Digital Commons Network^™

Let It Burn: A Case Study On The Risk Management Practices Of Burning Man Project, Ethan S. De La Torre

Experience Industry Management

Risk management can be defined as a decision-making process of planning, identifying, analyzing, developing a response for, and controlling potential risks with the goal of minimizing the negative impacts of those risks. Risk management is an essential practice for all events, especially large-scale, live entertainment events. The purpose of this study was to examine the risk management practices for Burning Man. The instrument utilized in this study was a best practices guide developed by the researcher. Data were collected prior to, during, and following Burning Man 2022: Waking Dreams. Sources of data include printed material and online sources published by …

Amplifying Southern Charm: A Case Study On Visit Music City’S Digital Media Practices, Susanna Cleary Honggui Hoffman

Experience Industry Management

Digital marketing has become a vital player for companies, especially destination marketing organizations (DMOs), by helping them grow and expand their brand image. Digital marketing includes email, social media, and search-engine marketing. The purpose of this study was to examine Visit Music City’s (Nashville’s DMO) digital media marketing tactics. Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC) is the company that is behind the brand Visit Music City. The research was conducted utilizing information from NCVC’s website and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, TripAdvisor, and YouTube). Visit Music City sends a weekly newsletter called Amplify, they have a strong social …

Immerse, Interact, Impact: A Comparative Analysis On Selected Experiential Marketing Activations At Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival 2022, Phoebe R. Saul

Experience Industry Management

The commercial marketplace is becoming increasingly experiential. Experiential marketing activations, particularly those done at music festivals, are emerging as a highly valuable marketing tool to impact brand recognition and loyalty through the creation of unique branded experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiential marketing design practices utilized at selected branded activations within Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival 2022. A comparative analysis was conducted on three selected experiential marketing activations at Outside Lands: The House by Heineken, the Music Den by Toyota, and the Ocean Love Tour by Gray Whale Gin. The findings concluded that the …

Irreducible Representations From Group Actions On Trees, Charlie Liou

Master's Theses

We study the representations of the symmetric group $S_n$ found by acting on

labeled graphs and trees with $n$ vertices. Our main results provide

combinatorial interpretations that give the number of times the irreducible

representations associated with the integer partitions $(n)$ and $(1^n)$ appear

in the representations. We describe a new sign

reversing involution with fixed points that provide a combinatorial

interpretation for the number of times the irreducible associated with the

integer partition $(n-1, 1)$ appears in the representations.

Wordmuse, John M. Nelson

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Wordmuse is an application that allows users to enter a song and a list of keywords to create a new song. Built on Spotify's API, this project showcases the fusion of music composition and artificial intelligence. This paper also discusses the motivation, design, and creation of Wordmuse.

Sam's Story, Anna Michelle Reid, Jennifer Vazquez

Computer Science and Software Engineering

We are exploring presenting mental health topics in video games through the eyes of an axolotl named Sam. Sam goes about his day to day life facing many difficult challenges regarding their mental health. This is an educational game to inform about different mental health symptoms and what they may look like.

A Cradle-To-Gate Life Cycle Assessment Of American Hops In The Craft Beer Supply Chain, Carson Bristol

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

The hop industry represents a culturally and economically significant industry in the United States due to the product’s significant role in the beer industry, but little is known about the environmental impacts associated with hop production. There exists a significant lack of specific research quantifying the emissions contribution of hop production, and the work that has been done lacks consensus in the scientific community. In an effort to overcome this, this study conducts a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of aroma hop production broken into four phases, beginning with propagation of seedlings by tissue culture and ending with packaged T-90 …

The Ins And Outs Of Undergraduate Research And Leadership: A Student's Perspective, Regina F. Hockert

Kinesiology and Public Health

This manuscript is a reflective write-up of Regina Hockert’s experience in completing KINE 462, Honors Kinesiology Senior Project, during the 2022 Fall Quarter. It describes their experience as an undergraduate research leader, including specific milestones and artifacts related to a broader replication study and the daily activities of Dr. Jafrā Thomas’ lab. This essay was designed to be a written reflection around their senior project presentation and the insights shared through that medium about the senior project experience. It is created to showcase lessons learned in relationship with the tasks and responsibilities required of working in-depth on student-led research. …

Prehistoric Subsistence Strategies On The Pecho Coast: An Experimental Collection Of California Mussels And Turban Snails, Kate S. Knox

Social Sciences

Shellfish exploitation by ancient Indigenous people can be observed in archaeological assemblages from shellfish middens throughout California (Erlandson 1988; Glassow 1992; Kennett 2005; Kennedy 2005; Whitaker 2008). Indigenous Californians relied upon the resources from open rocky coast ecosystems as early as 9,000 years BP, yet archaeological researchers continue to debate the actual dietary value of and energy required for procurement of such shellfish (Erlandson 1988; Jones 2003; Jones and Richman 1995). In order to discern the costs and benefits associated with shellfish exploitation, researchers have conducted archaeological experiments to try to replicate prehistoric shellfish foraging. The empirical data produced from …

30 Day Outdoor Mindfulness Journal, Alena Sylvia Robinson

Graphic Communication

The 30 Day Outdoor Mindfulness Journal seeks to connect users to nature and to themselves through the use of mindfulness practices. It is believed that these practices can have a myriad of positive effects on both the user and our world. Users will experience effects on their physical and mental health, while also growing their connectedness to nature and, ultimately, their desire to protect the environment.

A Fresh Look At A University Website: Redesigning The Graphic Communication Website, Kristy Leung, Samantha Kim

Graphic Communication

Designed over ten years ago, the landing page of the Graphic Communication website does not reflect the artistic talents of the department and exhibits poor navigation and usability. Colleen Twomey, the department chair, has expressed that prospective students, transfers, guardians, and other visitors have trouble finding relevant information on the website. As a university-affiliated site, the landing page should guide both new and returning visitors to their destination in a quick and intuitive manner. The primary goal of this project is to effectively educate new visitors who are interested in the Graphic Communication program but have minimal knowledge of what …

Slo Hard Seltzer, Abby M. Fahey

Graphic Communication

For my senior project, I created an alcoholic seltzer brand called SLO Seltzer. SLO Seltzer is marketed towards young adults of all genders ranging from the ages of 21 to 26 who are either currently living in San Luis Obispo or who have a personal connection to the area. I designed a unique logo, created eye-catching packaging prototypes, and developed a cohesive social media presence which encapsulates the business’ brand, goals, and values.

To complete this project, I began by researching the current alcoholic seltzer market to find out which business strategies have created the most successful brands and use …

Raising Native Plant Awareness As A Method For Re-Naturalization, Meredith L. Haaker

Social Sciences

Humans are inseparable from the natural environment. We are one and the same, interconnected within the ecology of creation and care, not only destruction. By grounding ourselves in Indigenous wisdom and the principles of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, we are more able to recognize the important relational facets between humans and three native Californian plants (California black walnut, California blue elderberry, California bay laurel). In introducing Kimmerer’s concept of re-naturalization of humans, we can draw a connection to the same process a naturalized plant undergoes; immigration from a foreign place, dependence on the surrounding resources, and settlement of an area …

Cultivating Christian Community In A Post-Covid Era, Susie M. Lloyd

Journalism

This study focuses on how to meet the needs of young adult Christians through community and resources, all of which aim to help them live more like Jesus. There are many online resources for Christians, but society lacks a “one-stop shop” website that has every resource a young adult following Jesus could need. These resources include an online community where people can choose what mode of community they need, whether that be one-on-one discipleship or mentorship, consistent group meetings with people their own age, an accountability partner, or just a friend who shares similar beliefs and values. In an era …

Bilingual Advantages To The Construction Industry, Miguel A. Duran Jr.

Construction Management

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and emphasize the importance of the Spanish language within the construction industry to construction management students at Cal Poly. Knowledge within another language is also used at an advantage in the industry as it increases one’s value through this key skill, and aids effective team communication on a project. Furthermore, the construction industry is filled with subcontractor’s majority being of Latin-based descent. Though this key skill is not required by companies, this skill can help verbal communication barriers which occur on a project when most subcontractors only speak the Spanish language. Verbal …

Researching The Demand Of A New App That Reinvents The Way General Contractors And Subcontractors Communicate, Biko Kavalam

Construction Management

This is a research study on the need for a new service that increases efficiency and profit for commercial construction companies. Contractors need an efficient way to hire subcontractors; through detailed and thorough research, we have found a way to make that possible. The research methodology used for the duration of the project is presented. This included contacting general contractors, subcontractors, and owners and discussing in detail the demand for a service like the one proposed. From these discussions, themes like credibility, understanding the market, and finding the right audience were recorded. The results that were obtained reassured us that …

Ectotherm Thermoregulation At Fine Scales: Novel Methods Reveal A Link Between The Spatial Distribution Of Temperature And Habitat Quality, Ian Axsom

Master's Theses

Investigating ecological questions at the scale of individual organisms is necessary to understand and predict the biological consequences of environmental conditions. For small organisms this can be challenging because we need tools with the appropriate accuracy and resolution to record and quantify their ecological interactions. Unfortunately, many of our existing tools are only appropriate for medium to large organisms or those that are wide ranging, inhibiting our ability to investigate the ecology of small organisms at fine scales.

In Chapter 1, I tested a novel workflow for recording animal movements at very fine spatial and temporal scales. The workflow combined …

Wildfire Spread Prediction Using Attention Mechanisms In U-Net, Kamen Haresh Shah, Kamen Haresh Shah

Master's Theses

An investigation into using attention mechanisms for better feature extraction in wildfire spread prediction models. This research examines the U-net architecture to achieve image segmentation, a process that partitions images by classifying pixels into one of two classes. The deep learning models explored in this research integrate modern deep learning architectures, and techniques used to optimize them. The models are trained on 12 distinct observational variables derived from the Google Earth Engine catalog. Evaluation is conducted with accuracy, Dice coefficient score, ROC-AUC, and F1-score. This research concludes that when augmenting U-net with attention mechanisms, the attention component improves feature suppression …

Case Study On The Reduction Of Electrical Packaging To Help With Overall Construction Waste, Hailey Rodriguez

Construction Management

The construction industry has a significant amount of waste accumulated on every job site. This study utilizes research on the types of materials that make up waste and the waste management strategies behind it. Waste materials range from building materials, such as lumber and steel, to packaging materials, like plastic and cardboard. This paper concentrates on material packaging and discovering ways to eliminate some of the construction waste before materials even arrive on the job site. A case study was performed on electrical lighting fixture packaging to observe and analyze the different amounts of waste accumulated. This examination focused on …

Pull Planning Workshop - Central California Valley, Thomas A. Camargo

Construction Management

Lean scheduling and pull planning are both excellent methods of scheduling and sequencing a project. It has made huge impacts on scheduling for general contractors in southern and northern region of California. However, Central California has not been able to see the benefits and impacts of these scheduling tools because of the regions lack of use of lean scheduling and pull planning. Lean scheduling is a technique that encourages communication and collaboration between the project stakeholders. Pull planning offers project stakeholders a chance to rally together and collaborate. These pull planning sessions are useful for sequencing work to meet milestones …

Reciprocal Frames: The Flat Beam Grillage, Cesar Noe Jimenez Ramirez, Nicholas Sowatzke

Architectural Engineering

This report follows the pursuit of attaining information and researching academic resources regarding the elusive reciprocal frame structures throughout history, in particular the flat beam grillage. In the following pages, the reader should expect to learn about reciprocal frames in a historical context throughout the globe, as well as, gain insight on how to potentially analyze these frames when they span two-dimensionally. As seen in Figure 1 (Pugnale 2011) and Figure 2 (Godthelp 2019), reciprocal frame structures consist of multiple groups of three or more members that are mutually supported. Along the perimeter of the structure, the members are supported …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Climate Change Science Communication In An Online Carbon Footprint Assessment, Jack Dimmock

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

Climate change literacy and knowledge are influential in enabling people to take climate change mitigation and adaptation actions. Education about climate change usually takes place through two avenues, formal education and informal institutions, such as museums, television shows, and websites. To help residents reduce their household greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the local impacts of climate change, the San Luis Obispo Climate Coalition is using the carbon footprint website Bright Action (https://resilientslo.org). Bright Action calculates household carbon footprints, suggests ways to reduce carbon footprints, and provides educational material about climate change mitigation and adaptation. This study seeks to assess …

Designing A Cohesive And Iconic Brand Identity For Cal Poly Men’S Soccer Club, Oliver Cobb Panlibuton

Graphic Communication

When thinking of iconic soccer teams or brands, what comes to mind? Maybe you think of Barcelona, Chelsea, or Manchester United. Whatever the case may be, what these teams have in common is a strong brand identity. Building a strong brand identity is an important aspect of any soccer organization. It can attract sponsors, develop an emotional connection with fans and other stakeholders, support the association’s strategic objectives, and even reduce marketing costs (Kucheriavyi 2019; Essec). The benefits of having a strong brand enable a club to have more time and money to put into other investments like players and …

Teche Lab Logo Design, Lauren Wagner La Grille

Graphic Communication

In 2020, Cal Poly’s Biomedical Engineering Department changed the name of one of their existing labs, the QPLUS lab, to the TECHE lab. TECHE stands for Transforming Engineers Through Hands-On Engagement and is a lab where biomedical engineering students can work together on projects, prototype ideas, and create solutions that help improve the lives of those who have disabilities.

Since renaming the lab 2 years ago, the biomedical engineering department has not done any other updates to the branding of the TECHE lab and does not currently have a logo to represent the lab. The TECHE lab is a large …

Sustainable Living Edu, Annika E. Furr

Graphic Communication

For my senior project, I created a virtual sustainability training program called ‘Sustainable Living Edu’ for students and employees at Cal Poly SLO. There is a lack of environmental literacy at Cal Poly and other campuses in the California State University (CSU) System. Sustainable Living Edu will educate students and employees at Cal Poly about what sustainability is and how to apply sustainable practices into their daily routines.

Using Sustainable Web Design Practices: Website Redesign For The Climatemusic Project, Charlotte M. Saunders

Graphic Communication

Sustainable practices go beyond reducing, reusing, and recycling in the physical world. In the digital world, design has a high environmental impact, so the choices designers make can eat up electricity and raise their carbon footprint. Therefore, designing low-carbon sites through UX, imagery, and color, and using a sustainability host is very beneficial for both usability and the environment. The ClimateMusic Project is a non-profit organization that aims to raise climate change awareness through music. This organization seeks to reduce their carbon footprint as well as help raise awareness through their Take Action web page. For my senior project I …

Brand Credibility Through Web Design, Catherine Clode

Graphic Communication

Websites act as a first impression of a company that users use to judge and form opinions on. Therefore, it is crucial to implement an appealing design with straightforward navigation. However, for small businesses or freelancers, good web design is hard to achieve without a web designer. Small businesses rely heavily on e-commerce and digital advertising but are more likely to lack the resource and knowledge to develop a good website. Cristina Ruales Co is a personal brand belonging to an independent designer who uses her website to market and sell her products and services. The current brand website is …

An Exploration Into The Design Of A Portable Music Player For People With Alzheimer’S And Dementia, Jaxon V. Silva

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

An exploration into the design of a portable music player for people with Alzheimer's and dementia.

Diy Cell Incubator, Hayden James Jeanor

Electrical Engineering

The purpose of creating a cell Incubator is for the development of cell and tissue production in laboratory settings. Large scale research projects and the medical community grow cells for various reasons, including experiments and creating tissue for patients. However, they cannot simply depend on growing cells in a petri dish that sit on a rack at room temperature. To grow heathy cells in the fastest way possible, they use cell incubators. Cell incubators create an atmosphere within the incubation bay that is designed to promote cell growth. The three main components that need to be constantly regulated, using a …

Guitar Note Analyzer - Picking Patterns & Scales, Tamara Lynn Houalla

Electrical Engineering

The Guitar Note Analyzer helps beginner-to-intermediate guitar players advance their playing skills. The project detects the successive picks of guitar strings in real time at a rate of two notes per second. The device detects the frequency of notes played within the range of 50Hz – 1.5KHz. The hardware – microphone sensor, amplification circuitry, and microcontroller - is secured inside the sound hole of the user’s guitar. The hardware extends out of the guitar and connects to the user’s laptop via a USB cable. This allows relevant information to be displayed live to the user on their monitor, and to …