Digital Commons Network^™

Automated Vehicles: A Guide For Planners And Policymakers, Charlie Coles

Master's Theses

Automated vehicles are those which are capable of sensing their environments in order to perform at least some aspects of the safety-critical control (like steering, throttling, or braking) without direct human input. As a guide for planners and policymakers, the objective of this thesis is to develop a strong foundation for anticipating the potential impacts resulting from advancements in vehicle automation. To establish the foundation, this thesis uses a robust qualitative methodology, coupling a review of literature on the potential advantages and disadvantages of vehicle automation and lessons from past innovations in transportation, with recent trends of the Millennial Generation, …

Exploring Transit Ridership Using Census, Routing & Scheduling, And Stop Characteristic Data, Douglas Harvey Moody

Master's Theses

This study develops, analyzes, and a­­­­­pplies transit-system-specific regression tree models that identify and prioritize transit system improvements through analysis and application of ridership, Census, routing and scheduling, and transit stop characteristic data. Regression trees identify and rank independent variables that split dependent variable datasets into meaningful subsets according to significant relationships with independent variable datasets, and regression tree models can be used to identify and prioritize transit system improvements. In this study, ridership datatypes are the dependent variables (i.e., boardings and alightings) and Census, routing and scheduling, and transit stop characteristic datatypes are the independent variables. Data associated with the …

Public Relations In The Restaurant Industry: Using Visual Social Media To Increase Consumer Relationships, Carly M. Cady

Journalism

As daily social media usage grows, marketing through these platforms become increasingly important for public relations professionals. Instagram, one of the most popular social media platforms, provides a new way to instantaneously reach millions of potential customers through the use of visuals. However, with limited knowledge of this new public relations tool, standing out and creating a successful presence for your business is difficult. This study is to explore how visual social media, specifically Instagram, can be used to increase consumer knowledge in the restaurant industry.

Investigation of current literature regarding the topic and gathered opinions of industry professionals will …

Structural Damage Detection By Comparison Of Experimental And Theoretical Mode Shapes, William George Rosenblatt

Master's Theses

Existing methods of evaluating the structural system of a building after a seismic event consist of removing architectural elements such as drywall, cladding, insulation, and fireproofing. This method is destructive and costly in terms of downtime and repairs. This research focuses on removing the guesswork by using forced vibration testing (FVT) to experimentally determine the health of a building. The experimental structure is a one-story, steel, bridge-like structure with removable braces. An engaged brace represents a nominal and undamaged condition; a dis-engaged brace represents a brace that has ruptured thus changing the stiffness of the building. By testing a variety …

Fluid Flow Characterization In Rapid Prototyped Common Iliac Artery Aneurysm Molds, Daniel Cole Greinke

Master's Theses

The goal of this project was to determine whether i) fused deposition modeling could be employed to manufacture molds for vascular constructs, ii) whether vascular constructs could be created from these molds, and iii) to verify practical equivalence between observed fluid velocities. Dye tracking was to be employed to characterize fluid velocity profiles through the in vitro vascular constructs, including a half-vessel model and a full vessel model of an iliac artery aneurysm. A PDMS half-vessel construct was manufactured, and the movement of dye through the construct was tracked by a cellphone camera. Thresholds were applied to each video in …

Toward High Performance Nanocarbon Fibers, Michaela R. Pfau

Master's Theses

High performance carbon fibers (CFs) have been a commercially available since their commercial boom in the 1970s, and are generally produced via carbonization of poly (acrylonitrile) (PAN). More recently, carbon nanomaterials like graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been discovered and have shown excellent mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties due to their sp² carbon repeating structure. Graphene and CNTs can both be organized into macroscopic fibers using a number of different techniques, resulting in fibers with promising mechanical performance that can be readily multifunctionalized. In some cases, the two materials have been combined, and the resulting hybrid fibers have …

Peering In: Improving Existing Buildings With Colorful Increments, Daire Heneghan

Master's Theses

Existing office buildings’ embodied energy, history and culture offer something a newly constructed building cannot. On the other hand, new office buildings’ adoption of new technologies and building philosophies offer a range of sustainable efficiencies previously unavailable. Combining these efficiencies with elements that embrace human diversity and well- being offer the opportunity to not only mend our existing buildings’ deteriorating physical bodies but aid in creating workplaces that promote good physical and mental health.

This project provides recommendation on how an existing high-rise commercial building can incorporate a number of incremental improvements that continually evolve to meet rapidly changing market …

2015 California Climate Action Planning Conference Keynote Address, Salud Carbajal

Focus

In August 2015, Cal Poly’s CRP Department hosted the second Climate Action Planning Conference to discuss local, state, national and international climate issues. The keynote address was provided by then Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal�. His words framed the action�-oriented vision for the conference, and define much of what the CRP family continues to focus on as a part of their teaching and scholarship.

Urbanity, The Flâneur, And The Visual Qualities Of Urban Design: A Walk In Lisbon, Portugal, Vicente Del Rio

Focus

The concept of urbanity and the literary figure of the flâneur are a platform for del Rio’s exploration of the visual qualities of urban design in Lisbon’s historic core. Drawings are are used throughout this study since they are analyses in themselves and capture the essence of places more than a photo can do. All drawings in this article are by the author.

Learning From California: Highlights Of Crp Studios 2014/2015 Ay, Hemalata C. Dandekar

Focus

Dr. Hemalata Dandekar highlights the studio projects from both BSCRP and MCRP programs during the 2014-15 academic year. Fundamental in the learn-by-doing service-learning pedagogy embraced by the department, the studios help shape students into professionals that are fully with their communities.

Redesigning A Street Corridor In San Clemente, Ca: South El Camino Real Urban Design Concept Plan, Vicente Del Rio, Paul Donegan, Curran K. Lord-Farmer, Jana E. Schwartz, Sara Steinberger

Focus

The South El Camino Real Urban Design Concept Plan was developed by a first-year MCRP studio for the City of San Clemente, CA. The San Clemente community, the City planners and the City Council welcomed the students’ ideas for making the corridor appealing, economically attractive, and safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Evolution Of Park Planning In The City Of Vancouver, Stephen Appiah Takyi Mr

Focus

The study of park history serves as an important basis for assessing how rapid growth of cities affects the availability, management and use of parks over time. The data used for this study was collected from a variety of documentary sources including Parks Board records, old newspapers and archival records. The development of parks in the City of Vancouver has been approached from a multi-stakeholder perspective since the 19^th century. There has been an increase in the number of physical structures and area of hard landscaping on the parks. This is as a result of the continuous increase in …

John Gilderbloom’S Thought-Provoking Strategies About Regeneration And The Language Of Planning, Jana E. Schwartz

Focus

Planning is a 'jargon�-y' field with terminology that oftens distract from the purpose of a project or idea. During a luncheon seminar at Cal Poly, Dr. John I. Gilderbloom, a professor at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, addressed this challenge through his own work, case studies and personal antidotes. He discussed the intricacies of planning and the role played by language in the implementation of projects and community understanding.

Focus: The Journal Of Planning Practice And Education | Journal Of The City And Regional Planning Department | Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo | Volume 12

Focus

No abstract provided.

Conversations With Alumni: Spotlight On Dave Javid

Focus

No abstract provided.

The Cerdà Plan For The Expansion Of Barcelona: A Model For Modern City Planning, Judith Urbano

Focus

Modern city planning started with the Industrial Revolution and the scientific advances of the ��19th Century. At the time, Catalan engineer Idelfons Cerdà coined the word "urbanism” as a new and necessary science to deal with cities, having three major preoccupations:� hygiene, traffic, and equality. In this article, Judith Urbano discusses Cerda's plan for the expansion of Barcelona and why it is considered an icon of modern planning�

Pre- And Perinatal Ischemia-Hypoxia, The Ischemia-Hypoxia Response Pathway, And Adhd Risk, Taylor F. Smith, Rainald Schmidt-Kastner, John E. Mcgeary, Jessica A. Kaczorowski, Valerie S. Knopik

Psychology and Child Development

This review focuses on how measured pre- and perinatal environmental and (epi)genetic risk factors are interrelated and potentially influence one, of many, common developmental pathway towards ADHD. Consistent with the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis, lower birth weight is associated with increased ADHD risk. Prenatal ischemia-hypoxia (insufficient blood and oxygen supply in utero) is a primary pathway to lower birth weight and produces neurodevelopmental risk for ADHD. To promote tissue survival in the context of ischemia-hypoxia, ischemia-hypoxia response (IHR) pathway gene expression is altered in the developing brain and peripheral tissues. Although altered IHR gene expression is adaptive …

Mandatory Solar Ordinance Benefits The Homeowner And The Community, Darya Oreizi

Focus

While society’s energy consumption only tend to increase and traditional solutions for these needs have lasting environmental impacts, the capture and use of solar energy becomes vital. California has always been in the forefront of environmental efforts through legislation and regulatory efforts. In this article, an abstract of his senior project, Darya Oreizi discusses the potential impacts of mandatory solar ordinances.

Theses And Professional Projects Abstracts

Focus

No abstract provided.

Veganism And 'The Analytic Question', Adam Reid

Between the Species

The (practical) dilemma I explore in this paper concerns two advocacy-oriented aims which, though not mutually exclusive per se, are nonetheless quite difficult for vegans to jointly satisfy in practice. The first concerns the need for individual vegans to rebuff (by example) certain familiar stereotypes about vegans as ‘militant,’ ‘angry,’ ‘self-righteous,’ etc.; the second concerns the need to tactfully resist familiar prompts to, as it were, conversationally parse the logic of one’s own convictions ad nauseam. To better explain, and partially respond to, this dilemma, I exploit an instructive analogy with the (so-called) ‘analytic question’ in epistemology (roughly, …

The Commonsense Case For Ethical Vegetarianism, Mylan Engel Jr.

Between the Species

The article defends ethical vegetarianism, which, for present purposes, is stipulatively taken to be the view that it is morally wrong to eat animals when equally nutritious plant-based foods are available. Several examples are introduced (i) to show that we all agree that animals deserve some direct moral consideration and (ii) to help identify and clarify several commonsense moral principles—principles we all accept. These principles are then used to argue that eating animals is morally wrong. Since you no doubt accept these principles, the argument demonstrates that consistency with your own beliefs and values commits you to the …

Shifting The Tide: Transit-Oriented Development And Active Transportation Planning In Los Angeles, Forrest Chamberlain, William W. Riggs

Focus

Los Angeles (LA) has the reputation of an auto dependent city. Although the region is served by a robust public transportation system, the majority of the population commutes by automobile and has developed in sprawling manner leading to poor air quality, traffic congestion and unsafe streets. Despite this, in recent years, the LA region has made significant headway in reversing sprawl and automobile use. This has included encouraging greater land use densities around transit stations, coupled with investments to active transportation systems. This article presents an overview of the historical context of automobile dependency in Los Angeles, the current transit-oriented …

Review Of Slaves Of Our Affection: The Myth Of The Happy Pet, Katherine Allen

Between the Species

This article reviews Charles Danten’s Slaves of Our Affection: the Myth of the Happy Pet, outlining and evaluating Danten’s arguments for the abolition of the pet trade. The review delineates Danten’s main points; that the commodification of companion animals is antithetical to their welfare, that veterinarians, pet food manufacturers and breeders serve the dictates of the economic bottom line rather than the interests of animals, and that the majority of pet owners, while well-intentioned, are ill-equipped to meet the physiological and psychological needs of their animal companions.

The reviewer asserts that Danten’s arguments are generally successful, but suggests that …

Design And Development Of The Sunswift Eve Solar Vehicle: World's Fastest Long-Range Electric Car, Sam Paterson, Pujith Vijayaratnam, Charith Perera, Graham Doig

Aerospace Engineering

The Sunswift project of the University of New South Wales, Australia, exists to provide university students with a multi-disciplinary engineering challenge, enhancing the true educational value of their degree with a unique hands-on real-world experience of creating solar–electric hybrid vehicles. The design and development of the low-drag ‘solar supercar’ Sunswift eVe car are described here, detailing the student-led process from initial concept sketches to the completed performance vehicle. eVe was designed to demonstrate the potential of effective solar integration into a practical passenger-carrying vehicle. It is a two-seater vehicle with an on-body solar array area of 4 m² and …

Executive Committee - Agenda, 1/5/2016, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

Faraday Rechargeable Battery System, Alex Gasper, Bret Omsberg

Electrical Engineering

The modern electronic age has given birth to a variety of innovative and hand-held devices that are carried with the consumer nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The one shortfall of these devices is their energy storage, or in most cases, a battery. The Faraday Rechargeable Battery System is a unique system that will generate electricity through rotational movement of a tire. This can be a bike, a car, or any other transportation vehicle that uses wheels for movement. The kinetic energy that is engendered either by the user or an engine can then be converted into …

Alcohol Nuisance Abatement Ordinance, Emilie J. Morse

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Label-Free Imaging Of Metabolism And Oxidative Stress In Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes, Rupsa Datta, Christopher M. Heylman, Steven C. George, Enrico Gratton

Biomedical Engineering

In this work we demonstrate a label-free optical imaging technique to assess metabolic status and oxidative stress in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes by two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging of endogenous fluorophores. Our results show the sensitivity of this method to detect shifts in metabolism and oxidative stress in the cardiomyocytes upon pathological stimuli of hypoxia and cardiotoxic drugs. This non-invasive imaging technique could prove beneficial for drug development and screening, especially for in vitro cardiac models created from stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and to study the pathogenesis of cardiac diseases and therapy.

"It's Always With You, That You're Different": Undocumented Students And Social Exclusion, Jean Williams

Political Science

This study focuses on undocumented college students who overcame significant barriers to apply to and attend universities, and once on campus, were forced to conceal their immigration status from staff and peers, struggling to pay tuition without assistance from scholarships or federal loans. The concept of social exclusion is used to understand and explore the barriers to their access to higher education and experiences while in college, relationships to community and governing institutions, and struggles with poverty and discrimination. The Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative provides the first real possibility to more fully pursue their educational and …

Smartphone-Based Intervention To Support Cal Poly Ethnic Minority Students And Psychophysiological Validation Project, Carol Wang, Lindsay Szabo, Luis Cuellar

Baker/Koob Endowments Awarded Projects

This project is an interdisciplinary effort between Psychology and Computer Science. Experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination is a key stressor placing Asian- and Latino-heritage college students at risk for poor mental and physical health. Two major gaps in the literature are a lack of understanding regarding: 1) how discrimination is linked to poor health outcomes (i.e., we must move beyond studies showing a correlational link between discrimination and poor health), and 2) what are protective factors that can attenuate these links? To address these two major limitations, this research project is significant in two ways. First, in the proposed psychophysiology study, we …