Digital Commons Network^™

What Really Matters In Behavioral Cough Suppression Therapy? A Retrospective Look At Targeted Treatment Components, Mary B. Walsh, Laurie Slovarp, Kassidi Heinle, John Quindry, Jane Salois

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: 
Refractory chronic cough (RCC) is a prevalent condition that substantially impairs quality of life and is associated with significant physical, psychological, and social burden. Behavioral cough suppression therapy (BCST), delivered by speech-language pathologists, is an evidence-based nonpharmacologic intervention shown to improve cough-related quality of life. However, variability exists in how BCST is implemented, and the relative contribution of specific treatment components remains unclear.

Objective: 
To evaluate the effectiveness of a BCST program implemented in a community otolaryngology clinic that emphasizes consistent suppression at the urge-to-cough and neuroplasticity-informed behavioral principles.

Methods: 
This observational retrospective case series examined clinical records of …

An Exploratory Analysis Of The Role Of Sex In Load Carriage, Rachel E. Perez, Dustin R. Slivka, Brent C. Ruby

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Axially loaded weight may impose a metabolic demand equivalent to that of fat mass (FM) during load carriage. Males (M) typically have a lower body fat percentage than females (F), resulting in metabolic demand differences during load carriage that may be mitigated by accounting for FM in pack loads. PURPOSE: To determine whether normalizing pack load to FM equalizes metabolic cost across sexes during load carriage. METHODS: Twenty-eight participants (14M, 23 ± 5 y, 1.81 ± 0.07 m, 78.7 ± 10.0 kg, 12.7 ± 5.4% body fat, VO₂peak 4.18 ± 0.54 L·min^-1; 14F, 22 ± 4 …

The Laymen's Conceptualization Of The “Safe Space”, Tiffany A. Nord

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The term "safe space" appears frequently across academic, organizational, therapeutic, and social contexts, yet lacks conceptual clarity. While originating from LGBTQ+ and women's activist movements, contemporary usage has expanded without theoretical development, making it confusing and challenging to effectively implement for researchers and practitioners alike. This two-phase qualitative study examined how individuals define safe spaces. Phase 1 employed an open-ended questionnaire with 62 general population participants. Phase 2 involved semi-structured interviews with 22 self-identified LGBTQ+ individuals. Data were analyzed using a constructivist grounded theory methodology. Findings revealed five core elements: specified setting, enacting responsiveness, allowing candor, perceiving security, and sensing …

Initial Qualitative Inquiry Into Social Proverb Use And Acceptability, Emma K. Hinds

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Currently,  1 in 36 individuals are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is characterized by social communication differences and restricted and/or repetitive behaviors. Many children with ASD also present with sensory, behavioral, and emotional differences, underscoring the need for specialized, evidence-based interventions. Social proverb is a novel intervention approach developed by Dr. Schoffer Closson that provides in-the-moment guidance by explicitly stating expected social behaviors and the rationale behind them (e.g., “We cover our coughs, so we don’t spread germs”). To date, no research has examined the use of social proverbs as an intervention strategy. The purpose of this qualitative …

Heart Of Stone: Geomorphization Through Stone-Oriented Affects, Grace F. Foster

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis draws from the work of geologist Marcia Bjornerud to bring a scientific (specifically geologic) understanding of humanity’s relationship to our home planet to bear in a literary context. I employ Bjornerud’s term “geomorphization” to expand from inter-species kinship to inter-substance kinship and to establish stone as an active, lively subject without relying on anthropomorphization. Geomorphization as I define it refers to recognizing similarity between ourselves and stone/Earth on the basis of our stoniness rather than stone’s human-ness. Geomorphizing ourselves entails what Bjornerud calls “timefulness,” a geologic perspective on temporality that sees the past as continually acting in the …

Cormac’S Court: Knights Without God In A Savage Land; Or, Chivalry And Existentialism In Cormac Mccarthy’S The Road, Zoë Margaret Metelerkamp

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Cormac McCarthy scholars have examined the influence of romantic grail quest literature and existential philosophy on McCarthy’s oeuvre, but they have treated these subjects independently of each other. This thesis offers a novel exploration of McCarthy’s use of these specific philosophical and literary precedents by focusing on the ways The Road unifies medieval literary principles in Chretien’s Perceval with the existential chivalry Søren Kierkegaard extrapolates in Fear and Trembling.

Psychological Distance And Auditor Assessment Of The Severity Of An Internal Control Deficiency, Scott C. Jackson, John D. Keyser, Douglas F. Prawitt

Faculty Publications

Auditors often underestimate the severity of internal control deficiencies, particularly when associated misstatements are immaterial. We find that auditors are more likely to correctly classify a material weakness when no misstatement information is provided than when misstatement information is available, and that this finding may unconsciously arise from auditors’ construal level in judging control deficiency severity. Through a series of experiments, we manipulate misstatement information related to an internal control deficiency designed to represent a material weakness. We hold the size of potential misstatement constant and find that auditors and graduate auditing students are less likely to correctly assess the …

Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus Kisutch) Response To Habitat Restoration Through Space And Time: Monitoring Growth, Survival, And Movement In A Restored Habitat Network, Carter Perez Adamson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Despite the decline of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), Prairie Creek, a tributary of Redwood Creek in northern California, remains a coho salmon stronghold. The restoration of juvenile coho rearing habitat was identified as a recovery objective in this watershed by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Among the restoration projects addressing this objective are an ongoing project on Prairie Creek and its tributary Skunk Cabbage Creek, and a prior effort on Strawberry Creek (a tributary of Redwood Creek’s estuary). Standard monitoring methods for assessing project success have limitations and may be improved by measuring salmon use of restored habitats …

Repairing Estranged Death: Care, Politics And Ecology In The Us Funeral Industry, Cecilia Catherine Rodriguez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The industrialization of death practices in the US has separated humanity from natural cycles while centering white settler colonial norms that marginalize other cultural ways of caring for the dead. Through necropolitics, the contemporary death industry embodies capitalist values of commodification and a monopolization of care, separating death from community and its ecological cycles. Black and Indigenous feminist knowledges understand death as not a discrete event but instead as an ongoing process that shapes our relationships with both the human and more-than-human worlds. Engaging with feminist political ecologies, I extend a conversation about care and repair to contemporary death practices …

Relational Approaches To Fire Resilience: Designing A Living Shaded Fuel Break With Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Natalee Nicole Lopes

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Escalating wildfire severity across California reflects not only changing climatic conditions but also the cumulative impacts of colonial land management systems that have disrupted Indigenous fire stewardship and altered forest structure and function. This project examines how wildfire mitigation infrastructure, specifically linear fuel treatments, such as fuel breaks, can be reimagined through Indigenous relational frameworks of care-based land stewardship. Grounded in Happy Camp (Athithúfvuunupma), California, within the ancestral homelands of the Karuk Tribe along the mid-Klamath River, this research is carried out in collaboration with Karuk knowledge holders, centering Indigenous knowledge systems and priorities.

Using a mixed-methods approach that integrates …

Decolonizing Restorative Justice: A Teaching Development Project, Lacy Felice Mitchell

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The coloniality of power serves as a central axis within the matrix of domination that characterizes global capitalist modernity, as Anibal Quijano famously argued. This power is rooted in particular ways of looking, seeing, and understanding social reality, anchored in Eurocentrism as an epistemological paradigm for the hegemonic discourse produced by the West against both internal and external categories of “other.” Such categories still inform the production of knowledge in educational settings. In this project, I engage in a critique of the coloniality of power to explore its implications and potential for critical pedagogical practice within the context of sociology …

Rethinking Belonging In First-Year Student Support: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation Of Eop/Sss Programing At Cal Poly Humboldt, Elizabeth Rose Silver

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This mixed-methods project examines the role of the Educational Opportunity Program and Student Support Services (EOP/SSS) first-year orientation programs, particularly STEM Summer Bridge, in supporting feelings of belonging and persistence. While institutional efforts often frame student success through metrics such as retention and concepts like sense of belonging, this project interrogates how these are experienced and understood by students themselves. Quantitative analyses compared one-year persistence rates between STEM Summer Bridge participants and multiple comparison groups across three cohorts (2022–2024). Results showed no statistically significant differences in persistence; however, STEM Summer Bridge participants demonstrated persistence rates comparable to or slightly higher …

Development Of The Core Lit Apparatus For Seaweed Hatcheries (Clash) Bioreactor Using A Germplasm Approach, Phillip O. Tahimic

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In comparison to the Asian aquaculture industry, the United States has minimal seaweed production. There are several drivers of the limited industry in the US, such as regulatory constraints and limited market demand, but the ability to scale is a considerable barrier to commercialization. One possible solution is the development of land-based systems that integrate bioreactors, which utilize fewer resources and do not wholly rely on an oceanic flow-through system. This study assessed the application of a modular bioreactor, known as Core Lit Apparatus for Seaweed Hatcheries (CLASH), as a nursery system and open-source project designed to expand land-based seaweed …

Bacterial Community Function In Pitcher Plant Leaves As An Experimental And Mathematical Model Of Functional Dynamics, Amelia Jackson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This work looks at two different sites with differing abiotic factors in measures of altitude, temperature and precipitation. The site with higher altitude, larger temperature range, and lower precipitation, located in Plumas National Forest (Quincy, CA), had a flat BEF trend that suggests functional redundancy The site with lower altitude, more moderate temperatures, and higher precipitation located in Six Rivers National Forest (Gasquet, CA), also had a flat BEF trend. These abiotic factors could correlate to the significantly different bacterial compositions between sites. The second portion of this work is modeling the host antagonist relationship between Eyxra moths and their …

Taking A Seat In The Circle: Decolonizing Gender Roles That Argue Against The Participation Of Feminine Bodies At The Big Drum, Juli Suzukawa

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The origins of the Big Drum can be traced back to the 1860s when Tail Feather Woman, a Dakota woman, had a vision of its creation as a tool of resistance. The Big Drum has since expanded and can now be seen at various Indigenous ceremonies and social events. However, there has been controversy regarding the participation of feminine and queer bodies. While reasons for this vary, it has also contributed to harm amongst Indigenous youths that have a more fluid stand on gender identity and may not conform to colonial “gender norms”. In this paper, I will explore how …

Integrating Multi-Method Monitoring To Characterize Seasonal Habitat Use Of Green Sturgeon (Acipenser Medirostris) In Humboldt County, California, Olivia S. Boeberitz

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) are a long-lived, anadromous, iteroparous species that spawns in large West Coast North American rivers but ranges widely in the coastal ocean. For coastal California Native American Tribes, green sturgeon are a vital part of their cultural heritage and traditions, and central to their food security. Two genetically distinct population segments (DPSs) of green sturgeon are recognized in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; the southern DPS is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act and the northern DPS is considered of “conservation concern.” Although green sturgeon are known to use large estuaries …

"What Power Do We Have?" Community Capacity And Justice In Samoa, California’S Floating Offshore Wind Terminal Development, Lauren Mccall Hart

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Floating offshore wind (OSW) is a relatively novel technology in the United States, which is positioned to play an integral role in California’s decarbonization strategy. Two federal OSW lease areas have been established off the coast of Northern California, and plans are underway to develop supporting port infrastructure, including the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal (HLMT). The proposed HLMT site is adjacent to communities on the Samoa Peninsula of Humboldt Bay, which currently face socio-environmental vulnerabilities and critical infrastructure gaps. The social implications of OSW port development remain poorly understood, particularly in rural and underserved communities. This …

Testing Adaptive Habitat Selection In Breeding Swainson's Hawks (Buteo Swainsoni), Elizabeth Meisman

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Adaptive habitat selection theory predicts that individuals preferentially select habitats that maximize or improve their fitness. However, patterns of habitat preferences may dampen with increasing population density and become decoupled from habitat quality when environmental conditions change. Such dynamics may be especially important in long-lived territorial species that exhibit site fidelity. One of the longest running raptor studies in North America has tracked an increasing population of breeding Swainson’s Hawks (Buteo swainsoni) in Butte Valley, California since 1985, where agricultural practices have shifted over the decades, providing an ideal system for studying these processes. Using nest records from …

Queering Poetry Workshops, Dobby Morse

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

To what extent do participants report that a poetry workshop builds connections between poets and strengthen their confidence in writing? What do participants want or expect from a poetry workshop?

Through this project I hope to attend and host poetry workshops with an emphasis on the queer community. I will collaborate with campus and community organizations like Queer Humboldt and other organizations that are interested in exploring queer experiences through writing, connection, and meditation. This project will serve as a how-to guide for those seeking to conduct their own workshops.

Beyond The Meter: Frameworks For Evaluating The Broad Spectrum Of Microgrid Benefits, Elias Henderson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Community-scale microgrids can create a range of social benefits. These include resilient electricity, cleaner air, decarbonization, and economic development, alongside more qualitative values like energy sovereignty and community self-determination. Many such benefits, however, are illegible to California’s market and regulatory frameworks. This thesis traces this disconnect, with particular attention to grid-edge communities in Northern California.

Microgrid benefits are classified as monetized, modeled, or incommensurable according to their inclusion/exclusion in existing regulatory and revenue mechanisms. To explore each category, a mixed-methods analytic approach is employed, pairing Tribal and stakeholder interviews with the development of a microgrid valuation calculator. This tool is …

Computational And Ai Literacy: Lessons Learned From Computer Science Education, Sharin Jacob, Yenda Prado, Quinn Burke

Journal of Computer Science Integration

This conceptual paper explores the intersection of computational thinking (CT) and artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, proposing a framework integrating AI literacy into existing computational literacy models. We argue that computational thinking (CT) skills form the foundation for AI literacy, and that lessons learned from decades of computer science (CS) education research can ably guide the development of AI literacy instruction for a wide range of  students and within integrative contexts. Drawing on Kafai and Proctor's (2022) conceptualization of computational literacy, as well as encompassing cognitive, situated, and critical dimensions, we extend their framework to advance our understanding of AI literacy. …

A Narrative Analysis Of Equity-Focused Cs Educators: A Multiple Case Illustration, Aleata Hubbard, Jen Tsan

Journal of Computer Science Integration

Background and Context. Equity-focused CS teaching is often prescribed as a solution for addressing disparities in K–12 CS participation and disengaging student experiences. However, adopting such an orientation can be challenging as it pushes educators to shift their teaching beliefs, identity, and practices. Objective. This study examines how the personal and professional experiences of four high school CS teachers influenced their paths to becoming equity-oriented practitioners. We illustrate variation in these developmental trajectories and advance theory building around equity-focused CS teacher identity development. Method. We utilized a multiple-case narrative inquiry approach, collecting data through in-depth, semi-structured interviews that included a …

Humanizing The Base Of The Pyramid: Exploring The Influence Of Resource (Dis)Advantages On Value Creation, Ted London, Lisa Jones Christensen, Tyson Mackey, Alison Mackey, Heather Esper, Andrew Grogan-Kaylor

Faculty Publications

Base of the pyramid (BoP) scholarship emphasizes the potential for enterprises to generate profits by enhancing the wellbeing of the impoverished, often by selling socially-beneficial products (SBPs). Yet, many such BoP enterprises have experienced mixed results. We argue that this may stem from insufficient attention to how BoP consumers value SBPs and other products. We frame SBPs as a type of human capital investment and thus use human capital theory to study how the consumption of SBPs does or does not create value for consumers. Specifically, we use a novel data set from rural India to measure value creation in …

Developmental Themes Associated With Religious Activity After Early Return From A Latter-Day Saint Mission, Samuel E. Hancock, Sam A. Hardy, Michael Goodman, Camron Angell, Jenae M. Nelson

Faculty Publications

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, qualified young men are expected (and young women are given the option) to complete extended missionary service during the transition to adulthood. Some youth end their missionary service short of the anticipated duration, which is associated with markedly lower rates of religious activity post-return. This study is a qualitative inquiry into the developmental themes associated with early returned missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who chose to remain active (be consistently involved with the church), sampling from areas with high rates of Latter-day Saint activity, where stigmatization …

Educational Interventions To Prepare Undergraduate Students For Out-Of-Hours Practice As A Newly Qualified Doctor In The United Kingdom: A Scoping Review, Alex Gordon, Molly Parkinson, Rosanna Watts, Kamal El-Badawi, Erin Dawson, Rohan Chiktara, Lorna Burns, Nicola Brennan

Peninsula Dental School

Background: In the United Kingdom (UK), newly qualified doctors are routinely responsible for out-of-hours (OOH) care, often managing acutely unwell patients with limited supervision. Despite national recommendations encouraging OOH experience during medical school training, there is no formal curriculum for OOH practice. Objectives: This scoping review aimed to identify the range of educational interventions designed to prepare UK medical students for OOH clinical responsibilities and assess their reported effects on perceived and actual preparedness. Methods: Following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, a systematic search of seven databases and grey literature sources was conducted. Eligible studies involved UK-based medical students and reported …

Seeing Anxiety: Ecological Video Ethnography And Simulation To Understand Anxiety And Decision-Making In Dental Care, Mona Nasser, Hannah Drayson, Sally Hanks, Nicholas Peres, Michael Punt

Peninsula Dental School

BACKGROUND: Dental anxiety is a widespread barrier to care, often contributing to appointment avoidance, treatment disruption, and emotional strain for both patients and clinicians. While extensively studied as a psychological trait, less attention has been paid to how anxiety manifests situationally and relationally, through non-verbal, affective, and spatial cues within clinical encounters. Moreover, in certain contexts, such affective signals can intersect with decision-making processes, shaping how patients interpret, engage with, or withdraw from clinical choices.

OBJECTIVE: To explore how anxiety manifests within the micro-choreography of dental encounters, develop a taxonomy of 'anxious tells', and assess the utility of ecological video …

Under Academic Pressure: Student Mental Health And The Law, Lorenza Zanaga

Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

Mental health has become a significant concern for students in higher education, particularly in demanding programs such as graduate studies, where long hours, heavy workloads, and intense pressure are common occurrences. As more students face burnout, anxiety, and depression, experts have raised an important question: How can schools better support students’ mental health? What legal responsibility do universities and professional schools have to protect students' mental well-being? This article argues that colleges and professional programs should be legally required to support student mental health, as excessive academic workloads can directly harm students. By examining how academic pressure affects students and …

The New York Times Company V. Microsoft Corporation Et Al.: Reforming The Fair Use Doctrine, Riya Dusara

Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

On December 27, 2023, The New York Times filed a complaint against OpenAI, one of the fastest growing artificial intelligence (AI) companies in the world. Due to allegations of copyright infringement, OpenAI, alongside its primary investor, Microsoft, has faced significant backlash in recent years for “stealing” articles from the New York Times. While facing this backlash, OpenAI and Microsoft responded by arguing that their use of the New York Times’ articles falls under fair use. The fair use doctrine, throughout its existence, has been a defining factor in many cases of copyright infringement. However, the doctrine has not yet been …

Self-Guided Functional Imagery Training To Reduce Anxiety, Jackie Andrade, Stephanie Hartgen-Walker, Caroline Morgan, Ayan, Idil Aytekin, Khadijah Sekoni, Kardelen Sengul, Jonathan Rhodes

School of Psychology

Objectives: Many university students experience high anxiety but have limited access to effective interventions. We evaluated a novel digital intervention for anxiety based on functional imagery training (FIT), designed to help individuals identify the impacts of anxiety, set engagement goals, and strengthen motivation for change. Functional Imagery for Keeping Anxiety low (FIKA) uses speak-aloud tasks, journalling, empathic questions, and personalised guided imagery for a person-centred approach. It builds motivation for engagement goals over safety goals through development and practice of vivid and emotionally laden multisensory imagery. Design: Study 1 used semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to explore user experiences of …

Training Healthcare Professionals To Deliver A Group-Based Intervention For People Living With Severe Obesity: Lessons From The Progroup Feasibility Trial, Shokraneh Moghadam, Mark Tarrant, Lily Hawkins, Dawn Swancutt, Rod Sheaff, Laura Hollands, Raff Calitri, Jonathan Pinkney, Jenny Lloyd

School of Psychology

Introduction: Group-based programmes are increasingly adopted to support people living with obesity, as they have the potential to reduce staff time and costs and enhance motivation and capability for behaviour change. Group-based programmes could also provide members with opportunities to form meaningful social connections. As such, training should equip healthcare professionals to deliver group interventions successfully and be accessible and feasible for them to complete. This study presents how mixed-methods process evaluation data from the feasibility randomised controlled trial of PROGROUP (a group-based weight management intervention for people living with severe obesity) informed optimisation of the PROGROUP training programme. Methods: …