2020 Abstracts

Barker, Kirsten; Wheeler Roderer, Laurana (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Scheer, Christopher (Caine College of the Arts, Music Department)

The collaborative nature of music, where individual action is essential to the success of the whole, provides a model which can affect viewpoints on climate change. This model has already been utilized in global environmentalist movements such as Greta Thunberg’s Fridays For Future. The collaborative approach taken in the creation of new pieces of music can be used to address climate change. We commissioned a chamber opera for three voices and string quartet that addresses the systemic issues surrounding the global climate emergency. The topic of our presentation will be the collaborative process involved in this project, specifically how we have reconciled the abstract nature of music and the technical jargon associated with scientific concepts.

Opera can highlight and expound on the dramatic message of a text and also enhance its emotional undercurrent. For centuries, the powerful and elite considered opera to be a “high art” form because of these communicative abilities. By turning this context on its head, we used the genre to comment on the consumption-based systems that have led to and perpetuated our current climate crisis. This is especially relevant given the traditionally close ties between the fossil fuel industry and the fine arts in the United States (for example, the long sponsorship of New York’s Metropolitan Opera by Exxon-Mobil). In focusing on the idea of collaboration, this new piece of music becomes an exemplar of the efforts required to create a sustainable world.

Huffcutt, Deanna (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Christensen, Brian (Brigham Young University, Art)

I was curious about the idea of movement within natural restraints. As women, we face natural restraints all the time. Most of our restraints are cultural and self-made, so this artwork explores that idea.

Webb, Kortney (Dixie State University)
Faculty Advisor: Jeffreys, Mark (Education, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences)

This paper applies Imagined Interaction Theory to the dramatic monologue. Imagined Interaction (II) refers to a cognitive state in which people daydream about social interactions.
These II's can be used as practice for an actual conversation with a person. There are six functions of II's self-understanding, compensation, catharsis, rehearsal, conflict-linkage, and relational maintenance. Each of these functions shows why an individual would participate in imagined interactions. There are also mental ways II's represent themselves including self-talk, daydreaming, focus on organization of thoughts, and II can also be used as a therapy tool. How does this theory relate to the dramatic monologue? II's aspects are visible in how a dramatic monologue is displayed. Although II happens inside the head, the actors have to bring their internal monologue into speech through dramatic monologue. Here, II theory applies when performing a dramatic monologue directly in II form. Despite the controversy around the definition of the dramatic monologue, II aspects can be seen through the criteria and how the dramatic monologue is displayed. For practical application this research will apply findings to the dramatic monologue by performing a monologue(s) in II form. This research is significant because this topic is not researched sufficiently and it shows how the performance of the dramatic monologue in theater can mimic real world communication in various situations.

Nye, David; Winner, Langdon (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Edenfield, Avery (College of Humanities and Social Sciences, English Department)

The purpose of this research project is to examine the interplay between psychotherapeutic mobile applications, such as Calm and Headspace, and the people that use them. Using Langdon Winner and David Nye's discussions on technologies and the discourses surrounding them, I aim to synthesize the existing literature, which primarily investigates the effectiveness of these mobile technologies as forms of psychotherapy, with the concept of technology as an identity-forming tool. I hope to address how these psychotherapeutic technologies can both enable and disallow users, and how users, through their engagement with these mobile applications, are challenging prevailing definitions of psychotherapy and technology. Through a thorough analysis of current literature, together with Winner and Nye's work and my own evaluations of public online reviews of psychotherapeutic mobile applications, I intend to advance the research that considers how technologies affect people and how people affect technologies.

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.

Alder, Jacob (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Tainter, Joseph (S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, Enviroment and Society Department); Robert, Davies (College of Science, Physics Department); Fjeldsted, Paul (Jon M. Hunstman School of Business, Economics and Finance Department)

Abstract: Have you ever wondered why economists always talk about a growing economy? Modern economists today rely on several fundamental assumptions in the same way physicists rely on laws governing energy and motion. Economists use growth—ideally unrestricted growth—as the key assumption upon which we build models and policy recommendations. The central economic theory explains that growth will enhance individual well-being over time. However, every known physical system has boundaries beyond which it will collapse, and the observed reality is that economic growth cannot be separated from physical resource consumption. As a result, many societies are overshooting physical, ecological boundaries.

This project focuses on outcomes generated by a few of those complexities in a growth-oriented economy in Northern Utah. It analyzes the ways traditional economic models prioritize growth as the primary means of improving quality of life. It explores several positive and negative impacts of limits to growth, whether they are elective policy measures (like paying a carbon tax) or reactions to a collapsed system (like depleted natural gas deposits). It draws on electricity data from two electricity utility providers and compares trends with interconnected behavioral and technological changes.

Ultimately, this project develops a case study to assess ways in which society could thrive without traditional economic growth. By using axioms from physics, primarily the first and second laws of thermodynamics (energy and entropy) this project assesses population projections and increased resource consumption, drawing connections between a growing population, a growing economy, and growing energy use.

Reschke, Peter; Cooper, Alexandra; Clayton, Colter K. (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Reschke, Peter (Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Family Life)

Research has demonstrated that context plays a significant role in emotion perception (Reschke et al., 2018). However, it is unclear whether context produces differences in visual scanning of facial expressions of emotion. The present study explored whether variability within facial expressions differentially interacts with posture context to produce changes in emotion perception.

Participants (N = 86) viewed 96 images comprised of "open" (i.e., scrunched nose, open mouth, protruding tongue) and "closed" (i.e., scrunched nose, closed mouth) versions of disgust faces photoshopped onto postural expressions of emotion (disgust, anger, fear, sadness, joy, neutral). Subjects saw each image for 5000 ms while their eye movements were recorded by an eye tracker and were then asked to categorize the emotion in the facial expression.

The results support prior research demonstrating that contextual influence (i.e., categorizations matching the context) differed significantly within emotion contexts as a function of face type, F(3, 5436) = 29.65, p < .001 (Reschke et al., 2019). Specifically, contextual influence increased significantly for closed and open disgust facial expressions in anger and sadness contexts (ps < .001) and decreased significantly in fear contexts (p < .001). However, these differences in behavioral responses were not reflected in participants' visual scanning behaviors. Specifically, subjects fixated significantly more in the lower face region (M = 3.29) than the upper face region (M = .76), t(2268) = 37.56, p < .001, regardless of face type. Additionally, participants took significantly more time to fixate on the upper face region (M = 1046.77) than the lower face region (M = 580.07), t(1652) = 10.59, p < .001, also regardless of face type.

These findings suggest that behavioral differences in context-dependent emotion categorization are not due to reliable differences in visual scanning. Future directions and alternative explanations will be discussed.

Brooksby, Austin; Meyer, Jake; Rentschler, Lucas; Spofford, Robbie (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Rentschler, Lucas (Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Economics and Finance Department)

The ultimatum game is a common experimental economics game done in pairs in which one person chooses a way of dividing a sum of money, and then proposes that split as an ultimatum to the other: Either accept it, or we both walk away with nothing. In theory, equilibrium play would indicate everyone should accept any split they're offered-regardless of the equity-but the experimental economics literature robustly rejects that theory. Smith and Wilson's 2017 paper "Equilibrium Play in Voluntary Ultimatum Games: Beneficence Cannot Be Extorted" produced results different from the vast literature, by making game participation voluntary within the lab. We attempted to replicate Smith and Wilson's results, but failed to do so. The most notable difference between our experiments was our subject pool, so we ran additional trials of the standard ultimatum game and confirmed our subject pool was not significantly different than the general literature. Our paper provides a great example of the importance of replicating results in the social sciences, in addition to a specific contribution to the ultimatum game literature.

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.

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.

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.

Seaboch, Melissa (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Seaboch, Melissa (University of Utah, Anthropology)

Primates do not make good pets because they are highly social animals that require members of their own species, large amounts of space, and specific diets to maintain positive psychological well-being. Additionally primates can also be aggressive toward their owners and they can transmit diseases (e.g. Salmonella, parasites, etc.) to their owners. Even so, there are over 15,000 pet primates in the United States. Regulations for owning a primate vary from state to state from a complete ban (19 states) to no restrictions (17 states). The goal of this project is to understand the pet primate trade and ownership in the United States, specifically, in which states they are for sale. Data (type of primate for sale and location) were collected bimonthly for five months from six online exotic pet trade websites. We found that 311 primates were offered for sale in 11 states with Florida having the most primates for sale (62%, n=195) followed by Tennessee (8.6%, n=27), and Texas (8%, n=25). The number of primates for sale in Florida is surprising since Florida requires permits from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission while there are no regulations for owning monkeys in Texas, or Tennessee. The Captive Primate Safety Act currently before Congress would prohibit the sale of all nonhuman primates by including them as "prohibited wildlife species" and would greatly reduce the ownership of primates as pets, though we note that a similar bill failed in 2007.

Hale, Kaysi; Anderson, Chris (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Anderson, Chris (Utah Valley University, Psychology)

While there is significant data on adolescent sexual activity, education, and attitudes, there is little research done on adults who choose to stay abstinent, especially in the United States. Religiosity plays a significant role in reducing sexual behaviors before marriage. Many Christian faiths teach that sex should only be engaged in after marriage, so many followers choose to stay abstinent until marriage. Education about sex contributes to individuals choosing to stay abstinent and/or choosing to use safe-sex practices. Gender is not a large factor when considering reasons why individuals choose to stay abstinent; women have slightly lower rates of pre-marital sex at 94%; men at 96%. Sexual health and sexual well-being are difficult to define, but especially challenging when trying to define it for those choosing to stay abstinent into adulthood. The proposed study will sample an anticipated 200 self-reported abstinent undergraduates at Utah Valley University. This university has a high proportion of Christian students who are predominantly members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Data will be collected about why the students report they are remaining sexually abstinent as well as their sexual attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and feelings about their own sexuality. Correlations can be drawn between religiosity, gender, age, perceived healthy attitudes towards individual sexuality, feelings about sexual stimulating behavior, among other factors. This paper will contribute to the standing data about religiosity and sexuality. It will enhance the literature about how abstinent adults feel about their own sexuality.

Perriton, Kiersten; Eppley, Sydnie; Young, Colleen (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Jensen, Francine (Utah Valley University, Nursing)

Purpose: To determine the preparedness of new graduate nurses to practice after completion of nurse residency programs.

Background: New graduate nurses often feel anxious, concerned or ill prepared to practice as nurses on their own. New graduate nurses worry if the residency program has prepared them for their first nursing job sufficiently for them to gain enough confidence and skill to be on their own. Studies on nurse residency programs show that nurses who complete one-year nurse residency programs had remarkable increases in communicating with family, patients and team members, confidence in skills, and ability to prioritize and organize work. There is a need for continued education, such as nurse residency programs and an active interest in new graduate nurses, such as involved mentors or preceptors to help strengthen clinical reasoning and preparedness of new graduate nurses. Stress in new graduate nurses can impede patient safety and can result in the new nurse quitting the position. When new graduates have designated mentors, fit well with unit socialization, and are oriented to multiple areas, it has been identified that it can build their confidence levels and improve retention rates of new graduate nurses. Nurse residency programs need to provide high quality orientation to help them master their careers.

Significance: This research can give insight into whether the implementation of nurse residency programs helps new nurses feel ready to practice on their own. This information may help provide increased safety and quality of care to patients due to new graduate nurses feeling competent and confident to carry out the patient's health care plan. This can help healthcare companies determine if current programs are effective and what needs to be changed. New nurse graduates may gain confidence, practice with increased patient safety, and corporations may retain the new nurses they have just trained.

Hyman, Rachel; Light, Tim; Montague, Angela; Lucero, Jessica (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Lucero, Jessica (College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Department)

Refugees are recognized as having unique and complex health needs which demand attention upon arrival and throughout the resettlement process (Agrawal & Venkatesh, 2016). Refugee populations are particularly vulnerable to health disparities due to push factors influencing forced migration (Tempany, 2009). These factors include exposure to political violence, natural disasters, and other forms of anthropogenic conflict (UNHCR, 2014). Refugees may arrive in the host country with undiagnosed and untreated health issues, such as infectious diseases, mental distress due to prior traumas, undiagnosed chronic illness, and nutritional deficiencies (Deen & Bridges, 2011). Refugee populations represent high rates of mental and physical health problems compared with the host population (Kirmayer, Gomez-Carrillo, & Veissi�re, 2017). Additional dynamics compound health disparities facing refugees. These include: language barriers, unfamiliarity with a complex health care system, limited health literacy, and inadequate alignment of medical treatments with religious and cultural beliefs (Bowen, 2001; Brown, Carroll, Fogarty, & Holt, 2010). Though there is robust scholarship in the literature and analysis of prevalent health disparities and needs of refugees post-resettlement, few studies address the specific health care concerns of refugees resettled in northern Utah. This study seeks to expand previous findings related to the most salient health care issues facing the refugee community and develop community response to address health disparity. A secondary aim of the research is to determine best practices for the provision of appropriate and effective health services.

Oram, Kathryn; Griffiths, Alayna (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Gazdik-Stofer, Michaela (Utah Valley University, Biology)

The World Health Organization currently estimates that 4,384 individuals die per day due to complications of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and affects 1.8 million people worldwide as it infects individuals through air droplets from a cough or sneeze. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is known to be a major component in TB because it acts as a macrophage inhibitor that is responsible for blocking the immune defense allowing the M. Tuberculosis to rapidly replicated within cells. The function of cAMP in TB patients is known but the focal point of our research is why and how the increased levels of cAMP effects patients that are infected with TB. Our team uses mutated M. Smegmatis bacteria due to the comparable levels of cAMP secretion and high pathogenicity of M. Tuberculosis. We are currently screening the cAMP secretion in 1,000 mutated M. Smegmatis colonies to identify secretion differences from the wild-type M. Smegmatis. The mutants samples with high variation from the wild-type will be sequenced to identify the genes and determine the proteins that are present. Finding the genes and proteins can help understand why and what causes the inflation on cAMP secretion in TB patients.

McQuinn, Sophie; Love, Tiffany (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Love, Tiffany (University of Utah, Psychiatry)

Chronic pain is a major health crisis, and is considered the second major cause of disability in the world. People with chronic pain that lasts 6 months or longer often experience other symptoms as well, including depression. While the causes of chronic pain are often unknown, it has been shown that people with chronic pain exhibit brain structure differences compared to those who do not. It is important to know how chronic pain and brain structure are interconnected so that we can find a better way to treat patients. Gaining more knowledge of this connection can lead to a better understanding of the underlying causes. Brain structure goes hand in hand with neuroplasticity, which plays a key role in normal brain development. While it has been shown that chronic pain can have a significant effect on brain structure, it is unknown whether different symptoms affect different areas of the brain. The effects of chronic pain on the brain have only been looked at in a holistic sense and have not been quantified according to symptoms. Because chronic pain can have a variety of causes, this makes it difficult to determine a good method of treatment for individuals. Our aim was to determine how different symptoms of chronic pain affect the brain individually and evaluate possible overlap. The categories we tested were sensory, affective, unpleasantness, intensity, and depression. We used MRI scans from both healthy individuals and participants experiencing chronic lower back pain. The relative levels of each symptom that the participants were experiencing were determined via the McGill Pain Questionnaire and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Having a better understanding of how different symptoms of chronic pain affect the brain can aid in finding more personalized treatment for those experiencing it.

Bobeck, Erin; McDermott, Max (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Bobeck, Erin (College of Science, Biology Department)

TBD - Updated for publication