Digital Commons Network^™

Building Columbia, Lawrence Lane

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the research from a project on the builders who helped build Columbia, South Carolina from 1890 to 1940, a dynamic time of growth as the city moved from post-Civil War recovery through industrialization and into modernization.1 Previous research of Columbia’s architectural history often focuses on the few architects with national recognition, like Robert Mills, the architect of the Washington Monument. Frequently omitted from the city’s architectural story are the lesser-known developers, builders, contractors, brick masons, and other tradesmen from inside and outside of Columbia who contributed to the shaping of the city by helping build vernacular architecture …

Loving You Is Complicated: The Aesthetics Of Personal And Political Tension In Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly, Jacob Sillyman

Senior Theses

This paper explores the aesthetic and lyrical achievements of musician Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 To Pimp A Butterfly, the political context of these achievements, and the manner in which the critical discourse surrounding the work has handled the artistic and political tensions within the work of Lamar. The paper first frames To Pimp A Butterfly beside the criticism that surrounds it, and questions the value and appropriateness in viewing the work as a piece of political protest art. The paper goes on to examine the techniques by which the piece builds a sense of tension and confusion in regards to …

The Importance Of Planning: Science Education From Many Points Of View, Kirsten Morgan Edwards

Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis project was to bridge the divide between public lands, such as parks, and the education system; national parks and monuments are great resources for education. In addition to promoting outside of the classroom education, this project explores different teaching methods and how changing pedagogical practice can help more students learn in the long term. In order to explore different methods of teaching, I created three different lesson plans that could be used, for example, in places like Congaree National Park, to bring education outside of the traditional school environment. These lesson plans are supplemental materials …

Primary Care Of Latino Patients In The United States: A Comparative Analysis Of Personal Experiences In Safety-Net Healthcare Organizations, Grant Douglas Tore

Senior Theses

This thesis aims to compare two types of healthcare organizations that compose the safety-net healthcare system in the United States with the utilization of both personal experiences and extensive research. The first are community health centers, which receive federal funding in order to serve specific populations with in their communities. In my experience, this population was migrant farmworkers, all who came to the United States legally with H2A visas. The second model is that of the free medical clinic, which operates on a volunteer/staff model, but receives no government funding. Serving primarily uninsured patients, free clinics such as the Good …

Relationship Between Self-Reported Oral Health And Self-Esteem In Two Columbia, Sc Populations, Matthew Ablonczy, Elizabeth Smith

Senior Theses

The importance of oral health to overall health cannot be overstated. For example, oral health can be used for early diagnosis of diseases such as diabetes. Furthermore, it has been well studied that self-esteem is related to oral health. Individuals with proper oral health care have more confidence to interact with others, which results in higher self-esteem. Those who lack the ability to pay for oral healthcare are thus at a great disadvantage. The present study sought to investigate the relationship between oral health and self-esteem in two Columbia, SC populations through surveying. There were two study populations, students at …

The Effects Of Implementing An Online Professional Learning Community For Teachers Of Gifted And Talented Courses: An Action Research Study, Chelsey A. Mintz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to examine the effects of implementing an online professional learning community (PLC) designed explicitly for teachers of gifted and talented (GT) English language arts (ELA) courses. The present action research (AR) is a limited mixed design study, including quantitative and qualitative elements, to discover the effects on collaboration and professional growth focused on best practices for GT instruction. The quantitative data were collected through surveys, which included Likert scales and nominal items and were analyzed through descriptive statistics. The qualitative data were collected through guided and semi-structured interview questions and transcribed before …

Mechanism Of Action Of American Ginseng And Its Components In The Treatment Of Ulcerative Colitis, Anusha Chaparala

Theses and Dissertations

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), mainly ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn’s disease (CD), are chronic, idiopathic, inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract affecting millions of people worldwide. The incidence of IBD is steadily increasing in the modern world due to changes in dietary habits and other environmental influences that originated from industrialization. The etiology is poorly understood but is believed to be a combination of genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and overactive immune system. UC is characterized by inflammation and ulceration of colonic mucosa and rectum and has a higher incidence than CD. Aside from severely affecting the quality of life of the …

Utilization Of Lung Cancer Screening And Molecular Testing To Improve Lung Cancer Outcomes, Jennifer Lynne Ersek

Theses and Dissertations

Despite progress in detection and treatment, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends adults at high risk for lung cancer undergo annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening, however, lung cancer screening (LCS) uptake remains low. Qualitative research on family physician (FP) perceptions and experiences with LCS has been limited since USPSTF publication and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decision memo. We conducted a qualitative study to assess FP knowledge and perceptions of LCS and gain insight into their current experiences with LDCT. A …

The Role Of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8 In Vascular Disease, Desiree Leach

Theses and Dissertations

In response to injury, mature vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) undergo dedifferentiation, also known as phenotype modulation or switch. This process is characterized by a downregulation or loss of expression of contractile genes and concomitant with an increase in cell proliferation, migration, and extracellular matrix production, thereby leading to vascular lesion formation. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is not fully understood. The objective of my study was to determine whether cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8), a transcription-regulating kinase, plays a mediator role in vascular SMC dedifferentiation and lesion formation. Our results from immunochemical staining and Western blot revealed that CDK8 expression …

Study Of Ultra Wide Band Gap Alxga1-Xn Field Effect Transistors For Power Electronic Applications, Sakib Mohammed Muhtadi

Theses and Dissertations

High Aluminum content Al_xGa_1-xN (x > 30%) has attracted intense research interest nowadays as “Ultra Wide Band Gap (UWBG)” material due to large band gap (> 3.4 eV). The critical electric field (EC) of UWBG semiconductor AlGaN is significantly higher than GaN. Moreover, electron saturation velocity is also comparable to GaN. These attractive material properties are the needs for getting large breakdown voltage and high thermal stability which are the requirements for next generation power semiconductor devices. Theoretical possibilities show UWBG AlGaN based devices are an emerging class and can outperform conventional GaN based devices even at …

Graduate School Alumni Giving: An Identity Salience Model Of Nonprofit Relationship Marketing Success Approach, Joseph Patrick Neary

Theses and Dissertations

Development officers and those who research philanthropic giving frequently explore the factors that motivate donors to give or the demographic variables that enable donating behavior to occur, less often is the concept of identity used as a mediating variable in the study of philanthropic giving. Using the Identity Salience Model of Nonprofit Relationship Marketing Success proposed by Arnett, German, and Hunt (2003) as a theoretical framework, this dissertation explores the understudied giving behaviors of alumni of graduate degree programs at a large, southeastern, Carnegie classified highest research activity, doctoral institution. Using the survey responses from and institutional data for 707 …

A Study On Satisfaction Of Dental Implant Patients, Jung Su O

Theses and Dissertations

The implant has been around for half a century. It started in Sweden in the 1960s and is now being actively practiced all over the world. It is important to investigate what constitutes a standard for a consumer of medical services in selecting a dentist to receive implants. A great number of dentists and research organizations have published research papers on theory and techniques of implants as well as their strengths and weaknesses. However, researches on reality and satisfaction rate of patients are still very rare.

The purpose of this study was to identify how to improve satisfaction of patients …

The Student Consumer: What Does Adding A Price Tag To Your Postsecondary Degree Do For You?, Allison Printz

Senior Theses

In contrast with the rest of the world, Student Affair at public universities are much more prevalent in the United States. Other countries are making efforts to begin and/or improve resources offered to students, introducing the concept more and more. One nation that has very limited exposure to the concept of Student Affairs is Germany. They focus mainly on providing instruction for a smaller number of students and research resources. This could be because the higher education is paid for by the state, which removes the student from being the consumer. In order to compare how a student can benefit …

How To Start A Riot: A Theory Of Collective Action, Cory Cambridge Alpert

Senior Theses

This paper will also augment existing theory by stating that lowered barriers to engagement and interaction with the social movement and social movement organization will increase the likelihood of both initial and sustained participation. Each section of the paper will condense the claims made into explicit theoretical statements and arguments, which are presented at the end of each section. Finally, a formal theory will be presented in Appendix I, which combines all of the presented theoretical claims and explain connections between propositions. Each section will have a title bolded, as well as a clear proposition (or multiple propositions) in italics …

A Perspective On How To Improve Undergraduate Research Education In The Physical Sciences At Usc, Michael Caleb Bagley

Senior Theses

My years at the University of South Carolina have been some of the most challenging and edifying periods of my life. I have been blessed by having a great professional and chemistry mentor in Dr. John L. Ferry who has helped me engage in scientific research in a meaningful way. As I watched other chemistry students, in particular, struggle with understanding what research really was and even how to understand the results and methodologies of it I felt that this was a huge issue that could be rather simply fixed. I have been privileged to apply for and receive a …

Nobility V. Nation: Conflicting Justices In The Early French Revolution Trials Of Lambesc, Besenval, And Favras (1789-1790), Michael Arin

Senior Theses

Despite the wealth of information on the French Revolution, the courts of law remain an understudied subject matter, in particular the inconsistent application of criminal law in pursuit of suspects of lèse-nation by the Comité des recherches and Châtelet. This study bridges this gap using archival research of court documents and a holistic approach to historians of the time, of the crime, and of the cases in question. Considering the totality of the circumstances, the trials of the prince de Lambesc, baron de Besenval, and marquis de Favras paint a battleground of a multitude of conflicting justices—social, political, and judicial—resulting …

An Analysis Of Income Inequality Reduction In Brazil Under President Lula Da Silva, Victoria Rose Belcher

Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes trends in income inequality reduction across different regions of Brazil from 2000 to 2010. This period was selected because it was a period of consistent economic growth and national inequality reduction, as measured by the GINI Index, as well as a period that witnessed the introduction of new government policies by President Lula da Silva. This thesis provides extensive background information about Lula’s presidency and income inequality in Brazil before conducting an economic analysis of the trends in income inequality reduction through the country. This thesis concludes that the trend of inequality reduction favored certain regions of …

Dreaming Big And Living Small: Examining Motivations And Satisfaction In Tiny House Living, Lauren Michelle Boeckermann

Senior Theses

The tiny house movement advocates for downsizing and a moving into smaller

residences.1 While living in smaller homes is in no way novel, the roots of the current trend is

somewhat contested as some attribute it to the “Back-to-the-Land” movement of the 1970’s or

Thoreau’s plea to live simply and deliberately.1 In 2002, the first company dedicated to solely

building tiny houses was founded and called Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.2 Jay Shafer,

the owner of Tumbleweed, and several tiny house advocates joined together to create the Small

House Society to serve as a community of like-minded individuals with information sharing …

Processing Differences In Reading Alliteration And Rhyme: An Eye-Movement Study, Keiko Bridwell

Senior Theses

In studies of silent reading, it is well-attested that the phonological content of a word, and not only its visual shape, contributes to the reading process. One of the most widely-observed phenomena in this field is the “tongue twister effect”: the tendency for words with repeated initial phonemes to be read more slowly and comprehended more poorly than words without phonological repetition. This effect has been welldocumented over decades of research; however, it has overwhelmingly dealt with wordinitial overlap, or alliteration. Very few studies have looked at the impact that word-final overlap, or rhyme, might have on reading. In the …

The Chemistry Of Matching Italian Foods With Wines, Samuel Collinsworth, Rachael Maynard

Senior Theses

This report attempts to explain the science behind matching Italian food with wines. Common knowledge states that certain wines make better pairings with certain food dishes, but the general public knows little about why these foods and wines make better matches. This paper aims to use examples of tastings of Italian foods with different wines in order to educate its readers on the science behind the pairings. Before these tastings are analyzed, background information is provided about the science of taste. A description of the five basic tastes is given, separating them into appetitive and aversive tastes, and the chemistry …

Sonority: A Study In Composing With Color For Wind Band, Kyle Brown

Senior Theses

Over the course of a year, Sonority has come to life. From early melodic ideas to musical sketches and now my final piece, this compositional journey has taught me a lot about my own writing and the processes involved in band writing. My emphasis on instrumental colors and waves of sound guided my writing as I worked to complete this piece. Those key concepts helped to shape the melody, rhythm, and form of this piece. Writing Sonority was certainly an educational experience for me, and I am proud to present this piece as a representation of my work over the …

The Music Achievement Program: Designing A Violin Lesson Curriculum, Laura Julieanne Bennett

Senior Theses

What is the biggest commitment you have ever made in your entire life? How about recalling the biggest commitment you made before you finished the first grade? Other than pledging to only eat candy for dinner for the rest of my life, at the age of six, I unknowingly committed to a challenging and unending pursuit: learning to play the violin. To be completely honest, I was not terribly interested in playing the instrument. However, my kindergarten-age sister was ecstatic to give it a go. So, my parents enrolled me in Suzuki lessons at my creative arts elementary school. Unlike …

Working It Out: An Examination Of Modern Exercise Culture As Displayed On A College Campus, Mary Bolgan

Senior Theses

When asked to describe, as simplistically as possible, what one believes to be the most basic needs for human survival, it is likely that a few concepts will come up repeatedly: food, shelter, and procreation. In modern times, barriers to these needs tend to be financial resource. However, this has not always been the case. In primitive times, a third necessity would be needed to survive, that being a certain degree of physical fitness. To obtain food and build shelter, our ancestors had to have a great deal of physical competency to be able to hunt, gather, build, and keep …

The Skin Cancer Health Crisis And Recommended Intervention Methods, Blaire Brooks

Senior Theses

Despite the increasing research connecting UVR exposures to skin cancer, rates of skin cancer are rising. Skin cancer is now the most common form of cancer and there are significant health care costs associated with treating the cases (Balk et al., 2013). As a result, the United States needs greater initiatives to increase educational programs, physician counseling, and political action regarding ultraviolet exposure and incidence of skin cancer. Evaluation of the types of skin cancer, perceptions of tanning, and current regulations and recommendations are required in order to form the initiatives to combat the growth of skin cancer.

Music And Gender, Chris Buckman

Senior Theses

The purpose of this research project was to conduct a study on the correlation between gender and music listening habits. Based on the results of a music survey, the author tested four hypotheses: females have wider genre preference range than males, females spend more time listening to music, males and females listen to music for different reasons, and males and females prefer different genres of music. Analysis was performed using a variety of hypothesis testing methods in R. Only one hypothesis was rejected out of the four—that males and females prefer different genres. Discussion is presented on why this is …

A Study Of Apocalyptic Themes In Japanese Popular Culture, Thomas M. Coar

Senior Theses

While consuming Japanese popular culture, it is easy to notice the reoccurring themes of the apocalypse though they are often very different in their presentation to the audience. Through investigation, the study found that the Japanese people draw their understanding of the apocalypse from many different religions and ideologies, also known as religious pluralism. An influential aesthetic inspired by the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence in Japan is mono no aware which is the idea of seeing the beauty in the chaos and destruction, with sadness and compassion, including the apocalypse. Stemming from the ideologies of reincarnation and masse, the Japanese …

Indonesia's One Map Policy: A Critical Look At The Social Implications Of A 'Mess', Kaitlyn Justine Bretz

Senior Theses

In December 2010, a cabinet meeting between the Indonesian President and REDD+

agency led to the realization that spatial data does not match between government agencies. The

comparison of two forestry maps catalyzed the publication of Presidential Decree No. 4/2011,

better known as the One Map Policy. This policy is aimed at standardizing and unifying spatial

data across the Indonesian archipelago, creating a base map for all agencies to use, and making

spatial data free and readily accessible for Indonesian citizens. The One Map Policy is a direct

move to centralize national power and give the state more control over …

Operational Challenges In Servicizing The Transportation Industry, Kelly Cavanagh

Senior Theses

As a result of declining consumer spending, more companies have been “servicizing” their business models, moving away from the typical product-centric model and offering their goods as services. This trend has been especially popular in the transportation industry, with cars and scooters now being rented by the minute, with no transfer of ownership. Apps like Uber and Lyft have disrupted the taxi service industry, effectively side-stepping expensive regulations due to their “car-sharing” business model. While this money-saving distinction has led to their success, it can also lead to their downfall, as they face many legal battles specific to ride-sharing services. …

Launching A Startup: Beacon's Road To Becoming A Lean Nonprofit, Samantha Kear, Jessica Thiergartner

Senior Theses

One would think that having a great product or service and a few compelling advertisements would be enough for an entrepreneur to successfully launch a company. However, this assumption no longer holds true in today’s competitive marketplace. In fact, the vast majority of startups fail. Research suggests that this failure is often derived from the rigidity that comes with the traditional startup model. To avoid this fate, startups have the option to adopt a different startup model—the recently developed lean startup method.

This thesis will follow the startup “Beacon”—a disaster relief application that seeks to efficiently distribute relief resources to …

Hindrances To South America's Emergence As A Key Player In International Business, Sloan Coolbroth

Senior Theses

South America, a region full of economic competitive advantages, intellectual capital, and a rapidly consolidating population, has experienced a sluggish emergence into international business affairs. Hindered by a myriad of historically pervasive and newly emerging issues, the South American region has been unable to effectively capitalize on its assets and has subsequently witnessed an economic stagnation. Including, but not limited to, political, economic, socioeconomic, and societal disruptions, both a macro and micro analytical approach is used to better understand the regional issues facing South America as a whole as well as those faced by individual countries. This thesis explores five …