Search Constraints
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
- 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
62. 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
67. 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
70. 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