Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Coding By Choice: A Transitional Analysis Of Social Participation Patterns And Programming Contributions In The Online Scratch Community, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai, Michael T. Giang

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

While massive online communities have drawn the attention of researchers and educators on their potential to support active collaborative work, knowledge sharing, and user-generated content, few studies examine participation in these communities at scale. The little research that does exist attends almost solely to adults rather than communities to support youths’ learning and identity development. In this chapter, we tackle two challenges related to understanding social practices that support learning in massive social networking forums where users engage in design. We examined a youth programmer community, called Scratch.mit.edu, that garners the voluntary participation of millions of young people worldwide. We …

Review Of Becoming A Trusted Digital Repository, Module 8 Of Trends In Archives Practice, Kevin C. Miller

Journal of Western Archives

Review of Becoming a Trusted Digital Repository, Module 8 of Trends in Archives Practice.

Community Planners’ Perceptions On Balancing Wellbeing And Development In Wasatch Mountain Communities, Kent Taylor Dean

Research on Capitol Hill

The Wasatch Mountains are home to 80% of Utah's population. As part of a larger study of the Wasatch Mountains for a growing Global Network of Mountain Observatories (GNOMO), this research was conducted to assess perceptions of city planners in Wasatch Mountain communities using qualitative interviews. Questions focused on perceived values or benefits and vulnerabilities or threats associated with living in or near the Wasatch Mountains as well as key issues for sustainability.

Utah’S Oldest Show The Most Concern For Future Water Shortages, Viviane Baji

Research on Capitol Hill

Utah is set to double in population by 2050. It is unclear whether current water supplies will be able to accommodate the needs of the future growth. Young people will be in their prime when water shortage predictions come to fruition, so it is important to know how concerned they are about the water issues that will affect them. An understanding of the relationship between age and water shortage concern may also contribute to the development of social science theories relating age and environmental attitudes and behavior.

Research Question: "Are young people more concerned about water shortages?" to understand how …

Alzheimer’S Risk: Middle-Age-Lifestyle Changes Improve Motivation And Memory, Michelle Decker

Research on Capitol Hill

Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects nearly 5.4 million individuals in the U.S. every year. With an increasing number of AD patients and no known cure, understanding genetic and environmental risk factors is key to prevention.

Although genetics is a key risk factor for AD, 50-60% of risk factors are environmental. This means that lifestyle/behavioral changes are the best approach to preventing early on-set Alzheimer's disease (due to non-genetic risks).

An online database and smartphone app were created that provide users with an easy source of information about AD prevention behaviors. Two benchmark results of this study were the effect on intrinsic …

Link Between Cognitive Status And Motivation To Make Lifestyle Changes To Prevent Alzheimer’S Disease: The Gray Matters Study, Randi Hovey, Austin Dopp

Research on Capitol Hill

Research on prevention strategies have shown promising results for delaying onset of Alzheimer's disease with simple lifestyle changes.

Preventable medical conditions linked to increase risk for AD include:

• high blood pressure
• sedentary lifestyle
• poorly managed diabetes

Several behavioral factors have been associated with risk of developing the disease. These include:

• sleep quality
• stress-management
• social engagement
• cognitive activity

Although there are known genetic factors, current estimates attribute less than 35% of all diagnoses to heredity alone.

An Analysis Of Domestic Violence In Mass Media & Motion Pictures, Renee Delcambre

Research on Capitol Hill

Mass media have a curious and powerful position of influence within our culture making it a critical component in creating, altering, and/or mimicking current ideologies within society.

Motion pictures often incorporate life-like situations or plots into their stories which can contain controversial or taboo topics. One of these situations involves abuse within intimate, adult relationships. Choices made in how the abuse and characters are depicted is called framing. This strategy is a deliberate means of including and excluding certain information and/or details. It is a tactic used to provide the viewer with a carefully “framed” picture.

This analysis reveals the …

The Urban Prison: Socioeconomic Vortexes In Latino Neighborhoods, Armando Porras, Aaron Wyatt

Research on Capitol Hill

This research shows how metropolitan cities throughout the United States are continuously impacting the lives of ethnic minorities.

In the United States, Latina/o individuals have been born into socioeconomic vortexes. In other words, they have grown up in areas where secure jobs have disappeared and a variety of other factors force them to live in damaged communities that do not foster economic and social progression.

By analyzing several works of literature written by Latina/o authors who lived in barrios that faced these challenges, as well as research addressing crime and the lack of law enforcement in marginalized neighborhoods, we have …

Barriers To Health Care Access For Cache County Refugees, Michael Hoggard, Julie Gast

Research on Capitol Hill

There are over 300 refugees resettled in Cache County, Utah (figure 2). Despite coming from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, the Cache County refugee population shares similar circumstances in regards to access to health care:

(a)96% of working adults are employed at the same job
(b)Refugees have access to the same social services
(c)None of the refugee populations speak English as a native language.

The purpose of this study is to understand key physical, structural and cultural barriers that prevent Cache Valley refugees from

(a)Utilizing work-provided health insurance or Medicaid when seeking medical treatment and
(b)Seeking necessary medical procedures.

Links Between Outdoor Recreation And Environmental Concern Among Utahns, Matthew J. Barnett

Research on Capitol Hill

• Research has shown that the processes which drive the way that people experience and perceive the environment around them are complex and dynamic. This extends to the perceptions that people have regarding environmental and natural resource concerns.
• Outdoor recreational activity allows for people to have varying types of tactile experience with bodies of water, as well as providing a social space in which distinct subcultures may develop. This study explores the possibility that recreation specialization, or type and frequency of water-based activities may influence the perceptions of Utahns regarding water quality.
• Investigating the ways in which social processes intersect and …

School Families: The Impact Of Participation In High School Extracurricular Activities, Erica Hawvermale

Research on Capitol Hill

The present study was designed to analyze the relationship between participation in extracurricular activities and high school adolescents' psychological sense of community (PSOC). Extant research has linked PSOC to the several benefits (below). As such we believe that PSOC acts as a buffer between adolescents and negative high school outcomes.

Psychological Sense of Community

The perception held by a member of a group that one belongs and matters. Further, PSOC captures that the group matters to each other and that through group commitment, shared needs will be met. Thus, PSOC encompasses four main concepts: membership, influence, fulfillment of needs, and …

Impact Of Military Sexual Trauma On Ptsd And Relationship Quality, Danielle Christensen

Research on Capitol Hill

• 25% of women Veterans report military sexual trauma (MST)
• MST includes contact (e.g., rape) and non-contact (e.g., harassment) assault
• MST is highly correlated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• PTSD symptoms include nightmares, family problems, insomnia, irritability, depression, and hypervigilence
• MST is more likely to cause PTSD than deadly combat experiences

• PTSD severity is negatively associated with relationship quality

• Problematic as relationship quality is a protective factor against PTSD-related dysfunction

• Physical touch and intimacy are integral in romantic relationships

• However, touch apprehension following sexual trauma has not been studied in those with MST

• To promote well-being and buffer against distress, we …

Strengthening Archival Digitization Efforts With An Interdepartmental Approach: A Case Study, Jessica Hayden, Jane D. Monson, Emory J. Trask

Journal of Western Archives

This case study details how the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) Libraries made the shift from a centralized model where digitization took place largely within the archives department, to a decentralized one that encompasses multiple library units. This shift came about as the result of the addition of a digital initiatives librarian position and the formation of a digitization steering committee comprised of employees representing different departments from throughout the Libraries. The result was a marked increase in the number of objects that could be digitized and made available online within a given period of time.

Review Of Preserving Our Heritage: Perspectives From Antiquity To The Digital Age, Christina Thomas

Journal of Western Archives

Review of Preserving Our Heritage: Perspective from Antiquity to the Digital Age.

The How And Why Of Mentoring, Alison H. Stankrauff, Tom Sommer, Michelle Ganz

Journal of Western Archives

Mentoring those in the archival field is critical to the development of any professional, or budding professional archivist. The mentoring relationship is one that has the potential to inform, nurture, encourage those on both sides of the relationship. This article explores that relationship and the frameworks that foster such mentoring programs. Discussed are mentoring to undergraduates, graduate archival program students, peer-to-peer mentoring of archivists at different institutions, as well as mentoring in the tenure process. This article is meant to be at once informative about such programs as well as offering guidance for those wanting to create a similar mentoring …

The Gregory Peck Papers: It's Not Just Hollywood, Clare Denk

Journal of Western Archives

The Gregory Peck papers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences serve as a case study to demonstrate the value of a collection beyond its expected scope. In this case, four examples are used to highlight how the Peck papers move far beyond the confines of Hollywood by encompassing topics including Hawaii on the eve of its statehood, politics, international fan culture, and post-World War II Japan as seen through the lens of an American GI.

Where's The Data?, Andrea Payant, Betty Rozum, Liz Woolcott

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

At Utah State University, a pilot project is under development to evaluate the benefits of tracking data sets and faculty publications using the online catalog and the Library’s institutional repository.

With federal mandates to make publications and data open, universities look for solutions to track compliance. At Utah State University, the Sponsored Programs Office follows up with researchers to determine where data has been or will be deposited, per the terms of their grant.

Interested in making this publicly discoverable, the Library, Sponsored Programs, and Research Office are working together to pilot a project that enables the creation of publicly …

Partnering For Discoverability: Knitting Archival Finding Aids To Digitized Material Using A Low Tech Digital Content Linking Process, Liz Woolcott, Andrea Payant, Sara Skindelien

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

As libraries continue to ramp up digitization efforts for unique archival and special collections material, the segregation of archival finding aids from their digitized counterparts presents an accumulating discoverability problem for both patrons and library staff. For Utah State University (USU) Libraries, it became evident that a system was necessary to connect both new and legacy finding aids with their digitized content to improve use and discoverability. Following a cross­departmental workflow analysis involving the Special Collections, Cataloging and Metadata, and Digital Initiatives departments, a process was created for semi­automating the batch linking of item and folder level entries in EAD …

Utah State University Interfaith Diversity Experiences & Attitudes Longitudinal Survey - Time 1 Report: Summer/Fall 2015, Matthew Mayhew, Alyssa Rockenbach, Eboo Patel

Interfaith Initiative Research

Together with more than 120 other colleges and universities around the United States, USU is participating in the national Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Study or "IDEALS" survey. This survey was co-developed by Interfaith Youth Core and North Carolina State University to measure the impact that university experiences have on the emergence of a worldview that promotes religious "pluralism" (appreciative engagement across religious divides). View the first year report here.

Teaching: Natural Or Cultural?, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

An important part of the common lore of anthropology is that “other people have culture.” That is, most people fail to recognize or appreciate how much of their lives are governed by habits, values, and expectations that are largely the product of history and culture. They fail to acknowledge that their own way of doing things is not necessarily universal or even widely shared. This ethnocentrism can have enormous consequences for the construction of child development theory and education.

Playing With Knives: The Socialization Of Self-Initiated Learners, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Since Margaret Mead’s field studies in the South Pacific a century ago, there has been the tacit understanding that as culture varies, so too must the socialization of children to become competent culture users and bearers. More recently, the work of anthropologists has been mined to find broader patterns that may be common to childhood across a range of societies. One improbable commonality has been the tolerance, even encouragement, of toddler behavior that is patently risky, such as playing with or attempting to use a sharp-edged tool. This laissez faire approach to socialization follows from a reliance on children as …

Populating Your Institutional Repository And Promoting Your Students: Irs And Undergraduate Research, Betty Rozum, Becky Thoms

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Establishing institutional repositories (IRs) and encouraging supportive faculty participation can be daunting. Gaining access to scholarly publica- tions and other products that students produce, especially undergraduate researchers, can be an even more challenging task. Many IRs contain gradu- ate theses and dissertations as well as undergraduate honors theses and the abstracts of work that students present at student research events or con- ferences. It is less common to find IRs whose compilers thoroughly collect student scholarship from all aspects of students’ research activities, which can demonstrate the academic involvement of both a university’s student population and the faculty who collaborate …

Using Pop Culture, Feminist Pedagogy, And Current Events To Help Students Explore Multiple Sides Of An Argument, Dory Cochran

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

According to Project Information Literacy, students struggle with understanding the “big picture” of a research project, and in particular, with understanding “multiple sides of an argument.”1 As a skill, understanding different perspectives is needed in scholarly research, but it is also integral to understanding current events and broader social conversations. This lesson works to address both of these needs by bringing pop culture and feminist pedagogy into the library classroom. In collaboratively analyzing pop culture examples connected to a current event, students can draw upon their own experiences with pop culture, identify other viewpoints, and ultimately explore an issue from …

Transitioning To Open Educational Resources, Erin Davis, Becky Thoms

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Domestic Violence In Mass Media & Motion Pictures, Renee Delcambre

Undergraduate Honors Projects

Mass media have a curious and powerful position of influence within our culture making it a critical component in creating, altering, and/or mimicking current ideologies within society.

Motion pictures often incorporate life‐like situations or plots into their stories which can contain controversial or taboo topics. One of these situations involves abuse within intimate, adult relationships. Choices made in how the abuse and characters are depicted is called framing. This strategy is a deliberate means of including and excluding certain information and/or details. It is a tactic used to provide the viewer with a carefully “framed” picture.

This analysis reveals the …

Preparing Future Child Welfare Professionals To Strengthen Couple Relations, Ted G. Futris, David G. Schramm, Jeneé Duncan

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

This study evaluates the potential value of integrating a family science-focused course on strengthening couple and coparenting relationships into the training of social work students and future child welfare professionals. The 15-week graduate course offered 30 MSW students an opportunity to learn and practice relationship and marriage education (RME) skills in order to teach relevant concepts to clients and to support future integration of these skills in their careers. Evaluation data showed that students demonstrated improvements in multiple domains of knowledge and self-efficacy and applied the concepts learned with clients within six months of completing the course. Implications for future …

A Knowledge Analytic Comparison Of Cued Primitives When Students Are Explaining Predicted And Enacted Motions, Victor R. Lee

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

The Knowledge in Pieces theoretical perspective posits p-prims as an important knowledge element in intuitive reasoning. Because p-prims are a class of knowledge elements developed and abstracted from everyday physical experiences, it seems plausible that immediate physical experiences, both in terms of sensations and actual observations of motion, would cue knowledge in different ways than when those experiences are just discussed as hypotheticals. This paper presents two cases to show that immediate embodied experiences with everyday objects does change which p-prims are cued and how they are deployed by students to explain situations involving motion. These cases come from a …

Psi Chi Journal Editorial Transition, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez, Debi Brannan

Psychology Faculty Publications

As I write these lines, Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research has fully transitioned to the editorial stewardship of Dr. Debi Brannan. It is a bittersweet time; I treasured deeply the tasks of editing the Psi Chi Journal. For nearly 5 years, I benefitted from reading cutting-edge research in broad topics across psychology. I was inspired by the knowledge that most of the authors were up-and-coming researchers whose sense of efficacy could be nurtured through a positive publication experience. I reveled in the beauty of watching undergraduate and graduate researchers shine, faculty mentors nurture our next generation of researchers, and …

Perspectives On The Use Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Related Mobile Apps: Results From A Survey Of Students And Professionals, Benjamin G. Pierce, Michael P. Twohig, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although mobile apps have proliferated as self-help or adjunctive therapy supports, scant research has explored their implementation among mental health practitioners. Little is known about uses and perceptions of mental health apps among applied practitioners, nor are agreed-upon criteria for evaluating and choosing apps available. The present survey study examined the uses and perceptions of mental health apps among 356 professionals and students familiar with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), as indicated by being a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. The survey found that practitioners are interested in using ACT-related apps, but that use of and familiarity …

Hyperbolic Memory Discounting And The Political Business Cycle, T. Scott Findley

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

The vintage political business cycle framework of Nordhaus (1975) represents the idea that the macroeconomic business cycle is manipulated opportunistically by an incumbent government to achieve re-election. A key assumption in this prototypical framework is that voters discount their memories about unemployment and inflation at a constant rate. Yet starting with Ebbinghaus (1885) and Jost (1897), a large body of research in psychology documents an empirical regularity that has come to be known as Jost's Second Law of Forgetting-individuals discount recent memories at a higher rate compared to the rate at which they discount older memories. I find that incorporating …