Digital Commons Network^™

Digital Soil Mapping Using Landscape Stratification For Arid Rangelands In The Eastern Great Basin, Central Utah, Brook B. Fonnesbeck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In some parts of the western US there is limited publicly available soil information that can be used to make land management decisions on both public and private land. A goal of the USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Utah was to map an area in central Utah where such soil maps and value-added information was not available for management and restoration decisions following a wildfire. In 2007, the Milford Flat Fire had burned more than 363,000 acres, removing vegetation that was holding erosion-sensitive soils in place. Following inconsistent results from stabilization and restoration efforts, this study was funded …

Site-Based And Nonsite Archaeological Survey: A Comparison Of Two Survey Methods In The City Of Rocks, Idaho, Patrick Reed Mcdonald

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Archaeology in the western United States frequently employs pedestrian survey of the ground surface to locate and identify archaeological sites. Proponents of alternative survey techniques suggest that site-based survey may be inherently flawed and will not accurately detect, document, or account for artifacts located outside of site boundaries. Site-based survey identifies artifacts, and then searches the area more intensively in an attempt to identify a spatial break in artifact presence. Nonsite approaches utilize point plotting of all discovered artifacts in order to quantitatively identify relationships between artifacts. Quantitative analysis removes a level of researcher bias from the interpretation of past …

Altitudinal Variability Of Quiet-Time Plasma Drifts In The Equatorial Ionosphere, Debrup Hui

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the modern world, we increasingly depend on space-based systems for our communication, positioning, and navigation systems. These systems depend on electromagnetic waves propagating through the ionosphere. The ionosphere is the medium in the upper atmosphere where, due to presence of the charged atomic and molecular particles and electrons collectively known as plasma, it influences the traveling electromagnetic waves following laws of electrodynamics. Improved models for predicting space weather conditions require improved knowledge of the drifts of these plasmas in the ionosphere. This study is focused on climatology of the altitudinal variations of these plasma drifts in the equatorial latitudes. …

Algorithmic Information Theory Applications In Bright Field Microscopy And Epithelial Pattern Formation, Hamid Mohamadlou

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The incredible patterns of multicellular organisms emerge as a result of the operation of Gene Regulatory Networks (GRN) that work during development. Understanding how GRNs produce these complex multicellular patterns is a significant challenge in biology. The primary goal of this dissertation is to employ Algorithmic Information Theory (AIT), also known as Kolmogorov complexity, to unravel the information complexity of GRNs and the resultant multicellular patterns. To obtain a better understanding of Kolmogorov complexity performance, first we study an application in cell image segmentation.

There are an estimated 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes in the human genome. The sheer size of the …

Evaluation Of Tracking Regimes For, And Security Of, Pli Systems, Shayan Taheri

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In recent years, the researchers and engineers have realized that the trustiness of computer and networking devices and hardware can no longer be examined properly using the existing identification and security checking methods that operate based on the digital representation of data. As an example, since the digital identifiers can be copied, it is difficult to tie a digital identity to a device for sure. Also, the new or present created cyber attacks can manipulate the used digital data in a network easily. Due to these issues, the trend in development of new identification and security checking methods has moved …

Fire Environment Analysis At Army Garrison Camp Williams In Relation To Fire Behavior Potential For Gauging Fuel Modification Needs, Scott M. Frost

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Large fires (400 ha +) occur about every seven to ten years in the vegetation types located at US Army Garrison Camp Williams (AGCW) practice range located near South Jordan, Utah. In 2010 and 2012, wildfires burned beyond the Camp’s boundaries into the wildland-urban interface. The political and public reaction to these fire escapes was intense. Researchers at Utah State University were asked if a spatially organized system of fuel treatments could be developed to prevent future escapes. The first step of evaluation was to spatially predict fuel model types derived from a random forests classification approach. Fuel types were …

Identifying Factors Common Among Students Who Do Not Fit The Typical Mathematics Self-Efficacy And Achievement Correlation, Jodi H. Mantilla

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A student’s self-efficacy, or their belief in their ability to perform a specific behavior, has been shown to have a positive correlation with their academic achievement. In other words, if their self-efficacy is high, their academic achievement is high. If self-efficacy is low, likewise their achievement is low. Research has shown that this correlation is especially true when looking at the self-efficacy and academic achievement in a specific subject, such as mathematics. However, in a typical classroom, teachers experience students who have very high self-efficacy in their mathematics abilities yet perform mathematics tasks at a low level. They may also …

Optical Characterization Of Carbon Nanotube Forests, Brian D. Wood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Carbon nanotube forests are vertically grown tubular formations of graphene. Due to their inherent microstructure and geometry, they are ideal light absorbers over a broad spectrum, making this material an excellent absorber in applications such as radiometry, optical calibration, and stray light suppression. Samples were made with several growth conditions and substrates to provide forests of different morphologies. Optical data of these samples were gathered by taking spectroscopic reflectance and transmittance measurements in the mid-infrared spectral range. Results were correlated to the various forest morphologies. From this, the conditions necessary to maximize the absorption of the forests were found and …

Effective Properties Of Randomly Oriented Kenaf Short Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite, Dayakar Naik L.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Natural fibers have drawn attention of researchers as an environmentally-friendly alternative to synthetic fibers. Developing natural fiber reinforced bio-composites are a viable alternative to the problems of non-degrading and energy consuming synthetic composites. This study focuses on (i) the application of kenaf fiber as a potential reinforcement and, (ii) determining the tensile properties of the randomly oriented short kenaf fiber composite both experimentally and numerically. Kenaf fiber micro-structure and its Young's modulus with varying gage length (10, 15, 20, and 25.4 mm) were investigated. The variation in tensile strength of kenaf fibers was analyzed using the Weibull probability distribution function. …

Great Salt Lake Past And Present: Elevation And Salinity Changes To Utah's Great Salt Lake From Railroad Causeway Alterations, James S. White

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah's Great Salt Lake contributes and estimated $1.3 billion to the local and regional economy and is a vital food-source for migratory and resident birds. In 1959, the lake was fundamentally changed with construction of an earth-filled, semi-permeable railroad causeway which splits the lake into two "arms". The only flow interaction between these two arms is through the semi-permeable causeway material, and three openings in the causeway. In 2013, two of these causeway openings were closed, and a bridge was proposed to improve flow between arms. Four bridge designs were proposed. I modeled Great Salt Lake water and salt distribution …

Perceptions Of Customized Employment Among Employers: A Survey And Focus Group, Melanie D. Adams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Employment for individuals with significant disabilities can be achieved through customized employment. Unfortunately the employer perspective of customized employment is often overlooked. This study sought to identify employer's feelings about customized employment.

A focus group developed a list of barriers and facilitators to customized employment. The list was turned into a survey that was given to a different group of employers. The results showed that employers were unfamiliar with customized employment and were most concerned with the cost of accommodations. Researchers found that employers considered support from other agencies, financial incentives and increased productivity to be upsides to customized employment.

Improving Reuse Of Distributed Transaction Software With Transaction-Aware Aspects, Anas Ahmad Alsobeh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Implementing crosscutting concerns for transactions is difficult, even using Aspect-Oriented Programming Languages (AOPLs) such as AspectJ. Many of these challenges arise because the context of a transaction-related crosscutting concern consists of loosely-coupled abstractions like dynamically-generated identifiers, timestamps, and tentative value sets of distributed resources. Current AOPLs do not provide joinpoints and pointcuts for weaving advice into high-level abstractions or contexts, like transaction contexts. Other challenges stem from the essential complexity in the nature of the data, operations on the data, or the volume of data, and accidental complexity comes from the way that the problem is being solved, even using …

An Exploratory Study Of Attributes, Affordances, Abilities, And Distance In Children's Use Of Mathematics Virtual Manipulative Ipad Apps, Stephen I. Tucker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This exploratory qualitative study investigated the presence of and relationships among constructs that contribute to children's interactions with educational technology, leading to the development of the modification of attributes, affordances, abilities, and distance (MAAAD) for Learning framework. For this study, each of 10 fifth-grade children participated in one individual video-recorded semistructured interview session, during which they interacted with two mathematics virtual manipulative iPad apps and responded to follow-up questions. Video recordings and observation field notes were analyzed for evidence of attributes, affordance-ability relationships, distance, and relationships among these constructs.

Constant comparative data analysis using memoing and eclectic coding provided evidence …

Extensions Of High-Order Flux Correction Methods To Flows With Source Terms At Low Speeds, Jonathan L. Thorne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is an attempt to mimic the physical world of fluids around us. In general, CFD simulations are completed by first making a mesh. Meshes are made of polygons that are arranged in such a way as to create the item in question and the fluid around it. There are many difficulties associated with mesh generation, and it can take days or weeks for a trained professional to produce adequate meshes. The CFD algorithms affect the accuracy of the simulation. Using high-order methods, more accurate results can be achieved than otherwise possible. Flux correction (FC) is a …

Geochemical Characterization Of The Mountain Home Geothermal System, Trevor Alex Atkinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Mountain Home (MH) geothermal system of the western Snake River Plain (SRP) magmatic province was discovered in 2012 by the Snake River Geothermal Drilling Project. Artesian flowing water with a temperature of 150°C was encountered at a depth of 1745 m below ground surface (mbgs) and extensive mineralized fracture networks of pectolite-prehnite, calcite, and laumontite were discovered in the recovered core. The objectives of this study are to: 1) describe the thermal and compositional history of past geothermal fluids, and 2) compare these fluids to modern fluids in order to characterize the evolution of the MH geothermal system and …

Innovative And Efficient Simulation-Optimization Tools For Successful Groundwater Management And Conflict Resolution, Bassel Timani

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Simulation-Optimization (S-O) models are exemplary for strategic groundwater management planning. The two components of an S-O model serve different purposes. The simulation component models the aquifer and computes state variables resulting from stimuli such as extraction or diversion while the optimizor computes an optimal set of stimuli that maximize an objective function and satisfy a set of constraints. With the increased use of S-O model for larger and more complex real-world study areas, the use of fast and efficient S-O models has risen. Response matrix methods (RMMs) are usually used as substitute simulators within an S-O to solve the posed …

College Student Perceptions Of Secondary Teacher Influence On The Development Of Mathematical Identity, Kathryn Van Wagoner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Through interviews with college students, this qualitative study explored how the students' experiences with their secondary mathematics teachers affected their relationship with mathematics, known as mathematical identity. The study was rooted in the idea that learning is an experience of identity and in John Dewey's theory that all experiences are inextricably linked to past and future experiences. The eight college students' interview responses were written into biographical narratives and then analyzed within preselected themes related to experiences with secondary teachers and dimensions of mathematical identity. These themes were determined through a review of previously published studies on those topics.

The …

Modeling Seed Dispersal And Population Migration Given A Distribution Of Seed Handling Times And Variable Dispersal Motility: Case Study For Pinyon And Juniper In Utah, Ram C. Neupane

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The spread of fruiting tree species is strongly determined by the behavior and range of fruit-eating animals, particularly birds. Birds either consume and digest seeds or carry and cache them at some distance from the source tree. These carried and settled seeds provide some form of distribution which generates tree spread to the new location. Firstly, we modal seed dispersal by birds and introduce it in a dispersal model to estimate seed distribution. Using this distribution, we create a population model to estimate the speed at which juniper and pinyon forest boundaries move.

Secondly, we introduce a fact that bird …

The Effects Of Unidirectional Peer Tutoring On Mathematics Outcomes For Students With Learning Disabilities In An Inclusive, Secondary Setting, Daniel Pyle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students with disabilities included in general education settings often require varying levels of supports and services to execute classroom routines effectively while maximizing their learning opportunities. One support that holds potential to increase outcomes for students with disabilities in general education settings is peer tutoring. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects that a targeted, unidirectional tutoring intervention had on the math outcomes for students with learning disabilities in a Secondary Mathematics I class. High school students that had advanced skills in mathematics served as interventionists (i.e., peer tutors) and were trained to deliver the unidirectional …

Classification Of Five-Dimensional Lie Algebras With One-Dimensional Subalgebras Acting As Subalgebras Of The Lorentz Algebra, Jordan Rozum

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Motivated by A. Z. Petrov's classification of four-dimensional Lorentzian metrics, we provide an algebraic classification of the isometry-isotropy pairs of four-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian metrics admitting local slices with five-dimensional isometries contained in the Lorentz algebra. A purely Lie algebraic approach is applied with emphasis on the use of Lie theoretic invariants to distinguish invariant algebra-subalgebra pairs. This method yields an algorithm for identifying isometry-isotropy pairs subject to the aforementioned constraints.

Explicit Construction Of First Integrals For The Toda Flow On A Classical Simple Lie Algebra, Patrick Seegmiller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Toda flow is a generalization of a dynamical system describing the interaction of particles in a one-dimensional crystal. The concepts and energy and conservation are prominent in the study of dynamical systems, and quantities which remain the same over the evolution of a system provide valuable insights into the system’s behavior. In the realm of mathematics these quantities are called first integrals, or integrals of motion. This paper provides a background for study of the Toda flow, a verification of its integrability, and programming code for finding these quantities which remain unchanged over the evolution of the system.

Factors Related To Successful Completion Of Developmental Mathematics Courses, Jason Bagley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The goal of this research was to identify factors that contribute to students’ achievement in developmental math courses. This research collected information on several factors which have been suggested to have an effect on student achievement, particularly in developmental math courses at Utah State University, and analyzed their effects on student achievement. The literature review identified several factors that appeared related to student achievement, but many of these studies only analyzed a few factors. Very few studies have tried to analyze multiple variables together to try and identify which factors contribute most to student achievement and which observations can be …

Expert Rural Elementary School Teachers' Planning For Effective Instruction, Lance T. Hatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Learning how to plan for effective instruction is a critical part of the work performed daily by the elementary school teacher. While some new and struggling teachers in urban school districts have access to professional development on a variety of topics including instructional planning, teachers in rural school districts often struggle to find training opportunities. This study sought to gather information and insight from rural teachers who demonstrate expert instructional planning. The specific planning decisions they made and activities they engaged in while planning were studied. Not only were the planning practices identified, but the reasons said practices were employed …

Modeling Transportation Planning Applications Via Path Flow Estimator, Seungkyu Ryu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The current practice for modeling in the field of transportation planning is through a four-step travel demand forecasting procedure (i.e., trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and traffic assignment); the practice is commonly referred to as the four-step model. Although such a modeling approach has become standard practice, it is deficient in several areas. Specifically, (1) it lacks capability for modeling non-motorized modes such as bicycles, (2) it is inadequate for modeling multiple vehicle types sharing the same roadway space, and (3) it is difficult to apply to small communities with limited resources. This dissertation recognizes these deficiencies and responds …

Beginning Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Novice Year Of Teaching, Rebecca Bingham Rees

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted to understand the perceptions of beginning teachers concerning the training they received in their teacher preparation program helped them with the successes and challenges they faced during their novice year of teaching. Comprehending novice teachers' perceptions of their successes and challenges is important as a method to help beginning teachers avoid feelings of burnout.

A survey was sent to graduates of a teacher preparation program at a large, land-grant university, who were embarking on their novice year of teaching. Responses were received from 16 teachers. In the survey, teachers were asked to answer demographic questions regarding …

Sequence Stratigraphy, Depositional Environments And Geochemistry Of The Middle Cambrian Bloomington Formation In Northern Utah, Christopher Ryan Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Bloomington Formation (~425 m thick) is a latest Middle Cambrian (~506.5-505 Ma.), mixed warm water, carbonate and shale unit on the Cordilleran passive margin in northern Utah and southern Idaho. The Hodges Shale and Calls Fort Shale Members are shale dominated and the Middle Limestone Member is a thick carbonate. Fossil diversity and abundance is surprisingly low for a Middle Cambrian carbonate/shale formation. Present, however, are 10-50 cm thrombolite mud mounds, associated with Girvanella oncoliths. These mud mounds represent shallow water carbonates that experienced a small flooding event that gives the mud mounds time and proper conditions to build …

The Role Of Thermospheric Neutral Winds In The Mid-Latitude Ionospheric Evening Anomalies, Levan Lomidze

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Earth's ionosphere, which is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere, plays a very important role in ground- and satellite-based radio communication and navigation. During the last half century, a considerable experimental, theoretical, and modeling effort has been directed towards understanding the physical processes that affect the variation of the ionization in the ionosphere at various spatial and temporal scales. Even though tremendous progress has been made in many directions of ionospheric research, many questions remain to be answered.

One of the intriguing features in the ionosphere is an anomalous evening enhancement that occurs over certain mid-latitude locations, where …

Effect Of Manufacturing Processes On The Loss Factor And Other Mechanical Properties Of Kenaf Fiber-Reinforced Composites, Brian P. Spackman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The characteristics essential for manufacturing parts and products are not well known for natural fiber-reinforced composite materials. Natural fibers display properties similar to glass fibers, and present a more environmentally friendly option for manufacturing composite materials. This research investigates various parameters in the manufacture of kenaf fiber-reinforced composites including cure time, density, matrix hardener ratio, surface treatment, and fiber length and examines the effect they have on mechanical properties of the composite material. Several samples were created and subjected to a vibrational test. Using known relationships, mechanical properties were extracted from the test results. Samples were found to exhibit repeatable …

African American Female Engineering Students' Persistence In Stereotype-Threatening Environments: A Critical Race Theory Perspective, Stacie Lesure Gregory

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

African American women are grossly underrepresented in engineering. Despite their low representation in engineering colleges, some are able to persist and earn their degrees. This qualitative study sought to better understand the strategies 10 African American women employed to help them remain resilient in engineering degree programs. For this investigation, there was an underlying assumption that African American women who persist in engineering must contend with stereotype threat. Stereotype threat is a psychosocial phenomenon in which people in stigmatized social categories fear confirming negative stereotypes about their group.

Ten African American female women who have persisted in engineering degree programs …

Persistence Of Engineering Undergraduates At A Public Research University, Matthew Meyer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This mixed-methodological study determined which factors contributed to undergraduate student attrition, and evaluated reasons ten undergraduate engineering students failed to complete their engineering degree at a major western research university. Institutional data were collected on engineering students over a multi-year period. These data were separated into groups of engineering students who persisted to the Junior year of their undergraduate engineering program (persisters), and those students who left their engineering program before their Junior year (nonpersisters). A quantitative analysis comparing these two groups of students uncovered significant predictors of persistence/nonpersistence in the engineering program. Qualitative inquiry was used to identify factors …