http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification 720 https://escholarship.org/uc/urcaj/rss Recent eScholarship items from Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Journal Sun, 21 Jun 2026 16:05:28 +0000 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9996m8sq Coastal wetlands play a valuable role in sequestering carbon, but many have been degraded by human activities. Wetland restoration can help re-establish ecosystem function, including long term carbon storage, but the extent is somewhat unknown. One of the factors that determines how much carbon is stored in wetlands is plant tissue chemistry, specifically carbon content and C:N ratio. Plant carbon content directly translates to carbon stored in living biomass, and C:N is an indicator of decomposition rate, which can predict long term carbon storage. Taking C:N as an indicator of decomposition rate and thus longer term carbon storage, and carbon content as an indicator of carbon storage in living biomass, this study examines variation of C:N, carbon, and nitrogen in Salicornia pacifica (pickleweed), a common coastal wetland plant, between restored and established wetlands, as well as across elevations. I found that pickleweed from an established wetland has a higher carbon content... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9996m8sq Mon, 9 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Bihari, Kinga https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9319q327 This paper explores the barriers to voluntary assimilation encountered by Chinese American students at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). This study aims to explore the nuances of cultural assimilation by using a mixed-methods approach, specifically challenging the either/or dichotomy of retaining one’s native culture and acquiring American culture. The study analyzed factors such as cultural identity, family cultural practices, and experiences of discrimination. The findings reveal the complex interplay between cultural identity, discrimination, and assimilation, highlighting the multifaceted nature of the assimilation process for Chinese American students. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9319q327 Mon, 9 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Yang, Freya https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6j4070q4 Solar energy production, and thus photovoltaic (PV) installation, is on the rise in California. However, the land requirements pose a direct land conflict with agricultural land, as PV installations compete with, and often displace, existing agricultural land. Agrivoltaics, which collocate PV panels into agricultural crop production, have been proposed as a solution. Agrivoltaics can provide multiple additive and synergistic benefits for crop production, such as reduced drought stress, water conservation, increased food production, as well as preserving agricultural land while increasing solar energy production. However, there is limited research on agrivoltaic suitability and potential in California. This study assesses California’s agricultural land suitability for agrivoltaic integration using geospatial analysis of five suitability criteria: 1) crop type, 2) farmland productivity, 3) water stress, 4) insolation, and 5) proximity to electric substations. I found that there... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6j4070q4 Mon, 9 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Bihari, Kinga https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mr7078n Coastal wetlands provide essential ecosystem services and are important sinks for atmospheric CO2. With climate change and sea level rise, coastal wetlands are threatened. Studying sediment accretion rates is important for predicting a wetland's resilience to sea-level rise. Sediment accretion, driven by local sediment availability contributes to the vertical growth of a wetland, which is important for the wetland to be able to keep up with rising sea-level. Sediment can accumulate in a wetland from a variety of sources, one of the most important being freshwater tributaries which bring sediments from the local watershed into the wetland system. This study focuses on two freshwater tributaries, Phelps Creek and Whittier Channel, which drain into Devereux Slough, the larger wetland system whose upper portion is located in University of California, Santa Barbara’s North Campus Open Space (NCOS), and their potential for contributing to the restored wetland’s sediment accretion. We... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mr7078n Mon, 9 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Rolland, Emily https://escholarship.org/uc/item/73m9c2m4 Machine learning techniques have revolutionized the field of financial engineering by providing accurate and efficient methods for pricing American options. This research project aims to explore the effectiveness of deep learning algorithms in accurately pricing American options. The project is divided into two schemes: Scheme I employs a sequence of neural networks, while Scheme II utilizes a single aggregate neural network to eliminate time discretization. By testing various combinations of neural network hyperparameters in both schemes, we seek to optimize the accuracy and computational speed for pricing nine different Put and Call options. Our results are compared against existing efficient algorithms, such as polynomial regression and random forest, as documented in [5]. Based on the analysis of optimal hyperparameters that enhance the accuracy of machine learning-based American option pricing, we identify the top five solvers (hyperparameter sets) in Scheme I and the top... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/73m9c2m4 Tue, 14 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Bauer, Anna https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5h45k4t8 Cotton discs with a blend of sodium alginate and germination compounds were blended into a hydrogel and planted with green onion seeds in order to determine a resulting increase of germination rate. After its product viability was determined, apparatus design was reevaluated to minimize seed suffocation effects with varied results dependent on disc thickness. Though the germination rates were lower than planting regularly, it is believed that if the gel’s physical construction could more resemble soil, the suffocation factor would be negligible and drought tolerance can be more accurately measured. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5h45k4t8 Thu, 2 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Faraci, Joseph https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9ww8d776 Despite efforts to promote gender diversity in STEM, math-based STEM majors, such as Engineering, Computer science and Physics, remain male dominated. In this research, the effects of peer interactions are examined within students in math-based STEM majors, since peer relationships significantly impact retention and success in STEM. However, underrepresented groups, such as women in STEM, are particularly susceptible to negative stereotypes about their group, through the induction of stereotype threat. This study seeks to investigate how the gender of the support-giver and support-seeker in a peer directed study group affect male dominated STEM majors’ personal wellbeing, social perceptions and STEM-related outcomes using video vignettes of an interaction in a study group. The gender of the support-giver, as depicted in the vignette, influenced social perceptions and to a lesser extent, STEM-related outcomes. Likewise, female participants scored lower in personal wellbeing, social... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9ww8d776 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Carlin, Rori https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9s3964nw Burmese is a language of South-East Asia featuring a contrast between voiced and voiceless nasals. Voicing is an articulatory phenomenon involving the vibration of vocal folds and is the mechanism behind contrastive sounds in English such as /p/-/b/ and /t/-/d/. This contrast pertains to nasals—a typically voiced category including English consonants such as /m/ and /n/—in Burmese. I conducted a production study examining acoustic properties associated with the voicing contrast in Burmese nasals. The results confirmed well attestedpatterns found in the literature and includes a novel finding regarding an interaction between three factors and its correlation with voicing. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9s3964nw Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Adisiswoyo, Ludwig https://escholarship.org/uc/item/95t2s5cj The cultural object known as “sweet purses” was fabricated and rose in popularity in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for its ability to supersede extravagance restrictions in a Post-Reformation court culture and support ideas within early modern neuroscience. This paper explores the cultural shifts and interest in early modern neuroscience and the influence of the soul that are truly responsible for the nature and being of sweet purses, despite often being examined in current collections purely for their visual appeal. Discussing the interest and consequent belief in ideologies such as imagination and humoral theory better explicates the impact and importance that sweet purses had within English court life and often why these objects were able to circumvent the regulations of sumptuary laws. This paper examines the construction and use of sweet purses to best understand the inner workings of early modern English court culture in the aspect of theocratic... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/95t2s5cj Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Connaughton, Madison https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8vx9m795 In the seventeenth century, Massachusetts Bay Colony leaders often meted out bodily punishments with the intention of shaming offenders. Both the type of crime presented and the bodily punishments given reflected a deliberate strategy on the part of Puritan leaders. By examining the Colony’s court records between 1630–1675, this paper explores what a Puritan legal system looked like with respect to early bodily chastisements. Almost all the crimes that were punished through physical correction also had some sort of bodily violation. No matter how gruesome, the punishments represented the community’s efforts to return the offender to the body politic. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8vx9m795 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Medalla, Shekina https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8mv1r7qj California’s education system is in a unique position. As Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted across the country, schools and childcare facilities are losing the pandemic emergency funding that kept them barely hanging on as attendance waned and students fell through the cracks. However, in California, Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed off on a $307.9 billion state budget that features a record $128 billion toward reviving TK-12 public schools and community colleges. Understanding what to do with this significant budget allocation in order to serve California’s children best will be vital for educators and politicians in the coming years. This piece addresses how the state may use the influx in funding to address inequity. This is particularly pertinent in California, a highly diverse state with vast differences in socioeconomic status, ethnicity, identity, and need in the children served from district to district. Focusing on the Los Angeles Unified School District as... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8mv1r7qj Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Fry, Sydney https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8jq9p8sp Humans search for specific targets in complex scenes to navigate the world. This ability to search is integral to survival in many ways, from its most basic role in hunting and gathering to its more advanced application to the detection of medical conditions in the field of radiology. According to previous research, the ability to search efficiently in a visual task can be learned over time. Despite sufficient evidence, in this paper, we recognize numerous findings that support the presence of greater learning and confidence curves in 3D versus 2D image search. The study of such learning patterns is important to the field of medicine as we hope to train radiologists to be as efficient, accurate, and confident as possible. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8jq9p8sp Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Smith, Maren https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8h63v4rx This paper focuses on the lives of two of the most well-known female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Within this paper I analyze different documents that relate plausible histories of these two women’s’ lives and differentiate between the accuracy of sources. I question modes of discussing these women and utilize a variety of secondary sources to examine primary sources and their impacts. This paper critiques standard discussions and histories of these two women, instead offering a more humanizing and historically accurate way of seeing them that exists outside of popular culture’s romanticism and mythologization of them. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8h63v4rx Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Randall, Vivian Walman https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7pr2s1k9 The effects of motivation and the depletion of cognitive resources on performance in a sustained attention task were investigated. 17 participants completed a modified version of the continuous temporal expectancy task (CTET; O’Connell et al., 2009). Performance on the CTET is a measure of sustained attention. Monetary reward was introduced as a between-subjects manipulation. Overall performance and performance across time served as behavioural measures of general sustained attention and the vigilance decrement, respectively. An electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to measure the neural correlates of behaviour, in particular, the alpha band oscillation. EEG analysis revealed higher alpha power for pre-target misses compared to hits, indicating a phase-dependent influence on sustained attention influenced by motivation levels. The vigilance decrement occurred in both reward and no reward groups, unaffected by rewards alone. Ceiling effects may have weakened the impact of rewards.... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7pr2s1k9 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Chandra, Riddhima https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7m35s00d In the last thirty years, mathematics standards have undergone frequent changes due to two conflicting perspectives: reformists and traditionalists. The purpose of this study is to assess any lasting impacts of the 1997 California Math Standards. I interviewed three faculty in three categories about diversity, curriculum, and stakeholder perspective. Presented here are findings and common themes that emerged from the analysis of interviews. Results showed that a lasting impact of the Math Wars was the 2010 Common Core Standards, written in a way to favor the reform movement of the 1990s. A professional development perspective as an approach is utilized. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7m35s00d Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Woods, Marissa https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7hs3585w Dreams are the subjective experiences that occur during sleep, and their subject matter differs as a function of sleep stage or time of night. Dream content is reflective of the activity of brain structures concerned with information processing and memory consolidation [1]. Sigmund Freud, the founder of the psychoanalytic approach and author of The Interpretation of Dreams, described dreams as the “royal road to the unconscious.” He believed that the dreaming and the waking mind were continuous and that dreams were reflections of conflicts between unconscious desires and the conscious mind [2]. Freud proposed that the symbolic language of reported, or manifest dreams could be decoded to reveal the hidden latent dream—the result of a forbidden wish. His work inspired further research on the meaning and imagery contained within dreams that corroborated some of his views but not others, so that we now believe that dreams are the product of more than just unconscious desires [3].... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7hs3585w Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Paris, Hannah https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7601445g Cultural mismatch theory predicts that a mismatch between the independent values of a higher education institution and the interdependent values of an underrepresented student may pose significant challenges for such students. This study examines the relationships between Greek membership, ethnic identity, perceptions of the university, persistence attitudes, and belonging. Latinx and multicultural-based fraternities and sororities are relatively small and may provide a sense of familismo for Latinx students, thus matching their culture and influencing factors of persistence. We expect that Latinx Greek members will show stronger positive relationships between ethnic identity, persistence, and belonging compared to non-Greek Latinx students. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7601445g Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Villa, Alyssa https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7442599f Oral contraceptives (OCs) are used by over 100 million women worldwide. They contain synthetic hormones which may alter brain structure and function; however, only a few small-scale neuroimaging studies have examined their effects on the brain thus far. Taking a big data approach, the Jacobs Lab at UCSB launched a database which pairs structural brain scans with reproductive health histories. Preliminary findings from the database found that, compared to never users, OC users had an increase of grey matter volume (GMV) in an area of the brain called the cerebellum (n=48). In this replication study, participants showed similar results (n=24). https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7442599f Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Hayes, Margaret https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6zr7h7fw The purpose of this research project is to assess the reliability of UN Peacekeeping as a strategic conflict resolution tool in the context of modern global conflicts. This paper evaluates the efficacy of UN Peacekeeping on the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of operation, and analyzes its performance through the lens of Clausewitz’s concepts of fog and friction. This paper concludes that the systematic challenges peacekeeping operations consistently face at each level of operation, coupled with the increasing complexity of contemporary global conflicts, calls into question the ability of UN Peacekeeping to reliably navigate and resolve modern-day global conflicts. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6zr7h7fw Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Yeager, Megan https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6xz2j37x Coping can help people deal with the imminent and distant effects of climate change and encourage people to take the necessary pro-environmental behaviors. The present research examines whether use of specific coping strategies depending on construal level can significantly affect one’s pro-environmental intentions. We found that inducing a match between climate change construal and type of coping strategy significantly predicted belief in climate change, while creating a mismatched condition did not. These findings aim to illuminate the relationship between coping strategy and level of construal, and how facilitating a greater match between them may promote more successful psychological adaptation. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6xz2j37x Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 La, Emily https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6jq1f4xd This research examined the effects of induced emotional states on individuals’ moral values endorsements. Participants were induced to feel joy, hope, fear, or anger at either the individual or group level through an event recall task. Subsequently, their endorsements of six moral foundations were measured. Results did not support the hypothesis that joy, hope, fear, or anger, experienced at the individual or group level, would significantly affect moral foundations endorsements. Endorsements of fairness/cheating did not significantly differ from care/harm, which in turn did not differ from liberty/oppression. These three foundations were rated as significantly more relevant than all others. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6jq1f4xd Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Davis, Ryan https://escholarship.org/uc/item/64r864cd Fan Culture has changed and challenged storytelling through social media platforms like TikTok, Tumblr, and Instagram, opening doors to other perspectives outside the dominant social groups. In the blink of an eye, fandom has turned pop culture into a conversation, highlighting every displeasure or appreciation for the fictional worlds. In these conversations, fans start talking about the representational gaps in the media and come to the mutual understanding that to be represented, marginalized social groups need to break down the mold built by the dominant groups.&nbsp;My project highlights the complexity and diversity of literary fandoms. The interactive website will feature a series of profiles that will investigate how fan culture has fostered a sense of identity and reflection for those who belong to marginalized groups. The interviews I conduct will cover a variety of topics, including how readers have found representation in books featuring marginalized characters and... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/64r864cd Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Bustamante, Viviana https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5dp6r2v0 This study aimed to look at the correlations between depersonalization, mindfulness, and specifically the decentering aspect of mindfulness. This study is a correlational design, where 144 participants completed the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS), the Clinician Administered Dissociative State Scale (CADSS), and the Toronto Mindfulness Scale’s subscale for state decentering (TMS-D) on an online Qualtrics survey. It was predicted those higher in depersonalization would also be higher in state decentering. A Pearson’s r was conducted. In line with the hypothesis, both trait, and state depersonalization positively correlated with state decentering. Results also replicate the overall negative relationship between mindfulness and depersonalization. This implies mindfulness is multi-faceted, with many positives for those that experience depersonalization; however, a focus on decentering may not be the best course of treatment. Future... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5dp6r2v0 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Mendenhall, Allison https://escholarship.org/uc/item/59n7q9bh The idea of chivalry came about in the Anglo-Norman period of medieval history and is understood to be a complex code of rules for behavior. One of these rules was to respect women. Furthermore, in many literary texts of the period, when a chivalrous gentleman hopes to offer love to a lady, he is expected to devote his entire life to his beloved. This would lead some to believe that chivalry gave women influence over their male counterparts during the medieval period. In this project, I analyze how the chivalric code gives or denies women power and agency in the texts of Marie de France. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/59n7q9bh Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Stevens, Abigail https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4vz2915d The 1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet, inaugurated Los Angeles’s inextricable link with the aviation industry. Focusing on key historical actors and art of advertising used to sell the idea of flight to the public, this project posits that the 1910 Air Meet, not only helped to shape aviation, but also inspired the future of flight. This thesis tells the history of the airplane detailing the story of Los Angeles’ boosterism and the role said boosters played in the ultimate stabilization of airplane into a functional, reliable, and lucrative technology and industry. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4vz2915d Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Janisch, Austin https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4gg011r6 The topic of religious tolerance is one that spans the scope of human history. In the following essay, this subject will be examined within the context of the late Roman Empire (180-395 CE.). This ancient period represents a chapter of Roman history almost exclusively recounted by ancient Christian historians, the result of which has led to the establishment of the famous narrative depicting late Romans as severely intolerant of non-Roman religions– most notably, Christianity. Through the analysis of extensive documentation, leading to the uncovering of inherent Christian bias, this established history will be challenged in an effort to present a narrative which characterizes the Roman society as exhibiting substantially more religious tolerance than previously believed. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4gg011r6 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Riherd, Joey https://escholarship.org/uc/item/41n5z6pw Phosphonates are organophosphorus compounds recalcitrant to degradation. The Carbon - Phosphorus lyase pathway allows certain microbes to make use of such compounds, releasing a hydrocarbon in the process. This process is shown when methane derives from methylphosphonate consumption. Methane liberation from methylphosphonate facilitated by microbial activity has been shown to occur in the oxygen-rich surface ocean around the world. It may provide these bacteria a phosphorus source used to support growth when phosphate is limited. This project tested the hypothesis that the cyanobacteria Trichodesmium in wild populations in the Gulf of Mexico and lab cultures use methylphosphonate when phosphate concentrations are low, releasing methane as a byproduct. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/41n5z6pw Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Murphy, Kyla https://escholarship.org/uc/item/41h3m42t This research aims to understand the affect that sexual assault trauma has on survivors’ sex lives and romantic relationships. Using a qualitative research method of interviews, ten female-identifying sexual assault survivors from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) were asked about their history, attitudes, and behaviors on sex and relationships. An intersectional approach combined with a feminist lens was utilized in order to understand the lives of these survivors’ post-assault with a sociological perspective. The findings revealed that participants received inadequate formal education on consent in schools. I discovered intimacy challenges both romantically and sexually, where participants revealed a hesitancy and even avoidance to intimate interactions. Relatedly, a struggle in reintegration into society as sexual assault survivors was found to be evident. This study expanded on previous research on the perpetuation of hegemonic masculinity and femininity and... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/41h3m42t Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Teodoro, Sarah https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4095f372 Mobile learning, or m-learning is becoming increasingly popular in the classroom as technology advances and more affordable options hit the market. This systematic literature review examines m-learning in relation to STEM settings for K-8 classrooms. Seven studies published after 2010 were reviewed, focusing on m-learning curriculum and instruction as well as assessment and evaluation. The results reveal that mobile learning has the potential to enhance student engagement, promote collaboration, and encourage creativity. Challenges such as potential distractions and the need for effective content also came up frequently. Successful implementation of mobile learning depends on factors such as teacher training, technical knowledge, and the availability of one-on-one support. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4095f372 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Chatterton, Kara https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3zx7q8hk The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between implicit gender bias in medical professionals and misdiagnosis in young female-identified patients. The study examines the ways in which the age and gender of the patient can impact the accuracy and timeliness of the diagnoses young women receive. Furthermore, it analyzes how experiences with misdiagnosis alter patients’ perceptions of doctors. The findings of this study are based upon the survey responses of 21 young women, ages 19-25 years old. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3zx7q8hk Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Glasser, Casey https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3vf078rd Most research on allyship in the racial domain focuses on White allies while overlooking allies from other racial/ethnic minority groups. White allies and racial/ethnic minority allies may have different motives for supporting the targeted group. The current study assessed the perceived motivations of White and racial/ethnic minority allies from the perspective of the targeted group. The study was conducted between subjects, in which half of the participants read a vignette on an example of White allyship during a BLM protest, while the other half read a vignette on an example of Latinx allyship during a BLM protest. We found that Black Americans perceived Latinx allyship during a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest to be significantly more outgroup motivated, morally motivated, internally motivated, ingroup motivated, less personally motivated, and less externally motivated than White allyship. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3vf078rd Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Sharma, Navya https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3tz2t78z A documented phenomenon is that people want to quit social media but do not. A leading explanation is that the content shown on social media is addictive. However, I use a survey to show that the content is not the main reason people say they cannot leave social media. Instead, it is losing the ability to communicate through direct messaging. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3tz2t78z Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Heyman, Nicholas https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3sg8204p Engaging youth in Science, Technology, Engineering,and Mathematics (STEM) fields earlier rather than later is important for developing a stronger foundation in these disciplines. The STEMinist project aims to engage young girls (fourth through sixth grade) in science and engineering through interactions with female scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This study aims to identify what the girls take away from their interactions with the scientists and their visits to the labto inform after school STEM programming development. This paper presents themes that emerged from the analysis of participant interviews after completing the program. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3sg8204p Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Clemens, Hailey https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mj4w4qs Gym equipment is not required to follow ADA guidelines to ensure they can be used by people with disabilities. We have adapted one half of a dual-pulley machine to allow our sponsor, a paralympic athlete, to demonstrate these issues and push for change because the components used to alter these machines are often inaccessible. The height adjuster changes the angle between the weight and the user, allowing them to focus on different muscle groups, but if a user cannot reach the mechanism, they cannot use the machine, so we have automated and motorized that aspect. The weight stack requires users to move a small pin to a very specific position, so creating a raised system with linear guides to make that easier will allow users with hand dexterity issues to use the machine on their own. We hope these changes will make exercise more accessible for all. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mj4w4qs Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Crocker, Janna https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3k62s4nz Access to electricity is essential for development and economic growth. This study explores the potential for renewable energy to provide affordable energy and to alleviate energy poverty in the southern African region. Data analysis and visualization can help us understand the trends in, and characteristics of, energy demand and generation and draw insights into energy inequity across southern Africa. Patterns of electricity demand dictate the scale of energy infrastructure investments required to meet that demand reliably. However, electricity demand forecasts, dictated by the country’s paying capacity and international financial support, highlight the continuation of energy inequities across the southern African region well into the future. This electricity demand analysis project is part of a larger project examining cost-effective planning and implementation of renewable energy generation to provide reliable electricity to countries in southern Africa. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3k62s4nz Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Curry, Tiana https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3jr4q83p Honduras has endured a long history of environmental problems that are fueled by pressure from international bodies to increase economically-fueled activities that result in extreme land degradation. Logging, dam building, mining, and deforestation operations have all been met with extensive protests by indigenous groups, coalitions and movements. In response, interests supporting the continued exploitation of resources have subjected these groups to extreme and systematic violence in the hopes of silencing them. How successful is this use of terror to coerce violence? This paper reviews two case studies of violence in Honduras: the murder of internationally-recognized activist Berta Cáceres, and the violence perpetrated against the Tolupan people. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3jr4q83p Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Lahey, Hannah https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3f38k53d 48 hours in... A Gaucho's Guide to Studying and Traveling in Europe&nbsp; https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3f38k53d Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Meyers, Hannah https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3479z7h7 Longevity analysis provides valuable public health facts that can influence public policy, business decision-making, or new academic research directions. We must explore and interpret mortality data to gain these insights. This paper introduces a Longevity Forecasting Tool that we created with Shiny, an R package that facilitates interactive dashboard development. This tool showcases the use of Gaussian process regression for modeling mortality data. We use publicly available detailed mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER). This tool uses interactive data visualizations to engage users to better understand the mortality experiences across several U.S. groups. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3479z7h7 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Hernandez, Rosalia https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2wt234w1 California’s Indígena population (indigenous people who identify with origin communities in Mesoamerica) has grown over the last 70 years, especially during the 1990s. Simultaneously, the number of youth that have enrolled in the public-school system has increased. However, these youth are often not welcomed and instead experience racial microaggressions within schools that alienate and encourage them to assimilate while abandoning their culture. I will explore the history of displacement of Indígena youth and their interactions in schools. I will discuss a selection of Indígena youth experiences in the education system, while critically analyzing the implicit biases of those around them. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2wt234w1 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Martínez, Fátima Andrade https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2rg3862x Past literature examining dissociation beyond white populations is sparse. The few studies that have diversified their sampling report higher rates of dissociative symptomatology amongst black participants as compared to other racial groups. However, much of this research has failed to extend their findings beyond the general conclusion of an observable racial discrepancy in experienced dissociation. The present study incorporates theoretical models of racial traumatic stress and maladaptive dissociative coping in its investigation of perceived exposure to racial abuse as a potential factor for racial differences in dissociation—specifically of the nonpathological variety. Findings reveal a significantly higher rate of nonpathological dissociation amongst black individuals as compared to white individuals. Less statistically conclusive results were obtained regarding the degree of exposure to racial abuse and related dissociative tendencies. Yet, intrinsic limitations within the... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2rg3862x Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Kushnir, Christina N. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2j48057k Students from low-socioeconomic status (SES) who are just starting college are more likely to experience discrimination. Frequent discrimination is associated with harmful effects on students’ well-being, including increased negative mental health symptoms (Hwang &amp; Goto, 2008) and decreased sense of belonging in their college environment (Hussain and Jones, 2021). Discrimination is also associated with greater perceptions of cultural mismatch (Feasel et al., 2023), which occurs when a student’s home culture does not match their university culture. Cultural mismatch also negatively impacts college students’ sense of belonging (Phillips et al., 2020). Given that discrimination and cultural mismatch have similar effects on belonging, the current study tests our hypothesis that cultural mismatch mediates the relationship between SES discrimination and the perceived sense of belonging in low-SES college students. We found support for this mediational model in data analyses from... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2j48057k Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Lopez, Alexa https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2fc2v1tr This paper presents a systematic literature review on the relationship between influencer marketing and parasocial relationships in social media. Influencer marketing has gained significant traction as an effective marketing strategy with the advent of social media platforms. Thus, this study seeks to explore the impact of parasocial relationships between influencers and their followers on consumer trust, purchasing decisions, the factors that influence these relationships, and how influencers can enhance them to optimize marketing outcomes. The review encompasses analysis of five primary research studies, investigating factors such as interpersonal attraction, personal attributes, intimate self-disclosure, and empathy as determinants of parasocial relationships. The findings indicate that parasocial relationships exert a positive influence on consumer trust, purchase intentions, and brand evaluations. Notably, factors such as interpersonal attraction, intimate self-disclosure,... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2fc2v1tr Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Yi, Josephine https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2693533n This Berlin Wall that Runs through Me sheds light into the legacies of the European colonization of Africa, chartered at Berlin in 1884-1885. The violent, crude invasion alienated Africans and criminalized intra-African mobilities by re-engineering Africans into rightless “natives” and “alien natives,” controlled within the new colonies in violation of their social, political and economic realities. Independence reified these “tribalizing” Berlin walls into national borders. The Ghana-Nigeria transborder expulsions (1960s-80s) illustrate the legacies of this alieNation. The Berlin walls continued the immobilization, alienation and criminalization of invented intra-African difference, rationalizing Afrophobic violence that still afflicts Africans today. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2693533n Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Eseka, Ebelechukwu Veronica https://escholarship.org/uc/item/23k081gd The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of the global Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in tackling educational inequity, with an emphasis on the academic experiences of UCSB students. This research was done amidst the various controversies among local academic institutions, which included the 2019 California college admissions scandals and 2020 cost of living adjustment (COLA) protests. PISA is primarily a topdown initiative as it mainly champions educational equity through collaborations with government officials. This neglects the key role of community actors, such as governors and principals, and does not account for localized complexities, such as federalism in the United States. To identify bottom-up approaches that would complement PISA, a pilot study on the academic experiences of UCSB students was done. Key findings included 88% of the respondents coming from counties with higher standards of living, and only 3% having considered... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/23k081gd Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Chun, Emma https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1d37s5jh This research will argue for the historical significance of interconnectedness between the United States and Kashmir by using military aid archives, government records, and intellectual history. Together they provide the context needed to dispel the myth of the United States’ neutrality and reveal how Kashmir’s existence in American public life predates Indian Prime Minister Modi’s revocation of Article 370. Additionally, the guise of neutrality hides the impact of the United States’ military investments before and during the Kashmir Insurgency, even when the developments in Kashmir distinctly shaped debates in the United States public sphere. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1d37s5jh Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Verma, Simren https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0rt993jd Tehachapi Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps stebbinsi) is endemic to the Tehachapi Mountains to the Piute Mountains and is listed as a threatened species by the State of California. This species is found in scattered populations from the San Andreas Fault to Walker Basin. Previous studies have found that northern and southern populations of this species have high levels of genetic, color, and size differences. It has been suggested that northern and southern populations of B. stebbinsi, divided by the Tehachapi Valley, could be separate species. We obtained morphological measurements from images of preserved specimens from northern (N = 27) and southern (N = 10) populations. No significant differences in shape or size were detected between these two populations. In future work, we will explore local adaptation, increase sample sizes, and incorporate the evolution of color variation across the range of this species. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0rt993jd Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Wang, Yinghui https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kv3f9pw In this research paper, I have applied the Marxian theory of conflict to the ongoing situation between a teachers union and its corresponding school district. My research uses a mix-method approach, which includes interviews, ethnographic observations, and content analysis. In this dispute, wages and class sizes are the main contentious issues. The teachers believe that smaller classes would greatly improve their working conditions and have concerns about inadequate responses and perceived incompetence, particularly with the superintendent. Despite this, both sides agree on the importance of constructive conversation to resolve this ongoing conflict. According to the orthodox Marxian theory, labor conflicts arise from divergent interests due to economic structural disposition. The teachers seek better treatment while the school district aims to maintain budgets and a professional image under the superintendent’s guidance. Considering these circumstances, I advocate for constructive... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kv3f9pw Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Guo, Yuzhou https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0bh019dd Everyone will suffer from the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, but it is having the greatest impact on people and communities who are already socially and economically disadvantaged. Historical, political, and economic inequalities have created systemic injustices that have always been present, but are now rampaging society at an ever more menacing pace. In the face of climate change, these inequities are not only a detriment to society, but also a threat to human life, disproportionately assailing the most marginalized communities. The present study explores the environmental injustices that are actively forcing countless people and entire communities out of their homes. Through interviews with experts in the field, as well as people directly affected by the issue, this research aims to raise awareness of the problems and human rights abuses that are arising as a result of climate changes. In addition, it explores possible solutions to these problems threatening... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0bh019dd Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Difede, Emile https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0809c8tr English and Spanish speakers learn different phonetic systems in their acquisition of their respective languages. Despite having the same phonemic contrast between voiced and voiceless plosives, the stop consonants of the two languages differ in voice onset time, or VOT. They also have different vowels with different formant values. We hypothesized that bilingual children exposed to both languages would display intermediate VOT and vowel formant values for both languages. Measuring readings from lists from four children aged three to five years, we found this to be the case for VOT for only voiced stops and not voiceless stops. VOT for this group seems to collapse into three categories: strongly positive, slightly positive, and negative, to one of which all of their stop productions belong. Vowels did not appear to have a distinct, discernible pattern among bilingual children. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0809c8tr Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Gravelle, William https://escholarship.org/uc/item/02p2n9k2 The zine is curated for people who have experienced a world made unlivable for them. It stands strong for those who have faced trauma and felt shattered beyond repair. This is my message to you: Even though some parts of us are lost forever, we can still become someone even greater. We can still cultivate a life that is worth living, having a radically different outlook and appreciation for life. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/02p2n9k2 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Phommasa, Ash https://escholarship.org/uc/item/96r5r761 This research examines why Black women pole dance and how their participation contributes to building self-confidence andself-efficacy. This study demonstrates how Black women resisted and created spaces for Black women to be empowered and seethemselves represented within the pole community. This research explored the ways and to what extent Black women can explore their sexuality through pole dancing as they oppose societal perceptions of Black women as hypersexual beings. I analyzedwhether academic literature on Black families aligned with how family members of Black pole dancers received and acceptedtheir involvement. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/96r5r761 Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Robinson, Brianna A https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7w56w6jt The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of two learning methods: the traditional slideshow method of disseminating information (control group) versus the usage of guided digitalsimulations (experimental group). Two hypotheses are proposed: interactivity hypothesis and distraction hypothesis. The distraction hypothesis predicts that the control group will learn better whilethe interactivity hypothesis predicts that the experimental group will learn better. The results showed no significant difference between the groups on transfer-scores, and the control group rated the learning activity as more enjoyable and easier than did theexperimental group. The results partially support the distraction hypothesis. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7w56w6jt Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Surpur, Chinmay https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7gx454h3 In the past two decades, remittances have overtaken official development assistance to developing countries while eclipsingother vehicles of development such as foreign direct investment. This begs the question of how these multinational transfers between households are affecting the role of governments in matterspertaining to poverty alleviation. This project will answer this question by analyzing what the effects of remittances and levels of democracy have on government social spending in CentralAmerican countries. This project hypothesizes that as remittancesincrease, the level of social spending in those countries will decrease and that this effect will be stronger in more autocraticsocieties. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7gx454h3 Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Chikukwa, Kuvimbanashe Edwin https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4vw1422j Latinx students currently make up a large portion of the K-12 student population in the U.S. Because the Latinx population is the fastest-growing ethnic minority in the U.S., it is critical to address the persistent educational achievement gap between Latinx students and White students, or the future of the U.S. economy will suffer. Many scholars in the field of educational studies have suggested including more culturally relevant pedagogy in K-12 education. Culturally relevant ethnic studies have been shown to boost academic success and student engagement among K-12Latinx students, but more research must be done. This study examines the impact of an ethnic studies course, Mexican-AmericanLiterature, on a Latinx student in a Southern California high school and compares this to the narrative of a student who has never taken an ethnic studies course. The results show that both studentsbelieve that ethnic studies pedagogy can effectively improve student classroom engagement in K-12... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4vw1422j Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Tapia, Jose https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3r50f5c8 The purpose of “White by Association: The Mixed Marriage Policy of Japanese American Internees” is to describe in detail theMixed Marriage Policy, implemented during World War II regarding the incarceration of Japanese Americans, and the reasonsfor its implementation. This policy allowed for specific multiracial Japanese Americans and those involved in mixed marriages withWhite males to exit the camps and return home to the West Coast if they could prove their lifestyles to be culturally Caucasian. This paper argues that the Mixed Marriage Policy was created in order to prevent White males from challenging the constitutionality of the Japanese American incarceration. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3r50f5c8 Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Pree, Ashlynn Deu https://escholarship.org/uc/item/32w1612j This research explores the relationship between multiculturalism, diversity, and altruistic behaviors. The researchers hypothesized that individuals with more accepting attitudes toward multiculturalismwould be more comfortable with diversity and manifest more altruistic behavior compared to those with less acceptingattitudes toward multiculturalism. In addition, the researchers also hypothesized that individuals primed with multicultural images would be more likely to be comfortable with diversity and showmore altruistic behavior than those primed with American images. Multiple 2x2 ANOVA tests were utilized to study the effects ofmulticultural attitudes and cultural priming on comfort with diversity and altruistic behavior. No significant main effect of the priming strategies was found; however, attitudes toward multiculturalismdid have a significant effect on all three of the dependent variables, such that participants that scored high on multicultural acceptance were more accepting... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/32w1612j Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Rivera, Paola https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1ww035c9 The purpose of this study is to gauge the effects of perceived general stress levels and acute stress on working-memory-basedcognitive performance. Cortisol is the long-term stress hormone of the body, and is vital to enacting a quick and efficient stress response. However, when chronically present at higher-than-normal levels as often can be the case with long-term perceived stress cortisol has been known to negatively affect many bodily systems, including reproductive, immune, and cognitive function. Our study seeks to explore the effect that higherthan-average perceived general stress levels have on female students’ performance on two cognitive tasks: a math exam with gradually increasing difficulty, and a complicated traceable maze that participants must solve after being shown the answer key for a few seconds beforehand. This study will utilize a basic health questionnaire, a general stressquestionnaire, a mental math exam that gradually increases in difficulty and has a... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1ww035c9 Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Balachandra, Chinmayee https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0x01m54n This research project examines the history of women’s involvement in internships. It looks at how women used internships to break into higher paying non-traditionally feminine employment while alsodiscussing the problems that interns encountered with sexual harassment.This project explores the rhetoric that allowed for interns to be unpaid and unprotected against discrimination throughout the 20th century. Through examining the rhetoric surroundinginternships in the 20th century, this paper found that the framing of interns as students, rather than as workers, caused interns to be excluded from employee status and left them without legal protectionfrom sexual harassment. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0x01m54n Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Borg, Chelsea https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kz2x4nb Goodreads elevates the user to a level of content producer, which increases student engagement with literature. As all themembers within the group are simultaneously promoted in statusand begin developing relationships, they create trust and are more willing to take book recommendations from each other, tying in the readers’ advisory component of the site. As a result, Goodreads users are being encouraged to read novels recommended by their peers and are given autonomy to choose based off trusted recommendations. The combination of autonomy and connection that Goodreads offers creates not only a more culturally relevant classroom, but one filled with students more likely to see being a reader as part of their identity significant. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kz2x4nb Wed, 25 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Anderson, Emma https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5871r1vz The Student Resource Building at UC Santa Barbara, finished in 2007, houses a multitude of departments in addition to the Cultural Resource Centers (CRCs). This paper focuses on the history behind student activism, a focus on Asian American student activism, for a resource center for Asian American students. Starting in the late 1980s to early 1990s, the small population of Asian American students and other students of color resulted in students organizing and working with student administrators, including more faculty of color, more focus on student retention, and support for first-generation college students. In March 1998, the Daily Nexus wrote an article that included a quote stating that missing dogs were due to the Vietnamese and Hmong population living in IV. What followed is a series of protests that would ultimately lead to the establishment of the Cultural Resource Centers, housed in the future Student Resource Building. Student activists, to this day, continue to fight... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5871r1vz Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Dong, Felix https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9s89v670 The current study had two goals: (1) to investigate how acute exercise can improve short-term mental health in an ecologically valid setting and (2) determine whether different forms of acute exercise (aerobic vs. anaerobic) affect mental health differently. To explore these questions, we recruited participants from various exercise classes at the UCSB Recreation Center and the Robertson Gym. Participants were given one survey before their exercise class and one after. Both surveys had indices that measured four aspects of mental health: perceived stress, anxiety, positive affect, and negative affect. To answer question one, we analyzed how these indices changed from pre- to post- exercise class across all participants. To answer question two, we analyzed whether or not there were greater improvements in the four indices depending on the exercise type (anaerobic or aerobic). Based on prior research, we predicted that perceived stress, anxiety, positive affect, and negative affect... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9s89v670 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Castle, Lucas https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9h83z8jq This paper explores the tragic story of African American O’Day H. Short and his family in 1945 Fontana, California. The piece is an excerpt from my March 2022 Senior Honors Thesis titled "The American Dream Denied: The Inland Empire and Southern California’s Legacy with Postwar, Anti-Black Racial Housing Discrimination." Alongside my complete thesis, this paper’s examination of O’Day H. Short’s background, hostility with local white neighbors in his new Fontana home, and eventual fatal conclusion will ultimately expose the hidden legacy of harmful housing discrimination in post-World War Two Southern California. Focusing on Short’s story further highlights the underappreciated stories of the Black Americans who migrated to Inland Empire cities – including Fontana and Riverside, between the 1940s and the 1960s. By tracing the explicit racial violence that fueled housing discrimination, I will show how and why the Postwar promise of guaranteed housing and greater socioeconomic stability... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9h83z8jq Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Chilaka, Akunna https://escholarship.org/uc/item/903171r2 This essay expands the boundaries of so-called “folk” perceptions or Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of Latin American mycology through a review of fungi in ethnographic and scientific research. I focus on macrofungi, but also address the microscopic ambient yeasts and molds which have been essential to fermentation since the origins of agriculture (despite a lack of documentation in ancient societies). The research of cultural uses and perceptions of mushrooms and other fungi is called ethnomycology– a field that receives far too little attention. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/903171r2 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Child, Spencer https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8h5625bb Teenage depression has long been a significant yet underreported and therefore undertreated disease. In recent years depression-centric narratives like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Dear Evan Hansen, and All the Bright Places have garnered both attention and controversy in print, film, and even Broadway, bringing the conversation around teenage mental health into the spotlight. While some of these depictions have been praised for promoting empathy and understanding, others have been criticized for including graphic or even sensationalized representations of teen depression and suicide. These depictions, fictional as they may be, contribute to the larger societal discourse on teen mental health. This paper examines one of the most influential works concerning adolescent mental health in recent years: Netflix’s Thirteen Reasons Why, with the aim of exploring how its status of both an “activist” work of art and a product affect its depiction of depression and anxiety — and how... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8h5625bb Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Le, Luc https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8cx732nz The Klamath river—the second longest river in California, stretching 257 miles from South Crescent City to Oregon—has been an object of environmentalist and humanitarian concern since the 1970s. And it was long before the acknowledgement of the Klamath’s worsening state that climate change, along with anthropogenic factors such as dam implementation, agricultural runoff, commodified farming, and racist governmental policy, had begun to irreversibly damage the once flowing water supply and diverse flora and fauna that used to characterize the Klamath area. These long-standing issues have culminated in mass environmental degradation in the Klamath basin—drought, poisonous algae blooms, mass fish kills, pollution—that threaten the Klamath ecosystem at large. Indigenous tribes like the Yurok people, who have lived in the Klamath area for decades, have been disproportionately negatively affected by the environmental degradation of the Klamath. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8cx732nz Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 DeAmaral, Ella https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7zq4t6t1 Stroke recovery is a difficult process, so there are many forms of robot-assisted therapy (RAT) that seek to make it easier for patients and physical therapists. However, machines designed for this type of therapy are often expensive unitaskers that limit their therapy assistance to only one part of a limb. We have developed a series of prototypes that have the potential to aid in drawing therapy for stroke rehabilitation and assessment, as drawing can engage every muscle group in the arm and is often used as a method of estimating limb and neural pathway function. Our current focus is refining a system of surface electromyography (sEMG) and internal motion unit (IMU) sensors processed via machine learning to quantify limb function and location in order to assist the user in creating their drawings. We believe this robot has the potential to be incredibly useful to artists with unsteady hands, physical therapists, and physical therapy patients. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7zq4t6t1 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Crocker, Janna Stevens, Ryan Guo, Yinu Gurney, Hannah Lin, Rachel Yu, Thomas https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7444w2j3 The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on many of the inequalities people face because of their socioeconomic status. Some of these disparities include accessible health care, medicine, consistent income, and the everyday risk of exposure. However, this division between the upper and lower socioeconomic classes is not new. This can be seen time and time again throughout history, especially in the cases of past pandemics in early modern Europe. Diseases such as the Black Plague, leprosy, and cholera infiltrated and affected communities throughout Europe and Italy, the latter being the focus of this article. In it, we compare the ways that past pandemics affected people in cities like Rome and Venice, and who was affected most and why. Did the same disparities between socioeconomic classes exist as they do today with the current COVID-19 pandemic? Have we progressed much as a society? It is important to explore how these socioeconomic differences emphasize the inequalities within society... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7444w2j3 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Canchola, Stacy Deryawish, Georgina Setola, Giulia https://escholarship.org/uc/item/72n7161j Over 100 million people worldwide use oral hormonal contraception (OC), and yet there is still little knowledge surrounding the consequences of contraceptives on the human brain. In particular, the intersection of autobiographical memories, stress, and OC is important to study for real-world applicability. Previous research has shown that women on OC demonstrate a negativity bias when recalling an event by reporting more information for negative experiences compared to other emotional situations. This negativity bias could be an indication of the ease of recall which is defined by the speed, accuracy, and intensity of the memory search. The present study examined the reported ease of autobiographical recall of OC users compared to those who are naturally cycling (NC) for negative and neutral events. It was predicted that those on OC would report an easier time recalling a stressful event and report less difficulty for the neutral event compared to NC women. There were no significant... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/72n7161j Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Agrawal, Aarushi https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6bj6r851 <p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, inmates at USP Lompoc were subjected to increased exposure of the virus due to inaction from staff, guards, and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). This paper focuses on the history behind prisons and incarceration as a punishment, the timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to events happening in Lompoc, and includes interviews from two former inmates at USP Lompoc, Bernd Appleby and Ron Shehee. Looking at the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected inmates at Lompoc, the conscious refusal by staff and guards to follow instructions given by the Attorney General, the absence of personal protective equipment, and the lack of structure and testing led to the death and health issues of inmates. Appleby and Shehee highlight the apathy, power imbalance, and inhumane conditions they faced during their time at USP Lompoc. They share specific details into accounts from other prisoners and the health and administrative problems that inmates... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6bj6r851 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Dong, Felix https://escholarship.org/uc/item/62r1n5zz We have been presented the properties of asset return by simulation within the empirical data. However, is it possible to illustrate properties by statistical analysis? Most currently existing models fail to reproduce all these statistical features. In this paper, we will elaborate the properties by applying different statistical models: Geometric Brownian Motion and Ehrenfest URN. We will focus on the following properties: distributional properties, tail properties and extreme fluctuations, path-wise regularity, linear and nonlinear dependence of returns in time and across stocks. In this project, I will use S&amp;P 500 index return as the data and apply it with the models to compare the results with empirical data. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/62r1n5zz Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Liu, Senyuan https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5z86t0dx The acceleration and advancement of today’s technology has led to the growing use of machine learning algorithms in everyday life. Therefore, our collective trust in algorithmic decision making becomes increasingly important to consider. Current literature suggests that people may be skeptical of relying on algorithmic judgment rather than human judgment, regardless of performance quality or accuracy (Logg, 2018). However, conflicting results have arisen from previous studies regarding this algorithmic aversion or appreciation. An online experiment was conducted using a 2x2 design with 120 adult participants in order to examine how the control and risk environment of an algorithm’s decision making process affects human trust towards algorithmic decision making. Results indicate that humans are less trusting, or more averse, of automated systems in situations with higher perceived risk and lower human control. These findings shed light on the evolving relationship between humans... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5z86t0dx Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Nguyen, Elise https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5n91c5g4 Language is tied directly to identity formation, especially in the way individuals express themselves and are perceived by others. This extends to language being proven to have the ability to change an individual’s personality depending on the language they are speaking (Ramirez-Esparza et al. 2006; Pavlenko, 2006; Wedérus, 2017). This study expands on these findings by comparing these theories to the experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse multilinguals. This study is particularly concerned with the experiences of bilingual immigrants in the US and how issues of acculturation and xenophobia may affect these phenomena. This project aims to help better understand how language shapes identity, as well as gain insight into the challenges of immigration and multilingualism. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5n91c5g4 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Paget, Aurora https://escholarship.org/uc/item/58m3f8t5 Given most people gain information about COVID-19 from news media, it is important to understand if news framing of COVID-19 can influence people’s intentions to take preventive behaviors and their actual behaviors, which may affect public health and many people’s life safety. Based on framing and functional emotion theory, this research examined how exposure to differently framed news (threat, positive future, or neutral news) influenced emotional reactions, intentions to take preventive action, and actual subsequent protective behaviors. 196 undergraduates participated in a two-part online experiment. First, they read two COVID-related news stories appropriate to their condition, and then reported their emotional reactions and behavioral intentions. Two days later, they reported their COVID-related protective behaviors. Results indicated that threat news in the frame of fear evoked fear as expected and positive future frames in the frame of hope evoked hope, as expected. Although... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/58m3f8t5 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Zhu, Haoning https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4026c425 <p>Previous research examined the effect of familial conflict on college students and how this affects familial relationships and causes feelings of guilt. However, there has not yet been a study looking specifically at emotional burden stemming from not fulfilling familial expectations in regard to major choice at college. In this study, we examined the correlation between negative affective experiences and familial conflict over major choice. We focused on the experience of negative emotions when deviating from familial expectations, as well as the cultural differences and similarities between Asian and European Americans going through this experience. We assessed participants’ experience of familial expectations regarding major choice, their decision to fulfill or subvert those expectations, and their emotions as a result of their decision. Our findings showed that negative emotions such as sadness and guilt were stronger when subverting expectations while positive emotions... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4026c425 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Dang, Annabel https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3h9061vj A first-generation college student is the first of their family to enter higher education (RTI International, 2019). This study examined whether first-generation college students adopt avoidance goals (i.e., goals focused on avoiding negative outcomes) more often than continuing-generation college students, and how these goals may impact their campus resource utilization. We hypothesized that first-generation college students at UCSB would report less resource utilization compared to continuing-generation students, and that this association is mediated by the strength of their approach goal orientation. For first-generation college students, we expected higher endorsement of avoidance goals and lower endorsement of approach goals, compared to continuing-generation college students. Lastly, we hypothesized that for those with higher agreement towards avoidance goals and lower agreement towards approach goals, these students would utilize fewer campus resources. In our study, generational... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3h9061vj Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Tran, Miranda https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2f5561m7 Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as the “vinegar fly”, is a model organism for studying olfaction-induced behavioral activity. The behavior of positive chemotaxis or attraction from the activation of odorant receptors such as Or42a are well characterized through extensive prior research. However, the behavior from the activation of aversive odorant receptors like Or49a are not well understood. To characterize aversion and to test whether aversion and attraction have equal and opposite behaviors, I utilized the PiVR tracking system to simulate several odor conditions by applying light gradients on optogenetically modified third-instar larva. I have concluded that the characteristics of aversive behavior are not directly opposing the characteristics of attractive behavior through the analysis and comparison of turn rate modulation, trajectories, and preference indexes between Or42a and Or49a light-stimulated larva. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2f5561m7 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Chivi, Ethan Rollins, K. Louis, M. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2b97c5wm Oppression does not only occur in the physical space– it also dominates the literary realm. While the majority enjoys the fruits of narrative plentitude, minority groups– most often including Asian-American writers– experience the obstacle of narrative scarcity within dominant society. Due to this identity strung together by oppression and institutionalized colonialism in literary studies, minority writing is forced to assume a kind of antagonism, a prefab agony about being invariably misunderstood. Minority writers– specifically Asian-American writers– are forced to embrace their trauma placed upon them by institutional hardships as their only outlet of writing, as if their generational lesions are only embraced to provide literary entertainment. The value of their voice and their writing is therefore based upon how distressing and damaging their experience of growing up as Asian-American may be. As this issue of the paradox of the Asian-American identity is rooted within the... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2b97c5wm Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Chan, Hannah I https://escholarship.org/uc/item/06k43102 Recent advances in Deep Neural Networks (DNN's) over the last decade have allowed modern neural networks to be reliably deployed "on the edge" in countless applications ranging from computer vision to natural language processing. Existing hardware is capable of running complex models with low latency, but a problem occurs when applications are scaled to require cheaper hardware with shallower memory resources or minimal latency. The goal of model compression is to take popular pre-trained deep neural networks and reduce their size to allow them to be readily deployed in areas requiring "on-device" inference such as self-driving vehicles and A.I. assistants. This paper covers recent advances in the field of model compression that has allowed us to create a 100x smaller model in terms of memory storage, while maintaining stable F1, Precision and Recall scores. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/06k43102 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Murillo, Jorge Su, Lawrence https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0691c778 Approach and avoidance motivational orientations play a striking role within close relationships, with approach-oriented goals predicting increased positive affect and relationship satisfaction. As research suggests that motivational orientations influence individuals’ ability to regulate their own emotions (i.e., intrapersonally), we posit that these motives may also moderate individuals’ ability to regulate the emotions of others, thus affecting social outcomes. We hypothesize that individuals whose partners use more affect-bettering (versus affect-worsening) emotion regulation strategies will show improved relationship outcomes, with this link being strengthened in individuals high (rather than low) in approach motives. 37 romantic couples (74 participants) completed daily diary surveys for 10 days, with one partner reporting their use of affect-bettering and affect-worsening emotion regulation strategies and the other partner reporting their relationship outcomes. Preliminary... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0691c778 Tue, 4 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Ostrander, Katrina https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gj386fr This study investigated bee forewing vein density as it relates to body size and taxonomic group. Within the entomological field of study, it is known anecdotally that wing venation is primarily conserved at the genus level more than any other taxonomic level. Using dorsal and slide-plated wing images, wing vein density (WVD) and intertegular span (ITS) was measured for bee species within different genera and families. A novel way of effectively measuring WVD was developed, a measurement that combines many previously used vein morphology characteristics. The study found that both taxonomic level and body size influence WVD, of which the taxonomic level of genus has the most significant effect, regardless of body size. Thus, this paper found that WVD can be useful for determining genus within a family and gives further insight into insect wing vein evolution. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gj386fr Wed, 29 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Eisner de Eisenhof, Leonardo