College of Behavioral & Social Sciences

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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..

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    California Mission Bell Markers: A Study of Heritage and Culture
    (2024) Dover, Amanda Lee; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Abstract Mission bell markers line the El Camino Real Highway, which is referred to as the 101 Freeway in contemporary times. Mission bell markers can also be found in public spaces throughout California. These mission bell markers were installed beginning in the early 20th century. To many, these mission bell markers hold a variety of symbolic representations. For some people, these mission bell markers are a symbol of their culture and heritage, while many others view these bells as an oppressive instrument of colonialism. Most of the California missions put forth a narrative of benevolence and a skewed view of history. This narrative glorifies and celebrates Spanish occupation and colonization while distorting California Indian culture and identity. The significance of this work brings awareness to the myth of the mission. The myth of the mission is one of a complex romanticized history that capitalizes on tourism and perpetuates the dominance and erasure of California Indigenous peoples. This thesis was also written to bring awareness to the California 4th grade mission curriculum that is put forth by the state of California in most public schools. This curriculum teaches a fabricated narrative of Spanish and California Indian relations. This curriculum, like the California mission’s narrative, perpetuates the myth of California Indian extinction. The 4th grade mission curriculum needs to be thoughtfully and respectfully revised. To explore the symbolism that mission bell markers hold to different individuals two surveys, an anonymous survey and a three-question survey were conducted. The results of these two surveys shed light on how certain groups of people and different individuals feel about mission bell markers that are found throughout the California landscape. Heritage is complicated and complex. There are different conceptions of mission bell markers that exist within different descendant communities and the public. These symbols hold different meanings to different people. How can highly charged perspectives of the California mission bell markers held among Indigenous and Californio descendant groups be reconciled in public heritage?
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    The Effect of Landscape Evolution on the Visibility of the Archaeological Record: A Case Study from Deeply Buried Site CA-SLO-16, Morro Bay, California
    (2023) Bales, Emily Marie; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Morro Bay, California is a biotically-diverse region with a rich cultural history. In the archaeological community, there is an ongoing debate over the probable cause for an occupational hiatus in the region during the Middle Period (2600-1000 BP). This case study addresses this disparity and presents the results of a single component, deeply buried, Middle Period archaeological site. This thesis highlights how landform age, landscape evolution, and geoarchaeological methodology can affect the probability of identifying deeply buried archaeological sites. Interdisciplinary data (e.g., seismology, geology, geography, paleoseismology) have proven useful in making a significant contribution in the understanding of a previously unknown period of occupation in Morro Bay.
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    Modeling acute respiratory illness during the 2007 San Diego wildland fires using a coupled emissions-transport system and generalized additive modeling
    (Springer Nature, 2013-11-05) Thelen, Brian; French, Nancy HF; Koziol, Benjamin W; Billmire, Michael; Owen, Robert Chris; Johnson, Jeffrey; Ginsberg, Michele; Loboda, Tatiana; Wu, Shiliang
    A study of the impacts on respiratory health of the 2007 wildland fires in and around San Diego County, California is presented. This study helps to address the impact of fire emissions on human health by modeling the exposure potential of proximate populations to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) from vegetation fires. Currently, there is no standard methodology to model and forecast the potential respiratory health effects of PM plumes from wildland fires, and in part this is due to a lack of methodology for rigorously relating the two. The contribution in this research specifically targets that absence by modeling explicitly the emission, transmission, and distribution of PM following a wildland fire in both space and time. Coupled empirical and deterministic models describing particulate matter (PM) emissions and atmospheric dispersion were linked to spatially explicit syndromic surveillance health data records collected through the San Diego Aberration Detection and Incident Characterization (SDADIC) system using a Generalized Additive Modeling (GAM) statistical approach. Two levels of geographic aggregation were modeled, a county-wide regional level and division of the county into six sub regions. Selected health syndromes within SDADIC from 16 emergency departments within San Diego County relevant for respiratory health were identified for inclusion in the model. The model captured the variability in emergency department visits due to several factors by including nine ancillary variables in addition to wildfire PM concentration. The model coefficients and nonlinear function plots indicate that at peak fire PM concentrations the odds of a person seeking emergency care is increased by approximately 50% compared to non-fire conditions (40% for the regional case, 70% for a geographically specific case). The sub-regional analyses show that demographic variables also influence respiratory health outcomes from smoke. The model developed in this study allows a quantitative assessment and prediction of respiratory health outcomes as it relates to the location and timing of wildland fire emissions relevant for application to future wildfire scenarios. An important aspect of the resulting model is its generality thus allowing its ready use for geospatial assessments of respiratory health impacts under possible future wildfire conditions in the San Diego region. The coupled statistical and process-based modeling demonstrates an end-to-end methodology for generating reasonable estimates of wildland fire PM concentrations and health effects at resolutions compatible with syndromic surveillance data.
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    The Role of the ISO in U.S. Electricity Markets: A Review of Restructuring in California and PJM
    (Elsevier Science, 1999-04) Cameron, Lisa; Cramton, Peter
    Several regions of the U.S. have sought to restructure the electric power industry by separating the potentially competitive generation sector from the natural monopoly functions of electricity transmission and distribution. Under this restructuring scheme, a central authority, which we will refer to as the independent system operator (ISO), is given control over both the transmission system and the spot market for electricity. The ISO’s role in managing the spot market is relatively uncontroversial. This is because the spot market takes place in real time and requires continuous physical adjustments to electricity supply and demand subject to complex constraints, such as the need to maintain voltage and frequency within tight bands. Although the ISO’s role in managing the spot market is generally accepted, its role in scheduling and pricing generators prior to actual dispatch was hotly debated during the development of California’s market and remains a contentious issue.1 Like other restructured electricity markets, the California market requires generators to be scheduled for operation on a day-ahead basis and allows for adjustments in these day-ahead schedules up to an hour ahead of actual dispatch. However, the California ISO has a minimal role in this scheduling process; almost all scheduling is carried out by a number of competing scheduling coordinators, referred to as SCs. In contrast, the ISO in the Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland market (PJM) schedules all generators that do not elect to schedule themselves. This paper discusses the California and PJM approaches to shed light on the controversy over the ISO’s role in pre-dispatch phases of the market. Section I describes the California market while Section II briefly reviews PJM. Section III outlines the costs and benefits associated with limiting the ISO’s role in the scheduling phases of the market. Section IV summarizes recent experience in California and PJM and offers conclusions.
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    COMPETITIVE BIDDING BEHAVIOR IN UNIFORM-PRICE AUCTION MARKETS
    (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2003-03) Cramton, Peter