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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (25 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Davis Previously Published Works (2015)
The Maker Movement is a community of hobbyists, tinkerers, engineers, hackers, and artists who creatively design and build projects for both playful and useful ends. There is growing interest among educators in bringing making into K-12 education to enhance opportunities to engage in the practices of engineering, specifically, and STEM more broadly. This article describes three elements of the Maker Movement, and associated research needs, necessary to understand its promise for education: 1) digital tools, including rapid prototyping tools and low-cost microcontroller platforms, that characterize many making projects; 2) community infrastructure, including online resources and in-person spaces and events; and 3) the maker mindset, aesthetic principles, and habits of mind that are commonplace within the community. It further outlines how the practices of making align with research on beneficial learning environments.
    • Article
    Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, Volume 12 (1986)
    Three methods were explored to eliminate damage caused by owl pellets and fecal droppings: exclusion; trapping; and sound deterrents including abstract sound, biosonic sound, and high frequency sound. Initial successful results of various types of sound diminished with time to the point that owls adapted and ignored all sound repellents within a short period. Exclusion techniques were ineffective as owls would find ways around, through or between any non-permanent structure blocking entry through warehouse openings. Live-trapping and relocating owls was the only effective technique tested in this experimental program. Three trap methods were found effective, but trap success diminished with use of each method. Thirteen owls were trapped in one warehouse during this study using bal-chatri, goshawk and drop-net techniques. The details of each method are discussed.
      Cover page: Barn owls and industry: problems and solutions
      • Article
      Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, Volume 17 (1996)
      Working knowledge of Federal and State Fish and Wildlife regulations and other laws are critical for today's commercial applicator in the vertebrate pest control business. The ever-changing focus on environmental protection, endangered species considerations, occupational health and safety, and animal rights have put vertebrate pest control operators in the precarious position of correctly interpreting the steady stream of laws and regulations passed by government. The consequences of failing to stay abreast of these changing regulations and correctly interpreting them can lead to very costly fines and possible imprisonment. Maintaining close contact with the many agencies that regulate the pest control industry and their enforcement personnel is essential to navigating and promoting a successful, long-term business in today's hostile, anti-business environment.
        Cover page: Federal and state fish and wildlife regulations and other pertinent California laws
        • Article
        Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, Volume 14 (1990)
        Bird deaths resulting from toxic materials in containment ponds are causing authorities to insist that action be taken to eliminate this hazard to avian wildlife. Bird control at containment pond sites is achieved by two well-known but poorly understood aversion techniques: hazing systems (sound/visual) and stretch wire. The limiting condition of either approach is that resident birds rapidly habituate while some migrating species are totally unaffected. Consequently, one must be able to accept degrees of control with an understanding of the behavior of the species involved. Birdproofing is achieved by covering an entire pond with bird net. This presentation discusses several aspects of bird netting including selection of net, with consideration of UV degradation, weather conditions and species, design of support systems, installation procedures, attachment techniques, abrasion limitations, and a brief summary of hanging and stretch-wire techniques.
          Cover page: Bird control on containment pond sites
          • Thesis
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC Davis Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2021)

          This dissertation studies how teachers in higher education use learning management systems (LMS) to see and understand student engagement and risk status. Educational technology such as LMS are designed with implicit conceptualizations and instantiations of learning related concepts. This study focuses on the concepts of student engagement and risk status as they are prominently featured in LMS metrics and marketing. Based on interviews and surveys from a cross-disciplinary sample of 21 professors at a North American university, this study answers two research questions. First, how do instructors define engagement and risk status? This study showed that instructors define engagement and risk status in rich way. The instructors in this study described engagement in terms of student actions related to deeper thinking about class content and stereotypical class participation. The instructors in this study described risk status in terms of both fixed and changeable risk factors. In a thematic qualitative analysis these conceptual understandings are compared to how the LMS instantiated these concepts. The second research question asks: How does the LMS inform teachers about students' engagement and risk status? The instructors in this study described the LMS informing them through its online activity logs, work submissions, and gradebook. However, most of the participants reported that the LMS had limited usefulness and instead relied on personal interactions with students. To conclude, these findings are interpreted in the contexts of increased demand for constructivist pedagogy, accountability, and datafication. Specific questions are proposed for LMS developers and adopters. These questions center on the argument that throughout the LMS adoption process, from development to use, it is critical to consider conceptual definitions and their alignment if LMS deeply support instructional practice and student learning.

            Cover page: How University Instructors See Student Engagement and Risk Status: Constructing Definitions with Information from Instructional Practices and Learning Management Systems
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC Davis Previously Published Works (2024)
            From a social constructivist perspective, learning happens by way of engagement with other people and with objects in the environment, often through a process of play and exploration. The notion of tinkering illustrates this mode of creative play, which is relevant not only to youth learning but also to educators’ professional learning. In this study, we describe the experiences of a group of educators who participated in a professional learning program in the summer of 2020 that involved a series of activities for “tinkering at home.” Interviews focused on participants’ sense-making processes, the resources they sought out, and the facilitation choices they made if they included others in their tinkering. Thematic analysis revealed four characteristic features of the affective and relational flow of learning through tinkering: (1) generative openings, (2) multiple pathways for exploration, (3) impasse, and (4) resolution through social interaction. We discuss the implications of these themes for reflective pedagogical practice that is grounded in educators’ own experiential learning.
              • Article
              Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, Volume 10 (1982)
              Reducing a pigeon population to a tolerable or minimal impact level is a subject about which one can find much antiquated and impractical information. Most technical literature reports on the biology of pigeons and associated disease factors. The intention of this paper is to describe the practical application of large-scale pigeon population reduction programs that have been at least 90% effective in 45 out of 46 cases over the past four years. Human relations, exclusion, trapping, toxic perches and Avitrol are discussed.
                Cover page: Pigeon control: An integrated approach
                • Article
                Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, Volume 18 (1998)
                Vineyard bird control is an important issue both monetarily and practically. Each season vineyard managers face the real threat of significant crop loss to starlings and finches, as well as an assortment of other birds. The increased popularity of wine as a mainstream consumable has led to a higher crop value in this industry. Because of this, the grape growers can no longer ignore bird damage. Netting, now recognized as the best solution, creates an additional challenge for the grower. To take full advantage of this management tool, a working knowledge of the proper equipment, as well as recognition of the behavioral characteristics and effects of the pest birds, must be combined for maximum effect.
                  Cover page: The use of netting as a bird management tool in vineyards
                  • Article
                  Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, Volume 9 (1980)
                  In an effort to reduce damage by house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) to grapes, field trials were undertaken in two red winegrape (Pinot Noir and Pinot Chardonnay) vineyards in California using prebait (rape seed and canary grass seed) followed by baiting with these same seeds treated with a hydrochloric acid and 4-aminopyridine (Avitrol) solution. Seed was placed in V-shaped troughs placed 1-3 feet above the vines; treated seed was blended in a ratio of 2 untreated seeds to 1 treated seed, and 3 parts canary grass seed to 1 part rape seed. Prebait seed was replaced with treated seed when estimated maximum house finch visitation occurred, and was exposed from 1 to 4 days, with removal when house finch feeding from troughs ceased; the prebait and treatment schedule was then repeated as necessary until harvest. Bird counts were made throughout the trial, and winegrape damage assessment was conducted. In one test vineyard, early in the trial damage in the treated plot was assessed at 3% while damage in the control plot was insignificant, and house finches abandoned the test site. In the other test vineyard, the treatment plot received 7% damage while the two control plots received 17% and 13% damage, respectively. As a result of the treatment, grape damage was reduced approximately 50% as compared to bird damage the previous year. Data support the conclusion that Avitrol-affected house finches may stimulate an avoidance reaction among other flock members.
                    Cover page: Avitrol-treated bait for protection of grapes from house finch damage
                    • Article
                    • Peer Reviewed
                    UC Davis Previously Published Works (2020)
                    Although engineering is by nature an applied and interdisciplinary field, courses in engineering can lead even the best students to develop knowledge that is disconnected from other related fields and from conditions of application. This paper describes an innovative undergraduate course that integrated the theory of shock waves, computational modeling, experimental testing, and science of sustainable manufacturing. The course supported better visualization of mechanical and aerospace engineering phenomena, such as shock waves in supersonic gas flows, by utilizing the hydraulic analogy of shallow water and a simple water table. Airfoil design and manufacture were integrated through aerospace and manufacturing theory and application. For the first course offering, student learning was assessed with regard to their views of engineering, learning experience, and transfer of learning. The course proved to increase self-efficacy as engineers, as well as their self-reported confidence in working comfortably on multi-disciplinary teams. Furthermore, scenario-based assessments confirmed that the students were able to integrate aerospace and manufacturing theory and application within new scenarios.
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