Digital Commons Network^™

Digital Preservation Practices In Federal University Libraries In Southwestern Nigeria, Oladapo James Omoju Mr, Funmilola Olubunmi Omotayo Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Modern libraries are increasingly being redefined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources by providing a tremendous amount of information with a variety of digital tools. The study focused on digital preservation practices in federal university libraries in Southwestern Nigeria. A survey design of the qualitative type was adopted. All federal university libraries in the region were sampled. Data was collected through interviews conducted with the heads of the Digital Preservation Units or their representatives. Data were analysed thematically. All the universities have adopted digital preservation. The libraries preserve born-digital resources, research …

Promoting Faculty Research Excellence And Visibility In Nigerian Universities Through The Open Access Paradigm Shift, Colette Ogugua Onyebinama Dr., Ngozi Chima-James Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The primary objective of this article is to promote faculty research excellence and visibility in Nigerian universities through open access publishing. The article begins by briefly discussing the vital role that universities play in research, which is a fundamental duty of faculty members. The study provides a succinct definition of research excellence and visibility, as well as the methods for assessing research excellence. This leads to a brief discussion on promoting faculty research visibility through publication on open access platforms such as open access journals and open access institutional repositories to increase citations rates and enhance visibility. The paper further …

Branz, Stephen, San Jose State University

Emeritus and Retired Faculty Biographies

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Organic Chemistry, 1978 Ph.D.

Brandeis University, Chemistry, 1973 B.A

Syntex Corporation, Postdoctoral Research, 1980-1981

University College (London), Postdoctoral Research / Temporary Lecturer, 1978-80

Spartan Daily, March 20, 2024, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2024

Volume 162, Issue 24

Stereo-Video Landers Can Rapidly Assess Marine Fish Diversity And Community Assemblages, Kinsey E. Matthews, Ryan T. Fields, Kathleen P. Cieri, Jacklyn L. Mohay, Mary G. Gleason, Richard M. Starr

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Climate change and anthropogenic stressors affect the distribution, abundance, and diversity of fish communities across the world. To understand rapidly changing biotic communities, resource managers need a method to quickly and efficiently document temporal and spatial changes in community assemblages across various spatial scales. In this study, we describe the use of new video lander tools to survey fish communities in rocky marine habitats on the continental shelf and slope in California, USA. We evaluate how fish diversity metrics determined by video surveys vary among geographically distinct areas. Our results demonstrate that species diversity, evenness, and richness vary spatially across …

Spartan Daily, March 12, 2024, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2024

Volume 162, Issue 20

Empowering The Future Of Learning: Integrating Fourth Industrial Revolution (4ir) Technology In Enugu State Secondary School Libraries To Enhance Literacy Level Among Students, Cyriacus Sochinwekene Aneke

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study examined the integration of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technology in Enugu State secondary school libraries to enhance literacy level among students. The research design adopted for this study was Descriptive Survey Design. The population of the study is derived from ten (10) schools from each of the six (6) education zones in Enugu State. The intended population was 1, 044, 890 students and 60 school/teacher librarians, but Taro Yamane's formula resulted in 399 students and 52 school/teacher librarians. Structured questionnaire was used for data collection, and the collected data were analyzed using frequency, mean and standard deviation. The …

Collaborative Fisheries Research Reveals Reserve Size And Age Determine Efficacy Across A Network Of Marine Protected Areas, Shelby L. Ziegler, Rachel O. Brooks, Lyall F. Bellquist, Jennifer E. Caselle, Steven G. Morgan, Timothy J. Mulligan, Benjamin I. Ruttenberg, Brice X. Semmens, Richard M. Starr, Joe Tyburczy, Dean E. Wendt, Andre Buchheister, Jose R.Marin Jarrin, Christina Pasparakis, Salvador J. Jorgensen, Jennifer A. Chiu, Jordan Colby, Connor L. Coscino, Leon Davis

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

A variety of criteria may influence the efficacy of networks of marine protected areas (MPA) designed to enhance biodiversity conservation and provide fisheries benefits. Meta-analyses have evaluated the influence of MPA attributes on abundance, biomass, and size structure of harvested species, reporting that MPA size, age, depth, and connectivity influence the strength of MPA responses. However, few empirical MPA evaluation studies have used consistent sampling methodology across multiple MPAs and years. Our collaborative fisheries research program systematically sampled 12 no-take or highly protective limited-take MPAs and paired fished reference areas across a network spanning 1100 km of coastline to evaluate …

Protect The Children, Body And Soul, Kenjus T. Watson, Tiffani Marie, Ersie Anastasia Gentzis, Dante Dixson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This paper critically examines American schooling systems, challenges their subtractive nature, and juxtaposes it with the culturally sustaining potential of education. We problematize the current tools for evaluating trauma and stress in young people of color and emphasize the need for a comprehensive understanding of indigenous medicines as a remedy. Drawing on interdisciplinary theories, we elucidate the pervasive and evolving nature of anti-blackness, reinforcing the sociohistorical structure of inequity within schools. As a response, this study presents a unique wellness survey (comprising two newly validated wellness scales) developed from a previous four-year longitudinal study investigating the relationship between culturally relevant …

Genetic Algorithm For Automated Parameterization Of Network Hamiltonian Models Of Amyloid Fibril Formation, Gianmarc Grazioli, Andy Tao, Inika Bhatia, Patrick Regan

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The time scales of long-time atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are typically reported in microseconds, while the time scales for experiments studying the kinetics of amyloid fibril formation are typically reported in minutes or hours. This time scale deficit of roughly 9 orders of magnitude presents a major challenge in the design of computer simulation methods for studying protein aggregation events. Coarse-grained molecular simulations offer a computationally tractable path forward for exploring the molecular mechanism driving the formation of these structures, which are implicated in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and type-II diabetes. Network Hamiltonian models of aggregation are centered around …

Spartan Daily, February 21, 2024, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2024

Volume 162, Issue 12

Spartan Daily, February 6, 2024, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2024

Volume 162, Issue 5

Divergent Responses Of Highly Migratory Species To Climate Change In The California Current, Nerea Lezama-Ochoa, Stephanie Brodie, Heather Welch, Michael G. Jacox, Mercedes Pozo Buil, Jerome Fiechter, Megan Cimino, Barbara Muhling, Heidi Dewar, Elizabeth A. Becker, Karin A. Forney, Daniel Costa, Scott R. Benson, Nima Farchadi, Camrin Braun, Rebecca Lewison, Steven Bograd, Elliott L. Hazen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Aim: Marine biodiversity faces unprecedented threats from anthropogenic climate change. Ecosystem responses to climate change have exhibited substantial variability in the direction and magnitude of redistribution, posing challenges for developing effective climate-adaptive marine management strategies. Location: The California Current Ecosystem (CCE), USA. Methods: We project suitable habitat for 10 highly migratory species in the California Current System using an ensemble of three high-resolution (~10 km) downscaled ocean projections under the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5). Spanning the period from 1980 to 2100, our analysis focuses on assessing the direction and distance of distributional shifts, as well as changes in core …

Habitat Characterization Of American Badgers (Taxidea Taxus) Of Northern California, Mitchell Victoria

Master's Theses

American badgers (Taxidea taxus) are a semi fossorial mammal that lives in grassland and open prairie ecosystems as well as coastal prairies, agricultural fields, deserts, and deforested habitats. Many researchers have published work on badgers, but we still require more information on their ecology. The American badger is a semi fossorial, solitary, predatory mammal of grassland ecosystems. They are classified as mesopredators when compared to larger apex predators such as brown bears, wolves, and pumas. However, when larger carnivores are absent, Badgers become apex predators of their ecosystems. Los Vaqueros Watershed in Brentwood, California, was my study site because badgers …

Determining Best Diet And Temperature Regime Of Monkeyface Pricklebacks (Cebidichthys Violaceus) For Aquaculture, Luke C. Townsend

Master's Theses

Wild freshwater eel populations are threatened due to overfishing and habitat degradation. Attempts to use aquaculture to close the eel life cycle have yet to be commercially adapted, owing largely to their complex lifecycle. Monkeyface pricklebacks (Cebidichthys violaceus) are intertidal fish that may serve as an alternative species for freshwater eels in aquaculture, as they possess several beneficial characteristics. This study aimed to optimize diet and culture temperatures to maximize monkeyface prickleback cultures by measuring growth, condition, metabolic rates, fillet composition, and critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of juvenile fish that were reared in two separate experiments: (1) on four different …

Xun Zi On Desiring To Be Good: Desire As The Necessary Condition For The Transformation Of Nature, Angel Ting

Comparative Philosophy

There are various discussions on the role of desires in the Xun-Zi and how the transformation of nature takes place. Some scholars hold that the heart-mind can override inborn human desires, a view that is analogous to externalism; others maintain the internalism view that desires are essentially motivating in the Xun-Zi. This paper aims to resolve this seeming conflict between externalism and internalism. By introducing David B. Wong's model of being an internalist about duty and an externalist about reason, I will show that desires in the Xun-Zi are necessarily motivating because of their direction of fit, and …

A Madhyamaka Critique Of Jaegwon Kim's Supervenience Argument, Tyler J. Jungbauer

Comparative Philosophy

Jaegwon Kim’s supervenience argument objects to the possibility of emergent causation (both downward and same-level) based on both (1) the causal overdetermination of both (a) higher-level emergent events and (b) lower-level basal events, and (2) the causal closure principle of the physical domain. Kim argues that emergent causation entails epiphenomenalism. Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophy skeptically critiques the primary (ultimate) existence of causal phenomena and instead suggests that all such phenomena may only be secondarily (conventionally) existent. Mādhyamikas acknowledge that, conventionally, emergent phenomena appear to cause both basal phenomena and other emergent phenomena. However, contra Kim, Mādhyamikas doubt that causal relations ultimately …

Information Services And Academic Integrity, Adaeze Okeke

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Globalization and the new trends of information technology introduces us into the era of information explosion/information overload which has left libraries with no option than to be skeptical in regards to its stands on maintaining academic integrity among our present day scholars in their resources handling at the course of their academic ingenuities. On this regard, there's need for strict adherence to the copyright laws in the provisions of Information services. It is on this note that this paper focuses on the core functions of library and information services, the roles of Information services in the protection of intellectual property …

Carbon Cycle–Climate Feedbacks In The Post-Paris World, David S. Schimel, Dustin Carroll

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The Paris Agreement calls for emissions reductions to limit climate change, but how will the carbon cycle change if it is successful? The land and oceans currently absorb roughly half of anthropogenic emissions, but this fraction will decline in the future. The amount of carbon that can be released before climate is mitigated depends on the amount of carbon the ocean and terrestrial ecosystems can absorb. Policy is based on model projections, but observations and theory suggest that climate effects emerging in today’s climate will increase and carbon cycle tipping points may be crossed. Warming temperatures, drought, and a slowing …

Evaluating A Microalga (Schizochytrium Sp.) As An Alternative To Fish Oil In Fish-Free Feeds For Sablefish (Anoplopoma Fimbria), Katherine A. Neylan, Ronald B. Johnson, Frederic T. Barrows, David P. Marancik, Scott L. Hamilton, Luke D. Gardner

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Alternative feeds are critical for the sustainable expansion of the marine finfish aquaculture industry. The industry uses wild-caught forage fish as a primary ingredient in farmed fish feeds. Alternative ingredients are needed to safeguard fisheries' sustainability and future aquaculture development. While there have been successes in alternative feeds, it is necessary to improve the existing options and identify alternative ingredients with higher concentrations of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). This study was designed to test a microalga, Schizochytrium sp., as a feed ingredient for sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) using six test diets. There were two fish-ingredient control diets: +FM+FO, which contained …

Use Of A California Wetland: Harbor Seal (Phoca Vitulina) Haul-Out Patterns In Elkhorn Slough, Emma Nicholson

Master's Theses

This project investigated small-scale habitat use patterns of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). The goals were to provide an updated overview of the harbor seal population in Elkhorn Slough, California, USA, identify haul-out areas that are seasonally relevant for pupping and molting, and analyze environmental factors that may influence the harbor seals’ abundance and distribution in the slough. Seal counts were conducted by Elkhorn Slough volunteers throughout the entire slough June 2020-May 2023. Additional survey data at the 5 most populated haul-out sites were collected by volunteers from MLML April 2022-May 2023. A comparison to harbor seal abundance data from 1991-1992 …

Digital Phobia: An Inquiry For Mapping The Unseen Dimension Of New Digital Anxiety, The ‘Digiphobia’, Amarjit Kumar Singh ,Library Assistant, Md. Arshad Ali , Professional Assistant, Dr. Pankaj Mathur, Deputy Librarian,

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Background: As technology continues to advance, individuals' interactions with digital platforms have become integral to daily life. Amidst this technological evolution, a novel concern emerges—Digital Phobia, hereafter referred to as “Digiphobia.” This phenomenon, although not previously explored in scholarly literature, necessitates an in-depth investigation due to its potential impact on individuals' well-being. Our research employs a two-step methodology to investigate its existence, implications, and manifestations.

Introduction: This research paper introduces and proposes the term "Digiphobia" as a comprehensive conceptualization of anxiety arising from interactions with digital spaces, applications, and environments. The proliferation of digital technologies has led to the emergence …

Schools’ Records Management Also Matters: An Information Governance Maturity Model Assessment Of Records Management Practices At Mufakose 4 Secondary School In Harare, Zimbabwe, Patrick Mandizha, Samson Mutsagondo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

There has been a tendency to focus on universities and colleges each time researchers look at records management within the educational sector. Primary and secondary schools have many times been left behind, yet schools’ records management also matters. Using the ARMA International’s Information Governance Maturity Model, this study assesses how Mufakose 4 Secondary School in Zimbabwe fared in its records management programme with special focus on the eight principles of the ARMA International’s Information Governance Maturity Model, that is, accountability, transparency, integrity, protection, compliance, availability, retention and disposition. Each of these principles were further assessed on a scale of 1 …

Temporal Changes In The Surface Chemistry And Topography Of Reactive Ion Plasma-Treated Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Alter Endothelialization Potential, Ryan A. Faase, Novella M. Keeling, Justin S. Plaut, Christian Leycam, Gabriela Acevedo Munares, Monica T. Hinds, Joe E. Baio, Patrick L. Jurney

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Synthetic small-diameter vascular grafts (<6 mm) are used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease, but fail much more readily than similar grafts made from autologous vascular tissue. A promising approach to improve the patency rates of synthetic vascular grafts is to promote the adhesion of endothelial cells to the luminal surface of the graft. In this study, we characterized the surface chemical and topographic changes imparted on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), an emerging hydrogel vascular graft material, after exposure to various reactive ion plasma (RIP) surface treatments, how these changes dissipate after storage in a sealed environment at standard temperature and pressure, and the effect of these changes on the adhesion of endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs). We showed that RIP treatments including O2, N2, or Ar at two radiofrequency powers, 50 and 100 W, improved ECFC adhesion compared to untreated PVA and to different degrees for each RIP treatment, but that the topographic and chemical changes responsible for the increased cell affinity dissipate in samples treated and allowed to age for 230 days. We characterized the effect of aging on RIP-treated PVA using an assay to quantify ECFCs on RIP-treated PVA 48 h after seeding, atomic force microscopy to probe surface topography, scanning electron microscopy to visualize surface modifications, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate surface chemistry. Our results show that after treatment at higher RF powers, the surface exhibits increased roughness and greater levels of charged nitrogen species across all precursor gases and that these surface modifications are beneficial for the attachment of ECFCs. This study is important for our understanding of the stability of surface modifications used to promote the adhesion of vascular cells such as ECFCs.

Scalable And Consolidated Microbial Platform For Rare Earth Element Leaching And Recovery From Waste Sources, Nathan M. Good, Christina S. Kang-Yun, Morgan Z. Su, Alexa M. Zytnick, Colin C. Barber, Huong N. Vu, Joseph M. Grace, Hoang H. Nguyen, Wenjun Zhang, Elizabeth Skovran, Maohong Fan, Dan M. Park, Norma Cecilia Martinez-Gomez

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Chemical methods for the extraction and refinement of technologically critical rare earth elements (REEs) are energy-intensive, hazardous, and environmentally destructive. Current biobased extraction systems rely on extremophilic organisms and generate many of the same detrimental effects as chemical methodologies. The mesophilic methylotrophic bacterium Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 was previously shown to grow using electronic waste by naturally acquiring REEs to power methanol metabolism. Here we show that growth using electronic waste as a sole REE source is scalable up to 10 L with consistent metal yields without the use of harsh acids or high temperatures. The addition of organic acids increases …

Unveiling The Cognitive Impact: An Exploratory Study On Food Insecurity And Value-Driven Attentional Capture, Nichole S. Hogoboom

Master's Theses

Food insecurities have been shown to lead to serious negative health outcomes such as increased risk for diabetes and obesity in adulthood, food-related mental health and behavioral issues, all of which can have a crossover effect in many areas of a person’s life. This experiment explores whether previous history of food insecurity is associated with how people allocate attention to pictures of food; whether they are prioritizing or ignoring food stimuli in their environment. We hypothesized that the severity of food insecurity experienced in childhood would correlate with attentional bias towards food images, and that how hungry or thirsty participants …

Synthesizing Physiology With Aquaculture For Olympia Oyster Restoration In Elkhorn Slough, Ca, Jacob Harris

Master's Theses

Conservation aquaculture is an emerging restoration strategy for depleted and low-density foundation species. It was recently applied for Olympia oysters in California. The only native oyster species is at risk of local extinction in much of its range. Conservation aquaculture can support oyster abundance, but long-term restoration success will be constrained by habitat conditions that suppress early growth and reproductive fitness. Following years of reproduction failure in Elkhorn Slough, CA, we examined these two critical life stages: juvenile and brooding. Our aim was to improve restoration by evaluating aquaculture methods and studying their physiology. We tested site parameters, oyster size, …

Gender Classification Through Postural Analysis: A Comparative Study Of 2d Images And 3d Reconstructions., Prathamesh Dixit

Master's Projects

In computer vision, gender classification has become a vital task having applications in human-computer interaction, healthcare, and surveillance. In this study, we look at a two-step approach based on human joint information for gender classification. In this research, we use convolutional neural networks (CNNs).

With Leeds Sports Pose (LSP) dataset, we use a C5 pre-trained model to map and extract joint information from 2D RGB images and after pre-processing and background removal, we use PiFUHD to transform these 2D images into 3D representations. Next, we train our models on RGB images and joint images for both 2D and 3D representations. …

Image Segmentation By Convolutional Neural Networks In Coral Resilience Research, Jennifer Benbow

Master's Projects

As ocean temperatures rise, coral bleaching is becoming more frequent and severe. Selective breeding experiments show promise for enhancing coral resilience, but scaling these projects is hindered by the labor-intensive nature of taking numerous time series measurements as corals grow. Automating this process with computer vision is one solution to this bottleneck, and to our knowledge, no such tool exists at present. To fill this gap, we have trained a set of machine learning models, based on the Mask R-CNN framework, for segmenting juvenile corals in lab-based coral resilience research. This work shows that retraining the Mask R-CNN architecture through …

Participation In Collaborative Fisheries Research Improves The Perceptions Of Recreational Anglers Towards Marine Protected Areas, Erin M. Johnston, Grant T. Waltz, Rosamaria Kosaka, Ellie M. Brauer, Shelby L. Ziegler, Erica T. Jarvis Mason, Hunter S. Glanz, Lauren Zaragoza, Allison N. Kellum, Rachel O. Brooks, Brice X. Semmens, Christopher J. Honeyman, Jennifer E. Caselle, Lyall F. Bellquist, Sadie L. Small, Steven G. Morgan, Timothy J. Mulligan, Connor L. Coscino, Jay M. Staton

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Collaborative fisheries research programs engage stakeholders in data collection efforts, often with the benefit of increasing transparency about the status and management of natural resources. These programs are particularly important in marine systems, where management of recreational and commercial fisheries have historically been contentious. One such program is the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP), which was designed in 2006 to engage recreational anglers in the scientific process and evaluate the efficacy of California’s network of marine protected areas. CCFRP began on the Central Coast of California and expanded statewide in 2017 to include six partner institutions in three regions: …