Digital Commons Network^™

Barn Owls (Tyto Alba) And Biodiversity Near Hemp Farms And Grasslands In Oregon, Usa, Lacey Brianne Thun

Master's Theses

Extensive agriculture poses a major threat to biodiversity worldwide, although some species, such as the barn owl (Tyto alba), can thrive in many agroecosystems. Barn owls, the world's most widely distributed owl, provide rodent management, and their presence may be both an indicator of and support for ecosystem biodiversity. Little previous research documents the relationship between barn owls and adjacent crop attributes, however. In 2018, hemp (Cannabis sativa) was taken off the federal Controlled Substance Act list and permitted as an agricultural crop. Hemp is now rapidly increasing in extent in Oregon, USA. This research assessed the reproductive success and …

Examining The Role Of Echo-Chambers Within Online Incel Communities Using Sentiment Analysis And Group Based Trajectory Modeling, Francesca Florine Fanucchi

Master's Theses

Technological advancements within the last decade have created new opportunities for social movements to meet and communicate online with like-minded individuals. Under this notion, these online communities generate an echo-chamber of information, to which certain individuals only surround themselves with people sharing similar values and opinions. As a result, online platforms (e.g., forums, blogs, websites) form as safe spaces for members to express their views seen as unacceptable offline. Research examining the role of echo-chambers in facilitating extremist rhetoric within online incel communities is limited, despite real-world acts of violence perpetrated by self-proclaimed incels. Therefore, the objective of this thesis …

Thinking Styles, Conspiracist Belief, And The Mediating Role Of The Dunning-Kruger Effect In Modeling Belief Change, Lucas C. Cusano

Master's Theses

Why can a person believe something for which there is no evidence and yet also fail to believe something for which there is overwhelming evidence? This study develops a structural model of belief change using the latent constructs of thinking styles and conspiracist belief while accounting for the Dunning-Kruger effect (i.e., overconfidence in one’s knowledge the less one knows about a topic) as a mediator. A combined two-hundred and twenty-six participants from both Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and the introductory psychology SONA subject pool were given two knowledge measures on topics of genetic modification and vaccination before and after reading refutational …

Evaluating The Effect Of Resveratrol On Sirt1 With Different Peptide Substrates, Yujin Hur

Master's Theses

SIRT1 is an NAD+-dependent lysine deacetylase that is involved in many important cellular pathways. The protein has an extended N-terminal domain that seems to play a role in regulating its activity. Sirtuin Activating Compounds (STACs) are allosteric activators, such as resveratrol, that regulate the activity of SIRT1. STACs bind to the N-terminal STAC Binding Domain (SBD) in SIRT1. Past literature has found that SIRT1 activity can be increased, decreased, or remain unchanged by resveratrol depending on the identity of the peptide substrate. The goal of this study is to clarify the mechanism for substrate-specific allosteric regulation by resveratrol. The interactions …

Spatiotemporal Dynamics And Biogeochemical Responses In A Tidally Restricted Moro Cojo Slough, Ryan Chiu

Master's Theses

Four years of observational data for Moro Cojo Slough (MCS), a Mediterranean climate estuary in central California, linked anthropogenic nutrient loading and hydrological modifications to a shift in net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) that differs from the characteristic net heterotrophic behavior of most estuarine systems. A lack of precipitation and limited flushing during the dry seasons, as evidenced from hypersaline waters, contribute to high ecosystem respiration rates that drove NEM to nearly balanced or net autotrophic. During the wet seasons, increased runoff and nutrient loading due to precipitation elevated primary production rates within MCS, characterizing the system as net autotrophic. Box …

Linking Social Dynamics To Private Land Management: A Study Of Prescribed Burn Associations In Northern California, Spencer R. Klinefelter

Master's Theses

Prescribed fire is one way to improve the adaptive capacity of communities in the wildland urban interface in terms of managing wildfire risk and meeting socio-ecological goals. In California, Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs) are a way of organizing private landowners with the goal of engaging in more widespread and frequent prescribed fires. This research uses semi-structured interviews with private landowners, along with key informants from public agencies such as CalFire and Regional Parks, to explore PBA development and functioning in northern coastal California. Sonoma and Marin counties were chosen as the primary study sites as they are represented by the …

No Kidding: The Moderating Role Of Childcare Responsibility On The Relationship Between Perceived Work-Life Balance Policy Culture And Job Outcomes, Ziwei Gao

Master's Theses

The societal assumption that everyone will or should have children at some point is deeply ingrained in many cultures. This often results in a lack of recognition and understanding of the experiences of childfree individuals, particularly within professional settings. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the moderating effect of childcare responsibility on the relationship between perceived work-life balance policy culture and job outcomes. A sample of 161 participants completed an online survey measuring perceived work-life balance policy culture, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Results showed that employees with high levels of perceived work-life balance policy culture reported …

Tree Removal From An Encroached Coastal Grassland Restores Soil Bacterial Communities Before Fungal Communities, Ka Ki Law

Master's Theses

Woody species encroachment depletes historic grassland biodiversity and degrades ecosystem function around the world. In particular, the encroaching trees can shift soil properties and microbial communities, which play critical roles in plant health and global nutrient cycling. Little is known about how removing encroached trees affects soil ecosystems, however. Over the last century, Pinus radiata and Hesperocyparis macrocarpa (non-native to the area) both encroached into coastal prairies at Rancho Corral de Tierra in California, and selected trees were removed in 2017 and 2018 to restore grassland habitats. To examine the impacts of encroachment and removal on the soil ecosystem, I …

Characterization And Evaluation Of Catalytic Activity Of Small Molecule Copper Complexes For Metallopolymer Design, Brenda Lu

Master's Theses

Catalysis is one of the driving forces in designing greener chemical processes for essential real-world applications. Enzymes, Nature’s catalysts, are known for their high selectivity, use of readily available metals and reagents, and ability to work under physiological conditions; three important qualities that synthetic chemists would like to mimic in their small molecule metal catalysts. Though most small molecule metal catalysts fall short of enzyme-like activity, we hypothesize that using a polymer scaffold as a secondary coordination sphere mimic around the metal complex will affect the microenvironment (steric and electronic) and enable enzyme-like activity. Previously, we synthesized ligand precursors and …

Examining The Plasticity Of The Dive Response In Relation To Dive Behavior Of Northern Elephant Seals (Mirounga Angustirostris), Shawn M. Hannah

Master's Theses

Marine mammals face an extraordinary challenge as they must actively hunt during breath-hold dives. This challenge is conquered by the dive response (the decreased heart rate and increased peripheral vasoconstriction associated with a breath hold) and is influenced by dive duration, depth, exercise, and cognitive control. I studied the dive response of one of the deepest diving marine mammals, the northern elephant seal, across two years to determine interactions between behavioral and physiological factors on a fine scale. I examined the influence of dive depth, duration, and activity (ODBA) on dive heart rate (fH), pre- and post-dive fH, post-dive surface …

Cirrus Microphysical Properties And The Controlling Factors Using A Machine Learning Approach, Derek D. Ngo

Master's Theses

Cirrus clouds are located at high altitudes and are composed of ice crystals. The unique location of cirrus clouds and their large variability in-cloud microphysical properties allow them to have either warming or cooling effects on Earth’s surface and affect the Earth’s energy budget on a global scale. The examination of cirrus radiative effects is further complicated by multiple factors affecting their formation and evolution, including the effects of thermodynamic, dynamic, aerosol, and chemical tracer variables. In this work, we developed a composite aircraft-based in-situ observation dataset based on seven National Science Foundation (NSF) and five NASA flight campaigns that …

Controllability-Constrained Deep Neural Network Models For Enhanced Control Of Dynamical Systems, Suruchi Sharma

Master's Theses

Control of a dynamical system without the knowledge of dynamics is an important and challenging task. Modern machine learning approaches, such as deep neural networks (DNNs), allow for the estimation of a dynamics model from control inputs and corresponding state observation outputs. Such data-driven models are often utilized for the derivation of model-based controllers. However, in general, there are no guarantees that a model represented by DNNs will be controllable according to the formal control-theoretical meaning of controllability, which is crucial for the design of effective controllers. This often precludes the use of DNN-estimated models in applications, where formal controllability …

Intrinsic Motivation By The Principles Of Non-Linear Dynamical Systems, Phu C. Nguyen

Master's Theses

The design of appropriate control rules for the stabilization of dynamical systems can require quite substantial domain knowledge. Modern AI methodologies, such as Reinforcement Learning, are often used to mitigate the need for such knowledge. However, these can be slow and often rely on at least some hand-designed reward structure, and thus human input, to be more effective. Here, we propose an alternative route to construct rewards requiring only minimal domain knowledge, essentially relying on the structure of the dynamical system itself. For this, we use truncated Lyapunov exponents as rewards to calculate the stabilizing controller from samples. Concretely, the …

Micro-Scale Laser-Induced Fluorescence Thermometry For Multiphase Flow In Porous Media, Samuel J. Simmons

Master's Theses

In this thesis the use of Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) thermometry was evaluated as a temperature measurement for multiphase flow in porous media. This optical temperature measurement technique utilizes the temperature-dependent emissive properties of fluorescent dyes to measure temperature. This research evaluates the accuracy, spatial resolution, and temporal resolution of LIF thermometry compared to existing temperature measurements. In this research water-soluble and oil-soluble fluorescent dyes are evaluated in terms of their temperature sensitivity. The ability of these dyes to measure temperature is compared to an Ansys FEA simulation of a fixed temperature gradient. For multiphase flow, the fluorescent dyes were both …

Effects Of Hypoxia On Anti-Predator Behavior Of English Sole (Parophrys Vetulus) And Speckled Sanddabs (Citharichthys Stigmaeus), Alexandra Beatrix Stella

Master's Theses

Predator detection and successful escape behaviors are critical to the survival of juvenile fish. However, rising temperatures and increased nutrient pollution result in more frequent hypoxic events (i.e., low dissolved oxygen levels), which may impact fish health and survival. This research examined the effects of hypoxia on two flatfish species commonly found in the Elkhorn Slough, an important nursery habitat in central California. English sole and speckled sanddabs were exposed to five DO treatments ranging from 8.0 mg/L DO (normoxic) to 1.0 mg/L DO (severely hypoxic). A startle response trial was used to examine the impact of increasingly hypoxic conditions …

Distribution And Habitat Use By Western Burrowing Owls (Athene Cunicularia Hypugaea) In Alameda, Contra Costa And San Joaquin Counties, California, Jacqueline Taylor

Master's Theses

Grasslands are regularly altered for development, agriculture, and animal farming which leads to habitat destruction and fragmentation and, ultimately, a loss of wildlife species. Though degraded, grassland ecosystems – including native and non-native species - dominate the landscape in the region of the San Francisco Bay Area east of the Bay. The western burrowing owl (Athene cuncularia hypugaea) is a native grassland species of California. The breeding burrowing owl population in the San Francisco Bay Area is resident, but burrowing owls from other parts of the range migrate into the region for the winter. The breeding owl populations in the …

Behavorial Response Of Diving Northern Elephant Seals (Mirounga Angustirostris) When Exposed To Predator Calls, Daphne M. Shen

Master's Theses

Understanding how marine mammals respond to and recover from acoustic stressors is crucial if underwater noise increases. The use of an animal-borne biologger that combines a speaker with a motion sensor allows for the collection of whole-dive and fine-scale data over repeated exposures under identical experimental parameters. This study determined whether northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), a model for deep-diving marine mammals, exhibited a stereotypical behavioral response when exposed to killer whale whistles, an acoustic stressor. I examined changes in dive characteristics, measured duration of altered response, and observed behavior in response to repeated exposures. When exposed to the playback …

Manifestations Of Communicative Resilience In Experiences Of Serial Arguments Among Adult Children Of Harmful Parental Alcohol Use, Brooklyn Willis

Master's Theses

This thesis investigated the ways in which adult children of harmful parental alcohol use manifest resilience through the lens of the Communication Theory of Resilience (CTR). The CTR presents five communication processes by which resilience, which is the ability to overcome hardship, is demonstrated. Serial arguments, the repeated and unresolved conflicts that occur between romantic partners, were utilized as the context to study resilience. Interviews were conducted to learn about perceptions of serial argument resolvability and the ways and frequencies in which resilience manifested. A pre-interview survey gathered information pertaining to relationship satisfaction and perceptions of resilience. A thematic analysis …

Response Of Running Buffalo Clover (Trifolium Stoloniferum Muhl Ex. A. Eaton) To Herbaceous Competition And Transplanting In Monongahela National Forest, Ruben E. Sabella

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Running buffalo clover (RBC) is a rare perennial plant that grows throughout the American Midwest and the Appalachian Mountains. It requires disturbed forests to establish and proliferate. It has been suggested that, in the past, these conditions were created by buffalo; now logging operations maintain RBC populations. However, forest managers have been looking for ways to create suitable habitat for RBC that do not involve harvesting practices. This could help create new populations in areas that cannot be logged. Once established, competing vegetation might influence RBC abundance and flowering. This study seeks to quantify this influence by measuring the vegetation …

Development Of A Model Sustainability Management Plan For The City Of Morgantown, West Virginia, Caitlyn Elizabeth Lewis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This report has been prepared to demonstrate the research for a model planning document with a focus on sustainability in Morgantown, WV. It discusses the role of three categories in the context of sustainability and proposes a design solution for selected areas of concern throughout the City of Morgantown in order to demonstrate opportunities for a sustainable approach toward resolution for city officials.

The City of Morgantown, West Virginia, is a college town along the Monongahela River with a backstory of industrialism that is echoed by many other places in Appalachia. However, distinctively, in Morgantown 25,000 college students populate the …

Il-27 Negatively Impacts Immunity Developed Following Bcg Administration, Shelby D. Bradford

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), a predominantly respiratory pathogen responsible for over ten million infections and one million deaths last year. Despite it being a primary objective of the World Health Organization (WHO) for several decades to irradicate TB, progress toward this objective has fallen short of the 2020 target to end TB by 2035. Meeting this goal will require advancements in diagnostic tools, education, healthcare access, and treatments and preventatives. Regarding prevention, the primary tool for this strategy is through vaccination. Currently, the only licensed vaccine for protection against TB is the century old …

Drought Effects On Biofuel Feedstock Production By Populus Trichocarpa, Marvin Jacob Wright

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As the world population continues to increase, so does the need for sustainable sources of fuel. Biofuels are of particular interest and could be an economically feasible fuel source given the right conditions. Populus trichocarpa, is a rapidly growing plantation species that, in addition to having a fully sequenced genome available for study, displays a wide range of phenotypic traits among genotypes. By analyzing these differences in both plantation and more controlled greenhouse settings, we aimed to discover which genotypes performed the best under drought conditions, and which physiological mechanisms granted them that high performance. In the field, differences in …

Learning From The First Citizen Science Association Virtual Conference, Abigail Hils, Skye Kelty, Angel Hjarding, Linda Silka, Alison Cawood

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The Citizen Science Association (CSA) is a member-driven organization that connects people with interest in community/citizen science (c*science) from a wide range of backgrounds, disciplines, and experiences. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bi-annual CSA conference pivoted away from an in-person format to a virtual format. CitSciVirtual: Local, Global, Connected occurred throughout May 2021 and brought together more than 700 attendees from 36 countries. The conference prioritized interactive experiences for attendees, including 16 collaborative poster sessions featuring 240 virtual posters, 55 workshops to learn and practice new skills, and 7 social events. This paper summarizes the impacts of the …

Emotional Intelligence Among Nigerian Construction Project Leaders During Periods Of Uncertainty, Ibrahim Hassan Mashi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some construction project leaders in Nigeria have exhibited leadership ineffectiveness during periods of uncertainty due to a lack of emotional intelligence (EI) engagement. This has led to poor performance of construction projects in Nigeria. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the engagement of EI in enhancing leadership effectiveness among construction project leaders in Nigeria during periods of uncertainty. Fifteen participants involving construction project leaders were selected through purposeful sampling from five construction firms in Abuja, Nigeria. The target participants were specifically chosen for their expertise and experience to ensure that the information created is relevant …

Exploring An Indian K-12 School’S Experience Of Culturally Adapting Multiple Intelligences Theory, Jessica Richmond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many government-run K-12 schools in India struggle to serve their diverse student bodies in a culturally responsive manner that draws from the nation's rich cultural heritage. Academic programs based on Gardner’s multiple intelligences (MI) theory have been utilized internationally to enhance learning, but the implementation has not been explored in a school curriculum based on Indian culture. The purpose of this qualitative case study, which was grounded in MI and Ladson-Billing’s culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), was to explore the methods and experiences of an Indian K-12 school that culturally adapted MI theory to include yogic principles of the Indian culture. …

Career Progression: Narrative Study Of Impediments Affecting Army Female Officer Advancement From Major To Lieutenant Colonel, Jeremia M. Van

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractQualitative narrative inquiry was used to understand the accounts and experiences of female officers in the United States Army that were once stationed in South Korea, who did not advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In today’s military, female officers still face many challenges during their advancement from Major to Lieutenant Colonel, relative to their male counterparts. The specific problem is the underrepresentation of female majors in the Army who compete for promotion to the lieutenant colonel rank. The researcher explored the experiences of 14 female Army officers that served in South Korea and sought out promotions from the …

Relationship Between Homelessness, Substance Use, Employment, Living On A Reservation And Tuberculosis Among Northern Plains Native Americans, Darla Mccloskey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Native Americans in the Northern Plains have a long history of tuberculosis (TB) infections. There is limited research on the causes of latent TB infections (LTBI) and TB in this population. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the relationship between latent TB and factors of homelessness, substance use, employment, living on a reservation, and active or latent TB among this population using the eco-social theory as the theoretical framework. Data from 146 TB cases of Native Americans living in the Northern Plains and diagnosed with TB from 1999 to 2019 were analyzed using chi-square tests that showed …

Homophobia In Jamaica And Its Impact On The Victimization Of Homosexual Adult Males In Montego Bay, St. James, Dr. Shahila D. Edwards-Grey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractJamaica has been listed among the most unfriendly nations for homosexual males. Previous research indicated that due to the biopolitical and sociocultural norms of the Jamaican society, homosexual males continued to be targets of various forms of discrimination based on their sexual orientation. However, research reflecting the lived experiences of homosexual males in Jamaica is sparse. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to provide details on the encounters of victimization due to homophobia of adult homosexual males in the parish of St. James, Jamaica. Data were collected through observations and in-depth interviews with eight men who identified as …

Predictors Of Psychoactive Substance Abuse Among Eastern Nigeran Youth, Kingsley Chidiebere Izuka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPsychoactive substance (PAS) abuse is a major public health problem leading to increased morbidity and mortality. In Nigeria, the incidence rate of PAS abuse has remained high, particularly in the youth population. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of social factors and school enrollment status on PAS abuse in youth in Southeast Nigeria. The social ecological model and the theory of reasoned action were the theoretical frameworks used for this study; they were selected due to their focus on multiple levels of factors that influence behavior. A quantitative cross-sectional study design approach was used to determine …

Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Instructional Coaching, Judith Salazar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Instructional coaching focuses on increasing the effectiveness of instructional practices. However, little is known concerning the perceptions of teachers and administrators regarding the role of instructional coaching related to student performance. This basic qualitative study was conducted to analyze the perceptions of administrators and teachers within one region in Texas. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 16 participants—eight administrators and eight teachers—using a researcher-designed questionnaire regarding the effectiveness of instructional coaching in addressing achievement gaps among African American, Hispanic, and European American students. Fullan’s coherence framework provided the basis for data analysis. Data collected from the interviews were analyzed and four …