Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Cultural Stigma On Perceptions Of Mental Illness, Rakshitha Mohankumar

Master's Theses

The stigma of mental illness can often lead to the afflicted individual not receiving the professional help they need and thereby worsening their condition, which has serious consequences both for themselves and their loved ones. Moreover, stigma surrounding mental illness varies from culture to culture. This research study highlighted the significance of studying stigma and long-term coping with a loved one’s mental health issues across cultures. Differences in perceptions of mental health based on the type of culture and (in)experience of growing up with someone who had mental health issues were tested. I predicted that there were main effects of …

Association Between Stone Fruit Intake And Markers Of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among United States Adults: Nhanes 2017-2018, Lasya S. Shah

Master's Theses

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is the most common cause of mortality in the world affecting people from all backgrounds. There is abundant evidence supporting diet affecting the risk for CVD. The consumption of fruits and vegetables is inversely related to CVD risk factors, likely due to their content of phenolic compounds. Although stone fruits contain high quantities of phenolic compounds, it remains unclear if their intake is associated with CVD risk. In this study, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2018 were used to estimate the consumption level of stone fruits and whether it was associated with CVD …

The Spatial Distribution Of Mercury Contamination In The Yolo Bypass, California, Thomas S. Mykytyn

Master's Theses

Gold and mercury mining in the latter half of California’s 19th century resulted in massive and lingering alterations to downstream ecosystems through sedimentation and mercury contamination. Located at the confluence of Sierra Nevada and Coast Range watersheds, the Yolo Bypass is a critical conveyor of flood waters from the Lower Sacramento Valley to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. Sedimentation in the bypass diminishes its flood conveyance capacity, and Hg contamination is hazardous to humans and ecosystems. The purpose of this study is to locate and quantify mercury contamination in the Yolo Bypass. Concentrations of total mercury ([THg]) were measured in 22 …

Achieving Location Privacy In Ios Platform Using Location Privacy Framework, Anna Systaliuk

Master's Theses

Rising popularity of location-services mobile applications and geotagging digitalactivities resulted in astonishing amount of mobility data collected from user devices, raising privacy concerns regarding the way this data is extracted and handled. Despite numerous studies concluded that human location trace is highly unique and poses great re-identification risks, modern mobile operating systems fell short of implementing granular location access mechanism. Existing binary location access resulted into location-based-services being able to retrieve precise user’s coordinates regardless of how much details their functionality actually require and sell it to data brokers. This paper aims to provide practical solution how a mobile operating …

Smartrec - A Smart Conversational Recommendation System Using Semantic Knowledge Graphs, Sudha Vijayakumar

Master's Theses

CRS strives to return the most relevant recommendations to users through a multi-turn interactive conversation. The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated the pace of adoption of conversational AI systems by many online platforms needing to provide highly available customer support. This ongoing demand calls for the need to implement more generic and efficient conversational agents and recommendation engines that can provide customers with the required information at every stage of the user’s interaction with the e-commerce platform. This study presents a Smart Conversational AI-based recommendation system - SMARTREC, which enables a multi-turn conversation with the user to understand the context …

Diet Quality, Diet Motives, And Nutrition Literacy Of Vegans, Vegetarians, And Semi-Vegetarians, Sapna J. Peruvemba

Master's Theses

Individuals consuming plant-based diets have shown favorable dietary behaviors and diet quality. However, differences in diet quality considering motivations to adopt plant-based (vegan, vegetarian, and semi-vegetarian) diets and nutrition literacy, are not well known. The primary objective of this study was to assess diet quality, diet motives and nutrition literacy in vegans, vegetarians, and semi-vegetarians. The secondary objective was to investigate the association between diet motives and dietary quality. In this cross-sectional study, 223 participants completed an online survey and food frequency questionnaire. The study used the Healthy Eating Index-2015 to measure dietary quality, the Food Choice Questionnaire to measure …

The Modern-Day Effect Of Holc Redlining On Neighborhood Development, Liubov Ivashov

Master's Theses

Racial segregation, which happened more than one hundred years ago in the U.S., is a fundamental cause of economic inequality for people living in historically segregated neighborhoods today. Redlining was one form of federal policy that forced to separate communities by race even more after the Great Depression. The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) maps are widely used in economic research papers as one of the most comprehensive sources of data available to measure the effect of residential segregation. In this paper, using the Historical Redline Score (HRS) method, the author measured the association between modern-day population distribution, rent prices, …

Sexual And Reproductive Health Care For Undocumented Californians: Universal Health Care & Reproductive Justice, Josephine Emily Roberts

Master's Theses

Universal Health Care can hardly be achieved if the Sexual Reproductive Health needs of a population are not met. In other words, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Universal Health Care are mutually reinforcing, and the state of California should consider this when implementing Medi-Cal health care for all Undocumented Californians. In 2016, California implemented an extension of Medi-Cal treatment to undocumented children up to 26 years of age. Comparable to the United States Federal Medicaid program aimed to help cut health care costs for low-income and vulnerable populations, Medi-Cal offers some coverage for emergency medical services to undocumented individuals of …

Impact Of Climate Variability On Child Nutrition In Ethiopia, Juan S. Gomez

Master's Theses

Changes in precipitation and temperature due to climate change have caused a shortage in food productivity leading to an increase in malnutrition outcomes, especially among children in developing countries that are more susceptible to undernutrition outcomes. This study contributes to existing literature studying the impact of climate variability measured by temperature, precipitation, and vegetation index on wasting. Wasting is measured by the weight for height score during the main growing season (Meher) using Demographic and Health Surveys data for five different periods in Ethiopia. Results suggest that lower NDVI outcomes are associated with an increase in the risk of acute …

Formal And Informal Styles Of Clothing In The Assessment Of Female Political Candidates, Erma Kurtovic

Master's Theses

Abstract: This study will research the importance of dress code of female candidates on the confidence in leadership.The research question is: How Important is the Formality of Dress Code in the Assessment of Leadership of Female Political Candidates? It is addressed by using an experimental design carried out in India and the United States, using Qualtrics and Amazon Mechanical Turk. This research gathered 400 responses, 200 from each country. Primary data collection was used, with the implementation of two experiments. The experimental design of the two experiments consisted of two conditions, one in which the main political candidate is dressed …

Using Machine Learning To Analyze Children’S Drawings As Indicators Of Mental Well-Being, Nicholas R. Lawrie

Master's Theses

Human figure drawings are a well-studied diagnostic tool for emotional distress in children. Cleft lip/palate is one of the most common birth defects in the world, and has been shown to negatively impact emotional well-being in childhood which can have negative economic consequences in adulthood. Utilizing a dataset of human figure drawings from children in India and survey data on mental health, this paper will assess the impact of corrective surgery on mental health outcomes, as well as assess the validity of the drawing emotional indicators themselves. The results indicate that while the emotional indicators may not be valid in …

Women's Rights As Human Rights: A Spotlight On Women's Reproductive Rights And Structural Violence In Nigeria, Dominique C. Blakely

Master's Theses

My research aims to shed light on the injustices that women and girls are facing in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Furthermore, my research intends to reveal how international human rights law and human rights law are confronting these violations and show the shortcomings of these laws. Women in SSA have continued to be at the forefront of devastation due to their exposure to gender-based violence (GBV) such as rape (including marital rape), domestic violence, femicide, “feminization” of HIV/AIDS, early/child marriage, and maternal mortality, in addition to lack of access to proper and sufficient reproductive health care. I will use women’s rights …

It Could Be “Win-Win”: The Us-China Bilateral Relationship, Xiaying Huang

Master's Theses

The bilateral relationship between the United States and China is crucial for international relations since these two great power states will influence the global economy, politics, and security. However, the US-China bilateral relationship has not always been stable and peaceful. The trade war was current issue to make the relationship between the two countries tenser and tenser. On the US side, the trade war was thought to promote domestic production, but the reality was the opposite; the trade war just broke the bilateral relationship and provided no long-term advantages to the US economy. In March 2022, the U.S. restores tariffs …

Reproductive Health In Rural Guatemala: Finding A Medium Between State And Ngo Policies, Zayra Rivera

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand and evaluate the manner in which the NGO sector surpasses state led efforts related to improving knowledge about reproductive health within rural areas in Guatemala. This research focuses on using methodologies from four Adolescent Youth Health Programs within the region of Lake Atitlan as well as state run institutions such as schools and health centers.

More specifically, this case study seeks to analyze the current gaps sexual and reproductive health programming in rural indigenous towns in the Sololá department of Guatemala. It compares four private NGO institutions with two public organizations, specifically …

Borders, Bodies And Abuse: Exposing The Collusion Of Australia And The United States In Transnational Refugee Deterrence, Kaytlin Hancock

Master's Theses

This research explores a comparison of the use and abuse of deterrence policies, namely the externalisation of borders, and spatial control aimed to disallow entry for refugees and asylum seekers arriving by boat to both the United States and Australia. Paying particular attention to the immigration occurrences in the US from the early 1980s and present day responses in Australia, this research explores the rise in offshore detention centres and the ways in which these countries shirk their international obligations in a bid to strengthen sovereignty, by creating zones of exemption that expel refugees and asylum seekers to liminal spaces. …

Mahalaya: Building Community In The Filipinx Diaspora Through Solidarity Journalism, Casey Ticsay

Master's Theses

Unethical approaches to storytelling in professional journalism continue to shape public discourse around the diverse experiences of Asians and Asian Americans. This paper analyzes the origins and impact of ethnic news media, specifically the rise of Filipino and Filipino American press in the United States, and the ways journalists of color continue to challenge traditional practices of professional journalism that perpetuate anti-Blackness and maintain white supremacy. Filipino and Filipino American newspapers in the early twentieth century provide historical insight into the issues, debates, and conversations transpiring at the time and highlight the community’s ongoing response to the misrepresentations of their …

Heterogeneous Effects In Matching Grants, Kaustri Bhattacharyya

Master's Theses

The main objective of this thesis is to apply causal forest to identify the variables responsible for the treatment of heterogeneity without making any prior assumptions. This research is based on a paper based on a natural field experiment and explored how matching grants affect charitable giving.

The Role Of African Non-National Storytelling In Challenging Xenophobic Discourses In Post-Apartheid South Africa, Kelly Allyn Cruchett

Master's Theses

A growing body of literature on xenophobic violence in post-apartheid South Africa has shown that this form of violence targeted towards African non-nationals is closely linked to a xenophobic discourse of national chauvinism that has been deployed by powerful institutions since the nation’s independence. This capstone project seeks to highlight the role that non-national storytelling plays in addressing the issue of anti-African xenophobia and xenophobic violence in post-apartheid South Africa by challenging the discourses that contribute to it. Through the analysis of a NGO’s youth summit that revolved around the stories of four non-national speakers, this study examines the impact …

"Los De Abajo Reconstruimos": Zapatismo & Indigenous Gender Transformation, Elizama R. Rodas

Master's Theses

Indigenous women's voices have long been silenced in society, including the academic realm. The brutality of colonization toward Indigenous women's gender and racial identities has kept them isolated and suppressed up to the present time. For the last twenty-seven years, the Ejército Zapatista Liberación Nacional (EZLN) of Chiapas, Mexico, has campaigned against the Eurocentric ideologies that permeated post-colonization and influenced the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples significantly the discrimination of Indigenous women and other non-binary genders outside these Eurocentric definitions. This research aims to determine the effects of colonial gender existence and, through its deconstruction, also examines the destruction of environments. …

Violencia En Tránsito: Exploring The Multiplicities Of Violence That Shape Central American Migrant Women's Experiences Through Mexico And The Role Of Albergue Abba, Esmeralda Cardona

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the forms of state and non-state violence that migrant women1 from the Northern Triangle of Central America experience during their migration into Mexico and the role of Albergue Abba in Celaya, Guanajuato in their transit. As migrant women venture northward, they are vulnerable to being coerced and kidnapped while encountering gender-based violence, including rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking. While migrants suffer a multiplicity of violence in this region, this research will focus on the role of smuggling and human trafficking in order to better understand the vulnerabilities women migrants experience in …

Inaccessible Interpolated Imagery: How Coffee Farmers In The State Of Chiapas Might Access Political Economic Opportunity Through Representation, Paolo Fiann Bicchieri

Master's Theses

Here is a useful parable to boil down the idea of this project and set the tone: when one goes to the bar to tell a story about a fight at the bar, they would never venture to place themselves as the hero of the brawl, taking out three drunkards in a single punch, unless they were really in the bar, at that time, fighting a good fight. One would never do this as the bartender, locals, and regulars would all know if this were the case or not. Yet transnational corporations, governments, and even consumers do this all the …

The International Criminal Court And Civil Resistance, Anne E. Yamamoto

Master's Theses

There has long been work and research on international criminal justice in the face of great and tragic atrocities. One mechanism established to confront these atrocities and create international criminal justice is the International Criminal Court. Since its inception the court has drawn criticism both for its infringement on state sovereignty and its focus on Africa. My research looks at how the International Criminal Court can best work to address these critiques and continue to provide international criminal justice. I believe one facet of this can be found in the adoption of the normative framework of a Right to Assist …

Let’S Bring Intersectional Environmentalism To The Classroom: A Qualitative Study Upon Voices Of Intergenerational Asian American Activists, Michelle P. Sun

Master's Theses

Climate change and environmental pollution have been threatening people’s lives in recent years. Many educators and environmentalists have called for environmental justice education. However, most of the dominant mainstream forms of environmental education perpetuate environmental injustice, continue systemic oppression of marginalized communities, and do not lead to the needed transformation. Neoliberalism makes environmental education individualistic, and education for environmental justice requires cultural recognition. Additionally, the environmental contribution from Asian American communities is always marginalized. My paper conducted semi-structured interviews with three Asian American environmental activists. Based on the qualitative interviews, we are able to see Asian American activists’ experience in …

The Gallery As A Site Of Convergence: The Role Of Creative Environments At Postsecondary Institutions, Jordán Francisco Sandoval

Master's Theses

Not enough research explores the role of creative environments at postsecondary institutions. In response, this qualitative research study focuses upon university galleries believing them to be exemplary artistic spaces within college campuses. Using a theoretical framework of place-consciousness, the researcher examined the functions of the Mary and Carter Thacher Gallery at the University of San Francisco (USF), paying close attention to the ways it engaged the academic community in terms of scholarship and instruction. Informed by grounded theory and phenomenology, this study interviewed five professors who integrated a gallery visit into their curriculum during the 2021-2022 academic year. Collecting these …

Are School Districts Supporting Queer High School Students? A Document Analysis Of Sacramento School District Handbooks And Websites, Jisel Suguey Aguirre Noriega

Master's Theses

Queer youth face many obstacles and challenges, including unsafe conditions while in school and a lack of inclusive curriculum. Queer Theory, which disrupts and challenges the norms and heteronormativity of our current systematic, norm-based systems, helps us imagine what schools might look like if they support LGBTQIA+ youth.Using content analysis, I created my own protocols to analyze the handbooks and websites of three Sacramento area school districts. The findings indicated that all three school districts are providing some essential information in their handbooks and in their district websites for supporting Queer youth. There is still much work to be done …

My Generation Will Never Forget: Oral Histories Of Chinese American Students In “Separate But Equal” Oriental Schools, Kelsey Owyang

Master's Theses

Asian Americans occupy a contradictory position in the American educational landscape, at once glorified for their academic success and vilified for their “invasion” of White academic spaces. This narrative first took root in the 19^th century, when the California Supreme Court ruled in the 1885 case Tape v. Hurley that Chinese American youth had a right to public education. Simultaneously, the state legislature declared that Chinese Americans must be educated in separate facilities from Whites. The first segregated “Oriental school” opened in San Francisco Chinatown that year. This study explores the oft-erased history of Asian American school segregation in …

The Belt And Road Initiative In Kenya, As Represented By The Standard Gauge Railway (Sgr), Its Effects And The Response Of Kenyans To It., Kiplangat Arap Yegon

Master's Theses

China has sought to strengthen ties with many countries in the Global South, and many African countries have signed Memorandum of Agreements(MoU) with China leading to trade treaties, foreign direct investments, loans and grants flowing into the African continent from China. This aggressive push by China into Africa has come under intense scrutiny with different actors, scholars and powers having mixed takes on the move. In my thesis, I look at the ways in which China’s Belt and Road Initiative has been undertaken in Africa. I use Kenya as a main case study in looking at the ways in which …

The Importance Of The Process: Recommendations And Thoughts For A Colombian Teacher Training Plan Framed In Global Citizenship, Human Rights, And Peace Education, Edwin Mauricio Martínez Callejas Sj

Master's Theses

The Importance of the Process states that Global Citizenship Education, Human Rights Education, and Peace Education can significantly change the normalized violent context in Colombia. The change should start with a teacher training process. So, Teachers will go to their classrooms to educate their students with dialogue and reflection about processes and actions to move the country to a culture of peace. Thus, after reviewing current literature and interviewing educators, the research shows how it is not enough to have information and content but also to have an active, participatory, and sustainable work plan in which the importance of the …

An Annotated Bibliography Of String Method Books And Theory Books For Pre-College String Students, With A Focus On Music Theory Concepts And Sequence Analysis, Rebecca Zou Hale

Master's Theses

The Hattiesburg Public School District (HPSD) Strings program, one of the largest public school string programs in the state of Mississippi, has been utilizing a method book series titled Essential Elements for Strings (EES) in their curriculum since the early 2000s. After almost two decades of use, the HPSD Strings staff has noticed that a majority of intermediate and advanced strings students struggle with fundamental music theory concepts. The current music theory deficiencies necessitate an improvement in the HPSD Strings curriculum's choice of instructional materials.

Referencing established music curricula and music theory textbooks, the instruction of fundamental music theory concepts …

Mining And Displacement In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo (Drc), Buulo Emmanuel

Master's Theses

This study focuses on how artisanal mining in three regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)--Katanga and North and South Kivu-- have displaced and dispossessed surrounding communities. The study examines two related questions. First, how does artisanal mining affect the patterns of displacement and internal migration across the DRC? Second, how and why are mining companies able to displace local communities? Several existing theories provide insight into these research questions. This thesis draws on the contributions of four existing approaches, including 1) primitive accumulation or accumulation by dispossession (Harvey, 2013; Harrison, 2003); 2) weak state capacity (Herbst 2001); …