Digital Commons Network^™

Job Engagement : Examining The Relationship With Situational And Personal Factors, Smita Vanam

Master's Theses

The major purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which two job resources, autonomy and supervisor support, and two personality traits, openness to experience and extraversion, were related to job engagement and whether they interact with each other to influence job engagement. In particular, this study examined whether personality traits moderate the relationship between job resources and job engagement. Using a sample of 162 full-time employees, the results showed that only autonomy and supervisor support related significantly to job engagement even when personality traits were taken into consideration. However, the personality traits did not relate to job …

Inorganic Chemical Oxygen Demand Of Re-Suspended Sediments In A Bar-Built Lagoon, Keenan A. Smith

Master's Theses

Rapid dissolved oxygen (DO) depletion, caused by inorganic chemical oxygen demand (COD) of re-suspended sediment compounds, has been documented in few studies, yet fish kills occur often from the process. Pescadero Lagoon, California, USA, a bar-built lagoon that suffers annual fish kills caused by rapid mixing-induced hypoxia upon sandbar breach, was studied to investigate the potential for COD of re-suspended sediment to deplete oxygen. In-situ chamber mixing trials demonstrated that re-suspended sediment can exert powerful oxygen demand on receiving waters. Surface DO depletion upon bar breach was too severe to be explained solely by mixing of the anoxic hypolimnion into …

Music In The Lives Of Two Children With Autism : A Case Study, Elizabeth Ron Fang

Master's Theses

This thesis is a qualitative case study about two children with autism spectrum disorder and the role of music in their lives. It explores how music serves as a non-threatening medium for learning and developing skills necessary to function successfully in life. The stories of the children and their parents are shared through their personal account and the author's observations. The literature in the field reveals that a structured/functional use of music helps communication, social interaction, appropriate behavior, motor skills, and academics in children with autism. Each child is able to actively participate in music-making within varied and appropriate settings …

Role Stressors, Coworker Support, And Work Engagement : A Longitudinal Study, Jerry Wright

Master's Theses

This study examined the Job Demands-Resources theory in relation to engagement using a longitudinal design. The main purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the nature of work engagement over time. Specifically, it examined if role stressors (a job demand) were predictive of work engagement measured one year later. Additionally, this study investigated the possible moderating or buffering effect of coworker support (a job resource) on the relationship between role stressors and later work engagement. A total of 96 (70% full-time and 30% part-time) library employees participated in this study. A moderated hierarchical regression analysis indicated that baseline engagement …

Bioflocculation For Control Of Wastewater Pond Microalgae, Daniel Thomas Frost

Master's Theses

Investigates several hypotheses regarding the use of bioflocculation as a harvesting method for wastewater pond microalgae. Research performed on pilot-scale high rate ponds (HRPs) on the California Central Coast.

Application Of Parent-Child Uav Tasking For Wildfire Detection And Response, Stephen T. Kubik

Master's Theses

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a dominant force in the aerospace industry. Recent technological developments have moved these aircraft from remote operation roles to more active response missions. Of particular interest is the possibility of applying UAVs toward solving complex problems in long-endurance missions. Under that belief, the feasibility of utilizing UAVs for wildfire detection and response was investigated in a partnership that included NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and Science Mission Directorate, and the United States Forest Service. Under NASA’s Intelligent Mission Management (IMM) project, research was conducted to develop a mission architecture that would …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Female Surfers: Recreation Specialization, Motivations, And Perspectives, Tiyanya Anna Nourbakhsh

Master's Theses

This current study utilized recreation specialization and leisure motivation theory to explore the meanings, perspectives, and behaviors among female surfers. Despite numerous studies previously published regarding recreation specialization and leisure motivation related to activity participation, little research has been conducted on the activity of surfing from a female perspective. Data for this study were collected using in-depth, semi- structured interviews of nine women surfers from the California Central Coast. Content analyses of the data involved coding and identifying key themes, patterns, and categories. The dominant themes significant within recreation specialization included past participation (e.g., preceding activities to eventual participation and …

Design And Optimization Of A Blood Vessel Mimic Bioreactor System For The Evaluation Of Intravascular Devices In Simple And Complex Vessel Geometries, Sara M. Leifer

Master's Theses

Coronary artery disease affects millions of people and the ability to detect and treat the disease is advancing at a rapid rate. As a result, the development of intravascular technologies is the focus of many medical device manufacturers. Specifically, coronary stent implantation is being performed in an increasing number of patients and a number of new stent designs have been introduced to the market, resulting in the need for improved preclinical testing methods. An in vitro tissue engineered “blood vessel mimic” (BVM) system has previously been established and its feasibility for the initial testing of newly emerging intravascular technology has …

"Carry Me Back To Old Virginny" : Virginia And The Bonus March Of 1932, Steven Patrick Schultz

Master's Theses

On 6 May 1932 the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives declined to pass along for a full vote in the House a bill that would have provided for immediate and complete payment of the Soldiers' Bonus, a small sum of money due in 1945 to veterans of World War I. In doing so it set in motion a chain of events that led to one of the most sordid affairs in American history, the Bonus March of 1932, when tens of thousands of World War I veterans traveled to Washington to ask their government for …

Attentive Mothers Versus Minimally Invested/Neglectful Mothers : The Development Of New Neurons In The Hippocampus Specifically Activated By Foster Pup Exposure, Danielle Christina Worthington Stoneman

Master's Theses

As pregnancy progresses, the female is transformed from an animal that actively avoids pup-related cues (Kinsley, 1994) to one highly motivated to build nests, and retrieve, group, groom, and crouch over a set of pups. In the vast majority of events, motherhood progresses normally; in a striking subset, however, it does not. This study seeks to evaluate neurological differences in the dentate gyrus between primiparous females that respond maternally and those that do not when exposed to foster pups. It was hypothesized that the attentive mothers which perform the expected maternal behaviors have a different number of triple labeled BrdU(measuring …

Conflict, And Legacy Of Southern Colorado: 1890-1920, Annaliese M. Bonacquista

Master's Theses

This thesis is an interpretation of new perspective, as well as old and new information, on southern Colorado during 1890-1920, including the topics of the Great Strike of 1913-14 and the Ludlow Massacre. A focus is presented on community, conflict, and legacy during the time period that poses information on events that occurred in Las Animas County. Development of the community through census and demographic records, who was thought to be at fault for the Ludlow Massacre, and history and memory of the event that is carried on through the monument and education is presented. Throughout the past, these events …

The Effects Of A Vegetarian Diet On Iron Status In Female Students, Kimberly G. Englehardt

Master's Theses

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional deficiency disease worldwide (Mahan & Escott-Stump, 2004). Iron deficiency anemia is of major concern especially in women of child bearing age and those who follow a vegetarian diet. The objective of this study was to compare the nutrient and hematological values related to iron status in female university students following a vegetarian versus following a nonvegetarian diet. This study took a cross sectional analysis of 39 female students at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly State University) in San Luis Obispo, CA. Of the participants 19 were following a vegetarian diet and …

Green Neighborhood Standards From A Planning Perspective: A Leed For Neighborhood Deelopment (Leed-Nd) Case Study, Elissa R. Black

Master's Theses

This study examines the LEED-ND pilot rating program created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), the Congress for New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 2007. The rating system is evaluated based on its application as a broad set of national standards meant to encourage green neighborhood development. The main case study is a master planned community in semi-rural Paso Robles, California. Among other things, the study discovers problems related to the application of the rating system in semi-rural and rural regions of the Western United States. Both the standards used by the rating system …

A Morphological And Hemodynamic Analysis Of Skeletal Muscle Vasculature, Stephanie Ann Wood

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to develop analysis tools to assess skeletal muscle vasculature on a network level. In conjunction with this goal, this project also assessed whether the gracillis anterior muscle of a mouse was sufficiently thin to perform a comprehensive morphological analysis, and whether the data generated from these methods would yield reasonable computation of hemodynamic parameters. Horton's Law of Stream Numbers and the diameter-defined Strahler method were applied to assess the vasculature as a whole, and the results were comparable to previous work. The dimensional and branching characteristics of the network were similar to previous experiments; …

Bone Mass Preservation And Fracture Risk Assessment With Bisphosphonate Therapy During Spaceflight, Christopher Gardina

Master's Theses

Space exploration and microgravity have substantial negative effects on the human body. Symptoms of space explorers include cardiovascular deconditioning, bone loss, muscular atrophy, and impairment of neurovestibular and sensory function. The great loss of bone due long-duration spaceflight increases fracture risk, jeopardizing the success of the mission and postflight recovery. Bisphosphonates may be able to counteract this bone loss by altering the remodeling process. These drugs increase bone mass, thus reducing fracture risk, but also lead to increased levels of fatigue microdamage. Fracture risk can be lowered by increasing both bone mass (quantity) and bone quality.

The purpose of this …

Theory, Simulation, Fabrication And Testing Of Double Negative And Epsilon Near Zero Metamaterials For Microwave Applications, Neil Patel

Master's Theses

Natural structures exhibiting simultaneous negative bulk permittivity and permeability have not yet been discovered. However, research interest over the past five years has grown with the proposition that artificial structures exhibiting these properties are realizable using specially-designed metallic inclusions embedded in host dielectric bodies. A periodic structure of metallic inclusions much smaller than the guided wavelength and embedded in a host dielectric medium is known in the physics and microwave communities as a "metamaterial". Such frequency-dependent effectively homogeneous materials may be designed to exhibit negative permeability and permittivity at certain frequencies. As predicted by electromagnetic theory, such negative index or …

Development Of A Cell Depositing System Using Inkjet Technology, Jason Robert Ozaeta

Master's Theses

In the past decade, advances in tissue engineering have allowed researchers to fabricate simple tissues. However, the process of creating these native tissues is a time consuming and inefficient process. A scaffold must first be fabricated then exposed to a sea of cells in the hopes of seeding. Furthermore, even though cells may have attached, more time must be spent in order to allow the cells to migrate to their ideal locations. To deal with this problem, researchers have investigated whether rapid prototyping principals could be adapted to facilitate the cell seeding process by placing cells in their respective locations …

Cal Poly Super System Photovoltaic Array Universal Dc-Dc Step Down Converter, Joseph Witts

Master's Theses

Standard converter topologies are usually presented with a voltage source as the input supply to the converters. However, a photovoltaic (PV) array has the I-V characteristics of a current source not a voltage source. This thesis details the design process of modifying the standard Buck and synchronous Buck converter topologies to function with either a voltage or current source input, making them universal DC-DC step down converters. This is accomplished by placing a capacitor at the converter's input to supply the pulsating current required for the Buck topologies to function properly. The equations for determining the capacitor's size and RMS …

A Vitreoretinal Surgery System Fluidics Failure Modes And Effects Analysis, Jennifer Ann Grega

Master's Theses

Eyesight is something that is vital to all human beings. The concept of vitreoretinal surgery is an amazing achievement of modem medicine to help treat patients that might otherwise be blind. Vitreoretinal surgery has enhanced and restored vision in numerous individuals due to the forefront of new instrumentation and surgical techniques. As a manufacturer of surgical equipment it is critical that an in depth analysis of potential failure modes is completed and the necessary mitigations are put in place. A complete failure mode and effects analysis on the fluidics sub-module of a vitreoretinal surgery system is an imperative part to …

The Impact Of Being Born With Cleft And Cleft Reparative Surgery On Overall Health And Speech Outcomes, Khatansuudal Evsanaa

Master's Theses

Orofacial cleft is one of the most common and treatable birth defects in the world. If left untreated, orofacial cleft can impair normal speech development, growth, and could lead to a number of health consequences later in life. The main motivation of the study is to measure the impact of being born with cleft and the cleft reparative surgery on overall speech and health cleft for teenagers in India using difference-in-differences approach along with household fixed effects method. An overall health outcome was measured using height, weight, grip strength and BMI, and the speech acceptability was measured using a “Universal …

Three-Dimensional Scaffolds For Mammary Epithelial Cell Growth, Megan M. Barry

Master's Theses

Mammary epithelial cells are highly efficient secreting cells. This natural phenomenon has triggered research efforts to focus on using these cells to assist in the production of viable liquids. The application of this technology is nearly endless. If developed successfully, mammary epithelial cells could be used by industries from farming to pharmacology.

The feasibility of culturing epithelial mammary cells which secrete within a three-dimensional scaffold was investigated and is documented within this paper. A biocompatible film with suitable mechanical characteristics and processing properties for use in a bioreactor was developed through multiple iterations. The film that was developed also withstands …

A Comparative Study Related To The Effects Of Alcohol, Location And Stranger On Sexual Assault In College Women At Unc, Musleh Uddin Kalar

Master's Theses

This study explored an increase in the number of sexual assaults in students who were under the influence of alcohol. Seventy percent of students were raped when alcohol was a contributing factor at the time of assault. Location was also a major factor in the number of campus sexual assaults. Sixty-five percent of assaults were on campus; among these assaults, 90% of these sexual assaults were committed on college grounds. Acquaintance and date rapes are also very common on college campuses. Ninety percent of the victims reported by the Assault Survivors Advocacy Program (ASAP) were acquainted with the perpetrator. Chi …

The Effects Of Stress In The Workplace : An Investigation Of The Impact Stress Has On The Personal And Work Lives Of Police Officers Of The Fairfax County Police Department, Britta A. Connolly

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the ways in which stress impacts the lives of police officers. A survey and observations were conducted at all levels of patrol within the Fairfax County Police Department to determine the impact of stress in the law enforcement environment. The results revealed stress on police officers were manageable yet several areas surfaced that increased stress. Areas where stress impacted the officers were health, absenteeism, and turnover. In order to manage the effects of stress for officers, the department must address and hold their employees as the most important asset in the organization.

A Qualitative Exploration Of Health Beliefs Among Midlife Filipino American Women In California, Lorneneth Merana

Master's Theses

Research pertaining to Filipino American health issues is growing but most remain delimited to children, college students, and older adults. The purpose of this study was two-fold. The first was to define the health beliefs of four Filipino American women who were in midlife through in-depth one-on-one interviews regarding cardiovascular diseases and in utilizing health care to prevent, diagnose, or treat those diseases. The second purpose was to conceptualize potential links between the health beliefs of those Filipino American women and their attitudes or choices about health care utilization.

Conclusively, the health beliefs of the four midlife Filipino-American women in …

Portrayal Of Women In Kenya's Print Media: A Study Of Daily Nation, The Standard, And Kenya Times, June 2002 To June 2003, Beatrice P. Omari

Master's Theses

Problem Portrayal of women in Kenya‟s print media is replete with stereotype images that portray women only in their domestic roles at the expense of their roles in national development. This study is aimed at determining the extent o f this negative portrayal and the likely explanatory reasons. Method Content analysis of newspaper articles of a sample of three major dailies—Daily Nation, The Standard, and Kenya Times—was carried out for issues between June 2002 and June 2003. A total of 144 issues were identified, coded, and analyzed. Results Women and women‟s issues are allocated less space and portrayed more negatively …

Vegetation Change Over Time In Naturally-Regenerating Coast Redwood Communities, Kristin K. Hageseth

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Using Internet Simulation Games To Train Prehospital Providers For Mass Casualty Response, Meredith L. Moss

Master's Theses

During a disaster emergency medical services (EMS) plays a critical role in supporting mass casualty response. However, the processes and procedures used in a disaster are different than those which the prehospital providers encounter during routine emergency response. With limited time and resources, new approaches to training should be considered. This thesis presents research on EMS training, disaster response, distance learning, and instructional technology. Survey and interview results are analyzed providing a foundation for the development of a proposed software model using Internet simulation games to train prehospital providers for mass casualty response.

Examining The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Engagement, Ritu Koppula

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Disability, Advocacy And Coping : An Autoethnography On Non-Visible Disability, Dana L. Morella

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Open Source Integrated Library Systems, Linda M. Riewe

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.