Digital Commons Network^™

Designing A Chicken Coop For The San Luis Obispo High School Ffa Farm, Zoe King

Construction Management

This paper covers the design process by a team of students from Cal Poly to provide a chicken coop for the San Luis Obispo High School FFA Farm. The project, initiated in Summer of 2023, aimed to replace their existing temporary chicken coops with a larger, better functioning structure that could house their 10+ chickens comfortably. The paper focuses primarily on the design phase but touches briefly on material procurement and construction. Through meetings with the client, the team developed a design that met the school’s design criteria and educational needs. The design process involved collaboration and many iterations of …

Stress Effects On The Growth Physiology Of Pacific Rockfishes (Sebastes Spp.): Negative Impacts Of Cortisol And Elevated Temperature Exposure, Hayley M. Mapes

Master's Theses

Fish experiencing stressful conditions increase production of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol, which alters energy intake and allocation to help recover physiological homeostasis. Fish experiencing prolonged elevations of cortisol, however, often exhibit reduced somatic growth. While it has been shown previously in fish that cortisol inhibits anabolic growth processes in part via changes in endocrine growth hormone (Gh)/insulin- like growth factor-1 (Igf1) signaling, it is not fully understood which components of Gh/Igf1 pathways are modulated by cortisol. Here, we explored how cortisol influences the Gh/Igf1 system in blue rockfish (Sebastes mystinus) by administering exogenous cortisol and examining effects on …

A Comparison Of Western And Eastern Soft Systems Approaches, John L. Anaya, John L. Anaya, John L. Anaya

Master's Theses

Soft System Approaches have been developed worldwide to help problem-solvers and decision-makers develop solutions to complex problems, such as aerospace systems. Soft System Approaches were designed to help lower the disorder of developing a complex system by increasing understanding of a situation. Four Soft System Approaches were investigated, two from the West and two from the East. Within the context of the paper, the West refers to thought patterns associated with thinkers and scientists in Europe and North America, and the East refers to those from and around China. The two from the West are Peter Checkland’s Soft Systems Methodology …

“There Are People Who Will Not Like You Because Of The Skin You Were Born In”: Content And Impact Of Socialization Messages About Racism In Black Families, Natasha Malinovsky

Communication Studies

Guided by Critical Race Theory (Crenshaw, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017), the current study explored how Black adults made sense of their own racial identity through family messaging about racism and what it means to be a Black person in America, as well as how participant’s experiences with racism counter the dominant narrative that the U.S. is a “post-racial” society. We conducted retrospective interviews with 19 self-identifying Black adults. In our first research question, three primary themes emerged from participants’ recollections of conversations with parents about what it means to Black in the U.S.: (1) Black people are considered “others” …

Grc: A Mustang Quest, Jackson T. Alexander

Graphic Communication

The main purpose of this study is to define the overall effectiveness of visual marketing through animation and storytelling narration. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo has dozens of potential majors that interest students, thus leading to specific programs such as Graphic Communication (GRC) gaining fewer numbers compared to other College of Liberal Arts (CLA) fields. By analyzing what key elements are necessary for gaining outside attention and intrigue about a college program, I can better understand what information needs to be presented in my video project. This video will focus on defining what Graphic Communication is as a …

#Hotgirlsemestersyllabus, Katrina Marie Overby, Gheni Platenburg, Niya Pickett Miller

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Academic Senate - Minutes, 2/13/2024, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

Review Of Just Fodder: The Ethics Of Feeding Animals, Christopher A. Bobier

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Corporate Marine Plastic Pollution Reduction Pledges: Achieving Plastic Reductions Or Contributing To Greenwashing, Ansar Z. Mohammed

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

This paper examines major corporations' commitments and performance in reducing virgin plastic production, aligning corporate initiatives with tangible outcomes. It draws on sustainability governance literature and analyzes plastic reduction strategies by industry leaders such as SC Johnson, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Borealis, Nestlé, and Unilever. By synthesizing corporate reports and scholarly literature, the research provides an understanding of corporate plastic reduction within the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), which focuses on marine conservation. The study evaluates the alignment of corporate commitments with SDG 14, identifying genuine environmental stewardship and potential greenwashing. It employs three methodologies: transparency, accountability, and science-based …

Balloon Boy, Willow Faust

Intertidal

No abstract provided.

Improving Document Classification By Integrating Human-Crafted Semantic Knowledge, Lubomir Stanchev, Zachary Weinfeld

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Document classification is a pivotal task in various domains, warranting the development of robust algorithms. Among these, the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) algorithm, introduced by Google, has proven to perform well when fine-tuned for the task at hand. Leveraging transformer architecture, BERT demonstrates stellar language understanding capabilities. However, the integration of BERT with a range of approaches has shown potential for further enhancing classification accuracy. This paper investigates three techniques that leverage semantic understanding to improve the performance of document classification models trained with BERT. First, we balance corpora afflicted by imbalanced training data distributions. Next, we substitute …

Nothing Ever Happened To Nora, Emeline Robbins

Intertidal

No abstract provided.

Aged 539 Internship Report: Improving Cal Poly Rodeo Horses' Health And Fitness, Faith Star Mahallati

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This study was conducted to help enhance the overall health and fitness of the horses on the Cal Poly Rodeo Team. Data was collected before and after implementing the StallGrazer feeders to reduce the risk of sand colic and improve feed efficiency. Data was collected and analyzed before and after the weekly barrel racing jackpot series to enhance horse fitness. The StallGrazer feeders reduced the risk of sand clear and forage waste and the barrel racing jackpots enhanced the fitness and performance of the horses in the test group.

Reinstatement Of The Poly Canyon Caretaker Program Through The Development Of A Tiny Home Community, Leily Martin

Construction Management

The Poly Canyon Experimental Structures Laboratory, through its Design/Build program, is unique in the educational opportunity it provides Cal Poly College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) students. However, since the conclusion of the Caretaker Program in 2011, the facility’s structures have deteriorated due to vandalism, purposeful destruction, and weathering. This study examines the perspectives of CAED students, the interim CAED Dean, Kevin Dong, and Cal Poly Risk Manager, Mike Morgan, on the effectiveness in reinstating the Caretaker Program through the development of a tiny home community. Results indicated educational value in this facility, so addressing these issues must occur …

Author Bios, Author Bios

Intertidal

No abstract provided.

A Local History Of Horses, Caleb Nichols

Intertidal

No abstract provided.

In An Animal’S Shoes: Facing Animal Suffering As A Difficulty Of Reality, Konstantin Deininger

Between the Species

This paper examines the challenges posed by confronting the topic of animal suffering in animal husbandry. The predominant positions within animal ethics mainly focus on the moral status of humans and animals, arguing that killing farm animals is morally wrong due to specifiable intrinsic properties that grant farm animals significant moral status. Such positions are derived from a detached perspective that advocates for rational consistency. This paper opposes this detached perspective. By drawing on Cora Diamond’s concept of a difficulty of reality, it contends that facing animal suffering, including changing one’s habits and attitudes towards this suffering, is instead best …

Feminist Biology: Towards Gender Equity In The Biology Curriculum, Nicole Danos, Carla Y. Bonilla, Sofia Leung

Feminist Pedagogy

The current curriculum in STEM is a product of historically unequal representation of genders in the science community. As a result, most attention has been given to male biology, creating a knowledge gap that has affected our social and political perspectives, such as an underinvestment in women’s health research. Feminist biology seeks to provide equal time and weight to the impact of sex as a biological factor, using inclusive definitions of biological sex that go beyond the male/female binary. Feminist pedagogy is a method of teaching that involves engaged learning and reflection in order to create a community of learners …

Creating Meaningful Connections With The Electron Transport Chain Beyond A Virtual Classroom, Lesley-Ann Giddings

Feminist Pedagogy

At the center of feminist pedagogy is community. Creating community within the classroom and between the class and local communities increases student engagement and access to knowledge. Communities can be a source of solidarity and further decenter authority in the classroom, empowering students, teachers, and the surrounding community to be co-learners. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, remote teaching posed challenges to student engagement. Here, I describe an assignment used to build an inclusive community of co-learners within a virtual biochemistry class and our local communities. Oxidative phosphorylation is a cellular process used to create energy that depends on the electron transport …

Using Remote Sensing To Determine Riparian Resilience In Beaver Dammed Versus Un-Dammed Corridors Following Whiplash Weather, Sophie Charlotte Valérie Aubry

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

Beaver complexes slow and store water allowing for riparian growth which in turn fosters biodiversity, retains carbon, and enhances resistance to fires and drought. Given the benefits associated with beaver complexes and the potential they have for climate mitigation, California hopes to reintroduce beavers and restore their habitat throughout the state. However, the impact of high peak flow events on beaver complexes and their adjacent riparian corridors is less understood and requires more documentation at various spatial scales. To better understand the potential beavers may have as climate change mitigators it is important to understand beaver complex resiliency following a …

Soil Burn Severity And Environmental Covariate Effects On Soil Health Two Years Postfire In The Sierra Nevada, Julie A. Lewis

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

Wildfires have been steadily increasing in both size and severity in recent decades. This global trend is most evident in California, especially the North Coast and Sierra Nevada. Although these trends are rising, there is little known about the effects of these wildfires on forest soils. Soil is the 2nd largest C sink on the planet, and the largest terrestrial bank. Without understanding the implication of rising wildfire severities on these soils, we cannot understand how to help protect this resource in the future. Due to the rapid increase in wildfire size and intensity, there is little known about the …

Deep Ocean Vehicle Applications And Modifications, Nichole "Nikki" T. Arm

Master's Theses

This project had two primary goals: (1) to explore opportunities to further a deep-ocean vehicle’s reach using alternative pressure spheres, and (2) to implement an existing deep-ocean vehicle (lander) in active scientific research.

I gained a greater understanding of the limitations and design choices made for existing pressure spheres using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). My simplified FEA model predicted sphere failure for the existing 30% Fiber Glass 70% Nylon injection molded spheres at an external pressure of 3,954psi or 2,690m ocean-depth (only a 7.38% error compared to the tested minimum failure depth), so I determined it a valid model. I …

Evaluation Of Facilitation On Translocation Outcomes For San Joaquin Antelope Squirrel In The Carrizo Plain, California, Patrick R. Anderson

Master's Theses

In arid and semi-arid environments, burrowing mammals play a key role in increasing landscape heterogeneity through facilitative species interactions. The loss of burrowing mammal populations can consequently lead to negative effects cascading through the ecosystem. It is critical to understand these facilitative interactions for conservation and management. Understanding facilitative interactions may improve wildlife management tools, like translocation, which is often not very successful. To investigate the importance of burrow facilitation on San Joaquin antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus nelsoni; SJAS) translocation success, I designed a natural experiment with a burrowing facilitator, the giant kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ingens; GKR). I …

Design And Modeling Of A Hybrid-Electric Drone System For Conversion, Mark Atttaalla

Electrical Engineering

With the increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the need for long range high capacity (>1kg) drones has also increased. While these drones do exist, they use complicated and complex technology that proportionately increases the price and barrier to entry for these drones. The goal of this paper is to look at different designs for hybrid electric drones, model the series-hybrid design, and create a low-cost alternative drone that uses off the shelf components. A primary purpose for this document is to present the information required to recreate a similar

Road Embedded Traffic Actuated Turbine (Retat), Derek Terry Cedillo, Jairo Fernandez Garcia, Alejandro Samaniego, Yosef Towfique

Mechanical Engineering

The Road Embedded Traffic Actuated Turbine (RETAT) project aims to revolutionize sustainable energy solutions by harnessing the power of passing vehicles to generate electricity. This Final Design Review (FDR) encapsulates the evolution of the project, from conceptualization to the tangible realization of the Verification Prototype created by a team of mechanical engineering students. The RETAT boasts an innovative design, incorporating square steel tubing and a unique linear-to-rotational energy conversion mechanism. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the design, implementation, and testing phases, highlighting achievements, challenges, and areas for refinement. As the RETAT project strives to contribute to a cleaner, …

Disrupting Childhood Trauma With Holistic Health Practices In Low Ses Elementary Schools, Unna G. Burns, Ketzia Kogan, Sarah M. Wingerden, Hannah Meck

Psychology and Child Development

It is evident that adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are a large challenge to tackle in the U.S., with 61% of adults reporting that they’ve experienced one ACE and 16% reporting four or more ACEs by age 18 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). ACE score items include, but are not limited to experiencing verbal, physical, sexual abuse, physical and/or emotional neglect, having a mentally ill family member, witnessing violence in the home towards a parent, and/or having a family member in prison. Such experiences serve as a public health threat that, without early intervention, bring about long-term effects biologically, …

Docai, Riley Badnin, Justin Brunings

Computer Science and Software Engineering

DocAI presents a user-friendly platform for recording, transcribing, summarizing, and classifying doctor-patient consultations. The application utilizes AssemblyAI for conversational transcription, and the user interface allows users to either live-record consultations or upload an existing MP3 file. The classification process, powered by 'ml-classify-text,' organizes the consultation transcription into SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) format – a widely used method of documentation for healthcare providers. The result of this development is a simple yet effective interface that effectively plays the role of a medical scribe. However, the application is still facing challenges of inconsistent summarization from the AssemblyAI backend. Future work …

Designing A Modular French Drain Driveway: Addressing The Impact Of Stormwater Runoff From Residential Communities, Tomer Baltinester

Construction Management

Stormwater runoff poses a significant threat to the environment and can have in impact on public health. Contaminants from our homes accumulate in stormwater and flow down our streets into our sewer systems. Ultimately, the hazardous water ends up in various natural waterways, creating a substantial pollution problem which harms the local ecosystem. Of the millions of driveways across the country, almost all are underutilizing the footage of land that they are occupying. By developing an easy-to-incorporate drainage system, a large portion of stormwater that would normally flow into the street can be contained within the property beneath the driveway. …

An Imc Plan For The Blue Dolphin Company, A Local Nonprofit, Allison Evelyn Campbell

Journalism

Alan Godley's journey into marine preservation began as a dock boy, a role that brought him face-to-face with the environmental impact of boat cleaning practices. Witnessing the washing of harsh chemicals into the ocean and waterways fueled his environmental consciousness. Years later, he founded the Blue Dolphin Company in 1989, an “organization focused on furthering the awareness of whales and dolphins, and all marine life … [supporting] the rehabilitation and release of marine mammals and other wildlife”. Over the three decades, Mr. Godley has operated this nonprofit and small business, leveraging educational initiatives to inform people of all ages about …

Band Motor Crankshaft For Hydrogen Combustion Engine, Lincoln Hofer, Jacqueline Mendoza Cortes, Austin Rhee, Roze Raymond

Mechanical Engineering

This report outlines the steps in which a group of four mechanical engineers at California Polytechnic State University California, San Luis Obispo, addressed an issue brought up by Professor Roger Benham from the Materials Department. The task included developing an automated and modular testing platform for a revolutionary concept crankshaft prototype – meant for a hydrogen combustion engine - developed and produced by the sponsor: Roger Benham. A testing platform is necessary to measure the performance of the shaft design created to eventually implement this subsystem into a complete hydrogen engine design. Values being tested include geometric validation, maximum static …