Digital Commons Network^™

Enabling Compact Devices Through Origami And Developable Mechanisms, Jacob Ryan Greenwood

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides resources that enable the design of novel and compact mechanical devices by providing terminology, engineering models, and design methods in the fields of developable mechanisms and origami-based engineering.The first part of this work presents engineering models to aid in the design of cylindrical developable mechanisms. These models take into account the added spatial restrictions imposed by the developable surface. Equations are provided for the kinematic analysis of cylindrical developable mechanisms. A new classification for developable mechanisms is also presented (intramobile, extramobile, and transmobile) and two graphical methods are provided for determining this classification for single-DOF planar cylindrical …

A Validity Study Of The Cognitively Guided Instruction Teacher Knowledge Assessment, Debra Smith Fuentes

Theses and Dissertations

This study reports the development of an instrument intended to measure mathematics teachers' knowledge of Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). CGI is a mathematics professional development framework based on how students think about and solve problems and how that knowledge guides instruction for developing mathematical understanding. The purpose of this study was to (a) analyze and revise the original CGI Teacher Knowledge Assessment (CGI TKA), (b) administer the revised CGI TKA, and (c) analyze the results from the revised CGI TKA. As part of the revision of the original CGI TKA, distractor analysis identified distractors that could be improved. Experts in …

Characterization Of Local Void Content In Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Parts Utilizing Observation Of In Situ Fluorescent Dye Within Epoxy, Wyatt Young Warner

Theses and Dissertations

Experimentation exploring the movement of voids within carbon fiber reinforced plastics was performed using fluorescent dye infused into the laminates observed through a transparent mold under ultraviolet light. In situ photography was used as an inspection method for void content during Resin Transfer Molding for these laminates. This in situ inspection method for determining the void content of composite laminates was compared to more common ex-situ quality inspection methods i.e. ultrasonic inspection and cross-section microscopy. Results for localized and total void count in each of these methods were directly compared to test samples and linear correlations between the three test …

Impact Of Intercultural Competence On Communicative Success In L2 Environments(With Reference To Missionaries Of The Church Ofjesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints), David Milford Lucero

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact of cultural competence on success in completing key missionary tasks. Qualitative survey results are supported by data from an intercultural effectiveness assessment and a Mandarin Chinese listening proficiency test to describe themes related to missionary communicative success and to explore correlations between intercultural effectiveness and listening proficiency. Missionary communicative tasks are clarified into themes:"obtaining referrals,"obtaining teaching opportunities," and"helping people make and keep commitments." Factors perceived as associating with communicative success include"feeling and communicating love" and receiving"spiritual guidance." The effect of training on intercultural competence is also described. The intercultural effectiveness subcategory of positive regard is …

Neurofibromatosis Type-1 With Retinal Microvascular Corkscrew Tortuosity., Adrian J Battiston, Lauren A Dalvin, Carol L Shields

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

No abstract available.

Melanocytoma Of The Optic Disk: A Review., Jerry A. Shields, Hakan Demirci, Arman Mashayekhi, Ralph C. Eagle Jr., Carol L. Shields

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Melanocytoma is a deeply pigmented variant of melanocytic nevus that classically occurs in the optic disk, sometimes with contiguous involvement of the adjacent retina or choroid. Historically, this tumor was often confused with malignant melanoma both clinically and histopathologically. Today, however, it is generally recognized by its typical clinical features that differ from most melanomas and erroneous enucleation is rarely done. Histopathologically, melanocytoma is composed of intensely pigmented round to oval nevus cells with benign features. Although traditionally believed to be a relatively stationary lesion, it is now known to exhibit minor enlargement in 10--15% of cases and can cause …

Conjunctival Melanoma With Orbital Invasion And Liver Metastasis Managed With Systemic Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy., Michael Chang, Sara E Lally, Lauren A Dalvin, Marlana Orloff, Carol L Shields

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

A 60-year-old Caucasian female was referred for biopsy-proven amelanotic orbito-conjunctival melanoma. Map biopsies revealed residual invasive melanoma on the deep tarsal margin at the site of previous surgery. Repeat excisions were required after recurrence was detected following 3 months and 7 months. Positron emission tomography scan detected liver metastasis and additional orbito-conjunctival melanoma recurrence. Biomarker testing showed NRAS mutation without BRAF or c-KIT mutations and without PD-L1 expression. Systemic checkpoint inhibitor therapy was initiated with regression of both the orbito-conjunctival melanoma and liver metastasis. Invasive, non resectable orbito-conjunctival melanoma with liver metastasis can demonstrate a response to systemic checkpoint inhibitor …

Management Of Retinoblastoma In Older Children (>5 Years) Using Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy: Comparison Of Outcomes To Prechemotherapy And Intravenous Chemotherapy Eras., Evan B. Selzer, R. Joel Welch, Pascal Jabbour, Ann M. Leahey, Carol L. Shields

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Purpose: Intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) has emerged as an effective treatment for retinoblastoma (RB) however, little information exists regarding its use in older patients (>5 years). In the present study, we evaluate the use of IAC (2008-2018) for RB in older patients and compare the outcomes to those in the prechemotherapy (<1994) and intravenous chemotherapy (IVC) (1994-2007) eras.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients older than 5 years treated with IAC for RB from 2008-2018. Comparisons were made to 26 active RB cases in older children treated in the prechemotherapy era and to 12 active RB cases treated in the IVC era.

Results: There were …

The Relationship Between Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions Of Student Motivation And Their Use Of Instructional Strategies For At-Risk Math Students, Kayla Morris Couch

Theses and Dissertations

Student motivation in mathematics education can be affected by many variables, especially for at-risk students. Existing information is limited regarding teacher perceptions of their own pedagogy, instructional strategies, and at-risk student motivation in the area of mathematics for middle school and high school students. The purpose of this study was to analyze middle school and high school mathematics teachers’ perceptions of their own pedagogy, instructional strategies, and at-risk students’ motivation in mathematics. Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory was the theoretical framework used to guide the current study, which focuses on psychological and instinctive needs of individuals. An explanatory, sequential mixed …

Non-Native Leaf Litter Modifies Algal Resources With Effects On Tadpole Growth, Spencer L. Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

Leaf litter species play a key role in determining the quality and quantity of algal resources in aquatic ecosystems as a cross-boundary subsidy. The invasion of non-native plant species into forests can alter aquatic resources. I investigated the effects of non-native leaf litter species on algal resources and green frog, Lithobates clamitans, development using a randomized complete block experiment that lasted 288 days. In experimental ponds, I added two non-native and two native leaf litter species in the presence and absence of tadpoles. Early in the experiment, Japanese honeysuckle and Chinese privet decreased periphyton N:P ratios and stimulated tadpole …

Raising Awareness In King City About Sun Street Centers Outpatient Services, Stephanie Madrid

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There are not enough people seeking substance abuse services in King City. Co-occurring mental illness, delays in Medi-Cal process, and lack of knowledge about the program and services at the new Sun Street site are contributing factors to this problem. Consequences that come along with substance abuse are crime/incarceration, death/overdose, and loss of productivity. National Night Out is a great outreach event organized for the South County community which allowed 15 different agencies to inform community members of the programs and services available to them. Sun Street Centers was new in the South County community therefore participating in this event …

Expanding Gender Non-Binary Access In California’S Victim Compensation Program, Vianeth Gonzalez Muro

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Monterey County transgender people do not feel supported seeking services at Monterey County District Attorney’s office. Many feel like they are at a higher risk of being victimized, mistreated or discriminated against when seeking services. non-binary people currently have the right to be legally designated as non-binary on their California identification documents, but when seeking services at the DAs office they are not provided that gender option. This creates a negative environment for the transgender community. Many crimes go unreported because of the fear the transgender community has when seeking support and their voices are not being heard. The capstone …

Ymca Diabetes Prevention Program: Grad Program, Catrina M. Cruz-Reyes

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The capstone project is a six month curriculum called “The YMCA Grad Program”, and provides additional support to continue healthy lifestyle choices with demonstrations. These demonstrations consist of three months of healthy eating and three months of physical activity. The intentions are to continue to reduce the risk of those who are prediabetic from becoming diabetic by using a weight tracker and physical activity tracker. Unfortunately these trackers were not made to monitor participant success. The YMCA Grad Program is described as an extension program of the YMCA DPP, and was originally only offered in spanish. What was highly requested …

Blueprint For Shared Safety Strategic Plan, Reann Ramos

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Blueprint for Shared Safety strategic plan will be adopted by Santa Cruz County Community Corrections Partnership as a framework of principles and practices that community leaders can use to lead shared safety strategies. By shifting the focus from the traditional criminal justice system to investments that can truly make our communities safer, the Blueprint aims to re-envision public safety together. The Community Corrections Partnership Community Education and Engagement Workgroup (CCP CEEW) has conducted data analysis to identify the key assets and gaps in Santa Cruz County. After identifying the key assets and gaps there were recommendation review sessions that …

The Importance Of Multicultural Literature For Biracial Students, Haley Maldonado

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

It is evident that many classrooms do not have literature that displays a multiracial character to reflect the biracial community which one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S. today. This senior capstone research project examines the benefits or multicultural literature displaying a multiracial character on biracial students through the use of literature review, teachers and librarian surveys. The results reveal that having biracial character reflected in the literature at schools bring them self-awareness and self-identity that affect their social skills and their academic achievement. Therefore, it is crucial that mixed-race students be represented through the literature in their …

Comparison Of The U.S. And Finland’S Educational Systems On Students’ Academic Achievement, Selma Matias

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone research project compares Finland’s and the U.S.’ educational system through the use of literature review. In the U.S., after the passage of No Child Left Behind legislation, schools focus more on preparing students for test-taking rather than on what students may need to learn; whereas in Finland, their educational system focuses more on “teaching less, learning more,” meaning that Finland focuses more on what students may want to learn.The finding reveals that, both the U.S. and Findland have designed their own system of education to meet the needs of their students. If the United States wants to …

Let Me Be Myself, Brandon Stettenbenz

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Let Me Be Myself is a collection of short stories, essays, oral history, and poems that deals with generational trauma, history, traveling, family, war, oppression, and healing. This project serves to inform, evoke understanding, lend perspective, and inspire others. It aims to help others understand the trauma of being born from a Holocaust surviving family, and its impact on somebody in modern day society. It explores the story of a first, second, and third generation Holocaust refugee. It connects a timeline of eighty years of trauma through violence and oppression, and a pursuit to find healing from Nazi Germany.

Integrating Mindfulness Into School Classrooms, Crystal Chesshire

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone research project examines how mindfulness could be integrated into the school classrooms through the use of literature review, interviews with elementary school teachers in the Monterey Bay area and surveys with several students along with one subject participant at the California State University Monterey Bay. As a result, the findings reveal that most students and teachers thought that mindfulness proved to be successful and useful when integrating it with the younger population to deal with their emotions.

Increasing Parents' Knowledge Of A Healthy Lifestyle For Children With Down Syndrome, Celeste Villagrana

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Maintaining a healthy diet is a struggle for the general US population, and it is a particular problem for the special needs population. Children with Down Syndrome have higher rates of obesity than the general population. One reason for this is that their metabolic rate tends to be slower than that of the general population (Magge et al., 2008). Also, they have a genetic predisposition for leptin resistance. Therefore, it is important that these children eat healthy meals and be physically active on a daily basis. For my capstone project, I presented a workshop to parents of children with Down …

"Just Kidding" What Bullies Say, Christina Marie Gumbin

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is on how present and past staff members of MM Middle School have addressed bullying in their classrooms and what they think could be done to prevent further bullying. This is an important issue for teachers of any grade because bullying affects children at any age. An argument is made that during middle school, bullies tend to say that they are just kidding without knowing why they are bullying. Consideration of the issue, required obtaining the perspectives of the principal and both current and former teachers. Three themes emerged from an analysis of the …

No Habla Espanol: Are Monolingual Teachers Getting The Support They Need?, Rosa I. Castillo-Rocha

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For this Capstone Project, the researchers investigated how monolingual teachers view the support and resources they received to teach English Language Learners (ELL) and what they thought could be done to improve their teaching effectiveness. An evidence-based argument is offered that monolingual teachers were not being provided with effective support and resources. More specifically, three themes emerged from an analysis of the data obtained from interviews of monolingual teachers and administrators. Based on the emergent themes, an action was undertaken to help monolingual teachers better address the needs of ELLs. This is an important issue for monolingual teachers because the …

Go, Go, Go, How About Hello?: Building Teacher-Student Relationships Within Departmentalized Elementary Schools, Jael Ramirez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is on building teacher-student relationships within departmentalized elementary schools. Departmentalization, beginning at the fourth and fifth grade levels, is an issue because it gives teachers drastically less face to face time with their students than a traditional self-contained schedule. According to the scholarly literature, young students need strong, positive relationships with their teachers to do well academically. Departmentalization reduces the time to form these relationships. An argument is made that if teachers and schools meet certain criteria, these relationships can still be established, even with less time than what self-contained schedules provide. Upon interviewing …

Escapando Las Trampas: Teacher Preparation For Mexicanas, Monica Medrano

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Developing Maestras face and overcome linguistic, academic and cultural forms of gatekeeping while trying to navigate through our current education system. For this Capstone Project, the impact that gatekeeping has on developing Maestras and how it affects their academic and professional aspirations was investigated. This is an important issue for developing Maestras, the University of Gringolandia as well as for the education system of Nepantla county. The success of developing Maestras Mexicanas closes the racial gap and directly impacts the student success rate within Nepantla county. The literature and data results analysis indicate that the gatekeeping practices that keep Mexicanas …

Eye To Eye: Increasing Parent Involvement Through Collaboration And Adaptation, Liliana Orozco-Lemus, Kara Gearring

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is on parental involvement in education and what can be done to improve the lack of involvement. This is an important issue for school systems because of the impact it has on a student’s academic achievement. Both teachers and parents were interviewed to obtain the perspectives of those who are able to see the effects of a lack of parental involvement on a student’s academic success, as well as the perspective of those who have trouble being involved and need accommodations. The results highlighted the challenges experienced by parents who can not afford to …

No Habla Espanol: Are Monolingual Teachers Getting The Support They Need?, Cristina Benavides

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For this Capstone Project, the researchers investigated how monolingual teachers view the support and resources they received to teach English Language Learners (ELL) and what they thought could be done to improve their teaching effectiveness. An evidence based argument is offered that monolingual teachers were not being provided with effective support and resources. More specifically, three themes emerged from an analysis of the data obtained from interviews of monolingual teachers and administrators. Based on the emergent themes, an action was undertaken to help monolingual teachers better address the needs of ELLs. This is an important issue for monolingual teachers because …

The Silent Struggle: Mexicana Mothers Balancing Education And Being A Madre, Yisel Chavarin

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone project analyzing how Mexicana students balance obtaining an education and being a madre. Mexicanas madres face a clash of the two competing “cultures” of school and home. Being a Mexicana student often means one must observe a set of “cultural” academic expectations; namely, school comes first, and the importance of deadlines and grades. Being a Mexicana madre often means one must observe a competing set of cultural expectations. These include familia first, attend to the children, and cook and clean. The evidence based argument suggests that Mexicana student madres must learn to “navigate” these two …

Full Issue, Palara Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Similarities And Differences Between Two Vital Roles In Medicine: Physicians And Physician Assistants, Veronika Dubov

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Research has been done analyzing nurse practitioners (NP) versus physician assistants (PA) and medical doctors (MDs) versus doctor of osteopathic medicine (DOs), but there is a lack of research on PAs versus MD/DOs. This thesis aims to outline the similarities and differences between the physician profession and the physician assistant profession. Interviews were conducted with physicians and physician assistants from the Nebraska Medicine Emergency Department to get insight from professionals currently in the field and to gain multiple perspectives. Along with interviews, research was conducted utilizing scholarly articles and other online reliable resources. These findings are significant for any undergraduate …

Revision: The Literary Compass, Ashton Nanninga

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Revision is necessary in the writing process; it is the creative stepping-stone towards a finished product. Throughout all stages in writing, revision exists. From the entry point of writing – after words meet the page – to submission, it is essential. Determining how to revise as a self-editor as well as receiving critiques and comments from others can be a difficult. Even understanding what constitutes revision can be unclear. In this thesis, understanding what revision is from its origin to application in writing today will be explored. Revision is a subjective process; it varies from person to person. In order …

Evaluation Of Fire-Affected Concrete Structures By Non-Destructive Testing Methods, Upal Mohammad Towfiqul Quadir

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Fire hazard on concrete structures has been a significant concern around the world. After a fire hazard, the crucial part is the evaluation of the fire-affected concrete for strengthening or demolition. For evaluation of a fire-affected concrete structure, Non-destructive Testing (NDT) methods would certainly be a more viable option than the destructive testing methods. Until now, no specific code was developed for quantifiable evaluation of fire-affected concrete with NDT. To develop the method for Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE) of fire-affected concrete, 8 small-sized (4 in x 4 in x 15 in) and 32 medium-sized (8 in x 8 in x 36 …