Digital Commons Network^™

Ethics, Fashion, And Film In The 1950s And 60s, Sara Miner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

To truly understand the nature of identity, autonomy, and morality in the 1950s and 60s, one must look at what artifacts of humanity have been left behind. More specifically, clothes and fashion capture, represent, and immortalize the human experience through each stitch and seam. By analyzing clothing from an anthropologic lens, one can discover the socio-cultural reality of a time long past. Known for intense culmination of social and political movements, the 1950s and 60s contain many radical shifts. Ranging from social movements like Civil Rights, Women’s Liberation, Black Feminism, and others, to the political metamorphosis as a result of …

Level 3 High Powered Rocketry Certification Through Tripoli Rocketry Association, Zachary Foster

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper aims to give an overview of the Level 3 certification process through the TRIPOLI Rocketry Association. This paper will also give an overview of Zachary Foster’s Level 3 Certification submission. The overview of the certification submission will include fin flutter calculations, stability calculations, descent rate calculations, flight simulations, flight results, construction overview, drawing package for the airframe, and pre-flight checklists. The results of fin flutter calculations showed that the minimum flutter speed is 1972 ft/s. The maximum flight velocity is 1309.6 ft/s. The flutter calculation has a total factor of safety of 1.5. The stability calculations show a …

The Framing Of The Shrew: Induction, Gender, And Agency In William Shakespeare’S The Taming Of The Shrew, Samantha Stringham

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Shrews abound, not only in Shakespeare’s works but in our modern world. Katherine, Shakespeare’s titular shrew, is in the good company of Beatrice, Adriana, and even, some argue, her seemingly virtuous sister Bianca. These women, all of whom push against the confines posed by the social conventions of Renaissance womanhood, have become increasingly relevant as women, now more than ever, demand that their voices be heard and continue to rally against the assertion that railing, scolding, turbulent behavior makes one a shrew (or perhaps, that being a shrew is an inherently bad thing). The increasingly feminist leanings of modern audiences …

Detecting Accurate Emotions In Faces, Marisa Pualani Davis

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Anger race bias is the tendency to misidentify expressions of emotion, specifically anger, in Black or racially ambiguous faces that are fearful or neutral (Hutchings & Haddock, 2008). Anger is often associated with aggression (Murphy et al., 2005). Therefore, the inaccurate perception of anger and threat may lead to an inappropriate response and could increase the likelihood that a police officer will shoot at a suspect (Correll et al., 2007). From 2015 to 2020, police officers shot and killed over 100 unarmed Black males (Washington Post, 2020). This study examined if anger race bias could be reduced through emotion identification …

Adversity And Leader Development: Mindfulness As A Potential Moderator, Isaac V. Dixon

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Why do some leaders respond to adversity by becoming more empathetic, impactful, and resilient — while others do not? Since the Covid-19 pandemic, suffering has gained personal relevance to each one of us. Although many researchers have explored why some individuals – when faced with trauma – grow as a result, little work has been done to understand this process specifically within the context of leaders and leader development. As such, the primary purpose of this paper is to explore what allows some leaders to respond to adversity/trauma with leadership development. Based on the mediators of productive framing, cognitive engagement, …

Creating Jo, Jenna Olson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

With the rise of technology, physical invitations have largely been replaced by digital invitations and e-cards. This change in invitation culture has led to less time and energy being spent on celebrating important life events. I created JO to help individuals elevate the important moments in their lives through intentional communication and beautiful designs. JO products seek to display effective, aesthetically pleasing, and meaningful messaging. This project documents my business, JO, through a written business plan and website.

A business plan aims to demonstrate a well-developed idea to gain support and investment. My business plan includes an executive summary, company …

Grounded In Reality: An Exploration Of Acceptance In Relational Conflict, Audrey Johansen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Acceptance work encompasses “the processes that allow us to be fully grounded in reality” (Canfield, 2023). It allows individuals to embrace what truly is, both the good and the bad. It enables them to be at peace with what they can’t control, so that they can put their energy into changing what is within their power.

This project explores how acceptance work connects with other aspects of conflict process, including grieving, emotional regulation, and other concepts. Research was conducted by studying materials on communication and conflict processes, and by applying the materials to the author’s life. The author explores how …

The Levant: Climate Change’S Effects On Domestic And Foreign Security Policy, Mary Mckenna Kump

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This project applies a comparative analysis of climate effects on security perspectives in the Levant (Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon) with evidence from historical events and modern processes. In other words, how do the effects of climate change threaten states’ core national security interests? What areas of the system are likely to be impacted by climate effects? Researchers project that climate change will affect current and future global conditions, so how does it impact how states perceive the environment in relation to their national security interests? To examine these questions, I have developed a relatively informal cause-and-effect relationship between climate …

Oppression In Xinjiang: Rhetorical Parallels To The Causal Mechanisms, Christina Elizabeth Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper compares the framings of ethnic conflict with theoretical political science explanations of the causes of such conflict. Framings are statements used to portray the who, what, and why of an issue through the emphasis or exclusion of information to create a specific agenda. The theoretical expectation from social science is that ethnic conflict is a result of a commitment problem, where the two parties in the conflict cannot credibly guarantee the protection of the other. This arises from situations where there is a large minority group population that is underrepresented from government and has grievances from economic disparities …

Working Like A Dog: Literary Analysis Of Multifactorial Service Dog Outcomes., Sarah Brinck

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

What makes a service dog successful? Whether it is genetics or the environment they are raised in, the definition of a successful service dog is complicated. Organizations that set out to train service dogs depend on successful outcomes to continue operating. That makes it particularly important to determine and understand the primary factors that impact the success or failure of dogs bred and/or trained for service dog programs. Given the complexity of the requirements for effective service dogs, it can be costly for an individual or an organization to neglect any factors that contribute to success. Individual components of what …

Prefrontal Activation During Inhibition Of A Balance Recovery Step, Ezinne Abugu

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

The ability to quickly step is an important strategy to avoid a fall. However, real-world settings often constrain a stepping path. Such constraints necessitate response inhibition to prevent an inappropriate step and select a new course of action to ultimately recover balance. The present study investigated neural mechanisms that underlie this ability to stop a highly automatic balance recovery step. In the field of cognitive neuroscience, response inhibition has typically been researched using focal hand reaction tasks performed by seated participants. This approach combined with neuroimaging has revealed a neural stopping network, which includes the right Inferior Frontal Gyrus (right …

Digital Collaborative Language Learning And Augmented Reality, Matthew Taylor

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

This portfolio is a collection of works written by the author as he was studying in the Masters of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University. The focus of these works is on technology and its impact on language learning. The first few sections consist of an introduction to the portfolio, a few pages dedicated to the author’s philosophy on second language teaching, and details and insights from an observation of a teacher in practice while in the program. The following section comprises the bulk of the portfolio and includes a paper devoted to augmented reality’s place in digital …

Soil Health And Remediation For Urban Gardens In Utah, Melissa Chilinski

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

Urban environments are at an increased risk of soil contamination and poor soil health due to anthropogenic causes. As healthy farmland is developed, new urban farmers and gardeners are often left growing food on unwanted land with unknown histories of previous use. Varied research and methods for obtaining healthy soils can cause new growers to make decisions that negatively impact soil health and fertility, or on the other hand, conflicting information can cause individuals to become unnecessarily fearful of common soil contaminants and their effect on human health. Common soil contaminants, like trace metals (often referred to as heavy metals) …

Gibberellic And Naphthalene Acetic Acid Effects On ‘Rupert’ Potato Variety, Logan Atkinson

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

Potato processing facilities often rely on early maturing potato varieties to maintain adequate supplies before harvest of more traditional varieties. The Rupert variety is an example of such an early-maturing variety. However, the Rupert variety has traditionally been characterized by low average stem counts and large tuber sizes. Abnormally large tubers can add difficulties and costs to the processor. Gibberellic acid (GA) and Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) are plant growth regulators that promote growth and have the potential to affect average stem count and in turn, decreases average tuber size. Across two trials and locations (Gooding and Jerome, ID) GA …

Creating A Classroom Of Access: Learner Identity And Intercultural Communicative Competence, Kallen Brunson

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

This portfolio represents the coursework, readings, writings, classroom observations, teaching experiences, and reflections during my time in the Utah State University Masters in Second Language Teaching program. It is composed of three main components: my teaching philosophy, reflections on a selection of classroom observations of other instructors, and a position paper on World Englishes and pragmatics. Additionally, this portfolio gives background on the professional environment of the author and looks forward to the future.

The main paper consists of a position paper regarding World Englishes and cultivating identity and intercultural communicative competence, supplemented by a paper on incorporating pragmatics into …

Integrating Content, Culture, And Language For Portuguese Dual Language Immersion Learners, Aline Reis

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

This portfolio is the result of the approaches to teaching I have learned through coursework, readings, class observations, and reflections during the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. It contains my teaching philosophy, developed from my experiences in the elementary Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program and the Utah State University (USU) MSLT program, as well as examples of work produced in the MSLT program, both theoretical and practical. First, the professional environment piece provides context and background for reflections on my teaching experience and pedagogy. Second, the teaching philosophy statement (TPS) describes the main theoretical frameworks and approaches that …

An Ideal Monarch: The Piety, Masculinity, And Kingship Of King Louis Ix Of France, Tell Joyner

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

King Louis IX of France, who ruled from 1226 to 1270, is widely considered to have been one of the greatest European kings of the Middle Ages. His rule was long remembered as an ideal period of good government and prosperity, and future kings sought and were expected to emulate him for centuries. Historians have often discussed the key role that the king’s pious exercise of his kingship played in his reign. In particular, historians have discussed the role that his belief in the twin missions of saving his subjects and making France into a Christian kingdom played in his …

Methods For Preparing And Characterizing Granular Materials For Electron Yield Measurements, Tom Keaton

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

This work presents a systematic study on sample preparation methods and accuracy of electron yield (EY) measurements of highly insulating, granular materials. EY measurements of highly insulating materials, especially those with high EY, are challenging due to the effects of sample charging even for very low fluence electron probe beams. EY measurements of particulates are complicated by: (i) roughness effects from particulate size, shape, coverage, and compactness; (ii) particle adhesion; (iii) substrate contributions; and (iv) electrostatic repulsion and potential barriers from charged particles and substrates. Numerous methods were explored to rigidly affix particles on conducting substrates at varying coverages for …

Hydroclimate Effects On Great Salt Lake Decline Since 1980, Siiri Joy Bigalke

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

As a terminal basin lake, the Great Salt Lake (GSL) is known to act as a barometer for low frequency climate variability for the Western United States. As thus, there are naturally occurring large changes to GSL elevation levels that vary on time scales from years to decades. However, amongst these naturally occurring interannual changes there has been a significant declining trend in the elevation levels since a string of anomalous pluvial years in the early 1980s. In the summer of 2022, the Great Salt Lake reached its lowest levels in recorded history, which coincided with a two-decades long regional …

Building Intercultural Competence In The Lower Division Chinese Language Classroom: A Lesson Plan Analysis, Tzu-Hsin Lin

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

This portfolio is a compilation of what the author has learned in the field of Chinese as a second language in the Master of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University. There are three main sections in the portfolio. The first section contains the author’s teaching philosophy statement, with a focus on intercultural competence development and teacher-student rapport. The second section consists of a reflection on a classroom observation. The main paper presents how the author designed a lesson plan and implemented it, as well as her analysis and introspection on a video recording of the lesson. The portfolio …

Relationships Between Muscle Characteristics And Step Outcomes In Young And Old Adults, Kareem Abubukker

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

Background: Falls are a primary cause of mortality and morbidity in older adults. In an effort to assess falls, a number of studies have measured neurological, biomechanical, and neuromuscular function in relation to fall risk. Despite efforts, falls continue to affect the older adult population leading to subsequent impaired mobility and function. Multiple factors contribute to fall risk among older adults, however, a factor that has shown a consistent relationship with the prevalence of future falls is reduced muscle characteristics. Moreover, the ability to rapidly accelerate a limb, as captured by rate of power development (RPD), rate of velocity development …

Multivariate Econometric Regression Of Factors That Determine Form Of Disposition Of Human Remains Using Archival Death Certificates, Salt Lake County, Utah, Delphine T. Feigenbaum

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

This project considers the inescapable and burgeoning issues concerning the long-term allocation of scarce natural resources between the living and the deceased. America’s population growth will demand more space and maintenance resources used for disposition. To meet the forthcoming exigencies, economic planners need to address natural resource availability for future generations while incorporating sustainable and innovative technologies to prohibit environmental injustice.

The goals are to answer the following questions: How do demographical variables, age and sex influence the choice of disposition? How do cause of death variables influence the choice of disposition? I also evaluate the hypothesis that the average …

An Exhibition Of Women's United States Air Force Uniforms, Michelle Robinson

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

The new Women in the Air Force exhibit under development at the Hill Aerospace Museum, located at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is long overdue. The exhibit is set to replace the existing display in order to more accurately and comprehensively represent women’s continuing legacy of service to our nation. The uniforms in the Hill Aerospace Museum collection constitute the focal point of the new exhibit. Material culture methodologies form the foundation of this exhibit work; seeking to provide greater understanding of women’s military experience and history through the analysis of their uniforms. This approach therefore utilizes uniforms, the museum’s …

Exploring Multiliteracies And Other Approaches To Second Language Teaching, Saralee Dunster

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

This teaching portfolio offers a selection from the author’s graduate coursework, teaching experience, and research undertaken while enrolled in the Utah State University Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. The documents included are a reflection of her pedagogical approach and teaching practice, developed through varying contexts of professional experiences, including teaching English and French as a second language. This portfolio includes: reflections on the author’s teaching environment, a teaching philosophy statement, a professional development peer observation, a reflection paper that demonstrates the author’s experiences teaching with stories within the context of the multiliteracies framework, specifically multimodal fairy tales with …

Development Of Secondary Special Education Science Assessments And Curriculum Map, Heather Thompson

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

This project explores and develops science curriculum for secondary students with severe special needs. It identifies why science is important for this demographic as well as what students and teachers need to improve science instruction within that setting. The project provides a curriculum map with leveled access to each of the Essential Elements detailed by the state throughout an academic year. It also provides leveled common assessments to us in conjunction with that map in order to facilitate a continued share from success growth mentality.

It Happened Here: The Civil Rights Movement In Utah, Jace Jones

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

This plan B project is a series of lesson plans focusing on the Civil Rights Movement in Utah. These lessons are designed to give students a broad understanding of the Civil Rights Movement as well as the tools and knowledge to understand how the Civil Rights Movement manifested in Utah. To fulfill this goal these lesson plans focus on local and lesser-known history. This will allow students to gain an understanding of how the movement operated in Utah and how it relates to their own lives.

These lessons use the Stanford: Reading Like a Historian framework by the Stanford History …

Falling Into The Rhetorical Black Hole: Navigating Language, Terms, And Rhetoricity In Madness And Disability, Taylor Wyatt

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

Language enables communities to develop meaning and interpretations of words. Language practices and meanings can change through and with discourse among communities. This rhetorical thesis expands on Catherine Prendergast’s theory of the rhetorical black hole — a phenomenon where folks can find themselves without the means to operate rhetorically, as some audiences are unwilling to engage. I argue the rhetorical black hole is not a binary, and I call for further considerations of intersectionality in understanding the impacts of the rhetorical black hole. James A. Berlin’s New Rhetoric is used to demonstrate the meaning making power of terms and language …

Wanderer, Andrew Mcallister

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

These photos are the result of having pursued an MFA during the COVID pandemic. I chose a mode of photography that would keep me away from people and I focused on what I could capture “on the road.” These 30 photos explore visual tropes related to movement, thresholds, barriers, and symbolic encounters. They capture moments of joy and contemplation. Each photo works individually, but I have edited and arranged them in the gallery to create something between a narrative and a non-narrative that approximates the experience of what traveling to capture them was like, both on foot and in motion, …

Implementing Sociocultural And Output-Oriented Pedagogical Practices In The Second Language Acquisition Classroom, Caston Holbrook

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

This portfolio is a product of the courses, literature, compositions, class observations, and reflections included in the Masters of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. It contains three principal components: teaching philosophy statements, class observation analysis, and reflective work on second language acquisition pedagogical and assessment practices. The author’s educational and professional background and experience in conjunction with his intentions and plans for the future are also described.

The reflection section demonstrates effective methodological approaches in a language-learning classroom in support of the relevant sociocultural theory and output hypothesis. It is comprised of pertinent and supportive literature reviews and research, along …

Ni De Aqui Ni De Alla..., Jc Santistevan

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

Ni de aqui ni de alla navigates the complexities of belonging to two cultures-Mexican

and American-while not fully identifying with either. By visualizing liminal spaces,

migratory patterns, and quotidian subject matter the work serves as a metaphor for

the Latinx experience in the United States-an experience defined by conflicts between

conformity and resistance, individuality and community, spirituality and secularism,

alienation and belonging. "Black and white are the colors of photography…..they

symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair," Robert Frank once said, and it is

through a nonlinear installation of black and white imagery that I seek to describe the

push …