Assessing Attitudes Toward Law Enforcement and Civilian Law Enforcement Review Boards in Humboldt, California

Joshua Worthington, Psychology Graduate Student

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

The current state of policing in the United States is a heavily politicized issue. In response to instances of excessive police force on vulnerable populations, civilian law enforcement review boards (CLERBs) were developed to improve accountability. In this study, we investigated support for CLERBs and attitudes toward law enforcement in Humboldt County. Drawing from the social identity theory framework and intergroup contact theory, our work shows that people’s beliefs about how marginalized communities are treated by law enforcement predicts their attitudes toward law enforcement, and this in turn predicts support for CLERBs. We discuss these relationships and their implications.

Assessing BDNF Levels over 30 Days via Capillary Blood

College of Professional Studies

Brain health, and the benefits of physical exercise, have been linked to a biological signaling molecule called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Numerous studies have investigated BDNF levels before and after exercise. Some benefits of increased BDNF concentration have been associated eith better cognitive functioning, memory and neuronal support. Decreased BDNF levels have been linked to poorer cognitive functioning, poorer memory recall, and apoptosis (cell death). This study investigates BDNF variability over a longer duration (30 days) through capillary-drawn blood and will do a correlational analysis to see if recent physical exercise increases circulating BDNF concentrations.

Assessing BDNF Levels over 45 days via Capillary blood

College of Professional Studies

Brain health, and the benefits of exercise, have been linked to a biological signaling molecule called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Results have been inconsistent especially in human studies, which may be attributed to incomplete information about normal variation in BDNF levels over time. This study aims to assess BDNF measurements (3 x a week) from human participants under normal life conditions over a span of up to 45 days, a longer span than has been reported in any other study to our knowledge. We will also collect their exercise activity during the study to see if there is a correlation.

Assessing nocturnal habitat selection of small mammals on an urban-rural gradient using camera trapping

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Urban development forces city and town boundaries to encroach further into wildland habitats and natural landscapes all over the world, causing immense habitat loss and fragmentation. Human-wildlife conflict with mesocarnivores (skunks, foxes, raccoons, etc.) increases as rising rural population densities push more small mammals into anthropogenic areas. This senior thesis study uses trail cameras to assess habitat and resource use vs. availability along the wildland-urban interface among nocturnal small mammals to determine presence of selection.

Assessing Responses of Intertidal Communities to Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia in Northern California

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

During bouts of strong upwelling nearshore areas in northern California can experience extended periods of hypoxic, corrosive waters due to a relatively narrow shelf and poleward shoaling of isother ms. To assess the response of intertidal communities to these conditions we established and surveyed a series of intertidal sites in Humboldt County that vary in the extent of nearshore mixing and are likely to vary in exposure to hypoxia and low pH conditions. We report the results of initial surveys of our sites, including data on sea star wasting disease, and relationships to variation in temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen.

Assessing The Effectiveness of Latinx Center for Academic Excellence & Cultural Space Model Mentorship

College of Professional Studies

We will be assessing the newly implemented programming model used by the LCAE in order to understand where improvements are needed and where we can identify strengths to establish best practices at the center. We will also be looking at how many people use the center and how we can focus outreach efforts in the future. This assessment is being done for internal programming purposes and to support HSU in its larger mission to improve outcomes for students of color, particularly Latinx students at HSU.

Assessing The Effectiveness of Latinx Center for Academic Excellence & Cultural Space Model Mentorship

College of Professional Studies

We will be assessing the newly implemented programming model used by the LCAE in order to understand where improvements are needed and where we can identify strengths to establish best practices at the center. We will also be looking at how many people use the center and how we can focus outreach efforts in the future. This assessment is being done for internal programming purposes and to support HSU in its larger mission to improve outcomes for students of color, particularly Latinx students at HSU.

Assessing the Tourism Potential of Orick, California

Ara Pachmayer, School of Applied Health Faculty

College of Professional Studies

The purpose of this project is to better understand the current state and potential for growth in recreation and tourism in Orick, California with the ultimate goal of driving economic development, improving quality of life for residents, and ensuring sustainable stewardship of natural and cultural resources.

Assessing Uncertainties in a Flow Injection Analysis Method for Trace Concentrations of Iron in Seawater

Elijah Vestal, Geology Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Iron is an essential nutrient in biological systems, and is the limiting nutrient in about ⅓ of the surface ocean. We investigate the flow injection method of Lohan et al., 2006, with modifications described in Biller et al., 2013 to analyze nanomolar concentrations of iron in seawater. In this work we focus on quantifying and understanding the uncertainties in the measurements and the signal of the blank by adjusting the method in four distinct ways.

Astronomy Education Research

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

The basis of our research is to assess why learning gains are low within introductory astronomy courses and how scores can be improved. Examining pre and post scores from an Astronomical Diagnostics Test we were able to examine learning gains of fifty-six students. We used Hake’s normalized gain formula to quantify learning gains. The average learning gain found was 0.20 and the highest gains fell among questions such as phases and position of the moon, eclipses, and seasons on Earth, with gains between 0.5-.64. Because Hake’s normalized gain formula is biased, we are looking into other methods of quantifying our data.