John Gilderbloom’s Thought-Provoking Strategies About Regeneration and the Language of Planning

Planning is a \u27jargon�-y\u27 field with terminology that oftens distract from the purpose of a project or idea. During a luncheon seminar at Cal Poly, Dr. John I. Gilderbloom, a professor at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, addressed this challenge through his own work, case studies and personal antidotes. He discussed the intricacies of planning and the role played by language in the implementation of projects and community understanding

The Impact of Cargo Bikes on the Travel Patterns of Women

There are a number of issues preventing the rollout of cargo bikes as a transportation mode in the United States. One concern that has been raised is whether cargo bikes can function as a gender equitable transportation solution in the United States, given documented gender gaps in national bike riding statistics and ongoing inequities in childcare in 2-parent heterosexual households. The research is aimed at reviewing the practicality, enjoyment, and outcome of cargo bike use as a gender equitable transportation solution. This research contributes to new knowledge in gender equitable transportation in 2 ways — a) gender-focused analysis of survey data regarding cargo bikes use; b) extended open-ended interviews with mothers with cargo bikes. Qualitative and quantitative data from surveys and interviews explore the influence of cargo bikes on transportation patterns and follow how behavior, attitude, spatial context, and perception varies between riders. Specific attention is given to the use of cargo bikes by women with children, as this demographic represents a minority group in the bicycle community and a group who could benefit most from the capabilities of a cargo bike design. Research shows, mothers spend more hours a day around their children and take part in more child-related activities. Therefore, the comfort and feasibility of the cargo bike for women with children becomes the topic of exploration to determine whether this mode type is a functional substitution for trips usually made by an automobile. Through the collection of a nation-wide survey of cargo bike riders and in-person interviews with mothers in San Luis Obispo, CA who currently use a cargo bike to transport their children and goods, the research assesses the travel patterns of women and the emotional and physical benefits cargo bikes can provide to this specific demographic. Results show that benefits of cargo bike use include boding opportunities with children and a more enjoyable commute, while barriers to use include ill-performing bicycle infrastructure and time allocation for trips made by the cargo bike, in comparison to the automobile. Mode substitution behavior from the automobile to the cargo bike is geographically and culturally specific, but as results from both parts of the study show, women are receptive to cargo bike use and demonstrate a powerful demographic that has the potential to influence the travel patterns of current and future commuters to shift away from automobile dependency

The Impact of Cargo Bikes on Travel Patterns: Survey Report Spring/ Summer 2014

Cargo bikes are becoming increasingly available in the United States with vendors such as Yuba, Trek, XtraCycle, and Marin all offering platforms. While a large body of research has continued to investigate traditional bike transportation, cargo bikes offer the potential to capture trips for those that might otherwise be made by car. To investigate this, a survey was conducted querying how use and travel characteristics changed upon cargo bike ownership (N = 299; 95% Confidence Interval +/-6%)

Bridges and Bandits on the Road to the New Jerusalem: A Study of the Correlation Between Immigration and Terrorism

In late January of 2017, President Trump signed an executive order banning non-American citizens traveling into the United States from seven different countries. The title of the order was, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” As implied, the stated purpose was to limit the number of immigrants in order to avoid future attacks. For the order to serve a purpose, immigration must play a role in terrorism. Thus, the essential point of disagreement is whether a connection exists between the influx of migrants—especially those from terror-prone nations—and the occurrence of terrorist activity in the receiving nation. In this study, we attempt to discover if a link exists between immigration from terror-prone nations and terrorism by examining the current literature and using data to analyze the levels of immigration as well as the incidents of terrorism in six countries. The hypothesis of this research project is that as countries receive increased levels of asylum seekers from terror-prone nations they will experience a corresponding increase in the numbers of terror attacks within the nation. Our basic premise is that immigrant flows form a social bridge, transplanting cultures, ideologies, as well as individuals between the sending and receiving nations. Thus, we are seeking to find out if there is a strong correlation between immigration and terrorism. The null hypothesis, then, is that there is no correlation between immigration from terror-prone nations and the occurrence of terror attacks within a particular nation. Our research shows that, as predicted in our hypothesis, increased terrorism is linked to increased migration from terror-prone nations and regions. The data from Germany and Turkey display a strong positive correlation between asylum-seeker migration and incidents of terrorism. It is worth noting that immigration alone is not enough to predict a rise in terrorist attacks. Rather, immigration is only one of many factors that may lead to increased terrorism. However, it is our contention that immigration from terror-producing regions is a significant predictor of increased terrorist activity

Indirect effect of financial strain on daily cortisol output through daily negative to positive affect index in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

Daily affect is important to health and has been linked to cortisol. The combination of high negative affect and low positive affect may have a bigger impact on increasing HPA axis activity than either positive or negative affect alone. Financial strain may both dampen positive affect as well as increase negative affect, and thus provides an excellent context for understanding the associations between daily affect and cortisol. Using random effects mixed modeling with maximum likelihood estimation, we examined the relationship between self-reported financial strain and estimated mean daily cortisol level (latent cortisol variable), based on six salivary cortisol assessments throughout the day, and whether this relationship was mediated by greater daily negative to positive affect index measured concurrently in a sample of 776 Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study participants. The analysis revealed that while no total direct effect existed for financial strain on cortisol, there was a significant indirect effect of high negative affect to low positive affect, linking financial strain to elevated cortisol. In this sample, the effects of financial strain on cortisol through either positive affect or negative affect alone were not significant. A combined affect index may be a more sensitive and powerful measure than either negative or positive affect alone, tapping the burden of chronic financial strain, and its effects on biology

Redesigning a Street Corridor in San Clemente, CA: South El Camino Real Urban Design Concept Plan

The South El Camino Real Urban Design Concept Plan was developed by a first-year MCRP studio for the City of San Clemente, CA. The San Clemente community, the City planners and the City Council welcomed the students’ ideas for making the corridor appealing, economically attractive, and safer for pedestrians and bicyclists

Indirect effect of financial strain on daily cortisol output through daily negative to positive affect index in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

Daily affect is important to health and has been linked to cortisol. The combination of high negative affect and low positive affect may have a bigger impact on increasing HPA axis activity than either positive or negative affect alone. Financial strain may both dampen positive affect as well as increase negative affect, and thus provides an excellent context for understanding the associations between daily affect and cortisol. Using random effects mixed modeling with maximum likelihood estimation, we examined the relationship between self-reported financial strain and estimated mean daily cortisol level (latent cortisol variable), based on six salivary cortisol assessments throughout the day, and whether this relationship was mediated by greater daily negative to positive affect index measured concurrently in a sample of 776 Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study participants. The analysis revealed that while no total direct effect existed for financial strain on cortisol, there was a significant indirect effect of high negative affect to low positive affect, linking financial strain to elevated cortisol. In this sample, the effects of financial strain on cortisol through either positive affect or negative affect alone were not significant. A combined affect index may be a more sensitive and powerful measure than either negative or positive affect alone, tapping the burden of chronic financial strain, and its effects on biology

Hyperpolarized Long-T1 Silicon Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Silicon nanoparticles are experimentally investigated as a potential hyperpolarized, targetable MRI imaging agent. Nuclear T_1 times at room temperature for a variety of Si nanoparticles are found to be remarkably long (10^2 to 10^4 s) - roughly consistent with predictions of a core-shell diffusion model - allowing them to be transported, administered and imaged on practical time scales without significant loss of polarization. We also report surface functionalization of Si nanoparticles, comparable to approaches used in other biologically targeted nanoparticle systems.Comment: supporting material here: http://marcuslab.harvard.edu/Aptekar_hyper1_sup.pd

Multi-wavelength analysis of high energy electrons in solar flares: a case study of August 20, 2002 flare

A multi-wavelength spatial and temporal analysis of solar high energy electrons is conducted using the August 20, 2002 flare of an unusually flat (gamma=1.8) hard X-ray spectrum. The flare is studied using RHESSI, Halpha, radio, TRACE, and MDI observations with advanced methods and techniques never previously applied in the solar flare context. A new method to account for X-ray Compton backscattering in the photosphere (photospheric albedo) has been used to deduce the primary X-ray flare spectra. The mean electron flux distribution has been analysed using both forward fitting and model independent inversion methods of spectral analysis. We show that the contribution of the photospheric albedo to the photon spectrum modifies the calculated mean electron flux distribution, mainly at energies below 100 keV. The positions of the Halpha emission and hard X-ray sources with respect to the current-free extrapolation of the MDI photospheric magnetic field and the characteristics of the radio emission provide evidence of the closed geometry of the magnetic field structure and the flare process in low altitude magnetic loops. In agreement with the predictions of some solar flare models, the hard X-ray sources are located on the external edges of the Halpha emission and show chromospheric plasma heated by the non-thermal electrons. The fast changes of Halpha intensities are located not only inside the hard X-ray sources, as expected if they are the signatures of the chromospheric response to the electron bombardment, but also away from them.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, accepted to Solar Physic