Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Perceptions Of Trail Safety In Humboldt County, California: An Analysis Of Safety Concerns, Factors That Impact Trail Use, And The Value People Place On Trails, Natalie C. Arroyo

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Trails in Humboldt County, California that are used for both transportation and recreation have myriad community benefits. However, people’s concerns about feeling safe can affect trail use, design, and development, as well as how trails are valued and perceived by residents. There has been a lack of information in Humboldt County about trail safety perceptions despite it being a factor that repeatedly arises in infrastructure planning and funding conversations. My research was focused on answering the following questions: (1) How do Humboldt County trail users perceive their safety on and near trails? (2) What factors affect these perceptions about safety, …

Examining Educator Burnout And Classroom Outcomes As Correlates To Teaching Pyramid Implementation, April N. Frazer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Teaching Pyramid is a research-based socio-emotional framework created for implementation in early childhood education programs. It is designed to support children’s socio-emotional development and decrease persistent challenging behaviors. Challenging child behaviors have been linked to early educator stress. Job stressors in early childhood educators have been previously linked to educator burnout.

This study examined fidelity of implementation of the Teaching Pyramid framework as well as experience being trained and coached on the framework in 21 early childhood educators. It evaluated how these variables correlated with educator burnout, children’s socio-emotional development, and observed quality of care in nine Head Start …

Prototypicality Threat And Intergroup Threat Theory: Support For Blm Using Militant Or Peaceful Language, Jordan C. Mcdowell

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Black Lives Matter (BLM) symbolizes the need to recognize the humanity of Black lives and the systemic discrimination contributing to the murders of unarmed Black Americans at the hands of police. While there were some white Americans who participated in the demonstrations during the summer of 2020, there was also significant opposition (Astor, 2020). . The current work seeks to contribute to existing social identity literature by examining how subtle racist rhetoric in the media, combined with a threat to the white American identity (prototypicality threat) may impact support for BLM. To address these hypotheses, white participants will be recruited …

Socio-Economic Comparative Analysis Of Front-Of-The-Meter And Behind-The-Meter Microgrids For Panamnik, Olivia C. Amann Mcshea

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In Northern California, the Karuk Tribe is feeling the effects of climate change on inadequate energy infrastructures leading to unreliable power supply. Improving energy reliability in a way that also increases energy sovereignty is necessary. Renewable energy microgrids have emerged as a pathway forward.

Modeling ownership structures and cash flows for different microgrid configurations can support the Tribe’s implementation of a microgrid in Orleans, CA that maximizes community benefits. This thesis considers a front-of-the-meter (FTM) and behind-the-meter (BTM) configuration, both approximately 2 MW solar PV and 3 MW/12 MWh battery energy storage. Cash flows including capital costs, operations and maintenance …

Analyzing Residential Curbside Collection For Food Waste In Humboldt County, Yvette Lindler

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The most prevalent material in the California landfill-destined solid waste stream is food. Food waste is not only an economic and social concern, but a significant environmental challenge as well. Most food waste is disposed of in landfills, where it anaerobically decomposes and releases methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas and driver of climate change. Policies passed in California, including AB 1826 and SB 1383, aim to implement organic waste recycling programs and reduce methane emissions by diverting organic waste from landfills. The technology to process this food waste exists, but these facilities are limited or nonexistent in rural areas …

Diversity Among University Students In The U.S.: An Analysis Of Student Ethnic Group Preferences And Its Impact On Campus Diversity Perceptions, Joseph Pang

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Diversity has become a focal point in conversations in higher education in the United States (Nunes, 2021). University systems have employed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives to recruit more diverse campus populations (e.g., University of California Board of Regents, 2007). However, this increased number of diverse students prompts the need to better define what diversity looks like on campus and factors that contribute to existing intergroup relations among Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Intergroup contact theory posits that prejudice can be reduced by having groups engage in contact under specific conditions. However, BIPOC have historically been segregated and forced …

Identification With All Of Humanity, Uncertainty, And Beliefs Toward Animals, Andrea Michelle Wilson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The current study aims to expand on the human-animal relations literature through a social identity lens, using 231 participants recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Americans consume large amounts of meat, yet many people feel morally conflicted by enjoying meat, yet killing animals. These feelings can be tied to one’s identity, through identifying as a vegetarian, meat-eater, or animal lover. Humans tend to attach themselves to a social group, act on behalf of that group’s norms and values, and use their groups to reduce feelings of uncertainty by adopting group normative attitudes and behaviors. People who identify strongly with all of …

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words: Factors Influencing Disability Accommodations, Alicia E. Martin

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Because not all disabilities look the same it is difficult to label a person with disabilities just by looking at them. Given that our knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions impact how we interpret our world and our willingness to act, people, including professors, may be biased toward providing accommodations for those with easily recognizable disabilities and biased against those with non-recognizable disabilities, and this may impact the disabled person’s ability to learn. This thesis aims to address whether professors’ disability-related attitudes, perceptions of accommodation reasonableness, and willingness to provide accommodations differ when the disability is recognizable (student is pictured in a …

Does Cleft Repair Surgery Restore Normal Visual And Neural Responses To Infant Faces?, Rachael Leanne Kee

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Infant faces readily capture our attention and elicit enhanced neural processing, likely due to their evolutionary importance in facilitating bonds with caregivers. Infant facial malformations are associated with a lower degree of parental investment and have been shown to negatively impact early infant-caregiver interactions. Cleft lip or cleft palate is a common facial malformation, estimated to affect 1 in 700 live births worldwide, that is associated with altered visual and neural processing as compared to normal infant faces. Importantly, it is not yet known how craniofacial repair surgery impacts responses to these faces. The current study uses eye tracking and …

Effects Of Atomoxetine On Circadian Rhythms And Locomotor Activity, Rhiannon Ryder Crimmins

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurological disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior. Many people with ADHD who are taking pharmacological treatments also report having sleep problems, and both children and adults tend to fall asleep later than neurotypical people. Since diagnosis and treatment of ADHD are on the rise, understanding how the disorder and common medications influence circadian rhythms is becoming more important. Zebrafish are a common animal model that have been shown to reliably represent features of many human disorders, including ADHD. Hypothesis: The specific hypotheses tested were: (H1) that a …

Monitoring Bull Kelp (Nereocystis Leutkeana) Remotely At High Resolutions, Hannah E. Joss

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana) is a foundational seaweed in nearshore, marine systems, traditionally supporting economically important fisheries, extracting nutrients in its vicinity, and sequestering carbon and transporting it great distances to subsidize shallow and deep-sea environments. Bull kelp is also a culturally important species for some indigenous peoples along the northeastern Pacific coastline and provides a harvestable product with growing demand. Global trends in kelp distribution show patterns of decline, and the immense loss of northern California bull kelp forests in response to climatic changes have highlighted the need for alternative sources of kelp, both for the product …

Investigating Tribal Co-Management Of Caifornia’S Public Lands, Zachary Joseph Erickson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Collaborative management with Indigenous groups is becoming increasingly common as many Indigenous communities continue to assert their inherent rights to self-determination. Due to the removal from and dispossession of lands, tribes often rely on access to public properties for various uses including ceremonies and gathering of culturally important plants. Some believe that the absence of indigenous involvement has also led to a decline in both the quality and abundance of culturally important resources, as well as limited the intergenerational transfer of traditional ecological knowledge, or TEK. There is increasing momentum toward re-engaging tribes as stewards of their ancestral lands through …

College Students' Autonomy, Self-Regulation, And Academic Self-Efficacy During Covid-19, Madelynne J. Avila

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forced college students to endure challenges that were unusual in the typical university environment. As self-determination theory, self-regulated learning theory, and social cognitive theory would suggest, college students’ need for satisfaction of autonomy and the ability to apply self-regulation may have been neglected due to COVID-related stressors (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2000; SRLT; Zimmerman, 2012; SCT; Bandura, 2005). College students from a university (N = 94) participated in an online survey regarding their autonomy, self-regulated learning abilities, academic self-efficacy, and COVID-related stress. Using a moderated mediation model, the current study predicted that self-regulated learning …

Who Farms The Future? Producing The Next Generation Of Agriculturalists, Jordyn L. Mcmaster Neely

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The proportion of young farmers and ranchers (ages 18-35 years old) within the agricultural workforce has been declining, raising concerns about the sustainability of the food supply. To gather more tools for solving this problem, this thesis research seeks to understand why young people want to work in agriculture by studying how they develop aspirations for an agricultural career. This thesis employed both survey and interview processes to gather data on how participants think about the field of agriculture in the context of both the challenges and opportunities for entry. Participants were asked how wide range of factors contributed to …

Technical And Economic Feasibility Of A Microgrid For A Fire Station In Humboldt County, California., Nishaant Kumar Sinha

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Microgrids are emerging as a promising solution to unreliable grid energy. Today, California is not only witnessing grid resiliency challenges from natural disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes, floods and heatwaves, but it is also seeking to green the grid and bring more renewables online. For example, Humboldt County, where this project is focused, has recently experienced an earthquake of 6.4M (on December 22nd, 2022), which shut down the regional grid for ~20 hours.

Microgrid adoption enables critical facilities to operate seamlessly. The Humboldt Bay Fire Station (HBFS) No.1 is one such example, where first responders work to protect citizens against …

Examining Coaching Styles: Understanding How Leadership Style Impacts Athlete's Motivation, Confidence Level, And Satisfaction At The Collegiate Level, Juan Perez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life. There are a variety of different coaching styles all over the world. Each coaching style has its benefits and drawbacks on the impact it can have on an athlete. The study examined how coaching leadership style impacts an athlete's confidence, motivation, and satisfaction. Current collegiate athletes and former collegiate athletes were emailed a 103-question online survey focused on athlete perception of coaching style and how that impacts motivation, confidence, and satisfaction. The survey used The Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS), Vealey’s Trait Sport-Confidence Inventory (TSCI), Athlete …

A Test Of Subjective Versus Objective Language Proficiency: An Investigation Of Age Of Acquisition And Exposure In Multilinguals, Anastina B. Steiber

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This research used the BEST dataset gathered in 2017 by de Bruin and colleagues, which contains information gathered from 650 multilingual participants (435 female, Mage = 25.02) from the Basque Country at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL). Multilingual individuals may have different levels of proficiency in each language they speak, and there are various factors that can influence proficiency. Such factors include the age at which they begin learning a language and how much exposure they have to the language. Proficiency can be assessed both subjectively (personal perception of proficiency) and objectively (observed and/or measured …

Preimplantation Genetic Testing For Neurobehavioral Traits, Peter K. Zeller

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Differences in behavioral and mental health traits result from unique interactions of genetic and environmental factors. Genetic information has improved along with technological advancements allowing for more data points to be established and increased data resolution. Because of this, there is a greater ability to identify embryos that carry genetic risk. The approach of Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) is routine for certain genetic diseases but has not been widely used for psychiatric or behavioral traits. This paper critically examines the potential application of PGT-P by focusing on one main example, Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is the most prevalent form of …

Negative Social Media And Its Influence On Athlete's Performance, Bernd R. Huber

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study aimed to investigate the potential impact of negative social media content on athletes' cortisol levels and subsequent performance. The study focused on the change in cortisol levels and differences in free throw performance, based on previous research findings. We hypothesized that negative social media postings would increase the stress experienced by student-athletes, resulting in elevated cortisol levels and decreased performance. Additionally, participants (n = 8) completed a questionnaire to examine the interaction between preexisting fear and the biological stress response. Contrary to expectations, there was no significant change in stress response, and negative postings did not have …

Positive And Negative Contact As Predictors Of Attitudes Toward Law Enforcement, Benjamin Jackson Anjewierden

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Using intergroup contact theory (ICT), which posits that contact experiences with members of outgroups relate to attitudes toward those outgroups as a whole, the current study examines how positive and negative experiences with members of law enforcement predict general attitudes toward law enforcement. It specifically examines how attitudes toward individual members of law enforcement from contact experiences generalize to law enforcement as a whole, and how this generalization process is more or less effective when members of law enforcement are seen as more or less representative of law enforcement as a group (i.e., when law enforcement group membership is salient). …

Is The Area Postrema Resistant To The Anesthetic Effects Of Ms-222?, Austin T. Csiszar

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

MS-222 is a common fish anesthetic that dampens neural activity by inhibiting neuronal voltage-gated sodium channels (Na_v) required for action potentials. Previous experiments conducted by our lab’s primary investigator using fluorescence calcium imaging in zebrafish neurons resulted in the observation that neurons in the area postrema (AP), a circumventricular organ located in the dorsal hindbrain, displayed prominent fluorescence intensity during MS-222 induced sedation. I used the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP6s to conduct fluorescence calcium imaging with the goal of recording neural activity in the larval zebrafish area postrema and optic tectum to compare the anesthetic effects of …

Uncertainty, Parenting Attitudes, Risk Perceptions, And Covid-19 Vaccination Intentions, Zoë Royer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the lives of millions of people, particularly parents. Drawing on uncertainty-identity theory and research on intensive parenting attitudes, two studies sought to understand the effects of self-uncertainty, parenting beliefs, and perceived illness and vaccine side effect severity, on parental intentions to vaccinate children against COVID-19. We hypothesized that parents with intensive parenting attitudes would rely on their parenting identity to reduce uncertainty and make decisions about vaccinating their children. The results revealed that parents who perceived illness severity in unvaccinated children as high were more likely to vaccinate their children, while …

A Black Prometheus Among The Gods: Illuminating African American Literary Tradition In Sam Greenlee's The Spook Who Sat By The Door, Kenneth L. Rainey Iii

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In his hard-hitting novel The Spook Who Sat by the Door Sam Greenlee aims to help his target African American audience to succeed and thrive as their true selves with the novel functioning as a guide to resisting the ever-present physical and spiritual threat faced daily. On the one hand the novel functions as a manual for civil uprising, but underneath that surface, Greenlee argues that true African American resistance comes through nurturing self-determination, self-love, and self-esteem. This project also argues that Spook ought to be located closer to the center of the African American literary canon and provides comparisons …

Indigenous Women In Active Drug Abuse Recovery: An Analysis Of Native And Non-Native Programs, Raquel J. Muñoz

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In general, much has been written on the experiences of prototypical women in drug recovery programs, however there is only a scarcity of research on the experiences of rural women of color in drug recovery programs. Very few Northern American cultures had experience with alcohol before the first wave of European settlers. Responses to intergenerational trauma faced by Native women include substance abuse, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, suicidal thinking, and more. Due to socioeconomic disadvantages drug and alcohol abuse tends to be a coping mechanism for many Native American women. Drawing on the narratives of ten Indigenous women who are …

"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 …

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.

Carnivore And Ungulate Occurrence In A Fire-Prone Region, Sara J. Moriarty-Graves

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Increasing fire size and severity in the western United States causes changes to ecosystems, species’ habitat use, and interspecific interactions. Wide-ranging carnivore and ungulate mammalian species and their interactions may be influenced by an increase in fire activity in northern California. Depending on the fire characteristics, ungulates may benefit from burned habitat due to an increase in forage availability, while carnivore species may be differentially impacted, but ultimately driven by bottom-up processes from a shift in prey availability. I used a three-step approach to estimate the single-species occupancy of four large mammal species: mountain lion (Puma concolor), coyote …

Extremism In America: Explaining Political Extremism Using Uncertainty-Identity Theory, Natasha A. La Vogue

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Navigating a post-pandemic society, climate-change, political conflict and international wars have become part of most people’s daily existence. These crises are sources of societal and personal uncertainty. An effective method of uncertainty reduction comes from people’s entrenched group memberships (e.g. nation, political party). Unfortunately, groups with extreme norms and ideologies provide rigid structures that aid in uncertainty reduction. From white nationalists to anti-fascists, the political arena is tumultuous to the point of explosion. These eruptions can be violent, even deadly, and are becoming too familiar and recognizable. Extremism poses both international and domestic threats. There is no nation or society …

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 …

California State University (Csu) Police Department Leadership Evaluation, Berkeley Kijsriopas

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Leaders have the ability transform lives and societies and can motivate people for greatness or terrible things. Within a California State University police department, Chiefs of Police are important decision makers that can influence and shape the departments norms, values, goals, behaviors and attitudes. A leadership evaluation (N = 333), was used to explore the effects of leader prototypicality, officer self-uncertainty and social identity continuity through union leadership evaluations. The initial hypothesis that social identity continuity positively predicts group identification and is moderated by leader support was supported. However, the second hypothesis that the relationship between prototypical leaders and …