Digital Commons Network^™

Hard-Wired For Innovation? Comparing Two Policy Pathstoward Innovative Schooling, Scott Ellison

International Education

The task of this study is to compare two policy approaches to fostering, or “hard-wiring,” educational innovation in public schooling: the marketplace approach and the Finnish approach. The results suggest that an innovative public education sector is characterized by decentralized decision-making, institutional space for risk-taking, and strong support systems to both encourage risk-taking on the part of education actors and to spread innovative ideas throughout the education system. Results also suggest that there are several areas in need of further inquiry including the development of a foundational understanding of educational innovation, the need for better data on the ability of …

Integrating Thinking, Art And Language In Teaching Young Children, Ping Liu

International Education

This study investigates learning outcomes of four-year-old children at a preschool in P. R. China. The children are educated in a school ecology designed to address cognitive, social, linguistic and psychological development, where an instructional technique, “Integrating Thinking, Art and Language” (ITAL), is applied to support them in developing multiple intelligences. A total of 67 beginning or pre-level I Chinese preschoolers participated in the study, whose learning in the first eight months under ITAL instruction is examined. Scenarios of ITAL instruction, children's samples and assessment of learning outcomes are reported and analyzed. Results indicate that the preschoolers demonstrated significant growth …

Development Of A Multi-Class Bicyclist Route Choice Model Using Revealed Preference Data, Joseph Broach, John Gliebe, Jennifer Dill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Existing regional travel forecasting systems are not typically set up to forecast usage of bicycle infrastructure and are insensitive to bicyclists' route preferences in general. We collected revealed preference, GPS data on 162 bicyclists over the course of several days and coded the resulting trips to a highly detailed bicycle network model. We then use these data to estimate bicyclist route choice models. As part of this research, we developed a sophisticated choice set generation algorithm based on multiple permutations of labeled path attributes, which seems to out-perform comparable implementations of other route choice set generation algorithms. The model was …

Vibrations Of Thin Plate With Piezoelectric Actuator: Theory And Experiments, Parikshit Mehta

All Theses

Vibrations of flexible structures have been an important engineering study owing to its both deprecating and complimentary traits. These flexible structures are generally modeled as strings, bars, shafts and beams (one dimensional), membranes and plate (two dimensional) or shell (three dimensional). Structures in many engineering applications, such as building floors, aircraft wings, automobile hoods or pressure vessel end-caps, can be modeled as plates. Undesirable vibrations of any of these engineering structures can lead to catastrophic results. It is important to know the fundamental frequencies of these structures in response to simple or complex excitations or boundary conditions.
After their discovery …

Roost Selection By Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bats, Corynorhinus Rafinesquii, In Congaree National Park - A Multiscale Approach, Jessica Lucas

All Theses

Little is known about natural roost selection of Rafinesque's big-eared bats, Corynorhinus rafinesquii , throughout their range. The objectives of this study were to determine roost use and selection of big-eared bats in the Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina at multiple spatial scales and test whether roost use and selection differed between maternity colonies and solitary individuals. The study was conducted May-August 2006 and 2007 in Congaree National Park which contains extensive areas of old-growth bottomland forest. Roost trees were located via tree searches and radio-telemetry and I used univariate tests and multiple logistic regression to compare tree, stand, …

Guardrail Location Rating System Users Manual, Charlie Sun, Tony L. Beckham, Tommy C. Hopkins, Jerry G. Pigman, Eric R. Green, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Division of Maintenance is responsible for identifying and prioritizing locations in need of guardrail. A procedure used by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet was originally developed by the Kentucky Transportation Center in 1989 and updated in 2002. Based on frequent usage by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet of the guardrail location rating system database, the need was identified to update the existing database and incorporate improved reporting capabilities. The objectives of the research study, as documented herein, were to update and improve the processes for identification of roadway locations that should be considered for installation of guardrail. Primary …

Selling Information, Johannes Hörner, Andrzej Skrzypacz

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We study a dynamic buyer-seller problem in which the good is information and there are no property rights. The potential buyer is reluctant to pay for information whose value to him is uncertain, but the seller cannot credibly convey its value to the buyer without disclosing the information itself. Information comes as divisible hard evidence. We show how and why the seller can appropriate a substantial fraction of the value through gradual revelation, and how the entire value can be extracted with the help of a mediator.

Selling Information, Johannes Hörner, Andrzej Skrzypacz

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We characterize optimal selling protocols/equilibria of a game in which an Agent first puts hidden effort to acquire information and then transacts with a Firm that uses this information to take a decision. We determine the equilibrium payoffs that maximize incentives to acquire information. Our analysis is similar to finding ex ante optimal self-enforcing contracts since information sharing, outcomes and transfers cannot be contracted upon. We show when and how selling and transmitting information gradually helps. We also show how mixing/side bets increases the Agent’s incentives.

Selling Information, Johannes Hörner, Andrzej Skrzypacz

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

An Agent who owns information that is potentially valuable to a Firm bargains for its sale, without commitment and certification possibilities, short of disclosing it. We propose a model of gradual persuasion and show how gradualism helps mitigate the hold-up problem (that the Firm would not pay once it learns the information). An example illustrates how it is optimal to give away part of the information at the beginning of the bargaining, and sell the remainder in dribs and drabs. The Agent can only appropriate part of the value of information. Introducing a third-party allows her to extract the maximum …

Exempting High-Level Employees And Small Employers From Legislation Invalidating Predispute Employment Arbitration Agreements, E. Gary Spitko

Faculty Publications

On February 12, 2009, lawmakers in the U.S.House of Representatives introduced the "Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009. " This bill, if enacted, will invalidate any predispute arbitration agreement between an employer and its employee. Last year, the 110th Congress considered the narrower "Preservation of Civil Rights Protections Act of 2008, " which would have invalidated such predispute arbitration agreements if they required "arbitration of a dispute arising under" federal civil rights laws. This Article explores how best to structure any such invalidation of predispute employment arbitration agreements, both in light of the rationales for and against regulation of the employment …

Teacher Candidates' Experience Of Ubd In A Social Studies Methods Course, Patricia K. Gulsvig

Theses and Dissertations

Teacher candidates in secondary social studies education come to their methods course eager to share their passion for the subject. Enthusiasm often turns to confusion and frustration when they are confronted with unforeseen decisions about the content they will teach before they determine the instructional strategies for teaching that material. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Understanding by Design (UbD) as a model in a social studies methods course for preparing teacher candidates to make purposeful curricular and instructional decisions.

This study took place at a small private Midwestern college and involved 10 participants between …

Social Networking: Is It Another Stage In The Evolution Of Communication And Does It Affect The Way We Think About Problem Solving And Communicating?, Sandy L. Robinson

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores whether participants in online social networking sites differ from non-participants in their approach to problem solving or in their attitudes about their interactions with their own social networks. Walter Ong (1982) determined that people’s thinking changed with different media usage, particularly from oral to script, script to print, and print to electronic. This research examines problem solving and attitudes about interactions with social networks as two criteria for exploring how people think. In a review of the literature, the thesis explores the theory of media ecology, which expands on the work of McLuhan (1967) and Ong (1982), …

The Greenhouse Effect: Common Misconceptions And Effective Instruction, Trevor W. Strickland

Physics

This study is an extension of the research of Dr. John Keller. It attempts to identify common student misconceptions regarding the greenhouse effect and investigate instructional methods of teaching the greenhouse effect. Dr. Keller developed a test, known as the Greenhouse Effect Concept Inventory (GECI), designed to measure a student’s understanding of the greenhouse effect. A central goal of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of this concept inventory at measuring differences in student knowledge of the greenhouse effect. In addition to the Cal Poly student population that participated in this research, we will be looking at the population …

Developing A B-Jet Tagging Algorithm For Alice: Lessons From Cdf, Paul Chester-John Carlson

Physics

This paper compares the detectors and algorithms developed and used at both A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) and the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). We found that the detectors share many similarities in data collection and analysis methods and that by adapting algorithms that have been tested and used at CDF, ALICE could augment its existing algorithms. The algorithms formed from this adaptation will help ALICE isolate b-jets quickly and explore the quark-gluon plasma, ultimately expanding our understanding of the strong nuclear force and its role in the evolution of our universe.

Chip Removal Tool Project, Brett Mori, John Cote, Kyle Rowland, Micah Wells

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly senior project team worked with Helical Products Inc. to develop an automated method for removing swarf and chip buildup from the drill bits of their CNC milling machines. The removal methods in this report were designed for and tested using a Fanuc Robodrill while keeping the potential in mind for their use in other CNC milling machines. After extensive background research, preliminary and prototype design and testing the final chosen design is shown below. The cleaning device is made from flexible sheet metal and placed on a fixture that occupies one of the two pallet locations inside …

Supermileage Team - Urban Concept Competition Vehicle Chassis Design Report, Andrew Allport, Kevin Braico, Kevin Charles, George Kyi, William Lai

Mechanical Engineering

This research and design project was proposed by the Cal Poly Supermileage team. They have requested for our team to design an Urban Concept car, a new category of vehicles to compete for fuel efficiency in the Shell Eco-marathon in 2010. The primary focus of our team is in the design and construction of a chassis the Supermileage team can use for the 2010 competition in Fontana, CA. This design must meet dimensional and functional requirements set by Shell while being designed to maximize efficiency in the competition.

There were various chassis concepts under consideration that would possibly work for …

Measurement And Modeling Of Blocking Contacts For Cadmium Telluride Gamma Ray Detectors, Patrick R. Beck

Master's Theses

Gamma ray detectors are important in national security applications, medicine, and astronomy. Semiconductor materials with high density and atomic number, such as Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), offer a small device footprint, but their performance is limited by noise at room temperature; however, improved device design can decrease detector noise by reducing leakage current.

This thesis characterizes and models two unique Schottky devices: one with an argon ion sputter etch before Schottky contact deposition and one without. Analysis of current versus voltage characteristics shows that thermionic emission alone does not describe these devices. This analysis points to reverse bias generation current or …

Mustang Daily, December 1, 2009

Cal Poly Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

The Customer-Responsiveness Of Web-To-Print, Robert Coleman Pringle

Graphic Communication

In a transitioning printing environment, where most of a company’s traditional operations are becoming obsolete, it is expected for all printers to look into adopting digital solutions to service customers more efficiently to keep up with their fast-paced demands. One solution that can provide rapid efficiency is Web-to-Print software, which serves as an online ordering platform for customers. Web-to-Print software not only keeps track of online order specifications for customers but also keeps records of all the transactional information including the most popular products purchased by clients, which can be used as a marketing advantage in tracking the most profitable …

Sales Departments In The Graphic Communication Industry, Kendra Searle

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study is to show how many different variables go into building a strong sales department and the effect it has on the overall success of a company and the graphic communication industry as a whole. This study will show what sales departments are doing to maintain their client base and reach their sales goals even in the midst of changes within the industry. It will also show the impact of the sustainability movement on sales and marketing efforts.

The study showed the most recent sales figures for two of the top companies in the print industry. …

Color Correction For Underwater Photography, Vanessa Pateman

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to develop knowledge of the practice of underwater photography and determine how color correction leads to the success of an underwater photograph. Color is one of the photographer's greatest assets. When light travels through water instead of air, different techniques and equipment are necessary for correct color capture.

Human perception of color changes with depth underwater, which is due to the decrease in natural light. The scientific method, elite and specialized interviewing, and content analysis were used in this study to determine useful tools in color capture and reproduction in underwater photographs.

An experiment …

Sustainability In Packaging: A Study Of Trends, Ideas, And Perceptions Of Sustainability As It Relates To Packaging, Leslie Herrmann

Graphic Communication

The consumer packaging world has two key players, the consumer and the packaging manufacturer. And with the outside perspective of an expert on sustainability there creates the chemistry currently operating the sustainable packaging movement. But what does sustainability mean? The quick, dirty, and official definition is something which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (www.sustainability-ed.org).

This study focused on what the consumer perceived as being sustainable as well as tested some consumer knowledge of what sustainability is. This was then contrasted with what some award winning packaging manufacturers …

Is The Test Of Senior Friendly ⁄Child Resistant Packaging Ethical?, Laura Bix, Javier De La Fuente, Kenneth D. Pimple, Eric Kou

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Research has documented the drastic reduction of unintentional poisonings of children since the introduction of child resistant (CR) packaging. However, studies also indicate that consumers report difficulty using CR packages, in part because tests which determine the ‘senior friendliness’ of CR designs that are used throughout the world disallow people with ‘overt or obvious’ disabilities from being test subjects. Our review of drug package usability suggests that the current tests of CR packaging can and should be revised to correct this problem. We use US legislation, regulation and data to exemplify these points, but the conclusions are applicable to all …

Insufficient Hedge-Fund Fraud Complaints And Misguided Motions To Dismiss, Justin Donoho

Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law

No abstract provided.

The Biogeochemical Influence Of Nitrate, Dissolved Oxygen, And Dissolved Organic Carbon On Stream Nitrate Uptake, Joseph A. Thouin, Wilfred M. Wollheim, Charles J. Vorosmarty, Jennifer M. Jacobs, William H. Mcdowell

Faculty Publications

Streams are potential hotspots for retention and removal of NO3−, and understanding the mechanisms that enhance NO3− reactivity in stream systems is critical for predicting and preventing eutrophication. Both dissolved organic C (DOC) and dissolved O2 (DO) influence NO3− removal processes. Assessing the individual impacts of NO3−, DO, and DOC concentrations on stream NO3− removal is difficult because these factors covary and are coupled through the C and N cycles. We used an experimental approach to quantify the influences of NO3−, DOC, and DO on NO3− transport in headwater streams of the Ipswich and Parker River watersheds (Massachusetts, USA) with …

A Shift Towards Gender Equality In Prosecutions: Realizing Legitimate Enforcement Of Crimes Committed Against Women In Municipal And International Criminal Law, Tamara F. Lawson

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

A new era of law enforcement has emerged recognizing the importance of punishing gender-specific violence.  This first wave of "gender-sensitive prosecutors" has changed the way crimes against women are handled in the criminal justice system.  The enactment of gender neutralizing laws and policies has dramatically improved the enforcement of crimes against women and attempts to end the era of impunity.  This Article addresses the changes in prosecutions and further considers international human rights treaties that require gender equality in law enforcement.

In criminal law, it is the willingness of a prosecutor to exercise his or her discretionary authority to file …

Mobile Workforce -- Amway, Suman Kumar Mittapally

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

More and more organizations are evaluating the best route to mobilize their workers, whether field service personnel, sales representatives or on the move executives.

Amway is the largest multi-level marketing (MLM) organization in the world. In Amway, one is recruited as an "independent" distributor of Amway products by buying a couple of hundred dollars' worth of the products from the one who recruits you, known as your "up line." Every distributor in turn tries to recruit more distributors. Income is generated by sales of products by the distributor plus "bonuses" from sales of his or her recruits and their recruit-descendents. …

The Structure And Peroxidase Activity Of A 33-Kda Catalase-Related Protein From Mycobacterium Avium Ssp. Paratuberculosis, Svetlana Pakhomova, Benlian Gao, William E. Boeglin, Alan R. Brash, Marcia E. Newcomer

Faculty Publications

True catalases are tyrosine-liganded, usually tetrameric, hemoproteins with subunit sizes of ∼55-84 kDa. Recently characterized hemoproteins with a catalase-related structure, yet lacking in catalatic activity, include the 40-43 kDa allene oxide synthases of marine invertebrates and cyanobacteria. Herein, we describe the 1.8 Å X-ray crystal structure of a 33 kDa subunit hemoprotein from Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (annotated as MAP-2744c), that retains the core elements of the catalase fold and exhibits an organic peroxide-dependent peroxidase activity. MAP-2744c exhibits negligible catalatic activity, weak peroxidatic activity using hydrogen peroxide (20/s) and strong peroxidase activity (∼300/s) using organic hydroperoxides as co-substrate. Key amino …

Accelerated Destructive Degradation Test Planning, Ying Shi, Luis A. Escobar, William Q. Meeker

Faculty Publications

Accelerated destructive degradation tests (ADDTs) provide reliability information quickly. An ADDT plan specifies factor-level combinations of an accelerating variable (e.g., temperature) and evaluation time and the allocations of test units to these combinations. This article describes methods for finding good ADDT plans for an important class of destructive degradation models. First, a collection of optimum plans is derived. These plans minimize the large sample approximate variance of the maximum likelihood (ML) estimator of a specified quantile of the failure-time distribution. The general equivalence theorem is used to verify the optimality of these plans. Because an optimum plan is not robust …

Estimation Of Cardiac Respiratory-Motion By Semi-Automatic Segmentation And Registration Of Non-Contrast-Enhanced 4d-Ct Cardiac Datasets, Joyoni Dey, Tinsu Pan, David J. Choi, Dennis Robotis, Mark S. Smyczynski, P. Hendrik Pretorius, Michael A. King

Faculty Publications

The goal of this work is to investigate, for a large set of patients, the motion of the heart with respiration during free-breathing supine medical imaging. For this purpose we analyzed the motion of the heart in 32 non-contrast enhanced respiratory-gated 4D-CT datasets acquired during quiet unconstrained breathing. The respiratory-gated CT images covered the cardiac region and were acquired at each of 10 stages of the respiratory cycle, with the first stage being end-inspiration. We devised a 3-D semi-automated segmentation algorithm that segments the heart in the 4D-CT datasets acquired without contrast enhancement for use in estimating respiratory motion of …