2020 Abstracts

Gottschalk, Jake; Miller, Zachary; Liebich, Katrina (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Miller, Zachary (S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, Environment and Society Department)

Salmonid populations are an important cultural, recreational, and economic resource throughout Alaska that are threatened by multiple sources. One often-overlooked source is damage to streambeds from recreation, especially from motorized recreation. OHV (off-highway vehicle) use can increase turbidity, nutrient loads, and erosion in these streams, which is harmful for juvenile salmonids. Stream crossings are common in the Mat-Su borough of Alaska, and enforcement for approved low-impact crossings is almost nonexistent. This study focused on developing a model, based on interviews and survey data, that explained OHV user's motive-driven stream crossings. Preliminary randomized interviews were conducted to focus survey questions, which revealed that approximately 90% of OHV users didn't know about approved crossings. Interview results showed strong motive for crossings that had low environmental impact and even stronger motive for crossings focused on safety. These interviews lead to refinements in the survey instrument, which focused on the importance of specific motives such as safety, environmental impacts, congestion, etc. and support for possible management actions, loosely based on the theory of planned behavior. Reliability analyses were conducted on the factors for the generalized linear model (GLM) to simplify the model and reduce collinearity. The model showed that safety and environmental responses were the most important predictors of crossing best practice behaviors. Signage and other indirect management methods were favored over direct management methods by survey respondents at this site. Signage focused on safety in conjunction with low-impact crossing locations was suggested to management as the best course of action. The results from this study will help inform managers in designing stream crossings and their supporting signage as OHV use continues to increase.

Greaves, Aspen (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Felt, Jon (Family, Home, and Social Sciences; History); Hegstrom, Valerie (Humanities, Global Women's Studies and Spanish/Portuguese); Chase, Zach (Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Anthropology)

While Mongolian women face high rates of domestic abuse and low political empowerment, overall, they are more highly educated and have better health rates than men. Oppression does exist but does not neatly fit in western models of feminist thought; there is a great need to understand the historical roots of this discrepancy. The Mongol Empire is highly susceptible to great-man history, placing all credit and blame on the figure of Genghis Khan and ignoring the contributions of others. Modern historians often read the primary texts through a patriarchal lens in assuming all decisions are made by men. The primary sources support a more feminist approach in emphasizing the importance of individual women, particularly Hö’elün, Börte, and the three regent-empresses. This research looks at the primary sources, most importantly The Secret History of the Mongols and how they have been interpreted in regard to individual women and a more general depiction of women. Further, I helped excavate burials from the same period in the Darkhad region of Mongolia, and so compare the materials in female graves with the historical model in the primary sources. Material culture that is present in the archaeology helps to ground the interpretation of gender roles from the inevitable highly biased sources. Overall, this research helps to understand who a Mongolian woman is expected to be in the Mongol Empire in order to inform humanitarian interventions in the present.

McFarlane, Amanda (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Haug, Jordan (Brigham Young University, Anthropology); Thompson, Greg (Brigham Young University, Anthropology)

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) have been partners for over hundred years, with the Church chartering Cub Scout and Boy Scout troops in each of its American congregations for their boys ages 8-11 and 12-18 respectively. Within the Utah National Parks Council (UNPC) of the BSA, the high concentration of members of the Church has led to the BSA being thought of synonymously with the Church and its involvement. In May of 2018, however, the Church announced that, starting January 1, 2020, they would no longer be chartering troops through the BSA for their male youth, leading to confusion about the role of Scouting in Utah and how it would change or if it would continue. The analysis of this ethnographic data, gathered at BSA events across Utah County and Camp Maple Dell in Payson, seeks to address the ways that Scouting has been influenced by its close relationship with the Church in the UNPC, the benefits and challenges it has presented, and how those that are highly involved in Scouting (employed by the UNPC) have been dealing with the impending transition and their optimism about having a better environment for Scouting without the direct influence of the Church.

Anderson, Taylor; Lancaster, Alex; Rezaei Shrireen; Goepper, Bradee (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Lancaster, Alex (Weber State University, Communication)

The Weber Morgan Health Department reports that there is a noticeably high rate of opioid overdoses occurring in the respective counties. Current research shows that opioid addiction and opioid related deaths are increasing across the nation. "Between 2013-2015 Utah ranked 7th in the nation for drug chemical related deaths" (CDC, 2017). The purpose of this study is to assess the influence mental health and religiosity have on opioid use and abuse in the Ogden Community. In conjunction with Ogden Civic Action Network (CAN) the Weber State University Community Research Team circulated a cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire. Findings will be utilized to better determine the needs of the Weber State University students and the members of the surrounding communities. The expected outcome of this study is findings that indicate significantly higher rates of abuse and misuse of prescription and street opioids among those who self-identify as having one or more mental disorders.

WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System)|Injury Center|CDC. (2019, September 18).

Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html.

Palmer, Ali; Raby, K. Lee (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Raby, Lee (College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Developmental Psychology)

This study explores the relationship between maternal sensitivity and physiological reactivity in children across time. Maternal sensitivity is the appropriate response of a caregiver to their child's needs, while physiological reactivity describes the body's response to stressors. Physiological reactivity in this case is measured by Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of parasympathetic nervous system activity. Previous studies show a relationship between parental sensitivity and RSA during the same procedure; however, this relationship across time has yet to be explored. It was expected that maternal sensitivity would be associated with lower physiological reactivity to stress, or a lower RSA value. This relationship is plausible based on research about sensitive caregiving predicting attachment behavior later on.

Women were recruited during pregnancy for this study beginning in October 2018 through University of Utah associated clinics, flyers, brochures, and social media posts (Lin, et al., 2019). They then have the opportunity to continue through the study with visits at successive time points: a prenatal visit, a birth visit, a visit when the child is 7 months old, and a visit when the child is 18 months old. Data coded for maternal sensitivity was collected at 7 months during the Still Face Paradigm, a commonly used procedure for assessing infant reactivity. RSA data showing physiological reactivity was collected at 18 months during the Strange Situation Procedure, widely accepted as a measure of attachment security in infants.

Establishing the existence of the relationship between these two variables is an important first step toward helping children in less than ideal situations. This could lead to a greater knowledge of how to develop interventions, for example, with children or adolescents struggling with issues related to heightened physiological activity. Understanding these biological patterns could help them handle high levels of physiological reactivity in a productive way.

Hurley, Jazime; Izampuye, Elizabeth; Trinh, Ha (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Abunuwara, Kim (Utah Valley University, integrated Studies); Dunn, Paul (Utah Valley University, Biology); Oliveira, Andre (Utah Valley University, Economics)

Globally, college students have the highest rates of unintended pregnancies. In Vietnam, the social stigma against pregnancy and against sex education is prevalent enough that college students turn to less reliable sources for information. Women often face scrutiny, criticism, and sometimes violence if they try to talk about contraceptives. In the United States, stigmas show in different forms. Male and female college students are informed as to what contraceptives are. But, when it comes to knowing where to access contraceptives and how to use them, resources are scarce. Paper administered surveys were distributed to college students at the University of Vietnam and the University of Utah. Questions were divided to assess the following: 1) Knowledge of basic contraceptive facts, 2) awareness about the significance of contraceptive use, 3) attitude about contraceptive use, 4) demographic information. These questions varied from "yes" and "no" to "agree" and "disagree." Results suggest that students from each university had knowledge about basic contraceptive information, as 95% of students knew at least one contraceptive method. In general, Vietnamese students were more likely to believe that contraceptive methods are more harmful than beneficial to health, use of contraceptives will increase risk of fertility in the future, and discussion about contraceptives with spouse is embarrassing. Utahan students were more likely to believe that only women take responsibility for using contraceptives, contraceptives can protect the health of family and society, and contraceptive pills do not 100% guarantee avoidance of pregnancy. These results suggest the Vietnamese students were warier of contraceptives due to limited knowledge of side effects. Students in Utah were more aware of the benefits of contraceptive use, but only to an extent. Overall, both males and female students need well-rounded education about contraceptives that I hope to implement with future projects.

Bradee Goepper (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Lancaster, Alexander (Weber State University, Communications)

This study is a collaboration between Ogden Civic Action Network (CAN) and the Weber State University CCEL Community Research Team, investigating opioid addiction within the Weber State community. Weber Morgan Health Department reports an increased rate of opioid overdoses within Weber County. The purpose of this study is to examine religious beliefs, mental health, and the subgroup of women ages 24-44, in terms of reported opioid use and abuse. According to data from the Weber County Health Department, the specific demographic of women ages 24-44, exhibits a higher rate of opioid abuse when compared to other demographic groups. Current research also indicates that the Utah women's opioid death rate is four points higher than the national average (Weber County Opioid Death Statistics). We can expect that the results from this study will support these previously reported trends.

"Weber County Opioid Death Statistics." LiveStories, https://www.livestories.com/statistics/utah/weber-county-opioids-deaths-mortality.

Marston, Clarissa; Garrett, Patrick I.; Barraza, Allyson; Allen, Nicole ; Hillhouse, Todd M.; Honeycutt, Sarah (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Hillhouse, Todd (Weber State University, Psychology)

Over the last decade, electronic-cigarettes use has substantial increased. E-cigarette usage in high school aged Americans has increased 78% from the year 2017 to 2018, with a total of 20.8% of all teenagers reporting regular usage as of 2018. The adolescent population is particularly attracted to the nicotine-free e-liquids that are currently on the market. While current research has focused on examining the behavioural implications of nicotine vapour inhalation but little has been devoted to evaluating the effects of nicotine-free vapour administration. The present sought to examine how nicotine-free vapour inhalation would impact locomotor behaviour. To accomplish this, mice were placed in a vape apparatus and administered the selected puff (1, 3, 6, or 10 seconds) of unflavoured 50/50 oil blend of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine of vaporised e-liquid every 2 minutes during a 10 or 30-minute session. Following administration, mice were placed in open field arenas to measure locomotor activity as well as record time spent in thigmotaxis, a known measure of anxiety. Vapour administration produced significant sex differences on locomotor activity and thigmotaxis time. Specifically, all puff durations significantly decreased locomotor activity and increased thigmotaxis time in female mice. For male mice, the 6 and 10 sec puff decrease locomotor activity and increase thigmotaxis time. Results of this study indicated that there are dissociable behavioural effects following administration of nicotine-free vapour inhalation in mice that are dependent on sex, puff duration, and administration session length.

Birmingham, Wendy; Macintosh, Janelle; Vaughn Allison; Graff, Tyler (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Birmingham, Wendy (Brigham Young University, Psychology)

Background: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is transmitted between sexual partners. It is the most common sexually transmitted disease, affecting the majority of sexually active adults at some point. HPV can lead to various cancers, including anal, vaginal, vulva, cervical, penile and oral. Despite the prevalence of HPV within the population, vaccination rates for this virus are extremely low. This could be due to the fallacy that vaccinations are ineffective or unnecessary. Specifically, the misconception that HPV solely impacts women. We hypothesized that parents who do not vaccinate their children are more likely to believe these misconceptions, which could impact vaccine compliance in their boys.

Method: In this study, we surveyed 210 parents to gage their perceptions of the rarity of HPV viral infection among the sexes, the efficacy of vaccines in preventing disease, and the reported vaccination uptake of their children.

Results: We conducted several analyses using SPSS. In line with our hypothesis, results revealed that parents who do not believe that vaccines are effective do not vaccinate their children against HPV. While many parents agree that vaccines protect against disease, nearly half of these parents reported that they have not vaccinated their children against HPV. Contrary to our hypothesis, analysis regarding both boys and girls' necessity to be vaccinated did not show statistically significant results.

Conclusions: Taken together, these results show that parents who do not believe in the efficacy of vaccines indeed do not vaccinate their children against HPV. Furthermore, even though parents may believe that the HPV vaccine is effective, adherence to recommended vaccination is severely low. We hypothesized that this adherence gap would be related to the perception that HPV is a female issue; however, this belief was not shown in our results. Further study into parental justification behind their choice not to vaccinate is needed.

Birmingham, Wendy; Graff, Tyler; Fitzgerald, Joseph; Fuller, Shayla; Seipert, Shelby; Ballard, Emily (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Birmingham, Wendy (Brigham young University, Psychology)

Family roles are increasingly shifting, and more married mothers work outside the home. Indeed, only 19% of married couples reported the husband as the sole wage earner (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). Previous research on labor divisions among spouses has examined marital relationship quality in the context of equity theory, which posits husbands and wives are most likely to be satisfied in a marriage where both partners are equally benefited. That is, relationships tend to flourish when both spouses perceive domestic and financial responsibilities are fairly divided, regardless if these responsibilities are evenly split. Under this assumption, dual income households may foster better relationship quality than single income households, as both the husband and wife feel they are contributing equally to the family's economic security. The present study seeks to compare reported relationship quality of wives who are either part of a dual-income household (both husband and wife work) or single-income household (only husband works). 225 female participants were recruited from BYU, the University of Utah, Utah Valley University, and the community via SONA, fliers, social media, and word of mouth. Participants were required to have children living in the home, and the participant's spouse also working outside the home. Analysis is currently being conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

Van Kuren, Scott; Dahle, Wendy (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Allison Jim (Family Life Sciences, Anthropology)

I am researching individuality in the design on Pinedale Polychrome Vessels from Fourmile Ruin. Specifically, I will be researching individuality through brushstroke execution based off the research of Scott Van Kuren. According to Van Kuren, variation in the execution of the design can organize pottery style into non-local and local designs, with a specific focus on the individual or specific potter group that created these vessels. Individuality can be seen through choice in variation in design, brushstroke placement and layout. This project is meant to mimic this research on Pinedale Polychrome from Fourmile Ruin to see if this can be applied to a different type of White Mesa vessels. If Van Kuren's theory is correct, then this research should present a variation of individual choices present in this set of Pinedale Polychrome vessels.

Hamilton, Emily; Voss, Maren Wright; Swenson, Kira; Lichfield, Lana (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Voss, Maren (Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services, Kinesiology and Health Science Department)

We interviewed rural individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) to get a better handle on opioid misuse disorders causes and solutions.
To minimize bias in the conducting of interviews, we followed a community engagement model of training community members to interview participants. Two community members were recruited from the recovery community to receive training as a community scholar. Each community scholar completed CITI training which meets National Institutes of Health standards for the Responsible Conduct of Research for human subjects. Each community scholar completed two additional sessions of training on qualitative data collection and interviewing skills. Interviews were scheduled and participants were provided with an Institutional Review Board-approved informed consent form. Given the sensitive nature of the topic, the consent form stressed the option to use a pseudonym and the opportunity to withdraw participation and interview content at any time. The participant was also informed of community resources if at any time during the interview they should become distressed. The community scholar conducted interviews using semi-structured interview prompts, with the freedom to ask clarifying or exploratory questions at will. A member of the IRB approved research team served as the recorder for each interview to ensure sound quality, ethics and safety.

The interviews collected by community scholars provide insight into the unique elements of dealing with an opioid addiction in rural Utah. Themes identified include the tendency toward isolation, the strength of the addiction and fear of withdrawals, and the utility of the criminal justice system as a pathway to recover. Interviews have been extended to an open forum of community conversations, to discuss difficult subject matter in a constructive way. The goal is to reduce stigma and engage community partners to collaborate on bringing in more available resources to help those who struggle.

Jackson, Gregory (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Jackson, Gregory (Humanities and Social Sciences, Integrated Studies)

Samir Saleh Abdullah, known better as Ibn Al-Khattab or Emir Khattab, is one of the most famous foreign fighters of the First and Second Chechen Wars. Between 1995 until his death in 2002, Khattab's jihad in the Northern Caucasus was "comparable, if not more ambitious" than famed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin-Laden, recruiting members from nearly everywhere he went. His role in the Chechen insurgency and participation in Islamic extremism would land him on Russia's FSB most wanted list and designated as a terrorist by the United States due to his communication and association with Osama bin-Laden. Khattab's impact on the First and Second Chechen wars was not a military one; his forces' effect on the insurgency itself was negligible. The legacy Khattab left behind instead was an ideological one, based on a unique hybrid of experiences and philosophical stances he used while fighting and participating in the administration of Northern Caucasian religious life. Despite being in contact with Osama bin-Laden and having been inspired to take up jihad by another co-founder of al-Qaeda, Abdallah `Azzam, Khattab's jihad remained exclusively centered on Russia and its oppression of Muslims in the Northern Caucasus, barring Khattab's jihad in the Northern Caucasus to be considered globalist-Salafist. In addition, Khattab was not strictly irredentist, and called on Muslims from around the world to participate in the struggle. Khattab employed the rhetoric much akin to other global jihadist groups like al-Qaeda, all while waging a strictly territorially bounded jihad in the Northern Caucasus, which necessitates an in-depth analysis of his approach to jihad in a modern context.

Nielsen, Kate (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Thompson, Greg (Brigham Young University, Anthropology); Nuckrolls, Janis (Brigham Young University, Linguistics)

Ecuadorian Quichua-speaking people, also known as Runa, are deeply connected to the rainforest. It is their subsistence, culture, caretaker, and responsibility. The intimacy and depth of their connection with the land is reminiscent of familial ties. The language with which they refer to their environment reflects this familial relationship. In traditional beliefs, all things created by God have some element of life force. The ability to speak, think, and choose is given to rocks, trees, the ground itself. These aspects of nature are bestowed with humanlike personalities and motivations. I propose that Runa personify aspects of nature in order to explain the agency ascribed to them. Runa bestow familial ties, such as spousal ties, upon natural objects or animals/plants to emphasize their personal significance. Runa believe that they came from the land. They believe that when they take care of the land, it takes care of them. By ascribing their land with agency, emotion, and thought, Runa strengthen their ties to the land by adopting it as a member of their family.

Alee Washburn, Allie Peery, Hal Svien, Cameron Alldredge, Gary M. Burlingame (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Burlingame, Gary (Brigham Young University, Psychology)

Aims: There has been an increased interest in shame among psychological researchers lately. Furthermore, there is little agreement among the two most common measures of shame in psychology (Eterović et al. 2018). This systematic review will evaluate various psychometric characteristics of identified shame measures used in psychological research. Methods: A literature search of common databases in psychology (e.g., Ovid, Web of Science) pinpointed ~4,000 articles mentioning shame measures. These will be systematically reviewed to identify all self-report and interview-based measures of shame in psychology. Psychometric properties rated will include state versus trait shame, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability, among others.

Results: Preliminary results are still being reviewed. Newer measures of shame identified have identified factor structures related to their theoretical bases, something not necessarily seen in older measures. Shame measures are commonly separated into state and trait measures, which might not be appropriate to different research questions (Ogles, 2013). These and other considerations will be presented to identify promising measures of shame for future research. Discussion: Discussion of results will be framed in relation to current reviews of shame as a construct, particularly how it is measured (Eterović et al. 2018). It is likely that older measures of shame do not have demonstrable psychometrics (e.g., clear theoretically-linked factor structures), making them unlikely choices for use in psychological research. Further, each measure should be considered in relation to its change sensitivity and the research question. Keywords: measurement, psychometrics, shame

Harrison, Jake; Romney, Alexander C. (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Romney, Alexander (Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Marketing and Strategy Department)

Narcissism in organizations is becoming increasingly prevalent, as evidenced by the growing number of CEOs that seek acclaim and dominance, often at the expense of others (Chatterjee, 2017). Narcissism is defined as "individuals for whom enhancing the positivity of the self (specifically, to achieve status and esteem) is overwhelmingly important" (Campbell, 2004), and most often wields a detrimental influence on organizations. Typically, narcissism within organizational leadership has shown to lead employees to view managers' behavior as self-serving, lowering perceptions of managerial trustworthiness and increasing the likelihood of employee silence (Hamstra, 2019). Additionally, scholars have empirically demonstrated that silence provokes specific emotions, with anger being a particularly common emotional consequence of silence (Kirrane, 2017). The main effect of narcissism seems to lie in a stronger arousal of anger (Laurenz, 2013), which in turn may energize employees to proactively change the situation (Lebel, 2016). Employees often generate awareness of specific dissatisfying aspects of work by means of prohibitive voice (Chamberlin, 2017), which emphasizes harmful, failing, or wrongful work practices or events that currently exist (Liang, 2012).
In this study, I hope to examine how a leader's narcissism could arouse anger in employees and energize them to engage in prohibitive voice. Specifically, I hypothesize that a higher level of anger derived from a narcissistic leader's actions will positively correlate to a higher frequency of employee voice.

Hypotheses:
1. Perceived managerial narcissism will relate positively to employee voice.
2. Perceived anger will mediate the relationship between managerial narcissism and employee voice.
3. Employee status will moderate the relationship between managerial narcissism and employee voice.

This study is aimed to contribute to our understanding of the correlation between leadership and employee voice. I will test these hypotheses by recruiting 200 full-time employees to complete a survey. No identifying information will be collected.

Froberg, Matthew (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Asparouhove, Elena (University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business (Finance))

This research examines two fundamental topics of economics: accuracy of prices and the effect of market participation on individuals. In particular, it asks how security structure affects price and allocational efficiency through the equilibration process.

Security structure is defined as the payoff correlation structure between tradable assets. Economists agree that the markets they are studying are in equilibrium and also that there are equilibration forces that will drive markets towards equilibrium if they are not already there (see, for example, Arrow and Hahn (1971)). There is much less agreement, however, on what these equilibration forces are. Furthermore, it is very difficult to learn about these driving forces through the analysis of historical data because not enough is known about the fundamentals (wealth, human capital, and preferences of individuals) of past markets. This represents a great opportunity for experimental finance, where markets can be created in a laboratory setting allowing researchers to know, control, and change the fundamentals of the markets they create. This research examines what asset structures yield the most efficient allocations as a result of imposed fundamentals. The trading platform is Continuous Double Auction and is implemented in a software called Flexemarkets (flexemarkets.com). The main hypothesis is that markets consisting of securities that correlate negatively will exhibit the highest allocational efficiency. Data collection with human traders will be collected in the months of November and December. Pilot sessions with humans suggest that negatively correlated assets aid price discovery but more data is needed to address allocational efficiency.

The question regarding asset structure and its effect on financial well-being is especially relevant given the increasing popularity of index funds (see Bogle (2016)), which are typically positively correlated. Results of the experiment could yield substantial policy implications concerning what types of security designs lead to optimal allocational outcomes.

Arthur, Staci (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Biolowas, Anne (Weber State University, Communication)

The United States is home to a vast range of diverse people, however even though there is so much diversity in society the idea of beauty is pretty still very limited. Body image issues and discrimination are especially prevalent in minority groups including the plus size community. According to G.M. Eller fat people have a harder time obtaining jobs, college education, and just making a good impression on people than skinnier people solely based on their body size. These discriminations are argued to be deeply rooted in American culture and the best way Eller suggests to combat it is through educating people on the realities of obesity and not just the often harsh, outdated judgements. This paper is a textual analysis that utilizes Muted Group Theory in relation to the 2019 motion picture, Isn't It Romantic to unpack discrimination against the plus size community. Concepts from Muted Group Theory such as assimilation, separation, and accommodation are discussed. This paper argues that the movie is a positive step forward into making the plus size community's voice fall under the accommodation concept in Muted Group Theory rather than assimilation or separation especially in relationship to the dominant group in society.