Digital Commons Network^™

Big Shot, Annie Joy Heath

Master's Theses

There are many forms of child abuse. Some forms leave visible scars, and other forms leave invisible ones. Both forms, and especially a combination of the two, change the behaviors as well as the decision making of the person who has been abused, whether a child or an adult. And while an adult may choose not to have the abuser in her life, a child rarely has that choice. The child usually loves her parents unconditionally and cannot comprehend why she is being mistreated. As a teenager and then an adult, she often times looks for the same type of …

The Sjsu Ecological Footprint Challenge And Its Impacts On Pro-Environmental Behavior, Matthew Eugene Lambert

Master's Theses

Estimates suggest that humanity requires one-and-a-half Earths to sustainably provide the resources demanded. Observed consequences of this are rising atmospheric carbon, loss of arable land, fishery collapse, drinking water scarcity, and irreparable degradation to the Earth's ecosystems. The ecological footprint is a tool that calculates the amount of land needed to support a population or an individual's level of resource use. The action of calculating an individual's footprint has been shown to improve knowledge about environmental issues, change attitudes about natural resources, and increase understanding about the connection between one's actions and the environment.

This research examined the impacts of …

Framing Iran: The Islamic Revolution And The Green Movement As Told Through Time Magazine, Nadia Maiwandi

Master's Theses

FRAMING IRAN:

THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION AND THE GREEN MOVEMENT AS TOLD THROUGH TIME MAGAZINE

by Nadia Maiwandi

This framing analysis was conducted to study how Time portrayed Iran and Iranians during the Islamic Revolution of 1978-79 and the Green Movement uprising of 2009. In this study, particular attention was given to how the magazine framed the leaders of Iran and their opposition during these times, as well as to any correlation between Time's portrayal and the United States government's positions on these events. The analysis shows that magazine adhered to the United States' strong defense of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ("the …

Examining The Relationship Between Snow Cover And Reservoir Storage In The American River Basin, Karen Mcgillis-Moskaluk

Master's Theses

This study focused on finding evidence of a relationship between snow cover and reservoir storage in the American River basin. Water availability is very important to the future of California. Landsat Thematic Mapper images of the area taken from 1985-2011 were analyzed by calculating Normalized Difference Snow Index and calculating snow acres. The peak storage data were obtained for Folsom Lake for the same time period as the satellite images. The evaluation of these methods showed that over time there was a correlation between snow cover and reservoir storage downstream.

The Effectiveness Of Experiential Environmental Education: O'Neill Sea Odyssey Program Case Study, Lauren Elizabeth Hanneman

Master's Theses

Environmental education programs aim to develop participant awareness, sensitivity, and understanding of their affective relationship to the natural environment through conceptual knowledge and personal experiences. Previous findings have suggested that participation in environmental education programs leads to short-term positive increases in environmental knowledge, pro-environmental attitudes, and intentions to act in environmentally responsible behaviors; however, few studies have included long-term, follow-up assessment. This research provided an analysis of the effectiveness of the O'Neill Sea Odyssey (OSO) education program in fostering a long-term awareness of personal responsibility about ocean pollution among student participants.

A survey administered to 261 students from the greater …

Unmanned Aircraft System (Uas) Delegation Of Separation In Nextgen Airspace, Caitlin Ailis Kenny

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to determine the feasibility of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) performing delegated separation in the national airspace system (NAS). Delegated separation is the transfer of responsibility for maintaining separation between aircraft or vehicles from air navigation service providers to the relevant pilot or flight operator. The effects of delegated separation and traffic display information level were collected through performance, workload, and situation awareness measures.

The results of this study showed benefits related to the use of conflict detection alerts being shown on the UAS operator's cockpit situation display (CSD) and to the use of full …

My Team Drinks: An Analysis Of Alcohol Consumption Norms Among Adolescent Athletes, Laura Beth Jones

Master's Theses

Alcohol use among adolescents results in a greater risk of lifetime alcohol abuse and dependence. Some research suggests that perceived peer norms about drinking are the strongest predicting factor of alcohol–related behaviors (ARBs) among adolescents. Previous research on whether sports participation is related to adolescent alcohol consumption has resulted in mixed findings. For this study, perceived norms were further delineated between descriptive and injunctive norms. The goal of this research was to determine whether there were differences between sport types (team vs. individual) in alcohol consumption patterns and whether sport type moderated the predictive strength of perceived norms on alcohol …

Plurality Cues And Non-Agreement In English Existentials, Robin Melnick

Master's Theses

This paper furthers the discussion of variable agreement in English existential constructions. Previous studies across dialects have shown that there+be with a plural notional post-copular subject is frequently realized with contracted singular agreement, for example, "There's many articles on this topic." Prior work in building probabilistic models for predicting the presence of agreement or non-agreement in any given such there+be sentential context has investigated a variety of factors with potential influence on this variation, but the present study provides evidence for the inclusion of two novel and significantly predictive elements: a plurality "cue distance" and a new taxonomy for determiner …

The Effect Of Surface Treatment On Nickel Leaching From Nitinol, Daniel Lawrence Leobrera Madamba

Master's Theses

Nitinol is widely used as a biomaterial for implantable medical devices but can be susceptible to nickel leaching. Our research was aimed at determining nickel leaching from surface treated Nitinol samples, treated as follows: mechanical polishing (untreated), oxidation, and nitriding+oxidation (5 different nitriding temperatures). Five specimens from each category were immersed in 40 mL PBS solution and incubated at 37°C over 91 days. Nickel concentration readings were taken at regular intervals. After 91 days, the average nickel concentration in the PBS solution was (a) 0.223 mg/L, SD 0.017, untreated, (b) 7.68 mg/L, SD 6.405, 1000°C nitriding+oxidation, and (c) 3.914 mg/L, …

Geophysical Expression Of The Northern Part Of The Mono-Inyo Volcanic Chain, Mono Basin, California, Amanda Mcdonell

Master's Theses

The Mono Domes are located at the northernmost end of the Mono-Inyo volcanic chain just north of the Long Valley Caldera and include more than 30 overlapping domes and coulees that follow an arcuate trend. A shallow basement high, possibly bounded by a fault, as suggested by potential-field models of data collected in Mono Basin, California, may have influenced the geometry and location of the Mono Domes. Over 320 new gravity stations and approximately 297 line-km of ground magnetic data were collected during the summer of 2010 to investigate the subsurface structure of the Mono Basin. Regional gravity data were …

Relationship Between Cognitive Functions And Hormones, Daniel C. Miao

Master's Theses

Stress has been implicated by recent research to significantly contribute towards many cognitive and physiological deficiencies. One of the most popular topics of study is the effect of stress on inhibition, the all-or-none decision about an action or inaction. However, only recently have scientists begun investigating neuroendocrine molecules that link stress and inhibitory processing. Participants included San José State University undergraduates (27 male, 63 female, 1 unstated) who were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test, an established stress task, and who were assessed before and after stress exposure for cortisol levels. Participants were also given a pre- and post-test …

Application Of Query-Based Qualitative Descriptors In Conjunction With Protein Sequence Homology For Prediction Of Residue Solvent Accessibility, Reecha Nepal

Master's Theses

Characterization of relative solvent accessibility (RSA) plays a major role in classifying a given protein residue as being on the surface or buried. This information is useful for studying protein structure and protein-protein interactions, and it is usually the first approach applied in the prediction of 3-dimensional (3D) protein structures.

Various complicated and time-consuming methods, such as machine learning, have been applied in solvent-accessibility predictions. In this thesis, we presented a simple application of linear regression methods using various sequence homology values for each residue as well as query residue qualitative predictors corresponding to each of the 20 amino acids. …

Integration Of Mars Global Surveyor Observations Of The My 25 Planet-Encircling Dust Storm On Mars: Implications For Atmospheric Dynamics And Modeling, John Noble

Master's Theses

A survey of observations and analyses of the Mars year (MY) 25 planet-encircling dust storm (PDS) on Mars is presented. The environmental causes and dynamical mechanisms responsible for PDS initiation, expansion, decay, and interannual frequency are not fully understood. PDS seasonal occurrence suggests the presence of climatic and environmental components, yet interannual variability suggests that initiation and expansion mechanisms are not solely seasonal in character. The objectives of this research were to better understand the dynamical processes and circulation components responsible for MY 25 PDS initiation and evolution and to analyze why a PDS developed in MY 25 and not …

The Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Of The Dugongs (Dugong Dugon) Of Thailand, Jessie Barr Bushell

Master's Theses

The dugong (Dugong dugon) is indigenous to the coastal waters of the Indo–Pacific Ocean and is vulnerable to extinction throughout its range due primarily to anthropogenic effects. In Thailand the population of dugongs is approximately 250 animals and is found in fragmented habitats along the Thai coast. Genetic studies were implemented in this study to assess regional genetic composition and determine if there is variation in the D–loop sequences or microsatellites consistent with philopatry to regions, by males or females, or indicating dispersal. Utilizing D–loop sequences, 27 haplotypes were found that grouped into three haplogroups that were not …

The Effects Of Psychological Contract Breach On Job Outcomes, Nichole Simone Ballou

Master's Theses

The present study examined the effects of psychological contract breach on attitudinal and behavioral job outcomes including job satisfaction, intention to remain with one's organization, perceived organizational support, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Additionally, the present study also examined whether the effect of the psychological contract breach on these job outcomes varied based on the type of psychological contract an employee had (i.e., transactional or relational). A total of 89 part- and full-time employees participated in this study. Results showed that the breach of one's psychological contract had a significant effect on one's job satisfaction, intention to remain, and perceived organizational …

Ethnic Continuity And Change At Gezer, Philip Webb

Master's Theses

This project examines the issue of social identity, particularly ethnicity, in the ancient world. It focuses on one site, Gezer, and how ethnic identities there evolved between the Middle Bronze Age and the end of the Iron Age. Modern anthropological perspectives on ethnicity and methods used by archaeologists for identifying ethnicity archaeologically are examined. In light of these studies, the history of Gezer is inspected.

The site is chronologically divided into three periods, the Bronze Age, the Early Iron Age, and the Late Iron Age. Using both historical and archaeological sources, the occupational history of Gezer is outlined, highlighting ethnically …

Real-Time Auto Tuning Of A Closed Loop Second Order System With Internal Time Delay Using Pseudo Random Binary Sequences, David Adams

Master's Theses

This research yielded a real-time auto tuning algorithm to adaptively tune a proportional integral and derivative (PID) controller for a first or second-order system with internal time-delay. The method uses a 15-bit pseudo-random binary sequence as an input to obtain the closed-loop system impulse response while the system is operating. Time-delay is assessed by analysis of the estimated closed-loop impulse response and is used in the system model for closed-loop pole assessment. The fast fourier transform of the estimated impulse response produces an estimate of the frequency response data, and a non-linear regression optimization technique, utilizing MATLAB, identifies the closed-loop …

Ncaa Division I Coaches And Athletic Trainers: An Examination Of Professional Relationships And Knowledge Of The Athletic Training Profession, Laura Alexander

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to explore coaches' experience with athletic trainers (ATs) and knowledge of their roles and responsibilities at the NCAA Division I level. The data collection involved a questionnaire and follow-up phone interviews. The survey was sent out to all 144 official head coaches of NCAA Division I universities in the Bay Area region of California, as defined by the California Department of Social Services in 2002, and there was a 22% (n=31) return rate. Nearly 60% (n=18) of coaches said they communicated with their athletic trainer over five times per week. Another ~60% (n=20-n=28) of …

Experiences Of Coping With Injury In Division I Athletes From Low-To-Middle Socioeconomic Status Backgrounds, Matthew Philip Bejar

Master's Theses

Injuries inevitably occur in any sport at any level. The integrated sport injury model is one of the most extensive frameworks to address the psychological responses to athletic injury. While this model posits that socioeconomic status (SES) influences how an athlete cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally responds to an injury, no research has substantiated this claim. Low SES individuals experience an exceptional amount of stress, which may complicate how they cope with a negative event. The coping strategies employed by an athlete can have major implications on rehabilitation adherence, recovery time, and psychosocial well-being. The purpose of this study was to …

Effect Of Nanodroplet Ink Concentration On Image Contrast For Reverse-Emulsion Electrophoretic Displays, Winston Kuantung Wang

Master's Theses

Reverse-emulsion electrophoretic display technology is based on an electro-responsive ink comprised of self-assembled nanodroplets dispersed in a non-polar liquid. The dye-containing nanodroplets are selectively driven toward or away from the viewing plane of a display by electric fields. The hypothesis of this study is that image contrast in a nanodroplet electrophoretic display is governed by concentration and steric effects that limit the intensity of the dark state. Simultaneously, steric effects as well as electrostatic screening can diminish whiteness in the light state. This hypothesis has been tested by multiphysics simulation of dilute species in electrostatic fields and experimental measurements of …

Zazie De Louis Malle : Une Traduction Intersémiotique, Clara Elahe Varjavandi

Master's Theses

In his novel, Zazie dans le métro (1959), Raymond Queneau reinvents the French language while telling the story of a young girl, Zazie, visiting her uncle in Paris for the weekend. The absurdities of the world are examined through her eyes as well as the effort by French society to forget the atrocities of World War II.

Because of its intricate use of language, Queneau's masterpiece seemed impossible to adapt to film. Yet, already in 1960, Louis Malle took it upon himself to convert the renowned novel into a film.

This thesis approaches the film as an intersemiotic translation rather …

Use Of Stair Prompts To Encourage Physical Activity, Nima Chhay

Master's Theses

Stair prompts can encourage stair use in both public and private settings and thereby increase overall physical activity. Stair visibility in multilevel buildings increases stair use. For this study, an intervention using a modified New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene stair prompt was implemented to encourage stair use in an academic setting. The modification included a time management theme, chosen because individuals in this setting may find taking the stairs to be faster than taking the elevator. To evaluate the effectiveness of the modified stair prompt, two buildings--one with hidden stairs and one with visible stairs--were selected …

Embedded Cloud System For Ann-Cod Analysis Using Uv Spectroscopy, Kaushik Patra

Master's Theses

One of the many parameters indicating water quality is chemical oxygen demand (COD), which is an indirect measurement of the amount of organic compound material in water. There have been many studies, in both academia and the industry, to analyze the COD content of water using spectral analysis. The proposal of this thesis was to study, analyze, and identify methods to determine the presence of COD using UV spectroscopy data and an artificial neural network (ANN) in a cloud-connected embedded system. The system was implemented using an ARM11 board and a portable spectrometer. Light in the UV range was used …

Making The Right Impression: An Exploratory Study Of Job Applicants' Social Networking Sites, Ka Weng Sitou

Master's Theses

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether job applicants manipulated their Facebook pages for employment purposes and the specific characteristics on their pages that were purposely altered to attract potential employers. A total of 50 interviewees participated in the study. Results indicated that job applicants did manipulate their Facebook pages for employment purposes for various reasons with the most common reason being to avoid misperceptions by potential employers. Another goal of this study was to examine job applicant beliefs on employer and job applicant use of Facebook for employment purposes. The study results indicated that job applicants supported …

Predicting Slender False Brome (Brachypodium Sylvaticum) Invasion In The Santa Cruz Mountains, California, Janine Ellen Bird

Master's Theses

Early detection of an invasive species facilitates control and eradication. Slender false brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) was first discovered in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Central California in 2003 as a non-native grass in redwood forests, competing with native vegetation. The current infestation in the Santa Cruz Mountains, estimated to be 300 acres, is concentrated in San Mateo County and could be eradicated. This study sought to determine most likely locations of slender false brome in the Santa Cruz Mountains by assessing environmental attributes of known presence locations using species distribution modeling and Maxent software. The study used 1,320 species presence …

An Examination Of American Sport For Development And Peace Interns' Program Experiences, Michael Sanh Dao

Master's Theses

Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) is an international development movement that uses sport to address international humanitarian issues, including education on preventing HIV/AIDS, peaceful resolutions in communities experiencing conflict, and establishing gender equality in male-dominated societies. The emergence of SDP as a branch of international development over the last decade has garnered much attention. National governments, non-governmental organizations, and scholars have involved themselves in the process of SDP. The attention that SDP has attracted by these parties has been both practical and theoretical. Scholarly studies by prior researchers on SDP have included suggestions on best practices, and how people …

A Study Of Genetic Variability In Larval And Adult Populations Of Dungeness Crab (Cancer Magister), Cairbre Fanslow

Master's Theses

Spatial and temporal genetic variation was assessed using mitochondrial DNA from adult and megalopae of Dungeness crabs, Cancer magister, from Fraser Delta in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. Megalopae were continuously sampled using light traps in one location, Coos Bay, Oregon, and compared with adults sampled across the species' range. While small-scale spatial and temporal variation were evident, there was no significant fit to the Isolation-by-Distance model when considering adult and larvae populations sampled over a coastal length of ~1700 km (Mantel r = 0.059, p = 0.289). Smaller bays showed higher genetic diversity than larger bays, contrary to …

L'Oeuvre Littéraire Et Plastique D'Eugène Fromentin : Parallèle Et Complémentarité, Arnaud Bergerol

Master's Theses

Eugène Fromentin was an accomplished man of art. A cultured writer, painter,and critic, he dedicated his life to conveying through the use of the pen and the brush his passion for travelling in faraway countries. His literary works include two travel books(Un été dans le Sahara and Une année dans le Sahel), a psychological and autobiographic novel (Dominique), and a critical analysis of the 16th century Flemish school of painting (Les Maîtres d'autrefois). As a painter, he was best known for his orientalist artwork and the visual translation of his travel experiences in Algeria …

Assessing The San José State University Simultaneous Polydrug Use Questionnaire -- Online (Sjsu Spuq -- Online) A Pilot Study, Joseph P. Hennessee

Master's Theses

Alcohol use is one of the most prevalent forms of drug use among college students. Because of the near ubiquity of college drinking, additional research is needed to determine whether such alcohol use is related to any cognitive impairment. Furthermore, many of those who use alcohol consume one or more additional drugs simultaneously, and little research has assessed whether such simultaneous polydrug use (SPU) has a further effect on cognitive functioning. This study was developed to bridge these two gaps in the literature and aid in the development of the SJSU SPUQ - Online.

Through the use of computerized tasks …

Virtue And Veiling: Perspectives From Ancient To Abbasid Times, Khairunessa Dossani

Master's Theses

This thesis establishes a link between conceptions of female virtue and the practice of veiling by women from ancient to medieval times in the Mediterranean region. This is evidenced by the consistent advocacy and prescription of veiling in ancient and medieval theological texts, including Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, and Islamic texts. Veiling practices are shown to have a religious foundation, grounded in the ideas of honor and virtue. These notions were reflected in society over time with veiled aristocratic noblewomen and unveiled marginalized classes. While acknowledging class-based theories of female veiling, the thesis concentrates on the religious factors for veiling, particularly …