Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Who Deserves Coverage? Determining Utahns’ Ideal Medicaid Recipient, John Griffith, Chris Karpowitz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, health care policy became one of the most talked about issues in the United States. As a result, many states have been grappling with the question of whether to expand Medicaid. Utah is a particularly good place to study this salient issue because it is in the midst of deciding whether and how much to expand the Medicaid program. In this study I used a novel method of analysis to identify which attributes of Medicaid recipients or potential recipients were most influential in the minds of Utah voters as they determined who …

The Effects Of Chronic Ethanol In Δ Knockout Mice, Zachary Gardner, Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Substance abuse is a prolific problem with serious consequences. Specifically, alcohol abuse is the third leading cause of preventable mortality in the world (Mokdad et al., 2004). Each year the far-reaching effects of alcohol abuse cost the United States several hundred billion dollars annually (Office of National Policy, 2004). Treatment for individuals who suffer from this crippling disease is limited. In order to develop effective treatments we need to know more about the mechanisms of addiction and the changes that occur in the brain as a person becomes addicted.

Race Differences In Perceptions Of School Safety: A Comparison Of Hispanics & Whites, Paul Andrew Bauman, Child Curtis

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Scholars are interested in how parents think about schools. Yet so far they give only limited attention to the role that race plays in shaping parents’ views. Our research addresses this shortcoming by focusing on two race groups – whites and Hispanics – in order to determine how they think about one specific aspect of school: safety. According to Census data, whites and Hispanics are the two largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States. As such, they have become populations of interest for many researchers. The limited attention that has been given to race has been mostly quantitative in nature. …

The Effects Of Chronic Ethanol In Δ Knockout Mice, Zachary Gardner, Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Substance abuse is a prolific problem with serious consequences. Specifically, alcohol abuse is the third leading cause of preventable mortality in the world (Mokdad et al., 2004). Each year the far-reaching effects of alcohol abuse cost the United States several hundred billion dollars annually (Office of National Policy, 2004). Treatment for individuals who suffer from this crippling disease is limited. In order to develop effective treatments we need to know more about the mechanisms of addiction and the changes that occur in the brain as a person becomes addicted.

Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species In Methamphetamine Modulation Of Dopamine Release In The Nucleus Accumbens, Tyler Ekins, Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse is a problem that continues to cause much harm across the United States. The cost of METH use in 2005 alone was estimated to be 23.4 billion dollars (Nicosia et al., 2009). Other societal costs of METH abuse include suicide attempts, premature death, increased health care expenses, loss of workplace productivity, incarceration, child maltreatment, foster care, violent crime, and theft (Nicosia et al., 2009). Understanding the mechanism by which METH acts on the brain is the first step in being able to synthesize a pharmacotherapeutic method to treat METH addiction.

Effects Of Exercise On Food-Related Cognition, Tyshae Davis, Michael J. Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

With the emergence of positive psychology at the turn of the century a greater focus has been centered on understanding and improving individual well-being. Various techniques, including gratitude journaling, have been shown to reframe individual perspective and promote well-being. Theories and studies have shown that relationships are a key component of happiness, but techniques to aid participants in reframing towards a relational perspective have been absent to date. This study tests the technique of relational journaling and its effect on participant well-being against daily event and gratitude journaling.

Polymorphisms Of The Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene And The Association With Stress, Randall Beck, Michael J. Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Polymorphisms in the GR gene are an interesting and important area of research as these polymorphisms may be associated with an attenuated ability to cope with stress. This project bridged an unexplored gap between cellular and environmental stress and the expression of the GR gene—specifically the Bcl1 polymorphism of the GR gene. Cellular stress is any damage caused to the cell that alters its ability to function properly (Milisav, 2011). The Bcl1 polymorphism has what are known as C and G alleles that are genotyped as either homozygous GG, homozygous CC, or heterozygous CG (Srivastava et al., 2011). The homozygous …

Poor And Latino: Does Race/Ethnicity Matter In Parents’ Conceptualizations Of Good Schools?, Daniela Barriga, Mikaela Dufur

Journal of Undergraduate Research

To determine whether race/ethnicity and social class have similar effects on conceptualizations of school quality, we conducted qualitative interviews of families from distinct, selfidentified racial/ethnic and lowSES backgrounds (Hispanic/Latino, Caucasian, and Polynesian backgrounds, the latter a group often overlooked by the literature (Fullmer, Elmore and Orfield 1996) a bout their views and attitudes regarding choices related to their children’s education. Considering that lowSES families behave differently and operate in a different set of barriers than highSES families (Stevens, Torre & Johnson 2011), limiting our sample this way accounts for class background issues, which then allows us to analyze the remaining …

A Quichua Video Dictionary: The Sight And Sound Of Ideophones, Diana Shelton (Née Sun), Janis Nuckolls

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Quichua is a branch of Quechua, a group of indigenous South American languages, which is found in Amazonian Ecuador. This language utilizes a type of adverb, called ideophones, which symbolizes sound, motion, and other sensations. Ideophones are often foregrounded with speaker movements and intonation and are therefore difficult to represent in written documentation. Our project aimed to create a video dictionary of Quichua ideophones as a valuable resource for language learners as well as future researchers of ideophones by using various media to demonstrate ideophones’ uses and contexts in reality.

From Master To Pastor: Conversion, Continuity, And Change In Hills Of Vietnam:, Danny Cardoza, Jacob Hickman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The deceased was damned to hell and there was nothing to be done about it. Of this, Fong was quite sure. It was surprising to hear such a simple pronouncement, which rendered the typically complicated set of Hmong funerary rites—whether ‘traditional’ or Christian—effectively useless.

We met Fong¹ in the summer of 2015 in a small Hmong hamlet not far Sapa, a town in the mountains of the northern reaches of Vietnam. Fong was the pastor of his small village, a group of Christians that converted through the missionary efforts of covert foreign missionaries about ten years ago. Fong took …

Academic Library Leadership Issues And Challenges: An Informational Interview With Peter Sidorko, Librarian Of The University Of Hong Kong, Patrick Lo, Dickson Chiu, Heather Rogers

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Maureen Donovan And The Manga Collection At The Ohio State University Library: An Interview With Maureen Donovan, Caitlin Mcgurk

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

New Appointments

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Jeal 162

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam: Chester C. Wang 1920-2016

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Council On East Asian Libraries Statistics 2014-2015

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam: Raymond David Lum 林希文 1944-2015

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

From The President, Ellen Hammond

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam: Timothy Edward Connor 1942-2015

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam: Ramon Hawley Myers 1929-2015

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Ceal Statistics 2015 With Multi-Year Summary And Comparison, Vickie Fu Doll

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Grace Chen Retires

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Planet Earth As A Museum Engaging Students With A’ Gps Enabled Tour, Kyle Clements, Peter Rich

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The rise of smartphone and tablet devices has increased the availability of GPSenabled technology for learning activities to students. For the first time ever, these devices have also combined GPS technology with powerful handheld computers. Despite widespread use of these devices, little has been done to implement this technology into education (Wallace, 2009; Christie, 2007). For the past several years, students enrolled in Physical Science at Brigham Young University have had the opportunity to explore Provo’s Rock Canyon on a guided tour. The goal of this project was to create a GPS enabled version of this tour and receive student …

Research And Conservation Of Peruvian Textiles, Taralea Forster, Paul Stavast

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In 2014, a collection of pre-Columbian Andean textiles was acquired by BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures. Prior to their arrival at the museum, the textiles had been held in poor storage conditions. They had been stored with acidic packing materials in a building with no temperature or humidity control, and as a result had begun to deteriorate.

The Pioneering Of School Counseling In Uganda, Stefani Smith, Timothy Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

School counseling is a relatively unfamiliar profession in Uganda and has only recently begun to catch the attention of school administrators. But even now in Uganda, it is often a position that is regarded as one that can be performed without professional training. This project aimed to pioneer the profession of professional school counseling in Uganda, employing more Ugandans, and helping students succeed in secondary school. We looked to evaluate the attitude towards counselors in the schools from students and administrators, as well as to support the profession of school counseling in Uganda.

A Big Data Approach To Optimal Income Taxation Replicating Mirrlees 1971, Kramer Quist, Dr. Richard Evans

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Optimal labor income taxation research has long relied on simplifying assumptions regarding the convexity of policy maker decisions in order to make the associated calculus of variations optimization problem analytically tractable. Furthermore, researchers have assumed that taxable agents have simplistic distributions of ability few degrees of heterogeneity. We developed a model that removes assumptions of convexity, while allowing the taxable agents to have more realistic distributions of wages as well as higher degrees of heterogeneity. In order to show the functionality of our model, we replicate the optimal taxation problem developed in Mirrlees 1971.

The Meaning Behind A Child Saying, “Let’S Play!”, Brandon Clifford, Larry Nelson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Social withdrawal functions as an umbrella term capturing various types of withdrawn behavior in children (Coplan & Rubin, 2010). Past research has defined more specific types of withdrawal using various approaches including observed play behaviors (Coplan, et al., 1994). To illustrate, reticent children (a form of withdrawal) primarily engage in onlooking and unoccupied behavior while solitary-passive children engage in solitary constructive and exploratory behavior. Although this deductive step furthers the social withdrawal research in describing the characteristics and behaviors of children, the language skills of these distinct groups requires further investigation.

Legislator Responsiveness, Age, And Internet Proficiency, Sean Stephenson, Michael Barber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Elected officials should try to establish a relationship with their constituents and keep them well informed by responding to any questions they may have regarding political issues. One way legislators can do this is by responding to emails. Some legislators choose to respond to emails themselves, while others choose to hire people who respond to the emails sent to their campaign email address. Age may be one of the factors that affect the likelihood of whether a legislator chooses to respond to questions from his/her constituents. The purpose of my research is to determine whether a legislator’s age affects her …

A Tall Tale: How Story Frames Can Shape U.S. Public Opinion, Matthew Young, Darren Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Presently, U.S. foreign aid only represents about 1% of the total US budget, but according to the Kaiser Family Foundation the majority Americans believe foreign aid to be 28% of the national budget. If that were the case, foreign aid would be more expensive than Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, or all defense spending1. As of 2014, the U.S. Agency for International Development only used data heavy stories when communicating with the public. With such a large public misperception of aid a new method of communication must be found.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers In Thai Elections, Carly Madsen, Joel Selway

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As I finish my undergraduate education at Brigham Young University I am filled with gratitude for the many experiences I have been privileged to have. The climax of my studies in political science occurred this summer as I participated in a mentored research project in Thailand. This experience was particularly special for me, as I served as a missionary in Thailand just over a year ago. Being able to return to Thailand and be with people that I love, doing research on a topic of great interest to me, was the best part about my mentoring experience.