Digital Commons Network^™

Coalescence: A Carnivore Coexistence Curriculum That Braids Indigenous & Western Ecological Knowledge Into A Relevant And Experiential Learning Opportunity For Youth, Stephanie Anne Barron

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horriblis) begin to reoccupy more of their historic range, and as humans and large carnivore populations continue to increase, incidences of human carnivore conflict are on the rise. A decolonial curriculum designed in collaboration with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe’s wildlife biologists stands to increase awareness of Indigenous ecological knowledge and teach youth about the importance of coexistence with carnivores. Additionally, this project could greatly influence youth perceptions of grizzly bears and other large carnivores. This research project examines the development and implementation of a carnivore coexistence curriculum for youth that is guided by …

From Recreation To Occupation: Exploring Access To The Outdoors, Eleanor R. Hall

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Questions of access and allocation are growing more pressing in today’s society as elements such as economic inequality, amenity migration and climate change create resource scarcity and complicate access to the outdoors. Whether it is apportioning the Colorado river, accessing busy National Parks, or owning land in an expensive mountain town, there are ample examples across the American West of the challenges posed when there are not enough resources to meet demand. At a time when natural resources are starting to feel more limited, allocation, ownership and access become increasingly important. For my Master’s Portfolio I reported three stories that …

Three Stories On Urban Wildlife, Kevin J. Moriarty

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Where The Framework Ends: Equity Considerations And Limitations During Agency River Permit Allocation Decision Making Processes, Kelsey Ellen Phillips

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

River recreation in the U.S. increased dramatically in the 1970s as boating technology and recreational skill level shifted, thus a number of federally- and state-managed river areas instituted use limits over the years to prevent the environmental and social impacts perceived to have stemmed from increased use. These river managers were then faced with the task of allocating this use between private and commercial users (allotment) and within these groups (rationing), complicated by the fact that members of the public perceive equity differently. Early recreation use allocation research explored how different rationing techniques favor different groups, for example those with …

Wildfires, Climate, And Equity: Towards Sustainable Forest Management And Conservation, Mark Regier Kreider

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Forest and conservation sciences are both fields that inherently combine land and people, concerning topics such as the wildfire crisis, impacts of human-caused climate change on ecosystem functioning, and inequity of access to outdoor spaces. The research and science communication in this PhD dissertation explore these issues, integrating the biophysical and social sciences to promote understanding, stewardship, and conservation of human-forest systems. Chapter 1 assesses how humans shape patterns of fire through fire suppression, inadvertently ensuring that fires occur under the most severe conditions and effectively selecting for high-severity fire occurrences. Chapter 2 uses a wilderness area with a fire …

Sweetbriar: I Wound To Heal, Megan Foster

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This work questions the societal disconnect between the readiness of human emotion and the restraint with which we discuss it. As the well-to-do ladies of the Victorian era would gather flowers to create tussie-mussies and nosegays to adorn themselves and send messages, the pieces of the MFA thesis exhibition Sweetbriar: I Wound to Heal divulge intense realities through the palatability and presentability of a flower’s beauty. The flowers in this work (as with Victorian Flower Language) act as signifiers for greater emotional concepts. Harebells for grief. Peonies for shame. Gorse for anger. Each flower/emotion in this exhibition is connected directly …

A Tale Of Two Working Landscapes, Sage C. Sutcliffe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Puerto Rican Haplogroup Distribution: A Taíno History, Paige Mackenzie Williams

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The extent to which Puerto Rico’s indigenous communities resisted, survived, and were transformed by colonization is unclear despite extensive ethnohistorical research. Historical claims of extinction are attributed to colonial census information but are strongly opposed by islanders who claim Indigenous Taíno ancestry (Nieves-Colón et al. 2019). Ethnic composition of Puerto Ricans is primarily European, African, and Indigenous and these compositions reflect migrations and admixture. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is of vast importance, as it permits tracing of the maternal line through a common female ancestor. In this, investigation of Indigenous haplogroup frequencies and their importance and relevance in Puerto Rican genetic …

The Role Of Face Threats In Understanding Target’S Interpretation Of A Tease, Shawn M. Deegan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Teasing is a common phenomenon used across the lifespan, but what teasing is and what makes it prosocial or antisocial is strongly contested. This study argues that viewing teasing as a communication strategy helps researchers focus on the content of the teasing message. Goffman’s Facework Theory was used to explore negative and positive face threats, redressive signals, and relational closeness to help explain why the tease is seen as prosocial or antisocial. In an experimental study, participants were asked to take turns engaging in a teasing game about elements of the other’s identity. The study found that negative face threat …

Approaches To Charitable Giving And Perceptions Of Organizational Effectiveness Among Midlevel Donors, Cal J. Halvorsen, Johanna Lynch, Sylvia Brown, Melissa L. Mcternan

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging

For decades, scholars have devoted attention to identifying the giving habits of charitable donors, yet the behaviors of midlevel donors have not been independently considered. This study examined midlevel donors’ approaches to charitable giving and the extent to which they give to effective organizations. Operationalized as giving between $2,000 and $20,000 annually, we analyzed descriptive statistics and multivariate probit models of 1,260 midlevel donors using a novel study. We found that respondents were least likely to engage in ad-hoc giving and most likely to give to organizations due to personal connections or prior research. However, while caring about a cause …

Movement-Based Interventions To Support Executive Function And Emotional Regulation In Autism Through The Potential Molecular Induction Of Neuroplasticity: A Systematic Review, Julie Dalmolen

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Autism Spectrum Disorder is associated with cognitive challenges that can hinder Executive Function. Disruptions in ER tend to create the largest barriers to social interactions with peers and can lead to disengagement from social activities and increased isolation which can impede learning and increase sedentary behaviors. Exercise interventions have been extensively studied in the autism population. While research suggests a variety of movement-based practices are effective in supporting metabolism, motor skills, stereotypical behaviors, and executive function, the impacts on emotional regulation are less clear, as are the types of exercise interventions that have the greatest effects. This systematic review aimed …

Examining The Drivers Of Nocturnal Behavior Of Pikas At Lower Elevations In Lassen National Forest, California, Evan Burnett

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The American pika (Ochotona princeps) is a charismatic mammal species adapted to occupy rockslides and boulder fields in western North America. Historically monitored due to their climate sensitivity, pikas have experienced extirpations along their lower range margins—driven by chronic and acute temperature stress—prompting increased concern and monitoring over the risks posed by anthropogenic climate change. Traditionally considered an alpine species, pikas occupy a wide range of elevations, with those at lower elevations exhibiting higher rates of nocturnality than their counterparts at higher elevations. Temperature is hypothesized to be the driver, but this has yet to be confirmed. Pikas …

The Role Of High School Freshman Grades, Socioeconomic Status, And School Location On College Enrollment, Sarah Morris, Sarah Mckenzie

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Prior research underscores the pivotal role high school freshman grade-point averages (FGPA) play in college enrollment, with a focus predominantly on urban settings. This study broadens this perspective, employing a diverse Arkansas sample (n = 33,207), spanning rural, suburban, and urban high school students and filling a notable literature gap. Utilizing a logit analysis, we found that high school students with an A FGPA were 23% more likely to enroll in college than B FGPA peers. Those failing a course in their high school freshman year were 13% less likely to enroll in college. Among similar academic ability students, …

Microbes: Key Constituent Of Predator Risk Cues?, Jake R. Vargas

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Chemical cues emanating from predators can play a key role in aquatic predator-prey interactions and food webs. Understanding how prey respond to these risk cues is therefore critical for understanding the direct effects of predators on prey populations and their indirect effects on communities. To respond adaptively, prey must accurately assess the risk of predation associated with perceived chemical cues, an oft-documented phenomenon. However, little is known about how cues disperse, persist, and degrade, all of which could limit the adaptive responses of prey. Using laboratory-based observations of a well-studied predator cue-induced antipredator behavior by the marine gastropod Tegula funebralis …

Physical And Mental Health Benefits Of An Intergenerational Yoga Intervention On Individuals And Communities, Crystal Rose Mckinney

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Intergenerational health programming has been shown to elicit positive physical, mental, psychological and social health benefits of all participants due to the educational impact and social engagement of synchronized movement and understanding of other generations. Research continues to show the efficacy of yoga in mind - body - spirit - connection health benefits and is accessible to bodies across the lifespan. People of all ages can benefit from an intergenerational yoga program, particularly in a rural location where there are less opportunities for physical activity participation. The purpose of this project is to apply for Humboldt Area Foundation + Wild …

Fire Severity Mediates Marten And Fisher Occurrence: Impacts Of The Dixie Fire On A Carnivore Community, Christopher James Collier

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The consumption of an astounding one million acres resulted from California’s largest single fire to date, the 2021 Dixie Fire. The social and economic losses associated with the fire were immediately apparent, but the effects on wildlife remained unknown. While previous research has suggested mixed or low severity fire may be beneficial to certain wildlife species, the responses to megafires are poorly understood for many carnivores. To better understand these responses to severe fire, I used a random sampling design stratified by burn severity to survey in and around the Dixie Fire footprint using baited camera stations. This allowed me …

Accelerations And Emg Differences Between Isocaloric High-Incline Walking And Level Grade Jogging, Taj Krieger

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Purpose: To examine muscle activation and biomechanical differences between high-incline walking (HIW) at 20% grade and level-grade jogging (LGJ) at isocaloric intensity on a treadmill. Methods: Physically inactive men and women between 18-31 completed the study. Participants (n=19) completed two isocaloric exercise trials (HIW and LGJ), each ten minutes in duration. EMG data was obtained from the Bicep Femoris (BF), Gluteus Maximus (GM), Lateral Gastrocnemius (LG), Tibialis Anterior (TA), Vastus Lateralis (VL), Anterior Deltoid (AD), Erector Spinae (ES) and Soleus (SOL). Resultant accelerations on the foot and sacrum were measured by IMU.

Results: When subjects were matched at isocaloric intensities …

Post-Fire Vegetation And Pyrodiversity Influence Breeding Abundances Of Lewis's Woodpeckers In The Eastern Cascades, Oregon, Brittany Welch

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Lewis’s woodpeckers (Melanerpes lewis) are described as "burn specialists" due to their preference for breeding in recently burned pine forests in the western US. However, despite increasing fire activity, this species experienced a 48% range-wide decline between 1968 and 2019, which raises questions about their adaptability to altered fire regimes in the region. We partnered with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife to investigate how Lewis’s woodpeckers in the eastern Cascades, Oregon were influenced by post-fire habitat characteristics such as snag size, snag density, and burn severity across five wildfires that varied in fire age, size, and …

The Effects Of Native Perennial Cover On Physiological Indicators Of Habitat Quality For Sparrows In California Coastal Prairie Rangelands, Madeleine A. Ybarra

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Prescribed grazing management can have myriad effects on wildlife, with low to moderate grazing being associated with an increased abundance of some grassland birds. Specifically, Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) and Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) abundance have been shown to be positively associated with both grazing and a higher percentage of native plant cover. However, measures of abundance provide an incomplete assessment of habitat quality for birds. Physiological and morphological measurements can help indicate environmental stress in individual birds, which reveals more information about habitat quality. We measured body condition and heterophil:lymphocyte ratios to gauge avian stress …

The Impact Of A Structured Exercise Program On The Pre-Established Exercise Goals For Individuals With Disabilities, Emily C. Batini

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study aimed to identify the efficacy of a structured exercise program emphasizing family involvement and self-determination theory in meeting pre-established fitness goals for adults with disabilities. To measure physical strength and endurance changes, the 6-minute walk test, the curl-up, and push-up tests were utilized. A single-subject changing-criterion design was used in this study over the course of six weeks. Results indicated a positive relationship between the intervention and increased physical strength and endurance, according to testing results. Few participants met the criterion for each phase. However, many did demonstrate an increase in the distance walked, push-ups, and curl-ups completed …

Expression Of Customer (Dis)Satisfaction In Online Restaurant Reviews: The Relationship Between Adversative Connective Constructions And Star Ratings, Matthew J. Baker, Brett James Hashimoto

Faculty Publications

Online restaurant reviews contain expressions of customer expectations in prose as well as in star ratings that indicate overall customer satisfaction. In prose, one way customers communicate that expectations are or are not met is through a grammatical construction called adversative connectives (ACs) (i.e., constituents such as but, although, however, and even though). In the present study, we examine the relationship between star ratings and customers’ use of ACs by employing a combination of content analysis, mixed-effects models, and thematic analysis in a corpus of nearly 35,000 online reviews for restaurants located in the United States. The results reveal an …

Sparking Pre-Service Teachers’ Self-Awareness Through A Strengths-Based Psychometric Tool: A Pilot Study In A Christian University, Lisa Devall-Martin Dr.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The pilot study outlined in this article aimed to explore the relevance and value of a strengths-based psychometric tool, Lumina Spark©, in a teachers’ education program. The study involved pre-service teachers from a Christian university and was conducted over a six-week winter teaching practicum. The psychometric assessment and workshop were designed to help pre-service teachers explore their personality and develop self-knowledge, social awareness, and stress management skills. The study found that the Lumina Spark© tool was effective in helping pre-service teachers understand their strengths and weaknesses and how they relate to others. The study also found that the tool helped …

From The Editor, Paul Shotsberger

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

No abstract provided.

Occupational Licensing And Labor Market Mobility: Evidence From The Legal Profession, Adam Chilton, Jacob Goldin, Kyle Rozema, Sarath Sanga

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

We study how state occupational licensing requirements shape labor mobility across U.S. legal markets. Drawing on newly collected data, we link variation in state bar exam waiver policies to lawyers’ license acquisitions, professional disciplinary records, and educational histories. We find that bar exam waivers increase the number of experienced lawyers obtaining a new license by 38 percent, but that the additional lawyers are subject to more professional discipline and tend to have graduated from less selective law schools. Our results suggest that state-level occupational licensing regimes can create a trade-off between the supply and quality of professionals in an industry.

The Role Of Trauma-Informed Care In Sustaining The Well-Being Of Refugee Entrepreneurs, Arielle Badger Newman, Lisa Jones Christensen

Faculty Publications

Many international aid organisations encourage refugees to engage in entrepreneurship after relocation to a new host country. Yet, this encouragement may be based on data about entrepreneurship from non-refugee populations, particularly those who do not experience the common traumas of forced relocation. This chapter addresses the topic of trauma and refugee entrepreneurship by asking the following question: How can support organisations encourage well-being (or mitigate ill-being) for entrepreneurial refugees? In doing so, we propose how organisations supporting refugee entrepreneurship can incorporate trauma-informed practices. Specifically, there are four “Rs” to being trauma-informed, which correspond to: realisation, recognition, response, and resistance to …

Student Interaction With Generative Ai: An Exploration Of An Emergent Information-Search Process, Ryan M. Schuetzler, Justin Scott Giboney, Taylor M. Wells, Benjamin Richardson, Tom Meservy, Cole Sutton, Clay Posey, Jacob Steffen, Amanda Lee Hughes

Faculty Publications

ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence, is one of the fastest-adopted tools in history and has quickly become a valued tool in education. This study seeks to understand how generative artificial intelligence has changed the information search process. We collected prompts submitted to ChatGPT and thoughts about ChatGPT responses through a survey of 455 students at a US university. Using thematic analysis, we identified ways that ChatGPT changes the information search process of students by supporting diverse information needs, allowing cycling of prompt adjustments, and promoting easy adoption of results.

The Divine Mirror: How William Blake’S Poetry Reflects On Humankind And The Creative Process, Jack Berenzweig

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

This thesis aims to deconstruct William Blake’s argument on the meaning of God through his various writings from a modern perspective. Utilizing both recent examples and other depictions of divinity, this research aims to illustrate Blake’s perspective-in a non-blasphemous manner-that God is inherently derived from man, and that true divinity stems from creative expression

Ketamine's Therapeutic Potential: A Literature Review, Mya Arscott

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

The demand for alternative treatment for depressive disorders has increased in recent years. Our clinical understanding of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) has evolved, highlighting the need for different treatments to develop for this subgroup of depression. Treatment-resistant depression is defined as the absence of significant improvement in depressive symptoms despite standard therapy. Considerable improvement in depressive symptoms can seen in an improvement of functioning in everyday activities and a decrease in negative symptoms such as loss of interest, feelings of worthlessness, etc. Ketamine's rapid method of action has been shown to be notably beneficial for individuals with TRD. Research has proven …

Disparities In Punishment For Drunk Driving And Using A Cellphone While Driving, Jessica Cordiner

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

In the United States, driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least .08% is regarded as one of the most serious offenses threatening road safety; meanwhile, driving while using a cell phone (CUD) is considered to be significantly less serious. Whether or not an accident occurs, the BAC driver may face punishment, including fines, license revocation, jail time, probation, and more, while the CUD driver merely faces fines and points against their license at most. Both offenses risk harm to others, but only the BAC driver's offense gets taken seriously. I argue that assuming both are equally culpable …

Cell-Type-Specific Consolidation Of Learned Motor Memories In The Neocortex, Rebecca Dicicco

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Motor learning is crucial for diverse behaviors, yet the neural mechanisms that consolidate the learning remain poorly understood. A recent study (Majumder et al., 2023) found that inhibiting Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) in pyramidal tract (PT) neurons, but not Intratelencephalic (IT) neurons, in the Anterior Lateral Motor cortex (ALM) disrupt motor learning. This suggests a cell-type-specific reliance on CaMKII for inducing synaptic plasticity during motor skill acquisition. This project aims to explore how the brain consolidates the acquired motor skill as a long-term memory. We hypothesize that following motor learning, CaMKII in PT, but not IT, cells activates the …