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Land Use Interpretation In Flood Damage Estimation, Sharon Michelle Metzler

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the role of geographic land use interpretation in flood damage estimation. Sample flood data were drawn from the 1998 flood event along San Francisquito Creek in northern Santa Clara County, California. Spatial flood data for the event were collected from the Santa Clara Valley Water District (the District); depth-damage factors and the flood damage equations were both collected from US Army Corps of Engineers' (the Corps) publications; and spatial parcel data were collected from the Santa Clara County Tax Assessor's office (the Assessor).

This study computes flood damages per parcel using the Corps' recommended equations. Within that …

Who Plays? Who Pays?: A Chicago Case Study Of Racism, The Lottery, And Education, Kasey Henricks

Master's Theses

Many Chicagoans are getting shortchanged, particularly when it comes to the money-exchange process between the Illinois Lottery (IL) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). In Illinois, a significant portion of lottery-generated revenues is earmarked to finance public education. Because these revenues are not generated equally across Chicago, some communities contribute more to education via the lottery than others. When these revenues are distributed in such a way that transfers money from one community to another, one community's fiscal gain comes at another's expense. So the question stands: Who plays and who pays? To answer this question, I measure …

The Decentralization And Centralization Of Curriculum In The Primary Education Of Burkina Faso, Simon A. Ziba

Master's Theses

In Burkina Faso, a decree which transfers competences and resources related to basic education to municipalities, does not mention the case of curriculum. This study seeks to understand how do educational policymakers in Burkina Faso explain why educational decentralization initiatives have not heretofore affected curriculum issues, and how do they view the possibility and desirability of a decentralized curriculum. It uses qualitative and quantitative methods. This nationwide study has participants who are primary education bureaucrats and educational policymakers at the central, regional and provincial levels of the ministry in charge of basic education. The results of this study show that …

Projects Of Identity Creation In English Languate Textbooks Aimed At Adult Immigrants: 1900 And 2000, Steven Herbert Fehr

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate the temporal parallels and differences between adult immigrant education and latent identity projects intertwined with the textbooks being used in the classrooms. By analyzing a sample of textbooks from both the turn of the 20th and 21st century I attempt to find both similarities and differences between these two time periods. These two periods are similar in that they are when the largest number of immigrants arrived in America, but in many ways (global context, technology, and political environment) they are also very different. How the American educational system responded to these …

Constructing A "Good" Colonial Society: Representations Of Philippine Colonial Education At The 1887 Philippine Exposition In Madrid And The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, Erin Hardacker

Master's Theses

World's fairs and expositions were major social, political, economic, and cultural events in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These events were places where colonial states could display their achievements in their colonies, as well as produce knowledge and organize people as part of / in aid of the colonial project. It is a generally agreed fact among historians that the colonial exhibits at world's fairs and expositions were often idealized representations, or even deliberate misrepresentations, of colonies and colonial projects. Examining world's fairs and expositions should shed light on how colonial states developed and displayed their colonial education …

Being In The Know: Punk, Confrontation, And The Process Of Validating Truth Claims, Christopher Richard Penna

Master's Theses

Since the birth of punk, it has been a harbinger of trends within both youth culture and what cultural theorist Theodor Adorno calls the "culture industry" (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1947; Adorno, 1971). However, punk has never been fully embraced by the culture industry, largely, by design. Punk arose as a response, borne out of the frustration of a stagnant world that values profit over people (Sabin, 1999, p. 3). Present within opposition is confrontation--which is the very nature of punk. This thesis seeks to exemplify how punk uses confrontation as the instrument through which punk comes to know truths. The …

Emplacing Ideologies Of Risk And The Use Of The Built Environment In Two Women's Residential Clubs In Turn Of The 20th Century Chicago, Robin Bartram

Master's Theses

Risk emplacement is a way we might better understand how power relations are built into people's everyday lives, and thus how they may be contested. Though previous research has documented that built form can regulate and express ideology, little attention has been paid to how buildings are employed and utilized to manage risk. In this paper, I argue that differences in ideas about risk and the built form of two residential women's clubs in Progressive Era Chicago can be explained by emplaced risk ideologies. Risk ideologies are sets of ideas about danger, and risk emplacement is a practice that links …

No Little Plans: Envisioning The Bay Area Rapid Transit System And The Renewal Of Rapid Transit In The United States, Jake Coolidge

Master's Theses

Cities across the United States and Canada in the years following the Second World War witnessed reinvigorated efforts to construct rapid transit systems despite a decades-long decline in transit patronage, and central to these efforts was the visionary plan for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District. The proponents of these new systems used their initial plans and feasibility studies to articulate a new vision for rapid transit, one that imagined rapid transit not merely as a practical transportation solution, but as a technologically advanced tool for reshaping urban regions. This evolving vision emerges in an examination of …

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 …

Antrim To Ayrshire, Eric Jude Hatcher

Master's Theses

In the summer of 2007, I visited Scotland during a personal vacation. During that trip, I kept a private journal that later became the source of an interest in the genre of travel writing. In this thesis, I present a discussion of the genre, as well as, build a framework into which my writing can be placed.

Traffic Safety Investigations For Local Agencies, Jacob D. Hudson

Master's Theses

National and statewide (California) collision numbers are currently on the

decline; however, the U.S. is declining at a much slower rate than most other

developed countries, and in some aspects is actually regressing in terms of traffic

safety. Although state highway safety is improving, local roadway safety may

actually be regressing. Approximately three-quarters of all U.S. public roadways,

and approximately 80% of all injury accidents fall under the jurisdiction of cities.

However, cities may not be allocating the proper level of resources, or operating

under the proper administrative methodologies to adequately address these

safety issues.

This research finds that on …

The Other Race Effect : The Role Of Experience And Social Attiudes On Face Recognition, Emily Wheat

Master's Theses

The ORE is phenomenon whereby recognition for own race faces is better than recognition of other race faces. This study examines how non-perceptual factors—social context, attitudes, and experience—impact the ORE. Participants from three different racial groups (Caucasian, Black, Asian) completed a face recognition task screening faces for status-specific targets (baseline, perpetrator, victim), self-report measures of explicit bias and experience with members from other races and a measure of implicit bias. Results indicated that non-perceptual factors impact the ORE. Specifically, Caucasian participants revealed a reduced ORE for other race perpetrators in comparison to victims. Black participants revealed a reduced ORE for …

Evaluation Of Natural Remediation Following The Occurrence Of A Construction-Related Sediment Plume At Camp Shelby Training Site, Mississippi, Ian Eli Floyd

Master's Theses

This study is a comprehensive look into the response and recovery of an anthropogenic induced sediment infill of a bottom land hardwood wetland at Camp Shelby Training Site (CSTS) in Perry and Forrest Counties, Mississippi. Lack of sediment control structures (sediment fences and matting), combined with high rainfall, led to erosion within and around the Multi Purpose Range Complex-Heavy (MPRC-H) during its construction. Deposition of sediment effected approximately 20.2 hectares of wetlands that have been monitored since the event occurred in 2005. To better understand the recovery process, the study area was compared to the Cypress Creek Mitigation Area (CCMA) …

Predictive Habitat Model For The Snapping Shrimp Genus Alpheus In The Coastal Southeastern United States, Laura Catherine Anderson

Master's Theses

The present study focused on factors influencing Alpheus distribution in the Gulf of Mexico and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. The objectives were to perform a biogeographical analysis of the currently known Alpheus species distribution, develop a spatially explicit predictive model, and experimentally verify the importance of substrate as a key modeling variable through a laboratory-based substrate choice study. Significant predictor variables included in the final model for the Gulf of Mexico were Shepard code, seabed class, the quadratic artificial reef term, the quadratic shore term, the distance to shore, the indirect predictors of longitude and latitude, and three interaction terms …

Mixed-Income Housing: Assumptions And Realities, Kimberly M. Hoving

Master's Theses

Current Federal, State, and local San Francisco housing policy advocates mixed-income housing as a positive approach to creating living environments for low-income families. Strategies for creating mixed-income housing environments include large-scale public housing re-development efforts, inclusionary housing policies, and the use of discretionary funding for mixed-income development projects. Researchers agree that there is not yet enough evidence to support that mixed-income strategies are achieving positive results and have noted that the expected outcomes for mixed-income strategies are founded upon a number of assumptions. It is assumed that a mix of households at varying income levels will result in greater stability, …

The Relationship Between Quality Of Life And Leed-Nd Certified / Certifiable Neighborhoods, Stephanie Nicole Timm

Master's Theses

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has developed a rating system that examines the sustainability of neighborhoods. They have specifically stated that that LEED-ND certified neighborhoods will protect and enhance residents’ overall health, the natural environment, and quality of life. This study uses relevant quality of life indicators that are commonly identified by social scientists as accurate interpreters of the various quality of life domains to determine if there is, in fact, a relationship between LEED-ND and quality of life. Four of the ten domains examined were found to be related to LEED-ND certified/certifiable neighborhoods, thus, to a certain …

Scale Model Shake Table Testing Of Underground Structures In Soft Clay, Victor A. Crosariol

Master's Theses

Underground structures perform an important role in transportation systems in many seismically active regions around the world, but empirical data regarding the seismic behavior of these structures is limited. This research works towards filling that empirical gap through the use of scale model shake table testing. Underground seismic soil-structure interaction (USSSI) effects were investigated for a stiff rectangular tunnel cross-section embedded within soft clay. San Francisco Young Bay Mud was used as a prototype soil for developing a scale model soil mixture consisting of kaolinite, bentonite, class C fly ash, and water. A single cell Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) …

Piedras Blancas Motel Feasibility Study And Redevelopment Alternatives, Gordon Douglas Anderson

Master's Theses

The Piedras Blancas Motel is a 1950’s era roadside motel comprised of 11 lodging units, plus a cafe, laundry room, manager’s apartment, and adjacent storage area. It is located seven miles north of San Simeon and nine miles south of the San Luis Obispo/Monterey County line. In 2005, the property was purchased using State, Federal, and private funds, and then transferred to the California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks). Although it has been closed to the public since 2005, the Site offers day-use parking and convenient beach access.

This professional project, under contract with the California Coastal Conservancy, …

Sense Of Community And Neighborhood Design: A Comparative Case Study Of Four Arroyo Grande Neighborhoods, Jamie Kathleen Smith

Master's Theses

The relationship between the built environment and human behavior has been a topic of debate for decades, increasing significantly since the time of the industrial revolution. The latest arguments in this debate are the claims made by New Urbanists. New Urbanists claim to foster greater sense of community through the use of design. The goal of this study is to explore the relationship between the built environment and sense of community in order to identify which physical properties positively affect sense of community. This thesis not only examines the physical properties claimed to foster sense of community but the social …

Rhode Island's Wars: Imperial Conflicts And Provincial Self-Interests In The Ocean Colony, 1739–48, Greg Rogers

Master's Theses

Whether in terms of political and military threats or economic and demographic growth, this thesis argues that Rhode Island’s involvement in this period of imperial warfare was characterized by self-interest on a variety of levels. The government’s military plans, the expansion of provincial power, attempts to raise expeditionary forces, the use of privateers, and the indirect participation of non-combatants all depict a colonial society very interested in its own local political and economic interests. Although literally “provincial,” these interests exhibit the Atlantic and global networks that the smallest of the New England colonies was situated in. These two different sets …

Influence Of Clay Mineralogy On Soil Dispersion Behavior And Water Quality, Jessique L. Ghezzi

Master's Theses

Currently, there is very little research available on nonpoint source pollution from rural watersheds. Government regulatory agencies are desperate for information regarding the causes of nonpoint source pollution, which includes the relationship between suspended soil particles and dispersion. Since soil dispersion is dependent on clay mineralogy, knowing the clay mineralogy of the soil in an area can help predict sediment loads entering the surrounding surface waters. This information is necessary to protect the resource value of our rivers, lakes, and estuaries, as well as to protect recreational activities such as fishing or hunting; but most importantly, this information is necessary …

Urban Crime In Latin America: A Case Study From Medellín, Colombia, Brian Kenneth Blickenstaff

Master's Theses

Medellín, Colombia, once among the most dangerous cities in the world has seen a sharp decrease in homicides since 2002. This thesis explores the geography of violence in Medellín from 2001 through 2005 with specific emphasis on two factors thought to have contributed to the city's drop in violence: Operación Orión, a police and military response to the bloodshed, and the 2003 disarmament and demobilization of the Bloque Cacique Nutibara paramilitary organization. A series of Paired Sample T-Tests show that Operación Orión and the paramilitary demobilization seem to have contributed to falling human rights abuses and homicides, respectively. Additionally, …

California As Music To American Ears: Migration, Technology, And Rock And Roll In The Golden State, 1946–2000, Toby T. Willett

Master's Theses

Migrations and technological advances in California following World War II, spurred radical changes in the production and development of popular music, most notably rock and roll. California largely lacked the entrenched traditions of the American Northeast, and in many ways its exploding population translated into the growth of a culture built around embracing newer methodologies, whether technological innovations or radical artistic departures. In large part owing to its increasing ethnic diversity during the economic expansion, California was uniquely poised to become a center of incredible postwar dynamism, especially when seen in the production, consumption, and stylistic development of music. Nevertheless, …

The San Jose Joint Library: The Development Of A Joint City/University Library, Joel Eanes

Master's Theses

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Library is the largest library building west of the Mississippi River, and uses a rare joint library structure, merging the main San Jose Public Library and the library of San Jose State University. Both the decision to construct a new library, and the decision to merge two institutions, caused enormous controversy during the development and construction of the building from 1997 to 2003.

This thesis examines the nature of joint libraries, and why the city of San Jose and San Jose State University decided to pursue the joint library option. An unusual combination of …

The Russian Émigré In America: Translating And Transcending Exile In Vladimir Nabokov's Pnin And Pale Fire, Yelena N. Severina

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates how Vladimir Nabokov's experience as an exiled writer in America serves as a model for the protagonists of Pnin(1957) and Pale Fire(1962), two of Nabokov's English-language novels in which exile is a central theme. Although the protagonists, Pnin and Kinbote, are both true exiles, they illustrate markedly different responses to their dislocations; read in tandem, the novels constitute Nabokov's analysis of exile, his lament over its painfulness, and his transcendence of exile through art. Chapter One looks at Nabokov through the lens of exile while establishing fundamental theoretical concepts and terminology. Chapters Two and Three …

Teaching Artists In The High School: A Creative Approach To Student Self-Esteem, Jennifer Nye Walsh

Master's Theses

This thesis addresses the effect of teaching artists' (TAs) classroom instruction in the arts on student self-esteem at Downtown College Preparatory (DCP) High School, an at-risk high school in San Jose, California, over the course of two semesters. The data collected and used to analyze these effects were student observations, student art work, student journal entries, student surveys, and data provided by a third party consulting company. The purpose of this study was to determine if having teaching artists working in an at-risk high school classroom environment could positively affect their students' self-esteem through their arts programming. The results showed …

Use Of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis With Fuzzy Measures In Historical Gis, Jeanne Marie Jones

Master's Theses

Geographic information systems (GIS) can enhance historical research by providing tools to explore the spatial relationships of locations in historical sources. However, no widespread methods currently exist for translating vaguely defined historical spatial information into GIS data formats and producing a location estimate. Other GIS techniques do exist that can model the necessary process. Multi-criteria decision analysis with fuzzy measures can be applied to vague historical records to approximate location. The Wieslander Vegetation Type Map dataset is used to demonstrate the model effectiveness. Results show that this technique successfully translated written descriptions of location into raster, or grid-based, surfaces within …

Hip Hip 101: A University Level Course Curriculum For Examining Hip Hop In The Modern World, David Ma

Master's Theses

Hip Hop 101 is a university level course curriculum intended for use by college level educators. It serves as a primer on hip-hop history and includes daily lesson plans that use multi-media tools to scaffold student learning. It was produced under the belief that hip-hop (its music and culture) deserve the time and examination as other longstanding disciplines.

Establishing Community And Research Trust In Public Health Using Service-Oriented Architecture (Soa), Juanita Hun Mah

Master's Theses

One of the major challenges of community-based research is recruitment of community members who will participate in clinical trials, continue for the duration of the trial, and provide accurate sensitive personal information. This challenge can be overcome by establishing greater trust between researchers and communities.

This study focuses on a system to address trust issues between the San Jose Hispanic community and clinical researchers. It describes a methodology for translating non-functional wants and needs into technical requirements that are used as input to a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach to design a solution. Unlike a typical SOA that is derived from …

An Abridged History Of The Orange, Robert Aho

Master's Theses

The orange is more than a fruit that one can purchase at a supermarket or pick from the tree in the yard. The fruit started as an object of exoticism. It was later transformed into a symbol of purity. Eventually the orange became a vehicle for humanity to demonstrate its mastery over nature. In modern society, oranges are the foundation of enterprises, ones that sustain entire regions of the world. This thesis presents a series of essays, each using aspects of art history and geography, to describe the history of the orange. The intention of this thesis is to introduce …