Digital Commons Network^™

The Maghrebi Silk Road: A Medieval Exploration, Malak Ouammou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Maghrebi Silk Road: A Medieval Exploration is an interdisciplinary historical examination of a variety of intellectual and material cross-cultural interactions and connections between Asia and the Maghreb from 900 to 1492. It primarily revolves around agriculture, sericulture, and immaterial and material culture, with an emphasis on knowledge production and dissemination. In it, I focus on the Mediterranean endpoint of the Silk Road network, illustrating the Maghrebi Silk Road through an exploration of various case studies such as rice, silk, and storytelling that demonstrate the role of and the extent to which these “secondary” Silk Road routes existed and were …

Schools Without Borders: Ending The Containment, Jade A. Craig

Michigan Law Review

A review of The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North. By Michelle Adams.

What Personhood Means, Laura Portuondo

Michigan Law Review

A review of Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction. By Mary Ziegler.

Jurisdictional Waters, Jamison E. Colburn

Michigan Law Review

A review of Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource. By Royal C. Gardner.

Evaluation Of Laser Doppler Flowmetry And Transillumination Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging To Measure Blood Flow Change In Ischemia Mouse Hindlimb Models, Simon Park

Master's Theses

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), caused by plaque buildup and narrowing of the arteries, reduces blood flow to the extremities. Promoting collateral arteriogenesis can help redirect blood flow. However, simple growth of collaterals may not be enough to reverse PAD. Instead, the ability for the collaterals to vasodilate and control blood flow is important, meaning assessing collateral function is important for the arteriogenesis assesment. Although microscopy techniques can measure vasodilation, contrast limitations in larger vessels such as collaterals make blood flow measurements difficult. Techniques such as ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can measure blood flow but have limitations with cost …

Burning July, Elisha Lee

Intertidal

No abstract provided.

Fading Mountains, Thomas Turilli

Intertidal

No abstract provided.

Lake Of Privilege, Tony Martello

Intertidal

No abstract provided.

Microbial Literacy, Equity, And Sustainability At Cal Poly: A Policy Framework With University Housing As A Pilot Case, Joseph B. Fewel

Biological Sciences

Microorganisms play a fundamental role in human health, environmental systems, and the functioning of built environments, yet they remain largely absent from sustainability and public policy discussions. This project proposes a framework for integrating microbial literacy, equity, and health into institutional decision-making, using California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) as a case study and university housing as a pilot site for implementation. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature in microbiology, public health, environmental justice, and sustainability, as well as policy analysis and stakeholder interviews, this project examines how campus systems, including housing, ventilation, sanitation, food systems, and waste management, shape microbial exposure …

Catalyzed Chemical Recycling Of Pet Plastic Waste, Irfan Oyon Chowdhury, Caiden Scott Figlioli

Materials Engineering

Plastic waste accumulation and continued reliance on fossil fuel-based polymer feedstocks remain major challenges in the plastics industry. While mechanical recycling is widely used, repeated thermal processing, contamination, and polymer degradation reduce recycled plastic quality. Chemical recycling offers an alternative by depolymerizing plastics into reusable monomers that can produce materials with properties closer to virgin plastics.

This study investigated the glycolysis of post-consumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) using ethylene glycol to produce bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET). Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized by solution precipitation and used with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) as a co-catalyst system. PET glycolysis was performed using 2.00 g …

Polysaber: A Custom Reactive Lightsaber Soundboard, Pedro B. Medeiros

Computer Engineering

The PolySaber project was developed as a custom reactive lightsaber control system built as a fully custom PCB design. The purpose of the project was to create a lower-cost and more customizable alternative to commercially available lightsaber soundboards while simultaneously providing hands-on experience in PCB design, embedded systems development, and hardware integration. Commercial lightsaber soundboards are expensive, proprietary, and difficult for hobbyists to customize. The PolySaber project addresses this by creating a modifiable hardware platform built around the ESP32 microcontroller. The system supports programmable firmware, RGB NeoPixel blade control, motion sensing, reactive swing and clash effects, onboard audio amplification, and …

Off-Grid Cabin Hydroelectric Generator, Keller Feltman, Lance Savatgy, River Perino, Jesse Valencia

Mechanical Engineering

This project developed a portable hydroelectric generator intended to provide low-power electricity generation for an off-grid cabin in Alpine County, California. The system was designed to utilize naturally occurring creek flow to generate electrical power while remaining portable, durable, and environmentally conscious.

The final system consists of an axial-flow turbine, belt-driven generator subsystem, waterproof electronics enclosure, aluminum support frame, and integrated wildlife protection screening. Engineering analysis was performed to estimate hydraulic power availability, turbine performance, drivetrain requirements, and component lifespan. These analyses guided the selection and development of the final design.

Throughout prototype testing, several design modifications were required. Initial …

Resource Assessment Report No. 7: Shark Bay Invertebrate Resource - 2024 Assessment, Jason How, Inigo Koefoed, Rachel Marks, Scott E. Evans, Sharon Wilkin

Resource Assessment Reports

The Shark Bay Invertebrate Resource (Resource) is accessed by three managed commercial fisheries; the Shark Bay Prawn Managed Fishery (SBPMF), the Shark Bay Scallop Managed Fishery (SBSMF) and the Shark Bay Blue Swimmer Crab Managed Fishery (SBCMF). Additionally, blue swimmer crabs are taken by recreational fishers through a variety of methods, though the overall level of boat-based catch is relatively low (~ 7.8 t). The SBSMF and SBCMF fisheries are quota managed and primarily retain their target species of scallops and crabs, respectively. The SBPMF is an effort-managed fishery that targets brown tiger prawns (BTP; Penaeus esculentus) and western king …

Phl 110e.50: Introduction To Ethics, Armond J. Duwell

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2026-2030

No abstract provided.

Assessing Rural Homelessness: A Mixed-Methods Case Study, Matthew Lyons, Ashley Feierstein, Christy Storey, Akilah Hairston, Jonathan Jones, Jada Brown, Sarah H. Cross

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Rural homelessness represents a significant public health and human rights challenge, but research on homelessness in the United States has predominantly focused on urban settings. This case study describes a mixed-methods assessment of the prevalence, causes, and consequences of homelessness in a rural county. Through both surveys and interviews with stakeholders from multiple sectors (including both service providers and those experiencing homelessness), we built a rich picture of the scale and experiential dimensions of homelessness within the county. Here, we present our research methods, the main findings of each primary data collection arm, and the actionable conclusions drawn from the …

Computational Modeling To Evaluate Bipolar Flexible Electrode Designs For Use In Sciatic Nerve Stimulation, Krystyna S. Allman

Master's Theses

Peripheral nerve stimulation is clinically used to manage pain, rehabilitate motor function, and promote nerve regeneration. The sciatic nerve is often studied for stimulation due to its accessibility and clinical relevance. A conventional nerve cuff electrode is the least invasive method for nerve stimulation, but the mismatch of mechanical properties of the electrode with the nerve tissue can cause damage to the nerve and the electrode itself. This study investigated a novel bipolar, gold nanowire-based cuff electrode design and its ability to selectively activate fibers in the rat sciatic nerve at varying interelectrode spacings. In COMSOL, A finite element model …

Cloud Tank: Virtual Reality Performance Instrument For Embodied Audiovisual Remixing, Asya Ulger

Computer Science Senior Theses

Traditionally, live audiovisual performances are made behind a desk using a laptop and an audio controller. This setup restricts the performer’s movements and separates the artist from their work. Moreover, it narrows what counts as the performance to the output alone — the audience is preconditioned to treat the projected image and sound as the whole event, and not the artist producing it. Cloud Tank challenges this by positioning the performer’s body as the instrument, using virtual reality. As the performer, I mix spatialized audio and drive beat-aligned, reactive video layers through hand movement and hand-pose recognition. The audiovisual output …

Perception Of Dynamic Lighting: Chromatic Adaptation And Augmented Reality, Abigayle Weymouth

Theses

Augmented reality (AR) is a rapidly developing technology with use cases ranging everywhere from medicine to entertainment. This research focuses on optical see-through (OST) AR, one of the common overarching types of available augmented reality devices. Color appearance in OST AR systems is affected by a mix of the viewing conditions and environment of the real world and the transparent virtual elements. Accurate control of the color of AR content in real-world use cases, which often includes changes in color over time in both parts of the environment, is important for many applications. This dissertation includes three studies of color …

Controlling The Narrative:Copyright’S Derivative Rights Doctrine & Semiotic Disobedience In The Age Of Ai, John Tehranian

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article argues that copyright’s derivative rights doctrine—long treated as a technical mechanism of market control—has operated as a powerful but underexamined tool of epistemic governance. As the doctrine’s scope has expanded, it has increasingly privileged dominant narratives while recasting resistive ones as acts of infringement. Drawing on historical and contemporary case studies—from the largely forgotten copyright disputes over the English translations of Mein Kampf and Bambi on the eve of World War II to the infamous stand-off between Wall Street’s Charging Bull and Fearless Girl statues—the Article demonstrates how derivative rights have been deployed to suppress what Sonya Katyal …

Who's Afraid Of Copyright And Ai?, Deborah R. Gerhardt

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Copyright and AI need not be a copyright no man’s land. Recent decisions by the Copyright Office have gotten so much media attention that many creators are unsure if they can secure copyright protection if they use AI as a creative tool. The proposed creative control paradigm can help us all tackle the challenge of determining when works created with the assistance of AI are copyrightable. Instead of relying on long-established nuanced precedent for protecting works generated with new technology, the Copyright Office asserts that any content generated with assistance from AI tools is unprotectable. This position is radically inconsistent …

Sheep Pen Improvements At City Farm Slo, Diego Eliseo Romero

Construction Management

City Farm SLO is a non-profit educational farm that focuses on creating clean produce and educational farm work environments in San Luis Obispo, California. The farm can provide its community with learning programs for the youth, hands-on experience in farming practices, and livestock care. The work was set out for this project across two quarters where we improved the existing sheep pen so that the volunteers and livestock who use the pen can enjoy the area much more comfortably and safely. The overall project scope included several improvements which all required initial designs, coordination with the farm and its volunteers, …

City Farm Slo Brooding Box, Jon Travis W. Black

Construction Management

The Brooding Box Project, completed by a California Polytechnic State University Construction Management student, aimed to provide additional chicken housing and secure storage for City Farm SLO, a local nonprofit farm located in San Luis Obispo. Led by Travis Black under the guidance of Shane Lovell, one of the farm’s caretakers, the project combined basic, hands-on construction skills with community service. Using the client’s initial design concept and purchasing the required materials independently, the project focused on durability, functionality, and cost-efficiency. Since the project was self-funded, careful budgeting and material selection were essential to ensure structural integrity while meeting the …

Sheep Pen Improvements At City Farm Slo, Rylan Joseph Hickman

Construction Management

This project took place on a non-profit community farming space called City Farm SLO which provides opportunities for local small scale independent farmers to farm and provide crops to the community. Our project provided improvements to the livestock pen that they have on the farm which is home to chickens and a flock of sheep. The main goal of this project was to provide a better living environment for the sheep including a 50 cubic yard sheep hill, a vehicle access gate, a side gate, a front catch pen, a back corral, and protective fencing for a guava tree. Within …

Artificial Personhood: The Implications Of Recognizing The Legal Personhood Of Artificialintelligence, Daniel C. Borges

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Artificial intelligence (AI) is here in a big way. As society grapples with the implications of this profound new technology, the question of whether AI entities should be granted independent legal recognition, akin to human personhood, has emerged as a pivotal topic in jurisprudence. This Article explores the foundations, evolution, and implications of AI personhood, addressing philosophical perspectives, the development of personhood as a legal fiction (with specific emphasis on corporate personhood), and the need for AI personhood to counter the risks posed by rapidly developing AI technology. It defines the "AI person" as one whose legal recognition furthers a …

La Evolución Del Estilo De Naoko Takeuchi En Las Ilustraciones De Personajes Femeninos De Sailor Moon, Manuela Elizabeth Rodríguez González

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Este estudio analiza la evolución técnica y estilística de Naoko Takeuchi en sus representaciones femeninas presentes en las ilustraciones de Sailor Moon, mediante su transición y combinación con técnicas digitales, dentro del contexto de la industria del manga, anime y merchandising en diferentes desde su creación en los años noventa hasta su actualización más reciente en 2023. A partir de un análisis comparativo de artbooks, ilustraciones de alta resolución y notas de la autora, complementado con fuentes secundarias como artículos, libros y blogs especializados, se organizaron los materiales en tres períodos cronológicos para estudiar su evolución artística. Los …

C-Tran Bus Stop Accessibility Action Plan, Grace Alston, Michelle Auster, Zoe Beckley, Noah Crawford, Ryan Gallo, Angelique Wallmann

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

Project Background

C-TRAN is the regional public transportation provider for the Clark County Public Transportation Benefit Area in Southwest Washington, providing connections to the Portland, Oregon, metro region. C-TRAN connects people to opportunities, supports economic vitality, and enhances the quality of life for the community.

The challenge - 66% of C-TRAN’s bus stops are non-ADA compliant, C-TRAN’s existing capital investment strategy lacks community input and a multi-year application.

The Opportunity - Our Bus Stop Accessibility Action Plan will leverage community engagement and social metric data to develop a long-term investment strategy.

The Historical Persistence Of Working-Class Culture: How Laborers Created The Ethical Foundation Of Western Civilization, Kenneth Atkinson

Faculty Publications

This article highlights four historical events that shape our present: the world’s first industrial strike in ancient Egypt to protest workers’ health and safety; working-class efforts to improve labor conditions during the Roman Republic and Middle Ages through strikes and the creation of guilds; the social justice activism of the prophets of Western religions (all working-class folks!); and the creation of the selfie and the transition from a culture of character to our present obsession with celebrities and individualism that began during the Renaissance. Each case highlights unique features of working-class culture, working class reactions to societal changes, and the …

The Comparative Chemical Analysis Of Colored Henna, Vani D. Bhagwandeen

Student Theses

Henna, a natural dye derived from Lawsonia inermis, is widely used for temporary body art, hair coloring, and cultural decorative practices such as Mehendi. Traditional henna produces a reddish-brown stain through lawsone, a naphthoquinone chromophore that binds to keratin in skin, hair, and nails (Badoni Semwal et al., 2014; de Groot, 2013; Kumar Singh et al., 2015). Commercial henna products have increasingly incorporated synthetic dyes, pigments, and glitter additives to produce a broader range of colors and effects (Blair et al., 2004; Manso et al., 2017; Blackledge & Jones, 2007). Despite their prevalence, limited forensic research has examined the …

Walking The Path Of Conocimiento: Understanding And Navigating Workplace Conflict Through A Chicana Feminist Lens, Elisa A. Ortega-Schultz

Dissertations

The growing presence of Latinas in the U.S. workforce underscores the need for deeper understanding of their workplace experiences. Latinas represent one of the fastest growing segments of the labor force; however, research consistently shows that this growth is not matched by equitable access to leadership, compensation, or culturally responsive workplace environments. Latinas continue to experience persistent barriers related to pay inequity, career advancement, cultural belonging, and overall well-being.

Conflict frameworks that account for the unique experiences of Latinas are needed, as dominant approaches rooted in neutrality, procedural efficiency, and Western individualism often fail to account for the embodied, relational, …

Trace: Temporal Rhetorical Analysis And Consistency Evaluation For Legislative Speech, David Hernandez

Master's Theses

Legislators frequently discuss the same policy issues across multiple hearings and legislative sessions, sometimes maintaining consistent positions and other times modifying or reframing their stance over time. Understanding how these positions evolve is important for analyzing political discourse and democratic accountability, yet identifying such shifts at scale remains difficult.

We introduce TRACE (Temporal Rhetorical Analysis and Consistency Evaluation), a system built on the Digital Democracy Database (DDDB) for detecting rhetorical inconsistency in California legislative hearing testimony. TRACE organizes utterances into speaker-anchored timelines indexed by bill and session, then applies hybrid semantic retrieval — combining dense BGE embeddings with BM25 lexical …