Digital Commons Network^™

Thematic Geo-Inquiry In Seventh Grade Geography, Rebekah Driscoll Austing

Theses and Dissertations

With the growth of globalization, geography is an important subject for students of the 21^st Century to understand. Being adept in geography will aid our future generations to be able to use geographic skills to answer complex world issues. Unfortunately, geography has been a long-neglected subject of social studies; often considered boring and not worthwhile with teachers using teacher-centered curriculum methods and memorization. A teacher’s job is to provide appropriate experiences, materials, and context for students to construct and connect knowledge that is useful and beneficial to them. Through a constructivist lens, inquiry-based thematic units can be used by …

“A Threat To The Family”: Phyllis Schlafly And The Construction Of Negative Group Identity, Christopher Howell

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I argue that Phyllis Schlafly’s fight against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) from 1972 to 1976 helped construct the “pro-family” political identity that opposed the ERA and came to define social conservatism in American politics. She did this through the creation and elaboration of a negative group identity: individuals defined by their desire for an imagined past of traditional, stable hierarchies. By taking an anodyne piece of legislation and framing its supporters as direct threats to the status quo, Schlafly effectively mobilized a group of previously apolitical actors towards political activism. In the process, she helped …

Mapping Fire Susceptibility Of The South Carolina Coastal Plain, Breonna Roden

Theses and Dissertations

Wildfires are a natural hazard that have occurred across the world, throughout time. Regions prone to wildfires have been experiencing changes in their fire regimes. Not only has the fire season length increased, but the fires themselves are increasing in frequency and intensity. Wildfire research has been limited for the state of South Carolina, raising concerns along with global warming and population growth. Global warming is likely to become more extreme, which can lead to droughts becoming more frequent and lasting for longer periods of time. According to the 2020 census, South Carolina was the 10th fastest-growing state, which is …

Assessing Relationships Between Water Quality, Precipitation, Land Cover And Stormwater Conveyance Type Across A Range Of Sub-Watersheds In The Southeastern Coastal Zone, Kevencia Sabine Gabriel Faton

Theses and Dissertations

The expansion of urban land use/cover along the coast may degrade water quality by introducing a plethora of pollutants and pathogens that negatively impact human and ecological health. It is hypothesized that anthropogenic contaminants associated with stormwater runoff increase with increasing urban density and vary with the timing and magnitude of rainfall. In this study, we examined land use/cover change and relationships between Escherichia coli (E. coli), turbidity, nutrients, and the timing and magnitude of rainfall in two different types of stormwater conveyances (ditches and ponds) within Murrells Inlet, SC during the summer of 2023. Our results indicate …

Creating Systems Of Professional Learning To Encourage Deep Thinking In Social Studies: A Qualitative Study, Elizabeth Poda King

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes a problem that developed due to a lack of systems in place to provide professional learning for teachers in social studies. This problem was ignited when revised standards were adopted which shifted from heavy content focus to skills and content. Standards requiring both skills and content encourage student inquiry and promote deep thinking by students through the use of historical evidence. Therefore, the purpose of the improvement science plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles was to develop a system of job-embedded professional learning to assist teachers with teaching strategies that use historical evidence to promote deep thinking in social studies …

The Design And Optimization Of Optical Systems For The Detection And Characterization Of Phytoplankton, Caitlyn M. English

Theses and Dissertations

Phytoplankton are among the smallest organisms found in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Despite their small size, phytoplankton play a vital role in sustaining life on Earth as primary producers. Through oxygenic photosynthesis phytoplankton are also responsible for large scale carbon fixation and oxygen production. The distribution of phytoplankton in a given water resource can exhibit a high degree of variability across time and space, and this is in large part due to their varying sensitivities to environmental conditions such as resource availability and grazing by predator organisms. As such, phytoplankton community structure is widely used as an investigative tool for …

Racial Contestations Of Space: Rural Preservation And Black Municipal Development In The South Carolina Lowcountry, Sydney Elizabeth Potter Smith

Theses and Dissertations

As newcomers flock to the South Carolina Lowcountry and drive development, the region has generally implemented strategies to preserve what remains of the region’s iconic rural landscapes by restricting new development in places that are designated as “Rural Areas”. These multi-scaler growth management strategies are problematic because they frame rural preservation as benefiting the greater good and prescribe a universal solution to urban sprawl, regardless of the individual needs of rural communities. This naturalizes and perpetuates forms of racial inequality across the landscape. Simultaneously, there are alternative spatial practices that aim to improve the quality of life for rural residents …

Narratives In Motion: The New Era Of Dam Building In East Africa, Andrew Nicholas Selassie Prado-Alipui

Theses and Dissertations

Narratives of energy insecurity, underdevelopment, and resource conflict influence how African hydropower projects are justified within the broader context of climate change and demands for sustainable development. The challenge of meeting energy demands provides the overarching motivation for ambitious large-scale hydropower projects in East Africa, especially in Tanzania and Ethiopia. As development projects, the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) can be understood as vehicles of political discourse, framed as the technopolitical solution to questions of national identity that both countries face in the midst of sociopolitical and economic transformation periods. This research shows …

Of Grave Importance: A Collaborative Approach To Archaeological Research On The Cooper River Cemetery, Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, Angelina Towery-Tomasura

Theses and Dissertations

Land dispossession and displacement is a challenge being faced by the Gullah community in Lowcountry South Carolina. Land dispossession due to a phenomenon known as coastal capitalism, or, the increased interest in coastal property, on Daufuskie Island served as an impetus for Miss Sallie Ann Robinson, a Gullah, Daufuskie native, to reach out to academic communities to assist in the preservation of spaces including cemeteries. This led to the ongoing collaborative archaeology project on the Cooper River Cemetery to record information about burials and investigate the presence of those without any headstone markers. The Cooper River Cemetery is one of …

Targeting The Country: Exploring The Technology Integration Practices Of World Language Teachers In Rural Georgia, Shannon Borum

Theses and Dissertations

Technology integration affords World Language teachers opportunities to engage with the target language and cultures in a way previously unknown, yet world language teachers in Georgia’s rural high schools have inconsistent integration of technology into their teaching practices. The study was guided by two research questions regarding (1) the current technology integration practices of world language teachers in rural Georgia high schools for communicative language teaching, and (2) the influences the decisions of world language teachers in rural Georgia high schools to integrate technology in their communicative language teaching. The purpose of this action research was to describe how high …

Trump And The Us Energy Transition, Conor M. Harrison

Faculty Publications

The US electricity grid has seen a rapid increase in the amount of renewable energy over the last decade, with many renewable advocates viewing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 as the catalyst to move the grid towards 100% clean energy. The 2024 elections, however, have significantly muddied the path. In this commentary, I posit what the Trump administration—and related Republican control of both houses of the US Congress—means for the US electricity system. I begin by briefly outlining the contours of federal and state electricity governance, the design of Inflation Reduction Act, the existing drivers of renewable energy growth …

Displaced Decarbonization: Climate Necropolitics And The Contested Spatialities Of Green Hydrogen In Namibia, Meredith J. Deboom

Faculty Publications

Green hydrogen is often presented as a transformative solution to the dual challenges of decarbonization and economic development. This article applies the framework of climate necropolitics to interrogate the contested spatialities underlying such “win-win” narratives. It does so through an extended case study of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, a $10 billion green hydrogen project planned for Lüderitz, Namibia. A remote town of 20,000 in a country with a $12 billion annual GDP, Lüderitz initially appears to be an unlikely host site for the “industrial fuel of the future.” To explain this outcome, I first illustrate how discordant socio-spatial projects—including European energy …

Explaining Youth Driver Licensing Determinants Using Xgboost And Shap, Kailai Wang, Jonas De Vos, Michael Smart, Sicheng Wang

Faculty Publications

This study explores the factors influencing driver's license acquisition among young individuals and examines its broader implications for mobility, safety, and sustainability. Leveraging nationally representative survey data on Millennials and Generation Z, we apply eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and SHapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) to identify key socioeconomic determinants of teenage driver's license attainment. Our findings reveal consistent predictors across both generations, including the percentage of licensed family members, household income per capita, educational attainment, and public transit ridership. We identify meaningful dose-response relationships, such as the increasing influence of licensed household members beyond a 0.75 threshold and the …

Two-Layer Formulation For Long-Runout Turbidity Currents: Theory And Bypass Flow Case, Hongbo Ma, Gary Parker, Matthieu Cartigny, Enrica Viparelli, S. Balachandar, Xudong Fu, Rossella Luchi

Faculty Publications

Turbidity currents, which are stratified, sediment-laden bottom flows in the ocean or lakes, can run out for hundreds or thousands of kilometres in submarine channels without losing their stratified structure. Here, we derive a layer-averaged, two-layer model for turbidity currents, specifically designed to capture long-runout. A number of previous models have captured runout of only tens of kilometres, beyond which thickening of the flows becomes excessive, and the models without a lateral overspill mechanism fail. In our framework, a lower layer containing nearly all the sediment is a faster, gravity-driven flow that propels an upper layer, where sediment concentration is …

April 2, 2025 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Hedging Energy Transition: Green Hydrogen, Oil, And Low-Carbon Resilience As State Strategy In Namibia, Meredith J. Deboom

Faculty Publications

Policy frameworks increasingly portray energy transition as a mechanism for achieving a range of resilience- related goals, including socio-economic development and energy security. Energy transition is often character ized as a particularly important resilience strategy for lower-income states in the Global South, which face the simultaneous challenges of decarbonization and development. Yet these states, many of which have fossil fuel resources, face distinct constraints and risks in navigating energy transition, including the possibility that promised funding for low-carbon energy projects will never come to fruition or that global decarbonization will be deferred or abandoned completely. This article uses the case …

Could It Be Cold War? How Sino-American Tensions Are Unfolding In The South Pacific., Peter R. Caldwell

Senior Theses

This thesis assesses the impacts of geopolitical competition between the United States and China, focusing on the South Pacific as a primary theatre for this great power contest, and investigating the uses of foreign aid by regional powers to effect both the geopolitical alignment and domestic policies of the developing states of the South Pacific. This paper finds that foreign aid to these South Pacific States is geopolitically motivated, and induces greater attention from competing regional powers, furthering the ongoing competition. This paper first provides an overview of the evolving political situation in Kiribati, a Pacific Island Country which has …

Suspended Agency And The Habitus Of Waiting In A Migrant Shelter In Tijuana, Liam K. Ogden Iii

Senior Theses

This thesis explores idea of suspended agency and the development of a habitus of waiting within a women and children’s migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. Relying on ten days of participant observation and an interview with a shelter director, I examine the lived experiences of residents, workers, and myself as a researcher navigating humanitarian space. Shelters are designed to be short term spaces, but migrants are often forced into long-term, uncertain stays due to restrictive border policies and structural barriers, resulting in a social stasis defined by boredom, anxiety, and monotony within the shelter. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concept of habitus …

The Impact Of The National Teacher Shortage On The Right To An Adequate Education, Anslee Wood

The Journal of Law and Education

No abstract provided.

Challenges In Higher Education For Latino U.S - Born Children Of Undocumented Immigrants, Lupita Gomez Benitez

Senior Theses

Latino native-born children of undocumented immigrants in the United States occupy a unique position within American society. They are citizens by birth and therefore, entitled to all the rights of a regular citizen. However, society does not treat them as such due to their parents' legal status. This paper analyzes the barriers that these students face during the higher education process, specifically in South Carolina. The study uses a review of existing literature and qualitative interviews to uncover some of these challenges and why these students do not ask for help. The findings suggest that these students do have certain …

Between Borders And Belief: Perspectives Of Aid Workers On Religion In A Migrant Shelter In Mexico, Kendall O. Roy

Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to understand the significance of religion in the Central American migration context through the eyes of humanitarian aid workers. It is based on interviews that I conducted in May of 2024 with staff members at a migrant shelter in Mexico, analysis of prior scholarship, and building upon an understanding of relevant religious history in Latin America. I will delve into trends that the aid workers observed in areas such as religious practices and beliefs of migrants, shelter functions that addressed and nurtured spiritual well-being, and the influence of the Church as an institution on humanitarian aid work. …

Education As Cultural Diplomacy: Examining International Student Experiences At A Public University In The Southeastern United States, Sydney A. Wilson

Senior Theses

This thesis explores how the lived experiences of undergraduate international students at a public university in the Southeastern United States (US) reflect and contribute to the practice of cultural diplomacy. While the existing literature on international education as an instrument of soft power tends to focus on overtly state-sponsored programs such as the Fulbright, this study is centered around exchange students specifically participating in independently coordinated partner programs. Drawing on influential political science figures such as Joseph Nye and Milton Cummings’ conceptualization of the terms ‘soft power’ and ‘cultural diplomacy,’ this research highlights the important role informal and interpersonal interactions …

Essays In Real Estate And Household Finance, Paul Freed

Theses and Dissertations

The first chapter examines how the deterioration of a household’s balance sheet alters its propensity to sue another entity for damages in civil court. Using state-level administrative judicial data longitudinally linked to the value of individual plaintiffs’ real estate holdings, this study finds that a 5% decline in housing value is associated with an 8% increase in the probability of filing a civil suit. Similarly, a household entering a negative equity position on its mortgage is associated with a 14% increase. When facing distress, households are more likely to engage in civil action against both firms and other households, particularly …

Who’S On First, What’S On Second An Analysis Of Major League Baseball Fans And Multiple Points Of Attachment, Ryan W. Dastrup

Theses and Dissertations

Need to write

Woven By Culture: A Comparative Study Of Traditional Dress Across Regions And The Societal Forces Behind Fashion, James T. Granger

Senior Theses

This study attempts to examine how societal influences that different countries have obtained from years past affect their traditional fashion. By sketching 200 traditional female dresses from every sovereign country in the world, I have taken the time to analyze and create depictions of their sociological and stylistic choices. I have chosen to examine the countries of Cambodia, Republic of Congo, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Panama, and Tonga as they all represent different regions of the globe. Breaking down each of their dresses into their specific garments and accessories is essential to better understand the culture and the …

Intimate Partner Violence In Post-Conflict Communities: The Case Of Peru, Karen Eliana León Negreiros

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health issue worldwide and the most common type of violence experienced by women. In the last decade, a growing number of studies have evidenced that situations of civil conflict, post-conflict, and displacement can significantly exacerbate IPV and increase the likelihood of experiencing IPV later in life. This study expands on the literature by taking a Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping approach to understand how civil conflict violence in Peru (1980-2000) is associated with IPV rates in the country, 4 years (2004) and 19 years (2019) after the conflict. Study results evidence the …

Essays On Platform Operations: Applications In Service Operations And Sustainability, Timothy Campbell Clarkson

Theses and Dissertations

Online platforms inhabit every corner of daily life, from social media, to medicine, to retail, and everything in between. Platform owners are met with a litany of challenges as they seek to maximize the platform's value and implement novel strategies to foster widespread adoption. This dissertation focuses on empirically assessing the impact of online platforms in both sustainability and service operations contexts. In the first chapter, we examine the impact of introducing an agricultural advisory platform on smallholder farmer potato production in a single district in Rural India. We find positive impacts to overall production, and we explore the mechanism …

Alcohol Use Disorder Medication Coverage And Utilization Management In Medicaid Managed Care Plans, Maureen T. Stewart, Sage R. Feltus, Christina Andrews Ph.D., Andrea Acevedo, Cindy Parks Thomas, Jeffrey Bratberg, Constance M. Horgan, Dominic Hodgkin, Rachel Sayko Adams

Faculty Publications

IMPORTANCE Evidence-based, patient-centered treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) can include pharmacotherapy with naltrexone, acamprosate, or disulfiram; however, these medications are rarely used. Medicaid managed care plans (MCPs) manage health services for nearly 80% of Medicaid enrollees and are the largest payer for addiction treatment services. Little is known about Medicaid MCP policies for AUD medications.

OBJECTIVES To describe Medicaid MCPs’ coverage and management of acamprosate, naltrexone, and disulfiram for AUD and examine associations of plan characteristics and state policies with medication coverage.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this cross-sectional study, a content analysis was performed of 2021 insurance benefit …

March 5, 2025 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Alcohol Use Disorder Medication Coverage And Utilization Management In Medicaid Managed Care Plans, Maureen T. Stewart, Sage R. Feltus, Christina M. Andrews Ph.D., Andrea Acevedo, Cindy Parks Thomas, Jeffrey Bratberg, Constance M. Horgan, Dominic Hodgkin, Rachel Sayko Adams

Faculty Publications

Importance: Evidence-based, patient-centered treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) can include pharmacotherapy with naltrexone, acamprosate, or disulfiram; however, these medications are rarely used. Medicaid managed care plans (MCPs) manage health services for nearly 80% of Medicaid enrollees and are the largest payer for addiction treatment services. Little is known about Medicaid MCP policies for AUD medications. Objectives: To describe Medicaid MCPs' coverage and management of acamprosate, naltrexone, and disulfiram for AUD and examine associations of plan characteristics and state policies with medication coverage. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cross-sectional study, a content analysis was performed of 2021 insurance benefit …