Digital Commons Network^™

Influence Of Prescribed Burning On Coast Redwood (Sequoia Sempervirens) Forest Wildfire Resistance, Resilience, And Risk Of Repeated Fire, Sky B. Biblin

Master's Theses

Land managers need tools to mitigate wildfire proliferation in the western United States. Prescribed burning may be an effective tool to reduce wildfire severity and promote healthy landscapes. In 2020, a large-scale wildfire provided a rare opportunity to compare early postfire data between areas with and without a history of prescribed burning. Field data were collected approximately one year after a wildfire in fifty 20-meter plots from sites treated with prescribed fire in either 1999, 2007, or 2011 and fifty from sites without a history of prescribed fire. The influence of prescribed burning on forest resistance, resilience, and risk of …

Validation And Reliability Of A Questionnaire That Measures Food Waste Knowledge, Attitudes, And Motivations Of Adolescents, Joanna Fung

Master's Theses

The goal of this thesis was to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure food waste knowledge, attitudes, and motivations of adolescents aged 13 to 17 in the United States (U.S.). This questionnaire was created with the objective to address gaps in adolescent food waste literature and to aid the creation and refinement of targeted food waste programs and policies. Questions were specific to the home, school, and restaurant settings, as well as, behaviors related to discarding food, composting food, and food expiration. Additionally, the questionnaire sought to understand how friendships and familial relationships affect adolescent food waste-related behaviors. …

The Relationship Between Perceived Overqualification And Organizational Citizenship Behavior And Affective Organizational Commitment: The Moderating Role Of Perceived Organizational Support, Mariem Laaraj

Master's Theses

The present research aimed to investigate the moderating effect of perceived organizational support (POS) on the relationship between perceived overqualification, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and affective organizational commitment. A sample of 110 employees from a variety of occupational backgrounds in the United States participated in the study by completing an online survey. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that POS did not act as a moderator of the relationship between perceived overqualification and OCB and affective organizational commitment. However, perceived overqualification was found to be significantly and negatively related to affective organizational commitment. Results also showed that POS was …

Combining Camera Trap And Fitness App Data Demonstrates That Mammals Change Behavior Near High-Use Bike Trails On Mount Tamalpais, Ca, Erin Rose Lacour

Master's Theses

Anthropogenic disturbance that results in habitat loss is the leading cause of the current extinction crisis. To mitigate loss of habitat, protected lands are dedicated to preserving ecosystems, but such areas often allow outdoor recreational activities. Research has shown negative impacts on a range of species from outdoor recreational activities, and there is little information about potential impacts of mountain biking on wildlife. Mountain biking and hiking tracking data from the social fitness app Strava Metro and data from a camera trap project in Marin County, CA, were analyzed to assess how mammal species’ spatial distribution, temporal activity, and richness …

Decentralizing The Electric Grid: Giving Power Back To The People, Nicole Chen

Master's Theses

Societies across the globe are shifting away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy, resulting in significant changes to the electric grid. This clean energy transition is accompanied by transformative opportunities. However, the benefits of clean, reliable energy do not equitably accrue to all communities. In order to challenge and overcome the persistent social disparities that exist in the energy transition, energy justice must be a driving factor in energy planning and decision making. This research highlights metrics and parameters that should be included when considering deployment of community solar microgrids to advance a just energy transition. The results of …

A New Fire Initialization Method For Operational Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Models: Assimilation Of Infrared Perimeters And Satellite Detections, Kathleen Nicole Clough

Master's Theses

For coupled fire-atmosphere forecast models, such as WRF-SFIRE, the method used to initialize wildfire within the model can greatly impact meteorological, fire, and smoke extent forecasts. A well-constructed ignition process must be integrated within models to assure the atmospheric component of the model is not destabilized by excessive heat flux released during ignition and realistic fire-induced atmospheric circulation is established. Two ignition methods are tested on the 2020 Creek fire. Analyses indicate a gradual perimeter ignition with selective “masking”, fuel removal, provides the best results in terms of resolving the fire-induced vertical circulation and fire spread, and is thus preferred …

Homelessness And Taphonomy: A Multidisciplinary Study, Chloë Angst

Master's Theses

In this thesis, I present multidisciplinary research applicable to deceased unhoused individuals in urban San José, California. I present the problem of homelessness through a “hybrid collectif,” a conceptual framework that encompasses the factors that drive homelessness in life and death. I use taphonomic methodology to examine the problem of homelessness in this urban region by experimentation with porcine carcasses in simulated death scenarios. I utilize total body score (TBS), accumulated degree days (ADD), and predictive entomological species identification to examine decomposition trends. I also introduce “human survival scavenging” as an agent of decomposition, provide an account of ecological succession …

Phosphate And Silicate Analysis In Seawater Using Programmable Flow Injection: Optimization And Applications Of Benchtop And In Situ Methodologies, Marine A. Lebrec

Master's Theses

Oceanographic nutrient monitoring efforts still largely rely on discrete sampling at irregular intervals, hindering the advancement of high-resolution biogeochemical observations and models. Benchtop analytical instrumentation for macronutrient analysis is expensive, complex, and requires large reagent volumes and highly trained operators. This thesis describes the development and optimization of a novel and commercially available class of automated nutrient analyzers called programmable Flow Injection (pFI) for benchtop and unattended in situ operations with a focus on phosphate and silicate analysis. While pFI is an ideal candidate for unattended deployments due to its compact size, low reagent volume requirements, and ability measure multiple …

Blockchain For Online Video Game Integrity, Philip Salire

Master's Theses

With the growing level competition in video games, especially with regards to competitively played video games known as ”e-sports,” many players are searching for methods of gaining competitive advantages. As such, there is growing demand in software exploits of video games that aim to provide players unfair competitive advantages. Colloquially, these software exlpoits are referred to as “cheats” or “hacks.” Video game developers counteract these exploits by implementing “anti-cheat” technologies. Anti-cheats employ a myriad of complex methods across software, network, and hardware to detect and prevent cheats. They can be implemented both client-side and server-side with current research and implementations …

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Female Olympic Athletes’ Experiences With Social Media, Mercedez M. Sanchez

Master's Theses

Social media is prevalent in athletes’ lives and sport today. Sport psychology scholars have conducted numerous research studies on the effects of social media in athletes, yet not specifically athletes who have participated in the Olympic Games. Less is known about how Olympic athletes perceive, interpret, and manage both positive and negative social media effects. It is essential that those involved in athletics are aware of how the highest-level athletes experience various forms of public feedback on social media, and how they can manage the effects of this feedback. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the experiences …

You’Re Dying Up There, Ryan H. Smith

Master's Theses

YOU’RE DYING UP THERE is a feature-length dramatic screenplay about Bob Nash, a struggling stand-up comedian, whose sole focus, after discovering he has stage IV lung cancer, becomes headlining The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. This feature length dramatic screenplay serves as a meditation for how to write an anti-hero, as well as an exploration of the emotional depths of the traditional harlequin role. By stripping away much of the joke-heavy presence that the main character resides in as a public persona, the audience can explore both the depression he experiences and the loathsome qualities he possesses. Nash convinces his …

Western Snowy Plover Dispersal In Response To Repeated Nest Loss In Monterey Bay, California, Esther A. Haile

Master's Theses

Western snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) breed and winter along sandy beaches and salt pannes of the Pacific coast of the U.S. and Mexico. Since 2015, the percentage of successful nests in Monterey Bay has declined due to predation. This study examines the site fidelity and dispersal of western snowy plovers after repeated nest loss using nesting data from 2013-2020 from a banded population in Monterey, California. Dispersal distance within a breeding season reflected plovers serially polygamous breeding strategy, with more site fidelity within a breeding season than between two breeding seasons. Nests lost to environmental causes having a 41.3% …

Trophic Ecology And Mercury Concentrations Of Canary Rockfish (Sebastes Pinniger) In The California Current System, Michaela M. Melanson

Master's Theses

Canary rockfish are a profitable fishery resource that has failed and successfully recovered in the 21st century. This study aimed to evaluate their trophic ecology through stomach content and stable isotope analysis and relate these to their mercury concentrations, biological traits, and environmental conditions. Canary rockfish consume mostly krill and teleosts with their geographic location affecting the proportion of prey items, suggesting regional environmental effects: chlorophyll-a, relief, port, and depth impact dietary choices. Mean ??13C values (-17.18 ± 0.54) significantly increased in individuals residing in deeper depths, higher latitudes, higher productivity, and higher temperatures, and in sexually mature individuals. Mean …

The Debate On Nil: Progress For Female Collegiate Sports?, Stephanie Andrada

Master's Theses

In this study, seven female collegiate athletes from three different women’s sports teams (basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball) from a mid-major, Division-I college were interviewed. The study analyzed the lived experiences that NIL has on these specific female athletes in these particular women’s sports using a qualitative methodology. Three research questions were posed:

1. In what ways does the commercialization of college sports influence the NIL opportunities for these female athletes?
2. Could NIL perpetuate an uneven playing field for these female athletes in competition for limited resources?
3. To what degree do these female college athletes feel that NIL presents opportunities for equitable …

Sustainable Roots: The Environmental Genealogies Of Chicanas And Latinas, Marlene Andrade

Master's Theses

Ingenuity and tending to the land are anything but contemporary to Communities of Color (COC). Even when our communities become targets of environmental racism and experience the brunt of institution-based degradation, COC resist in a multitude of ways. While there is a plethora of documented social movements led by the Chicanx community for civil, educational, and labor rights, there is a paucity of Chicanx presence in environmental discourse. Thus, my scholar-activist commitments are to highlight Chicana/Latina herstories, epistemologies, and praxes that debunk the narrow white-heteropatriarchal male narrative in mainstream environmentalism. This dominant narrative fails to: (a) address the historical and …

The Inverse Association Between Prebiotic Consumption And Depression Status In American Adult Females, But Not The Greater Population Or In Males: Nhanes 2015-2018, Cassandra L. Boyd

Master's Theses

It is unknown if a relationship exists between prebiotic intake and depression status. Using 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles data, adult American estimated mean daily prebiotic intake across demographic groups, gender, and depression status were reported. Additionally, the 10 highest prebiotic content Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies foods were identified. Adults (≥ 18 years) with adequate sleep and at least one day of dietary recall data were included. Participants with excessive alcohol intake, BMI ≤ 18, BMI ≥ 30, or current depression medication use were excluded. The confounding variables were inadequate sleep, unemployment, and age. …

Barn Owls (Tyto Alba) And Biodiversity Near Hemp Farms And Grasslands In Oregon, Usa, Lacey Brianne Thun

Master's Theses

Extensive agriculture poses a major threat to biodiversity worldwide, although some species, such as the barn owl (Tyto alba), can thrive in many agroecosystems. Barn owls, the world's most widely distributed owl, provide rodent management, and their presence may be both an indicator of and support for ecosystem biodiversity. Little previous research documents the relationship between barn owls and adjacent crop attributes, however. In 2018, hemp (Cannabis sativa) was taken off the federal Controlled Substance Act list and permitted as an agricultural crop. Hemp is now rapidly increasing in extent in Oregon, USA. This research assessed the reproductive success and …

Examining The Role Of Echo-Chambers Within Online Incel Communities Using Sentiment Analysis And Group Based Trajectory Modeling, Francesca Florine Fanucchi

Master's Theses

Technological advancements within the last decade have created new opportunities for social movements to meet and communicate online with like-minded individuals. Under this notion, these online communities generate an echo-chamber of information, to which certain individuals only surround themselves with people sharing similar values and opinions. As a result, online platforms (e.g., forums, blogs, websites) form as safe spaces for members to express their views seen as unacceptable offline. Research examining the role of echo-chambers in facilitating extremist rhetoric within online incel communities is limited, despite real-world acts of violence perpetrated by self-proclaimed incels. Therefore, the objective of this thesis …

Thinking Styles, Conspiracist Belief, And The Mediating Role Of The Dunning-Kruger Effect In Modeling Belief Change, Lucas C. Cusano

Master's Theses

Why can a person believe something for which there is no evidence and yet also fail to believe something for which there is overwhelming evidence? This study develops a structural model of belief change using the latent constructs of thinking styles and conspiracist belief while accounting for the Dunning-Kruger effect (i.e., overconfidence in one’s knowledge the less one knows about a topic) as a mediator. A combined two-hundred and twenty-six participants from both Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and the introductory psychology SONA subject pool were given two knowledge measures on topics of genetic modification and vaccination before and after reading refutational …

Motivated Reasoning In Technology Workers, Kory Feath

Master's Theses

The goal of this study is to investigate cognitive predictors for motivated reasoning, the process in which evidence evaluation is influenced by prior beliefs, in technology workers. Two hundred and twenty-one technology workers were recruited using Prolific and word-of-mouth to evaluate the conflicting evidence of social media causing digital harm. Past research has found that many individual cognitive styles do not predict motivated reasoning, but by using structural equations modeling to investigate the latent variable analytical/reflective thinking styles, I predicted that more active thinking styles will reduce motivated reasoning and be mediated by prior belief strength. A structural equations model …

Crawling The Dark Web: Structural Attributes Of Child Sexual Abuse Websites On The Dark Web, Enrique Guerra

Master's Theses

Inherent encryption and anonymity of the Dark Web has facilitated its use for a variety of illegal activities, including the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Detection of CSAM has increasingly turned to automated tools; however, these tools’ reliance on databases of known CSAM limit their flexibility and ability to identify previously unknown CSAM. Currently, it is unknown whether the lack of countermeasures used by CSAM disseminators on the Surface Web translates to the Dark Web. Therefore, this thesis examines the structural and naming patterns of websites hosting CSAM on the Dark Web, to identify new, complimentary, detection methods. …

Evaluating The Effect Of Resveratrol On Sirt1 With Different Peptide Substrates, Yujin Hur

Master's Theses

SIRT1 is an NAD+-dependent lysine deacetylase that is involved in many important cellular pathways. The protein has an extended N-terminal domain that seems to play a role in regulating its activity. Sirtuin Activating Compounds (STACs) are allosteric activators, such as resveratrol, that regulate the activity of SIRT1. STACs bind to the N-terminal STAC Binding Domain (SBD) in SIRT1. Past literature has found that SIRT1 activity can be increased, decreased, or remain unchanged by resveratrol depending on the identity of the peptide substrate. The goal of this study is to clarify the mechanism for substrate-specific allosteric regulation by resveratrol. The interactions …

The Moderating Effects Of Sleep Quantity And Quality On The Relationship Between Job Stressors And Job Satisfaction, Olga A. Baryshnikova

Master's Theses

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study was the first to investigate the moderating effects of sleep quantity and sleep quality on the relationships between role overload, role ambiguity, role conflict, and interpersonal conflict with job satisfaction. In doing so, it addressed a gap in the literature on organizations and provided a new direction for future research in this sphere. Leveraging the Job Demands-Resources model as a theoretical foundation, this study looked at sleep quantity and quality as personal resources capable of counteracting the negative impacts of the aforementioned job stressors on job satisfaction. Underscoring their known detrimental …

Spatiotemporal Dynamics And Biogeochemical Responses In A Tidally Restricted Moro Cojo Slough, Ryan Chiu

Master's Theses

Four years of observational data for Moro Cojo Slough (MCS), a Mediterranean climate estuary in central California, linked anthropogenic nutrient loading and hydrological modifications to a shift in net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) that differs from the characteristic net heterotrophic behavior of most estuarine systems. A lack of precipitation and limited flushing during the dry seasons, as evidenced from hypersaline waters, contribute to high ecosystem respiration rates that drove NEM to nearly balanced or net autotrophic. During the wet seasons, increased runoff and nutrient loading due to precipitation elevated primary production rates within MCS, characterizing the system as net autotrophic. Box …

Linking Social Dynamics To Private Land Management: A Study Of Prescribed Burn Associations In Northern California, Spencer R. Klinefelter

Master's Theses

Prescribed fire is one way to improve the adaptive capacity of communities in the wildland urban interface in terms of managing wildfire risk and meeting socio-ecological goals. In California, Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs) are a way of organizing private landowners with the goal of engaging in more widespread and frequent prescribed fires. This research uses semi-structured interviews with private landowners, along with key informants from public agencies such as CalFire and Regional Parks, to explore PBA development and functioning in northern coastal California. Sonoma and Marin counties were chosen as the primary study sites as they are represented by the …

No Kidding: The Moderating Role Of Childcare Responsibility On The Relationship Between Perceived Work-Life Balance Policy Culture And Job Outcomes, Ziwei Gao

Master's Theses

The societal assumption that everyone will or should have children at some point is deeply ingrained in many cultures. This often results in a lack of recognition and understanding of the experiences of childfree individuals, particularly within professional settings. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the moderating effect of childcare responsibility on the relationship between perceived work-life balance policy culture and job outcomes. A sample of 161 participants completed an online survey measuring perceived work-life balance policy culture, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Results showed that employees with high levels of perceived work-life balance policy culture reported …

Tree Removal From An Encroached Coastal Grassland Restores Soil Bacterial Communities Before Fungal Communities, Ka Ki Law

Master's Theses

Woody species encroachment depletes historic grassland biodiversity and degrades ecosystem function around the world. In particular, the encroaching trees can shift soil properties and microbial communities, which play critical roles in plant health and global nutrient cycling. Little is known about how removing encroached trees affects soil ecosystems, however. Over the last century, Pinus radiata and Hesperocyparis macrocarpa (non-native to the area) both encroached into coastal prairies at Rancho Corral de Tierra in California, and selected trees were removed in 2017 and 2018 to restore grassland habitats. To examine the impacts of encroachment and removal on the soil ecosystem, I …

Partnering With International Peers To Promote Young Children’S Social And Emotional Learning: Students’ Experiences During An International Service Learning Program, Danica D. Mavroudis

Master's Theses

International Service Learning (ISL) has been used increasingly across fields of study in higher education to enhance student’s learning outside the classroom. ISL programs often encourage students to reflect on their experience to promote experiential and transformative learning. Previous research on ISL has found benefits to students’ professional and personal development. While the process may be helpful to participating students, there may be a lack of lasting benefit to the host community. There also is a gap in the literature of how mental wellness services could be delivered using ISL. In hopes to extend program benefits and provide mental wellness …

Optimizing Soluble Recombinant Expression Of The Aedes Aegypti Early Trypsin Protease, Neomi Millan

Master's Theses

The female Aedes aegypti mosquito is a primary vector for the transmission of blood–borne viral pathogens such as Chikungunya, Zika, Yellow Fever, and Dengue. The female mosquito will become infected with these pathogens through the uptake of a blood meal from an infected host. The midgut digestive enzymes are required to digest the blood meal to obtain necessary nutrients needed for the completion of the gonotrophic cycle. Blood meal digestion is biphasic and digestive enzymes are expressed at different time points after uptake of a blood meal. The focus of this study is on an early phase protease known as …

Investigating The Misinformation Effect And Physical Activity In An Online Study, Victoria C. Paoloni

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between physical activity and susceptibility to false memory. Among the many benefits of physical activity are brain changes and cognitive improvements. However, few studies have examined the effects of physical activity on false memory, and none have investigated the relationship between physical activity and susceptibility to false memories generated via the misinformation effect. This study was conducted to address that gap and was also among the first to use a misinformation paradigm in an online study. It was hypothesized that greater amounts of weekly physical activity among young adults would …