VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Investigating Student Perceptions of the Chemistry Laboratory and Their Approaches to Learning in the Laboratory

This dissertation explores student perceptions of the instructional chemistry laboratory and the approaches students take when learning in the laboratory environment./nTo measure student perceptions of the chemistry laboratory, a survey instrument was developed. 413 students responded to the survey during the Fall 2011 semester. Students’ perception of the usefulness of the laboratory in helping them learn chemistry in high school was related to several factors regarding their experiences in high school chemistry. Students’ perception of the usefulness of the laboratory in helping them learn chemistry in college was also measured. Reasons students provided for the usefulness of the laboratory were categorized./nTo characterize approaches to learning in the laboratory, students were interviewed midway through semester (N=18). The interviews were used to create a framework describing learning approaches that students use in the laboratory environment. Students were categorized into three levels: students who view the laboratory as a requirement, students who believe that the laboratory augments their understanding, and students who view the laboratory as an important part of science. These categories describe the types of strategies students used when conducting experiments./nTo further explore the relationship between students’ perception of the laboratory and their approaches to learning, two case studies are described. These case studies involve interviews in the beginning and end of the semester. In the interviews, students reflect on what they have learned in the laboratory and describe their perceptions of the laboratory environment./nIn order to encourage students to adopt higher-level approaches to learning in the laboratory, a metacognitive intervention was created. The intervention involved supplementary questions that students would answer while completing laboratory experiments. The questions were designed to encourage students to think critically about the laboratory procedures. In order to test the effects of the intervention, an experimental group (N=87) completed these supplementary questions during two laboratory experiments while a control group (N=84) performed the same experiments without these additional questions. The effects of the intervention on laboratory exam performance were measured. Students in the experimental group had a higher average on the laboratory exam than students in the control group.

Advisor: Stacy, Angelica M
Picturing Color in Italian Cinema

This dissertation examines the engagement of post-1989 Italian cinema with (im)migration from the global south and multiculturalism in Italy within Europe. Focusing on a selection of films from 1990 to 2010, I argue that Italian cinema of immigration is constructed and maintained through constant erasures of Italian histories and desires. As films of social engagement, cinema of immigration is about the “here” and the “now,” namely Italian problems after the end of the Cold War. However, it also operates within older and broader frameworks, engaging different aspects of Italian/European society, history and culture. This dissertation unfolds those aspects and articulates connections between Italian cinema of immigration, Italy’s misremembered colonial past, neorealism, Europe’s project of supra-national integrations, and economic networks of exchange./nDespite the fact that the cinema of immigration has become one of the most recognizable ‘sub-genres’ of Italian cinema since Michele Placido’s Pummarò (1990), scholarship on this subject is relatively recent and still taking shape. For that reason, the first half of my dissertation examines the history of Italian cinema, and engages the points of contact between the mobility of people and the moving image. In my introductory chapter, I historicize the representation of racialized others by focusing on certain key moments of interplay between the spectacular and the real, scenes that demonstrate the endurance of Italian orientalist ideologies. I then focus on the rhetorical move of equating immigrants from the global south with Italian migrants from the postwar era, and argue that even though the analogy was mobilized to create a sense of empathy, those representations are actually based on pre-existing models of alienation and discrimination. The second half of my research looks to Europe and beyond, and situates Italian cinema of immigration within synchronic networks. For example, my third chapter looks at the global circulation of the cinema of migration, and shows that seeming peripheral networks of distribution are, in fact, central to its existence. My final chapter compares English, French and German accented cinemas, which is the production of first and second-generation immigrant filmmakers, in order to postulate the existence of an Italian accented cinema and delineate its possible, though constantly changing, and contours.

Advisor: Spackman, Barbara
DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF NOVEL DIAGNOSTICS TO PROBE DYNAMICALLY COMPRESSED MATERIALS

Two particular experimental approaches have been experiencing increased interest, that of dynamic spectroscopy and that of 2D measurements. The first allows us to obtain a better understanding of the electronic and chemical processes taking place under shock loading while the second provides a detailed view into the microscopic and macroscopic heterogeneities which directly influence material behavior and have been difficult to identify in the bulk material. In order to better understand these behaviors and their origins, two approaches have been utilized. A novel dynamic broadband optical reflectivity diagnostic was developed to probe changes in material properties on the scale of electronic structure and an existing, but only recently developed high resolution velocimetry system was used to observe the aforementioned changes on larger, microstructural scales./nIn order to expand understanding of the chemical and mechanical responses of condensed matter to dynamic shock compression two projects were undertaken. The first was the development of a broadband optical reflectivity diagnostic with both time and wavelength resolution. The Shock Wave Optical Reflectivity Diagnostic (SWORD) has enabled us to study the dynamic optical reflectivity in shocked samples over the visible and near-infrared, across a time span of nanoseconds and with a resolution of 0.5 ns and 10 nm. Laser velocimetry was used in tandem with the SWORD to determine kinematic properties of the shocked samples, such as pressure and density. This novel diagnostic has been applied to the semiconductor-to-metal transition in single-crystal germanium and used to observe both a general reflectivity increase on metallization and a wavelength dependent response as a function of pressure./nThe second project involved the application of the recently developed two dimensional Velocity Interferometry System for Any Reflector (2D VISAR, alternatively Janus High Resolution Velocimeter, JHRV) to study anisotropic shock wave propagation and dynamic heterogeneous deformation and fracture in diamond. In combination with the aforementioned laser velocimetry (also VISAR), we have obtained velocity histories and two-dimensional velocity maps and images of the shocked target at various time points after breakout. Significant anisotropy in both the elastic and inelastic waves was observed in single-crystal diamond samples. Characteristic length scales for the fracture of polycrystalline diamond samples of varying grain size were also determined.

Advisor: Jeanloz, Raymond
Saykally, Richard
Non-Epitaxial Thin-Film Indium Phosphide Photovoltaics: Growth, Devices, and Cost Analysis

In recent years, the photovoltaic market has grown significantly as module prices have continued to come down. Continued growth of the field requires higher efficiency modules at lower manufacturing costs. In particular, higher efficiencies reduce the area needed for a given power output, thus reducing the downstream balance of systems costs that scale with area such as mounting frames, installation, and soft costs. Cells and modules made from III-V materials have the highest demonstrated efficiencies to date but are not yet at the cost level of other thin film technologies, which has limited their large-scale deployment. There is a need for new materials growth, processing and fabrication techniques to address this major shortcoming of III-V semiconductors./nChapters 2 and 3 explore growth of InP on non-epitaxial Mo substrates by MOCVD and CSS, respectively. The results from these studies demonstrate that InP optoelectronic quality is maintained even by growth on non-epitaxial metal substrates. Structural characterization by SEM and XRD show stoichiometric InP can be grown in complete thin films on Mo. Photoluminescence measurements show peak energies and widths to be similar to those of reference wafers of similar doping concentrations./nIn chapter 4 the TF-VLS growth technique is introduced and cells fabricated from InP produced by this technique are characterized. The TF-VLS method results in lateral grain sizes of >500 µm and exhibits superior optoelectronic quality. First generation devices using a n-TiO2 window layer along with p-type TF-VLS grown InP have reached ~12.1% power conversion efficiency under 1 sun illumination with VOC of 692 mV, JSC of 26.9 mA/cm2, and FF of 65%. The cells are fabricated using all non-epitaxial processing. Optical measurements show the InP in these cells have the potential to support a higher VOC of ~795 mV, which can be achieved by improved device design./nChapter 5 describes a cost analysis of a manufacturing process using an InP cell as the active layer in a monolithically integrated module. Importantly, TF-VLS growth avoids the hobbles of traditional growth: the epitaxial wafer substrate, low utilization efficiency of expensive metalorganic precursors, and high capital depreciation costs due to low throughput. Production costs are projected to be $0.76/W(DC) for the benchmark case of 12% efficient modules and would decrease to $0.40/W(DC) for the long-term potential case of 24% efficient modules.

Advisor: Javey, Ali
Partially Coherent Quantitative Phase Retrieval with Applications to Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography

This dissertation presents a new quantitative phase retrieval algorithm that fully models partially coherent imaging in microscopes. Unlike existing algorithms, our algorithm fully considers the pupil function and illumination by using the Weak Object Transfer Function (WOTF). Using an iterative approach, we extend the applicability of the WOTF beyond weakly scattering objects. This allows almost any measurement to be used during phase retrieval. As an example of how this feature can be used to invent practical new measurement schemes, we present the illumination switched pupil. This measurement uses a phase contrast objective and varied illumination to maximize the sensitivity of the microscope to both the phase and amplitude of the sample. Using only two images, the complex field can be recovered with high sensitivity at almost all spatial frequencies./nA complete model of imaging in the microscope enables self-calibration of the measurements and improved phase retrieval. Since all important characteristics of the microscope can be incorporated, an optimization over critical parameters, such as the best focus position and image alignment, can be performed after the images have been captured. This allows errors in the calibration to be corrected after the measurements have been performed, improving the accuracy of the recovered field while simplifying the experiments./nTo verify and apply the algorithm experimentally, we have performed phase retrieval measurements of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) photomasks on the zone plate microscope, SHARP, at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Phase retrieval has enabled the quantitative analysis of multilayer roughness and defects. Experiments, comparing the size of defects measured using phase retrieval to measurements performed by AFM, indicate that AFM consistently underestimates the effective height of the buried multilayer defects by 1 nm. Other measurements of defects, comparing the recovered field extracted from standard and from phase contrast images as well as measurements taken under varying illumination, showed consistent results and provide experimental evidence that the algorithm handles the pupil function and partial coherence correctly.

Advisor: Waller, Laura
The Sacred Cow of Syphilis Control: Assessing the Utility and Practical Implications of Syphilis Partner Services Data in California

Following the introduction of penicillin in the 1940s, the incidence of infectious syphilis in the United States dramatically declined from a high of 70.9 per 100,000 in 1946 to a historic low of 2.1 in 20001. In the decade since, syphilis has shown signs of re-emergence, with the incidence rate of infectious syphilis in the U.S. increasing to 5.5 per 100,000 in 2013. Infectious syphilis trends in California have largely paralleled those of the rest of the country, but with an incidence rate consistently above the national average. After decades of substantial progress in syphilis control, the incidence of infectious syphilis in California increased from a low of 0.9 per 100,000 (284 cases) in 1999 to 9.3 in 2013 (3,554 cases)2. As in other major metropolitan areas in the U.S., the majority of syphilis cases in California are among men who have sex with men (MSM), with a high proportion reporting HIV co-infection. Syphilis infection can result in major health complications if untreated, and also facilitates the transmission and acquisition of HIV3-5./nIn addition to mandated reporting to health departments, syphilis partner services – in particular, partner notification - are a standard public health practice for identifying potentially infectious individuals for testing and treatment, thereby interrupting transmission of syphilis within sexual networks and reducing incidence of the illness in the general population6. However, the increasing incidence of syphilis in California, the frequent reporting by patients with syphilis of anonymous sex partners, and the lack of a clear measure of partner services effectiveness raise questions concerning the impact this intervention is having on spread of disease, and to what extent the data acquired through syphilis partner services provide meaningful information about how the underlying sexual networks contribute to trends in syphilis morbidity in various populations./nThe objectives of this dissertation are 1) to review studies evaluating syphilis partner notification efforts and compare outcome definitions and measures of effectiveness, 2) to analyze the structure and characteristics of sexual networks detected through routine syphilis surveillance and partner notification efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area Region, and 3) to make recommendations concerning how public health departments might use syphilis surveillance data to better understand such networks and to provide opportunities for case-finding and disease prevention./nThis dissertation will directly inform a common public health intervention by assessing the utility of existing public health data for understanding and preventing transmission of syphilis within networks, and by discussing ways in which resources might be deployed to reduce the incidence of syphilis more effectively.

Advisor: Rutherford, George
Reingold, Arthur
Robustness of Biological and Bio-inspired Exoskeletons

The single greatest difference between biological organisms and human technologies today is perhaps robustness. Robustness is broadly defined as a system's ability to maintain performance despite disturbances. Qualitatively, a complex system may be called robust if it exhibits some or all of the following properties - multi-functionality, fault tolerance, damage resistance, modularity and redundancy. However, even the best engineering approaches that have attempted to consider some of these aspects find themselves 'fragile', slow and computationally intensive. On the other hand, I contend that biological systems are truly robust and capable of a plethora of complex activities such as locomotion, reproduction, respiration etc. In addition, animals constantly overcome challenges of growth and perform self-repair and learning, still a challenge for even the best engineered systems today. Using the cockroach as my model organism, I have investigated the role of exoskeletons in enabling robust high-speed locomotor behavior in cockroaches. Specifically, I have discovered that the cockroach exoskeleton/n(1) is effective at dealing with external loads/impulses through body reconfiguration,/n(2) facilitates (or enhances) rapid horizontal to vertical transitions during high-speed running, and/n(3) compensates for damage (loss of appendages (or its parts)) undergoing a limited decrement in high-speed running performance./nBased on the impressive locomotion performance by cockroaches despite perturbations, internal and external to the animals, we propose that robustness is a crucial measure of the effectiveness of a system's performance.

Advisor: Full, Robert J
Antagonistic interactions between microRNAs underlie robust tumor suppressor responses.

The oncogenic mir-17-92 cluster encodes six coordinately expressed miRNAs with a unique capacity for gene regulation. In this dissertation, we have extended our studies of the mir-17-92 cluster in order to explore two fundamental concepts: functional consequences of aberrant miRNA expression, and distinct regulation within a miRNA polycistron. In the Eμ-myc Burkitt’s lymphoma model, mir-17-92 exhibits potent oncogenic activity by repressing c-Myc-induced apoptosis, primarily through its miR-19 components. Here we report that, surprisingly, mir-17-92 also encodes the miR-92 component that negatively regulates its oncogenic cooperation with c-Myc. The effect of miR-92 is mediated, in part, through direct repression of Fbw7 which normally promotes the proteosomal degradation of c-Myc. Thus, overexpressing miR-92 leads to c-Myc-induced proliferation strongly coupled to p53-dependent apoptosis. Ultimately, we reveal an antagonistic interaction between miR-19 and miR-92 that is disrupted in B-lymphoma cells, which favor a greater increase for miR-19 than miR-92. Furthermore, we have identified an RBP, Hnrnpu, as a factor that is bound to miR-19b, transcriptionally regulated by Myc, overexpressed in Burkitt’s Lymphoma, required for maintining miR-19b abundance, and therefore a plausible candidates for trans-acting factors that alter the ratio of miR-19:miR-92. These studies add to our understanding of how individual miRNAs within a single cluster may act as antagonists, as well as how these antagonistic interactions are regulated.

Advisor: He, Lin
Essays in psychometrics and behavioral statistics

This dissertation consists of three chapters. The main focus of the first chapter is on Lord’s paradox. Lord’s paradox arises from the conflicting inferences obtained from two alternative approaches that are typically used in evaluating the treatment effect using a pre-post test design. The chapter is designed as a guide to researchers who are using this research design. As an example, I investigate whether the treatment—a new mathematics curriculum—had an effect on student-level outcomes using both approaches. I demonstrate that Lord’s paradox can occur even when the two approaches are accounting for the measurement error in variables./nOrdinal response data obtained from surveys and tests are often modeled using cumulative, adjacent-category, or continuation-ratio logit link functions. Instead of using one of these specifically designed procedures for each of these formulations of logits, we can modify the structure of the data in such a way that methods designed for dichotomous outcomes (i.e., binary logistic regression) allow us to achieve the targeted polytomous contrasting (cumulative, adjacent-category, or continuation-ratio). Thus, one can implement procedures designed for dichotomous outcomes on appropriately expanded data. The techniques presented in the second chapter, which I refer to as data expansion techniques, represent this approach./nThe third chapter aims to contribute to the estimation and interpretation of multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) models within the field of psychometrics and latent variable modeling. The main goal of the chapter is to advance the use of the second-order Rasch model. A second-order Rasch model assumes an overall dimension as a second order factor that explains the covariance between the first-order (component) dimensions. The main contribution of the chapter is to suggest ways of using the model by still preserving the advantages of the Rasch model. Historically, the main challenge in the use of such models were (1) computationally intensive estimation and (2) availability of software. In addition, it is difficult to obtain reliable and meaningful estimates in cases when a variance of one of the dimensions is low relative to other dimensions. In such cases, one first needs to re-assess if the multidimensional structure is appropriate. One, then, can use alternative parameterization of the model to avoid difficulties in the estimation, and guidelines in this chapter provide recommendations on how to achieve such parameterizations with the Rasch model.

Advisor: Wilson, Mark
Effects of Strong-Column Weak-Beam Ratios on Collapse Capacities of Tall Reinforced Concrete Moment Frame Structures

The intent of the strong-column weak-beam (SCWB) strength ratio in building codes is/nto reduce the likelihood of the formation of story mechanisms in reinforced concrete special/nmoment-resisting frames subjected to seismic loading. Previous research has shown that/nfor tall buildings the current code requirement is not sucient to prevent these undesirable/nplastic mechanisms from forming and leading to collapse of the structure. Furthermore,/nnonlinear analyses of structures greater than four stories with strength ratios of 2:0 or greater/nhave shown story mechanisms to still occur. It is unclear whether complete prevention of/nstory mechanisms is possible or even necessary in tall buildings. To achieve a complete/nbuilding mechanism, the required SCWB ratio would lead to dimensions that would be/ndeemed unacceptable to project sponsors./nTo determine the eects that SCWB strength ratios have on collapse mechanisms and/ncollapse capacities of buildings, several structures with diering SCWB ratios and heights/nwere analyzed: namely, 12-, 18- and 24-story structures each with 1:2, 1:4, 1:6, 1:8, and 2:0/nSCWB ratios, for a total of 15 structures. Numerical modelling of these perimeter frame/nstructures was done in Opensees. A nonlinear static analysis and an incremental dynamic/nanalysis (IDA) using 30 ground motions were performed on each structure. Fragility curves/nwere obtained using the maximum likelihood method from the results of the IDA. The/nprobability of collapse given a maximum credible event, P(CjMCE), of each structure was/nsubsequently obtained. Maximum beam and column end rotations occurring during the IDA/nwere plotted to examine the types of mechanisms formed.

Advisor: Moehle, Jack P