Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Occupational And Biopsychosocial Risk Factors For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Case-Control Study, Jason Talley Goodson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study was designed to assess the risk factors associated with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Toward this end, a wide range of putative occupational, biological, and psychosocial correlates of CTS was investigated using a case-control methodology. Cases were 87 patients from an orthopedic clinic with clinical symptoms and electrodiagnostic testing results suggestive of CTS. Controls were 74 gender-matched patients from the same orthopedic clinic, without clinical symptoms of CTS and normal electrodiagnostic testing results. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire that included eight potential occupational correlates (i.e., repetition, force, vibration, typing, lifting heavy loads, and standing on feet), 10 potential …

The Relationship Between Attachment, Love Styles, And Marital Quality In A Sample Of Married Members Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Jeannine D. Nielson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on attachment suggests that attachment styles do exist in adulthood and appear to be an evolutionary product of infancy. This research was particularly focused on examining the relationship between attachment styles at various stages of the marital life cycle and the relationship of these styles of attachment to styles of love and marital quality among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).

Marital Commitment And Religiosity In A Sample Of Adults In Utah, Sharon S. Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the relationship of three types of martial commitment and religiosity factors in a random sample of I ,316 Utah adults. Participants were surveyed to assess attitudes of marriage, divorce, and marriage education. A lack of commitment was cited by 83% of divorced adults as a major factor for their divorce. The level of commitment to spouse, commitment to marriage, and constraint commitment was determined by extrapolating items from the 2003 Utah Marriage Movement Statewide Baseline Survey. Religiosity included measures of the frequency of church attendance, church affiliation, and religious values. Regression analyses that included socio-demographics showed the …

The Relation Between Religiosity And Late-Life Depression In A Community Sample Of Members Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Lynn Marie Franklin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A secondary analysis of extant data from The Cache County Study on Memory Health and Aging (CCSMHA), this study examines the association between religiosity and new-onset depression between baseline and 4-year follow-up interviews in a sample of 1,439 community-dwelling elderly members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), aged 65 to 100. Logistic regression models found that church attendance, voluntarism in religious groups, and direct experiences of God occurring more often than weekly were (statistically and practically) significantly associated with lower depression risk. No evidence was found for moderator effects of gender or prior depression history; however, …

Constructing A Risk Controversy: The Case Of A Proposed High-Level Nuclear Waste Repository On The Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation, Taunya J. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis is a qualitative case study of a risk controversy generated by a proposal to construct a high-level nuclear waste repository on the Goshute Indian reservation in rural, northwestern Utah. Using data taken from local newspapers and public hearings, I examine and compare the claims-making activity of project opponents and project proponents. I explore and analyze variability in claims making along four specific dimensions: risk communication, trust and distrust in science and technology, environmental equity, and tribal sovereignty. My analysis is intended to illuminate the sources of contention between opponent and proponent claims-making groups in this case.

Repeat Migration In The United States: A Comparison Of Black, Hispanic, And White Return And Onward Migrants, Beth A. Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The primary objective of this study is to examine U.S. repeat migration for blacks, Hispanics, and whites. It investigates the relationships and patterns of these different racial/ethnic groups utilizing the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79). Repeat migration within and across categories of individual characteristics for blacks, Hispanics, and whites, is compared in order to determine if there are differences in the overall rates of repeat migration for these groups, once other factors are controlled.

To do this several statistical procedures are utilized, and the results of selected descriptive and logistic analyses are presented. The descriptive statistics control for …

Occupational Aspirations And Migration: A Comparison Of Rural Youth With High, Medium, And Low Occupational Aspirations And Their Chances For Migration, W. Trevor Brooks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

By using a social psychological approach, this research investigated whether occupational aspirations lead to migration. From the literature, we know that rural youth have lower occupational aspirations than their urban counterparts. We also know that rural youth often lower their occupational aspirations because of the confusion created between the benefits of moving for school and the attachment felt for home. We do not know, however the connection between occupational aspirations and migration. Are young to middle-aged adults in rural areas with higher occupational aspirations more likely to migrate out of rural areas than young to middle-aged adults with lower aspirations? …

The Evolution Of U.S. Foreign Policy Towards Cuba, Nicholas Drew Gordon

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Cuba's location has determined the island's political, social, and economic history. No other political entity in the Western Hemisphere has been as contested as Cuba has, and no other society has passed from colonial status, to a republic, to a socialist state in less than 100 years. The largest and most western island of the Antilles archipelago, Cuba is centrally located between North and South America, and guards access to the Caribbean Sea. For hundreds of years, its strategic position and its rich soil, abundant harbors, and mineral reserves have attracted foreign powers-first Spain, then the United States, and then …

The Benefits Of Optimism In A Student-Instructor Relationship, Johnathan Kyle Nelson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The positive psychology movement of the past decade has produced an impressive amount of psychological literature devoted to studying the best of human attributes such as resilience, commitment, and optimism. This dramatic increase in available literature on optimism highlights a heightened awareness and interest in human proficiency, when so much of psychology has been traditionally devoted to the study of human deficiency. This research has lead to an increased understanding of what characteristics of an individual lead to facilitate various activities such as problem solving, leadership ability, income, achievement, sales, and job satisfaction. This study explored the relationship between positive …

Assessing The Health-Related Service Needs Of People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Review Of Ryan White Title Ii Needs Assessments, Ryan K. Loo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) allocated $940 million in 2002, through Title II of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, to help states improve the quality and availability of health-related services for people living with HIV/AIDS. These resources are allocated based upon recommendations made by community planning committees, which in turn base their recommendations on HIV/AIDS needs assessments. A methodologically sound, comprehensive needs assessment is a critical component of effective resource allocation decisions. Poor needs assessments might lead to poor resource allocation decisions, which might have life-threatening consequences for people living with HIV/AIDS. Little is …

Hand-Held Calculators And Mathematics Achievement: What The 1996 National Assessment Of Educational Progress Eighth-Grade Mathematics Exam Scores Tell Us, Kenneth L. Wareham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to analyze the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress data to identify the relationship between calculator use and student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress Mathematics Assessment. This general purpose includes several sub issues. In addition to being interested in the overall relationship between use and National Assessment of Educational Progress achievement (including the effort to control for spurious factors), this study examined the contextual factors that moderate the impact of calculator use. Similarly, it analyzed the relationship between calculator use and student performance on calculator-allowed and calculator-restricted items, as well as …

Women's Substance Abuse Treatment With Supplemental Couple's Therapy: Changes In Women's Levels Of Intimacy And Autonomy In Relation To Treatment Outcomes By Treatment Modality, Charles N. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The current study is a secondary analysis of a National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) study in which 122 women received treatment for their substance abuse problems. Three models of substance abuse treatment were administered. One included standard substance abuse treatment alone and two models included supplemental couple's therapy in addition to standard treatment. The current study examined the significance of the relationship between changes in the women's levels of intimacy and autonomy, during and after treatment, and their treatment outcomes according to the treatment modality they received.

It was hypothesized that the relationship would be significant in that levels …

Homework, A Bridge Between Therapy And Life: Therapeutic Methodology In The Assignment Of Homework And Homework Compliance, Darren R. Elkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between homework methodology and compliance. The "Clinical Perception of Homework Style and Compliance Survey" was developed to measure compliance, methodology, and relating variables. A convenience sample consisted of 121 participants in this study. Participating therapists were asked to rate the likelihood of using various examples of homework methodologies and estimate the compliance they have received over the past 3 months. The results show that items used on the survey factored into two groups, which can be called direct and collaborative. Neither of the groups (i.e., direct and collaborative) was significantly …

Comparisons Of Adopted And Non-Adopted Young Adults' Heterosexual Relationships, Bryan W. Winward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adoption has been seen as a good solution for providing each party involved in the traditional adoption (i.e. , young birth parents, infants, and infertile couples) with a positive outcome. Adoptions, however, are generally more complex and diverse than supposed. Variables such as age of placement, levels of abuse and neglect, and foster care have been shown to place adopted children at risk for later struggles and challenges. Research studying outcomes of adopted young adults and their formation of heterosexual relations has been very limited.

Most adoption studies have focused their attention on young school-age or teenage children, or on …

A Profile And Analysis Of Repeat Bankruptcy Petitioners In The District Of Utah 1984-2004, Bonny C. Llewellyn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence of repeat filers in Utah and estimate the extent that repeat filers may be abusing the bankruptcy system. This study sought to develop a profile of repeat filers. Demographic and financial variables were examined to determine their association with abuser/nonabuser status. In this study, abuse of bankruptcy was characterized only by the timing and number of filings over 20 years. Debtors with three filings in a 2-year period or less and debtors with four or more total filings were classified as abusers. Nonabusers were defined as debtors who filed only …

Adoptees' Knowledge About And Contact With Birth Parents And Their Adjustment In Adolescence And Young Adulthood, Kyung-Eun Park

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study described adoptees' knowledge of and contact with birth parents in adolescence and young adulthood, and analyzed the relationship between adoptees' knowledge of and contact with birth parents and the adoptees' adjustment in young adulthood. Data for the current study came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). In total, 487 adoptees were identified for this study in Wave I (1995) and Wave Ill (2 002). Descriptive and multivariate analyses using logistic regression were conducted.

Adoptees were more likely to be aware of their birth mothers than of their birth fathers and the percentage differences between …

Ethnic Identity And Migrant Youth, Amanda K. Morgan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study sought to examine the relationship between ethnic identity and the grade and gender of the subjects. Changes in ethnic identity over time were also analyzed. Students attending grades four through eight of the Nyssa Migrant School summer program participated in this study. One hundred twenty-four participants completed the pretest, eighty-nine completed the posttest, with a total of seventy-nine completing both the pretest and posttest. Students responded to the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure, which examined the subcategories of belonging and exploration to comprise the overall ethnic identity level.

Scores were compared by grade and by gender at pretest and …

Correlates Of Marital Stability In Utah, Amy Lynn Andersen Harman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the relationship between marital stability and social support and negative interactions in Utah. Past research indicates that negative behavioral interactions have a negative correlation with marital stability. Past research also indicates that support of one's marriage positively correlates with marital stability. The data were taken from the Utah Marriage Movement Statewide Baseline survey. The total sample for this study included 886 married men and women over the age of 18. Spearman's rho correlation and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Results of the study show that negative interactions had a negative correlation with marital stability. …

Father Book Reading Behaviors And Pre-Kindergarten Emergent Literacy, Cherri H. Brooks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Conventional literacy is important for academic and life success. Emergent literacy is a precursor to conventional literacy, and parent-child book reading experiences can foster emergent literacy development. Fathers are important figures in children's development and may make important contributions to their emergent literacy development.

This study observed 179 fathers from families who participated in research evaluating the Bear River Early Head Start program. Father-child book reading was videotaped as part of a 10-minute observation session in each child 's home at 14 months, 24 months, 36 months, and pre- kindergarten (age 4 or 5). Book reading observation sessions were coded …

A Needs Assessment Of Marriage And Family Therapy Approved Supervision In Utah, Daniel J. Woodbury

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research presents data gathered through a needs assessment regarding approved supervision in Utah. A sample of ISO therapists in Utah gave descriptive facts about the current need for supervision in Utah as well as the number of therapists that are willing to provide supervision. Additionally, therapists that are not currently approved supervisors indicated whether or not they would be willing to become approved supervisors, what would make the designation more appealing, and what would impede them from becoming an approved supervisor. Therapists in agencies also gave information regarding how agencies currently view marriage and family therapy interns and their …

Bedroom Design And Decoration: A Context For Investigating Developmental Theory In Adolescence, Denise E. Taylor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Most developmental theories propose reasons for behavior and changes in behavior due to influences from genetic and environmental factors. A behavioral change that occurs during development, from infancy to adulthood, is the increasing number of choices that are made. The purpose of this study was to investigate developmental theory as it relates to adolescent choice (influences, interactions, activity, preference, and acceptance) in the environment most readily controlled by adolescents, their bedrooms.

Two hundred thirty-four eighth- and ninth-grade students responded to the Adolescent Development and Environments Research Survey. The survey assessed gender, grade, pubertal status, negative/positive passive and active genotype-environment …

More Than Meets The Ear: The Culture Behind The Music, Anita Sant

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

More than Meets the Ear: The Culture behind the Music is a traveling exhibit that was designed and created over more than a year's time at Utah State University's museum of anthropology. As one member of a team of interns, I helped decide on an exhibit focus, its audience, content, and design. We started from the ground up as inexperienced undergraduates under the tutelage of the museum's curator, Lara Petersen, and the museum's director, Dr. Bonnie Pitblado.

As the project gradually progressed and was honed to the subject of ethnomusicology, I took on the responsibility of the educational aspect of …

Appalachian High School Students' Possible Selves As A Mediator Of Continuing Their Education, Erica Chenoweth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Appalachian region has long been regarded as an economically disadvantaged area, with a lower percentage of individuals pursuing higher education than in the nation as a whole. Improving the educational status of residents of Appalachia may foster some economic transition in the region, shifting the employment focus from an unskilled labor emphasis to more professional and career opportunities. Better understanding of the influences in the decision processes of Appalachian students is needed in order to design and implement intervention programs to increase enrollment in higher education. The concept of possible selves is introduced as a way to examine individuals' …

The Impact Of Extracurricular Activities On Children's School Performance And Mental Health, Amber L. Crews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between the amount of extracurricular activities and the school performance and mental health of children and adolescents was examined. One hundred thirty-three parents completed measures on extracurricular activity participation, academic performance, and mental health for their children in Grades 3-12. Results indicated one significant linear and one significant curvilinear relationship between extracurricular activity participation and school performance of adolescents. As adolescents were involved in additional extracurricular activities, their school performance improved (in a linear relationship), while median amounts of activity were related to the best grades (in a curvilinear relationship). Although these results were significant, their practical meaningfulness …

Parent And Child Characteristics Associated With Comorbidity Differences In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Julie A. Pelletier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a commonly diagnosed disorder that is associated with many negative outcomes. For many children, the disorder is comorbid with externalizing and/or internalizing problems. Understanding the correlates of comorbid problems in children with ADHD could be important for better treatment and/or prevention strategies. The purposes of this study were (a) to determine what parent-related and child-related characteristics are associated with externalizing or internalizing problems in children with ADHD, and (b) to determine if there are differences in these characteristics between a group of children with ADHD and externalizing problems, and a group of children with ADHD and …

The Effects Of Morphine On The Discrimination Of Subject-Produced And Experimenter-Imposed Durations, Ryan D. Ward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Experiments on the effects of drugs on behavior maintained by temporal-discrimination procedures have led to discrepant results. Recent experiments suggest that the effects of drugs may differ depending on whether the subject is timing some aspect of its own behavior or some other stimulus. The present experiment used a multiple-schedule procedure composed of a subject-produced and experimenter-imposed component. In the subject-produced component, pigeons categorized the duration of their most recently emitted interresponse time. In the experimenter-imposed component, pigeons categorized the duration of a key light. Morphine generally produced underestimation of time during the subject-produced component, a result in agreement with …

Has Technical Communication Arrived As A Profession, Kathy Pringle, Sean Williams

English Faculty Publications

This article examines the design and technology components of technical communication by investigating how practitioners imagine their work and the profession, specifically with respect to technology. In short, we wanted to interrogate the duality of “core design skills” and “technology skills” by asking practitioners to reflect both on the definition of technical communication and on the role technology plays in their work. We wanted to weigh claims that communication and rhetorical skills are important for success in the field against claims that knowledge of specific tools is likewise vitally important to success in the field. Technical communication historically has been …

Serials Standards: Envisioning A Solution To The Online Serials Management Mess, Jennifer Duncan

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Whereas the transmission of data relating to the initiation, renewal, or cancellation of serial subscriptions has developed into a robust and standardized system based on Electronic Data Exchange (EDI), the ability of serialists to effectively exchange and manipulate information pertaining to data about the specific content and access rights to the subscriptions at a given library has become increasingly problematic. The rapid development of local and vendor systems designed to handle subscription data has necessitated that this data be standardized for smooth exchange. Ted Fens' and Regina Reynolds' discussion of the standards work underway at NISO and EDltEUR. as well …

'Tea For Two' And The Rest Of The School: Valentine's Day At Adams Elementary, Randy Williams

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

I have fond memories of creating valentines with my mother and then going out in the cover of night to place my love creations on family and friend's doorsteps, ring the bell, and hide in a nearby shrub to watch my "valentine" retrieve my heartfelt declarations. Why? That's the way we celebrated Valentine's Day in our family, our town. To me, Valentine celebrations have always been an adventure. That must be why when my oldest daughter (now 23) came home from first grade at Adams Elementary in Logan, Utah, with an invitation from the PTA to the school's Valentine's Tea …

Welcome To Utah State University’S Digital Library!, Cheryl D. Walters

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Digital exhibit introducing Utah State University Library's new Digital Library in 2005