Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Web Usage Mining: Application To An Online Educational Digital Library Service, Bart C. Palmer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation examined how users of the Instructional Architect (IA; http://ia.usu.edu) utilized the system in order to find online learning resources, place them in a new online instructional activities, and share and use them with students. The online learning resources can be found in educational digital libraries such as the National Science Digital Library (NSLD; http://nsdl.org) or the wider Web. Usage data from 22 months of IA use were processed to form usage features that were analyzed in order to find clusters of user behavior using latent class analysis (LCA).

The users were segmented into two samples with 5–90 and …

Dads' Parent Interactions With Children-Checklist Of Observations Linked To Outcomes (Piccolo-D): Developing An Observational Measure Of Father-Child Interaction, Sheila Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Intervention programs providing support for father parenting skills need a practical but psychometrically strong observational measure of fathers’ early positive parenting interactions with children. The primary purpose of this project was to develop a valid, reliable observational measure of father-child interaction, based on research and theory, that predicts child outcomes, identifies fathers’ strengths, and will be useful for home visiting practitioners. This study sought to fulfill this need by developing a new measure called Dads’ Parenting Interactions with Children—Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO-D) for home visitors to use to identify fathering strengths. Developed with extant video observations of …

The Mechanisms Of Hydride Exchange, Organic Combination And Displacement Reactions, Weifang Hao

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The primary aim of this dissertation was to seek the answer to the question: “Is the single transition-state model appropriate for the fundamental reactions in organic chemistry?” The goal was accomplished by performing enormous kinetic data collection and detailed mechanistic analysis on several typical fundamental organic chemical reactions. Three new methodologies for differentiating between a simple one-step and complex multi-step mechanism were developed and extensively confirmed during the application in the kinetic studies of all of the reaction discussed in this dissertation. The three methods consist of (1) half-life dependence of kapp, (2) sequential linear pseudo-first-order correlation, and (3) revised …

The Door-To-Door Mormon Pest Control Salesman: A Novel, John Charles Gilmore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis engages readers in a story about contemporary Mormonism. It is a novel that follows a fictional Mormon man engaged in a quirky summer job: door-to-door sales. The Mormon characters in this novel encounter a collapsing Florida housing market that stalls their efforts at peddling pesticide, while the main character experiences serious doubts in his personal religious faith.

Though Mormons are a small fraction of the United States’ population, they have drawn considerable interest from the American public in recent years, in large part due to the success of the 2011 musical The Book of Mormon and the 2008 …

Rationalizing Structure, Stability, And Chemical Bonding Of Pure And Doped Clusters Isolated And Solvated Multiply Charged Anions, And Solid State Materials, Alina P. Sergeeva

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chemistry is the study of materials and the changes that materials undergo. One can tune the properties of the known materials and design the novel materials with desired properties knowing what is responsible for the chemical reactivity, structure, and stability of those materials. The unified chemical bonding theory could address all these questions, but we do not have one available yet. The most accepted general theory of chemical bonding was proposed by Lewis in 1916, though Lewis’s theory fails to explain the bonding in materials with delocalized electron density such as sub-nano and nanoclusters, as well as aromatic organic and …

Treatment Of Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Utilizing Parent-Facilitated Acceptance And Commitment Therapy, Jennifer Yardley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects as many as 2.7% of children. Pediatric OCD is associated with significant distress for both families and children in multiple domains. Unfortunately, the majority of children with OCD do not receive adequate treatment. Without treatment pediatric OCD often persists into adulthood.

The current primary psychological treatment for pediatric OCD is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP). However, there are multiple limitations of this treatment. Some children either do not respond to current treatments or respond only minimally, while others drop out or refuse treatment.
Exposure-based treatments yield problems with treatment adherence, …

Use Of Rumen Modifiers To Manipulate Ruminal Fermentation And Improve Nutrient Utilization And Lactational Performance Of Dairy Cows, Christopher M. Dschaak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A series of lactation studies reported in this dissertation hypothesized that supplementing different rumen modifiers would have consistent responses on ruminal fermentation and lactational performance under optimal rumen conditions.

The first experiment investigated the influence of magnesium exchanged zeolite on ruminal fermentation and lactational performance. Intake of dry matter (DM), milk yield, milk fat, and feed efficiency were not affected. Milk protein concentration tended (P = 0.15) to be higher for cows fed the zeolite. Ruminal pH tended to increase (P = 0.11) by feeding the sodium bicarbonate or the zeolite.

A second lactation experiment determined …

“It’S Wraylynn – With A W”: Distinctive Mormon Naming Practices, Jennifer R. Mansfield

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The primary objective of this study was to investigate ways in which names among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are distinctive and the reasons behind those distinctive names. While many before me have noted that Mormons often possess distinctive names, there are few studies that attempt to determine the reasons why. Existing research has neglected to include perspectives from members of the LDS Church who practice distinctive naming. Through interviews with LDS Church members, I analyzed what they hoped to accomplish through naming and the larger cultural themes visible in distinctive LDS names. I also …

Dystopian Literature And The Novella Form As Illustrated Through Side Effects, An Original Novella, Bryan W. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This master’s degree thesis exists in two parts: a critical introduction and an original novella entitled Side Effects. The critical introduction introduces and explains the theories on, literature surrounding, and literary uses of dystopian fiction, the novella format, and drug-based psychotherapy. Current opinion on dystopian fiction sees it characterized by a seemingly perfect societal setting that ultimately contains hidden or suppressed moral flaws. The ultimate purpose of dystopian fiction is commentary on contemporary society through a defamiliarized setting. The novella format is shown to exist in a middle-ground state between the short story and the novel, yet the format …

William Colmer And The Politics Of The New Deal Labor Legislation 1933-1940, Zachary Wyatt Moulds

Master's Theses

William (Bill) Colmer first entered Congress in 1933, the same year that President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal began to reshape the role of government in the United States. While the New Deal's efforts to combat the Great Depression proved popular in the beginning, by 1935 many congressmen, especially southerners, began to distance themselves from the administration's attempts at social reform. Although many of his colleagues refused to endorse the increasingly liberal agenda of the New Deal, Congressman Colmer remained loyal throughout the decade. His loyalty to the administration was due in part to the south Mississippi district …

No One Really Knows You, Andrew Charles Rhodes

Master's Theses

This is a collection of five short stories that I have written during my time in the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi. The stories were written, revised, and workshopped in graduate classes over the last two years.

Reinforcements On The Border: The Utah National Guard's Role In The Punitive Expedition, 1916-1917, Thomas Reese Dubach Jr.

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

In June 2006, in a plan to mitigate illicit border crossings, President George W. Bush called the National Guard to the border to build a fence. Almost ninety years to the day earlier, President Woodrow Wilson mobilized the National Guard to the border to protect it from raiders and smugglers who were part of the Mexican Revolution. Most Utahns are aware that the Utah National Guard spent time on the border to construct the fence. However, most do not know that the Utah National Guard served on the border as part of President Wilson’s mobilization. In 1916, a civil war …

Saucers And The Sacred: The Folklore Of Ufo Narratives, Preston C. Copeland

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

In 1973, nineteen year old Calvin Parker and forty two year old Charles Hickson, both of Gauter, Mississippi were fishing in the Pascagoula river when they heard a buzzing noise behind them. Both turned and were terrified to see a ten-foot wide, eight-foot- high, glowing egg-shaped object with blue lights at its front hovering just above the ground about forty feet from the riverbank. As the men, frozen with fright, watched, a door appeared in the object, and three strange Beings floated just above the river toward them. The beings had legs but did not use them. They were about …

“Next Year In Jerusalem”: The Trials And Triumphs Of Music In The Schools Of Preston, Idaho, 1888-1995, Jill Durrant

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

Throughout time, music has played a pivotal role in the lives of people. In every country, among every ethnicity, and as part of every culture, music has a presence. Music often acts as a mirror, reflecting aspects of society and history in ways that even the ordinary person can understand. No matter what the form—religious, popular, classical, folk—music has the ability to reveal something about the people who created it, performed it, and enjoyed it. Because of this overarching presence of music in the structure of almost every civilization, it is no surprise that music has always had some part …

Order And Peace: Samuel Seabury's Concept Of Liberty, Cho-Chien Feng

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

The idea of liberty has been the subject of incessant debate. People around the world define the concept of liberty in different ways. For example, supporters of gay rights claim that liberty gives homosexuals the right to marry, yet at the same time, conservatively-inclined people in the United States argue that their liberty is threatened when President Obama executes his plans for the health care system. People have argued about the meaning of liberty throughout the centuries. Although the focus of the debates seemed to be diverse, the spirit underlying the debates was always the same: expanding the realm of …

Evocative Communication: Selected Projects In Projection, Scenic, And Lighting Design, Milinda Esplin Weeks

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

I didn’t always want to be a theatrical designer. As a child, I wanted to be a ballerina, an artist, a teacher. My answer to, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” changed ever time someone asked me the question. Though I didn’t understand it a the time, what I wanted was to affect people. I wanted my work to create emotion and thought.

I found that reaction in the theater. Here was a small circle of people who were entirely codependent upon each other to create one large piece of art, all in the hopes of …

Parallaxis, Carl Ray Wilson

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

Parallaxis first began with an observation in my hometown. At nighttime, like a moth attracted to a flame, I would notice empty buildings that were closed or never opened for various reasons and relate them to my own inner vacancy. Seeing the lights on in these empty places motivated my curiosity and kept me studiously coming back.

I continued my exploration of empty buildings in Utah. Taking note of how capturing reflections transformed my images from documentary photography to internal forms of expression. It was at this time that reflections became the driving force within my image making. I became …

Places, Kellyn Bailey

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

There is an certain discomfort that accompanies stepping outside the known into the unfamiliar. Yet in my life, the endeavors I have been the most uncertain about have often turned out to be the most rewarding to me. This is especially true in the case of traveling. My first major experience away from home came with an opportunity to participate in a month-long study abroad in Switzerland. My uneasiness about the prospect of spending an extended period of time thousands of miles away from home almost kept me from going. In my life, I can identify a small handful of …

Convergence, Megan R. Mitchell

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

Fences, doors and windows indicate a point of intersection between inside and outside, public and private. These porous boundaries provide enclosure while also allowing access to an outside world. I am drawn to these divisions in space both as aesthetic and metaphorical objects. They are the point of departure for an exploration of the intersection between real and imagined worlds.

I am fascinated by the ways that my brain filters and interprets the outside world, which then takes root in dreams and the imagination. Certain structures and landscapes hold a specific symbolic power; while completely inanimate, they seem to mirror …

Why And How To Increase The Amount Of Writing In Utah's Schools, Sarah Orme

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

The writing culture in elementary schools and secondary schools needs to change if students are going to be equipped for their future academic and career goals. An ideal writing culture promotes advanced writing by encouraging more writing, sharing, and a sense that everyone in the classroom is a developing writer. The writing students produce shows that this type of writing culture is not being nurtured in many secondary schools. It is apparent that the ideal writing culture in secondary schools is not being achieved because of the writing students produce. Arthur Applebee and Judith Langer, in connection with the National …

Baptism, Katie Kreutter

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"As a conveyor of God’s grace, baptism holds a significant role within Christianity and has been regarded as a sacrament by essentially every Christian tradition throughout history as a result. This reality is striking in light of Christian history, which has consistently demonstrated that contention and debate often surrounds central Church doctrine rather than unified agreement, the latter of which is far more challenging to obtain. Even though baptism is upheld as tantamount to the Christian faith and tradition, a variety of primary sources from the Reformation Era indicate …

The Lark Descending, Michael Costanzo

Verbum

No abstract provided.

Funeral, Paul A. Rothermich

Verbum

No abstract provided.

When The Bond Is Broken, Erika Lynn Dangler

Verbum

No abstract provided.

"Saints" Reaching Out, Don Irving

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"Last semester in a” Saints in Film” course we did a project that related our class to the real world and helping others. In an effort to act on what we learned about saints, their love of God and their desire to express it through their lives, we contacted a parish in Brazil and came up with a class project to help their youth soccer program. The children there love the sport of soccer and we believed it would be a great gesture of love to give them proper …

Hearing The Game And Listening To The Player, Chris Sawyer

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"Football is one of America’s pastimes that have played a crucial role in my life along with many other people across the country. To the average person that might not know a lot about the sport it may bring negative vibes. Football may draw these vibes from the trash talking and violence included in the game. This game has so much more to offer though. On top of discipline, brotherhood, and a sense of pride for one’s team, football can give so much more. Looking at faith through football …

A Bridge Between Traditions: The Virgin Mary In Christianity And Islam, Husain Bawany

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"Simply turning on the television leads to a bombardment of sights and sounds from around world. The various channels dedicated to news, such as CNN, NBC, BBC, and so on, have allowed people see even the most remote areas of the globe right from their sofas. In an era when such information is heaped onto the public, sorting through the pile is often made a difficult task. When the population is exposed to constant sound bites of Arabs calling for the downfall of disbelievers or of U.S. criticism aimed …

The Enriching World Of Volunteering, Teresa Murano

Verbum

No abstract provided.

Computer Science Begins At Fisher, John Capozzi

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"Dr. Rev. Michael Costanzo asked me to write an article for Verbum 2012. I know Father Costanzo as my family is a member of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Penfield where Father Costanzo often helps out. I thought I would write a little about my experience at St. John Fisher College for the Alumni Corner. It has been over 30 years since I first walked onto the St. John Fisher College campus in the fall of 1979 as an incoming freshman, but it doesn’t seem that long …

The Problem Of Evil And The Existence Of God, Timothy Ryan

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"Throughout the history of mankind countless theologians, scholars, and philosophers have grappled with the concept of evil, the existence of God, and if God exists, whether He is omnipotent and representative of infinite goodness. Ever since the first human being gazed up to the heavens and contemplated the origins of natural phenomenon or the reasons dreadful things happen to good people, humanity has engaged in a continuous debate over evil and its relationship to God’s existence and whether He embodies boundless righteousness or tempered vengeance. Numerous scholars and philosophers …