Digital Commons Network^™

Improved Filtering Of Electron Tomography Edx Data, Kelsey M. Larkin

Senior Theses

Electron microscopy is a very exciting field, which has shown huge developments in the last few decades. There is a continuous development of new methods which feature atomic level resolution. One of these methods is the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, which allows the researchers to understand the chemical make-up of the sample. It is particularly exciting that we are able to make EDX tomographic reconstructions and view the 3D structure of a nano-object.

This thesis is focused on developing a new methodology for EDX tomography. In a typical EDX set-up, one detects X-rays from the sample with different energies, …

Kitchen Chronicles And Crude Expectations: Understanding Everyday Life In The Upper Ecuadorian Amazon, Emily A. Babb

Senior Theses

My thesis examines the everyday life of my Ecuadorian, Kichwa host family in an attempt to better understand how, if at all, they interact with and think about oil companies on a regular basis. In this way, I attempted to supplement the current literature, which tends to focus on the large, contentious interactions between indigenous people and the petroleum industry. It was my hope to expand the understanding of their identities both within and outside the context of oil and to show the complexity of their relationship with petroleum companies.

The Adoption Of Cryptocurrency Technology Into The Us Banking Infrastructure, Trevor Melito

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the possibility of using Blockchain technology to permanently change the payment structure of the US banking system. First, I examine the current technology that dominates the banking sector. I introduce the most frequently used payments methods including Automatic Clearing House transfers and wire transfers, both domestically and internationally. In addition, I highlight the major players controlling these transactions. Under the current system, frictions between senders and receivers cause billions of dollars in losses each year.

Next, I examine Blockchain’s roots along with some similar cryptocurrency technology, namely Distributed Ledger Technology and Smart Contracts. The transparency, security, and …

Lablineup: An Intuitive Web Application For Queueing Help Requests In Academic Labs, Graham Mcdonald

Senior Theses

LabLineup is a start-up project designed to address the needs of large, lab-based classes, where teaching assistants (TAs) struggle to assist students in the order in which they request help. LabLineup is a lightweight web application that allows TAs and professors to accept requests for help in order. LabLineup allows professors to view the requests for a lab and see frequently asked questions that can be addressed en masse rather than individually. LabLineup also allows students to provide TA feedback. LabLineup addresses issues arising from requesting help in large, lab-based classes in the most efficient manner possible.

Boom Or Bust: Examining The Relationship Between High School Recruiting Rankings And The Nfl Draft, Nicholas E. Tice

Senior Theses

The goal of this thesis is to model the probability of a high school football player’s chance of being drafted based on information taken from their recruiting profile. The response variable is binary and defined as drafted (1) or undrafted (0). The independent variables were collected by scraping data from the recruiting websites including height, weight, position, hometown, recruiting grade and other socioeconomic factors based on the player’s high school. 247Sports and ESPN were the two recruiting services used and compared in this study. Because of the binary nature of the dependent variable, logistic regression and decision trees were chosen …

Assessing The Feasibility, Costs, And Benefits Of Transitioning Part Of The University Of South Carolina Shuttle Fleet To An Alternative Fuel Source And Promoting Anti-Idling Strategies, Eva L. James

Senior Theses

The current University of South Carolina shuttle fleet is made up of eleven (11) light duty shuttles and thirteen (13) heavy duty school buses, all of which rely on gasoline and diesel fuel sources. This study intends to assess the environmental, health, and economic tradeoffs of switching part of the existing University shuttle fleet to an alternative fuel source: compressed natural gas (CNG) or propane (LPG). This study also includes detailed, fleet specific idling-cost calculations to encourage the adoption of recommended anti-idling strategies. Following an exhaustive analysis of the available literature that addresses the feasibility of a partial CNG or …

Preparing For The Future: The Effects Of Financial Literacy On Financial Planning For Young Professionals, Tanay Singh

Senior Theses

Purpose – Many people between the age of 20 and 34 have not considered planning financially for the future in any significant capacity and in doing so, they limit their potential savings. The purpose of this study is to examine what financial expectations are for people in the early stages of their career and determine if improving financial literacy and revealing financial realities helps to produce more accurate or realistic expectations. Ultimately, the goal is to better prepare participants in the study for the working world and increased responsibilities outside of the college/university environment by getting them to start thinking …

Feel The Vibration! Measuring The Ground Motion Caused By Racecars At The Zmax Dragway, Gabrielle Herrin

Senior Theses

Dragsters raced down a 1,000 ft track at the zMAX Dragway and the resulting ground motion was recorded, analyzed, and displayed live to fans. At the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on April 26 – 28, 2019 and the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals on October 11-13, 2019 the ground motion was recorded with novel devices anchored on the track walls. The devices were fit with Raspberry Pis, precise clocks, and accelerometers recording at 400 samples per second. In April, the geometry of the devices was located near the start line and in October, devices were anchored to the outside …