Political Beliefs, Region Of Residence, And Openness To Firearm Means Safety Measures To Prevent Suicide, Sarah E. Butterworth

Master's Theses

Firearms account for approximately half of all suicides in the US and are highly lethal, widely available, and popular; thus, firearms are an ideal candidate for targeted means safety interventions. However, despite their value as a suicide prevention tool, firearm means safety strategies are not widely utilized, possibly due to factors which impede openness to their use. This study examined the relationship between region, political beliefs, and openness to firearm means safety in a sample of 300 American firearm owners. Overall, firearm owners were more willing to engage in means safety for others than for themselves and to store firearms …

Investigating Possible Scurvy In The Postclassic Maya Of Tipu, Emmalea Gomberg

Master's Theses

Although residing in a tropical environment, numerous researchers have posited the possibility of scurvy in the Maya in recent years. The historic population of Tipu in western Belize dating to AD 1541-1638 is one of the largest and best preserved Maya series, and was therefore evaluated for possible presence of scurvy since the diet appears typical of the pre-contact Petén populations. The temporal bones and greater wings of the sphenoid were analyzed for scorbutic activity in 143 individuals, along with periodontal disease and antemortem tooth loss to determine if there was a co-occurrence with scurvy.

Overall, 27% of the sample …

Pseudomonas/Brachypodium As A Model System For Studying Rhizosphere Plant Microbe Interactions Under Water Stress, Janiece Mcwilliams

Master's Theses

In contrast to well-studied mechanisms of drought tolerance in plants, the interactions between plants and their microbiome during water stress are still poorly understood. This missing knowledge is crucial for the exploitation of beneficial microbial communities to improve the sustainability of agriculture under changing climatic conditions. The research described here bridged this gap by focusing on the molecular interactions between beneficial rhizobacterium Pseudomonas synxantha 2-79 and annual grass Brachypodium distachyon Bd21. 2-79 exemplifies a group of rhizobacteria associated with dryland wheat, while B. distachyon originates from the Middle East and has emerged as a model for valuable biomass, food, forage, …

The Return Of The Dead: Resurrecting Chappell's Family Gathering, Jonathan Moore

Master's Theses

This thesis examines Fred Chappell’s virtually overlooked collection of poetry Family Gathering (2000), and how the poems operate within the mode of the grotesque. I argue that the poems illuminate both the southern grotesque and Roland Barthes’s theory of photography’s Operator, Spectator, and Spectrum. I address Family Gathering as a family photo album full of still shots, snapshots, and even selfies, which illumines how Chappell’s use of the grotesque in this collection derives more from its original association with visual arts rather than only depicting the grotesque typically associated with characteristics deemed explicitly shocking or terrifying. I argue that …

Holocene Formation And Evolution Of Horn Island, Mississippi, Usa, Nina Gal

Master's Theses

Horn Island, one of the most stable barriers along the Mississippi-Alabama chain, provides critical habitat, helps regulate estuarine conditions in the Mississippi Sound, and reduces wave energy and storm surge for the mainland. This study integrates 2,200 km of high-resolution geophysics, 35 sediment cores, and 15 radiocarbon ages to better understand the formation and evolution of the island in response to sea-level rise, storms, and antecedent geology. The Biloxi and Pascagoula incised valleys converge at Horn Island and have played a profound role in the evolution of the system. Within the incised valleys, numerous shallow paleochannels between 4 and 9 …

Rhetoric, Legislation, And The Felony Offender, Cyrus Taylor

Master's Theses

Rhetoric is arguably of more importance than the message that is being overtly conveyed. Therefore, it is of great importance to understand how rhetoric can be utilized to convey one message while simultaneously transmitting another distinct message (Walter 2017). In this study, discourse analysis was conducted by examining the rhetoric associated with the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (VCCLE), through the use of legislative speeches and newspaper articles, to determine how language has effectively resulted in the relegation of felony offenders within a class-based society. Utilizing two theories, class structure theory and distributive justice theory, an understanding was …

A Stormwater Management Model For California Polytechnic State University Campus, Hsuan-Wen Chu

Master's Theses

Developments that have been taking place on Cal Poly campus over the years have altered the natural hydrology of the area. Stormwater management practices could help reduce the impacts of these developments. Computer models can help to design effective and economical stormwater management solutions at a watershed scale. As such, the objective of this study was to develop a stormwater management model for Cal Poly campus. The model was developed based on the utility data obtained from the university and other watershed data available from open sources. Field surveys were conducted to address some anomalies in the utility data, and …

The Use Of Alternative And Conventional Medications For Treating Hypertension By Jamaicans In The Hartford, Connecticut Area, Judith Bennett

Master's Theses

Abstract

Background

Hypertension continues to be an international public health concern. This chronic disease is highly prevalent in Caribbean countries. Jamaican migrants to the Greater Hartford, Connecticut area share in this high prevalence. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concomitant use of herbal and conventional medicines for treating hypertension among these migrant Jamaicans.

Methods

Qualitative and quantitative mixed methods were used to carry out this study. Focus groups and in-depth interviews collected qualitative data and a survey questionnaire collected quantitative data allowing for representation and hypothesis testing. Analysis of qualitative data used a thematic approach while SPSS …

Optimizing A Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reactionprotocol For The Characterization Of Gene Expression In Blood Vesselmimics, Tristin Mcguffick

Master's Theses

Blood vessel mimics (BVMs) are tissue engineered blood vessels that are intended as an intermediate testing environment for intravascular devices, such as stents. Specifically, Cal Poly’s Tissue Engineering Lab hypothesizes that BVMs can be used to test endothelial cell and smooth muscle cell responses to existing and new vascular stents. Characterization techniques are required for BVMs to be accepted as a valid testing model, prior to being employed as an in vitro model to determine the effects of medical treatments. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is one available option for evaluating gene expression of tissues. qPCR can be performed …

Covering A Killer: A Content Analysis Of Newspaper Coverage Of White Male Mass Murderers In The U.S, Rhys Hall

Master's Theses

White men represent a disproportionate number of mass murderers via guns/bombings in the U.S. Though, there may be disparities in how often white masculinity is probed as a conflictual site of socialization when compared with other social racial and gender identities. Holding concern for how masculine violence is criminalized across racial lines, I conduct a review of racial typificiations of Black crime in newspapers to juxtapose with contemporary discourse of white masculine crime.

Using content analysis, I examine hundreds of newspaper publications released from 2011-2016 covering mass killers. I look for tendencies from paper writers to minimize sociological similarities between …

Prophecy For Sale: On American Rails, Erik Bryan White

Master's Theses

Prophecy for Sale: On American Rails follows the poetic tradition of Walt Whitman and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. This collection contains five numbered sections which show a progression of the human consciousness. Drawing on the works of Sylvia Plath, Weldon Kees, Jack Spicer, and others, the works in this collection exhibit a strong poetic American voice. Section “I: How Much Longer?” addresses class separation, racism, and inequality. Form mirrors content, confronting a world which seems bent on its own destruction. Section “II: The New Garden,” explores the human impact on nature in more detail and sets up solutions to the problems of …

Ban The Box: Outcomes Of Mandatory Disclosure And Predictors Of Voluntary Disclosure Of Criminal History In Job Applications, Ginevra Marta Scherini

Master's Theses

The present study was conducted in order to examine the outcomes of mandatory disclosure of criminal history on the individual during the job application process and predictors of the likelihood of voluntary disclosure. It was hypothesized that having to disclose criminal history would predict higher levels of self-identification with criminal history, higher levels of experienced discrimination, higher levels of perceived stigma, lower levels of attraction towards the organization, lower confidence in obtaining employment, and lower levels of likelihood of voluntary disclosure. It was also hypothesized that environmental support, employment self-efficacy, self-identification with criminal history, and less experienced discrimination would predict …

(T)Witch Hunting: A Crusade Against Women And Femininity In The Digital Age, Marcus Garcia

Master's Theses

The digital world is an integral part of everyday life regarded as an extension of the self and the physical world. The advent of live video streaming services offers a more interactive form of social media than existing photo and video sharing platforms, like Facebook or Instagram. Twitch, a social video streaming service where people watch live broadcasts of video game play and other various forms of creative content, has contributed to the creation and growth of online communities where variations and similarities between online and offline self are made visible. Early research, specifically concerned with cyberbullying, identifies age, gender, …

Numerical Studies Of Turbulence Effects In Cross-Flow Ventilation, Mina Mohammadmirzaei

Master's Theses

Natural ventilation systems reduce a building’s utilization of energy in terms of electricity consumption and fossil fuel usage. Many factors including building shape, window style and configuration, and wind turbulence impact the efficacy of natural ventilation. In order to investigate the effect of turbulence on natural ventilation, twelve different conditions of a cross-flow ventilated room were studied numerically using computational fluid dynamics. Wind tunnel studies of tracer gases in a scale model were used to validate the numerical results. A comparison of twelve investigated cases shows that air circulation inside a natural ventilated room is only slightly affected by turbulence, …

Changes In The Elasmobranch Assemblage In A California Estuary, Catarina Pien

Master's Theses

Elkhorn Slough is an estuarine system that provides habitat for several elasmobranch species. During the past century, the hydrography and habitat of Elkhorn Slough have dramatically changed. Previous studies suggest shifts in the species composition and habitat usage patterns of elasmobranchs. This study characterizes the elasmobranch species composition, and examines the abiotic conditions associated with differences in distribution by sex and life stage. Elasmobranchs were sampled from 2015 –2016 by longline and gillnet. Bat rays (Myliobatis californicus), leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata), and thornback rays (Platyrhinoidis triseriata) were most commonly observed, and were generally more abundant during the dry seasons and …

All Eyes On You: The Impact Of Increased Surveillance And Media Publicity On Police Identity, Sara Serpa Rodrigues

Master's Theses

The recent surge in media footage surrounding police killings of unarmed black men clearly signifies the national concern for police violence, yet researchers have yet to study police identity in connection with such publicized inequality. This qualitative study closes this gap in research by addressing the following questions: “How do patrolling officers think about and experience their jobs at this particular historical juncture of increased internet and media exposure?” and, “How does the mass exposure and scrutiny of police violence shape police perceptions of their work and impact their work identity?” Face to face semi-structured interviews, symbolic interactionism, and interpretive …

Personality, Motivation, And The War Between Facebook And Twitter, Elizabeth Shallal

Master's Theses

Social networking sites (SNSs) have recently become integrated in modern lives as entertainment, communication, and even careers have become more reliant on them. The current study explored the relationship between Facebook and Twitter attachment and demographic, motivation, and personality traits. Differing psychological relationships may explain why people become more attached to specific SNSs as well as explain their continuance of use. Using online self-report measures, this study measured motivations to use Facebook and Twitter, the Big Five personality traits, and Facebook/Twitter attachment of 109 participants who have been users of both Facebook and Twitter. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions showed …

For The Bible Tells Me So, Jade Dozier

Master's Theses

The relationship between the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning) community and the church has been studied for critical reasons. The connection between the two has been uneasy because of the religious beliefs from religious groups and the many misunderstandings of what the LGBTQ community believes in. I have been able to understand the poor relationship between the Black church and homosexuality from the sources that are examined in my Literature Review. I evaluated the similarities and differences between queer men and women based on upbringing, denomination, and familial acceptance. As a LA native, I narrowed research on Black …

Autonomy In Video Games And Gamification, Jonathan Leventhal

Master's Theses

In the past decade, gamification (using game elements in non-gaming tasks to enhance motivation and engagement) has become a popular concept in many industries, but few studies have explored the principles under which it works. Self-determination theory suggests three psychological needs that gamification fulfills: competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Autonomy, a person's perception that they have the ability to act however they choose, has emerged as an important, yet less-studied aspect in gamification. Inclusion of autonomy in gamification should foster engagement, enjoyment, and better performance. An experiment inspired by the above was carried out in which a sample of college students …

A Biochemical Study Of The Autocatalytic Nature Of A Serine Protease (Early Trypsin) From The Aedes Aegypti Female Mosquito, Rachael Marie Lucero

Master's Theses

The female Aedes aegypti mosquito requires specific midgut proteases to digest

blood meals in a biphasic manner for completion of the gonotrophic cycle. The anautogenous nature of the female mosquito has led to the mosquito in becoming an efficient vector in transmitting several bloodborne pathogens: Chikungunya, Yellow Fever, Dengue and the Zika virus. With the many flaws associated with current vector control strategies, our research lab is focused on the development of a potential novel vector control strategy by targeting midgut proteases involved in blood meal digestion. The role of one of the four most abundantly expressed proteases, AaET, an …

Objects Of Politics, Objects Of Art: Three Studies On The Display Of American Political Prints, Ricardo Chavez

Master's Theses

Fueled by the radical political thinking of the 1960s and beyond, people in the United States produced artistic responses in the form of political prints and posters for both documenting and actively galvanizing the popular movements of this era. This study analyzes the display of these prints and posters within an art-viewing context. It argues that, with characteristics of both objects of politics and objects of art, these works possess dynamic meaning that can be impacted by the institutional narratives of the locations in which they reside. Looking at three examples of political print exhibitions organized individually by the Museum …

Associative Memory Performance Following Periods Of Wakeful Rest And Technological Distraction, Chalise Carlson

Master's Theses

We often spend breaks in our day by engaging with technological devices. However, literature across several species indicates that resting quietly without engaging in other activities, termed wakeful rest, can be beneficial to memory consolidation, a period following encoding which serves to stabilize memories. Prior research demonstrates that wakeful rest benefits memory for single items. However, the effects of wakeful rest on associative memory, (i.e. memory for associations between stimuli), remain unclear. To elucidate the effects of wakeful rest on associative memory, a study was designed to examine differences in associative memory performance following periods of wakeful rest and game …

Stratospheric Intrusions Over Northern California During Cabots: A Study Of Ozone Transport And The Influence On Surface Ozone Pollution In The Sacramento Valley, Jodie Clark

Master's Theses

Stratospheric intrusions occur above California throughout all seasons. Stratospheric intrusions are known to transport ozone rich stratospheric air into the lower troposphere, influencing surface ozone, especially in the mountainous regions of the western US. These intrusions potentially influence the surface ozone concentrations to be above the health-based national ambient air quality standard. Potential Vorticity is a widely accepted tracer of stratospheric air masses being injected into the troposphere. Stratospheric intrusions during the last few weeks of the California Baseline Ozone Transport Study are identified over Northern California, influencing air masses above Bodega Bay and Sacramento. Utilizing daily ozonesonde data from …

Parental Perspective And Feeding Practices Effects On Food Neophobia In Elementary-Age School Children, Farnoosh Ayoughi

Master's Theses

The Food neophobia (FN) behaviors in children are developed during childhood and can be influenced by parental FN and feeding behaviors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between FN and fruit and vegetable neophobia (FVN) among parents, the parents-reports on child's behavior and child self-reports. The effect of parental feeding practices and demographic variables on children’s FN and FVN were evaluated. Sixty-eight parents paired with their elementary school children (aged 7-12 years) in San Luis Coastal Unified School District participated in this study. Results indicated that parents reported their children more neophobic than children self-reported neophobia; …

Modeling And Simulation Of Vehicle Performance In A Uav Swarm Using Horizon Simulation Framework, Adam J. Frye

Master's Theses

A UAV swarm is simulated using Horizon Simulation Framework. The asset utilized for the swarm agent is a simplified model of the MQ-1 Predator, a large fixed-wing aircraft. The simulated swarm utilizes a decentralized cooperative control approach to command the assets through the use of digital pheromones and a pheromone map. Each vehicle operates at steady-state flight conditions of 36 m/s with an altitude of 1,800 m, and utilize an LQR set-point controller to maneuver through the pheromone map. All pheromone and aircraft related models are written in Python to expand the HSF scripting capability and include airborne scenarios. The …

Understanding Spatiotemporal Growth Of Ride Source Services In New York City, Lorenzo Roland Varone

Master's Theses

Ride source is among the fastest growing services in the transportation sector. While the service initially served a niche market, ridership has boomed in recent years. Daily ride source pickups in New York City have increased from about 60,400 pickups in January 2015 to about 550,000 pickups in December 2017, an 810% increase. Even though ride source broke into the transportation landscape almost seven years ago, research studying its effects has been stunted by the limited open source data made available by TNCs. In order to help city officials make smart policy decisions regarding ride source, transportation experts must continue …

Sustainable Safety And The Decreasing Vulnerability Of Cyclists And Pedestrians In The Netherlands: Lessons For The United States, Vannesa Kello

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Mechanical Behavior Of Hybrid Concrete-Filled Fiber Reinforced Polymer Tube Columns, Samuel Turek

Master's Theses

Much of America’s infrastructure is in a state of disrepair. Many bridges are approaching or have passed their designed service life. Engineers and bridge owners have an obligation to rebuild back better. This can be achieved, in part, through the utilization of novel high performance structural systems. One such technology, the concrete-filled fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tube (CFFT) system has been extensively studied the past few decades as an alternative design for bridge columns. This column system greatly simplifies construction by eliminating the need for column formwork and associated scaffolding. It also contributes to the confinement of the concrete, improving …

Environmental Factors That Affect Kenneled Shelter Dogs In Connecticut, Laura Burban

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Women With A Cause: Art, Representation, And Feminist Progress In Eighteenth-Century France, Darby Marie Leahy

Master's Theses

Throughout the eighteenth century the Age of Enlightenment transformed public discourse across Western Europe. In France, the salons of Paris became the primary institutions of Enlightenment thought. Hosted by women, the salons possessed a unique atmosphere in which men and women were regarded as intellectual equals. My thesis focuses on the role the female hostesses, salonnières, had in initiating French movements for gender equality that continued with great momentum throughout the French Revolution. By using popular artwork, literature, and memoirs I show how the efforts of French women to achieve gender equality helped give early rise to feminism.