Our new data define quantitative hydrographs of the Little Valley and Cutler Dam lake cycles in both Cache Valley and the main Bonneville basin. In western Cache Valley, excavation of a faulted, east-plunging spit has sequentially exposed these deposits and overlying MIS 3 Fielding humid-over-arid double geosols that end westward at a strand …

Stick-Fixed Maneuver Points In Roll, Pitch, And Yaw And Associated Handling Qualities, Benjamin C. Moulton, Troy A. Abraham, Douglas F. Hunsaker

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

The stick-fixed pitch maneuver point is an important measure of aircraft longitudinal dynamic response and handling quality characteristics, and includes effects of both aerodynamic and inertia properties of the aircraft about the pitch axis. In the present work, the existence of stick-fixed roll and yaw maneuver points is demonstrated, which are determined from the lateral forces, moments, and inertial properties of the aircraft. These stick-fixed roll and yaw maneuver points are directly related to the predicted lateral handling qualities. Example results are included for several aircraft that demonstrate the importance of this parameter when predicting the dynamic response of the …

Evaluation Of First-Order Actuator Dynamics And Linear Controller For A Bio-Inspired Rotating Empennage Fighter Aircraft, Benjamin C. Moulton, Matthew W. Harris, Douglas F. Hunsaker, James J. Joo

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

This paper considers the problem of stabilizing a bio-inspired fighter aircraft variant at its Air Combat Maneuver Condition. The aircraft equations of motion are linearized, and an infinite-horizon linear quadratic regulator design is conducted for this aircraft. Included in the dynamics are first-order actuator models, which have the effect of slowing actuator responses. This is particularly important for the bio-inspired variant because it requires rotation of the empennage, which has relatively large inertia. The bio-inspired variant open-loop system is unstable in the short period and Dutch roll modes, which is mitigated in the closed-loop system. Monte Carlo simulation responses to …

School Climate Perception Among Latinx And White Students: An Examination Of Intersecting Racial/Ethnic And Socioeconomic Identities In Context, Mei-Ki Chan, Jill D. Sharkey, Erin Dowdy, Karen Nylund-Gibson, Michael J. Furlong

Psychology Faculty Publications

Limited research has explored how the characteristics of student and teacher racial/ethnic composition may explain students’ perceptions of school climate. This study used stratified analysis to assess the associations of two prominent diversity aspects (i.e., student racial/ethnic diversity and teacher racial/ethnic diversity) with students’ perceived school climate. Particularly, this study controlled for student- and school-levels demographic characteristics among 41,237 Latinx students and 23,819 White students from 7th grade to 12th grade enrolled in 250 California public schools. The findings indicated that higher teacher racial/ethnic diversity had a mild to moderate positive association with perceived school attitudes to parental participation (Economically …

Integrating Moral Norms And Stewardship Identity Into The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Understand Altruistic Conservation Behavior Among Hunters In Southwestern Utah (Usa), Jacob C. Richards, Zachary D. Miller, Russell Norvell, Jordan W. Smith

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

We integrate moral norms and stewardship identity into the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict the use of non-lead ammunition in the California condor recovery zone of southwestern Utah. Data were collected from licensed hunters via an online survey. Structural equation models of the TPB without and with the moral norms and stewardship identity constructs were compared to evaluate the utility of integrating these constructs into the TPB. Moral norms did have a significant direct influence on hunters’ behavioral intentions. Both moral norms and stewardship identity had significant indirect influences on behavioral intentions via the core constructs of the …