Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Social Hierarchy Computationally To Further Our Understanding Of Social Organizations Within Their Environments, Stanley L. Rhodes Jr.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Hierarchy is ever-present across countless human societies, a seemingly inescapable reality of small organizations and national governments. However, there is a lot about hierarchy we don’t understand, and if we want to make better organizations and better society, it is crucial we learn more about it. This dissertation investigates three questions: 1) “What is hierarchy?” 2) “How is hierarchy useful?” 3) “How does hierarchy vary?” I find that social scientists do not all mean the same thing by hierarchy, even within the same fields; yet, they do consistently write of hierarchy as control (like boss-employee relations), hierarchy as rank (like …

Navigating Roadblocks In Utah's Path Towards Curbing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Emily K. Fletcher

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In places where discussions about climate change have become highly political and divided, community groups have attempted to connect rival political parties by focusing on improving air quality. This topic is often less politically charged. The effects of climate change have been disproportionately felt by marginalized communities around the world. In the west side of the Salt Lake Valley, many communities are more likely to experience the negative consequences of a drying lake, a problem that Utah and other regions are currently facing, compared to others in the valley. This research focuses on the individuals who have signed the Utah …

Environmental Conditions And The Fertility Intentions Of Utahns, Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed, Jennifer E. Givens

Utah People and Environment Poll (UPEP)

One of the most important decisions a person may make in their lifetime is whether to have children. Many factors shape fertility intentions and outcomes. A better understanding of individual reproductive intentions can shed light on current fertility patterns, enable more accurate population projections^1-2 and planning efforts, and improve our ability to address environmental drivers and implications.

Connectedness And Wellbeing: Investigating Community And Nature-Based Connection In The Context Of Utah's Rapid Growth, Sarah E. Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research suggests that feeling connected to the natural world and feeling socially connected to your community positively influence wellbeing. However, significant demographic shifts within communities may reduce the amount of social and nature-based connectedness enjoyed by residents. As one of the fastest growing states, data from within Utah likely provides important insights related to how population growth impacts connectedness and wellbeing. Considering this, the present research investigated the relationships between personal wellbeing, community connection, and connection with nature in the context of Utah's rapid population growth by utilizing quantitative survey data from the Utah Wellbeing Project and demographic information from …

The Intersections Of Payments For Ecosystem Services, Gender, And Conditionality In A Bolivian Case Study, Alicia Potter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) have gained traction since the 1990s and are designed to provide cash or in-kind incentives to natural resource managers who alter land management behavior to protect ecosystem services. Conservation programs generally are known to interact with household and community gender dynamics. For other types of cash transfers, recent literature has noted that presence of conditionality (a key aspect of PES) may create or reinforce gender inequalities, which often manifest in household divisions of labor and decision-making where women may be obligated to complete more unpaid work or experience less control over resources.

Based on a …

Public Perceptions And Attitudes Toward Domestic Climate Migrants And Migration In The U.S., Brittany Shae Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events due to global climate change have an important effect on human migration and relocation. Short-term extreme weather events like floods and wildfires are likely to continue to displace people. Long-term environmental changes like droughts and increasing temperatures may also contribute to increased human migration. This research aimed to better understand how people in the U.S. perceive domestic climate migrants, and what drives these perceptions. First, I investigated the relationship between public climate change risk perceptions and attitudes and perceptions about domestic climate migrants and migration. I found that people tend to rely …

Co-Creating Culturally Inclusive Climate Change Programming: A Qualitative Study With Indigenous Populations In Southeast Utah, Bayli R. Hanson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study explores the impact of climate change on underrepresented communities, particularly Indigenous populations in the Colorado Plateau region, and the negative effects on their cultural identities and traditional practices. Despite their knowledge and connection to the land, Indigenous communities are experiencing climate change at a more extreme rate due to their geographical location and the lasting impacts of settler colonialism. The study aims to better understand Indigenous perspectives of climate change, co-create a climate change curriculum with Indigenous populations in southeastern Utah, and apply it to an Indigenous-centric field experience. By incorporating traditional ecological knowledge and Western science practices, …

Centering Indigenous Knowledge: Reimagining Research Methods, Pedagogies, And Sustainability With Niitsitapi Awaaáhsskataiksi (Blackfoot Elders), Sandra Bartlett Atwood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

My research sought to better engage with Indigenous ways of knowing and being (IWKB). Specifically, I collaborated with Blackfoot Elders (and Hawaiian Kupuna) to better understand 1) their perspectives towards land, 2) what factors instigate and perpetuate these perspectives, 3) how these perspectives play out in terms of identity; well being; daily life; education; environmental concern, behavior, and stewardship, and 4) ways that these perspectives towards land can inform and transform Western perspectives on land and perhaps lead to better and more equitable social-ecological outcomes. I approached this from three angles. First, I described a method for braiding Indigenous and …

Is Ownership Of Or Proximity To Residential Solar Installations Associated With Environmental Opinions And Civic Engagement?, Jace Colby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Since 2019, solar energy has represented the largest portion of new electricity generating capacity in the United States. Previous research on who is likely to have installed solar panels on their homes has found some traits, such as political ideology and income, are associated with solar installations but conclusions are inconsistent. This research takes a novel approach by examining how the presence of solar panels, both at the individual and neighborhood level can correlate with an individual’s civic engagement and other characteristics - such as opinions about climate change and energy policies. I analyze multiple waves, or iterations, of large …

Increasing The Impact Of Utah State University's Extension Water Check Program With 5-Second Metering, Mahmud Aveek, David E. Rosenberg, Camilo Bastidas, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Belize A. Lane, Kelly Kopp, Peter Mayer, Joe Fazio

Reports

Study Goal – Increase the volume of water saved by the Utah State University (USU) Extension landscape Water Check program because outdoor water use is the largest component of residential use with the largest opportunity to reduce use. We used 5-second water use data collected with Flume Smart Home Water Monitoring devices (Figure 1) at residential homes before and after a Water Check (Box 1; Figure 2) to answer four questions:

1. How much water did households save?
2. Which Water Check recommendations did participants implement?
3. Why did participants implement some recommendations and not others?
4. How to further reduce landscape water use?

Rhaphiolepis Indica Fruit Extracts For Control Fusarium Solani And Rhizoctonia Solani, The Causal Agents Of Bean Root Rot, Ahmed A. Heflish, Said I. Behiry, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Yiming Su, Ahmed Abdelkhalek, Mohamed K. Gaber

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Numerous strategies have been suggested to reduce dependence on synthetic products, such as physical, microbial, and natural methods. Among the natural remedies, plant extracts have emerged as a popular option owing to their eco-friendly character, ease of degradation, and harmless nature to humans. In our study, we used the acetone and hexane extracts of Rhaphiolepis indica fruit to combat two fungal pathogens that were isolated from infected bean plants and showed root rot symptoms. The two pathogens were confirmed to be pathogenic by pathogenicity assays conducted in vivo. The morphological and molecular identification by ITS-region sequencing revealed that the two …

Níksókowaawák As Axiom: The Indispensability Of Comprehensive Relational Animacy In Blackfoot Ways Of Knowing, Being, And Doing, Sandra Bartlett Atwood, Ninna Piiksii (Chief Bird) Mike Bruised Head, Mark W. Brunson, Aahsaopi (State Of Being) Laverne First Rider, Tim Frandy, James Maffie, Aakaomo'tsstaki (Many Victories) Michelle Provost, Miiniipokaa (Berry Child) Peter Weasel Moccasin, Itsiipootsikimskai

Environment and Society Student Research

This paper outlines a proposal, based on Blackfoot worldview, for a collective method to stand alongside Western qualitative and quantitative methods and highlights the value of collective methods in collaborative social-ecological research. Neither qualitative nor quantitative methods are adequate to disclose a world where all things are alive, where “objects” are subjects—agentive beings in their own right. Most Indigenous cultures understand and experience the world as a network of living beings, a collective, with whom they are interrelated/connected and therefore, any efforts to collaborate with Indigenous peoples must acknowledge comprehensive relational animacy. Applying coproduction principles in concert with Blackfoot ways …

Habituated, Tolerant, Or Salt-Conditioned Mountain Goats And Human Safety, Richard B. Harris, Kurt Aluzas, Laura Balyx, Jami Belt, Joel Berger, Mark Biel, Tonya Chilton-Radandt, Steeve D. Côté, Julie Cunningham, Adam Ford, Patti Happe, Chad P. Lehman, Kim Poole, Clifford G. Rice, Kirk Safford, Wesley Sarmento, Laura Wolf

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Interactions between humans and wildlife include a number of consumptive and non-consumptive forms. In some cases, the increased demand for wildlife viewing can precipitate new human–wildlife conflicts. Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus; goats) are native to a number of North American mountain ranges from southeastern Alaska to southwestern Montana, USA. Goat habitat typically consists of steep terrain and cold weather habitats, which has left them particularly vulnerable to climate change. Their alpine environments also make them vulnerable to disturbance by aircraft and land-based motorized human activity. We reviewed and characterized situations in which goats in close proximity to humans …

Do Trap-Neuter-Return (Tnr) Practices Contribute To Human–Coyote Conflicts In Southern California?, Danielle M. Bucklin, Jennifer M. Shedden, Niamh M. Quinn, Robert Cummings, Paul Stapp

Human–Wildlife Interactions

One possible contributor to the unusually high number of conflicts between coyotes (Canis latrans) and people in urban southern California, USA, may be the abundance of free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus; cats) subsidized by feeding and augmented by trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs. To determine if coyotes regularly prey on and consume cats, we combined visual and molecular-genetic approaches to identify prey items in stomachs of 311 coyotes from Los Angeles County and Orange County, provided to the South Coast Research and Extension Center, in Irvine, California, between June 2015 and December 2018. We detected cat remains in …