Fine Arts

Authors: Cooper Bell-Hunley, Ming Yu, Emily Heider. Mentors: Emily Heider. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Green chemistry involves the redesign of chemical processes and products to reduce hazards to the environment and human health. Reconsidering the teaching curriculum with a view to embrace green chemistry can reduce costs in waste disposal and has the potential to improve accessibility. This research involves the redesign of qualitative analysis general chemistry experiment to eliminate the use of teratogenic mercury (Hg) and neurotoxic lead (Pb). Making this change creates a more inclusive laboratory since expectant mothers should not be exposed to mercury and therefore some students did not feel safe completing the previous version of the experiment. With any change in curriculum, it is important to consider the impact on learning outcomes that students can achieve. This research details the assessment of learning outcomes with a quasi-experimental design. Instructors in multiple general chemistry labs selected the qualitative analysis experiment (with or without Hg and Pb) and learning outcomes achieved were assessed following the experiment.

Authors: Danyon Gedris, Paul Frandsen. Mentors: Paul Frandsen. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Whole genome assembly has rapidly improved as third-generation sequencing technology like PacBio HiFi and Oxford Nanopore (ONT) have bridged the gaps of complex genomes by providing high-accuracy, long read data. The improvements in these technologies have resulted in long average read lengths (>15 kbp) and sequence quality scores above 99% (>Q20). They are particularly well-suited to assembling long, repetitive regions of the genome. Current assembly techniques combine reads with identical sequences to form longer, continuous sections. In repetitive regions, this process tends to condense the repeated sequences into one shorter read, instead of preserving the continuous nature of the repeats. Long reads avoid this issue by sequencing repeats together in one continuous read. Heavy chain fibroin (h-fibroin), the gene that encodes for the primary silk protein in Trichoptera and Lepidoptera, is long (often >20 kbp) and repetitive. Recent work showed that PacBio HiFi sequencing provided higher quality assemblies of h-fibroin when compared to the last generation of ONT pores (R9.4.1) and chemistry despite having a shorter average read length. Recent advances in ONT chemistry and nanopores (R10.4.1) have led to higher quality scores, perhaps allowing successful assembly of this gene region. To better understand the advances in ONT sequencing and its ability to provide high-quality, continuous genome assemblies of complex organisms, we assess the quality of assemblies of the h-fibroin silk gene for the Trichoptera species, Arctopsyche grandis and Parapsyche elsis, using the newest ONT chemistry.

Authors: Seth Cannon. Mentors: Joe Price. Insitution: Brigham Young University. We use the occupation strings in the full-count US census files from 1880-1940 to create a new dataset of everyone during this time period that listed their occupation as a clergy (or related term). We use this data to identify the number of clergy located in each town in the United States in each census year. We find that towns with at least one person that identifies as clergy in the census record experience 5.4% greater population growth by the next census compared to towns without any clergy. This result is robust to various ways to control for the population and other characteristics of the town. We also focus on just the set of towns that had only one person in the census who identified as clergy. When we restrict the dataset to these towns, we find that the towns for whom that single clergy member died before the next census experienced an average population loss of 2.8%, while towns that didn’t have their clergy die experienced a population growth of 12.5%. These results highlight the ways in which access to local religious resources can help promote economic growth in small communities.

Authors: Cate Bateman, Carson Veazie, . Sydney Sandall. Mentors: Matt Ogburn. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Western Utah is home to two distinct species of oak, Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) and Dixie live oak (Quercus turbinella), which can hybridize to form an intermediate species that has been named Quercus undulata. In spite of previous research on these shrubs, we are still unsure of how the hybrid has survived in small isolated locations well outside of the range of one parent species (Dixie live oak, which is restricted in Utah to Washington, Kane, and San Juan Counties). Our primary objective was to perform an ecological niche modeling assessment of Q. undulata within the Three Peaks Recreation Area. Our approach included collecting plot-level data to determine abiotic and biotic niche factors correlating with the presence/absence of Q. undulata, including slope, aspect, soil type, soil chemistry, vegetation cover, and other associated woody plant species. Our results have shown that Q. undulata populations have higher concentrations in south-facing slopes, potentially reflecting the climatic preferences of its Dixie live oak parent. Results also showed that both focal species, Q. undulata and Q. gambelii, prefer areas with shallow soil and rocky outcrops. We plan to continue data collection and our analysis of soil type and chemistry. These results will help us to better understand the evolutionary history and ecological requirements of this fascinating native Utah plant.

Authors: Jaiden Sherratt, Madison Ward, Alexandra Clements, Makenzie Vance, Christopher Furlow. Mentors: Julie Johnson Pynn. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Global identity is a concept once recognized by Maslow in 1954 as he said people “feel a kinship and connection, as if all people were members of a single family… Because of this, self-actualizing people have a genuine desire to help the human race.” Historically, it has been seen that this sense of global identity and citizenship can lead to great acts of kindness and empathy, as was the case with Chiune Sugihara who saved over 6000 Jews from Nazi oppression out of a sense of love for humanity (McFarland et al., 2013). It was also found that people with a strong global identity are more likely to be concerned about human rights and hold egalitarian views (McFarland et al., 2012). The research sought to answer the question, “Can images of global success or suffering affect subjects’ feeling of connection with humanity as a whole?” Through this research, we can better understand how positive or negative events impact people’s feelings of global citizenship. Participants will be recruited through the SONA system, as well as the researchers’ social media accounts, and a SUU portal announcement. Our main survey measure is the Identification With All Humanity scale. The scale is intended to measure an individual’s characteristics of concern for global issues and human rights, prosocial attitudes, intergroup forgiveness, and solving global problems (Hamer 2021). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two exposure conditions consisting of either 10 images of human success or 10 images of human suffering. Participants took the adapted IWAH survey, then were exposed to one of the two image sets for five second minimum per image, then took the adapted IWAH survey again to see if the images influenced their perception of global identity. After exposure, participants were asked “Did these images affect your feeling of connection with humanity? Why or why not? The images presented focused on issues of environmentalism. This research is currently in the phase of conducting the survey, and will close the survey gathering on November 1, 2023. Then the researchers will analyze the collected data to see if images of success or suffering influence global identity.

Authors: Kevin Young. Mentors: Gretchen Ellefson. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The concept of competition is not new to humans, nor is it simple. Countless philosophers throughout the years have approached competition in many ways. One of the core subjects that philosophers have used to discuss competition is that of decision theory. Decision theory, in short, discusses the best things to do. Game theory, a subset of decision theory, discusses the same within the context of games, or in other words, strategy. Both of these subjects have been used to evaluate how best to win games of chance, games of choice, and games in between. I work to explore the concept of making moves to gain information, seeking to learn another person’s moves before you make your own. This subset of moves deserves recognition, especially within the modern eras of competition.

Authors: Alyson Camacho, Camille Bryner, Bowen Houser. Mentors: William Pitt. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Current methods for the diagnosis of bacterial infections require time consuming cultures. To prevent deaths caused by sepsis, faster methods for bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility methods are urgently needed. Necessary to these faster methods is the ability to separate and concentrate bacteria. While techniques such as filtering and centrifugation have been explored for this purpose, we propose an innovative approach. Polydopamine (pDA) is a remarkably adhesive polymer that has been used to create antibacterial and anti-biofouling coatings on medical devices. In this study, however, we show how magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with pDA can selectively bind and remove specific bacteria from suspensions. For these experiments, pDA- MNPs were added to suspensions of bacteria mixtures and allowed to bind for 10 minutes. The MNP/bacteria mixture was then placed on a holder with a magnet which collected the MNPs on the side of the test tube. Finally, the bacterial supernatant was carefully removed and plated. Capture efficiency of the beads was calculated and it was shown that the pDA-coated MNPs preferentially isolated S. epidermidis from a suspension of both S. epidermidis and E. coli. This approach holds great potential for separating bacteria from clinical samples like urine or blood, enabling faster and more efficient diagnosis of bacterial infections.

Authors: Emma Manley. Mentors: Johnathan Chidester. Insitution: Southern Utah University. This presentation will be about the indescribable magical Studio Ghibli movies. Specifically, I will be analyzing how these movies are great at representing life. From the weird, outstanding world of Chihiro’s ghost town from Spirited Away, all the way down to the simple little Iron town of Princess Mononoke. These movies are amazing, not just for their remarkable art work and lovable characters, but for the relatability and symbolism of these stories. These stories are weird and strange, but so is everyone. We are human. A complex being that is evolving every single day. We have creative minds in all sorts of differing ways, and these movies are great at explaining this; they are complex, imaginative, and life-like. I will not be defining every single Studio Ghibli movie, but I have chosen a few movies I wish to expand on. My first one is The Wind Rises. This movie is based on a true story about Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of the A5M fighter aircraft. This story goes into detail about his life: his failures, his trials, and the hardships he endured. The second one is Spirited Away: this story is Studio Ghibli's most famous work. This is a story of a little girl who gets trapped in a spirit world all alone. Along her journey she makes new friends, discovers new ideas, and is able to discover who she is. The final movie is Princess Mononoke: Princess Mononoke is Studio Ghibli's masterpiece. The young warrior Ashitaka is strucken with a curse and will soon die. This story is about him getting rid of his curse, discovering how to make peace and stop hate.We should know and understand these movies, not because they are just films and that I like them, but because they are innovative and original. With these movies we jump into a creative world that we can make our own. These movies are relatable in every sense because they are just like us: weird, quirky, and just so compelling. We feel a connection to the trials that each character has because in a sense we all have been through something of the same. These movies represent life in a silly way that I wish to know more about. I will expand on the way these movies are made, the theme and writing, and the characters that we relate to.

Authors: Holly Biesinger. Mentors: Ran Qi. Insitution: Southern Utah University. This study analyzes important intersections in the relationship that photography had with polygamy from the year 1878, when the gelatin dry-plate method of photography became commercialized, to 1953, when the Short Creek Raids occurred. The study focuses on the polygamist faction within the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), specifically the group that later evolved into the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). It is important to note that not all members of the original Mormon church were polygamists, and as such this study does not represent the church as a whole. Additionally, it is important to note that the entire history of polygamy or photography will not be addressed, but key points of intersection will be acknowledged. This study describes how photography that contained polygamist subjects shifted over time and established a narrative for the outside general public to understand.

Authors: Eve Christensen, Chase Redd, Bailey Uzzardo. Mentors: Elijah Neilson. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 brought with it a host of changes to the workplace. One change in particular was the wide-spread transition to remote work as opposed to in-person work as concerns with spreading the Covid-19 virus necessitated a shift in how the labor force performed their work. The Covid-19 pandemic created more opportunities for employees to work from home rather than working on site. This paper seeks to evaluate the correlation between working from home and earnings using an econometric model. By comparing an individual’s earnings before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, along with whether they work from home or on site, we hope to better understand the effect that remote work has on a person's decision to enter the job market and which fields the incoming labor force are pursuing. Our findings will also be relevant to employers as they evaluate what a competitive wage would be depending on the availability of work from home options for a certain job.

Authors: Kenna Johnson. Mentors: Nicole Dib. Insitution: Southern Utah University. My paper is an interpretative analysis of Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs as analyzed through the lens of feminist film critic Laura Mulvey’s concept of the masculinization of spectators. In her essay collection Visual and Other Pleasures, Mulvey discusses how cinema, as a traditional medium, has misogynistic, voyeuristic characteristics. Through camera angles and editing, the audience is subconsciously led to identify with the protagonist (who is typically male). As a result, we, the audience, follow his gaze to his object of desire: the woman. This phenomenon she deems the masculinization of spectators. In my paper, I have applied Mulvey’s theory to Harris’ novel and concluded that the masculinization of spectators is, in fact, subverted in The Silence of the Lambs. Here, the audience identifies with Agent Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee. We follow her gaze to the man she has been tasked with hunting: Jame Gumb, who is referred to colloquially throughout the novel as “Buffalo Bill.” Throughout my paper, I analyze the stark differences in characterization between these two. While Starling is depicted as a pillar of feminine strength, Gumb, a male to female transgender character, is depicted as gaudy and grotesque. In comparing the notable differences in characterization, I determine these characters to serve as each other’s foils. Having been denied as a candidate for gender reassignment surgery, he creates a ‘girl suit’ out of his victims’ skins as an attempt to pass as a woman. Gumb’s atrocities paint the transgender population in a monstrous light; Starling’s actions, conversely, portray her as fiercely independent, and a hero for the feminist cause. Drawing from this analysis, I argue that The Silence of the Lambs is a stark support for the trans-exclusionary radical feminism, or TERF, movement. Through an in-depth analysis of the literary symbols present in the novel in conjunction with the two main characters’ characterization, I determine that TERF rhetoric beats strongly underneath the novel’s surface feminism.

Authors: Camille Bryner, Alyson Camacho, Bowen J Houser. Mentors: William G Pitt. Insitution: Brigham Young University. In an attempt to combat a growing number of nosocomial infections related to medical devices, many studies have investigated the effect of polydopamine (pDA) coated surfaces on biofilm formation and found them to have antibacterial and anti-adhesive properties. However, we discovered that pDA coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) display strong attractive interactions with many, but not all, species of bacteria. Fe3O4 MNPs were prepared using sodium acetate, ethylene glycol, and iron (III) chloride hexahydrate solutions and characterized by a variety of methods. XRD data confirmed a magnetite pattern characteristic of Fe3O4, then TEM characterization of MNP samples showed successful pDA coating onto iron oxide particles. Bacterial capture efficiencies (CE) by pDA-MNPs for 8 strains of bacteria were measured by optical turbidity and plate counts. We have found that CE is a function of exposure time to and concentration of MNPS; thus some experiments were done with constant exposure time and variable MNP concentration and others were done at variable exposure times and constant MNP concentrations. Additionally, these pDA-MNPs exhibit extremely efficient adhesion to some bacteria such as Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) while being ineffective at capturing some strains of Esherichia coli (E. coli). We propose that such capture ability of pDA-coated MNPs can be employed for detection and identification of bacteria in hospitals and for food science quality control.

Authors: Spenser A Clark. Mentors: Acacia Overono. Insitution: Utah Valley University. It is not uncommon for a college student to see a list of learning objectives when skimming through a syllabus for a program or course. The goal of learning objectives is to set reasonable expectations for student learning and guide their study, as well as providing a framework for the development of teaching practices and assessment. Part of the inception of learning objectives as a means of organizing teaching and assessment in the classroom may be attributable to the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, more commonly referred to as Bloom's Taxonomy. Another taxonomy similar to Bloom's, but much less well known, is the Structure of Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy. Bloom’s taxonomy organizes learning objectives into six categories: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. The categories are structured as a cumulative hierarchy in which mastery of each level is assumed necessary for progressing to the next. The structure of Bloom’s is not derived from any specific learning theory, but a categorization of pre-existing learning objectives. Bloom’s therefore suffers from a lack of a strong theoretical foundation and may not accurately reflect how learning actually occurs. Additionally, although Bloom’s has been widely employed in the context of educational assessment, research has shown that it suffers from low interrater reliability and is inconsistent between educational contexts such as courses and topics. Unlike Bloom’s, SOLO is based upon Piaget’s Stage Development theory and categorizes learning into five distinct stages: Prestructural, Unistructural, Multistructrual, Relational, and Extended Abstract. SOLO does not suggest that learning is unidirectional or hierarchical. It also acknowledges internal cognitive processes rather than focusing solely on observable behaviors. Although very little research has investigated its reliability, it could be an attractive alternative to Bloom’s because it may more accurately reflect how learning occurs. The present work reviews the development and implementation of these two models and compares them.

Authors: Ezra Stein. Mentors: Nicole Dib. Insitution: Southern Utah University. In Simulacra and Simulation (1981), Jean Baudrillard lays out for stages through which a sign (an image or other representation of reality) becomes a simulacrum (a sign with no basis in reality). I argue that the followers of the Qanon conspiracy movement, as detailed in Mike Rothschild’s "The Storm is Upon Us" (2021), follow these four stages in their radicalization into the conspiracy. The first stage outlined by Baudrillard is when the image is a basic reflection of reality itself. We see this stage when Rothschild discusses how QAnon believers discuss the CIA. Adherents of QAnon will often point to the declassified MKULTRA documents released by the CIA for credibility, as this is something that was proven to have actually happened, the sign being a representation of actual reality. The second of Baudrillard’s stages is when a sign takes something from reality and twists and distorts it into something different than what it originally represented. An example of this in "The Storm is Upon Us" is seen in the way Q believers talk about adrenochrome, which is a real but harmless chemical compound, as an elixir of youth used by the elite. Stage three is when a sign claims to be based in reality but is actually based on nothing at all. The originator of QAnon, the man who goes by “Q,” fits within this stage. Rothschild lays out Q’s origins as an anonymous poster on the website 4chan who claimed to high-level military clearance. Q’s claims were supposedly based on real-life military intel, but were actually made up by an anonymous stranger on the internet. The fourth and final of Baudrillard’s stages is the simulacrum. This is when signs do not reflect anything in reality, but instead are based on other signs. The Storm is Upon Us shows that many QAnon beliefs, both major and minor, are based in pre-existing conspiracy theories like blood libel, flat earth, and global cabals that secretly control the world. Those who are completely indoctrinated into QAnon hold these beliefs that are based on other beliefs and are therefore existing in Baudrillard’s fourth stage of the precession of simulacra. My presentation will examine these four stages and demonstrate the overlap between this critical theory and the contemporary conspiracy movement that is taking up a considerable space in the American cultural imaginary.

Authors: Joseph Nielson, Ben Schooley. Mentors: Ben Schooley. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) affects an estimated 30 million Americans and is the third leading cause of death worldwide. A recent effort to curb deaths and hospitalizations involves remote patient monitoring (RPM). Of all possible monitoring parameters, spirometry presents itself as potentially accurate and helpful, but the exact effect and its size remain to be described. A systematic literature review is being performed to describe the current state and future opportunities in RPM systems that use remote spirometry for COPD patients. Only studies that specifically mention the use remote spirometry for monitoring COPD patients were included. The databases PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO were searched in July and August 2023. Studies are being synthesized by tabulating the study sizes and designs, technological parameters, and interesting findings. Twenty-nine studies have been included spanning feasibility and pilot studies as well as one randomized clinical trial. Remote spirometry for COPD patients has generally been shown to be feasible. Many studies present systems in early stages of development that have yet to be tested thoroughly in large trials. It may be necessary to involve remote spirometry in more large-scale trials soon. Future studies could confirm the degree to which spirometry adds helpful information for monitoring COPD patients.

Authors: A. Kalani Brubaker. Mentors: Nathan Crane. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Binder Jetting is an exciting form of Additive Manufacturing in which a binding agent is selectively deposited on layers of powder to bind the powder together and create a 3D printed part. It is notable for its wide range of materials, energy efficiency, and built-in supports. Much research has been done on how to achieve desirable properties of binder-jetted parts and post-processing, but the fundamental principles of binder-powder interaction and the effects of changing printing parameters are still not fully understood. This research aims to increase that understanding. Each binder-jetted part begins by depositing individual binder droplets in a straight line, and the binder-powder droplets coalesce to form a single line. Adjacent lines are then printed to form a cross-section of the part, the next layer of powder is applied, and the process continues until a 3D part is printed. If the spacing between the droplets is too large or the inter-arrival time too short, the droplets form spheres on the surface of the powder (a phenomenon called balling), and a continuous line is not formed. This research determines how continuous line formation is affected by droplet spacing, inter-arrival time, and controlled misting of the powder bed prior to printing. To examine the effects of these parameters, lines were printed in dry and prewetted powder beds while varying the spacing and inter-arrival time between droplets. The beds were then examined using an optical microscope to determine whether continuous lines were formed. The results were recorded on a graph of inter-arrival time versus droplet spacing, and the “boundary line” for successful line formation was found for each bed. The results showed that the boundary on the prewetted data exhibited a different relationship than dry powder beds, suggesting that a different binder-powder principle may dominate after prewetting. The prewetting also shifted the boundary upwards, making it possible to form continuous lines at higher droplet spacings and shorter inter-arrival times. This increased ability to form continuous lines has the potential to significantly increase the throughput of binder-jetted parts.

Authors: Kaerli Ringle. Mentors: Johnathan Chidester. Insitution: Southern Utah University. This presentation will discuss the way that music affects memory retention, memory recall, and how it can influence the memory of moments, moods, and emotions. The Public Broadcasting System produced an educational video about how listening to music boosts learning and memory. Research from Harvard noted that while neuro-imaging a patient, singing will help a patient during recovery with a brain injury or a stroke. This results because the left-brain region is majorly responsible for our speech function. Researchers also noted that because singing takes place in the right hemisphere, recovering stroke, Dementia and Alzheimer’s patients are able to regain their speech through singing and eventually being able to transition back into speaking. Having knowledge of how music affects the brain can help build great study habits and empower people to retain new information, recall old information, and have influence over their and other people’s emotions. This is important because music is around us all of the time, whether it is walking through the grocery store or playing through earbuds while studying, and if it has such power to influence these things, then why not use it to the fullest of its potential?

Authors: James Wade, Chris Paul. Mentors: Nathan Usevitch. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Soft Robotics offer significant advantages when completing certain tasks compared to other robots and methods. Compliance, adaptability, and energy efficiency are a few of the major advantages. On the moon, where safety, volume and versatility are of high importance, soft robotics may find an innovative niche. NASA’s BIG Idea Challenge for 2024 incentivizes creating new innovative soft robot designs. Our research group is building our facility mentor, Nathan Usevitch’s, work at Stanford University. Doctor Usevitch and his cohort developed an octahedral, inflated robot composed of multiple tubes folded into triangular shapes in a truss-like structure. Each triangle consisted of a long inflatable tube and 3 motorized modules at the nodes of the triangle. The motorized nodes (consisting of a DC motor and rollers) roll along the length of the tube, lengthening one edge of the triangle while shortening the other. By attaching multiple triangles to each other in geometric shapes, flexible structures are created that can adapt their shape to the desired need. Because this system has a constant inflated volume, no external air compressor is necessary, allowing for untethered movement. The bulk of the mechanical work is performed by electric motors, providing a higher energy efficiency than a system of repeated inflation. Furthermore, this design is compactly stored when deflated, optimal for transport into space.To build on this design and optimize it for use on the moon, our research group will make the following changes and improvements:- Developing the physical prototype. This will enable robust and dynamic movement and the support of large loads- Develop a simulation tool that allows us to explore different configurations of the robot for different tasks- Develop a joint system that allows an astronaut to quickly reconfigure the triangles into different structures based on the required task - Develop a control approach that accounts for the underdamped dynamics of large inflatable structuresThrough our research, we hope to expand the possibilities of soft robotics. We are synthesizing the advantages of traditional robotics (robustness, untethered motion) with the unique strengths of soft robotics (flexibility, adaptability, cost efficiency).

Authors: Maggie Smith, Bryan L Koenig. Mentors: Bryan L Koenig. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Nationwide, Utah ranks 14th for suicide rates (CDC, 2021). To help prevent suicide, understanding suicidal ideation differences among certain populations such as sexual, ethnic, and racial minorities is important. One study found that LGBTQ+ individuals are three times more likely than non-LGBTQ+ individuals to attempt suicide at some point in their lives (di Giacomo et al. 2018). Religious background has also been connected to suicidality. Sterling and colleagues (2002) discovered that active LDS males aged 15–34 years have a lower risk of suicide compared with both less active LDS members and non-LDS individuals. Whereas some studies have samples of diverse ages and locations, research on suicidality among college students specifically in Utah is lacking. The purpose of the present research is to assess how demographic variables such as religious identity, biological sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and racial/ethnic identity are connected to suicidality at a regional university in the Southwestern United States, Southern Utah University. In this study, 1,397 SUU Students took at least one of two surveys that asked about mental health variables and demographics. Suicidal ideation was measured using the Suicidality Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire Revised (Osman et al., 2001). Results indicate that the more minoritized identities students had, the more likely they were to be suicidal. Other findings include that LGBTQ+ students were very likely to be suicidal, cisgender students were less likely to be suicidal, and female students were more likely than male students to be suicidal. Additionally, suicidality was lowest among LDS students and highest among non-religious participants.

Authors: Breanne Herrmann. Mentors: Paul Stavast. Insitution: Brigham Young University. The construction and preservation of the Berlin Wall in 20th century Germany has perpetuated a social legacy perceived differently in various countries. Although the historical facts are unchangeable, their representation by institutions in each country varies and reveals their unique participation with the German Democratic Republic. This paper analyzes the portrayal of the Berlin Wall and surrounding GDR events in museums in both Berlin, Germany and American cities. Die Mauer, The Wall museum at Leipziger Platz in Berlin serves as a model of the German perspective. Its focus on the logistics of the Berlin Wall and the social impact in Germany and surrounding satellite countries is compared to the portrayal in American museums, which assume a more general approach of the Berlin Wall as a symbol of greater political struggles. This includes a consideration of locations of museums in America as well as information presented in the exhibits. Identifying differences between museums in these two countries provides insight into the experience of each during the GDR period and subsequent social perceptions of the Berlin Wall's history.

Authors: Maisie Baird, Hugh Kerry, Samuel Otterstrom. Mentors: Samuel Otterstrom. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Throughout the history of the United States, populations have experienced continual fluctuations across its diverse landscape. Although much research has focused on the growth and decline of cities and counties, many of these studies have focused on the positive population growth in larger cities and counties, insomuch that scholars and the public might have an incomplete or skewed view of the historical population geography of the country. However, this paper presents a broader perspective, including times of both population growth and decrease across regions and multiple decades and showing how these trends do not follow strictly positive trajectories nor exhibit isolated randomness. This paper will focus on specific examples of counties across the United States, highlighting why there were population ‘top-outs’ in these areas. For example, Sheridan County, Nebraska experienced a population boom at the onset of World War I, as it became the United States’ primary source of potash. However, at the end of World War I, potash could again be cheaply imported from Europe so, Sheridan County lost its booming industry, resulting in population decline. This research delves into the concept of population ‘topping out’ in counties, emphasizing a comprehensive understanding achieved through a holistic framework that accounts for geographic, regional, economic, and temporal aspects.

Authors: Kelsey Grimshaw, Julie Pynn, Kirsten Graham. Mentors: Kirsten Graham. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological illness, yet very little is known about it. Studies have found that stigma has created challenges for people with epilepsy in economic and social capacities (Walker, 2018). It is suggested that stigma surrounding epilepsy is due to a lack of awareness (Al-Dossari, 2018). A Qualtrics survey will be administered to a sample of Southern Utah University students to solicit their awareness of epilepsy and their perceptions of stigma regarding people with epilepsy. Additionally, interviews will be conducted with a second sample of people who identify as having epilepsy to discover their perceptions regarding awareness and stigma. The results of the two samples will be compared. It is hypothesized that the stigmas identified in university students will be consistent with experiences described in interviews of people with epilepsy. The findings from this study could aid in the normalization and destigmatization of epilepsy and other chronic illnesses in society.

Authors: Annabelle Crawford. Mentors: Celeste Beesley. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Women who run for office do not fit societal leadership expectations, which hurts their chances of being elected (Bauer 2020; Eagly and Karau 2002). Women who serve in male-coded positions face backlash for confronting issues that are incongruent with stereotypically feminine attributes (Davidson-Schmich, Jalalzai, and Och 2023). I theorize that social role incongruence is exacerbated for women who serve on male-coded legislative committees. Therefore, I predict that women who serve on male-coded committees are reelected less frequently than women who do not serve on male-coded committees. However, I propose that women with leadership roles on male-coded committees are members of the political elite and therefore will be reelected at rates similar to other legislators. This research will employ a census of female legislators from both houses of the U.S. Congress who began their tenure between 1993 and 2022, using data compiled by the Congressional Research Service. Whether a committee is male-coded or female-coded (or gender-neutral) will be determined based on whether men or women dominate the industry associated with the committee. Social role incongruence will be measured by analyzing public perceptions of female legislators during the time they served on a male-coded committee. I will use regression analysis to determine the effect of serving on a male-coded committee on a woman’s gender role incongruence. I will then compare the proportion of reelection races won by women who served on a male-coded committee to the proportion of races won by women who served on a female-coded or gender-neutral committee using difference in proportions tests. I will also compare the electoral success of women who held leadership roles on male-coded committees to the electoral success of other legislators.

Authors: Kirsten Graham, Julie Pynn. Mentors: Kirsten Graham. Insitution: Southern Utah University. This study looks at how the LGBT+ population deals with concerns of identity, societal acceptance, and discrimination. The research identifies three primary coping mechanisms that affect resiliency: problem-focused coping, emotional coping, and avoidant coping. The purpose of the study is to determine how coping strategies and resilience relate to obstacles faced by Southern Utah University students. It makes use of qualitative data analysis, the Brief-Scale COPE, and the Brief-Resilience scales. I hypothesize with the quantitative data LGBT individuals who employ strong problem-focused skills are expected to demonstrate higher levels of resilience scoping, LGBT individuals who employ high levels of emotion focused-coping skills are expected to demonstrate low levels of resiliency, and those that demonstrate high levels of avoidant focused-coping are expected to demonstrate low levels of resiliency. Qualitative data analysis will reveal common thematic patterns in the use of problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping skills among LGBT+ individuals, providing insights into their coping strategies related to discrimination, social acceptance, and identity. Understanding how the LGBT+ community at Southern Utah University manages to cope with challenges is crucial because it can result in better support and wellbeing. Results are forthcoming

Authors: Jared Hanks, Kevan LaFrance, Julie Pynn. Mentors: Kevan LaFrance. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Implicit Bias is a form of bias that occurs subconsciously but influences conscious actions. It often occurs as racial bias and in apolitical environments (Gassner, 2014). Research shows those who are more conservative leaning are prone to racial bias (Brown, 2019). This research will broaden our understanding of implicit biases with political preferences taken into account. Using an Implicit Association Test, participants will sort "good" and "bad" words as they sort African-American or European-American faces. Research shows there is a correlation between thought compatibility and speed as connections we subconsciously hold are made faster (West, 2021). We predict those with conservative views will have a higher rate of association between black and bad words than those with progressive views, and those who lean progressive will feel they have more implicit bias when asked. this research will enhance our understanding of political bias and more importantly those who take the test will be given a chance to assess their own biases and be provided some tools to live with bias or seek to combat it. Results are forthcoming.

Authors: Willow Norton, Kaleb Cox, Jaycen Sunderman, Jessalyn Warhurt. Mentors: Kirsten L. Graham. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Positive awe is a feeling of wonder, insignificance, reverence, etc., that is stimulated by man-made or natural events, objects, or circumstances. Monroy & Keltner list the five primary domains of awe as nature, spiritual engagement, music, dance, and psychedelics, but a scale determining the exact origin points of awe has not yet been developed. Upon researching awe more and determining that it is a universally felt emotion, we started looking at where awe may stem from, or what causes it. We have found that there are different types of awe, or that different populations may be able to feel it differently, but we could not find a measure of where it originates. In our study, we attempted to determine the sources from which people experience positive awe by developing the Positive Awe Origin Scale (PA-OS). While developing the PA-OS, we delivered our scale to five peers who tested the face value of our scale about readability and subject matter, and we then edited our scale based on the feedback we received. In the present study, participants will be recruited through social media and MTurk to complete an online survey, via Qualtrics. This survey will include likert scale items rated 1 to 5, with 1 being “strongly disagree” and 5 being “strongly agree.” Psychometric evaluation of results will include a confirmatory factor analysis and an internal consistency measure using Cronbach’s alpha. Discriminant validity will be measured as we correlate our scores with other, unrelated, scales included in the Qualtrics survey, which measure different constructs. Convergent validity will be measured as participants complete an awe subscale of the Dispositional Positive Emotion Scale (DPES). We anticipate that the PA-OS will help further identify the various sources of awe and lead to improvements in the research.

Authors: Alexa Smith. Mentors: Iliana Portaro. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Every day, more and more political ads are popping up in Spanglish or even full-out Spanish on screens across the United States. Whether or not these ads are effective is another story. The research conducted here was based on the hypothesis that in America, after its most recent, tumultuous presidential election cycle, given also that Spanish speakers are on the rise, a candidate’s bilingualism could mean the difference between winning a seat or walking home empty-handed. According to an anonymous online research survey conducted in Salem of Marion County, Oregon, this is only the case when a constituent places importance on a candidate’s language ability. Otherwise, the majority of respondents remained largely indifferent. Additionally, this study determines that more can be done to encourage Latinx individuals to participate in the political system, and it all starts with community outreach. The results of this survey are based on a small, mostly Caucasian sample size, but there is still much to be examined.

Authors: Alexis Downey, Kylee Navin, Brice Page, Alyssa Franklin, Hannah Cluff, Julie Johnson Pynn. Mentors: Julie Johnson Pynn. Insitution: Southern Utah University. “Gender expression refers to the way a person expresses their gender identity through appearance, behavior, and interests” (Helgenson, 2020). Previous research has shown that clothing has been used as a form of self-expression and that this expression of self-perception is more important for cisgender women (Strubel and Goswami, 2022). Additionally, previous research has found that conservative beliefs predict generalized prejudice toward gender-nonconforming individuals (Prusaczyk and Hodson, 2020). Felt pressure from peers and the self has been found to relate with greater gender typicality (Jackson et al. 2021), which leads us to believe that images of others may influence comfort and conformity with one’s own gender expression. The purpose of our study is to better understand the effects of appearance and political affiliation on comfort and conformity with gender expression. Participants were exposed to one of two visual manipulations: images of gender-conforming individuals, and images of gender-nonconforming individuals. Participants were asked to complete the Comfort and Conformity with Gender Expression Survey before and after being exposed to the images. We predicted that viewing images of gender non-conforming individuals would decrease participants' comfort and conformity with their gender expression, while viewing images of gender-conforming individuals would increase participants' comfort and conformity with their gender expression. Results will be forthcoming. Gender identity and expression are evolving rapidly, and it is important to examine masculinity and femininity in relation to gender non-conforming individuals rather than just gender-conforming individuals.

Authors: Reagan Wexels, Lauren Davis, Mason Peterson, Oliver Swanson, Rebekah Story, Julie Johnson Pynn, . . Mentors: Julie Johnson Pynn. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Environmental identity may affect an individual's pro-environmental behaviors, along with their association with the world around them (Clayton et al., 2021.) This concept demonstrates how people act according to their personality and values in relation to the natural world (Wesolek, 2020.)The degree of connection that an individual feels can be measured by the Connectedness to Nature Scale (Mayer et al., 2004.) The purpose of this study is to better understand the effect of Peter Kahn’s technological nature (2011) on people's connection to nature. We hypothesize that mindfulness meditation, which utilizes technological nature, will increase the connection to nature experienced by the participants in comparison to wilderness survival instruction utilizing technological nature. Research has established a link between mindfulness and an individual's connection to nature (Adventure-Heart et al., 2017.) Results will be forthcoming. The proposed study is important, because many people feel less connected to nature than ever. Understanding how to reconnect with the environment will allow greater access to the benefits of doing so.

Authors: Jacob Hutchings, Harrison Li. Mentors: Joe Price. Insitution: Brigham Young University. We examine the effectiveness of federal school nutrition policies and regulations; specifically, the recent transitional targets for sodium reduction announced in 2021. We performed web-scraping to gather over 5 million observations representing every U.S. state and over 2000 school districts and then constructed a weekly average of sodium served in school lunches by district. Using this data, we apply OLS regression with district fixed effects and find that the policy caused a significant, one-time reduction in weekly average sodium of approximately 220 mg. We further explore this result by looking at heterogeneous responses to the policy by political partisanship. We find that there is a significant, partisan response to the transitional targets. Lastly, we consider an adverse effect of sodium reduction by looking at potential sodium substitutes in school lunches. Contrary to expectations, our data shows a statistically significant correlation between decreased sodium levels and decreased sugar levels. To conclude, sodium reduction policies reduce sodium and other harmful nutrients but may be less effective across party lines.

Authors: James Hall. Mentors: Paul Stavast. Insitution: Brigham Young University. As of November 2023 the Utah Statewide Archaeological Society's social media pages have close to 4 thousand followers, which shows that interest in Archaeology. From 1955 to around the mid-90s USAS members contributed greatly to the archaeological research and the protection of archaeological sites and the materials created by those people that had called what is now Utah home. Through the partnership of Universities and Museums they had great success and this poster aims to highlight some of those successes and push for Museums to continue facilitating these opportunities.

Authors: Samantha Denbow, Katie Finlinson, Carley Grube, Joseph Johnson, Tanner Dougherty. Mentors: Kirsten L Graham. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Religious affiliation is rapidly declining (Engelman, 2019). Given that religions often perpetuate an in-group out-group dynamic, bidirectional prejudices can be seen between both people who are a part of and people who are not a part of religion (Jackson & Hunsberger, 1999). One explanation for this phenomena of leaving religion and increased prejudice is that there is a shift in attitudes towards religion. Attitudes affect behavior and may explain why people are leaving religion and becoming more prejudiced towards religious and non-religious groups. Our scale Attitudes Towards Religion (ATR) aims to measure attitudes towards religion to better understand why these cultural shifts are happening. We have defined attitudes as “a mostly enduring organization of thoughts, feelings, and behavioral tendencies directed towards objects, groups, events, or symbols” (Breckler, 1984; Hogg & Vaughan, 2005). Little research has been done to determine attitudes as a three part model (affect, cognition, and behavior) when examining religion. The current measures used to examine attitudes towards religion are less defined and fail to address the tripartite model of attitudes by relying more on affective and cognitive components of attitudes (Breckler, 1984). One such scale is called the Astley–Francis Scale of Attitude Towards Theistic Faith, which measures attitudes through affective items on a Likert scale. As demonstrated through this scale and others, many measures are also limited to attitudes of theistic, western religions, rather than encompassing nontheistic religions (Astley et al., 2012; Szydłowski et al., 2021). Attitudes are important to research because they impact daily choices in every individual’s life. Our study sample will be recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk survey platform and researchers’ social media pages. We predict our scale will measure attitudes towards religion to further inform current literature concerning religion and religious exit. We will examine reliability in our scale by testing Cronbach's alpha to ensure internal consistency. A small pilot group of 5 undergraduate peers reviewed the items for clarity, readability, and face validity. We then made changes to the items based on the feedback. Because our measure was developed according to a well-established tripart theory of attitude, a confirmatory factor analysis will be used to assess initial factor structure and how well our model fits the data. In addition, we will examine convergent validity by comparing the Astley–Francis Scale of Attitude Towards Theistic Faith with our scale. Discriminant validity will be examined by comparing other non-related scales that measure different constructs with our scale. With this information, further research can be done to understand the correlation between attitudes towards religion and religious participation/exit. The authors for this project are Samantha Denbow, Katie Finlinson, Joseph Johnson, Tanner Dougherty, and Carley Grube. This information will be presented in a poster format.

Authors: Rachel Bi, Chong Meng. Mentors: Rachel Bi. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The full proposal is available upon request. This research project is sponsored by the Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill Endowed Fellowship, which provides $10,000 in funding.Abstract:Over the past decade, the financial technology (FinTech) industry has experienced remarkable growth and innovation, with new products and services designed to meet the evolving needs of consumers. This rapidly expanding force is challenging and disrupting traditional financial industries in terms of product innovation, customer satisfaction, and employer demand in the labor market. In fact, global FinTech investments have soared from less than $2 billion to an impressive $142 billion in 2021, and this upward trend is expected to continue (Balyuk, Berger, and Hackney, 2020). While previous studies have focused on the impact of FinTech on income inequality, little is known about the potential of this digital technology to address gender inequality (Loko and Yang, 2022).This proposal seeks to address a specific aspect of gender inequality: the gender pay gap in finance. This term refers to the wage disparity between male and female executives in the industry. Our objective is to analyze women's compensation within the FinTech sector, identify factors contributing to the gender pay gap, and develop recommendations to address this issue. Specifically, we have the following hypotheses:H1: Gender pay gaps among executives should shrink in the FinTech industry.Public FinTech firms are typically younger and smaller than other publicly traded companies. Because managers in smaller firms are generally less risk-averse and have a stronger preference for taking risks, we hypothesize that the gender pay gap between female and male executives could widen due to differences in risk-aversion.H1a: Gender pay gaps among executives should enlarge in the FinTech industry.Our second hypothesis centers on comparing gender pay gaps in the pre- and post-initial public offering (IPO) stages of the same company. The public market is widely recognized as crucial in overseeing and limiting managers' pursuit of risk (Asker, Farre-Mensa, and Ljungqvist, 2015). If executives' risk aversion changes with access to the public market, we anticipate that gender pay gaps will decrease following IPOs. Therefore, H2: Gender pay gaps among executives should shrink in FinTech firms after their initial public offerings. Institutional investors in the public market can shape the internal corporate governance structure (Dasgupta, Fos, and Sautner, 2021). We anticipate that board diversity, measured by the percentage of female executives on the board, will increase after IPOs. Consequently, we predict that the changes in gender pay gaps between the pre-IPO and post-IPO periods will be more noticeable when the board is less diverse prior to IPOs. H2a: The decrease in gender pay gaps should be more pronounced when the board of a Fintech firm is less diversified before IPOs.

Authors: Claudia Wiese, Josh Steffen, Heather Briggs, Rodolfo Probst. Mentors: Josh Steffen. Insitution: University of Utah. Evaluating effect of formic acid treatment on foraging behaviors of Apis mellifera through pollen DNA metabarcoding using the MinION deviceBees play a vital role in maintaining the health and productivity of terrestrial ecosystems by providing pollination to many of the world’s plants. In recent decades, many bee species, including Apis mellifera (European honeybee), have experienced worldwide population declines.Varroa destructor, an external parasite, is one of the leading causes of honeybee population declines, as they are the primary cause of colony collapse disorder.Various methods exist to control the impact of V. destructor, including Formic Acid (FA) treatment, a well-documented solution to reducing V. destructor numbers. Yet, despite clearly established evidence that A. mellifera behaviors are very sensitive to changes in their hive environment, very few studies have looked at the effect of FA on honeybee foraging behavior. DNA metabarcoding is a powerful tool allowing ecologists to quantitatively assess differences in diet within species without the need for extensive knowledge of pollen taxonomy or complicated fieldwork experiments.In this study, A. mellifera hives (n=7) were split into control (n=3) and treatment groups (n=4). Pollen samples were collected from all hives before, during, and after FA treatment to compare if FA application impacted the foraging patterns of the bees in the treated colonies as compared to the control group. To compare foraging patterns between the treatments, we performed metabarcoding using the trnL (UAA) chloroplast intronic region, commonly used to barcode plant species. Amplicons were subsequently sequenced with a portable sequencer (ONT MinION Mk1C). Basecalling, quality check, demultiplexing, and filtering of the data were conducted with Guppy and Medaka. Obtained sequences (n=120 reads) were compared to a reference database with BLAST to determine the sequence identity of visited plants. With this information, we plan to compare absolute foraging numbers, species, and related ratios between control and experimental hives. Most sequences were assigned with a high percentage identity to a sample database (>89%), Although certain species (e.g., Malus sylvestris [European crab apple] and Prunus avium [wild cherry]) were probably visited by all hives, our preliminary findings show that pollen loads differ between control and experimental conditions, indicating a variation in floral visitation.These results suggest that FA treatment, while effective at controlling V. destructor, may impact honeybee foraging patterns. Further research is needed to understand if this behavioral change is detrimental to the health of the colony, and the consequences of variation in floral visitation to pollination networks.

Authors: Em Hart. Mentors: Nicole Dib. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The legend of King Arthur has withstood the test of time unlike any other work of literature. Not only is a tale originating from a post-Roman Britain still known today, it is influential and pervasive, impacting the building blocks, themes, and motifs of contemporary stories in genres ranging from fantasy to superheroes to propaganda pieces. Given the legend’s undeniable influence, it sparks the question of what characteristics have allowed this tale to transcend the standard literary lifetime. One theory attributes the legend’s universality to the romantic narrative structure that it gained during the French Vulgate Cycle in the thirteenth century. Though undoubtedly a contributing factor given the structure’s popularity at the time, this theory neglects to consider more common and proven factors of audience appeal, particularly the appeal that similarly transcends temporary trends and tastes. When considering Arthurian legend’s universality, it is important to acknowledge what elements remain consistent over the centuries as opposed to what has more freedom to change with the shifting tastes of the cultures it touches. Arthurian legend, despite the massive changes it has undergone, maintains elements that allow audiences across time to accurately identify it as Arthurian legend. Though stories can carry elements popularized or introduced by Arthuriana in the modern day, those elements do not necessarily make that story Arthurian in the perception of the reader. However, there are stories that change narrative structure, medium, time, place, and even popular plot points, that are still recognized as Arthurian. A similar phenomenon can be seen outside of Arthuriana in more contemporary stories that outlast their expected literary lifetimes. With this in mind, this presentation will consider the ways that Fan Studies explore the communities, individuals, and passions that have replicated this phenomenon. When engaging with this area of study and the elements that source it, a pattern emerges, showing a characteristic that commonly fuels the burgeoning universality of these celebrated stories. In fan works, things like narrative structure, medium, time, and plot all change freely, allowing for the consistencies to become clear. The characters, their bonds, their flaws, and their dramatic needs remain consistent across ever-changing landscapes, be it in fandom circles or the centuries and cultures touched by Arthurian legend. With this guide from other stories and their early universality, my paper will make it clear that an audience appeal substantial enough to transcend centuries is ultimately accessed through characterization, an essential element of the Arthurian legend.

Authors: Jared K Bradshaw. Mentors: Brandon Ro. Insitution: Utah Valley University. This research seeks to analyze if there exists an understanding of structural design principles among untrained humans. Building forms and styles have evolved since the earliest structures. For thousands of years buildings were limited by naturally occurring materials. Designs of those periods reflected the structural principles of those materials. In the last few hundred years technological advances have provided structural methods which radically altered how buildings can be designed. An example is the difference in column spacing between historic and modern buildings, where the former has much tighter spacing due to natural material’s spanning limitations. To analyze the understanding of untrained humans an eye-tracking study was conducted using A.I.-3M-VAS eye-tracking software. This technology utilizes artificial intelligence to graphically display eye gaze sequences, patterns, and durations of focus. The software reflects the first few seconds of eye-tracking, providing insights into subconscious reactions before a logical response is formed. Images of structural elements were designed digitally to reflect a variety of forms, maintain cohesiveness, and remove visual variables. Each image was individually processed through the software providing isolated results. The results of the study show consistent patterns of focus on locations of structural significance, such as bearing points, connections, and material loads. The consistency by which these concepts received focus concludes that there is an innate human ability to locate structural methods of building. Of note the structural forms which adhered to the limits of natural materials registered different eye tracking patterns than the modern manipulated material forms. The historic methods displayed even tracking throughout the structure, whereas the modern methods created hot spots at the points of greatest structural significance. The differences further emphasizes that untrained people are not limited to just understanding familiar structural forms. This will allow for further research on the physiological effects between form types.

Authors: Spencer Thompson. Mentors: Sayeed Sajal. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The widespread use of Large Language Models (LLMs) in various industries raises critical concerns about user data privacy and security. This research focuses on two key vulnerabilities: prompt attacks and unauthorized retrieval of sensitive training data. We employ a straightforward methodology to craft effective system messages that neutralize malicious queries in real-time, thereby mitigating prompt attacks. To prevent the unauthorized extraction of sensitive information, we build on the concept of strong system messages. We aim to identify a system message that minimizes computational overhead while maximizing effectiveness. Our results demonstrate that a strategically-crafted system message can guide an LLM's output in a manner that enhances data security without compromising computational efficiency.

Authors: Audrey Wells. Mentors: Fredric Govedich. Insitution: Southern Utah University. This project is an interdisciplinary meta-analysis of literature across neuroscience, psychology, biochemistry, and biological anthropology. I am interested in comparing the neural physiology of love relationships to that of recreational drug use. I have cross referenced studies on the areas of activation and neurotransmitter level changes for each of these experiences. Both of these activities, specifically when comparing drugs to the infatuation stage of a relationship, show a dramatic increase in the reward complex within the center of the human brain, as well as an increase in risky behavior and obsession with the object of attraction/addiction. I then continued in an analysis of the termination from either positive stimuli, namely, rejection from a lover, and recreational drug withdrawal. I have found that within the motivational sectors of the brain, activation when viewing your rejector, as well as the heightened dopamine produced, show comparable similarities to those who are experiencing an active physiology drug withdrawal.

Authors: Jonas P Knochelmann. Mentors: Rogelio E. Cardona-Rivera. Insitution: University of Utah. Despite the highly technical nature of Procedural Content Generation (PCG), the holistic study of the discipline is minimal and qualitative. We argue that this gap exists because there is no formal framework to talk about PCG artifacts and algorithms and propose the mathematical field of group theory to serve as such a framework. Group theory is a well-established discipline that has been embraced in chemistry, physics, and art, with tools for analyzing, combining, and generating objects based on their structure. We outline a specific method for applying group theory to PCG and explore a number of case studies in the hopes of developing a more unified formal framework for future study.

Authors: Tia Dudley, Ty Erickson. Mentors: Matthew Weeg, Mary Jo Tufte. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The pharmacological investigation of plant essential oils has been expanding due to their suspected health implications. Research supports that plant essential oils have cardiovascular benefits, including reducing blood pressure and managing hypertension. Our research centers on stinging nettle and its effect on the vasculature in frogs. Existing evidence shows that stinging nettle can be used to treat hypertension, a disease intensified by vasoconstriction. Our study aims to investigate if stinging nettle causes a relaxation in smooth muscle and vasodilation. We administered stinging nettle on the vasculature in frogs and measured the diameter of the blood vessels before, during, and after the application. Results show that the application of stinging nettle has a vasodilating effect on some of the smaller blood vessels. The vasodilation is a potential mechanism for the anti-hypertensive effects of stinging nettle. These findings illustrate a probable avenue in cardiovascular medicine and highlight the potential of plant oils in reshaping the landscape of modern health.

Authors: Jenna Norris. Mentors: Kerry Muhlestein. Insitution: Brigham Young University. In the hot and dry climate of the Fag el-Gamous Cemetery in Egypt, a wide range of elaborately woven textiles have been preserved, each with unique characteristics and technical elements. Through analyzing technical elements, this research aims to reveal evidence of foreign textile production or materials incorporated in Fag el-Gamous burials. The BYU Egypt Excavation Team has been excavating at the cemetery for over 40 years, uncovering important information about the region’s ancient inhabitants. Due to their exceptional preservation, textiles can provide significant insights into the lives and identities of the individuals buried at the site. While studies have been conducted in the past to address how socioeconomic status and religious affiliation are reflected in textiles, more remains to be learned about how foreign connections and trade affected textile production in the Fayoum region. This research aims to utilize both technical and design analysis to identify foreign textiles—including analyzing weaving techniques, thread manipulations, and woven motifs. It will also aim to use these forms of analyses to detect potential indications of immigration, providing a foundation for future research into connections between immigrant status and funerary practices.

Authors: Megan DuVal, John Longino, Rodolfo da Silva Probst. Mentors: John Longino. Insitution: University of Utah. Army ants (Formicidae: Dorylinae) are top predators throughout most tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Their nomadic colonies and cooperative social hunting make them behaviorally and ecologically unique keystone species that are of conservation concern. Their status as nomadic top predators makes army ants vulnerable in areas affected by habitat fragmentation. An obstacle to conservation efforts is the outdated army ant species-level taxonomy, which hasn’t been updated since the 1950s for many genera. For Labidus, a widespread and ecologically important army ant genus in the Americas, there are currently seven valid species recognized solely based on morphology of workers and/or males. Three species are only based on males, which need to be associated with their respective workers, and within the four primarily worker-based species, there are likely cryptic species. To address these issues, we applied cutting-edge phylogenetics and phylogenomics to update the species-level taxonomy. To construct our phylogenetic tree, we used ultraconserved elements (UCEs, which use thousands of regions across the genome and can accurately infer evolutionary relationships across broad timescales) from 17 specimens, 66 COI barcodes from the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD), and 35 new COI barcodes obtained through in-house Nanopore sequencing. Through our analyses, we found that the genus Labidus contains at least 11 species and that all of the previously recognized wide-ranging species are made up of multiple cryptic species with more restricted ranges. We were able to associate all three previously identified male-based species with their respective workers. We have also found patterns of parallel and overlapping biogeography across multiple Labidus clades. Our UCE+Nanopore approach allows for an updated taxonomy of Labidus, leading to a better understanding of its evolutionary history and a better ability to promote its conservation.

Authors: Jacob Willoughby. Mentors: Joshua Price. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Gender pay inequality remains a persistent and widely discussed issue across various professions and industries. I was curious about the extent that this issue affects the field of psychology as it is an industry that is quite significantly dominated by woman. This econometrics paper delves into the complex landscape of possible gender-based wage disparities within the realm of psychology. By employing rigorous statistical analysis and econometric techniques, I aim to uncover the underlying factors contributing to the pay gap between male and female psychologists. Understanding the intricacies of this phenomenon is not only essential for promoting fairness and equality in the workplace but also for fostering a more inclusive and diverse community within the field of psychology. This study endeavors to shed light on the extent of the pay gap, its determinants, and potential policy implications to address this critical issue in the profession.

Authors: Addie Ressler. Mentors: Jacob R. Hickman. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Since the conflict named “the Troubles”, infrastructure and symbolic imagery have been used to divide areas within Northern Ireland and mark territory between Loyalist and Republican communities. While the larger community in Belfast is still held by these physically and socially enforced boundaries, the art community actively defies these restrictive borders by renting, renovating, and then transforming buildings and spaces within segregated areas. In this paper, I analyze the unique and incomparable role that artists can play in pushing against the sectarian attitudes that persist within Belfast. Their success is dependent, in part, on the spaces they occupy and the use of those spaces. I argue that because artists infuse their studios and buildings with metaphysical meaning, artist collectives are able to provide neutral spaces where individuals from the opposing communities can come in contact with one another. Ultimately, members of the art community in Belfast strive to produce a commune-like entity that can act as a microcosm for an ideal Belfast.

Authors: Talia Berglund. Mentors: Michael T. Searcy. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Fremont Red-on-Gray Pottery Specific to the Northern Macro-Region of inhabitance, there has yet to be a comprehensive cataloging of Fremont red-on-gray ceramics. As such, I will be asking the following research questions in regard to this type of ceramic: What designs were painted on Great Salt Lake red-on-gray? And how do these designs compare to other Fremont ceramic types? In order to effectively answer these questions, I will look at Great Salt Lake Fremont ceramic vessels and sherds with traces of red paint on the surface, with a particular emphasis on the artifacts found at Hinckley mounds but comparing them to Wolf Village specimens as well. The research will include recording the shapes and designs that are painted on the vessels, as well as measuring width and length of these lines and shapes. I will also investigate what the red pigment is made out of–using either PXRF or microscopic analysis. These methods will generate a catalog of designs found on red-on-gray ceramics, as well as a data set that will allow me to look for patterns among the painted designs. I plan to develop a general typology of red-on-gray Fremont pottery based on the sample investigated.In carrying out this research, we should be able to assess whether or not the Fremont in the Northern Macro-Region shared painting practices with other Fremont in different areas, and thus possibly determine how they viewed themselves as belonging to or different from other nearby groups of people. If a pattern emerges and red-on-gray designs are shared between groups, then perhaps they interacted with and associated with those groups. If there is a lack of shared practices and designs, the opposite could be potentially true.

Authors: Amber Clayton. Mentors: Michael Searcy. Insitution: Brigham Young University. This summer, an excavation took place at the Hinckley Mounds, which included the recovery of many different artifacts. Artifacts found include faunal bones—the main object of my research project. The Fremont people left behind so many different things for us to find. They hunted particular animals; which can indicate which animals may have contributed most to their diets and may have also been used to contribute to other aspects of their lives. Many questions can be answered with the analysis of faunal bones: Which faunal bones show up more than others? What does the variety of animals teach us about the Fremont people at Hinckley Mounds? Through the analysis of the faunal assemblage I will be conducting, I will be able to tell which animals are more common in the assemblage. I believe this will also be able to tell me which animals played a more prominent part in the lives of the Fremont people.My primary goal is to determine the typology of the faunal bones by using the comparative collection at the Museum of Peoples and Cultures in order to see if I can identify the animals left behind by the Fremont people at Hinckley Mounds. Hundreds of faunal bones were found, so many of them that it will be impossible for me to analyze all of them during fall semester. However, I will strive to analyze representative sample of them so I have some good sample data. I will then use the data from 2023 and the results from the 2015 field season to write up the research for this project.

Authors: Katrina Kim. Mentors: Joshua Price. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The gender wage gap has been a persistent issue in the labor market for several decades, resulting in inequalities in workforce opportunities for women. Traditionally, this gap has often been attributed to observable characteristics, referred to as "human capital determinants" which characterized jobs in to male-dominated and female-dominated roles. This division was based on factors such as job requirements and physical labor, leading to disparities in wages. However, recent decades have seen a narrowing of the gender wage gap due to increased opportunities and the emergence of the gig economy. While Uber is one of the most widely recognized gig economy platforms, this study aims to explore whether the gender wage gap persists or narrows across various technology-based job markets. Utilizing data from the Gig Economy Data Hub, which includes information from gig worker surveys, tax returns, demographics, and more, this research seeks to identify the factors influencing gender pay disparities. The study will examine income differentials between male and female gig workers across multiple platforms, taking into account various wage determinants and tax statuses. Additionally, demographic variables including race and household income will be considered as wage disparities exist not only between genders but also among different minority groups. By examining various factors, this study will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of the gig economy on gender pay equity and inform potential policy interventions aimed at addressing these disparities.

Authors: Ashlyn Clark. Mentors: Lynnette Finau. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Festivals, museums, bookstores, and Shinto shrines might not seem to have a lot in common, but implicit Nationalist ideals find their way into each of these, leaving their mark in the transmission of Japanese identity. In this study of Yasukuni Jinja and the Yushukan Museum (the Tokyo National War and Peace Memorial shrine and museum), it becomes more clear how these relate to one another, how they relate to Japanese identity, and how exactly they are nationalist in nature. Honor, sacrifice, tradition, and war come together to create a beautiful, unifying narrative that links ancestors with descendants, maintaining national identity and continuing to transmit their traditional ideals.

Authors: Alexandra Osmond, Samantha Stabler, Sara Knowlton, Sam Chipman, Brock Kirwan. Mentors: Brock Kirwan. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Memory discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish between different memories or experiences based on their unique characteristics or details. The Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) is a variant of a recognition memory task that assesses memory discrimination by asking participants to encode a series of objects in long-term memory and later discriminate between targets (repeated items), lures (similar but not exactly the same as previously seen items), and foils (novel items). The similarity of targets and lures is systematically varied resulting in five similarity levels (L1-L5). The goal of our research was to determine if individuals retain memory discrimination abilities after different periods of time exceeding 12 hours. Study recruitment was done on Brigham Young University campus for 18-25 year olds with no known neurological conditions (ADHD, major depression etc.). Thirty participants were tested in each group and they were asked to complete an immediate test. They were then asked to return to the lab for a second test after a 1-day, 3-day, or 1-week delay.Our results showed that the 1-week delay of the MST eradicated an individual's ability to discriminate between the lures of varying similarity. At a 1-day delay, individuals did lose some memory discrimination ability, but were still able to recognize the more distinct lures.

Authors: Aaron Brown, Kimball Jardine, Nathan Schill, Courtney Webb, Joanne Guthrie. Mentors: Joseph Price. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Background: Many school districts consider meeting the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) sodium standards challenging. USDA national survey data indicate that in School Year 2014-15, 28% of lunch menus did not meet the standard. Entrees contributed the largest share of sodium, making their sodium content especially important.Objective: Assess variation in sodium content of popular entrees across a large national sample of school districts.Study Design, Settings, Participants: School menu data including item sodium content were obtained from 1149 school districts using an automated web scraping program.Measurable Outcome/Analysis: Menus were web scraped monthly between August 2022 and January 2023. Variation in sodium content of two popular entrees−pizza and chicken nuggets−was analyzed, with average sodium content compared across different regions in the US and also based on the per-pupil spending of the district.Results: There is statistically significant variation in entree sodium content between regions, with the South having the highest average level of sodium. The average sodium level is also highest in the districts that have the lowest per-pupil spending.Conclusion: Sodium content of popular entrees exhibits significant variation across school districts. This highlights the fact that districts could reduce the amount of sodium in their lunch entrees while still offering the popular entrees they serve.