Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

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Numerical Quantity Estimation In The Elderly, With And Without Cognitive Impairment, Brett Bradley Campbell

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This study examined mental representation of numerical quantity in 25 elderly participants with varying degrees of cognitive impairment. An analogue number-line task has been used in research of mental representation of numerical quantity in children, but little of such research has been done in elderly populations. This research also examined the clinical utility of this number-line task as a diagnostic tool for dementia and cognitive impairment in old age.

Taking Culture And Philosophy Into Consideration: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Marketing Strategies In China, Yi Huang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Globalization makes the physical boundary between countries almost disappear, while on the other hand, it exacerbates cultural and philosophical differences. The overall aim of this dissertation is to dig into the philosophical values of Western and Chinese cultures to provide some theoretically sound and pragmatically useful guidance for future communication and marketing in China.

While some American corporations have been embraced by the Chinese, many more have not. This research concerns itself with searching what the leading causes are for the above phenomenon, and more specifically, this study explores answers to the following questions:

• What strategies are used for product …

Predictors Of Father-Child And Mother-Child Attachment In Two-Parent Families, Jared P. Benware

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Jared Benware, M.S. and Gretchen Gimpel Peacock, Ph.D. at Utah State University examined parent-child attachment in two-parent families. Specifically, the relationship between mother-child and father-child attachment, the relationship between a child's temperament and parent-child attachment, and the relationship between the attachment and the amounts of time a parent spends away from his or her child. The researchers solicited parents as participants to complete questionnaires that measure parent-child attachment and the temperament of their child. This study focused especially on providing more information on the connection between father-child attachment and mother-child attachment rather than focusing only on mothers as the primary …

Increasing Psychological Flexibility Regarding Interpersonal Conflict Between Religious Beliefs And Attitudes Towards Sexual Minorities: An Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (Act) Intervention, Cory John Myler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to facilitate the development and assessment of a group therapeutic intervention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning individuals. Previous research has established that this population is particularly vulnerable to psychological distress and that religiosity contributes to this vulnerability, but there have been no interventions established specifically for the population of sexual minorities who are experiencing religious conflict. The components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy were used to inform the development of a group intervention, which was then carried out. An assessment battery of numerous quantitative measures was given to participants before and after the intervention to …

Feasibility And Co-Benefits Of Biomass Co-Firing: Case In Utah, Bibek Paudel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research examines the physical and economic feasibility of 5% biomass co-firing in the coal-fired power plants of Utah. Transportation models is used to find out the physical feasibility of 5% biomass co-firing, as well as locate the supply zone for each power plant that would minimize the transportation cost. Additional cost required for 5% biomass co-firing and the economic benefits associated with biomass co-firing are calculated. The additional cost required for 5% biomass co-firing is estimated to be $34.84 million. Previous studies on CO₂ emission reduction are used to compute the economic benefit attain from CO₂ reduction …

The Relation Between Parenting Beliefs, Behaviors, And Acculturation On The Social Skills Of Prekindergarten Hispanic Children, Peter C. Winstead

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research related to the importance of social skills in children shows that they are important to children's development and performance in school. Research on problem behaviors in children, such as bullying, have been shown to be related to negative outcomes later in life for children such as lower performance in school, and juvenile and adult criminal behavior. What parents believe and how they act on those beliefs have been found to be related to fewer problem behaviors, and to higher social skills in children. However, the research we have has focused on the parenting behaviors and social outcomes in children …

Perceptions Of Interethnic Dating Among College Students, Elisaida Méndez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Department of Psychology at Utah State University proposed to examine the intersection of demographic variables. This phenomenon was studied in the context of power differential in relationships under the framework of social exchange theory and a racial hierarchy. The study examined the role of ethnicity, income, and gender in status and power balances in the perception of success of dating relationships. Social exchange theory explains the exchange of traits or resources in interpersonal relationships and relationship formation and based on a racial or ethnic hierarchy, race or ethnicity is seemingly overlooked when considering other valued traits.

The Interethnic Couples …

An Evaluation Of A Computer-Based Training On The Visual Analysis Of Single-Subject Data, Katie Snyder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Federal education policies, such as No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, mandate the use of scientifically-proven or research-based curricula and interventions. Presumably, interventions that have a large amount of scientific evidence documenting their success are more likely to be effective when implemented with students in school settings.

In special education, single-subject research is the predominant methodology used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. In single-subject research, a target behavior is measured under baseline conditions (i.e., before the intervention of interest is implemented) and intervention conditions. The data for each condition are graphed, and analyzed …

Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Aid, And Socioeconomic Infrastructure In Developing Countries, Amrita Ghosh Dastidar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the 1970s and 1980s, developing countries, skeptical of foreign investment, imposed several barriers on entry of foreign capital. However, the late 1980s and 1990s marked the onset of globalization, which integrated the whole world into a single global economy. The once-conservative developing nations, realizing the multifarious benefits of foreign direct investment (FDI), began encouraging entry of foreign firms, using various incentives, such as tax holidays, production subsidies, cash grants, labor training grants, and import duty exemptions. Gradually, FDI and foreign aid became two very important sources of foreign capital for these capital-constrained economies. This dissertation is focused on studying …

Predictors Of Physical Activity Among Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Emily Jean Bennett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic neurological disease with a wide range of symptoms that vary from fatigue to paralysis. People diagnosed with MS will have the disease for the rest of their lives because there is no cure. If there was a way to alleviate the severity of the symptoms or slow the progression of the disease then that would be something important of those with MS to know.

A health behavior that promises to slow the progression of the MS for people diagnosed with this disease is physical activity. Research has shown that an exercise program improves several measures …

The Influence Of Widowhood And Sociodemographic Moderators On Dementia And Alzheimer's Disease Risk, Daniel Joseph Hatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are dramatic public health problems. In recent years, researchers have uncovered evidence demonstrating that chronic stress can lead to these conditions. Because of this, researchers have also investigated whether widowhood, one of the most stressful life events, may also lead to dementia and AD. However, these studies are conflicting, and few have investigated whether the influence of widowhood on dementia and AD varies in different contexts associated with aging and widowhood. For instance, evidence suggests that widowhood may exert greater influence among males and among those with a history of depression. Other such contextual factors …

Life Change Narratives: When The Road Diverges, Bernadene J. Ryan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Transformation events can be a change in a person's work, a change in philosophy, a sudden insight, or a break in a relationship. According to David Hufford and Marilyn Motz, narrating these experiences are ways in which people perform, construct, and communicate belief systems. The narrators within the context of this thesis experience their transformation through a career transformation. The narrators rediscover their initial passion and transform that desire into actions that results in a shift of career. Sometimes seen as inexplicable, nevertheless the narrators provide analysis and reflection on the influences that led to their change. Some of the …

Mothers' And Fathers' Attachment Relationships With Children Who Have Disabilities, Sheila Lopez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research has found that attachment relationships between parents and children are formed independent of each other and have different outcomes for the child. Very little research regarding parent-child attachment relationships has been done with children who have a disability. This study aimed to learn more about whether differences exist in attachment relationships between mothers and fathers and whether or not the child has a disability. Results indicate that fathers of children with a disability appear to have less secure attachments with their children compared to fathers of typically developing children as well as mothers of children with and without disabilities. …

Utility Of An Error Analysis And Performance Deficit Assessment For Selecting Brief Interventions To Increase Math Fluency, Aaron John Denison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children who struggle with math fluency are typically not provided with the appropriate motivation and instruction for their needs in the regular education classroom. Because of their lack of math fluency skills, these children can be negatively affected throughout their education and can continually fall further behind their peers. It is clear that children who struggle with math fluency should be provided with interventions specific to their needs in order to thrive in a school environment. Thus, it is critical that school psychologists and researchers develop effective strategies for children who are struggling with math fluency in order to help …

Concurrent Neurological And Behavioral Assessment Of Number Line Estimation Performance In Children And Adults, Joseph Michael Baker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding the brain’s response to common math-learning activities may help improve math education. For example, by imaging the brains of typically developing children and adults throughout a number line estimation task, it is possible to establish a baseline of what “typical” brains do in such situations. Thus, comparisons may be made to determine the degree to which brain functioning differs between typical and atypical math learners. Moreover, by identifying methods that may increase the brain’s response to real-world math activities, it may be possible to improve the math learning process for typical and atypical learners alike.

Brain imaging devices such …

Risk And Climate At High Elevation: A Z-Score Model Case Study For Prehistoric Human Occupation Of Wyoming's Wind River Range, Ashley K. Losey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Holocene climate likely influenced prehistoric hunter-gatherer subsistence and mobility as changing climate patterns affected food resources. Of interest here is whether climate-driven resource variability influenced peoples in the central Rocky Mountains. This study employed the z-score model to predict how foragers coped with resource variability. The exercise enabled exploration of the relationship between climate, resources, and foraging strategies at High Rise Village (48FR5891), an alpine residential site in Wyoming's Wind River Range occupied between 2800-250 cal B.P. The test was applied to occupations dating to the Medieval Warm Period (1150-550 cal B.P.) and the Little Ice Age (550-100 cal B.P.). …

Relationship Between Occupational Complexity And Dementia Risk In Late-Life: A Population Study, Daylee Rose Greene

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

According to cognitive reserve theory, challenging and/or stimulating cognitive activities can build a theoretical reserve, which may lead to a delay in the clinical expression of dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease. These cognitively stimulating activities are thought to build cognitive strategies and neural pathways that are more efficient, enabling the individual to live symptom-free for a longer period of time. One mechanism through which cognitive reserve can be built is by participating in an occupation high in cognitive complexity. When individuals hold an occupation that is high in complexity, they may build their cognitive reserve in such a manner as to …

American Debtors' Prison: The Rise Of The New York Citizen As A Commercial Participant During The Early American Republic, 1800-1836, Ryan M. Braeger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The following research explores the development of financial culture in the early American republic through the examination of New York's use of debtors' prisons. Beginning with the construction of the historical context surrounding the passage and abolition of the National Bankruptcy Act of 1800, the project takes use of a series of archival sources that exemplify the character of credit in early American economic practices. The emergence of republican financial culture was often at odds with federal judicial and legislative action, the result of which was the creation of state policy and third party organizations dedicated to solving the plight …

Attentional Factors In Temporal Distortion: The Effects Of Food Availability On Responses Within The Interval Bisection Task, Robert N. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Time estimation is a process that underlies many complex behaviors. Accurately timed performance depends upon some biological mechanism, which may be revealed by experimental methods. There have been several proposals on the subject of the function of the timing mechanism, some of which have revealed contradictory findings regarding the effect of distraction on timing. Whereas some studies have revealed underestimation (reports of time moving more slowly than it actually is) of the target interval following distracter presentation, others have revealed generalized disruption (no meaningful evidence of timing). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether food presentation for …

Home Gardening: Quick Tips To Efficient Watering, Roslynn Brain

Roslynn Brain

In Utah’s dry climate, water is a gardener’s best friend. Water conservation is an important aspect of the home garden, and understanding efficient water management techniques can save you time and money. Knowing how to water properly will help you to maintain a more productive, sustainable garden and help the environment by reducing your consumption of this precious resource.

The Psychological And Physiological Effects Of Using A Therapy Dog In Mindfulness Training, Courtney L. Henry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the psychological and physiological effects of adding animal-assisted therapy to a modified mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) for clients experiencing psychological distress, including anxious and depressive symptoms. State and trait mindfulness, state and trait anxiety, psychological distress, blood pressure, and heart rate were collected during each session of the intervention from college students recruited at Utah State University. Results support that participants experienced less anxiety and depressive symptoms and increased mindfulness skills from pre- to posttreatment. No significant difference was found between the control and experimental groups, indicating that that interaction with a therapy dog had no …

An Investigation Of Clinically Significant Change Among Clients Of A Doctoral Psychology Training Clinic, Kerry Kathleen Prout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The current study sought to examine client outcome data for clients seen for outpatient psychotherapy services by graduate-level student therapists in doctoral psychology training clinics in order to better understand the change process occurring in such settings and to examine whether services being offered are meaningful for clients. One hundred ninety-nine clients seen by graduate-level therapists at a training clinic setting were assessed on a session-by-session basis using the Outcome Questionnaire-45 in order to identify the percentage of clients who met criteria for clinically significant change, reliable improvement, no change, or deterioration in outcomes across the course of treatment. Approximately …

Late Prehistoric Technology, Quartzite Procurement, And Land Use In The Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado: View From Site 5gn1.2, Jonathan Mitchell Peart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis presents the results from archaeological test excavations at site 5GN1.2. The focus of this research is to evaluate Stiger’s Late Prehistoric settlement-subsistence hypothesis. According to Stiger, post-3000 B.P. occupations of the Upper Gunnison Basin were limited to big-game hunting forays originating from base camps located outside of the basin. Test excavations at 5GN1.2 documented archaeological deposits reflecting aboriginal occupation during the Late Prehistoric between about 3000 and 1300 years ago. Archaeological features include four hearths associated with abundant small-mammal remains, burnt plant seeds, stone tools and stone tool manufacturing debris.

Archaeological evidence rules out site 5GN1.2 as a …

A Comparison Of Resistance To Extinction Following Dynamic And Static Schedules Of Reinforcement, Andrew R. Craig

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Behavioral momentum theory states that the Pavlovian stimulus-reinforcer relation governs resistance to extinction. Thus, higher baseline reinforcer rates should produce more persistent behavior than lower baseline reinforcer rates. Though this positive relation generally is observed when behavior is maintained and subsequently disrupted in multiple schedules, the opposite relation is observed when single schedules are used. An alternative framework of extinction performance based on Bayesian change detection may be applied intuitively to describe resistance to extinction in single schedules of reinforcement. This approach asserts that detection of changes in reinforcer rates during extinction should be easier following training with rich reinforcer …

Healthy Sexuality: Evaluating A Psychoeducational Group Promoting Knowledge, Communication, And Positive Experiences, Brenna M. Wernersbach

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although most people will have at least one sexual relationship throughout the course of their life, many of us have not developed the skills we need to create the sexual experiences that we really want. This is influenced by (among other things) our sexual knowledge, our attitudes and values about sex, our ability to communicate clearly and effectively with our partner(s), and our access to sexual and reproductive health services and products. Accurate knowledge, positive attitudes, and self-efficacy in communication and resource access are all contributing factors to what is known as healthy sexuality.

The present study examined these areas …

Race And Ethnic Differences In Parent Time Spent On Children's Education, Zurishaddai A. Garcia

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Academic success including high school completion is greatly important for today’s youth. Greater opportunities, such as college and work acceptance, are available to youth who graduate high school. For this reason, the differences that exist in high school completion rate across race and ethnicity as a nation are a major concern.

Research shows an association between parents being involved in their children’s education and students’ improved academic achievement. Parents can play a role in their children’s education and setting aside time to do so is a good place to start.

The present study used the American Time Use Survey to …

Channeling Don Draper: Dabbling In Database Marketing, Katie Wesolek, Gaby Lebeau, Robert Heaton

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

Utah State University Libraries' Collection Development Department embarked on a marketing campaign to increase awareness of our databases. This poster displays a small sample of the images used and discusses the impact on database usage during each marketing period. The results of our study were inconclusive, suggesting that online promotion efforts are best combined with departmental outreach, classroom instruction opportunities, and other marketing approaches.

The Importance Of Reappraisal And Deaccessioning In Collegiate Archives In The Pacific Northwest, Courtney Buehn

Journal of Western Archives

This article examines the current reappraisal practices and procedures of archives, and investigates the need for official deaccessioning policies through the analysis of literature in the field and eight personal interviews conducted with professionals in universities in the Pacific Northwest. These persons were asked about the initial appraisal procedure of their repository, the current reappraisal process done without an official policy, and the factors that contribute to the decisions made concerning deaccessioning. Formal policies for appraisal and deaccessioning are important for responsible management of individual archival repositories, and also for the development of archival communities.

Capturing And Processing Born-Digital Files In The Stop Aids Project Records: A Case Study, Laura Wilsey, Rebecca Skirvin, Peter Chan, Glynn Edwards

Journal of Western Archives

In September 2012, the Manuscripts Division of the Stanford University Libraries Department of Special Collections and University Archives completed a one-year National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)-funded project to process the records of the STOP AIDS Project, an HIV prevention non-profit organization in San Francisco, California. This project marked the department’s first large-scale processing project to capture and process born-digital records. Building upon the nascent framework outlined by the AIMS white paper and the infrastructure developed by Stanford University Libraries, the project team captured born-digital records and implemented new processing strategies using digital forensics tools. This case study will …