Digital Commons Network^™

The Resilience Of American Indian And Alaska Native Older Adults In The Context Of Major Health Disparities In Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Asthma, And Arthritis: A Narrative Review, Ennis Frank Vaile

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Multiple major health disparities have been documented in Indian Country, including cardiovascular disease (Howard et al., 1999), diabetes (Acton et al., 2003), asthma (Mannino et al., 2002), and arthritis (Barbour et al., 2017). Prior research has shown that the prevalence rates of these conditions in American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) are among the highest in the United States. Given these health disparities, aging older adults in Indian Country may be especially vulnerable to the development of concurrent negative mental health outcomes, particularly depression (Garrett et al., 2015). Nonetheless, AI/AN older adults continue to age successfully and exhibit substantial …

Black Deathways: An African Methodist History, 1829-1916, Christina M. Varney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study will focus on the transformations of death practices and the shifting roles of death workers from 1829-1916. The Postbellum portion of this study will focus on African Methodist communities in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee as practices and people moved West to the states of Montana, Colorado, and California. These practices experienced changes as a result of rising literacy rates, the establishment of Black churches, and from the movement of Black people within the South. More changes occurred with the creation of mutual aid societies and Black-owned funeral homes. Black funeral directors …

How Aquatic Insects Mitigate Temperature-Oxygen Challenges Via Behavioral, Morphological, And Physiological Plasticity, Jackson H. Birrell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

How do organisms respond to environmental challenges and to environmental change? These questions occupy a central place in ecology and answering them will help us to understand why species live where they do, how organisms are affected by human activities, and, ultimately, how to choose among alternative conservation strategies. These questions are difficult, however, for two reasons. First, environmental challenges often involve multiple, interacting stressors. Second, individual responses can be modified by behavioral, morphological, and physiological plasticity. My dissertation investigates how interactions between temperature and oxygen influence the performance and survival of aquatic insects and how plasticity allows individuals to …

Impacts Of Eating Disorder Recovery On Communication Of Identity Through Food, Rosemary Willett Jeter

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Using the Communication Theory of Identity as a framework, the purpose of this thesis was to investigate how the experience of eating disorder recovery (EDR) impacts one’s communication of identity through and about food, and perceptions of others’ communication about and through food. Purposive sampling yielded 20 adult participants who self-identified as having been in EDR for at least one year. Results from a phronetic iterative data analysis of semi-structured interviews yielded several themes. When considering how EDR influences personal communication through food, main themes include: (a) the inability to share meals creates a gap between the enacted and relational …

Building Bridges: Supervisors’ Management Of Competency Questioning, Arianna Camille Vokos

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Clinical supervision is an opportunity for supervisors to influence and shape the education of counselors-in-training. Exchanging feedback between supervisees and supervisors can be a challenging aspect of supervision and can have profound impact on the efficacy of supervision, the safety of clients, and the supervision relationship. Understanding the experience and process that supervisors go through when their competence is questioned could be critical to understanding the supervision relationship. Successful management of competency questioning contributes to the efficacy of the supervision relationship, better protection of clients, and positive development of supervisees. Using grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2014), this qualitative study addresses …

The Effect Of Place Attachment And Leisure Identity On Stewardship Participation In The Rattlesnake National Recreation Area And Wilderness, Elena Rene Thomas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As outdoor recreation participation increases in the U.S., and many communities in the American West are experiencing rising amenity migration, park and protected area managers face significant challenges to balance both providing for visitors’ desired experiences and protecting the natural resources on which these experiences depend. Confronted with declining management capacity, agencies are increasingly looking to engage both newer and established recreationists in stewardship behaviors to help maintain these areas and improve human-environment relationships. One barrier to community involvement in stewardship efforts is the need to better understand the connection between recreationists’ antecedent conditions and their motivations to steward. Past …

Theory Of Care, Gabriella Ann Graceffo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

With a backdrop of the body and its inner forms, Theory of Care is a collection of poems and lyric excerpts that explores themes of queer sexuality, physical and mental health, etymology, desire, and physicality. It coheres moments of internal reckoning with an exploration of how trauma lives in the body, particularly the queer femme body. By accessing various landscapes including the medical sphere, family dynamics, and the social environments of the South, the collection grapples with different vernaculars to question how the language used to discuss (or dismiss) trauma dramatically alters the perception of those experiences.

A Randomized Trial Of Behavioral Nudges Delivered Through Text Messages To Increase Influenza Vaccination Among Patients With An Upcoming Primary Care Visit, Mitesh S. Patel, Katherin L. Milkman, Linnea Gandhi, Heather N. Graci, Dena Gromet, Brigitte C. Madrian

Faculty Publications

Purpose: To evaluate if nudges delivered by text message prior to an upcoming primary care visit can increase influenza vaccination rates.

Design: Randomized, controlled trial.

Setting: Two health systems in the Northeastern US between September 2020 and March 2021.

Subjects: 74,811 adults.

Interventions: Patients in the 19 intervention arms received 1-2 text messages in the 3 days preceding their appointment that varied in their format, interactivity, and content.

Measures: Influenza vaccination.

Analysis: Intention-to-treat.

Results: Participants had a mean (SD) age of 50.7 (16.2) years; 55.8% (41,771) were female, 70.6% (52,826) were White, and 19.0% (14,222) were Black. Among the interventions, …

The Socio-Political History Of Cannabis In Costa Rica, Winston C. Grady

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The socio-political history of cannabis in Costa Rica is one of external global influence; from colonization to independence; from neocolonialism to neoliberalism. Cannabis in Costa Rica has gone from failed agricultural crop to non-indigenous intoxicant import to controversial cultural mainstay. As Mexico influenced cannabis prohibition in the United States, so too has the U.S. approach to cannabis prohibition influenced Costa Rica. Costa Rica now grapples with attempting to reorient its general anti-cannabis status quo to one of regulated marketplace acceptance. My research findings indicate that cannabis originally entered Costa Rica in the late 19^th century by way of imported …

Impact Of Career And Technical Education On Student Lives, Jennifer L. Burtram

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The traditional high school experience in the United States continues to adapt to meet the diverse needs of students. There are now a wide range of avenues to earning high school credit including online learning, hybrid classes, flipped classrooms, early college pathways, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) models, and others. The shared goals and expectations of these various approaches to high school learning are designed for students to complete their state’s graduation requirements to earn a high school diploma while also preparing them for life after high school. Career and technical education (CTE) is another approach that is attempting …

Modeling Current And Future Saltmarsh Distribution In Arcata Marsh, Madeline Kay Mcnerthney

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Saltmarsh habitat is vulnerable to Sea Level Rise (SLR) and requires long-term management plans for communities to continue to benefit from their ecosystem services. This study analyzed the variation of above-ground vegetation biomass throughout I Street Marsh, using multiple variables, including classified vegetative community types, elevation and remote sensing indexes comprised of both visual (Red, Green, Blue) and non-visual (Red Edge, Near Infrared) bands. Plant community types were classified using a cluster analysis, and distinguished three communities, based on dominant species: Salicornia, Spartina, and a mixed type (diverse floristic makeup, with no dominant species). Above-ground biomass was significantly higher in …

The Relationship Between Gluteus Maximus Activation And Running Kinematics In Recreational Distance Runners, Ricardo Sanchez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Within the running community, there are strategies that a trainer will utilize to improve the performance of an athlete. One of these strategies suggests that an increase in activation of the Gluteus Maximus (GM) muscle will result in an increase in the efficiency of runners. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between GM activation and running kinematics.

Methods: Three female and seven male recreational runners (27±8 yrs) from California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt and the local community. A Pearson product-correlation was used to determine the strength of the relationship between Gluteus Maximus activation and kinematic …

The Effects Of Physical Education On Social Outcomes In Children With Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis, Alyette J. Afont

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Social outcomes are the foundation of human relationships and many children with disabilities may display deficits in the necessary behaviors to form those connections. Previous literature shows that physical activity can be an effective intervention for children with disabilities to promote social outcomes through the three domains of learning – cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to collect, index, and evaluate the available literature exploring how a physical education program can impact social outcomes in children with disabilities. By composing articles pertaining to social outcomes and physical education through multiple databases, researchers will be able to …

Effects Of Exergaming On Health And Fitness Outcomes For Students With Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis, Jason Abaya

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Background: The high prevalence of obesity in America can be attributed to the lack of resources and physical activity for students with disabilities. This meta-analysis presents how current literature on exergaming affects the Health Related Fitness, Skill Related Fitness, and Motor Skills of students with a diagnosed disability.

Method: The search strategy for this meta-analysis was to identify previous studies using specific keywords (e.g., Exergaming, Wii-Fit, VR, Physical Education, Adapted Physical Education). Studies were included and sorted based on inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Results: Based on 20 studies that met the inclusion criteria, there were increased fitness outs, however not …

"Concealing The Excess Of Her Pleasure": A Queer Reading Of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, Josie Anne Blubaugh

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This queer reading of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey uses critical frameworks from queer theory, feminist theory, trans theory, and Black Romanticism to analyze female-female relationships between the characters in the novel as a product of the social norms, conventions, and discourses of Romantic-era Britain. By using literary analysis and close reading, I study the many ways in which Northanger Abbey can be read queerly, specifically where gender and sexuality intersect with race and ethnicity.

Though queer readings of this novel have been done in the past, my own analysis focuses on female-female relationships and takes race into consideration when I …

Olfactory Organ Morphology And Ultrastructure Of The Larval Koh Tao Island Caecilian (Ichthyophis Kohtaoensis), Jaclyn M. Patmore

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The olfactory system of living amphibians (Lissamphibia) undergoes major changes as it transitions from an aquatic to a terrestrial system during metamorphosis. Patterns of change in the cellular morphology of the nose have been examined for frogs (Anura) and salamanders (Caudata). However, it remains unknown if caecilians (Gymnophiona) have similar patterns of change in their nasal ultrastructure. In particular, no data on larval caecilian olfactory cell types are available. Here, using light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, I examined the olfactory organ of larvae of the caecilian Ichthyophis kohtaoensis, to establish the ultrastructure of the epithelium and compare it …

Muele Las Palabras Con Canela: How Queer Xicanx Writing Practices Reclaim Indigeneity, Karen Zurita

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

My thesis project is a multi-genre story in itself, dedicated to my community. By using Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza and Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel’s Decolonize Your Diet, I emphasize the importance of Xicanx writing needing to reflect their Indigenous identity by intertwining the spiritual and physical in their writing practices. In the process of creating this thesis project I was able to heal my own writing and have it shapeshift into creating a summer poetry class for high school students in the Humboldt County Area. In all, I found these writing practices to be crucial …

"Think Of The Children!": Understanding Parental And Community Opposition To Critical Race Theory, Daniela S. Tierra

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools has become a controversial topic nationwide, leading to widespread and alarming bans on the teaching of CRT. CRT has been accused of shaming white children, creating racial division, and creating a “victim mentality” amongst people of color. The CRT utilized in critical legal studies, ethnic studies, and sociology looks drastically different from what opponents claimed. So, what exactly is CRT - more importantly, what do opponents of CRT believe it to be, and why are they opposed to it? This thesis builds on the sociological field of critical whiteness to examine the academic origin …

Impact Of Self Determination Theory Amongst Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Physical Activity: Modifying A Survey, Ruben Guillermo Diaz

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Prior research has expressed concern for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who may be at risk regarding exercise and physical activity due to lack of interest, delays in motor skill development, and/or social impairment. Self Determination theory (SDT) has been suggested as an effective approach for supporting individuals with ASD across a variety of domains. SDT expresses that with the satisfaction of three fundamental psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), higher levels of intrinsic motivation will develop which will lead to enhanced development and well-being. While SDT is an effective approach to promoting motivation, it has been suggested that …

Individual Differences In The Coordinated Behavioral And Physiological Immune Response To Pathogenic Threat, Edwin Joel Rosales-Vijil

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Previous research has shown that simply viewing a pathogenic threat (e.g., a photo of someone sneezing) can trigger our immune systems to activate. Activation of the immune system can be measured through a variety of physiological markers, including inflammatory cells (i.e., cytokines) in the blood or saliva. The current study aims to replicate that finding that viewing pathogen-relevant images will trigger an immune response, and extend this work by investigating whether individual differences in perceived vulnerability to disease impacts the size of this immune response.

Physical Characteristics And Fine Roots Within Duff Mounds Of Old-Growth Sugar And Jeffrey Pine In A Fire-Excluded Sierran Mixed-Conifer Forest, Jules Bartley

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Fire exclusion has profoundly impacted frequent fire forests in western North America, disrupting fundamental ecological processes while leaving large, old pine trees vulnerable to drought, insects and disease, and fire. Forest managers want to increase the pace and scale of prescribed burning, yet heavy accumulations of organic material (duff mounds) at the bases of large pines can smolder for prolonged periods, damaging the cambium or consuming fine roots occupying the O horizon and/or upper mineral soil horizons. Increased duff mound depth is associated with greater mortality risk during prescribed fire, yet the biotic and abiotic drivers of duff mound accumulation …

State And Transition Models For Tussock Grasslands And Woodlands Of The Kimberley: Final Project Report, Anna E. Richards, Brett Abbott, Robert Sudmeyer, Matthew Fletcher, Kath Ryan, Suzanne Prober, Philip Thomas, Pouria Ramzi, Jodie Hayward, Chris Hetherington, Karyn Reeves, Wayne J. Fletcher

Natural resources commissioned reports

The Kimberley region in north-west Western Australia is covered by extensive savanna woodlands and tussock grasslands. Approximately half the region is under pastoral leases predominately used for beef production. The Western Australian (WA) government Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) undertakes lease assessment and inspection to ensure the maintenance of pastoral land condition (maintenance of perennial grass cover that supports livestock grazing and soil condition). This presents several challenges around defining land condition and practices that support and improve long-term ecological sustainability of pastoral lands. The objective of this project was to develop state and transition models (S&TMs) …

Social Buffering Of Fear In Two Mouse Models Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Thamara C. Martinez Fernandez

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interactions and repetitive patterns of behaviors, symptoms which manifest differently among individuals. This is due to ASD being caused by a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Although ASD is not caused by a single factor, various risk genes have been identified that are associated with particular phenotypes. Among these genes are the Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and the Dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A), both are involved in cellular processes that affect cell division, brain growth, and neurodevelopment. Macrocephaly and microcephaly are symptoms displayed in …

The Effects Of Corticotropin Releasing Factor Receptor 2 And Nonmuscle Myosin Ii In Drug-Associated Memories, Cadence Fisher

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are perpetuated by the formation of drug-associated memories. Methamphetamine (METH)-associated memories undergo immediate and long-lasting disruption after treatment with blebbistatin (blebb), a nonmuscle myosin II (NMII) inhibitor, but cocaine (COC) associated memories do not. This suggests that the mechanisms of METH and COC-associated memories are different. To visualize these potential differences, RNA-sequencing was conducted. Crhr2, a gene that encodes corticotropin releasing factor receptor 2 (CRF2), was uniquely upregulated in the BLA after METH learning. Action upon CRF2 after memory consolidation did not have an effect. However, pretreating brains with CRF2 antagonist Astressin-2B (AS2B) prevented blebb’s ability …

Forms Of Mental Health Stigma Affecting Treatment And Help - Seeking In The Indian Population, Evangeline A. George

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

With the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, awareness of mental health and the mental health crisis increased sharply on the global stage. In some countries, strides have been made to understand and combat barriers that people encounter in recognizing and treating mental health problems. Some other countries have faced difficulties in this, including India. India has encountered particular challenges in the acceptance and expansion of mental health awareness and treatment. One driving factor may be stigma. Stigma has been found to vary in different cultures as it is influenced by the cultural climate of the community. When there are high …

Investigating The Neural Circuitry Behind Drosophila Locomotor Movements, Rhea Kulkarni

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is one of the most widely used model organisms, as many human genes have orthologs in the Drosophila genome, and many fundamental biological mechanisms and pathways are shared by both organisms. Drosophila have a large repertoire of sophisticated behaviors, and neural circuits represent the proximate causes of these behaviors. The goal of this study is to identify the causal neurons labeled by the VT40017 line which, upon activation, induce flying, and when inhibited, induce walking. In this study, we identified a subset of neurons that may be implicated in this behavior using a fly line …

A Study To Elucidate Matrix Metalloproteinase 14 In Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines Under Both Normoxic And Hypoxic Conditions., Kathryn Martin

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Various key players have been implicated in the development of pancreatic cancer, among these is a member of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family of proteolytic enzymes, MMP 14. This enzyme’s proteolytic activities have been implicated in cancer proliferation, invasion, and metastasis; however, little is known about its non-proteolytic and/or intracellular roles. Furthermore, research to date has focused on in vitro cell culture conditions under normoxic conditions, yet cancer exists physiologically under hypoxic conditions. Under physiological hypoxic conditions members of the MMP family have been associated with altered cellular behavior. Thus, there is a need to elucidate MMP-14’s roles under both …

Supermodel Of The World: How Rupaul And Rupaul’S Drag Race Forged A Queer Performance Empire, Michael Mcneill

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

The art of drag, once looked down upon in society and criminalized for many years, has seen a recent surge in popularity and become celebrated and welcomed internationally. RuPaul and their Emmy-award-winning television franchise RuPaul’s Drag Race have created a whole new industry and career path for what was once seen as a menace to society and unwanted for its challenges against cis-gendered and heterosexual norms. Changing the media industry and political landscape for LGBTQ+ people, RuPaul and their show have positively uplifted queer performers by providing a platform to show off their talents and opportunities to make money they …

The Fbi’S Raid Of Trump’S Mar-A-Lago And The Limits Of Executive Privilege, Amanda Mulvaney

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Each president of the United States is afforded a right to withhold sensitive information from other branches of the U.S. government in order to maintain confidential communication within the executive branch. Many presidents have invoked this executive privilege. However, this right is not absolute; the Supreme Court has set some restrictions on executive privilege. After examining former President Donald Trump’s invocation of executive privilege in keeping sensitive documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago after his presidential term expired and reviewing the history of executive privilege, its origin and its previous uses and limits, I argue that executive privilege can have …

Floral Inventory And Historical Analysis Of The Fau Ecological Preserve, Hannah Mnayarji

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

The ecological site at the Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic University, a 0.3 ����2 natural preserve site, is an excellent study in the effects of human disturbance at natural sites. A floral inventory was conducted using stratified sampling of macro plots to determine changes in biodiversity, nonnative species ratios, and wetland species ratios compared to a similar 1990 study. It was found that the site was 25.56% less biodiverse and contained 18.47% more nonnative species in the past thirty years. The percentage of wetland species found decreased 32.80% and upland species have increased by 19.86% in the same time …