2020 Abstracts

Greaves, Aspen ; Allison, Jim (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Allison, Jim (Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Anthropology)

Portable x-ray fluorescence (PXRF) analysis is a quantitative measure of the presence of an element. Elements from painted red ware sherds from the San Juan region were measured on painted and non-painted portions of the sherds, demonstrating the presence of elements in the paint as opposed to the paste. In particular, manganese, lead, and copper, along with a more ubiquitous iron, were found in the paint. The presences of manganese indicates the intention for the paint to be black when fired, a useful tool in identifying sherds. At Site 13 (42sa13) for example, which was burned, the sherds can appear to be Abajo red-on-orange when they may better be described as Bluff black-on-red. Lead and copper are a bit less straight-forward. Lead appears rarely, and may have no purpose, or could be an intentional sourcing choice. Another question comes from the presence of copper, which may have created a turquoise paint pre- firing. Turquoise is an important color in Pueblo color theory, and so if copper does create a turquoise paint, the presence of copper may be deliberate. Variation in paint, particularly crossed with neutron activation data, leads to a firmer understanding of decisions inherent in the ceramic creation process.

Mattei, Dustin; Angell, Emma; Truman, Savanah; Wood, Kyle; Holiday, Pam; Gonzales, Veronica; Price, Ashton (Dixie State University)
Faculty Advisor: Oxley, Robert (Dixie State university, Applied Sociology)

This presentation analyzes the teaching and acceptance of burnout within the societal contract for children in the Washington County school district in Utah. This study, from the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at Dixie State University, as part of the Quality of Life Initiative, seeks to evaluate burnout among children ages 5-18 in the Washington County School District. Through the literary review, it is suggested that our society creates a culture of burnout, which is taught and accepted at young ages. Such teaching creates a life-long subconscious contract of acceptance of burnout among affected members within our society. Some symptoms of burnout can include; anxiety, depression, headaches, chronic stress, insomnia, forgetfulness, etc. Furthermore, seeking help for burnout symptoms has been frowned upon by society, until recently with the emergence of Wellness Rooms. This response to burnout among children in Washington County School District shows that acceptance has been established. The ISR team has developed a survey instrument currently in circulation at Dixie State University. We expect our data to correlate with the preparatory research conducted by the Institute of Social Research.

Davis, Justin; Hinkson, Kent; Brooks, Malisa; Bryan, Craig (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Hinkson, Kent (University of Utah, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences)

Emotion Regulation is broadly defined as a person's ability to modulate or maintain emotional states in order to achieve a goal. Evidence is mounting that among veterans, emotional regulation is a critical and core component directly related to veterans' abilities to work through clinical protocols for PTSD and suicidality, transition to civilian populations, reintegrate with families, and to experience overall well-being. Several academic, research, and governmental organizations have undertaken the tasks associated with understanding causal and correlative factors associated veteran suicide, and in the milieu this endeavor has shed light on suicidal phenomena more broadly applicable to general populations. As such, clinicians, researchers, and the general public have a stake in understanding emotion regulation in ways that inform development of normative mental health and various etiologies and courses of psychopathology. More specifically, among student veterans with PTSD, emotional dysregulation has been associated with greater psychological distress and higher rates of health-risk behaviors such as binge-drinking, drinking and driving, and physical aggression. Current research shows a moderate inverse relationship between the experience and expression of joy and Criterion D (negative alterations in cognitions and mood) of PTSD such that positive affective experiences may be suppressed or attenuated in those student veterans who endorse moderate to severe symptoms. This emotional reticence, whether personal or public, is likely to reinforce avoidant behavioral schemas, contributing to and maintaining the emotional dysregulation sequelae of PTSD well after military service and into the future across many contexts. The main aim of this study was to better understand and conceptualize the relationship between negative alterations in cognition and mood and emotion regulation among trauma-exposed veterans. This understanding will help support future research, screening, and prevention programs for PTSD and suicide along with conceptualization and application of emotion regulation intervention protocols in clinical veteran populations.

Braithwaite, Scott; Bingham, Emilia; Deichman, Conner; Esplin, Charlotte; Evans, Libby; Hileman, Rachel (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Braithwaite, Scott (Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Clinical Psychology)

No test has yet been developed to measure academic optimism among college students. This is a critical oversight given the correlation between levels of optimism, mental health, and academic success. In the last 12 months, approximately 40 - 60% of undergraduates have felt anxiety and/or depression to the point of impairment. This distress impacts academic performance, retention, and graduation rates. Students who consider themselves pessimistic are more likely to drop classes. Optimism appears to be protective against the stress of college. Anxiety, depression, and stress have shown negative correlations with optimistic thinking. Measuring academic optimism may bring awareness to students and counselors and be used to determine who may benefit from tertiary interventions.

The Collegiate Optimism Orientation Test (COOT), is a 14-item 4-point Likert scale measure of academic optimism. 437 participants were recruited through a national sample through Mturk.com. Data analysis is pending and will be completed by November 2019. A preliminary analysis of the COOT administered to 142 college students revealed good reliability (α = .85) and two extracted factors (eigenvalues=4.42 and 1.09). In addition to presenting our full findings from our replication of the pilot, we will discuss the potential implications of our measure in clinical settings for college students.

Miller, Roxanne; Winzenried, Eric; Everett, Anna; Edwards, Jeffrey (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Edwards, Jeffrey (Life Sciences, Physiology and Developmental Biology)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex anxiety/depression disorder that affects about 1 out of 4 individuals after a stressful/traumatic experience. One common model to induce PTSD is social defeat (SD) combined with chronic light exposure in rats. First, more naturally anxious rats were selected based on results of an open field test where cat fur and fox urine were placed in one quadrant. Rats were classified as anxious if they avoided that quadrant, froze for long periods of time, did not rear, and frequently urinated or defecated. The naturally anxious rats were used in the SD protocol. Next, the elevated plus maze (EPM) and light-dark transition (LDT) tests were used to detect anxious behavior at the conclusion of SD. The SD protocol caused significant anxious behavior when compared to controls. Next, we performed LTP field electrophysiology experiments in brain slices of ventral hippocampus and basolateral amygdala, regions known to have altered plasticity in PTSD. SD caused a significant increase in long-term potentiation (LTP) in the ventral hippocampus and basolateral amygdala. To determine whether a prophylactic treatment could prevent the physiological changes of PTSD, propranolol and mifepristone were simultaneously administered at 10 mg/kg doses by intraperitoneal (IP) injection one week prior and during the entire duration of SD. These drugs significantly decreased LTP in the VH and BLA back to near-control levels while SD rats with vehicle injections still had elevated LTP.

Sanders, Hannah; Graul, Antje; Lavoie, Raymond (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Graul, Antje (Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Marketing and Strategy Department)

It is imperative for institutions of higher-education to understand and meet the needs of their students when teaching in an online environment, specifically, how their enjoyment, attitude and learning outcomes derived from an online class can be predicted. Our research demonstrates the importance of instructor playfulness--defined as the level of which an instructor is gregarious, uninhibited, comedic and dynamic in class--in an online class environment. We suggest that instructor playfulness significantly positively correlates with students' perception of enjoyment, attitude and learning outcomes in an online class.

To test these predictions, we conducted a quantitative study with college students in order to gain insights into their experiences and perceptions of instructor playfulness in online classes and surveyed related student outcomes. Our results suggest that the positive effects of instructor playfulness in an online class are drawn by the extent to which students develop a subject-related identity and improved flow of the online class. Based on our findings, we conclude specific methods and teaching techniques that can be incorporated by online instructors to design their online classes in higher education more successfully.

Together, our research advances the existing stream of literature by examining the concept of instructor playfulness in an online context. We contribute to practical implications by offering guidance for online instructors in higher education.

Davis, Justin; Hinkson, Kent; Brooks, Malisa; Bryan, Craig (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Hinkson, Kent (University of Utah, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences)

Suicide is currently the tenth leading cause of death in the United States (Heron, 2019), and poses a public health crisis which many organizations are attempting to understand, decrease, and altogether prevent. While military service has historically functioned as a protective factor against suicide, the year 2008 marked a turning point with veteran suicide exceeding the demographically-matched rate for that of civilians in the US (Schoenbaum et al., 2014). In 2016, US veteran rates of suicide were 150% higher than civilian rates after adjusting for age and gender (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018). Physical and psychological service-connected disabilities such as PTSD, depression, chronic pain, and ambulatory issues influence rates of suicidal ideation, behavior, and attempts. The main aim of this study was to understand which categories of service-connected disability, if any, correlate with increased or decreased rates of suicidal ideation, attempt, and behavior. The findings of this nationwide study involving 487 student veterans suggest that the type of disability is indeed related to not only rates of suicide, but also severity of ideation and behaviors. Additionally, academic accommodations for these disabilities were found to be related to a significant reduction of suicide risk. These findings provide significant implications for the screening and treatment of at-risk individuals, specifically those on campus. Other aims include understanding limitations of this method of inquiry, future directions for research, and potential implications of findings for targeted interventions of physical and psychological disorders specific to the veteran population.

Ashton, S. Jeramy (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Mizell, Karen (Utah Valley University; Philosophy, Ethics)

This presentation will be based off of the Social Construct Theory and more specifically hegemonic masculinity. After expounding upon the Social Construct Theory being a destructive form of gender norms and exploring how men and women are to act, I will be sharing a slam poem featuring many elements of my experience as a rape survivor and the tie between rape and masculinity. The presentation will begin with exploring how time is owned by hegemonic masculinity and throughout the presentation that power will shift, strength will be found and it will become evident in the conclusion �that this is our finest hour.

Bergman, Kyle (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Smith-Johnson, Amber (Utah Valley University, English)

The number of social media users has risen dramatically over the past few years; since 2008, the number of monthly users of social media has risen from 222 million to 2.24 billion. Studies have recently suggested that a correlation exists between this dramatic increase in electronic social behavior and impulsivity. Research suggests that the concept of "Fear of Missing Out" and the desensitizing of exciting behaviors are both possible causes (Baumgartner et al). In addition to the rise in impulsive behaviors, there have been a host of other studies that have shown how social media exposure is affecting the cognitive capacities of developing minds. Among their findings assert that behaviors such as Increased anxiety, depression, narcolepsy, anger, agitation, and internet addiction are increasing at an alarming rate (Bilgin, Tas). I want to take this research further and study how social media usage can cause impulsive views of self-value and worth. To conduct this experiment, I will create a survey designed to measure the impulsive, instinctive responses of college aged students to certain situations that would be commonly found online or actuality. I predict that because social media platforms often contain incomplete information about a post, the questions from the survey that will contribute to either jealousy or lower self-worth will be ones similar to what they would find on these platforms. I hope that these findings will help parents understand the impulsive influences that social media can have on their children.

Walters, Sierra (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Lee, Yoon (Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services, Human Development and Family Studies Department); Johnson, Alena (Emma Jones College of Education & Human Services, Human Development and Family Studies Department)

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between student financial well-being and student life management skills. College is often the first experience individuals have living on their own and manage their own finances. If I can gather data and information regarding the financial understanding, habits, and confidence of students, as a university we can better cater to their financial needs. I will examine through non-experiential survey results how financial well-being such as financial attitudes, habits, behaviors, and knowledge of Utah State University students relate to their life management skills. This survey takes place on the Qualtrics platform. It is anticipated that the data will assess the financial well-being of Utah State Students and the relationship it has on their overall life management. As this study is not the first of its kind, it is exclusively focused on Utah State University. I am confident that this project will provide valuable and useful data for the university. Administrators and faculty members will be able to use this data to further assist the USU student population to develop healthy financial habits, learn management skills such as stress management and health management, and achieve academic success. I am currently in the data accumulation phase of my research. The survey will be closing mid-November, 2019. I will begin data analysis from that point to have the results prepared and ready to present come December 2019.

Blackburn, Dallas (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Green, Richard (College of Social and Behavioral Science, Department of Political Science)

For a long time, both executive orders and the administrative state have been controversial topics since for many they seem antithetical to the constitutional principles that are at the center of American governance. Here I examine the relationship between executive orders and public administration in the context of four constitutional principles: representative democracy, separation of powers, federalism, and individual liberties, with special considerations of the use and abuses of executive orders within this relationship. I consider this relationship in the context of current instances of executive orders that affect the administrative state. For this analysis, I employ a framework based on a constitutionally-grounded theory of public administration developed by John Rohr that I refer to as the "administrative constitutionalism theory." Additionally, I present two different views on executive orders: one framed by the unitary theory of the executive, and the other by the three zones framework developed by Justice Robert Jackson in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer 343 US 579 (1952). Using that framework, I offer a critique of the unitary theory of the executive as an unacceptable rationale for executive orders in a governmental system built upon constitutional principles. I then present evidence and analysis that the three zones framework offers the proper guidance for the use of executive orders in a way that aligns with these principles, and which is compatible with Rohr's administrative constitutionalism framework. I argue for the use of executive orders in accordance with the three zones framework and administrative constitutionalism as a way of structuring and limiting the use of executive orders to constitutionally appropriate criteria.

Kamimura, Akiko; Zhang, Cathleen (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Kamimura, Akiko (College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Sociology)

The role of immigrants and refugees in American economic communities has long been undervalued and degraded. In recent years, however, some businesses have shifted their focus towards serving and employing immigrants and refugees in hopes of building tolerance and integrating migrants into the local economy. One way community economic theory has been implemented has been through culinary incubator kitchens. Incubators offer training and employment to individuals who are often disadvantaged, such as women, people of color, and refugees or immigrants. In Salt Lake City, the International Rescue Committee has operated the S.P.I.C.E. Kitchen incubator since 2012. In this study, customer perceptions on the services that a culinary incubator kitchen provide are used to examine the relationship between the community, the staff at the incubator kitchen, and customers. Data is being collected through short one-on-one interviews with customers who pick meals up at an incubator, which are then transcribed and analyzed for trends. Preliminary findings have shown that while many customers choose to purchase from S.P.I.C.E. Kitchen in order to support the refugee community, not many know much about what the program does or how it prepares its participants for setting up businesses and contributing to the local economy. Many express a desire to know more about the chefs and the inner workings of the program. Examining these preliminary findings through the lens of the Community Economic Development model shows that the disconnect between customers of S.P.I.C.E. Kitchen and its staff could prevent better integration between the individuals receiving training on opening food businesses and their potential employees, customers, or supporters in the community.

Jijon Felix, Karen; Hinkson, Kent; Brooks, Malisa; Bryan, Craig (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Hinkson, Kent (Utah Valley University, Behavioral Science)

Military personnel who are deployed are 1.36 times more likely to develop an alcohol use disorder and 1.14 times more likely to develop a drug use disorder. The most abused substances in the military are alcohol and nicotine, with prescription pain reliever abuse becoming more prevalent. More than half of active duty service members reported binge drinking. Pain reliever use has gradually increased over the years, from 2% in 2002, 4% in 2005 and 11% in 2008 (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2013). In 2016, 22% of active-duty soldiers had a least one opioid prescription (Armytimes.com, 2018). Additionally, substance use disorder has been found to positively correlate with the number of deployments. However, some question whether or not this is due to the actual deployment or the time in service (i.e. as a person serves in the military longer, they deploy more often). This study seeks to investigate if the number of deployments and/or time in service is associated with increased substance use, and if so, does the age of the service member or veteran partially mediate the correlation. Findings show no relationship between number of deployments and current alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, or illicit drug use. Additionally, when examining the number of years they served, there was a correlation with caffeine consumption. However, after accounting for age, there was no significant relationship between number of years served and caffeine consumption. These findings suggest that among this sample age may be counterbalancing early substance use found in other populations, or that there may be something unique about the population (veterans and service members enrolled in postsecondary education) that make them less likely to abuse substances.

Fox, Kirsti; Solomino, Lauralee; Baird, Todd. (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Baird, Todd (Weber State University: College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Psychology)

Trauma can have a lasting impact on emotional and physical health, but relief is possible. It is important to study which factors of everyday life can alleviate this pain and suffering. Research suggests that social support and resilience both play an important role in helping relieve symptoms of traumatic stress. Each of these can be broken down into sub-subjects and measured to determine the types of resilience and social support provide the most relief. One type of social support that has not been studied in regard to resilience and trauma is religious activity. However, it has been found that religious activity can provide a unique and strong social support system. The present study looks at religious activity, social support, and resilience all in regard to trauma. There are some limitations in the present study that resulted in insufficient data to accurately test the hypotheses. Future directions that control for the limitations may have more reliable results, therefore providing more accurate information on which of these factors helps to best relieve trauma symptoms.

Keywords: trauma, resilience, religion, social support

Birmingham, Wendy; Collier, Emily; Cressman, Mikel; Deichman, Conner; Fitzgerald, Joseph; Graff, Tyler (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Birmingham, Wendy (Family, Home, and Social Sciences, Family Life)

The body of research points to work-home balance having a negative impact on marital satisfaction and quality. However, literature on the quality of marital relationship's impact on work-home balance is limited. With various different factors contributing to marital dissatisfaction, the interaction of poor work-home balance affecting marital quality may work in the inverse direction. Additionally, with family roles shifting from their previous traditional roles to more progressive roles, it is of interest to investigate the interaction of marital quality and work-home balance between genders.

For this study, we used purposive sampling to recruit working mothers and their spouses using online and in-person flyers. In addition, participants were found using snowballing sampling techniques. Filtered by an eligibility study, only working and married mothers were included in the full study. Upon approval of eligibility, the mothers and their spouses came into the lab to complete additional surveys, which included measuring marital quality and work-family balance. Drawing from 220 participants, this study hopes to better define the potential relationship between marital relationship quality and work-family balance.

As family dynamics continue to change, we hypothesized that decreased marital relationship quality will have a negative impact on work-family balance. Additionally, we hypothesized that the impact of marital quality on work-family balance would be more prominent for the women, in comparison to their husbands.

A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of marital relationship quality on work-family balance in working husbands and wives. The data analysis revealed there was not a significant effect of marital relationship quality on work family balance at the p<.05 level (F(3, 216) = 1.66, p = 0.176). As the effect was not significant, it was not appropriate to run an effect size difference by gender. Contrary to the literature, our hypotheses were not supported. We theorize the directionality of our hypothesis may have impacted our results, which may have an indication that work-family balance has a significant impact on marital quality, but not vice versa.

Lant, Christopher; Paudel, Suman (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Lant, Christopher (S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, Environment and Society Department)

This project is part of a greater National Science Foundation funded collaboration project designed to detail the food, energy, and water system in the United States. The goal of the project is ultimately to provide, "an empirical basis for advances in theory and scientific modeling of the complete food-energy-water (FEW) system of the United States" (NSF, 2019). My part in the project is connected to the amount of net primary productivity that humans harvest in the United States through major crops. The measurement for the human appropriation of net primary productivity (HANPP) is in gC/m2/year, and my research aims to visualize this on maps of the contiguous United States.

Data from the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Statistics Service were synthesized to create a final data set that contains harvest data by county, by year, for alfalfa, corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat from 1980 to 2017. R programming software was used to clean and disaggregate the data, and GIS Software was used to visualize the results.

The results of this project show changes over time, distributions, and densities of harvests in the United States. The data and visualizations that were made as a result of this project are a part of the greater National Science Foundation project to help understand how much primary productivity humans harvest, and ultimately, where those products are used and consumed.

Hendrickson, Kaden; Hinkson, Kent; Brooks, Malisa; Bryan, Craig (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Hinkson, Kent (Utah Valley University, Social and Behavioral Sciences)

Suicide rates over the last several years have been on the incline, many calling it a new epidemic. There are many known factors of suicide ideology and causality such as depression, anxiety, other mental illness, bullying, sleep disorders, victims of crimes, and many more. Sexual or physical assault are often found to correlate with suicide ideation and behaviors, especially among college-age persons. With veterans exposed to a wide variety of potentially traumatic events in service and because of the high number of sexual assault (both reported and unreported) on college campuses, this study seeks to examine if there if there is an association between suicide ideology and behaviors with type of assault among student veterans. A nationwide sample of 487 students were given a questionnaire that asked the student veterans about their experiences with trauma, as well as measuring their suicide ideation and behaviors. . Findings suggest student veterans tended to have less suicidal ideation and behaviors when assaulted with a weapon compared to other interpersonal traumas. Victims of unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experiences showed higher levels on average of suicidal ideation and behavior. Thus, victims of unwanted sexual experiences may be at higher risk of suicidal tendencies. With suicide rates increasing and the higher risk of suicidal tendencies amongst veterans, these findings can assist educators, administrators, professors, staff, and students in better understanding suicide risk by veterans on campus; additionally, this knowledge can promote the acquisition of better resources to assist those who are in need of help and to find ways to make reporting these cases (and seeking assistance) easier.

Holdaway, Bailey; Emily, Martin; Kettenring, Karin (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Kettenring, Karin (S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, Watershed Sciences Department);

Seeds are the primary revegetation method for Great Salt Lake wetlands, however, the density and the priority timing to sow seeds are not clear to wetland managers due to a lack of Great Salt Lake specific revegetation research. Having too low a native seed sowing density could allow unwanted species like the non-native invasive plant Phragmites to reinvade. Too high of a density and density-dependent mortality of sown native seeds could occur, resulting in wasted seeds and unneeded costs for resource-limited managers. In addition, the priority timing (i.e., the relative time and order that seeds are sown) of sowing is also vital for revegetation to favor natives over unwanted invasives. Therefore, our research goal was to determine the optimal seed sowing density and timing priority for reestablishing Great Salt Lake native wetland plant communities. We conducted an outdoor mesocosm experiment with two native sowing densities (3 and 5x the standard sowing density in the region) and three native seed mix sowing timings (4, 2, or 0 weeks prior to sowing Phragmites seeds). We determined the cover of the native plant community and Phragmites at the end of the growing season across the 6 treatment combinations. We found the greatest reduction in Phragmites cover when the native seed mix was sown 4 weeks prior to Phragmites, particularly at the higher native sowing density. A 2-week priority effect did not significantly benefit native species over Phragmites. These results suggest that native seed mixes in Great Salt Lake wetland restorations need to sown much earlier in the summer growing season than when Phragmites seeds germinate and at a very high density to reduce Phragmites cover overall. Though, managers may need to greatly reduce Phragmites seed densities in the seed bank and in the vicinity of restoration sites before revegetation efforts begin.