Journal of Undergraduate Research

Trenton Robertson and Dr. Shaunna K. Burbidge, Geography Background The Utah Department of Health revisited a study published in 2003 in the American Journal of Public Health because they desire to understand how Utah cities are using local laws to encourage or discourage physical activity of residents. Since 2003 only Hawaii has conducted a similar […]

Tania Lounsbury and Dr. Shaunna K. Burbidge, Geography Background: The Utah Department of Health is revisiting a 2001 study. The original study, published in 2003, accomplished the following three objectives: (1) identified types of municipal employees responsible for physical activity policies, (2) identified municipal ordinances that influenced physical activity, and (3) determined local governments’ intentions […]

Megan Knowles and Dr. J. Matthew Shumway, Ruth Kerry, Geography Department In Human Geography minimal research has been done regarding the immigration and spatial distribution of Korean-Americans. Historically there has been a detectable relationship between the degree of spatial concentration of a specific population and their degree of social assimilation. Few studies have been conducted […]

Robert Karl and Dr. Matthew Bekker, Department of Geography Pioneer history is a heritage of Utah. Utah was founded on the premise of pioneers venturing from the east and settling throughout Utah. Very few of these historic pioneer structures have been dated in the state of Utah and for many of these structures there exists […]

Jared C. Tveter and Dr. Samuel M. Otterstrom, Geography The purpose of my research was to discover how to create greatness and magic in outdoor spaces. I culminated my research with an analysis of the Brigham Young University campus and how to improve it in such ways. The analysis was presented to the Campus Planning […]

Gerilyn Beck, Geography A form of deceptive information is concealed in our midst-one all the more malignant, for the ignorance of its audience leaves them vulnerable to a pervasive persuasion. I am speaking of cartographic display, a little understood and highly available transmitter of information that we accept trustfully. I have focused on the cartographic […]

Andrew Keske and Dr. Matthew Bekker, Geography Main Text Avalanches are natural hazards that occur almost every year and are very destructive. They are the cause of death to many skiers and snow sports enthusiasts every year. They destroy buildings and other structures that are found in their path. Little information on how often they […]

Brian Bunker and Dr. Ryan Jensen, Geography Department Main Text Urban forests are trees and other woody vegetation growing in an urban environment. Urban forests have been shown to have economic, aesthetic, and ecological benefits (Gatrell & Jensen, 2002; Nowak & Crane, 2002). Monitoring the health of Urban Forests is important to maintain a healthy […]

Kimball Hansen and Dr. Matthew Bekker, Department of Geography I began planning my project of the avalanche chronology of the Maple Mountain/Spanish Fork Peak Avalanche Paths in 2009 while applying for the ORCA grant. I was currently wrapping up a similar project of an avalanche chronology of Loafer Mountain near Woodland Hills Peak. This later […]

Teresa Gomez and Dr. Matthew Shumway, Department of Geography Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met The results of our research were presented on April 14th at the Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers in the “Immigrants in the USA” session. The presentation was successful. Afterward presenting, we […]