Digital Commons Network^™

Using Offline Activities To Enhance Online Cybersecurity Education, Sarah Padlipsky

Master's Theses

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the United States has experienced the impact of a technological revolution. One effect of this technological revolution is the creation of entirely new careers related to the field of technology, including cybersecurity. Continued growth in the cybersecurity industry means a greater number of jobs will be created, adding to the existing number of jobs that are challenging an under-educated and under-trained workforce. The goal of this thesis is to increase the effectiveness of cybersecurity education. This thesis studies whether an online course in cybersecurity can be enhanced by offline, in-person activities that mirror …

Collaborating, Creating And Implementing: A Cohesive Project-Based Learning Social Studies Unit With The Goal Of Deepening Third Grade Student Learning Experiences, Sarah Avery Kulchinsky

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research study was to integrate dance in a social studies project-based learning (PBL) unit. The incorporation of dance in this unit was not only a learning experience for the students, but for the dance teacher and classroom teacher alike. The teachers worked cooperatively to plan and create this unit of study and through their collaboration taught the subject using their individual teaching styles. The classroom teacher used traditional instructional methods, while the dance teacher taught the same subject matter through the use of movement and dance. Throughout the unit, the teachers consulted to ensure student learning …

Amplifying The Prediction Of Team Performance Through Swarm Intelligence And Machine Learning, Erick Michael Harris

Master's Theses

Modern companies are increasingly relying on groups of individuals to reach organizational goals and objectives, however many organizations struggle to cultivate optimal teams that can maximize performance. Fortunately, existing research has established that group personality composition (GPC), across five dimensions of personality, is a promising indicator of team effectiveness. Additionally, recent advances in technology have enabled groups of humans to form real-time, closed-loop systems that are modeled after natural swarms, like flocks of birds and colonies of bees. These Artificial Swarm Intelligences (ASI) have been shown to amplify performance in a wide range of tasks, from forecasting financial markets to …

Improving Ultra-Wideband Localization By Detecting Radio Misclassification, Cory A. Mayer

Master's Theses

The Global Positioning System (GPS) and other satellite-based positioning systems are often a key component in applications requiring localization. However, accurate positioning in areas with poor GPS coverage, such as inside buildings and in dense cities, is in increasing demand for many modern applications. Fortunately, recent developments in ultra-wideband (UWB) radio technology have enabled precise positioning in places where it was not previously possible by utilizing multipath-resistant wide band pulses.

Although ultra-wideband signals are less prone to multipath interference, it is still a bottleneck as increasingly ambitious projects continue to demand higher precision. Some UWB radios include on-board detection of …

Discovering Countries And Their Cultures Through Movement: Fifth-Grade Students Developing Awareness And Empathy Toward Each Other, Rebecca S. Epstein

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate and answer the following essential questions: 1) What are students’ responses to use of movement and dance to teach multi-cultural lesson content? 2) What movement and dance-based methods can be used to help fifth-grade students develop empathy towards classmates from different cultures and countries from around the world? 3) Which movement and dance-based lessons seemed to be most effective to develop student empathy for other students from a different culture and country? One goal of the study was to help students become more empathetic toward one another through movement. There were twenty-four …

Dancing The Diaspora: Discovering The Influence Of Traditional And Tribal African Dance In The History Of African-American Social And Concert Dance In The Caribbean And The United States, Kerri-Noelle Humphrey

Master's Theses

The primary goal of this research project was to identify the influence of traditional African dance on African diasporic dance in the Caribbean and the United States. The study demonstrated how movement connects people and gives them the opportunity to share common experiences, ideas, and traditions. This qualitative and quantitative study was designed to answer four essential questions. Q1 What is traditional African dance? Q2 What is Black (Africanist) dance? Q3 How the elements of dance (Time, Space, Energy) can be used to help students make comparisons between African tribal dance and a variety of Africanist dance genres? Q4 How …

Holocene Formation And Evolution Of Horn Island, Mississippi, Usa, Nina Gal

Master's Theses

Horn Island, one of the most stable barriers along the Mississippi-Alabama chain, provides critical habitat, helps regulate estuarine conditions in the Mississippi Sound, and reduces wave energy and storm surge for the mainland. This study integrates 2,200 km of high-resolution geophysics, 35 sediment cores, and 15 radiocarbon ages to better understand the formation and evolution of the island in response to sea-level rise, storms, and antecedent geology. The Biloxi and Pascagoula incised valleys converge at Horn Island and have played a profound role in the evolution of the system. Within the incised valleys, numerous shallow paleochannels between 4 and 9 …

Influence Of Natural And Anthropogenic Environmental Variability On Larval Fish Diet, Growth, And Condition In The Northcentral Gulf Of Mexico, Angie Hoover

Master's Theses

The northern Gulf of Mexico experiences high levels of freshwater runoff annually from various sources including the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay, among other sources. Early life history stages of fishes are especially vulnerable to environmental variability created by freshwater discharge. The objectives of this study were to describe the available prey field, diet, growth and condition of larval fishes with respect to various effects of freshwater discharge in the northern Gulf. The first chapter compared these parameters in larval Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) collected from three different water masses characterized by physical and biological parameters after the …

Late Quaternary Evolution And Stratigraphic Framework Influence On Coastal Systems Along The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Usa, Robert Hollis

Master's Theses

Coastal systems in the Gulf of Mexico are threatened to reduced sediment supply, storm impacts and relative sea level rise (RSLR). The geologic record can provide insights of geomorphic threshold crossings (formation, progradation, transgression, destruction) to these forcing mechanisms to predict future barrier evolution to climate change. The stratigraphic framework and antecedent topography directly influence coastal evolution over geologic timescales. This study synthesizes ~2100km of geophysical data, 700+ sediment cores, and 63 radiocarbon dates to regionally map two sequence boundaries, multiple ravinement surfaces and fourteen depositional facies. One marine isotope stage (MIS) 6 valley’s fill provided up to 300 x10 …

Cleaver: Classification Of Everyday Activities Via Ensemble Recognizers, Samantha Hsu

Master's Theses

Physical activity can have immediate and long-term benefits on health and reduce the risk for chronic diseases. Valid measures of physical activity are needed in order to improve our understanding of the exact relationship between physical activity and health. Activity monitors have become a standard for measuring physical activity; accelerometers in particular are widely used in research and consumer products because they are objective, inexpensive, and practical. Previous studies have experimented with different monitor placements and classification methods. However, the majority of these methods were developed using data collected in controlled, laboratory-based settings, which is not reliably representative of real …

Fingerprinting The Smart Home: Detection Of Smart Assistants Based On Network Activity, Arshan Hashemi

Master's Theses

As the concept of the Smart Home is being embraced globally, IoT devices such as the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Nest Thermostat are becoming a part of more and more households. In the data-driven world we live in today, internet service providers (ISPs) and companies are collecting large amounts of data and using it to learn about their customers. As a result, it is becoming increasingly important to understand what information ISPs are capable of collecting. IoT devices in particular exhibit distinct behavior patterns and specific functionality which make them especially likely to reveal sensitive information. Collection of this …

Comparative Analysis Of Electrodynamic Toroidal Radiation Shielding Configurations, Max Rosenberg

Master's Theses

Beyond the protective confines of Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere, spacecraft are subject to constant bombardment by high-energy charged particles originating from our Sun in the form of Solar Particle Events (SPEs), and from outside the solar system in the form of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs). The harm these particles do can be reduced or mitigated outright through radiation shielding. Because protons and other charged particles comprise most of these radiation particles, strong magnetic fields could be generated around spacecraft to deflect incoming charged radiation particles. This thesis investigates the performance of specific configurations of toroidal superconducting solenoids to generate magnetic …

Logging, Visualization, And Analysis Of Network And Power Data Of Iot Devices, Neal Huynh Nguyen

Master's Theses

There are approximately 23.14 billion IoT(Internet of Things) devices currently in use worldwide. This number is projected to grow to over 75 billion by 2025. Despite their ubiquity little is known about the security and privacy implications of IoT devices. Several large-scale attacks against IoT devices have already been recorded.

To help address this knowledge gap, we have collected a year’s worth of network traffic and power data from 16 common IoT devices. From this data, we show that we can identify different smart speakers, like the Echo Dot, from analyzing one minute of power data on a shared power …

Population Curation In Swarms: Predicting Top Performers, Ryan W. Heller

Master's Theses

In recent years, new Artificial Intelligence technologies have mimicked examples of collective intelligence occurring in the natural world including flocks of birds, schools of fish, and swarms of bees. One company in particular, Unanimous AI, built a platform (UNU Swarm) that enables a group of humans to make decisions as a single mind by forming a real-time closed-loop feedback system for individuals. This platform has proven the ability to amplify the predictive ability of groups of humans in realms including sports, medicine, politics, finance, and entertainment. Previous research has demonstrated it is possible to further enhance knowledge accumulation within a …

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Of Developmental Stages In Isolated Mammary Epithelial Cells, Nicole K. Einfalt

Master's Theses

The mammary gland is an organ common to all mammals; it is of value for neonatal nourishment, human nutrition through dairy consumption, and is a source of pathology in humans through the development of breast cancer. While transcriptomic analyses have been applied to cultured mammary epithelial cells (MEC) and to whole gland samples, few have studied purified MEC isolated directly from the gland in vivo. To identify the differentially expressed genes influencing MEC development during pregnancy and the differences between the nulliparous and primiparous quiescent states, primary MEC were isolated from virgin, pregnant, and primiparous quiescent sibling mice. Computational …

A Novel All Wheel Drive Torque Vectoring Control System Applied To Four Wheel Independent Drive Electric Motor Vehicles Utilizing Super Twisting And Linear Quadratic Regulator Methods, Kenneth Daniel Schmutz

Master's Theses

This thesis contains the design and simulation test results for the implementation of a new all-wheel drive (AWD) torque vectoring (TV) control system. A separate algorithm using standard control methods is included in this study for a comparison. The proposed controller was designed to be applied to an AWD independent drive electric vehicle, however the main concepts can be re-purposed for other vehicle drive train configurations. The purpose of the control system is to assist the driver in achieving a desired vehicle trajectory whilst also maintaining stability and control of the vehicle. This is accomplished by measuring various real time …

Bi-Stability In The Wakes Of Platooning Ahmed Bodies, Daniel M. Stalters

Master's Theses

Autonomous heavy vehicles will enable the promise of decreased energy consumption through the ability to platoon in closer formation than is currently safe or legal. It is therefore increasingly important to understand the complex and dynamic wake interactions between vehicles operating in close proximity for aerodynamic gains. In recent years, a growing body of research has documented a bi-stable, shifting wake generated behind the Ahmed reference bluff body. At the same time, studies of platooning Ahmed bodies have focused on changes to the body forces and moments at different following distances or lateral offsets, typically based around time-averaged measurements or …

Determinants Of Team Resilience; The Role Of A Reset Process Across Conditions, Jeffrey Hanrahan

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Metal Segregation During The Solidification Of Titanium-Aluminum Alloys For 3d Printing Applications, Jwala Parajuli

Master's Theses

Titanium-Aluminum alloys are one of the widely used alloys in multiple engineering applications. They are highly preferred in Selective Laser Melting (SLM) processes due to their low density, high melting temperature, and good strength. Segregation occurs during the solidification of most alloys and produces a non-uniform distribution of atoms. In SLM, segregation may depict the type of adhesion between the two deposited interfacial layers and the strength between the interphase between an already solidified layer and a new one, and overall, the quality of the printed part. In order to avoid segregation, the understanding of the segregation behavior at atomistic …

A Numerical Study Of The Van Roosbroeck System For Semiconductors, Alan Ghazarians

Master's Theses

Since the 1950s, semiconductors have played a significant and daily role in our lives, as they are the foundation of our computers, phones, and other electronic devices. Aside from their obvious uses, the equations that govern semiconductors have peaked the interest of mathematicians and numerical analysts. In 1950, van Roosbroeck described the fundamental semiconductor device equations as a system of three nonlinear coupled partial di↵erential equations. The van Roosbroeck system poses a challenge numerically because of its strong nonlinearity and coupled equations. Its diculties lie in simultaneously solving drift-di↵usion equations for electrons and holes and using their solutions to solve …

Computational Models Exploring The Role Of Flexibility In Binding Tat Peptide To Tar Rna, Thanh Quoc Le

Master's Theses

Viral-encoded regulatory proteins interacting with RNA target sequences control the gene expression of lentiviruses, notably the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV). The latter provides a simpler interaction model between the viral trans-activator protein (Tat) and trans-activation response RNA element (TAR), including Tat peptides binding to TAR RNA fragments. This model may offer insights into clinical approaches for treatment, initially through theoretical consideration of the role of peptide flexibility in binding as evidenced by literature-based binding assays and NMR. It has more recently been suggested that DNA-protein binding may also be enhanced by increases in conformational entropy. …

Heat Transfer Interface To Graphitic Foam, Fang-Ming Lin

Master's Theses

The A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS (ATLAS) strip tracking detector is scheduled to be upgraded in 2025. The order of magnitude for the hit densities and the radiation damage are expected to increase. When radiation increases, the leakage current increases and the heat generated at the silicon trackers can lead to thermal runaway. Cooling is critical in these detectors.

In this study, a glassy graphitic foam was developed by AllComp Inc.~as a precursor to the adhesives (glues). Graphene\textsc{\char13}s highly anisotropic thermal properties result in high thermal conductivity in the planar direction, while it is low in the normal direction. In these …

Diets And Stable Isotope Signatures Of Yellowtail Rockfish (Sebastes Flavidus) In Central California, Jennifer Chiu

Master's Theses

Studies of fish diets can improve the understanding of trophic distributions and the predatory role of a species in an ecosystem. Identifying the spatial and temporal variability in the diets of fishes can provide useful information for stock assessments and management. Yellowtail Rockfish (Sebastes flavidus) are a commercially and recreationally important fishery species, and abundant along the central California coast, yet the most recent studies of diets occurred over 20 years ago in Oregon and Washington. To provide current information from California, I examined the food habits of Yellowtail Rockfish collected near Cordell Bank, the Farallon Islands, and Half Moon …

Micrometeorological Observations Of Fire-Atmosphere Interactions And Fire Behavior On A Simple Slope, Jonathan Marc Contezac

Master's Theses

An experiment was designed to capture micrometeorological observations

during a fire spread on a simple slope. Three towers equipped with a variety of

instrumentation, an array of fire-sensing packages, and a Doppler lidar was

deployed to measure various aspects of the fire. Pressure and temperature

perturbations were analyzed for each of the grid packages to determine if the fire

intensity could be observed in the covariance of the two variables. While two of

the packages measured a covariance less than -15 °C hPa, there was no clear

trend across the grid. The fire front passage at each of the three …

Modeling And Simulation Of Vehicle Performance In A Uav Swarm Using Horizon Simulation Framework, Adam J. Frye

Master's Theses

A UAV swarm is simulated using Horizon Simulation Framework. The asset utilized for the swarm agent is a simplified model of the MQ-1 Predator, a large fixed-wing aircraft. The simulated swarm utilizes a decentralized cooperative control approach to command the assets through the use of digital pheromones and a pheromone map. Each vehicle operates at steady-state flight conditions of 36 m/s with an altitude of 1,800 m, and utilize an LQR set-point controller to maneuver through the pheromone map. All pheromone and aircraft related models are written in Python to expand the HSF scripting capability and include airborne scenarios. The …

An Assessment Of The Greatest Impacts On Distribution Uniformity For Drip And Micro Irrigation, Brooke Ashley Worden

Master's Theses

Using the Cal Poly Irrigation Training and Research Centers (ITRC) drip/micro evaluation program, global, or system, DU_lq is computed by combining the component DU_lq values of: pressure variation, uneven spacing between emitters, unequal drainage and “other” causes. “Other” causes include plugging, wear and manufacturing coefficient. The program also computes what percentage of the non-uniformity is due to each component. Burt (2004) showed that over 95% of the non-uniformity is due to “Other” causes and pressure differences. This thesis looks at what specifically in those components is driving the non-uniformity by analyzing various equipment and field practices and their …

Comparative Analysis Of Body Composition And Reference Values Of Visceral Adipose Tissues In Various American Collegiate Sports, Eshan M. Dandekar

Master's Theses

Background: Currently, body composition (BC) assessment is usually performed to diagnose disease states and accurately estimate certain types of tissues. In athletes, performing BC assessments helps gauge training and nutrition programs to see if they are adequately meeting the athlete’s needs to improve performance. Annual Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scans before the start of an athlete’s season can help identify an athlete’s preparedness or health before training begins.

Objective: To assess the preseason BC of four collegiate sports: Men’s basketball, men’s baseball, women’s volleyball, and women’s soccer, for Fat Mass (FM), bone mineral density BMD), Fat-Free Mass …

Understanding How The Costimulatory Molecule Ox40 Engagement On T Cells Can Boost Immune Responses For Vaccine Applications And Immunotherapy., Archibald Agyekum-Yamoah, Archibald Agyekum-Yamoah

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Epigenetic Profiling Of Active Enhancers In Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells, Jian Xing

Master's Theses

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are projection neurons of the eye, which process and pass visual information collected in the eyes to the brain. However, epigenetic regulation of RGC fate specification remains poorly understood, in large part due to the technical challenges associated with purifying RGCs, which comprise only 1% of all retinal cells, and performing ChIP-seq profiling on a small number of cells. To overcome these limitations, we have purified RGCs from multiple mice by immunoppanning for Thy1, a surface marker on RGCs, and analyzed pulled chromatin by ChIP-seq for histone 3 acetylated at K27 (H3K27ac), which is an epigenetic …

Non-Collocated Vibration Suppression With Actively Controlled Resonant-Style Absorbers For Simultaneous Spectral And Spatial Tuning, Ryan Jenkins

Master's Theses

The research summarized in this work revisits the well-established actively-tuned vibration absorber concept from several unconventional angles. The first contribution involves an active tuning methodology of an absorber for spectral and spatial variations. The second is a set of generalized operating guidelines for such absorber tuning. "Spectral" tuning handles time-varying excitation frequencies, while "spatial" tuning treats the real-time variations in the desired location of suppression (an often-ignored dimension of vibration absorption research). Spatial tuning is inspired by the concept of “non-collocated vibration absorption”, for which the absorber location is different from the point of suppression.

The Delayed Resonator-based absorber, a …