Digital Commons Network^™

Political Revolutions And Women's Progress: Why The Egyptian Arab Spring Failed To Deliver On The Promises Of Women's Rights, Anne Song

Master's Theses

The mass participation of women in the 2011 Egyptian Arab Spring began what many thought would be a new feminist movement. As news cycles started showing the central role of women in the Arab Spring, many people including the women who demonstrated believed women’s rights were on the horizon. This study shows why the 2011 Arab Spring did not deliver on the promises of women’s rights in Egypt. Explaining the historical, religious, and societal influences on women’s rights in Egypt, and using data from the Arab Barometer and reports from the World Bank and UN, this study shows that the …

Individualizing Care For Pediatric Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Perioperative Services, Erin Scheller

Master's Theses

This research explores solutions for individualizing and improving care for pediatric patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Perioperative Setting of an Outpatient Surgery Center. Specifically, it seeks to determine if providing parent and staff resources on Autism Spectrum Disorder is significantly helpful in increasing confidence in the staff by the parents and the staff themselves. Participants included thirty-five surveyed families who had pediatric patients visiting perioperative services and staff who work on the unit. Methods used include information dissemination with the use of printable and online evidence-based resources, an in-person education event for staff, and a pilot study of …

Lived Experiences Of Queer Female Youth In High School, Ruth Etcheverria

Master's Theses

The goal of this study is to explore the experiences of self-identified queer female high school students in relation to experiences with their peers related to sexuality. Through semi-structured interviews, the three participants of this study poured out anecdotes of coming out, and sexuality-related common or unique interactions with peers. Additionally, the participants shared their perspectives surrounding the ways peers have supported and/or marginalized them based on their sexuality. Queer feminist theory is engaged to explore the intersectional experiences of the queer female participants as they recount stories of coming out to classmates, supportive friendships, and daily exposure to homophobic …

What’S At Steak? The Political Discourse Of Emissions Intensity And Implications Of Animal Agriculture, Kalyn Simon

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the international discourse of greenhouse gas emissions in relation to livestock production. Specific government ministries, research institutes, and multilateral organizations are framing a new strategy to mitigate emissions by using emissions intensity metrics. Emissions intensity is a ratio comparing emissions produced per unit of animal product as oppose to measuring absolute emissions. This research is acknowledged as a win-win scenario which allows for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while continuing production more efficiently. This thesis outlines the emergence of this metric in international discourse and the implications this shift has on the livestock sector globally. Ultimately, …

Violence Et Liberté : La Période Coloniale Chez Frantz Fanon, Charlotte Dutournier

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Epidemiology Of Sudden Death In Organized Youth Sports In The United States, 2007-2015, Brad D. Endres

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Encoding Of Episodic Context With Abstract And Concrete Concepts, Charles Davis

Master's Theses

In theories of grounded cognition, abstract concepts, like concrete ones, are grounded in our experiences with the world. However, rather than emphasizing the sensorimotoric aspects of our experience as they do for concrete concepts (e.g., coffee), grounded theories emphasize situational and internal factors for the representation of abstract concepts (e.g., decision). Despite some success in showing that situational and internal factors are important for abstract concepts, a mechanism by which such contextual factors are encoded and re-instantiated with the concept has yet to be elucidated. The present study sought to make headway on finding such a mechanism by …

The Physiological And Perceptual Effects Of Wrist Cooling During Exercise In A Thermal Environment, Andres Almeraya

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Participant Gender And Exposure To Social Embarrassment Messages On Evaluations Of Binge Drinking Messages, Seth Mccullock

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Econsults To Improve Access To Dermatological Care For Underserved Populations In Connecticut, Fludiona Naka

Master's Theses

Importance: Medically underserved populations receiving care at community health centers lack access to specialty care.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a dermatology electronic consultation (eConsult) program on a statewide scale focusing on access to care for medically underserved patients.

Design: Retrospective cohort study of 2385 dermatology referrals from June 2014 through November 2015.

Setting: Large, multi-site Federally Qualified Health Center in Connecticut.

Participants: Dermatology referrals pre-eConsult implementation from June to November 2014 (n=1258) and post-eConsult implementation from June to November 2015 (n=1127). All referrals came from primary care providers from twelve primary care sites in CT.

Intervention: Implementation of …

Spatial Variability In Abundance, Detectability And Survival Of White-Tailed Deer Across A Heterogeneous Landscape Of Fear, Jennifer Kilburn

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Investigating Perceptual Discrimination Of Timing Cues In Synthetic Vocalizations In Rodents And Humans, Peter Satonick

Master's Theses

Animals' ability to understand and classify speech and non-speech vocalizations is highly robust, in spite of variations in tonal frequency composition (Belin et al., 2008; Shannon et al., 1995). This ability suggests that timing cues within any given sound envelope are important for discriminating such sounds. However, prior studies examining perceptual thresholds for discriminating timing cues often include tonal cues as well. In this study, we synthesized simple white noise sound burst sequences that contain the timing cues present in natural vocalizations sequences, but that are also devoid of underlying tonal cues. We then trained Long Evans rats and Humans …

Caractérisation Et Organisation Des Espaces Et Des Seuils Par Les Personnages Féminins Dans Cinq Romans D’Emile Zola, Pauline Levy Valensi

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Easy Breathing For Schools: A Promising School - Based Asthma Program, Jing Marrero

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Transitioning Back To The Community: Barriers Experienced By People With Acquired Brain Injury Or Physical Disabilities, Deborah Pacik

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Opioid Use And Opioid Use Disorder Services In Connecticut, Julie Christensen

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Social Determinants Associated With The Employment Of Athletic Training Services In Secondary Schools, Sarah Attanasio

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Current Status Of Professional Networks Addressing Sex Education In The United States: An Initial Exploratory Thematic Analysis, Aliya Subhit

Master's Theses

Sex education in the United States has been a highly debated topic. The history of sex education depicts the changing narratives of both the public and the government’s ideals on the topic. Due to the discrepancy between the publics attitudes and perceptions versus the governments ideals, this thesis is the first of its kind to conduct an initial thematic analysis of available bodies of knowledge across the five core mental health disciplines (i.e., marriage and family therapy, psychiatry, clinical psychology, clinical social work, and psychiatric nursing) to determine how the current state of sex education programs in the U.S. is …

L'Almanach De La Seconde Moitié Du Xixe Siècle: Formes Et Fonctions D'Un Nouvel Objet Informationnel De Rupture Moderne, Clemence Lucchini

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Cranial Neural Crest Cell Differentiation Towards An Osteoblastic Fate, Sean Congdon

Master's Theses

The world health organization estimates that craniofacial defects affect between 2-3% of all live births, with complications ranging from aesthetic issues to severe mental retardation (Marcucio 2015). It is estimated that for a pathology resulting in craniofacial aberrations, each affected individual costs society ~1 million dollars in corrective and palliative care (Singh 2014). Current investigations into genetics underlying these defects have revealed 564 human (HPO 2017) and 3297 murine (MGI 2017) genes thought to be involved in craniofacial pathologies. Facial development requires a population of cells known as Cranial Neural Crest Cells (CNCCs) to properly migrate from the neural plate …

The Burden Of Child Sexual Abuse In Connecticut Emergency Departments, 2011 To 2014, Kathryn Bentivegna

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Comprehending Events On The Fly: Inhibition And Selection During Sentence Processing, Yanina Prystauka

Master's Theses

In our everyday conversations we talk about how things or people change. Instantiations of objects in their different states need to be maintained during language comprehension for future selection of the relevant state, as in The chef will chop the onion. And then/but first, she will weigh the onion. Previous fMRI studies (Solomon et al, 2015) demonstrated that selecting between multiple competing representations of the same object token, such as the intact and the chopped onion, elicits increased activation in the brain area associated with conflict resolution -- left pVLPFC. When there is no cue to the earlier introduced …

The Relationship Between Stryd Power And Running Economy In Well-Trained Distance Runners 2018, Casey Austin

Master's Theses

A novel running wearable called the Stryd Summit footpod attaches to a runner’s right or left shoe and measures running power output. The developers of the product purport that the footpod’s power and form power measures may correlate with metabolic data gathered in a lab. PURPOSE: Explore the relationship between power output and running economy at threshold pace. METHODS: Seventeen well-trained distance runners, 9 males and 8 females, completed a running protocol at threshold pace. Participants ran two discontinuous four-minute stages: one with their self-selected cadence (SS), and one with cadence lowered by 10% (LC). Metabolic data, power, and form …

Protection, Automation, And Frequency Stability Analysis Of A Laboratory Microgrid System, Christopher Eric Osborn

Master's Theses

Due to increasing changes in the power industry, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's electrical engineering department introduced a set of initiatives to adequately equip students with the skills and knowledge to interact with new technologies. Specifically, the department proposed a microgrid and power systems protection and automation laboratory to strengthen students' knowledge of microprocessor-based relays. This paper outlines a microgrid laboratory system that fulfills the initiative's goal and proposes a collection of laboratory experiments for inclusion in a new laboratory course at Cal Poly. The experiments provide students with practical experience using Schweitzer Engineering Laboratory (SEL) relays and teach fundamental …

Improving Swarm Performance By Applying Machine Learning To A New Dynamic Survey, John Taylor Jackson

Master's Theses

A company, Unanimous AI, has created a software platform that allows individuals to come together as a group or a human swarm to make decisions. These human swarms amplify the decision-making capabilities of both the individuals and the group. One way Unanimous AI increases the swarm’s collective decision-making capabilities is by limiting the swarm to more informed individuals on the given topic. The previous way Unanimous AI selected users to enter the swarm was improved upon by a new methodology that is detailed in this study. This new methodology implements a new type of survey that collects data that is …

Sok: A Practical Cost Comparison Among Provable Data Possession Schemes, Alex Michael Bartlett

Master's Theses

Provable Data Possession (PDP) schemes provide users with the ability to efficiently audit and verify the integrity of data stored with potentially unreliable third-parties, such as cloud storage service providers. While dozens of PDP schemes have been developed, no PDP schemes have been practically implemented with an existing cloud service. This work attempts to provide a starting point for the integration of PDP schemes with cloud storage service providers by providing a cost analysis of PDP schemes. This cost analysis is performed by implementing and analyzing five PDP schemes representative of the dozens of various PDP approaches. This paper provides …

Analysis Of Verification And Validation Techniques For Educational Cubesat Programs, Noah Weitz

Master's Theses

Since their creation, CubeSats have become a valuable educational tool for university science and engineering programs. Unfortunately, while aerospace companies invest resources to develop verification and validation methodologies based on larger-scale aerospace projects, university programs tend to focus resources on spacecraft development. This paper looks at two different types of methodologies in an attempt to improve CubeSat reliability: generating software requirements and utilizing system and software architecture modeling. Both the Consortium Requirements Engineering (CoRE) method for software requirements and the Monterey Phoenix modeling language for architecture modeling were tested for usability in the context of PolySat, Cal Poly's CubeSat research …

Optimizing The Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model For Uncertainty Assessment With Serial, Multicore And Distributed Accelerations, Andrew Adriance

Master's Theses

Hydrology is the study of water. Hydrology tracks various attributes of water such as its quality and movement. As a tool Hydrology allows researchers to investigate topics such as the impacts of wildfires, logging, and commercial development. With perfect and complete data collection researchers could answer these questions with complete certainty. However, due to cost and potential sources of error this is impractical. As such researchers rely on simulations.

The Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model(also referenced to as DHSVM) is a scientific mathematical model to numerically represent watersheds. Hydrology, as with all fields, continues to produce large amounts of data …

Why Sing So Many Songs? Testing The Function Of Song Type Repertoires In Rock Wrens Using Playback Experiments And Behavioral Observations, Stephanie Marie Gobert Pitt

Master's Theses

Bird song has been studied extensively as a model of complex animal communication systems because of how various and flexible it is in certain species. Numerous researchers have investigated the evolutionary pressures leading to the elaboration of songs available in a bird’s repertoire and this topic is most often evaluated in light of sexual selection. Intersexual selection mechanisms such as female choice are often presumed to be very important in the elaboration of song, however literature reviews on the topic find no strong correlation between female preference for larger song repertoires and the presence of the characteristic in males across …

Mobilizing Social Capital: A Qualitative And Network Analysis Of Human Service Organizations, Ethan Christian Adams

Master's Theses

Poverty and homelessness is a social problem that impacts all communities in the U.S. and globally. Social programs that address these issues often focus on mobilizing resources to provide opportunities to increase the social position of their clients and meet their basic needs. Sociological research into this problem, however, has emphasized the influence of social connections in the experiences of individuals in poverty. Social capital is the conceptual representation of actual or potential resources obtained through social network connections. Existing literature regarding social capital has demonstrated that social connections are a critical aspect of human social experience and the ability …