Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Depressive Symptoms On Frn Amplitude: An Eeg Study, Jonathan Burton

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Background: Individuals diagnosed with depression demonstrate differences in neural activation patterns detectable using electroencephalogram (EEG). One of these differences has been specifically linked with the event-related potential (ERP) component called feedback-related negativity (FRN). In participants diagnosed with depression, the FRN has been shown to have larger amplitudes in response to negative feedback. However, previous research has only specifically looked at the difference of this amplitude between groups, specifically those with and those without a diagnosis of depression. Objective: The goal of the current study was to examine whether a continuous range of depressive symptoms in participants can predict FRN amplitudes, …

Exploring Machine Learning Techniques To Improve Peptide Identification, Fawad Kirmani

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this work is to improve proteotypic peptide prediction with lower pro- cessing time and better efficiency. Proteotypic peptides are the peptides in protein sequence that can be confidently observed by mass-spectrometry based proteomics. One of the widely used method for identifying peptides is tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The peptides that need to be identified are compared with the accurate mass and elution time (AMT) tag database. The AMT tag database helps in reducing the processing time and increases the accuracy of the identified peptides. Prediction of proteotypic peptides has seen a rapid improvement in recent years for …

Characterization Of The Spatial And Temporal Changes In River Geometry And Sand Load With Field Data Analysis And 1d Numerical Modeling, Zeyad Ayoob Sulaiman

Theses and Dissertations

The quantification of the changes in channel geometry and sand load that have occurred on the Missouri River after engineering works and that characterize the Altamaha River in the fluvial-tidal transition zone is the main objective of this research. Dam construction and channelization on the Missouri River resulted in flow regulation, sediment shortage by dam reservoir trapping, channel straightening and narrowing. Quantifying the morphodynamic response of the Lower Missouri River to these engineering projects at short and long-time scales is a difficult problem that we approach with the analysis of the available field data and with the aid of a …

The Association Of Hospital Practices To Breastfeeding Behaviors In South Carolina: Analysis Of 2013-2015 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (Prams) Data, Larisa Donnette Bruner

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether hospital practices are associated with breastfeeding initiation and breastfeeding duration for ≥10 weeks.

Methods: We analyzed the 2013-2015 South Carolina Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data. The population of interest was mothers who delivered a single live birth in the hospital. The infant was alive and living with the mother at the time of the survey. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to examine breastfeeding initiation and duration among all women who delivered in a hospital and those who stated that they initiated breastfeeding while in the …

Topological Conduction And Investigation On Multi Occurrence Of Dirac Cone, Mustahseen Mobashwer Indaleeb

Theses and Dissertations

The unique phenomena in acoustic metamaterial at the Dirac-like cone, and at the exceptional spawning ring could transform the field of engineering with multiple new applications that were never possible before. Localized conical dispersion called Dirac cone at the Brillouin Zone boundaries are the well-known phenomena demonstrated by photonics and phononic metamaterials. However, Dirac cone-like dispersion at the center of the Brillouin zone (where wave number, k = 0) [1] is rare and only happens due to accidental degeneracy at finite frequencies in two-dimensional periodic crystals (PCs), with or without microarchitectures. Accidental degeneracies are generally the ‘sweet spots’ where the …

The Impact Of Response To Intervention On The Reading Performance Of Third-Grade African American Male Students: An Action Research Study, Brandelynn S. Green

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study followed Mertler’s (2014) action research cycle of planning, acting, developing, and reflecting as the participant-researcher explored the impact of cultural and individualized differentiation to address the affective needs of learners within a response to intervention (RTI) framework in a third-grade classroom at Oak Park Elementary School (a pseudonym). A traditional RTI framework places the student at the center of all instruction while providing a scientific approach to meeting the needs of struggling learners (Williams, 2015a), but, as argued by Beth Harry (n.d.), simply providing evidence-based strategies to struggling students may not be enough; students also need …

Investigation Of The Mechanical Behavior Of Non-Conventional Laminates: Anisotropy Of Tensile Strength In Coupons With Quasi-Isotropic Stiffness Characteristics, Israel Oluwatunmise Ayodele

Theses and Dissertations

Advanced composites have emerged as viable structural solutions over the years and have therefore become implemented in several applications, notably aerospace structures. In modern aircraft structures, they have been gradually introduced to both secondary and primary components. Laminated composites used in such applications have generally been restricted to those with straight fibers, that are aligned to only a handful of pre-selected fiber orientations; 0˚, 45˚, 90˚ and -45˚. Recent advances in the technology of laminated composites have however indicated the possibility to harness significantly higher structural gains by allowing the use of other fiber orientations, and even implementing curvilinear fibers …

The Role Of Cdk8 In Metastatic Growth Of Colon Cancer, Jiaxin Liang

Theses and Dissertations

Unresectable hepatic metastases of colon cancer poorly respond to existing therapies and are a major cause of colon cancer lethality. Transcription- regulating Mediator kinase CDK8, an early clinical stage drug target, is amplified or overexpressed in many colon cancers and CDK8 expression correlates with shorter patient survival. Here we show that CDK8 inhibition does not generally suppress proliferation of CDK8-overexpressing colon cancer cells but nevertheless CDK8 knockdown by shRNA or CDK8 kinase inhibition by a selective small-molecule drug candidate suppresses metastatic growth of mouse and human colon cancer cells in the liver. This effect is due at least in part …

Statistical Design Of Experiment Techniques In Manufacturing, Caroline M. Kerfonta

Senior Theses

There are many statistical techniques used to design experiments. These techniques are used in many different fields. This thesis will focus on the use of the three most common techniques used to design statistical experiments in manufacturing.

The three techniques that will be investigated are completely randomized design, randomized block design, and factorial design. These techniques will be compared, contrasted, and explained. Research examples will be presented along with sample R code for each technique. These examples will be accompanied by analysis of the techniques as well as an overview of the uses and history of experiments in manufacturing

Impact Of Explicit Instruction Using Culturally Relevant Texts In Reading On Student Confidence, Wendy Harriford Platt

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes an action research question focused on how explicit instruction in reading, coupled with culturally responsive teaching, can affect the confidence levels of African-American male ninth graders regarding their reading comprehension abilities. The research question seeks to illustrate the benefits of using explicit instruction in the context of materials seen as relevant by the student to unpack each step of the reading comprehension process thereby engaging students who otherwise view reading as a streamlined, passive process; it also uses teacher modeling to show how to increase reading comprehension, Also, classroom instruction on the secondary level makes use of …

The Impact Of Classroom Engagement In A College Civic Engagement Classroom: An Action Research Study, Kimberly Seibles

Theses and Dissertations

At Southern College (pseudonym), a liberal arts college in South Carolina, students were enrolled in an introductory civic engagement course. The purpose of this action research study was to examine how an introductory civic engagement course influenced students’ perspectives on civic engagement. Additionally, the research focused on how a civic engagement course prepared students to engage in service learning. The dissertation sought to explore how peer conversations, course readings, and direct instruction would impact students’ attitudes, beliefs, and perspectives toward civic engagement. The study was implemented over a 14-week period. The researcher collected and analyzed data using a mixed methods …

Politics And The Built Environment: Civic Structures Of Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, Virginia And Charles Town, South Carolina, Paul Bartow

Theses and Dissertations

This study compares Williamsburg and Charles Town as colonial capital cities with attention to how their political culture was reflected through public buildings and the built environment. Drawing on traveler accounts, contemporary descriptions, government records, and maps, this thesis analyzes the character-defining features of public architecture in each city. I examine the capitol buildings, governor’s residences, churches, and town plans to see how the colonists in these respective cities viewed their society, their political order, and their place within the British Empire.

I argue that due to its development in the late seventeenth century and its reliance on the architectural …

The Effect Of Professional Development On Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Role Of School Librarians: An Action Research Study, Jennifer C. Mandrell

Theses and Dissertations

The role of the school librarian has greatly evolved from its origination as a person who solely checks out books or reads to students. School librarians are a vital part of schools and, when utilized appropriately, can be an integral part of the learning process with students. When collaboration occurs regularly, collaborative relationships between school librarians and teachers have been found to improve students’ academic performance. This paper describes a proposed action research study, which stems from the lack of a collaborative relationship between the school librarian and teachers at a middle school in South Carolina. The study focuses on …

The Sequential Method: An Analysis Of Robert Jesselson’S Cello Pedagogy, Kalim D. Alvarez Campos

Theses and Dissertations

Dr. Robert Jesselson has made significant professional contributions as a cello performer and music educator. His pedagogical approaches are innovative in helping students overcome technical problems, building good work habits, instilling self- discipline, addressing kinesthetic issues, and improving practice techniques. His Sequential Method involves a systematic and logical progression of technical exercises, scale systems, etudes and repertoire. It is unique in its applications for teaching and learning left and right hand techniques, building a progression of etudes which address technical and musical issues and working through the cello repertoire in an organized and meaningful manner that is appropriate to the …

Does Economic Policy Uncertainty Strengthen Peer Effects On Investments?, Jiawei Wang

Theses and Dissertations

The paper demonstrates that firms are more likely to follow their peers when they face economic policy uncertainty. Using a newly developed economic policy uncertainty index and the financial data from COMPUSTAT of US firms, I find evidence that economic policy uncertainty strengthens peer effects on investments. In this paper, I propose a reputation-based theory and information-based theory to support the findings. Peer effects are stronger for less successful firms and financial constrained firms during periods when economic policy uncertainty is notable. Accordingly, I use four standards (i.e. firm profitability, financially constrained status, growth rate and market to book ratio) …

Turning Up Antitumor Immunity Against Breast Cancer, Johnie Hodge

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in spite of significant advances in treatment and emphasis on early diagnosis. While treatment of localized disease is often successful, metastatic breast cancer, especially of the triple negative molecular subtype, carries a much poorer prognosis. The significant role of the immune system in the progression from localized to metastatic disease is becoming more and more appreciated. Tumor escape from immune surveillance and immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment have become therapeutic targets in addition to the traditional goals of directly killing …

Ultrasonic Analysis And Tools For Quantitative Material State Awarness Of Engineered Materials, Subir Patra

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research is to devise new methods and tools to generate real time awareness of the material state of composite and metallic structures through ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) at its very early stage of failure. To device new methodology it is also important to verify the method through virtual experiments and hence computational NDE is getting popular in the recent years. In this thesis, while experimental methodology is developed to understand the material state at its early stage of failure, a new peridynamic based Peri-Elastodynamic (PED) computational method is also developed for …

An Analysis Of Rating Systems Used By Watchdog Organizations For Nonprofit Charities In The Health And Human Services Sector, Sara Strathmann

Senior Theses

In the United State, lack of trust and accountability are developing trends among donors in regard to charitable nonprofits in the health and human services sector. Watchdog organizations are working diligently to provide useful data to donors to combat this growing issue. While some watchdog organizations focus on quality of statistics, others focus largely on quantity of metrics. Additionally, some rating systems are solely based on financial data, while others consider nonfinancial data as well. Although different methodologies concentrate on varying metrics, this thesis seeks to find a comprehensive, yet easy-to-use rating system that allows users to understand both financial …

Cryptocurrencies: Their Current Validity And Future As Currency And As A Part Of An Investment Strategy, Austin R. Johnson

Senior Theses

This paper examines the current and future prospects of cryptocurrencies with a focus on the most well-known and highest valued cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. Specifically, it will address how Bitcoin can be utilized as a currency and as part of an investment strategy and whether its utilization makes financial sense now and will in the future. The paper showcases the past behavior of Bitcoin, how the Bitcoin system functions, how Bitcoin acts as a currency, how Bitcoin can be used as an investment asset, and why it will continue to be employed as such in the future. This paper will show that …

Assessing Columbia's Homeless Court, Andrew Wilson

Senior Theses

This report provides relevant background information on the state of homelessness in Columbia and describes the problems that criminal offenders who are homeless faced under traditional modes of correction. It then outlines the concept and history of the homeless court model and explains how these programs are intended to improve legal outcomes for individuals facing homelessness. The collection of perspectives from government and nonprofit stakeholders and homeless court participants brought together in the thesis form a qualitative framework for considering how successful the homeless court has been in accomplishing its goals and what opportunities exist for improving it. Additionally, this …

From Ruby Ridge To Oklahoma City: The Radicalization Of Timothy Mcveigh, Allison Reese

Senior Theses

The Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995 was a watershed moment in American history and indelibly changed the way Americans viewed terrorism and public safety. While the effects of the bombing are well-documented, not as much attention has been paid to the motivations of the bomber, Timothy McVeigh. He was spurred to action by the events of the Waco siege, where the FBI engaged in a 51-day standoff with the Branch Davidians, a small religious group suspected of owning illegal weapons. However, this was not the first incident that inspired his later actions. In 1992, the Weaver family entered …

Velocity Model For Co2 Sequestration In The Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin, John Ollmann

Theses and Dissertations

The sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) is emerging as a major player in offsetting anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. With 40% of the United States’ anthropogenic CO2 emissions originating in the southeast, characterizing potential CO2 sequestration sites is vital to reducing the United States’ emissions. The overall goal of this research project, funded by the Department of Energy, is to estimate the CO2 storage potential for the Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin. Previous studies find storage potential in the Atlantic continental margin. Up to 16 Gt and 175 Gt of storage potential are estimated for the Upper Cretaceous and Lower …

A New System Of Teacher Evaluation In The Central Valley Elementary School District: An Action Research Study, Bryan Ballenger

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study describes the problem of practice as a dysfunctional evaluation system that is not meeting the needs of the teachers or the administration within the Central Valley Elementary School District. The identification of the problem of practice led to the development of a research focus examining elementary-level teachers’ beliefs concerning Danielson’s Framework for Teaching as the method for evaluation and the accompanying research question: What are elementary teachers’ perceptions of Danielson’s Framework for Teaching Evaluation Model? The purpose of the present action research study is to identify elementary teachers’ beliefs concerning Danielson’s Framework for Teaching Evaluation …

Numerical Modeling Of Submarine Minibasin Flow And Morphodynamics, Elena Bastianon

Theses and Dissertations

Intraslope basins, or minibasins, are important morphological features of the continental slope in both modern and ancient sedimentary systems. Minibasins have an elliptical or spherical shape with a steep inlet or proximal zone followed by an almost horizontal basin floor, and an overflow zone near the downstream basin lip. These basins are filled with sediment transported by successive events of turbidity currents and other types of submarine flows. The work presented here focuses on turbidity current sedimentation in intraslope minibasins, which is often described in terms of the ‘fill-and- spill’ conceptual model. The ‘fill-and-spill’ model has been used previously to …

Evaluating The Criterion Validity And Classification Accuracy Of Universal Screening Measures In Reading, Asia Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Educators use universal screening in the context of Response to Intervention frameworks to identify students who may be at risk for not meeting proficiency on the state assessment. Given the potential high-stakes of state tests, using accurate screening systems is critical for early remediation. Independent research is emerging on comprehensive and expensive reading screeners such as the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a computer adaptive test, and the Strategic Teaching Evaluation of Progress (STEP), a developmental reading assessment. The current study evaluated the criterion-related validity of MAP and STEP with a state assessment. Additionally, the utility of each screening measure …

The Effect Of Professional Development On Middle School Teachers' Technology Integration: An Action Research Study, Kristen Collins Tyner

Theses and Dissertations

Equipping teachers with the appropriate knowledge and skills to integrate technology effectively into their practice is a key component of school-wide technology implementation. Technology is fast becoming ubiquitous in the realm of education. Teachers and schools struggle to keep abreast of changing technologies while preparing students for a 21st century workforce. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills defined four skills critical for success in the twenty-first century: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. School and district leaderships are tasked to provide relevant and meaningful technological professional development (PD) in order to prepare their teachers to integrate these skills into their …

The Restoration Of The Nile River And Its Delta, Egypt. Numerical Modeling, Basim Mohammed Naseef Al-Zaidi

Theses and Dissertations

The construction of the High Aswan Dam significantly reduced the flood flows and the sediment supply to the Egyptian portion of the Nile River. Consequences of this changes in river hydrology are diffuse channel bed erosion in the upstream part of the river, in- channel sedimentation in the downstream part of the system, delta recession, habitat deterioration, wetlands loss, water pollution, and environmental problems. The feasibility of a Nile River-Delta restoration project with controlled flow releases and sediment augmentations at Aswan is here investigated with the aid of site-specific one-dimensional morphodynamic models. The water source for the restoration project, based …

Anti-Sabbatarianism In Antebellum America: The Christian Quarrel Over The Sanctity Of Sunday, Kathryn Kaslow

Theses and Dissertations

In the first half of the 1800s, American Christians posed fundamental questions about the role of faith in daily life by debating blue laws, which restricted Sunday travel, mail delivery, and recreational activities on the basis of the Fourth Commandment. Historians have largely focused on how pro-blue law Christians, or Sabbatarians, answered these questions. They also present anti-Sabbatarian concerns as socially, economically, or politically motivated, largely ignoring religion. However, an examination of religious periodicals, convention reports, correspondence, and petitions shows that many anti-Sabbatarians did indeed frame their arguments in theological terms. Case studies from various faith traditions over four decades …

Tumor Suppressor Mir-489 Regulates Proliferation, Autophagy And Overcomes Drug-Resistance In Breast Cancer, Mithil Soni

Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of extensive research, breast cancer remains an untamable disease due to complexity and heterogeneity of disease. It is for this very reason, most efforts targeting a single pathway did not yield satisfactory results. Discovery of a novel therapeutic agents targeting multiple pathways, such as miRNAs, holds promise for future cancer therapy. This study was aimed to explore therapeutic potential of one such microRNA, miR-489. In the first study, we identified autophagy as a novel pathway targeted by miR-489 and reported ULK1 and LAPTM4B to be a direct of miR-489 target. We showed that miR-489 mediated autophagy inhibition and …

Sites Seen And Unseen: Mapping African American Women’S Public Memorialization, Alexandria Russell

Theses and Dissertations

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, black clubwomen began naming organizations after formerly enslaved women like Phillis Wheatley to keep their public memory alive. In doing so, they created a culture of recognition that acknowledged the organizational namesake as well as the contributions of members. Named memorialization celebrated the very best of African American women and continued to expand as Jim Crow laws encroached on black citizenship. Catalyzed by African American women while also supported by black journalists and local bureaucracies, named memorialization was the primary public history medium used to honor the legacies of African American women in the …