Digital Commons Network^™

“Integration With Difference:” Harvey Gantt’S Legacy At Clemson Recontextualized And Resurrected Into Architecture, Marquise Drayton

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In 2017, the Clemson Board of Trustees dedicated the granite marble surrounding Thomas Green Clemson's statue near Tillman Hall as "Gantt Circle." Named after Harvey Gantt, the first Black student at the university, it was an initiative pushed by the History Task Force to contextualize the Upstate land grant school's history better. The stonework complements the historical marker near the campus building where Gantt registered for his first semester there on January 28th, 1963. However, outside of these physical landmarks, a namesake scholarship endowment, and a multicultural office that honors him and his wife, there are no free-standing buildings on …

Window Into Vesuvius: The Story Development And Production Process Of An Augmented Reality Experience Based On The Letters Of Pliny The Younger, Dn Cherry

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Augmented reality’s growth brings a need for developed experiences, especially those centered around storytelling. However, as a new medium, the language and approaches for designing and developing said content are still being established. This work explores and proposes design and technical production techniques to produce an augmented reality narrative, adding to the foundation- examining what is necessary, effective, and practical. The methods described will be presented through the story of the 79 AD eruption of Mt. Vesuvius as witnessed from Pliny the Younger. The historical event of the eruption coupled with augmented reality showcases the power of storytelling in the …

Equine-Assisted Services: Current State And The Role Of Recreational Therapy, Kaylin Ashley Woods

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Research in numerous disciplines describe the use of equine-assisted services (EAS) in treating the symptoms and improving the quality of life of individuals with emotional, mental, physical, and/or intellectual disabilities. However, the research on EAS in regard to recreational therapy practice and the function of the CTRS is limited. This study used a multi-method survey to examine the CTRSs’ specific role in the provision of EAS and the current state of equine services in recreational therapy practice. Results of this study may be used to help recreational therapists understand the current state within the field, their role in providing EAS, …

Toward A Common Understanding Of Video Commercials And Narrative Advertisements, Raine Templeton Riley

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Video commercials, or television advertisements, have gained a lot of attention in scholarship since the first television advertisement aired in 1941. In recent years, scholars have examined advertisements using the lens of narrative persuasion and as entertainment features on their own. This study builds on previous literature by identifying types of advertisements – non-narrative and narrative – and further describes narrative advertisements in terms of structural aspects and appeal types using exemplars. A set of nearly 200 unique award-winning and otherwise popular advertisements are categorized by Advertisement Type based on prior works in advertising as well as Primary and Secondary …

Pretreatment Of Cellulosic Biomass Through Bioleaching To Reduce Inorganic Ingredients, Ning Zhang

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Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the most abundant natural resources available, though has not been fully exploited as a feedstock for fuel and chemicals. Thermochemical conversions of this biomass face a range of issues as a result of the inorganic elements present in the biomass, thus necessitating a pretreatment to remove such elements. Bioleaching is one promising method to achieve this objective, by utilizing microbial activities to extract and remove the inorganic components from the biomass feedstock.In this research three microbial species including two fungi (Fusarium oxysporum and Aspergillus niger) and one bacterium (Burkholderia fungorum) were selected to pretreat four …

Consumer Preferences For Value Added Products: A Case Study For South Carolina, English Lane Ratliff

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This study utilized an online survey administered to South Carolina (SC) consumers in conjunction with a discrete choice modeling approach to examine: i) the knowledge and degree of familiarity with both the USDA Certified Organic and the Certified Naturally Grown labels, ii) the impact of several factors including demographic characteristics, purchasing behaviors, and frequency of organic consumption on consumer’s preferences and Willingness to Pay (WTP) for organic products in South Carolina. This study also includes a Meta-Analysis of WTP for organic products. The first chapter analyzes familiarity of two different labels; USDA Certified Organic and the Certified Naturally Grown. This …

Negotiating Disciplinary Literacy Instruction In Secondary Science: A Multi-Case Study, Arsenio Silva

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National science proficiency scores in America have failed to show significant improvement for years (www.nationsreportcard.gov, 2019). Although policy reforms have come and gone in attempt to influence these trends, Disciplinary Literacy (DL) theory currently stands center-stage as one of the most recently espoused approaches to improving students’ scientific illiteracy. However, the field of DL theory is ideologically fragmented and offers little in terms of applicable strategies for practitioners (Fang, 2012a). Consequently, enacting DL instruction requires teachers to draw on highly specialized disciplinary knowledge and experience to inform their application of an incomplete DL theoretical framework (Saraceno, 2019). Yet, research shows …

Regulation Of Neuron Development By Slc7a5-Mtor-Ulk1, Aidan Mikkel Sokolov

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Neuron development involves intricate morphological changes reliant on the serine/threonine kinase mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), a cell growth regulator that supports anabolic processes such as mRNA translation. Upregulated mTORC1 activity during neuron development causes altered neuron morphology, which is a hallmark of neurodevelopmental disorders such as Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC). While the role of mTORC1 in neuron development is well documented, there is insufficient information on what precise upstream and downstream components of the mTOR pathway are involved. Two underexplored regulators of neuron development are the unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1 (Ulk1) and solute carrier family …

A Meta-Analytic Approach To Simulator Sickness In Head-Mounted Displays: Sex Differences, Latency Effects, Time-Course, And Comparison Of Subjective Symptom Reports, Sarah Christine Beadle

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The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze and disseminate a combined dataset created from one laboratory’s work over years of experiments on simulator sickness (SS) in head-mounted displays (HMDs). As the growth of HMDs continues, there is a need to re-examine conclusions from earlier SS research. For several years, our lab used the same research paradigm and questionnaires to study SS resulting from HMD latency characteristics. This approach offers stronger statistical evidence for prior conclusions and the opportunity to examine higher order SS symptomatology. The dataset contains 623 unique participants from 10 studies, yielding 875 exposures to our stimuli. …

Small Molecule Disruption Of Starch Utilization In Bacteroides As A Non-Bactericidal Therapeutic Method, Anthony Daniel Santilli

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Recent discoveries regarding the connection between changes to the human gut microbiome (GM) and the onset of various illnesses, especially those mediated by an autoimmune response, has led to interest in novel therapeutic methods to address such alterations. Targeted small molecule therapeutics could pave the way for phylum, genus, or even species-level population control of the GM in order to prevent undesirable changes that might promote disease onset. In pursuit of such treatments, the work presented in this dissertation demonstrates to use of small molecule amylase inhibitors to disrupt the starch utilization system (Sus) found in Bacteroides species, a common …

"It Comes With The Job": A Mixed Methods Study On Teacher Mental Health, The School Environment, And School Leader Practices, Jacquelyn N. Williams

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Teacher mental health is situated between multiple factors in the education system. At one end, teacher mental health is influenced by the school environment and the practices of their school leaders. Meaning, the quality of a school’s environment and how a school leader develops that environment as either positive or negative can affect teacher experiences of well-being or distress. On the other end, teacher mental health can influence instruction, learning environments, and their intentions to move. Given that the mental health of teachers can be advantageously or adversely influenced by their surrounding school environment and leader, it is necessary to …

An Observational Investigation Of Mid-Latitude Thermospheric Temperatures And High-Latitude E-Region Neutral Wind Structures, Rafael Luiz Araujo De Mesquita

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The Earth's atmosphere is a complicated environment. Different physical processes affect it depending on the altitude and latitude, among other factors. Three different aspects of the Earth's upper atmosphere are investigated here, using two different techniques. These investigations are: the mid-latitude midnight temperature maximum (MTM), the mesosphere and low-thermosphere Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI), and the advective acceleration in the E-region. All of these studies occur in the Earth's thermosphere and expand our understanding of these phenomena that represent different ways in which energy is transferred throughout the Earth's atmosphere. Observing and characterizing these energy transfer pathways is crucial to further our …

Development Of A Tissue Engineered Pulmonary Heart Valve For Pediatric Patients, Maria Margarita Rodriguez Bruce

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Background: Each year in the U.S., an estimated minimum of 40,000 infants are expected to be affected with some form of congenital heart defect (CHD), while a quarter of infants affected with CHD will require invasive treatment within the first year[1]. The current treatments for CHD that involve valve intervention are not tailored to growing children. Mechanical and biological substitute of valves deteriorate and accumulate calcification when implanted in very young patients[2]. In addition, children with current valve substitutes are faced with a lifetime of drug regimens, such as anti-coagulants, to prolong the longevity of the replacements and multiple surgeries …

None But Ourselves: An Afrocentric Case Study Examining Emancipatory Practices Within Three African-Centered Schools, Lashia Bowers

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Research about African American students often focuses on problems situated in deficit viewpoints steeped in Eurocentric ideologies that ignore systematic miseducation. Using an Afrocentric case study methodology, I examined how school leaders and mental health professionals use emancipatory practices in African-centered schools to address miseducation. This study aimed to investigate emancipatory practices, actions that help students become liberated from oppression, from an Afrocentric epistemological lens to provide foundational information about possible solutions to miseducation. Findings from individual interviews, paired interviews, and school document data from three African-centered schools detail specific emancipatory practices concerning: positive identity development, mental and emotional freedom, …

Comparing Faculty Perceptions Of Importance And Perceived Competencies Of Online Best Practices Through The Encore Components, Karen Bunch Franklin

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The role of faculty in online education is critical to its sustainability and success. In Time for Class: Lessons for the Future of Digital Learning in Higher Education, Tyton Partners (2017), a strategy consulting firm, asked administrators the most important factor for successful digital learning and the top response was “support for faculty professional development” (p.14). Yet, many faculty are not trained in digital pedagogy or online best practices. The focus of this research was to understand how faculty perceived the importance of online best practices as well as how they ranked their competency in said best practices. Specifically, this …

Breaking News: Professional Participatory Journalism, Charmayne Lavone Smalls Brown

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This dissertation analyzes the current principles of journalism that govern professional journalists. For more than a century, mainstream journalists accepted objectivity as the best practice to report fairly, accurately, and without bias. As defined by Brian Brooks, Beverly Horvit, and Daryl Moen (2020) in News Reporting & Writing, “Objectivity was a reliance on observable facts, but it was also a methodology for freeing factual reporting from the biases and values of source, writer or reader” (Brooks et al. 2020). Today in the 21st century, journalism still holds itself up as objective. Participatory journalism has been demeaned by many in the …

Identification Of Best Practices To Aid Streamline The Transportation Project Development Process: A Study Of The States Department Of Transportation, Tanin Haidary

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In the United States, federal, state, and local governments are responsible for addressing their residents' transportation infrastructure needs. Similar to most States Department of Transportation (State DOTs), the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is responsible for owning, operating, and maintaining a large transportation system for the state. The SCDOT has the 5th largest highway system in the United States, and like most states, the state of South Carolina’s (SC) transportation system needs have continued to expand. SCDOT is under growing pressure for efficient and effective transportation project delivery to address the need and continued expansion. The pressure is due …

The Fundamentals Of Fretting Crevice Corrosion Of Metallic Biomaterials For Orthopedic Implants, Dongkai Zhu

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Metallic medical devices have been widely used in clinical applications, especially for joint arthroplasty or joint replacement surgery. Fretting corrosion, one of the most common forms of mechanically-assisted corrosion (MAC), has become a major concern associated with orthopedic medical devices. Crevice corrosion, a second mechanism of corrosion related to metallic medical devices, is a second factor of corrosion for many circumstances in medical devices that is an additional factor in the overall corrosion performance of these implants. It is a form of localized corrosion of metal surfaces present within the gap or crevice between two adjoining interfaces. The relationship and …

The Community Of Inquiry Effect On Learning For An Online Course, Robert Dawson Coffey

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Technology is transforming higher education by removing geographic constraints for both students and instructors and increasing learning and cooperation with internet-based applications. Bloom’s taxonomy continues to play a significant role in instructional design for both the classroom and online, but other theories that address the challenges of designing and teaching effective online courses have emerged. Also, classroom techniques, many learned as a teaching assistant in graduate school, may not transfer to an online environment. The Community of Inquiry framework (CoI), which originated in 1999 in response to online education, emphasizes the importance of teaching, social, and cognitive presences as necessary …

Reading Memory: A Dual Heuristic Method For Interpreting Rhetorical Architectural Memory Texts, Diane Quaglia Beltran

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Memorials operate rhetorically, architecturally, and spatially as a written mode of remembrance. The rhetorical potential of memory texts has been discussed in rhetorical theory and includes the idea that the monuments and memorials are conveying something to someone for the purpose of influencing memory and remembrance of a place, person, or event. Still what makes them public, rhetorical, and architectural is not as clearly defined, so understanding only what the objects are saying and to whom misses the opportunity to more fully understand the ways in which they are rhetorical and architectural: rhetorical in their epideictic functions and kairotic possibilities, …

Essays On Response To Entry Threats, Jaejeong Shin

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My dissertation examines price responses to entry threats in oligopoly markets. In the first chapter, I theoretically demonstrate that two possible motivations can cause incumbent oligopolists to lower prices in response to a potential entrant's appearance: one is strategic entry deterrence, and the other is a breakdown in tacit collusion. Previous studies have analyzed pre-entry price cutting as an entry-deterrence strategy because, under incomplete information, it may signal to the potential competitor that entry would be unprofitable. When it comes to oligopoly markets, a breakdown in tacit collusion can also lead to such a price response. Oligopoly firms have the …

Optimization Of The Liquid Sampling-Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge For Varied Spectrochemical Applications, Katja Hall

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Elemental analysis is a necessity in nearly every field of science due to the importance elemental composition plays in compound characterization, productivity, toxicity, etc. Numerous techniques exist to determine elemental composition, but when analyzing metal content specifically, atomic spectroscopy is typically used due to the low detection limits provided. The gold standard in atomic spectroscopy is inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy/mass spectrometry (ICP-OES/MS), which provides excellent performance for both qualitative and quantitative studies. However, these instruments are expensive to acquire and operate which prevents their use in many academic laboratories. The ideal instrument for metals analysis would be …

Black, Confident, And Capable: The Science Student Beliefs Of Four Black Male Science Students In A Rural Middle School Science Classroom, Adeyanju Okungbowa

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Lacking in educational research are the positive narratives of Black male students and their science classroom learning experiences, as told through the voices of Black male science students. This study highlighted the normative scientific practices found in A Framework for K-12 Science Education that four Black male science students experienced during a cells unit in their rural middle school science classrooms. Their shared science-student beliefs centered around the themes of confidence and capabilities, behaviors matter, the perceptions and expectations held by self and others and the utility of the normative scientific practice. These study findings provided a counter-narrative to the …

A Multifunctional Tool For The Electrokinetic Manipulation And Characterization Of Cells, Devin Monroe Keck

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In a field dominated by risk assessment, diagnostics could greatly benefit from the use of electric characterization tools. Electric field based diagnostic tools are low risk to the patient, offer high throughputs, and are versatile in the diseases they can diagnose. Even if electrical characterization tools, aren’t yet equal in the diagnostic confidence level produced compared to more established FDA approved techniques like the agar plate, when a patients symptoms indicate the necessity for time efficient treatment, electrical characterization could provide a rapid, safe alternative diagnostic tool to be used in tandem with other existing techniques. The work presented in …

Three Essays In Political Economy, Shilpi Mukherjee

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This dissertation is comprised of three essays in political economy. In the first chapter, I study the short-run political polarization between Republican and Democrat politicians in the House of Representatives before and after the November 2018 midterm election, using Twitter data. I compute various metrics of ideological polarization at weekly intervals using methods such as hashtag analysis, topic modelling ,Bayesian Ideal Point Estimation, mention and retweet network analysis. I empirically check for the patterns in political polarization during the election cycle at the level of discourse. Different measures of polarization signal different patterns in polarization. When polarization is measured by …

Systems Modeling To Predict Mechano-Chemo Interactions In Cardiac Fibrosis, Jesse Daniel Rogers

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Cardiac fibrosis poses a central challenge in preventing heart failure for patients who have suffered a cardiac injury such as myocardial infarction or aortic valve stenosis. This chronic condition is characterized by a reduction in contractile function through combined hypertrophy and excessive scar formation, and although currently prescribed therapeutics targeting hypertrophy have shown improvements in patient outcomes, pathological fibrosis remains a leading cause of reduced cardiac function for patients long-term. Cardiac fibroblasts play a key role in regulating scar formation during heart failure progression, and interacting biochemical and biomechanical cues within the myocardium guide the activation of fibroblasts and expression …

360-Degree Analysis Of The Produce Prescription (Rx) Program, Joel Hamilton

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The Produce Prescription (Rx) program served patients who utilized a local free clinic, had incomes below 200.0% of the federal poverty line, were uninsured, and had a diet-related chronic health condition. Participants received nutrition education, cooking demonstrations, recipes, and a bag of local produce (their nutrition prescription). Their nutrition prescription aimed to provide enough produce for participants to eat two servings each day for fourteen days. The hope was to improve disease management through nutrition education and the promotion of plant-based diets.

A combination of Produce Rx participants, Clemson Free Clinic personnel, healthcare professionals, patients of a separate local clinic, …

An Investigation Of Structure, Thermochemistry, Electrochemistry, And Stability Of Tunnel Structured Hollandite Materials, Mingyang Zhao

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Hollandite is one of the promising crystalline ceramic materials to immobilize the radioactive cesium (Cs) elements in nuclear waste stream. Hollandite waste forms have superior chemical durability, energetic stability, and Cs loading comparing to the most widely used borosilicate glasses. In this dissertation, various properties and performance of different hollandites are investigated including structure, energetic stability, leaching-resistance, and electrical properties. More importantly, some underlying correlations among these scientific fundamentals are also discussed. As comprehensive understanding of this unique tunnel-structured material class is developed, general principles might be summarized and be further used to more effectively direct materials design for a …

Progress Toward The Development Of Inhibitory Small Molecules For The Bacteroides And Toxoplasma Microorganisms, Kerrick Connor Rees

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Recent advances in technology have given scientists various tools to further investigate the vast microbiological communities occupying virtually every portion of our anatomy in attempts to better understand their impact on our overall health. Within the gut, where the largest community of microorganisms reside, researchers have observed specific changes to the composition of this community correlate with the onset of several disease states endemic worldwide. In efforts to address these microbiological shifts, our lab is interested in exploring a small molecule-based strategy to induce targeted shifts to the gastrointestinal microbiota for therapeutic gain. Our previous research has established that the …

Confronting Becky: An Autocritographic Examination Of White Women's Gendered Racism In Higher Education, Rebecca Morgan

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This study examines how I, as a white woman social justice educator at a southeastern public university, practiced gendered racism and was supported in these practices by administrators at my institution. White women have been socialized throughout history to use our gender subordination as a defense when confronted with our racism. I built a theoretical framework with intersectionality as a baseline to investigate of how white women are complicit in gendered racism. I then intertwined idealized objectification standards and racial gatekeeping to reveal how white women use practices such as innocence, embodying goodness, and protecting white men, to gain and …