Digital Commons Network^™

Stakeholder Engagement In Marine Protected Area Network Planning In Southern California: Understanding Fishing, Government, And Environmental Perspectives, Nicole Catalano

Master's Theses

This study focuses on the MPA network planning process associated with California’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) in southern California, occurring between 2008-2009. This case study demonstrates the ongoing complexity of MPA planning efforts in balancing social and science goals and reinforces the view that public participation alone may not be sufficient in achieving the type of stakeholder support needed for successful MPA implementation. Using a qualitative approach, this research draws upon the field of public participation to examine the efficacy of the planning process from the perspectives of fishing, government, and environmental stakeholders. Findings reveal significant differences in perceptions …

Mindfulness Modulated Attention With Neurofeedback In Multiple Object Tracking, Jennifer M. Brennan

Master's Theses

Attention determines what we selectively perceive out of all available stimuli. The multiple-object tracking paradigm is a way of examining divided attention for object tracking in a complex visual scene. Mindfulness is a broad term for a set of diverse and specific methods for distinct attentional engagement and is one technique for increasing visual attentional ability and decreasing distractibility. Neurofeedback can be a way of enhancing mindfulness training for novice participants. This study examined the relationship between attention and mindfulness with neurofeedback through performance on a multiple-object tracking task and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. We examined the effectiveness of …

Psychopathology And Creativity Among Creative And Non-Creative Professions, Victor Kwan

Master's Theses

The mad genius debate has been a topic that has been discussed in both popular culture and academic discourse. The current study sought to replicate previous findings that linked psychopathology to creativity. A total of 165 biographies of eminent professionals (artists, scientists, athletes) were rated on 19 mental disorders using a three point scale of not present (0), probable (1), and present (2) for potential symptoms. Athletes served as an eminent but not creative comparison group in order to discern whether fame, independent of creativity, was associated with psychopathology. Comparison of proportion analyses were conducted to identify differences of proportion …

The Role Of Psychological States In Predicting Work Engagement: A Test Of Kahn's Model, Taylor Gatti

Master's Theses

Researchers have consistently found engagement to be linked to positive individual and organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction, job performance, customer satisfaction, and productivity. Although task characteristics, transformational leadership, and core self-evaluations have been found to be important determinants of engagement, the mechanisms of why they are related to engagement are not well understood. Kahn (1990) argues that individuals become engaged through three psychological states: meaningfulness, safety, and availability. Using Kahn’s theory, the present study was conducted to test whether task characteristics, transformational leadership, and core self-evaluations were related to engagement through its respective psychological state. Data were collected from …

Achieving Higher Academic Performance: Access At The Intersections Of Culturally Diverse Populations In Higher Education On-Campus Communities, Koryn Calee Dillard

Master's Theses

San José State University students living in the residence halls were sent a questionnaire via Google Docs. Students were requested to complete the questions about their experiences and knowledge of the campus community. This study focuses on feelings of acceptance, expression, resources, living circumstances, and behaviors of the racially/ethnically diverse students living on campus that urges them to success in the field of higher education. A total of 66 students living on campus completed the survey. The findings indicated that the on-campus Latina/Latino/Hispanic American students struggled more with their academics and had a significantly lower grade point averages than their …

The Mediating Role Of Psychological Empowerment On The Relationship Between Job And Personal Resources And Employee Engagement, Ian Mcallister

Master's Theses

Employee engagement is one of the most researched topics in the field of industrial and organizational psychology, mainly because it has been shown to be linked to many positive individual and organizational outcomes. Although past research has consistently shown that job and personal resources are related to employee engagement, little attention has been paid to understand the underlying mechanisms of such relationships. The present study hypothesized that psychological empowerment would be a mediator between job and personal resources (i.e. supervisor support, opportunities for growth, and core self-evaluations) and employee engagement. Using survey response data from 165 employees throughout several industries, …

What's Happened To France? Sundays, Socialism, And Neoliberal Modernity, Michael Vincent Metz

Master's Theses

The "Macron Law," liberalizing French Sunday shopping hours, created great controversy in the French media in the winter of 2014-15, with particular opposition coming from the political left and the religious right. The controversy seemed to symbolize deeper issues for French society, appearing to some as a watershed, to others a threat. Some citizens expressed concern that the “European way of life" was disappearing, being replaced by a more materialist, consumerist, extreme capitalist economic model that posed an overt threat to the traditional social protection system. Were these fears real or only imagined? To an observer, shops open on Sundays …

Experiments With And Implementation Of A Context Sensitive Text Summarizer, Charles Joseph Bocage

Master's Theses

Automatic text summarization is the ability to obtain key ideas from a text passage using as few words as possible. With the increase in data on the web, manual summarization of web pages has become unfeasible, and the need for automatic text summarization has become ever greater. This project explored and implemented various parts of the automatic text summarization process for an open source search engine, Yioop. These parts included stemming, text segmentation, term frequency weighting, automatic sentence compression, and content management system detection.

In addition, experiments were conducted on different pre-existing Yioop summarizers. These results served as a baseline …

Trapped In Endoderm-1 Reveals A Novel Role For Fruitless In Drosophila Melanogaster Courtship, Peter Luu

Master's Theses

Understanding how genes can direct behaviors has been a prevailing goal of neuroscience. Courtship in D. melanogaster is a complex yet stereotyped array of behaviors established by sex-specific genetic pathways mediated by sensory inputs by the nervous system. However, much remains to be discovered about the neurobiological and molecular mechanisms that regulate this complex set of behaviors. We have identified a group of cells expressing Trapped in endoderm 1 (Tre1) in which male Fruitless proteins are required to reduce the speed of courtship initiation. Tre1 encodes a G-protein-coupled receptor required for establishment of cell polarity and cell migration and has …

Cux2-Positive Radial Glial Cells Generate Diverse Subtypes Of Neocortical Projection Neurons And Macroglia, Ton Dan Nguyen

Master's Theses

The mammalian neocortex is 6-layered structure that develops in an “inside-out” manner, with cells of the deep layers (Layers 5-6) born first. Cells of the superficial outer layers (Layers 2-4) are generated subsequently and must migrate past older born cells to their final laminar position. Pioneering transplant studies suggested a progressive lineage restriction model, which posits that early neural stem cells (or radial glial cells, RGCs) are multipotent and sequentially generate different types of cortical neurons based on birthdate. Recently published work from Franco et al. (2012) argues against this paradigm, and proposes the existence of a subclass of neural …

Living Between Borders: Transnational Marriage And Us Resettlement Patterns In Sudanese Refugee Populations, Deirdre Patterson

Master's Theses

Many South Sudanese refugees who have resettled in the USA have actively sought to maintain their unique cultural identity while simultaneously working to integrate into American society through the pursuit of formal higher education and successful careers. One of the most interesting developments within this population is the establishment and maintenance of transna- tional families. The process for marriage is economically tiresome and, due to strict immigration policies, often compels family members to live transnational lives. Systems of transnational mar- riage—often arranged by families—and married life allow Sudanese refugees living in the USA to continue important cultural practices, speak their …

Debris Flow Fans In Yosemite Valley National Park, California, Evan Scott Enriquez

Master's Theses

Formation of debris flow fans poses a potential hazard to the infrastructure and inhabitants of Yosemite Valley. Research was conducted on debris flow fans at three field sites in Yosemite Valley: Indian Creek, Eagle Creek, and Sentinel Creek. The study utilized a Trimble Pro XR Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS), Cosmogenic Berellium-10 (10Be) dating, and debris flow volume measurements to better understand the spatial distribution, age, and magnitude of prehistoric debris flow deposits at each field site. It is hypothesized that all three fans were constructed quickly after the last glacial maximum (LGM), which is dated at 19.8 ka. It …

The Shojo Within The Work Of Aida Makoto: Japanese Identity Since The 1980s, Laurel Rose Hartman

Master's Theses

The work of Japanese contemporary artist Aida Makoto (1965-) has been shown internationally in major art institutions, yet there is little English-language art historical scholarship on him. While a contemporary of internationally-acclaimed Japanese artists Murakami Takashi and Nara Yoshitomo, Aida has neither gained their level of international recognition or respect. To date, Aida’s work has been consistently labeled as otaku or subcultural art, and this label fosters exotic and juvenile notions about the artist’s heavy engagement with Japanese animation, film and manga (Japanese comic book) culture. In addition to this critical devaluation, Aida’s explicit and deliberately shocking compositions seemingly serve …

Wilderness State Park Volunteers: A Qualitative Case Study Of Meaning And Sustainability, Christina A. Peterson

Master's Theses

In an increasingly urbanized world, parks, open space and wilderness areas are vitally important to human well-being. California State Parks provide people with the ability to connect with nature and engage in outdoor recreation. Moreover, these parks protect natural and cultural resources and preserve biodiversity. California State Parks are underfunded and rely on volunteers to support essential park services. The Wilderness State Park Uniformed Volunteer Program provides essential recreation, resource protection, and biodiversity services. In order to determine the elements of the volunteering experience that contribute to a strong sense of volunteer identity and meaning, a qualitative case study was …

Uncovering “New Man” Feminism: Arthur F. Mathews At The San Francisco School Of Design, 1890-1896, Mary Okin

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the first feminist reading of Arthur F. Mathews (1860-1945), a once celebrated academic painter, life-drawing instructor, and arts administrator in San Francisco. Using a case study approach, it contributes original research to existing scholarship on Mathews, as well as the history of art education, the rise of women artists, and male feminism in the United States. By synthesizing primary sources from the 1890s related to Arthur and Lucia Mathews, the Académie Julian, the San Francisco School of Design, the San Francisco Sketch Club, and the San Francisco Commission for the Suppression of Vice, it presents new insights …

Reduced Mechanism Validation And Analysis Near Extinction Limits Of Perfectly Stirred Reactors, Brian J. Magda

Master's Theses

Reduced mechanisms for jet fuels, including POSF10264, POSF10325, POSF10289, and n-dodecane as a surrogate, are extensively validated and investigated in perfectly stirred reactors (PSR). The ability of the reduced models to capture extinction limits and the important reaction pathways controlling the limit phenomena are investigated using a bifurcation analysis. In particular, extinction at conditions relevant to lean blow out (LBO) in jet engines is investigated.

It was found that the reduced models perform well over various equivalence ratios, pressures, and temperatures and can accurately capture extinction in PSR. The four jet fuels exhibited similar controlling reaction pathways, which involve only …

Localization And Investigation Of Secondary Metabolite Producing Styela Clava-Associated Streptomyces Bacteria, James Demayo

Master's Theses

Natural products and natural product derivatives comprise some of the most successful drugs to date. Many natural products derive from the secondary metabolite profiles of high GC content actinomycete bacteria of the genus Streptomyces, which are sometimes associated with eukaryotic hosts. Identification of biosynthetic gene sequences for natural product secondary metabolites in Streptomyces can assist in isolation of the identified natural product. Moreover, the biosynthetic pathways of drug-like secondary metabolites derived from Streptomyces bacteria often provide insight into the available metabolites that can be produced. As a result, identification of bacteria capable of producing antibacterial products, including Streptomyces, …

With A National Park Next To Its Downtown: Forecasting The Distribution Of The Economic Impacts Of The Coltsville National Historical Park Within Hartford, Connecticut, Dmitriy V. Tarasov

Master's Theses

In late 2014, the Coltsville Historic District in Hartford, Connecticut, became a unit of the National Park Service. The new Coltsville National Historical Park encompasses the former Colt firearms factory and the adjoining remnants of the company-built township, informally known as Coltsville. Although best-known for producing some of the first practical multiple-shot firearms, the factory’s possibly greater significance lies in the various mass-production techniques using interchangeable parts that were pioneered there in the 19^th century.

Hartford, like many older American cities, has had to contend with both deindustrialization and suburbanization in recent decades. The push for national park status …

The Influence Of Resting Blood Pressure On Muscle Strength In Healthy Adults, Adam R. Blanchard

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Replication-Inducible Recombinant Vaccinia Virus System To Conditionally Transcribe The Entire Human Rhinovirus C Genome, Zhixin Jing

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Impact Of Breastfeeding Cessation On The Reported Incidence Of Diarrhea In Infants Between The Ages Of 7 To 12 Months: A Secondary Data Analysis, Ana Francisca Diallo

Master's Theses

Background: Diarrheal diseases remain a major cause of childhood morbidity in the United States. Optimal breastfeeding has been identified as one of the most effective measure to prevent diarrheal diseases in childhood.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of breastfeeding duration during the first 6 months on the incidence of diarrhea in infants between 7 and 12 months in the United States.

Method: A secondary data analysis was performed using mothers and infants participating in the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (2005-2007).

Results: Compared to those who breastfed for 6 months or more, infants who discontinued breastfeeding between 0 …

Computational Design Of Ceramic Bone Scaffolds Fabricated Via Direct Ink Writing, Jeffrey Roberge

Master's Theses

Bone scaffold porosity and stiffness play a critical role in the success of critical-size bone defect rehabilitation. In this work, we present a computational procedure to design ceramic bone scaffolds to provide adequate mechanical support and foster bone healing. The scaffolds considered in our study consist of a lattice of curved rods fabricated via direct ink writing. We develop cellular solids models of the scaffold's effective elastic constants as functions of its geometric parameters, up to some unknown coefficients. To determine numeric values for these coefficients, we execute a computational design of experiments whereby effective elastic properties are obtained using …

Identifying Association Between Pedestrian Safety Interventions And Street Crossing Behavior Considering Demographics And Traffic Context, Franklin J. Caraballo

Master's Theses

Pedestrian fatalities are becoming a larger percentage of overall fatalities in the United States, therefore pedestrian safety research is essential for understanding and improving pedestrian safety. Pedestrian safety interventions are often used to educate and consequently improve pedestrian behavior. This study used pedestrian safety interventions to assess their effect on the respondents’ stated crossing behavior. Also, specific demographic data was used in this study to identify behavioral trends regarding street crossing behavior. The results show that pedestrian safety interventions are significantly associated with changes in pedestrian crossing behavior. The effect of the interventions was predominantly positive, since the respondents’ behavior …

Influence Of Seasonal N Fertilization, Plant Growth Regulators, And Fungicide Application Timing On Anthracnose Severity Of Annual Bluegrass Putting Greens, Xuan Chen

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Eye Tracking Food Cues In Subjects Who Are Overweight/Obese, Weight Loss Maintainers, And Normal Weight, Carrie A. Petro

Master's Theses

Adult obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Increasing success in weight loss maintenance will decrease the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and therefore help control the adverse health effects of excess weight. Much is known about the behavioral characteristics of successful long-term weight loss maintenance, but less is known about the cognitive processes behind weight loss maintenance. The purposes of this study were to (1) identify differences in visual attention to high-energy dense foods between individuals who are normal weight, weight loss maintainers, and overweight/obese in a high-risk (food-buffet) situation; (2) to evaluate differences in food choices from …

Inquiry Of Graphene Electronic Fabrication, John Rausch Greene

Master's Theses

Graphene electronics represent a developing field where many material properties and devices characteristics are still unknown. Researching several possible fabrication processes creates a fabrication process using resources found at Cal Poly a local industry sponsor. The project attempts to produce a graphene network in the shape of a fractal Sierpinski carpet. The fractal geometry proves that PDMS microfluidic channels produce the fine feature dimensions desired during graphene oxide deposit. Thermal reduction then reduces the graphene oxide into a purified state of graphene. Issues arise during thermal reduction because of excessive oxygen content in the furnace. The excess oxygen results in …

A Comparison Of Solvent And Water-Borne Alkyd Coatings And The History Of Voc Regulations In The United States, Molly Elise Burns

Master's Theses

A Comparison of Solvent and Water-Borne Alkyd Coatings Abstract

Conventional solvent based alkyd coatings have gone out of favor due to concerns over volatile organic compound (VOC) content. However, due to recent focus on renewable raw materials, alkyds are making a comeback in waterborne form. Water based alkyd coatings are known to have poor shelf stability and corrosion resistance, as well as other problems during the formulation process. This project focused on comparing solvent borne to two types of water-borne alkyds, water reducible alkyds and alkyds emulsions. The purpose was to understand the differences between the three types of alkyds …

A Comparison Of Wavelet And Simplicity-Based Heart Sound And Murmur Segmentation Methods, Joshua David Korven

Master's Theses

Stethoscopes are the most commonly used medical devices for diagnosing heart conditions because they are inexpensive, noninvasive, and light enough to be carried around by a clinician. Auscultation with a stethoscope requires considerable skill and experience, but the introduction of digital stethoscopes allows for the automation of this task. Auscultation waveform segmentation, which is the process of determining the boundaries of heart sound and murmur segments, is the primary challenge in automating the diagnosis of various heart conditions. The purpose of this thesis is to improve the accuracy and efficiency of established techniques for detecting, segmenting, and classifying heart sounds …

Pharaonic Occultism: The Relationship Of Esotericism And Egyptology, 1875–1930, Kevin Todd Mclaren

Master's Theses

The purpose of this work is to explore the interactions between occultism and scholarly Egyptology from 1875 to 1930. Within this timeframe, numerous esoteric groups formed that centered their ideologies on conceptions of ancient Egyptian knowledge. In order to legitimize their belief systems based on ancient Egyptian wisdom, esotericists attempted to become authoritative figures on Egypt. This process heavily impacted Western intellectualism not only because occult conceptions of Egypt became increasingly popular, but also because esotericists intruded into academia or attempted to overshadow it. In turn, esotericists and Egyptologists both utilized the influx of new information from Egyptological studies to …

Post-Liquefaction Residual Strength Assessment Of The Las Palmas, Chile Tailings Failure, Tristan Reyes Gebhart

Master's Theses

Assessment of post-liquefaction residual strength is needed for the development of empirically-based, predictive correlations for earthquake engineering design. Previous practice commonly assigned negligible strengths to liquefied materials for engineering analysis, producing overly-conservative designs. Increasingly available case history data, and improved analytical tools have allowed for more accurate and less overly-conservative estimation of soil residual strength, improving empirical predictive models. This study provides a new case history to the limited suite of (approximately 30) liquefaction failure case histories available for post-liquefaction in-situ strength predictive correlations.

This case history documents the Las Palmas gold mine tailings dam failure, resulting from seismic-induced liquefaction …