Digital Commons Network^™

Alasdair Gray (1934-2019), Patrick Scott

Studies in Scottish Literature

A short tribute to the Scottish artist and writer Alasdair Gray, his friendship with and portrait of G. Ross Roy, the illustrations he did for Studies in Scottish Literature, and other Gray drawings in the Roy Collection at the University of South Carolina.

Joe Corrie’S In Time O’ Strife, The General Strike Of 1926, And The Impasse Of Insurgent Masculinity, Paul Malgrati

Studies in Scottish Literature

Examines the ex-miner and labour journalist Joe Corrie's three-act play In Time o’ Strife, set in West Fife ("the most significant working-class play written about the 1926 General Strike"), setting it in the context of Corrie's writing career, and exploring the psychological, familial, and political conflicts, including conflicts of gender roles, which it dramatizes.

Eadar Canaan Is Garrabost (Between Canaan And Garrabost): Religion In Derick Thomson’S Lewis Poetry, Petra Johana Poncarová

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the treatment of religious belief in the Gaelic poetry of Derick Thomson (1921-2012), from the Outer Hebridean island of Lewis, off the northwest coast of Scotland, surveying Thomson's poems about his encounters with varieties of Presbyterianism, notably the Free Church, and exploring also nuances and religious allusions in poems about his own experience.

The Effects Of Racialization On Sikhs In America: An Intersectional Approach, Harsirjan K. Roopra

Senior Theses

Sikhs have been largely ignored in the literature surrounding social justice and religious tolerance. The many pressures Sikhs face, and the social assumptions that lead to them, must be brought into the broader conversation on these issues so that educators and politicians might help support the well-being of the Sikh community. Sikh identity has been misinterpreted and redefined in modern day American society. The lack of cultural and religious literacy of many Americans, coupled with Sikhs’ distinct visible identity, has led to xenophobic violence against Sikhs since their arrival in the U.S. more than a century ago. The root of …

The Efficacy Of Political Apology Within A Settler-Colonial Framework, Hannah M. Bauer

Senior Theses

Government apologies issued for American settler-colonialism, instances of mis-racialization, and instances of misrepresentation of Native American peoples – such as the joint resolutions passed by President Clinton and the 103^rd Congress and President Obama and the 111^th Congress – reflect the strategies used to justify the United States’ removal and assimilation policies. These same strategies are evident in the ways which historic and modern media representations transform Native Americans into a monolithic racial ‘other.’ Trump’s evocation of “Pocahontas” as a racial slur and Warren’s participation in a DNA test during Donald Trump and Elizabeth Warren’s debate over Warren’s …

Recent Decisions

The Journal of Law and Education

No abstract provided.

Becoming Independent Readers: A Toolbox Of Close Reading Strategies For Young Minds, Kimberly Anne Petersen

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study explored the practice of close reading for reading comprehension in a classroom of fourth grade students for a duration of six weeks. This study was driven by the problem of practice identified by the researcher’s own observations and a look into the data of her own students. The purpose of this research was to provide students with reading comprehension tools to help them take charge of their own reading experiences and apply strategies that help guide them into a better understanding of the text. The teacher-researcher chose to employ a set of six close reading strategies, …

Feasibility And Preliminary Outcomes Of A Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention (Bmbi) To Decrease Stress And Improve Well-Being In Secondary School Teachers, Alex M. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers often experience symptoms of stress and burnout due to the chronicity of their occupational demands. These symptoms can negatively impact teachers’ coping abilities and have implications for their physical and psychological health. Research indicates that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have potential to help alleviate these symptoms of stress and burnout. Increasing numbers of MBIs for teachers have been implemented in the past five to ten years. However, few teacher-focused MBIs measure intervention feasibility and little data exist informing how to design and implement feasible MBIs in this context while simultaneously maximizing their potential positive effects. The current study examined the …

Teaching Psychology In Secondary School: The Flipped Classroom Approach And The Arcs Motivational Model, Nicole Ritter

Theses and Dissertations

Motivational levels towards learning course content are low due to the lack of resources. This action research evaluated the impact of implementing a flipped classroom approach on students’ motivation to foster the content knowledge in a high school introductory psychology course. Using a flipped classroom approach, lecture-based activities were recorded and saved for the home where students could control the viewing Traditional lecture in the classroom was replaced with active learning strategies. This research answered the questions: (1) How and in what ways does implementing a flipped classroom approach affect high school students’ motivation to learn in an introductory psychology …

Peer Intervention With Suicidal Disclosures On Social Media: Does The Bystander Effect Play A Role?, Carissa M. Orlando

Theses and Dissertations

Suicide is an increasing public health concern in adolescents and young adults, and many individuals discuss mental health concerns with friends in lieu of professional avenues. Thus, peers can serve as valuable gatekeepers for friends experiencing suicidality. The prevalence of social networking websites means that individuals are likely to encounter suicidal disclosures on the internet, but little research has investigated if young adults possess the skills and motivation to intervene in these contexts. Additionally, there have been virtually no investigations into how the presence of other online users impacts intervention behavior—in short, if there exists a bystander effect. This study …

Can Children Catch Up From The Consequences Of Undernourishment? Evidence From Child Linear Growth, Developmental Epigenetics, And Brain And Neurocognitive Development, Jef L. Leroy, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Pragya Dewan, Maureen M. Black, Robert A. Waterland

Faculty Publications

Recovery from nutritionally induced height deficits continues to garner attention. The current literature on catch-up growth, however, has 2 important limitations: wide-ranging definitions of catch-up growth are used, and it remains unclear whether children can recover from the broader consequences of undernutrition. We addressed these shortcomings by reviewing the literature on the criteria for catch-up in linear growth and on the potential to recover from undernutrition early in life in 3 domains: linear growth, developmental epigenetics, and child brain and neurocognitive development. Four criteria must be met to demonstrate catch-up growth in height: after a period in which a growth-inhibiting …

Factors Influencing Intention To Introduce Accessibility In Makerspace Planning And Implementation, Heather Moorefield-Lang, Ana Dubnjakovic

Faculty and Staff Publications

Makerspaces continue to grow in popularity in public, academic, and school libraries. As makerspaces are included in library services, accessibility for all users is important. What motivates a school librarian to implement a makerspace accessible to all learners? Are they more likely to invest in accessibility if provided the necessary resources? In this study, researchers discuss which Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen 1985) variables significantly predict school librarians’ intentions to implement accessible makerspaces. Researchers also delve into how attitude towards accessibility in makerspaces influence the intention to implement accessible makerspace. Findings indicate identifying perceived behavior control is the principal predictor …

Education Law Offerings In Law Schools: An Update, Lauryn P. Ragone, Perry A. Zirkel

The Journal of Law and Education

No abstract provided.

Blinded By Science? A Reexamination Of The Bar Ninja And Silver Bullet Bar Program Cryptids, Rory Bahadur

The Journal of Law and Education

No abstract provided.

Commentary

The Journal of Law and Education

No abstract provided.

Justice For All? An In-Depth Look At Sexual Assault Kit Testing In The Carolinas, Jessalynn C. King

Senior Theses

Within the last few decades, technological advancements and an improved understanding of biological materials have led to an increase in evidence that can be submitted for forensic testing in criminal justice investigations. In a sexual assault investigation, a sexual assault kit (SAK) is often collected and contains the evidence found on the victim’s or suspect’s person. While the true total is unknown, it is estimated that several hundred thousand untested SAKs remain in the custody of law enforcement and forensic crime laboratories across the United States. Whether these SAKs were neglected due to law enforcement bias, the prioritization of other …

The Behavioral And Neural Effects Of Audiovisual Affective Processing, Chuanji Gao

Theses and Dissertations

In everyday life, we receive affective information from a multisensory environment. What we see and what we hear jointly influence how we feel, think and act. Outstanding questions still remain about the essential behavioral and neural mechanism underlying how we combine visual and auditory affective signals. In this dissertation, I report a series of behavioral, EEG and fMRI experiments addressing this question. I found behaviorally there are congruency, visual dominance, and negativity dominance effects. Using ERPs, I showed that these behavioral effects can map onto different time course in audiovisual affective processing. Time-frequency analyses of EEG data showed that there …

Unraveling The Temporal Aspects Of Victimization: The Reciprocal, Additive, And Cumulative Effects Of Direct/Vicarious Victimization On Crime, Yeoju Park

Theses and Dissertations

The current study aims to assess the continuous impact of direct/vicarious victimization on subsequent victimization and delinquency/crime across waves using an incorporated model of Agnew’s general strain theory and the lifestyle/routine activities perspective. This study also aims to assess the additive and cumulative impact of dual victimization (i.e., exposure to direct and vicarious victimization) on offending. A cross-lagged model is conducted to examine the impacts of direct victimization, vicarious victimization, and delinquency/crime at an early point in time on these variables at later points in time using three waves from the Pathways to Desistance Study. Negative binomial regression models and …

Helping College Mathematics Students Improve Their Mathematics Self-Efficacy And Self-Regulation Using Mymathlab, Allan C. Pangburn

Theses and Dissertations

A confident self-regulated learner knows how to effectively monitor their time management, motivation, help-seeking, self-efficacy, self-reflection, and strategic planning skills. These skills are components of a student’s self-regulation skills. The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the impact of using self-regulated learning strategies embedded in the online homework platform, MyMathLab, on the students’ self-regulated learning and mathematics self-efficacy skills while taking College Algebra at a 2-year Regional College Campus in the southeastern United States. This study looked to answer (1) how, and to what extent, does the online homework platform, MyMathLab, impacts the students’ self-regulated learning skills and …

Association Between Urinary Enterolignans As A Marker For Gut Microbiome Diversity And Depression In Nhanes, Marie Knoll

Theses and Dissertations

Depression is a chronic disease which inflicts functional and emotional impairment that has been a growing issue in the United States (US). Depression is the most prevalent mental disorder in the US and is the leading cause of disability in the world. By 2030, It is projected that major depressive disorder will be the second largest contributor to global burden of disease. Causes of depression are still largely unknown and treatments are often expensive, time consuming, and only available to certain populations. Treatment often requires a combination of medicines and therapy to be effective. In recent years, the gut microbiome …

Narrative Language Among Mothers With The Fmr1 Premutation And Mothers Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sara Mousavi

Theses and Dissertations

Difficulties with pragmatic language are known language traits among women with the FMR1 premutation and within the broad autism phenotype (BAP). Our study investigated the narrative cohesion and story grammar organization of spontaneously generated stories produced by mothers with the FMR1 premutation, mothers of children with ASD, and mothers of typically developing children. No group differences were observed in story grammar, overall quality, or frequency of use of temporal devices. But both the mothers of children with ASD and mothers with the FMR1 premutation committed reference errors at a significantly higher frequency than mothers in the control group. This study …

Effectiveness And Experience Of An Integrated Maternal Mental Healthcare Intervention In Private Clinics And Public Health Facilities In Pakistan, Syeda Somyyah Owais

Theses and Dissertations

Maternal depression is often undetected or undertreated at the primary care level. Despite the growing high prevalence of depression among women of childbearing age, the usual primary care practice in Pakistan does not include depression screening. Two facility-based cluster randomized control trials, including a maternal depression intervention component, were conducted within two healthcare settings, private and public primary care facilities in Rawalpindi and Lahore. This study aimed to estimate the effectiveness of each trial in reducing maternal depression among mothers in the intervention arm compared to the control by analyzing the change in PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) scores from baseline …

Place-Making Through Performance: Spoken Word Poetry And The Reclamation Of “Chocolate City”, Tiffany Marquise Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Predominantly situated in an area formerly known as Black Broadway, my research is based on long-term immersion in the District’s network of Spoken Word poetry and poets. Specifically, I focus on two key sites that offer contrasting depictions of open mic culture: Busboys and Poets, a D.C.-based chain located in several well-known neighborhoods undergoing gentrification, and SpitDat D.C., a grassroots (and often displaced) movement known as the area’s longest running open mic series. At these venues, many artists – especially native and long-term residents of the area – illustrate the Black experience along with a fascinating correlation between place, performer, …

Complex Syntax Acquisition In Children With Hearing Loss, Marissa Castaldo

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this language sample analysis was to describe complex syntax development in children with hearing loss over the preschool years. The current study addresses the following relevant research questions: Do children with hearing loss have increased performance over preschool years on broad measures of complex syntax? and What are the developmental trajectories on complex syntax in children with hearing loss?

Methods: 9 children with hearing loss participated in a 12-minute language sample following the Hadley Protocol (1998). Each child was tested at age 4 and then again in 6-month intervals until they turned 6. These children with …

The Deconstruction Of Patriarchal War Narratives In Svetlana Alexievich’S The Unwomanly Face Of War, Liubov Kartashova

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how the Soviet construction of womanhood resulted first in females’ active participation in World War II and then in the silencing of women’s war experiences by fabricating a reality in which women’s trauma did not exist. Such a deprivation of women’s agency led to female soldiers’ confusion of identity, experience of shame and consequential self-censorship. In The Unwomanly Face of War (У войны не женское лицо, 1985), Svetlana Alexievich acknowledges these neglected experiences and traumas, and creates a space in which women’s stories have a right to exist. Applying Jean Elshtain’s theory on the lack of attention …

Does Marriage, Employment And Having Children Matter? A Secondary Analysis On Physical Activity Levels, Leisure Time Physical Activity, And Social Roles Among Women In The United States, Tramaine Paul Mcmullen

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Social roles, such as being married, employed, or having children, have been shown to have independent negative relationships with moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels among women. Increasing the number of women with children that meets physical activity guidelines is critical to reduce chronic disease and early mortality in this population. However, few studies have examined the relationship between holding multiple social roles, MVPA, and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) among women with children. The study had two aims: 1) to determine the relationship between objectively measured MVPA by social roles and 2) to examine the frequency of specific …

Promoting Critical Consciousness: The Role Of Positive Youth Development Programming, Mackenzie Jaclyn Hart

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the role of positive youth development programming and individual-level characteristics in promoting critical reflection (CR) in youth and adolescent participants. CR refers to the analytical component of critical consciousness (CC), or the exercise of challenging institutional practices that systemically marginalize or oppress certain subgroups. Survey and interview data were analyzed from at-risk high school students (N=250) participating in an after-school program across six sites in urban areas in the United States. Multiple regression models were used to predict the development of CR, and interviews were examined to look for themes related to quantitative findings. Results support that …

A Rasch Investigation Of Type I Error Rates And Power Associated With Item Fit Statistics Under Large-Scale Testing Situations, Yin Burgess

Theses and Dissertations

This simulation study investigated the accuracy of the mean square and the standardized values of the item INFIT and OUTFIT statistics (i.e., based on total item fit) in Rasch dichotomous model under large-scale testing situations. It also examined their associated Type I error rates to determine how the rule-of-thumb critical values perform in detecting item misfit. Furthermore, simulated systematic measurement disturbances were used to test the power (i.e., the hit rates of true positive cases, true positive rates) and the false positive rates (i.e., Type I error rates) of the obtained values through between-item fit indices in identifying poor-fitting items. …

Adhd Symptoms And Alcohol Expectancies: The Moderating Roles Of Parenting And School Climate, Melanie Morse

Theses and Dissertations

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood behavioral disorder that often extends into adulthood and is associated with negative health outcomes, including alcohol use. Alcohol expectancies are a widely studied predictor of alcohol use, and have been shown to predict alcohol use among individuals with ADHD. Positive alcohol expectancies appear to be particularly related to alcohol use as well as ADHD. However, a number of broad social factors including parent, peer, and school/environmental influence likely impact the relation between ADHD and alcohol expectancies. The current study examined positive parenting, parental monitoring, parental involvement, and school climate as moderators of the …

Social And Emotional Learning: An Analysis Of The Understandings And Needs For Teacher Professional Development In A Rural South Carolina High School, Tyler Crede Hook

Theses and Dissertations

This paper outlines a mixed methods action research study designed to evaluate current teacher competencies and practices at Central Midlands High School (pseudonym) to convey social and emotional learning (SEL) concepts, determine the social and emotional skills which students believe are most critical for their long-term success, and access the resources and professional development needs of teachers in order to better incorporate social and emotional learning elements into their curriculum. The study utilizes both qualitative and quantitative data gathered from both teacher and student surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The focus of this study is to evaluate current teacher practices …