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Articles 5191 - 5220 of 8231

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Effects Of Nicotine On Plasticity In Glutamate Neurotransmission To Midbrain Gaba Neurons, Peter Nielson, Dr. Scott Steffensen Apr 2013

Effects Of Nicotine On Plasticity In Glutamate Neurotransmission To Midbrain Gaba Neurons, Peter Nielson, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In order to further the knowledge of physiological contributions to addiction, this project’s purpose was to elucidate the neuronal processes involved in nicotine (NIC) addiction. We studied its effects on critical neuronal substrates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), an area of the midbrain implicated in drug reinforcement. As NIC was previously shown to affect GABAergic neurotransmission, this project was to determine the more specific effect of NIC on glutamate (GLU) neurotransmission in the same area.

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Negative Affect In Individuals With Moderate-To-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Implications For Acquiring New Learning, Spencer Liebel, Dr. Michael Larson Apr 2013

Negative Affect In Individuals With Moderate-To-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Implications For Acquiring New Learning, Spencer Liebel, Dr. Michael Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The goal of this project was to clarify the additive role that negative affect plays in the capacity for individuals with moderate-to-severe (M/S) traumatic brain injury (TBI) to acquire new learning. Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States, affecting an estimated 1.7 million people annually. Traumatic brain injuries typically result in considerable long-term neurological disabilities such as deficits in attention, memory, and processing speed (Zaloshnja, Miller, Langlois, & Selassie, 2008). In addition, TBI survivors are significantly more likely to develop psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety, and attempt suicide at a higher …

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Mediators Between Pornography Use And Risky Sexual Behaviors, Gwen Coulson, Dr. Scott Braithwaite Apr 2013

Mediators Between Pornography Use And Risky Sexual Behaviors, Gwen Coulson, Dr. Scott Braithwaite

Journal of Undergraduate Research

With the advent of the internet the availability, anonymity, and affordability of pornography has substantially increased (Cooper, 1998). Furthermore, content analyses have revealed that various types of pornographic material frequently present sex as casually occurring between acquaintances (Brosius, Weaver, & Staab, 1993) and often portray sexual violence as pleasurable (Bridges, Wosnitzer, Scharrer, Sun, & Liberman, 2010). Considering previous research has revealed many associations between pornography use and risky sexual behaviors, as well as many associations between pornography and casual sexual attitudes, we sought to expand current investigations through application of a meditational model, enabling us to test loosening sexual attitudes …

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A Modern Ethnohistorical Understanding Of Ancient Plant Use, Emphasis On The Fremont Near Goshen, Utah, Insight Into Diet And Medicine, Madison Mercer, Dr. Michael Searcy Apr 2013

A Modern Ethnohistorical Understanding Of Ancient Plant Use, Emphasis On The Fremont Near Goshen, Utah, Insight Into Diet And Medicine, Madison Mercer, Dr. Michael Searcy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The research for this project began in August 2011 and finished in April 2012. The goal was to understand how plants were anciently used for food or medicine. To determine this, archaeological data would have to be coupled with more modern ethnographic data of living peoples. This is because there is no clear way to determine how people anciently used plants and because it is possible that modern indigenous groups used plants in similar ways.

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Prophets, Scripts, And Nations: Hmong Religious And Ethnonational Borders In Northern Thailand, Belinda Ramirez, Dr. Jacob Hickman Apr 2013

Prophets, Scripts, And Nations: Hmong Religious And Ethnonational Borders In Northern Thailand, Belinda Ramirez, Dr. Jacob Hickman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As a sociocultural anthropology major, my ORCA project entailed spending three months on an ethnographic study. I chose to conduct this study in northern Thailand among the Hmong, a small hill tribe ethnic group. During my stay in a Hmong community near Pua, Nan Province, I spent much of my time with a small messianic religious group known as Is Npis Mis Nus (pronounced “ee bee mee new”), or Is Npis for short. My goals were to understand the various concepts of nationalism and ethnicity for both the Is Npis and the Hmong in general, which I ascertained largely through …

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Who Is “We”?: Community Development In El Salvador, Hilary Munger, Dr. Jacob Hickman Apr 2013

Who Is “We”?: Community Development In El Salvador, Hilary Munger, Dr. Jacob Hickman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Where will you be vacationing for Fiestas Agostinas? During the weeks leading up to the most anticipated holiday in El Salvador I was asked this question by almost every individual with whom I came into contact. As a new comer to the country and its customs reusing others greetings and topics of conversation from one social interaction to the next became a common practice as I endeavored to give the impression that I understood what was going on around me. As I traveled outside the capitol to indigenous communities living in the periphery, both literally and figuratively, my assumptions of …

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Change And Continuity In A South Indian Fishing Village, Andrew Pieper, Dr. Charles Nuckolls Apr 2013

Change And Continuity In A South Indian Fishing Village, Andrew Pieper, Dr. Charles Nuckolls

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Vasuvanipalem, a once isolated fishing village on the South Eastern coast of India has in recent years been absorbed in to the rapidly growing city of Visakhapatnam. The accompanying changes of urbanization and modernization within this community have changed dramatically the lives of fishermen within the community and their families.

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Examining The Relationship Between Graduation Rates And Minority Rates In Utah High School, Stephen Richards, Dr. Eric Eide Apr 2013

Examining The Relationship Between Graduation Rates And Minority Rates In Utah High School, Stephen Richards, Dr. Eric Eide

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The humorist Dave Barry has said, “The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.”

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The Picky Eater Premium?: The Effect Of Product Portfolio Size On The Price Consumers Pay For Fresh Produce, Wayne Sandholtz, Dr. Joseph Price Apr 2013

The Picky Eater Premium?: The Effect Of Product Portfolio Size On The Price Consumers Pay For Fresh Produce, Wayne Sandholtz, Dr. Joseph Price

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to examine whether consumers who buy a wider variety of distinct fresh fruits and vegetables pay lower average prices for fresh fruits and vegetables, by substituting away from fruits and vegetables during price shocks. In order to answer this question, I used Nielsen Homescan data, which records all grocery purchases of a nationally representative sample of households. Using regression analysis, I found little direct evidence that households which buy a wider variety of fresh fruits and vegetables pay lower prices for them. In fact, I was surprised to find that in general, higher-variety household …

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Youth Self-Efficacy As A Predictor Of Youth Symptoms And Psychotherapy Outcomes, Brooke Daniels-Brown, Dr. Jared Warren Apr 2013

Youth Self-Efficacy As A Predictor Of Youth Symptoms And Psychotherapy Outcomes, Brooke Daniels-Brown, Dr. Jared Warren

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of the project was to examine youth self-efficacy as it relates to youth symptoms and treatment outcomes in a community mental health setting. From analyzing the collected data, results suggest that youth self-efficacy may act as a moderator and potential mediator in youth mental health services. Tailoring interventions to improve youth self-efficacy may yield more effective outcomes and additional research examining youth self-efficacy in the context of evidence-based treatments may be warranted. Also, these results generalize well to routine services, which are received by the majority of youth in mental health care. Self-efficacy is an important factor in …

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Oxytocin, Or “Cuddle Hormone” Genotype In Titi Monkeys, Hannah Page, Dr. Dee Higley Apr 2013

Oxytocin, Or “Cuddle Hormone” Genotype In Titi Monkeys, Hannah Page, Dr. Dee Higley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I used my ORCA grant to attend ASP, go on an internship at the CNPRC, and pursue research involving the oxytocin, or “cuddle hormone” genotype in titi monkeys.

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A Theory Of Motivated Recall: Determinants Of Recall Of Political Information, Robert Richards, Dr. Christopher Karpowitz Apr 2013

A Theory Of Motivated Recall: Determinants Of Recall Of Political Information, Robert Richards, Dr. Christopher Karpowitz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A great deal of political research has analyzed how people form their opinions about candidates and issues. Two models, drawing heavily from cognitive psychology have emerged: the memory-based model (Zaller and Feldman 1992; Huckfeldt et al 1999) and the on-line model (Taber, Lodge, and Glathar 2001). Though the mechanics differ, both models assume a person recalls some sort of information when forming or reporting an opinion. Thus, political opinions depend largely on recall of political information.

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Extracurricular Associations: Does Participation In Extracurricular Activities With Advantaged Peers Increase College Enrollment, Aaron Miles, Dr. Benjamin Gibbs Apr 2013

Extracurricular Associations: Does Participation In Extracurricular Activities With Advantaged Peers Increase College Enrollment, Aaron Miles, Dr. Benjamin Gibbs

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Our project has culminated with a presentation at the 2012 American Sociological Association conference in Denver, and is currently under review at the journal Social Science Research. We hope to heard back in the coming weeks in regarding its status, hopefully receiving a revise and resubmit.

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Short-Distance Cultural Remittances Of Shakti Among Domestic Workers In Vizag, India, Kirk Hepburn, Dr. Charles Nuckolls Apr 2013

Short-Distance Cultural Remittances Of Shakti Among Domestic Workers In Vizag, India, Kirk Hepburn, Dr. Charles Nuckolls

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The project under question has taken turns dramatic enough to make it nearly unrecognizable and its title almost entirely inapplicable. Problems, faced early in research but insurmountable, make it necessary that the collected data be used for purposes beside my original intent. While I originally planned to study the remittance of shakti notions among domestic workers, the project now seeks to describe the social power-based elaborations and subtractions that made translation work among this group unwieldy and useless for my purposes. While I cannot address my original hypothesis, this current iteration of my project speaks to literature detailed in the …

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To Act And Not Be Acted Upon: A Look At State-Building In Bosnia, Kurt Hepler, Dr. Nicholas Wheeler Apr 2013

To Act And Not Be Acted Upon: A Look At State-Building In Bosnia, Kurt Hepler, Dr. Nicholas Wheeler

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the wake of the brutal wars between Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks following the breakup of former Yugoslavia, many international organizations (IOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) poured into Bosnia and Herzegovina. These organizations were tasked with helping the country rebuild its badly damaged political, social, and economic infrastructure. But is there a point at which international organizations become too entrenched in the development of the country they are trying to help? My research project sought to answer this question through a comprehensive study of the impact that high levels of international involvement had on the development of state capacity in …

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Faith-Related Prejudice In Admission To Clinical Psychology Graduate School Programs, Elizabeth Hoose, Dr. Jeffrey Reber Apr 2013

Faith-Related Prejudice In Admission To Clinical Psychology Graduate School Programs, Elizabeth Hoose, Dr. Jeffrey Reber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Little research has been done on prejudice against people of faith. Several studies indicate that fundamental or evangelical Christians face the effects of prejudice especially in educational settings (Ressler & Hodge, 2006). In particular, two surveys of Christian social workers inquiring about their professional experience in regards to their religion, found that the respondents felt ridiculed, degraded and demeaned by their colleagues because of their beliefs (Ressler & Hodge, 2006; Ressler & Hodge, 2003). Recently, researchers have begun to explore the potential implicit prejudices towards faith and people of faith in psychology (Slife & Reber, 2009). Likewise, it has also …

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Dendroclimatology And Streamflow In Utah County, Nathan Gill, Dr. Matthew Bekker Apr 2013

Dendroclimatology And Streamflow In Utah County, Nathan Gill, Dr. Matthew Bekker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study was the first step in a larger effort by the Wasatch Dendroclimatology Research (WADR) group, consisting of researchers at Brigham Young University and Utah State University, to develop a better understanding of hydroclimatology in northern Utah. Our specific goals were to develop preliminary reconstructions of streamflow beyond the historical record for the Provo and Weber Rivers and Big Cottonwood Creek, all important contributors to the water resources of the heavily urbanized Wasatch Front.

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A Little Help For My Friends: Do Foreign Aid Donors Reject Ngos In Favor Of Their Blatantly Corrupt Allies?, Nicholas Jones, Dr. Darren Hawkins Apr 2013

A Little Help For My Friends: Do Foreign Aid Donors Reject Ngos In Favor Of Their Blatantly Corrupt Allies?, Nicholas Jones, Dr. Darren Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Our research examines whether donor countries care about the quality of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) when giving foreign aid to poor countries. When donor states give foreign aid to recipient states, such the US giving foreign aid to Uganda, the donor states must choose what is called a channel of delivery. This is the channel through which the donor’s aid will reach the intended beneficiaries. Donors can opt to channel their aid directly through the recipient government, or they can bypass the recipient government and instead utilize a non-state channel, such as an NGO. In past times, many donors have chanelled …

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Attitudes About Educating Girls And Internet Use In Southeast Asia, Hayley Heath, Dr. Renata Forste Apr 2013

Attitudes About Educating Girls And Internet Use In Southeast Asia, Hayley Heath, Dr. Renata Forste

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Based on survey data from seven countries in Southeast Asia, I examined the association between internet use and attitudes about the importance of educating girls. The sample is of 6,604 adults. Using logistic regression techniques, I found that the data supported my hypothesis; internet use is associated with respondent’s agreement that education is not more important for boys than for girls. This relationship is found even after controlling for respondent gender, education, and country.

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Religious Preferences And Inventory Decisions: Evidence From Movie Rentals, Craig Palsson, Dr. Joseph Price Apr 2013

Religious Preferences And Inventory Decisions: Evidence From Movie Rentals, Craig Palsson, Dr. Joseph Price

Journal of Undergraduate Research

For a long time, there has been a significant gap between the standards of movie goers and the standards of Hollywood. Walsh and Gentile (2001) show that though parents usually agree with Hollywood when it says something is inappropriate for children, they often disagree with Hollywood over what is deemed appropriate. In some of our previous research, we find that R- rated movies make about 20% less than PG-13 movies of similar content (Palsson, Price, & Shores, 2011). Also, 69% of parents say they always check the rating before allowing their children to see a movie (Walsh & Gentile, 2002). …

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To Stand On Their Own Legs: Independence And Other Motivations For Women’S Pursuit Of Post- Graduate Studies, And Their Parents’ Influence On Them, In Vishakhapatnam India, Colleen Mcdermott, Dr. Charles Nuckolls Apr 2013

To Stand On Their Own Legs: Independence And Other Motivations For Women’S Pursuit Of Post- Graduate Studies, And Their Parents’ Influence On Them, In Vishakhapatnam India, Colleen Mcdermott, Dr. Charles Nuckolls

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In recent years, there have been countless studies on the benefits of educating women. Though there is a general consensus on the positive results of women’s education, their access to education is still rather limited in many areas of the world. One such area is India, where traditional views of gender are still very widespread and female education levels are extremely low. Despites these rates, a minority of women in India are pursuing higher education. I interviewed female students living at a hostel (college dormitory) and attending the post-graduate institution Andhra University inquiring about their motivations for continuing school, their …

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Positional Segregation In Sport: How Rugby Introduces New Ethnicities To Research, Dylan Lubbe, Dr. Mikaela Dufur Apr 2013

Positional Segregation In Sport: How Rugby Introduces New Ethnicities To Research, Dylan Lubbe, Dr. Mikaela Dufur

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Modern scientists continue to argue over an issue that has existed since the first time a person realized that his or her skin was a slightly different shade or tint than someone else’s: Does skin color serve as an indicator for something deeper? The conversation about racial stereotypes has changed over time, shifting away from the possible truths behind them towards the social reality created by those who continue to believe in. Racial stereotypes have become an unconscious part of the metanarrative of modern society; almost anyone can list them. Those of African descent are considered to have a lower …

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Faithism In The Classroom, Frank Bright, Dr. Jeffrey Reber Apr 2013

Faithism In The Classroom, Frank Bright, Dr. Jeffrey Reber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of my study was to see if there was any connection between a professor’s openness about his or her faith and the view formed of that professor by his or her students. One recent study (Reber & Slife, In Press) has shown that new undergraduate students appear to have an implicit bias towards faith as a source of knowledge, but those later in their undergraduate career have shifted their bias towards reason being a better source of knowledge. If this implicit prejudice is true then it could follow that if a professor was open about their faith, students …

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Options And Distributional Characteristics, David Mauler, Dr. James Mcdonald Apr 2013

Options And Distributional Characteristics, David Mauler, Dr. James Mcdonald

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My BYU ORCA grant provided valuable funding which allowed me to spend significant time on an interesting research question Dr. McDonald and I had considered late last year. We wanted to investigate whether the Inverse Hyperbolic Sine (IHS) distribution would allow for a more accurate option-pricing formula, extending the Black-Scholes formula which assumes a lognormal distribution. The project widened in scope as we worked on it during the summer. We eventually expanded our original proposal and included a number of other flexible distributions (GB2, g-and-h, Burr-3, Burr-12, Weibull). We derived price formulas specific to each assumed distributional form. The IHS …

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Authoritarianism And Immigration Attitudes, Jessica Biggs, Dr. Christopher Karpowitz Apr 2013

Authoritarianism And Immigration Attitudes, Jessica Biggs, Dr. Christopher Karpowitz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to study whether exposing survey participants to information about immigration change will affect participants with high levels of authoritarianism. This project focused on whether individuals with high levels of authoritarianism will have higher levels of cognitive dissonance when presented with information about change and increasing immigrant populations.

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Welfare To Votes: Does Tanf Depress Political Participation?, Taylor Bambas Rosecrans, Dr. Christopher Karpowittz Apr 2013

Welfare To Votes: Does Tanf Depress Political Participation?, Taylor Bambas Rosecrans, Dr. Christopher Karpowittz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of my study is to find a link between government welfare programs and the political participation of recipients. This kind of study is called a policy feedback analysis. It examines a public policy to see what effect it had on human behavior. There is basis for this sort of research in political science. One highly respected work that was one of the first policy feedback studies was Suzanne Mettler’s book “Soldiers to Citizens” (2005). Mettler found that after WWII, the G.I. bill helped former soldiers to feel like highly valued citizens, funding their education and inspiring them to …

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Plasticity In Glutamate Neurotransmission To Midbrain Gaba Neurons By Ethanol, Jennifer Mabey, Dr. Scott Steffensen Apr 2013

Plasticity In Glutamate Neurotransmission To Midbrain Gaba Neurons By Ethanol, Jennifer Mabey, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The aim of my ORCA grant was to better under the addictive pathway of ethanol (EtOH) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain. The VTA contains several neuron types that release different neurotransmitters, but the type I experimented with was γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. GABA neurons regulate dopamine (DA) neurons in the VTA by inhibiting DA release but when the GABA neurons are inhibited, DA neurons are hyperexcitable and therefore have an increased DA release in the VTA. I originally sought out to see if nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) present …

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Emotion-Related Conflict Adaptation In Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Daniel Bjornn, Dr. Michael Larson Apr 2013

Emotion-Related Conflict Adaptation In Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Daniel Bjornn, Dr. Michael Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Conflict adaptation is a neurological process that reflects the adjustment of performance on tasks when conflict is detected on previous trials. Conflict in this instance refers to the simultaneous activation of multiple response options. When conflict is detected, such as on an incongruent trial on Stroop task where the word “red” is written in green ink, there is an increase in the recruitment of cognitive resources to overcome the conflict and make the correct answer. Such increased recruitment of cognitive resources allows for improved performance on incongruent trials that follow other incongruent trials (Gratton, Coles, & Donchin, 1992). The behavioral …

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Gender And The Hindsight Bias: An Economic Experiment, Jacqueline Andros, Dr. Joseph Price Apr 2013

Gender And The Hindsight Bias: An Economic Experiment, Jacqueline Andros, Dr. Joseph Price

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Hindsight bias, or the psychological tendency to think that we “knew it all along,” has been studied for over fifty years but no study has yet thoroughly documented the specific role that gender plays in an individual’s susceptibility to this effect. This is somewhat surprising, since the existing literature on gender differences in other potentially related respects, such as competitiveness and overconfidence, is extensive. I conducted a questionnaire-based behavioral experiment to test two hypotheses: first, that male subjects are more prone to hindsight bias than female subjects; and second, that male subjects are better at correcting for their personal level …

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The Relationship Between Urban Leaf Area And Summertime Household Energy Usage In Provo, Jacob Adams, Dr. Ryan Jensen Apr 2013

The Relationship Between Urban Leaf Area And Summertime Household Energy Usage In Provo, Jacob Adams, Dr. Ryan Jensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of our study is to investigate the relationship between urban leaf area, estimated through remote sensing, and household energy usage in the city of Provo, Utah. Anecdotal evidence indicates that trees provide cooling in the summer by shading homes, which reduces the need for air conditioning and the amount of electricity used. This study will attempt to determine this decrease of energy usage based on varying amounts of tree cover as measured by the Leaf Area Index (LAI) obtained from a satellite image. We expect that LAI and household energy consumption will be negatively correlated— as LAI increases, …

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