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The Bat And The Spider: A Folkloristic Analysis Of Comic Book Narratives, Wesley Colin Van De Water

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis examines the folkloric evolution of superhero narratives over the past century. Utilizing theories from folklorists such as Lord Raglan, Vladimir Propp, Joseph Campbell, Barre Toelken, and Alan Dundes, it examines the core qualities prized by folklorists, and how these same elements can be found in superhero narratives, despite their mass produced nature and place amidst American popular culture. It examines classic hero tale structures, as well as the folkloric theories of dynamism and conservatism. The main argument is that these narratives are folkloric in nature, and that the discipline of folklore would benefit from their study.

A New Low-Cost Microstrip Antenna Array For 60 Ghz Applications, Darwin J. Joaquin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The use of telecommunications and the amount of data exchanged continue to grow at exponential rates. New technologies allowing for higher data transfer speeds while keeping the products affordable are required. Among these technologies, the WiGig protocol promises to be a shorter-range complement for high-speed Wi-Fi. One of the most important elements in a communication system are the antennas. For this reason, it is of great interest to have antennas that keep on pace with the other elements of the system. It is important to have affordable and high performance antennas to expand the use of the technology. This research …

Self-Determination Training: A Collaboration Model For Schools And Vocational Rehabilitation, Shannon M. Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Transitioning from high school to postsecondary education and employment is often difficult for students with disabilities. Research has shown that students with increased self-determination skills have a greater likelihood of being successful in a postsecondary setting and in obtaining employment.

Students with disabilities often receive extensive specialized instruction in the areas of English and math, but their teachers have not historically been given training in teaching self-determination. Vocational Rehabilitation counselors are trained to give career guidance and encourage self-determination skills, but are not experienced teachers.

The purpose of this thesis was to determine whether or not a self-determination curriculum created …

Teacher Attitudes And Perceptions Of Low And High Socioeconomic Status Students, Patty C. Norman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this qualitative study, the author explored the perceptions of 10 middle-class, teachers regarding the socioeconomic class of both impoverished and advantaged students with whom they worked. Teachers in two public elementary schools from one Intermountain West school district participated; one school generally served children living in poverty and the other generally served affluent children. Through analysis of surveys, interviews, teacher journals, and researcher journal, the complex and often times contradictory feelings these teachers had about the socioeconomic class of students were revealed.

Literature in class, socioeconomic class, deficit thinking, race and whiteness, and identity and multiple identities situated the …

The Relationship Between Adolescents' Use Of Internet-Enabled Mobile Devices And Engaging In Problematic Digital Behaviors, Ryan Atwood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teenagers’ use of mobile Internet devices and their involvement in risky digital behaviors, including problematic Internet use, exposure to pornography, and participation in sexting. A sample of teens between the ages of 13-18 was used for this study.

It was found that teens who used smartphones as their primary source of Internet access were most likely to receive sexting requests, while teens using computers to access the Internet were most likely to intentionally view pornography. Additionally, teens who used multiple mobile devices to connect to the Internet and teens …

The Effects Of Meter Orientation Downstream Of A Short Radius Elbow On Electromagnetic Flow Meters, Jared C. Justensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Electromagnetic flowmeters (known as magnetic flow meters) are a widely used type of flowmeter. The accuracy of magnetic flow meters are a function of several factors, not the least of which is the flow condition inside the pipe. It has been shown that disturbances in the velocity profile affects the accuracy of a magnetic flow meter (Luntta, 1998). Accordingly, manufacturers of magnetic flow meters give installation guidelines. These guidelines help prevent the user from installing the meter in a pipe configuration that is likely to cause the meter to produce inaccurate results. Although most manufacturers provide recommendations about the amount …

Modulation Of The Nutritional Context And Early Experience As New Tools To Increase The Use Of Medusahead (Taeniatherum Caput-Medusae Ssp. Asperum) By Grazing Sheep, Juan J. Montes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Medusahead is an invasive weed that reduces wildlife habitat and biodiversity as well as commercial and recreational value of land. Grazing represents a sustainable method for its control but stakeholders claim that livestock will not eat medusahead because of its low feed value. This research explored a supplementation program, along with experiences early in life with mother to enhance use of medusahead by sheep. Results showed that an energy supplement did not enhance medusahead use by sheep but that early experience with mother influenced yearlings to use the weed more evenly across days. When availability of the weed was low …

Biodiversity, Community Dynamics, And Novel Foraging Behaviors Of A Rich Native Bee Fauna Across Habitats At Pinnacles National Park, California, Joan M. Meiners

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Global concern about honeybee declines has spurred feverish research about the status and protection of this single species, yet our understanding of the ecology and issues impacting thousands of species of native bees lags behind. Pinnacles National Park, America's newest, near Salinas, California, is currently the most densely biodiverse area for native bees known on the planet. Recent work by researchers at Utah State University and the USDA-ARS has documented 479 species of native bees in only 42 square miles of this park. During two years of field studies and 308 collector days, we assembled data on 52,853 bee specimens …

Production Of Synthetic Spider Silk Fibers, Cameron G. Copeland

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dragline spider silk is among the strongest known biomaterials. It is the silk used for the framework of the web and it is used to catch the spider if it falls. As such, it is stronger and much more flexible than KEVLAR©. Studies show that dragline silk is made of two proteins, Major Ampullate Spider Proteins 1 and 2 (MaSp1 and MaSp2). Due to its incredible mechanical properties, spider silk is being considered for use as a new biomaterial for drug delivery and tendon and ligament replacement/repair, as well as athletic gear, military applications, airbags, and tire cords. However, spiders …

Fear-Based Policymaking: How Government Agencies Exploit Mortality Risk Perceptions, Alecia M. Hunter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this thesis is to explore how government policymakers use distorted Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) calculations for their personal benefit. The VSL estimates how much a large group of citizens would jointly pay to save the life a one random person from a fatal disease. The VSL is used by government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency. Agencies use the VSL in benefit-cost analyses to help determine potentially favorable life-saving policy from wasteful policy. Despite the well-intentioned objectiveness and decisiveness of the VSL, the political framework incentivizes miscalculated and exaggerated VSL estimates. Public choice theory addresses …

Anthropogenic And Natural Stressors And Their Effect On Immunity, Reproduction, And The Stress Response, Lorin A. Neuman-Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Animals must be able to cope with many natural and human-made stressors in order to successfully survive and reproduce. These stressors can come in many forms and are increasing as human activities become more and more prevalent across the globe. In order to cope with these stressors, organisms must allocate limited energy away from processes such as reproduction to mount a stress response. This stress response involves the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and results in a cascade of hormones and down-stream effects, such as changes in reproduction and immune function. In order to understand how reptiles and amphibians cope …

The Influence Of Small Displacement Faults On Seal Integrity And Lateral Movement Of Fluids, Eric A. Rasmusson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As groundwater, liquid and gas hydrocarbons, or CO₂ fluids move through the subsurface, faults can act as pathways or barriers to flow. Recent studies also show that when a fault juxtaposes high permeability sandstone against a low permeability shale, the corner at the sandstone-shale interface and the fault can become a site of high pressure that may fracture the seal and allow fluids to escape. This can have negative implications for industries dependent on the quality of that seal, for example, petroleum, CO₂ sequestration, waste fluid injection, and nuclear waste storage industries.

We examined five small-scale faults in …

Application Of Computational Fluid Dynamics In Flow Measurement And Meter Design, Zachary B. Sharp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Flow measurement has been an important part of society for hundreds of years. For this reason there are many methods to measure flow rates both in open channel scenarios like irrigation canals and also in closed conduits like pipelines that supply water for human use. This research focused on Venturi flow meters which have been used to measure flow since the 1890’s. The object of this research was to use computational fluid dynamics and laboratory data to provide industry with applicable answers to some under researched areas in flow measurement. The areas chosen for this research include areas requested by …

Effects On A Wedge Flowmeter Installed Downstream Of A Double Elbow Out Of Plane, Devan S. Radle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Precise flow measurement is a critical part of many industries including industrial, hydropower, petroleum, nuclear, and water/wastewater. Lengthy upstream piping is required for many flowmeters to obtain accurate results. Due to piping constraints, sub- optimal flow meter installations can occur. One of these conditions is the installment of a flow meter in close proximity downstream of a double elbow out of plane (DEOP). A DEOP can cause swirl to form in the flow and can cause inaccurate metering results due to the non-uniform flow and pressure conditions. This study investigated the effect of installing a differential pressure producing wedge flow …

The Application Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle To Precision Agriculture: Chlorophyll, Nitrogen, And Evapotranspiration Estimation, Manal Elarab

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Precision agriculture (PA) is an integration of a set of technologies aiming to improve productivity and profitability while sustaining the quality of the surrounding environment. It is a process that vastly relies on high-resolution information to enable greater precision in the management of inputs to production. This dissertation explores the usage of multispectral high resolution aerial imagery acquired by an unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platform to estimate three fundamental crop parameters (plant chlorophyll, leaf nitrogen and crop water demand). The UAS acquired imagery in the visual, near infrared and thermal infrared spectra with a resolution of less than a meter …

Vision Based Extraction Of Nutrition Information From Skewed Nutrition Labels, Tanwir Zaman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Vision-based extraction of nutritional information from nutrition labels (NLs) available on most product packages is critical to proactive nutrition management, because it improves the user’s ability to engage in continuous nutritional data collection and analysis. However, even users who are health conscious find it difficult to keep track of their nutrition intake due to lack of time, motivation, or training. In order to make nutrition management more proactive we present a Proactive NUTrition Management System (PNUTS), which aims to make nutrition management more user friendly and proactive using computer vision techniques running on smartphones which are ubiquitous and powerful computers …

Utah Lotus: North American Legume For Possible Use In Rangeland Revegetation In The Southern Great Basin Of The Western United States, Jason M. Stettler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis project explored the production and forage quality characteristics of Utah lotus (Lotus utahensis Ottley) and scrub lotus (L. wrightii (A. Gray) Greene) seed collections during a two-year period. The variation of 14 Utah lotus and five scrub lotus seed collections was evaluated by measuring important plant characteristics at three common garden sites in northern Utah. In addition, the genetic structure of the collections was determined by molecular biological techniques. Large variation was observed among collections for all phenotypic traits measured, with Utah lotus and scrub lotus being phenotypically quite different. Two collections of Utah lotus (LU-5 …

Structural Insights Into The Regulation Of Electron Transfer In Nitrogenase, And Modulating The Reactivity Of The Isolated Iron Molybdenum Cofactor, Andrew J. Rasmussen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One of the most important scientific advances in the last century was the Haber-Bosch process, the industrial process of fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere to ammonia. This allowed for the commercial production and sale of nitrogen for important uses such as fertilizer for farming. The Haber-Bosch process is partially credited with the population boom that has been seen in the last century and has greatly increased the standard of living in the developed world today. While this was a great scientific breakthrough, the cost of producing the required ammonia is high, and roughly 2% of worldwide energy is used annually …

An Evaluation Of A Stimulus Preference Assessment Of Ipad Applications For Young Children With Autism, Lyndsay D. Nix

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The process researchers use to determine what children with disabilities like and dislike is called preference assessment. Studies have been conducted with preference assessments using different types of materials (e.g., food, toys, music). In this study, we used a preference assessment on the iPad for children with autism. The purpose was to see if iPad applications (apps) could be used to increase responding. The preference assessment ranked iPad apps for each participant in order of most-preferred to leastpreferred. Participants’ responding increased when they could receive the most-preferred iPad app for completing the task (i.e., stringing beads). These results show that …

Considering The Crossroads Of Distance Education: The Experiences Of Instructors As They Transitioned To Online Or Blended Courses, David D. Hoffman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the short history of online education research, researchers studying teacher experiences regularly relied on anecdotal examples or small samples. In this research, we sought to support and enhance previous findings concerning the best practices in online education by performing randomly sampled, nationwide survey of online and blended course instructors. The survey inquired about demographics (such as age, race, and gender), professional position (i.e. tenured professor), institution, department, and their initial and current feelings about teaching online education. It questioned if the respondents studied online as students, what resources administrators provided, their audience, length of instructional experience, and personal behaviors …

The Role Of Gpr84 In Medium-Chain Saturated Fatty Acid Taste Transduction, Yan Liu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The prevalence of overweight or obese in adults has nearly doubled during the past two decades, and obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and even some types of cancer. One of the factors closely linked with the obesity epidemic is overconsumption of dietary fat. Accumulating evidence has supported the existence of the "taste of fat", and more and more studies have focused on identifying the mechanisms of fatty acid detection by gustatory system. In this study, I showed for the first time that medium-chain saturated fatty acids (MCFAs) were able to activate taste cells isolated from mice, and …

An Examination Of How Qualitatively Different Delayed Outcomes Are Discounted, Jonathan E. Friedel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Jonathan E. Friedel, a graduate student in the Experimental and Applied Psychological Sciences program at Utah State University, will complete this dissertation as part of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology.

Outcomes that are received far in the future are less valuable than outcomes that are to be received more proximally. Delay discounting describes how outcomes in the future lose value. The goal of this dissertation is to examine how people discount different types of delayed outcomes. Two experiments examine the value of a wide
variety of delayed outcomes for cigarette smokers and nonsmokers. These …

Examining The Utah 4-H Volunteer Program: The Effects Of Donation And Motives In Relation To Volunteer Recruitment And Retention, Kelsey W. Romney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah 4-H is a volunteer driven, youth development program. The success of Utah 4-H depends on the recruitment and retention of volunteers. The purpose of this study was to identify recruitment and retention motivators and how those motivators related to the unique cultural demographics of Utah 4-H volunteers. Results show that volunteers did not begin volunteering because of their religious affiliation; however, those who were religious were more likely to remain active volunteers for Utah 4-H. The underlying motive of 4-H volunteers, related to all types of involvement in the program, was an altruistic desire to help others.

Exploiting Self-Organization In Bioengineered Systems: A Computational Approach, Delin Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bio-reactors, also known as microbial factories are used extensively to produce various industrially valuable products. However, scalability and stability of these factories are limited as it is difficult to deliver nutrients and extract product and waste from a large system. Current solution approaches explore changes in the physical configuration of the bio-reactors. Inspired from the nutrient delivery mechanisms of large organisms in nature, this work studies the possibilities of exploiting self-organizing bio-engineered cells which are capable of organizing into a vessel network to support the producer cells in the factory.

Primary goal of this dissertation is to design a proof-of-concept …

The Effects Of Didactic Instruction On The Rate Of Preservice Teachers' Low-And High-Level Questions, Monica Lewis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Developing a teacher’s ability to ask meaningful questions is a simple, effective way to influence learning outcomes. Questions serve as a beneficial instructional strategy, allowing teachers to facilitate student learning opportunities through engagement, and by reinforcing understanding, promoting higher levels of thinking, and providing feedback.

This study evaluated the use of questioning sequence, moving from low- to high-level questions, to support students’ reading comprehension. After engaging in instruction and practice in the TeachLivE™ Lab, two teacher participants implemented low- and high-level question sequences during reading instruction with elementary students. The study measured teacher performance as a rate of question sequences …

A Light In The Dark: Luminescence Dating Intermountain Ware Ceramics From Four Archaeological Sites In Northwestern Wyoming, Carlie J. Ideker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The chronology of high-altitude archaeological sites in northwestern Wyoming is poorly understood due to limited reliable age constraints. While temporally diagnostic artifacts provide relative age control, fluctuations in atmospheric radiocarbon produce radiocarbon age results with multiple calibrated age-range intercepts that prove difficult to interpret. Age overestimates associated with the 'old wood' problem can be especially prominent at high-altitude sites where cold and semi-arid environments promote the presence of long-living trees and prolong the preservation of organic material. Moreover, regional droughts coupled with a pine beetle epidemic have resulted in increasing wildfire frequency and intensities that serve both as a benefit …

Political Parties And Direct Democracy: An Analysis Of The 2015 Greek Referendum, Megan E. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On July 5, 2015, Greek voters were asked to vote on whether the country should accept the terms of austerity offered by the European Union for bailout from the country’s financial crisis. With a turnout rate of 62.5% overall, 61.3% of Greeks voted “no.” While a majority of voters in every district opposed the bailout’s terms, the margin against the proposed austerity measures ranged from 51.2% in Lakonias to 73.8% in Chanion. This paper explores whether political parties influenced Greek voters’ decisions to accept or reject the EU's budgetary reforms. We first review the literature relevant to that question, focusing …

Analyzing Irrigation District Water Productivity By Benchmarking Current Operations Using Remote Sensing And Simulation Of Alternative Water Delivery Scenarios, Jonna D. Van Opstal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The competition for fresh water is vastly increasing particularly in semi-arid areas. Agricultural irrigation areas are urged to decrease their water use, being the largest consumer of fresh water in these areas. Improvements in irrigation management aim at increasing crop production whilst maintaining or decreasing water use. The analysis of water productivity at the irrigation district scale is challenging due to spatial heterogeneity between fields and temporal variability between growing seasons.

This dissertation makes use of satellite-based remote sensing imagery and an irrigation system simulation model to determine the water management at different spatial scales from field scale to the …

Design Of Miniaturized Time-Of-Flight Reflectron Mass Spectrometer For Upper Atmosphere Density Measurements, Michelle Lynn Pyle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Upper atmosphere and solar events can have strong impacts on the communication, power, and navigation systems we use every day. Modeling atmospheric dynamics, or the changes and reactions of different regions of the atmosphere, can help improve understanding and predictions of the effects of solar events. A suite of measurements of the upper atmosphere, including wind, temperature, and composition measurements, is used to build atmospheric models. Current atmospheric models are very sophisticated but need additional data to fully model atmospheric dynamics. In the past, measurements used to determine atmospheric composition have been performed using mass spectrometer instruments on full-size satellites. …

Modified Trajectory Shaping Guidance For Autonomous Path Following Control Of Platooning Ground Vehicles, Ishmaal T. Erekson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis proposes a modification of trajectory shaping guidance to provide more accurate path convergence in curved paths. The object of this thesis is to apply this simple guidance law to platooning control to ensure all vehicles in the platoon converge to a desired constant radius path at a desired vehicle separation distance. To show the viability of this new guidance law, it is shown mathematically to be exponentially stable. It is also confirmed through simulations and on ground robots.