Digital Commons Network^™

Foraging Behavior, Taxonomy, And Morphology Of Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), With An Emphasis On Perdita (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zachary M. Portman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bees are the most important pollinators of flowering plants and are necessary for pollinating both wild plants and many of the crops that produce the food we eat. There are many different species of bees, with about 20,000 species worldwide and 4,000 species in the United States. Even though bees are important pollinators, there is still much we do not know about how many species there are and their biology. In order to better understand the species and their biology, I performed three projects that help fill these gaps by reviewing the species of a poorly known bee group, examining …

Relationships Among Preschool Attendance, Type, And Quality And Early Mathematical Literacy, Jennifer E. Throndsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As students enter kindergarten, some students are more academically prepared than others. This study looked at the relationships among preschool attendance, preschool type (i.e., public, private, Head Start, and home-based technology providers) and preschool quality and early mathematical literacy skills for diverse students. The study sought to answer three research questions: What is the relationship between preschool attendance and early mathematical literacy? What is the relationship between preschool type and early mathematical literacy? What is the relationship between preschool quality and early mathematical literacy? Within each research question, there was also an investigation to see if there were differing effects …

The Use Of Microfluidics And Dielectrophoresis For Separation, Concentration, And Identification Of Bacteria, Cynthia Hanson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Typical bacterial analysis involves culturing and visualizing colonies on an array of agar plates. The growth patterns and colors among the array are used to identify the bacteria. For fast growing bacteria such as Escherichia coli, analysis will take one to two days. However, slow growing bacteria such as mycobacteria can take weeks to identify. In addition, there are some species of bacteria that are viable but nonculturable. This lengthy analysis time is unacceptable for life-threatening infections and emergency situations. It is clear that to decrease the analysis of the bacteria, the culturing and growth steps must be avoided. …

A Model For Bioaugmented Anaerobic Granule, Amitesh Mahajan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study, we have created a simulation model which is concerned about digesting cellulose, as a major component of microalgae in a bioreactor. This model is designed to generate a computational model that simulates the process of granulation in anaerobic sludge and aims to investigate scenarios of possible granular bioaugmentation. Once a mature granule is formed, protein is used as an alternative substrate that will be supplied to a mature granule. Protein, being a main component of cyanobacteria, will promote growth and incorporation of a cell type that can degrade protein (selective pressure). The model developed in a cDynoMiCs …

Multi-Stop Routing Optimization: A Genetic Algorithm Approach, Abbas Hommadi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this research, we investigate and propose new operators to improve Genetic Algorithm’s performance to solve the multi-stop routing problem. In a multi-stop route, a user starts at point x, visits all destinations exactly once, and then return to the same starting point. In this thesis, we are interested in two types of this problem. The first type is when the distance among destinations is fixed. In this case, it is called static traveling salesman problem. The second type is when the cost among destinations is affected by traffic congestion. Thus, the time among destinations changes during the day. In …

The Role Of Recoverable And Non-Recoverable Defects In Dc Electrical Aging Of Highly Disordered Insulating Materials, Allen Andersen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Electrical insulation under high voltage can eventually fail, causing critical damage to electronics. Such electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the primary source of anomalies or failures on spacecraft due to charged particles from the Sun or planetary radiation belts accumulating in spacecraft insulators. High-voltage direct current power distribution is another example of a growing industry that needs to estimate the operational lifetime of electrical insulation. My research compares laboratory tests of ESD events in common insulating materials to a physics-based model of breakdown. This model of breakdown is based on the approximation that there are two primary types of defects in …

Modernizing Composition With An Online Photography-Themed Course, Sharolyn Richards

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this thesis, I argue that it is important for students in a Freshman English Composition class to learn to compose with images and text. This builds on what other research and professors have done in having students turn in multimedia compositions. Since there is opportunity for students to compose with images and text in print as well as online, it is important for them to know how images and text work together. This thesis includes the research I did and lesson modules for an example semester.

In Situ Detection Of Road Lanes Using Raspberry Pi, Ashwani Chahal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A self-driven car is a vehicle that can drive without human intervention by making correct decisions based on the environmental conditions. Since the innovation is in its beginning periods, totally moving beyond the human inclusion is still a long shot. However, rapid technological advancements are being made towards the safety of the driver and the passengers. One such safety feature is a Lane Detection System that empowers vehicle to detect road lane lines in various climate conditions.

This research provides a feasible and economical solution to detect the road lane lines while driving in a sunny, rainy, or snowy weather …

Experiences Of Instructors Using Ready-To-Teach, Fixed-Content Online Courses, Douglas J. Geilman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Online instruction is now the prevalent tool for distance learning. Understanding the adaptable role of the instructor in online distance education is pivotal in the work of comprehending its affordances and limitations. Although there are some commonalities between all forms of online teaching, experiences instructors have may vary depending upon the structure of the online course. The ready-to-teach, fixed-content format merited further study because of the degree to which it unbundles or disaggregates traditional instructor responsibilities by removing the work of determining what to teach and how to teach it. This qualitative multiple case study examined the instructional experiences of …

Using Social Cues To Influence Fruit And Vegetable Intake In College Students, Elizabeth A. Nix

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

People often base their behaviors on social norms—what they think others do or approve of. This is likely true of fruit and vegetable (FV) intake as well. College students typically don’t get enough FV. We attempted to encourage FV eating by providing students with messages or demonstrations that eating FV is normal. First, we tried to encourage FV intake by providing students with messages regarding the average skin carotenoid concentration and where they fit within their peers (Chapter II). Carotenoids are compounds found in FV that cannot be made by the body, making them an estimate of FV intake. We …

They Have No Ears To Hear My Pleas: Short Stories Of The Post-Apocalypse, Keoki W. Kemp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This is a creative thesis consisting of two short stories in the post-apocalyptic genre. A genre that highlights suffering, societal trauma, and the effects of trauma and loss on the human psyche. This genre asks the reader to be sympathetic to these extreme plights. Post-apocalyptic narratives also feature classic heroes who come out on top, despite the genre’s harrowing settings. The two stories featured in this creative thesis are an answer to my inquiry into the genre and seeks not only to show what makes post-apocalyptic literature entertaining but also worthy of literary merit.

The two short stories that constitute …

Modeling The Spread Of Alfalfa Stem Nematodes: Insights Into Their Dynamics And Control, Scott G. Jordan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Alfalfa is a major cash crop in the western United States, where fields that are infested with the alfalfa stem nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci) can be found. With no nematicides available to control alfalfa stem nematode spread, growers can use nematode resistant varieties of alfalfa to manage nematode populations in a field. A deterministic, discrete-time, host-parasite model is presented that describes the spread of alfalfa stem nematodes on resistant hosts that was fit to experimental data obtained in Weber County, Utah. Numerical results obtained from simulations with the model are used to compare how varying levels of resistance can affect …

From Housewives To Protesters: The Story Of Mormons For The Equal Rights Amendment, Kelli N. Morrill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On November 17, 1980, twenty Mormon women and one man were arrested on criminal trespassing charges after chaining themselves to the Bellevue, Washington LDS Temple gate. The news media extensively covered the event due to the shocking photos of middle-aged housewives, covered in large chains, holding protest signs and being escorted to police cars. These women were part of the group Mormons for the Equal Rights Amendment (MERA) and were protesting the LDS Church’s opposition to the ERA. The LDS Church actively opposed the ERA and played an important role in influencing the vote in key states leading to its …

Be Cool, Stay In School: The Habits, Resources, And Confidence College Students Need To Succeed, Matthew Staheli

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Earning a college degree yields many benefits. In addition to an increased income, college degree earners generally have greater job satisfaction, make healthier life choices, are better communicators, and have greater social mobility. Even with all of these benefits, however, some colleges are seeing graduation rates as low as 32%. One of the greatest contributing factors affecting the dropout rate of undergraduate college students is poor academic performance in their courses. In this study, we sought to identify several academic resources, study behaviors, academic self-confidence scores, and demographic information to assess what types of behaviors and resources may lead to …

Investigations Of Polyhydroxyalkanoate Secretion And Production Using Sustainable Carbon Sources, Chad L. Nielsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a type of biologically-produced plastic known for their biocompatibility and biodegradability. They have the potential to replace petroleum-based plastics as an environmentally-friendly alternative. This is beneficial because the release of plastics into environments such as the ocean and the buildup of plastics in landfills are major concerns facing society today. Currently, however, PHAs are significantly more expensive than their petroleum-based counterparts. This is largely due to the cost of carbon sources and of extracting the bioplastics from bacteria. The goal of these studies was to examine replacing traditional carbon sources used in PHA production like sugar and …

Numerical Evaluation Of Energy Release Rate At Material Interfaces For Fatigue Life Predictions, Robert L. Hendrickson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Composite materials are becoming popular in almost all industries. Carbon-fiber and glass-fiber composites are used in aircraft, sports equipment, boats, prosthetics, and wind turbine blades. In all these applications, the composites are subjected to different loads. Loads can take the form of impact or cyclic/fatigue loading, both of which decrease the strength of composites as micro-cracks grow through the composite. Composite laminates are made up of fiber plies (thin layers of fiber) and the fibers are surrounded by a resin like epoxy. It is common for laminates to fail because of delamination growth (plies peeling apart). Small delaminations do not …

Latent Difference Score Mediation Analysis In Developmental Research: A Monte Carlo Study And Application, Melissa Simone

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Developmental and prevention researchers aim to determine how unhealthy behaviors emerge. Mediation analysis offers a statistical tool that allows researchers to describe the processes underlying early risk and later health outcomes. Among existing longitudinal mediation models, latent difference score mediation stands out due to its unique ability to capture variations in changes both within and across individuals, as well as its ability to examine non-linear change over time. However, the literature currently lacks sample size guidelines for latent difference mediation models, which has proven to make the use of these models difficult. The current project addresses this limitation by offering …

American Proto-Zionism And The "Book Of Lehi": Recontextualizing The Rise Of Mormonism, Don Bradley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although historians generally view early Mormonism as a movement focused on restoring Christianity to its pristine New Testament state, in the Mormon movement’s first phase (1827-28) it was actually focused on restoring Judaism to its pristine “Old Testament” state and reconstituting the Jewish nation as it had existed before the Exile.

Mormonism’s first scripture, “the Book of Lehi” (the first part of the Book of Mormon), disappeared shortly after its manuscript was produced. But evidence about its contents shows it to have had restoring Judaism and the Jewish nation to their pre-Exilic condition to have been one of its major …

Assessment Of A Seedling-Based Approach To Aspen Restoration In The Intermountain West, Alexander Addison Howe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is an important species ecologically and culturally in the western U.S., where it is one of the only broadleaf trees in the mostly conifer-dominated forests. Aspen management in the West has focused on regenerating existing stands vegetatively through root suckering, however this approach is restricted to locations where aspen currently exists and limits the genetic diversity of aspen populations. Planting nursery-grown aspen seedlings offers a potential method for overcoming these limitations, but it has received little attention in the U.S. Intermountain West (IW) to date. In order for this approach to be more broadly …

Occasional Liturgy In The Henrician Reformation, Joshua C. Wiggins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

King Henry VIII (1487-1547) famously severed ties with Roman Catholicism and nationalized the church in England in order to secure an annulment from his wife. His decision instigated the Henrician Reformation (1527-1547), a subset of the English Reformation. The king assumed the title 'Supreme Head of the English Church' and vested himself with the power to reform his country's church. Occasional liturgies—the formal religious ceremonies surrounding birth, marriage, and death—were prime opportunities to publicly display new doctrines and procedures. Instead, these rituals changed surprisingly little and largely mirrored the pageantry performed by his parents.

Two conclusions are drawn from the …

Lifetime Estrogen Exposure And Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor: Implications For Cognitive Decline In Late Life, Joshua M. Matyi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Cache County Study on Memory in Aging (CCSMA) is a longitudinal population-based study which took place in Cache County, Utah. The study followed 5092 older-adult residents (aged 65+) for approximately 12 years to examine risk and protective factors for dementia. Participants completed dementia screening and follow-up assessments across four triennial visits. Additionally, researchers gathered information regarding demographics, reproductive history (e.g. age of menopause; hormone replacement therapy [HRT]) and other health-related factors, such as physical activity. Genotyping of DNA was completed for a genetic variation of genes for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein found in the brain associated with …

Importance Of Exposure Time On Digital Image Correlation (Dic) At Extreme Temperatures, Thinh Quang Thai

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Extreme temperatures have increasingly played an important role in engineering applications, including leading edges during hypersonic flight, spacecraft re-entry, and propulsion systems. In order to design for such thermo-mechanical conditions, materials must be characterized using suitable measurement methods. DIC is a popular and versatile method in full-field measurement. In brief, DIC compares images of a sample between its undeformed and deformed state in order to get displacement and strain field maps. Since the images are acquired from digital cameras, it is important to have high contrast images for meaningful correlation. Exposure time is a pivotal camera setting relating to camera …

Quaternary Incision, Salt Tectonism, And Landscape Evolution Of Moab-Spanish Valley, Utah, James P. Mauch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To study the history of processes that shape the Earth’s surface, geologists look for markers in the landscape that they can date and use to measure change. Rivers leave such markers in their deposits and terrace landforms and in the overall shape of their elevation profile from head to toe. This thesis uses luminescence and cosmogenic methods to date the sediment in terraces to determine when the river deposited it. Field mapping and global positioning system (GPS) surveying are also used to measure the distance between terrace levels to quantify how much change has occurred. This study seeks to answer …

Pruning Strategies For High Density ‘Montmorency' Tart Cherry, Sheriden M. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The tart cherry (Prunus cerasus) is the most significant fruit tree crop in Utah, accounting for roughly 51% of the total statewide commercial fruit acreage. In order to accommodate harvesting equipment, tart cherries are grown in conventional orchards with large trees spaced up to 5.5 meters apart. New methods of harvest are adapted to smaller trees in tighter spaced high density (HD) orchards. HD orchards bear fruit earlier in the orchard life than conventional orchards, but likely require different pruning and management strategies, which have not yet been determined for tart cherry. Experimental HD orchards were used to …

Effect Of Silicon On Wheat Growth And Development In Drought And Salinity Stress, Spencer A. Tibbitts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Silicon is a major component of most soils, and is found in significant concentration in plant tissue. Plants vary widely in the amount of silicon they take up, with some plants excluding it, and others using transporters to move the silicon from the soil into their roots. Early plant physiology studies were unable to determine conclusively whether silicon was essential to plant growth, but for some plants, most notably rice, it has proved to be important enough to justify fertilizing silicon deficient fields.

Researchers at the USU Crop Physiology Lab tested the effect of silicon on wheat growth and seed …

Longitudinal Thermal And Solute Dynamics In Regulated Rivers, Muhammad Rezaul Haider

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dam releases increase river stage and can reverse groundwater movement into and out of the river. As the flood, thermal, and solute waves travel downstream in a regulated river, the size of the waves is anticipated to be affected both by river processes and exchanges with near river groundwater. This study established a modeling framework to quantify the influences of the groundwater exchanges on the temperatures and solute concentration dynamics along regulated rivers. The wave properties, volume of exchanges, conservative solute mass exchanges, and heat energy exchanges were calculated as a function of time and distance downstream. Results show that …

Water Surface Impact And Ricochet Of Deformable Elastomeric Spheres, Randy Craig Hurd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soft and deformable silicone rubber spheres ricochet from a water surface when rigid spheres and disks (or skipping stones) cannot. This dissertation investigates why these objects are able to skip so successfully. High speed cameras allow us to see that these unique spheres deform significantly as they impact the water surface, flattening into pancake-like shapes with greater area. Though the water entry behavior of deformable spheres deviates from that of rigid spheres, our research shows that if this deformation is accounted for, their behavior can be predicted from previously established methods. Soft spheres skip more easily because they deform significantly …

Optimizing Barrier Removal To Restore Connectivity In Utah’S Weber Basin, Maggi Kraft

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

River barriers, such as dams, culverts and diversions are important for water conveyance, but disrupt river ecosystems and hydrologic processes. River barrier removal is increasingly used to restore and improve river habitat and connectivity. Most past barrier removal projects prioritized individual barriers using score-and-rank techniques, neglecting the spatial structure and cumulative change from multiple barrier removals. Similarly, most water demand models satisfy human water uses or, only prioritize aquatic habitat, failing to include both human and environmental water use benefits. In this study, a dual objective optimization model identified in-stream barriers that impede quality-weighted aquatic habitat connectivity for Bonneville cutthroat …

Advancing The Cyberinfrastructure For Integrated Water Resources Modeling, Caleb A. Buahin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Like other scientists, hydrologists encode mathematical formulations that simulate various hydrologic processes as computer programs so that problems with water resource management that would otherwise be manually intractable can be solved efficiently. These computer models are typically developed to answer specific questions within a specific study domain. For example, one computer model may be developed to solve for magnitudes of water flow and water levels in an aquifer while another may be developed to solve for magnitudes of water flow through a water distribution network of pipes and reservoirs. Interactions between different processes are often ignored or are approximated using …

Lactational Performance And Energy Partitioning Of Dairy Cows Supplemented With N-Acetyl-L-Methionine During Mid To Late Lactation, Tyson George Grisenti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The N-acetyl-L-methionine (NALM) molecule is a methionine (Met) derivative produced via acetylation of the L-Met α-amino group with an N-acetyl group. This molecule has been shown to be bioavailable and capable of fulfilling the dietary requirement for Met in animals and humans. The current experiment was conducted to test a hypothesis that lactating dairy cows fed with NALM would increase milk production by increasing N and energy utilization efficiencies in a dose dependent manner. Eight multiparous Holstein cows that were mid lactation (124 ± 13 days-in-milk) with similar milk production were used in a 4 x …