Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Birds, Bees, And The Babies: Study Of The Influence Of Self-Efficacy On Parent-Child Sex Communication, Cassandra M. Craig

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Previous studies show that parents tend to be uncomfortable discussing sexual topics with their children, such as menstruation, masturbation, and/or condom use. This study offers a look at the part confidence plays in a parent's intentions to talk to their kids about such topics. The results indicated that the confidence parents feel about discussing sexual topics is not related to how much their own parents talked with them about sex. However, the confidence they feel that could be coming from other models, like social media or peers, is related to how much parents intend to talk with their own children …

A Theory Of Conditional Party Opposition, Samuel Nelson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This paper takes a critical look at executive power in the United States. Recent years have shown an increase of executive power that many people including: scholars, media, and the public have become skeptical of. The new norm has been for the executive to bypass Congress in order to accomplish policy goals. Traditionally the separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches has been the remedy to executive power. This thesis, however, argues that scholarship has largely ignored the role of political parties in government. Due to this, scholarship has misunderstood the role parties play in the separation …

Contrasting Management Styles And Differing Outcomes Of Capping And Orphaning Of Utah Oil And Gas Wells By Conditions And Land Types, Maxwell C. Parson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The issue of public lands management and ownership in the West has long been contentious. This thesis takes a quantitative approach examining outcomes of the rates at which oil and gas wells in the state of Utah are orphaned and/or capped. Findings indicate that orphanings occur at a statistically significant higher rate on state owned land as opposed to federal and private, and wells on tribal land have no recorded orphaning. No other variables were significant in their relationship to orphaning. The proposed explanations for this disparity are two-fold: First the longer periods of inactivity permitted by the state simply …

Validating A Scale Of Psychological Flexibility And Inflexibility For Older Adolescents, Caleb Douglas Farley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Psychological flexibility (PF) is a skill that is related to various mental health experiences in adults. Higher levels of PF seem related to greater wellbeing. Given increases in mental health problems with youth, measuring PF and its inverse, psychological inflexibility (PI), might be useful for identifying those teenagers at risk for mental health challenges and referring them to appropriate interventions. To date, most measures of PF and PI are only available for adults older than 18, and, while theory suggests PF and PI are important for adolescent mental health, little research has examined the validity of these claims. This multipaper …

Online Multiplayer Video Game Play And College Adjustment, Salina M. Ochoa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

There are an increasing number of individuals who participate in multiplayer video games and an increase in screen time overall. Due to the increase in online video game play, this study aimed to find possible positive impacts that online multiplayer video games had on freshmen who are adjusting to college, as this is a pivotal point in life. The data were collected at the beginning of the second semester and 99 freshman, 18 years or older, who regularly engaged in online multiplayer video games participated in the study. The study showed four important findings: First, students who receive support from …

Pavlovian Approaches To Promoting Self-Control, Gregory J. Madden

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Stewardship And Sustainability: Applying The Tcos Framework To Reappraisal, Karen Glenn, John Murphy, Cory L. Nimer, Dainan M. Skeem

Journal of Western Archives

This article reports on a Brigham Young University Library Special Collections reappraisal pilot project based upon OCLC's Total Cost of Stewardship (TCOS) framework. The case study considers how reappraisal activities align with TCOS principles, and its use in reviewing faculty papers. The pilot measured reappraisal and reprocessing costs for a small sample of papers of university administrators, and identified all other collections of faculty, staff, and administrators for reappraisal in both university archives records and manuscripts collections. Findings identified through the pilot will inform a larger reappraisal project in Special Collections to refine appraisal and processing work and reclaim repository …

A New Generation Of Collecting Priorities: Case Studies From The Northwest, Jodi Allison-Bunnell, Linda Long, Trevor J. Bond, Chloe Nielsen, Amy Valentine

Journal of Western Archives

The last twenty-five years have brought lively, important, and difficult discussions around heritage collections. We are called to broaden our collecting activities to be more inclusive of (among many things) all races, classes, and experiences. We have begun to move away from the troubled legacy of taking collections away from creators and toward empowering those same creators to steward their heritage. We confront a vast universe of current holdings and possible collections and have few models for assessing the opportunities. We also operate with some firm limitations on our budgets, personnel, and space that we have outdistanced with our collecting. …

Beyond Efficiency: An Impact Assessment Of The Uc Guidelines For Efficient Processing, Laurel Mcphee, Kate Dundon, Courtney Dean, Elvia Arroyo-Ramírez, Audra Eagle Yun

Journal of Western Archives

The Guidelines for Efficient Archival Processing in the University of California Libraries established shared principles and recommendations for increased processing efficiency in archives and special collections in the UC system. Since its publication in 2012, the Guidelines has become an influential resource for archival workflows nationwide. In this paper, the authors evaluate the Guidelines' impact over time on backlogs, collection management policy, and day-to-day archival practices across the UC libraries by assessing collections, processing practices, and staffing levels.

Secondary Processing At Utah State University Archives, Kelly Rovegno, Heather Housley, Paul Daybell

Journal of Western Archives

In 2018, Utah State University Special Collections and Archives undertook a Remediation Project to create finding aids and library catalog records for all its holdings, including University Archives. During this project, additional issues were found with the arrangement, description, and preservation of University Archives. A new workflow, called secondary processing, grew out of efforts to address such issues while completing the original goals of the Remediation Project. This article examines how secondary processing was used at Utah State University and the challenges and opportunities uncovered as work progressed. It also discusses how secondary processing was used to improve discoverability and …

Introduction To “Collection Stewardship In The Age Of Finite Resources”: A Special Issue For Journal Of Western Archives, Ryan K. Lee

Journal of Western Archives

Introduction to the special issue on collection stewardship in the age of finite resources.

The Relationship Between Blame, Maladaptive Guilt/ Shame, Couple Communication, And Relationship Satisfaction In Pornography Users, Joshua K. Otani

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In this master’s thesis, I conducted a quantitative study using data from 190 individuals in a committed couple relationship where at least one partner is dealing with problematic pornography use to better understand the relationship of blame and maladaptive guilt/ shame with couple communication patterns and couple satisfaction. All 190 individuals independently completed an online anonymous questionnaire consisting of various quantitative assessments measuring my study variables (e.g., blame, maladaptive guilt/ shame, couple communication, couple satisfaction, problematic pornography use).

I used an individual data analysis to examine how study variables related to individual outcomes. The first analysis revealed that general blame …

Developing A Methodology For Evaluating The Sensitivity Of Rock Imagery Sites To Vandalism In Washington County, Ut, Erin C. Haycock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study uses statistical analysis to examine the relationship between the characteristics of rock imagery (also known as rock art) sites and intentionally caused damages in Washington County, Utah. This project aims to create an index for public land managers to respond proactively to vandalism at rock imagery sites. Included here is an analysis of the severity and frequency of damage to the sites and an inventory of the types of site damage to determine the most common and destructive types of vandalism. Site attributes such as the number of figures in a panel, the type of images, and panel …

Evaluating An Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math/Computational Thinking Professional Development Program For Elementary Level Paraprofessional Educators, Aubrey A. Rogowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

For my dissertation, I looked at a training program one Utah school district used to teach paraprofessional educators science, technology, engineering, math, and computational thinking. Specifically, the program taught them about what computational thinking is and how they could use it when teaching science, technology, engineering, and math to students from kindergarten to sixth grade. While reviewing this program, I evaluated 1) The experiences the paraprofessionals had with the program, 2) Whether the paraprofessionals understood computational thinking, and 3) Whether the program prepared them to teach computational thinking to K-6 students.

I worked with eight paraprofessionals who participated in this …

A Content Analysis On Emotions Presented In Preschool Children's Television, Sarah Austin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Learning about emotions is an essential aspect of early childhood. Because of the increasing access to screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic, children have more resources in their environment to learn from. However, before more can be known about whether children are learning about emotions during their screen time, it is important to know how emotions are being presented to them in their online content. Therefore, this study sought to gather data regarding how four emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear) are portrayed verbally and nonverbally among three types of preschool television shows (entertainment, balanced, educational). A sample of 60 preschool …

Exploring Farmers' Willingness To Accept Payment For Agricultural Conservation In Utah, Asif Ahmed Khan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In view of Utah’s drought situation and the need for conservation of water use, this thesis tries to calculate the compensation required for farmers to switch from cultivating alfalfa-which requires a lot of water, to less water-consuming crops like wheat, hay and even pasture. It proposes a new technique for this calculation using big data, including satellite images from National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), agricultural statistics from National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), climate data from Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) climate group and land use data from the state of Utah. These data are integrated into a …

Across The Snake River Plain: Terminal Pleistocene, Early Holocene, And Early Middle Holocene Land-Use In Southeast Idaho, Jennifer Finn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The range of mobility demonstrated to overcome challenges with resource distribution is a hallmark of hunter-gatherer societies. Previous studies in southeast Idaho have investigated the possibility that precontact human movement was impacted by climatic differences. According to preliminary studies on regional obsidian toolstone conveyance, land use patterns were already changing throughout the early Holocene due to increased aridity. However, the geographical distribution of Northern Side-notched projectile points suggests a significant expansion in mobility at the early Holocene/middle Holocene transition. This thesis tests the hypothesis that precontact early middle Holocene human mobility in the study area was conditioned by environmental factors …

Do Physical Activity, Diet And Sex Modify The Association Between Neurotrophin Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms And Insomnia?, Hector Leonardo Gonzalez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Sleep disturbance is common in older adults at prevalence rates ranging between 30 - 50% in the United States. Neurotrophins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), play a role in sleep (Bachmann et al., 2012) as do lifestyle factors such as physical activity (Dolezal et al., 2017) and diet. This study examined the associations of selected single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs related to BDNF or its receptors and lifestyle factors of physical activity and diet, as well as their interactions on the risk for sleep disturbance in older adult males and females. This thesis examined existing data from the Cache …

Adhd Knowledge: Support For Current Measures And Connections To Stigma And Intervention, Megan E. Golson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Many children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be at-risk for social, educational, and daily functioning challenges. Identifying ADHD and beginning intervention as early as possible improves outcomes for children with ADHD. Research suggests that parents, teachers, and the general population have more favorable opinions about ADHD interventions the more they know about ADHD. While many measures of ADHD knowledge have been created to measure this, there is little research on the validity of these measures. Further, additional research is needed to better understand relation between ADHD knowledge and intervention favorability. The two studies in this dissertation aim to fill these …

Wellbeing, Mental Health, And Natural Resource Dependency In Rural Utah, Kristen Rene Koci

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This dissertation examines wellbeing, mental health, and natural resource (NR) dependency in rural Utah. The following questions are asked: How do wellbeing and mental health vary throughout the state of Utah, including by rural-urban location? What concerns do applied practitioners have regarding mental health in rural parts of the state? How do chronic stress and social dislocation contribute to mental health outcomes in rural NR dependent communities in the state? Four studies were conducted to pursue these research questions.

The first two studies use data from the Utah Wellbeing Survey to explore wellbeing and mental health in Utah communities over …

Coming Out Experiences Related To Improved Well-Being Among Religious Sexual And Gender Minorities, Samuel Skidmore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Sexual and gender minorities (SGMs; individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ and/or who do not identify as cisgender and heterosexual) often come out to others as a way to improve their connections, feel more authentic, and improve their mental health. However, coming out is often a frightening and stress-inducing process, and SGMs’ overall well-being may depend on how they approach these conversations and how others respond. In an effort to better understand these experiences and to provide a scientifically-validated “guide” to SGMs and those to whom they come out, we conducted three studies that examine when coming out goes well and …

What To Expect When Preparing To Transition For Working Abroad: Exploring Work-Focused Intercultural Transition Training, Hannah Johnson

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Despite living in a highly globalized world with increased travels, interactions, and migrations across both physical and mental cultural lines, many individuals are still often unprepared to interact with those who are different successfully (Kupka et al., 2008). With all these increases in travel, interaction, and migrations across cultural lines, it is essential to understand the adjustment process and the potential challenges or barriers that individuals may face when transitioning to a new culture. This project systematically examines literature on intercultural transitions to improve training for individuals traveling to another culture for work. The literature examined includes pre-departure training and …

Drip Irrigation And Water Conservation In Onions; An Economic Analysis, Jenny De Boer

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Water diversions for irrigated agriculture have contributed to increased water stress in drought prone areas across the globe. Previous research finds that farmers increase irrigation intensity per unit of product grown, increase total area under irrigation, and switch to more water intensive crops to increase yields and compensate for the cost of drip irrigation installation. Other studies have shown that drip irrigation can produce yields that parity surface irrigated yields or even surpass them using less water and increasing profits. Ultimately this plot trial showed drip irrigated onion yields were 6.31% greater than surface irrigated onion yields using an average …

Online Deception: The Impact Of Language In Text-Based Deception Detection, Stephanie Dayle Avila

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In today’s digital age, spreading false information online can have serious consequences, from affecting elections to undermining public health efforts. Despite the issue's importance, there’s been relatively little research into better understanding how people make decisions about lies and misinformation online. My project dives into this challenge by exploring how specific language cues, like grammar errors or unusual word choices, influence people’s perception of statements in terms of deceit online. I examined how people react to these cues through three separate but related studies when reading truthful and deceptive statements. The first two studies showed that true statements with grammatical …

Conflict Within Wildlife Management On Western Landscapes Home On The Range, Trisha A. Hedin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Most of the public lands within the Intermountain West are administered under a multiple-use mandate which emphasizes striking a balance in land use planning among the potentially competing values of livestock grazing, timber production, water supply, extraction of valuable fossil fuels, wildlife, and wilderness. This research sought to dive into a few of these competing values that involve large herbivores that compete for limited forage resources such as livestock and wildlife, on public lands, but also touched upon wildlife on private lands. The first component of research looked specifically at the coexistence of wildlife and livestock on both public and …

Nonreligious Parents' Perceptions Of The Role Religious Differences And Religious Disaffiliation Play In Family Relationships, Heather H. Kelley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The number of nonreligious Americans has steadily increased in recent years, and researchers predict that this growth will continue. Despite this growth, limited research has explored the experiences of nonreligious parents and how religious differences impact their family relationships. As such, through a qualitative analysis of 33 interviews with nonreligious couples (N=66 individuals), the current study addresses how nonreligious adults perceive the influence of religious differences on their relationships with their family of origin (i.e., parents, siblings, and extended family members) and how these religious differences impact the intergenerational relationships between nonreligious parent's family of origin and their children. Additionally, …

Drama: A Burlesque And Melodramatic Frame Analysis Of The January 6Th Committee Final Report, Makayla Chadwick Lindsay

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

On January 6^th, 2021, former president Donald Trump stated "...if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore". Following his speech thousands of Trump supporters marched to the United States capitol under the belief that they were stopping nationwide voter fraud. In the months following, the U.S. congress created The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the United States Capitol with the goal to investigate those responsible for the insurrection that took place at the U.S. capitol. This paper examines the committee's communication as they attempted to hold Trump …

A Dyadic Analysis Of Fat Talk And Body Esteem Amongst Romantic Couples, Marissa J. Sáez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Due to high levels of body objectification within society, many individuals feel a strong need to "improve" their bodies. This mindset can lead individuals to speak negatively about their body, which is referred to as fat talk. This study examines the relationship between fat talk on one's own and their romantic partner's body esteem. Meaning, it is proposed that speaking negatively about one's body will impact not only their own body esteem, but also their romantic partner's body esteem. Data were collected from 112 participants (56 dyads). The results of the data supported both hypotheses, demonstrating that one's fat talk …

Do Poor Countries Catch Up To Rich Countries? Structural Change In The World-Economy, 1816-1916, Jared Walker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Do poor countries catch up to rich countries? To answer that question, countries were divided into upper class (core), middle class (semi-periphery), and lower class (periphery) based on degree of industrialization as indicated by primary energy consumption data. Findings indicated twenty-three upward transitions and five downward transitions during the period examined. Asymmetrical upward mobility was understood in the context of geographic expansion of the system. This sufficiently increased the population of the lower class (periphery) to support larger populations in the middle class (semi-periphery) and upper class (core). Nevertheless, probability analysis indicated a stable system characterized by high levels of …

Hunting For Agriculture: Unraveling Ecological Motivations In The Transition To Farming By The Fremont Cultural Complex, Ryan Mcgrath

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study explored the profound human history shift from foraging to agriculture, focusing on Utah's Fremont cultural complex. Utilizing the Prey-Rank Model, we investigated whether dwindling encounter rates with high-rank prey prompted the Fremont's adoption of agriculture. We quantified past resource trends by analyzing the Utah archaeofaunal database to discern if ecological conditions influenced this transition. If confirmed, it suggests adaptive responses to a decline in high-ranked game led to a more resource-intensive survival strategy. This research provides crucial insights into the motivations behind the Fremont's agricultural adoption, enhancing our understanding of human-environment interactions and adaptations throughout history.