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- Creator:
- Klesczewski, Alexis Nicole
- Description:
- Project (D.P.T., Physical Therapy)--California State University, Sacramento, 2015. and A patient post non-surgical lateral tibial plateau fracture was seen for student physical therapy treatment for 6 sessions from November 4th to December 16th, 2014 at CSU, Sacramento Department of Physical Therapy under the supervision of Lois Boulgarides, PT, DPT, MS. The patient was evaluated at the initial encounter with the use of manual muscle testing, single leg stance time, a complete NeuroCom SMART Balance Master® assessment, and a plan of care was established. Main goals for the patient were to increase lower extremity strength, proprioception, and dynamic balance in order to safely return to recreational basketball, running and hiking with decreased risk of fall or re-injury. Main interventions used were perturbation training, lower extremity graded therapeutic exercises and activities in the form of both direct intervention and a home exercise program. The patient achieved the goals of increased lower extremity strength, a normal single leg stance time and weight bearing squat as measured by the Balance Master®, and achieved clinically meaningful change in all activity and participation-level outcome measures. The patient was discharged home with a home exercise program.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Physical Therapy
- Creator:
- Juarez, James Gregory
- Description:
- Eugenics is a term sometimes casually thrown around in everyday discussions. It even appears in various forms of popular media such as television shows, movies, cartoons, novels, and even Japanese anime. Eugenics did not simply appear in human history as a coincidence. Its history is surprisingly engrained in the history of California itself. This master’s thesis has compiled a condensed history of eugenics to provide readers a solid understanding of the term. It then introduces readers to two significant historical figures as part of society’s amnesia about the existence and history of a eugenics movement: Charles Matthias Goethe and Paul Popenoe. This thesis utilizes various historical sources and artifacts of these two men to bring to life their actions within the twentieth-century eugenics movement. Goethe and Popenoe shared a singular worldview or they both wanted to use eugenics to solve the problems of twentieth-century society, such as: immigration; low IQ values; the population of low humans; opponents of eugenics; conflicted eugenicists of Catholic faith; eugenics organizations not agreeing; and a lack of sharing eugenics scholarship. However, Goethe and Popenoe had different ways of accomplishing their goals through the areas of: eugenics rhetoric; a California sterilization program; an intrinsic value of faith; analogizing low humans; collaboration among eugenics organizations; proliferating eugenics literature; and a global eugenics network. and Thesis (M.A., History)--California State University, Sacramento, 2018.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- History
- Creator:
- Estrem, Christina
- Description:
- An elderly patient with chronic cerebellar stroke was seen for treatment for physical therapy for 12 sessions from October, 2013 until May, 2014 at an outpatient clinic for patients with neurological pathologies under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. The patient was evaluated at the initial encounter and a plan of care was established. Main goals for the patient were improved static and dynamic postural control, speed and endurance with ambulation, and improved level of dependence with functional activities. Main interventions used were task specific training in the form of body weight-supported treadmill training and over-ground ambulation with assistive device, static and dynamic balance training, and the utilization of an individualized home exercise program. The patient achieved the following goals: improved range of motion, balance, functional mobility, aerobic capacity, gait, and postural control during ambulation. The patient was discharged to prior living arrangement (home with spouse) with home exercise program.
- Resource Type:
- Other
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
4. Influence of education, family involvement and socioeconomic status on crime and recidivism rates
- Creator:
- Schultz, Jennifer Erin
- Description:
- This project explored the influence education, family involvement and socioeconomic status has on crime and recidivism rates. Successful parolees were interviewed and asked questions regarding their experiences with education, family involvement, socioeconomic status and incarceration. The outcome of these interview heeded seven themes, which were 1) Felt no Connection with School, 2) Feeling of not being a part of their family 3) Growing-up in households that did not express emotions or communicate, 4) Traumatic experiences during adolescent or early teen years, 5) Jail as a break from the streets 6) Vocational classes as crime deterrent while incarcerated, and 7) Terminating criminal behavior because of "being tired." and Project (M.S.W., Social Work ) -- California State University, Sacramento, 2009.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Padua-Dean, Hayley and Vo, Jade
- Description:
- There is growing need for staff buy-in and resources to educate school members on the benefits and methods of implementation of student voice strategies. Although schools strive to increase student achievement and create a safe space for students, the lifestyles and needs of high school students are ever-changing. This means school practices should constantly be updated using the input of the students themselves. While some schools have made attempts to implement select student voice practices, knowledge of the many student voice strategies that can be applied school wide are not widely recognized. A review of the literature serves as data for the understanding of student voice and its associated positive student outcomes. A literature and curriculum review was also conducted to create resources to educate high school staff on the background and implementation strategies regarding student voice. A finding from this experience is that school personnel need to be challenged to reevaluate the presumption that adults have a better understanding than youths on issues regarding how youths learn and what youths need to learn. and Project (Ed.S., Education (School Psychology))--California State University, Sacramento, 2019.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Education (School Psychology)
- Creator:
- Koontz, Richard Anthony
- Description:
- A generic remote control airplane is converted into an autonomous UAV. The aircraft’s dynamic behavior is represented in state space form, with a series of 1st order differential equations. Stability and control derivatives are estimated using software based on theory and empirical data. These estimates are checked using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A SolidWorks® model of the remote control plane is obtained with the assistance of a 3D scanner. This model is used to estimate mass properties of the airplane, and to export geometric data to ANSYS for CFD. A mathematical model of the aircraft is created in Matlab, and Simulink is used to design the autonomous UAV’s control systems. A control system for the inner loop or plant is designed using a linear quadratic regulator. A guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) system is designed for the outer loop. The performance of the UAV is analyzed in Simulink and results are discussed. Recommendations for continuation of the project are made. and Thesis (M.S., Mechanical Engineering)--California State University, Sacramento, 2018.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Creator:
- Vogel, Nicholas
- Description:
- During the 2004 election season, conservative elites employed superior agenda-setting techniques and utilized the mass media to sway public opinion on sensitive social issues in hopes of generating electoral success for conservative candidates, particularly President George W. Bush. Conservative elites such as religious leaders, members of Congress, and the Bush/Cheney campaign team, developed frames to describe emotive social issues such as same-sex marriage and stem cell research, with the intention that the conservative viewpoint on these issues would resonate with the public and earn them votes in the election. They succeeded. The mass media in turn, accepted many of the conservative frames, and engaged in widespread transmission of them to the American public. As a result, the Republican Party enjoyed gains in Congress, and President Bush earned reelection. This thesis details what frames rose to prominence in the 2004 election season; namely the so-called "moral" frames regarding issues such as same-sex marriage and stem cell research. This paper will allow the reader to see how framing was used, what frames were utilized, and how conservatives were successful in converting this hard work into votes for their candidates. The nucleus of my argument resides in the second half of this paper; dealing with the problems behind our understanding, as a country, of the significance of the widespread conservative victories in 2004. My research shows that the national exit poll was a flawed measurement of public perception of the social and political issues at hand during the election. The print media failed in its attempt to paint a picture that would explain why many Americans chose "moral values" as the core issue that influenced their vote. Furthermore, the print press contributed to the "moral values" confusion after the election by providing electoral analysis using many of the same conservative frames from the election season. This paper will argue that, based on a faulty exit poll and a lack of electoral analysis by the print media, these "moral" issues were not the reasons for conservative victories in 2004, and the GOP's success in 2004 should not dictate a future change in electoral strategy by the Democratic and Republican parties.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Government
- Creator:
- Romano, Elizabeth Anne
- Description:
- Statement of Problem: There are limited resources which incorporate Spanish literature, dialectology, history and culture while strengthening vocabulary recognition and grammatical concepts. As a teacher of upper-level Spanish classes at the high school level, I found that my classes performed better when I included all of these concepts while simultaneously sharing my personal experiences from my travels with the CSUS Spanish Masters Program. Sources of Information: I researched my information from my Bachelor's program at DePaul University and the California State Graduate Spanish Master's Program, along with class materials already in use. Included in the project are difficult readings and concepts from a multitude of texts, compact discs and photographs; however, the information is then broken down into easier formats to aid understanding. Various reading strategies and practice activities are integrated throughout the text to clarify concepts. End Result: The project encompasses and illustrates the various aspects of the CSUS Spanish Master's Program. The Spain and Guatemala chapters are now part of the Spanish 4/5 curriculum at Ridgewood High School District 234 in Norridge, IL where I teach.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- World Languages and Literatures
- Creator:
- Mitchell, André R. S.
- Description:
- Statement of Problem: The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has been working with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to converge U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). However, there are differences between the two accounting standards. What are the differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS? How will the differences and the convergence project affect the United State's economy, companies, or the accounting profession as a whole? Sources of Data: 2007 Current Text, International Financial Reporting Standards, The CPA Journal, Journal of Accountancy, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Deloitte & Touche, Yahoo Finance, CFO.com, The Business Times Singapore, Accounting Today, Lawyers Weekly, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, United States Law Firm Group, and Accountancy Ireland. Conclusion Reached: Based on the research performed, there are more similarities between U.S. GAAP and IFRS than there are differences. In addition, some differences ultimately equate to the same conclusion under both accounting standards. The convergence to IFRS should not negatively affect the U.S. economy, companies, or the accounting profession. Furthemore, IFRS typically results in a higher net income than U.S. GAAP.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Business Administration
- Creator:
- Macias, Paul
- Description:
- Statement of Problem: In spring, 2007, I instructed a section of College Composition in which I found myself guiding students toward a rhetorical model based in individual authority, despite my intentions to encourage a more inquiry- or dialogue-based model of authority. This experience caused in me these beliefs: claim to individual authority can be defined and found in student writing; student writing that makes claim to individual authority can be distinguished from student writing that doesn't; and both institutional and instructor texts, as well as instructor discourse, can be correlated with a student writer's tendency to persuade by means of individual authority. Sources of Data: I collected institutional curriculum and four bodies of research from four different College Composition classrooms, each of which includes instructor texts (syllabus and assignment sheet), instructor discourse (oral description of assignment sheet), and student texts (essays in response to assignment sheet). I analyzed two of these bodies of research. Conclusions Reached: Claim to individual authority can be defined and found in student writing. Student writing that makes claim to individual authority can be distinguished from student writing that doesn't. Both institutional and instructor texts, as well as instructor discourse, can be correlated with a student writer's tendency to persuade by means of individual authority.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- English
- Creator:
- Coward, Alice L. and Rosales, Darci C.
- Description:
- Social work champions social justice a belief that everyone is entitled to equal opportunity. Post secondary education should be open to all students. Individuals have a right to higher education and should not be discriminated against based upon their race, ethnicity, class, or gender. Accessibility for underrepresented minority (URM) students is a goal of the Academic Excellence Workshop (AEW) intervention program for Math Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) majors at Santa Rosa Junior College. This project is a macro evaluative study of the program. Literature looking at the historical content of the MESA Program, Philip Michael Triesman's founding study, and the differences between four year and community college attenders as they relate to access, retention, persistence, and degree attainment were reviewed. The empirical research was derived from archival data gathered from MESA enrollment forms and academic transcripts. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used on the gathered data. The researchers hypothesized that participation in the AEW would positively impact URM student's grade point average in math, engineering, and science courses. Using an independent t-test, the researchers found no significant evidence to support the hypothesis. The research study was limited and did not take into consideration the secondary benefits of participating in the AEW that could influence student's academic success, retention, and persistence in STEM courses. The researchers conclude that future evaluations of AEW programs would benefit from a holistic approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Anhar, Michael N.
- Description:
- The central issue of creating ideal conditions for teaching and learning has been extensively examined from multiple perspectives. However, while the growing prominence of the student-centered perspective in particular has led to a considerable body of knowledge about student-centered education (i.e., pedagogy), there exists a lack of explicit knowledge about student-centered communication (i.e., interaction). To address this gap in the literature, a convenient sample of faculty members from the Communication Studies and English Departments at CSU Sacramento audio recorded one of their own class meetings. Transcripts of these recordings were analyzed in order to develop a taxonomy of the types of student-centered verbal messages teachers express in the university classroom and complimentarily to determine which message types yield substantive student verbal responses. Investigative efforts resulted in the emergence of a 4-category taxonomy of student-centered verbal messages and the tentative selection of a core category of messages that discernibly albeit rarely yielded substantive student verbal responses. Most usefully, the final analysis of this study revealed that instructors who are serious about cultivating substantive student verbal responses ought to focus on expressing verbal messages that elicit student input while simultaneously avoiding response inhibiting practices, which effectively silence students.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Communication Studies
- Creator:
- Anderson, Summerlynn Jean
- Description:
- Memory research has shown mixed results concerning how emotional information is processed (see Christianson, 1992, for review). One individual difference found to relate to emotional processing (Belsky et al., 1997; Laible, 2004) and understanding (de Rosnay & Harris, 2002) is attachment security. Further, because coping strategies are believed to reflect behavioral outcomes of emotion regulation (Contreras et al., 2000), how children cope with emotional situations may also predict their memory for such experiences. The present study aimed to examine attachment qualities and coping strategies as individual differences predicting recall of emotional and attachment-related events. Children ranging from 7.5- to 12.5-years of age viewed a slideshow exhibiting stories that varied in emotion and attachment relatedness. The following week, children were asked to freely recall the pictures and stories, and they completed attachment and coping measures. Results showed children's attachment security predicted recall of high attachment-related events, specifically separation scenarios. To understand better these results, attachment security was divided into subscales for parental availability and children's dependency. Findings indicated that children who perceived the parent as more available recalled more attachment-related stimuli, specifically those involving separation. These results indicate that attachment-related events may be processed differently than emotional, but less attachment evoking events, and that memory for such events may be influenced by individual differences in attachment security, particularly how available the child perceives the caregiver.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Graduate and Professional Studies in Education
- Creator:
- Alaniz, Dolores
- Description:
- This thesis investigates implementation of the California Case Management System (CCMS) in Sacramento County. CCMS is the information technology system used by California courts, and is funded through the Trial Court Funding Act of 1997 and the Trial Court Facilities Act of 2002. The system is evaluated using an implementation analysis framework and a set of best practices criteria for information technology transitions. It is recommended that the Legislature require the Administrative Office of the Courts adopt a reporting structure and process to increase accountability, mitigate risks, justify appropriations, and report budgetary expenditures. Sources consulted included case studies, project management reports, books, professional journals and scholarly articles.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Public Policy and Administration
- Creator:
- Aggarwal, Nidhi
- Description:
- Virtualizing physical resources of a computer system can improve resource sharing and utilization. Virtualization is the pooling and abstraction of resources in a way that masks the physical. nature and boundaries of the resources from the users. The goal of this project was to analyze primarily the performance aspects of virtualization and understand security implications. This project report presents an overview of virtualization and discusses the key technologies behind it. The report then analyzes the key features of the Intel® Virtualization Technology and AMD® SVM Technology for hardware virtualization, outlining the new instructions and hardware extensions introduced. A detailed performance analysis of various virtual environments and technologies are presented. Initially, comparison between physical and virtual environment is made at the architectural level by analyzing the perl, anagram and gee benchmarks using Simics execution environment. Then, the report presents the performance data for another benchmark (SPEC2006) for three different Virtual Machine Monitors (VMMs) and provides a detailed performance analysis of the VMMs. A detailed analysis of Xen is included based on the profiling done using Xenoprof to highlight the causes behind the performance bottlenecks. Finally, security aspects of virtualization are discussed and analyzed.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Computer Engineering
- Creator:
- Teleten, Larisa and Afshar, Neda
- Description:
- High turnover and low job satisfaction are long standing problems within the nursing profession. Attempts at rectifying these trends have included more recently, mentor-based residency programs of various lengths and kinds. This study examines the results of local and national responses to a standardized pre-post survey meant to measure job satisfaction among residency program participants at two distinct points along the new employee continuum. Survey results from participants in the University of California, Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) program were compared to the results at 39 other University Health System Consortium (UHSC) institutions. At UCDMC, participation in the mentoring program was totally voluntary. Nurses were recruited to join the program during their hospital orientation. Invitations were followed up by email and VOCERA contact within one week of orientation. RN participants included new graduates, transfers to new specialty floors and new RN hires from a wide demographic spectrum. Survey scores for UCDMC nurses at the six-month mark were compared to the results at other UHSC institutions and found to be above the McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Scale (MMSS) mean in each of seven subscale areas under consideration. Within the organization itself, it was found that UCDHS nurses at the six-month stage registered positive changes in all but one of the satisfaction subscale areas. The exception was the praise and recognition subscale, which declined at six months. The results of the study confirm that praise and recognition are significant factors in RN perceptions of job satisfaction. Residency programs offer great promise for decreasing nursing turnover and increasing job satisfaction. Given the results of the UCDMC study, additional research into the ways that praise and recognition influence job satisfaction and, ultimately, retention should be further explored. An additional policy recommendation to HRSA would be to encourage a more standardized approach to data collection among its funded programs.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Nursing
- Creator:
- Adhikari, Ramesh K.
- Description:
- This study examines empirically the potential causal link between financial development and output growth in each of sixteen countries that have experienced sustained economic growth in the postwar period within a multivariate vector autoregressive (VAR) framework. I use three time series methodologies such as usual Granger causality approach, modified causality test of Toda· and Yamamoto (1995) and vanance decompositions to examine interrelationships between variables in the VAR system for the same data set. I find mixed results on the direction of causality and the results vary with respect to the type of test employed. Using annual time series data from 1960 to 2004 and a Granger causality approach, I find no evidence of causality in either direction in twelve countries, bi-directional causality in two countries, one-way causality from growth to finance in two countries and no one-way causality from finance to growth for any of the countries examined. Although the results are somewhat sensitive to the type of causality tests employed, the general conclusion is that financial development and output growth are causally independent at annual frequencies. This casts doubts on claims that financial development leads output growth. Therefore, more empirical studies and the need for broadening the econometric approach are called for before making any general conclusion about this relationship.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Economics
- Creator:
- Viani, Alessandro
- Description:
- Arsenic is a toxic metalloid that is present in the Earth’s crust in small amounts, over time becoming exposed due to both natural and manmade processes. The arsenic exposed in the ground can be subject to weathering such as rainfall, allowing the arsenic to become mobilized. A manmade source of arsenic is wood that has been pressure treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), a compound that protects the wood against insects and fungi. Over time, the wood can start to break down, allowing the arsenic to leach out into the surrounding soil. Once in the soil, plants can uptake the arsenic, which can lead to accumulation in the edible portions such as the leaves and berries, potentially harming humans and animals which consume them. In this study, the zeolite chabazite was used to sorb arsenic from the soil, reducing the amount available for uptake by the plant. Using radishes, with both non-modified and iron modified chabazite mixed in with the soil, the arsenic concentration in the radishes was reduced from 36.111±9.601 mg/kg in the leaves to 15.345±5.837 mg/kg and 14.116±2.403 mg/kg for the non-modified and the iron modified chabazite, respectively. It was also found that chabazite particle size had a significant effect on arsenic adsorption, further reducing the arsenic concentration in leaves from 15.345±5.837 to 7.713±0.569 mg/kg for the non-modified chabazite, and from 14.116±2.403 to 6.179±2.083 mg/kg in the iron modified chabazite with reduced particle size. Additionally, sawdust from CCA treated wood was incorporated into soil, as to model uptake of arsenic resulting from leaching. The data for the sawdust plantings suggests complex ion interactions between the chabazite and the CCA treated wood, which may make remediation of soils contaminated with CCA more difficult. Furthermore, the component ions of CCA, chromium, copper and arsenic leach from the wood at different rates. Chabazite may have different affinities for each of these ions, creating less adsorption capacity for arsenic, potentially leading to higher concentrations in the plants. In addition to the planting studies, leaching studies were performed, assessing the maximum amount of arsenic that the iron modified chabazite could adsorb from aqueous solution. The adsorption was modeled using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Using data from the isotherms, it was found that the adsorption of arsenic by iron modified chabazite does not follow the Langmuir model, but fits the Freundlich model well.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Chemistry
- Creator:
- Da, Kesar and Whitlow, Dylan
- Description:
- The use as well as misuse of methamphetamines remains a significant social issue in the United States. Little is known about the impact stigma has on treatment recommendations for women who use methamphetamine, particularly mothers. This research attempts to understand if CSUS undergraduate social work students have preconceived gender bias when working with individuals who are drug abusers, particularly mothers who use methamphetamine. This study utilizes a vignette embedded, randomized cross sectional experimental survey with a quantitative descriptive research design in order to identify any potential gender bias and stigmatization of women methamphetamine users. Data was collected from 91 CSUS BASW students and electronically inputted and analyzed using the SPSS system. While there were no significant associations between gender of the client or the status of motherhood when recommending treatment for methamphetamine users, the data did suggest that personal experience with drug addiction as well as previous personal experience with drug addiction is associated with a greater probability of recommendation of treatment. Personal experience also influenced the student’s perception of whether they perceived the client’s problem were caused by his/her choice. The project concludes with an in-depth discussion of findings as well as implications for social work and recommendations for further research.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Quispe, Carlos E.
- Description:
- The potable water distribution system hydraulic model described in this project is in Placer County and was developed to evaluate future Water Conservation Programs (WCP). In the order to complete this goal, the hydraulic model was assembled and then calibrated using an operational calibration. The model is comprised of pipes, junctions, pumps, pressure reducing valves, and tanks/reservoirs. The model is supported by information from a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), and the calculation of water demand, water production, and the diurnal curve. The model aimed to replicate the behavior of many of the facilities such as tank levels, flow in pipes, and pressure in valves that were collected in SCADA; however, it is recommended to follow up with a field calibration to correct some inconsistencies in the model’s results for a few facilities. The model helped to evaluate future dynamics of tank levels, flows in the pipes, and pressure, velocities, and water age in the system due to water conservation programs. The hydraulic parameters above mentioned changed due to less water demand, and the settings in valves must be changed to maintain the network in operational conditions. Overall, the results of water conservation programs in summer season that reduce water demand are encouraging because they show that water age issues improve after the implementation in most of the pressure zones. Minimum pressure in nodes under 35 psi are higher after the water conservation programs take place because tank levels are higher, raising the hydraulic gradient line (HGL).
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Civil Engineering
- Creator:
- Martin, Justin Thomas
- Description:
- The aim of the present study was to fit data to a structural equation model that includes conservatism, HIV-related stigma, and avoidance behavior. An exploratory factor analysis was performed, and a subsequent structural model was created with conservatism directly relating to avoidance and indirectly affecting avoidance through HIV-related stigma. Results showed that though the chi-square was significant, the structural model resulted in good model fit. In the full model, positive pathways were found between all latent variables, though the direct path between conservatism and avoidance was not significant in the full model. When tested alone, it was found that the pathway between conservatism and avoidance was significant and positive, and further tests indicated full mediation with 45.6% of the effect of avoidance mediated through stigma. Replication studies should be performed to validate these results, and future research should focus on expanding the avoidance latent variable by including HIV-testing rates.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Williams, Lauren D.
- Description:
- Transgender older adults are amongst the most marginalized communities in the United States, both historically and presently. While many of the challenges experienced by this cohort are also common to the broader aging lesbian, gay, and bisexual population, the social support needs of this community are largely understudied. Alongside the inarguable amount of discrimination and obstructions that elder transgender individuals have experienced across decades, are the qualities of resilience and courage which should not be understated. This research examines the expressed levels of social support and isolationism of transgender older adults. A qualitative and exploratory research design will be utilized to identify statistically significant patterns by exploring six community members’ account of the status of their social support system. This, in turn, will be helpful the field of social work and, most importantly, this underserved community at large.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Onovakpuri, Ogheneruno
- Description:
- Increased penetration levels of Distributed Generation (DG) can cause harmful harmonics and power quality issues for the power distribution system. This project aims to investigate harmonic and power quality issues related to high penetration levels of DG. The existing harmonic and power quality concerns and problems caused by DG on typical power distribution systems will be studied. The focus will be on a commonly used type of DG known as solar Photo-Voltaic (PV) that contributes to power quality issues. Sample tests utilizing a case study of power quality at a PV plant in Princeton, NJ, and simulation results showing the power quality problems will be analyzed. Possible solutions and recommendations for mitigating these power quality issues will be investigated.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Creator:
- West, Michael
- Description:
- Introduction--High altitude illness, specifically acute mountain sickness, is a potentially life threating ailment for individuals that travel to high altitude. Acute mountain sickness is characterized by the following symptoms; headache, lethargy, dizziness and gastrointestinal issues. To date there have been several attempts to validate the use of heart rate variability in an effort to predict when an individual is more likely to become sick at altitude, but no studies have included a model with exercise that is known to increase acute mountain sickness.--Purpose-- The purpose of this study is to examine changes in autonomic output via heart rate variability to see if there is a relationship between autonomic output and severity of acute mountain sickness during a 12-hour exposure to normobaric hypoxia.--Methods--Eleven participants (7 male and 4 female) were recruited for this study, of which eight (6 male and 2 female) finished the study. Participants were exposed to two 12-hour altitude sessions (FIO2 12.4%) which was roughly 4,200 meters. Baseline heart rate variability, blood pressures, heart rate, oxygen saturations and Lake Louise scores were obtained with participants seated for five minutes prior to entering the altitude tent. Subsequent measurements were taken at hours 3, 4, 5, 6 and 12 with participants seated for at least five minutes and were taken prior to any exercise. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine any significant differences and Tukeys post hoc was used to determine where those differences occurred between groups. A Pearsons correlation was used to determine any relationships between the changes in HRV and AMS scores from hours 6 to 12. An alpha level of 0.05 was used for significance.--Results--The main finding of the study was a main effect for treatment and time for HRV measures. Significant differences between groups were observed and a significant difference between hour 3 and 12 of the non-exercise trial with LnrMSSD values being 3.73±0.45 and 3.40±0.36 respectively for hours 3 and 12. An interaction effect of treatment by time was observed for heart rate. Heart rates were significantly higher in the exercise trial at hours 4, 5, 6 and 12 when compared to all timepoints except hour 12 during the non-exercise trial. A Pearson value of 0.41 and 0.14 were calculated for non-exercise and exercise differences between LnrMSSD and LLS between hours 6 and 12 which yielded p-values of 0.30 and 0.75 respectively.--Conclusions--Although significant differences were found regarding HRV, no significant relationships between HRV and AMS were observed. This leads to the conclusion that HRV is not a valid tool for predicting AMS during acute normobaric hypoxic exposures.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Kinesiology (Exercise Science)
- Creator:
- Sanni, Shukurat
- Description:
- Safety is a major work zone concern; this concern is heightened for workers that work near travelling public. Motorists and passengers are more vulnerable and have a greater likelihood to be injured or killed from a work zone crash. The prevalence of work zone crashes was 45 percent in California in 2014. Work Zone Intrusion Alarm (WZIA) systems are innovative safety devices with the technology to provide auditory alert in work zones following a vehicle intrusion. These devices typically have a detection, transmitter, and auditory alert unit, with some devices having a visual and/or personal safety alert unit. The objective of this thesis is to assess the effectiveness of WZIAs. The objective was achieved with a combination of a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The qualitative analysis revealed the potential of the devices. The quantitative analysis resulted from a pilot test of three WZIA systems: the Traffic Guard Worker Alert System, SonoBlaster and Intellicone. The research found WZIAs to be effective but recommends improvement to the systems’ functional characteristics. The findings and recommendations presented in this research will assist in the widespread implementation of Work Zone Intrusion Alarm systems. This thesis concludes with future research suggestions that will expand on this research’s findings.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Civil Engineering (Transportation)
- Creator:
- Ward, Christian
- Description:
- This study discussed the arrangement of library online help information and examined theories and methods for improving online help effectiveness. A brief historical background of online library systems was provided to both inform the reader and define the library website environment. Theories and methods for evaluating website effectiveness were presented, with an emphasis on improving factors of convenience and relevance of website information. The discussion then turned to help seeking behaviors of students in the academic setting, and examined the expectations and preferences for online help tools through the analysis of anonymous survey data. Student perception data for online help and library research services was compared to librarian perception data and website use statistics in order to identify alignment and misalignment of results. The study concludes with a summary of the finding and their alignment with the discussed theories and methods, and highlights the need for future research to examine user preferences for online help content to improve the effectiveness of library online help tools.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Education (Educational Technology)
- Creator:
- Noureddine, Ikbal
- Description:
- Newcomers coming from the Middle East and North Africa, as English Learners (ELs), face barriers to learning and often lag behind their native-English-speaking peers, and further also face racial disparities in discipline (Burke, 2015; Losen & Keith, 2015). The purpose of this comparative study was to identify MENA high school newcomers’ academic, acculturation and socio-emotional challenges, and examine how these challenges were addressed within restorative justice practices [RJP] high schools compared to Non-RJP high schools at the leadership, communication and cultural awareness levels. The researcher conducted the study in two RJP and two Non-RJP oriented high schools within the same school district, using a concurrent mixed methods approach. Surveys were administered to teachers (N=97) and MENA newcomers (N=46). In addition, individual interviews (N=39) with MENA newcomers and four principals and focus groups (N=22) as well as discussions with teachers were conducted to triangulate data. Quantitative data collected was analyzed using Multivariate, Univariate, Independent Samples t-Test and Pearson correlation tests. Student results showed significant differences in MENA newcomers’ self- awareness and school connectedness. In RJP schools, students were more supported within their microsystem by their teachers. Research findings showed the existence of mismanagement and staffing problems at the leadership level that directly impacted ELs/ MENA newcomers. The finding suggest that MENA newcomers felt disconnected from their school and exhibited low self-image in Non-RJP schools when compared to their peers in RJP schools. MENA newcomers’ school connectedness was affected by their surrounding ecological systems which resulted in academic limitations and coping difficulties in their new schooling environment.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Education (Educational Leadership)
- Creator:
- Haigh, Nathan
- Description:
- Chronic wounds are a growing problem caused by increases in the incidence of diabetes, obesity, and the aging population, and they represent a disproportionately large burden to the healthcare system. The risk of complications including infections that result in hospitalization and amputation make chronic wounds particularly pernicious. Many attempts have been made to identify both the molecular basis behind chronic wounds and an effective treatment to improve prognosis. As yet, the exact cause of chronic wounds is idiopathic and may be varied, but research indicates many if not most result from a failure to advance from the inflammatory phase to the proliferative phase of wound healing. Current standard care and even the most advanced treatments currently on the market provide little value to chronic wounds, leaving a tremendous need for both a better understanding of the physiology of chronic wounds and relief for patients suffering with chronic wounds and their complications. One avenue being pursued for chronic wound healing is the application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) due to their ability to release growth factors and anti-inflammatory cytokines. MSCs normally home to wound sites, but they require a structural support that may be damaged in chronic wounds. Therefore, research is pursuing scaffolds, such as hydrogels, to provide an appropriate niche comparable to a normal wound to hold MSCs at the wound site and stimulate them to release appropriate factors for that point in the healing process. MSCs like other cells anchor to their environment through membrane bound proteins including integrins, which provide signals about the nature of the extracellular matrix (ECM) within which the cell resides. Hydrogels are polymers of either synthetic or natural organic compounds that can serve as anchors for MSCs and delivery vehicles for factors that influence healing. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a synthetic hydrogel that can be tuned to varying degrees of stiffness and used to deliver MSCs. However, PEG requires the conjugation of ligands that integrins can bind. These ligands can be designed to be highly specific to only one or a few relevant integrins. Research in the Maverakis lab has used the one-bead-one-compound method to screen potential ligands for integrin-binding specificity and assessed their capacity to induce differentiation in vitro. However, the capacity of these ligand-conjugated hydrogels to modulate MSC function in vitro or facilitate wound healing has not yet been determined. The overall goal of the Maverakis lab is to develop hydrogels that can be administered in a clinical setting to facilitate healing of chronic wounds. Previous work in the has suggested MSCs differentiate toward chondrogenic and osteogenic lineages using tentagel beads conjugated with integrin binding ligands. Here the effect of 30 cell culture in PEG-hydrogels conjugated to integrin binding ligand specific to a4~ 1 integrin is explored through PCR and RNA-seq. To characterize MSCs received from collaborating labs, flow cytometry was used for cell surface expression of MSC markers: C044, CD73, C090, and C0105. The presence of MSC markers and the absence of markers for ematopoietic cells suggests experiments were conducted on true MSCs. To characterize the effect of specific integrin stimulation in 30 cell culture on hydrogel encapsulated MSCs PCR and RNA-seq was used. The results from RNA-seq analysis support differentiation of MSCs into osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages when treated with LLP2A in support of previous finding in the Maverakis lab from 20 tengel bead cultures. The finding that a4~ 1 integrin stimulation results in osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation suggests that LLP2A may not be effective for dermal wound healing. In contrast, RGD conjugated hydrogel, a control for LLP2A, showed differentiation toward smooth muscle and adipose with enhanced angiogenic signaling, suggesting a potentially effective treatment of improving dermal wound healing. While these findings were not born out in the in vivo studies using hydrogels alone without MSCs, there remains the possibility that hydrogel encapsulated MSCs will be able to enhance wound healing as proposed. Moving forward, additional putative integrin binding ligands will continue to be screened. Specific integrin binding ligands that have been screened will be tested for their effect on MSCs in vitro, and hydrogel encapsulated MSCs will be used in in vivo studies on mouse splint wounds. LLP2A conjugated hydrogel may be studied for in vivo healing in bone and cartilage dysfunction.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Biological Sciences (Stem Cell)
- Creator:
- Gee, Elaine K.-L.
- Description:
- Informal caregivers may experience objective strain, subjective strain, and isolation as a result of caregiving. Harmony Support for Caregivers (Harmony) (Hieb, 2017) is a ministry of a Northern California church that provides caregivers with information and emotional support. Handmade cards are used to communicate with caregivers. The student created the Caregiver Outreach Program, a component of Harmony, as a result of the creation of the handmade cards. Three objectives were created to provide direction for the project and include the following: (1) Reduce caregiver strain and isolation by using the caregivers' church as a source of support, (2) provide individualized caregiver support, and (3) encourage caregivers to return to interests that were stopped when caregiving became overwhelming. Carl Rogers' (1951) theory of self-actualization provided the foundation for the study. Forty caregivers within the age range of 30 through the 80s participated in the project. A convenience sample of the caregivers was surveyed to determine the project's helpfulness. Quantitative results of the survey showed that Harmony provided caregivers with useful information (75%), helped caregivers feel connected to their church (50%), and helped them feel as important as their care recipients (50%). Caregivers returned to old hobbies (56%) and were interested in pursuing other Harmony activities (56%). Although caregivers indicated that the type of card they received did not make a difference (56%), the qualitative results showed that caregivers clarified their original responses by writing that handmade cards made them feel special (50%). The survey results indicate that caregivers respond positively to individualized support from their community. This support reminds caregivers to think about themselves. The use of handmade cards is debatable and needs further study. The project will be sustained by recruiting caregivers, church members, and other church ministries to help create cards for Harmony to use and exploring different ways card-makers can have access to card-making supplies that includes accountability.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Gerontology
- Creator:
- Rajguru, Aniruddha Shekhar
- Description:
- Over the years, data privacy has been a major concern amongst consumers. Applications such as Facebook, Uber, and Instagram collect a huge amount of data from users in return for the free service. Some of this data collection is necessary for the service to work. However, the data being collected is often not essential for the functionality but is rather used for targeted advertising or user analytics. As the data collection takes place in the background, most consumers are left clueless. Consumers also lack the technical expertise to identify such data collection. Not just third-party applications, but even the Android operating system itself sometimes violates users’ privacy heavily. There are various ways of collecting user data, one of which is using device sensors, such as microphones, cameras, GPS, Wi-Fi and accelerometer, to precisely monitor the users’ activity. The goal of this project is to create a sensor monitor that allows users to view and capture accurately what happens to their data on a day-to-day basis. The sensor monitor also informs users to view which applications are accessing which sensors and at what time. To achieve this functionality, the sensor monitor targets three parts of the Android stack: the Linux kernel’s PROC file system, Android’s SensorManager utility, and sensor.h header file. Combining these metrics along with a flag status allows the sensor monitor to form historical insights and send real-time alerts. The sensor monitor is designed to be modular for better maintainability and extensibility. All sensor monitor insights are stored in JSON and can be easily exported for further analysis. Thus, the sensor monitor will benefit a regular smartphone user as well as form a base for future projects in the Android domain.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Computer Science
- Creator:
- McIntyre, Danielle and Marion, Allison
- Description:
- Since the 1980’s there has been a gradual, yet steady increase in the academic demands placed on our students and in the amount of homework assigned (Kohn, 2006). Misconceptions on the effectiveness of homework and student achievement have led many teachers to increase the amount of homework assigned to keep up with political demands (Kohn, 2006). While a significant body of research demonstrates the lack of correlation between homework and student success, children at the elementary level are receiving amounts of daily homework that interfere with family life and other extracurricular activities (Cooper, Robinson & Patall, 2006; Vatterott, 2009). Due to many parents, students and teachers normalizing increasing homework demands as a part of school life, the outcome research surrounding homework has largely been ignored. The current lack of research in this area necessitates further examination of this issue. The present research study investigated parent, teacher, and student perspectives regarding the amount of homework students are assigned. The perceived effects of homework on family time was also examined. The participants in this study were students in grades 3-6 (n = 395), their parents (n = 442), and their teachers (n = 28). Preliminary research data suggests that (a) while parents largely reported homework relates to their child’s learning, a large portion of parents also stated that homework is busy work; (b) there are differences in the perceptions of the actual and ideal amounts of assigned homework, amongst parents, students, and teachers; and (c) while the majority of parents reported that homework rarely or never gets in the way of family time, a large portion also stated that homework creates a power struggle with their student. Limitations, recommendations for future research, and suggestions for increasing the home-school connection are discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Education (School Psychology)
- Creator:
- Chen, Tiffany Helmen and Figueroa, Alejandro Arroyo
- Description:
- Home-school communication is essential to academic success, but for minority parents, cultural and linguistic barriers prevent effective home-school collaboration by discouraging parent input into their child’s educational decisions. Effective home-school collaboration has been found to positively influence academic, behavioral, and social-emotional student outcomes (Epstein, 2001; Park & Holloway, 2013). As such, it is vital for school staff to learn and apply multiculturally sensitive practices when communicating with parents, especially when highly sensitive and critical decisions such as special education eligibility and educational placement are being discussed. This project will integrate the body of research that supports effective home-school communication, cultural biases in special education, and the strategies to present assessment results with multicultural sensitivity. The information will be used to develop a half-day training for members of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team on how to address their own cultural biases, engage in more effective home-school communication, and best communicate assessment results with multicultural sensitivity to Hispanic and Asian families.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- School Psychology
- Creator:
- Newman, Nora and Mihov, Radostina
- Description:
- Successful and practical classroom management strategies can alleviate teacher stress and burnout rates. Despite the lack of support teachers report in implementing behavioral modifications, positive research-based approaches like the ones taught in the Love and Logic (LL) Curriculum have been found to establish a safe learning environment, develop problem-solving skills, and personal responsibility among students. This project researches the value of these approaches and offers a technology-based resource as a solution for implementation. The web-based application created in this project serves as a reference for skills adopted from LL workshops that teach a variety of strategies and interventions. Ruddell (2011) suggests that Love and Logic has been chosen by school leaders as a positive behavioral support school-wide management plan. An in-depth review of the literature introduces the Love and Logic theoretical framework and identifies techniques and suggestions for implementation. The sum of this information will be used to develop a web-based application readily available on any smartphone, to help solidify skills learned in the LL teacher trainings and support all teachers who need quick solutions to the daily disruptions they commonly face in the classroom.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- School Psychology
- Creator:
- Bridges, Karen
- Description:
- The persistent disparities for African American students are and remain an issue of unequal opportunities to learn (Cowan Pitre, 2014). One reason that the gaps are so persistent is that American schools have been pressured to preserve the status quo (Brown, 2010). The educational outcomes for African American students in the United States has remained unchanged for decades. “National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data presents trends documenting the historic and persistent disparities in the educational outcomes among African American students” (Cowan Pitre, 2014, p. 209). English learners, economically disadvantaged, Latino students and African American students represent a chronically underserved student population in California. What are the realities of principals regarding the effectiveness of the LCAP to meet the needs of K12 African American students? The LCFF and the LCAP represent a change in laws and policies to tackle the disparities in success for African American students. The conceptual underpinnings of this research were community-based reform and systemic equity. The specific student population identified for this study are marginalized African American students. The researcher employed a qualitative methods approach to achieve the purpose of the research. In addition, the research will examine whether principals’ perceptions and capacity in the LCAP context help schools effectively meet the needs of marginalized African American students.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Martinez, Nina and Bogovich, Lyndsie L.
- Description:
- Barnett (2017) reported that over 50% of students with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis qualify for special education services under the Other Health Impairment (OHI) category of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or for general education program modifications under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. With such a high number of students meeting this criteria due to ADHD, it is imperative that educational professionals work to find the best way to support these students in the educational setting. Further, meaningful parent involvement has been shown to increase a student’s academic performance and school attendance (Grolnick, & Slowiaczek, 1994). For those students in special education, parent involvement can support the development of appropriate social skills and meaningful long lasting relationships with their peers and trusted adults. Although there are multitudes of positive implications, along with extensively researched successful social emotional learning curriculum for educators, parents share that supporting social emotional learning in the home can be challenging and result in feelings of inadequacy and frustration with school staff. This project focuses on supporting parents of students who have or are suspected of having ADHD. This project developed trainings and supplemental resources to educate parents of students with suspected or identified as having diagnoses of ADHD by providing a review of the most common symptoms of ADHD, the impact of positive social skills within the school environment, and what supports are most effective in developing meaningful relationships with teachers, parents and peers.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Education (School Psychology)
- Creator:
- Myers, Stephen Reitenour
- Description:
- This thesis explores public policies that have the potential to meet the 20% statewide edible food recovery mandates of SB 1383. This policy became law in 2016 as part of a broader effort to curb methane emissions, of which about a fifth is attributable to landfilled organic waste. While there have been significant successes at the city level across the nation, and while there are promising models at the county and regional level in California, a statewide edible food recovery mandate is unprecedented, and has the potential to throw local food distribution and waste hauling systems into chaos if not adequately designed and managed. The overall goal of this thesis is to identify policies that can enable local jurisdictions to meet their statutorily-required edible food recovery amounts with reasonable expenditures of money and effort. To make these determinations, I used Bardach’s (2012) analytical research method, the “Eightfold Path,” to develop a list of policy alternatives and criteria by which to assess them. The resulting analysis allowed me to plot alternatives along one axis of a table and criteria along the other, creating a “Criteria Alternatives Matrix,” or “CAM” for short. I analyzed four policy alternatives that the literature and my conversations with stakeholders in the waste management and food recovery fields recommended, and determined that one of the four policies have a relatively high likelihood of success according to the five criteria by which I evaluated each. I also determined that two other complementary alternatives could also be successful. The use of software to match donors and recovery organizations with on-the-spot transporters for time-sensitive donations was the top-ranked alternative, with (1) utilization of public health inspectors to promote recovery among regulated food distributors and (2) facilitation of planning and coordination between donors, recovery organizations, and transporters as equally-ranked complements. I recommended the implementation of donation-matching software as the strongest option to address the issue, but also indicated that some combination of the three could be particularly effective in facilitating edible food recovery in the near future.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Public Policy and Administration
- Creator:
- Mouzes, Andie Mary
- Description:
- Civilian review boards can benefit not only an individual complainant, but also the surrounding community at large and law enforcement agencies across the country. The diminutive amount of existing research conducted on civilian review boards has focused primarily on the reason for their existence but not the tendencies that the data from these oversight boards reflect. This present study was designed to fill the gaps in the lack of research existing on the tendencies of civilian review boards and further, if race plays a vital factor in the complaint process. Specifically, this study examined complaints against Chicago police officers as logged by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) in Chicago. In sum, this thesis examined whether complaints in general had a racial foundation and more specifically, whether excessive force complaints against African American and White officers statistically differed. The study found that of the 2,577 disposed complaints used in this study, race did play a role in the complaints made against officers and complaints made about excessive force. Although the results did reflect a relationship between race of complainant by race of officer, it only accounted for 8.6% of the variance of the race of the officers involved in the complaints. It should be noted however that there are other factors besides race which need to be considered and were not thoroughly tested in this study. Research on the tendencies of civilian review boards may give complaining civilians an improved understanding of a civilian review board’s proceedings but more study needs to be done as to any racial disparities regarding complaints.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Criminal Justice
- Creator:
- Montes, Christina C.
- Description:
- Recent literature supports using a multi-component awareness training procedure to decrease speech disfluencies for college students. However, this procedure can be time-consuming and is likely not feasible in practical settings, such as college classrooms. The present study focused on the time required to decrease speech disfluencies. In Experiment 1, we conducted a component analysis of awareness training, and we evaluated the efficacy and efficiency of an awareness enhancement device in Experiment 2. We found that in vivo speech practice may be sufficient for reducing disfluencies for some students, but a treatment package including both video and in vivo training is more likely to result in marked behavior change. We also found that in vivo speech practice with the addition of an awareness enhancement device was effective for four of five participants; however, training time was comparable to the combined treatment package.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology (Applied Behavior Analysis)
- Creator:
- Mendoza, Teresa Lee
- Description:
- Communications Training Officers (CTOs) within the 24 California Highway Patrol state-wide Communications Centers (CC) currently lack a comprehensive training guide which provides a roadmap to guide them and enhance their ability to assess and accurately document performance. The current standardized method of training for entry-level dispatchers within the California Highway Patrol consists of five weeks of departmental mandated Peace Officer Standards of Training (POST) and Agency Specific (AS) Public Safety Dispatcher Basic Course (PSDBC) call-taking and radio training at the CHP Academy. To improve current practices and create a user-friendly all-inclusive training overview document for CTOs, this project was developed to enhance their understanding of the Department’s Training Standards in an intelligible abridged version. New CTOs must be introduced to their multi-faceted roles as informal leaders as not only a trainer, but a coach, mentor, counselor, and a peer. The Comprehensive Communications Training Officer Program Guide, Annex A, Roadmap to the Golden Gate Dispatch Training Program, provides each CTO visual and written queues with the goal of eliminating the confusion and frustration he or she may encounter when struggling to interpret cumbersome wordy department policy.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Criminal Justice
- Creator:
- Mander, Navjoyat
- Description:
- The purpose of this attitudinal study was to examine the attitudes of Asian Indian men and women regarding gender roles. Perspectives concerning gender roles were surveyed through topics such as: cultural expectations of sons and daughters, household responsibilities, social mores, marriage, and intimate partner (domestic) violence. Through quantitative and qualitative data, the researcher was able to gather significant information. Quantitative data results exhibit variety of responses. While majority of the participants’ responses demonstrate egalitarian views, a constant 7% is evident in almost every statement with a contradictory response. By applying thematic data analysis, the researcher was able to conclude three major themes. However, the open-ended qualitative data results display conflicting attitudes expressed by the participants.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Education (Behavioral Sciences Gender Equity Studies)
- Creator:
- Lopez, Roxana
- Description:
- The Latinx population is the fastest growing minority population in the United States. The Latinx college enrollment and retention rates do not match with the fast growth rate seen throughout the United States. Various studies have researched contributing factors as to why the Latinx population is not able to achieve their higher education degrees, including financial difficulties, mental health concerns, and lack of support. The purpose of this study was to explore how parental support can influence the resiliency of first-generation Latinx college students. A quantitative descriptive research design was used for this study. The recruited sample consisted of 25 Latinx male and females, all above the age of 18 and whom identified as first-generation Latinx college students. The results of the study demonstrated that Latinx students that put a higher value on parental support also demonstrated a higher resiliency. Recommendations to improve the resiliency of first-generation Latinx college students would be to encourage parents to remain involved in the transition of their students, adapt to the changes, and check in with them about how they are feeling, regardless of the parents’ educational background.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Lewis, Kevin
- Description:
- This study explored how the clinical use and research of hallucinogenic drugs within a mental health setting is perceived by MSW II students at California State University, Sacramento. The study utilized a quantitative survey research design that asked participants to respond to questionnaire items using a Likert scale. Participants (n=80) were selected via convenience sampling and were asked to respond to multiple survey items regarding their attitudes towards hallucinogens and mental health as well as indicate demographic information. Data analysis showed that there were associations between different dimensions of participants’ perspectives and demographics. While the results are not generalizable beyond the sample population, one significant finding is that having self-reported knowledge and awareness of hallucinogens and their use in mental health is correlated with more positive attitudes towards psychedelics. Implications for the field of social work are discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Johnson, Kenika
- Description:
- Burnout is widely believed to be problematic among human services professions. It has been associated with various forms of negative responses to on the job stress that can diminish an individual’s physical health, psychological well-being, and job performance (Maslach & Leiter, 2008). The researcher's study was aimed at detecting potential for burnout and to examine whether self-care lessened the distressing effects among human service workers (N=68). Results of the data revealed a positive correlation between self-care and compassion satisfaction and a negative relationship between burnout; suggesting that self-care is positively associated with higher compassion satisfaction and lower levels of burnout. The study findings revealed that self-care and compassion satisfaction might serve as protective factors, which likely decrease the impact of, or vulnerability to, job burnout. This in turn promotes employee satisfaction, positive career experiences, and the overall well-being of helping professionals. Self-care should be viewed as an ongoing preventive activity for all professionals. The results of this study showed that human service workers do engage in self-care activities and that its benefits can positively influence their lives as well as their careers within the profession.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Quirarte, Raquel G.
- Description:
- The number of students who are completing their degree from those entering higher education reveals notable disparities (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). While 50-60% of Whites and Asian Americans graduate from four-year universities, less than 15% of Latinx (11%) and African American/Black (10.2%) students graduate with an undergraduate degree (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). Previous research has focused on multicultural professional development (Gay, 2010; Hurtado & Guillermo-Wann, 2013; Nieto, 2017), the need to focus on student of color from culturally diverse and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Maramba, 2008; Solorzano, 1997; Yosso, 2005), and culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; William et al. 2016). As such, the purpose of the study is to identify inclusive policies and practices that foster a sense of belonging for students of color and assess how they may negatively or positively affect persistence and graduation rates. This study is framed by Critical Race Theory and Intersubjectivity Theory which together form a meta-theory, and used a mixed methods research approach (student interviews, students online survey, faculty, staff, and administrators online survey), and focused on eight (N=6) student one-to-one interview participants, (N = 120) student online (closed-ended) survey, and (N=131) faculty, staff, and administrator online (open-ended) survey participants. The findings resulted in the emergence of five themes and 20 assertions. The first theme Systemic Barriers and Campus Culture centers on current policies and practices which may be preventing a university campus from being inclusive and cultivate a sense of belonging for student of color. The second theme Mentorship and Coaching centers on utilizing mentors that are cognizant of students of color intersects to allow for a more profound connection. The third theme Culturally Relevant/Responsive Environments focuses not only on the importance of the classroom environment but the need to expand cultural competencies across a university campus among to include faculty, staff, and administrators. The fourth theme Intersubjective Interactions and Sense of Belonging centers on the influence students of color intersubjective interactions with faculty, staff, peers, and administrators formulate their sense of belonging. The fifth theme Transforming Inclusive Policies and Practices address holistically how to transform current systemic barriers to provide a complete cultural shift to best serve students of color. These findings have curricular, policy, and leadership implications. The study’s contribution of a meta-theory – The Theory of Inclusive Student Development may be utilized in future studies.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Herman, Thomas David
- Description:
- This study examines the responses of 133,990 eleventh grade students for traditional high schools in California during the 2017–18 school year. The sample comes from 670 high schools among 330 school districts, representing 57 of the 58 counties in California. The survey comes from the California Healthy Kids Survey, jointly administered by WestEd and the School Health and Safety Office within the CDE. This regression analysis, focusing on four common perceptual elements of school climate, (1) Caring Relationships, (2) High Expectations, (3) Meaningful Participation, and (4) School Connectedness, examined their effect on the dependent variable of grade point average among students of low SES, English Language Learners, and students who are homeless or live in Foster Care. The results reveal that these four perceptual variables (protective factors) do have a significantly positive effect on school climate and such an effect has implications both for educational practice at the high school level, and for state level policy regarding school climate, one of the eight state priorities in the recently enacted Local Control Funding Formula. Specifically, this study showed that the traditional items of Caring Relationships from the California Healthy Kids Survey, when examined separately produce a negative effect on the eight-point self-reported grade scale. However, when these variables are chosen together by students who agree with each of the items the results show a strong positive effect for most students, especially English Learners. Foster youth however, controlling for other variables seemed to resist the effects of three of the four perceptual variables. However, the combined items of the Meaningful Participation variable showed tremendous positive academic effect for foster youth, strongly suggesting that we must provide our foster youth students with voice, relevancy and self-determinacy at their schools and inside their classrooms if we are to activate their academic potential.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- French, Shannon and Moga, Debbie
- Description:
- The purpose of this research project is to determine if there is a correlation between social media usage and its effects on a person’s well-being. Two hypotheses have been created to test this correlation. The first hypothesis being that there is a negative correlation between frequency of social media usage and its effects on a person’s well-being, and secondly that there is a negative correlation between duration of social media usage and a person’s well-being. Study findings, as related to the first hypotheses, frequency of use and the effects on a person’s well-being, were confirmed and shown as weak and statistically significant (r = -.269, p < .05). This finding confirms that there is a negative correlation between frequency and the effects on a person’s well-being. Results related to the second hypothesis, duration of use and a person’s well-being, were also confirmed and shown to be slightly weak and statistically significant (r = -.362, p < .01). The secondary finding confirms that there is also a negative correlation between duration of social media usage and a person’s well-being. With statistical significance confirmed, researchers found that there was a correlation between duration and frequency of usage of social media and a person’s well-being. Implications for social work were also included within this project. Findings in this area were related to respondent’s opinions/beliefs about several domains. These domains included ageism, sexism, racism, isolation, and internet addiction. In all domains, with the exception of ageism, respondents believe that social media has led to an increase in the areas mentioned above. This information will allow those in the social work field to develop and implement programs, education, and interventions to address those specific societal issues. There are also specific mental health concerns that can be addressed as related to social media usage and a person’s well-being. An example of this is social media’s effect on how an individual feels about themselves. Social workers can create interventions to assist clients when issues of self-esteem, anxiety, and/or depression are present. The goal of this study was to confirm a negative correlation, which was accomplished. The secondary goal was to determine if there were implications within the social work field. The researchers feel that goal was accomplished as well. The study’s findings, literature reviewed, implications for social work, and recommendations based on said findings are available within this project.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Chechi, Farhit and Diaz, Yesenia
- Description:
- This project aimed to analyze the perceptions of school safety among San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) and Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) high school students, using the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS). The CHKS was administered to 9th and 11th school students. Data analysis findings of the CHKS for SJUSD and SCUSD formed the base for a questionnaire survey administered to a group of Master of Social Work (MSW) students with school-based internship experience, at California State University, Sacramento. The questionnaire was used to determine whether these MSW students concur with the SJUSD and SCUSD CHKS findings. The researchers found that despite the many differences between the two school districts, the perception of safety was similar among students. The questionnaire findings showed that individually, MSW students did not concur with the CHKS findings. The findings highlighted the importance of student voice and collaboration amongst students and staff.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Biskner, Jessica and Biskner, Jessica Ariana
- Description:
- Evidence suggests that mindfulness-based interventions are beneficial for increasing children and adolescents’ emotion regulation, managing attention, and increasing social-emotional resiliency (Semple, Lee, Rosa, & Miller, 2010). However, there is some inconsistencies among schools with implementation by teachers. Therefore, this research study explored middle and high school teachers’ knowledge, perceptions, and experiences regarding mindfulness-based interventions within their classrooms. Results implicated the majority of teachers had some understanding of mindfulness and their perceptions and beliefs around mindfulness influenced their level of implementation. Furthermore, the findings revealed there was no school-wide mindfulness program and the teachers had multiple factors that prevented them from teaching mindfulness within the classroom. Overall, this study presents many recommendations for further research and identifies the need for implementation of more school-wide mindfulness programs.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
49. Entropy
- Creator:
- Helenske, Tammy
- Description:
- During my time in the Master of Art Studio program at Sacramento State University Sacramento I have had an opportunity to expand my perceptions and grow as an artist. This work represents my exploration of time-based media, hybrid media, installation art, and the concept of immersion. The process expresses my personal struggles with mental illness from a subjective perspective. My search for source material to best communicate my content included audio and video exploration both in and out of the studio. The tools chosen to activate the content demanded equal amounts of research and attention. The result is a cohesive body of work that reflects my time in the program.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Art (Art Studio)
- Creator:
- Haghighat, Misha Daniali
- Description:
- The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between professor-student interactions and psychosocial well-being (loneliness, social anxiety) through the mediator of campus belonging. The college transition can be stress-inducing for students (representative of steadily increasing rates of loneliness and anxiety), due to an absence of support networks (e.g., parents). Positive professor-student interactions were examined given that they foster a sense of campus belonging, in turn affecting psychosocial well-being. The current study was comprised of undergraduate students (N = 298) enrolled at a Northern California University. Simple mediation analyses indicated that positive professor-student interactions were linked with a greater sense of campus belonging, which in turn was linked with sense of psychosocial well-being. Additional analyses examined if demographic groupings (gender, ethnicity, job hours, transfer status) differed in these effects. Results reflect the benefits of professor-student interactions in scaffolding students’ sense of psychosocial well-being, and recommendations for furthering ties preemptively.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Goode, Stephen
- Description:
- Often the perceptions students have towards concealed carry differ in a variety of cases especially males’ and females’ opinions (Doubleday, 2013; Gius, 2018; Jang, Dierenfeldt, & Lee, 2014). Few studies have explored if one's gender had any significant effect on one’s perceptions of support for concealed carry policies on a college campus Doubleday, 2013; Gius, 2018; Jang, Dierenfeldt, & Lee, 2014. This quantitative study examined a small sample of California State University Sacramento criminal justice students and was conducted during the Spring 2019 semester. The results from the data did show a significant difference in variation between males’ and females’ perceptions towards concealed carry on a college campus. It is important to note that those significant variations should be examined and further analyzed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Criminal Justice
- Creator:
- Burnett, Kathleen Jean
- Description:
- This project examines the concept of community policing and how it has influenced contemporary law enforcement agencies. While the term community policing has been used often in literature, the concept is somewhat nebulous. The various definitions of community policing that exist are identified and the commonalities between them are discussed. The history of community policing is detailed in order to provide a greater understanding of first, how the term is used in contemporary society, and second, the manner in which outreach programs are created, structured and implemented. A particular focus is given to Citizens Academy Programs and their inception in police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The project culminates in the creation of an instruction manual detailing how to plan and organize an FBI Citizens Academy program.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Criminal Justice
- Creator:
- Baginski, Chase
- Description:
- If teachers in the 21st century desire to create a critical impact on their students and democracy, then they must strive to make their classrooms more democratically centered. They must actively cultivate an experience within their classroom that fosters democracy for their students, allowing them to live and practice democracy from an early age. Democratic Education teaches students to be socially responsible and active citizens by allowing them to balance a greater amount of freedom and responsibility, preparing them for their roles as active and civic adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the guiding principles of four democratic schools, compare their similarities, and to make recommendations for public school teachers who are interested in creating a more democratically centered classroom based on those similarities. The study examined the following four schools: Summerhill School (1921), Sudbury Valley School (1968), Windsor House School (1971,) and Lehman Alternative Community School (1974). While it would be impossible for public school teachers to fully turn their classroom into a mini-democratic school, it is possible for them to implement strategies to increase democracy, especially in the vein of freedom and responsibility, in their classrooms. This range of strategies includes anything from rearranging the desk and tables in a classroom, to implementing Genius hours, cooperative learning, student-centered learning, and the use of UDL. If an educator wants to know if a strategy or action is going to move their class in a more democratic direction, all they have to do is ask “Is this going to offer my student more freedom in the class within the context of responsibility?” If yes, then that educator is moving towards democracy.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Education (Special Education)
- Creator:
- Anand, Brannon
- Description:
- Statement of Problem: Today all of our residential and commercial properties use AC power for all of our electrical needs, but as our electronics have been advancing our method to supply power has not changed for over a century. AC power has proven to be an easy forum of transmission and distribution because of its ease in transforming to higher voltages but the drawbacks are starting to out weight the benefits. AC power comes with substantial losses through transmission via inductance of the lines, reactance of the loads, and inherit losses from AC to DC conversions. Sources of Data: All sources were researched from various IEEE reports and other highly reputable sources to maintain all information is as close and relevant as possible. All proposed ideas and assumptions were backed up via sources, simulations, calculations, and observations. Conclusions Reached: This report reveals that future residential and commercial properties would benefit from DC micro grids, distributive photovoltaic generation, DC power storage, and DC distribution within the building structure to minimize all losses through conversion and line losses. This report also reveals additional ease of retrofitting existing structures, increase in electrical safety, and production of a more renewable source of energy.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Creator:
- Acosta, Marlene
- Description:
- Mental health is a vital part of a person’s overall wellbeing. Many studies have identified the types of barriers Latinos face when accessing mental health services but there is little information about the severity of the barriers. The purpose of this study is to explore Latinos’ perceptions of barriers to mental health treatment in Monterey County and to examine whether cultural stigma or access inequalities present more of a barrier. A quantitative descriptive research design for this study and the study population was composed of 40 survey participants of Latino background in Monterey County. Findings suggest Latinos are more likely to seek advice from a partner, friend, or a family member before consulting with a mental health professional. Latinos were greatly influenced by familismo and spirituality, therefore use family and religion during emotional times. Results from this study indicate there is a difference between the respondents’ personal stigma towards mental illness and their perception of stigma from their community. Latinos in this study were likely to trust and accept a person who has a history of mental health issues but believed the community did not. Improving access to mental health care among Latinos in Monterey County is suggested by addressing perceived stigma of the community. Additionally, it is recommended to promote affordable treatments, hire bilingual staff, and adjust hours of operation of mental health services in the community.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
56. Implementing choice of novel and previewing film adaptations as intrinsic reading motivation tools
- Creator:
- Shepard, Mallory
- Description:
- When adolescents read more, their attitudes toward reading become more positive, and their language and comprehension skills increase as well (Broeder & Stokmans, 2013). Reading motivation, reading enjoyment, literacy, comprehension levels, and amount of reading are all interrelated, and to increase one factor of reading, the other factors must also be increased (Becker, McElvany, & Kortenbruck, 2010). This study compared four groups of 8th grade adolescents (N = 19, 13-14 years old, 11 female and 8 male) and their reading motivation. Film and choice were assessed as possible motivational tools to increase intrinsic reading motivation. One group was assigned a novel to read and did not watch the film adaptation. A second group was assigned a novel to read and watched the film adaptation up to its climactic event prior to reading the book. A third group chose a novel to read from a given list, with brief descriptions of each novel. A fourth group chose a book to read from the given list and watched its film adaptation up to its climactic event before reading the book. Each participant’s intrinsic motivation to read was assessed with the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) developed by Guthrie and Wigfield (1997). Levels of intrinsic motivation were measured before and after reading the book. vi A series of ANOVAs were performed to test for significant differences and interactions between the groups. There were no significant main effects. Change in intrinsic motivation approached significance in the film groups. However, this change was in the opposite direction than expected, showing a decline in motivation. There was also a gradual increase in motivation for participants who did not preview a film and chose a book rather than being assigned a book, suggesting further experimentation with these manipulations.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Child Development
- Creator:
- Melton, Jordan
- Description:
- The purpose of this study was to explore the framing of the narrative presented by American news outlets in reporting on the NFL national anthem protests that began in 2016 to bring attention to police brutality and systemic racism towards blacks in the U.S. I analyzed the ways news media presented the protest, then evaluated how each article legitimized, validated, or transformed the stated purpose of the protest. Utilizing theoretical frameworks on colorblind and dog-whistle racism, critical race theory, frame alignment processes, and symbolism in America culture, I conducted a content analysis of news articles published during three key periods of the NFL anthem protest – September 2016 (n=100), February to May 2017 (n=99), and September 2017 (n=100). Common themes observed included lower mentions of the stated purpose of the protest, repeated allusions to the American flag and national anthem being totems of American ideals, and frequent use of frame transformation.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Sociology
58. Beyond the emergence of rhetorical agency: Operation Rescue and the function of prophetic agency
- Creator:
- Marin, Alfredo
- Description:
- This thesis analyzes the rhetoric of Operation Rescue, the Christian pro-life activist organization, within the theoretical framework of Kenneth Burke’s Logology. With the intent to answer the research question: How does rhetorical agency interrelate to the function of the rhetor’s message, this thesis considers the critical lens of metaphor and analogy to inform us about the emerging nature, function, and implication of prophetic agency within a religious context.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Communication Studies
- Creator:
- Martinez, Jacqueline Marie
- Description:
- Introduction: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a major contributor to the cost of health care in the United States (Johnson, & Thomas, 2010; Dagenais, Caro & Haldeman, 2008). CLBP has many causes. CLBP effects a majority of the population (Kim et al., 2014; Johnson, & Thomas, 2010; Wong & Lee, 2004). Physical and psychological factors influence CLBP and it is beneficial to understand which factor has more of an influence. Physical factors can involve range of motion (ROM) of the hips and low back. The psychological factors can involve fear of motion, perceived pain and/or perceived disability. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the most influential aspect of CLBP by finding a simple method of assessing functional impairment through the evaluation of range of motion and psychological involvement. Understanding the influential aspects of CLBP will aid clinicians in providing an all-around approach during the rehabilitation process and potentially help reduce the health care cost of low back pain. Methods: Twenty volunteers participated in this study, three were excluded from the study because of reports of surgery or injury to the low back. The range of motion of the hips and low back were assessed using a goniometer. The psychological involvement related to CLBP was assessed using three questionnaires: the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). The TSK measured fear of movement, the VAS measured pain level, and the ODI measured perceived disability due to back pain. Participants were asked to either sit, stand, or lie down according to the goniometer measurement protocol. Goniometer measurements were done in random order following the completion of the questionnaires. Results: Pearson Correlation Coefficient results showed a significant correlation between ROM of the low back and two of the three questionnaires. There was a significant (p=0.016) negative correlation between the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and low back ROM. There was a significant (p=0.003) negative correlation between the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the ROM of the low back. No significant interaction was seen with hip ROM and any of the questionnaires. There was also no correlation between the TSK and the ROM of the hips or low back. A regression analysis revealed the correlation between ROM of the low back and the VAS and ODI were not meaningful. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest the relationship between low back ROM and the values of disability (ODI) and pain (VAS) need to be evaluated and further investigated in individuals with CLBP.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Kinesiology (Movement Studies)
- Creator:
- Martinez, Isabella
- Description:
- The iconic symbols of light and darkness are well-recognized throughout literature. Readers are conditioned to accept that light traditionally connotes holiness, hope, and happiness, while darkness acts as a harbinger of doom, death, and depression. As the works of John Milton show, the Bible plays a large role in casting light as ‘good’ and darkness as ‘evil.’ However, as the literary canon expands beyond the Eurocentric viewpoint of the privileged white male, perceptions of darkness and light shift as well. With the inclusion of female authors and authors of color, darkness comes to be aligned with peace and sublimity as opposed to fear. To investigate this change, I examine selected works of John Milton, Edith Wharton, Jean Rhys, Edwidge Danticat, and Jamaica Kincaid, and engage with a myriad of cultures and critics. I posit that the relatively recent shift in the way darkness and light are perceived comes from the widening of the historically Eurocentric literary canon. The holiness of light is admired throughout Milton’s work, accepted in Wharton’s, and merely acknowledged by Rhys. Through their own experiences of multiculturalism, Rhys, Danticat, and Kincaid are able to envision another aspect of darkness, one untouched by Western religious beliefs. As the literary canon expands to include female authors and authors of color, we gain an appreciation of different cultures. Through the work of authors such as Danticat and Kincaid, darkness is being elevated to its true role as sublime rather than scary, an equal counterpart to the beauty of light.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- English (Literature)
- Creator:
- Martinez, Christian
- Description:
- A variety of calixarene analogues involving heteroatoms as the bridging units have been reported because the substitution of the carbon bridges with heteroatoms can impart novel properties and influence the conformer of the macrocycle. However, the chemistry of replacing the bridging methylene units of calixarenes derived from p-tert-butylphenol with free amino groups to prepare azacalixarene macrocycles is still in its infancy. Nitrogen bridges can alter the conformational properties of the macrocyclic array through changes in bond lengths and angles associated with the nitrogen heteroatom, which results in a cone conformation. Additionally, the nitrogen heteroatom also provides additional binding sites to the macrocycle and can participate in hydrogen bonding along the endo rim which may also influence conformational properties. Furthermore, the nitrogen heteroatom opens up new avenues to further functionalize the bridge position through amine alkylation or acylation chemistry. The synthetic methodology was developed for hexamethyl triazacalix[6]arene by preparing a functionalized linear oligomer followed by cyclization over seven reactions steps in 32.1% overall yield. Of the eight conformers possible for the hexamethyl triazacalix[6]arene, in solution the cone conformer is preferred due to the bifurcated hydrogen bonding by the amine-methoxy functional groups along the endo rim. Additionally, the cone-to-cone ring inversion can be observed by temperature-dependent 1H-NMR spectroscopy since the temperature dependent signal is the result of the conformational flexibility of calixarenes and indicates that the protons are exchanging environments rapidly on the NMR time scale at high temperature but are frozen at lower temperatures. 1H NMR spectra was collected at various temperatures beginning at room temperature (298 K) and stopping at -57 ⁰C (216 K). The rate of exchange for a given temperature was determined by the iterative parameter refinement of the line shape (1000 cycles and with a 92+ % overlap) and used in an Erying plot to determine the thermodynamic parameters. The enthalpy of activation (∆H‡) was determined to be 8.95 kcal/mol and the entropy of activation (∆S‡) was determined to be -4.3 cal/mol*K for the cone-to-cone inversion barrier. The Gibbs free energy of activation (∆G‡) for hexamethyl triazacalix[6]arene was calculated to 9.9 kcal/mol at coalescence. In comparison, the activation barrier for cone-to-cone inversion for the full carbon-bridged calix[6]arene is estimated to be below 9.3 kcal/mol.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Chemistry
- Creator:
- Luman, Rijul
- Description:
- Since the rise of internet and e-commerce, buying and selling goods over the internet has relied heavily on financial institutions acting as 3rd parties to process financial transactions. These 3rd parties often charge a good percentage of the payment as transaction fees and often take days to complete. These processes are therefore based upon the 2 parties trusting a 3rd party to process their transaction, and as a 3rd party must be “trusted” there is always room for a transaction to be reversed. Before Bitcoin, there was no way to make a non-reversible payment online for a non-reversible service as there is with cash in the physical world. With the recent price rise of Bitcoin, we have witnessed the impact a decentralized digital currency can have on the world. Mining Bitcoins require special hardware; thus, I have developed a coin using JavaScript, which can be mined on any device with minimal overhead. All services are accessible via REST APIs to the Full Node. This project contains the following features: 1. Ability to create a new Public/Private Key pairs (Wallet address). 2. A blockchain which maintains all the transactions and acts as a Ledger. 3. Ability to update the blockchain and manage forks in the blockchain. 4. Send and receive coins. Each coin can be split up to 6 decimal places. 5. Ability to check any wallet’s balance, using its public key. 6. Ability to connect to other full nodes via the internet. 7. Miner Software, which will process all the unconfirmed transactions.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Computer Science
63. Entanglement
- Creator:
- Lee, Michelle
- Description:
- This project is an attempt to explain what I’ve learned as an artist in the past two years through the Art Studio program. It documents the types of organisms that I’m most attracted to and discovering what they represent in my work. My paintings are inspired by the adaptability and life cycle of specific plants and fungus that frequently appear throughout the paintings.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Art (Art Studio)
- Creator:
- Landa, Israel
- Description:
- Receiving student financial aid in the form of grants, loans, and work-study increases college access for students planning to attend a college or university. Early on, California made a commitment to make sure the University of California (UC) was accessible to students by providing financial assistance to eligible students in the form of free tuition. Over the years, state financial support has decreased, ending the no-tuition policy and increasing the cost of attendance at a UC. According to the UC, tuition and fee increases have been accompanied by substantial increases in financial aid. However, it is unclear if the UC is using financial aid optimally to ensure access to UC by historically underserved students. This study seeks to understand the characteristics of students who receive financial aid at the UC and how financial aid is being allocated. This study finds that all else being constant, White undergraduate students are more likely to receive financial aid, but Latino, Black, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian undergraduate students receive more financial aid than White undergraduate students at the UC. However, even as Latino and Black undergraduate students receive more financial assistance and their enrollment at UC has increased, enrollment rates continue to be lower than their White counterparts and they are less likely to receive aid at all. This thesis uses 2007-08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:08) data collected by US Department of Education. This study surveyed 2007-2008 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in federal financial aid eligible postsecondary institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico. I used a logistic regression and an ordinary least squares regression to estimate the differences in the amounts received by different groups of undergraduate students attending the University of California (UC). After controlling for different variables, I found out that overall, Latino and Black undergraduate students tend to receive more financial aid than their White counterparts. However, when looking at longitudinal data on enrollment, these same students groups continue to be underrepresented at UC, in particular Black undergraduate Students. Even though Latino and Black students receive more financial aid overall at a UC, enrollment numbers still do not reflect the makeup of California’s high school graduating demographics. Given the history of underrepresentation at UC, it is important for policy makers to figure out ways to increase access to these students. I recommend that the state consider providing more free financial aid to cover the full cost of an education, which includes tuition, fees, books, transportation, housing and living expenses. I also recommend that the Legislature require the UC share disaggregated student financial aid data with academic researchers for the purposes of reporting and statistical analysis. This should provide some insights on how to expand financial aid to cover the full cost of attendance and expand access for those students with the most need, and ensure that access is provided in an equitable manner.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Public Policy and Administration
- Creator:
- Kollu, Sindhu
- Description:
- In modern economic times, everyone wants to save their money and keep expenses with in their budget limit. But, due to our busy schedules in our day to day life, we may lose track of our expenses and end up overspending which leads to debts. In this project, the aim is to develop a mobile application which helps user to keep track of all the expenses and to simplify the tracking process. The proposed system will also generate detailed information on which category of shopping we are exceeding our budgets so that the user can monitor and keep his expenses with in his budget limit. The rapid growth in technology has led to smart mobile applications development. The proposed application utilizes Optical Character Recognition(OCR) engine to scan the shopping receipts and extract the data such as merchant name, merchant type, date of purchase and the amount spent on each shopping item on any specific day. Optical character recognition is a technique to convert any printed text or document into digital text. The data extracted after performing OCR is then visualized using various insightful charts and reports which will help the users to estimate and keep track of their expenses to be within the budget limit. Smart budget assistant is an Android mobile application which simplifies the process of entering expenses and tracking them to help users keep their expenses with in their budgets by informing about their limits and visualizing detailed reports for quick analysis to save time and money.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Computer Science
66. An integrative review of the Maslach Burnout Inventory as a measurement for medical resident burnout
- Creator:
- Khoo, Lorna
- Description:
- This research project examined the validity of the leading method to assess burnout, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), in defining and measuring burnout among physicians in training. This study also provided qualitative observations of contemporary burnout research discourse, providing new conceptualizations of this phenomenon using social work systems theory. In a meta-analysis of 12 studies using the MBI to measure burnout in physicians in training (‘medical residents’), an overall prevalence rate could not be reliably determined due to the inconsistent scoring thresholds used for each dimension (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). These discrepancies in applying the MBI demonstrate the limitations of ‘burnout’ as a medicalized term, and indicate the need for a biopsychosocial framework in order to refocus the research efforts on systemic issues endemic to all healthcare professionals.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Kemmerer, Dennis
- Description:
- The number of California voters who are choosing not to register with one of the state's six recognized political parties has increased substantially over the last two decades, first surpassing Republican registration in mid-2018, and then to an all-time high of just over 28 percent of all registered voters in the state as of February 10, 2019. Unlike party-affiliated voters, the ideological leanings and policy preferences of these voters cannot be determined from voter registration rolls. Where campaigns could previously target Democratic- and Republican-registered households with liberal- and conservative-leaning messaging respectively, those campaigns will have to rely on other indicators to determine how to target those voters with messaging that aligns with their particular issue and candidate preferences. A linear regression analysis of the vote choices of party-unaffiliated voters in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential elections shows that racial/ethnic minority status, age, and household income are fairly strong indicators of ideological preference.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Government
- Creator:
- Kennedy, Sean Patrick
- Description:
- Real-time obstacle detection is one of the critical problems in autonomous vehicles. Due to the variety of environments that autonomous vehicles encounter, a more robust method is needed to address detecting objects in a vehicle’s path. One solution to this problem is utilizing a stereo camera system to detect an obstacle in the path of a vehicle. A stereo camera system provides a versatile solution to the problem of object detection, because it offers greater field of vision and range of detection than other sensors. For stereo cameras to find the distance between objects and the cameras, it will need to solve the correspondence problem. The correspondence problem refers to matching points from one image to another. Solving this problem allows for the 3-dimensional reconstruction of a scene, which can provide the distance an object is from the vehicle. For this project, an application was developed that generated a depth map that provided necessary information in a reasonable amount of time for a system to follow a collision avoidance protocol. The first step was to obtain the parameters of the stereo camera system. A depth map was then generated using the block matching algorithm to solve the correspondence problem. Finally, analysis of the depth map with different parameters for the block matching algorithm was performed to evaluate the best configuration for the system.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Computer Engineering
69. Circumstantially fired combustion port geometry: analysis of hybrid rocket motor solid fuel grain
- Creator:
- Kearney, Jeremy
- Description:
- Efficient hybrid rocket engine designs are highly desirable due to the inherent safety of these systems when compared to the premixed solid rocket motor or bi-propellant rocket engines. Hybrid rocket motors use a pressurized tank to impel liquid oxygen or other oxidizers into the solid rocket fuel combustion chamber, where an ignition source is used to start the combustion reaction. An actuated valve can be placed between the oxidizer tank and the solid fuel grain, allowing throttle ability of the hybrid engine designs. Solid fuel grains are inert and will not combust without an oxidizer. The combination of throttle ability and a non-premixed inert solid fuel grain result in the increase safety of the hybrid motor system. Hybrid rocket motors lack the high regression rates that solid or liquid rockets possess and therefore are not as commercially viable. This paper focuses on a complex solid fuel grain geometry that leverages rapid prototyping to increase the effective regression rate of the solid motor. Traditional cylindrical fuel port geometries have long length to diameter aspect ratios that increases the fuel port burn surface area but results in a poor volumetric efficiency. Advanced designs such as triangular wagon wheel configurations or helical fuel ports have been successful at increasing the regression rate of the engine but can result in a decreased volumetric efficiency. In place of the previously mentioned fuel port configurations, it is proposed that by orienting the combustion ports laterally on the circumference of the solid fuel grain that the internal surface burn area and internal flow path of the oxidizer would be increased, resulting in an increased fuel regression rate. Preliminary theoretical analysis shows that there is a slight increase in the time to peak thrust using a circumferentially fired combustion port, but a significant decrease in the volumetric efficiency of solid fuel grain. One initial advantage of the design is an increased number of combustion ports, which allows for a smaller solid fuel grain length to diameter aspect ratio because of the increased internal flow path. The smaller aspect ratio gives more flexibility when tailoring the design to envelope limitations.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Creator:
- Dodi, Eliza Afua Obuamah
- Description:
- The purpose of this research was to examine the factors associated with corporal punishment in Ghanaian homes and schools. This exploratory research design uses two forms of data collection including questionnaires as well as semi-structured interviews to further investigate and show potential areas of intervention for policies and agencies working on reducing corporal punishment. It is also focus on studying the triggers of parents, teachers, and alternative care providers who use corporal punishment as a form of discipline. The survey was created by the researcher and using convenience sampling, 100 Ghanaian parents, teachers and or caregivers who live in the urban areas of Ghana were recruited to participate in this study. Of these, 46 participants completed the surveys. The survey data was coded with SPSS. These findings will help formulate policies, guide programs and projects which will aide in the development of new and alternative ways of disciplining children.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Johnson, Mark H.
- Description:
- For this thesis, I explore how Local Control Action Plans (LCAPs), under the Local Control Funding Formula, follow established administrative theory on strategic planning while also raising questions about how districts develop LCAPs. To explore these case studies, I develop an exploratory framework derived from literature on the topic, including synoptic and periodic strategic planning, executive-led versus worker-led strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement. In order to conduct this analysis, I selected the following four school districts from different locales: Folsom Cordova Unified, Dixon Unified, San Juan Unified, and Amador County Unified to identify any themes in the district LCAPs. After applying my exploratory framework to analyze my district findings, I found three different themes within the districts sampled: (a) districts’ planning committees tend to specialize in their roles, (b) human resource and material resource conditions within districts could have an impact on the development of LCAPs, and (c) districts tend to act creatively when developing their LCAPs. Finally, I conclude with a hypothesis about local control and advise on further research.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Public Policy and Administration
- Creator:
- Kang, Serim
- Description:
- There is a significant gap in the current research showing the correlation between both social isolation and loneliness with the social functioning in elderly. In order to fill such a gap, the current study explored the question what is the relationship between objective social isolation and perceived isolation, loneliness, on the social functioning and health outcomes in elderly? A secondary analysis of the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging showed there is a statistically significant negative relationship between one’s level of social isolation and loneliness and their overall social functioning and health outcomes. Social isolation and loneliness both have a negative impact in similar and different ways on the overall social functioning and health outcomes in the elderly. Such findings provide direction for future policies aimed to help the elderly, which should focus on reducing both social isolation and loneliness.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Jones, Yesenia Fuentes and Young, Jennifer Hall
- Description:
- This project aims to bring increased awareness to the needs of the vulnerable population of older adults. This study explored whether education level and specialized training correlated with how competent and ready California State University, Sacramento social work students are to work with the older adult population. The researchers predicted the Master of Social Work students in the Health and Aging specialization would be more competent and ready as opposed to their peers in the Children and Families and Behavioral Health specializations. The researcher’s prediction was based on the assumption that the Health and Aging specialization provides more specialized training geared towards working with older adults. The researchers hypothesized that higher education levels would yield better preparation for students to work with a broad demographic of clients. Therefore, the researchers predicted that the Bachelor of Social Work students would be least competent and ready to work with the older adult population compared to the Master of Social Work students from all three areas of specialization. The participants for this study consisted of 33 Bachelor of Social Work students, 18 Master of Social Work students in Health and Aging specialization, 17 Master of Social Work students in Children and Families specialization, and 15 Master of Social Work students in Behavioral Health. A total of 83 students participated in the questionnaire survey. The findings revealed the Master of Social Work Behavioral Health students were most competent and ready, while the Bachelor of Social Work students were least competent and ready. The overall scores of all students in each category of knowledge, attitude, and skill were unsatisfactory, as the average total score from all students ranges from 62 to 68%. These scores are concerning as it is expected the average individual completing a survey questionnaire would score at least at a 50% by just randomized guessing. The students did not score much higher even though the expectation is that they would have been provided a more robust preparation and training through the social work program. It is recommended that the California State University, Sacramento Division of Social Work, further expand on their gerontological training. Some ways in which this can be done is by offering training on Sacramento County’s Adult Protective Services, adding more micro, mezzo and macro gerontological field placements, and expanding gerontological course offerings. Further research will be needed to assess the most effective way to integrate these recommendations into the existing California State University, Sacramento Division of Social Work.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Jiang, Brenden
- Description:
- Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin produced by the genus Pseudo-nitzschia. It is responsible for causing amnesic shellfish poisoning, a condition capable of devastating marine wildlife and humans with severe neurological complications once ingested. Much of the biosynthetic pathway, its regulation, and the biological function of domoic acid remains to be elucidated. Recent research has found N-geranyl-L-glutamic acid as the true precursor to domoic acid. This is formed by the condensation of two metabolites, geranyl diphosphate and glutamate. The former, geranyl diphosphate, is synthesized through a condensation of isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate. This initial step is catalyzed by a geranyl diphosphate synthase, a member of the prenyltransferase family. Here, expression of three prenyltransferase genes (Psemu2, Psemu3, and Psemu4) was analyzed through quantitative polymerase chain reaction in three strains of P. multiseries isolated from different growth phases to correlate relative abundance with domoic acid accumulation. Of the three transcripts, Psemu3 and Psemu4 were previously identified as potential geranyl diphosphate synthases in homology modeling studies. Psemu2 and Psemu3 consistently had higher relative expression over Psemu4 in all three strains. Prenyltransferase expression also decreased as domoic acid concentration reached an apparent maximum in late-log and stationary phase. This demonstrates that prenyltransferase transcripts Psemu2 and Psemu3 are highly expressed in log phase, and possibly may play a role in domoic acid biosynthesis.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Chemistry (Biochemistry)
- Creator:
- Jauregui, Aaron
- Description:
- Inclusive education is an educational setting where students of all learning levels receive instruction in a general education classroom (Alquraini & Gut, 2012). The review of research indicates that general education (G.E) teachers are now more likely to be the principal providers of educational instruction for students with disabilities (SWD). Studies suggest that many G.E teachers are overwhelmed by making this effort, lacking confidence in their ability to adapt their curriculum for SWD. Concerns are more profound at the secondary level, where the complexity of content and pace of instruction pose challenges for both SWD and the G.E. teacher (Gerhke et al., 2014). The aim of this explorative, phenomenological and qualitative study is to examine how participants viewed and understood the challenges they faced, and the strategies employed to mitigate those challenges. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 7 secondary G.E teachers who currently teach in inclusive settings. The most significant finding indicated that participants had a high level of both self-efficacy and teaching efficacy when it to teaching or managing SWD. Participants reported that they became more confident teaching in inclusive settings over an extended period of time, and that the strategy employed was a trial and error method. The following successful inclusion strategies were also discovered: 1) making an effort to understand all obstacles a student may be facing; and 2) collaboration with the child’s core IEP team. Lastly, it was suggested by the participants that inclusion-based training be improved at both the preservice and in-service levels to help ensure successful inclusion practices are being implemented in public schools.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Jain, Anshul
- Description:
- Indoor localization has become one of the most talked about services in today’s technology. We have observed that there have been huge demand of Indoor Location services due to increase in smartphone market in last few years. GPS is widely used to find the real time location information of different mobile users mainly in outdoors. This is the main reason there is a large demand for real time location prediction of various mobile users. However, GPS is not effective in indoor buildings due to its weak signal strength and has been found in the research that GPS does not work properly in indoor environment. Wi-Fi access points are widely used in indoor localization techniques which are based on Wi-Fi fingerprint data. Many research papers have been proposed on Wi-Fi fingerprinting based methods using its signal strength generated from Wi-Fi access points. They have proposed that Wi-Fi fingerprinting can increase indoor localization accuracy using different methods like collected Wi-Fi signal strength in various locations. Indoor localization using machine learning techniques is still an open area in which so much research is still going on to find out the best indoor localization. Our goal in this project is to do the comparative analysis of indoor localization using the different machine learning models. We will collect Wi-Fi fingerprinting data which has different Wi-Fi signal strength, and access points on different locations using android application in an android smartphone Motorola G4. After then, we will implement and evaluate the indoor positioning accuracy, time complexity and test error on different machine learning/ neural network models. We will present the comparative analysis of best model out of them to use for indoor localization technique in various closed environment. This project will be implemented on the third floor of California state university- Sacramento, Department of computer science after collecting the Wi-Fi fingerprinting data and will perform different test results. We have also found there has not been much research and comparative analysis happened in indoor localization field using the different machine learning algorithms in different scenarios like time duration, accuracy, error and overall performance. Implementation will be done in both the environments CPU and GPU using python programming language and different related libraries.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Computer Science
- Creator:
- Ishida, Heather
- Description:
- Bisexual individuals historically have been grouped with other sexual minorities, leaving a gap in research about unique bisexual experiences. Bisexual individuals are more likely to experience negative mental health outcomes than other sexual minorities. This research study explored the experiences that bisexual individuals have when searching for authentic community and how bisexual-affirming social support may affect an individual’s willingness to share their sexuality with others or accept their own sexual identity. Eight adults identifying as bisexual were interviewed about their experiences finding connection with others. Themes found among interviews included: stereotypes of bisexuality, caution when sharing one’s sexual orientation, feeling unwelcome in the LGBTQ community, and negative effects due to lack of social support. Social workers should be sensitive to unique experiences of bisexual individuals and advocate for increased community involvement and social support for those that identify as bisexual.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Hoskin, Aarolind
- Description:
- For some foster youth, pursuing post-secondary education becomes the pathway to a better life. While many foster youth face challenges on their academic journey and may lack the supports needed to excel academically, many push through their challenges to succeed. The purpose of this research study was to investigate foster youth’s supportive factors during their pursuit of post-secondary education. This research study is a cross-sectional qualitative study consisting of in-person interviews and received participation from 7 students who were in the Guardian Scholars Program at California State University, Sacramento. This study found that former foster youth attributed their success in higher education to supportive people, financial support, programs, being perseverance and success driven, and their intrinsic motivation. This study also found that foster youth experienced challenges while on their academic journey, provided recommendations to ensure success amongst foster youth, and provided advice to foster youth who are currently interested in higher education. This research study has implications for understanding the supportive factors that have contributed to foster youth’s educational success in order to implement more of these factors at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Hooks, Austin
- Description:
- There is a myriad of data regarding racism, criminal justice, and the school-to-prison pipeline, however more insight is needed to better understand the relationships between these phenomena. This research study explores the following: 1) how do school social workers understand anti-blackness and the school-to-prison pipeline; 2) what factors do school social workers believe contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline: 3) what are the experiences of school social workers in dealing with anti-blackness in education. These questions were explored through an in-depth literature review and eight qualitative interviews with social workers engaged with the Sacramento region public education system. Research participants were recruited via snowball sampling. In addition, this research utilized two theoretical approaches to guide research analysis and the review of relevant literature. The prominent themes, which emerged from interviews, reflected an overwhelming need for changes in school discipline policies and procedures to reduce the pervasiveness of anti-black practices in education. The implications of this research can affect future policy directions and social work practice.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Harris, Chelsea J.
- Description:
- Although there is broad research focusing on recreational therapy and its benefits to various populations, there is limited information about municipal recreation leaders’ knowledge and perceptions of the profession and its practitioners. According to the literature reviewed, authors of various studies suggest that people do not know or fully understand the benefits and difference between recreational therapy and municipal recreation (Widmer, Duerden & Taniguchi, 2013; Witman & Shank, 1987; Walkenhorst et. al., 2015; Meeras, 2010; Martin and Markow, 2006). Moreover, staff directors and staff members are unaware of the needs and accommodations necessary for individuals with disabilities to access to recreation facilities. Municipal recreation leaders who are untrained, unaware, and unknowledgeable of the needs and accommodations necessary to guarantee optimum use and participation are a disservice to populations with disabilities. Furthermore, municipal recreation leaders need further training to increase knowledge of recreational therapy because of the increase of services and revenue that could be provided to serve a growing population of individuals with disabilities (Brault, 2005; Brault, 2010; McNeil, 1993; McNeil, 1997; McNeil, 2001; Steinmetz, 2006; Taylor, 2018). With the increasing number of individuals with disabilities in California, it is a duty of municipal recreation leaders to ensure safety and quality delivery of recreation services and programs. The purpose for this study is to identify the perceptions of municipal leaders on recreational therapy as it relates to their current level of knowledge of the profession and practitioners in the field. A survey was administered to 2,017 recreation professionals who are active members of California Parks & Recreation Society (CPRS). Seventy-one (71) completed the online questionnaire in March and April 2019. The results of this study identified and revealed that a majority of the sample that completed the survey possess poor to average knowledge of the recreational therapy profession and its practitioners. Survey responses also suggested that a majority of the sample population was interested in receiving future training related to various topics in recreational therapy. The findings could serve as the foundation for future research on municipal recreation leaders’ knowledge and perceptions. In addition, the findings add to the existing literature and body of knowledge.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Recreation Administration
- Creator:
- Harris, Ayesha and Robinson, Rochelle
- Description:
- Families living in poverty are overly represented in the child welfare system. Risk factors that include but are not limited to, inadequate housing, emotional and social challenges, and domestic violence cause families living in poverty to be more likely to have CPS involvement. It is important to determine if families in poverty are overly represented in the child welfare system due to child welfare workers’ perception of poverty to ensure families living in poverty are not overly represented. The researchers present literature regarding child abuse and neglect, case substantiation, and perception of poverty, focusing on risk factors associated with poverty, and the child welfare system. This research aims to determine if perception of poverty influences a person’s decision to substantiate reports of alleged child abuse and neglect. The researchers in this study developed two sets of vignettes, one set depicting a family living in poverty and another set depicting a wealthy family. Each set of vignettes consisted of one vignette regarding a domestic violence incident, and another vignette regarding lack of supervision. In each vignette participants were asked to determine if the abuse occurred, or if neglect occurred using the California Department of Child Adult and Family Services definitions of Substantiated, Inconclusive, or Unfounded. The respondents were asked to provide a written explanation to defend their decision. Each respondent was also given the Feagin Poverty Scale (Feagin, 1972; Viljoen & Maseko, 2013) to measure their perception of poverty, and a demographic questionnaire. After analyzing the data using our hypothesis Master of Social Work student’s perception of poverty and case substantiation, we found that our hypothesis was partly substantiated with significance. Participants response to the Feagin Poverty Scale (Feagin, 1972; Viljoen & Maseko, 2013) and their decision to find child abuse and neglect allegations substantiated, unfounded or inconclusive suggest that there is a statistically significant correlation found between a person’s perception of poverty and their decision to determine child abuse and neglect allegations to be inconclusive, unfounded, or substantiated. Findings from this study suggest it would be beneficial for further research to be conducted to study perception of poverty and how this impacts caseworkers’ decision making in the child welfare system.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Hanna, Sherif
- Description:
- Using a Venturi to Capture and increase wind velocity are carried out to enhance the performance of wind turbines, the Idea of Ducted Wind Turbines has been an interest because of the ability to increase the velocity through them, the results of multi physics simulations involving Computational Fluid Dynamics, used to evaluate a highly acclaimed innovative wind power generation system known as INVELOX, are presented. This patented technology significantly outperforms traditional wind turbines, and it delivers superior power output, reflecting an idea of wind power plant in the urban Areas where wind velocity is low, so increased wind velocities throughout the INVELOX System and the Venturi resulted in significant improvement in the Kinetic Energy hence power output of Turbine. In addition, INVELOX technology brought an idea of retrofitting the traditional horizontal axis windmills to adapt the Innovative INVELOX design at reduced cost. Furthermore, the new design claiming the ability of solving all the major issues, such as low turbine reliability, intermittency issues, adverse environmental and radar impact that have so far undermined the wind industry. The goal in this thesis divided into two sections, section one I will try to examine the possibility to capture, accelerate and concentrate the wind by creating a simple prototype of a ducted wind turbine with a ratio of 1:20 with the new INVELOX design system to validate the feasibility of retrofit those traditional wind turbines. Second is test results will be measured from a fielded unit, the results will be compared with those obtained by using the bare INVELOX technology, both velocities at Intake and Venturi positions will be compared in this analysis. In more studies that are recent and in other thesis work the Actual concentration was on the INVELOX technology, the studies used computational fluid dynamics but never measured from a fielded unit, the performance of the system was validated by recent measured field data by the company itself. My Field test of a simple prototype Ducted Wind Turbine showed that the increase in wind speed maintained even with speeds as low as 2.5 m/s, and thereby energy production can be significantly improved. This measured data shown to be consistent with that obtained through full-scale computational fluid dynamics models and other research work. Further lab testing is recommended to confirm the velocity developing with an actual turbine being inserted.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Creator:
- Galvez, Angela Marie
- Description:
- Dual-slope analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are known for their high accuracy, but slow conversion times. The objective of this project was to design a 12-bit dual-slope analog-to-digital converter in a 0.5 µm CMOS process which rejects 60 Hz noise and employs fully-differential circuits. Each circuit within the ADC was designed and simulated using the Mentor Graphics computer-aided design (CAD) integrated circuit (IC) design tools in order to meet a set of target specifications.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Creator:
- Galante, Guy Frederick
- Description:
- The author posits that an environmentally focused place-based pedagogy will lead to increased nature relatedness, inclusion of nature in self, and overall love and care for a regional park that borders a Northern Californian university. This study represents a basic tool kit to get the seeds of connection to germinate in a particular place. Despite being literally just on the other side of the levee that separates the campus and the 23-mile park and river corridor, a considerable number of the university’s students do not seem to know that a regional park exists. College level outdoor recreation courses and science-based experiments that lead students to the regional park are often times students’ first ever, and maybe only, contact with it. Connecting the university’s students with the park more intentionally has the potential to foster environmental stewardship in a generation of young people who would then be equipped to handle the socio-political, socio-cultural, and environmental pressures that impact the park. Even if students do not engage in park policy matters in the future, they may spend their lives living near it and still can become perpetually responsible users and protectors of the cultural, environmental and recreational resources of the regional park. Not to mention that the river supplies a generous portion of the region’s water supply. This study is designed to gain an understanding of students’ connectedness to nature levels, and to get a sense of what they know about the regional park that borders their campus. The knowledge gained from the study will help guide the formulation of place-based curriculum to be offered to higher education students in the Sacramento, CA region.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Recreation Administration
- Creator:
- Fkiaras, Vasiliki Maria
- Description:
- The purpose of this study was to examine how exercise order affects lower body jump power in collegiate athletes. There is still a disparity in knowledge on the effects of exercise order of resistance training on lower body jump power. Therefore, there is a need to learn more about the effect of exercise order on lower body jump power. The sample size was thirty-eight, 26 males (age: 21.346 ± 2.591, height: 70.846 ± 2.935 and weight: 149 ± 32.714) and 12 females (age: 20.364 ± 3.529, height: 66.364 ± 2.656 and weight: 149 ± 32.714) collegiate athletes were recruited for this study. Subjects were divided into three separate groups. Group A (GA; performing exercise order 1-5), Group B (GB; performing reverse order of GA, 5-1) and Group C (GC; the control group was asked to not perform any form of resistance training in and out of the facility during the duration of the study). The data collected was of the lower body power: Vertical Jump (VJ) and Standing Broad Jump (SBJ) to compare before and after results. Subjects were asked to train two days per week for six weeks during their off-season period. The exercises used for this study were solely lower body extremity exercises (back squat, bulgarian squat, lateral lunge, valslides and seated leg raises). A single factor ANOVA was used for comparing the differences amongst the three groups for the VJ and SBJ. A Scheffe post-hoc was used to determine whether there were any significant differences. Alpha level was set at P < 0.05. Data was also reported as means ± SD. The results showed that there was a significant main effect found. After post-hoc analysis, there were no significant differences found. There are other variables to consider when knowing that more studies are needed to state a firm answer to exercise order affecting athletic performance. To summarize, in this study there was no 1-RM back squat test done. If there was a 1-RM test done, then percentages could have been prescribed to elicit a higher stimulus in training sessions. Incorporating a plyometric exercise or sprint test could possibly lead to a significant increase in lower body jump power tests. Lastly, conducting the study longer than six weeks or increasing the number sessions per week could lead to greater stimulus.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Kinesiology (Movement Studies)
- Creator:
- Everett, Heather Leann
- Description:
- This mixed methods study was designed to investigate the barriers to participation for individuals with disabilities with regards to non-motorized boating on California waterways. Barriers regarding accessibility were researched and data were analyzed from a sample of 1,746 self-administered online survey respondents. Reported barriers to participation for individuals with disabilities from the perspective of individuals with and without disabilities included: accessible parking, accessible docks, cost, accessible trails, lack of published information about accessibility, accessible restrooms and/ or concessions, adaptive rental equipment, staff knowledge regarding disabilities, program availability, transportation, unclear signage, effective communication from on-site staff, and accessible boat ramps. Data were collected from both the perspectives of individuals with and without disabilities in order to gain a variety of perspectives regarding barriers to accessibility. Individuals with disabilities participating in non-motorized boating on California waterways do experience many barriers to participation, and the data from this study may be utilized by practitioners in order to provide more inclusive opportunities for individuals of all abilities.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Recreation Administration
- Creator:
- Drane, Natasha Marie
- Description:
- On January 31, 2018, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors (Board), during a workshop, focused its attention on retail shopping centers experiencing chronic vacancies. In 2017, another major big-box retail closure in a shopping center prone to big-box departure sparked the Board’s discussion of this issue. The Board’s interest in declining shopping centers within Sacramento County (county) is the impetus of this Master’s in Public Policy and Administration thesis. This thesis employs a nested research design using both quantitative (regression analysis) and qualitative (interviews) methods. The regression analysis attempts to answer the research question: What causes vacancies in power centers located within Sacramento County? The findings of this portion of the study show location to competition and socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods near shopping centers highly influence vacancies. Specifically, when competition increases by one retail power center within one to three miles, the vacancy rate of a retail power center increases by 26 percent. The competition variables within 3-5 miles and within 8-10 miles have a positive effect on lease rates, driving vacancy rates down by 14 percent and 8 percent respectively. Household income above $200,000 decreased vacancy rates by 6.9 percent and having a higher education degree decreased vacancy rates by 3.25 percent. The regression analysis provides information, given available data, about what contributes to vacancies in Sacramento big-box retail centers, but this thesis also aimed to understand qualitatively what the county can do, if anything, to help these shopping centers with high vacancy rates and in decline or at risk of decline. The qualitative research question is: What can Sacramento County do, if anything, to help shopping centers in decline or at risk of decline become profitable again? Whether a local government intervenes into a declining shopping depends on the consideration of several factors, including retail market conditions as well as ownership and shopping center characteristics. The decision to provide incentives requires a determination of whether the incentive will help improve the outcome of the property over the long term, which requires a look at retail market conditions, owner needs, and property needs. Identifying the needs of owners and the property are important, but a local government must also evaluate its own priorities and identify its financial and human resource capacity to provide an incentive. The most important incentives for developers are certainty of time and cost, but economic incentives help also, when it determines the success of a project. The recommendations presented in this thesis take into consideration factors that the county can exercise control over and that can help improve economic development activities in the county in order to address the broader issue of declining retail shopping centers.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Public Policy and Administration
- Creator:
- Devarakonda, Divya Sindhuri
- Description:
- USA has been grappling with crime for decades now and had made significant improvement. However, crime remains to be one of the core societal problems. To build a safer society, we need to take advantage of 21st century’s technology. With current technologies and data availability it is possible to analyze crime patterns and forecast future occurrences of crime. This information is useful for police to increase safety measures and alert the local residents. ‘Predictive policing’ is one such aspect under implementation in few states by the government of USA. This project analyzes and compares the patterns of ‘Chicago’ and ‘Los Angeles’ crime based on history and forecasts future crime rate. These results potentially could help immigrants to choose their area of residence and can help tourists, students and travelers to plan their trips in safer months. In this project, ARIMA, Auto ARIMA, Holts winter and Facebook prophet forecasting models are experimented on Chicago and Los Angeles crime Data. Experimental results show that Holt’s winter and Facebook prophet models give accurate forecasting with Mean Absolute Percentage Error(MAPE) of 9 on one year ahead forecasts.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Computer Science
- Creator:
- Evangelisti, Fred Charles
- Description:
- The tremendous growth in the telecommunication and wireless fields caused by the popularity of the Internet, combined with constant technological innovations, has caused a high demand for skilled workers (Casacchia, 2018). In the Sacramento region this demand is growing at a record pace. Unfortunately, like other states, California cannot find enough skilled high-tech employees. This has forced high technology companies to rely on skilled workers from other countries to fill vacant positions (Werner, 2014). Career Technical Education programs at community colleges prepare students for successful careers. This enables them to graduate with an Associates in Science Degree in Electronic Technology and earn a quality salary with minimum educational costs in as little as two years. However, the Electronics Technology program at American River College (ARC) is experiencing high student dropout rates during their first-semester. This not only negatively affects enrollment for the college and program but also impedes the potential for upward social mobility for students impacted by opportunity gaps who enroll but drop out. This particularly impacts first generation and low-income students. This dissertation examines the factors contributing to the success and failure of college students and seeks to answer the overarching research question: Why do so many first semester students enrolled in the Electronics Technology program at American River College drop out of class during the first semester? This dissertation is framed by Tinto’s (1993) Longitudinal Model of Institutional Departure, which posits that students who consider themselves part of the college environment are more likely to stay in college and complete their educational program. Tinto (1993) identified active participation in student services as a primary element responsible for students feeling connected to the college and increased student retention (Tinto, 1993). A quantitative research design was selected. A survey was developed and administered to first semester Electronics Technology students to assess their knowledge, perceptions and utilization of student services at American River College. The study sought to examine whether their enrollment decisions were influenced by participation in student service programs. The findings of the study confirmed that although students were aware of existing student services, and perceived them to be academically helpful, they were not utilizing them. Based on the factors contributing to their lack of usage by students, this dissertation concludes with recommendations to improve access to and delivery of student services to students. Specific recommendations are made for the Electronics Technology program at American River College in order to retain and graduate skilled workers from the program.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Murray, Amy R.
- Description:
- 504 plans are legally mandated accommodations for students with qualifying disabilities in public schools. This mixed methods study examines teachers' experiences and perceptions of implementing Section 504 plans in one California school district, called Redbud. This research addresses concerns related to the aims of the inclusion mandate as promised under Section 504. In particular, it focuses on concern for students with a Section 504 plan who are educated in a general education (GE) classroom by teachers without Special Education (SPED) credentials. While inclusion is the optimal goal in our public school classrooms, this study explores how GE teachers work with limited training, resources, funding, and support despite growing numbers of students with disabilities. Thus, this dissertation studies GE teachers' perceptions and experiences with Section 504 plan implementation, exploring their attitudes, capacity, and preparation. Teachers surveyed in Redbud convey their levels of comfort in teaching students who have a 504 plan as well as their perception of parents who utilize 504 services. Data reveals that about a third of the teachers feel that 504 plans are unnecessarily provided while almost half of the teachers indicate that 504 plans are not provided for all of the students who need them. Disability Studies in Education and Lipsky's SLB are used as theoretical models.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Chiu, Joubert
- Description:
- This research examines the experiences of individuals with tinnitus as told by the messages exchanged on an online discussion board. This study provides insight on an illness that is often overlooked, shedding light on the day to day problems individuals with tinnitus may face. This research also examines the different types of social support messages exchanged among forum users. A total of fifty primary posts and responses were collected for a grounded theory approach. Posts were coded and analyzed to reveal dominant themes and subthemes. The types of social support messages were categorized based on the Social Support Behavior Code framework (Cutrona and Suhr 1992). Tinnitus as a life disruption emerged to be the main core theme, followed by several subthemes under this category: “constant presence in the mind,” “losing agency,” and “feelings of isolation.” The findings suggest that individuals with tinnitus undergo behavioral and social changes based on the interactions they have with their surrounding environment. Some tinnitus sufferers grow fearful of their illness and others feel they are not treated well by others when disclosing information to medical specialists or close friends. Analysis of the types of social support messages exchanged revealed that “informational support” was the most common support message, followed by “emotional support,” and “esteem support.” Discussions on the issues of isolation led to informational and emotional support messages from repliers who participated on discussion threads.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Sociology
- Creator:
- Kronzer, Matthew Scott
- Description:
- This study sought to capture a broad understanding of how federal financial aid is distributed among nontraditional and traditional students enrolled in public community colleges and how federal financial aid contributes to their educational success. The study analyzed data for approximately 3,940 nontraditional students and 2,060 traditional students who began their postsecondary education in public community colleges and applied for federal financial aid. The study used descriptive statistics to provide context on the access and use of federal financial aid among nontraditional and traditional students within their first, second, and third years; it also used six multinomial logistic regressions to measure the effects financial aid had on their persistence and completion within their first, second, and third years while controlling for extraneous factors. The study used multiple imputation to handle missing data for six variables of interest and propensity score covariate adjustments to account for endogeneity bias associated with estimating the effects of financial aid on student success. The results of the descriptive statistics suggested that among those who applied for federal aid, nontraditional students were generally more likely to receive federal financial aid and received more in aid on average than their traditional peers after the first year of enrollment. More specifically, nontraditional students tended to receive more on average in federal loans, while traditional students tended to receive more on average in federal grants across their first, second, and third years. Additionally, the study found that Pell Grants, subsidized loans, and unsubsidized loans were significant predictors for persistence and completion within the first, second, and third years among nontraditional and traditional students. The effects varied substantially by year, but federal financial aid generally had a greater positive effect on persistence and completion for nontraditional students (10% and 9%, respectively) than for traditional students (6% and -1%, respectively) collectively across three years. The findings from the study reveal opportunities for changes in federal financial aid policy and community college institutional practices. Improving access to federal financial aid may serve to increase the attainment rates of nontraditional students enrolled in public community colleges. As nontraditional students form the majority enrollment in these institutions, it is paramount that steps are taken to increase their success
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Chengaev, Aleksandr Ivanovich
- Description:
- We collect enormous amount of water in our dams, but still struggle with scarce fresh water. This issue not only affects the state economy, by increasing the water rates and limiting the water usage, but also leaves some places without drinking water. Some cities in California, such as Hanford and Tulare County, faced a very hard time in 2015 , because of lack of fresh water. An enormous amount of fresh water is lost from water reservoirs, channels and rivers through evaporation every year. This project shows how would fresh water could be saved by preventing evaporation using a multi-beneficial project - a Floating Photovoltaic System (FPVS), with the main purposes being preventing evaporation, producing electricity and bringing profit to the owner. The meteorological data for the project was collected from ameriflux.lbl.gov (gauge station US-Dia), and from California Data Exchange Center (CDEC) (gauge station DMC HEADWORKS). The time period chosen for evaluating the evaporation is all of 2012. The project not only saves water (6,395 ac-ft per year) by reducing evaporation from the aqueduct, but also produces energy for the State Water Project (960.6 million kWh per year) and makes a profit ($140.8 million) given a lifetime for the solar panels of 25 years.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Civil Engineering (Water Resources Engineering)
- Creator:
- Dollesin, Suzie Arlene
- Description:
- This dissertation applied mixed research methods to explore the factors correlated with variation in the percentage of English learner (EL) students completing A-G course requirements in California high schools. Across the State’s high schools, an average value of sixty percent of all students, excluding EL students, completed A-G course requirements, in 2016. In comparison, the average value of this completion rate was seven percent for EL. The lower A-G completion rate for EL students in California is an important policy concern because it represents the achievement gaps among these groups that not only exerts negative individual consequences, but also impacts the entire state’s economic productivity due to its forecasted shortage of future college workers. Thus, I chose a pooled cross section and time series data set for a fixed-effect regression analysis that teased out the separate influences of Institutional, Ethnic/Linguistic, and Socio-Economic characteristics in a high school on this achievement rate. Interestingly, the percentage of Pacific Islander students, percentage of African American students, and percentage of Asian teachers exerted the strongest influences on A-G completion rates among EL students; respectively a one-percentage-point increase in each of these yielded -0.86, -0.33, and +0.25 changes in the dependent variable of interest. Whether causal or correlational, these findings warrant greater investigation both when considering policy interventions and the social justice concern of the “type” of school where EL students are at a clear disadvantage in qualifying for direct entrance into a four-year university, upon graduation. Through a qualitative design as a transcendental phenomenology study, I found a probable correlation between negative discourse, or discourse that negated equitable practices, and social injustice. Such practices that had become the norm included limiting access to college prep courses through counseling in favor of support courses – away from college pathways, and this had a negative impact on EL graduation rates as well. However, the limitations posed by the mere four percent response rate is not acceptable to draw statewide conclusions and policy implications from my qualitative study. Further investigation of this issue is necessary to respond with policy changes based upon the statistical findings if administrators wish to increase A-G completion among ELs in their district.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Ciobanu, Daniel
- Description:
- Statement of Problem: Improvements to internal combustion efficiency have soared in the last decade due to stricter emission regulations and increased consumer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. Variable valve timing (VVT), engine start-stop cycles, direct injection, and close-coupled catalytic converters are only a few of the technologies now found standard in most new cars now sold. However, this technology has largely been absent from smaller displacement engines typically found in two- and three-wheeled vehicles. This thesis examines the use of a computer-based engine cycle program to simulate the effects of adding VVT technology to a small displacement, high-speed relatively modern motorcycle engine, and whether the output gains, if any, mirror those of the larger engines used in automobiles and light trucks. Sources of Data: The bulk of the raw simulation data was generated by the Lotus Engine Simulation software in the form of text and CSV files. The dissemination of these data forms the basis for the conclusions reached. A portion of the background information was culled from two pivotal textbooks on four-stroke internal combustion engines: John Heywood’s Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals (2nd Edition), and Gordon P. Blair’s Design and Simulation of Four Stroke Engines. All input data required by the Lotus program was empirically derived from disassembling a Honda 600 F4i engine and performing metrology inspection in line with established CSUS lab practices, using calibrated instruments. Where empirical measurements were not practical, the Honda F4i service manual provided additional information. Conclusions Reached: After validating the software as a reliable source of engine performance data, single and parametric study simulations were performed to gather engine performance characteristics with inlet and exhaust valve parameters that were varied through a set of values that used the OEM fixed values as a center line. Three 2-D parametric studies were performed for 100% throttle, steady state operation: varying intake valve lift + closing time, varying exhaust valve closing time + intake valve opening time (overlap), and finally varying intake valve lift + exhaust valve lift. The results show that at full throttle, the use of VVT improved torque output by an average of 6% throughout the entire engine speed range, and decreased fuel consumption by 1-2 percent. If implemented in a production setting, these gains would come with the drawbacks of increased mass (and complexity) in a system that can hardly afford both, given the already small build envelope of motorbikes, and increased cost to consumers. However, given that motorbikes are currently higher greenhouse gas emitters than passenger cars, it is a small price to pay to at least slow the tide of pollution currently being output by this transportation group.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Mechanical Engineering
96. Fallow
- Creator:
- Jones, Erica Carman
- Description:
- A book of poetry...
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- English (Creative Writing)
- Creator:
- Salt, Danielle Valeria
- Description:
- Dam breach models and inundation mapping have become increasingly required at both state and federal levels. Many modeling programs exist and vary widely in the equations used, numerical schemes, computational methods, and format of results. While both HEC-RAS and DSS-WISE Lite simulate dam breaches and the resulting inundation using the two-dimensional (2D) shallow water equations, the forms of the equations used are different and they are discretized using different numerical schemes. Additionally, modification of the terrain data to more accurately capture realistic conditions can have significant effects on the inundation results. This study intends to explore the effects of the differing numerical schemes of HEC-RAS and DSS-WISE Lite as well as the effects of terrain modifications in HEC-RAS on the inundation results. A breach of Rancho Cielito Dam in Chino Hills, CA and the resulting flood inundation was simulated using both HEC-RAS and DSS-WISE Lite models. Many sources of data were required to run the models. Terrain data is from InterMap Technologies NEXTMap 5 Digital Terrain Model with a posted resolution of 5 m, resampled to a resolution of 10 m and modified to include reservoir bathymetry by the National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering. Land cover data is from the National Land Cover Database at 30 m resolution, with Manning’s n for different land covers from DSS-WISE Lite. Capacity information for the selected reservoir is from the California Department of Water Resources publicly available data for jurisdictional dams and elevation data collected on site by the Office of Water Programs at Sacramento State. For a Rancho Cielito Dam breach scenario, the HEC-RAS and DSS-WISE Lite “equivalent” models produced similar results for inundation boundaries, maximum depths, and maximum velocities throughout the inundation extent. Some minor differences in inundation boundaries were observed in flat areas with low depths, however the differences are on the order of a few hundred feet at their maximum and the differing boundaries extend and recede across one another at many points – neither model produces a greater inundation boundary at all points. For this case, the differing numerical schemes used by each model do not appear to have a significant effect on the inundation results. The DSS-WISE Lite simulation ran over 100 times faster than the HEC-RAS model. However, several potentially flow-altering features of the terrain were not captured in the pre-loaded DSS-WISE Lite terrain file, which cannot be modified by the user except to remove bridges. These features included freeway sound walls, culverts, and levees which, when included in the HEC-RAS simulation, had a pronounced effect on the inundation boundaries, resulting in a vastly different flow path than that predicted by DSS-WISE Lite and HEC-RAS without terrain modifications. While DSS-WISE Lite runtime is incredibly fast and accuracy appears comparable to that of HEC-RAS, thus making it the model of choice for many dam breach scenarios, the lack of ability to make terrain modifications must be taken into account by the modeler. For areas where significant terrain features are not captured in the terrain data, HEC-RAS offers the modeler a wide variety of options to mitigate this issue.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Civil Engineering (Water Resources Engineering)
- Creator:
- Burlingame, Jessica Christine
- Description:
- Arc Flash causes serious damage to life and equipment. Several new techniques have been created to help reduce the risks associated with Arc Flash. Most commonly used and trusted method by the industry is a study that uses electrical system characteristics and parameters. This paper demonstrates how such a study is conducted on a sample system. System parameters and tabulated study results have been presented. It is also discussed and demonstrated that simple modifications in some system parameters can greatly reduce the risks associated with Arc Flash.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Creator:
- Cardenas, Tamara
- Description:
- This qualitative study aims to identify and gather respondents’ wisdom to formulate a toolbox for competency practice in an Autism Spectrum Disorder Program. The study explored what are best competencies implemented by each professional and uncovered the common competencies that have demonstrated to be successful within all professions. The data illustrated how despite the existing challenges impacting an Autism Spectrum Disorder Program, members of an interdisciplinary team can continue to make a difference in students’ lives and help them reach their full potential. The data obtained from the members of the interdisciplinary team demonstrated that there are both prominent competencies and barriers that influence the functioning of a special education classroom. There were ten competencies and six barriers identified within the data. The data demonstrated that Collaboration is the number one ranking competency utilized by all five respondents involved in this study. It is not only a prominent competency, but it is one that is needed, due to the importance of creating strategies and plans between the team members to meet the needs of each student. In order to fully meet the needs of the student and the goals in a student’s Individualized Education Program, the members of the interdisciplinary must collaborate to have a functional dynamic that can provide quality services. However, it is important to note that the number one ranking barrier was the Lack of Communication and Agreement between the members of the interdisciplinary team, demonstrating that it is a barrier that impacts the dynamic of an interdisciplinary team. Overall, the data obtained demonstrates a connection between the competencies and the barriers mentioned by the members of the interdisciplinary team, which is further explored within this study.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Social Work
- Creator:
- Poon, Dennis Yiuwing
- Description:
- Refactoring is a process used by programmers to improve the non-functional qualities of code. It does not affect the actual output of the program, but it is useful for making the code easier to read and maintain. In practice, it often requires a lot of programming experience to implement refactoring properly, making it challenging for novice programmers. There are existing tools that can help facilitate the refactoring process. However, none of them can provide meaningful guidance to a programmer with regards to what refactoring methods should be used, or how to. This project proposes an Eclipse plug-in tool that provides a refactoring knowledge base for developers to reference. It allows developers to understand when to use and how to implement a refactoring method. In addition, the knowledge base presents related refactoring methods in order to create refactoring sequences. This tool can also help keep track of common refactoring patterns for a programmer or a target code base.
- Resource Type:
- Project
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Computer Science