Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Temperature On Sexual Competition In Kelps: Implications For Range Shifts In Foundation Species, Alexis Cynthia Howard

Master's Theses

Kelp populations inhabit some of the most dynamic environments on the planet and often exist close to the limits of their temperature tolerances. Temperature cues reproductive processes in many kelps and fluctuating temperatures can affect kelp recruitment and population persistence. Some kelps compete sexually through their microscopic life history stages by releasing a pheromone that triggers the premature release of spermatozoids of neighboring species, leading to recruitment failure. It is unknown, however, whether changing temperature modifies competitive hierarchies among kelp species. To address this issue, I investigated how temperature affects sexual competition between microscopic stages of three co-existing and possibly …

The Excavation And Analysis Of Prehistoric Caribbean Remains: A Bioarchaeological Case Study Of A Prehistoric Female From Nevis, West Indies, Chris Keith

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT:

The Excavation and Analysis of Prehistoric Caribbean Remains: A Bioarchaeological Case Study of a Prehistoric Female from Nevis, West Indies

By Chris Keith

In the summer of 2011, the remains of a 1000 year old indigenous Caribbean woman were discovered buried on a beach near White Bay, Nevis, West Indies. The following summer, a team of excavators and osteologists, including the author, returned to Nevis to excavate and analyze the remains with the intention to learn as much as possible about the remains and, through proxy, the people to whom they belonged. We felt that through our investigations of …

The Lion & The Ringmaster: Croatia's Accession To The European Union, Jelena N. Bilandzich

Master's Theses

July 1, 2013 marked Croatia's official induction into the European Union. For Croatia this was the culmination of a long negotiation process filled with concessions and challenges. This situation inspired the question of how Croatia's alliance with the EU has affected the state? In order to analyze this relationship the aspects of Croatian identity and sovereignty were explored, in addition to the EU's principles and problems regarding member and candidate states. The evidence found within this investigation came from a number of literary sources ranging from the academic to official government documents. Furthermore, nine interviews were conducted within Croatia, which …

Loyalist Or Patriot: The Precarious Position Of Edmund Randolph, 1774-1786, Tanisha Jean Staten

Master's Theses

On May 29, 1787, Governor Edmund Randolph took the floor of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia with a radical plan for a new federal government. Randolph was a key member of the influential Virginia delegation which paved the way for United States' Constitutionalism. An examination of his early life, legal career, and politics offers a new lens with which to view the emergence of American constitutional ideology. Building off the work ofT.H. Breen, who argues that Virginia's landed gentry inhabited a distinct culture, this work illuminates the dynamics of these elites who were absolutely pivotal in shaping a new sense …

An Analysis Of Eliminating Electroosmotic Flow In A Microfluidic Pdms Chip, Cecile D. Redington

Master's Theses

The goal of this project is to eliminate electroosmotic flow (EOF) in a microfluidic chip. EOF is a naturally occurring phenomenon at the fluid-surface interface in microfluidic chips when an electric field is applied across the fluid. When isoelectric focusing (IEF) is carried out to separate proteins based on their surface charge, the analytes must remain in the separation chamber, and not migrate to adjacent features in the microfluidic chip, which happens with EOF.

For this project, a microfluidic chip was designed and commissioned to be photolithographically transferred onto a Si wafer. A PDMS component was then casted on the …

Inconspicuous But Indispensable: Charles Anderson Dana As Assistant Secretary Of War, Aaron Edward Foster

Master's Theses

Charles Anderson Dana's contributions to Union victory during the American Civil War extend far beyond his well-known relationship with General Ulysses S. Grant. Using both his journalistic talents and patriotism, he gained Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton's trust, which was essential for Dana to perform his duties effectively at the War Department in Washington City from 1864 to 1865. His obligations encompassed a broad spectrum of responsibilities from investigating dishonest contractors and federal officials attempting to defraud the government to authorizing the arbitrary arrests of civilians. He simultaneously performed lesser-known activities such as arranging soldiers' furloughs for the 1864 …

The Limitations Of Democratic Peace, Anthony Glenn Jordan

Master's Theses

The theory of Democratic Peace suggests that democracies are unlikely to wage war on one another, yet it spends little time actually defining what democracies are. Research on the theory of Democratic Peace suggests that the theory only applies to mature democracies, but how is maturity determined? The criteria used by multiple scholars is needed to defend the theory from particular challenges such as the Cenepa Valley War, but even with such defenses, the criteria omits how a state treats women and racial minorities. These omissions become clear when one examines how scholars treat the United States of America. This …

Paris: A Parallel Rsa-Prime Inspection Tool, Joseph R. White

Master's Theses

Modern-day computer security relies heavily on cryptography as a means to protect the data that we have become increasingly reliant on. As the Internet becomes more ubiquitous, methods of security must be better than ever. Validation tools can be leveraged to help increase our confidence and accountability for methods we employ to secure our systems.

Security validation, however, can be difficult and time-consuming. As our computational ability increases, calculations that were once considered “hard” due to length of computation, can now be done in minutes. We are constantly increasing the size of our keys and attempting to make computations harder …

Uav Formation Flight Utilizing A Low Cost, Open Source Configuration, Christian W. Lopez

Master's Theses

The control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a swarm or cooperative team scenario has been a topic of great interest for well over a decade, growing steadily with the advancements in UAV technologies. In the academic community, a majority of the studies conducted rely on simulation to test developed control strategies, with only a few institutions known to have nurtured the infrastructure required to propel multiple UAV control studies beyond simulation and into experimental testing. With the Cal Poly UAV FLOC Project, such an infrastructure was created, paving the way for future experimentation with multiple UAV control systems. …

The Presence Of Coups D'État Within Revolutions: Effects On Population Health, Rose E. Facchini

Master's Theses

The present study is a comparative approach to revolutions and their effect on population health during the post-conflict period. Specifically, it attempts to determine whether revolutions that are accompanied by a coup d'état have a significant negative impact on post-revolution population health. Degree of revolutionary violence, governmental structures, and pre-revolution health systems is of particular interest as relevant variables. The study focuses on the Latin American countries of Nicaragua and Chile due to their similar region and timeframe. The revolutions and accompanying coup d'état in both of these countries do not demonstrate different patterns on public health in the post-conflict …

From Clear Fulfillment To Complex Prophecy: The History Of The Adventist Interpretation Of Revelation 9, From 1833 To 1957, Jon Hjorleifur Stefansson

Master's Theses

Seventh-day Adventists originally agreed on the meaning of Rev 9 and regarded it as a very important prophecy, whereas today there is no consensus on this prophecy, which is regarded as both complex and non-vital. This thesis seeks to explain why this change occurred by tracing the history of the development of the interpretation of the fifth and sixth trumpets from 1833 to 1957, both in published and unpublished primary sources. Critics of the traditional interpretation found fault with its exegesis and historical application. Traditionalists never answered their questions comprehensively and this is the main reason why consensus was lost. …

A Girlhood Of Myth, Dreams, And Trauma: Redefining The Asian North American Female Bildungsroman, Danielle Brianna Crawford

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the use of myth, dreams, and historical trauma within the genre of the Asian North American female bildungsroman. In an attempt to redefine the contested genre of the ethnic bildungsroman, this study analyzes three novels by Asian American and Asian Canadian female authors: Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's When the Rainbow Goddess Wept (1991), Joy Kogawa's Obasan (1981), and Lan Cao's Monkey Bridge (1997). Each of these novels is an ethnic bildungsroman that highlights the identity formation of a female protagonist in the midst of historical trauma. This study focuses on the ways in which these texts resist the …

An Examination Of The Representation Of Irish Catholic Priests In Contemporary Irish Theatre, James Patrick Jeans

Master's Theses

Modern Irish theatre can trace its origins to the creation of The Irish Literary Theatre by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory in 1899, which later became the Irish National Theatre Society, and eventually, the Abbey Theatre. For more than 100 years, Irish theatre has served as a mirror for reflecting Irish identity and as an oracle of future possibilities. A decade into the Twenty First Century found Irish identity challenged by a child abuse scandal of tragic proportions whereby over 30,000 children suffered at the hands of a duplicitous and negligent Catholic Church. The purpose of this thesis is to …

In Pursuit Of A Globalized University: An Analysis Of The Sjsu Salzburg Program, Elizabeth Diane Ohlhausen

Master's Theses

Colleges and universities are responding to the force of globalization by encouraging faculty and administrators to develop programs that support students in the global worlds of work and of citizenship. Through a partnership with the Salzburg Global Seminar's International Study Program (ISP), San José State University (SJSU) is making efforts to "globalize the campus" through institutional change. The ISP draws on the Salzburg Global Seminar's experience with the Universities Project and with other institutions of higher education in the United States to create the desired change. This paper examined the progress of the SJSU Salzburg Program (the Program), drawing on …

Constrains On Freedom Of Expression In Turkey: The Effects Of Article 301, Armine Sargsyan

Master's Theses

Concerns over human rights violations in Turkey by the European Union (EU) have hindered the Republic of Turkey’s accession to the EU. Freedom of expression has been denied through a number of laws since the creation of the Republic in 1923. This thesis presents how and why speech has been constrained in Turkey, and it provides an argument that Ottoman history has a direct impact on the country’s politics today. It also examines the implications of legislation that has been applied to silence individuals addressing controversial issues in public. In particular, Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code has been …

Countering Youth Incarceration: Community Strategies In New Orleans And Cape Town, Ariel Marshall

Master's Theses

This research project looks at community-level remedial strategies addressing high youth incarceration and recidivism rates in the cities of Cape Town and New Orleans. Working within a theoretical framework of structural violence, I argue that the dominant discourse of Criminal Justice is based in punitive and retributive methodologies that have severe and long term implications for the psychological and social well being of detained youth, as well as the communities to which they return after imprisonment. My aim was to take a ‘bottom-up’ approach and examine the community-based projects in the two cities, which are developing counter-hegemonic knowledge and practices …

Dual Intransigence: An Assessment Of The Us-Iran Conflict And Prospects For Rapprochement, Chad Lama

Master's Theses

In the months leading up to the 2012 Presidential Election, a number of Republican candidates that were vying for the nomination against the incumbent, Barack Obama, made sensational claims regarding the “Nuclear Iran Question”. This study discusses the issue of a nuclear Iran, what this means for regional stability, and what America’s options are in dealing with the Islamic Republic. Specifically the researcher addresses the consequences of a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, conducting a discourse analysis for the purposes of demonstrating the polarizing affect this issue has had on some of the leading scholars, theorists and practitioners. The central …

Egyptian Civil Society (Transnational Vs. Local): The Distinction Between Theory And Practice, Jeremiah Davis

Master's Theses

Abstract:

The strength and dominance of political society, rather than the weaknesses of civil society, is arguably one of the primary reasons for massive civil uprising in Egypt led by independent, unaffiliated members of society. In many cases it appears that civil society was behind the Egyptian Revolution, although is this the case? Did the Revolution happen in spite of civil society? Just as the state can be a roadblock to development and democratization, civil society may also be detrimental to society’s growth. In this thesis, the development and civil society community is analyzed to discover the functions of CSOs …

The Flow Of Water, Power, And Ideas: Water Commodification In Cape Town, South Africa And The Stratified Experiences Of Time And Space Compression, Jenna Washburn

Master's Theses

I use the neoliberalization of the water sector in Cape Town, South Africa in order to test my theory of unequal development. I assert that the neoliberal economic practices of water commodification, business-friendly tariff policies, and prepaid management devices keep people along the periphery from accessing water, power, and ideas – thus causing a stratification of time and space compression between the core and the periphery.

By painting a theoretical picture of world cities, I wish to complicate the dominant views of time/space compression and suggest that, much like development and arguably because of it, time and space compression actually …

Fungal Biofilm Colonization And Succession On Artificial Reefs In The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Amy Leigh Salamone

Master's Theses

This study represents the first characterization of natural mixed-species fungal biofilm communities on artificial reefs in the marine environment. Previous fungal biofilm studies have failed to observe the naturally-occurring biodiversity in coastal areas, which comprise the most utilized zone of the marine environment. Artificial reefs can increase fishing yields, amplify oyster habitats, contribute to shoreline stabilization, promote good water quality, and deter pollution. Proper management practices of artificial reefs require knowledge of the colonization of these new habitats by marine organisms and their subsequent succession. Fungi, along with bacteria, archaea, protists, algae, and diatoms, quickly form a complex biofilm on …

Perceptions And Realities Of The Irish Republican Army During The Second World War, L.B. Wilson Iii

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the British and German perception of the IRA and claims that the organization represented an insurmountable obstacle to the progress of both German intelligence and British counter-intelligence. The IRA was also the primary contributor to the political troubles oflrish neutrality during World War II. It examines the perceived threat of the IRA in the minds of the Irish Prime Minister Eamon de Valera and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and those ministers' respective governments. The thesis looks at official debates in the British Parliament and the Irish Dail as well as interwar newspapers and official records. Additionally, …

Exclusion And Xenophobia: Norwegian Society's Influences On Anders Behring Breivik's Counter-Jihadism, Anna Katariina Oraviita Eriksen

Master's Theses

On July 22^nd 2011 Norway was shocked by the first terrorist attacks on Norwegian soil since the German occupation during World War II. As Norway is internationally renowned as a peaceful and idyllic society the terrorist attacks, questions of why the attacks took place in Norway arose. My thesis examines which societal factors in Norway have contributed to Anders Behring Breivik's terrorist attacks in Oslo and on Utøya, July 22^nd 2011. To do so, I have employed qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles which has allowed me to extract themes relevant to determine which factors in the Norwegian …

German Pows, Biopolitics, & The Piney Woods: Using Foucault To Analyze Resistance At Camp Shelby's Pow Camp During World War Ii, Patricia Lynn Miller-Beech

Master's Theses

Few people realize that during World War II, Camp Shelby in south Mississippi was a detention site for German prisoners of war (POWs) where the United States government engaged in reeducation efforts to de-Nazify soldiers in order to create a democratic Germany after the war. The U.S. War Department hoped the success of this program would create allies and prevent another war in the future. Despite the reeducation program being in all POW camps in the U. S., Camp Shelby was distinctive due to the racial politics of Mississippi during the height of the Jim Crow era. It is also …

A Bloody Yesteryear And A Brighter Tomorrow: Late Cold War Anti-Heroes In The 1980s Graphic Novels Of Alan Moore And Frank Miller, Jeremy Andrew Defatta

Master's Theses

The 1980s—the last decade of the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union—was a time of great change in the medium of graphic literature. Among the writers who changed superhero comic books through such strategies as the adoption of the anti-hero concept were Alan Moore and Frank Miller. In Watchmen and V for Vendetta, Alan Moore presents his super anti-heroes as intellectuals whose missions are the transformation and disruption of a national status quo in order to foster a brighter future. In Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Daredevil: Born Again, Frank Miller presents his reinvented …

Physiological Politics: Stress And Dominance Responses To Political News, Erin Strauts

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The United States Military Realignment On Okinawa, Kevin M. Evringham

Master's Theses

The United States maintains military bases in foreign countries in efforts to protect American overseas interests, whether they are economic, diplomatic or for geostrategic purposes. In Japan, where the United States has maintained military installations since the end of World War II, debate over the realignment of forces on Okinawa has caused minor, yet growing, rifts in the stable United States-Japanese alliance. Current plans to shift American military forces from Okinawa to locations throughout the Pacific do not take into account the historical or geostrategic factors for their stationing in Japan. This thesis identifies the geostrategic challenges to the current …

"Where The Deepening Thunders Call": Voice In Herman Melville's Battle-Pieces And Aspects Of The War, Loren Percy Bishop

Master's Theses

Scholarship has long under-appreciated Herman Melville's 1866 collection of Civil War poetry, Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War, partly due to the poems' inconsistent and distanced perspectives. Melville's experimental use of poetic voice and his unconventional depiction of fictional voices within the poems contribute to the collection's distanced perspectives, as well as to the volume's sometimes difficult and even awkward poetics. However, these experimental voices are also crucial to understanding Melville's attempt to describe changes in the relationship between American individuals and the nation occurring during and immediately following the tumultuous war. Melville's experiments in poetic voice also denote …

Furnish The Balance: The 1863 Roots Of Hard Strategy In The American Civil War, Angela Maria Riotto

Master's Theses

Scholars consider U.S. Major General William T. Sherman's 1864 Meridian campaign as the origin of hard war strategy during the American Civil War. While Sherman's 1864 expedition is a clear demonstration of hard war, it did not begin there. Rather, U.S. Major General Ulysses S. Grant's planned and Sherman's implemented destruction of Jackson, Mississippi in May 1863 was their first use of hard war and is key to understanding the Union's acceptance of hard war strategy. Chapter I and Chapter II of this thesis explore the Army of the Tennessee's march to Jackson and Sherman's destruction of the city, along …

Dc Dielectrophoretic Assisted Anti-Fouling Filtration System, Nathan M. Cohen

Master's Theses

Filtration processes, whether on the microfluidic, clinical treatment systems, or industrial scale (e.g., point-of-care diagnostics, dialysis, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, respectively), are often inseparable from membrane clogging (fouling). As a consequence, most, if not all, filtration systems require frequent maintenance to maintain functionality and efficiency. The thesis of this project hypothesizes that Dielectrophoresis can be combined with standard filtration to reduce filter fouling, extending membrane life, and enabling continuous operation. This project investigates a method to reduce fouling, add specificity and efficiency, and decrease the cost and challenge of filtration based biofluid separations.

To substantiate this thesis, we designed, fabricated, and …

Mood Management And Video-Game Engagement: The Importance Of User-Experience And Gender In Assessing The Psychological Effects Of Video-Game Play, Crystine Serrone

Master's Theses

The overall purpose of this thesis was to investigate the psychological effects of video-game play. The two central goals were to (a) compare and contrast three classic media theories (Mood Management Theory, The Catharsis Hypothesis, and Excitation-Transfer Theory) as they apply to the effects of video-game play, and (b) investigate the importance of user-experience variables and gender in predicting psychological outcomes of play. In a two-group mixed experimental design, all participants underwent a frustration/stress mood-induction procedure before playing a violent or nonviolent video-game. Questionnaires were administered both pre- and post-play to assess affect, arousal, and dominance as well as the …