Architecture

Authors: Ethan Reese. Mentors: Russ Bailey. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Many individuals struggle with oppressively high standards for their character, behavior and environment, know commonly as perfectionism. Perfectionism also carries significant attention in the fields of psychology, at least partially because of its association with higher rates of OCD, depression and anxiety, but also higher performance and goal-achieving (Lunn et al., 2023). The presentation will be synthesized from available literature, and focus on how perfectionism can be positive or negative, and how to effectively adopt beneficial perfectionism. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of perfectionism in academic and workplace settings.There are moderating factors that distinguish adaptive perfectionism from maladaptive perfectionism and various sources of perfectionism, including self-prescribed, socially-prescribed, and other-oriented perfectionism (Benson, 2003). There are diverse explanations of the many ways individuals strive for perfection, or how they impose expectations of it on others, and many of those will be elaborated on. Therapists have both the ability and the professional responsibility to assist in those efforts. The therapeutic modalities specifically suited for working with perfectionism and the consequences of complex relationships between it and certain mental illnesses will be presented for analysis. This discussion will benefit individuals inside and outside of mental health professions alike through exploreing the process of turning perfectionism adaptive, as well as provide direction for future research in on the topic.References:Lunn, J., Greene, D., Callaghan, T., & Egan, S. J. (2023). Associations between perfectionism and symptoms of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression in young people: A meta-analysis. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 52(5), 460–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2023.2211736Benson, E. S. (2003, November 1). The many faces of perfectionism. Monitor on Psychology, 34(10). https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov03/manyfaces

Authors: Adam Smith, adam@tallsmith.com. Mentors: Kal Munis. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The social desirability bias is a well-documented and well-studied phenomenon in the social sciences, but it has only been in relatively recent literature that experimentalists have begun to study the effects treatments have on the manner in which the social desirability bias is reflected in social behavior. The aim of this study is to test the effects of perceived privacy influences the way people answer this question: "What is the aim of politics?" This study seeks to replicate findings in other research that has delved into the relationship between perceived privacy and social desirability. Another significant area of interest is how neurodivergent identity, especially autism, fits into the relationship. With this study, we can better understand how social desirability affects political discourse as well as provide insights into the neurodivergent mind and how it relates to politics.

Authors: David Schloesser. Mentors: B Kal Munis. Insitution: Utah Valley University. How do place-based identities influence American’s attitudes towards perpetrators of politically motivated violence? Through the implementation of a pre-registered conjoint experiment, I seek to answer this question. Ideally, and under normative circumstances, punishment of politically motivated violence should be applied to perpetrators with considerations only towards what/who was targeted in the act and the severity of the violence committed. In the U.S. however, evaluations of guilt are determined through the trial of peers, leaving room for the influence of in-group and out-group biases to appear in the judgement of perpetrators according to the suggestions of Social Identity Theory. As such, biases arise that cloud human judgement based on preconceived attitudes towards various group identities that influence our opinions when judging other individuals. One’s sense of place, or how strongly they identify themselves with their locality and its’ culture, is one of these powerful group social identities that establishes a salient “in-group” persona to other locals, while influencing attitudes towards various “out-groups” of people not from that place. Holding constant other considerations pertinent to acts of politically motivated violence, Americans more harshly evaluate perpetrators of violence from geographic communities other than their own. To judge the relative weight that these place-based identities hold towards the judgement of political violence perpetrators, evaluators were presented with perpetrators with randomly assigned personal characteristics (e.g., where they are from) and varied features of the violent act (e.g., how severe the act was, what/who was targeted), and asked to determine the level of punishment or mercy to be assigned to each perpetrator. I found that perpetrator place characteristics indeed influences the evaluator’s excusal of political violence, however when weighted against the features of the act, the nature of the act matters much more for evaluations on average. These findings can be interpreted as normatively negative, given that an evaluator’s place identity appears to reflect in-group out-group biases that affect the assignment of punishment to a crime. However, the disproportionate effect of the violent act’s target and severity are normatively encouraging.

Authors: Matthew Drachman, Caden Weaver, Nicholas Martin. Mentors: Kal Munis. Insitution: Utah Valley University. There has been a lot of public debate in recent years when it comes to the topic of guns in the United States. Scholarship on the subject has shown varying opinions on how people believe on gun ownership, along with the subject of carrying firearms in public. A Pew Research study found 46% of people supported concealed carrying in places, while support among gun owners was 67% (Parker et al., 2017). While research has been conducted on concealed carry, research on open carry support and the factors that contribute to it are rather unknown. Within our study, we attempt to see how support for open carry, which is legal in most places in the U.S., is affected based on who is doing the open carrying of firearms. Particularly controversial political and racial groups. Within our model we randomly assign survey respondents to either our control question to gauge their support for open carry, or one of four vignettes we have designed to see if exposure to the treatment causes a change in how support for open carry will change. Our results have important implications pertaining to attitudinal (in)stability on core civil liberties within the United States.

Authors: Maggie Wu, Ashley Littlefield, Bryant Jones. Mentors: Bryant Jones. Insitution: Snow College. A novel method of predictive thermodynamic property mining using AIMD simulations of molten salts for use in molten salt nuclear reactorsSolving the worlds energy crisis has been a heavily debated and researched topic for many years. One proposed solution to this problem is the micro molten salt nuclear reactor (MMSR). The MMSR is a small portable nuclear powerplant that can provide an affordable source of energy that is completely safe, readily available, and passively controlled. The waste products from this reactor are also heavily sought medically important isotopes. One final hurdle for MMSR development is the mining of the thermodynamic properties for previously unstudied eutectic mixtures of molten salts. Due to the hygroscopic nature of molten salt eutectics, experimental techniques for measuring thermodynamic properties are time and cost prohibitive. Modern supercomputing techniques provide a solution for property mining. However, computational methods have been historically limited to previously experimentally studied salts. There has always been a need for experimentally measured values to be determined first to provide tuning for the computational techniques. This group has developed a novel technique for tuning the values for previously unstudied salts. This greatly enhances the predictive capabilities of computation methods. This technique was then employed to successfully measure the density, Heat capacity, and coefficient of thermal expansion for two promising uranium salt eutectics. These studies provided the data to also study the molecular structure of these salts. This study showed interesting new aggregation of the uranium atoms that will be presented.

Authors: Jaren Meikle, Samuel Archer. Mentors: Jacob Dean. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Dipyrroles are bicyclic, heterocyclic compounds ubiquitous in nature. Dipyrroles form subunits in commonly-occurring photoactive biological subunits such as bilins, and are thus remarkable in their ability to absorb visible light despite their chemical simplicity. In this work, the photochemistry of a model dipyrrole serving as an analogue to the core subunit found in bilins was investigated and found to show a proclivity to undergo pH-dependent reactions. When the acidic and basic variants were irradiated with blue light and the time-resolved UV-vis spectra were recorded, we found stark differences in reactivity between the two variants. The protonated variant is highly photostable and resistant to photoxidation with photonic energy being channeled into rapid internal conversion. The basic variant, however, undergoes consistent oxygen-dependent photooxidation, forming hydroxy and methoxy adducts. Our research is currently focused on elucidating the structure of these photoproducts, identifying the mechanism of photooxidation, as well as modeling the kinetics of the reaction.

Authors: Bryan Jay Frandsen. Mentors: Joseph McMurray. Insitution: Brigham Young University. This paper expands on a citizen-candidate model of electoral competition under both plurality rule and ranked choice voting. The paper finds that ranked choice voting nominally avoids Duverger’s Law by accumulating many identical candidates but yields fewer viable equilibrium policy positions than plurality rule. Additionally, ranked choice voting favors moderate candidates and policies, increasing the probability of their implementation compared to plurality rule. This moderate bias leads to lower polarization in equilibrium than is possible under plurality rule.

Authors: Rafael Deo. Mentors: Matthew Wilcox. Insitution: Brigham Young University. A listening test is an important method used to assess language proficiency. It can be used as placement tests, pre and post-tests, research purposes, classroom evaluations, and many more. Comparison of results of such tests can also be used to assess language gain throughout a period of time. However, to create such listening tests that can genuinely evaluate an individual's ability, audio quality plays an important role, too. This factor should be addressed because it seems trivial, even though it can affect test-takers results. Through this presentation, I will provide general guidelines and practical tools for finding, evaluating and capturing listening passages for proficiency tests.

Authors: Sadie Jensen, Nellie Bowman, Nick Jeffery, Heather Wilson Ashworth. Mentors: Heather Ashworth. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The STEM career field has been found to be particularly unwelcoming to women and minorities resulting in attrition of these demographics in STEM degrees and careers.2 To address this problem, the National Science Foundation awarded Utah Valley University a grant to fund undergraduate research opportunities with faculty. This preliminary research project explores the effect of mentored undergraduate research opportunities on student retention and success in the UVU Biology Department. Each year for the last 4 years, 10 students were accepted each year into a research cohort. The following factors are known indicators of student success and retention in the STEM fields: self-efficacy1, effort control4, and teacher immediacy3. These factors were qualitatively measured with reflection questions. Students were surveyed at the end of each academic semester. There are two completed cohorts and data is still being collected on the remaining two cohorts. A coding scheme was developed, and reflection questions were coded to consensus. The Pearson's coefficient was greater than 0.76. The preliminary coding results show themes of positive or very positive effects of the research experience on self-efficacy, effort control, and teacher immediacy. The greatest gains were observed in self-efficacy and teacher immediacy. This preliminary data supports the role of undergraduate research in retaining women and minorities in STEM majors. Sources: Kalender, Z. Y., Marshman, E., Schunn, C. D., Nokes-Malach, T. J., & Singh, C. (2020). Damage caused by women’s lower self-efficacy on physics learning. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevphyseducres.16.010118 White, J. L., & Massiha, G. H. (2016). The retention of women in Science, Technology, engineering, and Mathematics: A framework for persistence. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 5(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v5i1.4515 Micari, M., & Pazos, P. (2012). Connecting to the professor: Impact of the student–faculty relationship in a highly challenging course. College Teaching, 60(2), 41-47. Pintrich, P. R., & De Groot, E. V. (1990). Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance. Journal of educational psychology, 82(1), 33.

Authors: Sydney Holt, Mikaela Cowles. Mentors: Joe Jensen. Insitution: Utah Valley University. We are using Surface Brightness Fluctuations (SBF) to measure distances to giant elliptical galaxies using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). These distance measurements will be used to better define the Hubble Constant, and hopefully help resolve the Hubble tension crisis in cosmology. Part of SBF requires a knowledge of the colors of the galaxies to be studied in order to account for variations in age and composition of the stars contained within. To this end, we are using PanSTARRS and DECam data to determine the optical g-z color (464 nm-900 nm) values for galaxies from the Virgo and Fornax clusters out to 300 million light years.

Authors: Seth Leavitt. Mentors: Nathan Crane. Insitution: Brigham Young University. One common form of 3D printing is Fused filament fabrication (FFF). In this process, a plastic filament is melted and extruded one line at a time to form a 3D shape. FFF often has problems that arise during printing that can cause the rest of the print to fall apart or otherwise fail. We assessed the feasibility of classifying 3D printing errors in prints using Thermography and data processing. We did this by taking constant thermal video of a specially designed printer to collect our temperature data. Then, using a constant travel speed on the printhead and using the distance traveled, we calculated the speed at which the cooling occurs. We collected cooling data on both control prints as well as parts with simulated defects (gaps in the print substrate). By analyzing the differences between the two sets of data, we determined that is feasible to identify anomalies in the printed part. This is a first step towards improving the quality of 3D-printed parts.

Authors: Karina Geranios, Madison Mathews, Connor Baird. Mentors: Robert Kagabo. Insitution: Utah Tech University. Abstract: Addressing Teenage Pregnancy and Related Public Health Issues in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlements in UgandaIntroductionWhen individuals cross international borders for fear of persecution due to reasons such as their race, belonging to a particular religion, or political group and seeking safety, they become refugees in the new host country. In most resource deprived countries, these refugees are placed in refugee camps where they receive necessities such as food, water, medical care, or shelter. However, in some cases even in these intended safe refugee camps there are many social and public health challenges mostly due to overcrowding. Teenage pregnancy, which is girls getting pregnant between the ages 10-19 is one of those issues not well investigated within refugee camps. Teenage pregnancy is associated with several adverse outcomes for young mothers including intergenerational cycles of poverty and is the leading cause of death among adolescent girls.MethodsUsing constructs from the community-based participatory research approach, the authors used mixed methods study in June 2023 to collaborate with community members to assess and initiate culturally acceptable teenage pregnancy interventions in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement. Play and sports activities were used to enhance collaborative efforts between community members and researchers.FindingsMeasures intended to decrease the spread of Covid-19 such as tough lockdowns might have increased risk sexual behaviors and abuse and therefore increased teenage pregnancy. Community leaders are in search of appropriate interventions to reduce teenage pregnancy and provide education to teenage mothers.ConclusionThe study resulted in a collaborative interest between researchers, public health providers, and community leaders to identify culturally acceptable teenage pregnancy measures of intervention. Organized play activities, and menstrual clinics proved to be excellent ways to share teenage pregnancy and related public health challenges information including preventive measures.

Authors: Elizabeth Jenkins. Mentors: Jerry Johnson. Insitution: Brigham Young University. There is convincing data on the potential relationship between predator-prey environments and cognitive abilities. There is often an increase in cognition found in species living among predators. Culum Brown and Victoria A. Braithwaite (2005) conducted an experiment to test this hypothesis on Brachyraphis episcopi. While they anticipated their results would support this hypothesis, the populations under non-predator conditions solved the cognitive tests more quickly. In this study, I replicate their experiment with a different species, named Brachyraphis rhabdophora, to determine if their results are repeatable. Populations of Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora are found in northwestern Costa Rica and are distinctly segregated into different river drainages. In each drainage, the populations are isolated into predator and non-predator populations. These populations experience a parallel separation of social environment to the populations used by Brown and Braithwaite. Using their same methodology, we measured cognition in Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora by presenting them with the task of locating a hidden food patch. I expected that that the predatory-prey population would complete this task more efficiently, although it’s possible that this species could produce the same contradictory results. Once the data are all collected, I will present the results and publish a paper on my findings.

Authors: John Walton, Mason Astill, Jarrett Nelson. Mentors: Dustin Shipp. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Our research group is working to create a meta analysis of the variables that affect the efficiency of eddy current braking systems. We are making a track to accelerate marbles made from different non-ferromagnetic materials down an incline, through a photogate to get its initial velocity, then through a solenoid. We are testing several metals for the marbles and solenoids driven by alternating current with different frequencies. The marble after passing through the solenoid will have its new velocity recorded, allowing us to determine the deceleration experienced by the marble.

Authors: Grant Cole, Vitaliy Walker, Daniel Adams, Nathan Twitchell, Melissa Lee, Jennifer Mortensen, Brittney Stockholm, Tatiana LeRoy. Mentors: Claudia Jorgensen. Insitution: Utah Valley University. When exposed to stressful situations, the human nervous system reacts with the fight or flight response activation. Physiological indicators of the activation of the fight or flight response include a change in body temperature, increased heart rate, blood pressure, and sweating (Sriram et.al, 2012). There is mounting evidence implicating stress as physiologically and psychologically harmful. For example, recent research has found a correlation between chronic exposure to stress and the development of mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. Furthermore, chronic stress has the potential to change the anatomy of the brain along the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA), which is an important part of the neuroendocrine system, plays a role in the release of stress hormones, and helps regulate moods, emotions, and sexual behaviorisms (Ramirez, et.al., 2013). As college can be quite stressful, developing healthy coping mechanisms to deal with stress might positively influence the students’ academic performance and it might improve and maintain their psychological and physiological well-being (Skowronek, 2014). Various research studies have been conducted to reveal the therapeutic qualities of music. Music can effectively relieve nervousness, promote mental health, and positively affect students' psychological state (Chi, 2020). Current research on stress-related outcomes shows that music interventions play a significant role in stress reduction on physiological levels (de Witte et. al, 2020).  Preliminary results indicated that physiological responses (including heart rate, electrodermal skin response, and body temperature) to a mathematical calculation task were not impacted by the type of background noise (control, calm music, or upbeat music). Therefore, the current study is while being exposed to various music genre types (Kirschbaum et al., 1993). We hypothesize that calmer music might reduce stress response, while faster and more upbeat music might increase the stress response. The study will employ a between-subject measures design. After obtaining the baseline physiological measures when no music is played, the participant will either be exposed to two segments of relaxation/mediation music or two segments of fast-beat music. While exposed to different music conditions, the physiological response will be used to compare the impact of music genre (calm meditation music versus techno music) as well as practice (music segment 1 versus music segment 2) on the human stress response. Findings on the effects of music manipulation on the human nervous system can be used as additional tools for the management of stress.

Authors: Dallin Zollinger, Lauren Brooks. Mentors: Lauren Brooks. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Antibiotics are one of the most important inventions in recent history, saving countless lives. However, their use has also caused antibiotic resistance to increase in frequency among bacterial populations at an astonishing rate. This increase in frequency will influence our treatment of infections worldwide since previous treatments will no longer be effective, causing many deaths that would once have been preventable. Streptogramins are a class of antibiotics used to treat infections which bacteria have evolved resistance to. This study was focused on the vatA gene, which encodes resistance to streptogramins in Staphylococcus aureus. Samples were collected from various areas on the Utah Valley University campus, the DNA was extracted, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specific to the vatA gene was performed. Gel electrophoresis was then performed to visualize the amplicons generated from the PCR to evaluate the presence or absence of the vatA gene. Through this work, we have identified locations where this gene is found.

Authors: Parker R. Carlquist, Lexi Brady, Seth Dotson, Jeff Glenn. Mentors: Jeff Glenn. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Background: Addressing public health problems requires cooperation from stakeholders who may have wide-ranging political, religious, moral, and societal beliefs. If stakeholders lose trust and mutual understanding between one another, the influence of public health efforts decreases. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated these complexities as communities became divided in opinions regarding the appropriate response. Without systems and strategies to maintain and increase trust, divisive public health issues may become unsolvable. Objectives: The Campus Conversations project analyzed the effectiveness of reflective structured dialogue (RSD) in helping develop skills and abilities to address difficult conversations and topics. The project hosted conversations among Brigham Young University students of varying demographics and ideologies on divisive topics such as diversity and gender.Methods: Students were recruited to participate in an hour-long conversation with 4-6 others, including a student facilitator who guided the conversation. Conversations began with foundational agreements followed by 3 rounds of questions. Participants were each given an opportunity to speak uninterrupted in each round, followed by group discussion and questions. The structure encourages the sharing of personal experiences and beliefs in an environment that fosters understanding instead of judgement. Pre- and post-conversation surveys were administered to measure the effects of the conversations on skills. Participants were asked to rate how important they believed a skill was and also assess their ability to use it. A collection of 8 different skills and 6 different mindsets/abilities were measured. Results: Survey results found that participation in a conversation using RSD is associated with statistically significant improvements in how students rated the importance of 6 different skills. Additionally, 8 skills and mindsets/abilities saw statistically significant improvements in students’ assessed capability. The skills of “vulnerability” and “suspending judgement” saw the greatest improvements in both rated importance and assessed capabilities. The average change between pre- and post-surveys overall was a 10.5% increase. Conclusions: In order to develop effective public health policies, consensus and understanding must be achieved among stakeholders and communities. The results highlight the potential for RSD conversations to be used as an effective tool to improve students’ belief in the importance of skills required for difficult conversations and potentially improve their ability to use them. Public Health Implications: Public health is currently working to address various divisive problems that require collaboration from stakeholders that range across the political, demographic, and societal spectrums. Utilizing RSD can help promote understanding and the ability to discuss divisive issues in a calm and structured way, forming a foundation whereupon policy can be effectively created, discussed, and advocated.

Authors: Minh Nguyen, Eugene Leung. Mentors: Ming Yu. Insitution: Utah Valley University. A rapid, non-invasive method of disease detection method is vital for diagnosis or prevention. Many recent studies suggest that biomarker proteins that are associated with certain diseases were often found in urine samples of the patient. Quantum dots (QDs), a type of nanomaterial, have been investigated in previous studies, revealing their fast response in fluorescent properties when interacting with biomarker proteins. In this study, we examined the impact of QDs’ fluorescent properties in complex solutions by utilizing various concentrations of artificial urine samples. The results of this study provide insight into the possibility of using QDs as an alternative method of disease detection.