BYU ScholarsArchive (Brigham Young University)
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Designing BYUMove, an Exercise Referral Program for Brigham Young University Students
No full textIntroduction: A significant portion of college students face mental health challenges that can be alleviated through regular exercise. Despite evidence that exercise reduces depression and anxiety, many college students are not achieving adequate levels of exercise. This project aimed to implement and evaluate BYUMove, a structured, mentor-led exercise program designed to improve student engagement in exercise and assess its feasibility as an exercise referral intervention.
Methods: BYUMove was piloted at a BYU student gym from May to August 2024. Six students participated in biweekly exercise sessions led by four BYUMove mentors. Participants completed a post-program survey, and mentors provided qualitative feedback through interviews. A thematic analysis identified key program facilitators, barriers, and participant satisfaction. Program effectiveness was measured by participant-reported experiences and willingness to continue.
Results: Six program participants completed the post-program survey, reporting high satisfaction, improved exercise knowledge, and motivation to continue. All participants expressed interest in continuing the program. Three of the four mentors were interviewed and identified barriers such as inconsistent scheduling, recruitment challenges, and a lack of formal referrals. Facilitators included social support, personalized workouts, and mentor guidance.
Discussion: BYUMove has shown to be a viable exercise intervention. Future initiatives should include establishing formal referral pathways and standardized tracking tools to enhance sustainability. The findings support the feasibility of the integration of exercise referral programs into university mental health services
An Examination of Eating Disorders Among Asian American Women
Full text linkEating disorders can be defined as a psychological illness that results in abnormal or disturbed eating patterns. The three common eating disorders diagnosed within the United States are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. When analyzing the demographic distribution of individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder in America, it was shown that the subcategory of Asian American citizens had significantly lower amounts of data in comparison to other racial categories. This may be attributed to the fact that on average, Asian Americans are half as likely as Caucasian Americans to seek mental health services. Three main areas shown to have an influence on the development of an eating disorder are cultural, interpersonal, and societal. According to most data on the topic, Asian American women who live in a household that enforces traditional Asian culture standards are more likely to develop an eating disorder due to the conflict between Western culture and the Asian ideal of perfectionism. The risk is found to be higher if the relationship to the immediate family is strained or distant. In terms of societal influence, the hyper-sexualization of Asian women in the media may also have a detrimental impact on eating patterns. Because available data on this topic is scarce, further research would allow for a better understanding of the situation and enable the medical community to create more effective outreach methods for those suffering from an eating disorder
Empathy
Full text linkImagine a world with empathy
Where people lived with more sense?
A place filled with love and kindness
Not at any person\u27s expense
Increasing Diabetes Screening in a Low Socioeconomic Population
No full textIntroduction: In 2021, 38.4 million Americans had diabetes. Of the 38.4 million, 8.7 million were undiagnosed. It is crucial to identify diabetes as it can increase the risk of mortality for either sex and at any age. The Volunteer Care Clinic (VCC) is a free clinic for patients who are uninsured and low-income and for acute complaints only and because the VCC is an acute care clinic, screenings had not historically been performed routinely. Because of the diminished medical access for the majority of this population, routine screening for diabetes when a patient visits the clinic would help identify diabetes when it would otherwise go undiagnosed and untreated.
Methods: Criteria were created to determine which patients should have an A1c drawn. VCC staff were trained on the screening protocol. A1c screening protocol was implemented into the check-in process, and data were inputted into the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR).
Results: In May, June, and July of 2024, the clinic screened 274 patients. Of those patients, 108 patients were identified to have prediabetes or diabetes.
Discussion: Diabetes impacts the nursing field because it leads to many health risks and complications. Being aware of a patient’s disease status would assist with diabetes management and aid in mitigating possible complications. Upon screening, 39% of patients were identified to have diabetes or prediabetes and referred to a low-income primary care clinic. Improvement in identifying diabetes, facilitating its management, and reducing disease-related mortality contributes to global health, even if it is in our local community
The Earth\u27s Voice: The Social, Spiritual, and Secular Justifications for the Earth\u27s Freedom of Expression
Full text linkThe Earth\u27s legal right to freedom of speech remains largely unexplored within the broader legal movement for the rights of nature, which emerged in the 1970s. While environmental law increasingly recognizes nature\u27s rights to exist and thrive, as illustrated by legal rights granted to various natural entities--like the Whanganui River or manoomin rice--the Earth\u27s ability to communicate remains underdeveloped. This study employs legal research analysis to examine the philosophical reasoning behind how social, spiritual, and secular frameworks justify the Earth\u27s right to freedom of speech and expression. It explores legal guardianship, scientific data, Indigenous knowledge, and spiritual stewardship as valid expressions of the Earth\u27s voice. Legal models from Ecuador, New Zealand, and Indigenous traditions illustrate various facets of these justifications. By examining these philosophical justifications, this study recognizes that granting the Earth freedom to speech and expression is an important step toward establishing full legal personhood for nature and creating a future in which both human and nonhuman voices are heard and respected
Behavioral Skills Training: Comparing Parent Implementation to Registered Behavior Technician Implementation
Full text linkBehavioral Skills Training (BST) is an evidence-based practice appropriate for practitioners, parents, clients, and other populations. It is frequently used in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to support and augment skill development. Parent training in ABA has been found to be beneficial, and often critical, in the progress of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While BST is a popular method of parent training, it is unclear how effective this type of training is in comparison to the training given to a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT). This study took place in conjunction with an ABA clinic providing in home therapy. Participants include three children with an ASD diagnosis, their parent, and their RBT. An adapted alternating treatment design was used to evaluate the effects of BST on parents in comparison to the training given to an average RBT. Secondarily, data was collected on child outcomes of the treatment provided and compared between parent and RBT. The findings of this study indicate that BST used with parents provides an immediate increase in the accuracy of implementation fidelity of target goals ran with their child. This increase in fidelity is comparable to the implementation fidelity of an RBT. There is moderate, but inconsistent evidence to support that child outcomes are affected by parent fidelity
Delaunay Keyer for Colorspace-Local Matte Extraction and Spill Suppression
No full textKeying is a fundamental, common, and expensive problem in visual effects. It consists of two subtasks: matte extraction and screen spill removal. Today’s standard keyers often fall short on edge cases including unevenly lit screens, fine detail, and sky replacements. As a result, keying continues to be a laborious process requiring highly trained compositors and complex bespoke setups. Our method does not assume one single saturated screen color, allowing for more versatile workflows. The keyer functions by interpolating over a Delaunay tetrahedralization of user-given sample colors. We evaluate our method relative to the visual effects industry’s standard keyers on a variety of images and footage, achieving comparable or superior results for matting and spill suppression
Stuck in Enilikos: Growing Up in Young Adult and Middle Grade Literature
Full text linkThis thesis examines the theme of growing up in young adult and middle grade literature, specifically how various authors deal with this theme through the decisions their characters make or are given and through the actions the characters take. I’ve looked at these decisions and actions in ten popular middle grade and young adult novels, assuming that if they are popular, the middle grade and young adult readers likely have connected with something in those novels. Young adult and middle grade readers often deal with similar issues in their personal process of growing up, so many authors use their stories to give readers someone to relate to and potentially learn from. This thesis explores the connecting themes among the novels regarding the decisions and actions and how each character’s decisions and actions relate to how they grow up. This thesis then attempts to apply the findings in thirty pages of my own novel
Optimized Wireless Power Transmission for Low-Cost, Energy-Efficient Internet of Things Devices in Residential Environments
Full text linkWireless power transmission (WPT) offers a promising solution for powering devices in locations where traditional electrical outlets are inaccessible, such as ceilings or outdoor environments. By utilizing electromagnetic waves, such as light, WPT enables power delivery without the need for physical connections. With line-of-sight (LoS) as its primary limitation, this technology offers significant flexibility and potential for a wide range of applications, making it a compelling focus for research and innovation. Despite the advancements in WPT technologies, their practical application for powering Internet of Things (IoT) devices in real-world scenarios remains underexplored. Many IoT devices are installed in locations where traditional power sources are inaccessible, and while batteries can provide a temporary solution, frequent replacements or recharging can be costly, inconvenient, and unsustainable. Existing WPT methods, such as inductive and resonant coupling, often require precise alignment or close proximity, limiting their use in scenarios that demand flexibility and long-range. On the other hand, light-based WPT, specifically infrared (IR) transmission, provides a promising alternative by enabling power delivery over longer distances with minimal physical constraints. However, challenges such as optimizing energy conversion efficiency, maintaining reliable data communication, and ensuring adequate power output for sustained device operation persist. Addressing these challenges is critical to realizing the potential of WPT for IoT devices, particularly in residential settings where energy efficiency, scalability, and ease of deployment are essential. This study employs a pair of ESP32 microcontrollers to manage wireless power transmission and optimize energy usage. The first microcontroller, designated as the Power Transmitter (PTX), controls the IR light source and monitors light detection data from the second microcontroller, the Power Receiver (PRX). The PRX is connected to solar cells that convert IR light into electrical energy, which is then used to charge LiPo (Lithium Polymer) batteries powering the system. By communicating wirelessly, the PTX and PRX work together to detect the intensity of transmitted light and assess whether the solar cells are receiving sufficient power. Based on this information, the PTX adjusts the IR light source\u27s output, while both devices determine whether to transition into low-power modes to conserve energy. This collaborative system ensures efficient power transmission and device operation, even under fluctuating conditions. Results demonstrated that the solar cells generated sufficient voltage under IR illumination to charge the batteries while the microcontrollers were in low power mode. The system uses IR light for its invisibility to the naked eye, and weaker power output for safer exposure, but this limits the transmitted power. BLE was identified as the most energy-efficient communication protocol, achieving reliable data transmission with minimal power consumption. This research demonstrates the viability of WPT for powering IoT devices in residential settings, providing a foundation for future advancements in energy efficient wireless communication systems
Enhancing Fault Tolerance in TMR Soft RISC-V FPGA SoCs through Failure-Driven Mitigation Strategies
No full textField-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) leveraging soft processors, particularly those implementing the open-standard RISC-V Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), are increasingly important for space missions due to their adaptability and reconfigurability. However, their susceptibility to radiation-induced Single Event Upsets (SEUs) presents significant reliability challenges, necessitating robust fault-tolerant strategies such as Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR). This dissertation evaluates the effectiveness of TMR-based mitigation techniques for Linux-capable soft RISC-V System-on-Chip (SoC) implementations deployed on SRAM-based FPGAs operating in high-radiation environments. Using a combination of deterministic fault injection and neutron radiation testing, this work identifies critical residual single-point failure modes that persist in TMR-protected designs. To address these vulnerabilities, additional mitigation strategies are proposed and validated, including SEU-aware placement constraints and error-correcting techniques applied to memory subsystems. Experimental results demonstrate significant reliability improvements, achieving up to a 20x— increase in Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and an estimated 95% failure coverage with the use of additional analysis-driven mitigation. The key contributions of this work include: (1) a structured fault analysis methodology that traces SEUs to system-level failure modes, (2) validated design enhancements that improve fault tolerance with minimal resource overhead, and (3) radiation-backed experimental data across multiple soft SoC platforms. Together, these results provide a practical framework for designing resilient, high-reliability FPGA-based systems suitable for next-generation space and mission-critical applications