A-F
Jody Acheson
A Quality Improvement Pilot to Reduce Caregiver Burden in Caregivers of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) Patients
Program: Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Major Advisor: Sara Ahten
Background/Context: Caregivers of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients frequently experience caregiver burden (CB) which negatively impacts patients’ health and their own health and wellbeing.
Problem/Purpose: In a Northwest organization providing HSCT, a quality improvement project was implemented to pilot a caregiver intervention.
Outcomes/Results: An adapted intervention of psycoeducation, paced respiration and relaxation (PEPRR) was successfully implemented in this setting. Caregivers and social workers provided positive feedback. Caregiver participation rates were lower than anticipated. Participants recommended continuing the intervention.
Impact: This intervention should be continued with efforts to adapt sessions to a nonacademic community healthcare setting.
Al-Amin Ahmed Simon
Application of Additive Technology for Phase Change Memory Devices: Electrical Characterization of Printed Ge2Sb2Te5 Phase Change Material
Program: Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
Major Advisor: Maria Mitkova
This work reports the electrical characterization of inkjet-printed Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST-225) thin films to explore the possibility of an all-printed phase-change memory (PCM) device. The electrical resistance of the films and respective SET/RESET conditions of a device prototype (e.g. voltage, current) have been analyzed to establish a relation between printing-pass (thickness) and electrical properties. Both thermally evaporated and printed films have been studied to clarify how the electrical parameters are affected by the fabrication process. Furthermore, a brief description of GST-225 nanoparticle ink formation, optimization of inkjet printing process and effect of sintering conditions on the electrical performance are reported. This is a step towards developing a novel method that uses additive technology to form the active phase change layer and enabling integration of printed PCM device in additive build up systems.
Dena Allred
The Four-Day School Week: Is It an Approach to Retain and Recruit Qualified Teachers?
Program: Executive Educational Leadership (EdS)
Major Advisor: Heather P. Williams
In 2006-2007 Idaho had 10 school districts and 2 charters operating with a four-day schedule. In 2018-2019, there were 45 districts and 13 charters operating with a four-day schedule. Idaho is experiencing a teacher shortage. Idaho rural districts are challenged to find and retain effective teachers to meet the district and students’ needs.
Research shows qualified teachers have the most influence on student success, and highly qualified teachers have a better chance to expand students’ desires to learn and succeed. Districts have adopted the four-day schedule for cost savings, which is marginal, and to attract and retain qualified educators. Regions 4, 5, and 6 have the most districts with a four-day schedule with Region 4 having 44% of its districts with a four-day schedule. The researcher conducted surveys for this research.
Brooke Ambrose
Breastfeeding attitudes, acceptance, and intentions among older adolescents and young adults
Program: Health Science (MHS)
Major Advisor: Mike Mann
Title: Breastfeeding attitudes, acceptance, and intentions among older adolescents and young adults
Introduction: Mothers are more likely to initiate and continuously breastfeed for longer durations if they are older. Most women know how they will feed their child prior to conception. Thus, adolescence/ young adulthood is a vital time for development of infant feeding attitudes/ perceptions and the use of public health messages to influence such intentions. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of breastfeeding attitudes and perceptions in predicting one’s intention to breastfeed (for self or partner) among adolescents/ young adults.
Methods: Adolescents/young adults (male and female, age 18-25) were recruited to participate in an online survey. Data was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression.
Results: Of the 143 participants who completed an online survey, most (55%) intended to “give breastfeeding a try” (or would want a partner to try). Attitudes and perceptions related to this intention included score on the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (OR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.04-1.21), belief that breastfeeding is the best way to feed a baby (OR=2.81, 95% CI: 1.21-6.52), and the mean proportion of social network members who were perceived as approving breastfeeding (OR=3.69, 95% CI: 1.23-11.09).
Discussion: Interventions prioritizing breastfeeding intention among adolescents/young adults, at the individual level, should focus on increasing positive breastfeeding attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge. At the interpersonal level, interventions should work to increase perceptions of network members approval and support of breastfeeding by increasing exposure to breastfeeding and positive breastfeeding messages within the social networks of adolescents/young adults.
Becca Anderson
Initiate
Program: Creative Writing (MFA)
Major Advisor: Mitch Wieland
After the sudden death of her father, sixteen-year-old Cal Townsend is sent to live with her estranged maternal grandmother on Madeline Island, one of the twenty-two Apostle Islands in Lake Superior off of Wisconsin’s northernmost shore. She soon learns that she is descended from a long line of practicing witches. Initiate is a story about family, grief, and, of course, magic.
Randall Apgood
Understanding Superintendent Turnover in Small Rural School Districts
Program: Executive Educational Leadership (EdS)
Major Advisor: Heather P. Williams
The rapid superintendent turnover some smaller rural school districts face has staggering impacts on the staff, students, and in some cases even the community. With so much turnover in some small rural districts, it is imperative that we find out what is driving the turnover. The intent of the project is to identify key indicators of driving factors for superintendent turnover and key factors that may lead to longevity in the superintendency. Surveys were sent to superintendents that had served in smaller rural districts, but had not stayed in that position for more than five years.
Karen Armenta Rojas
Hot Spots: Seasonal Patterns in Criminal Victimization Trends on Campus
Program: Criminal Justice (MA)
Major Advisor: Jessica Wells
With the influx of students at Boise State University (Boise State) in 2015, and the current trend of sexual assault on college campuses, campus police departments are trying to minimize criminal opportunities. The Boise State Crime Prevention Program is based on the concepts of eliminating or minimizing criminal opportunities whenever possible and encouraging the campus community to be responsible for their own security and the security of others (Boise State University, 2018-a). This study examines types of crime fluctuation in victimization through seasonal patterns using a hotspots and routine activity theory framework. Data was mapped to identify hot spots on campus and student housing. Results illustrate that alcohol-related crimes and property crimes are the most committed type of crimes at Boise State University in 2015 and that Chaffee Hall and other first-year resident housing are areas at higher risk of victimization.
Somaye Asghari
Role of Indigenous Microbial Communities in Precipitating Calcite and Modifying Expansive Soil Behavior
Program: Geosciences (PhD)
Major Advisor: Bhaskar Chittoori
Microbial Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) is evolving as a new method of improving the mechanical properties of soil. This environmentally friendly technique is a bio-geo-chemical process where microbes play a key role in increasing soil strength through precipitating calcium carbonate. Past studies at Boise State University have indicated that MICP via bio-stimulation could be a viable alternative for expansive soil treatments. However, these studies raised new questions related to the role of indigenous microbial communities in precipitating calcite and altering expansive soil behavior. It was hypothesized that urease activity of the soil could be an indicator for microbial community differences between different soil types. To test this hypothesis batch studies were conducted using autoclaved sand, mixed with different percentages of unautoclaved natural clay from Marsing, Idaho and tested for urease activity before and after subjecting to MICP treatments. We also autoclaved clayey soil and mixed it with different percentages of natural sand (unautoclaved) to study the variation of the bacterial source. The urease assay tests showed how urease activity and precipitated calcite differ in the soils with different clay, sand, and bacterial contents. Test results indicate that urease activity could be used as a screening method to predict MICP performance in different clayey soils.
Nardos Ashenafi
Nonholonomic Cooperative Manipulation via Guided Reinforcement Learning
Program: Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
Major Advisor: Aykut Satici
This paper presents a novel methodology to cooperatively manipulate the pose of a polygonal object in a plane with multiple nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots. In this framework, the robots are assumed have frictionless point contacts; hence, the forces they exert are normal to the boundary of the object. This paper improves upon our previous work in a number of ways. As a first step, we obviate the need to perform a path planning step for successful manipulation of the object. This new controller still seeks to maintain a force-closure grasp throughout the manipulation. This step is followed by the implementation of imitation learning to represent the new controller as a neural network. This neural network is then used to warm start the actor and the critic of a reinforcement learning algorithm. We provide extensive simulation studies to support the validity of the approach.
Bahareh Badamchi
A Novel optical fiber architecture for real-time temperature monitoring in extreme environments
Program: Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
Major Advisor: Harish Subbaraman
High temperature sensors capable of operating in harsh environments play a critical role in helping prevent disasters. Conventional electronic temperature sensors cannot withstand high temperatures within the range of 400°C to 650°C of Light Water Reactors and metallic or ceramic Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors. Our goal is to design and fabricate low power, small size, reversible temperature sensors for continuous monitoring of temperatures up to 500°C in harsh environments by combining the temperature-dependent phase change properties of chalcogenide glasses and compactness and low cost in optical fibers.
Hannah Bailey
Mei for solo flute, by Kazuo Fukushima
Program: Music Performance (MM)
Major Advisor: Jeanne Belfy
I will be performing the piece Mei for solo flute composed by Kazuo Fumushima in 1962.
Mei is one movement, lasting about five minutes in length. Fukushima uses extended techniques to create texture, alternating stimulating sounds with silence and sustained pitches. The focus on silence by alternating repeated pitches with rests is the Japanese concept of music “ma.” The effects he creates are intended to seem unstable, resembling the sound and character of the Japanese traditional flute.
Kate Benfield
Novel Method to Measure in Vitro Volumetric Wear fo Meniscus Using a 3D Optical Scanner
Program: Mechanical Engineering (MS)
Major Advisor: Trevor Lujan
The knee menisci are fibrocartilaginous tissues that provide joint stability and protect articular cartilage by distributing joint loads. Overtime, mechanical wear due to age and overuse contributes to meniscus degeneration, a retrogressive pathological breakdown of meniscal fibrous tissue that affects 56% of the population above 70 years of age [1,2]. Meniscus degeneration increases the risk of meniscus tears, cartilage loss, and osteoarthritis (OA) [3,4]. While it is known that meniscus degeneration has highly adverse effects, little is understood about the etiology of degenerative wear within human knees. The objective of this research is to therefore develop and validate an in vitro methodology for characterizing volumetric wear behavior within meniscus utilizing a 3D optical scanning system. To assess the accuracy and repeatability of the proposed methodology for whole human meniscal tissue, two surrogate models were developed: (1) Delrin blocks of known dimensions were machined with six different defect depths to mimic wear defects that may be induced within meniscus tissue, (2) 3D CAD menisci models were obtained from MR imaging [5] and 3D printed. Defects in the 3D printed menisci were made by removing 5% of total volume via SolidWorks to simulate artificially induced wear. Each surrogate model was scanned via a 3D optical scanner to generate a volumetric rendering of the model for pre- and post-wear conditions. Volume loss of the models was computationally evaluated through meshing software. The process was repeated 3 times for each varying wear depth to determine percentage error between real-life measured volumes and CloudCompare calculated volumes. The experimental methodology was validated by the surrogate models with errors of less than 15%. For the first time, this study provides a methodology to identify volumetric loss due to wear behavior in complex geometry thereby advancing wear research for future prevention and treatment of ailments related to meniscus degeneration.
References
[1] Englund, M et. al. Engl J Med. 359: 1108-1115, 2008, [2] Sihvonen, R et al., Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 24: 1367-1375, 2016, [3] Englund, M. et al. Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. 8: 412–419, 2012, [4] Howell R, Kumar NS, Patel N, Tom J. World J Orthop. 5 (2015) 597-602, [5] Shriram D, et. al, Jour. Ortho. Sur. 44, 2019.
Takoda Bingham
Experimental and Computational Analysis of In-pile Ultrasonic Thermometer for Advanced Nuclear Reactors
Program: Mechanical Engineering (MS)
Major Advisor: Zhangxian Deng
In-pile temperature measurement inside a nuclear reactor is crucial for meltdown detection. Due to the radioactive and extremely high temperature environment, current methods, for instance melt wires, do not allow in-situ and real-time temperature measurement. To facilitate proactive meltdown detection, this study develops an ultrasonic thermometer consisting of an ultrasonic transducer and a waveguide. The Young’s modulus or the speed of sound of the waveguide changes with respect to temperature. Therefore, it can detect temperature using the time of flight of the acoustic wave to reach the end of a waveguide and reflect back. Piezoelectric substrates and magnetostrictive wires were investigated as potential ultrasonic transducers and waveguides. A Polytec Laser Doppler Vibrometer was used to directly measure displacement on the surface of the waveguide and determine the wave speeds through the material. The devices will be tested at multiple temperatures to correlate the wave speed with the ambient temperature. This relationship can be used for in-pile temperature measurements of fuel cells.
Scott Birks
Disruption of LINC complex in bone progenitor stem cells results in decreased osteogenesis in vitro and reduced trabecular architecture in vivo
Program: Materials Science and Engineering (PhD)
Major Advisor: Gunes Uzer
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells within bone marrow that support bone modeling at load bearing sites by differentiating into osteoblasts. We recently reported LINC (Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton) complexes connecting the nucleus to the cytoskeleton play an integral role in MSC response to mechanical challenge by regulating nuclear access of beta-catenin. Consequently, depleting LINC complexes results in increased adipogenic bias of MSCs. Therefore, we hypothesize that disabling LINC complex function in vitro and in vivo will negatively impact osteogenesis in MSCs. For in vitro testing, a dominant negative form of the nesprin KASH domain was overexpressed to inhibit endogenous nesprin-SUN binding within the nuclear envelope, delocalizing nesprin from the nucleus; thus, disconnecting the nucleus from cytoskeleton. This led to a 61% (p=0.09) decrease in mRNA ALP levels compared to empty plasmid controls suggesting a decrease in osteogenesis. For in vivo testing, a similar dominant negative mechanism was generated using tamoxifen inducible, cre-mediated disruption of LINC complexes in skeletal MSCs driven by the Prrx1 promoter, as the Prrx1 gene is shown to be active in bone progenitor cells. Compared to controls: the bone fraction (BV/TV) in experimental groups was decreased 26% (p=0.1), trabecular separation (Tb. Sp.) was increased by 73% (p=0.09), trabecular number (Tb.N.) was decreased by 35% (p<0.05), and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th.) did not change. Our findings suggest LINC deficiency negatively effects osteogenesis in vitro and results in inferior trabecular architecture in vivo. We are currently investigating a tamoxifen independent Prrx1-Cre mouse line along with a pre-osteoblastic Osx-Cre strain to study LINC depletion effects on bone growth without the estrogenic effects of tamoxifen. Completion of this data will lead to greater understanding of how disrupting LINC-mediated mechanosignaling of bone progenitor cells effects skeletal health in vivo.
Stacy Black
Towards Unifying Grounded and Distributional Semantics
Program: Computer Science (MS)
Major Advisor: Casey Kennington
In the field of natural language processing, it is necessary to encode text so that it can be put into mathematical algorithms, such as neural network models. This is often done with the use of embeddings, which are vector representations of words that capture (distributional) semantic meaning. However, embeddings are usually trained on text alone, and neglect the (grounded) meaning that comes from the physical world, such as for color words, like “red.” This research looks at how distributional and grounded semantics can be united in order to leverage the strengths of both; we find that combining traditional embeddings with embeddings taken from grounded models that follow the words-as-classifiers (WAC) approach improves performance on several NLP tasks.
Jade Bowers
Petrological Forensics of the Mount Sinabung, Sumatra, Indonesia Magma Reservoir prior to May 2016 Dome Collapse
Program: Geosciences (PhD)
Major Advisor: Dorsey Wanless
Mount Sinabung, Sumatra, Indonesia erupted briefly in 2010 and resumed activity in 2013. Initial eruptions involved steam explosions (phreatic) at the vent from August 2010 to September 2010. With the renewal of activity in July 2013, eruptions involved the interaction between water and magma (phreatomagmatic) at the vent. Phreatomagmatic eruptions continued until December 2013, where activity transitioned from water interaction to just extrusion of andesitic lava. Lava effusion has persisted through the eruptive phases (December 2013 – present) with periodic piling up of the lava to form lava domes and successive partial to complete collapse of the dome. These dome failure events produce large, fast-moving, superheated clouds of gas, ash, and rock, known as pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) that can travel anywhere from 10-200 m/s. Since a magmatic component began erupting in 2013, Mount Sinabung has been producing predominately andesite lavas that evolve in composition as the eruptive phases progress (57-65 wt. % SiO2). In May 2016, when the lava dome collapsed and successively generated PDCs, the resulting magmatic clasts contained intermingled enclaves. Usually, magmatic enclaves are interpreted as evidence for two different magmas interacting in the reservoir before an eruption.
To test this hypothesis, I used a microanalytical forensic investigation of the host lava, intermingled enclaves, and glomerocrysts. Petrographic analysis and phase chemistry collected on electron microprobe were used to decipher the relationship between these three constituents. The host andesite (59-61 wt% SiO2) generally has restricted phenocryst compositions and lower calculated temperatures and pressures. Petrographic analysis revealed three types of glomerocrysts varying in mineral assemblage and presence of glass or pore space and three major enclave types based on observed crystal content and groundmass variation. Chemically, there is a broad overlap between the host, enclaves, and glomerocrysts. The similarity in phase chemistry and calculated intensive parameters suggest the host and enclaves are crystal cumulates from different regions of one magma reservoir, and the glomerocrysts represent disaggregates of these cumulates.
Taylor Brown
Heat Transfer Modeling of a Carbonized Microvascular Solar Receiver
Program: Mechanical Engineering (MS)
Major Advisor: Todd Otanicar
Microchannel receivers represent a novel way to collect solar thermal energy while maximizing heat transfer and minimizing material costs. Metallic microchannel receivers have been developed but challenges in the manufacturing process and subsequent mechanical properties at high temperatures represent limiting factors. A carbonized microvascular composite is being developed using integrated microchannels that can be achieved with advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3-D printing not available with conventional manufacturing. A carbonized microvascular receiver with supercritical carbon dioxide working fluid has been modelled that optimizes heat transfer to the sCO2 from the exposed composite surface and limits operational variables such as pressure drop including the radiative and convective heat transfer mechanisms. A 2-D thermal resistance model is completed simulating a single channel receiver.
Haydn Bryan
Economic Effects and Cross-Population Perceptions of Ecotourism in Costa Rica
Program: Economics (MEc)
Major Advisor: Michail Fragkias
Utilizing surveys, interviews, and Q method (multivariate factor) analysis, this research examines three populations’ perceptions towards and willingness to pay for aspects of ecotourism. Ecotourists, local community members, and ecotourism employees were surveyed in Costa Rica on the topics of ethical treatment of animals, impact on the local community’s economic well-being, preservation of local culture, environmental impacts, and personal enjoyment. Each population was presented with the same survey in order to create comparable data across populations. Gathered data were analyzed to find perceptional agreements or differences between populations and within groups with shared themes in the populations. Further analysis combines data from each of the methods to analyze the differences and similarities within groups with similar beliefs regarding the purposes of ecotourism.
Michael Burke
Improving Productivity, Portability, and Performance in ParFlow
Program: Computer Science (MS)
Major Advisor: Catherine Olschanowsky
Legacy scientific applications represent significant investments by universities, engineers, and researchers and contain valuable implementations of key scientific computations.
Over time hardware architectures have changed. Adapting existing code to new architectures is time consuming, expensive, and increases code complexity. The increase in complexity negatively affects the scientific impact of the applications. There is an immediate need to reduce complexity. We propose using abstractions to manage and reduce code complexity, improving scientific impact of applications.
The proposed abstractions separate architecture specific implementation details from the primary computation. We use ParFlow to demonstrate the effectiveness of the abstractions.
ParFlow is a hydrologic and geoscience application that simulates surface and subsurface water flow.
The abstractions have enabled ParFlow developers to successfully add new boundary conditions for the first time in 15 years, and have enabled an experimental OpenMP version of ParFlow that is transparent to computational scientists. This is achieved without requiring expensive rewrites of key computations or major codebase changes; improving developer productivity, enabling hardware portability, and allowing transparent performance optimizations.
Anthony Butler
School Security in Remote Rural Districts
Program: Executive Educational Leadership (EdS)
Major Advisor: Heather P. Williams
Cambridge School District currently serves 135 students. There are no city police, and the sheriff’s department is located 30 miles away. In an attempt to enhance the security of the campus, it is important to look into what is common practice and what other rural school districts are doing to secure their campuses. A review of practices from literature were examined.
Jenn Butt
Impact of Plant Diversity and Nitrogen Addition on Soil Organic Carbon Storage and Belowground Biodiversity in Biofuel Cropping Systems
Program: Biology (MS)
Major Advisor: Marie-Anne de Graaff
Bioenergy production may reduce the emission of CO2 which contributes to climate change, particularly when management strategies are adopted that promote soil carbon (C) sequestration in bioenergy cropping systems. Planting perennial native grasses, such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) may be used as a strategy to enhance soil C accumulation owing to their extensive root systems. Fertilizer use may further promote soil C sequestration, because of its positive impacts on plant production and soil C input. Though, the impact of fertilizer addition on soil C accumulation is variable across bioenergy cropping systems, and fertilizer can negatively impact the environment. Alternatively, increasing plant diversity may be used as a strategy to enhance soil C accumulation while augmenting other ecosystem properties such as soil biodiversity. This research evaluates how inter- and intra- specific plant diversity and N addition impact soil C storage and soil biodiversity. Soil was collected from a long-term (9 growing seasons) field experiment located at the Fermilab National Environmental Research Park in Illinois, USA. Treatments included a variety of big bluestem and switchgrass cultivars grown in monoculture, diversity manipulated at both the species- and cultivar level, and nitrogen (N) applied at two levels (0 and 67 kg ha-1). The soil was dominated by C3 grasses for 30 years before replacement with C4 bioenergy grasses, which enabled quantification of plant-derived C accumulation owing to the natural difference in isotopic signature between C3 and C4 grasses. Soil samples were analyzed for (1) soil C and its δ13C isotopic signature, (2) nematode and soil microbial diversity. Our results indicate that both plant diversity and N addition do not affect soil C storage or soil biodiversity. However, big bluestem addition to species mixes enhanced plant-derived C storage. Together, these findings suggest that plant species identity can control soil C accumulation in the early years following land conversion, and that increasing biodiversity in bioenergy cropping systems may have a greater positive impact on soil C accumulation than N fertilization.
Vannessa Campfield
The Correlation Between Bacteria, Organic Acids Produced, and Contribution to Defects in Swiss Cheese
Program: Chemistry (MS)
Major Advisor: Owen McDougal
In 2017, the United States produced over 215 billion lbs. of milk with 14.6 billion lbs. from Idaho, leading to the state being ranked third in the country for dairy production. Annually, Idaho manufactures over 172,000 lbs. of Swiss cheese. Bacteria used during the ripening process metabolize compounds in the cheese matrix modifying specific bacterial regulation and organic acid production; both of which contribute to the final quality of cheese produced. This quality is graded by the USDA based on flavor, aesthetics, and structural components. Downgrades to cheese are due to defects caused by bacterial interactions resulting in organic acid variation that causes a loss to industry of over $69 million each year. These bacteria have been investigated using PCR amplification, next-generation sequencing, and bioinformatics. The resulting data will contribute to a better understanding of the correlation between bacteria, organic acids produced, and contribution to defects in Swiss cheese. This project will aid in developing a fast, reliable screening procedure for industry partners for them to improve the reliable production of high-quality Swiss cheese.
Emily Chambers
Student Perceptions of Team-Based Learning in Undergraduate Kinesiology Curriculum
Program: Kinesiology (MK)
Major Advisor: Shawn Simonson
Team-based learning (TBL) is a learner-centered flipped classroom designed to improve learning beyond traditional lecture. Small group interactions enhance learning as individual and team-based assignments are completed. Students favorably respond to TBL in science, medical, and social science disciplines. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of undergraduate kinesiology students in KINES 432 (Conditioning Procedures), where TBL is the predominant pedagogy used in both lecture and laboratory. Due to the interactive and experiential nature of TBL, it was hypothesized that KINES 432 students would favorably view TBL compared to traditional lecture. Data were collected from 91% (110/121) of students from three consecutive semesters (spring 2019 – spring 2020); all sections were taught by the same instructor and graduate assistant. Participants anonymously completed the TBL Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI) survey mid-semester to assess student experiences of accountability, satisfaction, and preference. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze group differences within the sample, and mean scores of TBL-SAI subscales were compared across cohorts. Results were no significant differences between cohorts across subscales (F (2, 107) = 1.86, p = 0.09), and for comparing academic major to each subscale (F (6, 103) = 0.45, p = 0.8). Mean scores of all students yielded 79% favorability towards TBL. Despite increased responsibility and workload, kinesiology students favorably respond to TBL. Health science disciplines, kinesiology, pre-athletic training, pre-physical therapy, etc. should implement TBL in preparation for working collaboratively for the others’ well-being.
Shahjalal Chowdhury
Quantifying the Effect of Climate Change on Pavement Performance Prediction
Program: Civil Engineering (MS)
Major Advisor: Deb Mishra
Climate change is one of the most concerning global issues and has the potential to influence every aspect of human life. Like different components of the society, it can impose significant adverse impacts on the pavement infrastructure. Although several research efforts have focused on studying the impacts of climate change on natural and built systems, its effect on pavement performance has not been studied as extensively. The primary objective of this thesis research is to quantify the impact of climate change on pavement response and performance prediction using the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design approach.
Temperature is one of the primary climatic inputs affecting pavement performance predictions, which is being considered in this research; preliminary work on the effects of temperature change has been completed. Twenty (20) different Global Climate Models (GCM’s) were considered, and three models that better simulate the U.S. climatic condition were selected for use in this study. Historical climatic data available through the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) database was used as the control case for the comparative analyses. Future climate data projected by the GCM’s were downscaled to obtain required hourly distributions, which were then used as inputs for pavement analysis and performance prediction. Preliminary results from flexible pavement sections show an increase in Asphalt Concrete (AC) rutting as well as Total Pavement rutting with increasing air temperatures. Similarly, it was found that the effect of shifting air temperatures can be different for pavements constructed in different parts of the country. Future tasks will focus on studying the combined effects of temperature and precipitation projections on flexible pavement performance. Findings from this study will help identify challenges faced by pavement engineers due to changing climatic patterns.
Chase Christen
Increasing Particle Conductivity Using a Binary Particle Distribution for Concentrated Solar Power Applications
Program: Mechanical Engineering (MS)
Major Advisor: Todd Otanicar
This work demonstrates that packed-bed thermal conductivity is improved by introducing a binary particle distribution. Increasing particle-to-sCO2 heat transfer is one essential step in meeting the Solar Energy Technologies Office’s SUNSHOT 2030 cost targets for falling-particle concentrated solar power (CSP). Previous models for moving packed-bed, shell-and-plate heat exchangers have been developed to find the optimal heat transfer using a monodisperse particle size; however, there are no studies that address the effects of particle size distribution on heat exchanger performance. This study explores how thermal conductivity, a predominant driver in heat exchanger performance, is affected when a binary particle distribution is used. The goal of the study it to determine whether a binary particle distribution would be a viable option to increase heat exchanger performance. Conductivity measurements for five binary size distributions for three different small-to-large particle ratios were compared to the ZBS correlation between 0-150℃.Experimental results agree well with the ZBS model and show that there is a 5-30% improvement in thermal conductivity across the temperatures tested with a maximum benefit when mixtures had between a 50-75% volume fraction of large particles. When the model is extended to CSP operating temperatures (500-800℃), the benefits of a binary particle distribution is reduced to ~10% improvement when compared to a monodisperse particle size. Additional testing at high temperatures for flowability, size separation, particle conductivity, and overall heat exchanger effectiveness still need to be conducted to see if this would improve CSP heat exchanger performance in practice.
Kyle Christopher Lyons
How Accurately Can Religious Educators Predict Student Achievement?
Program: Education, Curriculum and Instruction (MA)
Major Advisor: Keith Thiede
Teachers make a variety of judgments as they teach. The accuracy of these judgments may influence instruction and student achievement. The present investigation examined (a) how accurately religious educators judge student learning, (b) what cues religious educators report using to judge student learning, and (c) how cue utilization affects the accuracy of judgments of student learning. The research in this study shows the accuracy of judgments for participating teachers is significantly lower than the average judgment accuracy reported in a recent review of teacher judgment literature (Südkamp et al., 2012). The cues participating teachers self-reported using for judging student learning fell into four categories: class performance, personal attributes, external factors, and class behavior. Judgment accuracy is greater for teachers who reported using cues related to class performance than for those who did not. Judgment accuracy is greater for those who did not report using personal attributes as a cue than for those who did. These results are explained in the context of the cue-utilization framework (Koriat, 1997).
Matt Clark
Bringing forecasting into the future: Using Google to predict visitation in U.S. national parks
Program: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (PhD)
Major Advisor: Vicken Hillis
In recent years, visitation to U.S. National Parks has been increasing, with the majority of this increase occurring in a subset of parks. As a result, managers in these parks must respond quickly to increasing visitor-related challenges. Improved visitation forecasting would allow managers to more proactively plan for such increases. In this study, we leverage internet search data that is freely available through Google Trends to create a forecasting model. We compare this Google Trends model to a traditional autoregressive forecasting model. Overall, our Google Trends model accurately predicted 97% of the total visitation variation to all parks one year in advance from 2013 to 2017 and outperformed the autoregressive model by all metrics. While our Google Trends model performs better overall, this was not the case for each park unit individually; the accuracy of this model varied significantly from park to park. We hypothesized that park attributes related to trip planning would correlate with the accuracy of our Google Trends model, but none of the variables tested produced overly compelling results. Future research can continue exploring the utility of Google Trends to forecast visitor use in protected areas, or use methods demonstrated in this paper to explore alternative data sources to improve visitation forecasting in U.S. National Parks.
Kelsey Cooper
An Economic Analysis of Cannabis Legalization in Idaho
Program: Economics (MEc)
Major Advisor: Michael Fragkias
In a study conducted by the ACLU in 2010, it was estimated that the United States spent $6.032 billion on enforcing cannabis possession laws. In the midst of a societal shift in perception toward the plant, more consumers are assuming the risk of use in Idaho as sale and possession of marijuana arrests in our state indicate- increasing from 3,818 in 2014 to 4,129 in 2016. For these reasons and many more, 33 states in the US have legalized medical marijuana while 11 have gone through the process of recreational legalization. Recent political events in Idaho suggest ongoing development in the legal status of marijuana, most notably the introduction of Senate Bill 1345 which would allow for lawful Idahoans to farm, transport, process, and sell full spectrum hemp. This is the first comprehensive economic report on cannabis in Idaho, following states such as Colorado and Florida which have regulated the market and have seen benefits outweigh costs. Utilizing data from the Idaho State Police, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and Idaho Legislatures Budget Monitor, this study estimates and further analyzes the cost and benefits of cannabis legalization in Idaho.
Danielle Corson
Memory Fabrication
Program: Visual Arts (MFA)
Major Advisor: Lily Lee
These ceramic artworks are an investigation of techniques with organic materials that burn-out in the firing process. The porcelain slip allows for an impression; the objects are immortalized with evidence of their existence and a reminder of their absence. The porcelain artifacts become a memory of the original object and the traces of materiality are the proof of a person or an object’s existence once they are no longer physically present. The porcelain material is both fragile and durable equivalently to how memory is both fleeting and comforting. When a memory is recalled or shared with others, slight variances occur, and over time these embellishments morph into an exaggerated or distorted, second truth of the original experience.
Kennedy Courtney
The Directed Forest Complex of a Cayley Graph
Program: Mathematics (MS)
Major Advisor: Jens Harlander
Let Gamma be a directed graph. The directed forest complex DF(Gamma) is a simplicial complex whose vertices are the edges of Gamma and whose simplices are sets of edges that form a directed forest in Gamma. We study the directed forest complex of Cayley graphs Gamma of finite groups. The homology of DF(Gamma) contains information about the graph, Gamma and about the group, G. The ultimate goal is to classify DF(Gamma) up to homotopy, compute its homology, and interpret the findings in terms of properties of Gamma. In this poster presentation, we present progress made toward this goal.
Adam Croteau
Design and Characterization of Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Arrays for Removing Bacterial Biofilms
Program: Electrical and Computer Engineering (MS)
Major Advisor: Jim Browning
Present research at Boise State University (BSU) has demonstrated the ability of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma devices to remove bacterial biofilms on steel substrates. Although bacteria may easily be inactivated by plasma treatment, the remains of the organism are still present on the substrate. Thus, it is preferred to completely remove or etch away the biofilm. We have found that 13 LPM Argon gas flow at 1600Vrms is sufficient for removing Pseudomonas Fluorescens biofilm with an array of plasma line discharges. After 5 minutes of treatment, the majority of the biofilm has been removed leaving only a thin layer (>8µm) at the oxygen boundary. It is shown that feed gas flow rates, power delivered to the plasma, proximity to substrate and flow gas hydration are important factors in the removal of bacterial biofilms. We see a combination of chemical reactive etching and ionic sputtering at specific treatment combinations.
This research facilitates the design, construction and characterization of LTCC devices capable of etching away bacterial biofilms from steel substrates. We demonstrate the ability of single and multi-discharge plasma devices to remove bacterial biofilms. The design challenges and respective mechanisms for etching/removing bacterial biofilms is discussed in depth. The ultimate goal of this research has been to provide operating parameters for BSU’s single and multi-discharge devices that reliably remove bacterial biofilms. This research establishes a baseline for future statistical experimentation and optimization via the design of experiments method.
Jenn Dalling
Why Try?
Program: Counseling (MA)
Major Advisor: Raissa Miller
What impact does the Why Try intervention have on attendance, grades, behaviors, and motivation levels have on at-risk 8th grade students?
Maria Loera and Jennifer De Prima, BSU counseling student interns, held a group once a week for 10 weeks with seven boys. During our 45 minutes, we as facilitators implement the Why Try Curriculum using motivational interviewing and solution focused techniques. Participants set SMART goals and we measured and tracked their progress.This strength-based intervention focuses on building relationships with our students. We also use a variety of learning modalities to engage the students such as art, music, PowerPoints, and discussions. We want our participants to find meaning in what they are learning and find relevance in it. We are also teaching resiliency. Some kids are born with more resiliency than others but grit, determination, and motivation can be taught. The Why Try lessons teach valuable social and emotional skills to give the students what they need to tackle life challenges academically or personally.
Rylee DeVito
Mastering Rural Science: Transitioning to Mastery-based Science Education in a Rural School
Program: Educational Leadership (MEd)
Major Advisor: Kelly Cross
As the state of Idaho seeks to transition towards Mastery-based education, many schools are left scrambling to adjust their pedagogy. While the state has provided several strategies to train and prepare teachers, not all districts have been positively impacted. In particular, rural schools in Idaho are falling behind in the implementation of Mastery-based philosophies and practices. For science teachers across the state there is an additional hurdle to overcome; new science standards were mandated in 2019, and a new science ISAT was developed for operation starting in 2020. These drastic changes were accompanied with relatively little training and resources. Due to these shifts in education, it is evident that teachers need a concrete model of effective mastery-based science implementation. The high diversity of Idaho schools demands a modular concept that can be easily adjusted for a district, school, or classroom. This critical inquiry first addresses challenges that rural communities face when seeking to re-frame their educational system to reflect mastery-based. Then, the inquiry explores an implementation strategy that can be used in a rural science classroom, including communication with stakeholders, building self-efficacy in students, and modifying curriculum to reflect the Idaho State Science Standards. Finally, results of a study comparing an 8th and 9th grade sample group (mastery-based education model) with a control group (traditional educational model) in a rural Idaho science setting are examined. Growth indicators, such as semester grades, ISAT interim scores, achievement of mastery, and student surveys indicate the effectiveness of the model. Results indicate that the proposed model is an effective strategy of implementing mastery-based education in a science setting.
Anupama Dhamala
Model plasma behavior in plasma-jet printing technology
Program: Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
Major Advisor: Nirmala Kandadai
This project aims to understand plasma behavior in a plasma jet printer through modelling and experiments. The plasma jet printer, is a novel printer developed by NASA AMES, where a plasma is used to assist the flow of ink and self-sinter, achieving a uniform film. Currently, the effect of exact nature of plasma, its driving voltage, distance and gas flow rate on the efficiency of the printed device is unknown. A computational and experimental model will be developed to test and improve this technology. USIM modeling tool from Tech-X is used to model the plasma discharge at atmospheric pressure. A prototype bench top system will study the effects experimentally.
Anna Doud
Translation of an In-Person Brief, Bystander Bullying Intervention (STAC) into a Technology-Based Program for Rural Schools and Low-Income Schools
Program: Counseling (MA)
Major Advisor: Aida Midgett
While studies support the efficacy of comprehensive, school-wide interventions in reducing bullying, these types of programs can require significant time and financial resources for implementation, resulting in barriers to providing school-based bullying prevention, especially in low-income and rural communities. Additionally, although training bystanders to act as “defenders” on behalf of targets of bullying is an important intervention component, few programs include this as part of their comprehensive strategy. Although brief programs that focus on bystander training and require fewer resources for implementation are a good first step, they still pose barriers such as training school personnel, providing external support, and not allowing for large groups of students to be trained at the same time. The overall goal of this project is to translate an in-person brief bullying bystander program (STAC) into a technology-based intervention. This presentation will disseminate information regarding the project’s first aim, which was to conduct a needs analysis with 15 school personnel (i.e., administrators, teachers, and school counselors) from three rural, low-income middle schools to determine product need and obtain their feedback to help build a system prototype. The technology-based platform will increase the overall impact and sustainability of the STAC intervention. It will substantially reduce cost to increase reach, and, based on the team’s previous work, its content will be adapted for students attending low-income and rural schools. Thus, this low-cost, easy to disseminate technology-based bullying bystander intervention has the potential to have a significant impact on the problem of bullying and the negative associated consequences for both students who are targets and bystanders in middle school when the problem of bullying peaks.
Kevallyn Drake
The Quality of Participant Reporting in Meta-Analyses Focused on Students with or At-Risk of Disabilities
Program: Special Education (MIT)
Major Advisor: Gena Nelson
The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of participant demographic information reported in special education research. This study was a systematic review of meta-analyses that investigated the effect of academic interventions for participants with or at risk for a disability. A secondary purpose of this study was to provide future researchers with the tools and guidelines to improve the accuracy of demographic information in meta-analyses within special education. A total of 47 meta-analyses published between 2004 and 2019 were coded for quality data including participant demographics, attrition, intervention agents, disaggregated data based on disability or risk status, and the total number of participants. Previous research has shown that reporting of participant demographic information has been minimal; this is problematic for researchers and practitioners because meta-analyses are often looked to as methods to determine effective practices for different populations of students. The results of this study showed that less than half of the meta-analyses provided specific data regarding how participants were screened or identified within each disability category. The results of this study also identified the overall quality of reported participant demographic data and what variables were associated with lower levels of reported quality.
Micah Drew
The effect of prolonged load carriage on knee adduction biomechanics
Program: Kinesiology (MS)
Major Advisor: Tyler Brown
Walking with body borne loads may increase knee musculoskeletal injury risk. Sixteen participants had knee biomechanics quantified while walking 1.3 m/s for 60 minutes with three body borne loads (0, 15 and 30 kg). Body borne load increased peak knee adduction moment (p<0.001), while walking time increased peak and range of knee adduction angle (both: p0.05). Prolonged walking with heavy body borne loads increased knee adduction biomechanics related to musculoskeletal injury and disease, and may contribute to high injury rates for military personnel.
Scott Ducar
Landscapes in transition: Assessing the impact of land-use on Lower Dry Creek, Idaho
Program: Hydrologic Sciences (MS)
Major Advisor: Jen Pierce
Water and sediment availability profoundly influence the form and behavior of streams and rivers; in the western United States, urban development, mining, logging, beaver trapping, grazing, and farming alter the hydrology and sediment of fluvial systems. Dry Creek Experimental Watershed (DCEW), which drains the mountain peaks above Boise Idaho, has been a site of extensive hydrologic investigation since 1999. However, the hydrology, geomorphology, and land-use change in Lower Dry Creek (LDC), which marks the transition from the rugged and largely un-developed uplands to the lower gradient, agricultural, and residential section of the watershed, is less understood.
LDC, a tributary to the Boise River in Idaho, has a complex history of placer mining, beaver trapping, grazing, and farming since the 1850’s. Recent (post-1997) growth in the region converted LDC’s expansive floodplain from agricultural land to housing developments. The goals of this project are to 1) provide the baseline geomorphic, hydrologic and history of land-use for LDC, 2) examine the timing, magnitude, and spatial extent of stream channel incision in LDC, and 3) understand how changes in land-use may drive stream channel response in LDC.
We used remote sensing and field observations to quantify how the distinct reaches of LDC are changing over human time scales; we use Quaternary dating methods and geomorphic mapping to examine how LDC has changed over centennial to millennial timescales. Our results indicate upstream disturbance by placer mining resulted in planform channel change and local aggradation and subsequent incision. In lower reaches, a modern radiocarbon date provides evidence that ~3 meters of incision occurred post-1950, potentially from channelization of McFarland Creek (a tributary of LDC) as farm land is converted to housing developments. Results of this study have implications for stakeholders to understand the characteristics and response of LDC for potential mitigation or restoration.
Kimberlee Einfeld
Implementation of Peer Support and Shared Decision-Making Aids for the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Population
Program: Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Major Advisor: Teresa Serratt
Patients eligible for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) may experience low self-efficacy and anxiety while considering valve replacement, which may lead to poor quality of life.
A pilot project was implemented and evaluated using TAVR peer support and use of shared decision-making aids as interventions to address the problem. After the interventions, a third of patients had a decrease in anxiety, and half had an increase in one or more areas of self-efficacy. All patients responded positively during interviews, stating they felt greater confidence after interventions. Patients were empowered to discuss their health and procedural concerns with their medical team.
GerDonna Ellis
Critical Race Theory and the Impact of Oppression Narratives on the Identity, Resilience, and Wellness of Students of Color
Program: Communication (MA)
Major Advisor: Kelly Rossetto
In this thesis I explore the different stories students of color draw from and internalize to understand their identities in relation to oppression and resilience. Through reviewing critical race theory (CRT) and critical whiteness literature, I identify what I call the “oppression narrative”, in which students of color are often discussed as being oppressed and disadvantaged. Stories are powerful, and in many ways the stories we hear and believe about ourselves make us who we are. Eight narrative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with students who attended a predominately white institution (PWI) and identified as black or Latinx. Seven themes emerged as influential and vital into how these students’ chose to identify themselves, and how their stories reflected oppression and/or processes of resiliency in making sense of and navigating their world: external/internal identity tension, not leading with challenges, claiming privilege or support, denying a deficit, identity as an anchor, using community, and reframing circumstance and highlighting victories. These eight students’ stories overwhelmingly rejected the notion of being racially oppressed, and their narratives reveal the many ways in which they engage in processes of resiliency through difficult circumstance.
Alejandro Espejo Sanchez
Direct Solar Absorption Nanoparticle-Doped Membranes for a Hybrid Membrane Distillation/ Photovoltaic Cell
Program: Mechanical Engineering (MS)
Major Advisor: Todd Otanicar
Developing a method for treating water with high salinities is possible with membrane distillation. A hybrid system consisting of a membrane for water desalination and photovoltaic to generate electricity will be capable to absorb thermal energy for the temperature requirements and generate electricity. At the top of the system is a photovoltaic cell that will filter the visible light wavelengths and transmit the remaining ultraviolet and infrared to a membrane doped with absorbing nanoparticles located at the core of the system. This provides the means to integrate this system but also provides an avenue for increasing the temperature polarization coefficient and improving the membrane performance. The proposed membranes are fabricated using a multi-step phase inversion approach that will allow for controlled distribution of nanoparticles across the membrane. This design is characterized at a component and system level through multiples techniques. The overall project would lead to increased use of renewable energy for desalination while improving the ability to use membrane distillation for desalination purposes.
Benjamin Etcheverry
Actualizing Novel Time Dependent Resistance Elements to Achieve Time Dynamic Learning Behavior on a Hardware Spiking Neural Network Test Platform
Program: Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
Major Advisor: Kurtis Cantley
There is currently a large body of research investigating the learning behavior of Spiking Neural Networks (SNN’s) who display learning behavior facilitated by Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity (STDP). The prospect of developing novel computing architectures who take inspiration from the brain as a solution to the scaling limitations that herald the end of Moore’s Law has driven many researchers to produce computing schemes that realize neural learning rules on Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC’s). Theoretical models for these learning rules are well documented and simple rules have been shown to encode patterns of individual spikes and perform Spatio-Temporal Pattern Recognition (STPR). In order to facilitate more time-complex learning behavior a device design has been proposed which uses a time dependent resistive device to create a learning window which modifies the STDP curve and enriches the learning of a generic SNN circuits. Preliminary simulations have verified the theory behind these devices. This work produces a design in hardware that actualizes the theoretical results.
Amrina Ferdous
A Comparison of Inverse Methods and Neural Networks in Geophysics
Program: Computing (PhD)
Major Advisor: Jodi Mead
Inverse methods and neural networks are two different methods of data interpretation. Both methods are used to estimate causal factors from a set of observations. The object of geophysical inversion is to recover parameters in a mathematical model of the earth from measured data. Neural Networks use training data that consists of sets of parameters and observations to approximate a functional inverse of the mathematical model. We will explain how these two different methods can arrive at the same model from different paradigms. In addition, we will show results from both an inversion and Neural Networks on the gravity anomaly problem in order to recover the shape of a frontier between two media of different densities in the subsurface.
Danny Fisher
Opportunity of Natural Resource Trust to Support Rural Idaho Counties
Program: Economics (MEc)
Major Advisor: Michail Fragkias
Large tracts of federal lands in Shoshone, Clearwater and Idaho counties of Idaho limit these counties’ ability to generate tax revenue. Acts of Congress that have been used to compensate for nationally owned lands in these counties are impermanent, declining and volatile in annual receipts. My intent is to examine other opportunities these rural communities may have to expand and stabilize their budgets through a natural resource trust. Budgetary stability and expansion would allow for predictable municipal planning; this would support social amenities such as schools, roads, and emergency services. Different avenues of financing to fund such a trust will be reviewed to describe impact and yield from various scenarios and regulatory schemes. Policy implications, past and future, are to be discussed regarding current outcomes and potential trade-offs. A natural resource trust would resolve the issues that have developed from county dependence on federal receipts, and eventually withdrawal amounts from the fund would surpass the amounts currently allocated to rural counties by federal appropriation. Natural resource trusts have been utilized many times by local and national governments globally and could be used in Idaho to establish equity for rural communities by unifying their endowed public lands with an endowed perpetual fund.
Mei-lin Fong
Experimental Testing of High Temperature Particle Attrition and Containment Material Abrasion
Program: Mechanical Engineering (MS)
Major Advisor: Todd Otanicar
An alternate and sustainable form of energy is concentrating solar power systems which capture and store the sun’s energy in the form of heat. One way to improve the performance and lower the cost of concentrating solar power systems is to operate at temperatures exceeding 700°C, which introduces a number of challenges particularly with the heat transfer fluid. One approach is to use particles, which creates unique issues around material erosion and long-term durability. Two experimental setups were developed to test particle attrition and containment material abrasion, for high temperature at 800°C and low temperature at 25°C regimes. Multiple particles (bauxite, sand) as well as multiple containment materials (stainless steel, Inconel, refractory) are tested to understand durability. Particle attrition focuses on the breakdown of particles over time by measuring particle size distribution with sieving and optical analysis. High temperature abrasion, over limited testing hours, show significate oxidation formation and breakdown, something unobserved at low temperature testing. In low temperature abrasion, after 700 hours, stainless steel material had an average mass loss of 0.0024 g and Inconel had a mass loss of 0.0028 g while at high temperature after 300 hours, the same materials had a mass loss of 0.078 g and 0.0077 g respectively.
Jenny Fothergill
GIXStapose: An interactive structure-viewer alongside its simulated diffraction pattern
Program: Materials Science and Engineering (PhD)
Major Advisor: Eric Jankowski
We develop a tool that solves common problems in the structural analysis of materials simulated on nanometer length scales. Molecular simulations typically employ periodic boundary conditions to mimic conditions in the bulk material, but this places limitations on the repeated structural features that can be observed in simulations. Analyzing the structure of materials in the frequency domain quantifies the degree to which repeating structural features exist, but can be difficult to implement, interpret, and reproduce. Furthermore, the generation of simulated diffraction patterns from molecular simulation plays a crucial role in validating simulation results against experiments that rely on diffraction patterns to quantify structure.
In this work we develop GIXStapose, a new interactive analysis software for studying crystalline and amorphous materials structures. It enables grazing incidence X-ray scattering (GIXS) patterns to be visualized while interactively rotating chemical structures, especially periodic simulation volumes generated from molecular simulations. This functionality is useful for interactively identifying real-space chemical features that correspond to bright diffraction peaks and the rotation matrices that generate them. As such, this tool has potential to aid in the reproducible generation of publication quality figures which connect both GIXS and structural data, and it has pedagogical potential for students learning about crystal structures and diffraction.
GIXStapose is made possible by open-source packages, including the high-quality rendering of the Fresnel ray-tracer, the chemical file formats parsing of MBuild, and numpy’s fast Fourier implementations used in interactive diffraction analysis, and by funding from the National Science Foundation (#1835593)
Scott Frank
Are Community Schools within the Boise School District having an impact on student performance and academic achievement?
Program: Executive Educational Leadership (EdS)
Major Advisor: Heather P. Williams
The purpose of this study was to determine if the Boise School District Community Schools are having an impact on student performance and academic achievement. The report focuses on three parts.
The first part is focused on fourth-grade student reading scores, from the STAR Assessment, in the five Community Schools since becoming a Community School. This data covers four years (2015 to 2019).
The second part is comparing the five Community School’s STAR Reading scores to a similar Title-One Non-Community School in the district. The third part is based on the results of the fourth-grade teachers at each Community School.
Kelly Franklin
The Gothic Other: A Critique of Race, Gender, Slavery, and Systemic Oppression found in Nathaniel Hawthorne, Toni Morrison, and Hannah Crafts
Program: English Literature (MA)
Major Advisor: Dora Ramirez
My paper examines three American Gothic novels all communicating ideas about race, gender, and slavery. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables (1851) uses Gothic conventions to show how patriarchy oppressed and haunted women. Beloved (1987), by Toni Morrison, fictionalizes the account of a female slave who murdered her child to assert her power and reject slavery. However, Morrison rewrites and defies aspects of the Gothic mode by bringing the ghost of the murdered child back to life. The third novel, The Bondwoman’s Narrative, is assumed to have been written by Hannah Crafts around the mid-late 1850s, but not published until the 21st century. Similar to Morrison, Crafts vocalizes the terrors felt as a result of systematic oppression through her Gothic storytelling techniques. Studying these three novels together shows how these two African American female authors subverted traditional approaches to the Gothic in a way Hawthorne did not. These specific female novelists recognize how the Gothic mode can be used to provide accurate accounts of history alongside race gender, and slavery; however, they were conscious and deliberate in their choices to re-appropriate and rearrange certain aspects of the Gothic mode in a more subversive way.
Examination of Hannah Crafts’s use of Gothic conventions in the context of Hawthorne’s and Morrison’s novels shows how the Gothic became a tool for African American female authors to speak on behalf of a bigger community and serve a larger purpose in advocating for freedom and independence. Even though Crafts was writing at the same time as Hawthorne, his text lived and flourished while Crafts’s narrative was buried. Therefore, Morison’s ability to fictionalize the real life account of a slave woman necessitated Crafts’s manuscript to later be unearthed.
Emily Fritchman
Grassroots Activism: A History of Neighborhood Organizing in Boise, Idaho
Program: History (MAHR)
Major Advisor: Bob Reinhardt
Members of neighborhood associations in Boise, Idaho have long acted as advocates for historic preservation, environmental conservation, and effective urban growth management. However, little historical research exploring the impact of neighborhood activists both regionally and nationally has been conducted. This project consists of four elements: a website that highlights both the history of neighborhood organizing in Boise and key figures of the activist movement, a community lecture presenting these findings to the public, a brochure detailing the goals of the project to neighbors, and an analytical paper contributing to the historiography of neighborhood activism in Boise. Additionally, the patterns that emerge in this study will provide future scholars of community organizing and neighborhood history with insight into common issues faced by local neighborhood groups. The goal of this project is to present neighbors with thoughtful historical research, shedding light on how the actions of one person can profoundly impact the development of a community. In addition, I hope to provide both lifelong and new Boiseans with the resources and motivation necessary for them to pursue a more active role in the neighborhood organizing process.