Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Sustainability Of Lean Manufacturing As A Competitive Advantage, Louis G. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 1990s lean manufacturing has been employed by companies looking to reduce costs, increase efficiencies and improve quality. Academic studies of the financial benefits of lean manufacturing are mixed in their results, where some show benefit and others do not. The objective of the current work was to confirm a financial benefit of lean manufacturing, while also establishing whether such a financial advantage was sustainable. Financial data was collected for a large number of companies in the manufacturing sector, over the period from 1990 to 2010. The data were used to show correlation between inventory turns and return …

Screening For Emotional And Behavioral Problems In High Schools, Nichole Marie Soelberg

Theses and Dissertations

Screening for emotional and behavioral problems in youth is a well-validated process for elementary-aged children as notable and respected research has provided evidence that children at risk for behavioral and emotional problems can be identified and provided with targeted interventions, which prevent additional problems (Lane, Wehby, & Barton-Arwood, 2005). However, there is a lack of research offering evidence for a behavioral and emotional screening process for high school students. Identifying at-risk youth is a vital component in providing early-intervention services that can remediate problems before they become severe and require resource intensive interventions. This research contributes to the development of …

The Rise Of Humor: Hollywood Increases Adult Centered Humor In Animated Children's Films, Chelsie Lynn Akers

Theses and Dissertations

Children's animated films have held a lasting influence on their audiences since the rise of their popularity in the 1980s. As adults co-view such films with their children Hollywood has had to rewrite the formula for a successful animated children's film. This thesis argues that a main factor in audience expansion is adult humor. The results show that children's animated films from 2002-2013 are riddled with many instances of adult humor while earlier films from 1982-1993 use adult humor sparingly. It is clear that over the years the number of adult humor occurrences has consistently increased. Furthermore, this research shows …

Bibliotherapy And Bullying: Teaching Young Childrento Utilize Peer Group Power To Combat Bullying, Rebecca Lyn Spencer

Theses and Dissertations

Bullying is a major concern for school-age children. This study compares the use of bibliotherapy and didactic instruction techniques for teaching anti-bullying strategies to young children. The study explores 36 first graders' perceptions of bullying and their perceptions of their roles and responsibilities in bullying situations. In comparison to the control group, students who were taught specific bully intervention skills, both through didactic instruction and bibliotherapy, reflected an increased understanding of bullying, used a larger bully vocabulary, and demonstrated more specific and varied actions in response to bullying from pre-test to post-test conditions. Participants in the group who received didactic …

Marital Satisfaction And Depressive Symptoms In China, Richard B. Miller, Tiffany M. Mason, Jerevie M. Canlas, Dahua Wang, David A. Nelson, Craig H. Hart

Faculty Publications

Although there is substantial evidence that low marital satisfaction is a significant risk factor for depression, little research has examined this relationship in cultures outside of the U.S. and Europe. The validity of the marital discord model of depression in Chinese culture was tested by studying 391 couples living in Beijing and Hangzhou, China. Results of structural equation modeling using an actor–partner interdependence model strategy indicated that husbands’ and wives’ marital satisfaction was significantly predictive of their own depressive symptoms. In addition, wives’ marital satisfaction significantly predicted husbands’ depressive symptoms. These results provide evidence that the marital discord model of …

Parowan Valley Potting Communities: Examining Technological Style In Fremont Snake Valley Corrugated Pottery, Scott M. Ure

Theses and Dissertations

Defining the Fremont archaeological culture has challenged archaeologists for decades. There is still considerable debate about the origins of the Fremont, their eventual demise, their genetic relationship to modern Native American tribes, and myriad other issues. In nearly a century of Fremont research, socio-political, economic, and religious complexity remain elusive subjects. Examining technological style, the manifestation of socially influenced choices during each step of production as a means of passive communication, is one useful avenue to examine Fremont material culture to uncover the social patterns they may, or may not contain. I examine whether or not technological style in Fremont …

Differences In Perceived Stress And Coping Strategies Between Ukrainian And Us College Students, Malvina Salash

Theses and Dissertations

Social support is associated with mental and physical health. It is important to consider culture in order to understand stress responses to everyday hassles and use of coping strategies. The current investigation hypothesized that (1) Ukrainian college students representative of a collectivistic culture would have lower levels of perceived stress than would US college students representative of a highly individualized culture, (2) Ukrainian college students would have evidence of greater social support compared to US college students, and (3) social support would mitigate differences in perceived stress between the two cultures. Based on 61 US participants recruited from Brigham Young …

Sparking Metacognition: Contextualizing Reading Strategies For Low-Proficient Esl Readers, Deborah L. Pratt

Theses and Dissertations

Reading strategies are consciously controlled actions learners execute in order to aid comprehension. The effectiveness of strategies is increased with metacognitive awareness. Researchers have created instruments to raise metacognitive awareness targeted for native and highly proficient L2 readers. This article outlines the creation of a new survey, the Contextualized Inventory of Metacognitive Awareness for novice to low-intermediate L2 readers. Unlike other instruments, this survey contextualizes pre-, during-, and post-reading strategy deployment with the use of simplified, narrative reading passages. The survey was piloted at an Intensive English Program with 88 subjects. The overall readability of the survey had a Lexile …

Pro-Drop And Word-Order Variation In Brazilian Portuguese: A Corpus Study, Stewart Daniel Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines certain syntactic properties of the Brazilian variety of Portuguese (BP): 1) BP is a pro-drop language with instances of both null subjects and covert objects, and 2) BP exhibits several possible word orders. To determine the frequency of pro-drop and word-order variations, the CDP (The Portuguese Corpus) was used to provide samples of transitive, main clauses, which were then categorized based on whether or not they had null subjects and covert objects. The clauses were also categorized according to word order. In addition to providing samples, the corpus allowed for the comparison of four different registers …

The Paradox Of Social Capital And The Rural Poor's Relationship With Their Communities, Brady A. Currit

Theses and Dissertations

Is increased access to social capital associated with a lower likelihood of poverty? Using data from a survey of nearly 10,000 residents of Iowa taken in 1994 and again in 2004, this study seeks to understand what types of social capital are associated with higher or lower likelihood of poverty at both the community and individual levels. Results suggest that higher bonding social capital at both levels is associated with a higher likelihood of poverty. The inverse of this relationship is found between bridging social capital and poverty. Although high bonding is generally an asset, when combined with low levels …

Curriculum Development For The Novice Developer, Darcy L. Whetten

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addressed the need to inform and demonstrate to novice developers the process of developing a curriculum and the need to guide novice teachers with little or no access to formal training. A curriculum for novice teachers in community programs was developed such that the teachers were presented clear and specific guidance in presenting lessons with minimal preparation time and with minimal training. Eight novice teachers presented the lessons in ESL and EFL contexts and provided feedback on the success, strengths, and weaknesses of the curriculum and lessons. The participants indicated that the curriculum overall is satisfactory, easy to …

Development And Validation Of The Abstinence Motivation Scale, Natalie Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to design the Abstinence Motivation Scale-Sex (AMS-Sex), a scale to assess adolescent motivations for sexual abstinence using the self-determination theory (SDT) motivation continuum as a framework. Previous sexual abstinence research, SDT measurement studies, pilot study data, and expert panel feedback were used to develop the initial 77-item AMS-Sex. The sample consisted of 695 adolescents (aged 15 to 18; M age = 16.49, SD = 1.08; 50.8% male) recruited online from the across the U.S. Participants completed an online survey. The sample was randomly split into two samples. Independent samples t-tests indicated that sample 1 …

Perceptions Of English Proficiency Levels: The Unspoken Expectations Of Native English Speakers, Alison Divett Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the relationship between nonnative English speaker (NNES) proficiency level and native English speaker (NES) level of comfort interacting with NNES. The purpose of this study was to discover at what proficiency level NESs feel comfortable interacting with NNES. This study also looked at how communicative task and NES demographic variables affected the proficiency expectations NNESs have for NESs. Participants included 120 NESs and 7 NNESs. The NESs listened to sound clips from the 7 NNESs and rated how comfortable they would feel (on a scale of 0-10, 10 indicating very comfortable) interacting with the speaker in a …

Mindfulness Meditation: Effects Of A Brief Intervention On Cardiovascular Reactivity During Acute Stress, Dustin Lamar Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness has historically been cultivated via formal meditation practice and the majority of meditation research examines individuals with extensive training or participants in Mindfulness based stress reduction programs that require considerable expense, a trained facilitator, and take approximately 8 weeks to complete. However, current literature does not speak directly to those who do not have the time or ability for such commitments. Formal mindfulness meditation practice and interventions reduce stress in various populations; however, the outcomes of a one-time intervention are relatively unknown. This study aims to examine whether a one-time (20-min) mindfulness meditation intervention would improve cardiovascular variables during …

Adult Second Language Learners' Social Network Development And Perceived Fluency Gain In An Immersion Environment, Marie Naomi Bejarano

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the social networks developed by language learners and their relationship with perceived changes in the learners' fluency in the context of an intensive English as a second language (ESL) program. Using data from the Study Abroad Social Interaction Questionnaire (SASIQ) to determine SN development and native speaker ratings to determine perceived fluency, a simple linear regression to test the relationship between social network variables and fluency gain, as well as a hierarchical regression measuring (a) the combined effect of variables previously found to be significant in fluency gain, and (b) the additional joint effect of the remaining …

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?: Race, Education And Statusattainment Before The Nba, Christian Evers Yost

Theses and Dissertations

Extracurricular activities have long been recognized as a socializing agent fostering subsequent life achievements and success orientations in the status attainment process. In particular, minorities and disadvantaged high school students who may not succeed in traditional academic classes benefit greatly from extracurricular activities, especially sports. In the case of basketball, young Black males are more likely to both participate in basketball as an extracurricular activity and pursue a career as a professional basketball player than their White peers, even to the detriment of their formal education. This thesis uses the Wisconsin Status-Attainment model as a framework for examining the extent …

Cognitively Normal Individuals With Ad Parents May Be At Risk For Developing Aging-Related Cortical Thinning Patterns Characteristic Of Ad, Derin J. Cobia, Katherine Reiter, Kathryn I. Alpert, Mary J. Kwasny, John C. Morris, John G. Csernansky, Lei Wang

Faculty Publications

Children of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients are at heightened risk of developing AD due to genetic influences, including the apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) allele. In this study, we assessed the earliest cortical changes associated with AD in 71 cognitively healthy, adult children of AD patients (AD offspring) as compared with 69 with no family history of AD (non-AD offspring). Cortical thickness measures were obtained using FreeSurfer from 1.5T magnetic resonance (MR) scans. ApoE genotyping was obtained. Primary analyses examined family history and ApoeE4 effects on cortical thickness. Secondary analyses examined age effects within groups. All comparisons were adjusted using False Discovery …

Perceived Racism And Blood Pressure In Foreign-Born Mexicans, Richard Iztcoatl Merideth

Theses and Dissertations

Studies have identified perceived racism as one type of social stress that is believed to contribute to hypertension, though no studies to date have examined the relationship between perceived racism and blood pressure among foreign-born Mexicans living in the United States (U.S.). In addition, studies have shown that acculturation may increase levels of perceived discrimination among foreign-born Mexicans living in the U.S. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived racism and ambulatory blood pressure among a convenience sample of 332 foreign-born Mexicans living in Utah County, Utah controlling for age, gender, body mass index …

A Longitudinal View Of The Association Between Therapist Behaviors And Couples' In-Session Process: An Observational Pilot Study Of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Lori Kay Schade

Theses and Dissertations

This is a longitudinal couples therapy process study using coded data from eleven couples to identify which therapist behaviors (warmth, listener responsiveness, communication, dominance) influenced positive couples exchanges (warmth and listener responsiveness) over time in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT). A mixed effects model was used to examine within- and between-individual variability. Men and women were modeled separately. A series of two-level multilevel models of change were examined, where Time is Level 1 and Individual is Level 2. Results indicated no significant relationship between variables of therapist warmth, listener responsiveness, communication, and dominance with couple listener responsiveness. Where client warmth …

Ebay Or Amazon? Time-Sensitive Retail Purchases Via Auctions, Brennan C. Platt

Faculty Publications

We consider a population of buyers who have unit demand for a homogeneous good, and only differ in terms of how soon they need to purchase it. These buyers have access to a stochastic stream of second-price auctions, as well as a retail outlet that can be used at any time. We characterize the equilibrium bidding dynamics, showing that bidders steadily raise their reservation price as they approach their deadline. This market produces a considerable degree of dispersion in auction revenue. Surprisingly, extending the buyers' deadlines actually increases expected revenue and the fraction of buyers using the retail outlet.

Conflict Resolution Styles As Mediators Of Female Childhood Sexual Abuse Experience And Couple Relationship Satisfaction And Stability In Adulthood, Ashlee Elizabeth Sloan

Theses and Dissertations

Post-traumatic stress theory applied to the experience of female incestuous childhood sexual abuse survivors (ICSA) suggests that the trauma may result in negative psychological consequences affecting relationships in adulthood. This study sought to explore the relational consequences of ICSA, specifically focusing on conflict resolution styles (CRS), relationship satisfaction, and relationship stability. This research used data from the RELATionship Evaluation questionnaire. Participants included 487 heterosexual couples in which only the female partner experienced ICSA compared to a comparison group of 1827 couples in which neither partner experienced ICSA. Analyses tested for differences in the frequencies of reported CRS (Gottman 1994) for …

Authority Control For Digital Collections, Jeremy Myntti

Faculty Publications

American Library Association Chicago Annual Conference & Exhibition

Authority Control Interest Group

Attachment And Covert Relational Aggression In Marriagewith Shame As A Potential Moderating Variable: A Two Wave Panel Study, Charity Elaine Clifford

Theses and Dissertations

Using a two-wave APIM Structural Equation Model, this study investigated how husband and wife attachment styles predict husband and wife covert relational aggression one year later with husband and wife shame as potential moderating variables. Data was taken from 308 married couples in waves three and four of the Flourishing Families project using self-report and partner report of spouse questionnaires. Findings showed that an individual's attachment insecurity predicts their use of relational aggression. Wives' relational aggression is predicted by an increase in husbands' relational aggression. An increase in wives' insecure attachment had less of an impact on husbands' relationally aggressive …

Investigating Where Japanese Political Loyalties Lay Through The Candidate Selection Processes, Yoshiki Matsunaga, Dr. Jessica Preece

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The goal is to find out the candidate selection/nomination process for Japanese political parties, and then we will test whether differences in these processes impact Japanese Legislators’ voting behavior.

Promontory Culture: The Faunal Evidence, Lindsay Deanne Johansson

Theses and Dissertations

Following excavations in the Promontory Caves and at several open sites in the Provo River Delta region, Steward (1937) characterized the Promontory culture as large game hunters. He based this on the high number of bison bones recovered within the Caves. Excavations at additional Promontory sites along the Wasatch Front contain faunal assemblages which differ significantly from those in the caves, showing that people living at open sites relied more heavily on small game, waterfowl, and aquatic resources than large game. These differences have been mostly attributed to Steward's sampling strategy and lack of screening, but faunal material recovered during …

Leveraging Technology And The Wisdom Of Crowds, Robert Morello, Dr. Daniel Nielson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A structural problem plagues the delivery of foreign aid: the beneficiaries have little ability or means to inform the donors of the projects’ initial needs, progress, or effects. As development projects are typically executed, donors carry out assessments that often involve surveys or other before-and-after appraisals. But the approach is nearly always observational, and thus the results are likely biased toward positive findings. Thus, the feedback mechanisms that could regulate public spending in domestic contexts are broken or missing when it comes to foreign aid. Some scholars have identified the absence of feedback as the key reason why aid sometimes …

Hovering Parents: Is Helicopter Parenting A Unique Form Of Parental Control?, Gregory Nichols, Dr. Laura Walker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Emerging adulthood is a stage of development encompassing the years between 18 and 25 during which individuals strive for self-reliance despite the instability in their education, employment, and housing status (Arnett, 2007).

Sociology As Theodicy, Robert Meldau, Dr. Stan Knapp

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to use the works of Freidrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, and Charles Taylor to construct a critique of Sociology. Our intention was to argue that Sociology (and all of social science) is a secularized theodicy; an attempt to explain why humans experience suffering. Using the works and ideas of these theorists, we believed we could formulate an argument that questions the legitimacy or correctness of social science’s desire to understand itself as a disinterested, objective endeavor. Our goal was to co-author a paper for publication in a major Sociological journal.

Learning To Change In Autism, Tiffani Newton, Dr. Mikle South

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The autism spectrum disorders (ASD) include a collection of severe neurodevelopmental symptoms related to social interaction and communication. In addition to these core symptoms, co-occurring anxiety is seen in up to 70% of diagnosed individuals (Reaven, 2010). Anxiety-inducing situations for ASD individuals include changes to the environment or daily routines. Difficulties responding to such changes may lead to debilitating and negative consequences for ASD children and their families. Understanding the mechanisms that lead to such difficulties may improve the specificity of treatment for these symptoms.

Multiple Sclerosis And Brain Waves: Degree Of Impact, Tyler Nickle, Dr. Ramona Hopkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Studies show that 40-70% of individuals with MS have cognitive impairments in memory, executive functioning, attention, and processing speed (Rogers and Panegyres, 2007). Quantitative Electroencephalographic peak alpha frequency (PAF) is used to measure physiological markers of cognitive performance between healthy and clinical individuals. High peak alpha frequency is a measurement of spectral density within 8-12 Hz and has been associated with cognitive preparedness and may be an indicator of cognitive functioning (Angelakis and Lubar, 2004). This project attempts to describe the relationship between Quantitative Electroencephalographic (qEEG) peak alpha, …