Digital Commons Network^™

The Development Of An Online Interactive Resource For Enhancing Motivation In Swimmers, Richard Judson Clark

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

The Development of an Online Interactive Resource for Enhancing Motivation in Swimmers

Richard Judson Clark

Research pertaining to motivation in athletics and the link that it has to continued participation in sport is widespread.  Despite the resources available, adolescents continue to drop out of sports at alarming rates.  The purpose of this project was to create an online tool and resource center to enhance motivation in swimmers that participate in a year-round swim program in San Luis Obispo, California.  The development of the site http://athletenet.net was created based on research linked to the Self-Determination, Cognitive …

Learning To Fly: The Untold Story Of How The Wright Brothers Learned To Be The World's First Aeronautical Engineers, Daniel Lawrence Slusser

Master's Theses

This paper examines the education, events, and experiences of the Wright brothers in order to determine how they developed the necessary skills to engineer the first viable aircraft. Without high school diplomas, and with no advanced formal education, the Wright brothers were able to develop aircraft that far exceeded the capabilities of aircraft designed and built by professional engineers that had worked on the problem of flight for much longer and with substantially larger research budgets. I argue that the Wright brothers’ success resulted from their experiences in the printing and bicycle industries as well as their formal and informal …

Automatic Clownfish Hatchery, Laura Quesada

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Cubesat Instrument For Microgravity Particle Damper Performance Analysis, John Trevor Abel

Master's Theses

Spacecraft pointing accuracy and structural longevity requirements often necessitate auxiliary vibration dissipation mechanisms.  However, temperature sensitivity and material degradation limit the effectiveness of traditional damping techniques in space.  Robust particle damping technology offers a potential solution, driving the need for microgravity characterization.   A 1U cubesat satellite presents a low cost, low risk platform for the acquisition of data needed for this evaluation, but severely restricts available mass, volume, power and bandwidth resources.  This paper details the development of an instrument subject to these constraints that is capable of capturing high resolution frequency response measurements of highly nonlinear particle damper dynamics.

Go Farm, Goleta: Urban Agriculture Protection For Eastern Goleta Valley, Eli M. Krispi

Master's Theses

This paper explores two potential land use planning strategies that can be used to preserve and enhance the economic viability of agricultural operations surrounded by suburban development in Santa Barbara County’s Eastern Goleta Valley: buffers between agriculture and other land uses, and agritourism. In the case of buffers, academic literature is examined to determine how effective buffers are at various tasks (filtering runoff, mitigating dust and wind, providing habitat, etc.) and how to construct buffers to maximize their effectiveness. Land use plans and codes from several California jurisdictions are studied to see how buffers are put to use. Academic literature …

Intensity And Duration Of Deficit Irrigation On Erythroneura Elegantula (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) On Grape (Vitis Vinifera), Shawn T. Veysey

Master's Theses

Western grape leafhopper (WGLH) (Erythroneura elegantula Osborn) is a serious pest of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) in many commercial vineyard growing regions of California. WGLH injures vines by removing leaf photosynthetically active area, resulting in the reduction of leaf efficiency, ultimately reducing yield and fruit quality. Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is a widely adopted irrigation strategy that reduces irrigation during critical phenological growing points (i.e., berry-set to verasion) to manage vegetative growth and berry size of red varieties. Leafhoppers are known to respond negatively to vine water stress. In a two year study at a commercial vineyard located in Paso …

Savvy About Succulents, Mardel Runnels, Jessica Paulisich

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this project was to create an educational booklet explaining that succulents make fantastic SAE projects. The booklet was designed to be helpful to both high school students and high school instructors. All students enrolled in agriculture programs have projects known as SAE’s. This booklet includes a variety of topics that are relevant to having an SAE project. All information was based on industry statistics and information gained from courses. The booklet can be distributed both electronically and in a print version. The major consideration in the design of this project was to develop a booklet that would …

Breasts Are For Feeding: An Anthropological, Archaeological Examination Of Breastfeeding, Blaize A. Uva

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

The World Of Coffee: A Holistic Study Of The Socioeconomic And Environmental Implications Of The Many Aspects Of Business Within The World Of Coffee, Lillie Lamm

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Love Is Not Enough: A Look At Race In Transracial Adoption, Azucena Espindola

Social Sciences

This research paper looks at the different types of child adoption, in particular to transracial adoption. There is an emphasis in the role of race in transracial adoption and how transracial adoption can benefit and/or affect the children who are part of it.  There has been a long fought debate regarding transracial adoption. Those who favor transracial adoption state that the children are receiving a home that they would otherwise not get. On the contrary, those who oppose transracial adoption state that the children are deprived from their heritage. However, the main thing that should be taken into account is …

The Relationship Between Sleep And Bmi In Cal Poly Freshman, Jacqueline Laing

Psychology and Child Development

To understand the relationship between BMI and sleep patterns in Cal Poly Freshman (First years) over the course of their first year at Cal Poly. First year students were recruited via campus email to fill out a survey regarding various health aspects. The survey was filled out at the beginning of the year (Fall 2009), and again in June (Spring 2010). The questions used in this study only pertained to height, weight, sleep quantity, and sleep quantity satisfaction rating. The results were not significant for the cross sectional analysis of the Fall 2009 sample and the Spring 2010 sample. The …

Characterization Of A Pdms Microfluidic Reactor For Synthesizing Quantum Dots, Brian Harley

Materials Engineering

A PDMS microfluidic reactor was made in Cal Poly’s class 1000 clean room for the purpose of synthesizing quantum dots.  The device master mold was made from a silicon substrate and SU-8 features 50μm tall.  The PDMS reactor was cast from that mold.  The flow rates of fluid through the channels, heating of the reactor and pressure in the reactor were measured in order to characterize the potential for synthesizing quantum dots.  Flow rates of 20 mL/hr through 4 mL/hr were tested to characterize the consistency of amount of time the fluid remains in the reactor at a constant flow …

Rangeland Oak Regeneration, Rehabilitation, And Conservation In Varian Ranch, Arroyo Grande, Ca., Tiffany Lappinga, Ivy Ku

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Since the majority of oak woodlands are currently under private management, it is important to educate landowners about the importance and value of preserving this unique type of forest, especially in California. The study region takes place in Varian Ranch, Arroyo Grande, California. This project aims to promote the health of rangeland oaks with a three-pronged approach: regeneration, rehabilitation, and conservation. Common issues associated with the decline of oaks include, but are not limited to, invasive/exotic plant species, changes in land use, overgrazing, and soil compaction. This project hopes to address some of these issues, as well as revitalize previous …

Assessment Of Present Cal Poly Admission Requirements, Scott Goodell

Statistics

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Religion And Spirituality In Counseling, Tiffany Nickles

Psychology and Child Development

While the 20^th century has simultaneously brought about a growth in counseling and a reemergence of secularism, counseling in the 21^st century has focused its attention on interventions that are sensitive to multicultural facets in clients’ lives. As professionals increasingly embrace multicultural competency in counseling and therapy, religion and spirituality arguably stand out as cultural and personal factors that are a salient part of framing one’s experiences, beliefs, values, behavior, and illness patterns. Despite the growing understanding of the pervasiveness and importance of spirituality and religion, most psychologists have little training in dealing with religious and spiritual issues. …

'Mai Pen Rai': A Cultural Ecology Of Thailand, Darcie Plocher

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Urbanization, Obesity, And The Protective Effect Of Traditional Food Behaviors In Fiji, Danielle Christine Krause

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Review Of Museum Literature And A Personal Critique. Museology: The Evolution Of A Socially Conscious Institution, Mckenna N. Friend

Social Sciences

This paper explores the relatively recent critical literature published on the history, theory, culture, and politics of museums. The report shall focus on comparing and contrasting curatorial methods as well as the before-and-after effect of the so-called “paradigm shift”—the shift from museums that are object-centered to visitor-centered [1]. This project emphasizes museums of Natural History and Anthropology, either by selecting literature that already references them or by applying the valid information in other articles. This emphasis allows for close evaluation of the exhibition of human evolution, cultural material, and Native Americans. How and why would a museum emphasize science over …

A Study Of Intergenerational Crime From A Sociological Standpoint, Anna Robosson

Social Sciences

The focus of this project will be the patterns and causes of intergenerational crime within the United States.  Ultimately, the goal of the project is to explain the phenomenon, as it is becoming a rising problem in the country.

Fiji Aquaculture/Rice Farming Analysis, Mackenzie Myers, Lyla Rintoul, Torie Robinson, Michelle Spina, Ryan Wilkey

Social Sciences

This paper looks into the components and considerations of a prawn or prawn and rice farming project in the village of Vuisiga, Fiji. It considers Fijian culture and its implications for this farming system, and the climate of Fiji for the feasability of this. Three scenarios are described: prawn monoculture, concurrent prawn/rice farming, and rice monoculture. For each scenario there are descriptions of how to implement the system from the building of the ponds to the harvest of product. Recommendations are given as well.

Processing Pdms Gecko Tape Using Isopore Filters And Silicon Wafer Templates, Boris Luu

Materials Engineering

Gecko tape was processed through nanomolding involving two types of templates. One template was a Millapore Isopore polycarbonate membrane filter and the other template was an n-type silicon wafer processed to include four different pore diameters. These pore diameters were 20, 40, 80, and 160 microns. AutoCAD was used to design to a mask to be used later during photolithography. Two n-type wafers were sputtered with aluminum, underwent photolithography, and then etched using reactive ion etching. A template was placed into a Petri dish and Sylgard 184 polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was poured on the template. Once the PDMS cured,   the 1 …

Oxidation Kinetics Of Silver Thin Films For Antimicrobial Applications In The Health Care Industry, Sean D. Morham

Materials Engineering

To determine if varying city water qualities from around the United States can support a developing “oxidation corrosion of silver thin films” method of creating aqueous ionic silver solutions for the anti-microbial treatment of healthcare linens, a test was devised holding all variables constant with the exception of water quality parameters. This corrosion style test was done in order to assess a pass/fail criteria of 25 ppb ionic silver concentration in the aqueous solutions which resulted from the corrosion of silver thin film coated substrates. Above 25 ppb being a pass, below 25 ppb being a fail. While varying the …

Celebrity Coverage On The Central Coast: Analyzing The Entertainment News Mediums, Leanne Aguilera

Journalism

No abstract provided.

Improving Cal Poly Space Systems Infrastructure, Tyler Richier

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The goal of this project was to increase the usable space for the club Cal Poly Space Systems to work on its projects, improve the safety for its members, and reduce the time it takes to manufacture its products. The project demonstrated the effectiveness of 5S in improving a workspace. Club members were measurably more comfortable in the work environment and spent less time looking for tools. Current rooms were made more professional by ridding the workplace of non-valued items and finding sensible locations for high-traffic items. Additional rooms were added and they should indisputably support club projects the upcoming …

Predicting Soil Erosion In The Santa Rosa Creek Watershed Using Rusle2 And Geographic Information Systems, Stacey Carol Smith

Master's Theses

The Santa Rosa Creek watershed is one of the most pristine watersheds on California’s Central Coast.  Preserving this watershed is of great interest because it provides rich soils for agriculture, vast rangelands for cattle, and flowing streams for federally threatened species such as steelhead trout.  Soil erosion could impact these resources.  Using prediction tools, it is possible to study the erosion that could be occurring in a watershed and identify locations which could contribute the highest amounts of sediment.  The objectives of this study were to use RUSLE2 and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to predict soil erosion rates for each …

Transverse Isotachophoresis Using Polyacrylamide Gel Electrodes, Mark P. Stambaugh

Master's Theses

Separation and isolation of a desired analyte from an impure sample solution containing numerous unwanted interfering agents is the first step of nearly every laboratory test performed in medicine and biology. Nucleic acids are often of particular interest to doctors and researchers, and although methods currently exist for their isolation, these procedures are costly in time, man-power, and real-estate. In addition to easing the execution of presently performed tests, mitigation or elimination of these drawbacks would make a large range of currently unperformed tests both practical and feasible.

This thesis presents a microfluidics-based approach to the isolation of nucleic acids …

Evaluation Of Drip Applications And Foliar Sprays Of The Biocontrol Product Actinovate On Powdery Mildew And Other Fungal Diseases Of Tomato, Therese Angelica Quintana-Jones

Master's Theses

The effectiveness of the biocontrol product Actinovate^® at enhancing tomato plant growth and yield, and reducing the presence of fungal pathogens was studied in greenhouse and field conditions. In the greenhouse, no differences were found among seed germination or plant survival rates, seedling heights, dry root weights, and dry shoot weights of tomato seedlings grown from seeds drenched with Actinovate^® or Rootshield^®. The effects of one initial Actinovate^® seed drench at sowing, repeated applications through the drip irrigation throughout the season, or repeated applications through the drip irrigation plus foliar applications throughout the season at …

Magnetostatic Modeling For Microfluidic Device Design, Kirsten Marie Jackson

Master's Theses

Magnetostatic Modeling for Microfluidic Device Design

Kirsten Marie Jackson

For several years, biologists have used superparamagnetic beads to facilitate biological separations. More recently, researchers have adopted this approach in microfluidic devices [1-3]. This recent development and use of superparamagnetic particles in biomedical and biological applications have resulted in a necessity for methods that enable the understanding and prediction of their properties and actions during use. Typically, such methods would involve simple experimentation prior to in vitro experimentation, animal testing, and finally clinical testing. To better understand and unleash this technology, COMSOL®, which is a finite element analysis and multiphysics simulation …

Automated Sg-Dbr Tunable Laser Calibration Optimized For Optical Coherence Tomography Applications, Christopher Louis Chiccone

Master's Theses

SG-DBR lasers look to solve many problems associated with present OCT sources by being cost effective, smaller in size, more robust, and by operating at faster repetition rates.  Swept Source Optical Coherence Tomography (SS-OCT) requires a tunable laser source that exhibits linear frequency sweeps, large frequency spans, and high repetition rates.  This work accomplishes this by using four synchronized waveforms sent to the input of a Sampled Grating-Distributed Bragg Reflector (SG-DBR) laser.  Three mirrors control the wavelength, while an internal semiconductor optical amplifier controls the laser output power.  In dealing with this complicated tuning mechanism, a manual sweep calibration is …

Investigation Of Microalgae Growth Kinetics Using Coal-Fired Flue Gas As A Carbon Source, Bryan Daniel Brooker

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Investigation of Microalgae Growth Kinetics using Coal-Fired Flue Gas as a Carbon Source

Bryan Daniel Brooker

Energy related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions make up the majority of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions must be alleviated to reduce the effects of global climate change. Microalgae cultivation sequesters CO₂ while producing biomass. Algal biomass can provide a renewable feedstock for biofuel and electricity production, and ingredients for pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, pigments and cosmetics. Utilizing microalgae to mitigate CO₂ emissions encourages energy independence by providing a feedstock for biofuels and offers other potentially profitable avenues for the …