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Best Of All Possible Care : An Examination Of Scientifically Progressive Medicine In Hays From 1867 To 1918, Ben Peeler

Master's Theses

From the mid-nineteenth century until the early decades of the twentieth century, medicine underwent a tremendous transformation. No longer was medicine to be based on archaic theories that were grounded on unquantifiable guesswork. Instead, medicine became scientifically progressive, pushing the reliability and credibility of medical professionals to new heights. Scientific progressivism was the concept of standardizing medicine around a common set of ideals, such as basing treatment upon scientifically sound methods and procedures. A scientifically progressive community can be identified through the application of one or more of the following criteria: education adaptability, and technology. These three criteria could be …

Design, Fabrication, Modeling And Characterization Of Electrostatically-Actuated Silicon Membranes, Brian C. Stahl

Master's Theses

This thesis covers the design, fabrication, modeling and characterization of electrostatically actuated silicon membranes, with applications to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). A microfabrication process was designed to realize thin membranes etched into a silicon wafer using a wet anisotropic etching process. These flexible membranes were bonded to a rigid counterelectrode using a photo-patterned gap layer. The membranes were actuated electrostatically by applying a voltage bias across the electrode gap formed by the membrane and the counterelectrode, causing the membrane to deflect towards the counterelectrode. This deflection was characterized for a range of actuating voltages and these results were compared to the …

Grace Through Love : An Examination Of Milton's Monism, Mortalism, And The Puritan Ideals Of Desire As Reflected In Sonnet 23, Leslie Naomi Wyatt

Master's Theses

This thesis examines Sonnet 23, especially in concern to: 1) Milton’s adherence to monism, a philosophical and theological position that he derived from his reading of Rabbinical approaches to the Old Testament; 2) His adherence to the related doctrine of mortalism, which held that death entailed the death, until resurrection of both body and soul; and 3) Milton’s interest in the way certain Puritan thinkers idealized desire for aspects of the world’s beauty, especially desire for one’s spouse, and how, particularly in the process of mourning, such desires could foster a stronger bond with God. The thesis also looks at …

The Endangered Representation Of Sexual Violence In Sarah Kane's Blasted, Dina Zhurba

Master's Theses

In Blasted, Kane represents how incidents of rape highlight, exacerbate and solidify the unevenness of power distribution between men and women in the modern world and provides a new perspective at what we might call “rape in general” – a transhistorical phenomenon of rape as a practice of violence towards the female victim. Through a detailed analysis of the unique representational circumstances of the multiple scenes of rape, such as Cate’s meaningful absence in Ian’s scene of rape, the author of the essay comes to a conclusion that rape is and remains an engendered practice. However, along with reaffirming …

The Reluctant Colonization Of The Falkland Islands, 1833-1851 : A Study Of British Imperialism In The Southwest Atlantic, Shannon Warnick

Master's Theses

After the Napoleonic Wars, British leaders increasingly objected to large burdensome formal annexations. Hence, when South American markets opened in the 1820s British leaders considered using nearby island bases to ward off regional rivals. Britain therefore occupied the Falkland Islands in 1833. Despite governing the world’s strongest industrial and naval power however, British leaders neglected the Falklands’ progress as a colony from 1833 to 1851. Dogmatic faith in “efficiency” and free trade in the 1840s led to modest commercial progress by largely unfettered private interests in the islands, but led to little improvement in defense or society. This study uses …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Female Surfers: Recreation Specialization, Motivations, And Perspectives, Tiyanya Anna Nourbakhsh

Master's Theses

This current study utilized recreation specialization and leisure motivation theory to explore the meanings, perspectives, and behaviors among female surfers. Despite numerous studies previously published regarding recreation specialization and leisure motivation related to activity participation, little research has been conducted on the activity of surfing from a female perspective. Data for this study were collected using in-depth, semi- structured interviews of nine women surfers from the California Central Coast. Content analyses of the data involved coding and identifying key themes, patterns, and categories. The dominant themes significant within recreation specialization included past participation (e.g., preceding activities to eventual participation and …

Analysis And Design Of Interleaving Multiphase Dc-To-Dc Converter With Input Lc Filter, Kevin Thomas Delrosso

Master's Theses

The future of microprocessors is unknown. Over the past 40 years, their historical trend has been for adopting smaller and more powerful designs that drive the world that we live in today. The state of the microprocessor business today faces a crossroad, wishing to continue on the historical trend of doubling the number of transistors on a chip every 18 months (Moore’s Law) but also facing the realistic task of needing to power these sophisticated devices. With the low voltages and high currents that are required for these microprocessors to operate, it poses a difficult task for the future designers …

Bioflocculation For Control Of Wastewater Pond Microalgae, Daniel Thomas Frost

Master's Theses

Investigates several hypotheses regarding the use of bioflocculation as a harvesting method for wastewater pond microalgae. Research performed on pilot-scale high rate ponds (HRPs) on the California Central Coast.

High Speed Wavelength Tuning Of Sgdbr Lasers For Optical Coherence Tomography Applications, Benjamin Maher

Master's Theses

The application of Sample Grated Distributed Bragg Reflector (SGDBR) wavelength tunable lasers for swept-wavelength Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is explored. OCT is a method of measuring reflectivity versus distance into samples under test with a focused infrared light source. Swept wavelength OCT requires a laser light source that is capable of sweeping its wavelength quickly over the entire wavelength range of the tunable laser. Fast sweeping of the laser's wavelength enables real-time imaging of a wide surface area of the surface under test. This thesis will show that SGDBR lasers can be designed to meet the fast wavelength ramp speeds …

Downtown Revitalization: Consumers' And City Planners' Perceived Barriers To Integrating Large-Scale Retail Into The Downtown, Jennifer M. Donofrio

Master's Theses

Statement of Problem

Revitalization of downtowns across America continues to be challenged by the shift to the suburbs. The barriers to integrating large-scale retail in a small, medium, and large city downtown were examined.

Forces of Data

The System View Planning Theory (Taylor, 1998) guided the study of city planners’ and consumers’ perceived barriers to integrating large scale retail into the downtown. In order to ascertain the barriers to integrating large-scale retail into the downtown intercept-surveys with consumers (n=30, responded to the intercept survey in each city) and interviews with city planners were conducted.

Conclusion Reached

Some significant differences were …

Application Of Parent-Child Uav Tasking For Wildfire Detection And Response, Stephen T. Kubik

Master's Theses

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a dominant force in the aerospace industry. Recent technological developments have moved these aircraft from remote operation roles to more active response missions. Of particular interest is the possibility of applying UAVs toward solving complex problems in long-endurance missions. Under that belief, the feasibility of utilizing UAVs for wildfire detection and response was investigated in a partnership that included NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and Science Mission Directorate, and the United States Forest Service. Under NASA’s Intelligent Mission Management (IMM) project, research was conducted to develop a mission architecture that would …

Control And Sensor Development On A Four-Wheel Pyramidal Reaction Wheel Platform, Jeffery Jay Logan

Master's Theses

The Pyramidal Reaction Wheel Platform, or PRWP, is used to simulate three-axis controls in a torque free space-like environment. The primary purpose of the system will be to evaluate the effects of conjoining sensors to maximize pointing accuracy. Furthermore, the system will incorporate a star tracker in conjunction with a Simulated Star Field (SSF) to better estimate the PRWP orientation. For the sake of this document, however, the goal is to implement a gyroscope, wheel rate sensors, and a make-shift accelerometer—to the PRWP—and integrate a controls algorithm such that three-axis controls are achieved for the PRWP. Three sensors were either …

Design And Optimization Of A Blood Vessel Mimic Bioreactor System For The Evaluation Of Intravascular Devices In Simple And Complex Vessel Geometries, Sara M. Leifer

Master's Theses

Coronary artery disease affects millions of people and the ability to detect and treat the disease is advancing at a rapid rate. As a result, the development of intravascular technologies is the focus of many medical device manufacturers. Specifically, coronary stent implantation is being performed in an increasing number of patients and a number of new stent designs have been introduced to the market, resulting in the need for improved preclinical testing methods. An in vitro tissue engineered “blood vessel mimic” (BVM) system has previously been established and its feasibility for the initial testing of newly emerging intravascular technology has …

Effects Of Filtration Temperature And Heat Treatment On Composition And Rheological Properties Of Whole Milk Ultrafiltration Retentates, John W. Montella

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Effects of Filtration Temperature and Heat Treatment on Composition and Rheological Properties of Whole Milk Ultrafiltration Retentates

John William Montella

For the first part of my thesis, the effects of filtration temperature and heat treatment on the compositional properties of whole milk Ultrafiltration retentate (UF) were studied. Ultrafiltration is primarily run at temperatures in the range of 50-55°C but more and more plants are starting to filter at refrigeration temperatures. In the ultrafiltration of milk, filtration temperature can affect the composition of the retentate by affecting the chemistry of milk components. The application of a pasteurization step can also …

Investigating Sense Of Community And Academic Success In First Year College Students In The Department Of Natural Resources Management, Kenneth Michael Hackman

Master's Theses

This study explored the relationship between sense of community, factors that influence sense of community, and the effect of academic success of first year students in the Natural Resources Management Department at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. An adapted version of the sense of community index was used to collect data from first year students (n=90) in the Natural Resources Management Department. Linear regression was used to determine which variables had a significant influence on sense of community and academic success. The results of the study indicated that there was not evidence that grade point average (GPA) had …

An Exploration Of Tablet-Based Presentation Systems And Learning Styles, Ngan T. Phan

Master's Theses

Learning in the classroom can occur as a combination of students' personal effort to study class material, the instructor's attempt to present class material, and the interaction that takes place between instructor and students. In a more traditional setting, instructors can lecture by writing notes on a chalkboard or a whiteboard. If instructors want to display prepared lecture slides, they can use the overhead projector and write additional notes on top of these overhead transparencies. With many technological advances, various researchers are advocating towards integration between technology and learning. With the advent of tablet PCs, researchers recognize the potential usefulness …

Analysis And Design Of Multiphase Multi-Interleave Dc-Dc Converter With Input-Output Bypass Capacitor, Furqan Mubashir Saleemi

Master's Theses

The power requirements for the microprocessor have been increasing as per Moore's Law. According to International Technology Roadmap (ITRS), the Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) for the microprocessor will be 200 W(with 1V, 200A output) in 2010. With the VRMs topology of synchronous buck, serious technical challenges such as small duty cycle, high switching frequencies, and higher current demands, contribute to decreased power density and increased cost. This thesis proposes a Multiphase Multi-Interleave Buck topology to solve the technical challenges of powering future microprocessors. The critical design parameter values are selected using the theoretical design equations and calculations. The design is …

The Role Of Phonological Similarity In Constructing A Developing Lexicon, Lin Li

Master's Theses

The implicational hierarchy of phonological feature development has proposed that children acquire native phonemic inventory in a systematic way, from the least articulatory-effort-required phonemes to most demanding ones. On the phonemic inventory level, the hierarchy suggests that perceptual features bearing by oral stops /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/ would appear ahead of perceptual features bearing by fricatives, affricatives and liquids ... while nasals stops ... would emerge in the middle. With the help of age-of-acquisition index and a phonemic change schema, the distributions of 489 phonological neighbors have been examined against the data from MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory to …

Reconsidering African-American Identity: Aesthetic Experiments By Post-Soul Artists, Letitia Guran Tudorica

Master's Theses

The present study attempts to offer an overview of the Post-Soul aesthetic and its role in re-writing African-American identity and focuses explicitly on three authors: Spike Lee, Touré, and Suzan-Lori Parks. My premise is that Post-Soul art is a direct result of the sweeping changes brought by the post-Civil Rights era in the African- American mentality, which inaugurated a new age in African-American art. Thus, the Post-Soul generation represents blackness as diverse, free to define itself in its own terms; they promote a critical take on black nationalism, and new perspectives on slavery. Most of the Post-Soul artists consider themselves …

"Carry Me Back To Old Virginny" : Virginia And The Bonus March Of 1932, Steven Patrick Schultz

Master's Theses

On 6 May 1932 the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives declined to pass along for a full vote in the House a bill that would have provided for immediate and complete payment of the Soldiers' Bonus, a small sum of money due in 1945 to veterans of World War I. In doing so it set in motion a chain of events that led to one of the most sordid affairs in American history, the Bonus March of 1932, when tens of thousands of World War I veterans traveled to Washington to ask their government for …

Attentive Mothers Versus Minimally Invested/Neglectful Mothers : The Development Of New Neurons In The Hippocampus Specifically Activated By Foster Pup Exposure, Danielle Christina Worthington Stoneman

Master's Theses

As pregnancy progresses, the female is transformed from an animal that actively avoids pup-related cues (Kinsley, 1994) to one highly motivated to build nests, and retrieve, group, groom, and crouch over a set of pups. In the vast majority of events, motherhood progresses normally; in a striking subset, however, it does not. This study seeks to evaluate neurological differences in the dentate gyrus between primiparous females that respond maternally and those that do not when exposed to foster pups. It was hypothesized that the attentive mothers which perform the expected maternal behaviors have a different number of triple labeled BrdU(measuring …

The Effects Of A Vegetarian Diet On Iron Status In Female Students, Kimberly G. Englehardt

Master's Theses

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional deficiency disease worldwide (Mahan & Escott-Stump, 2004). Iron deficiency anemia is of major concern especially in women of child bearing age and those who follow a vegetarian diet. The objective of this study was to compare the nutrient and hematological values related to iron status in female university students following a vegetarian versus following a nonvegetarian diet. This study took a cross sectional analysis of 39 female students at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly State University) in San Luis Obispo, CA. Of the participants 19 were following a vegetarian diet and …

Predicting The Seismic Behavior Of The Dywidag Ductile Connector (Ddc) Precast Concrete System, Elizabeth Mary Kenyon

Master's Theses

Structural engineering is heavily dependent on the use of computers. When creating a building model using structural analysis software, it is required that the designer have an understanding of the system behavior and the modeling program capabilities.

Some engineers in the Southern California region are taking steps towards incorporating the Dywidag ductile connector (DDC) and super hybrid systems into building practice due to the advantages found in these systems’ construction methods and seismic performance.

As the DDC and super hybrid systems reach industry, the design engineer will need to model these systems using structural analysis programs. This report describes two …

Green Neighborhood Standards From A Planning Perspective: A Leed For Neighborhood Deelopment (Leed-Nd) Case Study, Elissa R. Black

Master's Theses

This study examines the LEED-ND pilot rating program created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), the Congress for New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 2007. The rating system is evaluated based on its application as a broad set of national standards meant to encourage green neighborhood development. The main case study is a master planned community in semi-rural Paso Robles, California. Among other things, the study discovers problems related to the application of the rating system in semi-rural and rural regions of the Western United States. Both the standards used by the rating system …

A Morphological And Hemodynamic Analysis Of Skeletal Muscle Vasculature, Stephanie Ann Wood

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to develop analysis tools to assess skeletal muscle vasculature on a network level. In conjunction with this goal, this project also assessed whether the gracillis anterior muscle of a mouse was sufficiently thin to perform a comprehensive morphological analysis, and whether the data generated from these methods would yield reasonable computation of hemodynamic parameters. Horton's Law of Stream Numbers and the diameter-defined Strahler method were applied to assess the vasculature as a whole, and the results were comparable to previous work. The dimensional and branching characteristics of the network were similar to previous experiments; …

The Effects Of Bisphosphonates On Bone Remodeling: Analysis Of Microdamage Targeting By Bmus, Bmu Velocity And Crack Surface Density, Daniel Wayne Hale

Master's Theses

Studies have indicated that microdamage in the bone matrix both activates and "steers" BMUs (Basic Multicellular Units, the groups of osteoclasts and osteoblasts that resorb and form bone respectively) toward the damage in order to replace damaged bone with new, mechanically sound bone. Also, bisphosphonate drugs have been shown to greatly suppress the remodeling process and, with such effects, are commonly used in the treatment of osteoporosis. It was hypothesized that BMUs do indeed target microdamage around them and tunnel away from the dominant lines of force in bone in order to remove the damage. Additionally it was believed that …

Spectral Conversion Of Light Using Cadmium Selenium Zinc Sulfide Core Shell Quantum Dots To Increase The Efficiency Of Photovoltaic Cells, Dan Madrid Marrujo

Master's Theses

Photovoltaics harness energy emitted from the sun. When the sun's energy is absorbed by a photovoltaic cell array, photons of light are converted into current. The amount of current produced by a photovoltaic cell is calculated by the difference between the energy of the incoming photon and the energy required for an electron to travel across the band gap of the photovoltaic cell. Traditional solar cells are commonly manufactured from silicon, which have a bandgap energy of 1.1 eV. If the photon's energy is equal to or greater than the band gap of silicon, electrons are excited from the valence …

Development Of A Cell Depositing System Using Inkjet Technology, Jason Robert Ozaeta

Master's Theses

In the past decade, advances in tissue engineering have allowed researchers to fabricate simple tissues. However, the process of creating these native tissues is a time consuming and inefficient process. A scaffold must first be fabricated then exposed to a sea of cells in the hopes of seeding. Furthermore, even though cells may have attached, more time must be spent in order to allow the cells to migrate to their ideal locations. To deal with this problem, researchers have investigated whether rapid prototyping principals could be adapted to facilitate the cell seeding process by placing cells in their respective locations …

A Risk Management Tool For The Reverse Supply Chain Network, Sheeva Banisalam

Master's Theses

The forward and reverse supply chains have unique characteristics that vary among different organizations. Most organizations manage and quantify risks in the forward supply chain by utilizing various available risk management tools. These risk management tools have been developed solely for the forward supply chain. This research presents the development and implementation of a risk management tool to be used to manage and quantify risks specifically in the reverse supply chain. Implementation of this tool at Company ABC demonstrates how the risk management tool is used in order to be beneficial to the organization. The tool is designed to be …

Bone Mass Preservation And Fracture Risk Assessment With Bisphosphonate Therapy During Spaceflight, Christopher Gardina

Master's Theses

Space exploration and microgravity have substantial negative effects on the human body. Symptoms of space explorers include cardiovascular deconditioning, bone loss, muscular atrophy, and impairment of neurovestibular and sensory function. The great loss of bone due long-duration spaceflight increases fracture risk, jeopardizing the success of the mission and postflight recovery. Bisphosphonates may be able to counteract this bone loss by altering the remodeling process. These drugs increase bone mass, thus reducing fracture risk, but also lead to increased levels of fatigue microdamage. Fracture risk can be lowered by increasing both bone mass (quantity) and bone quality.

The purpose of this …