Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Coffee Queue Project, George Dimitrov Gargov

Master's Theses

In this paper, a computer vision system for counting people standing in line is presented. In this application, common techniques such as Adaptive Background Subtraction (ABS), blob tracking with Kalman filter, and occlusion resistive techniques are used to detect and track people. Additionally, a novel method using Dual Adaptive Background Subtractors (DABS) is implemented for dynamically determining the line region in a real-world crowded scene, and also as an alternative target acquisition to regular ABS. The DABS technique acts as a temporal bandpass filter for motion, helping identify people standing in line while in the presence of other moving people. …

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 …

Simulation Of Imputation Effects Under Different Assumptions, Danny Rithy

Statistics

Missing data is something that we cannot prevent when data become missing while in the process of data collection. There are many reasons why data can be missing due to respondent refusing to answer a sensitive question or in fear of embarrassment. Researchers often assume their data are “missing completely at random” or “missing at random”. Unfortunately, we cannot test whether the mechanism condition is satisfied because missing values cannot be calculated. For my senior project, I will run simulation studies in SAS to observe the behaviors of missing data under different assumptions: missing completely at random, missing at random …

Taylor Place- Fire Life Safety Report, Christopher Thomas

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

This document is a Fire and Life Safety Report on the Taylor Place Dormitory located in Phoenix, Arizona as part of the Arizona State University (ASU) downtown campus. The building was evaluated on a prescriptive basis based on the current City of Phoenix building codes and further evaluated on using performance based methods from the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Handbook and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101 Life Safety Code®.

These building features and systems were evaluated using prescriptive methods:

General construction, fire resistive construction and fire resistive separations Occupancy, Life safety features and building egress Smoke management …

Micro-Mechanics: Fire And Life Safety Evaluation, Michael Beam

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

The purpose of this report is to perform a fire and life safety evaluation of an existing building, Micro-Mechanics. The current codes and standards are used to evaluate the following prescriptive fire protection systems including: Occupancy and Hazard Classification, Structural Fire Protection, Egress Analysis, Fire Detection, Alarm and Communication Systems, and Fire Suppression Systems. An evaluation of possible special hazards is discussed to determine if any extra precautions need to be taken to prevent uncontrollable fire or explosions. A performance based analysis is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the prescriptive building systems. Using a combination of computer models including …

Academic Senate - Agenda, 3/1/2016, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

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 …

Media Bias: How The Bias Affects Public Perception Of The Media And What Can Be Done To Further Prevent Erosion Of Media-Public Relationship, Daniel Park

Journalism

The following study investigates the concept and nature of media bias and provides recommendations for those in the media in order to create a more transparent environment for journalists and the general public. This transparency is necessary for trust to be established once again between the media and the publics they serve. However, “serve” may be an inappropriate term, as the term denotes a willingness to render assistance without the thought of pay or other favorable services in return. This study realizes that the media consists largely of money-making entities, and forms such recommendations in the expectation that following the …

Venncafe, Daniel Johnson, Christopher Clark, Jonathan Amireh

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Our senior project involved creating a simple dating application and service. From other dating applications, we observed that the logistics of scheduling a first date are a tedious way to start a conversation with someone you've never met. The main concept of our application was that it would use user schedule availability and their favorite cafes to automatically plan optimal dates.

We started the project with the intent of...

• Working through the entire development cycle of a large project as a team

• Devising techniques for determining overlapping preferences, especially when handling large amounts of location and time data

• Exploring different …

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Pink And Dude Chefs: Impact Of A Nutrition And Culinary Education Program With Middle School Students In An Afterschool Setting, Jessie R. Bierlich-Wesch

Master's Theses

The epidemic of adolescent obesity has become one of the greatest public health concerns in the United States. Approximately 20.5% of adolescents of both sexes aged 12-19 years are considered obese. Higher rates of obesity are evident in ethnic minority and lower income status children with the highest prevalence among Hispanic/Latino and Black populations. The causes for obesity are multifactorial in nature and highlight disparities nationwide. These factors include socioeconomic status, education, environment, availability and access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and behavior patterns. Successful intervention methods that have reduced the impact of adolescent obesity have incorporated nutrition knowledge and …

Design And Validation Of A Fall Detection Application For Ios, Connor Lewis Mosley

Master's Theses

Despite significant preventative efforts, falls continue to be a major source of morbidity and mortality among the elderly. Additionally, the fear of falling can be a major obstacle to independent living for otherwise self-sufficient individuals. This fear is significantly heightened in individuals who have sustained a fall and often results in self-imposed restrictions on mobility and exercise, causing weakening in these individuals and further exacerbating the danger. Much time has been spent developing alert systems in an attempt to mitigate these problems. Unfortunately these systems typically involve dedicated monitoring centers and therefore often come with substantial upfront and recurring costs. …

Oceanographic Instrument Simulator, Amy Chen

Master's Theses

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) established the Free Ocean Carbon Enrichment (FOCE) experiment to study the long-term effects of decreased ocean pH levels by developing in-situ platforms [1]. Deep FOCE (dpFOCE) was the first platform, which was deployed in 950 meters of water in Monterey Bay. After the conclusion of dpFOCE, MBARI developed an open source shallow water FOCE (swFOCE) platform located at around 250 meter of water to facilitate worldwide shallow water experiments on FOCE [1][2]. A shallow water platform can be more ubiquitous than a deep-water platform as shallow water instruments are less expensive (as it …

Academic Senate - Meeting Minutes, 3/1/2016, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

Probing The Fitting Accuracy Of Active Galaxy Spectra, Aaron T. Line

Physics

Prior to this study, Dr. Vardha N. Bennert and collaborators selected a sample of ~100 local active galaxies to study the relationships between black hole mass and host galaxy properties. The broad Hβ width is necessary to determine black hole mass. This value is determined using a spectral decomposition code was scripted in IDL by Dr. Daeseong Park. The script fit spectral features and collected data for properties such as width of emission lines and continuum contribution percentages. The results were logged for further analysis.

To probe the accuracy of the fitting process, artificial spectra were created and fitted to …

Cal Poly Sustainability Activities Newsletter Design, Alek C. Johnson

Communication Studies

This project was designed and intended for the use of Cal Poly's Sustainability and Energy department. This project will ultimately influence the upcoming development and implementation of an official Cal Poly Sustainability Newsletter.

Merced High School - Teacher Internship Program, Linda Marie Clinton

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship/project report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Merced High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The recruitment materials and social media documents created during the internship validate the promotional updates that have occurred in the Agriculture Department to attract and retain students to become a program completer.

Establishing A Brand: How To Create A Household Name For A Wine Brand Through Social Media And Image, Megan Rodrigues

Journalism

This paper was conducted as a Senior Project for the Journalism Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California during a 10 week quarter. This paper explores the topic of wine branding through social media and image. The research for this paper consisted of interviews with three experts that are currently working in the wine industry as well as a literature review of several articles and books that support the topic. The questions that arose about wine branding, brand recognition, social media, wine label and image during the literature review were then asked to the three experts: …

Calling All Rebels!: Taco Bell Fights Fast Food Breakfast Fascism: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The “Routine Republic” Commercial Using Narrative Criticism And Intertextuality, Sharine Borslien

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Safe Street Design Recommendations For Downtown Los Angeles, Jayeonog Kim

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Design And Build Of An Automated Animal Feed Dispenser, Soroush Sedigh

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design, construction, and evaluation of automated animal feed dispenser on a small-scale level. The system consists of three main components with various sub-components. Those three components are the outer-casing, the hardware and circuitry, and lastly the code to make sure the hardware operates properly.

System tests have indicated that the feed dispenser is able to provide one week’s worth of feed to the end user with no human interference

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, …

Towards Improved Estimates Of Upper Ocean Energetics, Alexander Grant Wineteer

Master's Theses

The energy exchanged between the atmosphere and the ocean is an important parameter in understanding the Earth’s climate. One way of quantifying this energy exchange is through the use of “wind work,” or the work done on the ocean by the wind. Since wind work is calculated according to the interaction between ocean surface currents and surface wind stress, a number of surface current decompositions can be used to decompose wind work calculations. In this research, geostrophic, ageostrophic, Ekman, and total current decompositions are all used to calculate wind work. Geostrophic currents are formed by the balance of surface pressure …

Cal Poly On-Site Water Treatment Project Proposal, Tanner Wingo

Biomedical Engineering

This report is based off of a competition hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): the 2015 Campus RainWorks Challenge. Student teams were encouraged to design an infrastructure that could manage storm water, benefit campus life, and promote sustainability. The report summarizes the engineering aspects that support the competition submittal. The design is to treat campus wastewater on-site and to a suitable level for either reuse or discharge into Brizzolara Creek.

Water Reduction In Single-Family California Homes, Jaclyn B. Hawkins

Construction Management

Many Californian families do not realize how much water they use per day. Since California frequently experiences periods of drought, it is important for the public to understand how they can reduce their water use. This research paper explains ways that Californian families can easily reduce water consumption within their homes. The paper explains how much water is used per fixture, and how much water can be saved making modifications of updates to existing fixtures.

Evaluation Of Strength Reduction Factor For Concentrically Braced Frames Based On Nonlinear Single Degree-Of-Freedom Systems, Ryan Michael Slein

Master's Theses

Strength Reduction Factor (R-Factor), often referred to as Response Modification Factor, is commonly used in the design of lateral force resisting systems under seismic loading. R-Factors allow for a reduction in design base shear demands, leading to more economical designs. The reduction of strength is remedied with ductile behavior in members of proper detailing. Modern seismic codes and provisions recommend R-Factors for many types of lateral force resisting systems. However these factors are independent of the system fundamental frequency and many other important system properties, resulting in factors that may result in an unfavorable seismic response. To evaluate the validity …

Synthesis And Optimization Of Emulsion Polymers, Daisy Jauregui

Master's Theses

Synthetic latex or resin is perhaps the most important component of any paint formulation. As the binder, it holds all ingredients in a paint together and is responsible for film formation. Various latexes are used in industry though acrylic resins have shown to impart superior paint properties.This project is concerned with the synthesis of an acrylic latex. Various emulsion polymerization processes were used including semi-batch, starved-feed, and in-situ seeded in the attempt to produce a stable latex that can be used in a broader study concerning the syneresis and rheology mechanisms of latex/thickener systems. In addition, this project investigates the …

Development Of A Model And Optimal Control Strategy For The Cal Poly Central Plant And Thermal Energy Storage System, Daniel Douglas Castro

Master's Theses

This thesis develops a calibrated model of the Cal Poly Central Chilled Water Plant with Thermal Energy Storage for use in determining an optimal operating control strategy. The model was developed using a transient systems simulation program (TRNSYS) that includes plant performance and manufacturer data for the primary system components, which are comprised of pumps, chillers, cooling towers, and a thermal energy storage tank. The model is calibrated to the actual measured performance of the plant using the current control strategy as a baseline. By observing and quantifying areas for potential improvement in plant performance under conditions of high campus …

Reducing Costs In Human Assisted Speech Transcription, Justin Rovin

Master's Theses

The only official documentation of the lawmaking process at the California Legislature is unedited video recordings of committee hearings, bill texts, votes and analyses. While the bills resulting from these hearings are clear, using video recordings to understand how a bill was created is far too laborious for the average citizen. To increase public transparency, a service that provides easier access to the bill creation process was needed. In response to this need, the Digital Democracy initiative was established at Cal Poly by the Honorable Sam Blakeslee, former California State Senator and founder of the Institute for Advanced Technology and …

Design And Analysis Of A Lift Assist Walker, Deep P. Shah

Master's Theses

Walkers provided stability to the elderly but cannot assist a person from sitting to standing. The objective of this project is to present the design and analysis of a lift assist walker. This report discusses the design and analysis of a collapsible lift assist walker capable of lifting a patient up to 250 lbs. from seated to standing in under 10 seconds. The designed walker utilized a two stage scissor mechanism with a gas spring assisted embedded linear actuator.