Digital Commons Network^™

Psychometric Evaluation Of An Executive Function Battery For Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease, Melita T. Stancil

Theses and Dissertations

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder which affects hemoglobin and is associated with high rates of neurologic and neurocognitive deficits. Recent studies have indicated executive functioning (EF) as a common area of impairment for children diagnosed with SCD; however, there is no consensus about which measures of executive function are best to use in clinical practice or research. The purpose of the present research is to assess the properties of a new executive function measure, the “EXAMINER” to determine its utility with the SCD population. Thirty-two children with SCD and 86 demographically-matched controls completed established cognitive measures known …

How Much Do Groups Still Matter To Politics? An Examination Of Group Influences On Public Opinion, Lauren E. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Public opinion plays an important role in democracy. A system of government designed specifically to be by the people, for the people and of the people must by necessity listen to the opinions of the people. Accordingly, an important research agenda is determining conditions under which public opinion is listened to and translated into government responsiveness. Most of the public opinion literature answering this question focuses specifically on individual opinion. I argue that this is problematic because politics is ultimately carried out in terms of the collective. Further, I argue that collective opinion is often voiced through groups in society …

Enhancing Peripheral Opioid Analgesia: Development Of Viral Vector And Small Peptide Therapies, Sherika Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Chronic neuropathic pain often decreases quality of life, incurs high medical costs and is difficult to treat. Neuropathic pain can develop as a result of nerve damage induced by trauma or diseases such as diabetes and cancer. This type of pain is often resistant to standard treatments for chronic pain. Effective and safe treatments for persistent neuropathic pain remain an unmet therapeutic need. The primary objective of this work was to test the hypotheses that peripheral opioid analgesia can be enhanced using a herpes simplex virus vector gene therapy approach and peripheral opioid tolerance can be prevented by blocking opioid …

Beating Down The Fear: The Civil Sphere And Political Change In South Carolina, 1940-1962, Sid Bedingfield

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contends that print culture – newspapers in particular – played a decisive role in launching the black civil rights movement and shaping the white response to it during the middle of the twentieth century. Focusing on South Carolina, this study is the first to use civil sphere theory and frame analysis to explore the role of cultural expression in the political struggle over black equality in the years immediately before and after World War II. It shows how African-American editors and other activists made strategic use of the society’s symbolic codes concerning justice, freedom, and liberty to elicit …

Social Movements, Media, And Democratization In Georgia, Maia Mikashavidze

Theses and Dissertations

A purpose of the study was to analyze the construction of reality around the Georgian media democratization movement in 2010-12. The qualitative analysis of movement statements (n=17) and in-depth interviews with movement activists (n=12) found that the movement relied on mobilizing master frames linked to the concept of democracy: free speech, access to information, fair elections, transparency, plurality, and devised an innovative frame, it concerns you. The movement pursued two goals with its framing efforts: improvements in the media environment and mobilization of citizen participation.

The quantitative analysis of news stories about the movement (n=552) by six pro-opposition, pro-government, and …

The Effect Of Explicit Instruction On The Perception Of Spanish Stops By Speakers Of Korean, Paul J. Coats

Theses and Dissertations

Many studies have been conducted on the influence of explicit phonetic instruction on speech perception and production of English as a second (L2) and foreign (FL) language (e.g. Bradlow, Pisoni, Akahane-Yamada & Tohkura, 1997; Derwing, Munro & Wiebe, 1998), some of which have focused on Spanish as a FL learned by American students whose first or native language (L1) is English (e.g. Elliot, 1997; Lord, 2005). Nonetheless, research has only recently been carried out on third language (L3) perception, with an even greater scarcity of studies that have focused on non-native speakers of English (e.g. Llama, Cardoso & Collins, 2008; …

Imperative Risky Business: A Compelling Case For Using Critical Literacy And Social Justice Curricula To Combat Heteronormativity And Homophobia, Candace Anne-Heather Lett

Theses and Dissertations

Recent research documents the oppressive school conditions for Lesbian, Gay Bixsexual, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQQ) and non-gender conforming students, which can be detrimental to their academic achievement, as well as their physical and psychological well-being. This study explored ways that negative portrayals of LGBTQQ youth and homophobic and heteronormative attitudes might be altered through the incorporation of LGBTQQ texts and critical discussions surrounding the texts, media stereotypes, heteronormativity, heterosexual privilege, and gender in a high school Public Speaking class. The purpose of this study was to investigate ways that curriculum in a high school Public Speaking class might utilize these …

Non- And Semi-Parametric Bayesian Inference With Recurrent Events And Coherent Systems Data, A. K. M. Fazlur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation deals with non- and semi-parametric Bayesian inference of gap-time distribution with recurrent event data and simultaneous inference of component and system reliabilities of coherent systems data. Recurrent event data arise from a wide variety of studies/fields such as clinical trials, epidemiology, public health, biomedicine (e.g. repeated heart attack, repeated tumor occurrences of a cancer patient). In Chapter 2 we develop nonparametric Bayes and empirical Bayes estimators of the survivor function \bar{F} = 1 - F, of the gap-time distribution by assigning a Dirichlet process prior on F. We develop a closed form estimator of \bar{F} as well as …

Risk And Resilience In An Urban School: How A Psychosocial Intervention Promotes The Educational Resilience Of Latino Youth, Kip Van Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

According to the Pew Hispanic Forum, the dropout rates for Latino youth (15%) are higher than all other youth in the United States (White youth = 8%; Black youth = 12%). Many Latino youth have difficulty identifying with the school environment due to a lack of cultural connection to the context. Youth Program (YP) program is a peer-led, school-based program driven by the theoretical foundations of Positive Youth Development and Self-Determination theory and is distinguished by its emphasis on building social and academic skills that ease the transition into high school for ninth grade students. The current study examines the …

Best Practices In High Fidelity Patient Simulation To Enhance Higher Order Thinking Skills, Kathryn S. Mock

Theses and Dissertations

Undergraduate nursing education has begun to use very expensive and time intensive high fidelity simulation activities without making full use of the ability to build higher order thinking skills in students. Current research in high fidelity patient simulation has tended to be subjective and focus on critical thinking. However, reflective thinking habits of mind must be in place before full use can be made of critical thinking skills. A comprehensive search of all reflective thinking literature used in conjunction with simulated patient experiences by healthcare students was undertaken. A guideline

was created for nurse faculty to use that outlined current …

Walker Percy, Heidegger, And Reentry, Jordan Alexander Markley

Theses and Dissertations

The prospect of writing an acknowledgements page is intimidating, both because there are so many people to thank for their help in completing this thesis, and because the genre is more foreign to me than it should be. I need to start off by thanking my advisor, Brian Glavey, who has offered thoughtful commentary on several versions of this project and has helped shepherd it from its initial state to its current instantiation. To my second reader, Robert Brinkmeyer, I owe thanks both for the example his criticism has provided and for his thoughtful suggestions for further readings. I am …

Interactions With Horses Is Associated With Higher Mindfulness And Heart Rate Variability And Lower Electrodermal Response In College Students, Sarah Mary Wach

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

A wealth of research has revealed psychological and physiological benefits of interactions with animals. As yet, research is limited to smaller animals such as dogs and cats and has not examined the benefits of human-horse interactions. The present study examined the effects of video-simulated human-horse interactions compared with simulated interactions with a car and a person on state mindfulness and physiological arousal. The relationship between trait mindfulness and horse experience was also examined. Undergraduate students with (n = 16) and without experience with horses (n = 26) were recruited with the exclusion criteria of a fear of horses. …

Generalization Of Fear Effects In Reinstatement To A Discrete Stimulus, Lauren Best

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate generalization of reinstated fear effects to a discrete stimulus. McAllister and McAllister (2006) reported that reinstated fear could generalize over time to similar contexts. The present study aimed to determine if reinstated fear could generalize to similar or different stimuli than conditioning after a long delay between reinstatement and testing. Rat subjects were randomly assigned to six groups (n = 10) which received conditioning and extinction to a 3000 Hz tone. Reinstatement conditioning was then conducted with either the same, similar, or different CS as used in conditioning. Testing for reinstated fear …

The Daily Gamecock, Wednesday, July 30, 2014, University Of South Carolina, Office Of Student Media

July

No abstract provided.

A Spatial Analysis Of Functional Outcomes And Quality Of Life Outcomes After Pediatric Injury, Nathaniel Bell, Sami Kruse, Richard K. Simons, Mariana Brussoni

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:

Changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are more regularly being monitored during the first year after injury. Monitoring changes in HRQoL using spatial cluster analysis can potentially identify concentrations of geographic areas with injury survivors with similar outcomes, thereby improving how interventions are delivered or in how outcomes are evaluated.

METHODS:

We used a spatial scan statistic designed for oridinal data to test two different spatial cluster analysis of very low, low, high, and very high HRQoL scores. Our study was based on HRQoL scores returned by children treated for injury at British Columbia Children's Hospital and discharged …

There Is An App For That: Uses Of Print And Digital Materials In The Lives Of Three Preschoolers, Rebecca Hickman Mccraw

Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic study examined the uses of print and digital materials in the lives of three preschoolers over a five-month period of time in the children’s home and community contexts in the southeast region of the United States. The research question asked: What can I learn about the literacy practices of three preschoolers as they use print and digital materials in their worlds? The children were the primary focus of the research, but adults (specifically, the children’s mothers) also served as informants. Grounded in sociocultural theory and informed by constructivist and media theories, the study is important because, while we …

Weekly And Holiday-Related Patterns Of Panic Attacks In Panic Disorder: A Population-Based Study, Li-Ting Kao, Sudha Xirasagar, Kuo-Hsuan Chung, Herng-Ching Lin, Shih-Ping Liu, Shiu-Dong Chung

Faculty Publications

Background: While chronobiological studies have reported seasonal variation in panic attacks (PA) episodes, information on the timing of PA by week-days may enable better understanding of the triggers of PA episodes and thereby provide pointers for suitable interventional approaches to minimize PA attacks. This study investigated weekly variation in potential PA admissions including associations with holidays using a population-based longitudinal, administrative claims-based dataset in an Asian population.

Methods: This study used ambulatory care data from the ‘‘Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. We identified 993 patients with panic disorder (PD), and they had 4228 emergency room (ER) admissions for potential PA …

The Veterans Treatment Court Program Act: South Carolina's Opportunity To Provide Services For Those Who Have Been Served, John Furman Wall Iv

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Kenneth Simpson, 1943-2013, Patrick G. Scott

Faculty Publications

Obituary recording the career of Dr. Kenneth G. Simpson (1943-2013), of the University of Strathclyde, and his contributions to eighteenth-century Scottish studies, especially the study and nuanced appreciation of Robert Burns.

Recent Decisions - Supreme Court Decisions

The Journal of Law and Education

No abstract provided.

Reflections - Summer 2014, University Libraries--University Of South Carolina

Reflections

Contents:

Students Learn As They Earn..... p.1
From the Dean of the Libraries..... p.2
New Faces..... p.2
Fall Literary Festival Welcomes Three Authors..... p.3
Grant Highlights New South collections..... p.4
Book a Librarian..... p.4
Fall Happenings at University Libraries..... p.5
Have you Met..... p.5
The Myerson Collection Continues to Grow..... p.6
Have you Met..... p.7
Lindsay Hall: 2013-14 Cooper-Davis Fellow..... p.7
The Digital Age Comes to the Map Collection..... p.8
Have you Met..... p.9
Music Majors Get New Career Resource..... p.9
Conroy's Archive Is Here..... p.12

Uncertainty Quantification Driven Predictive Multi-Scale Model For Synthesis Of Mycotoxins, Sourav Banerjee, Gabriel A. Terejanu, Anindya Chanda

Faculty Publications

Many toxic molds synthesize and release an array of poisons, termed mycotoxins that have an enormous impact on human health, agriculture and economy [1]. These molds contaminate our buildings, indoor air and crops, cause life threatening human and animal diseases and reduce agricultural output [2]. In order to design appropriate approaches to minimize the detrimental effects of these fungi, it is essential to develop diagnostic methodologies that can rapidly and accurately determine based on fungal strains and their growth patterns, the extent of mycotoxin mediated damage caused to the environment.Here we developed a novel multi-scale predictive mathematical model that could …

The Daily Gamecock, Wednesday, June 14, 2006, University Of South Carolina, Office Of Student Media

June

No abstract provided.

June 4, 2014 Faculty Senate Minutes, University Of South Carolina

Faculty Senate

No abstract provided.

Meal Pattern Of Male Rats Maintained On Amino Acid Supplemented Diets: The Effect Of Tryptophan, Lysine, Arginine, Proline And Threonine, Raghad Ayaso, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Mohamad Abiad, Omar Obeid

Faculty Publications

The macronutrient composition of the diet has been shown to affect food intake, with proteins having distinct effects. The present study investigated the effect of diet supplementation with individual amino acids (tryptophan, lysine, arginine, proline and threonine) on meal pattern among male rats. Meal pattern and body weight were monitored for two weeks. Proline and threonine had minimal effects on meal pattern, while the most pronounced changes were observed in the tryptophan group. Both tryptophan and lysine decreased overall food intake, which was translated into a reduction in body weight. The reduced food intake of the tryptophan group was associated …

American Shudders: Race, Representation, And Sodomy In Redburn, David Greven

Faculty Publications

Newer critical treatments of Redburn argue that its significance lies in its critique of antebellum slavery, most saliently in chapter 31, in which Wellingborough Redburn, the first-person narrator, offers an ekphrastic depiction of the Nelson Monument in Liverpool, England. This monument contains an especially significant detail: the four naked, chained male figures at the base of the pedestal. Redburn tells us that he can never look at their “swarthy limbs and manacles, without being involuntarily reminded of four African slaves in the market-place.” The abjection of the figures is significant for understanding not only issues of race and slavery but …

Conflict Translates Environmental And Social Risk Into Business Costs, Daniel M. Franks, Rachel Davis, Anthony J. Bebbington, Saleem H. Ali, Deanna Kemp, Martin Scurrah

Faculty Publications

Sustainability science has grown as a field of inquiry, but has said little about the role of large-scale private sector actors in socio-ecological systems change. However, the shaping of global trends and transitions depends greatly on the private sector and its development impact. Market-based and command-and-control policy instruments have, along with corporate citizenship, been the predominant means for bringing sustainable development priorities into private sector decision-making. This research identifies conflict as a further means through which environmental and social risks are translated into business costs and decision making. Through in-depth interviews with finance, legal, and sustainability professionals in the extractive …

Injuries In Youth Football: A Descriptive Two Year Study Of Local South Carolina Football Leagues, Marie Morrissette

Senior Theses

Objective: To collect and analyze injury data from two leagues in the Midlands area of South Carolina. One of the leagues is an age-weight league, meaning athletes have to be within a certain age range and weight range to play on a specific team. The other league was an age-only league, meaning athletes have to be within a certain range to play on a specific team. Results: For the two seasons that injury data was collected, the age-weight league had 208 injuries and the age-only league had 109. For both leagues, the majority of the injuries sustained were contusions. Each …

The Effects Of Extracurricular Activity On Children And Adolescents: Hosting A Tennis Camp For Children In The Foster Care System, Lauren Armstrong

Senior Theses

In recent years, many studies have been conducted regarding the positive effects of extracurricular activities on the behaviors, actions, and overall well-being of children and adolescents. Whether it is through sports, hobbies, or activities within the community, it is important for all children to be able to have access to and be involved in some kind of extracurricular activities. Participation in activities such as these instills in children the qualities essential for life long success including good work ethic, time management skills, the ability to work in groups, commitment, and focus all while guiding them along the right path as …

Inactive To Active: A Positive Life Change, William Mclachlan

Senior Theses

Not only has research unanimously supported the claim that physical activity is good for you, it is an idea that many people see as wide-spread enough to be considered banal. However, at a time when the United States is facing rising rates of obesity (Haskell et al., 2007), it is important to appreciate the importance of that information. In order to gain a personal understanding of the importance of physical activity, I engaged in resistance training five days per week and an additional four hours and 40 minutes, on average, of other physical activities, including yoga, stretching, and tennis, for …