San Francisco State University Digital Repository

Evaluating an interactive undergraduate cosmology curriculum White, Aaron David Advances in cosmology over the last several decades have radically changed our understanding of the Universe. These discoveries offer a unique opportunity to connect and deeply engage students with authentic, rigorous scientific experiences and learning. We examine a curriculum designed around this premise, the Big Ideas in Cosmology, to assess its effectiveness in helping students understand core cosmological concepts, and what influences it has on their attitudes toward science. Over two semesters, we field-tested the curriculum in upper division, general education cosmology courses at a state university in California [N ~ 80]. Pre- and post-instruction surveys (multiple-choice and open-ended) were administered, aimed at examining student’s content understanding, and how that understanding had shifted by the conclusion of the semester. Topics addressed included the structure, composition, and evolution of the universe, particularly examining students’ reasoning and their understanding of “how we know” the details in question. An assessment of students’ attitudes and beliefs about physics (CLASS) was also administered pre and post. We find after completing a course using these Big Idea modules, students’ responses to questions about fundamental cosmology topics are more correct and complete than at the beginning of the semester, especially in topics such as dark matter and dark energy. We also find that students’ attitudes align more with experts in the categories of problem solving sophistication and applied conceptual understanding after using Big Ideas.

James Baldwin and Richard Wright : divergence and confluence deQuadros, Miriam When going through the portal of photography, James Baldwin and Richard Wright find similar themes in American racial politics despite situating themselves differently in their photo-texts. Baldwin’s Nothing Personal (1964) and Wright’s 72 Million Black Voices (1941) argue for the potential power of human connection in achieving American racial equality. Wright directly grounds his texts in the U.S. Farm Services Administration funded photographs, while Baldwin uses Richard Avedon’s portraits as backdrops for a text in which he questions the myths underscoring the pictures’ American hegemony. Both approaches reflect the differing states of race relations at the time of the texts’ creation; however, both authors consistently find that the path forward for white Americans and African-Americans is to see and accept the shared history that built the nation but segregated its people. Finding moments when both sets of texts and photographs engage in joint arguments against discrimination only strengthens the plea for equality in 12 Million Black Voices and Nothing Personal.

How small bugs tie down big rocks : measuring and modeling the forces acting between nets spun by caddisfly larvae (Hydropsychidae) and gravel particles at the onset of motion Mclaughlin, Molly Katherine Many organisms, both plants and animals, influence geomorphic processes in rivers. Common aquatic insects, net-spinning caddisfly larvae (Tricoptera: Hydrospyche), build silk nets that can increase the threshold of sediment motion or critical shear stress t * by up to a factor of 2. Although previous research has shown nets increase t *, the magnitude of resisting force attributed to individual nets and the threshold of their effect as grain size increases is still unknown. To explore net strength, I conducted flume experiments at the Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, Pennsylvania, where I made direct measurements of the forces acting between nets and individual sediment particles of various sizes using a strain gage during initial particle motion. 1 paired force readings with underwater video of each rock to make observations of the stretching, tearing and detachment of individual nets and measure the increase in force they contribute. Another way I detected the magnitude of force contributed by caddisfly nets is by comparing the measured peak forces to an abiotic model used to calculate the peak force without caddisflies to quantify the difference. Results from measurements made of the force contributed by individual nets and the difference of peak forces and an abiotic model for individual rock pulled from the bed suggest the threshold lies between 70 mm and 75 mm b-axis. Net measurements show larger rocks have nets that are contributing more force because larger rocks allow for larger nets to be built. The influence of caddisfly nets on bed stability has potentially significant implications for the timing and magnitude of bedload sediment transport in gravel-bedded rivers.

The space between: queerness and movement in Giovanni's Room and Passing Macke, Patricia Erin I certify that I have read The Space Between: Queerness and Movement in Giovanni's Room and Passing by Patricia Erin Macke, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree (Example) Master of Arts in English: Literature at San Francisco State University.

Incidence of intimate partner violence-related head, face, and neck injuries in women residing in the United States, 2002-2015 Mariscal, Tatiana Lisset The present study sought to determine the incidence of United States (U.S) emergency department (ED)-attended and IPV-related HFN among women from 2002-2015.1 analyzed ED visits among female patients aged 15 years or older from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Using ICD 9-CM codes from patient visit records, I classified each ED visit to determine the national frequency and estimate for IPV and IPV-related HFN visits. Between 2002-2015, there was an estimated total of 2,576,417 national ED visits for IPV-related events and 422,387 IPV-relatea HFN injuries. There was a 4.27% and a 9.20% increase in IPV and IPV-related HFN across the 13-year period. Women were more likely to pay for IPV-related services out-of-pocket (i.e., selfpay) pre-PPACA. These results suggest that health care utilization, administrative coding procedures and payment forms were effected by healthcare reform policies.

Investigating the effects of cognitive reappraisal on anger during perceived interpersonal conflict Kates, Shanyu Wang Anger is linked to various conflict-related behavior including blame attribution bias and hindered reconciliation efforts with the source of one’s anger. A potential solution to alter the relation between anger and conflict is through utilizing cognitive reappraisal. Prior literature suggests that reappraisal is as an effective strategy for down-regulating both subjective and physiological responses of anger. However, it is unclear the extent to which these effects carryover to adaptive conflict outcomes during anger experiences. The current study investigated whether engaging in reappraisal post anger-induction would lead to minimized reported anger, less blame attribution, and increased willingness to reconcile with the target of one’s anger, compared to a control condition. Results indicated that there were no differences between the reappraisal and control conditions on anger ratings, blame attribution, and reconciliation judgments. These findings contradict past literature on the particularly beneficial effects of reappraisal, and suggests that there are boundaries to the extent that reappraisal is effective in promoting conflict resolution.

Glimpse Bojnowski, Erika Glimpse is a poetry collection that investigates where dreams, memory, and reality intersects with consciousness through experiments in imagery and form. Specifically, how these constructed realms create complex narratives that shape identity. Glimpse uses a paired format to study the imaginary realms that act as places of refuge and personal reflection. This is juxtaposed with the daily realities of growing up, inner turmoil, familial hardship, adolescence, love, loss, belonging, and the mundane. It is at once a coming of age story, a collection of moments, and a surrealist landscape. This collection examines how poetiy can inhabit the space between these realms and form connections through glimpses of reality within the imaginary, and the imaginary within reality. Glimpse also explores the role of place and how it can become uncanny, magical, or phantasmagorical within the context of memory, and how this landscape shapes us as humans. How, within this titular landscape the most ordinary is often the most peculiar. I am interested in where these different modes of existence converge poetically into a sense of being both in the world and within the mind, as individual narratives that we construct for ourselves. These poems investigate how identity inhabits the spaces between dream and reality through a network of imagery and language with the intent of discovering how poetry can move between realms and across conciousnesses in ways that other mediums cannot.

The city in which i breathe back Caylao, Oj Allen Navarro

A framework for optimizing exoplanet targets for the James Webb Space Telescope Fortenbach, Charles Daniel The James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST) will devote a significant amount of observing time to the study of exoplanets. It will not be serviceable as was the Hubble Space Telescope, and therefore the spacecraft/instruments will have a relatively limited life. It is important to get as much science as possible out of this limited observing time. We provide an analysis framework (including a suite of computer tools) that can be used to optimize the list of exoplanet targets for atmospheric characterization. The tools take survey data from K2, TESS, or other sources; estimate planet masses as required; generate model spectra based on potential atmospheric characteristics; and then, given the capabilities of the various JWST instruments, determine an optimal target set. For a simulated survey data set of 1984 targets we categorize and rank the targets by observation time required to detect an atmosphere.

"No straw, please" : examining zero-waste through autoethnography, performance, and intersectionality Avila, Briana Erin Activists striving to create significant change whether social, political, or environmental must often navigate spaces and places using unconventional strategies and tactics. Activism asks us to put our bodies and identities on the line, often with discomfort, while performing in a multitude of ways. For the duration of one year, I performed "zerowaste" as a form of eco-activism in efforts to help our planet that is quickly becoming overrun by pollution, trash, and overconsumption: I negotiated zero-waste practices with people in public spaces, with friends and family in my personal life, and through employing tactics in my home. The following work represents my lived experiences and performances of one year in the "zero-waste" community through autoethnography and reflection. In this thesis I critique the lack of intersectionality and representation currently within the movement while identifying privileges one must have to access and participate in the movement. Through autoethnography, I explore the complexities of how zerowaste activism is complicated by intersectional identities and relationships. I also consider how my activism is influenced by factors that are fluid, contextual, spaciotemporal, and geopolitical.

Feminist perspectives : from science to art Loury, Hilda I offer a taxonomy to situate various positions in the spectrum of feminist perspectives on both science and art. I defend the contention that feminist perspectives are crucially important for the empirical sciences because they have promoted and generated more reflexive bodies of scientific research. My thesis is, since the fields of science and art are relevantly similar - they share epistemic, representational, and interpretive characteristics and objectives that are relevant in the application of feminist perspectives from science to art - feminist perspectives have been and will continue to be crucially important in both aesthetic theorizing and art practice. Feminist perspectives promote and generate more reflexive theories of art, beauty, taste, and value as well as contribute to more advancement, diversity, and inclusion throughout the artworld.

Concrete ocean : critical Pacific Islands and oceania studies pedagogy Loi-On, Levalasi Ane This exploratory thesis seeks to describe the recent growth of Pacific Studies in San Francisco through the works and narratives of students and instructors. It looks at the content and pedagogy of Critical Pacific Islands & Oceania Studies and focuses on how conversations of imperialism, decolonization, and diaspora within the classroom affect students' identities and academic and social development. This paper uses the Talanoa Research Method (TRM) to evaluate the impact of such courses at City College ofSan Francisco and San Francisco State University. It argues that these programs should be supported within their respective institutions because of their contributions to Ethnic Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Education, and Pacific Studies and support for students.

Manager recognition : impact of employee citizenship behaviors and perceptions of transformational leadership Upadhyay, Sarita Rose This study examined how manager recognition of employees impacts employees’ perception of the leader and employees’ extra role behaviors. Manager recognition data provided through an organization-wide recognition program were gathered from a midsized global technology company. Company employees completed an organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) scale and a transformational leadership scale. The results show that extra role behaviors were significantly positively related to transformational leadership (r = .329) but that recognition comments were not significantly correlated with transformational leadership. The results do suggest, however, that the personalization and specificity of non-monetary recognition by managers moderates the relationship between employees’ perception of their leaders as transformational and whether they perform extra role behaviors (AR2 = .122, p < .05).

An environmental critique of American post-apocalypse narratives : ecocriticism and ethics Vasso, Gabrielle This essay is concerned with the place of nature as it is represented in entertainment, predominantly film and video games. Through close-textual analysis of films The Road (John Hillcoat 2009) and WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008), and videogame The Last o f Us (2013), this paper seeks to analyze post-apocalypse representations on screen to raise questions about environmental morality in mainstream culture and ecocritical thinking. The central argument of this paper is that post-apocalypse narratives are manifestations of the public anxiety about environmental catastrophes, which reflect cultural fears. The essay concludes with a discussion of current environmental conversation in political, and social platforms in relation to these narratives, and how they contribute to the culture of fear in the United States.

The politics of disposability : the generational effects of the Bracero Program Vasquez, Stephanie In this historical and ethnographic analysis of the Bracero Program, I argue that despite the program’s official termination, the framework of the program remained in place. As such when the state allowed capital to extend its invitation of residency to the bracero family, the structural frameworks of racial segregation, national exclusion and labor exploitation were able to funnel migrant children into the agricultural industry, producing a new generation of unofficial braceros. Drawing on the historical accounts of the Bracero Program as well as the oral histories of former braceros, this project addresses the conditions under which Mexican migrants labored and lived, as well as the social and structural frameworks that were imposed upon them as racial and national outsiders. Drawing on the personal experiences of the adult-children of former braceros who grew up in agricultural labor, I argue that when the state allowed growers to offer permanent residency to the bracero family, the structural frameworks of racial segregation, national exclusion and labor exploitation produced an unofficial continuation of the program, an in turn, aided in the production of a permanent racial underclass.

Equity oriented practices in a college level pre-calculus classroom Zambrano, Diana Equity-oriented practices have been studied and researched primarily in the K-12 setting (Rubel, 2017). The examples of these practices in college have mostly been studied in developmental math courses (e.g. Frankenstein, 2014). College instructors express the concern that topics relating to social justice are too controversial or that integrating them into math courses will take time and focus away from the mathematics that students are supposed to learn. In this study, I designed and enacted three lesson lessons for college pre-calculus, each incorporating different aspects of equity-oriented pedagogy. The students’ experience in these lessons were compared with student experience in more standard pre-calculus lessons on the same topics taught by the same instructor in another section of the course. Results show that students did have different experiences between the two sections section using the social justice lessons, with higher rates of feeling supported and that they belonged as members of the classroom than in the traditional lessons. These students also indicated more frequently that they found the mathematical content relevant to their lives. The two classes had a similar distribution of course grades and results on a common cumulative assessment indicated that that the introduction of equity-oriented lessons did not hinder students’ mathematical learning. This work indicates that it is worth continuing to investigate the use of equity-oriented lessons at the college level. This will require investing in professional development for both instructors and students to be able to comfortable facilitate and engage in these lessons.

The Birthplace of the Word Martin, William I begin The Birthplace of the Word, with the ancient Greek philosophers and their disagreement over the nature of the soul. I focus on the part of their definition of the soul which they term the "energetic soul," and consider to be housed in the body. They view this soul as fueled by respiration and a material produced by the taking in of air into the body, the Pneuma. After acknowledging the ancient's confusion over this idea of the Pneuma, I present Galen's view as being the most clearly articulated. He states that breathing produces Pneuma which powers the body to express itself in motion and emotion. Spirituality for Galen has to do then with air and the body, and the lung power behind movement. From Galen I trace the idea of the Pneuma through Augustine and the middle ages where it falls into obscurity. During these centuries spirit disassociates from the body and idea of a body soul is considered heretical. I then explain how the wisdom of Pneumatic philosophy as encoded m the ancient sculptures discovered in the Renaissance enabled artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo to rediscover and explore this idea. After the renaissance, however the idea of the Pneumatic Spirit gets lost again, only to break through once more into collective consciousness at the end of the nineteenth century. The main body of my text 1s taken up with tracing this break through in several different authors across different disciplines and noting similarities and differences between them. The works I choose are Freud's Studies In Hysteria, Nietzsche's, The Birth Of Tragedy From The Spirit Of Music, Robert Lewis Stevenson's, Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde and D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover. Before delving into these four texts I examine the age in which the authors lived to better understand the climate of ideas which might have produced such a common interest. Then I look at the possible influence of the men on one another. Moving deeper into their inspiration, I examine commonalties of character structure due to similar upbringings. Since the Pneumatic Spirit is a concept which concerns the body, I examine the bodies of all four men and find that they each have a concern over a perceived weakness of their lungs. I put forward that this concern more than anything else motivates and shapes their interest in the Pneumatic Spirit. Turning now to the four texts I point out that in reality they are the same story, a story which can be broken down into Freud's topography for the onset, duration and resolution of a neurosis. I break my chapters down into the same kind of topography. Freud posits that the first stage of neurosis is that of a troubled sleep, a disease in which the sufferer may seem to others to have everything but within himself he knows that something is not right. Taking this idea in hand I explore the contrast between the public and private selves of, Freud's hysterics, Anna 0. and Frau Emmey, Stevenson's Henry Jekyll, and Lawrence's Connie and Clifford Chatterley, and stand with them as they watch break the dawn of a realization. Something is very wrong m their lives. Using Nietzsche's distinction between Dionysian man and Apollonian man, I put forth that the protagonists realize that their Pneumatic Spirits, their body selves, are starving. Freud felt that the period of dis-ease usually ended m a "return of the repressed." In my next chapter I trace how the stifled body self of Connie Chatterley, Henry Jekyll and for Nietzsche the collective body of western civilization rebels against the inhibitions placed on it by early socialization. Such a rebellion leads to a battle between socialized and unsocialized selves, between the Apollonian and the Dionysian, the Pneumatic and the rational souls. I trace the vicissitudes of this rebellion and power struggle in the four protagonists and describe how the doctors, lawyers and family members called in to try and manage them, struggle to conceptualize and control the crisis they witness. Freud believed that all crisis' resolve in either integration and healing or in a further fragmentation of self which often leads to destruction. I apply this presentiment to each of the characters and find that while Connie Chatterley's crisis, with a little help from a gamekeeper ends in the former, Henry Jekyll's crisis leads to the later. To conclude my exploration I ask the question, 'what current relevance does concerning ourselves generally with the dance of the Pneumatic Spirit through history and in particular with its manifestation in the late 19'th century have for· the humanity today?' To answer this question I turn back to the word Pneuma and point out that this word forms the prefix for Pneumacystis, the A.I.D.S pneumonia. The concept of the Pneuma is not then merely a piece of intellectual archeology but is alive and well in our own age in a deadly disease. To conclude my exploration I examine what happens when one gazes upon this disease through the lens of having traced the concept of the Pneumatic Spirit through history and having understood its late nineteenth century manifestation.

Beneath the underdog Creason, Stephen Beneath the Underdog is composed specifically for Rising Winds, a ten piece ensemble, which consists of four woodwind players, four brass players, a percussionist and a bassist. The woodwind players in Rising Winds all double on a variety of instruments and I take advantage of that in Beneath the Underdog. The percussionist in the ensemble, on the other hand, has a limited number of instruments to choose from, and so this piece he plays the vibraphone exclusively. Beneath the Underdog is in on movement but has three different sections that are generated by metric modulation. The first section is slow, the second section is moderate, and the third section is fast. The first section serves as an introduction. The second section is the longest of the three sections, and takes up about half of the piece. The third section is climactic and ends somewhat abruptly. Beneath the Underdog is an attempt to express through music my feelings about the growing "underclass" population in the U.S., people for whom "economic violence" is a day to day fact of life; people who were supposed to have been born equal to the rest of Americans, but somehow weren't: people for whom the "work ethic" is a cruel joke. In this piece I try to achieve a balance between hope and despair, optimism and reality.

Three spanish love songs Murdock, Katherine

A confluence of eight Sawyer, Pamela Jean A CONFLUENCE OF EIGHT Eight instruments are heard in this piece as individuals and in various ensembles, reflecting the deceptive solemnity and treacherous turbulance of the sound tributaries they represent. The first movement is based on this chord, which is rearranged with each subsequent appearance. The movement is ternary, with references to A throughout B. An introduction creating both a solemn feeling and tension, is followed by frenzy and a deceptive return to the primary chord. Various instruments confluence, followed by an interlude of microtonal and klangfarben activity. At this point, a free section where instruments improvise on given pitches begins sustained, building to great activity. The strings confluence, initiating a return to A. The primary chord appears with staggered entrances or its pitches. A and B are combined, alternating improvisation sections which confluence into a loud rippling mass of sound deteriorating and stopping on a final rearrangement of the primary chord, masking the violin, which continues a' niente. The second movement, also ternary, introduces the bass clarinet, which makes several attempts at a lyrical line, always to have it disintegrate at some crucial point. After a building climax, the strings lead quietly into B• Again, attempts are made to create a lyrical, flowing line. Although this section is more subdued, it is still segmented. A climax is reached on page 22, followed by a brief section similar to the opening of B. The bass clarinet returns playing a similar line as before, yet somewhat augmented and definitely more lyrical. The activity becomes more sustained as the bass clarinet reaches the low register, and the violin its high register.