Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

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Autocart: Spatially-Aware Regression Trees for Ecological and Spatial Modeling

Ethan Ancell

Many ecological and spatial processes are complex in nature and are not accurately modeled by linear models. Regression trees promise to handle the high-order interactions that are present in ecological and spatial datasets, but fail to produce physically realistic characterizations of the underlying landscape. The "autocart'' (autocorrelative regression trees) R package extends the functionality of previously proposed spatial regression tree methods through a spatially aware splitting function and novel adaptive inverse distance weighting method in each terminal node. The efficacy of these autocart models, including an autocart extension of random forest, is demonstrated on multiple datasets. This highlights the ability of autocart to model complex interactions between spatial variables while still providing physically realistic representations of the landscape.
Motivations and Needs of Volunteers within School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) Programs

Jocelyn Bandley

Motivations and Needs of Volunteers within School-Based Agricultural Education Programs. A critical shortage of well-trained agriculture teachers has plagued the profession for decades (Smith et al., 2019), with teacher turnover and excessive work hours being cited as contributing factors (Sorensen et al., 2016). School-based agricultural education (SBAE) is a demanding profession (Torres et al., 2008), but one way to relieve the excessive workload and possibly prevent turnover among agriculture teachers is through the utilization of volunteers. Understanding the motives for why people volunteer in SBAE programs can provide insights and recommendations for preservice teacher training, inservice teacher professional development, and stakeholder (e.g., national and state FFA alumni organizations) programming. The purpose of this study was to identify the motivations and needs of volunteers within SBAE programs. The specific objectives include: 1) Describe the characteristics of SBAE volunteers; 2) Describe SBAE volunteer motivations; and 3) Describe training needs of SBAE volunteers. Utilizing a snowball convenience sample, I distributed an anonymous online survey to SBAE volunteers in Utah and Oregon. The survey instrument consisted of the 30-item Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) scale (5-point Likert-type scale) to measure motivations to volunteer (Clary et al., 1998). I also asked participants to list topics they thought they needed for professional development training. I also asked participants about their volunteer roles, amount of time they volunteer, and some demographic questions. A total of 112 usable surveys were collected and analyzed. An analysis of early and late responses indicated no significant non-response bias (Lindner et al., 2001). The majority of respondents were female (72%), the mean age of the participants was 11.89, and the mean number of years as an SBAE volunteer was 11.58 years. The most common volunteer role reported was a member of an organized FFA Alumni group (36.8%), followed by a non-formal group of volunteers (21.5%). Overall, participants reported focusing most of their volunteering efforts on FFA activities (M = 56.49% of the time) followed by community engagement activities (M = 29.45% of the time), and classroom-related activities (M = 23.66% of the time). The findings indicate the three greatest motives for volunteering were career motives, protective motives, and enhancement motives. When asked which topics would be most beneficial for training to help them be more effective volunteers, they most commonly reported 1) a list of opportunities and resources available; and 2) volunteer leadership-related topics (how to establish a formal organization, recruitment strategies, officer/leadership training, etc.). Participants also suggested a lack of communication between the local SBAE teacher and the volunteers needs improvement. Based on the findings, it seems SBAE volunteers are mostly motivated because of the benefits to their own career pursuits. With this in mind, SBAE teachers might develop volunteer recruitment resources that capitalize on career advancement or opportunities. With the need for more resources and leadership training, I recommend that state and national alumni organizations work more closely with SBAE teachers and local SBAE volunteer groups to provide training and needed resources. I also recommend SBAE teachers increase communication with their alumni groups. Perhaps more training to preservice teachers could be provided by teacher educators regarding the utilization and management of volunteers in SBAE programs which addresses communication, leadership training, and opportunities with volunteer groups. This training should include how to utilize volunteers in more than just FFA and community engagement (e.g., SAE).
The Impact of Biological Components on a Dog's Personality

Kinsley Batson

We interact with dogs every day, and they are often referred to as "man's best friend." But what makes a dog the happy-go-lucky, cuddly fur ball of happiness that so many love? Similar to humans, there is a nature vs. nurture debate on what shapes a dog's personality. While it is likely a mixture of both, I've researched a variety of biological components that help to make a dog a dog. Some of these include face shape, how their brain responds to audio stimuli, and a specific gene, also found in children with Williams syndrome, that is thought to make them friendly. Looking at these biological components can help us to better understand dogs and our relationship with them.
Furries: The Emergence of the Modern-Day Anthropomorphism Culture

Nate Bee

A brief contextualization of what a furry is, and potential origins/explanations for the emergence of the modern-day furry.
Are Utah Consumers Interested in Using Reusable Bags?

Melyna Bencosme

This research will explore the intent and current need for Utah consumers to limit their plastic bag usage. Currently, many cities and state officials are attempting to pass a plastic bag ban. This ban would decrease plastic bags by 71% in just one year.
The Use of Dogs in Therapeutic Practices

Brynli Bleak

Dogs are becoming more and more involved in the health, mental health and educational sectors. In recent years they have been trained to assist individuals and groups in various therapies. Although the use of therapy and service dogs has become more popular in recent years, there is a long history of involving dogs in treatments. This research was targeted at discovering more about the history of therapy and service dogs, the differences between them, and the benefits that they produce for individuals.
The Earliest Drawings of Dogs

Myles Bradley

The oldest depictions of dogs ever found are over 8,000 years old, found carved into a cliff in the desert of Saudi Arabia. Studies show, however, that dogs are found coexisting with humans as far back as 30,000 years ago. If this is the case, "Why does it take so long for dogs to appear in human artwork?" Dogs have certainly been an integral part of human society for almost as long as they've been around, so what do these early images reveal about the ancient relationship between dogs and man? This paper explores possible answers to both of these questions as well as exploring specific aspects of the image in question.
Effective Use of Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD

Sarah Brinck

A comparative study of various experiments designed to determine a correlation between service dogs and effective use of managing symptoms of PTSD. The topic of interest was to see if there is ample information to either prove or disprove a correlation between the use of service dogs as a successful treatment for PTSD. Initial conclusions from various studies are seeing positive results, however, more studies with larger numbers of participants need to take place in order to secure a more definitive conclusion.
The Role of Dogs in Ancient Mesopotamia

Hannah Chester

This research summarizes the role of dogs in ancient Mesopotamian society, with an emphasis on the religious aspect of dogs in regards to the goddess Gula.
Silver Screens & Canines

Lauren Christensen

Why do we all know a "sad movie where the dog dies?" Why do film production companies continue to make this type of movie? What is so special about dogs we'll dedicate whole movies to them?In this project, I attempt to answer two questions. 1) are there any major themes shared between well-known "dog movies", and 2) how do these themes reflect our connections with dogs and ourselves? Through my research, I found three common themes that can be traced to basic human desires, including love, loyalty, and devotion. This is the reason they are desired by audiences; they capture raw emotions and demonstrate it in a pure form via a dog. Film production companies continue to make these films because they gain more favor with the audience as they include authentic, realistic relationships, as the audience can relate to them on a personal level.
Hardware Verification of Lunar Terrain Relative Navigation

Sam Christensen

Autonomous delivery to the lunar surface requires proven, cost-effective navigation techniques, especially during the final descent. Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) is a compelling solution because it has no infrastructure requirements, such as beacons on the lunar surface. However, previous validation of this technique has relied on software simulation of image acquisition and vehicle state estimation. This research leverages the autonomous drone facilities at USU to validate the TRN technique in a hardware system. A hardware demonstration will verify the effectiveness of the TRN technique in a realistic environment simulating the final descent of a lunar lander. This environment will provide realistic data using a scaled model of the lunar surface generated from digital elevation model data. The autonomous drone environment will verify performance by comparing the state estimation onboard the drone with the true state observed by the motion tracking system. Validation of this technique in a hardware application is critical for reliable autonomous navigation to the lunar surface.
Can Buying Meatless Products Decrease Climate Change?

Nicole Christiansen

In this study we researched the power that consumers have to decrease climate change through the consumption of meat. Using literature and studies that have already been conducted, we compared the inputs of meat production to those of other crops. We also studied the role that raising livestock has on climate change. We found that livestock raising has a more significant impact on climate change than transportation in terms of greenhouse gasses. Livestock also uses far more land and water resources than raising crops. In this study we also analyzed the types of realistic changes that consumers can make in their diet and the potential reversal impact that it could have on climate change. These changes include avoiding red meat, going meatless one day per week, or even going meatless all together by consuming only meat substitutes. Our objective in this study is to show how buying and consuming more meatless products can make small but significant impacts on climate change.
A Closer Look at the Modern Bond Between Dogs and Humans

Mallory Colwell

For this project, I wanted to take a closer look at a human's bond with their dog. This bond has been there for centuries, but recently has produced some distinct phenomenon. I believe that dog movies, dog birthdays, and dog social media showcase the modern human to dog relationship. Looking at these occurrences can give a better picture our bonds with our pets. It can also provide insight for ourselves as people.
Stated and Revealed Preferences for Supporting Endangered Species at Mammoth Cave National Park

Erin Crump and Whitney Yardley

When asked to put a value on unique and endangered species that live in US national parks, many people say they would be willing to pay to help conserve species. But it can be difficult to assess whether an individual's stated preferences match up with their actual preferences towards donating to preserving these species. The purpose of this study is to measure whether stated preferences about hypothetical giving match up with revealed preferences about actual giving for how much individuals are willing to pay to help conserve endangered species in Mammoth Cave National Park. To do this, we distributed a survey that asks people who live in Kentucky and surrounding states and have visited the park a variety of questions. Respondents were randomly assigned 2 out of 5 different species that live in the park. The species include invertebrates and mammals with different conservation statuses. The individuals were then asked, based on a randomly assigned dollar value between $5 and $40, whether they would make a hypothetical donation to conservation efforts for these species. The survey also included a variety of demographic questions, in addition to questions about past visits to the park. At the end of the survey, the individual had a chance to receive an extra $5 on top of their participation payment or donate that $5 to the National Parks Conservation Association.This research is still underway. We have just received the data from our online survey platform and are in the process of developing and analyzing regression results. So far, results have been promising in that we have found significant willingness to pay for endangered species and we plan to perform the analysis before this Fall Research Symposium. This project will help shed light on how much individuals value the conservation of unique species in our national parks, which in turn can help inform future conservation efforts.
The Pekingese Dog Breed and Their Influence in China

Lauren Cunningham

The Pekingese were a revolutionary dog breed that changed how dogs as a whole were perceived, treated, and used by humans. The breed began in China and that is where they gained popularity and new function. The Pekingese are unlike anything the world had seen at this point in history. The Pekingese bridge the gap between dog and human in terms of a leisurely relationship.
Isolation of Halotolerant Bacteria from the Rhizosphere of Ceanothus velutinus May Lead to Contributions in Plant Health in Saline Conditions

Jacob Davis

The recent rise in the average global temperature has been a driving force over the past few years for rising soil salinity. This presents an especially hostile environment to many plant species that may not have previously been exposed to these conditions. The rhizosphere, which is a layer of soil attached to the roots of a plant, contains microorganisms that contribute to the plants' abiotic and biotic stress resistance. These microorganisms are known as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). These can play a key role in contributing to plant stress resistance. Some native plants have shown a strong ability to resist harsh or inclimate abiotic and biotic stressors such as drought, cold temperatures, heavy metal contaminations, and more. In this study we have selected a native resilient plant indigenous to the InterMountain West region of North America which is known as Ceanothus velutinus (Snowbrush). Our aim is to try to isolate halotolerant bacteria from the rhizosphere of Snowbrush. Samples were collected from the rhizosphere of Snowbrush specimens from the Tony Grove region of Logan Utah. These soil samples were diluted in a 10:95 ratio and were then serially diluted five times in a 1:10 ratio. The last three dilutions that were made were then plated onto nutrient agar media with six different concentrations of sodium chloride (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% W/V) with 0% as a control. This is an ongoing study, and the colonies isolated will be identified using 16s rRNA sequencing then followed by BLAST (basic local alignment search tool) search. Isolated halotolerant bacteria can be used as a biofertilizer that can contribute to improving plant health and crop productivity in saline soil.
Early Social-Emotional Development in Children of Mothers with Psychological Risk

Haylie DeMercy

Healthy child development depends on the ability of parents to put in necessary involvement and attention to respond to children's emotions and communication cues (Roggman, 2016). Maternal depression (Paulson et al., 2006) and parenting stress (Coyl et al., 2002) can reduce maternal responsiveness and is a risk factor for negative child social-emotional outcomes (El-Sheikh et al., 2009). The purpose of this study is to investigate how participation in Early Head Start (EHS), an early intervention program that provides families with individualized intervention services, affects social-emotional development for children of mothers with high and low psychological risk. Extant longitudinal data from the U.S. EHS Research and Evaluation Project, a nationwide study of infants (n=3,001) and their families, were used to examine the effect of maternal psychological risk on child development in the context of EHS services. Mothers reported parenting distress using the Parenting Stress Index (Abidin, 1995) and depression using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (Radolff, 1991) at 14 months. Parent-infant interactions, including parental responsiveness, were video recorded and coded at 14, 24, and/or 36 months using the Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (Roggman et al., 2013). Child social-emotional development was measured using the Behavior Rating Scales of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley, 1993) and the aggression subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1999).

Families participating in EHS had higher average parenting interaction quality scores than families in the control group. Parent-infant interaction quality, particularly responsiveness, is negatively correlated with maternal depression and parenting distress, and positively correlated with child social-emotional development. Mothers with lower psychological risk had higher parental responsiveness and children with better social-emotional development, especially for families participating in EHS. These results support previous research indicating that better early responsiveness is correlated with better social-emotional development.
Why Dogs are Feared

Hannah Ericson

From German Shepherds to Pit bulls, a specific breed of dog is often singled out as being more dangerous than the others. There are stories and myths behind the behavior of such breeds, as well as simply looking scary. In this presentation, I will discuss why certain traits in dogs promote fear (such as dark coloring) and why certain breeds promote fear - such as a modern day prejudice that is quite similar to racism in the human society.
How Dogs Representation in Cinema Reflects How They are Seen in the Real World

Arden Fayard

Dogs were introduced very early into the movie industry, just as they were to every other aspect of our lives. Over the decades, the way we used and represented dogs in movies changed. This research stems from an interest in seeing if representation of dogs in movies changed in response to their roles in people's lives.
From the Mouth of the Tunnel: How the Shape of Place Molds the Shape of Art

Jordan Forest

Creative Nonfiction writer Philip Gerard, in researching for an essay on the Gettysburg Address, decided to personally walk the path of Pickett's charge. He said that only in feeling the route for himself, in losing his breath and trudging through mud, did he realize the trek was uphill. Gerard said, "You have to see the thing itself, not merely a representation of the thing." For the creative nonfiction writer, site visit serves to imbue art with nuance and complexities of meaning. While writing a research-based creative nonfiction essay focused on Nancy Holt, I visited her land art installation Sun Tunnels and spent three days studying the land for this initial purpose. After the visit, I found that while the site did add perspective to my essay, it also informed the way in which I constructed the art and its very narrative. My writing began to embody the Sun Tunnels, directing and restricting memory just as the tunnel did to vision. This understanding is valuable to the creative nonfiction craft, as it tells artists that the very form of their work can be transformed by the artist‚Äôs surroundings, encouraging intimate relationships with site during research-based creative work. This perspective is also informed by artists in the field studying place. Philip Gerard's book Creative Nonfiction: Researching and Crafting Stories of Real Life serves as a primary text in understanding the value of the site, as do the words of Nancy Holt herself. Using these secondary sources as well as findings from in-person research, this presentation will explore how site visit not only provides creative nonfiction writers with an intimate and physical understanding of their essay's subject but can also serve to shape the essay's form and narrative movement.
Dogs and Death: A Changing Association

Andrea Giles

Dogs have always been associated with death. However, these associations have changed as our relationship with them has changed. In the beginning of our relationship dogs were often associated with evils and devils, then evolved to become our protectors, and now are viewed as family and loyal companions. Dogs have not changed, though - they have always been our companions and protectors. Rather, their associations with death tell us about ourselves and how we view the world.
Cloning Type IV-B CRISPR System into a Plasmid

Olivia Gornichec and Kailey Welch

Bacterial CRISPR-Cas systems have recently been repurposed as RNA-guided genome editors in research labs across the world. Yet CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems are very diverse and many systems remain uncharacterized. Discovering the structure and function of newly discovered and uncharacterized systems may further advance existing genome editing technologies, or lead to new ones. To better understand the function of the little-researched Type IV-B system we cloned the genes of a Type IV-B system from Mycobacterium J623 into a plasmid containing a target sequence of a Type IV-A and Type V system. The Type IV-B system was placed on the target plasmid in order to test the hypothesis that Type IV-B acts as an anti-CRISPR system by binding up CRISPR derived RNAs before they can be bound by the Cas proteins of the immune system. Our cloning was found to be successful through DNA sequencing, providing a path towards testing our hypothesis, as well as future studies aimed at characterizing the structure and function of IV-B systems.
The Ideal Dog

Owen Graham

The goal of this project was to look into all of the different jobs or tasks that we as humans have dogs perform and try to pinpoint what exactly it is that makes a dog ideal for each task. After identifying desirable characteristics, I considered physical traits in order to create an ideal dog that would be able to perform the greatest number of jobs possible.
Object of Sublimity, Light: Particle and Phenomenon.

Rachel Hancey

This artwork visually explores how we experience light in the context of space and material through a series of screen prints created in part with funding from the Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities Grant. Preliminary research involved studying the works of the 1960's West Coast Light and Space Artists and the movement's subsequent evolution to the present-day, the interconnected phenomenology of light and space, as well as the existing and developing philosophies of aesthetics most specifically related to the Sublime in a contemporary context. The goal of this project is not to create work similar in appearance to that of the Light and Space artists, but rather, it seeks to add to the dialogue and establish that light as a particle and phenomenon is undoubtedly an object of sublimity and the heightened awareness of light in all its variety can create feelings of transcendence within the observer.
Vegetation Green Up: Ground-Truthing NDVI Data Using Wildlife Cameras

Steven Handtke

Plant phenology in mountainous areas follows elevation gradients, with spring green-up beginning in low elevations and increasing in elevation as the season progresses. This green-up is an important ecological event as studies have shown ungulates sync their spring migration to this green wave for maximum nutrition consumption at the beginning of the season. This correlation is useful when studying habitat use of ungulates. The current standard for tracking this green-up uses the normalized difference vegetation index, or NDVI. This index tracks changes in vegetation using satellite imaging every eight days and assigns a value on a greenness scale that correlates to the amount of green vegetation present at a scale of 6.25 ha. Vegetation change can be measured by the change in the values of the greenness scale over time. While this index is useful for studying large areas, its accuracy in spaces less than 6.25 ha is questioned. The goal of my research is to classify vegetation green-up using daily camera trap photos collected at 106 sites throughout a study area from March to July of 2019. This study area is in Spanish Fork Canyon in central Utah and includes elevations from 1,000 to 3,000 meters. The photos from these sites provide camera-based greenness values at ground level at a small spatial scale. Comparing the average rate of change in camera-based greenness values to the instantaneous rate of greenup (IRG) derived from NDVI data will show how accurate satellite-based indices for this area are. The purpose of this study is to track vegetation green-up in this area and investigate the accuracy of IRG by comparing it to camera-based greenness values that evaluate vegetation greenness on a much smaller scale.