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Collection Description
Collection of student theses and dissertations from as early as 1939, but mainly from 2010 to present.
Pages
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- West African currency union: Feasibility through re-composition
- Since the inception of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1975, the founding members have aimed to introduce a single regional currency as a mechanism to achieve continued economic integration, sustainable economic expansion and poverty reduction. This paper empirically assesses the feasibility of the proposed West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) as an optimum currency area by considering potential benefits and costs of the union using the Gravity Model of Trade and Vector Autoregression (VAR) analysis respectively. To perform the assessment, I first employ the Gravity Model of Trade to analyze the trade-creating benefits of adopting a common currency by evaluating the effect of currency risk on bilateral trade flows. I find that currency risk is not a significant trade barrier. Then, I perform a VAR analysis to understand the symmetry of shock responses across the proposed union and discover that both supply and demand shocks are generally asymmetric. This finding indicates that the retention of monetary policy autonomy by member countries will be more beneficial than joining the proposed currency union. The results of both analyses indicate that the proposed monetary zone is not an optimal currency area. Finally, I employ a K-means clustering algorithm to derive a statistically driven cluster of countries best suited to form an optimal currency area in West Africa and find three optimal clusters., San Diego State University
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- Wet chemical analysis of marine sediments: Application to hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin
- In the southern trough of the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California, intrusion of magma occurs within thick blankets of rapidly deposited mixtures of terrigenous and biogenous sediment. Evidence from deep sea drilling cores, piston cores, and small "Alvin" push cores indicate that the circulation of hot fluids results in a very complex hydrothermal system. In this paper, special attention is given to short (20 cm) surface cores collected in areas characterized by upward advection of hydrothermal fluids, both in areas of strong advective flow as well as diffuse seepage through large bacterial mats of Beggiatoa. A wet chemical method of sediment analysis was modified in order that viable solid phase AI, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, P, Si, and Ti concentrations were generated. Visual, smear slide, coulometric, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations of sediment material were used to supplement the analytical results, and comparison was made to previously obtained interstitial water data. The results of these analyses indicate that a rapid decrease in organic carbon is associated with enhanced thermal activity, in conjunction with sulfate reduction in the upper portion of these sediments. This has resulted in petroleum generation. The development of sulfide in interstitial waters, derived from sulfate reduction, creates a steady source from which the Beggiatoa mats can survive at the surface of these sediments. It also results in the presence of pyrite and greigite in the sediments. A dissolution of biogenic silica is noted at depth in most of these sediments. As the upward migration of dissolved silica encounters colder sea water near the sediment surface, cementation of diatoms by amorphous silica results. Evidence that such silica cemented areas can restrict the hydrothermal circulation of fluids through the sediments is indicated by consistent changes in interstitial water concentrations of calcium, magnesium, potassium, lithium, strontium, sulfate, and ammonia at these depths. Where the two solutions meet at 6 cm depth in one core there is mobilization of iron into adjacent sedimentary strata. Few changes with depth were evident in elemental concentrations. However, overall interpretation of the sediment data suggests that higher silica, iron, aluminum, and potassium concentrations in the sediments are present as a consequence of ongoing hydrothermal activity. Higher inorganic carbon, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and apatite concentrations at depth in one core indicate that hydrothermal activity in that core is of relatively recent origin, thus not allowing enough time for these concentrations to have diminished., San Diego State University
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- What are the children watching? : a look into the pacing and learning concepts of children's television
- Over forty years of research has been accumulated in regards to the effects of television on young children. Numerous studies have focused solely on amount of time spend watching television, content, cognitive development or pacing. Currently, researchers have become more concerned with the connection between content and pacing and how it effects a young child's development. The pace at which television moves at is extremely different from the slow pace of real life and it takes away from social interactions that are vital to a successful development. This study contributes to the body of research by examining four current popular children's television shows on two dimensions, pacing and learning concepts. An anonymous survey was distributed to parents at two university child care centers in San Diego County in order to find the three most popular shows for one to three year olds and three to five years. The survey also aimed to find out the top learning concepts parents feel are important for their child to learn at their perspective age. Results from 110 surveys revealed Sesame Street, Curious George, Cat in the Hat Know a Lot About That! and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse were the most popular shows watched and that Cooperative Play with Peers was one of the most important learning concepts for parents. Samples of five episodes from the current seasons were watched and the number of cuts was recorded to determine the pacing. The same five episodes were then watched again to record the number of learning concepts presented. The major findings of the study consisted of the current viewing habits of young children, the average cuts per of the shows, the relationship between number of cuts and number of learning concepts and the average amount of times the important learning concepts for parents were presented in an episode. On average, children 1 to 5 are watching 0 to 60 minutes of television daily. For most popular shows they are watching: Sesame Street averaged a cut every 7 seconds, Curious George averaged a cut every 4 seconds, Cat in the Hat averaged a cut every 5 seconds and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse averaged a cut every 8 seconds. When looking at the relationship between number of cuts and number of learning concepts, a positive correlation was found, meaning that as learning concepts increased so did the number of cuts. Lastly, many of the concepts parent felt were important for their child to learn, were not presented in the shows. Cooperative Play with Peers was presented, on average, three times an episode. These results support the current trend in research regarding the quality of children's television. A fast paced show, such as Curious George, has the least amount of learning concepts, especially ones that parents value, but is one of the most popular shows from one year olds. The relationships between pacing and learning concepts will be important for future research studying the long term effects of television on young children's development and learning.
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- What is all that noise? Mike Patton and the presence of Italian futurism
- Mike Patton is an artist who transcends musical categories. He sings and collaborateswith several experimental rock groups, performs selections of Italian pop music, and he composes music for films and video games. While listening to his music one can hear the fusion of many genres and that he frequently draws his musical ideas from the principles of Italian futurism. A multidisciplinary movement that emerged in the early twentieth century, futurism celebrated the relationship humans and technology and called for noise as an integral part of a musical composition. In his manifesto The Art of Noises, futurist composer Luigi Russolo advocated for the study of the unlimited varieties of noise and their musical possibilities. Futurism's noise resounded well into the twentieth-century avant-garde and the tradition of American experimentalism. Composers such as Edgard Varèse, Henry Cowell, and John Cage echoed many of the sentiments posed by Russolo and championed for the appropriation of noises as musical sounds in their writings and compositions. Futurist noise continues to have a presence in the works of contemporary composers of experimental music. While living in Italy, Patton studied the futurist poet F. T. Marinetti's The Futurist Cookbook and was inspired to compose Pranzo Oltranzista, which is a contemporary expression of the futurist aesthetic. The aim of this study is to examine the historical, cultural, and aesthetic developments of noise in experimental music and its relationship to the Italian futurism movement. Specifically, I will study the relationship between Mike Patton's Pranzo Oltranzista and F. T. Marinetti's The Futurist Cookbook as they relate to the futurist's exploration of the musical element of noise.
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- What remains
- What Remains is a body of work that contemplates the experience of the bereaved. In the intimate spaces of home, every unused object and empty space is a reminder of the deceased. They remain with us through our memories, stories, photographs, and possessions left behind. My work is strongly affected by my own experience with the death of family and nostalgic feelings connected to my Midwestern upbringing. The stillness of winter's frozen landscape and old, abandoned farm structures are a metaphor for loss. As I reflect on this place where my family was once whole, I compulsively make objects in order to repair and restore what has been lost. The sculptures resemble dilapidated farm equipment and domestic items. References to clothing, tissue, and jewelry present grief as a burden taken on by the body. The five pieces in What Remains invite the viewer to experience the mournful beauty of the ritual of remembering a lost loved one. My materials included copper foil, glass enamel, steel wire, wax, salt, fabric, tissues, silver chain, and found furniture. My primary methods of construction involve metal fabrication, casting wax into silicon molds, as well as a series of repetitive and laborious processes such stitching, twisting, and tying of materials. These repetitive processes are meditative, express a sense of time, and echo a melancholic longing for the past. An exhibition of this work was presented in the Flor Y Canto Gallery at San Diego State University, May 01-05, 2010. A set of images of this project is on file at the Slide Library of the School of Art, Design, and Art History at San Diego State University.
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- What’s happening in the crowd? : analysis of crowdfunding contributor behaviors using the theory of planned behavior
- Online crowdfunding has been a rapidly growing sector of both charitable giving and online purchase behavior. In 2014, $16.2 billion was raised globally by crowdfunding platforms, and that number was projected to more than double in 2015, reaching $34.4 billion. Online crowdfunding aggregates small donations from a large number of contributors to generate funds for many different purposes, including business capital and humanitarian efforts. Using Ajzen’s model of the theory of planned behavior, a survey was constructed to assess how subjective norms influence intention to donate and donation behavior in crowdfunding. In addition to the variables in Ajzen’s original theory, the survey assessed the role of credibility in crowdfunding and whether perceived credibility serves as a predictor of intention to donate or donation behavior. To further adapt the application of the theory of planned behavior to investigate online crowdfunding behavior, the measure of motivation to comply was assessed separately from subjective norms of a social network. Relationships between motivation to comply and the variables intention to donate and donating today were analyzed to determine the strength of the relationships between the variables. A strong relationship between motivation to comply and intention to donate and motivation to comply and donating today would indicate that motivation to comply applies similarly to online and offline transactions. A survey of those who had contributed to crowdfunding campaigns (N = 316) was conducted online using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Results of the survey revealed that the subjective norms of an individual’s social network are the biggest predictor of making a donation to a crowdfunding campaign. Additionally, the results indicated that the variables confidence in ability to donate to a crowdfunding campaign, attitude toward helping others, motivation to comply, and attitude toward crowdfunding campaigns best predict an individual’s intention to donate to a given crowdfunding campaign. Additionally, the results show that intention to donate and actual donation behavior have a weak relationship. This means that intention to donate to a crowdfunding campaign does not predict that an individual will follow through with his or her intentions and complete the intended behavior of donating to a campaign.
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- Wheelhouse
- The following treatment refers to the "Wheelhouse" sculpture exhibition which took place in the Flor Y Canto gallery in the School of Art, Design and Art History at San Diego State University. The exhibit was installed 1-6 December, 2007. Alternate mold making strategies, materials and issues bearing upon the resulting iron castings are discussed. Ideas relative to making art from the world around us are considered and linked to important figures in contemporary art history. Deconstruction of common studio foundry process is explored and elaborated on. Arguments are made supporting autonomy, authority, and authenticity of the deconstructed elements of studio iron casting. Conference and symposia related to the global iron casting discourse are described and discussed. Process elements of the iron casting discourse that are not commonly considered are revealed and detailed. The slides, an appendix to the project, are available for viewing at the Slide Library in the School of Art, Design and Art History.