Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Relationships Between White Teachers And Black Students: A Qualitative Study On The Impact That Culturally Relevant Pedagogy And Positive Relationships Can Have On Student Success, Lindsay Johnson-Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study began as a way to investigate the impact of the relationships that White teachers have on their Black students and what strategies can be implemented to promote success in the absence of a positive relationship. Historical information provides the reader with the basic understanding of why academic deficiencies exist and continue to exist in the Black community and what strategies inside and outside of school can remedy the achievement gap. This qualitative study provides information directly from the students who experienced the inequities as told through interviews and an anonymous survey. The lack of diversity among …

Using Blended Learning And Writing Conferences To Develop High Schoolers’ Writing Skills And Self-Regulated Learning, Ashley Nicole Galloway-Speight

Theses and Dissertations

Strong writing skills are an essential element in all areas of life. Written communication is pervasive in both daily life and the workplace. Yet nationwide studies reveal that many students in America graduate from high school with insufficient writing skills. Studies on writing instruction suggest that a shift to teaching writing as a process rather than a product, presentation of quality individualized, focused feedback, and teaching of metacognitive writing skills can help improve writing skills in high school students. The purpose of this mixed methods action research was to determine how the supplemental use of face-to-face writing conferences combined with …

Views Of Substance Use During Pregnancy: Social Responses To The Issue, Taylor Ruddy

Theses and Dissertations

Ever since the emergence of the crack cocaine epidemic and “crack babies”, our society has been concerned with women using substances during their pregnancy. The most appropriate response to this social issue has been heavily debated. Some think that the use of criminal justice initiatives and criminalization is the most effective method in deterring women from using while pregnant, and some promote utilizing public health methods to rehabilitate addicted women. There is a wealth of research and literature around this debate, however, there has not yet been any research examining public opinion on the most appropriate ways to handle this …

The Impact Of A Four-Station Blended Learning Model Of Differentiating Instruction On Student Engagement In A Middle School Chinese I Class In A Southeastern State, Junlan Li

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to examine the impact of the proposed Four-Station Blended Learning Model (FSBLM) on the engagement level of four middle school students in a Chinese as a foreign language class. For the purposes of the study, student engagement is defined by three aspects: (1) participation in class activities, (2) classwork completion, and (3) student perceptions of Chinese class. Incorporating an action research design, data was collected through utilizing Likert-scale pre- and post-surveys, pre- and post-interviews, observations and the taking of field notes, students’ work samples, and classwork grades. Both qualitative and quantitative data were …

Shattering The Glass Slipper: An Investigation Into Nontraditional Gender Roles And Norms In The Elementary Classroom, Sara Mclean Suber

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, action research study investigated the ways that third grade students reacted when their worldviews concerning traditional gender roles and norms were challenged through classroom discourse, children’s literature, integrated art projects, and other writing and reading activities. The questions guiding this study were: (1) What is the impact of an English Language Arts unit involving texts and activities that depict nontraditional gender roles and norms on third grade students in a Southern, working class, elementary school?, (2) How are students’ preconceived notions in relation to gender roles and norms challenged over the course of the implemented curricular unit?, and …

Effects Of Information Exposure, Emotions, And Self-Efficacy On Risk Perception And Travel Intention During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Chunsheng Jin

Theses and Dissertations

Living in the information age, people acquire knowledge from various sources. These resources can play key roles in individuals’ perceptions during disease outbreaks. Especially amid COVID-19, risk perceptions are critical in determining individuals’ behavioral intentions. Researchers have investigated risk perceptions related to numerous diseases (e.g., swine flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Middle East respiratory syndrome, the Zika virus, and Ebola). However, few tourism studies have focused on health risks. Different from the above-mentioned illnesses, the relatively new virus of COVID-19 could have unique effects on individuals’ risk perceptions and behavioral intentions; the disease has been spreading worldwide for more than …

School Wide Digital Devices And The Impact On The Role Of School Librarians, Laura Jeanne Haverkamp

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study examines what happens to the role of the school librarian when schools move to a 1:1 model where every student has a digital device. Using the literature to understand expectations for librarians, the researcher surveyed experienced South Carolina school librarians to determine how 1:1 computing was implemented and supported in schools and if the role of the school librarians has changed as schools transition to a digital environment. The researcher found that there was little uniformity in deployment and support of devices in 1:1 schools, but that librarians felt their roles had changed and their overall …

Portion Of Profit Donations: Csr As Public Relations Strategy And Its Relationships With Trust And Purchase Intentions, Branden Dylan Cameron Birmingham

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to apply POP donations and messaging as a form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) research. Specifically, this study seeks to understand the relationships between communication factors of portion of the profit (POP) donations and a consumer’s intentions to purchase an item from a corporation, and the level of trust between a consumer and corporation. A key focus of this study was to determine if there is skepticism of POP donations and the impact on overall purchasing intentions, CSR communication factors, engagement, and trustworthiness. This emphasized how ethical values, decision making, relationship building, and trustworthiness are obligations between …

Los Milagros De Santiago Como Sustrato Ideológico En La Formación De Una Identidad Protonacional Castellana, Francisco David Mesa Muñoz

Theses and Dissertations

Saint James Apostle has been historically associated with his predications in the Iberian Peninsula. His cult started in the medieval times and has prolonged until the present, where he is considered the patron Saint of Spain. The construction and promotion of this symbol has been possible thanks to a combined set of efforts, whether premeditated or not, coming from the political and ecclesiastical groups in power. These groups made use of one of the most extended and influential literary genres to lecture and indoctrinate the vast majority of illiterate people during medieval times: the miracles.

In this study, I delve …

Biobehavioral Measurement Of Heterogeneity In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Carla Anne Wall

Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the presence of social-communication deficits and restricted and repetitive interests and behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013b; Baio et al., 2018). It is characterized by high genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity, which complicates both diagnosis and treatment efforts (Jeste & Geschwind, 2014; Kim, Macari, Koller, & Chawarska, 2016). Well-studied sources of heterogeneity in ASD include age, sex, intellectual ability, temperament, physiological arousal, social attention, and the presence of genetic syndromes that are highly penetrant with ASD (Campbell, Shic, Macari, & Chawarska, 2014; Harris et al., 2008; Klusek, Roberts, & Losh, …

The Development And Validation Of An Automated Screener Of Attention, Rachel Bridges

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated a strong relationship between symptoms of ADHD and academic underachievement. Interventions specific to academic deficits in children with ADHD are available, which are most effective if implemented before secondary concerns arise. Performance based screening is one method for determining the need for early intervention, yet extant measures of attention have limitations for the purposes of large-scale screening. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties and guiding conceptual model of a novel instrument of executive functioning—the GNG Screen— which measures response inhibition via a go/no-go paradigm. Results from Rasch modeling and exploratory factor analysis provide preliminary psychometric …

Charlotte's Glory Road: The History Of Nascar In The Queen City, Hannah Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the relationship between the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and Charlotte, North Carolina, and how the geography of the Charlotte area was a catalyst to the growth of the motorsports industry in the Queen City. Specifically, this thesis investigates the roles of NASCAR teams, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame in creating and continuing to grow the presence of NASCAR in Charlotte. The Hall of Fame in particular has strengthened the position of Charlotte in NASCAR history, after officials selected Charlotte over Daytona and Atlanta for the site of the …

Π+Π- Electroproduction Off Protons In Deuterium: Measurements Of Quasi-Free Cross Sections And Kinematic Probing Of Final State Interactions, Iuliia Skorodumina

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the process of π⁺π^- electroproduction off protons bound in deuterium nuclei is explored. The exploration is performed through the analysis of experimental data on electron scattering off the deuteron target, collected in Hall B at Jefferson Lab with the CLAS detector. As a main result, the set of integrated and single-differential cross sections of the reaction $\gamma_{v}p(n) \rightarrow p' (n')\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ is obtained. The cross sections are extracted in the quasi-free regime, which implies that only events not affected by final state interactions are subject to selection. The measurements are performed in the kinematic region …

The Development Of A Tractable System To Assess Caulobacter-Plant Interactions, Louis Berrios

Theses and Dissertations

Bacteria play an integral role in regulating plant growth and development. However, many of the mechanisms encompassing bacteria-plant interactions are poorly understood and thus require detailed assessments (see CHAPTER 1). To this end, I coupled bacterial (Caulobacter sp.) and plant model organisms (Arabidopsis) to determine 1) the degree to which select bacteria can enhance the growth and development of plants, and 2) what functions these bacteria possess that enable them to aid plant development. Employing bacterial isolation techniques, monoculture inoculum-based plant growth assays, biochemical assays, comparative genomics, functional genetics, and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), I determined that …

Investigating Developmental Changes In Scalp-To-Cortex Correspondence Using Diffuse Optical Tomography Sensitivity In Infancy, Xiaoxue Fu, John E. Richards

Faculty Publications

Significance: Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) uses near-infrared light spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure changes in cerebral hemoglobin concentration. Anatomical interpretations of NIRS data require accurate descriptions of the cranio-cerebral relations and DOT sensitivity to the underlying cortical structures. Such information is limited for pediatric populations because they undergo rapid head and brain development.

Aim: We aim to investigate age-related differences in scalp-to-cortex distance and mapping between scalp locations and cortical regions of interest (ROIs) among infants (2 weeks to 24 months with narrow age bins), children (4 and 12 years), and adults (20 to 24 years).

Approach: We …

Go With The Flow: Testing The Effects Of Emotional Flow On Psychophysiological, Attitudinal, And Behavioral Changes, Chris R. Noland

Theses and Dissertations

Emotions are important constructs that affect the lives of everyone. Emotions play a particularly strong role in persuasion. This study examines the concept of emotional flow, a sequencing of specific discrete emotions in a strategic manner to affect attitudes and behaviors. In an experiment to understand the functions and applicability of emotional flow, an experiment was conducted using a public service announcement about melanoma that contained a sequence that flowed from humor to sadness to hope. This dissertation used both self-report as well as biometric measures of the emotional responses valence and arousal. Using Affect Priming Theory, Mood Management Theory, …

Inoculating The Public Against Misinformation: Testing The Effectiveness Of “Pre-Bunking” Techniques In The Context Of Mental Illness And Violence, Nanlan Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

The publics might be misinformed about mental illness due to frequently mentioned violence and inaccurate notions in news coverage that underlie people who have a history of mental illness are prone to be dangerous or violent. Drawing from the theories of inoculation and the psychological reactance, the author seeks to investigate the effects of using preemptive corrective message techniques (labeling, appeal to consensus, and provision of an alternative explanation) as on the method of promoting resistance to misinformation linking mental illness and violence, which is a harmful and unsubstantiated stereotype. To accomplish this research aim, the author conducted two experiments …

Physical Activity Among Adults Residing In 11 Countries During The Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown, Kele Ding, Jingzhen Yang, Ming-Kai Chin, Lindsay Sullivan, J. Larry Durstine, Verónica Violant-Holz, Giyasettin Demirhan, Nara R.C. Oliveira, Biljana Popeska, Garry Kuan, Waheeda Khan, Jianhui Dai, Xia Xu, Zornitza Mladenova, Govindasamy Balasekaran, Gary A. Smith, Global Community Health-Covid-19 Collaborative Research Team

Faculty Publications

During the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, physical activity (PA) behaviors were altered worldwide due to public health measures such as “lockdown.” This study described PA among adults residing in 11 countries during COVID-19 lockdown and examined factors associated with PA engagement. We conducted a cross-sectional anonymous survey among adults (≥18 years old) in 11 countries (Brazil, Bulgaria, China, India, Ireland, Malaysia, North Macedonia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, United States). Of 11,775 participants, 63.7% were female and 52.8% were 18–34 years old. More than 40% of participants were insufficiently active (43.9%) and reported a decrease in their PA during lockdown (44.8%). Statistically …

A Qualitative Study Of Stress And Coping To Inform The Leads Health Promotion Trial For African American Adolescents With Overweight And Obesity, Mary Quattlebaum, Colby Kipp, Dawn Wilson-King, Allison Sweeney Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to conduct in-depth individual interviews with 30 African American adolescents with overweight and obesity and their families (caregiver/adolescent dyads) to gain a better understanding of how to integrate stress and coping essential elements into an existing family-based health promotion program for weight loss. Interview data from 30 African American adolescents with overweight and obesity (Mage = 15.30 ± 2.18; MBMI%-ile = 96.7 ± 3.90) were transcribed and coded for themes using inductive and deductive approaches by two independent coders. Inter-rater reliability was acceptable (r = 0.70–0.80) and discrepancies were resolved to 100% agreement. The …

Towards Semantic Integration Of Machine Vision Systems To Aid Manufacturing Event Understanding, Kaishu Xia, Clint Saidy, Max Kirkpatrick, Noble Anumbe, Amit Sheth, Ramy Harik

Publications

A manufacturing paradigm shift from conventional control pyramids to decentralized, service-oriented, and cyber-physical systems (CPSs) is taking place in today’s 4th industrial revolution. Generally accepted roles and implementation recipes of cyber systems are expected to be standardized in the future of manufacturing industry. The authors intend to develop a novel CPS-enabled control architecture that accommodates: (1) intelligent information systems involving domain knowledge, empirical model, and simulation; (2) fast and secured industrial communication networks; (3) cognitive automation by rapid signal analytics and machine learning (ML) based feature extraction; (4) interoperability between machine and human. Semantic integration of process indicators is fundamental …

The Mexico Simsmoke Tobacco Control Policy Model: Development Of A Simulation Model Of Daily And Nondaily Cigarette Smoking, Luz Maria Sanchez-Romero, Luis Zavala-Arciniega, Luz Myriam Reynales-Shigematsu, Belén Sáenz De Miera-Juárez, Zhe Yuan, Yameng Li, Yan Kwan Lau, Nancy L. Fleischer, Rafael Meza, Jim F. Thrasher Ph.D., Ma, Ms, David T. Levy

Faculty Publications

Background

Nondaily smoking has been on the rise, especially in Mexico. While Mexico has strengthened its tobacco control policies, their effects on nondaily smokers have gone largely unexamined. We developed a simulation model to estimate the impact of tobacco control policies on daily and nondaily smoking in Mexico.

Methods

A previously validated Mexico SimSmoke model that estimated overall trends in smoking prevalence from 2002 through 2013 was extended to 2018 and adapted to distinguish daily and nondaily smoking prevalence. The model was then validated using data from Mexican surveys through 2016. To gauge the potential effects of policies, we compared …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Non-Equilibrium Plasma-Treated Pvdf Nanofiber Membrane-Based Sensors, Quazi Nahida Sultana, Mujibur Khan, Rajib Mahamud, Mohammadsadegh Saadatzi, Papia Sultana, Tanvir Farouk, Rafael Quirino, Sourav Banerjee

Faculty Publications

The effect of a self-pulsing non-equilibrium plasma discharge on piezoelectric PVDF nanofiber membrane was investigated. The plasma discharge was generated in air with a DC power source, with a discharge current of 0.012 mA, a nominal interelectrode separation of 1 mm, and discharge voltage of ~970 V. In a continuous fabrication process, the electrospinning method was used to generate thin nanofiber membrane with a flow rate of 0.7–1 mL h−1 and 25–27 kV voltage to obtain the nanofiber with high sensitivity and a higher degree of alignment and uniformity over a larger area. Plasma treatment was applied on both single …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Sexual Harassment Studies With Text Mining, Amir Karami, Melek Yildiz Spinel, Nicole White, Kayla Ford, Suzanne Swan

Faculty Publications

Sexual harassment has been the topic of thousands of research articles in the 20th and 21st centuries. Several review papers have been developed to synthesize the literature about sexual harassment. While traditional literature review studies provide valuable insights, these studies have some limitations including analyzing a limited number of papers, being time-consuming and labor-intensive, focusing on a few topics, and lacking temporal trend analysis. To address these limitations, this paper employs both computational and qualitative approaches to identify major research topics, explore temporal trends of sexual harassment topics over the past few decades, and point to future possible directions in …

Age-Related Changes In Diffuse Optical Tomography Sensitivity Profiles In Infancy, Xiaoxue Fu, John E. Richards

Faculty Publications

Diffuse optical tomography uses near-infrared light spectroscopy to measure changes in cerebral hemoglobin concentration. Anatomical interpretations of the location that generates the hemodynamic signal requires accurate descriptions of diffuse optical tomography sensitivity to the underlying cortical structures. Such information is limited for pediatric populations because they undergo rapid head and brain development. The present study used photon propagation simulation methods to examine diffuse optical tomography sensitivity profiles in realistic head models among infants ranging from 2 weeks to 24 months with narrow age bins, children (4 and 12 years) and adults (20 to 24 years). The sensitivity profiles changed systematically …

Increased Risk Of Death Triggered By Domestic Violence, Hunger, Suicide, Exhausted Health System During Covid-19 Pandemic: Why, How And Solutions, Kenneth Bitrus David, Abdullahi Tunde Aborode, Damilola Quazeem Olaoye, Ndikpongkeabasi Victor Enang, Aboaba Kazeem Oriyomi, Ismaeel Yunusa

Faculty Publications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, just like many other public health emergencies, is a well-established global health burden that has resulted in several changes in routines and lifestyles of people globally. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has directly or indirectly involved in the loss of lives of more than 3.24 million as of 6th May, 2021. The increasing threats posed by this pandemic were subsided by the swift and drastic measures put in place by different countries. As other causes of death before the emergence of COVID-19 still exist, the pandemic has further worsened …

June 2, 2021 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Advancing Knowledge About Stakeholder Engagement In Multisectoral Nutrition Research, Andrea M. Warren, Shilpa V. Constantinides, Christine E. Blake, Edward A. Frongillo Jr.

Faculty Publications

Strategies to engage stakeholders increase the relevance of multisectoral nutrition research but are challenging to embed within research programs. Drawing from fifteen food choice studies, the aim of this study was to understand the diversity of strategies that researchers used in engaging with stakeholders to synthesize lessons learned from their experiences. Researchers developed and implemented a wide range of strategies that varied in terms of extent of collaboration sought. Informational strategies were used to increase stakeholder buy-in and generate demand for results. Collaborative strategies were more integral to the production of knowledge and were used in framing research significance, interpreting …

Association Of Cumulative Social Risk And Social Support With Receipt Of Chemotherapy Among Patients With Advanced Colorectal Cancer, Rachel E. Davis, Amber W. Trickey, Paul Abrahamse, Ikuko Kato, Kevin Ward, Arden M. Morris

Faculty Publications

Importance: Approximately 38% of patients with advanced colorectal cancer do not receive chemotherapy. Objective: To determine whether cumulative social risk (ie, multiple co-occurring sociodemographic risk factors) is associated with lower receipt of chemotherapy among patients with advanced colorectal cancer and whether social support would moderate this association. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional, population-based, mailed survey study was conducted from 2012 to 2014. Participants were recruited between 2011 and 2014 from all adults within 1 year after diagnosis of stage III colorectal cancer in the Detroit, Michigan, and State of Georgia Surveillance, Epidemiology, End-Results cancer registries. Patients were eligible if …

Beyond “Children Are Different”: The Revolution In Juvenile Intake And Sentencing, Josh Gupta-Kagan

Faculty Publications

For more than 120 years, juvenile justice law has not substantively defined the core questions in most delinquency cases—when should the state prosecute children rather than divert them from the court system (the intake decision), and what should the state do with children once they are convicted (the sentencing decision)? Instead, the law has granted certain legal actors wide discretion over these decisions, namely prosecutors at intake and judges at sentencing. This Article identifies and analyzes an essential reform trend changing that reality: legislation, enacted in at least eight states in the 2010s, to limit when children can be prosecuted …

Perceptions Of Endocrine Therapy In African-American Breast Cancer Survivors: Mixed Methods Study, Sara Donevant, Sue P. Heiney, Cassandra Wineglass, Benjamin Schooley, Akanksha Singh, Jingxi Sheng

Faculty Publications

Background: Although the incidence of breast cancer is lower in African-American women than in White women, African-American women have a decreased survival rate. The difference in survival rate may stem from poor endocrine therapy adherence, which increases breast cancer recurrence. Therefore, accessible and culturally sensitive interventions to increase endocrine therapy adherence are necessary. Objective: The purpose of this concurrent convergent mixed methods study was to provide further data to guide the development of the proposed culturally sensitive mHealth app, STORY+ for African-American women with breast cancer. Methods: We recruited 20 African-American women diagnosed with estrogen-positive breast cancer and currently prescribed …