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- Creator:
- Rougle, Wolfgang Davis
- Description:
- California has a grave fire deficit, threatening public safety and ecological integrity. Increasing prescribed fire is a state priority. Yet despite California’s rich history of community-based prescribed fire, today’s private landowners are not lighting the fires California needs. The reasons why are not well studied. This study explores the barriers private landowners encounter and the ways landowners have banded together to overcome them. It is the first study to survey the prescribed burn association (PBA) movement in California as a whole. Public administrators leading PBAs and several other private-lands burn groups are interviewed, and the groups’ administrative structures are compared. Also, motivated Butte County landowners are surveyed about barriers they have encountered to prescribed fire. Selected fire-relevant policies across the U.S. and the world are compared. Finally, policy recommendations are offered for public administrators seeking to increase prescribed fire on private lands in California. Previous research on impediments to prescribed fire has focused on public land managers or has been conducted outside of California. This study suggests California could increase prescribed fire on private lands by investing in PBAs, and also by creating a certified burner program that is equitable, accessible, and privileged with access to a gross negligence liability standard. These two approaches can be pursued simultaneously. Further research could explore how CAL FIRE public administrators could nurture community-based burn capacity, and how tribal burners and non-tribal landowners could work together to light more fires that have eco-cultural benefits.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Political Science and Criminal Justice
- Creator:
- Howell, Matthew
- Description:
- Proliferation of nuclear weapons is currently one of the most critical issues facing international relations. The region where this is currently of greatest concern is the Middle East. The Islamic Republic of Iran is an emerging regional power in the Middle East and has had an advanced nuclear weapons program. Iran's nuclear threat was supposed to be resolved with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), however the two main signatories, the US and Iran, have pulled out. Understanding the behavior of Iran and the situation with Iran's nuclear program is therefore of critical importance, which this thesis addresses through a review of contemporary international relations theory. Iran's behavior is clearly a pragmatic and survival based approach in reaction to Iran's environment, best explained by the offensive realism theory of John Mearsheimer in The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. This is proven by analyzing and comparing the behavior of Iran with the behavior of other states in a similar situation to Iran, within the framework of offensive realism. A case study of nuclear-armed states and other states in the region that have attempted to obtain nuclear weapons is used to review the variables that indicate which direction a rational state will take in the context of nuclear proliferation. It is determined that it is logical for Iran to pursue a nuclear deterrent, and this outcome should be expected and prepared for.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Political Science and Criminal Justice
- Creator:
- Nielsen, Ryan
- Description:
- The area of study for this project is a microRNA called miR-375 which is overexpressed in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and has been linked to decreased insulin secretion and beta cell proliferation. Investigation into the transcription factor inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) as an intermediate regulator of miR-375 was proposed because both were found to be regulated by cAMP pathway. To investigate ICER’s binding affinity to the miR-375 promoter, a luciferase reporter assay was conducted. HEK-293T cells that were transfected with a luciferase reporter plasmid containing a cAMP recognition element (CRE) and a plasmid driving the overexpression of ICER had a 75% decrease when compared to our control (p < 0.05). Additionally, ICER’s expression was measured in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293T) when co-transfected with a plasmid containing ICER and a small interfering RNA (siRNA) using quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) and Western blot. A luciferase reporter assay showed a 13.1-fold increase from the miR-375 luciferase reporter plasmid containing the AP-1 promoter (p < 0.05). INS-1 cells that were transfected with a luciferase reporter plasmid the miR-375 promoter and a plasmid driving the overexpression of ICER had no significant fold change when compared to the control (p > 0.05). The goal of this project was to test the potential binding and regulation of the miR-375 promoter by ICER. The findings that I made indicate that there is potential binding and further investigation into this area could lead to a better understanding of the cAMP dependent regulation mechanism of miR-375.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Biological Sciences
4. The effects of blood glucose concentration on decision making in the context of outdoor education
- Creator:
- Faris, Ellsworth, IV
- Description:
- It has been hypothesized that some accidents in the backcountry are due to individuals being hypoglycemic (low blood glucose concentration). Glucose is the brain’s main energy source. Without proper blood glucose concentrations, the brain’s functionality decreases. When this happens the ability to make decisions may be impaired. In outdoor education, instructors, students, and staff are actively involved in decision making which includes choices affecting the safety of themselves as well as others. The purpose of the study was to examine if blood glucose concentration affects the ability to make decisions in the context of outdoor education. The study was a blind randomized cross-over design in which half the subjects consumed a carbohydrate replacement beverage while the other half consumed artificially flavored water as a placebo. Six subjects participated in the study and hiked 10.2 miles with 25% of their body weight to simulate the activity of backpacking. During predetermined time intervals, the subjects would have their blood glucose concentration measured and performed a basic decision making test. The results of this study showed that drinking a carbohydrate replacement drink had a significant effect on blood glucose concentrations; however, it did not show that blood glucose concentration had an effect on decision making. Current literature supports that blood glucose concentration does have an effect on decision-making. Understanding the physiological impacts of blood glucose concentration in relation to decision making can further improve risk management practices of outdoor education programs.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Creator:
- Flett, James "Saylor"
- Description:
- Vocational preparation programs in institutions of higher education aim to develop skill sets that transfer to participants post graduate experiences. The literature suggest that outdoor education programs aim to increase technical, interpersonal, and meta skills in its participants; however, few studies have included long-term, follow up assessments of college graduates from outdoor recreation experiential education programs to see if the learning outcomes are transferrable and long lasting. This research provides an analysis of the effectiveness of experiential education in higher education through looking at alumni from the Outdoor Recreation Leadership program at Feather River College. A mixed methods research approach, utilizing surveys and follow up interviews (N=73), is used to assess the impact of experiential education on program participants. The results of this study indicate that student alumni believe their experience at Feather River College positively prepared them for postsecondary education, employability and job decidedness, and transferrable skill development in their professional and personal postgraduate lives. It is evident from the data and emergent student narratives that the experiential education model used by the Outdoor Recreation Leadership program at Feather River College effectively serves ORL alumni in their post-graduation experiences. The knowledge gained from this study reveals that educators in institutions of higher education should carefully develop and intentionally integrate more experiential education practices into their programs and curriculum.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Recreation, Hospitality, and Parks Management
- Creator:
- Gradone, Dayne Anthony
- Description:
- Making sense of health practices requires attention to the lives and experiences of the individuals and collectivities involved in them, along with a basic understanding of the historical, sociocultural, political economic, and ecological contexts that structure and inform those practices and individuals. This applies to Iten, Kenya, a small town located in the western highlands of Kenya. Iten's plethora of both conventional health facilities and traditional herbalists, known as chepkerichinik, make it an intriguing place to study the interactions of traditional and western medicine. Based on four months of ethnographic fieldwork in Iten Kenya, this study explores the role chepkerichinik play as community healthcare providers, entrepreneurs, culture bearers, and the physical embodiments of Kalenjin tradition. Semi-structured interviews with sixteen Kalenjin herbalists reveal that chepkerichinik provide at least forty-two medical services to community members, and routinely base their treatments on herbal remedies that have been maintained in their families for multiple generations. The study concludes that chepkerichinik remain important purveyors of community healthcare, and provide services that not only address the major disease burdens of the community, but also "fill the gaps" where biomedical services are perceived to be the most deficient. Through describing the role of Kalenjin herbalists, the cultural contexts of their remedies, and the reality of interpenetrating medical pluralism, this work demonstrates the need for close, granular analyses of medical systems in an effort to understand the durability and mutability of tradition in the face of profound cultural changes.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Morgan, Jason P. T.
- Description:
- Summer camps in the US gross more than $18 billion in revenue while providing over 14,000 individual programs. Summer camp counselors, like other outdoor workers, are at risk of occupational solar exposure. Occupational solar exposure increases an individual’s lifetime accumulation of solar radiation, leading to skin damage and higher rates of skin cancer. This study fills a gap in the research about the sun protection behaviors of summer camp counselors and their attitude towards provision of sun protection for themselves and the campers in their care. Counselors’ usage of sun protection measures were found to be inadequate. Most counselors were either unprotected or under-protected from occupational solar exposure. Female counselors were significantly more likely to use sun protection measures and reported a higher desire to protect themselves and their campers from solar exposure. Counselors who used sun protection measures for themselves were significantly more likely to feel responsibility for protecting their campers from solar exposure. These findings suggest that summer camps are not adequately protecting their staff from occupational solar exposure. This leads to the conclusion that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is failing to hold summer camps accountable to protect this group of employees from a known workplace hazard. The findings have implications for hiring, training, and risk management practices at summer camps.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Recreation, Hospitality, and Parks Management
- Creator:
- Blackwell, Hope
- Description:
- In my thesis exhibition, clandestine: conversations with a shadow, I render elements of my psyche to act as a window for the outside world, exploring the psychological concept of the shadow self. The concept of the shadow self, is a psychological archetype suggested in research conducted by psychologist Carl. The shadow self is understood to be the repressed unconscious of an individual that can manifest in feelings or thoughts that contradicts the character of an individual. The research of Jung was the foundation for this exhibition alongside my personal experience with the loss of my father. This exhibition consists of projected still images and videos that attempt to bring the shadow self and the exploration of loss out of the subconscious and into the physical world. I use lens-based media to record my body as the primary subject for this work. The gallery installation is meant to become the physical representation of my mind, where the shadow lives, creating an environment where viewers can encounter something that normally is not seen.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Art and Art History
- Creator:
- Aguiar, Stephanie
- Description:
- Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a disease that affects the normal growth of myeloid cells, which are blood cells that protect the body against foreign invaders in the blood and bone marrow. In humans, 95% of CML cases are caused by a chromosomal translocation that inappropriately links the breakpoint cluster region (BCR) to Abelson murine leukemia viral oncogene-1 (ABL1), forming a mutant oncogene called BCR-ABL1 . A protein that physically interacts with BCR-ABL1 is growth receptor bound protein-2 (GRB2), an intracellular adaptor protein involved in cell growth and differentiation. Specifically, BCR-ABL1 binds to a region of GRB2 known as the SRC homology-2 (SH2) domain. This interaction transforms hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, initiating leukemic transformation. The current frontline therapy to treat CML is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imatinib. Some patients have developed a resistance to imatinib, and thus the demand for additional anticancer drugs are needed. To prevent growth of CML cells, Dr. Arpin and her students of the CSU Chemistry and Biochemistry department created two novel SH2 antagonists (NHD2-15 and NHD2-114) and we tested their ability to prevent cell proliferation in the human BCR-ABL1 + K562 myelogenous leukemia cell line. The most significant growth reduction was observed 72 hours after the addition of 30 μM of NHD2 - 15. Furthermore, adding drugs combinatorially (60 μM NHD2-15, 30 μM NHD2-114, and 1 μM imatinib) to K562 cells showed over 2-fold growth reduction than with imatinib alone. To assess if these compounds are toxic to living organisms, we added the two compounds individually to the water of healthy adult zebrafish, and found that NHD2-15 was non-toxic. After using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) we also found that these two novel drugs exhibited prominent binding affinities to GRB2; NHD2-15 with K d = 119 ± 2 μM, and NHD2 - 114 with K d = 440 ± 7 μM (Lewis et al., in revision, 2019). Western blots were performed to determine the pathway these novel antagonists in fluence, and to ultimately indicate if these drugs stop cancerous cell proliferation via the Janus kinase signal transducer and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway, as well as the mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (M APK/PI3K) pathway. Results of western blotting indicated that the combinatorial treatments of both novel drugs reduces expression of proteins involved in both the JAK/STAT and MAPK/PI3K pathways, suggesting these compounds inhibit different target proteins within BCR-ABL+ cells to decrease leukemic cell proliferation. This research should provide an additional alternative treatment for patients who develop imatinib resistance.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Biological Sciences
- Creator:
- Ellet, Hannah Camille
- Description:
- American contemporary and multicultural literature focuses on issues surrounding race. This project analyzes race through differing spaces, places, and environments in three works of 20th and 21st century American literature. Despite their differences in time and place, each novel deals with the restriction or removal of a marginalized group from a space or environment. Because an essential part of one’s identity is rooted in their relationship to the various physical environments or spaces of which they are a part, this project asks questions surrounding identity, heritage, and the creation of self. It also looks at the movement of individuals between spaces, focusing on the different ways an individual’s identity changes within urban and rural environments.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- English
- Creator:
- Gates, Andrew E.
- Description:
- This thesis is an investigation into the role of names within Olga Grushin’s Forty Rooms, in order to in understand the protagonist, Mrs. Caldwell, as an “everywoman” in which readers can see themselves. I use the names of the male characters to show them as the patriarchy, and I use their actions to show them as oppressors. Conversely, I investigate the names of the women to show their universality and characteristics that keep them blind to their existence in an oppressive social atmosphere. I go on to emphasize the importance of the protagonist’s namelessness and show how several rhetorical devices and images – namely the use of pronoun confusion, first to third person narrative perspective switch, mermaids and mirrors – are used to help readers understand the protagonist as a hybrid and representing the masses of oppressed women.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- English
- Creator:
- Ward, Alfred John
- Description:
- Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park (MDSHP), a historic hydraulic mine, is a known source of fine‐grained sediment and contaminant metals to the Humbug Creek Watershed. The purpose of this study was to provide land managers insight into erosion and episodic transport of fine‐grained sediment in MDSHP. Erosion of the pit walls deliver sediment to Hiller Tunnel, which discharges to Humbug Creek, an impaired body of water for chromium (total), copper, iron, mercury, sedimentation/siltation, and zinc. In‐situ sediment samples were collected during 2015 from six vertical transects along the cliff walls of the mine pit. Surface water samples were collected in 2014 and 2016 from drainage networks below the in‐situ sampling sites during runoff conditions. In‐situ and suspended sediment samples were analyzed for grain‐size distribution, by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) for quantitative mineralogy, by inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) for trace elements, and by inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission spectroscopy (ICP‐OES) for major elements. X‐ray diffraction data indicated that the fine suspended sediment in Hiller Tunnel is composed predominantly of kaolinite and halloysite, with minor smectite, illite, and muscovite. Kaolinite is abundant in many of the in‐situ samples but relatively few stratigraphic units have abundant halloysite. In‐situ sediment samples from within the pit were found to increase in halloysite concentration, from stratigraphic bottom to top. SedUnMix was used to explore the potential contribution of sediment from different sites in the mine pit to the Humbug Creek discharge and may be used to inform management efforts in MDSHP. Finegrained sediment, which is discharged out of Hiller Tunnel, comes from all areas in the pit. Contributions from runoff above the pit rim were minimal, based on low suspended sediment concentrations contained in storm runoff. Elevated concentrations of heavy metals were higher in storm runoff samples collected in the west of the pit than in the east. Total mercury concentrations ranged from 29 to 2290 ng/L in 2014 and 21.1 to 6700 ng/L in 2016.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Geological and Environmental Sciences
- Creator:
- Aktemur, Ilknur
- Description:
- Not every agreement guarantees that the terms of the agreement will be strictly followed. Similarly, not every alliance relationship can guarantee that expectations will be met. As the alliance literature has focused on the beginning and outcomes of the alliances, it ignores the alliance quality that concerns the inter-state alliance process. This study considers the notion of 'trust' as the basic element in the quality of the alliance. Trust is an abstract notion, but its measurement is not impossible; the study managed to measure it over the unilateral decisions in the alliance, and the Democratic and Republican Party Presidents' attitudes and decisions (in a sense, partisanship). It also presents findings regarding the effect of different national security interests and democracy levels of the countries on the trust issue in the alliances. For this examination, the Turkish American alliance was chosen as the case study; many problems based on trust in the Turkish-American alliance are up-to-date, and it covers the years between 2003 and 2013. In this regard, the study provides progressive findings; accordingly, unilateral decisions undermine the trust in the alliance. In addition, these crises in the alliance are less likely to be observed with the Democratic Party Presidents compared to the Republican Party Presidents; the discussion of the past problems in the Turkish-American alliance in this study made this generalization possible. While the findings show that different national security interests negatively affect the trust, no correlation was found between the conflicts (crises) of alliance and the changing level of democracy. The study also explored how the Turkish public responded to the crises and the positive developments in the alliance. For this objective, the Turkish public's approval rates to George W. Bush and Barack Obama were applied. This exploration also reveals the measurement of the Turkish public's international trust in the United States. Findings show that the public places great emphasis on the discourses of the presidents, and the discourses constituted their first impression. The Turkish public opinion regarding the U.S. is reactive and unstable; however, the varying approval ratios of the public and the timings of the crises and developments do not match. In other words, the public opinion about a leader of state can change without any 'apparent' development.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Political Science and Criminal Justice
- Creator:
- Hammer, Damiana Carol
- Description:
- ABSTRACT PERCEPTIONS OF APPROPRIATE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT: A STUDY COMPARING THE DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES OF FIRST YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS, PARENTS/GUARDIANS OF FIRST YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS, AND FACULTY by Damiana Carol Hammer Master of Science in Social Science California State University, Chico Fall 2009 Parents have been encouraged to be an active, involved participant in their child’s education. While parental involvement at the elementary and secondary level is encouraged and thought to be beneficial for students, there is much discussion about “over involved parents” at the college level. Emerging trends in the research seem to suggest that the hovering and over involvement by parents results in graduates’ inability to demonstrate independent living skills and decision-making skills. The purpose of this study was to take a small step towards gaining a better understanding of what the appropriate level of parental involvement ought to be in a college students’ educational experience. A total of 357 participants comprised the sample group for this study. The total participant population was divided into three separate cohorts: students, parents, and faculty. Participants were asked to express direct opinions to hypothetical scenarios on a quantitative survey. Each had an opportunity to provide input on what they believe to be appropriate level of parental involvement in an attempt to measure the amount of agreement or divergence between the three groups. The research revealed that all three cohorts do not agree as to what the most important outcome is to be achieved from a college education. In addition, the research implied that while independence may be a desirable goal to be achieved in life, it is not necessarily an outcome that need come from the college experience.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Social Science
- Creator:
- Juarez, Gardenia
- Description:
- The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of older adults with physical disabilities in a physical activity university service-learning program. Subjects participated in the Beyond Exercise: Wellness Enhancement for Life (BE:WEL) two times per week for 1, 2-4 or more than 5 years and shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews. The model of successful aging (Rowe & Kahn, 1997) was the research framework that guided the methodology used for this study. Purposeful sampling of participants which included 55 years or older, BE:WEL participant, and physical disability, observations taken by primary researcher, collection of artifacts such as workout logs, volunteer notes, and previous participation notes and semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was also used for the data in order to triangulate participant experience and provide a richer description of participant experiences. Results of the study were three themes: positive mental health, physical competence/confidence, and program vibe. Participants experienced improvements psychologically and physically from service-learning program. The population size perceives to have successful aging even though physical disabilities were not avoided. The service-learning program provided a social, comfortable, and learning environment for physical activity among participants. Physical activity service-learning programs can be beneficial to older adults with disabilities in a community program setting. Population size was small, so may not be a reflection on the entirety of older adults with physical disabilities. Future studies could include higher population sample, quantitative data on exercises, and a year-long analysis.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Kinesiology