Digital Commons Network^™

Ethical Extensionism Defended, Joel P. Macclellan

Between the Species

Ethical extensionism is a common argument pattern in environmental and animal ethics, which takes a morally valuable trait already recognized in us and argues that we should recognize that value in other entities such as nonhuman animals. I exposit ethical extensionism’s core argument, argue for its validity and soundness, and trace its history to 18th century progressivist calls to expand the moral community and legal franchise. However, ethical extensionism has its critics. The bulk of the paper responds to recent criticisms, including (1) environmental ethicists’ objection against its austere conception of moral value (2), feminist ethicists’ claim that extensionism fails …

Documentary Review: Coded Bias, Sydney Elaine Brammer

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Feder, S. (Director). (2020). Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen [Film]. Netflix., Galen D. Bunting

Feminist Pedagogy

Sam Feder’s documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (2020) braids together an overview of trans cinema through the voices of transgender actors, alongside clips from classic and current cinema, and commentary from trans academics. Featuring commentary from an impressive array of voices, including actress Laverne Cox and historian Susan Stryker, the film offers a variety of perspectives on film and representation. Beginning with an impressive timeline of trans representation from the earliest representations of gender crossing in silent movies and ending upon the debut of Pose, in which trans people represent themselves, this Netflix Original offers a comprehensive visual history …

Rand, Sarah. The Small Book Of Hip Checks: On Queer Gender, Race, And Writing., Tl Jordan

Feminist Pedagogy

The small book of hip checks: On queer gender, race, and writing by Erica Rand is an accessible look into the revising process of writing through hip checks and personal stories. This review examines the concept of "hip checks" in writing, personal stories as a reflexive writing tool, and the role of the “hip check” in the feminist classroom. Rand’s book is well suited for educators looking to help their students through the writing and revising process.

A Review Of Black Appetite. White Food.: Issues Of Race, Voice, And Justice Within And Beyond The Classroom, Dominik Drabent

Feminist Pedagogy

Black Appetite. White Food.: Issues of Race, Voice, and Justice Within and Beyond the Classroom by Jamila Lyiscott addresses the power dynamics educators face while teaching their students of color. The author provides insights and a theoretical framework that supports educators in reflecting upon their practices within an educational system entrenched in white privilege. Lyiscott explains ways in which many educators re-perpetuate oppressive power structures and thereby feed into the Black appetite, white food dynamic. This book serves as a wonderful tool for educators to reevaluate their own practices in order to assure themselves that they do serve their students …

A Review Of Women Don't Owe You Pretty, Maya Wenzel

Feminist Pedagogy

In Women Don’t Owe You Pretty, Florence Given introduces readers to feminist ideas and concepts by using “pretty privilege” and her experiences as a starting point. This review evaluates Given’s approach to introducing feminism to readers, and how the book fits into feminist classrooms. Women Don’t Owe You Pretty is recommended for undergraduate Gender & Women’s Studies classes, particularly Introduction to Gender classes and lessons on privilege, intersectionality, and identity. This review argues Given’s book is a valuable resource for emerging feminists, especially those in the Zoomer generation.

Stop Telling Women To Smile: Stories Of Street Harassment And How We’Re Taking Back Our Power, Mio Yoshizaki

Feminist Pedagogy

This book review addresses the author, Fazlalizadeh's approach to art as social justice, overarching definitions of gender-based street harassment, and intersectionality. This review also offers suggestions for how feminist educators may utilize Stop telling women to smile in classrooms.

Feminism, Interrupted? A Review Of Lola Olufemi's Feminist Primer, Alex W. Watkins

Feminist Pedagogy

This book review discusses Lola Olufemi's recent book, Feminism, Interrupted (2020), and how its project to promote an action-oriented, Marxist, intersectional feminism in contrast to a mainstream white feminism steeped in neoliberal thought might integrate within courses in women's and gender studies.

Crime-Fighting Heroes And Pretty Caped Crusaders: Classroom Content Analysis Of Children’S Halloween Costumes, Alexandra Hendley

Feminist Pedagogy

The content analysis activity described in this article allows students to investigate the gendered meanings in marketing materials for children’s Halloween costumes. What lessons about gender are relayed through materials such as these? Existing research has shown that costumes are often gendered in traditional, stereotypical ways. However, rather than being passive recipients of research findings, students participating in this activity get to “do” scholarly work and examine data firsthand. This process of discovery is the hallmark of inquiry-guided learning and is also central to feminist pedagogy. For this activity, students are provided with a set of children’s Halloween costumes to …

Teaching Global Citizenship In Tense Times: Promoting Inclusion And Equity Through The Liberal Arts, Molly Krueger Enz

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Bad Sex Ed: First-Day Icebreaker For Classes On Sex And Sexuality, Alice Rutkowski

Feminist Pedagogy

The author describes a short teaching activity meant to precede the introduction of assigned course material that includes sexually explicit materials. Students are questioned about their experience with sex ed in their K-12 schooling in order to demonstrate the paucity of vocabulary, evidence-based information and even comfort level that most adults have with this material.

Harnessing Your Feminist Rage: A Multimedia Assignment For Upper-Level Courses, Caitlin E. Lawson

Feminist Pedagogy

"Harnessing Your Feminist Rage" introduces a three-part multimedia assignment that encourages students to think critically about feminist anger, particularly as refracted through social media. First, students introduce and analyze a media text or phenomenon that made them angry and reflect upon that anger. Then, using whichever online medium they choose, students call out the offender and express their anger to the audience of their choice in order to meet a specific goal. Finally, students reflect on their expression of anger and their experience creating their response. Overall, the goal is for students to combine their knowledge of feminist theories and …

Editors' Introduction: Back To School Issue Of Feminist Pedagogy, Rachel E. Silverman, Emily D. Ryalls

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Spatial And Temporal Characteristics Of California Commercial Fisheries From 2005 To 2019 And Potential Overlap With Offshore Wind Energy Development, Yi-Hui Wang, Ryan K. Walter, Crow White, Benjamin I. Ruttenberg

Physics

As climate change accelerates and fisheries management continues to evolve, California's commercial fisheries are changing. To improve the understanding of recent California fisheries dynamics, we compiled and analyzed commercial landings receipts to characterize temporal and spatial variation in landing and value of key fisheries groups within the exclusive economic zone across the state from 2005 to 2019. We found that California fisheries continue a shift first observed in the 1980s from higher‐biomass, lower‐value species, such as coastal pelagic species and market squid, toward lower‐biomass, higher‐value species, such as Dungeness crab Cancer magister and groundfish. Over the 15‐year time series analyzed, …

Review Of Madeleine L.H. Campbell's Animals, Ethics And Us, Teddy Duncan Jr.

Between the Species

In Animals, Ethics, and Us, Dr. Madeleine L.H. Campbell offers insight into the moral landscape of human-animal relations through a specific ethical framework that rejects the rights of non-human animals, opting instead for a “qualified utilitarian approach” (2019, 9). For Campbell, animal ethics should not be bound to animal rights or the autonomy of individual animals; she asserts that animal rights should not factor into the moral consideration of animals at all. Since she does not confer animals a moral status or form of rights and instead relies on the utilitarian approach, Campbell attempts to locate the justifying logic …

Testing The Reliability Of Civic Science Data Collection Of Plant Traits In A Perennial Sunflower Domestication Experiment, Robyn A. Brooks

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

Civic science has been prevalent in environmental science for many years. The use of volunteers and the community as a helping hand in research continues to link society and science, as well as increases the magnitude and breadth of environmental studies. Assessments of data quality produced by civic science is an important component in validating the accuracy and reliability of the research. In this study, the reliability of civic science was tested by assessing the variation within data gathered from undergraduate Cal Poly students. Using a common garden experimental set up, the health of twelve wildtype silphium genotypes were assessed …

Establishing A Baseline Vegetation Study Of The Monterey Pine Forest Understory In The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, Natalie Nemeth

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

There is invaluable genetic information in native Monterey pine forests; having unadulterated genetic information is critical for the pine industry as well as conserving native trees in native stands. The Monterey pine forest and its understory are incredibly sensitive and precious ecological systems. Maintaining healthy remnant forests, including understory vegetation, is important for local biodiversity. In 2020, the Monterey pine was listed as an endangered species candidate, yet so little has been published about Monterey pine in California, with outdated reports and a lack of information about the forest floor. Monterey pine is endemic to only three locations on the …

Smart Spine Tape: Active Wearable Posture Monitoring For Prevention Of Low Back Pain And Injury, Samuel J. Borda

Master's Theses

Back pain and injury are a global health issue and are a leading cause of work and activity absence. Prevention would not only save those affected from the burden of pain and discomfort, but would also save people from loss of over 290 million workdays annually and save the healthcare system billions of dollars in expenses per year. Successful research and development of a wearable technology capable of comprehensively monitoring spinal postures that are leading causes of back pain and injury can result in prevention of mild to severe back pain and injury for high-risk people. To accomplish this, the …

Evaluating Traditional And Novel Modalities Of Self-Monitoring In Females With Low-Literacy & Obesity: A Feasibility Study, Anita H. Kelleher

Master's Theses

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of three distinct self-monitoring modalities employed as part of a weight-loss intervention among Spanish- and Mixtec-speaking women with low-no literacy who were overweight or obese (body mass index, BMI> 25). Primary outcomes assessed include self-monitoring adherence, weight, body composition, and diet quality. Participants (n=18) were recruited from the Cal Poly Women and Infants Mobile Health Unit, and contacted if they had a BMI> 25 and did not attend school beyond elementary level (6th grade). Upon enrollment, participants were asked to attend a weekly meeting at which the lifestyle intervention was delivered by a …

Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence To Predict Physical And Chemical Properties Of California Soils, Micaela D. Frye

Master's Theses

Soil characterization provides the basic information necessary for understanding the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils. Knowledge about soils can in turn be used to inform management practices, optimize agricultural operations, and ensure the continuation of ecosystem services provided by soils. However, current analytical standards for identifying each distinct property are costly and time-consuming. The optimization of laboratory grade technology for wide scale use is demonstrated by advances in a proximal soil sensing technique known as portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF). pXRF analyzers use high energy Xrays that interact with a sample to cause characteristic reflorescence that can be …

Lift Fixture Control System, Steven Ly

Mechanical Engineering

The Final Design Review (FDR) reports on the senior design project undertaken by a mechanical engineer senior at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The project seeks to assist Maxar’s need for a lift fixture for their spacecraft that will locate its center of gravity and move the pick point directly over the center of gravity (C.G.). This will allow the crane to attach to this point and lift the spacecraft without any swinging motion that could damage the spacecraft or harm personnel working near it. Their current solution is creating a new lift sling for each time they …

Examining Introductory Computer Science Student Cognition When Testing Software Under Different Test Adequacy Criteria, Austin Shin

Master's Theses

The ability to test software is invaluable in all areas of computer science, but it is often neglected in computer science curricula. Test adequacy criteria (TAC), tools that measure the effectiveness of a test suite, have been used as aids to improve software testing teaching practices, but little is known about how students respond to them. Studies have examined the cognitive processes of students programming and professional developers writing tests, but none have investigated how student testers test with TAC. If we are to improve how they are used in the classroom, we must start by understanding the different ways …

Timber Buckling Restrained Brace, Faith Sharp, Armando Castaneda Jr

Architectural Engineering

The timber buckling-restrained brace (TBRB) experiment at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), began in 2018 with the goal of finding whether timber may provide proper restraint against buckling of a steel brace. The TBRB was motivated by the limited lateral force resisting systems (LFRS) available for low-to-mid-rise, type V construction; this system would provide strength and ductility at a scale and level of cost appropriate to timber construction.

Early research consisted of uniaxial component testing, where researchers played with the balance between the core brace design and utilization of timber casings for buckling restraint, with minimal …

Rekindling The Human Spirit Through Urban Design: Creating Spaces For Joy, Sharon Charlotte Ng

City and Regional Planning

What makes people joyful? How can we foster happy, healing spaces through urban design that allow for all community members to channel emotional wellbeing? In a fast paced, consumer-oriented economy, the importance of maintaining mental health and well-being is often ignored. This paper seeks to answer these questions through the synthesis of existing literature on urban design, society, and case study analyses of existing public spaces. Although the research focuses on social transformation through the implementation of urban design principles, the disciplines of city planning, public health, sociology, and psychology are discussed as well. The research explores techniques that would …

Utilizing Prefabrication In Order To Achieve Leed Credits, Phillip E. Waldman

Construction Management

This paper is a dissertation on the concept and benefits of utilizing panelization in construction to achieve LEED credits. Panelization is the process of prefabricating construction framing materials, such as walls, floors, and roof systems, to streamline and improve the construction process. This dissertation aims to examine: (1) how prefabrication can optimize construction through effective waste management (2) how prefabrication manufacturing plants are more efficient, cost-effective, and better for the environment with regard to material use and recycling than traditional construction methods (3) how prefabrication can be used to obtain LEED credit points for the Construction and Demolition Waste Management …

Typical Demolition Waste Of Tenant Improvement Projects: A Case Study, Gregory K. Jameson

Construction Management

Sustainable approaches to the waste generated in construction demolition have been on the rise over the past two decades. In this case study research project, the demolition waste of commercial tenant improvement projects from two separate companies across multiple projects was documented and analyzed. This case study was inspired by a motivation to gain a better understanding of what waste is typical in tenant improvement remodels, what is being done to repurpose this waste and what obstacles currently stand in the way of better waste management practices. After conducting extensive research and analysis of current waste trends in the construction …

Fabrication Of Lab-Scale Polymeric And Silicon Dioxide Nanoparticle-Enabled Thin Film Composite Reverse Osmosis Membranes For Potable Reuse Applications, Timothy J. Dinh

Master's Theses

Reverse osmosis (RO) is widely used for water reclamation and is one of the most feasible technologies for addressing water scarcity around the world. RO membrane fabrication procedures are continually being optimized and modified to enhance the treatment performance and efficacy of the RO process. A review of the existing literature published on membrane fabrication revealed that a detailed and reproducible methodology consistent among prior studies was not available. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to utilize techniques from prior research to develop a reliable lab-scale membrane fabrication process for studying the potable reuse applications of TFC RO …

Strawberry Disease Management Improvement For Macrophomina Root Rot And Botrytis Fruit Rot, Yu-Chen Wang

Master's Theses

Strawberry production in California is limited by plant diseases such as Macrophomina root rot (caused by Macrophomina phaseolina) and Botrytis fruit rot (BFR) (caused by Botrytis cinerea). Current disease management strategies are compromised due to fumigant regulations or ineffective disease management practices. This thesis investigated methods to potentially improve the management of these two diseases.

Host plant resistance evaluations for Macrophomina root rot were conducted for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 growing seasons. Fifty-one strawberry genotypes were screened in two field experiments where plants were inoculated artificially with Macrophomina phaseolina in both seasons. A wide range of plant resistance …

Deep Learning For Detecting Trees In The Urban Environment From Lidar, Julian R. Rice

Master's Theses

Cataloguing and classifying trees in the urban environment is a crucial step in urban and environmental planning. However, manual collection and maintenance of this data is expensive and time-consuming. Algorithmic approaches that rely on remote sensing data have been developed for tree detection in forests, though they generally struggle in the more varied urban environment. This work proposes a novel method for the detection of trees in the urban environment that applies deep learning to remote sensing data. Specifically, we train a PointNet-based neural network to predict tree locations directly from LIDAR data augmented with multi-spectral imaging. We compare this …

Pressure Disturbance Upstream Of The Boundary Layer Data System, Michelle S. Leclere

Master's Theses

The primary objective for this work was to evaluate the reliability of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools in the prediction of upstream surface pressure disturbance and pressure drag of various instrument excrescence shapes for a small aircraft flight test device called the Boundary Layer Data System (BLDS). Insights on pressure disturbance will serve as a guide for the placement of BLDS probes/sensors, and pressure drag can be used to ensure sufficient adhesive is used to install BLDS instrumentation. The Mach number for all CFD cases was 0.12 and the Reynolds number based on excrescence height varied from 4 x 10 …