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 …

A Multicriteria Based Quantitative Framework For Assessing Sustainability Of Pile Foundations, Aditi Misra

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Civil Engineering is the major instrument of anthropocentric development over centuries through ever expanding infrastructure, cities and facilities.  Civil engineering processes are both resource and fuel intensive.  The building industry alone, during the construction stage, uses about 30-40% of the total resources used in the industrialized countries.  There is a growing consensus that delivering a sustainable built environment starts with incorporating sustainability thoughts at the planning and design stages of a project.  Geotechnical engineering is most resource intensive although this intensive consumption of energy goes unnoticed mainly because of the indirect nature of the energy used in the …

Electroless Deposition Of Plasmonic Nanostructures On Star Polymer Templates, Melia Tjio

Master's Theses

As an alternative technique, electroless deposition is gaining interest due to its simplicity (solution-based process, no complex instrumentation), economical aspect, and effectiveness to form certain desired film thicknesses and morphologies on a wide variety of substrates. This work describes the use of water-soluble, polyvalent star polymer templates to form spontaneous self-limiting monolayers on complimentary functionalized substrates that act as efficient adhesion layers for the electroless deposition of thin gold films. The resulting gold films display outstanding thickness control, uniformity, reproducibility, and plasmon resonance generation, as evaluated by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy …

Nature And Culture Of Strawberry Farmers On California's Central Coast: A Case Study, James D'Albora

Master's Theses

As United States (US) agriculture continues to experience declines in farms and farmers, the organic sector steadily increases in size. Furthermore, survey data show that almost half of the new organic farmers are not conventional farmers who are transitioning to organic, but urban dwellers who have migrated to a new rural setting. Migration theory is used to look at non-economic influences that may be driving these new organic farmers. Through in-depth interviews with 11 organic and conventional small-to-larger strawberry farmers on California's central coast, this study identifies two distinct cultures that now inhabit the agricultural industry of this area. Two …

Riparian Brush Rabbit Habitat Requirements In Caswell Memorial State Park, Clinton Robert Elsholz

Master's Theses

With the rapid growth of agricultural and urban development in California's Central Valley in the 20th and 21st centuries, many habitats, including riparian forests, have been drastically altered. Along with these habitats, species that are dependent on them have also been fragmented and their long-term survival threatened. The riparian brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani riparius) is one such species that has experienced profound population contraction over the past century. This research was conducted at Caswell Memorial State Park ("the Park"), located in Ripon, California, which is the largest remaining habitat fragment within the rabbit's historical range. One objective of this research …

Native Americans In The San Francisco Bay Area: Patterns In Ancient Teeth, Palimpsests Of Behavior, Dave Grant

Master's Theses

NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA:

PATTERNS IN ANCIENT TEETH; PALIMPSESTS OF BEHAVIOR

by Dave Grant

In analyzing burial populations from seven sites in the Santa Clara Valley, patterns on teeth were found that did not conform to the flat normative wear explanation. This study attempts to expand upon the seminal work of Molnar (1968), Hinton (1981), and Keiser (2001a, 2001b) and to propose a definitional refinement of wear patterns found on teeth from populations in Central California. Flat normative wear was present. In addition, four additional distinct wear patterns were found. Wear patterns include slants and scoops …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Outcomes From Participation In Wilderness Adventure Education Programs, Jason Phillip Cummings

Master's Theses

The results from this study suggest that participants of wilderness adventure education programs offered by Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School felt challenged by many of the experiences from their programs. Interactions with their group helped in dealing with the challenges presented by the experience. The development of hard skills gave participants a confidence in their abilities to survive and feel safe in these wilderness environments, which allowed them to relax and enjoy the experience, develop new perspectives, become motivated and inspired, and develop a sense of independence. Participants developed a sense of growth and maturity from their …

Hyperspectral Image Compression Using A Two-Stage Klt, Seton S. Schroeder

Master's Theses

A computationally efficient, lossy, bandwidth compression scheme for hyperspectral imagery is presented. In certain cases, the direct application of the standard KLT algorithm over an entire data set is not practical. The data may be too large for efficient processing by one encoder and so portions of the entire data set may necessarily be sampled by different encoders. The algorithm proposed handles such a limitation by leveraging the standard JPEG 2000 technology. The component decorrelation of the JPEG 2000 (extension 2) is replaced with a two-stage Karhunen-Loeve Transformation (KLT) operation resulting in a reduction in the computational complexity. At the …

Agricultural Buffer Criteria For The City Of Arroyo Grande, Laura A. Pennebaker

Master's Theses

The conservation of agricultural land is an important and challenging part of local and regional planning. Prime agricultural soils and viable agricultural operations serve as a vital part of California’s identity and economy. The conversion of land from farming to non-agricultural use significantly increases the potential for conflict between adjoining land uses and intensifies the pressure to develop adjacent farmland. Agricultural buffers serve as a tool to mitigate potential conflict between adjacent non-compatible land uses and protect both farming operations and residents from nuisance complaints. The City of Arroyo Grande has agricultural buffer policies which apply to development taking place …

Potential Migration Of Ε-Caprolactam To Water And Wine As Affected By Transportation And Storage, Joseph C. Ianneo

Master's Theses

Abstract: Under normal sealing and storage conditions, Nylon-6, poly-caprolactam-based plastic laminates may release impurities to packaged foods and liquids and the application of heat for cooking often increases the rate of migration. Epsilon-caprolactam is one of the main contaminates found to migrate from a Nylon-6 poly-caprolactam plastic film. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of solvent, transportation and storage time on the migration of ε-caprolactam from a Nylon-6-based lidding material into water or a white wine substitute (12% ethanol). Polypropylene plastic cups were filled, sealed, packaged, stacked and exposed to a simulated 3-day cross-country shipment. Cups …

Seafood Labeling And Consumer Behavior: A Fishwise Case Study, Sonoma County, Ca., Alicia Ushijima Elsholz

Master's Theses

Decades of unsustainable commercial fishing have resulted in depletion of fish stocks, destruction of ocean habitats, and unintended capture and death of fish and marine mammals. In addition, unsustainable aquaculture practices threaten wild species and pollute surrounding natural habitats. In an attempt to combat these adverse impacts, FishWise, a seafood labeling program, was created to encourage consumers at health food stores and gourmet markets in the US to purchase seafood caught or farm raised in a sustainable manner. This study evaluates FishWise to determine its effectiveness in educating consumers about sustainable fishery issues and in influencing purchases of sustainable seafood …

Conservation And Pasture Value Of Remnant Trees In A Tropical Agroecosystem, Ariel N. Rivers

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Wintering Duck Response To Trail Use At Former San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds, Heather Renee White

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Prescribed Burning On Composition Of Serpentine Grassland Vegetation, Debra Thornley Welch

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Native Californian Prehistory And Climate In The San Francisco Bay Area, Stella D'Oro

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Habitat Selection And Activities Of Non-Native Rio Grande Turkeys In An Open Space Preserve, Sara Ornelas

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Perception And Use Of Graywater In Berkeley, California, Chung M. Khong

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Micro-Hydropower Projects In Nepal, Shradha Upadhayay

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Assessing Forearm Fractures From Eight Prehistoric California Populations, Diane Marie Digiuseppe

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse Abundance And Site Use In A Managed Marsh, Galli Basson

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Photographic Survey Of Mammalian Trail Use In Big Basin Redwood State Park, Jennifer Robin Casey

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Western Snowy Plover Use Of Managed Salt Ponds At Eden Landing, Hayward, Ca, Caitlin W. Robinson

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Competition Effects Of Mycorrhizae On Two California Grasses And B. Hordeaceus, NoëLle Marie Antolin

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Harbor Seal Behavioral Reponse To Boaters At Bair Island Refuge, Kathlyn Snyder Fox

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.