Digital Commons Network^™

Patterns And Predictors Of Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Hiv Care Continuum In The Southern Usa: Protocol For A Population-Based Cohort Study, Xueying Yang Ph.D., Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Bankole Olatosi Ph.D., Zhenlong Li, Sharon Weissman, Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Introduction Health disparities exist at every step of the HIV care continuum (HCC) among racial/ethnic minority population. Such racial/ethnic disparities may have significantly delayed the progress in HCC in the Southern US states that are strongly represented among geographic focus areas in the 2019 federal initiative titled 'Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America'. However, limited efforts have been made to quantify the long-term spatiotemporal variations of HCC disparities and their contributing factors over time, particularly in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. This project aims to identify the spatiotemporal patterns of racial disparities of each HCC outcome and then …

December 6, 2023 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Historical Archives Reveal Record Rainfall And Severe Flooding In December 1867 Resulting From An Atmospheric River And Snowmelt, Western Washington, Usa, Daniel G. Gavin, Patrick J. Bartlein, Cary J. Mock

Faculty Publications

The flooding of 1861-1862 in California and Oregon is the most severe flood event documented in the far western USA and stands as a benchmark for a worst-case atmospheric-river flooding event. In western Washington, historical data are sparser, and 19th-century flood events have consequently not been well documented. We found that rainfall observations from five locations spanning western Washington had no detectable bias when compared to nearby 20th and 21st-century comparator stations. Time series of the four-day precipitation sum revealed an event in December 1867 that was greater than any of the last century at three locations, and in the …

November 1, 2023 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Looking Back To Look Forward: Exploring Crenshaw’S Political, Structural, And Representational Intersectionality In Sport, Allison Anders Ph.D., James M. Devita, Leslee A. Fisher, Chris Corr, Christina L. Myers

Faculty Publications

Engaging with Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality, the authors (re)turn to its genesis in critical race theory (CRT) and specifically, its forms of structural intersectionality, political intersectionality, and representational intersectionality. Discussing each form in relation to contemporary issues in sport that Black women and women of Color navigate, they argue that Crenshaw’s intersectionality provides additional compelling layers of engagement with existing intersectional scholarship and scholarship about activism in sport, invites structural and discursive change through intersectional policies and practice, and promotes coalition building toward intersectional racial justice in sport.

Garnet & Black Fall 2023, University Of South Carolina, Office Of Student Media

Garnet & Black Magazine

No abstract provided.

October 4, 2023 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Country-Of-Origin Information Reports: The Political And Legal Geographies Of Central American Migrants, Elise Dosch

Senior Theses

Country-of-origin information reports provide purportedly objective information on the political, economic, security, and humanitarian situation of a certain country. Within the context of asylum adjudication, country-of-origin information reports provide contextual information on the country-of-origin of the person seeking asylum. Academic literature on the legal use and application of these reports is limited, with the majority of research being contained within the European context. This thesis uses interviews with legal practitioners from the United States to investigate the use of country-of-origin information reports in the asylum adjudication process. These interviews revealed the uses of country-of-origin information reports by 3 key actors …

Caroliniana Columns - Fall 2023, University Libraries--University Of South Carolina

University South Caroliniana Society Newsletter - Columns

Nikky Finney: Her Introduction to the Society at the 86th Annual Meeting on May 13, 2023 ... p.2

"The sensitive child has accidentally been locked inside the archives..." ... p.3

Annual Meeting ... p.14

Grand Reopening Ceremony ... p. 16

Eliana Chavkin: Ellison Durant Smith Research Award ... p.22

The Richard Samuel Roberts Photograph Collection ... p. 25

M. Hayes Mizell: In Memoriam ... p.30

Memorials & Honoraria ... p.33

Welcome, Director Saunders! ... p.33

Letter from the President ... p.34

Letter from the Dean of Libraries ... p.35

Report from the Interim Director ... p.35

Are You a Member? …

Geographic Differences In The Magnitude Of Black-White Disparities In Having Obesity, Steven A. Cohen, Monique J. Brown, Furong Xu, Caitlin C. Nash, Mary L. Greaney

Faculty Publications

Background

Obesity disparities in the United States are well documented, but the limited body of research suggests that geographic factors may alter the magnitude of these disparities. A growing body of evidence has identified a “rural mortality penalty” where morbidity and mortality rates are higher in rural than urban areas, even after controlling for other factors. Black-White differences in health and mortality are more pronounced in rural areas than in urban areas.

Objective

Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how rural-urban status and region moderate Black-White health disparities in obesity.

Methods

Data were abstracted from the 2012 …

Adapting Deep Learning Techniques For Geologic Investigations Of Hydrothermal Venting At Seafloor Spreading Ridges Using Auv Surveys, Isaac Keohane

Theses and Dissertations

Locating hydrothermal chimney sites unlocks research into their correlations with geology, lithospheric cooling, and deep-sea biogeography at seafloor spreading ridges. High-resolution bathymetry and sidescan sonar collected by Automated Underwater Vehicles allows for chimneys, only a few meters wide and tall, and fissures, only a few meters wide, to be resolved across large areas (>100 km2). We developed a Chimney Identification Tool (CIT) that utilizes a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), a Machine-Learning model able to classify based on shapes and textures, to identify chimneys in 1m-gridded bathymetry. We then utilized the CIT to identify many potential off-axis chimney structures at …

Examination And Application Of Body Condition Methods In Cetaceans, Kira Anne Telford

Theses and Dissertations

Body condition assessments are a valuable tool for evaluating the relative health of a population through various metrics, indexes, or proxies. Long-term data collection can be used to examine the relationship between fluctuations in body condition and natural or anthropogenic drivers. Application of this information is vital for monitoring the success of the conservation management decisions for a species or population. Cetaceans have a variety of methods available to assess body condition, including invasive methods like biopsies and necropsies or observational methods such as photogrammetry. Exploration of the application of these methods in the literature revealed an emphasis on necropsies …

Oscars Vs. Ozone: The Motion Picture Industry’S Impact On Climate Change And What They Are Doing About It, Alexis J. Simpson

Senior Theses

This thesis focuses on demonstrating that the motion picture industry, which includes film and television production (and thus will also be called ‘the film and television industry’), has notably contributed to the global effects of climate change. Such contributions can stem from the industry’s emissions and waste, with examples including travel for cast and crew, energy use for production equipment (some of which run on diesel), and disposable physical sets and costumes. The intention here is to give an accurate picture of current production practices and share examples of progress in the industry that are combating the negative impacts of …

From The City To The Countryside – Gentrification Across The Us: Conceptualizing Displacement Pressure, Constructing Novel Measurement Methodology, And Exploring Connections To Health, Parthenia Louise Luke

Theses and Dissertations

In an era marked by profound neighborhood transformation, the phenomenon of gentrification emerges as a dominant force. This dissertation undertakes a holistic exploration of gentrification, unraveling its diverse typologies and consequential impacts on health outcomes. Manuscript 1 details the concept of displacement pressure, exploring the multi-faceted experiences of residents in transforming neighborhoods while highlighting psychological and physiological repercussions beyond mere physical relocation. Manuscript 2 leverages the innovative methodology of repeated measures latent profile analysis (RMLPA) to investigate the multiple manifestations of gentrification. Revealing five metropolitan and four nonmetropolitan profiles among gentrified neighborhoods, this analysis interrogates the complexity inherent in both …

Structure V-1: A Mississippian Mica Workshop In Kershaw County, South Carolina, John Mclellan Dodge

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reanalyzes the pottery assemblage of Structure V-1 at the Mulberry site (38KE12). Because Structure V-1 was originally hypothesized to be evidence of a late seventeenth century occupation at the Mulberry site, the framework I use for this research focuses on identifying evidence of community coalescence after Mulberry’s initial occupation ended. However, new evidence from both the pottery and radiocarbon analysis conclusively dates the structure to around the sixteenth century Mulberry I phase. With that new date in mind, I explore the role mica craft production within Structure V-1 might have had in linking the community at Mulberry to …

Channel Morphology Of A Leaky Coastal Plain River: The Congaree River, Sc 1884-2022, William Nicholas Logan

Theses and Dissertations

Downstream changes in river planform can be associated with changes in geologic controls and often signal changes in channel geometry, bed slope, or bed material grain size. While previous studies documented downstream trends in channel geometry and planform for a variety of rivers, there is a gap in the literature on spatial and temporal trends in channel geometry on the fluvial part of Coastal Plain rivers, i.e., the not-tidally influenced part. The literature highlights the existence of crevasse splays in natural levees that allow floodplain inundation below bankfull conditions as unique feature of channels and floodplains in the Coastal Plain. …

A Comparative Measure Of Judicial Legitimacy, Rahul Hemrajani

Theses and Dissertations

In the Federalist papers, Hamilton emphasized the vulnerability of courts as the weakest branch of government, lacking both the power of the "purse" and the "sword." Consequently, courts can secure compliance with their decisions only if people believe in the legitimacy of their actions. Courts that are seen as legitimate by the public can better prevent governmental overreach, enhance the rule of law, and protect democratic rights. However, there is no consensus on how to validly measure the legitimacy of courts. Additionally, existing research on legitimacy focuses on courts in the United States; we know little about judicial legitimacy in …

September 13, 2023 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

The Dynamic Nature Of Wrack: An Investigation Into Wrack Movement And Impacts On Coastal Marshes Using Suas, Grayson R. Morgan, Daniel R. Morgan, Cuizhen Wang, Michael E. Hodgson, Steven R. Schill

Faculty Publications

This study investigates the use of small unoccupied aerial systems (sUAS) as a new remote sensing tool to identify and track the spatial distribution of wrack on coastal tidal marsh systems. We used sUAS to map the wrack movement in a Spartina alterniflora-dominated salt marsh monthly for one year including before and after Hurricane Isaias that brought strong winds, rain, and storm surge to the area of interest in August 2020. Flight parameters for each data collection mission were held constant including collection only during low tide. Wrack was visually identified and digitized in a GIS using every mission orthomosaic …

Three Strategies For Improving Access To Civil Legal Assistance In South Carolina, Elizabeth Chambliss

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unlocking Population-Specific Treatments To Render Equitable Approaches And Management In Cardiovascular Disease (Upstream Cvd): African American Emerging Adults, Shannon Bright Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in America. African American people have disparate CVD outcomes, and African American emerging adults (AAEAs) aged 18-25 have CVD risk factors. This study aimed to examine the state of CVD risk factors in AAEAs, assess upstream and population factors in AAEAs attending a southeastern historically black college/university (HBCU), compare their perceived and objective CVD risk, explore their level of CVD knowledge, and examine responses when they learn their objective CVD risk.

Chapter 1 presents background literature on CVD in AAEAs and the research plan. Chapter 2 presents a newly synthesized situation-specific …

The Role Of Geographic Context In Tornado Risk, Risk Perception, And Protective Action Behavior, Sarah L. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Our current understanding of tornado risk, risk perception, and protective action behavior lacks proper spatial consideration of local physical and social geographic contexts. This investigation asks how the conceptual drivers of tornado risk (geographic context, risk perception, and response) interact to create the spatiality of tornado risk. The study proposes that the inclusion of geographic context and its influence on perception and behavior produces differential tornado risk and seeks to determine which factors contribute to such variability. A novel, researcher-designed Tornado Risk of Place (TROP) conceptual model guides the methodological framework, incorporating statistical and geospatial analytics in an Illinois State …

Groundwater Flow And Salt Marsh Migration: The Forest/Marsh Boundary, Camille Rossiello

Theses and Dissertations

Salt marshes migrate landward in response to sea level rise, but the rate of this migration is not constant and can be influenced by pulse disturbances. Long term observations at Sapelo Island, Georgia, show that salt marsh migration has occurred during droughts, but the mechanism for this migration is unclear. Drought is thought to influence salt marsh migration by reducing fresh groundwater discharge from the upland. Rising sea level also encroaches on the upland, which could cause movement of the freshwater lens inland. A two-dimensional numerical model was built to simulate groundwater flow and solute transport based on the Marsh …

Examining The Associations Of The Kidney Allocation System With Patient Sensitivity, Wait Time To Transplant, And Donor Distance, Shamika Danielle Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Background

The Kidney Allocation System (KAS) was created in 2014 to address long wait times for a kidney transplant, inappropriately matched kidneys, and high re-transplantation rates. This research examines the associations of the KAS with the percentage of sensitized patients receiving a kidney transplant, wait time to transplant and the distance between donor and recipient hospitals.

Methods

Data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) was used for this research. The study population included adults over 18 in the United States who received a kidney transplant between December 4, 2009, and December 4, 2018. Patients simultaneously waitlisted for other …

Leveraging Church Environments To Promote Rural Physical Activity And Healthy Eating, Kelsey Rothera Day

Theses and Dissertations

Rural residents experience a greater burden of chronic disease related to physical inactivity and poor diet than their urban counterparts. A promising strategy to improve these health behaviors in rural areas is to leverage existing structures that may support physical activity and healthy eating, such as churches, in public health interventions. Three studies were conducted as part of this dissertation. They were designed to: 1) examine whether the walkability and healthy food density of neighborhoods surrounding rural and urban churches are associated with race, socioeconomic status, and rural/urban status; 2) examine rural church leaders’ views on the role of faith-based …

Mitigating Student Anxiety In The Secondary Classroom: A Culturally Sustaining Approach, Erin Hawley Cronin

Theses and Dissertations

This study emerged in response to broader trends of increasing anxiety among schoolchildren and my own observations as a teacher. Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death for youth (Curtin et al., 2022), and anxiety is a known factor in most deaths by suicide (Nepon et al., 2010). Teachers are often the first point of contact for anxious students, but a shortage of counselors in U.S. schools and other systemic barriers prevent widespread access to counseling services (Cratty, 2019). Moreover, identity-based anxieties are often misattributed to aggression or attention-seeking, and punished in school settings, instead of recognized and supported …

Hf Radar: Shining A Light On Ocean Currents, Douglas Cahl

Theses and Dissertations

High Frequency (HF) radar systems are commonly used to estimate surface ocean currents over the coastal ocean. Their range depends on their operational frequency and low frequency systems (≤ 10 MHz) can reach distances up to 200 km from the coastline. These systems are used to estimate surface currents by measuring the phase speed of wind-driven waves and comparing the measured speed with that expected theoretically; deviations from the theoretical still-water phase speed are attributed to ocean surface currents. Although HF radar systems are considered a mature technology and the accuracy of the radar-derived surface current estimates is well studied, …

Developing A Vision-Based Framework For Measuring And Monitoring Water Resource Systems Using Computer Vision And Deep Learning Techniques, Seyed Mohammad Hassan Erfani

Theses and Dissertations

Increased vulnerability of water systems to extreme events and climate change is among the profound challenges facing the management of water resource systems around the world. Extreme events, including droughts, floods, and natural hazards have become more frequent and intensive, particularly in coastal regions. Floods, for instance, caused tens of billions of US dollars losses and put the lives of thousands in danger, globally. To cope with the adverse consequences of floods, a wide range of structural, non-structural, and emergency measures are studied and deployed by flood management sectors. Various flood simulation, mapping, and forecast systems have been developed to …

Luis Abraham Delgadillo: A Rediscovery Of His Piano Music, Fanarelia Auxiliadora Guerrero López

Theses and Dissertations

Luis Abraham Delgadillo (1884–1961) is one of the most representative Nicaraguan musicians from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Works such as his Sinfonía Indígena (Indigenous Symphony), Suite Teotihuacán (Teotihuacán Suite), and Sinfonía Incaica(Incaic Symphony) positioned him as one of the most important composers and pianists from Latin America. He had great success during his career as a composer and toured North America and South America extensively during the 1930s and 1940s. During these visits, he had many of his works performed, and met other influential composers and musicians such as Carlos Chavez, Amadeo Roldán, Aaron Copland, Arthur …

Sentiment Analysis Of Swedish And Finnish Twitter Users’ Views Toward Nato Pre- And Post- 2022 2nd Russian Invasion Of Ukraine, Alexander Scott Fulham

Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to analyze the changes in Swedes’ and Finns’ opinions toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in light of the 2022 2nd Russian Invasion of Ukraine. To do so, a large dataset of geotagged tweets containing keywords related to NATO is analyzed using lexicon-based sentiment analysis to study spatiotemporal trends. The study shows that overall discussion remains very neutral, with less than a quarter of all tweets having a non-zero sentiment score, and differs markedly from public opinion polling in both countries while spatiotemporally, the discussions is concentrated in the major population centers and exhibits little month …