Digital Commons Network^™

Inorganic Nanoparticle And Nanoplastic Transformations And The Impact On Biouptake By Freshwater Algal Cells Using Single Cell And Single Particle Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, Elizabeth Carey Bair

Theses and Dissertations

The ubiquitous presence of nanoparticles (NPs) and nanoplastics (NPPs) and their effects on environmental and human health is a significant concern. They are used in every aspect of our lives, and while they offer many benefits, there are concerns about their impacts on ecosystems and human health. The primary aim of this dissertation is to quantify NP and NPP transformations in the presence of algae and determine how those transformations influence bioavailability. The methodology involves two complementary analytical techniques: single particle (SP) and single cell (SC) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). These techniques are tested and applied to two …

Birth Of Inspiration: York County, South Carolina, The Setting That Inspired The Clansman, Zachary Alan Lemhouse

Theses and Dissertations

In 1905, Thomas Dixon, Jr., published his controversial novel The Clansman. Monopolizing on racist sentiments held by white southerners, Dixon’s narrative contributed significantly to the perception of the Lost Cause myth and defense of white supremacy in America. The novel, and its subsequent adaptations as a play and the film Birth of a Nation, was inspired by actual events that occurred in Dixon’s ancestral home of York County, South Carolina. Located in the northernmost region of South Carolina’s Piedmont, York County played host to a struggle for civil rights during the Reconstruction Era that garnered national and international …

Aesthetic Judgment: Considering A Contemporary Standard Of Taste, Lydia Margaret Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Originally published in 1757 as part of his Four Dissertations essay collection, David Hume’s essay, “Of the Standard of Taste,” occupies a prominent place in Enlightenment aesthetic studies. Due to an oversaturation of print materials being produced, eighteenth century society was concerned with evaluating and ranking the massive quantities of art being produced. Philosophers such as David Hume attempted to define criteria for determining a standard of taste, aiming to hierarchically rank works of art based on aesthetic experience. For centuries, critics such as Timothy Costelloe, Noel Carroll, David Marshall, Jonathan Friday, James Shelley, and many others have engaged in …

Strain And Redox Engineering For Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance In Transition Metal Oxide Thin Films, Mohammad Jamal El Loubani

Theses and Dissertations

The discovery of highly efficient and cost-effective thermoelectric (TE) materials is essential to envision high-performance TE power generators that enable the direct conversion of waste heat into electricity. Transition metal oxides (TMOs) are considered promising candidates for high-temperature TE applications due to their excellent thermal stability and low cost. However, their maximum power output (power factor, PF = σ•S2) is constrained by the intrinsic trade-off between thermopower (S) and electrical conductivity (σ), both of which are inversely related to carrier concentration. This trade-off poses a significant barrier to improving the performance of TE devices. Among various strategies to overcome this …

Ideologies Of Language, Race, And Time In U.S. Political Discourses, Paige Pinkston

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation follows how public discourses that emerged during the 2020- 2022 “Critical Race Theory Panic” played out in different contexts and at different scales in the United States, from conservative national media to South Carolina legislative action. While political discourse has become increasingly nationalized (Berry & Sobieraj, 2014), new legislation has largely taken place at the state level (Johnson, 2022). Drawing on over two years of fieldwork and methods of discourse analysis, I thus examine how nationally circulating discourses about race and racism were taken up by South Carolinians to create partisan alignments and distinctions as well as to …

Help-Seeking, Motivation, And Partner Interactions In Couples Affected By Tramatic Brain Injury, Violet Hodge

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects individuals and their romantic relationships, creating barriers to help-seeking and impacting relational health. Despite evidence supporting the benefits of couples counseling and relationship education, stigma and motivational factors influence engagement in these services. This dissertation examines the interdependent processes of help-seeking, motivation, and relationship satisfaction in couples where one partner has experienced a TBI. Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), two studies explore (1) the role of self-stigma in help-seeking and motivation for completing a relationship education program, and (2) the influence of self-stigma for help-seeking on motivation in couples services, particularly in the context …

Autoregressive Modeling Of Dna Molecule Shapes Accompanied By An Empirical Assessment Of The Ljung-Box Test, David William Custer

Theses and Dissertations

The assumption of independence rarely holds in real-world data. Correlated observations are ubiquitous, especially in sequential contexts where time series models are essential for capturing temporal dependence. This study analyzed six groups of damaged and undamaged DNA sequences, where an "F" in the middle of a sequence indicates damage. One biological aim is to understand how DNA regenerates with the assistance of proteins that recognize damaged regions. Motivated by empirical support for AR(2) modeling, we fit autoregressive models to the first three principal component scores of each DNA group, capturing the dominant structure in the data. We conducted model diagnostics, …

Between Tajweed And Lenition: A Sociophonetic Investigation Of Pharyngealized Consonant Variation In Ammani Jordanian Arabic, Amenah Jehad Salman

Theses and Dissertations

Thіs dіssеrtаtіоn іnvеstіgаtеs the sосіоphоnеtіс vаrіаtіоn іn thе rеаlіzаtіоn оf phаryngeаlіzеd соnsоnаnts іn Аmmаnі Jоrdаnіаn Аrаbіс (АJА), іntrоduсіng Tаjwееd—thе study оf Qurаnіс phоnоlоgy—аs а sосіаlly sаlіеnt vаrіаblе іnfluеnсіng еvеrydаy spееch. А lеnіtеd-phаryngeаlіzеd (LP) vаrіаnt surfасеs аs аn аcоustіcаlly аnd pеrcеptuаlly іntеrmеdіаtе rеаlіzаtіоn, pоsіtіоnеd bеtwееn fully phаryngeаlіzеd (/sˤ, tˤ, dˤ, ðˤ/) аnd plаіn (/s, t, d, ð/) соnsоnаnts. Whіlе prеvіоus studіеs hаvе ехаmіnеd thе іmpасt оf mасrо-sосіаl fасtоrs suсh аs gеndеr, аgе, sосіоеcоnоmіс stаtus, аnd оrіgіnаl rеgіоnаl dіаlеct (ОRD) (Аl-Маsrі & Jоngmаn, 2004; Аlzоubі, 2017; Аbudаlbuh, 2010), nо rеsеаrch hаs examined thе rоlе оf Tаjwееd іn shаpіng sосіоphоnеtіс оutcоmеs.

Dаtа was …

Queer Inclusion In Libba Bray's Beauty Queens: The Case For Lgbtq Ya Literature, Kayla Michelle Crumbley

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a time sensitive case study on the nature of Libba Bray's novel Beauty Queensand it's placement as both a metacognitive novel and discourse in the nature of queer acceptance in the publishing and media landscape of the 2010s and 2020s. This includes focusing on contextualizing the book in the changing landscape of queer acceptance and visibility in the media over the last 20 years through the lens of the inclusion in YA and how that manifest in the 2010 and 2020s book bans on LGBTQ YA fiction. The novel highlights the wider need for LGBTQ YA …

Emotional Landscapes: St. Teresa Of Avila And The Spiritual Journey, Jillian Louise Breeden

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the writings of St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) through the methodological lens of the history of emotions, arguing that her mystical accounts represent a crucial yet understudied contribution to our understanding of early modern emotional frameworks. Through close textual analysis of Teresa's major works, this study demonstrates how her detailed articulations of spiritual ecstasy, divine love, and religious melancholy offer unique insights into both the religious and secular emotional landscapes of Counter-Reformation Spain. Teresa's innovative emotional vocabulary, which combined traditional Catholic devotional language with embodied metaphors and spatial conceptualizations, allowed her to navigate the complex ecclesiastical politics …

The Penn Center’S Impact On Rural Health Through Midwife Programming In 20Th Century South Carolina, Kathryn Addison Greenberg

Theses and Dissertations

The Penn School of the Sea Islands provided an education to thousands of rural, Black South Carolinians over the twentieth century. Northern missionaries including the founders of the Penn School, Laura M. Towne and Ellen Murray, taught and provided healthcare to the residents of the Port Royal Experiment through the Civil War and into Reconstruction. With the arrival of Rossa Cooley and Grace House, the Penn School put emphasis on auxiliary programing including midwifery training institutes held in conjunction with Dr. Hilla Sheriff and the South Carolina Department of Public Health’s Division for Maternal and Child Health. With the goal …

Characterizing The Relationships Between Cranial Geometry, Brain Morphometry, And Brain Mechanical Properties Using Mr Imaging And Elastography, Jessica Restivo

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global health concern, with over 69 million cases annually. TBI risk depends on subject-specific neuroanatomical variation, yet research often only considers generic finite element (FE) models, based on the geometry and material composition of a 50th percentile male head. Although highly accurate, subject-specific models require expensive magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, elastography, and time-consuming computational resources. There is a need to create subject-specific TBI models that account for subject-specific variations, without neuroimaging. This study aims to create mathematical models to predict brain morphometry (dimensions, volume) [Objective 1] and mechanical properties (shear stiffness, damping ratio, octahedral …

Elevating Next Generation Wireless Devices Towards Contactless Sensing For Healthcare Applications, Aakriti Adhikari

Theses and Dissertations

There is an increasing interest in technologies that can understand and perceive at-home human activities to provide personalized healthcare monitoring, aimed at early detection of disease markers and assisting physicians in making clinical decisions. Existing approaches, such as wearables, require users to wear sensors that can be cumbersome and cause discomfort. Vision based solutions, such as optical cameras, IRs, LiDARs, etc., can be used to design contactless at-home monitoring systems. However, these systems are limited by poor lighting and occlusion, and they are privacy-invasive. Fortunately, high-frequency millimeter-wave wireless devices provide an effective alternative to the existing systems to enable fine-grained …

The Role Of Symmetries In Atomic, Electromagnetic, And Particle Physics, Joshua Martin O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

Symmetries in atomic, electromagnetic, and weak interaction physics are explored to understand symmetry-breaking extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. Lorentz-violating field theories are extremely interesting theoretically, since they possess many new features that are absent in Lorentz-invariant models. We outline the formalism and experimental status of the Lorentz- and CPT-violating Standard Model Extension, in both the classical and quantum regimes. Processes such as vacuum Cerenkov radiation, which are kinematically forbidden when Lorentz symmetry is exact may become allowed when this symmetry is weakly broken. Particle decays, such as pion and kaon decays, although allowed in Lorentz-invariant theories, are …

Students’ Experiences Using Peer Review To Affect Writing Self-Efficacy And Writing Performance In An Undergraduate Mass Communications Writing Course, Nina Morrison Brook

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to examine the impact of peer review on writing self-efficacy and writing performance in an undergraduate online writing for mass communications course. The study focused on two research questions: (1) How and to what extent does structured peer review affect undergraduate students’ writing self-efficacy in an online writing for mass communications course in a large public Southeastern university? and (2) How and to what extent does structured peer review affect undergraduate students’ writing performance in an online writing for mass communications course in a large public Southeastern university? This research used peer review …

Play, Guide, Aspire: How Game Type And Trainer Involvement Shape Orientation Training Outcomes, Damla Sonmez

Theses and Dissertations

The use of gamification in orientation training has gained attention in organizational settings, yet questions remain regarding how different gamified training designs influence new employees’ emotional commitment, willingness to participate in future training, and long-term aspirations. Drawing on Stimulus–Organism–Response (SO-R) theory, Achievement Goal Theory, and Ecological Systems Theory, this dissertation investigates how game type (individual vs. team) and trainer involvement (active vs. passive) shape these outcomes.

Two experimental studies using vignette-based scenarios were conducted. Study 1 tested the direct effects of game type on emotional commitment and willingness to participate. Study 2 employed a 2 (game type) × 2 (trainer …

Sex-Dependent Modulation Of Behavioral Allocation Via Ventral Tegmental Area-Nucleus Accumbens Shell Circuitry, Kristen A. Mclaurin, Jessica M. Illenberger, Hailong Li, Rosemarie M. Booze, Charles F. Mactutus

Faculty Publications

Diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder, cocaine type (i.e., cocaine use disorder), outlined in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, imply that the disorder arises, at least in part, from the maladaptive allocation of behavior to drug use. To date, however, the neural circuits involved in the allocation of behavior have not been systematically evaluated. Herein, a chemogenetics approach (i.e., designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs)) was utilized in combination with a concurrent choice self-administration experimental paradigm to evaluate the role of the mesolimbic neurocircuit in the allocation of behavior. Pharmacological activation …

Uncovering Multiscale Structure-Property Correlations Via Active Learning In Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Ganesh Narasimha, Deja Kong, Paras Regmi, Rongying Jin, Zheng Gai, Rama Vasudevan, Maxim Ziatdinov

Faculty Publications

Atomic arrangements and local sub-structures fundamentally influence emergent material functionalities. These structures are conventionally probed using spatially resolved studies and the property correlations are deciphered by a researcher based on sequential explorations, thereby limiting the efficiency and scope. Here we demonstrate a multi-scale Bayesian deep-learning based framework that automatically correlates material structure with its electronic properties using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements in real-time. Its predictions are used to autonomously direct exploration toward regions of the sample that optimize a given material property. This method is deployed on a low-temperature ultra-high vacuum STM to understand the structure-property relationship in a …

Partial Least Squares Multimodal Analysis Of Brain Network Correlates Of Language Deficits In Aphasia, Sigfus Kristinsson Ph.D., Dirk B. Den Ouden, Chris Rorden, Roger Newman-Norlund, Lisa Johnson, Janina Wilmskoetter, Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht, Argye E. Hillis, Gregory Hickok, Julius Fridriksson Ph.D., Leonardo Bonilha

Faculty Publications

Lesion-symptom mapping techniques are essential to determine brain regions critical for language functions. However, high collinearity in neuroimaging and behavioural data remains a challenge for distinguishing neural substrates supporting multiple language domains (shared variance) and those subserving specific language functions (unique variance). Here, we employed a novel approach to multimodal lesion-symptom mapping using multivariate partial least squares regression to delineate the latent structure of lesion-behavioural mapping in aphasia and decompose the shared and unique neural determinants of language impairments. A total of 86 participants with chronic (>12-month post-stroke) aphasia after left hemisphere strokes were examined. Language impairment was assessed …

Dean Samuel Lander Prince Files, 1946-1959 - Guide, Samuel Lander Prince

Prince, Samuel Lander (1946-1959)

No abstract provided.

The 2025 Sc Teacher Working Conditions Survey, Ruiqin Gao, Angela Starrett, Brian Cartiff, Svetlana Dmitrieva

Reports

The SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey (SCTWCS) was developed to better understand teachers’ experiences in their schools and the factors that infl uence their workplace satisfaction and career decisions. SC TEACHER designed the SCTWCS to include 10 areas of working conditions—six resources and four demands—with job satisfaction and intent to stay in the profession as outcomes. For novice teachers, three areas of mentor support (mentor instructional support, mentor non-instructional support, and proximity) are also included.

In the 2025 administration, 54 of the state’s 72 traditional school districts (75%) participated, along with f i ve of the six specialty schools and …

An International Perspective On Geography Curricula: Paving A Way Forward For Geographical Thinking, Tomáš Bendl, Hilde Storrøsæter, Lene Møller Madsen, David Trokšiar, Raphaële De La Martinière, Shanshan Liu, Sizakele Serame, Jerry T. Mitchell, Péter Bagoly-Simó, Yushan Duan, Gillian Kidman

Faculty Publications

Geographical thinking is a cornerstone of modern geography education. Despite its universal value, no large-scale international study has systematically examined its integration into diverse curricular documents. This study investigates how geographical thinking is embedded in the curricula of nine countries, focusing on content and procedural dimensions. Using a structured analytical framework, the research reveals significant patterns and gaps, particularly the underrepresentation of place as a central concept, the lack of explicit focus on geographical thinking, and the limited emphasis on its procedural dimension. The findings emphasise the need for stronger interconnections between these dimensions to promote a more comprehensive approach …

Shedding Light On Inequities Of Power Outages Through Data Transparency, Kelly A. Stevens, Sanam K. Aksha, Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman, Elizabeth Trader, Herbert Longenecker, Rebecca Entress, Thomas Wahl, Christopher Emrich, Kristopher O. Davis

Faculty Publications

In a changing climate, the electricity grid is increasingly exposed to more extreme weather that results in significant power outages. Further, lower income and racial-ethnic minority households are more likely to experience a higher frequency and duration of power outages compared to less socially vulnerable groups. The literature on the unequal impacts of power outages is a new, growing area of research that has been stymied in part due to the difficulty acquiring high spatial resolution, historical power outage data from utilities. In this Perspectives article, we review the availability of power outage data, and what can be learned from …

Shedding Light On Inequities Of Power Outages Through Data Transparency, Kelly A. Stevens, Sanam K. Aksha, Mohammed Siddiqur Rahman, Elizabeth Trader, Herbert Longenecker, Rebecca Entress

Faculty Publications

In a changing climate, the electricity grid is increasingly exposed to more extreme weather that results in significant power outages. Further, lower income and racial-ethnic minority households are more likely to experience a higher frequency and duration of power outages compared to less socially vulnerable groups. The literature on the unequal impacts of power outages is a new, growing area of research that has been stymied in part due to the difficulty acquiring high spatial resolution, historical power outage data from utilities. In this Perspectives article, we review the availability of power outage data, and what can be learned from …

Six Paths Of Global China: A Genealogy Of A Contested Geographical Imaginary, Jessica Dicarlo, Meredith J. Deboom

Faculty Publications

‘Global China’ has emerged as a shorthand for China's relationship to the global, but its axiomatic uses disguise considerable complexity. This article troubles self-evident uses and tidy categorizations of Global China by approaching it as an emergent, pluralistic geographical imaginary warranting critical analysis. Employing a genealogical approach that privileges indeterminacy and inconsistency over linearity and singularity, we draw on wide-ranging sources to reveal the contested, contextual, and contradictory uses of Global China in the contemporary moment. Our analysis identifies six ‘paths’ of Global China: Other, Integration, Bridge, Status, Threat, and Alternative. Each path facilitates distinct yet interlinked claims about …

“I Didn't Come Here To Make Money”: Exploring Power 4 Athletes’ Perceptions Of Exploitation, Sarah Stokowski, Chris Corr, Kaleigh Smith, Elijah Toney, Emma Kate Bostick, Eileen Russell, Brooke Prince, Michael Godfrey

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

While it is widely noted that athletes competing in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletics are exploited in a variety of ways, scholarly examinations of college athlete exploitation have rarely sought to engage athletes themselves. Accordingly, researchers conducted in-depth, detailed, semi-structured interviews with college athletes currently competing in Power 4 conferences to uncover their perceptions of exploitation based on their lived experiences. Ten athletes representing five distinct sports (baseball, football, gymnastics, softball, and track and field) competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, and Southeastern Conference agreed to participate in the study. Findings indicate the characteristics of participants’ …

Recruitment Of International College Athletes (Icas) To The United States: A Bourdieuian Examination Of Pathways To Success, Simran Kaur Sethi, Kirsten Hextrum, Kaitlin Pericak

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Successful recruitment pathways of international college athletes (ICAs) remain understudied. We use Bourdieu’s capital exchange theory to examine how ICAs acquire and deploy forms of capital to navigate college athletic recruitment. Bourdieu posits that individuals accumulate different forms of capital, including economic, social, and cultural capital, which they can use to gain access to resources and opportunities. In the context of athletic recruitment, ICAs may need to acquire different forms of capital than their domestic counterparts. Thus, we use a qualitative research design to explore how ICAs navigate the recruitment process. Findings from our study provide valuable insights into the …

Linking Geographic Distribution And Niche Through Estimation Of Niche Density, Tad Dallas, Cleber Ten Caten

Faculty Publications

1. The availability of suitable niche space constrains where species can occur geographically. This tie between niche space and geographic space is crucial when estimating species geographic distributions in a changing climate. However, specific combinations of climatic conditions may be overrepresented in geographic space, highlighting the potential disconnect between climatic niche area and geographic range size.
2. We develop a niche density estimator that accounts for the geographic availability of climatic niche space, relate this to traditional estimates of niche area and explore how these niche estimates are related to species geographic range size.
3. To do this, we use data on over …

May 7, 2025 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Podcasts In Mental, Physical, Or Combined Health Interventions For Adults: Scoping Review, Elizabeth M. Dascombe, Philip J. Morgan, Ryan J. Drew, Casey P. Regan, Gabrielle Turner-Mcgrievy, Myles D. Young

Faculty Publications

Background:

The increasing prevalence of poor mental and physical health in adults is a global health concern. Given the scope of this problem, scalable and effective treatment interventions are needed. While podcasts (online digital audio files) are becoming more popular, the extent of podcast use in mental, physical, or combined health interventions has not been reviewed.

Objective:

This scoping review primarily aims to summarize the available evidence regarding the use of podcasts in health promotion interventions. A series of 5 research questions was designed to systematically review and accurately represent podcast use in current research interventions.

Methods:

We conducted a …