Follow

• 

  The Fox News Effect: Does Polarized News-Media Fill Traditional News Roles?

  Richard Davis and Braden W. Johnson

  Since the formation of the Cable News Network (CNN) in 1980, cable news channels have grown in scope and influence. Traditional news providers are often critical of the bias and "spin" that are frequently associated with such cable news channels but few have looked for the unique benefits that polarized news can have on its consumers. This study seeks to prove whether or not polarized news has beneficial effects on its consumers. Using a 2010 media survey conducted by the Pew Media Center, I group the respondents into categories representing those who view polarized media (n=780) and those who do not (n=760). I then test each group against the mean (n=3,007) in three different measures and compare the results. I find that consumers of polarized media are more likely to have a working knowledge of current events, read the newspaper daily, and register to vote.

• 

  Public Perception of Hoarding

  Alex Dresden, Stephanie Svanevik, Kristen Hoopes, and Brian Appel

  Hoarding is defined as (1) the acquisition of, and failure to, discard a large number of possessions that appear to be of limited value, (2) living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which these spaces were designed, (3) significant impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding, and (4) reluctance to return borrowed items. The average age of onset for hoarders is 11-15 years of age, with most hoarders reporting symptoms before age 20. Our research sought to find correlations regarding public perceptions of hoarding, including demographic, personal, and socioeconomic factors. Using a 55-question online survey and taking advantage of social networking and byu.sona-systems.com, we gathered pertinent information regarding hoarding perceptions and hoarding self-identification from 769 participants. The research results indicate that public perceptions of hoarding and personal identification as a hoarder were both positively correlated with age, gender, education, and income. In addition, those that knew hoarders and those who identified themselves as hoarders were positively correlated with knowledge of treatment options, potential pursuit of those treatments, and belief that treatment could be successful as they aged. Thus, we propose early life education programs regarding hoarding, especially if targeted to appropriate audiences, as an influential factor in reducing hoarding behaviors.

• 

  Does Attachment to Parents Mediate the Relationship between Marital Conflict and Child Self-Regulation

  Lisa T. Hansen, James M. Harper, and Jeremy Yorgason

  This longitudinal study considers the effect of parent-child attachment on the self-regulation of children. Four hundred and forty-eight families from the Northwestern U.S. were surveyed as part of Brigham Young University's Flourishing Families Project. Each family studied included a child between the ages of 11 and 13. Couple conflict and the child's attachment to parents were assessed at time 1 and the child's self-regulation was assessed each year thereafter for three years. Higher couple conflict predicted lower attachment to father and to mother at time 1 with a greater negative effect for fathers. Higher scores on attachment to father predicted greater initial levels of child self-regulation (at time 2) but not slopes of child self-regulation. Model results suggest that father attachment mediates the link between couple conflict and initial levels of self-regulation. This model accounted for 40% of the variation in child self-regulation measured at one year.

• 

  Wanted "Dead or Alive": The Effects of Charismatic Leadership on Terrorist Organizations

  Cameron S. Harris, Kirk Hawkins, and Daniel Milton

  Charismatic leadership profoundly moves terrorist organizations to more violence and longer organizational life-spans.

• 

  Sexual Satisfaction and Differentiation

  Anthony A. Hughes and James Harper

  Using questionnaires, self report, and partner report of spouse, this investigation examined the relationship between differentiation of self and sexual satisfaction of each partner for a sample size of 681. The data was collected from a large northwestern city and was part of the Flourishing Families Project. Actor and partner effects were both examined. Findings showed that both husbands and wives were impacted by both actor and partner effects of differentiation of self. The latent variable of differentiation of self measured the lack of differentiation, while the latent variable of sexual satisfaction measured the lack of sexual satisfaction within the relationship. Wife sexual satisfaction was predicted by the increase or decrease in husband and wife differentiation of self. Husband sexual satisfaction was also predicted by the increase or decrease of husband and wife differentiation of self. Overall, as the variables (differentiation of self) increased, the variables (sexual satisfaction) also increased.

• 

  Television Media Consumption: Measuring Attitudinal Levels Towards Capital Punishment

  Bryson D. Jones and Stephen J. Bahr

  This study argues that the frequency of consumption and type of television media that one views is indicative of attitudinal formation on sensitive Political Science issues such as executing convicted murderers. In this setting, I investigate whether Americans who watch more television, and those who watch prime-time dramas or comedies or national or world news programs are more likely to support the death penalty. I hypothesize that such viewing habits increases ones likelihood for supporting punitive punishment like the death penalty because of the type of media messages they are exposed to such as violence, criminal dramas, law enforcement, and victimization. I test these hypotheses utilizing data from the 1993 General Social Survey (GSS). Controlling for a range of demographic factors and other known predictors of death penalty attitudes, my results demonstrate that Americans who more frequently view prime-time dramas or comedies and national or world news programs are more likely to support capital punishment for convicted murderers.

• 

  The Life of a Bill in the Utah Legislature: Following House Bill 49- Firearms Revisions

  Scott Robbins

  There have been some recent cases of firearm owners legally carrying their firearms, who have faced criminal prosecution and fines, though they broke no law. House Bill 49 was was introduced by Rep. Paul Ray in order to protect firearm-carrying citizens from receiving fines and criminal charges from two conflicting laws.The bill mainly clarifies the open carry and disorderly conduct aspects of existing Utah law. Because HB49 was incremental and fit with the majority opinion of Utah, it was able to get through to the senate where it was stalled from an amendment. Since the legislative session ended before the amendment could be fixed, HB49 died in the 2012 legislative session.

• 

  Does This Marriage Make Me Look Fat? Marital Quality as a Predictor of Body Weight, Activity Level, and Eating Habits

  Lori C. Schade, Jonathan Sandberg, and Dean Busby

  Survey data from married couples (N=374) was analyzed for effects of marital quality on weight as a problem in the marriage, activity level and eating habits. Results indicate that wife marital quality was positively associated with weight being a problem for wives, while husband marital quality was negatively associated with weight being a problem for both husbands and wives in the relationship. Wife marital quality was also positively associated with husband activity level, while husband marital quality was negatively associated with husband activity level. Implications of findings are discussed.

• 

  Ceramics From Wolf Village

  Kari Schrade and James Allison

  Ceramics have been found all over the world and in most cultures. Ceramics can be a form of art or can be strictly utilitarian. Most cultures have tried to create pottery that is unique to them. These styles and tempers help archaeologists determine where a piece of ceramic has come from. Pottery decorations and the different tempers found in the ceramics at Wolf Village present evidence that the Fremont traded with people outside their local community. Great Salt Lake one of the largest counts is associated with northern Utah, especially around the Great Salt Lake. All of the other types are from farther away which can indicates trade. Corrugated wares are typically associated with southwestern pottery (Anasazi) and could indicate that there was trade of ideas between the two groups, especially as these two buildings were being used during the same time period as the Pueblo II period in Anasazi history. Fremont and Anasazi pottery both use similar design elements but they use them in such a way that they are distinct. Although the relationship between design styles of the Fremont and Cortez Black-On-White could be construed as very similar, I can only state that the tempers found in all but the Great Salt Lake wares are from far enough away from Wolf Village as conclude that the people of Wolf Village were trading and interacting with other Fremont groups.

• 

  Nike, Goddess of Victory: Symbol of Ancient Greek Identity

  Shannon C. Wood and James Allison

  The importance of the Ancient Greek goddess of victory, Nike, has traditionally been ignored or understated in Classical studies. However, I would argue that because the Greeks idolized traditional values that Nike had patronship over, and because there is evidence in the archaeological record that demonstrates Nike's importance and presence across a broad spectrum of worship, Nike is in fact one of the more important deities when considering the relation of Greek religion to Greek identity.

• 

  Dating a Mummy: Determining Background on Museum Objects With No Provenience

  Shannon C. Wood and Paul Stavast

  An Egyptian falcon mummy donated to BYU's Museum of Peoples and Cultures had no provenience and thus aroused a lot of curiosity. At first, noninvasive research procedures were used in order to see inside the mummy. Results were inconclusive, so only after these procedures were followed were more invasive techniques carried out. It is important that museums follow these procedures in order to build a background for their objects without a history.

• 

  Fathers of Flourishing Families

  Daniel H. Erickson and Randal D. Day

  Researchers have found that father involvement is a critical part of healthy child development. Fathers’ perspectives and qualities greatly influence and affect children. Researchers’ findings tell us that father involvement is correlated to positive outcomes in children, including increased cognitive competence, increased empathy, less sex-stereotyped beliefs, a greater internal locus of control, and acting out less often. The purpose of this study is to advance the extant literature by showing how father involvement over time impacts child self-esteem, depression, perseverance, hope, and leadership in the lives of 500 teens.

• 

  How Well Do Republican Delegates Represent Other Utah Republicans

  Matthew D. Frei and Quin J. Monson

  In her 1967 classic work on representation, Hannah Pitkin presents two conceptualization of that term. One view of representation demands that representatives share demographic characteristics with those they represent while the other concerns itself with the actions of representation. This project applies both views to an assessment of the Utah candidate nomination system by comparing the issue preferences and demographic characteristics of delegates to the 2010 Utah Republican Nominating Convention with those of the primary and general election voters they are to represent. The resulting analysis shows how the groups differ and that their issue preferences diverge.

• 

  Poverty Attributions and Attitudes toward Government Spending

  Laurel George, Leila N. Kempf, and Kristie Phillips

  The U.S. has the greatest economic inequality of any industrialized nation, and does the least to reduce this inequality (Dreier 2007). This inequality may reflect attitudes about the causes of poverty that may diminish willingness to support policy designed to alleviate its effects. Prior research has examined differences in attitudes toward the poor and those receiving welfare and about poverty beliefs, but not whether a relationship exist between these beliefs and opinions on Political Science. In order to investigate this explanation, we analyze data from the 1992 American National Election Survey (N=674) for a possible link between whether people attribute poverty to laziness or to structural causes and their attitudes about increasing government spending on programs that target the problems of poverty, namely food stamps, welfare, and child care. We found significant relationships between poverty beliefs and favorable attitudes toward increasing spending on each of these programs.

• 

  Kin Care and Perceptions of Equity among Ugandan Youth

  Laurel George and Jini Roby

  Children receiving kin care in Sub-Saharan Africa are at risk for differential treatment, especially where household resources are scarce. Using Pearson χ2 and multinomial logistic regression, we investigated whether such disparity exists within households receiving agency oversight and services designed to protect such children and preserve family households. We use existing data from face-to-face interviews with Ugandan youth age 8 to 18 (N = 518) and their caregivers to examine whether differences exist in child-perceived equity of food distribution and work requirements by type of family relatedness to caregiver. Income, but not relatedness, was negatively associated with food inequity, but relatedness was associated with perceived disparity in distribution of work among household children.

• 

  Who Wants to Be in America? A Generalized Linear Mixed Model to Predict Satisfaction with Life in the United States among the Children of Immigrants

  Brian D. Harris and Joe Olsen

  Stratification theory and various theories of immigrant integration suggest that it may be more important to measure integration outcomes among the children of immigrant than first-generation immigrants themselves. While many researchers use outcomes that can be measured directly such as income or educational attainment, more research is needed on the subjective interpretations of the children of immigrants. I use a multilevel generalized linear mixed model to predict satisfaction with the United States among the children of immigrants. Data come from the first two waves of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS). Parents' citizenship status, students' citizenship status, previous experiences with discrimination, the students' grade in school, and attitudes about Americans' sense of superiority are all significant predictors of satisfaction with living in the United States.

• 

  Using Media to Connect in Romantic Relationships: Effects on Attachment, Relationship Satisfaction and Stability

  Lori C. Schade, Jonathan Sandberg, and Roy Bean

  This study was designed to explore in a path analysis how non-vocal and non-facial forms of media communication in emerging adults' romantic relationships might influence attachment, relationship satisfaction and relationship stability. For both males and females, using these forms of media to connect in their relationships seemed to be positively associated with attachment. Attachment was positively correlated with both relationship satisfaction and stability for both groups. Using media to communicate in a hurtful way was negatively related to satisfaction and stability. Differences between groups are presented and implications discussed.

• 

  Predictors of Caregiver Burden of Parents of Children with Disabilities

  Richard Alboroto and Susanne O. Roper

  Parents of children with disabilities experience elevated stress, which may contribute to their caregiver burden. Factors related to caregiver burden may be child or parent related. In this study, we investigated how income, economic hardship, age of the child with a disability, number of children in the family, and family cohesion were associated with mothers’ and fathers’ caregiver burden. Participants consisted of parents of 192 children; 155 of the children had some form of disability. The results show that family cohesion was negatively related to mothers’ and fathers’ burden. Economic hardship was also strongly associated with burden. Results suggest that it is important to examine parent related factors in examining parental burden. It is also important to examine parental burden in when looking at different family intervention options that may be used to reduce parental stress.

• 

  Effects of Relationship Status on GPA

  Emily Albright, Chanel Carlile, Janae Kirkendall, and Allyson Webber

  Research on the effect of Relationship Status on GPA is very limited. Some studies find that individuals who date more frequently tend to have lower grades than those who don’t. Other studies have found that relationships can have a positive or a negative effect on GPA depending on other factors. However, most studies find that Relationship status doesn’t have an effect on GPA. We hypothesize that Single and Married individuals will have higher GPA’s than their dating counterparts. We further hypothesize that Single and Married people will also be more consistent in their academic achievement and that those who are happy will have higher GPA’s.

• 

  Effects of Title I on Student Achievement

  Erin Alldredge and Bert Burraston

  This study analyzes the effects of attending a Title I funded school on student achievement by examining fall and spring test scores of kindergarten students, and achievement gains between the two evaluations. The study presents two hypotheses: students attending Title I funded schools will have lower math test scores for both fall and spring tests than students attending schools that do not receive Title I funds, and students attending Title I funded schools will have higher achievement gains between fall and spring than children attending schools that do not receive Title I funds. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study 1998-99(ECLSK) it was determined that students who attended Title I Funded schools received lower test scores than their peers at schools that did not receive these funds. Also, no significant difference in achievement gains was found between the two groups.

• 

  A Comparative Study of the Murray/Taylorsville and Salt Lake City Greenway Systems

  Nicholas G. Baker, Evan Pressley, David Munson, and Mark Christensen

  Greenways are an important part of an urban system. They are linear strips of vegetated area that extend through or around cities. Greenways have various environ-mental, social, and economic benefits that contribute to healthy communities. Characteristics of greenway systems can be quantified and measured, allowing comparison between study areas. Our study uses landscape metrics to compare the total area, total edge, number of patches, and connectivity of the Salt Lake City and Murray, Utah greenway systems.

• 

  Ladders to the Sky: Implications of 'Mental Retardation' in Vishakhapatnam, India

  Amber K. Bell and Charles Nuckolls

  Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have never been studied from an ethnographic basis in anthropology. The study originally focused on only families with autistic members. Due to Indian definitions of mental illness, the study was broadened from the cultural view of ASDs to studying the 'mentally retarded' and focused on autistics within that definition. I wanted to study: the cultural definitions of mental illness, what treatments were being used, and how these definitions affected families that included patients.

• 

  Religion's Influence on Adolescent's Self-Esteem

  Diane M. Bowns, Benjamin R. Malczyk, Rachel Dodge, and Randal Day

  Self-esteem, or mattering, is important as it has been found to be positively related to things like perceived social support and school performance for adolescents (Elliott, Kao & Grant 2004). We wonder if an adolescent’s self-esteem is specifically affected by his religiosity. Plante and Boccaccini (1997) used the SCSORF Questionnaire and found that stronger faith promoted lighter interpersonal sensitivity, greater belief in personal control and higher self-esteem. Likewise, Ellison (1991) asserts that those with strong religiosity report higher self-esteem; yet Bahr and Martin (1983) report that there was little relationship between religiosity and self-esteem. In our study we test to see if self-esteem is one area in which religion manifests itself positively in the lives of adolescents. We hypothesize that religion will be positively correlated with self-esteem.

• 

  International Travel: Economic Effects of Government Intervention

  Adam Brady, Whitney Thomas, Jenna Wilkin, and Patty Eliason

  Because tourism affects many aspects of a countries economy, governments play an important role in promoting and preparing their countries for tourism. Using Haiti and China, as well as the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the epidemic outbreaks of SARS and the Swine Flu, we can see the role each government takes in regards to tourism and the economy of each country. In Haiti, we see the role America plays in rebuilding the country, both physically, after the earthquake in January 2010, and politically, by offering support to the Haitian government and stopping military coups. Tourism would bring money to Haiti and help strengthen the country. The People’s Republic of China had a history of only allowing select visitors into the country until the late 1970’s, when Chinese officials realized the economic benefits of tourism. The government then poured money into building new hotels, renovating historical sites, and training tour guides. Then, in 2001, China won the bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics and spent billions of dollars preparing for the huge influx of visitors, hoping to change the world’s view of The People’s Republic of China. After the terrorist attacks on American on Sept 11, 2001, world travel drastically decreased. Since then international travel has increased worldwide, but has actually decreased to the United States. The U.S. government, knowing the economic advantages of tourism, passed the Travel Promotion Act in March 2010, hoping to promote international travel to the United States. The outbreak of SARS and the Swine Flu created tension between government policies. As governments attempt to limit the spread of disease by issuing warnings and, in some cases, forbidding travel, while at the same time trying to limit the negative economic effects of restricting travel. By January2004, less than a year after governments implemented travel restrictions due to SARS, they gave tourist officials the push to promote international travel once more. International travel is an important part of the world economy and each country takes steps to reduce their negative image in order to promote travel to their country.

• 

  Violence in Children's Popular Television Programs

  Victoria Bramwell, Ashley Herr, Christine Sickles, and Jessica Kugath

  Previous research done on violence in the media has primarily focused on the effects it has on children. Researchers have tried to prove that children’s viewing of television violence is linked to negative side effects such as encouraging children to imitate their violent acts in social settings (Simmons, Stalsworth and Wentzel, 1999), it’s effects can lead to psychological trauma (Singer, et al., 2004), and even that it can have an impact on a child’s moral reasoning (Krcmar, Viera, 2005). However, little research has been done on how much violence is portrayed in popular television shows and if it increases with a show’s targeted age group. In our study we explore this issue and hypothesize that as a target age for a show increases the amount of violent acts will increase up until shows are directed at a pre-teen audience where the amount of violent acts will begin to decrease.