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Effectiveness Of The Minima Caste Of The Leafcutter Ant (Atta Cephalotes) On Cleaning Harvested Leaves, December 2016, Tori Braun

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Leafcutter ants have been practicing agriculture longer than humans themselves. Leafcutter ant species, Atta cephalotes, common to Central and South America, cultivate a unique fungus, Leucocoprinus gonogylophora, that sustains the lives of millions of leafcutter ants within a single colony. In order to be efficient farmers, A. cephalotes have developed a caste system consisting of a queen, soldiers, workers, and minima. Each caste has a specific role within the colony, however, the role of the minima is still highly debated among scientists. It is hypothesized that the minima clean the surface of the leaves collected from nearby plants on the …

Immune Dimorphism In Wild Mice Of Monteverde, Costa Rica, December 2016, Danielle M. Thoene

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Rodents are at risk as climate change and human interference promote the spread of infectious disease. As a result, understanding the relationship between disease and population characteristics is important in developing conservation and management strategies. I investigated the existence of immune dimorphism, which is the variation in immune response and function between sexes, in mice of the Monteverde region. I captured a total of 33 mice and 1 rat: Heteromys nubicolens (n=18), Peromyscus nudipes (n=13), Scotinomys teguina (n=1), and Oligoryzomys fulvescens (n=1). For each captured individual, I collected all visible ectoparasites and took a blood sample for further laboratory analysis. …

Diversity And Phenotypes Of Diurnal And Nocturnal Coleopterans In The Monteverde Cloud Forest Zone, December 2016, Marianne Kim

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Coleoptera, or more commonly known as beetles, are the largest and most diverse order within the arthropods. This study aimed to categorize the diversity between diurnal and nocturnal beetles as well as determine if there are distinguishing phenotypes between the two groups. For a total of five days, I collected diurnal and nocturnal beetles throughout the tropical cloud forests of the Monteverde zone in Costa Rica and identified to Family. For each species, I recorded the size, coloration (number of colors visible and light versus dark tones), pattern, texture, and iridescence and compared between diurnal and nocturnal beetles. With respect …

First Century Roman Wales: An Insight Into Imperial Policy, Austin P. Phipps

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical analysis of the Roman conquest on Wales. This topic is relevant to the modern day because it demonstrated one of many imperialistic instances that have occurred throughout humanity. In order to justify this, I examined Late Iron Age societies within Britannia, the Roman conquest of Wales, Roman occupation of Wales, and cultural impacts towards Welsh natives to gain a better understanding of imperialism. Primary and secondary sources were used to support this research and is further explained with the theory of cultural hegemony. Overall, the results of this study identified …

German People And The Holocaust, Brandi J. Lopez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper will explore the circumstances of Germany and the German people before the Holocaust and how those circumstances influenced the Holocaust. I will be looking at primary and secondary sources and using historical research methods. I am focusing on Anti-Semitic feelings in Germany, the propaganda against the Jewish people, using the Jewish people as a scapegoat for the problems of Germany, then finally going into how labor camps developed into concentration camps and places of mass murder. I will be using Auschwitz camp as my main focus for the concentration camp since it was one of the first camps …

Mathematic Support Programs: A Case Study Of Marina High School, Monica Carrillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

A case study is on how mathematic support programs help students achieve a higher test score average has been done within this project at Marina high school. We will focus on the variety of mathematic support that the school has to offer and how that affects these students. For this particular study, we will be looking at the test results for 2013, 2015, and 2016. Qualitative methods, interviews and collection of data, has been conducted to give us a better understanding of how students have progressed or stayed the same in a three year span. After creating graphs with the …

Implementing Arts-Integrated Lessons Through Auto-Ethnography To Improve Teacher Collaboration, Richard M. Romero Jr

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

By utilizing the auto-ethnographical approach to writing in the creatively structured format of an arts-integrated exercise that is project-based, this study analyzes qualitative responses made by one administrator and three in-service teachers. By retroactively highlighting students’ epiphanies of musical memories (see Appendix D) while also integrating Common-Core and State Standards into its structural design, it produced an activity that was extremely challenging for fifth-grade students but also may hold potential for growth in writing skills and self-knowledge especially as it relates to the practice of teacher self-study. This approach may be utilized in classrooms in the future, but any integration …

Benefits Of Counseling Services For Elementary School Students, Sarah D. Fuentes

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The aim of this capstone study was to identify how elementary school counseling services benefits students, academically and emotionally. The interest in this study was a yearning to gain deeper insight into elementary school counseling and how their services impacts students. Through research and field study it has proven that elementary school counseling has been beneficial for young students. Understanding the role of the elementary school counselor is vital to comprehend the services school counselors provide. The collaboration counselors have with teachers, administration, parents and most importantly, the students, reflect how beneficial the counseling sessions are and the conflicts that …

Effects Of Obesity In Elementary School Children After No Child Left Behind (Nclb), Victoria L. Moore

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Ever since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation became adopted into our school system, students’ physical health has suffered. Recently, the number of unhealthy children has grown. One in three children are classified as overweight or obese. This senior capstone project demonstrates the causes and effects of such an issue in regards to both physical education and nutritional education in elementary schools in the tri-county areas of Monterey, Salinas, and Santa Clara counties. The results from twenty-seven survey results and one interview suggest that most teachers feel that there is a need for daily physical education and nutritional education should …

Immigrant Students: Attitudes And Perceptions Towards Education, Dayana Rangel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This research studied the attitudes and perceptions towards education in foreign-born and first-generation immigrant students enrolled at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Data was collected through an online survey that used original questions by the researcher as well as modified questions from The Center for Applied Research in Education, and the 2004 National Survey of Latinos: Education (PHC, 2004). Concepts from the Cultural Ecological Theory developed by John Ogbu were applied to this project as it explores the academic performance among immigrant students (voluntary minority). According to Ogbu, voluntary minorities have a pragmatic and optimistic attitude towards schooling (Ogbu …

Using Minecraft To Integrate Common Core Activities Across Elementary School Curriculum, William A J Couling

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Minecraft, an open world sandbox game rich with educational possibility, has been a growing sensation among elementary age children across the US. Though there has been some experimentation in a number of schools across the United States, there has been no mass movement to embracing Minecraft as a virtual learning environment. With advances in the fields of Virtual Learning Environments and the new wave of educational thinking known as the “Maker Movement,” the modern educational field has an opportunity for radical new ways of teaching. Using an elementary school as a model in the Monterey Bay area, I surveyed a …

Automation: From Consoles To Daws, Christian Ekeke

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Since the beginning of modern music there has always been a need to implement movement into a mix. Whether it is bringing down dynamics for a classic fade out or a filter sweep slowly building into a chorus, dynamic activity in a song has always been pleasing to the average music listeners. The process that makes these mixing techniques possible is automation. Before I get into details about automation in regards to mixing I will explain common ways automation is used. Automation in a nutshell is the use of various techniques, method, system of operating or controlling a process by …

Pink Glasses: A Work In Progress, Dominique Maldonado

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

A creative writing anthology (poems, short fiction, and non-fiction) that showcases both the positive and negative personal experiences of being an older, learning disabled student.

Identity & Self-Esteem Through Re-Culturalization: “We Are Sometimes Not Who We Think We Are”, Aki Kurosawa

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

My project will look at issues around self-esteem, self-confidence, self-doubts, self-denial, and self-worth across cultures and gender. I will compare three countries/cultures: the United States, Japan, and Costa Rica. I will collect datas and statistics on what they think of their self-esteem, confidence, value, etc and examine their level of self-esteem, confidence, value, and security. If their level is low, I will observe what causes such low or high self-esteem, confidence, value and then compare and contrast the men and women within the culture. In addition, I will explore how people can learn and develop high self-esteem, confidence, value and …

Citizen Engagement In Monterey County, Bernard Green

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone poster covers the topics of principles for public engagement, common barriers to engagement, user experience in government, and personas.

Growing Together: A Journey To Self-Discovery, Alicia Mehtlan

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Throughout the course of this internship, I will be reading with kids, ages 8-10 years old, and enhancing their writing skills. Multiple members of Boys & Girls Club are not fluent in the English language and struggle with reading and writing in the common language their school uses. I will be helping teach children of all ages about media literacy of all types by incorporating fun activities into finding themselves in the growing community they thrive in.

Hooked On Self-Identity: What Does It Mean To Find Yourself?, Wesley Barnes, Brent Clay

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone examines the topic of identity in the movie Hook.

The Path Of Least Resistance: A Student’S Guide For Working Smarter, Not Harder., Scott Abel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The amount of stress that accumulates over the course of one’s collegiate career can be overwhelming to say the least. What if I told you that with a basic strategy you could cut your workload in half and alleviate much of the stress that goes hand in hand with school? Well now you can. This capstone project shows students different ways to achieve their goals by my method of Working Smarter and not Harder.

(I’M)Possible: In A World That Pushes Back, Step Forward, Rahni Jensen

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

My project will take a look at various creative writing pieces I’ve produced, and help tell the story of the journey on the path to finding my own self-identity. This will be done either chronologically or in some other theme that will provide a smooth and cohesive story line.

Taboo, Peter Xiong

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

My project will be a manual script of two chapters from the future novel Taboo which will explore the life of a Hmong living in America. The novel will consist of creative non-fiction, poetry and mixed media, the combination of a written novel and collection of visuals content. The first chapter Rain and one other chapter in the novel Taboo will be the focus point of my project. These two chapters will represent moments in the characters life that has molded his identity of being a Hmong person living in the United States. These stories are based on true events …

Feeling On An Island, Nima Godusi

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

● I plan on writing a creative fictional story of a teenage boy who feels conflicted about telling his family news that goes against their culture and is not of the family norm. ● I wish to try and implement a scenario that has someone having an identity crisis and trying to overcome outside forces to become who they are as a person. ● I want to bring to light about how certain cultures and how they implement some of their practices might have a negative effect on their children. ● My point is to not say that these cultures …

Chicanx (Re)-Claiming Identity And Representation Through Education, Katherin Razo-Gomez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Chicanx/Latinx student has been underrepresented over the course of the development of the American educational system. This system has been shaped through the lense of the oppressor, the Anglo community. My purpose with this essay is to research the different ways that Chicanx/Latinx students are doing to dismantle the negative perceptions that have been embedded upon us all along. I also intend to focus on what the Chicanx student is doing to move forward in an educational system that has been created for them to fail.

Becoming Me: A Journey To Womanhood, Haley M. Mathis

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

A collection of autobiographical creative writing pieces, specifically, poems. The pieces will be arranged in chronological order from childhood to the present. Project will aim to establish my own acceptance of my flaws in a country that’s culture values appearance as a priority.

Developing A Bike-Share Program For Salinas And Csumb, Brittany Whalen, Ryan Blackman, Monica Mata, Madi Hare

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Our goal for this semester in Sustainable City Year Program was to research and understand the intricacies of pre- and post bike-share implementations in both downtown and urban areas, as well as on college campuses so we could make recommendations to the city of Salinas and for California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB). We also created two surveys, one for CSUMB and one for Salinas. These surveys allowed us to get a better understanding of what constituents and students know about bike-share programs as well as their interest in having one and their concerns they might have if one were …

Using Gis To Detect Land Use Changes In The Salinas River Valley From 2001 And 2011, Brian Strukan

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to explore, analyze, and interpret our environment is a relatively new technology with exciting new advances emerging each day. GIS can be used along with satellite imagery to detect changes on Earth’s surface (Delavar, 2015). With the human population growing rapidly, it has become very important to monitor when, where, and how we are changing the planet. Using the theory of land economics, coupled with land classification maps from 2001 and 2011, I will explain how cities are changing in the Salinas River Valley, a prime agricultural zone in central California. Are …

Importance Of Supporting The Unique Needs Of Military Children In The Monterey Bay Area, Emilie Knudson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Monterey Bay Area is home to many military personnel and their families. This senior capstone investigates the importance of supporting the unique needs of military children throughout their academic career. The difficulties that military children may face in their education are a direct result of military lifestyle challenges. An anonymous survey was conducted with local principals, military parents, and children of military families. Through data collection and research findings, it is clear that military children have unique needs that, if not addressed, can affect their social-emotional development. This study shows that military children need increased and distinctive support, both …

Epigenetic Profiling Reveals A Developmental Decrease In Promoter Accessibility During Cortical Maturation In Vivo, Ishwariya Venkatesh, Matthew T. Simpson, Denise M. Coley, Murray G. Blackmore

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Axon regeneration in adult central nervous system (CNS) is limited in part by a developmental decline in the ability of injured neurons to re-express needed regeneration associated genes (RAGs). Adult CNS neurons may lack appropriate pro-regenerative transcription factors, or may display chromatin structure that restricts transcriptional access to RAGs. Here we performed epigenetic profiling around the promoter regions of key RAGs, and found progressive restriction across a time course of cortical maturation. These data identify a potential intrinsic constraint to axon growth in adult CNS neurons. Neurite outgrowth from cultured postnatal cortical neurons, however, proved insensitive to treatments that improve …

Introduction To Mathematical Analysis I - 2nd Edition, Beatriz Lafferriere, Gerardo Lafferriere, Mau Nam Nguyen

PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources

This edition has been superseded by Introduction to Mathematical Analysis I, Third Edition.

Video lectures explaining problem solving strategies are available.

Our goal in this set of lecture notes is to provide students with a strong foundation in mathematical analysis. Such a foundation is crucial for future study of deeper topics of analysis. Students should be familiar with most of the concepts presented here after completing the calculus sequence. However, these concepts will be reinforced through rigorous proofs.

The lecture notes contain topics of real analysis usually covered in a 10-week course: the completeness axiom, sequences and convergence, continuity, …

Variable Residence Time-Based Model For Bod Removal In Free-Water Surface Wetlands, Zhiqiang Deng, Degefu Y. Sebro, Alaa Farouk Aboukila, Lars Bengtsson

Faculty Publications

Constructed wetlands have been increasingly used for treatment of secondary wastewater containing various contaminants. This paper presents a Variable Residence Time (VART)-based model, called VART-BOD model, for simulation of BOD removal processes in constructed wetlands with free water surface (FWS). Mathematically, the VART-BOD model describes a free water surface wetland with three vertical layers, including vegetated water column layer, advection-dominated upper root layer, and diffusion-dominated lower root layer. Biogeochemically, the VART-BOD model simulates various BOD removal processses and mechanisms, including monod kinetics of bacterial growth, mass exchange between water column and root layers, advection, dispersion, and diffusion. A unique feature …

3-Axis Automated Probe Traverse For Aerodynamic Testing, Tananant Boonya-Ananta, Ricky Wai, Zander Oostman, Teyvon Brooks

Mechanical Engineering

Our primary objective is to design, build, and test an automated traverse to hold measurement probes in Cal Poly’s low speed wind tunnel. The device should cause minimal flow disturbance. It’s movements must be able to cover eighty percent of the three-dimensional test section. The device should have a mounting point for interchangeable probes. The assembly is to be integrated with the current frame structure on the wind tunnel test section, and should allow very minimal deflection of the measurement probe. The user should be able to control the motion of the traverse via a computer interface which supports automatic …