Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Say Yes To Digital Surrogates: Strengthening The Archival Record In The Postcustodial Era, Cyndi Shein, Emily Lapworth

Journal of Western Archives

Shein and Lapworth demonstrate how employing “scan-and-return” practices to strengthen and diversify archival collections is a creative and responsible way to provide researchers with equitable and ongoing access to a more inclusive and democratic historical record. The authors review some of the main archival theories and practices of the postcustodial era to show how their position is built on professional values and widely-accepted premises. They explain how and why UNLV Special Collections has joined a community of practice that validates stewardship of digital surrogates in support of the preeminent mandate of archives to preserve and provide broad access to cultural …

Catecholamine-Mediated Increases In Neural Gain Improve The Precision Of Cortical Representations, Christopher M. Warren, Eran Eldar, Ruud L. Van Den Brink, Klodiana-Daphne Tona, Nic J. Van Der Wee, Eric J. Giltay, Martijn S. Van Noorden, Jos A. Bosch, Robert C. Wilson, Jonathan D. Cohen, Sander Nieuwenhuis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Neurophysiological evidence suggests that neuromodulators, such as norepinephrine and dopamine, increase neural gain in target brain areas. Computational models and prominent theoretical frameworks indicate that this should enhance the precision of neural representations, but direct empirical evidence for this hypothesis is lacking. In two functional MRI studies, we examine the effect of baseline catecholamine levels (as indexed by pupil diameter and manipulated pharmacologically) on the precision of object representations in the human ventral temporal cortex using angular dispersion, a powerful, multivariate metric of representational similarity (precision). We first report the results of computational model simulations indicating that increasing catecholaminergic gain …

Growing Data In Utah: A Model For Stateside Collaboration, Betty Rozum, Rebekah Cummings, Daureen Nesdill

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

No abstract provided.

Microstructure Noise: The Use Of Two Scales Realized Volatility For The Noisy High-Frequency Data And Its Implications For Market Efficiency And Financial Forecasting, Aristides Romero

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As a basic principle in statistics, a larger sample size is preferred whenever possible. Nonetheless, in the financial world, especially equities and currencies trading, including all available data poses great challenges due to the noise present in the volatility estimation. In his paper I examine the Two Time Scales Realized Volatility estimator by Zhang, Mykland, and Ait-Sahalia (2005b) and I find that it not only provides a more efficient estimator than a basic estimator of the integrated volatility of returns, but it also consistently estimates the microstructure noise present in the latent efficient return process. I find that by using …

Continuing Conversations: The Image Of Richard Nixon In Political Cartoons, Megan Sanderson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Historians have extensively researched and reported on the images presented by United States presidents. Political cartoons have been an effective means of depicting government figures’ behaviors, actions and deficiencies. The goal of this thesis is to examine images of President Richard Nixon as captured in political cartoons, with particular attention to the themes represented in works following the President’s key speeches. Nixon’s “Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam” (1969), “Toasts of the President and Premier Chou En-lai of China at a Banquet Honoring the Premier in Peking” (1972), and the “Question-and-Answer Session at the Annual Convention of …

The Capm Is Not Dead, Muhammad Ahmed Saleem Baig

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is among the earliest and most widely used security valuation models. Since its inception, CAPM has been criticized more than it has been appreciated. Although, it has been criticized both empirically and theoretically, it is still one of the most extensively used methods for the calculation of equity betas and returns throughout the globe. Among the most significant implications of the model is that the expected stock returns are determined by their corresponding level of systematic risk and not the idiosyncratic risk. According to much of the recent literature it is referred to as …

Examining The Effects Of Caregiver Coping Strategies On Care Recipient Outcomes, Joseph S. Wanzek

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dementia is a progressive syndrome with declines in cognitive and functional abilities. As the world’s population becomes increasingly older, prevalence rates are expected to increase exponentially to over 80 million affected by the year 2040. Individuals with dementia and their caregivers experience various difficulties associated with progression that increases stress for both parties. Caregiving can be burdensome and caregivers may employ a number of strategies to manage problems as they arise. Renewed interest has been focused on the care environment as one way to modify dementia progression as caregivers can be an influential person in the care recipient’s life. Two …

Does The Market Matter For More Than Investment?, Yiwei Zhang

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Does the market matter for more than investment? by Jason Smith examines how themultiple effects of the market (through stock prices) can affect a corporation. The mainfindings are that low stock prices precede lower costs and lower investments. The maininnovation of this work is showing that the market can matter for more than a simpleinvestment. Low stock prices imply that the market may disagree with investment and leadthe manager to reduce costs. This result does not appear to be driven by financial constraints.

Cultural And Economic Factors That Influence Brazilian Public Opinion On Climate Change, Jenna Williams

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Climate change is a commons problem of global proportions. The effects of climate change threaten not only the natural world, but also the human systems that we have established (IPCC 2014, 4). The devastating effects of climate change will not be confined to those regions of the world that have contributed the most to this problem. Already, every continent and ocean has been touched by climate change (IPCC 2014, 4).

Price Volatility And Structural Breaks In U.S. Dairy Markets, Morgan James Baldwin

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper examines whether price volatility has increased for the all-milk price and milk margin over the past 25 years. It focuses on the impact of export and attempts to establish the existence of structural changes in the market. Various models are applied to analyze the stated question and results discussed. This paper finds that there was a distinct structural break in the milk price and possibly in the milk margin. Trade has limited correlation to volatility in the milk margin and milk price.

A Look At The Controversies Of The United States Export-Import Bank, Bo A. Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States. The Bank was established in 1934 to aid a depressed economy and foster global trade. Ex-Im was mandated to improve economic conditions and international trade by providing financial assistance where the private sector fell through, while not competing against private firms. The bank has four main tools to perform its responsibilities - direct loans, loan guarantees, working capital financing, and credit-export insurance.

The Ex-Im Bank has enjoyed a long history of strong bipartisan support. Opposition surfaced in the late 2000's leading to an Ex-Im temporary shutdown. The …

Institutional Constraints Limiting Social Services For Immigrants, Grant Alan Holyoak

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This study advances the literature by identifying the factors that constrain the resource provision activities of social service agencies for immigrants. We consider whether and how coercive, mimetic and normative constraints shape organizational practices in this field. Drawing on twenty-five in-depth interviews with social service providers in Utah, we find that despite providers' commitment to serving immigrants, organizations remain significantly constrained due primarily to external coercive constraints including restrictive state laws and increasing competition over limited funding. We conclude by exploring the implications of our findings for policy and practice.

The Affordable Care Act And Health Care In America, Michael Ryan

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

What you are about to read is a final project meant to incorporate ideas from my undergraduate coursework with my interests in medicine and economics. Issues in health care, especially insurance, fascinate me and I chose to use my Honors Capstone Project as an opportunity to further my understanding of issues important to me as both a future physician and businessman. The purpose of this paper is to practice critical and analytical thinking skills by exploring some of the challenging issues surrounding American health insurance and the Affordable Care Act while also gaining a deeper understanding of the nuances of …

Perception Of Real And Perceived Anger In Various Races, Mikelle Hymas

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Research of emotional expressions has suggested that facial expressions of emotions are universal between cultures (Ekman, 1989). However, because of in-group biases, misidentification of emotions in other races can predictably occur. The misidentification of facial expressions of emotions can lead to predictable and specific racial biases. One important instance of this is that groups of White individuals often make the error of perceiving anger in an African American who is actually experiencing fear. This has important implications of accidental discrimination. The current study aimed to determine whether a brief training in accurate identification of various facial expressions would improve accuracy …

Impact Of Participation In A Small Music Group On The Academic Achievement Of Primarily Hispanic Youth, Danielle Juliana Keaton

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of the present study was to explore the effects of participation in a children' s violin instructional music program, The Young Violinists from St. Thomas Aquinas (YVSTA), on the primarily Hispanic participants' academic achievement. Data collection involved obtaining YVSTA attendance records and participants' academic records: their standardized test scores, attendance records, and academic transcripts. The participants were 5 boys and 14 girls ranging in age from 6 to 14, enrolled in Kindergarten to eighth grade. Children attended the YVSTA between 9 and 57 times, representing 36.36% to 86.36% attendance. All children but one were identified as being Hispanic; …

The Relationship Between Water Shortage Concern And Age In Utah, Viviane S. Baji

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

It is unclear whether current water supplies in Utah will be able to accommodate the needs of the future. Population in the state is expected to double by 2050 and climate change models predict declines in water availability in the region. Public perceptions of the adequacy of the water supply (and concerns about potential shortages) are key factors that could influence water use behaviors and support for public policy interventions. This paper explores the research question: "Are young people in Utah more concerned about water shortages than older cohorts?" It was expected that young people would be more concerned about …

Interaction With Water: Water-Based Outdoor Recreation And Water Quality Perception And Concern Among Residents Of Utah, Matthew J. Barnett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

There are a large number of impaired water bodies in Utah, and population trends indicate that water quality impairment will become an increasingly important issue in the future. Because of education and management implications, an understanding of the social processes that drive water quality perception and concern is a matter of interest and importance. Sociodemographic characteristics and outdoor recreational activity have both been associated with environmental concern in the past. Using a Generalized Linear Modeling approach, this study explores the relationship between water-based outdoor recreation and water quality perception and concern. It is found that participation in water-based outdoor recreation …

Bringing The States Back In: Institutional Determinants Of State Level Immigration Policies, Paul D. Jacobs

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For the record 42 million immigrants residing in the U.S., the ease with which they can integrate into society is heavily determined by what state they reside in. While immigration policy formation at the state level is new due to the historical supremacy that the federal government has had on this issue, the federal stalemate at the federal level has led the states to pass more than 1,500 immigration laws since 2005. How states come to enact inclusive or exclusionary immigration policies is not well understood. Previous scholarship has examined many important predictors of these inclusive or exclusionary laws, but …

Entrepreneurs' Perceived Factors Of Success And Barriers-To-Entry For Small Business And Farm Operations In Rural Paraguay, Braden J. Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Both agriculture and nonagriculture activities are important for Paraguay's economy and its rural development plan. Ensuring opportunity for successful enterprise creation and expansion will facilitate new business entrance, while also growing rural economies. Past research has identified many factors that contribute highly to business and farm operation success, though little information exists about the perceptions of would-be entrepreneurs.

This study analyzes perceptions and characteristics of young, would-be entrepreneurs and agriculture producers in rural Paraguay to better understand their views of business/farm success and hurdle factors. Results suggest that increased experience, education and business exposure will decrease perceptions of many barrier …

How Good Intentions Backfire: Failures And Negative Consequences Of Federal Environmental Policies, Jordan K. Lofthouse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis is meant to dispel the myths that surround federal environmental policies. The research object of this project is to show that the formation of environmental policies is not altruistic, and the outcomes of these policies often have negative side effects that policymakers and the general public should recognize.

During my time as an undergraduate, I studied environmental geography, which also included environmental policies. We would research environmental problems, but the solution to these problems always seemed to be another government policy. I began to wonder why environmental problems never seemed to actually get better. Once I began my …

The Market Potential For Food And Agricultural Tourism In Utah, Miranda Bradshaw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tourism is one of the largest and most economically important industries in Utah. Local businesses and government agencies may increase their tourism-related profits through targeted marketing and product development. As tourists may differ from one another in terms of trip planning, party size, the activities they participate in, and more, it is important to understand who tourists are. The primary research purpose of this study was to explore and better understand the different types of tourists who visit Utah.

Data on tourists were collected through an in-person survey. This data was then used to place tourists into groups according to …

Benefits, Barriers, And Opportunities For Renewable Energy Outreach In Extension: A Mixed-Methods Needs Assessment, Blake H. Thomas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Renewable energy is energy from a source that is not depleted when used, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biofuel, and hydroelectric power. Renewable energy sources are a powerful combatant to climate change because they emit little to no carbon dioxide emissions in the electrical generation process. This mixed-methods needs assessment explored the benefits, barriers, and opportunities for renewable energy outreach in Extension on a nationwide and Utah-based scale. Two online surveys and focus group interviews revealed the relative dearth of renewable energy programming currently underway in Extension nationwide. In Utah, more than fifty-five percent of Utah State University (USU) Extension …

Refugee And Employer Perceptions Of The Effects Of Capital On Refugee Employability In Utah, Christian L. Fritz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology Department at Utah State University conducted a state-wide needs assessment of refugees in Utah for the Utah
Department of Workforce Services. Using the data collected for this project, I analyzed the interview transcripts of twenty-four participants in the study including eight employers of refugees, eight Iraqi refugees, and eight Burmese refugees. I looked at the skills, education, finances, personal connections, personal attitudes, and cultural knowledge of the refugees and compared those to the desires of the employers of
refugees.

I found that the employers favored refugee employees because they work hard and do not …

The Effects Of Familism And Sibling Relationships On Mexican-Origin Adolescents' Intentions For Alcohol, Tobacco, And Other Drug Use, Molly Mechammil

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate whether and how sibling relationships and family values intersect to influence Mexican origin youth’s intentions to use substances. Previous research with European-American families has indicated that the nature and quality of sibling relationships in particular plays a large role in whether or not youth will engage in substance use behaviors. In addition, high levels of family and cultural values have also been found to be strong protective factors for substance use in Latino youth. A better understanding of the relation between family values and sibling relationship processes is important in order to …

The Ideal Educator: Investigating Teaching Culture And Teaching Styles Through Teacher Self-Efficacy And Social Acceptance, Jared R. Glenn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previously collected data from the Teaching and Learning International Study (TALIS 2013) is utilized to examine two hypotheses. First, I investigated whether teachers who perform well in their jobs also tend to be popular friend choices among colleagues and administrators. Second, if there were evidence to support the first hypothesis, I examined whether these popular teachers also had a particular style of managing their classrooms.

While popular opinion often suggests that education is a one-size-fits-all method of sharing knowledge, actual educational methods actually change from place to place and country to country (Ho and Hau, 2004; Malinen et al, 2013). …

A Vision-Based Bee Counting Algorithm For Electronic Monitoring Of Langsthroth Beehives, Sai Kiran Reka

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forager traffic is the number of bees entering or exiting the bee hive over a given period of time. To estimate forager traffic, beekeepers typically take a stopwatch and count the number of bees manually over a set period of time. Forager traffic is an important health indicator of the hive. Sudden changes in forager traffic levels show that there may be an anomaly inside the hive or in the environment. There have been several attempts to automate the estimation of forager traffic in Langsthroth hives with custombuilt hardware devices. In this thesis, we argue that bee counting can be …

Fear-Based Policymaking: How Government Agencies Exploit Mortality Risk Perceptions, Alecia M. Hunter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this thesis is to explore how government policymakers use distorted Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) calculations for their personal benefit. The VSL estimates how much a large group of citizens would jointly pay to save the life a one random person from a fatal disease. The VSL is used by government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency. Agencies use the VSL in benefit-cost analyses to help determine potentially favorable life-saving policy from wasteful policy. Despite the well-intentioned objectiveness and decisiveness of the VSL, the political framework incentivizes miscalculated and exaggerated VSL estimates. Public choice theory addresses …

Political Parties And Direct Democracy: An Analysis Of The 2015 Greek Referendum, Megan E. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On July 5, 2015, Greek voters were asked to vote on whether the country should accept the terms of austerity offered by the European Union for bailout from the country’s financial crisis. With a turnout rate of 62.5% overall, 61.3% of Greeks voted “no.” While a majority of voters in every district opposed the bailout’s terms, the margin against the proposed austerity measures ranged from 51.2% in Lakonias to 73.8% in Chanion. This paper explores whether political parties influenced Greek voters’ decisions to accept or reject the EU's budgetary reforms. We first review the literature relevant to that question, focusing …

“Touched By Time”: Geopolitical Themes Of Estonian National Identity Through Folklore And Song Festivals, Mandy L. Hoggard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Estonian national identity—how Estonians imagine their values, history, and place in the world—is defined by their centuries-long struggle for independence and autonomy. This thesis examines the struggle and resulting identity through the lens of the laulupidu, or song festival, and its employment as a vehicle of political mobilization and re-constructor of Estonian history. Regarding folklore, in this case festivals and folk songs, as containers of the soul of the nation, I show how Estonians have produced and reproduced their national identity through the practice which they hold sacred: choral singing. I implemented a critical geopolitical approach, which emphasizes the …

Staff Interactions And Affect In Persons With Dementia: An Observational Study Of A Memory Care Unit, Keirstin V. Meyer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is estimated that the number of people in the United States living with dementia in 2015 will nearly triple by the year 2050. With no cure for dementia, we are faced with providing care in a way that maximizes well-being. The majority of prior research focused on the best ways to reduce behavioral problems and mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety. The objective of this study was to increase knowledge about the social influences on well-being in persons with dementia, particularly from staff in residential memory care units. This study found that the most common interaction type from …