2020 Abstracts

Carter Olson, Candi; LaPoe, Victoria (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Carter Olson, Candi (College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Journalism and Communication Department)

The Spiral of Silence theory is the idea that people in society are excluded based on their opinions. Because of this, members of society may keep their opinions quiet to avoid exclusion. While the theory was first introduced in 1974, its effects are important to research today, particularly with the political atmosphere and advanced communication technology we now have. Because social media allows users to broadcast their opinions to a large audience, researchers wanted to know how users self-censor on the internet. The study also aimed to determine if the tone, rhetoric, and events of the 2016 U.S. election influenced self-censorship. In this study, researchers found that many people, especially those in marginalized groups, tended to keep their opinions offline during the time surrounding the election.

Mark Langeveld (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Langeveld, Mark (University of Utah, Engineering)

Introduction:

The risk of getting type 2 diabetes has been widely found to be associated with lower socioeconomic position across countries. Not only the financial burden but also the clinicians often having the long waitlists for one-on-one assessment of chronic disease patient's behavior makes it difficult for timely treatment and monitoring supplies. Among the top 10 diseases that are causes of death, Diabetes is the most self-manageable chronic disease. Type 2 diabetes patients often require insulin therapy as well as self-managing on eating well and exercising. A mobile app can be applied as a self-managing mechanism that treats chronic complications of diabetes. I will describe my work to analyze five commercially available mobile apps that are effective in improving diabetes-related outcomes.

Method:

I analyzed with technology reviews of iterative mobile app design of each mobile app(Glucose Buddy, Diabetes care4Life, Diabetes Diary, BlueStar Diabetes, Gather Health) and reviewing comments from peer and public review. I organized the findings by test process with diabetes patients through three categories for this report: 1. App features (on which platform that the app is available, what the app does, cost, etc.) 2. App usability and quality of tracking presented as an average of three scores given by the University of Utah healthcare researchers 3. Summary of the evidence from the evaluation of each category of patients who are motivated and who were not: monitoring glycemic control, glucose control, blood pressure, HbA1c improvement, weight, and diabetes treatment satisfaction

Result:

The record comprised 30 patients, of which 10 completed the mobile app module for 6 weeks. Demographics were similar for users and nonusers. Of the application users, the behavior improvement of pre-test and posttest scores were better for users compared with non-users (+1.8%). Of the users, 92% reported that the application had significant improvement (p < 0.05) in an outcome compared with HbA1c and glycemic control. The usability score of each app evaluated by healthcare researchers was (Glucose Buddy: 72.3 (out of 100), Diabetes care4Life: 45, Diabetes Diary: 16, BlueStar Diabetes: 85, Gather Health: 60) Without additional support from a health care provider, 5 mobile apps demonstrated an improvement in fasting blood glucose, 2-hour post-breakfast blood glucose, diabetes knowledge, and self-care behaviors compared with controls.

Conclusion:

I have analyzed and created a prototype of a mobile app that fills the gap between efficacy, cost, and features from the limited statistical evidence. Patients were satisfied with the use of the mobile health app for Diabetes, and the use of the program significantly improved their behavior and knowledge retention. Tailoring the traceable evaluation of mobile app to patient preferences and needs and updating the tools could empower and guide the patients to effective mobile apps in improving diabetes outcomes.

Heftel, Christian (Utah Valley University
Faculty Advisor: Abbott, Scott (Humanities and Social Sciences, Integrated Studies)

The cosmos of Dante Alighieri is one obsessed with verticality. Hell is a hole in the ground, Purgatory a pillar that rises to the heavens. The deeper one descends into Hell, the worse the sinners one encounters. The higher one soars into Paradise, the more blessed the saints, until one finally arrives at the pinnacle of the Great Chain of Being: God. This accords with the common orientational metaphors identified by Lakoff and Johnson, where up is associated with good, with power, and with authority; and down is associated with depravity, impotence, and subjugation.

However, it is not merely Dante's cosmology that is concerned with the vertical. In his treatment of individual humans and their qualities and deeds, Dante similarly expresses an interest in their height, their posture, and their ability to stand upright. This interest is shown vividly in three beings or classes in Inferno: the virtuous pagans of Limbo, the wind-tossed lustful, and the king of Hell himself: Satan. In the poem, the virtuous pagans stand, suggesting moral and intellectual uprightness. The lustful, although lifted high into the air by the storms that beat them, are still unable to stand because they lack ground beneath their feet. Finally, Satan appears to stand, but is actually later shown to be imprisoned and inverted, frozen halfway through a fall from Heaven. Examining these three cases gives insight into Dante's conception of reason, sin, virtue, and the universe itself--and it gives similar insight into the linguistic and metaphorical connotations of human bipedality.

Whyte, Kyle Powys; Cuomo, Chris; Plumwood, Val; Johnston, Josee; Beacham, Jonathan; Gilson, Erinn Cunniff (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Hanewicz, Wayne (College of Humanities and Social Sciences, integrated Studies); Bretz, Thomas (College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Philosophy and Humanities)

Growing awareness of environmental issues has led to an explosion of interest in both ethically and locally sourced products. As evidence has mounted of the role consumerism plays in driving environmental degradation, concerned individuals have begun seeking out alternatives to the cheap national and multinational brands that seem to be most responsible for driving these problems. While numerous potential alternatives have been formulated, two general trends have emerged and gained momentum. The first of these trends focus on increasing transparency around specific areas of concern with particular types of products. This includes things like organic certifications, guarantees around animal treatment, the types of energy used in production, and the impacts on human welfare. The other general approach has been to emphasize the importance of buying locally, seeking out a wholesale replacement of the national and global supply chains that have proven to be so environmentally unjust.

This paper shows why the debate between these two approaches misses a deeper disconnect. Arguments for ethically sourced products tend to be based around narratives that assert that personal choice is at the heart of the environmental injustices created by consumerism. In opposition to this view, this paper argues that it is the breakdown in the quality of relationships surrounding our consumption that has led to the environmental degradation we see today. By using the framework of ethics of care, this paper asserts that arguments about the need for greater consumer responsibility and choice reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the ways our supply chains drive environmental injustice. Rather, we should focus our efforts on rebuilding local economies and developing high quality relationships between producers, distributors, consumers, and everyone in between. It is only then that we can start to take control of the breakdowns occuring and demand greater attention to environmental needs.

Mehr, Judd; Alvarez, Eduardo; Cardoza, Adam; Ning, Andrew (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Ning, Andrew (Brigham Young University, Mechanical Engineering)

Wind power is an attractive alternative energy source because it is sustainable, clean and cost effective. However, wind energy is difficult to harvest because wind is irregular, seasonal, and often far away from urban areas. Several organizations have sought to solve this problem by designing wind harvesting aircraft, called windcraft. Windcraft are aircraft that are tethered to the ground, propel themselves into the air, enter steady flight in a crosswind, and allow the propellers to spin freely. The wind keeps the windcraft aloft and forces the propellers to turn backwards, turning them into turbines. Power generated from the turbines is sent down the tether and stored. Windcraft provide several advantages beyond those of conventional wind turbines, including high portability due to its smaller weight.

This research employs aerodynamic analysis to determine the forces on the turbines and lifting surfaces of a windcraft modeled after the Makani M600, an 8-rotor prototype produced by Makani Technologies. The analysis is a combination of modeling methods with varying fidelity, including the vortex lattice, vortex particle, and blade element momentum methods. The vortex lattice method models the lifting surface as a sheet of vortices that have the same capability to push on the oncoming flow as the lifting surface would. The vortex particle method uses a set of discretized fluid motion equations in a form that allows for the solution of the strength of the vortex at each point in the flow. The blade element momentum method uses two theories, the blade element theory and the momentum theory, to calculate the power, thrust and axial air velocity of a propeller or turbine. The modeling methods are validated by using experimental data from The Mexico Project and NASA. We implement basic design space exploration to display this model's compatibility with design optimization.

Roberts, Alexis (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Holt, Kerin (College of Humanities and Social Sciences, English Department)

How is an enslaved woman's agency depicted in non-fiction pre-civil War narratives versus fictional neo-slave narratives? My presentation will primarily focus on the issue of the individual bodily autonomy that slaves have access to and the withholding of bodily access to the slave's master, while also discussing the individual beliefs of slaves, beliefs that do not conform to slavery from both the pre-civil war era and the post-civil war era. The comparison will be between the novel Incidents in the life of a slave girl (1861) and the novel Kindred (1979), which were written more than one hundred years apart. The comparison will primarily focus on the characters of Harriet and Dana, focusing on the differences in their perspectives as Harriet is a slave woman and Dana is a modern woman from 1976 forced into the 1800s and plantation slavery.

Brad Bundy; Nelson, Andrew; Welton, Meagan (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Bundy, Brad (Brigham Young University, Chemical Engineering)

Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) is the process of making proteins without the limiting environment of a cell. The CFPS system allows us to modify and engineer proteins in ways that have not been done before. This technology has the potential to significantly impact the fields of protein therapeutics, unnatural amino acid insertion, and biosensors. Our research looks into optimizing the process of CFPS. Specifically, we want to understand what the impact of adding bubbles to a cell-free reaction is on CFPS yields. We want to know if adding bubbles to the CFPS mixture prior to incubation will increase the oxygenation of the reaction and affect protein production rates. This knowledge will help us optimize the CFPS process for future applications.

Jensen, Sally; Lignell, David (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Lignell, David (Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering, Chemical Engineering)

Radiative heat transfer is central to many chemical engineering processes. Turbulent combustion accounts for 80% of the world's energy. Understanding radiative heat transfer is important for efficient design, regulating pollutant emissions, and doing hazard analyses of these processes. Radiation depends on temperature as well as local composition fields. It is important for combustion because it affects heat transfer to surrounding environments. This in turn impacts fire spread in wild fires as well as heat transfer in power plant boilers and other such applications. Radiation also directly affects the temperature field. The temperature field in turn feeds back to the radiation and impacts the formation of pollutants, such as soot, NOx and other species. Modeling is difficult because computing the absorption coefficient depends on the spectral properties of molecules. Computing these requires millions of spectral bands, which is too expensive to compute for normal applications. A common method that is currently used to predict radiation is the Weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model. Doctors Solovjov and Webb developed a new method called the Rank Correlated Integration of the Spectral Line Weighted-sum-of-gray-gases (rcSLW) model. It is a complex model that is difficult to implement, but it is accurate. It has been implemented in python and in C++. The model has been provided on github to allow for easy access by the community. We will present an overview of the rcSLW model and code interface as well as show selected results applied to systems of interest with respect to combustion.

Tolkien, J.R.R; Burke, Kenneth; Hundley, Heather; Borchers, Timothy; Shore, Howard (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Colton, Jared (College of Humanities and Social Sciences, English Department)

While most rhetorical analysis of films look at the language and visual aspects, the object of this presentation is to analyze the rhetorical power of musical sound and score. Underappreciated by some and regarded as the lifeblood of the film by others, the musical score of a film is arguably one of the most vital aspects of cinema.

For the purposes of this presentation we will be examining the film score of the time-honored series of The Lord of the Rings as directed by Peter Jackson and composed by Howard Shore. While many have examined the genius of the composition or the complexity and cohesiveness of this score, it is our intention to examine how this composition moved the audience to feelings, thoughts, and actions.

Aside from Professor Tolkien, we will also examine the works of the rhetor Kenneth Burke and his theories of Dramatism; his theory on language and symbol systems and how they create the world around us. Our examination will focus on select scenes where the score works with the cinematography showing how the score is conveying the character's feelings or state of mind, which results in persuading the audience on how they should feel.

Through this analysis it is our intention to instill a greater understanding and awareness of how film score is used to influence audiences. Developing an understanding of how filmmakers use sound and score to influence their audience can make audiences more aware of those decisions and thus make them more engaged with the consumption of film.

Benson, Olivia (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Arnold, Kristen (Engineering, Applied Sciences, and Technologies; Interior Design)

Feral and stray cats have long been a problem in communities across the nation. In 2014, it was estimated that over sixty million stray and feral cats live in the U.S. Considering that a female cat can have two to three litters a year with up to five kittens in each litter, theoretically speaking, one pair of breeding cats can start a family tree network of 420,000 cats in just over a seven year period. Now you may ask yourself, what is the problem with this large population? A study in 2013 by the Smithsonian Institute revealed that feral cats kill up to 3.7 billion birds a year in the United States and kill between 7-21 billion wild mammals. Aside from disrupting the Eco-system around us, feral cats are also extremely susceptible to rabies which, if contracted, can be transmitted to humans. Since the 1980's, private organizations and governmental agencies in the U.S. have tried to deal with this problem through what is known as Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) programs. This involves live-trapping stray and feral cats, surgical sterilization and vaccine administration and then releasing the cat back into its neighborhood. While TNR programs stop the cat population from growing, it doesn't address the long-term problems current neighborhood cats cause. Local shelters have tried to tackle this issue but are unable to keep up with the crisis due to lack of funding and the overwhelming population in the area.

In order to fund a shelter that can keep up with demand and stay afloat, an all-in-one cat facility had to be created. Beyond vaccination care that shelters offer, multiple hospitality and commercial settings will be implemented to generate more cash flow which includes a cat cafe, general store, and grooming salon.

Adams, Sidney (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Arnold, Kristen (Weber State University, Interior Design)

The SMART Recovery Youth Rehabilitation Center will be designed to help youth gain the skills they need to recover from their addictions, and hopefully further eradicate such problems as homelessness in the Salt Lake area. By providing a rehabilitation facility that is welcoming and comfortable for struggling youth, I hope to create a supportive atmosphere where change can take place. This facility will be functional and safe for both staff and patients.

Facility design has a tremendous impact on patient safety. It impacts how people move through the building, how much of a given area staff can see at one time and how people feel when they are in specific spaces. (Sammer, 2018) Patient safety will be a top priority in the design of this facility, and anti-ligature products will be specified. This Youth Rehabilitation Facility will combine functionality with a calming aesthetic to make patients feel secure and at home, and to ensure a successful road to recovery. Everything from seating arrangements to recreational areas will be thoughtfully considered to encourage a supportive atmosphere. Studies show that therapeutic architecture immensely benefits drug patients, especially when environmental factors such as acoustics, smell, color schemes, views, and natural light are considered. (Abdelhay and Dewidar, 2016) In addition, sustainable products and practices will be sourced and implemented in effort to achieve LEED certification.

Lupher, James (Dixie State University)
Faculty Advisor: Pilkington, Olga (Dixie State University, English)

In today's society, climate change is one of the most polarizing issues. Indeed, it seems as though there is a war being waged between believers and deniers with the believers being "scientifically minded" Americans and the deniers being "religious people". There is significant evidence, though, that religious peoples' ostensible incapacity to understand science is not really the issue, but rather, that the issue is political in nature. Barbara Kingsolver's novel Flight Behavior tackles this issue of a perceived dichotomy between science and religion in the setting of Appalachian Tennessee. We are presented first, with Dellarobia, a native of Feathertown, Tennessee who married into a religious, agricultural family. Using Carl Jung's definition of religion from The Undiscovered Self, I limn Dellarobia as the book's avatar of pure religion. Later, Ovid Byron enters the plot. As an entomologist and lepidopterist, who is concerned with what butterfly migrations tell us about climate change, he represents the ethos of science in America. I argue that though, at first glance, these two characters represent extremes, as the book progresses, they are revealed to be multidimensional. Dellarobia's religious nature remains intact, as she accepts the reality of climate change and Ovid reveals a capacity for a religious-like reverence for the natural world. The multidimensionality of these characters I argue subverts the perceived dichotomy between religion and science, suggesting that people on both sides of the political spectrum need to give each other credit and stop falling for politicized versions of the debate found on many mainstream media outlets.

Hunt, J. Porter; Barnett, R. Jordan; Robinson, Hannah; Wilding, Kristen; Bundy, Bradly C. (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Bundy, Bradly (BYU Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering, Chemical Engineering)

Amino acid concentration assays assist both healthcare providers and patients in determining treatment plan options and diagnosis for diseases ranging from genetic conditions to eating disorders. Cell free protein synthesis provides a rapid, inexpensive platform where a single amino acid assay gives the concentration in that sample. As a biosensor, this assay has proven to provide sensitive and accurate results and has an extensive range of applications. Progress towards a simple product that anyone could use to test amino acid concentrations represents a major contribution to the healthcare industry.

Jackson, Gregory (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Jackson, Gregory (Utah Valley University, Integrated Studies)

The United States has a significant interest in Mexico as our ally, top trading partner and our neighbor. Current relations between both states remains friendly, however tensions have increased over trade disputes, tariffs, immigration and border security issues. Currently, securing the border between the U.S. and Mexico has become a major focus but is primarily based off stereotypes on Immigration policies and the negative perspectives of Mexico regarding their economics, politics and stability. It is critical to understand the fundamental structure and culture of Mexico in order to work on policies that will protect both Mexico and U.S. security as well as strengthen our relations rather than divide our countries. if we continue to look at the colonization of Mexico as the same process or similar to that of the U.S., we mistakenly ignore key elements that affect Mexico's current economy, society and politics resulting in strains on relations and cooperation between both nations. While looking at the foundations of Mexico's history and the imprint of Spain's influence, we will effectively show the weight of Mexico's development in comparison to that of the U.S. and the affects this has on National Security policies between the two countries.

Beatson, Bridget; Bolanos, Diana; Jackson, Corinne (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Vargis, Elizabeth (College of Engineering, Biological Engineering Department)

Origami, traditionally known as the art of paper folding, is not limited solely to paper media. The concepts used in folding paper can also apply to more pliable materials such as fabric. As with paper, different fabric-based origami designs exhibit properties such as shape compliance, increased surface area per unit volume, and selective stiffness. This study explores selected fold patterns in various incontinence product fabrics, aiming to increase fluid wicking performance and thus reduce sag due to saturation. The most suitable materials from various adult incontinence product brands were tested then utilized to develop new concepts for integration into an innovative and revolutionizing product. For the liquid dispersion layer, the concept of pleated fabric was incorporated into the design, mimicking the origami characteristics of peaks and valleys. Tests were performed on suitable materials to measure the spread of fluid in the modified layer as would be actuated by human urination. Final results from this testing indicated significantly broader dispersion of the synthetic urine utilized for testing as compared to that of the unmodified materials. When incorporated into a final product, this would allow for larger distribution of the fluid, thus increasing the product's holding capacity and enabling a more even distribution of the weight of the fluid, helping to reduce sag. This result could greatly increase the comfort and functionality of adult incontinence products.

Clayton, Abigail (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Horrocks, Jamie (Humanities, English)

Prior to its public auction in 1847, Shakespeare's Birthplace—the home where he was born on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon—was passed down through various private owners and their tenants who turned the property into an inn and a butcher shop. A mere sign indicated that "Shakespeare was born here." By this point in time, Shakespeare's literary influence permeated both Europe and America, but his status as a cultural icon was not strongly associated with the physical space of his home. However, this was about to change. In 1842, P.T. Barnum, the American showman of circus fame, was touring England with "The Greatest Show on Earth" when he went to visit Shakespeare's home. Five years later, as he was always on the lookout for more "oddities" to add to his menagerie, the public auction of the Birthplace caught his interest, and he could not resist making an offer. This attempt by a foreign invader to "steal Shakespeare" inflamed the British public and sparked debates regarding the cultural ownership of the great playwright. Among leaders of these debates was Charles Dickens, who initiated a series of events across England in an attempt to raise enough money to reclaim Shakespeare for the British people. Although Barnum and Dickens never met in person, the way in which nineteenth-century media manipulated their celebrity personas and followings reveals the way in which transatlantic celebrity was crucial to the formation of Shakespeare as a British heritage icon. The cultural warfare between the two, as represented by sensationalist journalism of the time, started debates over the appropriation of Shakespeare as a symbol of national heritage and identity that have lasted into the twenty-first century.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; U.S. Department of State; The Walk Free Foundation; The Borgen Project; Ling, Bonny; (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Guo, Li (College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Languages, Philosophy and Communication Studies Department)

It is a historical fact that human trafficking for the purposes of sex and forced marriage has been a cancer in societies and civilizations throughout the history of the world. China has a well documented history of trafficking women for the purpose of forced marriage. The main objective of this research is to investigate trends found in the forced marriage markets of China from the rise of Mao Zedong in the mid-twentieth century until 2019. The author used interviews with victims of the forced marriage markets in China as well as secondary data collected from NGOs and watchdog organizations, government publications, and relevant journals. My findings are significant because they illuminate patterns and trends that governmental and non-governmental organizations can use to identify high risk populations and to take action on educating and protecting women who are at high risk of being forced into marriage in China.

Bundy, Brad; Crop, Tyler (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Bundy, Brad (Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering, Chemical Engineering)

Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) has proven to be a novel and effective method for recombinant protein production. However, one key disadvantage in this process is the need to store the requisite cell extract and energy source for the reaction at below-freezing temperatures. Our lab has developed a lyophilization-based system to overcome this problem. We have shown that lyophilization of the cell extract and energy system needed for the reaction are possible while still maintaining equivalent protein production capabilities of the reaction. This lyophilization-based system provides a solution to the high costs associated with the storage of these reagents, increases the shelf-life of the reagents, and, when mixed with water, allows for on-demand protein production in remote locations around the world.