Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Psychological Contract Breach And Work Motivation And Attitude Among Tech Employees: The Moderating Role Of Conscientiousness, Rama E. Khoury

Master's Theses

There has been some research on moderating factors of the relationship between psychological contract breach (PCB) and work engagement and affective commitment. However, most studies conducted have mainly focused on situational factors (e.g., job satisfaction, exchange imbalance), not on individual factors (e.g., personality traits). This research gap leaves a question in the role that personality traits play in influencing the negative consequences of PCB. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of conscientiousness on the relationship between PCB and two outcomes, work engagement and affective commitment. Hypotheses were tested using 103 technology industry employees in the …

Sirilla: Predicting Traffic Flow Via Stacked Decentralized Federated Learning, Andrew Selvia

Master's Theses

Billions of people today rely on traffic predictions to optimize their travels. Digital mapping services deliver accurate predictions by learning from vast troves of historical data. Impressive as these systems are, their assumptions do not always apply. They depend on an endless flow of sensitive user data to a central authority, a stable Internet connection, and trustworthiness on both sides of the traditional client-server model. This thesis explores a novel architecture which bucks those assumptions. In the proposed model, traffic data remains on edge devices which individually train models via federated learning. Beyond the obvious privacy benefits, this architecture enables …

The Buzzard In The Abolitionist Sea; An Examination Of Maritime Suppression, Imperial Policy, And The Slave Trade Through The Royal Navy’S Hms Buzzard, 1830s-1840s, Sean Joaquim Coudray-Pereira

Master's Theses

Analysis of the Royal Navy through the microhistory of the HMS Buzzard following the abolition of the slave trade between 1807 and the 1840s by Great Britain offers insight into the moral ambiguities and complexities of the humanitarian mission. The historiography of the slave trade has primarily focused on the moral and economic ideology behind its abolition, pitting one against the other. Applying a micro-historic approach highlights the nuances of both arguments, and through the HMS Buzzard’s crew, captives, disease, voyages, and legal battles accentuates the blend of both argument approaches. The case study of its longevity through all six …

Chemical And Physical Characterization Of Verbenaceae Essential Oils Using Modern Analytical Methods And Chemometrics, Aleksandra N. Hilliard

Master's Theses

Essential oils have been used for generations to treat various health issues, including mitigating insomnia, reducing stress, inflammation, and preserving foods, to mention a few. Essential oils have complex chemistry, which defines the essence of the host plant. Recently, increased commercial uses of essential oils have prompted attention at the governmental level to monitor the chemical, physical, or biological activity of essential oils. This study is an attempt to add new information for consumers to the understanding of the composition of essential oils.

Modern analytical techniques including FTIR-ATR, GC-MS, LC-MS-MS, multivariate analysis statistics, and physio-chemical techniques (electrochemistry, DPPH, TRC, and …

Two Leading Female Figures Of The Anti-Colonial Struggle In Africa, Marie-Ange Anezi Djie

Master's Theses

The Eurocentric and male narrative of the anti-colonial struggle in Africa during the twentieth century marginalized women’s contributions and presented them as passive victims of colonialism. Therefore, this study offers a more comprehensive historical account of women's leadership in Africa and a more inclusive and liberated narrative of the anti-colonial movement. Achieving this goal involves delving into the roles and contributions of two prominent female figures in the anti-colonial resistance in Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa during the twentieth century: Huda Shaarawi from Egypt and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti from Nigeria. Furthermore, this study aims to demonstrate that the actions and strategies of …

Effects Of Spirulina And Nannochloropsis Supplementations On The Meat Quality And Sensory Properties Of Broiler Carcasses, Shreyash S. Patel

Master's Theses

Microalgae are a promising feed ingredient due to their high content of proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, vitamins, pigments, and enzymes. This study evaluated the effects of algae as a dietary supplementation on the appearance, quality, and sensory attributes of broiler carcasses. In each of experiment I and II, a total of 54 Ross-708 broilers were randomly obtained from the pool of 270 broilers in the 18 floor pens of soybean-mealbased diets at 0, 2.5%, and 5% Spirulina (Experiment I) and Nannochloropsis (Experiment II) supplements in the Poultry Unit at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA). Broiler carcasses …

Assessment Of The Imx7ulp Heterogeneous Soc For Use In A Next Generation Student Cubesat Obc, Lorenzo A. Pedroza

Master's Theses

CubeSats represent a rapidly evolving platform for space research, industry, and education, demanding increasingly sophisticated onboard computing solutions that balance performance, fault tolerance, size, weight, and power constraints. Although the design of the Cal Poly's CubeSat Lab's (PolySat) current On-Board Computer (OBC) keeps up with many of these factors, the demands of modern workloads like fine attitude determination will start to outpace available compute. While the selection of a more capable processor to address this would have traditionally resulted in increased energy usage, modern system-on-chip (SoC) architectures offer novel ways to trade available compute for power savings on-the-fly. With this …

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of A Dual-Rate Spring System For Mountain Bike Frames, Lucas P. Grizzle

Master's Theses

The design of full-suspension mountain bikes is a careful balance of suspension kinematics, structural dynamics, and manufacturing optimization for the expected use case. A bike designed to excel in one area will likely exhibit reduced performance in others. This optimization problem is addressed by designing, integrating, and testing a dual-rate spring system within a fully custom frame. The dual-rate spring is fully decoupled from the rest of the suspension kinematics, providing designers with an additional parameter to achieve ideal suspension behavior. This is accomplished by placing a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) bushing in series with the rear shock. The influence of …

The Extraordinary In The Ordinary: Nineteenth Century Female Teachers And Their Professionalization Of An Occupation, Samantha G. Santana

Master's Theses

Women’s occupation as teachers has remained uncritically relegated to the sphere of women’s work. In reality however, early nineteenth century female teachers made clear articulations how they understood their occupations as teachers. Through their publications, autobiographies, and biographies written by former pupils, they left behind for current educators their estimations of the integral job they performed. As educators, these women maintained the paramount role of educating the nation’s next generation of citizens. This was of particular importance in the aftermath of the American Revolution when America’s children were subjected to lacking, colonial education experiments. Before and during the ensuing common …

Streamlined Intelligence: Resource-Efficient Machine Learning For 5g Nr V2v Channel Equalization, Jacqueline G. Radding

Master's Theses

As autonomous vehicles continue to evolve, reliable and efficient real-time communication between vehicles is essential for safety and performance. This thesis explores Streamlined Intelligence: Resource Efficient machine learning for 5G NR V2V Channel Equalization, focusing on lightweight random forest decision tree models to address the challenges of channel equalization in 5G New Radio (NR) vehicle to vehicle (V2V) systems. Using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with QPSK modulation, the study simulates data transmission in nonlinear channels characterized by obstructions, Doppler shifts, and fading. Decision trees are proposed as a computationally efficient alternative to other machine learning methods while being compared …

Topodino: Self-Supervised Topological Representation Learning For Neuronal Morphologies, Yasser Binbisher

Master's Theses

Neuronal cell types are categorized by transcriptomic identity, yet their morphological heterogeneity defies this classification. In response, researchers have adopted unsupervised graph representation learning as a tool to reveal morphological variation within single-class transcriptomic types. However, the complex geometry of neuronal morphology—especially long axons and dense dendrites—challenges graph neural networks, which struggle with message propagation across extended structures. To mitigate this, current approaches enforce sub-sampling on neuronal graphs and omit axons entirely, sacrificing critical biological features for computational efficiency. To overcome this trade-off, this thesis introduces TopoDINO, a self-supervised, topology-aware representation learning model designed to preserve the full hierarchical organization …

Experimental Characterization And Finite Element Analysis Of The Effects Of Pitting Corrosion On The Mechanical Properties Of Stainless Steel, Duncan Jay Fure, Long Wang

Master's Theses

Many structures do not fail from poor design, but instead from environmental degradation. Corrosion is one mode whose effects can be diminished, but not eliminated, by employing corrosion resistant materials, such as 304 stainless steel, which are still subject to pitting corrosion. Pitting corrosion is a chemical process of the localized removal of material leaving cavities. Despite the prevalence of pitting corrosion, there has been limited testing conducted of the effect of stress during corrosion. This study conducted accelerated controlled corrosion experiments with and without mechanical loading and various corrosion times. Pit morphology of different conditions was analyzed with statistical …

Exploiting Compiler-Introduced Vulnerabilities In C: A Cross-Compiler And Cross-Architecture Analysis Of Undefined Behavior, Erik Mccutchen

Master's Theses

Compilers are a critical component in generating secure software across engineering disciplines. However, languages like C that permit undefined behavior introduce a fundamental tension between the compiler’s interpretation of undefined behavior and the security of the generated code. This tension can result in security vulnerabilities that, from the programmer's perspective, are ``created'' by the compiler. The widespread use of these languages, combined with the complexity of modern optimizations and limited developer visibility into compiler behavior, makes these vulnerabilities both pervasive and difficult to detect.

Building on prior work, this thesis refines a dataset of C code snippets that exhibit Compiler-Introduced …

Development Of A Versatile Switching Mode Inverter Laboratory Module, Zachariah Lee Mustar

Master's Theses

DC-AC converters, or inverters, are complex devices that play an essential role in photovoltaic, energy storage, and microgrid systems. Therefore, they constitute a class of power electronics that any power-focused electrical engineering student should be familiar with. This thesis presents the development and testing of a single device that power electronics students will use in a laboratory setting to experiment with each of the four different switching techniques employed in inverters: a simple square wave (SSWI), modified square wave (MSWI), bipolar PWM, and unipolar PWM. The module was built with a physically modifiable control stage and a power stage constituting …

Topiarism: The Kernel Embedding Of Distributions Applied To Modern Portfolio Theory, Stephen G. Cook

Master's Theses

The method of kernel embedding of distributions on a set $\Omega$ into a reproducing kernel Hilbert space is a method of studying the space of measures on a set $\Omega$ using Hilbert space geometry. Because positively weighted portfolios can be interpreted as nonnegative probability measures on the space of assets, we are able to apply this technique to portfolio theory. In this thesis, we discuss the theory of "topiarism", the study of positively weighted probability measures on compact sets under the kernel embedding of distributions. Given a specific payoff function $\psi$ on the set of assets $\Omega$, we optimize a …

When Trees Disappear: Understory Successional Implications Of Sudden Oak Death And High-Severity Wildfire In Big Sur, California, Sam J. Balthazard

Master's Theses

The rapidly emerging disease sudden oak death, caused by the non-native pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, is transforming coastal California forests by driving extensive mortality of tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) and increasing fire severity. As a novel disturbance, sudden oak death and its interaction with wildfire may catalyze unexpected shifts in successional trajectories and reconfigure forest understory communities. Furthermore, how tanoak influences the forest understory and how its decline might reshape understory dynamics remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that disease alone and the compounding disturbances of disease and wildfire alter successional dynamics, and that the potential functional extinction of N. …

Identifying Interchromosomal Interactions Using A Graph-Based Computational Pipeline, Ethan Outangoun

Master's Theses

Current computational tools for analyzing chromatin organization are mainly focused on intrachromosomal interactions, despite growing evidence that suggests long-range interactions across chromosomes contribute to transcriptional regulation and disease development. This thesis aims to address this gap in interchromosomal genome analysis, presenting a robust computational pipeline that identifies a clique (i.e., a subgraph) of highly interacting trans-chromosomal regions anchored at a user-specified seed genomic locus. A weighted interaction network is constructed from an input Hi-C contact matrix, a widely used experimental assay for measuring genome-wide chromatin interactions. We model this input contact matrix as a graph and devise three different strategies …

Functionalization Of A Calcium-Based Squaric Acid Metal Organic Frameworks With Amine-Based Polymers For Enhancing Post Combustion Carbon Capture, Corinne D. Watson

Master's Theses

The primary driver of climate change is the release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from fossil fuel combustion. Global climate change has resulted in sea level rise, adverse weather patterns, and countless other negative global effects. Several carbon-reduction frameworks emphasize the transition to clean energy sources; however, other strategies must be concurrently pursued to immediately and effectively reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide point source emissions. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are a promising new technology for post-combustion carbon dioxide capture. The materials are synthesized using organic linker molecules and metal ion joints. Notably, there are several challenges with various types of …

Vertical And Latitudinal Variability Of Marine Heatwaves In The California Current, Gavin M. Plume

Master's Theses

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are increasing in frequency and intensity globally, with grave effects on marine ecosystems and their dependent industries. There are significant gaps in knowledge of the subsurface behavior and geographic distribution of MHWs, especially in eastern boundary upwelling systems like the California Current. Here, two decades of full water-column temperature observations from a shallow autonomous profiler in San Luis Obispo Bay (~10m) revealed that while MHWs have similar average durations and intensities across all depths, one-third of bottom MHWs occur without a concurrent surface signal. MHWs across the water column initiated during anomalously weak upwelling or downwelling conditions …

Studies On The Effects Of Cap Management On The Oxidation–Reduction Potential, Phenolic Composition, And Sensory Properties Of Red Wines, Dallas J. Parnigoni

Master's Theses

Cap management during alcoholic fermentation of red wines plays a critical role in modulating the phenolic and volatile extraction from grape solids, influencing the homogenization of chemical and temperature gradients, while imparting oxygen to the must. Different cap management alternatives are also thought to influence the evolution of the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). It is critical to understand how different cap management protocols affect these variables to design a cap management protocol tailored to wine style and varietal. This thesis investigated the effects common commercially applied cap management protocols, as well as the efficacy of novel, automated gas mixing protocols as …

Thermal Modeling Techniques For Additively Manufactured Porous Metals, Lucas D. Rambo

Master's Theses

Advances in additive manufacturing have enabled the creation of metallic components with tailored porosity, offering design flexibility for thermal, structural, and fluid transport applications. This thesis investigates the effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of porous Inconel 625 (IN625) and Inconel-ceramic composites (IN625-RAM2) fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) using Elementum 3D’s PermiAM technology. Experimental measurements of thermal conductivity using the laser flash method are compared to numerical models built from micro-computed tomography data. Simulations were performed using both finite element (FE) and finite volume (FV) methods to evaluate thermal transport in real microstructures. The study investigates the effects of micro- …

The Chumash War Of 1824: Revolution And Counterrevolution In The California Missions Santa Inés, Santa Barbara, And La Purísima, Joseph V. Payne

Master's Theses

In 1824, the Indigenous Chumash of Missions Santa Inés, Santa Barbara, and La Purísima de Concepción went to war against the settler-colonial system that bonded them to the mission lands and forced labor regime demanded by the Spanish Franciscan missionaries and compelled by Mexican military force in Alta California. The conflict lasted months and included violent battles and skirmishes at all three missions, the militant occupation and reclamation of La Purísima, a mass exodus to the interior of the territory, and the subsequent counterrevolutionary collaboration of the Spanish missionaries and Mexican military to return many (but not all) of the …

The Algorithm Of Inclusion: Homonationalism, Queer Advocacy, And Digital Marketing Of Un Ecosoc Ingos And Indian Ngos, Dewansh Chauhan

Master's Theses

Advocacy organizations have increasingly turned to social media as digital platforms become integral to contemporary activism, shaping public discourse and securing institutional legitimacy. This thesis examines the organizational communication of organizations that support marginalized sexualities within a neoliberal and homonationalist context. Employing Critical Content Analysis (CCA), the study analyzes a representative sample of 200 Instagram posts from 2024, comparing two international NGOs with ECOSOC status at the UN (Outright International and ILGA) and two national NGOs in India (Humsafar Trust and Naz Foundation). The findings reveal how homonationalist tendencies may manifest at the intersection of engagement metrics, identity-centric rhetoric, brand …

Effective Altruism, In-Group Favoritism, And Urban And Rural Values Across Cultures, Brian Chu

Master's Theses

Effective altruism has become an increasingly fashionable philosophy in recent years, with ardent supporters in Silicon Valley and other echelons of power. This study investigates to what extent people in urban and rural settings in the U.S., South Africa, and India act as effective altruists by employing an experiment in which participants must decide how to divide a $100 donation between two charities, one benefiting 10 people in their in-group and the other, more “effective” charity, benefiting 100 people in their out-group. The results show some areas in which U.S. urban populations act much more effectively altruistic than others, perhaps …

Unequal Shocks: The Heterogeneous Impact Of Earthquakes, Claire Marie James

Master's Theses

What effect does neighborhood wealth have on disaster outcomes and disaster induced migration? Using the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake in Southern Türkiye and Syria as a natural shock, I examine how the short term migration response to building damage and earthquake exposure differs by average neighborhood home prices. Using a panel dataset of population by bing tile, from Meta’s Data for Good Project, I employ time series and cross sectional regression analysis. I find that wealthy neighborhoods are better able to retain population than non-wealthy counterparts.

Sustainability In Professional Sports: A New Nexus Of Profit And Social Responsibility, Matthew Teplitz

Master's Theses

The world is facing a climate crisis – corrective action that will improve our collective situation is needed, now. Those with the power to do so, in the capitalist structure under which we live, are largely the individuals, corporations, and governments with financial resources and the platform to inspire others to act. Two such entities, complete with the financial heft to make a difference and inspiration to spare, are North America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) and Spain’s La Liga. This thesis seeks to understand what distinguishes the NBA’s approach to sustainability from La Liga, and by employing each league as …

Mothers Who Homeschool: Experiences In Rural California, Kiah Combs

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of mothers who homeschool

their children in the rural location of Shasta County, California (CA). This research was

guided by three research questions: 1) In what ways is the act of homeschooling a form

of resistance to existing power structures for mothers in a rural region in CA? 2) How

does the process of providing a homeschooling education for their children influence

mothers’ perceptions of themselves as confident and capable? 3) In what ways does

homeschooling allow mothers to offer their children an educational experience which

meets their unique needs …

Negotiating Migration In The Mediterranean: A Comparative Study Of Morocco And Italy’S Border Policies And Their Humanitarian Impact On Irregular Migrants, Shennel Ep Henries

Master's Theses

Serving as both a barrier and a bridge that connects Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean is today the focal point of global controversies around migration, where humanitarian interests balance against border policing and meet securitization policies. This thesis examines the questions: How do irregular migrants adapt, interpret, and maneuver around securitized Moroccan and Italian migration policies, and what do their strategies tell us about the relationship between humanitarianism and securitization in Mediterranean bordering processes? Drawing on qualitative evidence, including expert interviews with organization employees and volunteers in Morocco and Italy (Fondazione Solidarietà Caritas, Nosotras Onlus, and Caritas Maroc), field observation, …

Downstream Delays: Effects Of Flooding On Childrens Education And Time Use In Peru, Miki Robert Izu

Master's Theses

Flooding is a major cause of destruction and economic loss affecting over 80 million people annually. Flooding during childhood can lead to educational setbacks with long term economic impacts. This study investigates the causal impacts of flood shocks on educational achievement and children's time use using the Young Lives Survey, a panel dataset surveying children in Peru over 19 years of childhood. This study finds that flooding causes a temporary positive "spike" in girls hours of labor immediately after a flood which subsides by three to six years after flooding. The additional hours of labor does not reduce hours of …

Leadership, Performance, And Retention: A Case Study Of Loreto Convent Girls' Secondary School, Matunda, Judith Nekesa

Master's Theses

This study investigates the role of leadership in influencing student performance and retention at Loreto Convent Girls’ Secondary School, Matunda, Kenya. Prompted by a noticeable decline in academic achievement, student enrolment, and staff morale, the research explores how leadership practices, governance structures, and the adequacy of leadership preparation have contributed to the institution’s challenges. Framed by Authentic Leadership Theory, the study employs a qualitative case study methodology, drawing on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, including students, alumni, teachers, parents, and members of the Board of Management.

The findings reveal three interrelated leadership shortcomings: inadequate leadership development, frequent leadership changes, and governance …