Digital Commons Network^™

Dangerous Decor: Consumer Knowledge Of Health Risks Within Interior Spaces, Kaitlin Keith

Master's Theses

Interior décor is an ever-present part of people's daily lives. The furnishings and finishes with which people surround themselves are part of their personal expression, but these components in people's homes and work spaces can negatively affect their health. Products such as furniture and paints can contain harmful chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) so toxic they are pollutants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. With the rise in the "green" movement, healthy and environmentally safe alternatives such as low or zero-VOC paints are becoming more available. This study assessed how aware consumers and design professionals are of environmentally …

Reducing Disturbances To Marine Mammals By Kayakers In The Monterey Bay, Megan Maye Gunvalson

Master's Theses

Team OCEAN is a kayaker-outreach program located in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary under the direction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, whose goal is to reduce disturbances to marine mammals by kayakers. This study documented the interactions between kayakers and resting harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) at Team OCEAN's two outreach sites, Cannery Row and Elkhorn Slough, to determine if outreach was effective in reducing disturbances to harbor seals and sea otters.

No difference was observed in the percentage of kayaks causing disturbances to resting harbor seals when comparing days Team OCEAN …

Post-Fire Analysis Of Sequoia Sempervirens Forests On The Central Coast Of California, Rachel Anne Lazzeri-Aerts

Master's Theses

The public perception of wildfire is that it destroys forests and that all fires should be quickly extinguished. However, fire plays a central role in determining structure, composition, and recruitment in many forest types. In coast redwood forests, the role of fire is not well understood, particularly in the southern part of the range. Observational data suggest that redwoods are relatively unaffected by fire. The sites of three 2008 and 2009 fires were sampled for this study: the Martin Fire in Bonny Doon, California, the Whitehurst Fire near Gilroy, California, and the Lockheed Fire near Swanton, California. Randomly selected ten-meter …

Optimizing Energy Savings From "Direct-Dc" In U.S. Residential Buildings, Evangelos Vossos

Master's Theses

An increasing number of energy-efficient appliances operate on direct current (DC) internally, offering the potential to use DC power from renewable energy systems directly and avoiding the losses inherent in converting power to alternating current (AC) and back. This paper investigates that potential for net-metered residences with on-site photovoltaics (PV) by modeling the net power draw of the "direct-DC house" with respect to today's typical configuration, assuming identical DC-internal loads. The power draws were modeled for houses in 14 U.S. cities using hourly simulated PV-system output and residential loads. The latter were adjusted to reflect a 35% load reduction representative …

Public Awareness About Global Warming In Hyderabad, India, Vani Sarraju Rao

Master's Theses

This study addressed public perceptions and awareness about global warming in India through a survey of 851 subjects in the city of Hyderabad in the year 2007. A stratified sample of nine segments of society showed that, although people consider global warming a serious problem, they do not clearly understand its causes, impacts, and solutions. The data analyses using paired T-tests indicated differences in levels of awareness about global warming, across age and education. ANOVA and regression analysis suggested that levels of awareness among respondents varied according to their occupation. The degree of seriousness with which subjects viewed global warming …

Developing Criteria And Metrics For Assessing Recycled Water Program Effectiveness, Michelle Arias

Master's Theses

Many U.S. states are currently experiencing or expect to experience water shortages in the next ten years. Recycling water is one strategy states are pursuing to minimize water shortages. Many states, however, have been unable to reach goals for volume of water recycled, and many regional and municipal programs have been ineffective in meeting production goals. Existing literature focuses primarily on how to implement a program and defines success as the ability to establish a program. After several decades of recycled water use in the United States, there is a lack of accepted metrics that allow for a cross comparison …

Analysis Of Three Types Of Sources To Determine The Existence Of Native Bees In Historical San Francisco, East Bay Area, Sharon Lee Ordeman

Master's Theses

The arrival of the missionaries in the late eighteenth century began the transformation of the San Francisco East Bay area from wetlands to orchards, grain fields, and grazing lands. This research considers the possibility that European and American newcomers enlarged native bee ranges in the East Bay cities of San Leandro, San Lorenzo, and Hayward when imported pollen and nectar-producing flora were planted. Three types of sources are analyzed: journals and diaries of explorers, missionaries, and botanists; native bee and plant specimens collected before the Gold Rush in 1848; and ethnographies of Ohlone Native Americans. Conclusive evidence for the presence …

Spartan Daily December 2, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 49

Spartan Daily November 18, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 44

Spartan Daily November 9, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 39

Spartan Daily November 1, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 34

Spartan Daily October 26, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 31

Spartan Daily October 21, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 29

Spartan Daily October 20, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 28

Calibration Of The Total Carbon Column Observing Network Using Aircraft Profile Data, D. Wunch, G. Toon, P. Wennberg, Steven Wofsy, B. Stephens, M. Fischer, O. Uchino, J. Abshire, P. Bernath, S. Biraud, J.-F. Blavier, C. Boone, K. Bowman, E. Browell, T. Campos, B. Connor, B. Daube, N. Deutscher, Minghui Diao, J. Elkins, C. Gerbig, E. Gottlieb, D. W. Griffith, D. Hurst, R. Jimenez, G. Keppel-Aleks, E. Kort, R. Macatangay, T. Machida, H. Matsueda, F. Moore, I. Morino, S. Park, J. Robinson, C. Roehl, Y. Sawa, V. Sherlock, C. Sweeney, T. Tanaka, M. Zondlo

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) produces precise measurements of the column average dry-air mole fractions of CO2, CO, CH4, N2O and H2O at a variety of sites worldwide. These observations rely on spectroscopic parameters that are not known with sufficient accuracy to compute total columns that can be used in combination with in situ measurements. The TCCON must therefore be calibrated to World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in situ trace gas measurement scales. We present a calibration of TCCON data using WMO-scale instrumentation aboard aircraft that measured profiles over four TCCON stations during 2008 and 2009. These calibrations are …

Spartan Daily October 6, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 21

Chemistry–Climate Model Simulations Of Twenty-First Century Stratospheric Climate And Circulation Changes, Neal Butchart, I. Cionni, V. Eyring, T. G. Shepherd, D. W. Waugh, H. Akiyoshi, J. Austin, C. Brühl, M. P. Chipperfield, Eugene C. Cordero, M. Dameris, R. Deckert, S. Dhomse, S. M. Frith, R. R. Garcia, A. Gettelman, M. A. Giorgetta, D. E. Kinnison, F. Li, E. Mancini, S. Pawson, G. Pitari, D. A. Plummer, E. Rozanov, F. Sassi, J. F. Scinocca, K. Shibata, B. Steil, W. Tian

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

The response of stratospheric climate and circulation to increasing amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and ozone recovery in the twenty-first century is analyzed in simulations of 11 chemistry–climate models using near-identical forcings and experimental setup. In addition to an overall global cooling of the stratosphere in the simulations (0.59 ± 0.07 K decade⁻¹ at 10 hPa), ozone recovery causes a warming of the Southern Hemisphere polar lower stratosphere in summer with enhanced cooling above. The rate of warming correlates with the rate of ozone recovery projected by the models and, on average, changes from 0.8 to 0.48 K decade …

Chinese Privet: A Biological Invader In Louisiana's Forests, Hallie Dozier, Metha M. Klock

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

No abstract provided.

Spartan Daily September 14, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 8

Spartan Daily September 8, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 5

Spartan Daily September 1, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 135, Issue 3

Availability And Use Of Audiovisual And Electronic Resources By Distance Learning Students In Nigerian Universities: A Case Study Of National Open University Of Nigeria (Noun), Ibadan Study Centre, Kolawole Akinjide Aramide, Omolara M. Bolarinwa

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigated the availability and use of audiovisual and electronic resources by distance learning students at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). A questionnaire was administered tothe distance learning students selected across the various departments of the NOUN. The findings revealed that even though NOUN made provision for audiovisual and electronic resources for students' use, a majority of the audiovisual and electronic resources are available through personal provision by the students.The study also revealed regular use of audiovisual and electronic resources by the distance learning students. Constraints on use include poor power supply, poor infrastructure, lack of adequate …

Noticias De Naccs, Vol. 39, No. 2, June 2010, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

Noticias de NACCS Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Spartan Daily May 13, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 134, Issue 53

Spartan Daily May 12, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 134, Issue 52

Spartan Daily May 3, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 134, Issue 47

Spartan Daily April 29, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 134, Issue 46

Spartan Daily April 26, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 134, Issue 43

Spartan Daily April 22, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 134, Issue 42

Spartan Daily April 15, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 134, Issue 38